Hong Kong

Hong Kong is in Fiji to prepare to participate at the weekend's Coral Coast Sevens in Sigatoka as one of two fully fledged international sides, the other being Germany.

Their former coach Gareth Baber, who has only recently arrived in the country himself to take the reins of the champion Fijians, was able to organise the session that will feature his extended squad that is preparing for the upcoming Wellington and Sydney legs of the World Sevens Series.

Interim-Hong Kong coach Jevon Groves said they will benefit from playing against one of the best teams in the world.

Russia captain and flanker Viktor Gresev was instrumental in the win with a hat trick of tries to his name.

The defending champions were out to a 21-0 lead after Gresev’s first two tries in the 12^th and 19^th minute.

The Pukpuks were on the board after 21 minutes of play when winger John Ephraim crossed over. An unsuccessful conversion brought the score to 21-5.

But Russia continued to pile on the points with more points to Anton Ryabov and Valery Tsnobiladze.

The warning calls for tropical storm winds of 63 to 117 kph (39 to 73 mph) and advises residents to secure windows, reinforce them with shutters, and remain indoors. The No. 8 Storm Signal is expected to remain in force most of the day in Hong Kong.

So far, the Home Affairs Department has opened 20 temporary shelters in various districts, with a total of 59 people seeking refuge at the shelters. The stock exchange (HKEX) is also closed.

Mr Wong, who became the face of the 2014 Hong Kong street protests, had been hoping to speak to Thai students.

But the 19-year-old was detained on arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport and then flown back to Hong Kong.

He said there had been "no explanation for his detention", but activists attributed the decision to intervention from Beijing.

Mr Wong was at the heart of the mass demonstrations against Beijing that brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill in late 2014.

Winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) were reported in some parts of the city, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, which also warned of the potential risks of flooding.

More than 180 flights to or from Hong Kong's airport were canceled, and bus, tram and ferry routes suspended.

The Observatory said Tuesday morning that Nida had "weakened into a severe tropical storm and is moving gradually to the inland areas of Guangdong."

City closed

Publisher Wang Jianmin and editor Guo Zhongxiao worked on New-Way Monthly and Multiple Face, which published gossipy news about mainland leaders.

The articles were published in Hong Kong, which has greater media freedoms, but copies were sent to the mainland.

They were arrested in 2014 in Shenzhen, and both men pleaded guilty in court.

Wang was jailed for five years and three months, while Guo was jailed for two years and three months and is expected to be released soon for time served.