Hong Kong - Hong Kong lawmakers Thursday approved a tax on every plastic bag handed out by supermarkets in the city as of July in a move to cut the mountain of waste created by the bags.

The tax of 50 Hong Kong cents (6 US cents) will be levied from July 1 in a total of 2,000 shops, including every major supermarket, in the high-rise city of 7 million.

Legislators voted 35 to 3 in favour of the levy which was opposed by industry groups representing Hong Kong companies making plastic bags at factories in neighbouring southern China.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong people are now happier with China's leaders than at any time since the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule 12 years ago, according to a survey Thursday.

Fifty-eight per cent of people interviewed said they were satisfied with the Beijing government's performance, the highest level recorded in the regular polls since the 1997 handover.

Hong Kong - Wealthy pet lovers in Hong Kong are offered to leave 50,000 US dollars to their dogs and cats if they outlive their owners, a news report said Thursday.

Insurance company Sun Life Financial is advertising policies costing 1,300 US dollars a year to cover the cost of pet care if owners are struck down by illnesses such as cancer or heart attacks.

The policies are to pay for the pampered pet's care in a "pet hotel" or with nominated relatives and will pay out up to around 50,000 US dollars, according to the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong -  Hong Kong shares fell to a two-week low Wednesday amid fresh concerns over the banking sector and jitters over liquidity in the Chinese economy.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 407.44 points or 2.67 per cent to 14,878.45. Turnover was 67.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.74 billion US dollars.)

The decline followed a fall of nearly 3 per cent Tuesday and was spurred by losses posted by the Bank of America overnight and a fresh round of job cuts by HSBC in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong  - A former top minister in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau already jailed for taking tens of millions of US dollars in bribes was Wednesday sentenced to a further 28-and-a-half years.

Ao Man Long, 52, former secretary for transport and public works, is already serving a 27-year jail term after being convicted last year of taking huge bribes in return for awarding public work contracts.

Hong Kong - Nearly half of Hong Kong people believe that media in the former British colony practice self-censorship to avoid upsetting China, according to a survey Wednesday.

The Hong Kong University study found that 47 per cent of people interviewed believed that self-censorship was rife in newspapers and magazines in the city of 7 million.

Two-thirds of the more than 1,000 interviewees said they believed the media in Hong Kong misused press freedom and only 30 per cent said they believed local media reporting was responsible.