Talking points

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

Applications open for next year's Primary One places

Queues will be a feature outside schools as applications open for Primary One admission in September next year. Parents wishing to apply for a Primary One discretionary place in a government or aided primary school should submit the application form and supporting documents directly to the school during school office hours on or before Friday.

North Korean premier begins five-day trip to China

North Korean Premier Choe Yong-rim starts a five-day visit to China at the invitation of Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao . No details have been given, but his trip is expected to focus on economic reform and Pyongyang's nuclear programme. Last week, South Korea's nuclear envoy held talks with his North Korean counterpart in Beijing, a rare occurrence. The meeting came after several months of high tension between the two Koreas.

Beijing hosts first round of new India-China dialogue

China and India hold the first round of a strategic economic dialogue in Beijing. The talks will be co-chaired by the director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Ping (left), and the deputy chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. They will focus on the macroeconomic outlook, communication and co-ordination on economic policy-making and other opportunities for pragmatic co-operation. Beijing and New Delhi agreed to establish the dialogue last December to strengthen co-ordination on macroeconomic policy-making and jointly tackle challenges emerging in the development of both nations. The first round of the dialogue has also been listed as an important event marking the China-India Exchange Year in 2011.

General Assembly begins talks on a Palestinian state

The UN Security Council starts talks on the historic application by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas for full state membership of the UN. The United States has said it would veto any resolution supporting a Palestinian state, but a vote was still expected to take about four weeks, diplomats said. Within hours of Abbas' presentation to the UN General Assembly on Friday (right), the quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the US, European Union, Russia and UN - agreed a statement that set out a negotiation timeline, starting with a one-month deadline for new talks. The quartet also said it expected concrete proposals from the two sides within three months, substantial progress in six months and a final accord by the end of next year.

US home sales expected to have declined further

American housing figures are expected to show new home sales in the United States totalled just 295,000 in August, down from 298,000 in July. The US property market remains under pressure, with foreclosure backlogs and a slowing economy combining to choke demand.