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Hong Kong Students Shine at International Biology Olympiad, Bringing Home Two Gold and Two Bronze Medals from Kazakhstan

HK

Hong Kong Students Shine at International Biology Olympiad, Bringing Home Two Gold and Two Bronze Medals from Kazakhstan
HK

HK

Hong Kong Students Shine at International Biology Olympiad, Bringing Home Two Gold and Two Bronze Medals from Kazakhstan

2024-07-15 17:30 Last Updated At:17:38

Hong Kong students win medals at International Biology Olympiad

A team of four students representing Hong Kong achieved excellent results at the 35th International Biology Olympiad (IBO), winning two gold medals and two bronze medals.

The IBO is an international competition for secondary students with emphasis on both theory and practice. Students are required to apply analytical skills and conduct experiments to tackle challenging problems in biology. The 35th IBO was held from July 7 to 14 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with 290 contestants from 75 countries/regions participating in the competition.

Winning gold medals were Hui Sze-man from La Salle College and Zhang Yixuan from Hong Kong International School. Earning bronze were Sham Pui-yan from Harrow International School Hong Kong and Chan Yik-cheung from St. Joseph's College.

The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (July 15) on their tremendous performance. "The excellent results achieved by the Hong Kong team in this international competition are testimony to Hong Kong students' analytical ability and creativity in tackling complex problems in biology. I believe that these challenging learning activities could broaden the horizons of students with special potential, and their talent could be further developed.

"The Education Bureau (EDB) is committed to promoting the setting up of school-based talent pools to identify and nurture gifted students in primary and secondary schools. The EDB has continued to strengthen collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE), to conduct more training and competitions at the territory-wide, cross-territory, national and international levels, with an aim to offer more quality and challenging off-school learning activities, specific to areas related to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), for those who are exceptionally gifted to develop their potential," Dr Choi said.

Members of the Hong Kong team also achieved excellent results in the IBO Hong Kong Contest last year. They subsequently completed the biology enhancement programme provided by the HKAGE. The outstanding students in the programme were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the 35th IBO. The Hong Kong team was fully funded by the EDB to join this competition.

Hong Kong students win medals at International Biology Olympiad  Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong students win medals at International Biology Olympiad Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected ketamine worth about $9.2 million

Hong Kong Customs on January 19 and yesterday (January 20) detected two drug trafficking cases at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 20 kilograms of suspected ketamine. The total estimated market value of the drugs was about $9.2 million.

The first case involved a 29-year-old male passenger arriving in Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on January 19. During Customs clearance, Customs officers found a total of about 6kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase. The man was subsequently arrested.

The second case involved two male passengers, aged 41 and 31, who arrived in Hong Kong from Zurich, Switzerland, yesterday. During Customs clearance, Customs officers found a total of about 14kg of suspected ketamine inside their check-in suitcases. They were subsequently arrested.

The arrested male in the first case has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (January 22). An investigation of the second case is ongoing.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

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