The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Occupational safety and health (OSH) for confined space workers" on September 17 (Monday). To enhance workers' OSH awareness in confined spaces, the talk will explain the related OSH hazards as well as measures to prevent them.
 
    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.
 
     The LD will hold another talk entitled "Manual handling operations and prevention of back injuries for workers of residential care homes" on September 26 (Wednesday). To raise OSH awareness of workers in residential care homes, the talk will include an introduction of the structure and functions of the back, causes and preventive measures of back injuries, discussions about proper manual handling operation as well as demonstration of workplace exercise.
 
    The talk, to be given by LD's occupational health nurse, will be held at 2.30pm at the lecture room of Fanling Occupational Health Clinic (7/F, Fanling Health Centre, 2 Pik Fung Road, Fanling).
 
     Both talks will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free. For enquiries or registration, please call 2852 4040.

     The Mid-Autumn Festival this year falls on September 24 (Monday) and the full moon (Note) will occur in the morning on the day following the Mid-Autumn Festival. If weather permits, a bright round moon will be observable at night during the Mid-Autumn Festival period.
 
     To assist moon watching by the public, the times of moonrise, transit, moonset and full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival period are listed in the table below. At transit, the moon passes the local meridian due south and its elevation is the highest of the night.
 

 
     For the latest weather conditions during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, please refer to the nine-day Weather Forecast issued by the Hong Kong Observatory (www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm) for the planning of moon-watching activities.
 
Note: At full moon, the Moon as seen from the Earth is completely illuminated with the Moon and the Sun located on the opposite sides of the Earth.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (September 10) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Stanley Main Beach, Shek O Beach and Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island; Clear Water Bay First Beach and Clear Water Bay Second Beach in Sai Kung District. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

     The Government announced today (September 10) the appointment of Mr Darren Straker as Chief Inspector of Accidents to head the new Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA).  His appointment will mark the formal establishment of the new AAIA, which is under the Transport and Housing Bureau and independent from the Civil Aviation Department.
 
     Mr Straker assumes office today.  He is recruited under an open recruitment exercise and he will take over the duties and statutory powers in respect of air accident investigation under the Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulation (Cap 448B) from the incumbent Chief Inspector, who is the Director-General of Civil Aviation. 
 
     The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, said, "Mr Straker is a seasoned aviation professional with extensive international experiences of air accident investigation and safety management.  I have confidence that he will be able to lead the new Authority to rise up to the challenges ahead and bring our aviation safety management to new horizons."  
 
     Mr Straker held the position of Chief Air Accident Investigator of the Air Accident Investigation Sector of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of United Arab Emirates (UAE) from early 2012 to 2017, having previously held the position of Regulations and Investigation Inspector with the GCAA from 2010.  Mr Straker is well-versed in the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in aircraft accidents and incident investigation. 
 
     Mr Straker has an extensive background as an Investigator In Charge in leading investigations in UAE, and as an Accredited Representative or Investigation Technical Adviser in investigations in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia.  With his rich international experiences, he also acted as an Adviser to ICAO for a number of safety initiatives in respect of air accident investigation.
 
     The independent AAIA is established to comply with the latest SARPs prescribed in Annex 13 Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation of the ICAO, which requires an investigative authority to be independent from the state aviation authorities and other entities that could interfere with the conduct or objectivity of an investigation.  It will take over the air accident investigation function from the Civil Aviation Department.
 
     ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations established in 1944 by virtue of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.  China is a Contracting State of ICAO and assumes the responsibility for the international rights and obligations arising from the application of the said Convention and the relevant requirements also apply to Hong Kong.
 
Brief biographical notes of Mr Straker are set out below:
 
     Mr Straker started his career as a commercial pilot.  He later joined Airbus and worked in various positions encompassing aircraft design and flight safety management until 2010 when he joined the GCAA of UAE as a Regulations and Investigation Inspector.  He was responsible for setting up the new Air Accident Investigation Sector for the GCAA in 2011 and held the position of Chief Air Accident Investigator from early 2012 to 2017.  Over the years, he also acted as an Adviser to ICAO for safety initiatives such as the Regional Accident and Incident Investigation Organizations (RAIOs) and Regional Safety Oversight Organizations (RSOOs).

     The Civil Aid Service (CAS) Cadet Corps held its 50th Anniversary Parade at the CAS Headquarters today (September 9).  The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, officiated at the reviewing ceremony.

     Addressing at the parade, Mr Cheung said that the CAS Cadet Corps, established in 1968, aimed to encourage young people to develop skills and leadership and to build their confidence and sense of responsibility by participating in group activities and training which were beneficial to their development. 

     In 2017, the CAS Cadet Corps introduced the School Partnership Scheme, which provided disciplinary and leadership training for secondary students fitting in  their school schedule.  The scheme has been well received by the education sector and has attracted the participation of 21 schools since last year.  In order to nurture more young people to become future leaders of our community, the HKSAR Government will provide strong support for the enlargement of the CAS Cadet Corps establishment to 4 000, which allows more students to join the Cadet Corps.

     The Parade was followed by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Training Sharing Session.  Youth training leaders in various cities in the Bay Area were invited to attend.  Officiating at the opening ceremony, Mr Cheung expressed the hope that the sharing session would facilitate youth training and development organisations in the Bay Area to establish closer links with each other and share experience for the building of a more effective communication platform so as to lay a solid foundation for further exchanges and co-operation in the future.

     The CAS Cadet Corps has taken a proactive approach to promote national education over the last decade. The cadets gain a better understanding of our country and a stronger sense of national identity through visits to Zhongshan, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Huizhou and Jiangmen.  The CAS Cadet Corps will continue to cooperate with the cities in the Bay Area to provide more exchange opportunities to young people in the area for a better understanding of one another.