Talking Points

Travellers entering the mainland will find inspectors at the borders standing ready to confiscate any fresh fruit or vegetables they may be carrying. The new regulations that take effect today also ban edible bird's nests, except in cans, and all live animals except pet cats and dogs, which are limited to one per traveller. The rules are designed to bring China into line with international quarantine standards and protect "domestic agriculture from biological pollution".
 

British fashion brand Burberry opens the doors on its new Hong Kong flagship store at the Pacific Place mall in Admiralty. While another high-fashion outlet will please shopaholics, the growth of luxury brand stores has been accused of edging out local businesses. At Pacific Place, Burberry is taking over the former Lane Crawford store, setting off a chain reaction of relocations as the department store moved to the cheaper Causeway Centre nearby, pushing up rents.
 

United Nations peacekeepers hand over responsibility for policing East Timor to the local government as they continue their withdrawal from Asia's youngest nation. The UN mission was sent into East Timor in 2006 after a violent political crisis in which dozens were killed and 15 per cent of its 1 million-strong population fled their homes. The last peacekeepers are due to leave by December 15.