Talking points

The 20th Fifa World Cup kicks off after seven years of preparation and US$14 billion in Brazilian government expenditure. A total of 32 teams are competing for the trophy. The first match sees Brazil take on Croatia in Sao Paulo. It will be aired in Hong Kong early tomorrow morning. However, the organisation of the event has not gone without problems. Stadium collapses and public protests against spending have drawn attention to the way in which Fifa organises tournaments.

Today is the deadline for Hong Kong's legislative councillors to return questionnaires on how they would deal with filibusters under Legco's rules of procedure. There have been calls for the rules to be toughened to deal with the kind of filibuster that delayed the passage of the budget this year and last. Pro-government legislators tend to be in favour of strengthening the rules, while pan-democrats oppose such a move.