• 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.
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Document LBA0000020070206e3260005g
Nine kidnapped Chinese workers safely released in Nigeria
387 words

5 February 2007

Xinhua's China Economic Information Service

XNHA

English

(c) 2007 Xinhua News Agency. All Rights Reserved
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (CEIS) -- Nine Chinese oil workers who were kidnapped last week by an armed group in Nigeria, were released safely on Feb. 4 morning, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The nine were set free at 6:35 a.m. (Beijing time) following 11 days of tough diplomatic efforts, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement.
The released workers will return to China soon, she added.
A Chinese oil company compound was attacked by an unidentified armed group in southern Nigeria on Jan. 25. Nine workers were kidnapped and the others moved to a safe place.
The Chinese government showed deep concern about the workers and demanded relevant departments investigate the case and go all out to rescue the kidnapped workers, said Jiang.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, together with the Ministry of Commerce and Chinese diplomatic missions in Nigeria and elsewhere, had worked with the Chinese company to carry out the rescue work, according to Jiang.
The Chinese government also asked for evaluation of security conditions and precaution measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, she said.
"We extend our sincere greetings to the nine workers, and express our appreciation of the assistance from the Nigerian government and other sides for the rescue work," she said.
The attack happened four days after five Chinese telecom workers who had been kidnapped in Nigeria returned to China. They were captured by unidentified armed men on Jan. 5 in the southern Nigerian state of Rivers and released 13 days later on Jan. 17.
A spate of attacks and kidnappings on foreign companies and workers have occurred in Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa and the sixth largest oil exporter in the world with a daily output of 2.5 million barrels.
"We condemn the recent attacks and kidnappings and demand an end of such actions," Jiang said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson also called for the overseas Chinese companies and nationals to further enhance their awareness of safety and strengthen security measures to ensure their safety.
Also on Sunday, an armed group of Nigeria which had kidnapped 24 Filipino seamen, called "the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta", warned that they would continue to hold the hostages until
all their demands are met by the Nigerian government.
(?)
Document XNHA000020070205e32500044

ASIA PACIFIC

China's Hu cultivates oil ties with Africa; Oil-rich nations respond to Beijing's overtures

E. Shailaja Nair

893 words

5 February 2007

Platts Oilgram News

PON

4

Volume 85, Issue 25

English

(c) 2007 McGraw-Hill, Inc.
When China's President Hu Jintao landed in the African country of Cameroon January 30, the first stop in his eight-nation tour of the continent, he probably felt quite at home. After all, Chinese restaurants are opening in Cameroon, Chinese shoes and clothes are sold in the markets and Cameroonian homes are being decorated with Chinese knick-knacks.
As Cameroon emerges as an important source of oil and other raw materials for China, Cameroonians are attributing their drop in living costs in the country to the Chinese. "Thanks to them, what was hitherto sold at very high prices in some stores can now be bought cheaper," a customer at a Chinese store told Cameroon's French newspaper La Nouvelle Expression.
The man's welcome to Chinese traders was not much less than that accorded by his President Paul Biya to China's President Hu. On January 31, Hu met with Biya and pledged $100 million in grants and soft loans to Cameroon. The commitments included a Yuan 40 million ($5.15 million) grant and a Yuan 30 million loan for economic and technical cooperation, as well as two concessional loans of Yuan 350 million each.
Biya welcomed Hu with open arms. "Through you I invite Chinese companies to come and invest in Cameroon, especially in hydrocarbons such as gas and oil, mineral exploitation and forestry where numerous opportunities exist," he said at a working session with Hu at his palace.
According to analysts, as Chinese domestic oil production slows, officials in Beijing are probably looking at Cameroon as a new source of fossil fuels in an energy-rich part of Africa.
On February 1, Hu made a quick trip to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, access to whose ports would be something China is likely to value.
On February 2, the Chinese leader landed in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum for his first visit to a country that is important for China because of its oil reserves. This part of the trip is riddled with controversy as China has been criticized for using its veto power to stop UN sanctions against Sudan over the conflict in Darfur, in which around 200,000 people have died.
Hu has made a bid to stem this by agreeing to try to persuade Sudan to end the bloodshed, and there is no way the nation would have been left out of his African itinerary. China is the biggest foreign investor in Sudan and buys two-thirds of the country's oil exports.
Sudan's oil fields, mainly in the southern region, today produce an estimated 500,000 b/d, up from 300,000 b/d last year. State-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation won the right to develop Sudan's first offshore oil fields in 2005 and the African nation now supplies around 7% of China's crude imports.
China has certainly made major inroads into Africa and the world is watching with wariness and anxiety, wondering where these will lead.
At a China-Africa forum in November last year, Chinese companies signed 16 contracts worth $1.9 billion with 11 African nations to buy oil, minerals and build roads and phone networks.
As Francis Kornegay of the Johannesburg-based Centre for Policy Studies told Africa's Inter Press Service in an interview: "China is moving in a big way in Africa. It is high priority for China in terms of oil, mineral resources, trade and investment of which infrastructure is a part."
He added: "China's growth needs a lot of natural resources. Oil is top of its agenda. And Sudan. China is also sourcing oil from Angola, Gabon, Nigeria and Chad."
But China's interest in the African continent is not new. As far back as 1956, it threw its weight behind the continent's liberation movements in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique. Now, with its economy expanding at a gallop—it grew 10.7% in 2006—China is reaping the benefits of old ties to get raw materials to feed its energy needs.
And Africa is a continent that is still to reach its full potential in terms of exploitation of raw materials, including oil. It is looking to Chinese investments and aid to drag it from poverty and set it on the path of prosperity.
China is trying to reach out to the rest of the world, Sanusha Naidu, a researcher in Chinese studies at South Africa's University of Stellenbosch, told IPS. And Africa is responding. There are about 800 Chinese-owned companies in Africa.
Naidu pointed out that even as Hu is on his third visit to Africa, US President George W. Bush has visited just once, in 2003.
Trade between China and the African countries has been growing. It was up 40% to $55.5 billion in 2006, the balance of trade $2.1 billion in Africa's favor, Xinhua reported, citing Chinese Trade Ministry data.
Hu will also be visiting Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Zambia and Mozambique.
One of Hu's few recorded sayings is said to be that success in life "requires resolve, attention to concrete matters and courage in making decisions." Perhaps that is also the secret of China's success in Africa.
Document PON0000020070220e3250000b

