• Chinese, Nigerian presidents satisfied with bilateral ties • Pang Yuliang Acquired German Parchim Airport

NIGERIA - Presidential and National Assembly elections.
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
FRANCE - First round of presidential elections.
LONDON - London Marathon. Link: www.london-marathon.co.uk
MONDAY, APRIL 23
BRUSSELS - EU Foreign Ministers Meeting.
STRASBOURG - EU parliament plenary session (to April 26).
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Court-martial of Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins, a U.S. Marine suspected of being the ringleader in the kidnap and murder of an Iraqi grandfather.
LONDON - British singer George Michael scheduled for trial charged with being unfit to drive.
BERLIN - Lower-level bilateral talks between EU envoys on forging a new EU constitution expected to take place between April 23 and May 4.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24
BRUSSELS - Fraud Europe 2007, a conference dedicated to fraud detection, prevention & investigation/recovery across Europe from both a corporate and regulatory focus.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
NEW YORK - 6th annual Tribeca Film Festival (to May 6). LINK: www.tribecafilmfestival.com
THURSDAY, APRIL 26
ANKARA - Deadline for candidates to register for Turkey's presidential election.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
WEST INDIES - SPORT - CRICKET - World Cup Final.
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
MALI - Presidential elections.
MONDAY, APRIL 30
N.IRELAND - Northern Ireland smoking ban comes into effect.
VIETNAM - Liberation Day.
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Document LBA0000020070209e3290006f

A Section

Hu Defends China's Role in Africa; Visiting President Says Rapidly Growing Investment Is Not Colonialism

Craig Timberg

Washington Post Foreign Service

791 words

8 February 2007

The Washington Post

WP

FINAL

A14

English

Copyright 2007, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday sought to reassure Africans that his country's aggressive investments in oil, copper and other natural resources do not amount to a new wave of colonialism, saying China would "not do anything harmful to the interests of Africa and its people."
Hu's comments, made in Pretoria on the sixth stop of an eight-country tour of the continent, came amid rising anxiety that China's economic power is strangling African manufacturing while locking up vital resources for years. Although China has made massive purchases of oil from Angola, Sudan and Nigeria, the flood of finished goods to Africa has created a large trade imbalance.
Commentators increasingly compare the relationship to that of European countries and their African colonies, in which the ruling powers extracted natural resources at marginal cost and forced the colonies to import costly manufactured goods. But Hu sought to distinguish China by invoking his country's experience with colonialism.
"For more than 100 years in China's modern history, the Chinese people were subjected to colonial aggression and oppression by foreign powers and went through similar suffering and agony that the majority of African countries endured," he said at the University of Pretoria, according to a transcript released by South African officials.
He added, "China has never imposed its will or unequal practices on other countries and will never do so in the future."
China has long-standing relationships with many countries in Africa, dating to the era when its communist government backed liberation movements seeking to overthrow colonial and white supremacist governments. In the past decade, China has dramatically escalated its role through a combination of major construction projects and investments in materials needed to keep its manufacturing boom at home alive.
Chinese companies have built railways, water treatment plants, telecommunication systems, highways and port facilities, often subsidizing projects or working for much less than the bids of competitors. And Chinese companies have not been content to merely buy raw materials; increasingly they are investing in production capacity, purchasing oil blocks in Nigeria or copper mines in Zambia. China also has delivered billions of dollars in aid and loans.
African governments have largely welcomed the largess, as well as the lack of accompanying demands for human rights reforms, expanded democracy or increased financial transparency often made by Western investors and their governments.
In advance of Hu's trip to Sudan last week, Andrew S. Natsios, President Bush's special envoy for Sudan, traveled to Beijing to urge China to help persuade President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to accept a strong U.N. peacekeeping force in the war-torn region of Darfur. After the talks, Natsios said that "our policies and the Chinese policies are closer than I realized," adding that China would "play an increasingly important role in helping us to resolve this."
But U.S. officials now say Hu did little to press Bashir, instead calling on countries to "respect the sovereignty of Sudan," while writing off debts and providing an interest-free loan to build a new presidential palace.
"There have been some mixed signals, obviously," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.
Among Africans, concerns about rising Chinese clout are more often economic. Textile mills from Nigeria to South Africa have closed as inexpensive Chinese imports have flooded markets. At the same time, Chinese purchases of mining concessions have stirred nationalist backlashes.
Hu canceled a stop last Sunday in a mining community in Zambia after threatened demonstrations against the alleged plunder of the country's natural resources, according to news reports. The main opposition party in Zambia, which accused China of dumping inexpensive goods and bankrupting Zambian traders, fired a top official for attending a welcoming ceremony for Hu.
There was little such rancor in South Africa, which has an especially close relationship with China. Many South African companies have major investments in China, and Hu on Tuesday signed deals opening his country's markets to South African agricultural products.
"The Chinese government will continue to take steps to increase import from Africa to balance the trade between the two sides," he said at the University of Pretoria. "We encourage Chinese companies to increase investment in Africa, provide technical and management training and help Africa develop processing and manufacturing industries so as to ease employment pressure and enhance the competitiveness of its exports."
In addition to South Africa, Sudan and Zambia, Hu also has visited Cameroon, Namibia and Liberia and has planned stops in Mozambique and Seychelles.
Staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington contributed to this report.
WP20070208SAFRICA8
Document WP00000020070208e32800046

