Talking points

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

Master layout for West Kowloon arts hub

Advisers of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority are to brief the media about arrangements for the last round of public consultation on the HK$21.6 billion project. The one-month consultation exercise, which starts next week, will reveal the final master layout design of the arts hub, which is being drawn up by the team of British architect Norman Foster, incorporating some elements from two earlier rival teams.

Euro-Asia economic forum convenes in Xian

The Europe-Asia Economic Forum opens in Xian . Organised by the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the forum is a high-level international conference dealing with European and Asian areas under the responsibility of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, which comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The conference has been held every two years in Xian since 2007.

Shower of satellite parts due any time now

A six-tonne satellite is getting closer and closer, and is expected to crash down on earth as early as today, but Nasa says it is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any more certainty. The 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will be the biggest Nasa spacecraft to fall uncontrolled from the sky in 32 years. It is expected to break into more than 100 pieces as it enters the atmosphere, most of it burning up. Noting that safety was its top priority, Nasa declared that the odds of someone being struck by a part of the falling spacecraft were one in 3,200.

D-day for Palestinians' bid for UN membership

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is set to ask the United Nations for the Palestinians to be granted UN membership as a state. To succeed, the request must win the support of the Security Council - at least nine votes of its 15 members - but the United States, one of the body's five permanent members, has vowed to veto the move. If it fails to pass the Security Council, the Palestinians could then apply to the General Assembly to grant them status as a non-member observer state.

European debt on policymakers' agenda

The euro zone debt drama is likely to be the main talking point for policymakers in Washington again, with concerns mounting about the impact on global growth. The G20 meeting is being held alongside the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in the US capital.

Historical drama 1911 hits mainland screens

Screening of the movie 1911, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty, opens across the mainland. More than 70 Chinese stars, including Jackie Chan, appear in the movie, produced by the Changchun Film Studio for more than 100 million yuan (HK$121.8 million).