Police today (June 28) laid a holding charge against a 44-year-old woman with two counts of murder and two counts of shooting with intent.      

     The woman was arrested on June 26 in suspected connection with a murder and attempted murder case inside a park on Taikoo Wan Road on the same day in which a man and a woman died, and another man and a woman were injured.

     The case will be mentioned at Eastern Magistrates' Courts this afternoon.

     The Shilla Duty Free announced today (June 28) the official opening of its retail store chain at Hong Kong International Airport, taking an important step in the Korean travel retailer's continuous expansion plan in East Asia.
 
     Following a six-month soft launch, the Shilla Duty Free features Beauty&You concept stores at the Hong Kong International Airport that emphasise the shopping experience for customers. To further enhance the brand's commitment to deliver a comprehensive beauty shopping experience, the retail spaces feature interactive engagement zones deploying digital technologies, virtual reality and in-house-developed beauty apps, according to the Managing Director of Shilla Travel Retail Hong Kong Limited, Ms Alice Woo. With around 200 brands on offer, the Shilla Duty Free also brings a list of premium brands new to Hong Kong International Airport.
 
     Ms Woo said, "We are very pleased to announce the grand opening of the Shilla Duty Free's brand-new retail stores at one of the busiest airports in the world. Hong Kong International Airport hosts significant numbers of regional and international passengers and is an ideal location to expand our presence.
 
     "With the launch of Beauty&You, we hope to redefine the airport retail experience and customer journey with a comprehensive brand profile presented in an interactive and engaging environment. Our aim is to deliver the ultimate shopping experience to a diverse audience in one of the most robust travel markets in the world."
 
     Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion Dr Jimmy Chiang welcomed the opening of the Shilla Duty Free stores at Hong Kong International Airport. He said, "Hong Kong is a top shopping destination for international visitors and an important transportation and logistics hub. We are excited to see new beauty and fashion technologies being deployed in-store to enhance the retail experience. I look forward to the Shilla Duty Free's further expansion in Hong Kong and beyond."
 
About the Shilla Duty Free

     An affiliate company of Samsung, the Shilla Duty Free is a travel retailer offering over 1,300 world-famous brands in fashion, jewellery, cosmetics, perfumes, watches and more. In Korea, it operates four duty free outlets – two in downtown Seoul and Jeju and two at airports in Incheon and Jeju. It also has downtown duty free stores in Phuket, Thailand, and Tokyo, Japan, as well as the new shops at Hong Kong International Airport. For more information, please visit www.shilladfs.com/comm/kr/en/main or www.beautyandyou.com.hk/en.
 
About Invest Hong Kong

     Invest Hong Kong is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to attract foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services for overseas and Mainland companies enrolled as its clients. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
 
     For an event photo, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157696783709161.

  

     â€‹The Home Affairs Bureau today (June 28) announced the results of applications for the seventh-round funding exercise of the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme. A total of 13 successful applications for Project Grants will be funded to a total amount of around $24.97 million.
 
     A total of 43 applications were received for the seventh-round funding exercise. The successful applications are of high standard and with diverse representation across genres covering music, dance, theatre, visual arts, media arts, arts education, community arts and multi-disciplinary arts.
 
     The successful applicants (in alphabetical order) are as follows:
 

 
Note: The award of grants is subject to the successful applicants' signing of funding agreements with the Government.
 
     Introduced in 2011, the Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme of the Home Affairs Bureau is administered on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Arts Development. Members of the Committee take part in the assessment of applications together with the Expert Advisers. The funding scheme aims to provide funding support for innovative and impactful proposals that contribute to the objectives of capacity development, programme/content development, audience building and arts education. It also seeks to provide an avenue of support for large scale and cross-year arts and cultural initiatives/activities so as to enhance capacity development for promising arts groups and arts practitioners as well as to encourage the community and the private sector to support and sponsor the arts.

     The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Occupational stress" on July 5 (Thursday) to introduce the symptoms and health impacts of occupational stress, and explain through case illustrations some effective stress-coping strategies.
           
     The talk, to be given by the LD's occupational health nurse, will be held at 3pm in the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.

     The LD will hold another talk entitled "Occupational safety and health (OSH) for confined space workers" on July 13 (Friday). To enhance workers' OSH awareness in confined spaces, the talk will explain the related OSH hazards as well as their preventive measures.

     The talk, to be given by the LD's occupational hygienist, occupational safety officer and occupational health nurse, will be held at 3pm in the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
          
     Both talks will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free. For enquiries or registration, please call 2852 4040.

     Hong Kong and Georgia signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) today (June 28), which will not only bring to our traders and businessmen legal certainty and better market access to the Georgian market, but also enhance the trade and investment flows between the two economies.
      
     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Mr Genadi Arveladze, signed the FTA at a signing ceremony in the Belt and Road Summit that was held today in Hong Kong.
 
     "This is the first FTA between Hong Kong and a country in the Caucasus. Georgia is a close trading partner of Hong Kong in the Caucasus and an emerging market with great potential for further growth. The FTA is comprehensive in scope, encompassing trade in goods, trade in services, investment, dispute settlement mechanism and other related areas. It will provide a platform for both parties to take their bilateral economic and trade relations to a new level, while offering ample opportunities for Hong Kong businessmen to tap the Georgian market and the Caucasus covered under the Belt and Road Initiative," Mr Yau said.
 
     "The expansion of our FTA network into the Eurasia region will further strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international trade, commerce and financial hub, and a gateway between the Mainland and our overseas trading partners," he said.
 
     The following are the key features of the FTA:
 

• On trade in goods, Georgia will eliminate import tariffs on 96.6 per cent of its tariff lines for Hong Kong's originating products upon the entry into force of the FTA.
• On trade in services, the FTA opens the doors of markets for sectors where Hong Kong has traditional strengths or has potential for further development. Sectors standing to benefit include financial services, telecommunications services, various business services, wholesale and retailing services, arbitration services, audiovisual services, construction and related engineering services, environmental services, various transport services and printing and publishing services.
• On investment in non-services sectors, Georgia will accord Hong Kong investors with treatment and other safeguards that are no less favourable than those enjoyed by its local investors. This will enhance investors' confidence and facilitate two-way investment flows between Hong Kong and Georgia.
   

     The FTA also contains provisions to ensure effective protection of intellectual property rights, promote competition, and enhance protection of the environment.  The two sides have also agreed to establish a transparent mechanism for consultations and settlement of possible disputes arising under the FTA. 

     The FTA will become effective after completion of the necessary procedures. 
 
     The total merchandise trade between Hong Kong and Georgia was HK$320 million in 2017. Georgia ranked 121st among Hong Kong's worldwide trading partners for trade in goods in 2017. Reciprocally, Hong Kong ranked 26th among Georgia's trading partners for trade in goods in 2016.
 
     The full text of the FTA will be uploaded to the Trade and Industry Department's website (www.tid.gov.hk).