By Nicole Hunt

Foreign Secretary William Hague visits Moscow on Monday for talks with Sergey Lavrov. The meeting, which always has the potential to be a bit awkward when it comes to Syria and bilateral issues, will likely focus primarily on Iran, as Moscow agreed last week to host the next round of P5+1 nuclear talks on 18-19 June.

Back in London, radical cleric Abu Qatada faces a bail hearing as he continues to fight against attempts to deport him to stand trial in Jordan. Qatada was arrested on 17 April after Home Secretary Theresa May received assurances from Jordan regarding his trial there in order to bring his deportation in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR ruled in January that Qatada could not be deported because there was a risk that evidence obtained through the torture of a third party would be used at his trial, but rejected claims that he also faced risk of ill-treatment and lengthy pre-trial detention.

The African National Congress has called for a demonstration outside the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg on Tuesday to protest the gallery’s display of Brett Murray’s painting The Spear, which depicts President Jacob Zuma’s genitalia. The gallery actually closed on 22 May after two men destroyed the painting by slathering it in red and black paint, but Zuma is continuing legal action in an attempt to ban the painting from being reproduced in newspapers and online. The Sudanese and South Sudanese governments are due to resume negotiations in Addis Ababa on border security, ongoing violence in border regions, citizenship and oil revenues, under the auspices of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. Sporadic negotiations have been interrupted and delayed by ongoing military action by both sides, which have threatened to reignite the countries decades-long civil war less than a year after South Sudan gained independence.

What do Madeleine Albright, Bob Dylan and Toni Morrison have in common? All of them will be among those awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama at a ceremony in Washington, honouring their contributions to the security and national interests of the United States, world peace, or culture. Israeli President Shimon Peres is also honoured, but will not be in attendance.

To the courts on Wednesday: the Special Court for Sierra Leone, sitting at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, hands down the sentence for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was convicted on 26 April of 11 charges, including crimes against humanity, violations of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and other serious violations of humanitarian law. The prosecution has called for an 80-year sentence for the 64-year-old, while his defence team have argued against him serving any sentence in a British jail, which they say would constitute a ‘punishment within a punishment’.

Speaking of the British justice system, the Supreme Court issues its ruling on the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was arrested in December 2010 on a European Arrest Warrant requested by Swedish police, who want to question him about allegations of sexual misconduct. Assange has been slowly making his way through the UK courts ever since, having had his extradition to Sweden approved by lower courts and appeals rejected.

The European Commission issues its annual economic recommendations for member states in Brussels, which include structural reforms to be implemented within the next 12-18 months. The recommendations come on the same day that France releases its latest unemployment data, another indicator for new President Francois Hollande of the economic situation he’s just taken over.

Neither of those is likely to be the big EU story of the week though, with Ireland’s referendum on the new Fiscal Stability Treaty taking place on Thursday. Though polls show that the ‘Yes’ campaign is in the lead, between a quarter and a third of voters are still undecided, with Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brian Hayes recently saying that the vote will be ‘much tighter than people think’. The result is announced on Friday.

The annual four-day Bilderberg Conference – which, despite its extremely secretive nature seems to always have at least its date and venue leaked to the transparency activists and conspiracy theorists that hound it – kicks off in Chantilly, Virginia on Thursday. Mario Monti, Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger and the Queens of Spain and the Netherlands are among guests rumoured to be attending, as well as Josef Ackermann, who steps down from his 10-year role as chief executive of Deutsche Bank on the same day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes his first official foreign visits since taking office, meeting with Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus on Thursday before travelling to Germany and France for meetings with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande on Friday. Putin raised eyebrows by choosing not to go to the G8 and NATO summits in the US earlier this month, opting instead to send Dmitry Medvedev, so his first meetings with Barack Obama and David Cameron won’t come until the G20 summit in Mexico on 18 June.

Bulgaria’s recently-approved smoking ban comes into effect Friday, prohibiting smoking in all indoor public spaces, including restaurants, bars, cafes, and stadiums during sporting and cultural events, as well as outside nurseries and schools. The ban has been criticised by restaurateurs and bar owners, who say it will hurt business and cause job losses as smokers stay away, but heath authorities are hoping it contributes to a drop in the number of smokers in the country, which includes around 40% of all adults.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual Shangri-La Dialogue begins in Singapore, bringing together defence ministers from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivers the keynote address, while US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta uses the meeting a springboard for a week-long Asian trip, which will see him visit Vietnam and India.

The verdict in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal is due on Saturday. The former leader was tried for premeditated murder and attempted murder in connection with the deaths of over 800 protesters during the country’s January 2011 revolution, while his sons were charged with profiteering, using th
eir positions for illicit gains, and squandering public funds. The prosecutor in the case has asked for the death penalty if Mubarak is convicted, though delays and accusations of stalling from the interior ministry during the trial mean that the outcome of the case is anything but certain.

Italy’s three largest trade unions have called for a mass demonstration against the government’s economic policy in Rome. The protest coincides with Republic Day, which the unions say marks the birth of a Republic ‘founded on labour’ a concept which has been ‘disregarded’ by the government.

