Talking points
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Struggling Japanese electronics giant Sharp sets out its plans for a turnaround at its headquarters in Osaka. According to reports last month, the plan will see a further 5,000 jobs cut, including at television plants in China and Malaysia, as the company looks to reduce its workforce to about 46,000 in time for the 2015 fiscal year. The firm is also expected to announce a reshuffle of its management.
Australia's government sets out its last annual budget before a general election later this year. While Chinese demand for raw materials such as iron ore and coal kept Australia out of recession during the global economic crisis, a cooling of the mining boom combined with a stubbornly high currency is eating into Australia's corporate tax revenue. Treasurer Wayne Swan will put the plan, which will need lawmakers' approval, to parliament in Canberra.
The deadline arrives tonight for Taipei's ultimatum to Manila, demanding an apology for the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman. Taiwan says it will freeze all new applications by Filipinos to work on the island if the Philippines refuses to apologise and bring those responsible to justice. The fisherman was killed by the Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday in the Bashi Strait, provoking outrage in Taiwan.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf's two-week house arrest comes to an end, with a court expected to rule on whether to extend his detention. Musharraf is accused of failing to provide adequate protection to the country's assassinated former leader Benazir Bhutto. The former four-star general's troubles reflect a change in the balance of power in Pakistan, where the military has stepped back from overt meddling in political affairs.
Two men learn their sentence for assaulting a photographer as she took pictures of parallel traders in Sheung Shui. Cheng Shing-wing and Li Hak earlier pleaded guilty in Fanling Court to one count each of common assault, but they denied being parallel-goods traders. Cheng, 52, slapped photographer May Tse and shoved her left shoulder, while Li, 51, shouted foul language at her, the court heard.
One of Hong Kong's quirkiest and most popular annual festivals gets under way on the island of Cheung Chau. The annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival commences with processions of children balancing on poles and dressed as traditional deities accompanied by gongs and lion dancing. The final night, on Saturday, is the quirky bit. Competitors scramble up a tower to collect buns in order to claim the title of king or queen of buns.
