Monday 15 March
On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will host annual consultations in Tokyo with the European Union, attended by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Meanwhile, US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be in London where, among other things, he is scheduled to participate in a discussion with his outgoing UK counterpart Sir Mervyn King on lessons learned from the financial crisis.
Tuesday 26 March
Also, South African President Jacob Zuma will host his counterparts from Russia, India, China and Brazil for a two-day summit in Durban.
In Doha, heads of state and government will convene for the annual League of Arab States summit, which also runs until Wednesday.
Lastly, in the United States the Supreme Court will take up the contentious issue of same-sex marriage, when it hears arguments in a case relating to California’s Prop 8. On Wednesday, the nine justices will hear arguments in a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.
Wednesday 27 March
The UN Security Council, meanwhile, is scheduled to discuss Mali.
Finally, a review into the ability of US military commanders to overturn convictions of servicemen is due to be handed to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. It follows criticism when this was used recently to overturn the conviction of an Air Force serviceman who had been found guilty in Italy of sexual assault.
Thursday 28 March
On Thursday, the latest mission to the International Space Station is due to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Finally, newly-inaugurated Pope Francis is scheduled to hold a Holy Thursday mass at a juvenile prison in Rome.
Friday 29 March
Pictures courtesy of Shutterstock.com – SeanPavonePhoto / Action Sports Photography
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The response of President Bashar Assad to the protests in Syria has been to launch a brutal crack down on his opponents that has reportedly led to the deaths of an estimated 6,000 people.
As the violence intensifies in the wake of the veto by Russia and China of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution condemning the violence, we will be discussing what options are now available to the people of Syria, the Free Syrian Army and President Bashar al-Assad and his regime.
What role should the international community play in the face this deepening crisis? Should the Arab League put more pressure on President Assad to cease the bombardment of rebel-held areas? What of the rest of the people of Syria, where does their support lie?
Chaired by BBC Arabic presenter Rasha Qandeel.
With:
Dr Mouna Ghanem, a Syrian politician and vice president of the Syrian political movement “building the Syrian state”. She is also a senior gender advisor with an extensive experience in the Arab region, mainly on women issues and reproductive health.
Ammar Waqqaf, member of the Syrian Social Club (a group of British Syrians and Syrians living in the UK, who prefer regime reform, rather than regime change.)
Ramita Navai, British-Iranian journalist and reporter for Channel 4’s foreign affairs series, Unreported World. Late last year she spent two weeks living undercover in Syria with members of the opposition movement.
Malik Al-Abdeh, chief editor of Barada TV a London-based Syrian opposition satellite channel and former BBC journalist.
]]>By Nicole Hunt
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court again on Monday, this time to be indicted on charges of contempt of court over what prosecutors say is his refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft investigations against allies, including President Asif Ali Zardari. Whether Gilani actually appears or not depends on the outcome of his last-minute appeal against the order.
The beginning of the week is filled with little bits and pieces that will be closely watched as part of the ongoing EU debt saga. Short-term debt auctions in France and Germany get things started on Monday, followed by the release of Greece’s fourth quarter GDP estimate on Tuesday, the same day the OECD publishes its Economic Survey of Germany.
Tuesday also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of ill-fated protests in Bahrain. Inspired by the toppling of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in Tunisia a month earlier and Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt just days before, protesters took to the streets and Manama’s Pearl Roundabout to demand political reform. The protests were later crushed as a state of emergency was imposed a month later, with the help of Saudi Arabian troops, and the Pearl Roundabout was demolished on 18 March.
As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces the prospect of having to appear before Parliament in the coming weeks to defend himself against allegations of economic mismanagement and shady friends, the country’s opposition Green Movement has called for demonstrations across the country to mark the one year anniversary of 2009 presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi being placed under house arrest for their support of Arab Spring protests.
Back to the EU on Wednesday as fourth quarter GDP estimates are released for the euro zone and Germany.
While recent Arab League meetings have been dominated by what’s happening in Syria and the state of the League’s observer mission there, a lower-profile meeting in Cairo shifts the focus briefly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of the League’s Follow-Up Committee are set to discuss the next steps in Palestinian negotiations with Israel, following the passing of a 26 January deadline without any Israeli commitments for a settlement freeze.
