Hong Kong has marked the 25th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule.

China’s leader Xi Jinping has marked the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return with a speech that emphasized Beijing’s control over the former British colony under its vision of “one country, two systems."

Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party.

A landmark floating restaurant that fed Queen Elizabeth II, Tom Cruise and millions of other diners has been towed out of Hong Kong after falling victim to the pandemic.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says Chinese patriots are now firmly in charge of the city following the election of its new leader, who ran unopposed in a process controlled by Beijing.

A Hong Kong committee stacked with mostly pro-Beijing members has almost unanimously voted for John Lee to become the city's next leader.

John Lee, a hard-line security chief who oversaw a crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, has been elected as the city’s next leader in a vote cast by a largely pro-Beijing committee.

China is installing a career security official as the new leader of Hong Kong in the culmination of a sweeping political transformation that has gutted any opposition in the Asian financial center and placed it ever more firmly under Beijing’s control.

YouTube has taken down the campaign channel of Hong Kong’s sole candidate to become its next leader, John Lee, citing compliance with U.S. sanctions imposed against the former No. 2 official.

Hong Kong will ease some social distancing measures later this month, allowing people to dine in at restaurants in the evening and lifting restrictions on private gatherings, as the number of COVID-19 infections declined in recent weeks.

Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official John Lee has formally registered his candidacy in the election for the top job after securing 786 nominations to enter the race.

Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official John Lee has formally declared his candidacy for the upcoming leadership election, entering the race for chief executive viewed by many as Beijing’s preferred candidate.

Hong Kong’s No. 2 official has submitted his resignation and plans to seek the top job in a sign of Beijing further tightening its grip on the city and its politics.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she won’t seek a second term after five rocky years marked by huge protests, a security crackdown and an overwhelming COVID-19 wave.

Hong Kong authorities are asking the entire population of more than 7.4 million to voluntarily test themselves for COVID-19 for three days in a row starting next week.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases globally increased by 7% in the last week, driven by rising infections in the Western Pacific.

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam said Monday that the city would lift flight bans on nine countries including Britain and the U.S. on April 1.

Hong Kong’s leader says the government will consider lifting strict social distancing measures as new COVID-19 infections in the city continue trending downward.

As a COVID-19 outbreak overwhelms Hong Kong, it’s hard for its 7.4 million residents to know what’s next.

China has responded to a spike in coronavirus infections by shutting down its southern business center of Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people.

China has instituted new COVID-19 restrictions that included urging the public not to leave Beijing and closing schools in Shanghai while the leader of Hong Kong warned that its coronavirus outbreak has yet to reach its peak.

China is tackling a COVID-19 spike with selective lockdowns and other measures that appear to slightly ease its draconian “zero tolerance” strategy.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths globally have continued to fall in the past week.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says reducing the skyrocketing number of deaths in the latest coronavirus surge is the city’s priority, putting a plan to test the entire population on hold in the latest flip-flop in the government’s pandemic response.

Hong Kong’s leader says people’s movements may be restricted during mandatory testing this month of the entire population for the coronavirus, as health officials reported more than 55,000 daily infections, a new record, and over a hundred deaths.

Hong Kong has reported more than 34,000 new coronavirus infections on Monday, a record, as authorities assess the possibilities of locking down the city.

Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly annoyed with the administration’s insistence on sticking to Beijing’s zero-COVID strategy as the city posted another record number of new cases.

Hong Kong's leader says the city will test its entire population for COVID-19 in March as it grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the omicron variant.

Hong Kong's top health official says anti-virus controls that ban public gatherings in Hong Kong of more than two people might be tightened to stop a surge in infections.

Hong Kong has reported 15 coronavirus deaths and more than 6,000 confirmed cases for a second day.

Once bustling Hong Kong is languishing amid a strict zero-COVID strategy that has closed bank branches and movie theaters.

Hospitals in Hong Kong are struggling to keep up with an influx of coronavirus patients amid record numbers of new infections as the city doggedly adheres to its “zero-COVID” strategy.

Hong Kong residents are growing increasingly frustrated with ever tighter coronavirus restrictions imposed by city leaders in line with Beijing’s zero-COVID policy.

Hong Kong residents are lining up outside hair salons and snapping up fresh vegetables a day before tightened coronavirus restrictions go into effect, as new daily cases in the city ballooned to more than 1,100.

Hong Kong’s leader has announced the city’s toughest social-distancing restrictions yet, including unprecedented limits on private gatherings, as new daily cases surge above 600.

