Kwong Wah Hospital says it has launched an investigation after a patient was found unconscious and with no heartbeat after his ventilator tube came loose. The patient is currently in a critical condition, as Kelly Yu reports:

The Hospital Authority says it is working to prevent overcrowding at public hospitals over the Lunar New Year holiday. At a press briefing, the authority’s chief manager, Dr Larry Lee, said registration fee refunds would be given to those people with minor ailments who choose to leave Accident & Emergency Departments to avoid long queues. He also told Anne Chan that geriatric specialists would be on duty to help elderly people attending A&E wards during the holiday period:

The Immigration Department is projecting arrivals and departures during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to hit 7.5 million, with about 80 percent of the people expected to go through various mainland border checkpoints. The announcement was made as the department summed up its work in 2023. Damon Pang reports:

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam says he disagrees with claims that Hong Kong will be "mainlandised" after the implementation of national security laws under Article 23 of the Basic Law. He says this is because Hong Kong maintains its autonomy under the One Country, Two Systems principle. Wendy Wong reports:

A professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Science and Technology has called on the authorities to develop the economy through a greater use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. Li Mo said there should be a legal framework to support the development of so-called "low-altitude economy", or LAE. He spoke to Anne Chan:

A sports expert has described the behaviour in Hong Kong of football star Lionel Messi as unusual and out of character. The remarks came after the Argentinian star took to the field in his squad's friendly in Japan on Wednesday, three days after he remained on the bench for the entire exhibition match in Hong Kong over the weekend. As Kelly Yu reports, mainland media alleged that foreign forces were behind his no-show in the SAR:

Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says it expects retail sales in Hong Kong to reach HK$428 billion this year, up five percent from just over HK$400 billion last year. At a press conference, the firm's consumer markets leader, Michael Cheung, noted that while the consumer market could still be under pressure in the first half of the year, growth momentum could pick up in the second half. This may be due to expected improvements in the global economy, potential interest rate cuts, as well as an easing trend of Hongkongers heading north for shopping. He spoke with Chloe Feng:

Official data shows inflation on the mainland continued to slow for a fourth month in January while factory prices also dropped. Wendy Wong reports: