Talking points
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
US President Barack Obama chairs a UN Security Council meeting on the fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The meeting allows the council to debate a resolution which would address the problem of foreign fighters. According to US intelligence officials, more than 12,000 foreign fighters are active in the area, including 1,000 from Europe and 100 from the United States. The debate comes as the US launches air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.
The Friends of Yemen group discusses current developments in the country on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Co-chaired by Britain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the meeting brings together ministers and representatives from 39 countries and multiple international organisations in a bid to help bolster support for Yemen, which has recently faced an uprising by Huthi tribesmen from the north of the country.
India's low-cost Mangalyaan spacecraft is expected to start orbiting Mars. The craft lifted off in November last year. If all goes well, a probe will be sent into the planet's atmosphere to search for methane. It is India's first interplanetary probe, making it the fourth agency to reach Mars after the former Soviet Union, the United States and Europe. However, two-thirds of the 51 missions sent to the red planet have failed.
University students continue their class boycott in a bid to persuade Beijing to change its stance on the 2017 chief executive election. They will continue their protests at the government headquarters in Tamar. An estimated 13,000 people gathered at a rally at Chinese University on Monday to launch the action. School students will join the boycott on Friday. A seminar for parents is being held tonight to explain the boycott.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is the guest of honour at the Shaw Prize award ceremony at the Convention and Exhibition Centre. The awards are given each year for astronomy, life sciences and medicine, and mathematical sciences. Six winners will attend, including the three astronomy awardees - Daniel Eisenstein, Shaun Cole and John Peacock. Each prize bears an award of US$1 million. The awards were launched in 2002.
Jews around the world start celebrating the two-day new year holiday called Rosh Hashanah. It is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. Traditional activities include blowing a hollowed-out ram's horn and eating apples and honey to symbolise the arrival of a sweet new year.