DIARY - Political and General News Events from Feb 8
6,893 words

8 February 2007

11:30 AM

Reuters News

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English

(c) 2007 Reuters Limited
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FEBRUARY 2007 (UNDATED)
NEW DELHI - Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri visits India to seal three more confidence-building measures, including agreements to reduce risks of nuclear-related accidents, to ease restrictions on visa and the return of people held for accidentally crossing the border.
MOSCOW - Russia may write off about $10 billion of Afghanistan's Soviet-era debt in February.
BASRA, Iraq - British operations aimed at preparing for the handover of security in Basra to Iraqi authorities expected to be completed in February.
VIENNA - The U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is due to sign a new voluntary agreement to mitigate the creation of space debris.
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's land restitution programme deadline for white farmers to agree a selling price or have their land seized.
THE HAGUE - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo plans to indict suspects for atrocities in Darfur by February.
THURSDAY, FEB 8
BEIJING - A fresh round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme due to resume.
SEVILLE, Spain - NATO defence ministers meeting. ** ROME - The Italian Football Federation meets with the presidents of clubs in the top two divisions Serie A and Serie B to discuss cabinet measures to curb football violence after a policeman was killed by rioting fans. ** MOSCOW - Russia's Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov to meet Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser for international affairs to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ** WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
PARIS - Trial continues of a Paris satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, sued by two influential Islamic groups for inciting hatred against Muslims by printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
PARIS - Trial continues of Willy Brigitte, a French Muslim convert suspected of planning to blow up a nuclear reactor and military bases in Australia.
ITALY - Petrol station workers go on strike for the second day to protest against a government initiative to allow supermarkets to sell petrol.
BERLIN - 57th Berlin Film Festival (to Feb. 18). LINK: http://www.berlinale.de
BERLIN - EU Troika - Pakistan Meeting.
MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas continue to hold talks on the formation of a unity government. ** MADRID - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni visits Spain. Livni meets Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos. News conference (1545). ** ANKARA - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi hold joint news conference. ** UNITED NATIONS - Martti Ahtisaari, the U.N. special envoy for the future status of Kosovo hold news conference on his proposals that will set the breakaway province of Kosovo on a path to independence(1600).
NEW YORK - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul meets U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
THE HAGUE - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visits Netherlands to meet Dutch parliamentarians. News conference (1615).
MAPUTO - Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Mozambique.
LONDON - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to speak at the London School of Economics.
BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
BRUSSELS - European Commission to propose legislation on Environmental Crime; (1030) - European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini hold news conference on proposed legislation on Environmental Crime.
BERLIN - Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier meets his Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri (1300).
MANIPUR, India - Assembly elections in the Indian State of Manipur. Polls due to be held in three stages on Feb. 8, 15 and 23.
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Trial resumes in the case of Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, on charges of blasphemous writings and insulting the president.
STOCKHOLM - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt meets EU-commissioner Peter Mandelson.
BUDAPEST - Budapest Court to rule about claim by journalist Kozak Daniel for the publication of files which show whether priests collaborated with communist secret agencies.
ZAGREB - Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia visits Croatia to attend a conference (to Feb. 9).
TAIPEI - The world's leading Chinese art museum, the National Palace Museum in Taipei due to open.
SPACE - Astronauts on International Space Station take the final of the three spacewalks to hook up new cooling system.
ATHENS - The Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy and Germany's embassy to Greece organise two-day symposium on "Europe's prospects". Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni to deliver speech (1600).
DAMASCUS - U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres expected to visit Syria after his trip to Jordan.
GLOBAL - Nirvana Day - Buddhists mark the death of Buddha.
ABUJA - President Oulusegun Obasanjo meets with the state governors from the Niger Delta, oil company executives and Nigerian oil unions to discuss the insecurity in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
SARAJEVO - European Union Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth Jan Figel holds a news conference (1230).
NEW DELHI - Bhutan's King Jigme Kesar Namgyel continues visit to India (to Feb. 11).
NEW DELHI - World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - News conference on "Endangered Ganga River" (1300).
BANGALORE, India - Sixth edition of Aero India Show (to Feb. 11).
GENEVA - Final day of World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council meeting.
UNITED KINGDOM - Heavy snow is likely to fall on central and southern England on Thursday morning.
