In Brief

'Shanghai' to be shot in HK as officials refuse permit

Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom will move the shooting of his film Shanghai, set to star John Cusack and Gong Li, to Hong Kong after mainland authorities barred its filming. 'This obviously comes as a shock to all of us. We don't know exactly why we have been turned down' for a filming permit, Hafstrom told the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter from Shanghai. The production team has been on the mainland since September. He said he had heard that 56 other foreign film shoots had also recently been blocked on the mainland, but said he did not know why his film, which is set in Shanghai in 1941 and features scenes of opium smoking and prostitution, had been targeted. 'Our situation will scare all reasonable film producers from film shoots in China,' Hafstrom said.

20 arrested in gambling raid

Twenty people were arrested yesterday at an abandoned roller-skating rink in Tin Shui Wai on suspicion of illegal gambling. Mahjong tables and tiles, and about HK$1,000 in cash were seized. The 20 suspects were freed on police bail.

Dead waterbird had H5N1

A waterbird found dead at the Mai Po nature reserve last weekend was carrying the potentially lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu, tests showed. The Yuen Long attraction was closed for three weeks after the great egret was found.

Timetable for artificial beach

Work to create an artificial beach at Lung Mei, Tai Po, will begin next year if the project is approved, the Development Bureau said. It will cost HK$140 million and affect 56,360 square metres of foreshore.

Elderly patients get stomach bug

Admissions to a ward at Buddhist Hospital in Lok Fu, Kowloon, were suspended after eight elderly patients caught gastroenteritis. Five have the highly contagious norovirus and were put in isolation.

Food poisoning investigated

The Centre for Health Protection is investigating three food poisoning cases involving 16 people who ate seafood at a restaurant in Lei Yue Mun, east Kowloon, last weekend.