Talking points

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

US aircraft carrier group visits city

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is due to dock at 8am for its second visit to Hong Kong this year, followed by two support vessels named by the Marine Department as the USS Bunker Hill and USS Halsey. The ships' combined crews will bring almost 7,000 visitors to the city. They left California late last month for deployment in the western Pacific. The Carl Vinson's visit to Hong Kong in May attracted media attention because the carrier had just been used to bury the body of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Indian Ocean.

Festive rush to make its home run

Border control officers at Hong Kong airport and elsewhere are bracing themselves for heavy traffic, with thousands of Hongkongers expected to return home on the last day of the four-day Christmas holiday. On Thursday, more than 420,000 people left the city through various checkpoints for the mainland and overseas. On the same day, the checkpoints recorded more than 380,000 people entering the city.

Scientists to discuss China's satnav system

China's top satellite scientists meet the media at a State Council briefing on the development of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System - an indigenous project to compete with the United States' GPS and Europe's Galileo systems. The latest development saw China launch on December 2 its 10th satellite (left) for its home-grown global navigation and positioning network. Beidou, formed in 2000 to reduce China's dependency on the US-controlled GPS network, aims to provide test-run positioning and navigation services for China and neighbouring countries by the end of the year.

Arab League observers to visit Homs

Arab League monitors will visit the Syrian city of Homs to assess whether Damascus is ending a nine-month crackdown on protests in line with the league's peace plan. Syria has endured daily bloodshed for months as security forces struggle to suppress an increasingly violent popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Indian activist threatens new hunger strike

Gandhian activist and anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare plans to go on a three-day hunger strike if a bill for an anti-graft ombudsman is not passed by India's parliament. The 74-year-old's previous campaign drew support from tens of thousands in a country where corruption is rampant.

Ruling on abandoned Dutch cup tie

The governing body for soccer in the Netherlands, the KNVB, will rule on the status of Saturday's Dutch Cup tie between Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, which was abandoned in the 37th minute with Ajax leading 1-0 at their home ground in Amsterdam. AZ's manager called his team off the pitch after their Costa Rican goalkeeper was red-carded for twice kicking a pitch invader (left). Both teams must submit their reports on the incident by today, and the KNVB will make a decision tomorrow. It has three options: order the match replayed, restart the game in the 37th minute or declare the 1-0 score to be the result.