Hong Kong  - Hong Kong fire and safety experts began a one-month joint operation checking karaoke bars Monday following a fire which killed four people earlier this month.

The operation will check fire safety provisions at all karaoke bars located in old buildings shared with other businesses and residential units.

It follows a fire in a 15-storey building in the Mongkok district just over one week ago in which two firemen and two other people lost their lives.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong's population grew by 0.9 per cent in the past year, taking the former British colony closer to the 7 million mark, government statistics revealed Friday.

The Census and Statistics Department said provisional figures showed the population increased by 59,300 in the 12 months that ended in June, bringing it to 6,985,200.

The increase comes as a result of births and the inflow of people with one-way permits from mainland China.

Hong Kong - A Hong Kong teenager climbed from the window of this 25th-floor flat and scrambled down the drainpipe into the kitchen of neighbour below, police said Wednesday.

Emergency crews were called Tuesday afternoon after the 15-year-old was caught by the neighbour as he climbed through her window on the floor below.

Police said the teenager, who suffered from hyperactivity, was in the care of his brother when he made his spiderman exit. His brother was not aware he had left until he was informed by police.

The case is the second in recent weeks in which children have climbed out of high-rise buildings in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong - The number of people who believe Hong Kong's leader is doing a good job has fallen to an all-time low, a survey published Wednesday claims.

The survey of more than 1,000 people claimed only 32 per cent were happy with Chief Executive Donald Tsang's performance - the lowest level since the regular survey was first carried out in 2002.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific Tuesday announced it is cutting 10 flights a week to North America to offset soaring fuel costs.

The airline, which last week posted its first loss in five years, is cutting one of its daily flights to Los Angeles and reducing the number of weekly flights to Vancouver from 17 to 14 from next month.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong's image as a city of shopaholics is justified, according to a survey Tuesday which found many residents are compulsive spenders, with some holding up to 15 credit cards each.

The study by the University of Hong Kong concluded that 6.7 per cent of people in the wealthy high-rise city could be classified as compulsive shoppers and found 90 per cent of them had unpaid debts.