By Nicole Hunt

Former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde is back in front of the Landsdomur court in Reykjavik on Monday. Haarde is charged with negligence over the country’s banking collapse in October 2008, though charges that he neglected his duties and that he failed to conduct a proper risk analysis have already been dropped. The Landsdomur was set up over 100 years ago to try parliamentarians, but had never been used until Haarde was charged.

Despite reportedly being denied permission from city authorities, Muscovites are likely to take to the streets in protest following Sunday’s presidential election. While former President/current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to be returned comfortably to the top post for a third term, the thousands of people who have protested in recent months are unlikely to disappear quietly.

The long-awaited Deepwater Horizon trial is scheduled to begin in New Orleans, having been delayed from 27 February at the last minute to allow more time for negotiations. Judge Carl Barbier has been tasked with trying to ascertain which companies should share the responsibility, and therefore cost, for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, which devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast. The trial is expected to be divided into three phases, and is likely to last the rest of the year, if not longer.

Tuesday is, of course, not just your regular everyday ordinary Tuesday – it’s Super Tuesday (in the US, at least). Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virgina all hold their Republican primary contests, bringing us just shy of the halfway point; only 27 more primaries to go!

In election news that will attract considerably less international attention but is being closely watched domestically, results from elections in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarkhand are due to be released on Tuesday. Although a general election isn’t due until 2014, the results will be viewed as an indicator of party support.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey are testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. The hearing is focused on Syria, which is notable both because of the current situation in the country and because the Armed Services Committee doesn’t usually meet to discuss countries the US military isn’t actively involved in – let alone with senior military figures.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies launches its annual Military Balance report in London, assessing the military capabilities and defence economics of 170 countries, as well as general defence expenditure trends. Last year, the report looked at when China’s military might become a threat to US power in the Pacific.

And heads up to the Apple fanboys out there (though any dedicated follower should know already): Apple is due to launch the iPad 3 in San Fransisco.

On Thursday, Continental Airlines’ appeal hearing opens in a Versailles court. The airline is challenging a December 2010 judgement which found it responsible for the 25 July, 2000 crash of a Concorde airliner after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport, which killed 109 people on board and four on the ground. Continental was fined €200,000, while its mechanic John Taylor was given a 15-month suspended sentence; three French employers of Aeorspatiale, Taylor’s supervisor Stanley Ford, and France’s aviation authority were cleared of responsibility.

Foreign Secretary William Hague appears before Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee’s annual hearing on developments in UK foreign policy. Expect questions on Syria and Iran, as well as discussions on the EU following the signing of the EU fiscal stability treaty.

Thursday is also International Women’s Day.

The UN’s Commission of Inquiry into Libya, which was established in February 2011 to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law in the country then led by Muammar Gaddafi, is due to present its final report to the Human Rights Council on Friday. While the report will focus on Gaddafi-era abuses, it follows recent allegations that pro-Gaddafi prisoners have been tortured at the hands of liberating militias.

Greece’s provisional fourth quarter GDP figures are released on the same day that the Finance Ministry launches a €200bn debt swap for private bondholders as part of a new rescue package. Bondholder responses to the debt swap will be closely watched; the offer closes on 12 March.

The week rounds out with two elections on an otherwise fairly quiet and sombre weekend. 

Slovakians elect 150 members to their National Council on Saturday, with the current opposition parties hoping to capitalise on public resistance to Slovakia’s involvement in EU debt bailouts. Prime Minister Iveta Radicova’s coalition government was brought down in October over changes to the European Financial Stability Facility, which Slovakians felt put them on the hook for bailing out larger and wealthier countries.  

On Sunday, El Salvador holds a vote to elect 84 members to the Congress, with municipal elections also taking place across the country. Polling shows that the conservative Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) are leading the race, ahead of the leftist Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) party, led by President Mauricio Funes.

Sunday also marks the first anniversary of the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake off of Japan’s Honshu coast, causing a 10m tsunami that wiped out whole towns and triggered a nuclear crisis at the country’s Fukushima power plant. Over 15,000 people are known to have died, while over 3,200 are still missing one year on.

By Nicole Hunt

Monday looks to be the biggest day of what should be an interesting week internationally. Kicking off with the ongoing EU debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin to iron out amendments to the new EU fiscal stability treaty that was agreed last month.

Italian bank Unicredit opens its €7.5bn rights issue, having discounted shares by about 43 per cent in a bid to raise funds. Investors will be watching the sale closely to gauge market support for European banks.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak begins a three-day visit to China at the invitation of President Hu Jintao. Discussions are expected to focus heavily on regional security in the wake of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial, which has dragged on for nearly two years, finally comes to an end as the jury is scheduled to deliver its verdict in Kuala Lumpur. In addition to Ibrahim’s freedom – he faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty – the verdict will also determine who will run against Prime Minister Najib Razak in the country’s next elections, which are not due until June 2013 but look increasingly likely to be called this year.

