https://www.scmp.com/rss/13297/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When James Bond performed a death-defying motorcycle jump for No Time to Die in front of the cave home where her ancestors had lived for centuries, Dora Cappiello rushed to tell her 92-year-old father. “One of the most spectacular scenes for the film was shot outside the place where my father was born,” she says, proudly. “I tried to explain what was happening but he didn’t really understand.” His bewilderment is understandable. After all, Matera – clinging to a craggy hillside above a wild and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3150569/city-new-james-bond-movie-no-time-die-shame-italy-no?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3150569/city-new-james-bond-movie-no-time-die-shame-italy-no?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Sep 2021 04:45:20 +0000 These are three of the 80 dogs that could be put down in 22 days' time unless the charity that cares for them finds a new home. Sai Kung Stray Friends have been told they have to vacate their premises by June 20, when demolition vehicles will move in to "clean up the site" which has been sold to a new landlord. The dog-rescue charity, whose lease has already expired, was hoping the landlord would give it more time after plans to move to a new site were put on hold pending a planning application.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1520583/rescue-dogs-death-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1520583/rescue-dogs-death-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 May 2014 20:15:45 +0000 A pet dog has been crushed to death in front of its owner and her two young children in the second attack by a huge python in Sai Kung West Country Park in less than a fortnight. Katie Heyring told of how her family pet, Charlie, was killed by the five-metre-long snake as she was out walking near Pak Tam Chung with son Kaspar, five, and daughter Kaia, seven, and their four other dogs on Saturday. Heyring, an art dealer from Britain, said they had tried to fight off the huge python by hitting it... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1515080/pet-dog-crushed-death-python-second-attack-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1515080/pet-dog-crushed-death-python-second-attack-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 May 2014 21:00:30 +0000 A woman fought frantically to save the life of her pet dog when it was attacked by a five-metre python in Sai Kung West Country Park. Courtney Link repeatedly punched the huge snake and stabbed it with a pocket knife until it released its grip on her two-year-old mongrel Dexter and slid away. Now she has issued a warning to other dog owners to be on guard against pythons while out walking in the country park. The attack occurred last weekend as Link was walking Dexter, who weighs about 24kg,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1509362/woman-sai-kung-country-park-stabs-5-metre-python-pocket-knife-save?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1509362/woman-sai-kung-country-park-stabs-5-metre-python-pocket-knife-save?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2014 21:00:00 +0000 They are calling it "The Challenge" - and a challenge it is. Volunteers with a dog rescue centre have just five weeks to build new kennels for 70 dogs on a piece of barren land, or face dire consequences. Sai Kung Stray Friends Foundation have to meet the deadline or deal with the prospect of closing down and leaving all their dogs homeless - or facing the fate of being put down. During those five weeks, the group have to raise around HK$2 million to fund the project, which will involve fencing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1455092/sai-kung-stray-friends-foundation-race-time-fund-new-site?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1455092/sai-kung-stray-friends-foundation-race-time-fund-new-site?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Mar 2014 20:47:22 +0000 A New Territories villager who demolished a 160-year-old Hakka terrace in what has been called an act of cultural vandalism has been ordered to stop work on three new houses he has started to build on the site. The old building - which was split into two homes, including a house featured in the design section of the Sunday Post Magazine - was reduced to rubble earlier this month. About 10 days later, work began on the foundations of three new houses on the site, which lies in Pak Tam Chung... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1413733/stop-work-order-site-historic-hakka-terrace-pak-tam-chung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1413733/stop-work-order-site-historic-hakka-terrace-pak-tam-chung?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:33:22 +0000 This may be the last Christmas for 66 stray dogs at a Sai Kung shelter. Sai Kung Stray Friends says it has been told to vacate its Ho Chung premises, and unless it can find HK$3.5 million to buy an alternative site, the dogs will most likely have to be put down. Chairwoman Narelle Pamuk said the shelter was in a desperate situation and she appealed to the public to help. "It really is a matter of life and death for these dogs. There is nowhere we can go with them. They will have to be put down,"... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1387898/sai-kung-shelter-appeals-help-save-66-dogs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1387898/sai-kung-shelter-appeals-help-save-66-dogs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Dec 2013 20:51:23 +0000 An animal lover who saved an injured stray dog when it was caught in a government snare faces a hefty fine for her act of kindness. Sue Cuthbertson has been charged with breaching the Rabies Ordinance by not having a licence and failing to have the dog vaccinated. She has also been charged with failing to leash the dog in a public place, and faces up to HK$4,000 in fines. Cuthbertson, a volunteer for the group Sai Kung Stray Friends, said she only claimed to be the owner of the mongrel, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1364042/woman-faces-fines-after-saving-stray-dog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1364042/woman-faces-fines-after-saving-stray-dog?