A top Hong Kong official has resigned after he attended a birthday party with 200 guests, at least one of whom later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Hong Kong is cutting the length of mandatory quarantine for people arriving from overseas from 21 to 14 days, even as the southern Chinese city battles a new surge in COVID-19 cases.

Hong Kong has expanded a partial lockdown and tightened pandemic restrictions after more than 200 cases of COVID-19 were discovered at a public housing estate.

Hong Kong authorities have suspended several government officials from duty and will order about 170 people to be quarantined at a government facility after they attended a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for the coronavirus.

A group of lawmakers loyal to China’s Communist Party were sworn in to Hong Kong’s Legislature on Monday following an election without opposition candidates.

A Hong Kong online news site says it will cease operations in light of deteriorating press freedoms, days after police raided and arrested seven people for sedition at a separate pro-democracy news outlet.

Two former editors from a Hong Kong online pro-democracy news outlet have been charged with sedition and denied bail.

For Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, 2021 has been a year in which the city’s authorities and the central government in Beijing stamped out nearly everything it had stood for.

A monument at a Hong Kong university that was the best-known public remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil has been removed as one of the city’s last places of public commemoration of the bloody 1989 crackdown.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has endorsed Hong Kong's first legislative elections held under new laws ensuring that only “patriots” loyal to Beijing could run as candidates.

Pro-Beijing candidates have won a landslide victory in Hong Kong’s legislative elections, beating out moderates and independents in the city’s first polls since Beijing passed a resolution to amend the city’s election laws to ensure that only “patriots” loyal to Beijing could run the city.

Voter turnout in Hong Kong sank to 30 percent Sunday in the first legislative election since Beijing amended the laws to reduce the number of directly elected lawmakers and vet candidates to ensure that only those loyal to China could run.

Elections for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Sunday mark the culmination of Beijing’s campaign to rein in the body that had once kept it from imposing its unrestrained will over the semi-autonomous territory.

Hong Kong voters are preparing to vote for the first time this weekend since election laws were changed, amid a dearth of opposition candidates months after the city began cracking down on dissent.

Hong Kong authorities have had enough of wild boars.

Hong Kong will tighten COVID-19 restrictions despite its lack of outbreaks to align with China’s policies and increase chances of quarantine-free travel between the territory and mainland.

Police in Hong Kong halted a four-person pro-democracy protest on China's National Day amid a expanding crackdown on free speech and opposition politics.

The 1,500-member panel that picks Hong Kong’s next leader will have only one opposition-leaning member, according to results from a tightly controlled selection process amid a crackdown on dissent in the city.

Select Hong Kong residents are voting for members of the Election Committee that will choose the city’s leader in the first polls following reforms meant to ensure candidates with Beijing loyalty.

A pro-democracy group says the Hong Kong government is arbitrarily labeling it a foreign agent, making it subject to prosecution under a tough national security law.

Travelers arriving in Hong Kong from mainland China will no longer need to quarantine.

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam says organizations that cross “red lines” and disregard national security should disband, though that wouldn't protect them if they are found to break the law.

Hong Kong’s largest teachers’ union says it has disbanded due to the changing political climate, as the government continues its crackdown on dissent in the city.

Arkansas has reported 42 new deaths from COVID-19 and its biggest one-day spike in hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

A lawyer for the first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law has asked for no more than 10 years in prison.

The first person to be tried under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law has been found guilty of secessionism and terrorism in a ruling condemned aby human rights activists.

Hong Kong police say they have arrested nine people on suspicion of engaging in terrorist activity, after uncovering an attempt to make explosives and plant bombs across the city.

Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has put Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on its list of “predators.”.

A top Hong Kong official has marked the anniversary of the territory’s return to Chinese control by defending the national security law imposed a year ago.

China is marking the centenary of its ruling Communist Party this week by heralding what it says is its growing influence abroad, along with success in battling corruption at home.

China has promoted Hong Kong's top security official to the territory's No. 2 spot as Beijing clamps down on free speech and political opposition.

Coronavirus vaccine incentives offered by Hong Kong companies, including a lucky draw for an apartment, a Tesla car and even gold bars, are helping boost the city’s sluggish inoculation rate.

Asian shares are mixed in quiet trading ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may yield clues on what lies ahead with its massive support for markets.

China's government says no abnormal radiation has been detected outside a nuclear power plant near Hong Kong following a news report of a leak, while Hong Kong's leader says her administration is closely watching the facility.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow has been released from jail after serving more than six months for taking part in unauthorized assemblies during massive 2019 anti-government protests that triggered a crackdown on dissent.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has defended the territory as an attractive place for businesses, after a recent survey found foreigners were considering leaving.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is defending the freezing of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s assets as a necessary move under the city’s new national security law to protect the safety of all Chinese people.

