Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Freshly polished, Apple's first HK store opens
The beaming Apple logo is shining bright over Victoria Harbour, and hordes of fans have been queueing to take the first bite of the city's first Apple store. The first 3,000 people through the doors today will receive a T-shirt to commemorate the occasion. Shanghai's second Apple store, China's fifth, opened yesterday. Hong Kong's two-storey flagship store, with its 300 staff, is in one of the city's sweetest real estate locations, 16,000 square feet in the IFC mall, on which it has on a 10-year lease.
When a loser could end up being a winner
'Winning at all costs' is an oft-used phrase in sport, but at the Rugby World Cup it seems to be more 'What cost a win?' as France prepares to face New Zealand today. The eagerly awaited match has been the subject of speculation since Marc Lievremont, France's coach, left out several first-choice players to face arguably the world's best team on their home patch. Playing at Auckland's Eden Park is meant to be the ultimate accolade, but the match has created all sorts of conjecture that both teams may be better off losing in order to slip into the tournament's more favourable draw. By finishing first, France or New Zealand would likely face South Africa or Australia in the knockout stages. Second place means either Argentina or England, and then Ireland or Wales.
Five-day festival of air sports takes off in Shandong
Nearly 400 aircraft are participating in the China International Air Sports Fiesta in Laiwu, Shandong province. The five-day gala includes competitive events such as acrobatic flying, parachuting and hot-air ballooning. Organisers expect 100,000 spectators.