Talking points

Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...

Indian court to hear Mumbai gunman's plea

The Supreme Court in New Delhi will hear the appeal of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (left), a Pakistani citizen and the only gunman captured alive during the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Nine others, all Pakistanis, were shot dead during the two-day siege, in which almost 170 people were murdered. In July, Indian media reported that Kasab had appealed to the highest court against his conviction and death sentence. India is still seeking extradition of seven Pakistanis it has identified as conspirators behind the Mumbai attack. A Pakistani judicial commission is in India to conduct its own investigation into the attack.

Dissident faces trial over 'subversive' poem

Dissident Zhu Yufu will go on trial in Hangzhou Intermediate Court on charges of subversion, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, citing Zhu's wife. It said other local dissidents have been warned not to leave home today or have already been taken away from the city. Zhu, 60, was arrested in April for 'inciting subversion of state power'. His lawyer said the main reason for the indictment was a poem Zhu had written calling on people to gather at the time of the 'jasmine revolutions' in North Africa and the Middle East.

Bargain offer on UA Times Square's last day

Times Square's UA cinema complex is offering tickets for just HK$18 to mark the last day before it closes to make way for a shop selling luxury products. Times Square has said a new cinema complex will open on the 12th and 13th floors, but tomorrow's closure is seen as symptomatic of a decline in the city that gave the world such film greats as Bruce Lee, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai and the Shaw brothers. The Theatres Association says the number of cinemas has fallen from 120-plus in the late 1980s to about 40.

Taiwan GDP tipped to show contraction

Taiwan's gross domestic product figures are expected to show it has taken a hit from the global economic slowdown, with economists forecasting the export powerhouse contracted on a quarterly basis in 2011's last quarter. Demand from the mainland and Europe has contracted, and Taiwan's industrial production in December shrank more than 8 per cent.

Shenzhen raises minimum pay to 1,500 yuan

Shenzhen boosts its minimum wage to 1,500 yuan (HK$1,842) a month from tomorrow, up about 13.6 per cent on the 1,320 yuan set in April. The minimum hourly rate for part-time staff will also rise, from 11.1 yuan to 13.3 yuan. Compensation for overtime and employers' contributions to staff social insurance will also be affected as a result of the new minimum wage.

Florida passes judgment on Gingrich and Romney

The Republicans hold a crucial primary election in Florida and polls show Newt Gingrich (left) will probably be clobbered by Mitt Romney, even though the former speaker of the US House of Representatives crushed Romney the weekend before last in South Carolina. Money for TV attack ads appears to be a key factor. Romney and his supporters have outspent Gingrich in the Florida campaign by at least three to one - US$6.8 million for Romney to US$2.2 million for Gingrich.