Talking Points, December 5, 2014
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
The world commemorates the first anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela - South Africa's first post-apartheid president. The South African government leads ceremonies to mark his death. Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, politician and philanthropist who served as president from 1994 to 1999. He spent 27 years in prison before he was released. He engaged in talks with the apartheid government, which led to black rule in the country.
US President Barack Obama meets King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House. They are set to discuss the campaign against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, the civil war in Syria and ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestinians. Jordan is a key US ally in the Middle East and one of five Arab states participating in the US-led campaign against IS militants in the region.
French President Francois Hollande makes a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan. He is scheduled to meet with his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the capital Astana and review agreements reached in 2012 during a visit to France by the Kazakh leader. There will be a strong environmental element to the trip. Hollande will, for example, visit the Astana Solar company, which produces solar panels with French help.
Hong Kong Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing attends a ceremony to launch a green building product certification scheme. It's organised by the Green Building Council, which was established in 2009 to promote the development of sustainable buildings in the city. The council seeks to raise green building awareness by engaging the public, industry and the government and developing solutions for Hong Kong's high-rise, high-density urban environment.
The rival premiers of Turkey and Greece, Ahmet Davutoglu and Antonis Samaris, attend a meeting of their joint cooperation council in Athens. The meeting takes place despite tensions over Turkey conducting seismic tests off the divided island of Cyprus in a bid to locate oil and gas reserves. There have been warnings that the tests could derail talks aimed at reuniting the island, which is split into Greek and Turkish sectors.
Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso Sing-yu takes to a ring of a different type. He gives a lunch speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. The boxer, who's fresh from victory in Macau against Indonesian Espinos Sabu, speaks about his career, his ambitions and how he fought his way up to become the first major boxer to emerge from Hong Kong. Tso has a record of 15 consecutive wins since turning pro in 2011.