The Organization of American States’ annual General Assembly begins in Cochabamba, Bolivia on Sunday. It is currently unclear whether Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will attend, as he’s been keeping a low profile while undergoing and recovering from cancer treatments; but if he does, he’s unlikely to be very popular, having recently called for Venezuela to withdraw from the OAS’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, likening it to a ‘sword of Damocles’.

By Nicole Hunt

All eyes will be on newly-elected French President François Hollande and the euro zone this week, kicking off with a meeting of euro group finance ministers in Brussels on Monday ahead of a wider ECOFIN meeting on Tuesday. Hollande has previously talked about renegotiating the EU stability treaty, but with his government not quite officially in office yet, the mood at the meetings is likely to be somewhat uncertain.

Gulf leaders gather in Riyadh for the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit on Monday, with Syria and Iran likely to feature prominently on the agenda. The leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also expected to discuss proposals for a political federation that would see the group share foreign and defence policies, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal.

In Vienna, Iran begins two days of talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The talks follow IAEA visits to Iran in January and February this year, and come ahead of the resumption of P5+1 discussions in Baghdad on 23 May.

Tuesday is the big day! Hollande is sworn in as President at the Elysée Palace in Paris in the morning, and one of his first orders of business will be to fly to Berlin to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Meanwhile, France’s national statistics institute releases preliminary figures for quarterly growth, job creation and labour activity, which will give the new president a better idea of the current state of the economy. On top of that, Greek, German and euro zone first quarter GDP figures are also out.

If anyone doesn’t feel like discussing European economic prospects, they might be interested to know that Germany’s other favourite subject is also in the news, as the Kiev Court of Appeal holds a hearing for jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of abuse of power in October; she also faces a separate trial for embezzlement, which resumes in Kharkiv on 21 May. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, meanwhile, is expected to be in Moscow to attend an informal meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States, hosted by new President Vladimir Putin.

In Nairobi, United Nations Development Programme administrator Helen Clark launches the first African Human Development Report, which focuses on food security on the continent.

Wednesday’s Hollande-story-of-the-day: the new President chairs his first cabinet meeting, at which he’s expected to announce a cut in his own salary, as well as those of his ministers. The cabinet won’t be the only ones earning less money in France, as Hollande is expected to work quickly to introduce one of his most popular election pledges: a 75% tax on earnings over €1 million.

Aside from that, there’s a lot happening in Dutch courts. The Assen District Court is due to rule on a petition filed by the public prosecutor to dissolve and ban the Martijn organisation, which lobbies for the social acceptance of sexual relationships between adults and children.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, former Bosnian Serb Army Commander Ratko Mladic goes on trial facing 11 counts of criminal responsibility and superior criminal responsibility for genocide, complicity in genocide, persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, inhumane acts, inflicting terror upon civilians, cruel treatment, attacks on civilians and taking hostages.

Over at The Hague’s special trial chamber for the Special Court for Sierra Leone (which otherwise sits in Freetown), a sentencing hearing takes place for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was convicted of crimes against humanity on 26 April. Following submissions from both sides, Taylor will be sentenced on 30 May.

Thursday is looking relatively quiet, so far. The official Handover Ceremony for the Olympic Torch takes place at the Panatheanic Stadium in Athens, following an eight-day torch relay around Greece, with Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Princess Anne among those in attendance.

In Chicago, NATO spokesman James Appathurai is due to participate in a debate with Andy Thayer of the Coalition Against the NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda. The debate is part of NATO’s efforts to ‘reach out’ and ‘exchange views’ with activists, who have planned a week of protest events ahead of the weekend summit.

The two-day G8 Summit begins at Camp David on Friday, with US President Barack Obama playing host. The meeting is Hollande’s big international debut, but one person he won’t be meeting there is Putin, who has opted to skip the summit and send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his place.

Facebook is widely expected to launch its stock flotation on Friday, following a cross-country roadshow to drum up interest – which has been either weaker or stronger than expected, according to various sources. The company has been valued at up to $100 billion, and is reportedly making around $11 billion in shares available in its first offering.

The Queen is hosting a jubilee lunch for other sovereign monarchs, which normally wouldn’t be notable to anyone besides royal-watchers, but the potential guest list has come under scrutiny as of late. King Hamad of Bahrain is rumoured to be among the invitees, despite ongoing human rights and security issues in the country, which have been criticised by the Foreign Office.

The G8 Summit continues on Saturday, when we can expect the final communiqué to be released , but otherwise it’s looking like another quiet day. Baby Milk Action holds its annual Boycott Nestlé demonstration at the company’s Croydon headquarters, protesting against ‘aggressive’ and ‘unethical’ marketing of baby milk formula in developing countries.

Most of the G8 leaders will make their way from Camp David to Chicago on Sunday for another two days of meetings, this time to discuss NATO.  Since the G8 Summit was moved from Chicago, preventing any large protests from getting near the meeting, the biggest demonstrations are also scheduled for Sunday.