Hong Kong’s incoming Roman Catholic bishop Stephen Chow has called for plurality to be respected, in a time of polarization in the city's Catholic community.

Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill to give tenants who are struggling with financial hardships due to the pandemic more time to pay past-due rent.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s legislative elections will take place in December, more than a year after they were postponed by authorities citing public health risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

From left, Hong Kong Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Chief Executive Carrie Lam and permanent Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Roy Tan attend a press conference on the Hong Kong electoral system reform in Hong Kong, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong last year and is following up this year with a revamp of the electoral process. Election hopefuls will undergo vetting by the national security police and a committee that oversees national security in the city. Beijing, which prioritizes political stability, sees these actions as interfering with the governing of Hong Kong and wants to keep these actors out of government. AdA statement by Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said the Hong Kong national security law provided a solid legal foundation to safeguard national security and that the electoral reforms provide a “solid institutional guarantee” of the city’s “one country, two systems” framework and ensure that only “patriots” rule Hong Kong.

People walk in front of "M+" visual culture museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, Monday, March 29, 2021. Hong Kong authorities have taken a tougher stance on opposition following Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on the city, arresting prominent pro-democracy activists and participants in anti-government protests in 2019. Earlier this month, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said authorities were on “full alert” to ensure that exhibitions in the city do not violate the national security law. Pro-Beijing lawmakers have said that some of M+’s artwork is politically sensitive and could be in breach of the legislation. Searches for “Nomadland” were blocked on the Chinese internet, which is heavily censored and filtered to scrub content deemed politically sensitive by the government.

For now, Hong Kong residents can only get the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, which is reported to have an efficacy rate of 62%, compared with Pfizer's 97%. Hong Kong is still grappling with coronavirus outbreaks and stringent social distancing measures that are especially hard on bars, restaurants and the tourism industry. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and health officials are urging people to get vaccinated. Unease over the vaccines, which were developed in under a year using varying levels of clinical trials, are not confined to Hong Kong. Martin Wong, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-authored a survey published in January that showed only 37% of Hong Kong residents were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing's ongoing crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city, including a decision to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)HONG KONG – The U.S. sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city, just ahead of the Biden administration's first face-to-face talks with China. The planned changes to Hong Kong's electoral law give a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of Hong Kong’s lawmakers. Last June, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the city and Hong Kong authorities have arrested most of the prominent pro-democracy supporters and outspoken critics. Starting last October, the U.S. had already sanctioned 10 officials including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Zhang Xiaoming.

It adds to a crackdown against a protest movement in Hong Kong calling for greater democracy. Hong Kong news reports said earlier the committee will pick one-third of the members of the Legislative Council, or LegCo. AdBeijing wants to see “patriots ruling Hong Kong,” the premier said. “The Hong Kong people will be disenfranchised” under the latest changes, said Emily Lau, a former Hong Kong legislator. ___AP writers Zen Soo in Hong Kong and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam listens to reporters' questions during a press conference in Hong Kong, Monday, March, 2021. Lam said Monday that the Hong Kong government "fully welcomes" the reforms to the city's electoral system, after Beijing proposed a major revamp that will increase central government control over Hong Kong politics. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday said the city's government “fully welcomes” changes to the city’s electoral system that will substantially increase central government control over Hong Kong politics and exclude critics of Beijing. The planned electoral changes have drawn criticism in Hong Kong and abroad, including from the United States. Universal suffrage would give Hong Kong voters the right to vote for the city’s leader, although only candidates approved by Beijing would be allowed to run.

Former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Long Hair," second left, shows a victory sign and some of the 47 pro-democracy activists are escorted by Correctional Services officers to a prison van in Hong Kong, Thursday, March 4, 2021. A marathon court hearing for 47 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong charged with conspiracy to commit subversion enters its fourth day on Thursday, as the court deliberates over whether the defendants will be granted bail. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)HONG KONG – A Hong Kong court on Thursday ordered all 47 pro-democracy activists charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law to be kept in custody after the Department of Justice appealed an initial decision to grant 15 of them bail. The national security law criminalizes secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces to intervene in the city’s affairs as well as terrorism. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab earlier called the charges “deeply disturbing” and said the national security law was being used to eliminate political dissent.

