[Top news for Aug 1, 2025] Mong Kok fire, new HA CEO, new US tariffs
RTHK’s main evening news podcast that brings you the top stories from Hong Kong and around the world.
Tune in every weekday.
Follow RTHK English News on the following platforms:
Website: https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rthk_enews/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTHKEnglishNews
X: https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/
0:00 Intro
0:58 Mong Kok flat fire kills three, including boy
3:29 New CEO Lee seeks culture fix for fatigue at hospitals
5:49 Govt doubles subsidised drug list for chronic diseases
7:45 National Games 100-day countdown begins
10:43 HK police arrest man over media fire threats
11:29 ‘HK can play key role in burgeoning space economy’
13:38 HKEX taps ex-Alibaba chief for mainland push
14:48 HK stocks end week down amid tariff worries
15:10 Steep tariffs slapped on Canada, Brazil and India
17:48 Trump envoy to inspect Gaza aid
19:14 Myanmar junta ends state of emergency
22:05 Trump to build US$200m ballroom at White House
23:06 Trump calls Powell ‘stupid’ after rates unchanged
23:48 ‘These are dark days’: Biden slams Trump administration
24:46 Russian strikes kill 12, injures scores more in Ukraine
26:15 Sports update: swimming, badminton, football, F1, cycling
#hongkong #drugs #nationalgames #spaceeconomy #hkex #stocks #economy #us #gaza #myanmar #whitehouse #powell #joebiden #russia #ukraine #swimming #badminton #football #f1 #cycling
[Music] It’s Friday, August the 1st. You’re listening to Newsrap with me, Aaron Tam. And I’m Ben Chay. In tonight’s program, residents of the Monk building where three people died in a blaze say they did not hear any fire alarm. The firefighters had already arrived and they knew I was inside my home. They instructed me to go back inside because they had work to do like breaking down doors. The new head of the hospital authority says she hopes to build a culture where staff are not afraid to speak up. 69 trading partners of the United States are informed of new tariffs. And in sport, Hong Kong China swimmer Ian Ho reaches the semifinals of the men’s 50 meters freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships. That’s all coming up next on Newsrap. [Music] Several residents of a monk building where a blaze late last night killed three people have said the fire alarm failed to go off. Firefighters went to Kin Wong mansion on Sai Street around 11 p.m. after receiving reports of the blaze. They found a six-year-old boy and a 53year-old man in the bathroom and an 80year-old man in the kitchen. All were unconscious and were certified dead in Kangwa Hospital. Haley Yip has this report. A woman who lives in the unit opposite the one where the fire started said she heard no alarm. Although fire drills were routinely carried out in the building, she was alerted to the fire when smoke entered her flat through the entrance. Trapped with her daughter and their dog by heavy smoke, she was advised by firefighters to stay inside the flat. The firefighters had already arrived and they knew I was inside my home. They instructed me to go back inside because they had work to do, like breaking down doors. I believe that since they knew I was at home, then I was safe. From what I saw, there wasn’t too much smoke coming into my home, so I just kept out of the way. Another resident, Mr. Quac also said the alarm did not go off and that he only realized the gravity of the situation when smoke filled his flat. He credited the authorities swift response with preventing an even worse tragedy, noting the situation could have escalated rapidly. Our air conditioner was emitting a lot of smoke. My daughter asked, “Dad, why is this happening?” I said, “Did the air conditioner catch fire?” I immediately turned off the air conditioner and unplugged it. Then I went to the kitchen to see why it was so smoky. I opened the window to look and saw a lot of smoke. I quickly went downstairs. When I got downstairs, I realized that many people from the building had already come out. Lots of them were saying, “Why is this happening? We actually know the elderly people from the unit, it became a situation where once the fire had started, no one would let us go back up.” Mr. Chan, who lives above the unit that caught fire, said billowing smoke forced his family to evacuate. There was a lot of smoke and it all came up. The firefighters came to break down doors to see which unit it was and to see if there was anyone who was unconscious. With so much smoke here, we definitely needed to evacuate. The firefighters told us to go downstairs and wait. Firefighters and government laboratory personnel returned to the building several hours later to continue their investigation. The new chief executive of the hospital authority says she hopes to build a new culture in which staff are not afraid to speak up. Dr. Libby Lee also aims to tailor medical services from a patients perspective to boost efficiency and effectiveness. Sophie Hoy reports. Speaking on her first day as chief executive of the hospital authority or HA, Dr. Libby said the old ways of delivering hospital services have led to what she termed fatigue. Therefore, she added, “In the past few years, they have caused fatigue over waiting times or even medical incidents. With a manpower shortage at hospitals easing, there is room to review whether waiting times can be slashed,” she said. Dr. Lee pointed out that patients seeking specialist services, face cues for consultations, follow-up appointments, medication collections, and further checkups. Apart from listening to what they think about AJ uh what they thinks the improvement should be I guess when we design our service model design our facilities we need to think at the angle of the patients from the perspective of patients how they can actually get the service more efficiently and then improve