The world's population will reach 8 billion people in November, but India and China are moving in opposite directions, a UN report said.

Covid curbs in Shanghai reignited worries of a wider economic disruption, while possible delisting risks of major Chinese firms from US exchanges dragged Hong Kong shares to a six-week low.

Shares in BYD plummeted by close to 12% on Tuesday amid speculation that US billionaire investor Warren Buffett may sell shares in China's top electric vehicle producer.

China's banking regulator moves to pacify angry depositors, says banks in Henan and Anhui provinces will start repaying customers on behalf of rural lenders whose accounts were frozen

The IEA and the US say the energy crisis stemming from curbs on Russia should be a warning for Indo-Pacific nations to focus on shifting away from fossil fuels and China's solar tech suppliers

The prolonged crisis in the property sector and China's stringent Covid curbs are adding to the pressure that local governments face

Sixteen automakers including overseas giants such as Tesla and VW recorded monthly deliveries of more 10,000 in China last month

The alliance will feature a joint laboratory, boosting the ability of Mercedes to provide self driving cars to the Chinese market, Pandaily said.

Hikvision, Dahua and Huawei facial recognition cameras are being installed in cities across Myanmar by its military government, with hundreds more to come, sources say.

The Hang Seng Tech Index plunged 3.9%, dragged down by the falls of tech giants Alibaba and Tencent. Rising Covid cases also hurt market sentiment.

The 30-plus casinos in the city will be closed for a week, but analysts say it's likely the suspension could be extended by weeks, with a gaming recovery unlikely till the end of the third quarter.

The highly-transmissible BA.5 is driving outbreaks in many countries outside China and has shown a greater ability to escape vaccine-triggered antibody reactions than other Omicron subvariants