On Thursday, North Koreans mark what would have been the 70th birthday of recently-deceased leader Kim Jong-Il. Expect extravagant celebrations and more public mourning, and perhaps another parading of Kim’s son and heir, Kim Jong-un.
Ministers from the 56 countries that make up the Paris Pact Partners meet in Vienna to discuss how to combat the trafficking of opium and heroin from Afghanistan. The UNODC’s most recent Afghanistan Opium Survey, published in January, showed that opium prices in the country soared by 133 per cent last year.
Big celebrations are expected in Libya on Friday to mark the one year anniversary of the beginning of protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. As the initial protests prompted a violent crackdown from Gaddafi forces, the situation in Libya quickly turned into the most global of the Arab Spring protests, with NATO forces beginning action there in March and international action continuing up until Gaddafi’s death on 20 October and the subsequent declaration of liberation by the National Transitional Council.
The Rwandan Supreme Court is expected to announce the fate of two journalists sentenced to prison after being convicted of denying the 1994 genocide, inciting civil disobedience and causing divisions. Agnes Uwimana Nkusi and Saidati Kukakibibi, sentenced to 17 and seven years, respectively, await the outcome of their appeal.
Voters in Latvia go to the polls on Saturday to decide whether to introduce Russian as the country’s second official language. Native Russian speakers account for approximately a third of the population in the former Soviet nation; over 50 per cent of the electorate must approve the measure for it to take effect.
In Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaa get together to iron out the details of a new unity government, which is expected to be announced at the end of their meeting. They’re also expected to confirm a date for elections, which are due to take place around 4 May, one year from the date they signed an agreement ending four years of internal conflict.
Saturday is also the beginning of Rio Carnival!
And on an otherwise fairly quiet Sunday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in the spotlight – not in front of the courts, but on TV screens as he makes his appearance on the 500th episode of The Simpsons.
]]>By Nicole Hunt
IMF, European Central Bank and EU officials are scheduled to arrive in Athens on Monday to conduct a week-long assessment mission of Greece’s debt-reduction measures. Everyone will be hoping the troika visit goes better this time around than it did in September, when officials left Greece for nearly a month amid rumours of disagreements with their Greek counterparts.
Following controversial elections last year which were marred by allegations of electoral fraud,Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is inaugurated for her second term.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are among speakers at the opening day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Wen’s speech is part of a six-day Gulf tour to discuss energy interests, which began in Saudi Arabia and wraps up in Qatar.
On Tuesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics holds its first economic press conference of 2012, discussing China’s growth in 2011 and releasing the country’s most recent GDP figures.
In Washington, President Barack Obama meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Discussions are expected to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as Jordan has recently played host to a renewed round of discussions.
Embattled Spanish Supreme Court Judge Baltasar Garzon, who was suspended from his Supreme Court post in May 2010 amid allegations that he had overstepped his authority by investigating Franco-era disappearances despite a 1977 amnesty, goes on trial for allegedly ordering illegal wiretaps in the 2009 Gürtel case.
Attention turns once again to the EU debt crisis on Wednesday, as President Nicolas Sarkozy hosts a jobs summit in Paris, where it is rumoured that he will announce the end of the 35-hour work week. In London, Prime Ministers David Cameron and Mario Monti meet for the first time since Monti took over from Silvio Berlusconi last year.
The US Department of Defense has until Wednesday to comply with a request from the UK Government to transfer Yunus Rahmatullah to British custody so that he can be tried or released. Rahmatullah was captured by British forces in Iraq in 2004 and handed over to US forces before being rendered to Bagram Prison in Afghanistan where he has since been held without charge. The Government’s request was made in response to a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Court of Appeal.
The Arab League’s monitoring mission to Syria is expected to conclude its work on Thursday and issue a report into the situation in the country. In response to the report, the Arab League is expected to decide whether a strengthened mission must return to the country, or whether other action needs to be taken against President Bashar al Assad’s regime.
Mexico hosts the first G20 event of its presidency as Deputy Finance Ministers gather in Mexico City for a two-day meeting. The Deputies will lay the groundwork for a Finance Ministers’ meeting at the end of February.
