Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Munch painting in with a shout for world record
A version of Edvard Munch's The Scream could become the most expensive painting sold at auction if predictions of a price of up to US$150 million are to be believed. Sotheby's has given no official estimate of the price it expects for the privately owned work, but experts estimate it will sell for between US$80 million and US$150 million when auctioned in New York. If it sells for more than US$106.5 million, it will have broken the record set in May 2010 with the sale in New York by Christie's of Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust.
Sarkozy, Hollande eye votes of far right in TV debate
French presidential contenders Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande face each other in a televised debate, the last chance for the right-wing president to lure voters away from his socialist rival before the second round of voting on Sunday. Incumbent Sarkozy has been clawing back points from front-runner Hollande, whose own presidential bid has been hit by the intrusion of disgraced IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn into the campaign. Both Sarkozy and Hollande are appealing to the voters who gave far-right leader Marine Le Pen a surprise 17.9 per cent in the first round.
Taxman reports on 2011-12 collection
Tax commissioner Chu Yam-yuen (left) gives his annual briefing on tax collection and individual tax returns. Last year, the Inland Revenue Department estimated the total tax take would reach HK$201 billion in the 2011-12 fiscal year, down slightly on the record HK$209 billion of the previous year. That total was 17 per cent up on 2009-10 and beat the record HK$200 billion set in 2007-08. Chu reported last year that the number of taxpayers had risen by 48,000 to 1.43 million due to the recovering economy.