About 200 archaeological Song-Yuan period finds unearthed at Kai Tak will go on display in an exhibition at the Heritage Discovery Centre from tomorrow until February 26.

Following the closure of Kai Tak Airport in 1998, the planning work for the Kai Tak Development Area created opportunities for archaeological studies around the former Sacred Hill in Kowloon Bay.

An abundance of Song-Yuan period cultural remains were subsequently unearthed, including a huge amount of ceramics produced by various kilns in Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi.

Similar products from the same period were exported widely and could be found in shipwrecks along the maritime ceramics route.

Highlights of the Treasures from the Sacred Hill: Song-Yuan Period Archaeological Discoveries from Kai Tak exhibition include green glazed incense burners with an eight trigrams pattern and a green glazed dish with a moulded double fish pattern produced by Longquan Kiln.

Other highlights include a brown glazed dragon jar with lugs and a green glazed basin with a phoenix pattern produced by Cizao Kiln and a Daguan Tongbao bronze coin.

Ceramics from the same period on loan from the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong will also be displayed.

Curated by the Antiquities & Monuments Office, admission to the exhibition is free.

Call 2208 4400 for details.

The Space Museum is staging a special exhibition 2020 Astronomical Events to highlight six major astronomical events happening this year.

The events include grouping of the four planets with the moon in late March, the serial phenomena of Jupiter's moons on June 11 and 12, and the partial solar eclipse on June 21.

Information on the Perseid meteor shower in mid-August, the Geminid meteor shower in mid-December and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on December 21 will also be featured.

The exhibit explains details and phenomena of these events, while serving as a practical guide to help visitors pick the best dates, times, locations and tools to observe them.

It will run until September 21 in two phases. The first three events will be presented during the first phase from January to June, while the second phase events will be shown from June to September.

Admission is free.

Call 2721 0226 for enquiries.

Carla Mooney lands role in spy thriller ‘Kickback’ opposite John Cusack, Stuart Townsend nabs multi-episode part in US TV show ‘Elementary’ and Jason Barry and Brian Robinson both to star in new feature ‘Murphy’ from Caspian Pictures.

More than 40,000 new niches at two columbaria in Tuen Mun and Fanling will open for applications from May 11, the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department announced today.

Tsang Tsui Columbarium in Tuen Mun will provide 22,680 standard niches and 220 large niches, while Wo Hop Shek Columbarium in Fanling will provide 21,720 standard niches and 330 large niches for application.

The department said applicants should only file one application form to apply for either a large or standard niche for the same deceased person.

It said applicants have to fill in the particulars of at least three deceased people when applying for a large niche.

Since the type and number of niches available in the two columbaria are different, the chance of successful allocation varies, the department added.

The application deadline is June 10.

Click here for details.

The projected private flat supply for the next three to four years is 95,000 units, 2,000 more than the previous estimate.

The Transport & Housing Bureau today said there were 10,000 unsold units in completed projects at the end of March.

There were 60,000 units under construction, excluding those pre-sold by developers, and 25,000 units from disposed sites where construction can start any time.

The number of flats under construction in the first quarter was 900, while the number of units completed for the period was 4,200.

Click here for details.

The parking fees of 12 government public car parks will be frozen at their existing levels for one year from June 1, the Transport Department announced today.

In reviewing the parking fees, the department said it considered the inflation rate, private car park charges and usage of the government car parks.

Having considered the impact on the economy brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the impact on usage of the car parks, the department decided to maintain the parking fees at existing levels.

The 12 car parks are Kennedy Town Car Park, Rumsey Street Car Park, Star Ferry Car Park, City Hall Car Park, Tin Hau Car Park, Shau Kei Wan Car Park, Aberdeen Car Park, Yau Ma Tei Car Park, Sheung Fung Street Car Park, Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Terminus Car Park, Kwai Fong Car Park and Tsuen Wan Car Park.

Click here for details.

The Education Bureau today issued a circular memorandum to tutorial schools, inviting them to apply for a relief grant under the Anti-epidemic Fund.

The bureau said a total of about $120 million has been allocated from the fund to provide a one-off relief grant of $40,000 to each eligible tutorial school.

These tutorial schools must be registered under the Education Ordinance, have been operating in the three months before the class suspension - November, December and January - and be in operation on the application date.

Designated centres under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses, which offer evening secondary school courses for adult learners, are also eligible for the grant.

The measure is expected to benefit about 3,000 tutorial schools, and the relief grant will be disbursed about four weeks upon receipt of an application.

Additionally, the fund will also provide relief grants to school-related service providers who have been affected by the prolonged class suspension, incurring an expenditure of about $419 million.

