The long wait is over for film fans as director Peter Jackson unveils the follow-up to the trilogy. gets its world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand, the country where it was made. Like the earlier fantasy series, is based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkein and set in Middle Earth. Up to 100,000 people are expected to line the streets of New Zealand's capital to greet its stars.

Hong Kong's stargazers are hoping for clear skies to view a penumbral lunar eclipse from the city. The Observatory says the moon will become dimmer when it passes through the earth's penumbra, the outer shadow of the earth in which solar radiation is only partially blocked. The eclipse will begin at about 8.13pm and last for four hours and 41 minutes, although the effect is not nearly as spectacular as a fuller eclipse.

Two mainland companies planning to list in Hong Kong are expected to release prices for their floats. Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group, the mainland's largest maker of equipment for coal mining, plans to raise US$300 million to US$350 million through an initial public offering in Hong Kong, while Future Land Development, a property developer based in Jiangsu province, plans to raise up to HK$2.54 billion through its IPO.

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and others accused of involvement in a Lille vice ring learn whether the charges will be dropped. An appeal court in Douai, France, will rule on whether the inquiry should continue. Strauss-Kahn wants it abandoned on the grounds that the charge of pimping was not backed up and that rules governing investigations were not followed, defence lawyer Richard Malka said.