SYDNEY - Court to hear bail application of Peter Foster, who was arrested on money laundering charges and remanded into custody until Thursday. Foster, once a confidante of British prime minister's wife Cherie Blair, is now Australia's most high profile conman who has been jailed on three continents for peddling bogus slimming products and using false documents. [20070208 163020 GMT]
FRIDAY, FEB 9
ESSEN, Germany - G7 Finance Ministers meeting (to Feb. 10).
MUNICH - 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy (to Feb. 11). German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani are among those expected to attend. LINK: http://www.securityconference.de (1000).
ROME/VATICAN - The group of seven (G7), United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, due to sign an agreement to provide $1.5 billion to develop vaccines for poor countries. Jordan's Queen Raina will preside over the launch and the G7 officials will explain the programme in person to Pope Benedict at the Vatican.
VICTORIA - Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the Seychelles (to Feb. 10).
CAPE TOWN - President Thabo Mbeki delivers 2007 state-of-the-nation speech (0900).
TUEBINGEN, Germany - German President Horst Koehler meets Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano at the University Tuebingen (0920).
BERLIN - Foreign Minister Frank-Waltzer Steinmeier meets his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer (1500).
AMSTERDAM - World Press Photo announces 2007 award winners.
MIAMI - Deadline for prison doctors to conduct their own medical exam of American terrorism suspect Jose Padilla, who is accused of running a U.S. support cell that provided money and recruits for violent jihad overseas.
ATHENS - Second day of symposium on "Europe's prospects" organised by the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy and Germany's embassy to Greece. First vice-president of the European Parliament Rodi Kratsa and President of the Greek Parliament Anna Benaki-Psarouda to deliver speeches.
DAR ES SALAAM - Somalia Contact Group meets in Tanzania.
MITROVICA, Kosovo - Kosovo Serbs hold protests in northern Mitrovica against the United Nations draft plan for the future status of the province.
SOFIA - Bulgarians expected to stage a rally in support of the nurses being held in Libya charged with infecting 428 Libyan children with HIV.
HANOI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chats online with the public for the first time on the government's Web site. Link : www.chinhphu.vn
SATURDAY, FEB 10
VENICE - Carnival of Venice (to Feb. 20).
ESSEN, Germany - G7 finance ministers and central bankers meet (final day).
PRISTINA - Movement calling for the independence of Kosovo "Self-determination" (Vetvendosje) organises a protest against the document on the province's future status by the U.N. special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari (1200).
NEW DELHI - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi visits India (to Feb. 15).
RIO DE JANEIRO - (TBC) The 8th Wonder of the World, an organisation founded to increase global awareness for children affected by HIV/AIDS and raise funds for UNICEF through arts and entertainment, holds third of a series of concerts in Brazil.
BUNGUI - Actress Mia Farrow begins tour of conflict-hit areas in north of Central African Republic and eastern Chad as goodwill ambassador for U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF.
SUNDAY, FEB 11
TURKMENISTAN - Presidential elections.
RIYADH - Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Saudi Arabia.
IRAN - National holiday and anniversary of 1979 Islamic revolution. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expected to make traditional speech.
PARIS - Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal holds key speech to outline her presidential programme.
PARIS - UMP presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy holds a meeting with party supporters on the same day Segolene Royal is expected to launch her presidential programme.
BUENOS AIRES - U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon travel to Argentina from Brazil.
WASHINGTON - Turkish General Yasar Buyukanit, head of the military General Staff, travels to the United States for talks on the security situation in Iraq and its impact on Turkey.
LOS ANGELES - Annual Writers Guild Awards. Link; http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1533
LOS ANGELES - 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Link: http://www.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Events/Default.aspx?even ID=1331&eventCategoryID=9
LONDON - British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. Link; http://www.bafta.org
LISBON - Portuguese due to vote on a referendum to decide whether to legalise abortion.
KHARTOUM - The Higher Egyptian-Sudanese commission is to meet in Khartoum, headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Vice President Ali Othman Mohamed Taha respectively (to Feb. 15). ** ANKARA - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer visits Turkey (to Feb. 12).
KHARTOUM - U.N. special envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson and African Union's special envoy for Darfur peace talks Ali Ahmed Salim due to arrive in Sudan. ** BANGKOK - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visits Thailand (to Feb. 13). [20070208 175512 GMT]
MONDAY, FEB 12
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush meets Lithuanian counterpart Valdas Adamkus.
BRUSSELS - EU Foreign Ministers Meeting (to Feb 13).
DOHA/AMMAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Qatar and Jordan (to Feb. 13).
BUENOS AIRES - U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon's visit to Argentina continues. Burns and Shannon expected to meet Argentine officials and business leaders.
BRUSSELS - IAEA Director Mohammed El Baradei to visit Brussels.
BARCELONA - 3GSM Congress 2007 (to Feb. 15). LINK: http://www.3gsmworldcongress.com/flashintro.asp
STRASBOURG - EU parliament plenary session (to Feb. 15).