A supporter raises a British flag as supporters queue up outside a court to try get in for a hearing in Hong Kong Monday, March 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Hong Kong democracy supporters are being locked up in jail, charged with being a threat to national security. Their arrests come under a new security law imposed on the semi-autonomous Chinese territory by Beijing that has largely silenced dissent in Hong Kong. Those now facing charges held a primary election for legislators picked through one of the last vestiges of direct democracy in Hong Kong. China's central government signaled last week that it may take steps to restrict who can run for office in Hong Kong.

John Clancey, right, an American lawyer who became the first foreigner arrested under Hong Kong's national security law, displays a book before appearing at a police station in Hong Kong Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Hong Kong police on Sunday detained 47 pro-democracy activists on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the city's national security law, in the largest mass charge against the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's opposition camp since the law came into effect last June. They allegedly violated the national security law that was imposed by Beijing for participating in unofficial election primaries for Hong Kong's legislature last year. Ad“Thank you to the people of Hong Kong for giving me the opportunity to contribute to society in the past 15 years,” Chu said in a post on his Facebook page. The security law criminalizes acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to intervene in Hong Kong's affairs.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. -- The Navajo Nation has continued on a downward trend in the number of daily coronavirus cases. Canada regulators have approved AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. Gavin Newsom expects California to start administering the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine next week. Addition of the J&J vaccine would come as California is seeing dramatic drops in virus cases and hospitalizations after record highs in early January. While they only comprise about 48% of coronavirus cases, they account for 74% of vaccinations.

People age 60 and older and health care workers are among the some 2.4 million people currently prioritized to receive vaccines at community centers and outpatient clinics across Hong Kong. Hong Kong has struck deals to buy 22.5 million doses of vaccines, from Sinovac, AstraZeneca and Fosun Pharma, which will deliver the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. Those 65 years or older are scheduled to get vaccines after health workers. Ad— China has approved two more COVID-19 vaccines for wider use. A military researcher told state media CanSino can produce up to 300 million doses per year, and the Wuhan Institute said it can produce up to 100 million doses per year.

People line up to receive China's Sinovac COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination center in Hong Kong, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Hong Kong began administering its first COVID-19 vaccines to the public Friday, kicking off its program offering free vaccinations to all 7.5 million residents. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)HONG KONG – Hong Kong began administering its first COVID-19 vaccines to the public Friday, kicking off its program that will eventually offer free vaccinations to all 7.5 million residents. I’ll take a wait-and-see approach," said Ken Cheung, a Hong Kong resident. A panel of Hong Kong experts said the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine after two doses, 21 days apart, was 62.3%.

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2021, file photo, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam listens to reporters' questions during a press conference in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)HONG KONG – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave her clear support Tuesday to electoral reforms that would likely further exclude opposition voices and cement Beijing’s control over the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s politics. Currently, only the chief executive, high officials, executive council members, lawmakers and judges are required to take an oath of office. Hong Kong's legislature is expected to deliberate the draft legal amendments on March 17. AdIt remains unclear whether Lam, who is deeply unpopular among Hong Kong's population, will seek a second five-year term in next year’s poll.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents were locked down Saturday in an unprecedented move to contain a worsening outbreak in the city, authorities said. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Thousands of Hong Kong residents were locked down in their homes Saturday in an unprecedented move to contain a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the city. The restrictions, which were announced at 4 a.m. in Hong Kong, were expected to end within 48 hours, the government said. Hong Kong has been grappling to contain a fresh wave of the coronavirus since November. Coronavirus cases in Yau Tsim Mong district represent about half of infections in the past week.

FILE - In this July 1, 2019, file photo, protesters try to break the glass walls of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. From across the political spectrum, Hong Kong residents condemned mob violence at the U.S. Capitol, 18 months after they saw protesters storm their own local legislature. “It’s very sad for us in Hong Kong to see mobs attacking Capitol Hill and trying to overthrow the election results. We in Hong Kong are fighting for a democracy in which everyone has a right to vote,” Lee said. In Hong Kong, elections are canceled,” said Leslie Chan, a district councilor in Hong Kong, referring to a year-long postponement of the city’s legislative elections by Lam, who cited public health risks from the coronavirus.

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2019, file photo, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong stands outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)HONG KONG – Jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was arrested on a new charge under the national security law on Thursday while an American rights lawyer who was detained in a sweeping crackdown was granted bail. The security law criminalizes acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to intervene in the city’s affairs. “China’s taking a big gamble by picking away at parts of the Hong Kong system that it doesn’t like,” he said. “It really risks damaging parts that it values.”___Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung in Hong Kong and writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.

