The Chinese government is tightening adoption rules to combat child trafficking a day after eight people convicted of abducting or murdering children received sentences including the death penalty.

Hong Kong’s leader Tung Chee-hwa is expected to resign tomorrow according to news reports, as high-ranking Chinese officials heaped praise on him in an apparent send-off after seven rocky years in office.

The EU and China today signed a maritime agreement which will enable them to intensify cooperation in security matters, anti-piracy and anti-terrorism measures, the EU Commission said in a statement.