Talking points

South Korea's rocket scientists will be working out whether they should dare to launch the nation's first domestically produced rocket from the new Naro Space Centre off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. A window of opportunity opens tomorrow. The rocket is due to deploy the STSAT-2C Science and Technology Satellite. The third attempt had been scheduled for October 26, but it was scrubbed at the last minute due to a fuel leak.

In what has been billed as Poland's biggest arts auction, rare photographs of Marilyn Monroe are up for sale along with scores of images of Hollywood stars including Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor - all taken by Milton Greene, who died in 1985. Each of the 240 photos has a minimum price of about HK$720. In a bizarre twist, the collection, which totals 4,000 images, was acquired by Poland as part of a 1995 foreign-debt settlement.