Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Iran top of agenda for Obama-Netanyahu meeting
US President Barack Obama meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, but peace talks with the Palestinians that dominated their meeting last year will probably barely warrant a mention. The US, Israel and much of the world are trying to figure out how to deal with Iran's nuclear programme. Netanyahu has insisted Israel has the right to self-defence. In an apparent nod to him before the talks, Obama said that if sanctions failed to curb Tehran's ambitions, US military action against its nuclear facilities should not be ruled out.
Events commemorate a soldier's selfless example
Commemorative activities take place across the mainland to mark the 49th anniversary of the day Chairman Mao Zedong coined the phrase 'Learn from Comrade Lei Feng'. Lei, a People's Liberation Army soldier, was turned into a propaganda icon and example of self-sacrifice and devotion to the Communist Party after his accidental death in 1962. The party has launched a major campaign this year to commemorate Lei in an apparent effort to foster such values in society.
Congress provides clues on leadership manoeuvring
China's parliament, the National People's Congress, opens its last annual session under the present leadership amid what analysts say may be an intense power struggle ahead of the key leadership transition in autumn. Comprising more than 3,000 delegates, the NPC has limited power. The meeting in the Great Hall of the People serves more as a grand rally exalting the Communist Party than a forum for real parliamentary debate. But it is a chance to see the nation's most influential players under one roof, and analysts will be looking for clues about who may ascend to the top echelons of power at the 18th Party Congress in autumn.