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:12:08 +0000 Picnickers are littering country park barbecue sites, leaving scenic spots looking like eyesores. Photographs taken on mornings after the Mid-Autumn Festival days last week provide evidence of widespread disregard for Hong Kong's anti-littering laws, with tonnes of rubbish being left for government workers to clear up. The littering was particularly bad at sites in and around Sai Kung Country Park - a popular spot for barbecues over the Mid-Autumn Festival. One spot on Tai Mong Tsai Road was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1314877/anger-country-parks-left-strewn-mid-autumn-festival-litter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1314877/anger-country-parks-left-strewn-mid-autumn-festival-litter?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 More than 250 pythons have been captured and released back into Hong Kong since a pilot project was introduced in 2010, according to statistics revealed by government officials. The snakes, measuring between and 0.5 and 4.2 metres, have been picked up following reports to police after they have strayed too close to human habitats, said a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department. Of those captured, seven have been picked up twice, while one of these has been captured... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1287218/pilot-project-returns-250-pythons-wild-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1287218/pilot-project-returns-250-pythons-wild-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Erica had never considered herself at risk of colorectal cancer before 2006, and was unaware it was one of Hong Kong's biggest cancer killers. But after her mother died from colon cancer in 2006, Erica decided to undergo screening. In January 2008, she was diagnosed with the same cancer that had killed her mother. Alarmingly, despite the absence of symptoms, it was at an advanced stage and had already spread to her liver. Hong Kong has become more prosperous, the incidence rate has... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1281158/early-screenings-can-help-prevent-colon-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1281158/early-screenings-can-help-prevent-colon-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Edward Snowden's attempted flight to Ecuador from limbo in the transit lounge of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport is being watched with particular interest by two sisters in Hong Kong. Kate and Alexandra Harrison, British expatriates who both live and work in the city, are sisters of WikiLeaks official Sarah Harrison, who is accompanying the whistle-blower as he attempts to escape extradition. Well connected and well spoken, like their photogenic sister, Kate and Alexandra are also... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1272028/hong-kong-based-sisters-snowdens-aide-watch-saga-unfold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1272028/hong-kong-based-sisters-snowdens-aide-watch-saga-unfold?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The government has been accused of trying to pass the buck by claiming that boat tours are partly to blame for a dramatic decline in the number of pink dolphins in Hong Kong waters. Dolphinwatch slammed the comments made by the Highways Department in response to new data suggesting a substantial fall in the number of dolphins. Spokeswoman Janet Walker said the department was nitpicking when the real danger was the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, pollution and land... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1265280/officials-passing-buck-fate-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1265280/officials-passing-buck-fate-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A report to be released within days is expected to partly blame the impact of construction work on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge for a continuing steep decline in the number of pink dolphins in Hong Kong waters. The average number of pink dolphins - also known as Chinese white dolphins - in Hong Kong waters has already fallen from 159 in 2003 to 78 in 2011. A further dramatic fall in 2012 is expected to be revealed in the new report. Dr Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, who has worked with government... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261738/work-delta-bridge-linked-expected-decline-dolphin-numbers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1261738/work-delta-bridge-linked-expected-decline-dolphin-numbers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A reward being offered to catch the culprit behind the hit and run that killed eight Lantau cows last week now stands at HK$150,000, after an anonymous donor added HK$50,000 to the pot. The donor, who asked not to be identified, came forward with the offer of the cash after seeing film footage online and photographs of the dead and dying animals at the scene. Lantau Buffalo Association chairwoman Ho Loy said yesterday that the donor, a Hong Kong Island resident, was very touched by the incident.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1257964/reward-grows-lantau-cow-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1257964/reward-grows-lantau-cow-case?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Bumps, ramps and special traffic-slowing road surfaces are among measures being considered by police to curb speeding on Lantau following the death of eight cows in a hit-and-run accident last week. Lantau police district commander Samson Cho Ming-lung said yesterday that he would contact the Highways Department about the possible implementation of speed-curbing measures along South Lantau Road. Cho said 477 cases of speeding had taken place in the first five months of this year along the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1256635/police-look-making-lantau-drivers-go-slow-after-cow-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1256635/police-look-making-lantau-drivers-go-slow-after-cow-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 More than one vehicle could have been involved in the hit-and-run crash that killed eight cattle on Lantau early on Wednesday, police said yesterday. A spokesman said investigators had not ruled out the possibility that other vehicles - or a different vehicle from the one owned by a woman arrested over the deaths - were involved in the accident. This came as social network sites buzzed with speculation about the blame for the deaths and one woman described how she had been accosted and falsely... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1254870/speculation-mounts-more-one-driver-mowed-down-lantau-cattle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1254870/speculation-mounts-more-one-driver-mowed-down-lantau-cattle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:16:22 +0000 Leading conservation groups have called on the government to take urgent action to save Hong Kong's pink dolphin population from the twin threats of pollution and reclamation. WWF Hong Kong called for an interdepartmental task force to be set up to find ways to save the dolphin population and for steps to be taken to halt reclamation projects they fear could push the mammals to the brink of extinction in Hong Kong waters. The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, meanwhile, called on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1235511/conservation-groups-demand-more-action-save-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1235511/conservation-groups-demand-more-action-save-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2013 12:27:56 +0000 An hour into their journey from Tung Chung pier, the 20 members of the boat party finally got what they had been waiting for - a close encounter with the remaining pink dolphins who still make their home in Hong Kong waters. But as the boat edged closer to the dolphins in the Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park and the eager tourists reached for their cameras, their excitement quickly turned to shock and distress. "There were about four or five dolphins in the water and it seemed at first as if they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230183/plight-hong-kongs-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230183/plight-hong-kongs-pink-dolphins?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The government has been accused of squandering an opportunity to promote breastfeeding amid the furore over shortages of infant formula. One breastfeeding advocacy group said a special hotline and other measures aimed at helping local mothers secure formula milk actually assisted manufacturers in promoting their products and gave them direct access to mothers. The measures also had the effect of making infant formula appear essential, said Maggie Holmes, of the Hong Kong branch of La Leche... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230302/hong-kong-fails-promote-breast-milk-even-amid-formula-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230302/hong-kong-fails-promote-breast-milk-even-amid-formula-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's iconic pink dolphins are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, experts say. They warn the animals could vanish altogether from the city's waters unless pollution and disruption to the marine environment are checked. Figures due next month will show a major decline in the number of pink dolphins - also known as Chinese white dolphins - found in Hong Kong waters at any one time, says Dr Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, chairman of the Dolphin Conservation Society. Rampant reclamation and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230319/hong-kongs-iconic-pink-dolphins-are-disappearing-fast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1230319/hong-kongs-iconic-pink-dolphins-are-disappearing-fast?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Sai Kung shark featured in a video that grabbed attention online last week is believed to be a more dangerous species that originally thought, and one that has never before been reported in Hong Kong waters. Marine ecologist Dr Andy Cornish believes the shark is a silvertip shark rather than a sandbar shark, as first thought. "The shark in the video does have a distinct white patch on the tip of both pectoral fins, which is a distinctive feature of a silvertip shark," Cornish said. "It is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1224910/sai-kung-shark-may-have-been-dangerous-newcomer-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1224910/sai-kung-shark-may-have-been-dangerous-newcomer-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 As Hong Kong offices wound down yesterday at the end of a typically manic Monday, an important deadline passed quietly - unnoticed and unremarked upon by the vast majority of the city's population engrossed in their busy lives and the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday. The deadline was for submissions to the Ombudsman's investigation into the public's right and ability to access government information, a process that has potentially huge implications for the people's future right to know... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1143363/privacy-regulations-are-blocking-data-could-benefit-health-care-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1143363/privacy-regulations-are-blocking-data-could-benefit-health-care-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Despite a global trend towards greater freedom of information, data is still seen as a threat rather than an opportunity in Hong Kong, according to a visiting academic from the London School of Economics Jens Kandt, who has worked at the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention since last year, said there was a gulf in attitudes towards privacy between officials in Britain and Hong Kong. "In the UK there is now a presumption of openness - a belief that all the data... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1143362/hong-kong-authorities-see-data-release-threat-says-uk-academic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1143362/hong-kong-authorities-see-data-release-threat-says-uk-academic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A herd of feral cattle have become scavenging meat-eaters as a result of day trippers feeding them and dumping left-over food at a barbecue site in Sai Kung Country Park. The cattle have become regular visitors at the Wong Shek Pier site, where they eat food scraps left in rubbish bins and items fed to them by barbecue parties, despite official notices warning people not to do so. The animals have even been seen eating raw and partially cooked beef steaks from lit barbecues. Animal welfare... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1085003/feral-cattle-sai-kung-park-acquire-taste-human-food-including-beef?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1085003/feral-cattle-sai-kung-park-acquire-taste-human-food-including-beef?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 When it comes to grand romantic gestures, schoolteacher Mike Hansen is in a class of his own. He devised a very special way of proposing to his teacher girlfriend, Holly Bradburn, by using her class of five-year-olds and some alphabet cards. Hansen, 27, arranged a surprise performance by Bradburn's 26 Primary One students, who danced to the song Marry You by Bruno Mars and then one by one held up cards of hearts and letters that spelled out: 'Will you marry me?' The whole romantic scene was... https://www.scmp.com/article/1004845/pupils-deliver-proposal-their-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1004845/pupils-deliver-proposal-their-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A Hong Kong mother had an unexpected extra delivered with a package of household items from Australia - a deadly spider. The venomous redback spider leapt out of some wind chimes which arrived along with other items on Friday at the Sai Kung home of ballet teacher Tina Eldridge. The spider, small but potentially deadly, sped towards the deliveryman. Luckily Eldridge's partner, Holger Eichstaedt, had lived in Australia, where the redback is common. 'The deliveryman didn't realise what it was,'... https://www.scmp.com/article/1004220/delivery-includes-nasty-spider?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1004220/delivery-includes-nasty-spider?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 When artist Brian Tilbrook set his easel down on the edge of Pak Sha O in 1988, he sensed he had discovered something extraordinary. Tilbrook, now aged 80, had been commissioned to choose and paint 50 heritage sites by the government for a book called Hong Kong Heritage. 'When I parked myself there, in what used to be paddy fields, I knew there was something special about it. There was a sense of having discovered something old nestled there in the hillside,' he says. The resulting painting... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001411/past-master?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001411/past-master?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 It's dusk on a muggy Friday evening deep in Sai Kung Country Park and the air is heavy with a coming storm. A rumbling of distant thunder reverberates across a huddle of old village houses isolated in a valley and surrounded on three sides by heavily wooded hills. A cacophony of chirping crickets and clattering cicadas and the regular deep, loud and hollow moo of the bullfrogs provide the springtime soundtrack for what, from a distance, looks like just another deserted New Territories... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001412/plots-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001412/plots-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 During 21 happy years together, Freda Tang Sau-lan and Kennedy Tam Su-nam enjoyed holidays all over the world. When Kennedy died in 2010 at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke at work, Freda decided she wasn't going to let death keep them apart. Since then, Tang has taken her husband on trips to Canada, New York, Shanghai and Turkey. He also goes with her to work every day. The 50-year-old is one of growing number of Hong Kong people who are choosing a less traditional way of remembering... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000230/bereaved-find-diamonds-are-forever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000230/bereaved-find-diamonds-are-forever?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Transforming cremated remains into remembrance diamonds is just one of the options available to tackle the shortage of burial plots and niches in Hong Kong columbaria. The government is promoting sea burials and offers a free boat service for anyone wishing to commit their loved-ones' ashes to the sea for what is described as 'a sombre and dignified send-off'. Since a ban on sea burials was lifted in 2007, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said the number of applications for sea... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000258/seeking-alternatives-niches-and-burial-plots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000258/seeking-alternatives-niches-and-burial-plots?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Pet owners could be forced to provide adequate exercise, health care and living conditions for their animals under changes being considered to the animal protection law. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told the Sunday Morning Post it was looking at introducing a 'duty of care' provision in the law as part of ongoing reviews of animal protection rules. Duty of care provisions introduced elsewhere require owners and carers to ensure a reasonable quality of life for their... https://www.scmp.com/article/993095/look-after-your-pets-or-else-new-law-mulled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/993095/look-after-your-pets-or-else-new-law-mulled?