Monday is the beginning of a new month and the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

In Saudi Arabia, the date is doubly significant: following the 18 June beheading of Indonesian maid Ruyati binti Sapubi and the near-beheading of another maid known as Darsem, an Indonesian moratorium on sending domestic workers to the country comes into effect.

There have also been whispers of another women’s driving protest to coincide with the first day of Ramadan, but so far nothing as organised as the 28 June attempt.

Tuesday is debt ceiling day in the US. While one hopes that the increasingly heated negotiations will lead to a solution before then, there remains the increasingly real possibility that the US could default on its $14tn debt.

In Cape Town, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni are due to go on trial over the 13 November, 2010 murder of British honeymooner Anni Dewani. Mngeni was unable to attend the last hearing, reportedly due to surgery to remove a brain tumour, and is unlikely to be in attendance.

All eyes on Egypt on Wednesday, as the trial for ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal is due to begin, but looks likely to be postponed. Former Interior Minister Habib al Adly is also tried, after his trial was postponed from 25 July so he could be heard alongside the Mubaraks.

Less dramatic is a Supreme Court hearing taking place in Sydney, where the Australian government is taking legal action against former Guantanamo inmate David Hicks over his 2010 book Guantanamo, My Journey. The government says Hicks is illegally gaining commercial benefit from a crime.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) monthly Food Price Index is released on Thursday, with the July figures of interest as drought and famine continue to ravage the Horn of Africa. US

President Barack Obama celebrates his 50th birthday as the week begins to wind down.

Following the excitement around the final Atlantis mission in July, NASA launches Jupiter explorer Juno on Friday, the first solar-powered spacecraft designed to operate so far from the sun.

Saturday marks the 66th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. A commemorative ceremony takes place at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, and nuclear disarmament campaign groups hold events worldwide.

Voters go to the polls in Cape Verde on Sunday to elect their next President. Incumbent Pedro Pires, who won by less than one percent in the 2006 elections, is not a candidate.

The week starts off with two high-profile court hearings on Monday. Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al Adly is scheduled to go on trial in Cairo on charges of ordering the deaths of protesters, but the hearing has been twice postponed so far, sparking angry demonstrations.

In Perugia, the long awaited report on a review of DNA evidence in Amanda Knox’s murder appeal is presented to the court.

Contentious land issues are the theme of the day on Tuesday, as new Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar arrives in New Delhi for two days of highly anticipated meetings with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council in New York holds an open debate on the Middle East, the bulk of which is expected to focus on Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition in September.

UN business continues in the same vein on Wednesday, with the Panel of Inquiry into the 31 May, 2010 Gaza flotilla due to publish its report. Turkey’s representative to the Panel, Ozdem Sanberk, said it’s the ‘last chance’ to re-establish good political relations between Israel and Turkey.

On Thursday, new Peruvian President Ollanta Humala takes office following his 5 June defeat of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori.

In the Syrian town of Al Bukamal, a 10-day deadline issued by the Armed Forces expires. Residents have been told to hand over weapons and submit to Government control by today or face a full military assault.

Two small developments in the phone hacking scandal are set for Friday, with Jonathan May-Bowles (aka Jonnie Marbles) scheduled to appear in a London court to face charges related to him throwing a shaving foam pie at Rupert Murdoch during the 19 July culture, media and sport committee hearing. BSkyB’s preliminary results are also released.

In Nigeria, the High Court is expected to deliver its verdict in the case of four men charged over last October’s independence day bombings in Abuja, which killed 12 people. One of the defendants is Charles Okah, brother of alleged leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Henry, who is facing trial in South Africa for masterminding the bombing.

Friday also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Pakistan floods, which went on to cover over a fifth of the country, killing nearly 2,000 people.

The Lebanese government has until Saturday to arrest persons named in the indictment issued by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon on 30 June, or to inform the Tribunal of the measures taken to attempt arrest. If arrests are not made, the STL may order a public advertisement calling on the accused to surrender, which would mark the first time Rafik al Hariri’s alleged assassins have been publicly named.

On Sunday, US hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer are expected to go on trial in Tehran on charges of spying for the US. Sarah Shourd, who was arrested alongside them, was released in September 2010. You can watch the Frontline Club event last year looking at Iran’s record on detainment , which was attended by Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey here