Talking points

WHO chief returns to Hong Kong

World Health Organisation chief Dr Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun returns to her home town to give a talk at the Asia Society on the challenges of fighting global infectious diseases in an increasingly interdependent world. Chan, who spent nine years as Hong Kong's director of public health, was reappointed to a second term at the top of the WHO earlier this year and will stay in office until 2017.

Court to rule in Mekong murder case

Yunnan's provincial High Court will hear the appeal of the six people convicted of murdering of 13 Chinese sailors aboard two cargo ships on the Mekong River in Thailand in October last year. Four men, including notorious Myanmese militia ringleader and drug lord Naw Kham, were sentenced to death by Kunming Intermediate Court in Yunnan last month. Another man received a suspended death sentence and a sixth man was jailed for eight years. The men are from Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, with one being listed as having no nationality.

New survey on threatened porpoise

The results of an environmental survey on the Yangtze River finless porpoise are released in Beijing. Mainland marine biologists launched a campaign to save the rare aquatic mammal last month amid reports that their numbers had dwindled to about 1,000 from 1,800 in 2006. The mainland's break-neck economic development, including large dam schemes on the Yangtze, is thought to have contributed to their decline.

Taiwanese couple fights for gay marriage

The international battle over gay marriage opens a new front in Taipei, where a court will rule on an appeal by a same-sex couple against a government agency's refusal to register their marriage. Counsel for Nelson Chen, also known as Chen Ching-hseuh, and Kao Chih-wei argue that Taiwan's civil code does not clearly state that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Clubs await Champions League draw

Europe's biggest soccer clubs learn their path to Champions League glory at a ceremony in Nyon, Switzerland. Sixteen teams remain in contention after the group stages, and three two-leg matches stand between them and the final in London. Defending champions Chelsea crashed out in the group stages, but the likes of Barcelona, led by captain Carles Puyol, Real Madrid and Manchester United will be the teams everyone wants to avoid.

City's inflation statistics released

Another indicator of the state of the city's economy emerges with the Census and Statistics Department's release of November's consumer price index figures. Year-on-year inflation stood at 3.8 per cent in October, the same as the figure for September. The government expects inflation to remain contained for the rest of the year.