A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews.

By Jasper Wenban-Smith, international editor of ForesightNews.

Eurogroup finance ministers, after finally reaching an agreement on the latest €43.7bn disbursement to Greece last week, reconvene Monday in Brussels. Discussions are likely to include a significant focus on the planned establishment of an EU banking union from the start of next year. Also likely to feature are the proposed restructuring of the Spanish banking sector and creation of a ‘bad bank’ there later in December. A meeting of all 27 finance ministers from the EU follows on Tuesday.

At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, oral arguments open Monday in the long-standing maritime dispute between Chile and Peru. The case was filed with the court back in 2008 by Peru, which is seeking access to the rich fishing waters currently controlled by Chile. Arguments run until December 14.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, is due to arrive in Istanbul on Monday for talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visit was initially planned for October but was delayed after Turkey grounded a commercial airliner travelling from Moscow to Syria on the suspicion it was being used to ferry arms to Bashar al Assad’s regime. Turkish frustration with Russia’s perceived intransigence at the UN over Syria is likely to come up in talks between the pair.

The ongoing violence in Syria is again likely to feature when NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday. The meeting follows a Turkish request to the grouping, made last month, for Patriot missiles to be placed on its border with Syria. The planned exit from Afghanistan is also expected to feature heavily, and is likely to involve a briefing from General George Allen, who was recently in hot water over his involvement in the surreal FBI investigation into threatening emails that led to David Petraeus’ bombshell resignation as head of the CIA.

Also on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to address her Christian Democratic Union party conference in Hanover, as Germany begins the ramp up for general elections due next September.

On Wednesday, Thais will celebrate the 85th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Japan and North Korea are due to begin a second round of talks after they met last month for the first time since 2008. Discussions will likely include the abductions of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang in the 70s and 80s as well as the DPRK’s nuclear programme. The meeting comes ahead of elections this month in both South Korea and Japan, with some speculating North Korea may be considering its second missile test under newly-crowned Sexiest Man in the World Kim Jong-un.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be addressing the media after the bank’s Governing Council meets Thursday. Further comments on Greece, Spain and the overall health of the euro area are all expected.

Ireland is due to host a meeting of some 50 foreign ministers from the OSCE on Thursday, the largest gathering of its kind in the country has seen.

Meanwhile, having presented his highly-anticipated report into press standards last week, Lord Justice Leveson will on Friday be discussing privacy in the 21st Century at an event organised by the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. This will be his first public appearance since he published his report.

Also Friday, Ghanaians go to the polls to elect a president to the oil-rich West African nation. The strongest challenge to incumbent John Dramani Mahama (NDC) comes from Nana Akufo-Addo (NPP).

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is due to host counterparts from the Mercosur grouping. Venezuela’s recently re-elected President Hugo Chávez had been scheduled to attend, however it remains to be seen whether he returns in time from his latest trip to Cuba to receive cancer treatment.

Finally Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected in Turkey where he intends to visit refugees fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

The weekend sees France host from Saturday the fifth World Policy Congress in Cannes with the futures of the European Union and the Middle East top of the agenda. Speakers include Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and UN/Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.

Lastly, Sunday sees the second election of the week, this time in Romania. Despite failing to have President Traian Basescu dismissed, opposition party the Social Liberal Union (PSU) is expected to fare strongly, setting the scene for a potential show-down between the President and parliament.

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

EU and Ukrainian officials meet in Kiev on Monday for the annual EU-Ukraine Summit, with rumours abound that President Viktor Yanukovych is planning to skip the meeting in favour of the EurAsEC summit taking place in Moscow on the same day. Yanukovych’s planned visit to Brussels in Octoberwas delayed after opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison on what the EU says are politically motivated charges.

The Gulf Cooperation Council holds its annual summit in Riyadh, the first formal meeting of leaders since the beginning of the Arab Spring last year. The meeting begins on the same day that the UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss sanctions against Iran and receive a briefing from Jamal Benomar, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Yemen.

Leaders from the Commonwealth of Independent States meet in Moscow on Tuesday to celebrate the organisation’s 20th anniversary. The CIS was formed out of the dissolution of the Soviet Union; the initial agreement was signed by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine on 8 December, 1991, while eight more former Soviet republics joined on 21 December.

In Tripoli, Tuesday marks the deadline issued by the government and the Tripoli Council for rogue, non-Tripoli based militias to disarm and leave the city. Despite the announcement of the deadline on 6 December, clashes between militias and security forces have continued unabated.

Pending the confirmation of election results by the Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 17 December, President Joseph Kabila is scheduled to be sworn in for a second term in Kinshasa. International observers have raised concerns about the validity of the country’s 28 November election.

The long-awaited verdict in the ‘Government I’ genocide trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is handed down on Wednesday in Arusha. Former Interior Minister Edouard Karemera and former President of the MRND political party Mathieu Ngirumpatse are accused of recruiting and arming the Interahamwe militia and disseminating Hutu Power propaganda.

The European Central Bank holds the first of two 36-month longer-term refinancing operations announced by ECB President Mario Draghi on 8 December as part of a series of measures to support bank lending and market activities. The LTRO comes on the same day that Italy releases Q3 GDP figures; the preliminary figures had been due in November, but were not released amid political turmoil.

Palestinian leaders meet in Cairo on Thursday, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expected to chair the first meeting of what would be a unified Palestinian decision-making body in place until elections are held in May 2012. Members of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s executive boards and the directors-general of various Palestinian factions are scheduled to attend.

Amid weeks of protests against the recent parliamentary elections, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gives his annual state of the nation address in Moscow.

On Friday, the South Korean military is set to turn on the lights on three giant steel Christmas trees placed at points along the country’s border with North Korea. Pyongyang has reportedly called the trees a form of ‘psychological warfare’ and has threatened ‘unexpected consequences’ if the lighting goes ahead.

Activists in Russia have planned another mass protest against the 4 December elections on Saturday, after an estimated 50,000 people turned out for the 10 December demonstration, which was organised on Facebook. The tens of thousands already signed up to attend have clearly not been swayed by President Dmitry Medvedev’s pledge to investigate allegations of electoral fraud.

Sunday is, of course, Christmas Day. While millions worldwide will be focusing on egg nog, Christmas pudding and what Santa’s left under the tree, Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will be addressing a rally in Karachi, where he is said to be launching a ‘revolutionary manifesto’ ahead of elections in 2013.

Sunday also marks the 20th anniversary of the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, who had been President of the Soviet Union from October 1988. Gorbachev’s resignation came a day before the USSR was formally dissolved on 26 December, 1991.

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.