CGTN头条新闻2022 梁建邦当选香港第七届立法会主席（在线收听）

Andrew Leung elected president of Hong Kong's 7th-term LegCo

Andrew Leung elected president of Hong Kong's 7th-term LegCo

Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen has been elected president of Hong Kong's 7th-term Legislative Council.

He also served in the same position on the 6th LegCo in the special administrative region.

Community spread of COVID-19 under control in Xi'an

Local authorities say the community spread of COVID-19 in Xi'an has been brought under control.

The number of new, local cases in the ancient city with a population of 13 million people has remained in double digits for two days in a row.

An official from Shaanxi's provincial health commission says compared with the early stages of the outbreak, the rapid acceleration of the community spread has been contained.

Xi'an has registered over 1,700 local coronavirus infections since Dec. 9.

Japan's PM cancels plan to visit U.S., Australia amid COVID-19 concerns

Japan's prime minister says he will abandon provisional plans to visit the United States and Australia to focus on tackling a resurgence of COVID-19 cases at home.

Fumio Kishida says he will not travel overseas before the regular Diet session, remaining in Japan to oversee the government's challenges.

US industries dealing with staff shortages because of Omicron

Nearly every industry in the United States is dealing with staff shortages or workers calling in sick because of a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant.

UK PM warns of considerable virus pressure on NHS

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the fast-spreading Omicron variant is going to cause considerable pressure on the country's health system in the coming weeks.

Johnson ruled out introducing new curbs, and said the country will follow its current measures which include booster shots and following COVID-19 rules to contain the virus.

South Africa parliament fire contained

A fire that burned at South Africa's parliament building for two days has reportedly been contained.

The fire was briefly brought under control on Monday before strong winds reignited the flames.

The cause is still unclear. One person has been arrested in connection with the fire.

China hails joint statement by 5 nuclear weapon states

China's vice foreign minister has hailed a joint statement issued by the leaders of five nuclear-weapon states on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races.

Ma Zhaoxu says it's the first time for the leaders of China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States to issue a joint statement regarding nuclear weapons.

The statement says none of the countries' nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other state and a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

Beijing meets state air quality standards for first time in 2021

Officials in the Chinese capital say Beijing met state air quality standards for the first time last year.

Environmental protection authorities say this was achieved through efforts to cut coal consumption, reduce transportation emissions and relocate heavy industry.

Average readings of small, hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 reached 33 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing over the whole of 2021.

Officials say the reading shows a 13 percent decline compared to a year earlier, and finally meets China's interim standard of 35 micrograms for the first time on record.

Djokovic to defend Australian Open title after exemption from vaccination

Novak Djokovic says he will defend his Australian Open title later this month after receiving a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination.

The world No.1 had declined to reveal his vaccination status.

The first Grand Slam event of the year requires all players to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Djokovic has won a record nine Australian Open titles, and is in a three-way tie on 20 majors with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time list.