their satisfaction. So this is the way that we should improve our communication with the patients through the patient groups perhaps and also throughout the day in dayout interaction with the patients. Dr. also expressed the hope that staff will not be afraid to speak up if they have suggestions or new ideas. If you’re eager to speak up, that means you feel safe. And how do you feel safe in an environment for you to speak up? I would say, you know, it’s a fostering of a culture that are inclusive. No matter what you think, if you have a reasonings and you have some ideas, you are not afraid to express it. And this is kind of speed up culture. And this is really I want to create you know the culture within our colleagues or even with the patients. She described staff as the cornerstone and foundation of the hospital authority saying their quality and attitude will affect patients care in coming up with policies and service models for the future. She hopes the authority will take more advice from frontline workers. Dr. Lee, a former under secretary for health returned to the hospital authority after more than three years when her predecessor Dr. Tony Co stepped down after six years as chief executive. The government says it has nearly doubled the number of drugs it subsidizes under a pilot scheme. As Khloe Fun reports, this means more medicine can be used by participating doctors to cater to patients needs. The announcement follows a health bureau review of the demands of patients under the chronic disease co-care pilot scheme that was launched almost two years ago. In a statement, the bureau said the coverage of his subsidized basic tier drug list had been expanded from 59 to 114 items. The drugs are commonly used for treating chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. Newly added drugs include anti-depressants and medicines for managing chronic hepatitis B, osteoporosis, thyroid disorder, as well as medication to relieve asthma, gout, nausea, and dizziness. Under the scheme, patients prescribed with drugs on the list will not need to pay. The medications will form the foundation of the future community drug formulary, which would be key in supporting the operation of the community pharmacy scheme. The pilot scheme, which is part of measures to improve Hong Kong’s primary medical care, provides subsidized screening services to residents aged 45 or above to detect if they have the so-called three highs, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. Participating patients who are diagnosed with any of those conditions will receive subsidized treatment and medication. So far, some 140,000 participants have enrolled in the scheme with over 85,000 of them already completing their screenings. About 34,000 have been diagnosed with long-term diseases related to the three highs. Celebrations will be held across the city tomorrow to mark the 100-day countdown to the national games, which Hong Kong will co-host with GuangDong and Macau. Hong Kong will stage eight competition events and one mass participation event. Speaking on RTHK’s back program, the head of the games coordination office, Yang Takung, said he’s confident the events will be a major success. He told the program host, Rainbow Lang, that preparations are now in full swing. The national games is a very big event and this time Hong Kong, Wangdong and Macau will be co-organizing the game and uh we start organizing uh the games uh so uh say almost two years back. Wow. So during the past two years we have a lot of uh naison and coordination with our counterparts in Guangong and Macau. So um our organization work uh are in the final stage. So so far um well we are we are very confident that we we can put up the a good event in Hong Kong. So a lot of logistics and uh including not only the competition uh uh events themselves uh we also organize you know the transport uh hotel accommodation catering and uh many other things. So uh it’s a lot of work but I I’m we are we are confident that it will be a great event for people of Hong Kong and also for the whole of uh China. you know, it’s it’s the first time that Hong Kong is co-hosting this um together with GuangDong um and Macau. So, so like you mentioned, it’s absolutely vital that for example, transportation between the regions is seamless, right? Um so that for example, spectators who need to get home can get home and aren’t stranded, you know, athletes can get here on time. So are you able to tell us anything about the for example the transportation arrangements and whether for example the operating hours will be extended by transport providers and at border crossings. Are you able to give us shed a bit of light on on that aspect? Sure. Well uh for the uh the events will be held in Hong Kong. It will be held at uh in Kitech Sports Park Hong Kong Willow Drum Coliseum. Uh this venues well actually we organized a lot of sports events in this venues uh you know in in the past in the past years. So uh the transportation and other logistics are very mature. We have good uh infrastructure to support events uh in these facilities and during the games we will organize extra uh transportations uh with the public transport companies uh to make sure that the spectators can uh can go to watch the events uh smoothly and uh and also we organize uh special uh shuttle bus for the athletes and also for the coaches and uh and and the dedications. So uh all these uh transportation are being organized and you also mentioned the course boundary traffic as well and uh for the delegate for the uh delegations coming from the mainland uh they will come through special uh arrangements. National security police have arrested a 43year-old man suspected of sedition and criminal intimidation. Officers say several media organizations were sent letters warning their offices would be set on fire if they did not publish reports mentioning a website