By Nicole Hunt

After a false start on 9 February and another postponement on 15 February, euro zone Finance Ministers are using their regularly-scheduled meeting on Monday to discuss whether to release the next tranche of Greece’s bailout loan in light of the new austerity measures approved in Athens last week. Ministers are also expected to sign the Treaty for the European Stability Mechanism, so that the ESM can take effect from 1 July, six months earlier than planned.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency begin their second visit to Iran in as many months to meet with Iranian government officials. The visit comes on the heels of Iran’s 15 February announcement that it had inserted domestically-produced nuclear fuel rods into its reactor, raising western concerns about the progress of its nuclear programme.

Monday also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of protests in Morocco, one of the more peaceful campaigns of the Arab Spring movement. There have been rumblings of protests to mark the anniversary by members of the February 20 Youth Movement unhappy with the speed of democratic reforms.

Just over a year after the beginning of considerably less smooth protests in Yemen, which saw nearly 2,000 people killed by the time a power-transfer agreement was brokered in November 2011, Yemenis go to the polls to officially approve the transfer of power from long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. Hadi runs unopposed as the consensus candidate for the country’s major parties, and will lead the country through a transition period before further elections can be held.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who has been tipped to replace President Hu Jintao in the leadership shuffle this autumn, continues an overseas jaunt that has seen him visit the US and Ireland with a short trip to Turkey to meet with President Abdullah Gul. The meeting could be a bit tense, though, as Turkey have been vocal proponents of international action on Syria, while China recently joined Russia in blocking a UN Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar Al Assad’s regime.

The Committee to Protect Journalists launches its annual Attacks on the Press report right here at the Frontline Club.

The Pakistani Supreme Court Commission investigating the so-called ‘memogate’ incident sits again on Wednesday, hoping to finally hear testimony from Mansoor Ijaz, the man responsible for revealing the existence of the memo in an FT op-ed. Ijaz has failed to appear before the Commission on three previous occasions, citing safety concerns, and has been allowed to record his testimony from the Pakistani High Commission in London this time around.

Megaupload founder Kim DotCom (aka Kim Schmitz) is back in court in New Zealand, this time to face his first extradition hearing, having been twice denied bail since being arrested in January. DotCom is fighting extradition to the US on suspicion of ‘running an international organised criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy’.

London hosts the International Conference on Somalia on Thursday. Ministers from around the world convene to discuss piracy, protection of ships in the Gulf of Aden, Islamic extremists, the causes of conflict and instability in Somalia, and how to support surrounding countries. Kenya hosted a regional conference on 9 Febraury as part of preparations, while Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Somalia on 2 February, becoming the first UK Foreign Secretary to do so in 20 years.

Following his much-publicised preliminary hearing in December, Private First Class Bradley Manning returns to Meade, Maryland for a formal arraignment hearing, the first step in his eventual court-martial for allegedly passing information to WikiLeaks.

Tunisia hosts the first Friends of Syria meeting on Friday, with confirmed attendees including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The meeting is reminiscent of the Libya Contact Group conferences that were organised as the campaign against Muammar Gaddafi intensified there, though the first LCG on 13 April, 2011 came just two months after the protests in Libya began; the Friends of Syria will meet as the Syrian protests approach their one year anniversary.

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors hold their first meeting of the year in Mexico City on Saturday and Sunday. As always these days, the European debt crisis is likely to be high on the agenda, though ministers will also be discussing a $500bn increase in IMF funding to help the Fund cope with the demands of the crisis. Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said earlier this month that a consensus on the funding was ‘unlikely’ this month.

Normally-quiet Sunday is actually a day of big decisions this week, though some are considerably bigger than others. In Los Angeles, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces their Oscar-winning choices.

In Senegal, voters decide who will be the country’s President for the next seven years, or at least who will take part in a second round runoff. Incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade’s candidacy was approved by the Constitutional Court last month, despite protests from his opponents that he should be ineligible for a third term. Senegal’s constitution limits leaders to two presidential terms, but Wade argued that since the term limit was introduced after he’d already been elected the first time, it shouldn’t apply to his first term.