ABUJA - African International Media Summit organised by African Union and ECOWAS aimed at re-branding Africa. ** ISTANBUL - "Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism" , meeting organised by United States and Russia (to Feb. 13).
NIAMEY - Niger appeals court due to rule on appeal by two journalists from independent weekly newspaper "Le Republicain" against 18-month jail sentences for defamation and publishing falsehoods.
CAIRO - International conference to fight infectious disease (to Feb. 15).
LONDON - London Fashion Week (to Feb. 16).
SOFIA - Greek President Karolos Papoulias starts a three-day official visit to Bulgaria.
TUESDAY, FEB 13
VIENNA - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari to hold talks with Serbs and Kosovo Albanians in Vienna before the United Nations formally takes up his proposals that will set the breakaway province of Kosovo on a path to independence.
PUNJAB, India - Assembly elections in the Indian State of Punjab.
VIENNA - IAEA Board of Governors meeting - Advisory Committee on Safeguards and Verification within the Framework of the IAEA Statute (to Feb. 14).
CANBERRA - Finnish President Tarja Halonen visits Australia to meet Prime Minister John Howard (to Feb. 17). ** TOKYO - Czech President Vaclav Klaus visits Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (to Feb. 1).
WASHINGTON - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development organizes "Global Forum: Building Science, Technology, and Innovation Capacity for Sustainable Growth and Poverty Reduction" (to Feb. 15).
TOKYO - Japan to host a meeting on whaling aimed at easing confrontation between pro and anti-whaling nations (to Feb. 15). Pro-whaling nations want to return the polarised group to what they say are its roots as an organisation that manages -- rather than bans -- commercial whaling. Some 26 anti-whaling nations plan to boycott the meeting.
THE HAGUE - International conference on climate change (to Feb. 14).
SOCHI, Russia - A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is due to visit the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to inspect its bid to host the 2014 Winter Games.
CAIRO - The World Health Organisation begins a two-day conference on bird flu.
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14
ANKARA - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to visit Turkey (to Feb. 15) for talks expected to focus mainly on energy cooperation.
GLOBAL - St.Valentine's day.
BRASILIA - Bolivian President Evo Morales expected to meet with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to reach accord on price Brazil pays for Bolivian natural gas.
LONDON - Brit Awards 2007. Link: http://brits.co.uk
BUCHAREST - Greek President Karolos Papoulias visits Romania (to Feb. 16).
CAIRO - Third International Road Safety and Traffic Management Conference at Cairo International Conference Centre (to Feb. 16).
KARACHI, Pakistan - A three-day Hindu festival, Jigrattan, will be held at an ancient temple in Pakistan for the first time in decades.
WASHINGTON - Legislators Forum on Climate Change and Energy Security (to Feb. 15). German Chancellor Angela Merkel to make keynote speech by video. Other speakers include Nicholas Stern, from the UK Treasury; Paul Wolfowitz and President of the World Bank. Link: www.globeinternational.org
THURSDAY, FEB 15
TOKYO - Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to visit Japan (to Feb 17).
CANNES, France - Franco-Africa summit.
MADRID - Trial starts of 29 suspects for the 2004 Islamist train bombings in Madrid which killed 191 people.
BAGHDAD - The second batch of a U.S. combat brigade due to arrive in Baghdad. The additional brigades will be added every 30 days to reach a total of five in Baghdad. ** UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council is due to vote on on a draft resolution by France recommending that the Mandate of the U.N. Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is due to expire on Feb. 15, be extended until April 15.
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government due to send two brigades to Baghdad.
UNITED NATIONS - The second U.N. peacekeeping assessment team due to submit its recommendations to the 15-nations Security Council by mid-February on how the peacekeeping force could be deployed in Chad and the Central African Republic region bordering on Sudan's Darfur region.
KATHMANDU - Nepal's former Maoist rebels to join an interim government, which is expected to be set by Feb. 15.
VIENNA - IAEA Programme and Budget Committee Meeting.
UNITED NATIONS - Mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti expires.
MANIPUR, India - Second stage of assembly elections in the Indian State of Manipur. The third and final stage due to be held on Feb. 23.
VIENNA - Vienna's annual Opera Ball. Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton will be the star guest at Austria's top society event.
MINSK - Belarus due to increase fees it charges for transit of Russian oil across its territory by 30 percent from Feb. 15.
WARSAW - Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz visits Warsaw to meet with Polish counterpart Anna Fotyga.
BUCHAREST - Former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase has first hearings at the Supreme Court of Justice. Nastase is accused of blackmail and taking bribes worth 1.4 million euros ($1.9 million).
LONDON - Britain due to launch the Footwear Intelligence Tool, a database of thousands of shoes and shoe types to help track down criminals, thought to be the first of its kind in the the world.
COLOGNE, Germany - Annual carnival celebrations (to Feb. 21).
BUDAPEST - Hungary's public sector trade unions to hold a rally to press the government for higher wages.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fl., - Launch of NASA's Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS 2), a 2-year mission consisting of five identical probes that will track the violent colourful eruptions of auroras near the North Pole. Link: http://www.nasa.gov/