As European banks face a deadline to submit their plans to raise some €115bn in capital on Friday, President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Mario Monti meet to discuss the new EU fiscal stability treaty ahead of an EU summit at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the troika review missions in Greece and Ireland are expected to finish, with the troika likely to issue its assessment of Ireland. The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Bata, Equatorial Guinea on Saturday. The first match sees Equatorial Guinea face off against Libya; the final is held in Libreville, Gabon on 12 February.
The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Bata, Equatorial Guinea on Saturday. The first match sees Equatorial Guinea face off against Libya; the final is held in Libreville, Gabon on 12 February.
Republican candidate hopeful Mitt Romney is hoping to follow up success in the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary with a win in the South Carolina primary. The South Carolina vote is an open primary, which allows Democrats and Independents to participate in the vote. Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has always gone on to win the Republican nomination.
The week closes with two European elections. Croatia holds a long-awaited referendum on EU accession following the signing of an accession treaty on 9 December. If accession is approved in the vote, Croatia will officially join the European Union on 1 July.
Finland holds the first round of its presidential election, with a potential second round scheduled for 5 February if necessary. Incumbent Tarja Halonen isn’t eligible for a third term, and her Social Democrat Party’s candidate Paavo Lipponen has been dwarfed in recent polls by the National Coalition Party’s Sauli Niinisto.
]]>By Nicole Hunt
The week starts off with a bang as humankind hits a big milestone on Monday – the UN is marking the day as the moment the world’s population surpasses seven billion people.
A deadline set by the Arab League two weeks ago for Syrian President Bashar al Assad to open dialogue with the Syrian opposition council expires. Syria risks expulsion from the regional bloc over concerns at the rising death toll from nine months of action against anti-government protesters, which has already topped 3,000.
With Cannes off-limits to all but world leaders, the traditional anti-G20 rally is being held in Nice on Tuesday. The demonstration kicks off a four-day ‘alternative summit’, with many of the world’s biggest NGOs expected to be in attendance.
The two-day London Conference on Cybersecurity begins in London, with Foreign Secretary William Hague, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales all scheduled to speak.
Turkey hosts the Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan on Wednesday, focusing on security and cooperation in the heart of Asia; Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are among those attending. While the Conference could have been lost in the build up to the G20, Karzai’s expected announcement of the next areas where Afghan security forces will take control from NATO is bound to keep it in the headlines.
Of course the G20 itself kicks off on Thursday, though it wouldn’t be surprising if many of the European leaders involved are quite sick of seeing each other – for some, this will be their third meeting in 12 days.
While the G20 leaders are discussing the world’s financial problems, the European Central Bank’s Governing Council will be holding the first of its two meetings this month. The meeting is the first chaired by former Italian Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi, who replaces Jean-Claude Trichet as ECB President on 1 November.
The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca begins on Friday. The five-day festival has in recent years attracted nearly two million foreign pilgrims, making it the largest pilgrimage in the world. Muslims who have the means to make the journey are required to do so at least once during their lifetime.
The Mars500 simulated mission to Mars ‘returns’ to Earth at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow. The crew members have been in an isolation chamber for 17 months, even performing several simulated spacewalks during their journey.
Italy’s Partido Democratico holds a pro-democracy, anti-Berlusconi rally in Rome on Saturday. The opposition party is using the occasion to launch its proposals for the reconstruction of the world’s economy and an alternative to Silvio Berlusconi’s embattled government.
In Cape Town, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, an international tribunal investigating Israeli complicity in human rights abuses against Palestinians, opens its South African evidence session, with opening remarks from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and an address from Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
The week closes with two Central American elections. In Guatemala, Otto Perez Molino of the Partido Patriota faces off against Manuel Baldizon of the Libertad Democratica Renovada party in a presidential run-off. Molina won 13 per cent more of the vote in the 11 September first round election.
Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, incumbent President Daniel Ortega is eligible for a second term following an October 2009 decision by the country’s Supreme Court that removed constitutional obstacles that would have prevented him from standing again. Voters also elect members to the country’s parliament.
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