Finally, Syrian President Bashar al Assad announced on 15 February that the country’s constitutional referendum, not expected until March, would take place on Sunday. The new constitution would allow for changes to Syria’s electoral system, which currently reserves the majority of parliamentary seats for supporters of Assad’s Baath party.

By Nicole Hunt

Towards Healing and Renewal, the Catholic Church’s four-day long symposium on sexual abuse within the Church, begins on Monday in Rome. The conference brings together over 200 representatives from bishops’ conferences and other religious orders, as well as doctors, theologians and child abuse specialists.

Anders Behring Breivik is in court in Oslo again, for what will probably be a routine remand hearing ahead of his trial in April. Breivik is scheduled to stand trial on 16 April, pending a psychiatric report due some time before then. An initial assessment declared Breivik insane and unfit to stand trial.

This week also sees two back-to-back big anniversaries in the UK: Queen Elizabeth marks 60 years since her accession to the throne in 1952 on Monday, while the country marks 200 years since the birth of Charles Dickens on Tuesday.

Italy’s Constitutional Court convenes in Rome on Tuesday to hear a motion brought by the Senate requesting that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial for abuse of power and paying for underage sex be moved from Milan to a special minister’s court. The motion was passed by the Senate on 14 September, 2011, when Berlusconi still headed the government.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issues its judgement on two cases involving media coverage of celebrities. One of the cases was brought by Princess Caroline of Monaco and her husband Prince Ernst August von Hannover, challenging the publication of photos of their family under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which protects the right to respect for family and private life.

News Corporation announces its second quarter results on Wednesday, covering October to December 2011. During that period, the company faced threats of a revolt against James Murdoch at its AGM in October, allegations that it tried to bribe an Australian Senator, and calls to reform a stock structure that ‘disenfranchises’ the vast majority of News Corporation’s shareholders.

The Pakistani Supreme Court Commission investigating the ‘memogate‘ scandal sits in Islamabad on Thursday, hearing further evidence from Mansoor Ijaz, the man who revealed the existence of the memo, in which President Asif Ali Zardari appears to offer increased cooperation with the US in return for staving off a coup by military figures.

The European Central Bank’s Governing Council meets in Frankfurt to decide whether to raise, lower or maintain the euro zone’s interest rate. At last month’s meeting, the Council decided to maintain the record-low rate of one per cent.

In Frankfurt on Friday, a verdict is expected in the case of Kosovan Arid Uka , who is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the 2 March, 2011, shooting of US soldiers outside Frankfurt airport.

Meanwhile, two men on trial for the November 2010 murder of British honeymooner Anni Dewani are before a Cape Town court. Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Oxlile Mngeni are charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping; Zola Tongo has already been tried for his role in the killing, while Dewani’s husband Shrien, who is accused of arranging his new wife’s death, is awaiting an extradition judgement in the UK.

Saturday sees the celebration of two successful revolutions, though the celebrations are expected to be quite different. Iranians celebrate Victory of the Revolution Day, the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s monarchy, typically with mass rallies and parades.

Though mass rallies are likely in Cairo to mark the one year anniversary of the resignation of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after 17 days of protests, celebrations may be muted in the aftermath of the football tragedy. Demonstrations in recent months have been increasingly angry with the speed of the handover from military to civilian rule, a fact likely to be exacerbated by the failure of security services to stop the football violence.

Presidential elections take place in Turkmenistan on Sunday. Incumbent Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow stands for a second term against a number of candidates – all members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the only party in town.

Venezuelans also go to the polls to choose which opposition candidate will face off against Hugo Chavez in the country’s 7 October election. Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles is currently the front-runner to lead the Democratic Unity coalition.

Finally, the Africa Cup of Nations tournament wraps up as the final takes place in Libreville, Gabon.