Talking points

A former Hong Kong investment banker is sentenced in Sydney for a bizarre plot that saw him hang a fake collar bomb around the neck of a terrified schoolgirl. Paul Peters sent a note demanding money using the alias "Dirk Struan", a character from James Clavell's Hong Kong-set novel Taipan. He pleaded guilty in March to putting the "bomb", which contained no explosives, around Madeleine Pulver's neck.

The president of Renmin University, Chen Yulu, will reveal details in Beijing of a new collection of English translations of famous Peking operas. Since its beginnings in the late 18th century, the opera form popularised in the capital has emerged as a key symbol of ancient Chinese culture. The new translations are the latest in a series of attempts to modernise the art form and make it more relevant to contemporary audiences.