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Fung shui master Raymond Lo claims to have foreseen the resignation of Russian president Bois Yeltsin in 1999, the crash of the Nasdaq stock market in 2000, the break-up of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in 2001, and the outbreak of the Gulf wars in 1990 and 2003. He also says he predicted the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the economic recovery in Hong Kong and the re-election of President George W. Bush in 2004. More recently, he forecast a bad year for Osama bin Laden in 2011. 'If you look... https://www.scmp.com/article/991159/fung-shui-master-his-element?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/991159/fung-shui-master-his-element?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A leading fung shui master has defended his ability as a soothsayer after posting on his website a prediction of a bad Year of the Dragon ... for Apple chief Steve Jobs. The website of Raymond Lo reads: 'For people who needs [sic] support of fire element, such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, [Japanese] prime minister Naoto Kan, [Apple's] Steve Jobs, 2012 will not be favourable as their fire is absent.' The forecast also mentions Jobs as a person born on a... https://www.scmp.com/article/991154/bad-year-jobs-fung-shui-master-defensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/991154/bad-year-jobs-fung-shui-master-defensive?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 GPS tracking systems are to be fitted to some of Hong Kong's buffalo and cattle in a scheme that is costing millions of dollars. Hi-tech collars fitted to cattle in Sai Kung and buffalos on Lantau will feed information on the animals' movements to computers via satellite. The project is designed to find the best way to manage the feral cattle. However, one lawmaker described it as wasteful. Each collar costs around HK$20,000 and they will be attached to about 20 cattle and buffalo, according... https://www.scmp.com/article/988096/feral-cattle-get-hk20000-gps-collars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988096/feral-cattle-get-hk20000-gps-collars?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 One of Sai Kung's best-known and most photographed residents could be kicked out as a result of an ongoing operation by a government department, an animal-rights group fears. Grumpy the bull is a regular sight in Sai Kung's centre and is often seen in flower beds or loitering outside the popular bars and restaurants. Until recently he was one of several cattle roaming the area freely. However, over the past three months, numbers have dwindled as a result of a relocation operation by the... https://www.scmp.com/article/987489/locals-ready-bullfight-over-four-legged-friend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/987489/locals-ready-bullfight-over-four-legged-friend?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 A campaign to stop the import of products made from Canadian seals killed in an annual hunt has won the support of more than half of all legislators, an animal protection group says. Thirty-two legislators signed a petition calling for an end to the Canadian seal hunt, labelled as horrendous and cruel by the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The petition, which contains more than 10,000 signatures, will be presented to the acting Canadian Consul General... https://www.scmp.com/article/985395/lawmakers-support-ending-seal-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/985395/lawmakers-support-ending-seal-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Police have been accused of using women as bait after a serial sex attacker labelled a 'dangerous sexual predator' was jailed for 51/2 years. Billy Chan Ho-leung pleaded guilty to five charges of indecent assault last December and January. The labourer targeted women in bars in Lan Kwai Fong, followed them when they left alone and assaulted them in dimly lit places as they walked home. But police did not release any details of the assaults, despite appeals to do so by one of his victims, until... https://www.scmp.com/article/984670/women-used-bait-sex-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/984670/women-used-bait-sex-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000 There may have only been seven fans waiting to greet teen idol Justin Bieber when he arrived in Hong Kong four days ago - but by last night, his embarrassingly low-key reception in the city had been viewed on YouTube nearly 100,000 times. A video of the Canadian singer - usually mobbed by hoards of female fans everywhere he goes - arriving at Hong Kong International Airport with three times as many bodyguards and security guards as fans has become an internet sensation. The video, uploaded by... https://www.scmp.com/article/967741/fans-defend-grumpy-bieber-hk-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/967741/fans-defend-grumpy-bieber-hk-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000 He is the climate change chief whose research body produced a report warning that the glaciers in the Himalayas might melt by 2035 and earned a Nobel Prize for its work - so you might expect Dr Rajendra Pachauri to be doing everything he can to reduce his own carbon footprint. But as controversy continues to simmer over the bogus 'Glaciergate' claims in a report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which he heads, Dr Pachauri is showing no apparent inclination to cut... https://www.scmp.com/article/705649/fighting-global-warming-chauffeured-limo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/705649/fighting-global-warming-chauffeured-limo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000 It was when a policeman took them to one side on the steps of the 7th-century Jokhang Temple in Lhasa that the Taylor family from Hong Kong realised the extent of the sensitivity of being among the first tourists allowed back into Tibet . 'We'd been on the roof of the Jokhang where you get the panoramic view of the Potala Palace and Barkhor Square and where every tourist takes a bunch of pictures,' said Chris Taylor, a history teacher at Sha Tin College. 