Talking points

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

Dragon Boat Festival could see length record

Weather permitting, today sees the opening of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival at the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade. Among the attractions to look forward to is an attempt to set a new Guinness world record for the longest dragon boat.

Real estate chamber meets in Beijing

China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual summer conference in Beijing from today until Sunday. Developers are focusing on where the mainland's property markets are heading, while both the government and market participants evaluate whether measures to tame soaring home prices have been effective. The forum will also discuss whether smart money could profit from the government's public housing initiative, which is estimated to fall short of funding.

Taiwan's opposition leader heads to Manila

The leader of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, is visiting the Philippines over the weekend to attend the 57th Congress of Liberal International, which is composed of liberal political parties around the world. Tsai, a contender to challenge President Ma Ying-jeou in next year's election, is expected to deliver a speech on human rights and trade. Tsai has just wrapped up high-profile visits to Britain and Germany and is planning a trip to the United States and Japan.

Saudi women grab the wheel against driving ban

A group of women are hitting the accelerator in their campaign against Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving today. Ever since activist Manal al-Sharif was jailed for nine days last month for posting a video of herself breaking the law by driving her own black SUV around Al-Khobar, messages of support have filled social networking sites. Saudi Arabian activists said they expected women to drive in the hundreds today. The campaign has been built on the surge in use of social media in Saudi Arabia since the uprisings early this year in Tunisia and Egypt.

Latest UN climate talks show little progress

The latest round of talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ends in Bonn today, with little sign of progress. The discussions are aimed at building consensus for the 194-nation forum's next high-level meeting - November 28 to December 9 in Durban, South Africa. Veteran watchers of the UN talks unfolding in the German city say the fate of the only international agreement that sets binding targets for curbing greenhouse gases is hanging by a thread.

PlayBook's maker updates investors

Smartphones and tablet computers are likely to be in the spotlight today after Research In Motion updates investors on the sales of its PlayBook tablet, which has had six weeks on North American shelves to win over customers and to claw market share from Google and Apple. Investors will also be looking for updates on when new BlackBerry devices will hit shelves.