* This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine

China will guarantee new onshore bond issues by a few select private developers to support its embattled property sector, sources said on Tuesday, while the state planner said it would boost economic demand and speed up infrastructure projects.

Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz said on Monday it would be investing in Adam Neumann's residential real estate company Flow, backing the WeWork Inc co-founder who has often drawn criticism for his allegedly erratic management style.

Hong Kong's audit regulator said on Monday it has initiated an enquiry into the financial statements of China Evergrande Group's property services unit and its former auditor after questions were raised following the developer's probe into seized deposits worth $2 billion of the unit.

* New construction starts fall at fastest pace in almost a decade (Adds comments from developer)

China's property investment in January-July fell 6.4% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since March 2020, and more than the 5.4% decline in the first half of the year, official data showed on Monday.

China's new home prices in July were unchanged for a second month as already fragile sentiment was further corroded by a mortgage boycott by homebuyers upset by unfinished projects despite continued stimulus measures.

Former Afghan security personnel with sensitive knowledge of U.S. operations left behind by the American evacuation operation are vulnerable to recruitment or coercion by Russia, China and Iran, Republican lawmakers said on Sunday, noting that President Joe Biden's administration failed to prioritize evacuating them.

Cushman & Wakefield, which appraised several properties belonging to Donald Trump, is no longer in contempt of court for not complying with a subpoena for the New York attorney general's civil probe into the former U.S. president's business.

SoftBank Group Corp's decision to sell down its Alibaba Group Holding stake for a $34 billion gain may be aimed at bolstering its finances, but it also underlines how CEO Masayoshi Son has cooled on China tech.