ISTANBUL - Verdict expected in an Istanbul court in the trial of 69 al-Qaeda suspects accused of suicide bombings in Istanbul in 2003 and killing 58 people.
FRIDAY, FEB 16
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush meets Panamanian counterpart Martin Torrijos.
PYONGYANG - 65th birthday of North Korean President Kim Jong-il.
SATURDAY, FEB 17
LESOTHO - General elections.
RIO DE JENEIRO - Rio Carnival (to Feb. 20). Link: http://www.rio-carnival.net
CAIRO - Trial of the suspects in the Al-Azhar bombings continues.
LEBANON - Major-General Claudio Graziano of Italy expected to take command of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon after French Major-General Alain Pellegrini steps down.
MILAN, Italy - Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2007/2008 (to Feb. 25). Link: http://www.cameramoda.it/eng/eventi/eventi.php
RICHMOND, Va. - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a possible 2008 presidential candidate, attends Virginia Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson fund-raising dinner.
PARIS - Auction of a 1939 Auto Union D-Type commissioned by German dictator Adolf Hitler and designed by Ferdinand Porsche, 1 of only 2 left in existence and winner of the 1939 Belgrade Grand Prix, set to become most expensive car ever to be sold at auction estimated to sell for £6.1 million.
BERLIN - Golden & Silver Bear Awards at Berlin film festival. [20070208 163051 GMT]
SUNDAY, FEB 18
AUCKLAND - Finnish President Tarja Halonen visits New Zealand to meet Prime Minister Helen Clark (to Feb. 21).
LONDON - Laurence Olivier Awards announced.
BEIJING/HONG KONG - Chinese Lunar New Year - Year of the Pig.
ALGIERS - Philippe Barbarin, Cardinal of Lyon, expected to visit Algeria accompanied by French Muslim leaders in order to commemorate the lives of seven French Trappist monks murdered in 1996 at the height of Algeria's political violence (to Feb. 20).
ALBANIA - Municipal polls.
LOS ANGELES - 21st Annual American Society of Cinematographers. LINK: http://www.theasc.com/news/awards/index.html
MONDAY, FEB 19
MIDDLE EAST - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to bring together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to talk about a future Palestinian state.
ADDIS ABABA - The trial of opposition leaders and journalists accused of treason and inciting violence following a turbulent election in 2005 to resume.
NEW JERSEY, United States - The New Jersey law affirming equal rights for the same-sex couples but requiring the legislature to make a decision on using the word marriage comes into effect.
SARAJEVO - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek visits Bosnia. ** PHILIPPINES - Hundreds of U.S. soldiers begin annual two-week war games with Philippines to test the two country's military inter-operability to defending the Philippines against external aggression. Activities would be held in the southern Philippines, focusing on humanitarian work in poor Muslim communities.
TUESDAY, FEB 20
TOKYO - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney expected to visit Japan for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (to Feb. 22).
CAIRO - Trial in the case of Ibrahim Eissa continues, the newspaper editor charged with defaming President Hosni Mubarak.
BRUSSELS - EU Environment Council meeting.
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush administration due to launch a new travel security system designed to deal with the problems of innocent travellers mistakenly identified as being on U.S. no-fly lists.
ABUJA - Trial resumes of Muhammed Damagun, a Media Trust director accused of taking $300,000 from al Qaeda in 2002 to arrange combat training in Mauritania for 17 members of a group called the Nigerian Taliban.
FT.CAMPBELL, Kentucky - Hearing of Sgt. Paul Cortez, the second of five U.S. soldiers charged with raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her and her family.
NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Mardi Gras. Link: www.mardigrasneworleans.com
VENICE - Venice Carnival ends.
TOULOUSE - Airbus expected to unveil a restructuring plan after it was plunged into crisis last year when wiring problems delayed production and deliveries of its A380 superjumbo aircraft, costing almost 5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in future profits.
ANKARA - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visits Turkey as part of Turkish-Iranian Joint Economic Commission meeting.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
UTTARANCHAL, India - Assembly elections in the Indian State of Uttaranchal.
UNITED NATIONS - A U.N. Security Council Resolution 1737 passed on Dec. 23 has given Iran a deadline of 60 days to comply with limits on its uranium enrichment activities or risk possible sanctions. ** RABAT - Trial resumes of Briton Lee Murray, a champion kick boxer suspected of taking part in Britain's biggest cash robbery and charged by a Moroccan court with offences including beating police officers and drug possession.
BUDAPEST - Hungary's public sector trade unions expected to organise a nationwide two-hour warning strike over this year's wage rises.
QUEBEC, Canada - Campaigning expected to be launched around Feb. 21 for a March 26 general election.
ANKARA - Kososo's Prime Minister Agim Ceku visits Turkey (to Feb. 22).
THURSDAY, FEB 22 ** PRAGUE - Leaders of ruling coalition to meet to discuss position on European Constitution.
NAIROBI - Resumption of trial of white Kenyan farmer, Thomas Cholmondeley, who is accused of killing a black Kenyan.
SAMARRA, Iraq - First anniversary of the bombing of one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, the Askariya shrine in Samarra.
KIGALI - Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to officiate at an international women conference in Rwanda on "Gender, Nation Building and Parliaments".
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A court hearing on the complaint by the parents of Canada's first sextuplets against the British Columbia government's forced blood transfusions for two of the four surviving premature babies. The parents are members of the Jehovah's Witness faith and believe the Bible prohibits transfusions.
