News at Seven-Thirty highlights:HK government plans to hire 7,700 civil servants; PCCW subcontracted workers have agreed to a 2-percent pay cut; protest by a group of tour guides; 49 people killed in plane crash in the U.S.; Obama looks set to secure major legislative victory; Australia has charged a man with lighting wildfires; China agreed to step up investment in Africa; Guangdong’s economy estimated to grow by 8.5 percent this year; serious drought in central and northern China; Chinachem Charitable Foundation lacked critical fundings; classes at Creative Kindergarten suspended after the outbreak of gastroenteritis; Roxy the Rockhopper looking for a mate.