Three elections taking place on Sunday:  a presidential vote in the Dominican Republic, where Danilo Medina and Hipolito Meja are vying to replace Leonel Fernandez Reyna, who is stepping down; a runoff in the Serbian presidential election, which saw incumbent Boris Tadic narrowly beat his main challenger Tomislav Nikolic on 6 May; and the runoff votes for the municipal elections in Italy, following the first round of voting on 6-7 May.

Finally, Google’s annual top-secret Zeitgeist Conference takes place in London. According to a leaked schedule obtained by Forbes in April, speakers include former US President Bill Clinton, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Independent chairman Evgeny Lebedev, former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, BBC’s Paul Mason, and, er, Annie Lennox and Arsène Wenger.

By Nicole Hunt

The day after the Bahrain Grand Prix, 21 Bahraini activists, including hunger striker Abdulhadi al Khawaja, are due in court in Manama on Monday to hear the outcome of their appeal against life sentences handed down in June 2011 for conspiring to overthrow the government during last year’s protests. The decision to schedule the hearing after the Grand Prix was a controversial one, as al Khawaja’s deteriorating health two months into his hunger strike raised the very real possibility that he could die before the race took place. UK supporters said al Khawaja’s death would be a ‘stain on Bahrain’.

Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to take up her seat in the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives), following a landslide victory by her National League for Democracy in 1 April by-elections, though there have been suggestions that NLD MPs will boycott the opening over an oath of allegiance that forces them to swear to safeguard the constitution. Suu Kyi’s parliamentary debut comes amid news that she may travel to the UK and Norway in June, where she would be able to see her grandchildren for the first time and finally pick up her Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in 1991.

The late Malawian President Bingu wu Mutharika, who died of a heart attack on 5 April, is laid to rest at his family farm in Thyolo. There is speculation that close ally Robert Mugabe and Sudanese President Omar al Bashir could be among attendees at the state funeral; Malawi came under fire from the International Criminal Court last year when it failed to arrest Bashir during a visit to the country for a regional summit. Bashir is wanted by the court for alleged war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.

All eyes stateside on Tuesday as a pre-trial hearing begins at Fort Meade, Maryland, for Private First Class Bradley Manning, who has been charged with a variety of offences, including aiding Al Qaeda, for his alleged role in leaking sensitive military material to WikiLeaks, among which was a video which later became WikiLeaks’ Collateral Murder film.

In New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to give the keynote speech at the Time 100 Gala Dinner, being held in honour of those named to Time’s 100 Most Influential People list on 18 April. In addition to Clinton and President Barack Obama, this year’s list also included the likes of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and, of course, Kate and Pippa Middleton.

And, just for good measure, Republican primaries also take place in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut, though now that everyone is agreed that Mitt Romney will win everything, it’s a less exciting race.

Why will journalists be fighting for a place at the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee meeting on Wednesday? Because US property tycoon Donald Trump – who at one point pictured himself being the focus of those Republican primaries – is scheduled to appear to give evidence on government plans to build an offshore windfarm near his £1bn golf resort. In written evidence submitted ahead of his appearance, Trump said the plan would destroy Scotland’s countryside and coastline, and was tantamount to ‘committing financial suicide’ – a jibe that would have stung even more after the controversial Skintland issue of the Economist.

Charles Taylor’s nine-year war crimes case comes to a head on Thursday as the Special Court for Sierra Leone announces its verdict. While media coverage in the summer of 2010 suggested that perhaps Taylor was on trial for giving Naomi Campbell a diamond or two, the former Liberian President has actually been tried for crimes against humanity, violations of Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law – including, of course, allegedly giving Sierra Leonean rebels arms in exchange for so-called ‘blood diamonds’.

In a less groundbreaking trial – though one that receives headlines whether models are involved or not (and they frequently seem to be) – former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi returns to court in Milan on Friday to face charges of paying for underage sex. While the trial is now over a year old and coverage has been relegated to the Italian press for some time, recent hearings have reignited international interest as the lurid details of Berlusconi’s ‘bunga bunga’ parties have been disclosed.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton begins a three day trip to Myanmar on Saturday, where she is scheduled to meet with government officials and opposition members (including Aung San Suu Kyi) and is expected to open the EU’s new embassy in Yangon. Her visit follows a meeting on Monday of EU foreign ministers, during which they are expected to relax sanctions on Myanmar in the wake of recent political improvements.

Guinea-Bissau had been scheduled to hold its presidential run-off vote on Sunday, following first round polls on 18 March, but as front-runner Carlos Gomes Junior was arrested as part of a military coup d’état on 12-13 April, the election will not be going ahead. The military junta has announced a two-year timeframe for new elections, which has been agreed by opposition parties but not Gomes’ ruling party.

Sunday also marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Los Angeles riots, which left 53 people dead and over 2,000 in three days of violence following the acquittal, by an all-white jury, of four police officers who were videotaped beating black motorist Rodney King. The anniversary comes amid heightened racial tensions in the US following the delayed arrest of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin.