Hong Kong will suspend flights from&nbsp;India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 for two weeks after the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub for the first time, authorities said in a statement late on Sunday.

The three countries would be classified as "extremely high risk" after there had been multiple imported cases carrying the strain into Hong Kong in the past 14 days, the government said.

The city reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, 29 of which were imported, marking the highest daily toll since March 15. Hong Kong has recorded over 11,600 cases in total and 209 deaths.

Hong Kong authorities have been urging residents to get vaccinated for coronavirus with only around 9 per cent of Hong Kong's 7.5 million residents vaccinated so far.

The government last week widened the city's vaccine scheme to include those aged between 16 to 29 years old for the first time, as they aim to boost lacklustre demand for inoculations amongst residents.

Airlines impacted by Hong Kong's ban on travellers from&nbsp;India, Pakistan and the Philippines include carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Vistara and Cebu Pacific.

Hong Kong will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 for two weeks after the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub for the first time, authorities said in a statement late on Sunday.

Hong Kong will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 for two weeks after the N501Y mutant COVID-19 strain was detected in the Asian financial hub for the first time, authorities said in a statement late on Sunday. The three countries would be classified as "extremely high risk" after there had been multiple imported cases carrying the strain into Hong Kong in the past 14 days, the government said. The city reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, 29 of which were imported, marking the highest daily toll since March 15. Hong Kong has recorded over 11,600 cases in total and 209 deaths. Hong Kong authorities have been urging residents to get vaccinated for coronavirus with only around 9 per cent of Hong Kong's 7.5 million residents vaccinated so far. The government last week widened the city's vaccine scheme to include those aged between 16 to 29 years old for the first time, as they aim to boost lacklustre demand for inoculations amongst residents. Airlines impacted by Hong Kong's ban on travellers from India, Pakistan and the Philippines include carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Vistara and Cebu Pacific.

COVID-19: Hong Kong bans flights from India, Pakistan and Philippines for 2 weeks

More than a dozen flights were cancelled Sunday as thousands of pro-democracy activists blocked routes to Hong Kong's airport, a day after protesters and police fought pitched battles in some of the worst violence seen in the city since unrest began three months ago.

More than a dozen flights were cancelled Sunday as thousands of pro-democracy activists blocked routes to Hong Kong's airport, a day after protesters and police fought pitched battles in some of the worst violence seen in the city since unrest began three months ago. At least 16 flights were cancelled, the airport's website said, with the departure hall packed with a backlog of passengers who had struggled to make it to the terminals. Earlier, operators of the Airport Express train suspended services after the station was besieged, while black-clad protesters -- hiding from CCTV cameras under umbrellas -- built barricades at the bus terminus and attempted to stop traffic on the main road leading to the facility. Stranded travellers were forced to abandon their lifts and drag their luggage along the airport road. Sunday's action is the latest in three months of increasingly violent protests sparked initially by opposition to a proposed law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but which morphed into a broader anti-government movement. Outside one airport terminal, protesters set off fire extinguishers, piled luggage trolleys into makeshift road barricades and smashed surveillance cameras before being driven away by police. "It's out of our control," said Andy Tang, 26, returning to Australia from a week's holiday in Hong Kong. "So there's no point getting annoyed about it." Pitched battles The airport is covered by an injunction banning protesters from entering -- imposed after a shutdown in August which ended in ugly clashes -- but protesters have routinely ignored legal moves to ban their actions. On Sunday city sanitation workers were seen clearing debris and removing graffiti after a night of pitched battles between protesters and police. Hours earlier, a huge fire burned in the city's commercial district as chaos ripped through the centre of a city usually renowned for its stability and prosperity. Hardcore demonstrators Saturday hurled petrol bombs at government buildings and police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon laced with chemical dye before making mass arrests inside the city's underground metro stations. Video footage captured by local media showed police charge a crowd cowering inside a train carriage -- with one man, drenched in pepper spray, crying in anguish as he tried to protect his female friend. Officers made 40 arrests at one station. Anger at police tactics swirled across social media. "The police are a licenced mob," Kwok Ka-ki, a pro-democracy lawmaker, told AFP. Decrying the "horrifying" police raid on the train carriage, Amnesty International called for a probe into police conduct. "Violence directed at police... is no excuse for officers to go on the rampage elsewhere," Man-kei Tam, director of Amnesty International, Hong Kong said in a statement. Beijing watching closely Police said officers also fired two warning shots into the air after being attacked by a group of "violent protesters who attempted to once snatch police pistols". "Escalating violence and (the) progressively lethal weapons of protestors, the safety of police officers and... the public is seriously threatened," police said in a statement. Some 31 people were admitted to hospital with injuries following the clashes, including five who remain in a serious condition. As Hong Kong spirals deeper into chaos, Beijing is watching closely. China's state news agency Xinhua posted new video on Twitter late Saturday of armed Chinese riot police holding "anti-riot drills in Shenzhen", a city which borders Hong Kong. Beijing has also unleashed a mix of intimidation, propaganda and economic muscle in an attempt to muzzle the movement, which it views as a direct challenge to its rule. Police on Friday rounded up several high profile pro-democracy activists and politicians in sweeping arrests that rights groups said was taken directly from Beijing's playbook. More than 900 people have been arrested since June in connection with the protests. Saturday marked the fifth anniversary of Beijing's rejection of universal suffrage for Hong Kong that sparked the 79-day "Umbrella Movement" in 2014. That petered out without the government making any major concessions. Hong Kong was bracing more disruption Monday, with calls for a general strike and the start of a university boycott.

