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WORLD NEWS FORECAST ARCHIVE
Jul - Dec 2009
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RUSSIA/UKRAINE 1 Jul 2009 Gambling halls ordered to close
Strained financial times have set back plans for four new Las Vegas-style gambling zones in remote areas of Russia to replace gambling facilities ordered to close on Jul 1, but Russian authorities insist the country's casinos and slot machine parlors will close on time. The zones are aimed at focusing tourism and development in areas where they are needed. Gambling workers unions want the closure delayed, predicting economic upheaval when some 500,000 of their members are laid off.
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UNITED STATES 1 Jul 2009 New law liberalizes drinking alcohol in mainly dry Utah
From Jul 1 Utah residents and visitors will be able to enjoy drinking alcohol in a public bar, a pleasure taken for granted in the other 49 states. Since 1969 drinking patrons in Utah have been required to be members of a so-called "private club," an arrangement legislated by Mormon state lawmakers and backed by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. The LDS church tells its members to abstain from alcohol. The new law also tears down the so-called Zion Curtain.
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LIBYA 1-3 Jul 2009 African Union leaders meet to continue talks about reform
Until Madagascar's coup in March, that country was listed as host of the 13th Ordinary African Union Summit. The venue was changed to Sirte, and both the coup and the recent death of Gabon leader Omar Bongo could steal a part of the agenda from the official theme: Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security. The leaders are also likely to be pressed again to advance the "United States of Africa" concept.
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BRUSSELS 1 July 2009 Sweden take helm of European Union with enlargement agenda
When Sweden assumes the six-month presidency of the European Union on Jul 1, enlargement will be a top issuse. Croatia is seen as likely to conclude EU membership talks during the Swedish term, putting it in line to become the bloc's 28th member by 2011. Serbia's recent election results increase its chances of early EU membership. Ukraine and Georgia might remain in limbo, hostage to Russia's hostility as the bloc and NATO close in on its borders.
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MONACO-FRANCE 4-26 July 2009 Tour de France starts in Monaco for first time
For the first time in its history, the Tour de France will start in Monaco. The 2174 mile race then passes through France, Spain, Andorra and Switzerland before finishing in Paris at the Champs Elysees. The seven times winner of the Tour, Lance Armstrong, will compete for an 8th win at the Tour, which has been tarnished by drug scandals. German broadcasters ADR and ZDF are ending their 7 million a year television contract with the Tour because of the scandals.
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UNITED STATES 4 Jul 2009 United States celebrates Independence Day
Many cities and towns will cancel or trim their Independence Day fireworks spectaculars because of hard times, but New York won't be one of them. Department store Macy's plans to stage its Jul 4 pyrotechnics extravaganza as usual, but will move it from the East River to the Hudson River in the city to mark the 400th anniversary of English explorer Henry Hudson's voyage to New York. The reopening to visitors of the Statue of Liberty's crown is New York's other star turn on Jul 4.
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ENGLAND 3 or 4 Jul 2009 Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs parole likely
Ronnie Biggs, who achieved notoriety as a member of a 15-strong gang that attacked the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn on 8 Aug 1963, before making off with UK 2.6 million (US $3.8 million), is expected to be released from Norwich prison. He has served part of a 30-year sentence for his role in the best-known robbery in British history. His notoriety also stems from his escape from prison in 1965 and colorful years on the run. He turns 80 on 8 Aug, exactly 46 years after the heist.
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ALGIERIA 5-20 Jul 2009 Algiers hosts first Pan-African Culture Festival in 40 years
The Second Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algiers is the first since 1969. It is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to celebrate what Algeria's culture minister Khalida Toumi describes as Africa's artistic renaissance. The event will feature thousands of notables in visual art, music, dance theater and poetry from Africa and the estimated 330-million-strong African diaspora. The last US presidential election could boost interest in the festival.
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MEXICO 5 Jul 2009 Legislative mid-term election planned
Mexico's mid-term election for its 500-member Chamber of Deputies, six governors and mayors and local legislators in 11 states is scheduled for Jul 5. There was speculation that the ballot would be postponed due to the swine flu outbreak, but the rate of infection now appears to be ebbing. Swine flu could play into the results as opposition parties criticize the handling of the crisis by the governing National Action Party (PAN). The drug war could also play into the election.
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ITALY 8-10 July 2009 Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hosts G8 summit
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi hosts the leaders of the G8 group of rich nations at the earthquake-hit town of L'Aquila. The economic meltdown will top an agenda that includes climate, energy and trade. United States President Barak Obama can expect a lecture on the need to adopt regulations to prevent economic catastrophes.
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INDONESIA 8 Jul 2009 Indonesians vote for president
Indonesia elects a president in an election distinguished by its logistical complexity. It involves some 180 million eligible voters casting ballots at all but a few of the 17,500 islands of the archipelago. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, formerly a high-ranking military official, is predicted to win. He is safe from his rivals for the present as the economy is still growing, albeit a little slower.
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GENEVA 6-10 July 2009 The 58th meeting of CITES Standing Committee assesses ivory sale
The 58th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be evaluating the results of a controversial legal sale of ivory and planning the agenda for the 15th CITES Conference of the Parties in 2010. Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe held the ivory sales in October and November 2008 under an agreement concluded in Jun 2007 at The Hague.
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MOSCOW 6-8 Jul 2009 President Barak Obama visits for arms talks
United States President Barack Obama visits Russia for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev aimed at cuttings stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The two leaders want a deal that would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. The remaining differences between the two sides are described as narrow. One of the sticking points is the US plan, made by the last US administration, to deploy an anti-missile shield in Europe.
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BELGIUM 12 Jul 2009 European Defence Agency five years old
The European Defence Agency came into being on 12 Jul 2004. The alliance it supports, the European Union's European Security and Defence Policy, was established five years earlier. Questions about whether both the ESDP and NATO are necessary could increase in this anniversary year, a time of economic crisis and military overstretch - particularly now France, a founding ESDP member, has rejoined the Alliance.
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WORLD 10 July 2009 French Protestant reformer John Calvin born 500 years ago
John Calvin, a founder of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, France, on 10 Jul 500 years ago. His life and legacy will be celebrated around the world throughout 2009 with events described as international, interdenominational and interdisciplinary. The main events will be in Geneva, where the theologian found sanctury after fleeing from Catholic France. He wrote and preached in that city until his death in 1564.
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ISRAEL 12-23 Jul 2009 World's Jewish athletes compete at 18th Maccabiah Games
Thousands of Jewish athletes from 50 countries will compete in the 18th Maccabiah Games in July. The event, sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics," is held every four years. Worries that it represents a high-profile target for Palestinian militants seeking vengeance for Israel's destruction in Gaza, could decide some athletes against traveling to Israel. Athletes have been targets in the past, notably in 1972, when Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
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SPAIN 13 July 2009 Union of the Mediterranean is one year old
The controversial Union of the Mediterranean, initiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is one year old on 13 Jul. It unites all European Union members with several non-EU countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. The new body almost died shortly afterwards. The French president relaunched the partnership on 25 Jun, hoping it will provide new impetus to regional cooperation by agreeing a set of priority development projects that create de facto solidarity between participating nations.
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FRANCE 14 Jul 2009 No easy Bastille Day for President Nicolas Sarkozy
As every year, Paris and all France will celebrate the country's commitment to Libert Egalit Fraternit . French jets sweep over Paris, and the country's president reviews a military parade down the Champs Elysees. President Nicolas Sarkozy can't count on a stellar Bastille Day in 2009. Strikes could spoil the party. And it follows the first anniversary of his moribund Union for the Mediterranean, the founding of which was celebrated at the 2008 Bastille Day parade.