raising funds for people wanted for national security offenses. Superintendent Chiao Hawk Yin says the website also called for foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials. During the investigation, we discovered that the website was hosted by an overseas service provider. Police officers carried out further investigation based on the website’s content and arrested the person suspected of building the website. A report has found that Hong Kong can foster collaboration between different sectors to develop the space economy. The report was released by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and City University. The dean of the university’s liberal arts and social sciences college, Alfred Hoe, told Natasha Hoe that the growth of the space economy is increasingly being driven by commercial interests. First of all, in the traditional sense, the old space economy was about the use of space technologies to help government purposes or military purposes. But in the newbased economy which is a little bit different is driven mainly by commercial interest and with of government help and cross- sectoral partnership and so we see that it is a great possibility for Hong Kong because it is a capitalist market driven economy so it has great potential for Hong Kong to think about how it could lead in the new space economy. From what I understand the report was earlier released in January and is now being updated. May I ask what the new findings are? So mainly we find that more countries are involved in the space economy and also there have been more investment by other jurisdiction led by the US of course and also European Union but also now in many newly rising economies including the Middle East. So again Hong Kong could play a major role bridging different country groups and also economies to participate in the new space economy. So what are some of Hong Kong’s advantages in developing a space economy and how far are the development of space economy here in Hong Kong currently? Well, first of all, we actually have researchers in different universities who are doing cutting edge research related to space related to different technologies. Uh also we have a lot of talents coming down from mainland but also in different parts of the world coming to Hong Kong and also we are a financial center so we could actually have capital to support some of the activities and also we have very good legal system. We also have a lot of international exchange history collaboration opportunities. So with that I think Hong Kong could lead and also coordinate many forces and interest to participate in the new space economy. Hong Kong exchanges and clearing has appointed Jang Yong the former chairman and chief executive of the Alibaba group to its mainland China advisory group. Khloe Fun reports. Mr. Dang joined First Dread Capital as managing partner in March last year to work with founder Leo Shiaoan to explore a new future for merger and acquisition funds. according to a post from the firm on his official WeChat account. Prior to that, he worked at Alibaba for 16 years, rising to the CEO and chairman positions before announcing in June 2023 that he would step down from those roles to focus on the company’s cloud business. However, in September of that year, he resigned in a surprise move. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing which operates the local stock market set with the addition of Mr. Jang the advisory group now comprises nine members. The group is chaired by Jang Yen, a nonexecutive director of and the chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and chairman and the chief executive officer of Citic Capital Holdings. Turning to business news, Hong Kong stocks extended their declines today with investors worried about global trade following new US tariffs. The Hangen index fell 1.1% to close at 24,57 points. For the week, the index plummeted 3.5%, the first weekly loss in a month and dropping by the most since early April. US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new tariff rates for 69 trading partners as his self-imposed deadline for trade deals expired today. Most countries and regions will be paying duties ranging from 10 to 40% while the tariff for neighboring Canada was increased to 35%. Azam Khan reports the waiting game is over for US trading partners who have not signed deals with the United States. They have now been informed how much tariffs will be charged on their exports to the US. The new duties will take effect in a week for most exporters as US President Donald Trump seeks to boost domestic manufacturing by making foreign imports more expensive. His policy shook world markets and raised the spectre of inflation and recession in the world’s biggest economy. There were mixed reactions from Washington’s trading partners. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed disappointment that goods his country sends to the US face a 35% tariff up from 25%. Washington justified the increase claiming that Canada failed to stop the smuggling of fentinel to the US. By contrast, Cambodia was delighted and grateful. It originally faced a 49% levy, but it was slashed to 19%. Deputy Prime Minister Sanchan thanked Mr. Trump for helping to end the border war with Thailand and said the new rate will help save his country’s garment and footwear sectors and enable nonpen to attract foreign investments and tourists. We continue to look to find a way to grow our economy. We going to find a way to attract more tourists to visit Cambodia. That’s important. So very sector that need to be improved. I’m optimistic if peace prevail at the border, Cambodia will receive a lot more investment into the country. Thailand’s tariff rate was also set at 19% down from 36%. Australia is among the few trading partners slapped with the lowest rate of 10% on its exports to the US. Canbor said that was a result of its cool and calm negotiations, but trade minister Don Farrell is looking ahead. We believe in free and fair trade. Um, and we will continue to put the argument to the United States uh that uh that they should remove all tariffs on Australian products in accordance with our free trade uh agreement and we will continue to prosecute that argument. New Zealand said it will try to get a reduction in the 15% levy for its exports, while Switzerland expressed regret that it now faces a higher duty of 39%. An American doctor in Gaza has invited US special envoy Steve Witkoff to visit his hospital to see for himself the extent of the starvation in the Palestinian enclave. Pediatrician Tom Adameovich told Britain Sky News that children are passing out from severe malnutrition. Mr. The Witoff is scheduled to check on food distribution in Gaza. Palestinian officials, meanwhile, say two more babies have died from hunger. As more countries announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state, former senior Israeli security officials have protested in Tel Aviv. They called on Israel to end the war in Gaza so that captives held by Hamas will be freed. Haim Tor used to be a unit head at the Mossad intelligence service. of state is a kind of a stick that countries like Canada and England and Germany to today are taking taking off taking on in order to hint to the Israeli government that there is a price for this matter and I’m not that afraid from this uh declaration. I’m afraid of what would happen after the declaration, what the western countries of Europe would do towards Israel in many many aspects if Israel would go on with this stupid uh uh fighting in Gaza. My military has nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election, but with the Honta chief remaining in charge as acting president. The honta also ended a state of emergency which it declared in 2021 when it deposed the civilian government led by sonsuchi sparking a civil war. Jamie Clark reports. Myanmar’s leader said on Thursday that voting in the country’s general election will be conducted in both December and January. He said that was due to security concerns. Min Lang, the armed forces chief who leads Myanmar, made the remarks at his meeting of the country’s defense and security chiefs. To prepare the election process, the National Security Council forms necessary institutes, judiciary, rule, and regulation among administration. State media announced that a caretaker administration had been formed alongside a special commission to oversee the election. The move signals no change to the status quo in Myanmar with Minong Lang holding on to all major levels of power as acting president while retaining his position as chief of the armed forces. A government spokesperson said a nationwide state of emergency in place since the coup, which was due to expire on Thursday after seven extensions, has now been lifted. The foreign ministry in Beijing on Thursday said it supports Myanmar’s development path in line with its national conditions and Myanmar’s steady advancement of its domestic political agenda. United Nations Deputy spokesperson Farhan Hack told reporters on Thursday that the UN remains concerned by ongoing violence in Myamar. He said any pathway out of the deteriorating situation requires an end to the violence and unimpeded access of relief workers and supplies to meet the enormous humanitarian needs. The Secretary General reiterates his concern over the military’s plan to hold elections amid ongoing conflict and human rights violations and without conditions including safety and security that would permit the people of Myanmar to freely and peacefully exercise their political rights. The extent of the civil war’s impact on the planned election remains unclear. In an effort to create voter roles, the Juna held a nationwide census last year, but was only able to conduct it in 145 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships, reflecting its lack of control over the swaves of the country. At the meeting of defense officials, state TV reported Minong Lang said voting would be held in different areas across the two months. Martial law and a state of emergency would be imposed in more than 60 townships across nine regions and states due to the threat of violence and insurgency. The report said many of those would be in border areas where the military is facing unprecedented resistance from rebel groups. US President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a ballroom at the White House to accomate accommodate 650 people. It will cost $200 million US. Here’s White House press secretary Caroline Levit defending the project. The White House is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the world. Yet, the White House is currently unable to host major functions, honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance. The White House State Ballroom will be a muchneeded and exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet of innately designed and carefully crafted space with a seated capacity of 650 people which is a significant increase from the 200 person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House. Mr. Trump’s earlier alterations included include the paving over the rose gardening and adding a gold leaf in the Oval Office. Mr. Trump has again lashed out at US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after the central bank continued to hold rates steady. The president said Mr. Powell was quote too stupid to chair the Fed and says he regrets appointing him during his first presidential term. He’s a terrible Federal Reserve chairman. It was a mistake. I put him in and then Biden extended him and Biden only extended him because he knew I couldn’t stand him. And that turned out to be not a good thing for Biden. Although he did lower interest rates just prior to the election. Didn’t work out too well