Flights cancelled after Hong Kong protesters target airport

Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down today as Typhoon Nida swirled towards the region, with hundreds of flights cancelled, schools closed and ferries halted. 
 
Hong Kong raised a &quot;T8&quot; storm signal, the third-highest, today evening as the storm edged closer to the semi-autonomous Chinese city, packing winds of 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour. 
 
Guangzhou, the capital of neighbouring Guangdong province where Nida was expected to make landfall on Tuesday, issued its first-ever red storm alert, with schools and outdoor work suspended. 
 
Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair cancelled all of their flights in and out of Hong Kong for 16 hours, from 10 pm Monday until 2 pm Tuesday. That will include more than 100 flights, said a spokeswoman for Cathay, the city&#39;s flag carrier. 
 
Hong Kong authorities shut kindergartens and special needs learning institutions on Monday. Ferries between Hong Kong and the gambling strip of Cotai in Macau have been suspended. 
 
&quot;Local winds are expected to strengthen significantly around dusk,&quot; said a weather bulletin. &quot;There will be squalls, heavy rain and rough seas after sunset. There may be flooding in low-lying areas.&quot; 
 
Those living in the storm&#39;s projected path when it reaches mainland China have been told to prepare three days&#39; worth of food and other essentials, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the National Commission for Disaster reduction. 
 
The cities of Zhuhai and Shanwei in Guangdong province have also issued red alerts, while nearby Shenzhen has issued a yellow one, the third most severe. 
 
More than 220 flights out of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai airports would be cancelled before the storm passed over Tuesday, the Sohu news portal said. Nearly 2,000 workers constructing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge were evacuated Monday morning, and more than 2,000 others working on an offshore oil platform were relocated Sunday evening, Xinhua said. 
 
Nida brought strong winds and torrential rains to the northern Philippines over the weekend. 
 
Southern China has been hard-hit by storms this summer. Super Typhoon Nepartak brought chaos to Taiwan in July and left at least 69 dead once it made landfall in the mainland&#39;s eastern province of Fujian, despite having been downgraded to a tropical storm. 
 
(AFP)

Hong Kong raised a "T8" storm signal, the third-highest, today evening as the storm edged closer to the semi-autonomous Chinese city

Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down today as Typhoon Nida swirled towards the region, with hundreds of flights cancelled, schools closed and ferries halted. Hong Kong raised a "T8" storm signal, the third-highest, today evening as the storm edged closer to the semi-autonomous Chinese city, packing winds of 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour. Guangzhou, the capital of neighbouring Guangdong province where Nida was expected to make landfall on Tuesday, issued its first-ever red storm alert, with schools and outdoor work suspended. Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair cancelled all of their flights in and out of Hong Kong for 16 hours, from 10 pm Monday until 2 pm Tuesday. That will include more than 100 flights, said a spokeswoman for Cathay, the city's flag carrier. Hong Kong authorities shut kindergartens and special needs learning institutions on Monday. Ferries between Hong Kong and the gambling strip of Cotai in Macau have been suspended. "Local winds are expected to strengthen significantly around dusk," said a weather bulletin. "There will be squalls, heavy rain and rough seas after sunset. There may be flooding in low-lying areas." Those living in the storm's projected path when it reaches mainland China have been told to prepare three days' worth of food and other essentials, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the National Commission for Disaster reduction. The cities of Zhuhai and Shanwei in Guangdong province have also issued red alerts, while nearby Shenzhen has issued a yellow one, the third most severe. More than 220 flights out of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai airports would be cancelled before the storm passed over Tuesday, the Sohu news portal said. Nearly 2,000 workers constructing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge were evacuated Monday morning, and more than 2,000 others working on an offshore oil platform were relocated Sunday evening, Xinhua said. Nida brought strong winds and torrential rains to the northern Philippines over the weekend. Southern China has been hard-hit by storms this summer. Super Typhoon Nepartak brought chaos to Taiwan in July and left at least 69 dead once it made landfall in the mainland's eastern province of Fujian, despite having been downgraded to a tropical storm. (AFP)

More than 100 Hong Kong, China flights cancelled as typhoon Nida approaches