Beneficiaries will include operators of catering outlets at primary schools, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions and lunchbox providers of primary and secondary schools.

School bus drivers, school private light bus drivers and escorts, or nannies, as well as instructors, coaches, trainers and operators of interest classes engaged by schools, will also benefit from the relief grants.

The bureau will distribute application forms for the relief grant through post-secondary institutions to the catering outlets operating on their campuses within this week. The application details for other relief grants will be announced as soon as possible.

Separately, the bureau announced earlier that it would provide a one-off relief grant of $80,000 to each private school offering full and formal curriculum.

The grant has been disbursed progressively to schools under the English Schools Foundation, international schools, private independent schools, and other private secondary day schools and private primary schools.

To reduce social contact in light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Primary One Central Allocation results will be posted to parents.

Announcing the move today, the Education Bureau said it will deliver door-to-door the Primary One Registration Form with Central Allocation results to parents from June 3 to 4 through Hongkong Post’s Local CourierPost service.

If no one is present to receive the item at the time of delivery, a mail collection notification card will be left for parents to collect it from the designated post office from the afternoon of the following working day.

If parents have not received the Primary One Registration Form or the notification card by June 5, they can collect the registration form at the designated Collection Centre from June 6 to 7.

The Education Bureau will send letters to parents tomorrow to notify them of the arrangements.

Parents can get updates on the latest arrangements for the release of Central Allocation results and registration through the bureau’s press releases and messages posted on its website.

Call 2891 0088 for information on Primary One admission. For further enquiries, contact the bureau's School Places Allocation Section (Primary One Admission) on 2832 7700 or 2832 7740.

The deadline for applications under the first round of funding from the Elder Academy Development Foundation in 2020 has been extended to June 30, the Labour & Welfare Bureau announced today.

The decision aims to provide sufficient time for primary and secondary school sponsoring bodies, post-secondary institutions and organisations, which may be affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, to prepare their submissions.

The fund’s committee accepts funding applications all year round and conducts vetting and disburses funding twice a year. The deadlines were generally May 31 and October 31 respectively.

The committee will continue to monitor the situation and announce arrangements for the next round in due course.

To tie in with the Elder Academy Scheme, the fund mainly provides funding for primary and secondary schools as well as post-secondary institutions to set up academies to provide learning opportunities in a school setting for the elderly.

Funding is also provided for activities that encourage elderly learning and inter-generational harmony.

Call 3655 5861 or 3655 5007 for enquiries.

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The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department announced that applications for the Catering Business (Social Distancing) Subsidy Scheme, under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, will start from May 5.

The department said the scheme, which is estimated to benefit 16,000 catering outlets and their employees, will provide financial relief measures to the catering businesses which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic and social distancing measures.

It will provide subsidies ranging from $250,000 to $2,200,000 to eligible licence holders of general restaurants, light refreshment restaurants, marine restaurants and factory canteens in operation according to the floor area of the premises as specified on the licence.

The primary goal of the scheme is to support the payment of employees' salaries during a six-month period following application approval.

To provide immediate relief to the catering sector, the subsidy will be dished out upfront, in two tranches.

To avoid abuse, applicants should undertake that there will be no redundancy of staff for three months on receipt of the first tranche of subsidy and another three months on receipt of the second tranche.

They should also undertake that not less than 80% of the subsidies for respective months would be used to pay salaries of staff working at the premises.

Applicants should submit within a specified period a certificate issued by a Certified Public Accountant (practising) on its total staff salaries and total number of salaried staff for each of the months covered by the subsidy.

They should also submit a certificate issued by a CPA on its total staff salaries and total number of staff working at the premises for the month of March this year.

To avoid double benefits, applicants should declare that they have not and will not submit any application under the Employment Support Scheme.

Each catering outlet directed to close its licensed premises under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Requirements & Directions) (Business & Premises) Regulation, including karaoke establishments, nightclubs and bars or pubs, is eligible for a further one-off subsidy of $50,000.

Applications should be submitted to the department's District Environmental Hygiene Offices in person or by mail. Food licence holders can also submit their applications through the website.

The deadline for application is June 5.

Upon receipt of the completed application form and supporting documents and after verification, the disbursement of the first tranche of subsidies can generally be made in two to three weeks by crossed cheques to the corresponding licensed food premises.

The Government will launch the Subsidy Scheme for Beauty Parlours, Massage Establishments & Party Rooms under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund on May 11.

A sum of $1.1 billion has been earmarked for the scheme, which is expected to benefit 12,400 beauty parlours and massage establishments as well as 500 party rooms.

