Talking points
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Causeway Bay for an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and calling for human rights in China, according to organisers. They say they expect a moving and solemn atmosphere and a silence will be observed as the park lights up in commemoration of the event. There will also be speeches, songs, slogans and a mock funeral procession. Candles are handed out at the entrances.
President Xi Jinping opens talks in Costa Rica today on his first official visit to Mexico. China has invested heavily in resource-rich Latin America in recent years, striking major trade deals with governments ranging from Venezuela to Argentina. Although Mexico is the only country in Central America to have diplomatic relations with China, it is one of the few countries in the region where ties have been slow to develop.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to participate in his first Nato ministerial meeting at the organisation's headquarters in Brussels. Talks are scheduled to focus on Afghanistan and the post-2014 Nato-led mission there. Cyber defence is also expected to be high on the agenda. He told reporters in Singapore on Friday that Washington remained committed to bolstering its military resources in Asia, despite severe cuts in the US defence budget.
Computex Taipei, the largest computer fair in Asia and second-largest in the world, according to organisers, opens in Taiwan. The latest offerings from the world's leading manufacturers will be on show in the exhibition, which runs for five days. The expo marks the 33rd edition of the event and features 1,700 exhibitors, occupying 5,100 booths. Goods and gadgets ranging from power supplies to peripherals and consumer products to wireless communications, will be on display. An estimated 36,000 international buyers are expected to attend this year.
South African paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is set to return to court as the hearing resumes in the murder trial involving the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius was accused of Steenkamp's murder after she was found dead in his home on February 14. The "Blade Runner" sprinter denies murder, claiming that her death was an accident and that he shot his girlfriend thinking she was a burglar. Pistorius was released from custody on bail in late February.
