Talking Points

An application to approve funding for the old-age living allowance goes back before the Finance Committee for the third time following a stand-off between the government and lawmakers. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says a means test for applicants is non-negotiable. Some pan-democrats want everyone 65 and over to be eligible, while other lawmakers want the means test scrapped for those 70 and over. In the meantime, the city's elderly poor must wait for the HK$2,200 allowance.
 

A restructuring plan that could see up to 7,000 job losses is expected to be revealed by Spanish airline Iberia at a meeting with labour unions. Business at Iberia, part of International Airlines Group together with British Airways, has been hit by recession in Spain, which remains at the centre of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. "The only thing we know is that they want to announce a massive staff lay-off plan," said one union spokesman.
 

The original gingham dress worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz is expected to fetch the equivalent of about US$500,000 when it goes under the hammer in the United States. Other items on sale at the auction in California include Steve McQueen's distressed jeans from the 1966 drama The Sand Pebbles, Pierce Brosnan's James Bond suit from Goldeneye, and Christopher Reeves' costume from Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.