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.

By Nicole Hunt 

Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, goes on trial in Paris on Monday accused of complicity in the deaths of 11 people. The charges relate to bombings in France in 1982 and 1983. Carlos is already serving a life sentence for the 1975 murder of two French security agents and a Lebanese informant; he rose to prominence after orchestrating an armed raid on OPEC’s Vienna headquarters that same year, during which three people were killed.

In Brussels, euro zone Finance Ministers hold their monthly meeting. Tensions are expected to be high following last week’s will-they-or-won’t-they discussions on a referendum on the new EU bailout deal.

The meeting continues into Tuesday when non-euro zone EU members join their counterparts for yet more talks.

The second round of Liberia’s presidential election is also on Tuesday, with the country set to find out whether incumbent President and newly-anointed Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will serve another term or be replaced by former UN envoy William Tubman.

Dmitry Medvedev, Angela Merkel, Francois Fillon and Mark Rutte attend the opening ceremony for the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline in Lubmin, Germany. The gas pipeline connects Northern Europe to Russia via the Baltic Sea.

The International Energy Agency publishes its annual World Energy Outlook on Wednesday, which projects energy supply and demand worldwide through to 2030.

In Paris, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) convenes to discuss the recommended catch limits for bluefin tuna. The meeting follows a report last month which found that overfishing was rampant, with 140 per cent more bluefin meat entering the market than was reported from the Mediterranean alone.

News Corporation’s James Murdoch is back in front of the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Thursday. The Committee recalled Murdoch to question him about testimony he gave at a hearing on 19 July, when he appeared alongside his father Rupert, which was contradicted by witnesses at subsequent hearings.

With all eyes nervously watching the global financial markets, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the European Central Bank hold their annual International Banking Conference on Thursday and Friday.

The New 7 Wonders Foundation announces the new seven wonders of nature on Friday, following a world campaign that has seen them visit 28 finalists sites and has encouraged people to vote for their favourites.

Meanwhile, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the UN tribunal set up to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al Hariri, holds a public hearing to decide whether to try in absentia four Hezbollah members indicted in the case.

The United States hosts the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Honolulu on Saturday, followed by the North American Leaders’ Summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sunday.

Candlelight vigils are held in London, Cape Town and Mariestad, Sweden, in memory of Anni Dewani on the first anniversary of her death. Dewani was murdered in an apparent carjacking while on honeymoon in Cape Town last year. Her husband Shrien was subsequently implicated in her death, and is currently appealing his extradition to South Africa to face charges.

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is back in court in Jerusalem on Monday, appealing his April conviction and seven year sentence for indecent assault and sexual harassment of two female employees.

In Dharamsala, Lobsang Sangay is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, following the Dalai Lama’s announcement in March that he is stepping down from Tibetan political leadership.

Tuesday is International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. Celebrations of indigenous culture and discussions on human rights, social and economic development and international cooperation take place around the world.

Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos address the InterAction Annual Forum, which kicks off in Washington on Wednesday. The forum brings together NGOs, government agencies and international organisations to discuss development, with the focus likely to be on the current drought and famine crisis in the horn of Africa.

In London, Shrien Dewani is expected to find out whether he will be extradited to South Africa to stand trial for alleged involvement in his wife Anni’s murder last November.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka shuts down a number of national parks to begin the first large-scale census of its wild elephant population by counting them as they approach watering holes. The census will allow policy-makers do enact more effective conservation policies. 

The US Presidential race continues to heat up, as candidates for the Republican nomination face off in a TV debate from Iowa State University ahead of Saturday’s Ames Straw Poll, a traditionally important gauge of support for Presidential wannabes.

As the European debt crisis rumbles on, France and Greece both release second quarter GDP figures on Friday, while Greece is also due to make a relatively small bond repayment of €480m.

Meanwhile, ABC publishes July circulation figures for UK newspapers. Media-watchers will be paying particular attention to the sales of Sunday papers following the 10 July closure of News of the World.

Saturday is the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, which is being marked in Germany with a commemoration ceremony attended by President Christian Wulff.

The Dalai Lama begins a three-day visit to Toulouse, while in his adopted home country of India, Hindus celebrate Raksha Bandhan, signifying the bond between brothers and sisters.

On Sunday, neighbouring Pakistan celebrates Independence Day. Last year’s celebrations were cancelled due to the floods that killed some 2,000 people and displaced or affected another 20 million.