DIARY - Political and General News Events from Feb 5
7,033 words

5 February 2007

11:40 AM

Reuters News

LBA

English

(c) 2007 Reuters Limited
*** Please note Reuters will issue this diary at an additional new time of 0300 GMT daily, followed by 0900 GMT, then 1430 GMT ***
** All times in GMT unless otherwise stated.
Items marked ** denote new or amended listings.
Media clients will also receive around 0700 GMT a daily REUTERS WORLD NEWS OUTLOOK which highlights key events for the coming week.
** New diary - Diary - Environment, see [ENV/DIARY]
** For Reuters World Outlook 2007, click on [nL17799804]
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FEBRUARY 2007 (UNDATED)
TBC - 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. The meeting is expected to take place in early February.
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.
BRUSSELS - European Commission to decide in February whether to approve CO2 allocation plans of Slovenia, Poland, France and Spain.
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.
WASHINGTON - Robert Joseph, U.S. Undersecretary for arms control and international security due to leave office after completing work-related assignment in Ankara and Moscow in February.
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.
KHARTOUM - Official talks between Egyptian and Sudanese government officials in Khartoum, which were postponed from January.
WASHINGTON - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit expected to visit the United States.
TEHRAN - Russia's Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov expected to visit Tehran in early February.
VIENNA - U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari expected 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. ** MOSCOW- Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko expected to visit Russia (expected end Feb.)
MONDAY, FEB 5
WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush to send fiscal year 2008 budget to Congress.
MOSCOW - EU Troika - Russia Federation meeting to focus on EU-Russia relations including energy, international issues including the Middle East, Iran, and Kosovo, as well as issues related to the EU-Russia common neighbourhood such as the South Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other top government officials to attend. ** THE HAGUE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth visits Netherlands. ** AMSTERDAM - A draft agreement on forming a Dutch coalition government between the Christian Democrats, Labour and the Christian Union expected to be ready for final approval on Monday.
ABU DHABI - German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in the United Arab Emirates to hold talks with President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan.
LUXEMBOURG - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi visits Luxembourg. ** TEHRAN - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visits Iran.
HOUSTON - Trial expected of former British bankers, known as the "Natwest Three," accused of conspiring with rogue Enron executives in 2000 to defraud National Westminister Bank of $19 million, dividing $7 million themselves. U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein set alternate possible trial dates for Feb. 5 and Sept. 4. ** ROME - Italian soccer officials and the government meet to decide how long the suspension of all games should last and to discuss new measures to curb violence after the death of a policeman at Catania's match with Palermo on Friday. ** CATANIA, Italy - Funeral of the policeman killed in Catania's match with Palermo on Friday (1100). Interior Minister Giuliano Amato expected to attend. ** WASHINGTON - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul meets U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
NAIROBI - 24th Session of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council (to Feb. 9). World Trade Organisation's Director-General Pascal Lamy due to attnd. ** ABUJA - Nigerian oil unions meet with President Oulusegun Obasanjo to discuss the insecurity in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
TOKYO - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill travels to Tokyo to prepare for the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme.
WINDHOEK - Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Namibia. ** SOFIA - Moldova's Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan and Bulgarian counterpart Ivailo Kalfin hold news conference (0935).
STOCKHOLM - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt meets EU's Afghan representative Fransesc Vendrell. ** MOSCOW - Russian-Georgian talks over restoration of transport links between the two countries (to Feb. 6).
LONDON - (Expected between Feb. 5 and 9) A High Court in London expected to hold a hearing on whether to allow islanders expelled from the Chagos archipelago, a British territory between Africa and Indonesia, to return. The islanders were forcibly exiled in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the U.S. airbase on the island of Diego Garcia.
BELGRADE - Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Serbia organise a round table discussion on fighting crime.
ABUJA - Niger Delta militant Mujahid Asari Dokubo's treason trial due to start in Federal High Court.
BEIJING - Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico visits China (to Feb. 9). SANTIAGO - Peru's final report on Alberto Fujimori's extradition due to be handed to a Chilean judge by Monday. Peru wants Fujimori to stand trial in Lima on human rights charges.
BRUSSELS - The European Crime and Safety Survey (EU ICS) presents results of the first comprehensive survey of victim rates, fear of crime and subjective wellbeing in Europe (1400)