FRIDAY, FEB 23
SITGES, Spain - Sitges Carnival.
MANIPUR, India - The third and final stage of assembly elections in the Indian State of Manipur.
SALE, Morocco - Trial resumes of 22 people being held under anti-terrorism laws. The group led by Mohamed Reha, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is accused of forming criminal gang that planned to disturb public order.
BRUSSELS - (TENTATIVE) EU Commission annual report on equality between men and women.
SATURDAY, FEB 24
HOLLYWOOD - 27th Annual Razzie Awards, honouring the worst in cinema are held at the Ivar Theatre.
MILAN - Women's Autumn 2007/Winter 2008 fashion shows ends.
LOS ANGELES - 2007 Independent Spirit Film Awards.
LAHORE, Pakistan - Annual kite-flying festival or Basant.
PARIS - 32nd Annual Cesar Awards.
SUNDAY, FEB 25
SENEGAL - Presidential elections due to be held (Legislative elections postponed).
LITHUANIA - Local government elections.
HOLLYWOOD - 79th Academy Awards (Oscars). http://www.oscar.com
IVREA, Italy - Ivrea Orange throwing Carnival (to Feb 28). LINK: http://www.geocities.com/ebmomma/carnival.htm
PARIS - Paris Ready-To-Wear Autumn/Winter 2007/2008 Fashion Week (to March 5) Link: http://www.modeaparis.com/va/dates/index.html
UNITED NATIONS - Mandate of U.N. Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (East Timor) expires.
MONDAY, FEB 26
NEW YORK - The Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the 15th Session of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development (to March 2).
ALLAHABAD, India - Final day of Ardh Kumbh Mela, where millions of Hindu pilgrims converged for a dip in the holy Ganges river to wash away their sins.
BRUSSELS - The Peace Implementation Council grouping about 50 countries and institutions overseeing Bosnia's peace process meets to decide on the closure of the office of powerful international High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling.
THE HAGUE - The U.N. war crimes tribunal has ordered Kosovo's former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj to return to its detention unit in The Hague, ahead of his war crimes trial on March 5. ** BANGKOK - "Ten Years After the Asian Financial Crisis: Vulnerabilities in East Asia" - Economists, government ministers and other speakers to the conference on lessons learned from 1997-98 Asian financial crisis (to Feb. 27).
TUESDAY, FEB 27
INDIA - Counting of the Assembly election votes in the Indian States of Manipur, Punjab and Uttaranchal. The results are expected to be announced the same day.
ANKARA - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visits Turkey (to March 2).
CHICAGO - The Metropolitan Airports Commissions due to hold a public hearing on a staff proposal to increase penalties for cab drivers refusing fares. The hearing is also aimed at drivers who refuse to take short-haul passengers in favour of more lucrative long trips.
ANKARA - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visits Turkey (to March 1)
WEDNESDAY, FEB 28
TAIPEI - Taiwan to open a public monument -- The 228 Incident National Monument -- to commemorate a dark day in history that spawned a movement with implications for the island's politics.
SPACE - NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, the fastest spacecraft ever built by humans, is due to reach Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet and fifth from the sun. Launched on Jan. 19, 2006, New Horizons is set to make its closest pass by Jupiter on Feb. 28, flying within 1.4 million miles (2.3 million km).
PRAGUE - 9th International human rights 'One World' documentary film festival (to March 8). LINK: http://www.jedensvet.cz/ow/2007/index.php?lang=en [20070208 163054 GMT]
MARCH 2007 (UNDATED)
** LATIN AMERICA - U.S. President George W. Bush to visit Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay during a Latin America tour in early March.
MOSCOW - Russia and North Korea expected to meet in March to discuss Pyongyang's large debt to Moscow.
WASHINGTON/LA PAZ - Bolivia's new visa requirement for U.S. citizens visiting the Andean nation due to take effect in March.
LONDON - A preliminary hearing in March will consider who the witnesses should be and the scope of the inquiry into the deaths of Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al Fayed.
QATAR - To hold its first parliamentary elections.
BRUSSELS - Poland expected to present proposals on a new EU constitution in March.
THURSDAY, MARCH 1
WIESBADEN, Germany - EU Defence Ministers meeting (to March 2).
ABUJA - Nigeria's Federal High Court hears case against six people, including three foreigners, accused of spying for Russia.
GLOBAL - World Book Day.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2
ZAGREB - Bosnia's tripartite presidency visits Croatia, due to take part in the session of the inter-government council to discuss outstanding issues between Bosnia and Croatia (to March 3).
LOS ANGELES - 38th Annual Image Awards. Link: http://www.naacpimageawards.net/imageawards38.html
SATURDAY, MARCH 3
SYDNEY - Sydney Gay & Lesbian Annual Mardi Gras - culminates on Mar 3 with the world famous night-time parade through the streets of Sydney and the enormous Mardi Gras party. Link: http://www.mardigras.org.au/
SUNDAY, MARCH 4
ESTONIA - Parliamentary elections.
MONDAY, MARCH 5
VIENNA - IAEA Board of Governors Meeting (to March 9).
CAIRO - The trial of the suspects in the sinking of the Al-Salam 98 ferry resumes.
BRUSSELS - EU - Turkey Association Council meeting.
BEIJING - China's parliament, the National People's Congress, convenes for its annual session.
BRUSSELS - EU Foreign Ministers Meeting.
THE HAGUE - International Court of Justice opens public hearings in dispute between Nicaragua and Honduras on their maritime border in the Caribean Sea.
FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky - Court-martial of Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard, accused in the deaths of three Iraqi detainees.
THE HAGUE - Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj goes on trial to face war crimes charges when he was a leader in a 1998-99 war against Serb forces.
