Talking points

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

Electoral officials draw lots for Legco ballot

Electoral Affairs Commission officials draw lots to determine the order of the 292 candidates on ballot papers in next month's Legco election, and to allocate locations for the display of election posters. The lots will be drawn at the Rotunda, Kowloon Bay, where candidates will be briefed on the September 9 vote by commission chairman Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah (left) and representatives of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and Hongkong Post.

Unions seek pay rise for domestic workers

Trade unions meet representatives of the Labour Department in Admiralty to press for an increase in the minimum monthly wage for foreign domestic workers to HK$4,000. In June last year the department agreed to order a 4.5 per cent increase in the minimum to HK$3,740, an extra cost to employers of HK$160 a month. The present rate is still below the HK$3,800 level paid until 1998, when wages were cut.

Activists plan new mission to disputed islands

Activists supporting China's claim to the Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, hold a briefing in Xiamen on their latest plan to sail to the disputed archipelago. The meeting comes only days after Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto warned that Japan would use force to defend the islands. The activists, from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the mainland, include Hongkonger Chan Miu-tak (left), whose attempt to lead an expedition to the East China Sea archipelago two years ago was stopped by Hong Kong's marine police.

Toyota results expected to point to expansion

Toyota, Japan's top carmaker, reports first-quarter results that are likely to highlight not only a recovery from last year's disaster but an aggressive move towards new growth. The company is reported to have raised its global production target for the year by about 300,000 vehicles to nearly 9 million due to stronger-than-expected demand. The decision was prompted by better-than-expected sales in the Japanese and US markets during the first half, the Nikkei daily reported in Tokyo.

Floyd Mayweather leaves jail after two months

Boxer Floyd Mayweather leaves a Las Vegas jail after serving two months for assaulting his girlfriend in September 2010, a sentence that was postponed so the welterweight could compete in a bout. Mayweather was ranked by Forbes as the world's most highly paid sportsman after he earned US$85 million in two bouts. Las Vegas police said Mayweather was granted time off his 90-day sentence for work and good behaviour. Last month he unsuccessfully sought early release because, he said, the jail's poor food and water threatened his health.

South Korean businessmen visit resort in North

North Korea allows a group of southern businessmen to visit a joint resort in the North despite continuing bilateral friction. The Hyundai Asan tour operator was reported as saying about 10 officials will travel today to the Mount Kumgang resort, also known as Diamond Mountain, to mark the death of former chairman Chung Mong-hun. The South halted visits in 2008 after a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean tourist.