for them, but he did lower them pretty substantially just prior to the election. No, he’s a political hack. Not very good. Not a He’s not He’s not a smart guy. Former US President Joe Biden has denounced his successor Donald Trump, saying the United States is facing dark days. Addressing a National Bar Association event, Mr. Biden said even some law firms and newspapers were bending to what he called bullies. We see the apparent glee some of our politicians express. That’s while watching immigrants who are in this country legally torn from the arms of their families, dragged away and handcuffed from the only home they’ve ever known. My friends, we need to face the hard truths of this administration. It has been to ease all the gains we’ve made in my administration. To erase history rather than make it, to erase fairness, equality, to race justice itself. And that’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact. Officials in the Ukrainian capital say at least 12 people were killed in a Russian drone and missile attack. More than 135 others were injured in the assault on the capital Kev. Jamie Clark reports. Ukrainian rescuers retrieved a man alive from an apartment block hit in Russia’s overnight attack on Kev. As the sun rose, emergency crews were putting out fires and cutting through concrete blocks in search for survivors across the capital. Kev residents who spent the night sheltering in deep metro while explosions rocked the capital reemerged to flames and ruin. There was a second air raid alert. I got up, took my phone, and saw that five cruise missiles were headed for Kiev. I tried to wake up my wife, but then there were explosions, and that was it. Our daughter is now in the hospital. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zalinski said Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles, he said on the Telegram app. Today, the world has once again seen Russia’s response to our desire for peace. Therefore, peace without strength is impossible. Russia’s defense ministry said it targeted and hit Ukrainian military airfields and ammunition depots as well as businesses linked to what it called Ke’s military industrial complex. The time is now 26. Sports is next. [Music] Good evening. I’m Tom Melinda and we begin in the pool where Hong Kong China swimmer Ian Ho has qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s 50 m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. The 28-year-old finished fifth in his heat with a time of 21.82 seconds with Serbia’s Andre Barner winning in 21.44. Ho who missed the mark in yesterday’s 100 m freestyle will be in action again at 7:35 p.m. Bame next and there were defeats for Hong Kong China shuttlers at the Macau Open. Jason Gunnawan lost his quarterfinal match in straight set games even to Indonesia’s Alway Farhan. In the women’s doubles, Jung Ho Yan and Ly Lock Lock took the first game against their Chinese Taipei opponents but lost the next two. In football, Pat Matas Sa scored a belter from the halfway line as Tottenham Hotspur punished a shaky performance by Arsenal goalkeeper David Ry to secure a 1-nil victory in the first North London derby outside England. Carlos Esqua has more. Raya, who had already been caught in no man’s land twice as in swinging corners hit the post, was at fault again in the 45th minute when Saw robbed Miles Lewis Skelly just inside the Arsenal half. The Spurs midfielder looked up, saw Ry stranded way outside his penalty area and let fly to score from 50 yards out. Nominally, a preseason friendly, there was no love lost on the pitch between the bitter rivals. Tackles flew in and tempers frayed in a fiercely contested clash in front of a nearly 50,000 sellout crowd under the roof of the Kiteac stadium. Spurs boss Thomas Frank was happy with his players competitive spirit. Very pleasing of course um because uh I think I also been very clear this is it was not a friendly. It felt like a competitive match. I think if you saw it was competitive if you played in it was very competitive. Um but some of the bits we’ve been working hard on is the combin combination of the organ defensive organization. So high pressure, middle and low. So there’s clear principles, but also that desire to keep a clean shape because that that you know makes you have a big opportunity for for winning football matches outside the stadium. Meanwhile, fans celebrated Spurs’s victory. [Music] This fan said it was a rare treat to see an English Premier League friendly in Hong Kong. So, it’s rare to see any teams come to to Hong Kong, let alone two rival teams like um Spurs and and Arsenal. So, it’s really really special. Tottenham now fly to South Korea to face Newcastle United on Sunday, while Arsenal head home after three matches in Singapore and Hong Kong. Former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has officially been presented as Bayern Munich’s newest player. The German champions reportedly paid $87 million US to secure the services of the Colombia international for four years. Diaz, who spent three and a half years with Liverpool, says he’s looking forward to a new challenge. Very happy to be here in Munich. Such a great and historic team like Bayern. The truth is that my first impressions have been very good. The few moments I have shared with the players and the coaching staff have been very pleasant. So, the training sessions have been good. Little by little, I will settle into the team, the club, and the institution. Get to know everyone, and it has been incredible. And that’s the sport. Thanks, Tom. And a weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Mainly cloudy with a few showers. Showers will increase gradually with squaly thunderstorms tomorrow. Showers will be heavier in some areas. Temperatures will range between 27 and 31°. The outlook showers will be heavy at times with squaly thunderstorms in the following couple of days.