Hong Kong  - Two men have been arrested in Hong Kong for selling unregistered "electronic cigarettes" that promoters claim can help smokers quit the habit, health officials said Thursday.

The arrests came after Hong Kong's Department of Health found the devices which atomise nicotine into an aerosol with no burning involved on sale in a shop in the city's Sham Shui Po district.

The men, aged 52 and 60, were arrested in a raid Wednesday and were later released on bail and ordered to report back to police in May, a department spokesman said.

Officials seized atomisers and smoke cartridges which are widely touted on internet sites as a safe alternative to normal cigarettes.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong shares ended a two-day losing streak Wednesday, rebounding 2.5 per cent on hopes of a new round of economic stimulus measures in China.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 297.27 points to end the day at 12,331.15. Turnover was 44.9 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.78 billion US dollars).

Wednesday's turnaround followed a dismal start to the week, which saw shares fall by 3.86 per cent Monday and 2.3 per cent Tuesday.

Hong Kong  - Migrant workers from factories in southern China will be allowed to visit Disneyland under a new scheme announced Wednesday allowing 10 million more Chinese visitors into Hong Kong.

However, with the theme park's entrance fees at 45 US dollars - a fortnight's wages for some Chinese factory workers - it is questionable how many of them will be able to afford the breaks.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong pop stars Kelvin Kwan and Jill Vidal have been arrested for possessing cannabis on a visit to Tokyo, a news report said Wednesday.

Kwan, 25, and Vidal, 26, were arrested in the Dogenzaka shopping centre in Shibuya, Tokyo, on February 24 when shopkeepers reported a foreign man trying to steal goods, the South China Morning Post said.

A police search found cannabis in a packet of cigarettes Kwan was carrying, according to the newspaper. Vidal reportedly denied any criminal behaviour.

Hong Kong  - A Hong Kong cop convicted of mugging a woman is the third police officer in his family to be arrested for a serious crime, a news report said Wednesday.

Senior constable Leung Wai-hung, 44, pleaded guilty to theft after grabbing a 53-year-old woman's handbag and punching and kicking her as she lay on the ground in July
2008.

Leung, who committed the robbery because of his heavy gambling debts, appeared Tuesday in court and will be sentenced on March 18, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares fell 2.3 per cent Tuesday as dismal bank results and the announcement of HSBC Holdings PLC's discounted rights offering dragged prices down.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index lost 283.58 points, or 2.3 per cent, to close at 12,033.88. Turnover was 42.99 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.54 billion US dollars).

Tuesday's losses followed a 3.86 per cent slump Monday and was led by falling prices for the banks HSBC, Hang Seng Bank Ltd and Standard Chartered PLC.