Xi meets new HKSAR chief executive John Lee

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with John Lee, the newly appointed chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in Beijing.

Lee, who won the chief executive election on May 8, was officially appointed today as the region's sixth chief executive.

He will assume office on July 1.

President Xi congratulated Lee on his election win and appointment by the central government.

He says Lee has made contributions to safeguarding national security and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability in various roles.

China, Pacific island countries reach 5-point consensus at foreign ministers' meeting

China and several Pacific island countries have reached a five-point consensus at their second foreign ministers' meeting in Fiji.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says that China and the Pacific island countries have agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership, safeguard sovereignty, independence and national dignity, pursue common development and prosperity, uphold multilateralism, and promote mutual understanding among the people.

The Chinese Foreign Minister is midway through an eight-nation tour of the region.

Shanghai to ease COVID-19 control measures

Shanghai authorities have announced that the city will relax the curbs on entering or leaving residential compounds.

The new rules will be put into effect starting Wednesday as the city's COVID-19 situation has been effectively curbed.

Officials say no restrictions should be put on residents entering or leaving residential compounds except for those in medium and high risk areas.

Shanghai will also resume public transport services and ease rules on private cars on roads.

21 bodies found at crash site of Nepali plane

Search and rescue teams have recovered 21 bodies from the crash site of a passenger plane in central Nepal.

The flight vanished from radar on Sunday morning when flying to the mountain town of Jomsom from the city of Pokhara.

It was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members, including four Indians and two Germans.

A local hotelier said the crash site is 4,100 meters above sea level and the bodies were scattered on a cliff.

31 dead from building collapse in Iran

Searchers in Iran have found three more bodies in the rubble of a building that collapsed a week ago.

It brings the number of dead to 32.

It is estimated that over 35 others are still trapped under the ruins.

The 10-storey building collapsed last Monday in the southwestern city of Abadan.

Unlikely monkeypox outbreak will lead to pandemic: WHO

The World Health Organization says it doesn't believe the monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa will lead to a pandemic.

It adds that it remains unclear whether infected people who are not displaying symptoms can transmit the disease.

More than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported globally this month.

No deaths have been reported so far.

EU summit to agree sanctions should include Russian oil embargo

European Union leaders are due to agree at a summit later today that the sanctions package against Russia should include an embargo on Russian oil imports.

However, the draft excludes sanctions on the crude oil delivered by pipeline.

Unable to agree on all the details of the oil embargo at the current stage, the leaders will leave the final agreement on the package for later.

Israel United Arab Emirates to sign free trade deal

Israel's Economy Ministry says the country will sign a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Tuesday.

The ministry says customs duties will be eliminated on 96 percent of products, including food, agriculture, cosmetics, medical equipment and medicine.

The trade deal is Israel's first with an Arab country.

China to expand free HPV vaccination policy to cover more people

China's health authorities have pledged to expand free HPV vaccination to cover more people.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the government will also step up efforts to address the shortage of HPV vaccines.

Free HPV vaccinations are offered in some pilot regions including Jiangsu and Shandong.

HPV vaccines protect women and girls from cervical cancer.

Colombian presidential vote headed for a runoff

The presidential election in Colombia appears to be heading to a runoff as preliminary results show no candidate has garnered over 50% of the vote.

Early results show left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro is leading the race with just over 40%.

Populist businessman Rodolfo Hernandez is in second with 28%.

The two are expected to face each other during a second round of voting on June 19th.