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World sees in Year of the Snake

Talking points

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

Agencies

From firework displays over Victoria Harbour to a live television gala featuring Celine Dion in Beijing, the world sees in the Year of the Snake and says farewell to the Year of the Dragon in style. Lunar New Year festivities will take place in Chinese communities around the world. Perhaps one of the strangest bookings comes in Georgetown, Malaysia, tomorrow where the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak marks the occasion with a performance by rapper Psy.

 

The euro zone may be in deep crisis, but there's at least one nation anxious to start using the European currency. The government of Latvia is expected as soon as tomorrow to forward its formal request to the European Commission to begin using the euro from next year. The world economic crisis has hit Latvia hard, with unemployment levels reaching more than 20 per cent.

 

The stars of the music world gather in Los Angeles tomorrow night for one of the most glittering events in the calendar, the Grammy Awards. Stars including Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and Elton John are scheduled to perform, with rapper and actor LL Cool J taking on the hosting duties. Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and Kanye West lead the nominations with six apiece.

 

KFC launches its big fight-back on the mainland tomorrow after a food-safety scandal left its reputation as battered as its chicken. The chain, owned by US conglomerate Yum Brands, was exposed by CCTV in December for buying chicken from farmers who used excessive levels of antibiotics in their animals. The company is promising an aggressive marketing campaign during the coming holiday, starting tomorrow.

 

Soccer fans can enjoy a holiday feast. A Hong Kong League XI is taking on Muangthong United of Thailand, Shanghai East Asia and Korean League side Busan IPark in the Lunar New Year tournament at the Hong Kong Stadium. The action gets under way tomorrow and ends on Wednesday. The Lunar New Year Cup is one of the longest-running tournaments in Hong Kong, dating back to the 1950s.

 

It isn't just Chinese people celebrating this week. In Allahabad, India, at least 20 million people are expected to bathe in the Ganges tomorrow on the main day of Kumbh Mela, the world's biggest religious festival. The event, which takes place every 12 years, has its origins in Hindu mythology, which tells how a few drops of the nectar of immortality fell on the four places that host the festival, Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

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