Hong Kong  - A nature reserve popular with schoolchildren near Hong Kong's border with China was shut down Friday after a dead bird found there tested positive for the H5N1 avian-flu virus.

The decision to close the Mai Po reserve came after the discovery of more than 20 dead ducks, chickens and wild birds believed to have been washed ashore from neighbouring mainland China.

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Hong Kong  - Nine more dead birds have been found on beaches in Hong Kong, officials said Wednesday, as fears grew of a major unreported avian-flu outbreak in mainland China.

The dead ducks, chickens and birds found on Hong Kong's Lantau island Tuesday brought to 21 the number of birds found in the past six days. Most if not all are believed to have washed up from China.

Hong Kong - Experts were carrying out tests Tuesday on dead birds washed up on Hong Kong beaches amid fears of a huge unreported avian-flu outbreak in neighboring mainland China.

Hong Kong  - Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 per cent in Hong Kong since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said Saturday.

Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong issued a city-wide health alert Tuesday after China reported its fifth human death from the H5N1 bird flu virus so far this year.

The latest victim was an 18-year-old man from the Guangxi region who developed symptoms on January 19 and died on Monday, according to officials in China.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong scientists on Friday claimed to have created a genetically modified rice that provides protection for chickens from the bird flu virus.

The rice contains genetic material from the traditional Chinese medicine plant called yuzhu which has been found to inhibit the growth of viruses such as the deadly H5N1.

Hong Kong  - The body of a baby boy was accidentally thrown out with clinical waste by mortuary staff at a Hong Kong hospital and is probably lost in a landfill site, officials admitted Monday.

The announcement by the city's Hospital Authority came after a week-long investigation into the loss of the infant, who died after being delivered prematurely at Hong Kong Eastern Hospital.

Hong Kong - Mortuary workers at a Hong Kong public hospital were sharply criticized by a top health official Wednesday for failing to report the loss of a dead baby boy for three days.

Under Secretary for Health Gabriel Leung said it was not acceptable that police and hospital authorities were informed on Monday about the disappearance of the baby who was lost last Friday.

Hong Kong - More than 1 million people are considering leaving Hong Kong because of its worsening air quality, according to a university study published Tuesday.

The potential exodus from the city of 6.9 million would be far greater than the numbers who considered leaving in the run-up to Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule in 1997, pressure group Civic Exchange warned.