NEW YORK - (TENTATIVE) Trial of Sanjay Bahel, the head of the U.N. commodity procurement wing from 1998 to 2003, on bribery charges expected to resume.
TUESDAY, MARCH 6
GHANA - 50th Independence anniversary celebration.
ISLAMABAD - India and Pakistan due to hold the first meeting of a joint anti-terrorism panel as part of their wide-ranging peace process.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7
BELFAST - New elections for a Northern Ireland assembly in which pro-Irish Catholics and pro-British Protestants will share power.
NETHERLANDS - Elections for provincial parliaments
NEW YORK - Sentencing of Khalid Awan, a Pakistani man living in New York, guilty of providing material support or resources to terrorists and money laundering to promote terrorism.
MIAMI - Sentencing of Clark Mitchell, a Florida doctor and former director of a prominent AIDS clinic, after Mitchell pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with a life insurance scam that cost 28,000 investors nearly $1 billion.
LONDON - British singer George Michael scheduled to appear in court for a hearing charged with being unfit to drive. Trial date scheduled for April 23.
GHANA - 50th Independence anniversary celebration.
THURSDAY, MARCH 8
GENEVA - International Labour Organisation (ILO): 298th Session of the Governing Body and its committees (to March 17).
GLOBAL - International Women's Day.
GENEVA - 77th International Motor Show (to March 18).
KIEV - A working meeting between Ukrainian and EU officials on a new cooperation agreement.
SATURDAY, MARCH 10
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia - Hearing of Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, a well-connected Malaysian political analyst charged with abetting the murder of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu between Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 in Malaysia.
ABUJA - Nigerian Supreme Court to rule on the bail application by former militia leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is on trial for treason.
SUNDAY, MARCH 11
BELGRADE - First anniversary of the death of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
MAURITANIA - Presidential election.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Local elections.
MONDAY, MARCH 12
STRASBOURG - EU parliament plenary session (to March 15).
NEW YORK - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees due to be honored at a black-tie ceremony.
BELGRADE - War crimes re-trial starts for 14 former Serbian militia members for the 1991 massacre of 200 Croatian prisoners of war at the Ovcara farm near Vukovar in Croatia.
LONDON - Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who won the British reality television show at the heart of a racist bullying row, to meet Queen Elizabeth at a reception to mark Commonwealth Day.
CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Trial of Swiss man Oliver Rudolf Jufer for defacing images of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej during a drunken spree on the revered monarch's birthday.
TUESDAY, MARCH 13
WEST INDIES - SPORT - CRICKET - World Cup.
NEW DELHI - A fourth round of India-Pakistan composite dialogue, as the peace process is called, expected to be held (to March 14).
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14
NUREMBERG, Germany - EU - ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
THURSDAY, MARCH 15
HANNOVER, Germany - CeBIT - The world's largest computer fair opens (to March 21). Link; http://www.cebit.de/homepage_e?x=1
ABUJA - Nigeria's INEC electoral authority to publish names of presidential and national assembly candidates.
TBC - An African Union-United Nations peace summit on Sudan to be held no later than March 15.
UNITED KINGDOM - British Summer Time begins - clocks across the European Union go forward.
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany - G8 Environment Ministers Meeting (to March 17).
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., - NASA scheduled to launch space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.
SATURDAY, MARCH 17
IRELAND - St. Patrick's Day.
WASHINGTON - Anti-war group, International ANSWER, plans an anti-war march to the Pentagon.
KIEV - EU Foreign policy chief Javier Solana expected to visit Ukraine.
SUNDAY, MARCH 18
FINLAND - Parliamentary elections.
QUITO - Ecuador due to call a popular vote on March 18 on setting up a constituent assembly to change the constitution meant to lessen the influence of politicians in the judiciary and force legislators to live in the small constituencies that they represent.
MONDAY, MARCH 19
LOS ANGELES - Jury selection due to begin in the trial of music producer Phil Spector, who is accused of killing B-movie actress Lana Clarkson, found shot to death in the foyer of his mock castle on Feb. 3, 2003. ** FORT LEWIS, Wash. , - (TENTATIVE) Court-martial of U.S. Army officer Lt. Ehren Watada for publicly refusing to fight in Iraq and criticizing the war.
FRANCE - Anti-nuclear demonstrations planned in Rennes, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon and Toulouse.
TUESDAY, MARCH 20
IRAQ - Fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
VICTORIA, Australia - Australian International Airshow 2006. Link: http://www.airshow.net.au/index1.html
THURSDAY, MARCH 22
GLOBAL - U.N. World Water Day.
LONDON - Worldwide publication of British novelist Jeffrey Archer's "The Gospel According to Judas". Archer has written the book in collaboration with biblical scholar Francis Moloney.
FRIDAY, MARCH 23
GLOBAL - U.N. World Meteorological Day.
OUARZAZATE, Morocco - Desert Marathon Des sables.
PARIS - Paris book fair (to Mar. 27).
SALE, Morocco - (POSTPONED FROM JAN 26) Trial of fifty members of an Islamist group, Ansar el Mehdi (Mehdi Partisans), accused of plotting to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a purist Islamic state.
SATURDAY, MARCH 24
BERLIN - EU Heads of State Meeting (to March 25).
MADRID - First anniversary of the enforcement of a permanent ceasefire declared by Basque separatist group ETA.