LONDON - Bioenergy Europe 2007 (to Feb. 6). ** BELGRADE - Serbian President Boris Tadic meet leaders of the new parliamentary parties to present the U.N. special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal for Kosovo status and discuss further Serbia's steps (1200). ** CAIRO - President Hosni Mubarak and Tajikistani counterpart Imomali Rakhmonov hold news conference. ** UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon introduces his new deputy, Asha-rose Migiro, of Tanzania to media (0945). ** NEW YORK - New York fashion week continues (to Feb. 9). ** NORFOLK ISLAND, Australia - Murder trial for Norfolk Island's only murder in 150 years resumes. ** PARIS - Opening of 'Free Children from War', an international conference to prevent the exploitation of children in armed conflict (to Feb. 6). ** KUALA LUMPUR - Launch of the Third Global Knowledge Conference (GK3) at Mandarin Oriental Hotel (1000). [20070205 164029 GMT]
TUESDAY, FEB 6
WASHINGTON - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul holds talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ** MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal expected to meet to hold talks on the formation of a unity government. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas is also expected at the talks. ** BRASILIA/BUENOS AIRES - U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will visit Brazil and Argentina (to Feb. 9). In Brazil, Burns will meet with Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Antonio de Aguiar Patriota; and give a speech at Fundacao Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP) in Sao Paulo. In Buenos Aires, Burns will meet with Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, Chief of Cabinet Alberto Fernandez, Planning Minister Julio De Vido; and give a speech at the Consejo Argentino de Relaciones Internationales.
KIEV - EU Troika - Ukraine Meeting. ** BEIJING- North Korean special envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, and Russian delegation expected to arrive in Beijing ahead of six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear programme.
MILAN - A Milan court resumes hearing of arguments on whether to indict 26 Americans, most believed to be CIA agents, and six Italians accused of involvement in abducting Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off a Milan street and flying him to Egypt, where Nasr says he was tortured.
JOHANNESBURG/PRETORIA - Chinese President Hu Jintao visits South Africa (to Feb. 8).
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy on EU issues, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, due to hold a news conference on EU-Russia relations (0900).
KUWAIT CITY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Kuwait.
BRUSSELS - Safer Internet Day 2007, a conference focused on child safety and mobile phones. Link: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/sip/news_eve ts/events/si_day/index_en.htm
LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair gives testimony on domestic and international affairs to the Liaison Committee, made up of heads of select committees.
TEHRAN - Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee visits Iran (to Feb. 7).
BERLIN - Spain's King Juan Carlos visits Germany (to Feb. 7).
WASHINGTON - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit expected to visit United States. ** MANILA - The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) eminent and experts group start two-day security discussion focusing on Northeast Asia's situation, particularly on the nuclear issue in the Korean peninsula.
MUMBAI, India - Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, convicted of possessing illegal arms but now on bail, to surrender before an anti-terrorism court which will begin hearing his sentencing arguments on the day.
PARIS - The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance approved by the 192-nation U.N. General Assembly by consensus due to be open to signing by governments at a ceremony in Paris. ** WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush Senior to receive the Ronald Reagan Feedom Award. Link: http://www.reaganfoundation.org/ ** MOSCOW- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to meet The Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. ** MOSCOW- Russia and Georgia are expected to sign a protocol following talks aimed to restore air communication between the two countries. ** TBILISI/MOSCOW- Russia's ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko to hold a video news conference on Russian-Georgian relations- 0900 GMT
WEDNESDAY, FEB 7
GENEVA - World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council meeting (to Feb. 8).
BANGALORE, India - Sixth edition of Aero India Show (to Feb. 11).
ROME - A Rome court continues its hearing in the case U.S. soldier Mario Lozano, who is accused of shooting agent Nicola Calipari at a checkpoint in March 2005 while his car was heading for Baghdad airport.
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets her Austrian counterpart Alfred Gusenbauer (1130).
BAGHDAD - Trial resumes of Ali Hassan al-Majeed also known as "Chemical Ali" and five other former senior Baath party officials for their roles in the 1988 Anfal (Spoils of war) military campaign.
BRUSSELS - The European Commission unveils delayed proposals to curb CO2 emissions from cars after the failure of the automobile industry to meet voluntary targets for fighting climate change agreed in 2000.
TEHRAN - Final day of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Iran. Mukherjee meets his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
SALE, Morocco - Trial of Briton Lee Murray sought for UK's biggest cash raid, arrested in Morocco and charged in June 2006 with criminal gang membership and illegal possession of cocaine and foreign currency.
