China's economy will return to normal operations soon thanks to effective epidemic control and a raft of policies, an official said Tuesday (May 17).

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government just released its latest forecast for the economy. This year's growth rate was revised from 2 to 3.5 percent, to 1 to 2 percent.

Hong Kong's economy will become more stable and can achieve mild growth once the COVID-19 pandemic is contained and market confidence returns, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (May 16) that nine sports centres managed by the LCSD will gradually reopen for public use starting from May 24 (Tuesday). These venues were temporarily closed earlier for anti-epidemic purposes.

To crack down the increased application of guerilla protests, the UK government has recently proposed a new public order bill to better protect the integrity of transport network and fuel supply in England and Wales.

The Government announced on Monday (May 16) that it will accept the vaccination records issued by Ecuador, Kenya, Seychelles and Venezuela as recognised vaccination records for persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in overseas places. The relevant arrangements will take effect at 0.00am on May 18 (Wednesday). The Government also reminds persons travelling to Hong Kong that the COVID-19 testing certificates under the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC) mechanism can serve as a documentary proof for pre-boarding nucleic acid tests.

The Chief Executive-elect, John Lee, met with Legislative Council (the LegCo) Members in batches on Monday (May 16) to gauge their views on the new-term Government and facilitate mutual communication and understanding. He met with legislators from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, G19 and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong on Monday.

On Monday morning, China announced that 15 out of 16 districts in Shanghai had now achieved a state of "zero-COVID", or in other words, community transmission had been broken. It comes amidst a phased reopening of certain businesses commences in the city.

China's economy is expected to recover gradually as the country achieves major anti-epidemic outcomes and pro-growth policies take effects, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said Monday (May 16).

Hong Kong on Monday (May 16) reported 284 new COVID-19 infections, including 113 PCR test-confirmed cases and 121 self-declared positive cases. Among the new cases, 42 were imported ones.

Chinese scientists have developed a mosaic nanoparticle candidate COVID-19 vaccine that can protect against the infections of COVID-19 variants.

The Judiciary today (May 16) published the 2022 Guide to Judicial Conduct (the Guide), an update to the 2004 edition.

Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party (SAP) granted on Sunday (May 15) support for the country's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership application, marking a fundamental change of the party's position as a staunch opponent of military alignment.

The International Monetary Fund's decision to raise the renminbi's weight in a key global reserve asset marked the steady progress of the renminbi's internationalization, reflecting the currency's growing global heft and the achievement of China's financial opening-up, industry experts said on Sunday (May 15).

The rule of law remains the cornerstone of Hong Kong's status as an international financial, trade and logistics center as well as a center for international legal and dispute-resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. In the full implementation of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law, Hong Kong's rule-of-law ranking has always been at the forefront of the international community, which proves that Hong Kong's rule of law has a solid foundation.