Hong Kong - A key election in Hong Kong was shunned by a majority of voters Sunday despite expectations that the "Olympics factor" would rally support for China-friendly parties.

Only around four in 10 registered voters had cast their ballots one hour before polls closed in the legislative council election in the only city in China where people can chose some of their elected representatives.

The turnout is predicted to be at least 10 per cent below the 55 per cent of 3.3 million registered voters who cast their ballots in the last legislative council elections in Hong Kong four years ago.

Hong Kong - Voting was underway in Hong Kong's legislature elections Sunday with the "Olympics factor" expected to see pro-democracy parties lose ground to their China-friendly rivals.

Sixty seats are being contested in the quadrennial elections with voters given the right to directly elect 30 legislators. The rest are chosen by largely pro-Beijing professional interest groups.

Hong Kon

Hong Kong - Nearly 77,000 Chinese people a day visit Hong Kong as the former British colony welcomes record numbers of cross-border travellers, according to government figures released Friday.

The study by Hong Kong's Urban Planning and Design Department showed an 18-per-cent year-on-year jump in the number of mainland Chinese crossing the border to Hong Kong in 2007 to an average of 76,800 daily.

Hong Kong - A pirate radio station in Hong Kong has been ordered to halt broadcasts after a show for gay youngsters interfered with air traffic control transmissions, a news report said Thursday.

The Wednesday night broadcast of Love Ark on rebel radio channel Citizens' Radio was picked up on the frequency of air traffic controllers last month, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hanoi  - Vietnam turned over a Chinese-American man wanted for embezzling millions of dollars to Hong Kong police, a Vietnamese police officer said Wednesday.

Jimmy Tochin Wu, 41, was transferred to Interpol Hong Kong at the Ho Chi Minh City airport on Tuesday, said Nguyen Anh Tuan of Interpol Vietnam.

In 1994, Wu established the Dor Shing Vietnam Company in the central city of Danang, and asked its parent company in Hong Kong for 4.9 million dollars to fund its operations in Vietnam, according to the newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan.

After sending Wu 2 million dollars, the parent company, Dor Shing Hong Kong, learned that he had not used the money as agreed, but had instead transferred it to his personal bank account and disappeared.