HELSINKI - A group of health finance experts, which includes officials from the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the London School of Economics to submit a final report on European Union (EU) countries health spending at conference in Helsinki (to Feb. 8). ** PARIS - Two influential Islamic groups sue a Paris satirical weekly for inciting hatred against Muslims by printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in 2005.
LOS ANGELES - Hearing in the paternity case of former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. Smith gave birth to the baby girl in the Bahamas on Sept. 7 and several weeks later married her personal lawyer, Howard K. Stern, saying he was the father. Anna's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, sued Smith in October, claiming he was the father and demanding a paternity test.
MADRID - Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia visits Spain.
LONDON - Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who won the British reality television show at the heart of a racist bullying row, to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair and other ministers at the House of Commons.
PRAGUE - Left-wing opposition Social Democrats have called for a special parliamentary session to discuss the Czech government's plan to allow the United States to build a radar base as a part of its planned missile defence.
LONDON - The Costa Book of the Year 2006. Link: http://www.costabookawards.com/ ** BANGKOK - Public hearing on Thailand's new 15-year Power Development Plan, proposals include development of nuclear power. [20070205 164036 GMT]
THURSDAY, FEB 8
SEVILLE, Spain - NATO defence ministers meeting.
BEIJING - A fresh round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme expected to resume.
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).
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.
PHILIPPINES - Thousands of U.S. soldiers begin annual three-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 Subic, Clark, Fort Magsaysay and on Jolo and Palawan islands.
BERLIN - 57th Berlin Film Festival (to Feb. 18). LINK: http://www.berlinale.de ** THE HAGUE - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visits Netherlands to meet Dutch parliamentarians.
MANIPUR, India - Assembly elections in the Indian State of Manipur. Polls due to be held in three stages on Feb. 8, 15 and 23.
ZAGREB - Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia visits Croatia to attend a conference (to Feb. 9).
BERLIN - EU Troika - Pakistan Meeting.
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).
FRIDAY, FEB 9
ESSEN, Germany - G7 Finance Ministers meeting (to Feb. 10).
MUNICH - 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy (to Feb. 9). Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend. LINK: http://www.securityconference.de (1000).
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 Contest 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.
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.
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).
MONDAY, FEB 12
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush meets Lithuanian counterpart Valdas Adamkus.
BRUSSELS - EU Foreign Ministers Meeting.
DOHA/AMMAN - Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Qatar and Jordan (to Feb. 13).
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.
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
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).
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). [20070205 164043 GMT]
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
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.
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.
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/
FRIDAY, FEB 16
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.
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.
ALBANIA - Municipal polls.
LOS ANGELES - 21st Annual American Society of Cinematographers. LINK: http://www.theasc.com/news/awards/index.html
MONDAY, FEB 19
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.
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.
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.
BUDAPEST - Hungary's public sector trade unions expected to organise a nationwide two-hour warning strike over this year's wage rises.
THURSDAY, FEB 22
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) Commission annual report on equality between men and women. [20070205 164053 GMT]
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.
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
PARIS - (TENTATIVE) 32nd Annual Cesar Awards.
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.
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.
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).
MARCH 2007 (UNDATED)
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.
NEW DELHI - The first meeting of a joint India-Pakistan anti-terrorism panel due to be held in March.
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.
PRAGUE - (TENTATIVE) 9th International human rights 'One World' documentary film festival (to March 9). LINK: http://www.jedensvet.cz/ow/2006/index.php?lang=en
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
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.
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).
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.
SUNDAY, MARCH 11
BELGRADE - First anniversary of the death of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
MAURITANIA - Presidential election.
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.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Local elections.
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.
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.
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. [20070205 164059 GMT]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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).
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/
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