Attentions turn Stateside on Tuesday as New Hampshire Republicans cast their ballots in the presidential primary. Following the 3 January Iowa Caucus, in which Mitt Romney beat Rick Santorum by just eight votes, Michelle Bachman announced that she was dropping out of the race.

In Washington, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announces whether to move the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock, which represents how close humanity is to ‘catastrophic destruction’. The last time the clock was moved, in January 2010, the BAS’ outlook was somewhat positive, moving the minute hand back one minute from five to six minutes before midnight.

Tuesday also marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention centre.

The High Court in London is expected to rule on Wednesday whether the Occupy London protesters can remain in their camp outside of St Paul’s Cathedral. Despite legal action from the City of London Corporation, the camp has been in place since 15 October.

The World Economic Forum releases its annual Global Risk Report ahead of the Davos Forum, which opens on 25 January. Last year’s report found that the financial crisis had ‘drained’ the world’s ability to deal with shocks.

The European Central Bank’s Governing Council meets in Frankfurt on Thursday to decide whether to raise, lower, or maintain the euro area’s interest rate. After last month’s meeting, during which the interest rate was decreased to 1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi announced major refinancing operations to support bank lending and market activity.

Alleged al Qaeda member Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who pled guilty in October to attempting to set off an explosive device in his underwear on a Detroit flight on Christmas Day in 2009, is sentenced in Detroit.

India is hoping to celebrate a milestone anniversary on Friday. If no new cases of polio are reported between now and then, the country will mark its first-ever year without any new cases. The World Health Organisation considers a disease to be eradicated when no new cases are reported for three consecutive years. Apple is set for a massive sales boost as the iPhone 4S goes on sale in China and 21 other countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Apple is set for a massive sales boost as the iPhone 4S goes on sale in China and 21 other countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the resignation of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose 23-year rule was ended after nearly a month of protests dubbed the Jasmine Revolution. The success of protests in Tunisia spurred similar movements across the region, with widely varying results in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, Morocco and Syria.

In Taiwan, voters go to the polls to elect a new President for a four year term. Incumbent Ma Ying-jeou faces challenges from China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen and pro-Beijing James Soong.

Elections also take place in Kazakhstan on Sunday, following President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s snap decision to dissolve Parliament on 16 November. The vote is expected to see at least one opposition party enter Parliament, usually dominated by Nazarvbaeyev’s Nur Otan party, though that party is likely to be close ally Ak Zholl.

By Nicole Hunt

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meets in Vienna on Monday, with Iran likely to be high on the agenda following last week’s report expressing increased concerns over ‘undisclosed nuclear related activities’ in the country.

Bouthaina Shaaban, political adviser to Syrian President Bashar al Assad, is in Moscow, where she is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and hold a press conference for international media. Shaaban was one of three Syrian officials slapped with sanctions by the US Treasury Department at the end of August.

The African National Congress is expected to wrap up disciplinary proceedings against controversial ANC youth leader Julius Malema on Tuesday, having recently moved the hearing from the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House to an undisclosed location in Johannesburg following violent protests last week. Malema is accused of bringing the ANC into disrepute and sowing divisions within ANC ranks after he encouraged the overthrow of Botswana’s government.

In Brussels, the OECD publishes its annual Education at a Glance report, analysing the education systems and performances in member states. For the first time, this year’s report also looks at education in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg hears a complaint on Wednesday brought by four people who say they were illegally deprived of their liberty without justification while they were held in a police ‘kettle’ during the 2001 May Day protests in London.

In New York, the UN Security Council holds a debate on drought-stricken Somalia, where security issues have compounded problems as aid struggles to get into the country and people struggle to get out.

Parliamentary elections take place in Denmark on Thursday. Recent polls say Helle Thorning-Schmidt could be the country’s next Prime Minister, as her opposition Social Democrat party looks poised to win the most seats.

A court in The Hague is due to rule on Apple’s application to ban sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phones. A temporary injunction banning sales and distribution throughout much of Europe was issued on 11 August, but is not due to come into effect until 13 October.

Following debates this week in several European parliaments on new powers for the European Financial Stability Fund, European finance ministers begin a two-day meeting on Friday.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague holds a confirmation of charges hearing for Callixte Mbarushimana, a former UN employee charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009. Mbarushimana is alleged to have been the executive secretary of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and directly responsible for at least 32 deaths in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide while still employed by the UN, but has never been charged.

Libyan schools are scheduled to re-open on Saturday, with a brand new curriculum devoid of Gaddafi-era subjects such as the Green Book.

At the Dead Sea in Israel, photographer Spencer Turnick stages another mass nude photoshoot, hoping to bring awareness to the fact that the famously salty lake is drying up.

The week wraps up with state elections in Berlin, the sixth in Germany this year. The regional elections have generally proven disastrous for Angela Merkel’s CDU party, which has suffered losses country-wide to the Social Democrats, a trend that many expect to continue into the 2013 federal election.