Our editors will catch up on these developing stories when we return ...
Tsang to make final Beijing briefing
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (pictured) flies to Beijing tomorrow for his last visit to the capital as Hong Kong's chief executive. He is expected to brief President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on the city's latest economic, social and political developments. Tsang, who will stand down on June 30, will also meet top officials from the National Development and Reform Commission and the People's Bank of China before returning home on Tuesday.
Lahore deploys snipers to keep Christians safe
Police in Lahore, home to most of Pakistan's tiny Christian community, will deploy snipers and hundreds of extra policemen to deter attacks against the minority group over Christmas. None of the city's 433 churches had been specifically targeted, said police spokesman Nayab Haider. Still, he said: 'We have placed 38 churches in category A, which are most sensitive, and, among them 20 are even more sensitive, as we expect foreigners to visit these churches on Christmas Eve'.
Seoul briefing assesses North Korean outlook
Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun (pictured) and South Korean First Vice-Minister Park Suk-Hwan will hold 'annual strategic talks' in Seoul next week. 'The meeting is aimed at sharing views on the current situation in North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-il and consulting on the way forward regarding the Korean Peninsula,' the Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified official as saying. Efforts to revive six-party negotiations on scrapping the North's nuclear programme will also be discussed.
