President Xi Jinping has told Russia's President Vladimir Putin that China highly values its relationship with Russia. President Xi is in Moscow on a visit that sends a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short. Xi's three-day trip comes days after an international arrest warrant was issued for President Putin on war crimes charges related to Ukraine. The two spoke for nearly four-and-a-half hours on Monday and will resume talks again on Tuesday. President Xi hailed their 'close friendship':

China's 12-point proposal to solve the Ukraine crisis is expected to be front and centre of Tuesday's formal talks in Moscow between Xi and Putin. RTHK's Moscow correspondent Fred Weir told Annemarie Evans that the war in Ukraine, and the West's response to it, had cemented ties between the two countries:

The driver of a KMB bus has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after his vehicle hit and mounted a road divider on Ching Cheung Road near Mei Foo. More than 40 people were injured in the accident on Monday morning, and traffic on the highway was brought to a standstill. Damon Pang reports:

A migrant workers' group is protesting against a proposal to tighten regulations and prevent foreign domestic helpers from changing employers mid-contract, otherwise known as "job-hopping". The demonstration outside the Labour Department on Monday came just ahead of an eight-week consultation on the changes. The Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body says it is unfair and discriminatory. Under the proposal, agencies would have to tell helpers that applications for a change of employer would only be approved under exceptional circumstances. Dolores Balladares, a member of the group, told Ada Au that domestic workers should have the same rights to change jobs as everyone else in Hong Kong:

Baptist University researchers say they have identified an antibody that could pave the way for more effective drugs to treat Covid-19. The team says when injected, the antibody can reduce viral loads by 80 percent. It says the finding is based on the discovery that a specific protease, a type of enzyme, plays a major role in Covid infections. Dr Xavier Wong, who led the research, told Vanessa Cheng that the antibody inhibits the activity of this enzyme:

Hong Kong’s cheap street food culture and famous two-meal rice boxes have long relied on the use of disposable plastic tableware. Figures from the Environmental Protection Department show more than 82,000 tonnes of plastic and polyfoam diningware were disposed of in 2021. But with the passage of legislation, it is hoped single-use plastic in the city will soon be a thing of the past. Natale Ching reports:

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has played down the likely impact of a decision by Swiss regulators not to compensate the holders of Credit Suisse's riskiest tier of bonds. It also said the recent turmoil in the international banking sector had not caused serious fallout for markets here. Mike Weeks reports:

An economist says Hong Kong is mostly shielded from fears of instability in the banking sector as it is not suffering from a high interest rate environment. But Gary Ng, Asia Pacific Economist for Natixis, told Samantha Butler that this did not mean investors here would be fully exempt from any volatility in global markets:

HSBC says it will start opening three of its branches from this weekend to cope with a surge in customers from outside Hong Kong, since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. It says this is mostly being driven by people from the mainland. Elvis Yu reports:

The UK government is banking on its new migration bill to stem the flow of small boats crossing the English Channel. The legislation introduced by the home secretary, Suella Braverman, means refugees who arrive through unauthorised means, such as crossing the Channel in a boat, will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible. For many Australians, the rhetoric in the UK is reminiscent of two decades of debate on how to handle illegal immigrants arriving on Australian shorelines. Annemarie Evans spoke to our Australia correspondent, Luke Hunt, about how successive governments dealt with the issue and whether or not it was ultimately a success: