Talking points

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

Drill tests response to Daya Bay crisis

Some 30 departments will test the city's ability to respond to an emergency at Daya Bay (pictured), the nuclear power complex 50 kilometres from Hong Kong that provides most of our electricity. Experts, including those from the International Atomic Energy Agency, will observe the drill today and tomorrow, the first in 15 years and the first since disaster-response plans were revised after last year's crisis in Fukushima, Japan. It is also the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which the Hong Kong Alliance Against Nukes will commemorate with street performances.

Sina promotes ads on Weibo microblog

Online media giant Sina starts its two-day Weibo Advertising Summit in Xiamen , Fujian province , to launch social advertisements on the mainland's leading micro-blogging service. Potential advertisers are expected to be tapped from the 130,565 registered corporate users on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo platform as of February. Sina president and chief executive Charles Chao expects the three-year-old service, with more than 300 million users in China and other countries, to generate 'meaningful' revenue by the second half of this year.

A revealing glimpse of the cheongsam

Starting from tomorrow, the Hong Kong Museum of History will showcase a special exhibition of cheongsams worn by celebrities and officials, including the traditional one worn by former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang (pictured) on July 1, 1997, the day the city was returned to China's sovereignty. The exhibition, at Olympian City in Tai Kok Tsui, will include a history of the cheongsam and a catwalk display of the outfits in a variety of modern designs and interpretations.

Verdict due on Pakistan PM's 'contempt'

Pakistan's Supreme Court is expected to deliver a verdict in a contempt case against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that could see him lose his job. A guilty verdict could result in Gilani serving up to six months in jail for refusing to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari, his political ally. The judges have repeatedly ordered the government to ask Swiss officials to reopen a graft case against Zardari, which was shelved in 2008, when he became president.

US trade envoy outlines Asia-Pacific vision

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to deliver a speech at a university in Singapore on the future of Asia-Pacific trade. During a visit to Southeast Asia, he met Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur. Reports said Kirk told Najib that he wanted to move forward quickly with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which involves the United States, Malaysia, Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It seeks to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade in the region.

Results may show Ford on the road to recovery

US car maker Ford is expected to announce quarterly results that will confirm its recovery from the global financial crisis. Earlier this week, Fitch upgraded Ford to investment status, and it is one step closer to unlocking collateral underpinning more than US$23 billion in loans taken out in 2006.