MOMBASA, Kenya - IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
GLOBAL - U.N. World No TB Day. [20070208 163058 GMT]
SUNDAY, MARCH 25
BERLIN - EU Heads of State Meeting (final day).
ROME - ANNIVERSARY - 50 year ago today (March 25, 1957) six European countries signed the Treaty of Rome, pledging to set up a Common Market from January 1, 1958. The organisation developed into the European Union.
MINSK - Belarussian opposition expected to hold a rally to mark the short lived creation in 1918 of an independent state crushed by Bolshevik forces.
LONDON - 200th anniversary of the abolishing of the slave trade in the U.K. The government is considering issuing a 'statement of regret'.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Chief Executive election.
UNITED KINGDOM - British Summer Time begins - clocks across the European Union go forward.
MONDAY, MARCH 26
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany - G8 Development Ministers Meeting (to March 27).
BELFAST - Self-rule at the Belfast-based Stormont assembly expected to be restored to the province.
QUEBEC, Canada - Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec expected to hold general election.
TUESDAY, MARCH 27
NASSAU - Inquest into the sudden death of Daniel Smith, the 20-year-old son of former Playboy Playmate and oil heiress Anna Nicole Smith.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28
BRUSSELS - EU parliament plenary session (to March 29).
RIYADH - Annual summit of League of Arab States.
LONDON - British Book Awards. LINK: http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/bba/pnbb_index.asp ?
FRIDAY, MARCH 30
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - a treaty that aims to promote and protect the rights of the disabled people, will formally be opened to signing.
SATURDAY, MARCH 31
BRUSSELS - EU to report on progress of Romania and Bulgaria, 3-months after joining the union.
DUBAI - SPORT - HORSE RACING - 12th Dubai Cup - The world's richest day of horse racing. LINK: http://www.dubaiworldcup.com
SOFIA - Deadline for Bulgarian government to sent its first quarterly report to the European Commission on its progress in fighting organised crime and corruption and reforming the judiciary.
APRIL 2007 (UNDATED)
TOKYO - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expected to visit Japan.
WASHINGTON - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to visit United States in late April or early May, due to hold talks with President George W. Bush.
BEIJING - China expected to take the first step in its lunar exploration programme by launching a satellite that will orbit the moon.
NEW YORK - Sentencing of Robert Riggio, guilty of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from at least 60 priests across the United States by using fake names and bogus sympathy-inducing stories about needing money.
LONDON - The Equality act, expected to come into force in April, is designed to stop discrimination against gay and lesbian couples wishing to adopt a child.
KINSHASA - Belgian King Albert expected to visit Democratic Republic of Congo.
SUNDAY, APRIL 1
WALES - Smoking ban in enclosed areas comes into effect.
SASKATOON, Canada - Juno Awards 2007, Canada's equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
MONDAY, APRIL 2
WASHINGTON - Comments on the sale of food made from cloned cattle, pigs and goats, but not sheep, in the United States will be accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration until today. ** AUGUSTA, Ga. - 2007 U.S. Masters Golf Tournament (to April 8).
TUESDAY, APRIL 3
NEW DELHI - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit (to April 4).
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4
DUBLIN - Shortlist announced for International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2007.
FRIDAY, APRIL 6
GLOBAL - Good Friday - Christian religious holiday.
SATURDAY, APRIL 7
UNITED NATIONS - World Health Organisation observes World Health Day.
LONDON - Annual Oxford-Cambridge University boat-race (1530).
MONDAY, APRIL 9
EAST TIMOR - Presidential elections.
TUESDAY, APRIL 10
BRAZZAVILLE - International forum on indigenous peoples of the forests of central Africa, with representatives from UNESCO, UNICEF, UNEP, World Bank and other international organisations (to April 15).
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11
AOMORI, Japan - Special Symposium for the IAEA 50th Anniversary Global Challenges for the Future of Nuclear Energy and the IAEA.
SATURDAY, APRIL 14
LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Olympic Committee to due to decide between Los Angeles and Chicago as the U.S. candidate city for the 2016 Olympic games.
WASHINGTON - Spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (to April 15).
AINTREE, Liverpool - SPORT- HORSE RACING - Grand National.
NIGERIA - Elections for State and local governments.
SUNDAY, APRIL 15
WASHINGTON - Spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (final day).
ANKARA - Applicants for the presidency have until April 15 to decide whether to run. Turkey's parliament elects the president for a seven-year term.
MONDAY, APRIL 16
VATICAN CITY - 80th birthday of Pope Benedict.
BELFAST - Trial expected to start in the Omagh bombing civil court case.
MIAMI - Trial begins of American terrorism suspect Jose Padilla, who is accused of running a U.S. support cell that provided money and recruits for violent jihad overseas.
TUESDAY, APRIL 17
NEW YORK - Pulitzer Prize awards announced.
LONDON - The Veuve Clicquot Award Business Woman of the Year. Link: http://www.veuveclicquotaward.com/
ROME - Trial begins of U.S. soldier Mario Lozano on homicide charges for shooting dead an Italian intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, in Iraq in 2005 as he was escorting a newly freed hostage to safety. He will be almost certainly tried in absentia as the U.S. military has not revealed his location to Italy.
THURSDAY, APRIL 19
WASHINGTON - International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
BOAO, HAINAN - Third China International Cartoon Festival (to May 4).
SATURDAY, APRIL 21