The subsidy is expected to be disbursed from late this month.

Under the scheme, each eligible beauty parlour or massage establishment will receive a one-off tiered subsidy of $30,000, $60,000 or $100,000, depending on its number of workers.

Each eligible party room will receive a one-off subsidy of $40,000.

Applications will only be accepted online. The application deadline is May 17.

The scheme also covers premises which are operated by social enterprises.

For premises with business registration, social enterprise operators should file their applications through the online application system.

Those without business registration should directly approach the Hong Kong Council of Social Service at 2864 2993 or by email to obtain its certification and submit their applications.

Call 1836 188 or send an email for enquiries.

The Immigration Department announced today that the operation of all nine Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres will be fully resumed on May 11 in light of the more stabilised epidemic situation.

The department earlier suspended the replacement of Hong Kong identity cards at the centres to avoid the increased risk of spreading COVID-19.

To arrange for people affected by the service suspension to replace their identity cards in an orderly manner, the Secretary for Security has made an amendment order to revise the replacement period for people born in 1957 to 1963 and 1970 to 1976 and the arrangement for members of the sixth term of District Councils.

Click here for the arrangements.

If the replacement of identity cards needs to be suspended again in the future to cope with a sudden turn of the epidemic situation, the amendment order also provides that if all the centres are not in service for a period of 21 working days or more from May 11 to July 27 for public health reasons, the specified period for the above people will be further extended or amended.

The amendment order will be tabled at the Legislative Council on May 13 for negative vetting.

To reduce crowd gatherings, applicants who have not made appointments previously should do so via the Internet, the department’s mobile application or the 24-hour hotline at 2121 1234.

The department also appealed to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making appointments through the Internet or mobile application.

For details click here or call 2824 6111.

17 individuals in the mathematical sciences are among the 126 new members and foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2020.

Members: Ivet Bahar, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Abhijit Banerjee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Gerard Ben Arous, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University; Bonnie Berger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Laura G. DeMarco, Northwestern University; Ronald Fagin, IBM Almaden Research Center; Katherine Freese, The University of Texas at Austin; Dennis Gaitsgory, Harvard University; Robert L. Griess, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Jacob Lurie, Institute for Advanced Study; Terence T. Hwa, University of California, San Diego; Wilfried Schmid, Harvard University; Jeffrey D. Ullman, Stanford University; Lai-Sang Young, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University; and Ofer Zeitouni, Weizmann Institute of Science; Foreign Associates: Yoav Benjamini, Tel Aviv University (Israel) and Jürg Fröhlich, ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Berger, DeMarco, Griess, Schmid, and Zeitouni are members of the AMS and Fellows of the AMS. Fagin is a member of the AMS.

The NAS recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and—along with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine—provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. See the full list of this year's honorees. (Image courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences.)

(Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Thanks to its magnetic properties, the material -- zinc-doped manganese chromite -- can be used in a range of products, from gas sensors to data storage devices.

(Dartmouth College) Annual award supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences.

(DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)) A drug-loaded microrobotic needle effectively targets and remains attached to cancerous tissue in lab experiments without needing continuous application of a magnetic field, allowing more precise drug delivery. The details were published by researchers at DGIST's Microrobot Research Center in Korea and colleagues in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

(Lancaster University) Lancaster University's Dr Samuli Autti has been awarded a Young Scientist Prize 2020 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The prestigious prize, awarded only once every three years, was made by the Low Temperature Commission of the IUPAP.

The Centre for Health Protection announced that as of 4pm today, no new COVID-19 cases have been recorded, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 1,040 so far.

The centre again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people in their daily lives to minimise the risk of infection.

People should go out less and avoid social activities such as having meals out or other gatherings to minimise the risk of coronavirus clusters emerging in the community.

As the COVID-19 situation remains severe and the number of cases reported around the world continues to rise, people are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong as well as maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times.

Additionally, the Hospital Authority reported that there are currently 142 patients under isolation and that 920 patients have been discharged upon recovery.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

The Centre for Health Protection announced that as of 4pm today, no new COVID-19 cases have been recorded, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 1,040 so far.

The centre again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people to minimise the risk of infection.

People should go out less and avoid social activities such as having meals out or other gatherings to minimise the risk of coronavirus clusters emerging in the community.

As the COVID-19 situation remains severe and the number of cases reported around the world continues to rise, people are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong as well as maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times.

Additionally, the Hospital Authority reported that there are currently 127 patients under isolation and that 932 patients have been discharged upon recovery.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.