'There was no problem for the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/article/678111/one-hk-familys-adventure-reopened-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/678111/one-hk-familys-adventure-reopened-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 When Cathay Pacific Airways launched a campaign to encourage its passengers to offset the carbon footprint they leave behind, it may have seemed to some observers like a brewery announcing a drive to promote abstinence. The aviation industry is widely seen as a menace by groups fighting climate change. Airlines contribute about 2 per cent of overall man-made carbon emissions, and that percentage will continue to rise as the industry expands at the rate of 5 per cent a year. Hong Kong, with its... https://www.scmp.com/article/646198/green-scheme-doesnt-fly-passengers-least-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/646198/green-scheme-doesnt-fly-passengers-least-now?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong holds a dazzling allure for international visitors, but few Asian destinations rely as little on natural beauty and heavily on the quality of its people as it does, according to the head of a hotel and tourism management course. 'Scenery is not the main draw for tourists to Hong Kong but, rather, the visitor experiences the 'buzz' of our cosmopolitan scene,' said Tony Tse Sze-ming, programme director (industry partnerships) at Polytechnic University's School of Hotel and Tourism... https://www.scmp.com/article/643489/top-training-hospitality-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/643489/top-training-hospitality-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Britain is a popular destination for students looking to study abroad, but rising costs there mean they are starting later The strong British pound and rising fees at British boarding schools have spurred a rising trend among Hong Kong parents to postpone sending their children to study overseas until they are 16, rather than when they are 11 or 12, an industry expert claims. Figures from the British Council show the number of Hong Kong children at independent schools in Britain dropped from... https://www.scmp.com/article/643481/studying-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/643481/studying-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Remember, this is the ideal setting for the first precious memories of married life. So there's every reason to plan well and choose your destination carefully. What better than a private island? Those stretches of empty, golden sand are the most romantic backdrop imaginable for the start of your life together. Here are the upsides, downsides and inside tracks on four private islands. https://www.scmp.com/article/641267/perfect-seclusion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/641267/perfect-seclusion?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Eriska island, scotland Picture the scene The mountains and lochs of Scotland and a classic E-type Jaguar racing along carrying a pair of newlyweds. Their destination a historic country house tucked away on a private island off the west coast of Scotland. It is not everyone's immediate idea of a honeymoon destination, but there is no denying the romance of Scotland, especially when you throw in the added elements of a private island and a journey in a classic car. Scottish holiday specialist... https://www.scmp.com/article/641263/taking-high-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/641263/taking-high-road?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Amanpulo, Philippines Picture the scene If you can afford it, this gem (pictured left and right) dazzles like a diamond wedding ring but does not take an eternity to get to. The judges of one prestigious travel award last year praised the Amanpulo as 'near-perfect, offering privacy, crystal-clear waters and stunning beaches'. The resort is set on the narrow, 5.5km-long private island Pamalican in the Cuyo group of islands about 360km southwest of Manila that is only 500 metres across at its... https://www.scmp.com/article/641265/island-paradise-close-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/641265/island-paradise-close-home?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Cat Ba Island, Vietnam Picture the scene You don't have to be a millionaire to enjoy a honeymoon on a private island. Cat Ba Island itself is a very public place, increasingly populated by tour groups and backpackers making their way over on the daily one-hour fast ferries from Haiphong, but the island is the base for exploring the thousands of deserted islands around it. So many in fact that it's quite easy to pick one out and have it all to yourself at least until sunset when it's time to... https://www.scmp.com/article/641264/affordable-heaven?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/641264/affordable-heaven?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Cayo Espanto, Belize Picture the scene About 5km from the coast of San Pedro in Belize, this 1.6-hectare island has tropical vegetation and wildlife, white beaches and a stunning blue sea. The island features six exclusive villas, each with a private dock and overlooking the western Caribbean. Some feature alfresco showers and all but one has a private plunge pool. The newest of the six is an over-water bungalow on the end of a 150-metre dock guaranteed to ensure the ultimate in privacy - as... https://www.scmp.com/article/641266/private-utopia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/641266/private-utopia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Every day six women in Hong Kong discover they have breast cancer. For around 60 per cent of these women, the cancer will have already progressed to stage two or three - stages which require more invasive surgery and treatment. In 2005 there were 2,307 cases diagnosed and 460 deaths from breast cancer in Hong Kong, making it the No1 cancer killer among women. Joanna Choi Leung Yuen-mei, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, said the real tragedy was that many of the deaths... https://www.scmp.com/article/617169/battle-continues-against-no1-killer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/617169/battle-continues-against-no1-killer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:00:00 +0000