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Talking points

Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...

Legco quizzes Fanny Law on C.Y.'s restructuring

Chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying's restructuring plan comes under scrutiny in Legco when his top aide, Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun (left), appears at a special meeting of the constitutional affairs panel. The proposals, which Leung seeks to have approved before he takes office on July 1, were endorsed by the Executive Council on Friday. The restructuring would create deputies for the chief and financial secretaries and two new bureaus, for a total extra cost of HK$72 million a year.

China begins pumping from first deep-water well

China's first deep-water oil platform starts production in the South China Sea amid a stand-off with the Philippines elsewhere in the disputed waters. Xinhua says China National Offshore Oil Corp's rig will operate 320 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong, pumping oil from a depth of 1,500 metres. The site does not appear to be in dispute with any of the nations also laying claim to territorial waters in the sea.

World's graft-busters share ideas in Hong Kong

Independent Commission Against Corruption chief Timothy Tong Hin-ming (left) and the Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li will open the first day of the 5th ICAC Symposium, which will focus on 'fighting corruption in a changing world'. The conference, which is being held over three days at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, will feature speeches by local graft-busters and those from Beijing, Europe, the United Nations, Singapore, the United States, Australia and Nigeria.

Chip maker SMIC to report 'solid' quarterly results

The mainland's largest contract chip maker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, announces what are tipped to be strong first-quarter results. The Shanghai-based company last month raised its first-quarter revenue guidance to mark a new stage of growth. Chief financial officer Gary Tseng said 'solid order momentum and an improved outlook' from customers prompted SMIC to forecast a revenue increase of 14 to 15 per cent over the previous quarter, up from a forecast of between 7 and 9 per cent.

Spain vs Spain at Uefa Europa League final

The final of the Uefa Europa League, previously known as the Uefa Cup, will be contested tonight in Bucharest, Romania, by Spanish teams Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid. According to Uefa, the match marks the ninth final in the competition's history between two teams from the same country. The first was in 1971-72, when Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate in an all-English encounter. Sport C10

High hopes for Christie's sale after Sotheby's record

Christie's offers 38 pieces at a New York auction that will include works by Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. High prices are expected after Sotheby's set a world record price for an artwork by selling Edvard Munch's The Scream for a touch under US$120 million. The centrepiece of the sale is Rothko's 1961 work Orange, Red, Yellow (left), which Bloomberg reports is expected to bring US$35 million to US$45 million. The works are from the collection of the late David Pincus, head of a family-owned US clothing manufacturer.

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