FILE - In this July 15, 2020, file photo, pro-democracy activists who were elected from unofficial pro-democracy primaries, including Joshua Wong, left, attend a press conference in Hong Kong. Police detained about 50 people, far more than in previous cases under the 6-month-old national security law. The subversion section of the national security law criminalizes “seriously interfering in, disrupting, or undermining the performance of duties and functions” of the Chinese or Hong Kong governments. They plunged Hong Kong into its biggest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997. ___This story has been corrected to show that the age of the security law is six months, not seven months.

(AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)HONG KONG – Hong Kong police arrested 53 former lawmakers and democracy proponents Wednesday for allegedly violating the new national security law by participating in unofficial election primaries for the territory's legislature last year. The security law criminalizes acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to intervene in the city’s affairs. “The Biden-Harris administration will stand with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy,” Blinken wrote in his tweet. The security law is being used “to crush dissent and stifle the exercise of human rights and political freedoms.”Human Rights Watch senior China researcher Maya Wang said the national security law is a blanket law that allows the government to arrest people for exercising their rights. “Hong Kong is looking more like mainland China but where one ends and the other begins is hard to discern,” she said.

HONG KONG – Hong Kong has secured delivery of 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with the first million to arrive as early as January, the city’s leader said Friday. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said the city has reached agreements for 7.5 million doses each from Sinovac and Pfizer/BioNTech. She said Hong Kong is also negotiating with AstraZeneca and another manufacturer with the goal of securing a total of 30 million doses. And the amount of procurement will be twice the population of Hong Kong,” she said. — India has recorded 29,398 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, a continuing downward trend.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. Lam says social distancing measures will be tightened as cases of the coronavirus continue to surge, with a ban on nighttime dining and more businesses ordered to close. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)HONG KONG – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says social distancing measures will be tightened as cases of the coronavirus continue to surge, with a ban on nighttime dining and more businesses ordered to close. Hong Kong is grappling with the latest surge of coronavirus infections, with nearly 1,200 new cases in the last two weeks after a three-month lull. — Three coronavirus vaccine developers -- AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc. and Bharat Biotech -- have applied for emergency approval for their use in India, health officials said Tuesday.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a news conference after delivering her policy address in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. Beijing imposed the security law on Hong Kong in June, aiming to crack down on dissent following months of anti-government protests in the city that at times descended into violence. Earlier this month, China passed a resolution disqualifying four pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmakers after they were accused of violating their oaths of office. The move prompted all of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators to resign en masse as a show of solidarity. “She bet the future of Hong Kong on the Greater Bay Area and the mainland economy.

Flowers are placed at a fire site, top center with broken windows, in Hong Kong Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. City authorities said a fire in a crowded residential district in Hong Kong has "caused a number of deaths and injuries". The fire highlights lingering safety issues in older buildings in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Pun T. Prakash, president of the Hong Kong Nepalese Business Association, said his group will also reach out to the community. “We should be following the rules and regulations of Hong Kong, how to open a restaurant, how to open a shop.

A police cordon line is set at a fire site, top center with broken windows, in Hong Kong Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. City authorities said a fire in a crowded residential district in Hong Kong has "caused a number of deaths and injuries". (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Authorities in Hong Kong said at least seven people were killed and 11 injured in a fire at an apartment building that may have started at a gathering of people from the city's Nepalese community. The Hong Kong government said four men and three women died. Deadly fires used to be a regular occurrence in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, but have dwindled in recent years as the government implemented stricter fire safety measures.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers have handed in their resignations following a move by the city's government to disqualify four pro-democracy legislators. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)HONG KONG – Pro-democracy legislators in Hong Kong began resigning Thursday to protest the expulsion of four other lawmakers, heightening a conflict with Beijing over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s future. Its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office called the mass resignation “an open challenge” to the authority of the central government and the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s constitution. “We lost our check-and-balance power, and all the constitutional power in Hong Kong rests in the chief executive's hands,” Wu said. The mass departure will leave Hong Kong’s legislature with just 43 legislators, 41 of whom belong to the pro-Beijing bloc.

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers announced Wednesday they would resign en masse after four of them were ousted from the semiautonomous Chinese territory's Legislature in a move one legislator said could sound the “death knell” for democracy there. The mass departure will also leave Hong Kong’s Legislature with only pro-Beijing lawmakers, who already made up a majority but can now pass bills favored by Beijing without much opposition. The announcement came hours after the Hong Kong government said it was disqualifying the four legislators — Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung. During the news conference, the lawmakers held hands and chanted, “Hong Kong add oil! Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defended their removal, saying legislators must act properly and that the city needs a body comprised of patriots.