An accused former media boss faces a final legal reckoning and after years of ups and downs, the population has started to stabilise -- here are some of the stories that led the Post's City desk coverage this week in Hong Kong.

In today’s edition:

• Court battle resumes

   

• Population holds steady

   

• Climate risks

Court battle resumes

Jimmy Lai is returning to court for the final stage of his national security trial. 

Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their final oral arguments in what will be the Apple Daily founder’s last appearance at West Kowloon Court before the three presiding High Court judges decide on charges of conspiracies to publish seditious articles and collusion with foreign forces. 

The hearing was adjourned until Monday after the defence revealed Lai, 77, had experienced heart palpitations while in prison. 

You can follow our coverage of the proceedings here. 

Population holds steady

After a decade of being in flux, the city's population has stabilised at 7,527,500, "virtually unchanged" as compared with that at mid-2024, according to the government. It is the first time since 2015 the population has not changed by at least 0.2 per cent.

Part of the success is due to Chief Executive John Lee's administration launching a series of measures aimed at attracting talent to counter a recent emigration wave. More than 220,000 people have arrived in Hong Kong under the programmes.

Climate risks

Typhoon and heavy rain alerts, hot weather warnings: residents have suffered through a summer unlike any other seen in recent memory. But is Hong Kong doing enough to prepare for the climate upheaval that is coming? A top climate scientist has warned the string of black rainstorm warnings has exposed major weaknesses in the city’s climate defence strategy, with authorities underestimating risks and eroding public confidence. 

Read these stories and more at SCMP.com, and enjoy the weekend. 

Politics

• Hong Kong holds first meeting of new top-level anti-terrorism group

   

• Hong Kong to begin Legislative Council nominations on October 24

   

• Is Hong Kong’s legislature becoming too timid, too tame? A year in review

   

• Beijing slams G7 for ‘slandering and defaming’ Hong Kong police over bounties

Society

• Concert tickets, electronics among top items used in scams in Hong Kong: Carousell

   

• Harmful substances found in 13 out of 28 school shoe models sold in Hong Kong

   

• Waiting time for Hong Kong public rental flat rises slightly to 5.4 years

   

• 17 rescued after ‘Wild Twister’ ride at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park breaks down

   

• Hong Kong residents in need avoid heat shelters, poll finds