Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ... Chungking Mansions marks half a century Today marks the 50th anniversary of Chungking Mansions, the international city-within-a-city of cheap electronics, watches, food and lodgings. To celebrate, the iconic building in Tsim Sha Tsui has undergone a HK$20 million facelift. Legislative Council president Tsang Yok-sing and the deputy director of the Kowloon sub-office of the central government liaison office, He Jing, are expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning. The new facade will be revealed at 8pm and about 600 new LED lights will shine in Nathan Road every night. A window on mood of American consumers The University of Michigan releases the results of its monthly consumer sentiment survey of 500 households. The survey asks questions about financial conditions and attitudes to the economy. Attention is increasingly focused on consumer spending in the world's biggest economy amid growing fears it could end up in a prolonged recession. Auspicious 11/11 brings wave of weddings Thousands of Chinese couples are due to get married on a day dubbed 'singles day' in China because the date is made up entirely of number ones. The Shanghai Morning Post said more than 3,000 couples were booked to marry in thecity on a day it called a 'once-in-a-century opportunity'. Other cities were reporting similar wedding mania, with more than 400 couples in the central city of Wuhan and 100 couples in the eastern city of Jinan planning to marry because of the auspicious date. Forum lays groundwork for climate conference The China Meteorological Administration hosts a forum on the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Durban, South Africa, later this month. The forum will look at China's strategy for the Durban conference, as well as launch an annual climate change study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The State Council on Wednesday approved a plan to slow greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to cut 17 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 2015. Palestinians switch to backup plan for UN Palestinians are resigned to defeat in their quest for full membership of the United Nations, officials say, and have started work on their backup plan - seeking an upgraded observer status that would give them access to important international organisations. A draft report circulating in the Security Council shows deep divisions over the Palestinian application for membership. The Palestinian campaign, launched with a dramatic speech by president Mahmoud Abbas at UN headquarters in September (pictured), has fallen on hard times in recent weeks. While the speech was warmly received, the Palestinians have struggled to muster the nine votes needed in the 15-member Security Council for approval of their bid for membership as a state.
