Hong Kong  - The number of people seeking psychiatric help in Hong Kong has risen by around one quarter since the onset of the economic crisis, a leading public doctor said Monday.

Patient numbers have risen by between 20 and 30 per cent since last October, mental health specialist Dr Lee Wing-king told government-run radio station RTHK.

Separately, a survey by the Democratic Alliance political party found that 80 per cent of people in the wealthy city of 7 million had suffered from insomnia or mood disorders because of the downturn.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong health officials said Sunday they had stepped up surveillance at border control points as more swine flu cases were reported in Mexico and the US. Airlines had been asked to broadcast health advice on all direct flights from affected areas and passengers with symptoms have been asked to report to officers on arrival, the city's Centre for Health Protection said.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong pop star Jill Vidal, given a suspended two-year jail sentence in Japan for heroin possession, arrived home to a media scrum Saturday. Around
100 reporters and photographers were at Hong Kong International Airport to see Vidal, 26, also known as Wei Si, arrive home after two months in custody.

Hong Kong - Unions in Hong Kong were calling Saturday for a minimum wage law to be drafted urgently after a survey found workers at fast-food outlet KFC earn as little as 2 US dollars an hour. Some KFC outlets in the wealthy city of 7 million pay just 16 Hong Kong dollars (2.06 US dollars) an hour while the average paid by the US chicken restaurant chain is 2.44 US dollars, the survey found.

Staff in McDonald's outlets are only slightly better paid with average pay rates of 2.61 US dollars an hour, the survey by Hong Kong unions found.

Hong Kong - Around 14,000 staff at Hong Kong airlines Cathay Pacific and Dragonair have agreed to take unpaid leave in response to a cost-cutting appeal, the sister airlines announced Friday.

The response - amounting to some 70 per cent of the two airlines' global workforce - includes 77 per cent of Cathay Pacific flight attendants and 85 per cent of ground staff, the airlines said.