A weakened Tropical Cyclone Ragasa is pushing west along the southern Chinese coast toward Vietnam.

Asian markets are steady in holiday-thinned trading, with some markets in the region closed for holidays.

The Hong Kong stock exchange says trading of shares of heavily indebted Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group has been suspended.

China has imposed restrictions on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war on Ukraine and concern drones might be converted to military use.

Shanghai Disney has closed as the city tries to control its biggest coronavirus flareup in two years, while the southern business center of Shenzhen allowed shops and offices to reopen after a weeklong closure.

The Chinese government says companies in Shenzhen, a major business center, will be allowed to reopen while efforts to contain outbreaks there progress.

Anti-virus controls have forced auto and electronics makers to shut factories in China and are raising risks of wider disruptions if the curbs spread to Chinese ports that are among the world’s busiest.

China has responded to a spike in coronavirus infections by shutting down its southern business center of Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people.

A troubled Chinese real estate developer with $310 billion of debt is asking investors in one of its bonds to postpone when they will be repaid.

A newspaper reports a troubled Chinese developer whose struggle to avoid a multibillion-dollar debt default has rattled global financial markets made an overdue $45.2 million payment on a bond one day before it would have been declared in default.

The Dallas Mavericks are under attack by some GOP Texas lawmakers seizing on a report that team owner Mark Cuban decided to stop playing the national anthem before home games this season. He has previously expressed support for athletes kneeling during the anthem before games to protest racial injustice. Ad“It’s time that Cuban’s special Texas tax breaks comes to an end,” tweeted state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, who hinted that a bill could be filed imminently. Former President Donald Trump in 2017 threatened to end federal tax subsidies for stadiums after professional football athletes kneeled during the anthem. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

A Chinese lawyer who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was stripped of his law license on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory. (Ren Quanniu via AP)TAIPEI – A Chinese lawyer who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was stripped of his license amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory. They are part of an exodus of Hong Kong residents following Beijing's imposition of a tough new security law they say is destroying the territory’s Western-style civil liberties. Beijing says the legislation allows Hong Kong to “enjoy more social stability, economic development and greater freedom." Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called the 12 activists “elements attempting to separate Hong Kong from China,” not democratic activists.

Relatives of 12 Hong Kong activists detained at sea by Chinese authorities, attend a press conference in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Trials for 10 people accused of attempting to flee Hong Kong by speedboat amid a government crackdown on dissent got underway in China on Monday, a court official said. The defendants are believed to have feared they would be prosecuted for their past activities in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Hong Kong media reports said at least one may have had a warrant out for his arrest under a tough new national security law imposed on the semi-autonomous territory by Beijing in June. While Hong Kong is part of China, travelers must still pass through immigration when going to and from the mainland.

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. President Xi Jinping promised Wednesday new steps to back development of China's biggest tech center, Shenzhen, amid a feud with Washington that has disrupted access to U.S. technology and is fueling ambitions to create Chinese providers. (Zhang Ling/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING – President Xi Jinping on Wednesday promised new steps to promote development of China's biggest tech center, Shenzhen, amid a feud with Washington that has disrupted access to U.S. technology and is fueling ambitions to create Chinese suppliers. Companies in Shenzhen including Huawei Technologies Ltd., a maker of smartphones and switching equipment that is China's first global tech brand, play a key role in those plans. Trump issued an order in August that declared WeChat, a popular messaging service operated by another Shenzhen tech giant, Tencent Holding Ltd., a threat to national security.