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STRASBOURG 14 Jul 2009 European Parliament inaugural session begins
Several Members of the European Parliament have proposed a rule change to prevent French far-right parliamentarian Jean-Marie Le Pen from presiding over the inaugural session in July. Under present rules, the oldest MEP opens the first session of the new legislature. At 81 (by July), the French National Front leader is due the honor. The main issues for MEPs in subsequent sittings are the results of June EP election and the decisions, if any, taken by G20 leaders at their London summit in April.
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UNITED STATES 14 Jul 2009 Nixon war on drugs 40 years ago
President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs on 14 Jul 1969 in a message to Congress. It became the War on Drugs in Jun 1971. Hundreds of billions of dollars and 40 years later, drug consumption and profits are booming. In these desperate economic times in the United States, Washington could see better use for the billions of dollars spent on the drugs war and argue that it is not working.
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BOLIVIA 18 Jul 2009 Bolivia opens bicencennial events in Latin America
The town was Sucre, formerly Chuquisaca, and La Paz commemorate the bicentenary of uprisings that were unsuccessful but regarded as the opening salvo of the continent's struggle for independence from Spain. Their bicentenary events will be repeated in varying degrees of lavishness over the next two years as Latin America celebrates 200 years of independence from colonial rule. Bolivia, where the colonial drama is still in play, celebrates on 25 May and 18 July.
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ENGLAND 19 Jul 2009 Salsa dancers aim to break Guinness Record
The organizers of the Summer of Salsa have called for 2000 people or more to come to the stadium of the Worcester Warriors Rugby club in Worcester on Jul 19 for an attempt to break a Guinness Record for Salsa dancing. There are almost daily attempts on Guinness records. On Mar 17 A video game called House of the Dead: Overkill won the honor as the most profane ever, dropping the F-word 189 times. And on St. Patrick's Day in New York, 3,163 participants won the largest pub crawl record.
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UNITED STATES 19 Jul 2009 Woman died in Kennedy accident 40 years ago
On 19 Jul 1969, Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts drove his car off a small bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. The senator left the scene and did not report it to the police until the following day. Every fifth anniversary since has been a cue to the media and Kennedy's political opponents to revisit the accident. The question is whether the senator's dire health will win him a break on the 40th anniversary.
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MOON 20 July 2009 Neil Armstrong the first human on the Moon's surface 40 years ago
On Jul 20 during the Apollo 11 mission of 1969, NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. Twelve US astronauts walked on the Moon during the six successful lunar landing Apollo missions. There is likely to be a 40th anniversary celebration at the White House, with the aging Apollo astronauts at the event lobbying the new president for funding so the United States won't be an "also ran" in the race to return to the Moon.
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CANADA 21-23 Jul 2009 Assembly of First Nations meets in Calgary
The Assembly of First Nations, a national organization representing aboriginal citizens in Canada, holds its 30th gathering. FN chiefs meet annually to set national policy and direction. In 2009 they will elect a national chief. Agenda issues include the health of the reconciliation commission linked to the National Residential Schools Survivor's Society, Canada's new Specific Claims Tribunal Act and possible protests by FN activists when the Winter Olympics comes to Vancouver in 2010.
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THE HAGUE 21 Jul 2009 First anniversary of Radovan Karadzic captivity
On 21 July it will be one year since former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested in Serbia, after 13 years in hiding. The date reminds the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where Karadzic was transferred nine days after his arrest, of the need for haste. The race is on to try Karadzic before the ICTY mandate or the 64-year-old defendant expires. Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic died at 64 in 2006 during his war crimes trial.
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SINGAPORE 21-22 Jul 2009 APEC trade ministers meet
Among several tasks at their meeting, trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will be monitoring members' compliance with pledges made by APEC leaders at the Nov 2008 summit. In their statement, the leaders strongly advocated the principle of multilateral free trade, opposed trade protectionism and promised not to create new investment and trade barriers. United States Commerce Secretary Gary Locke could be assailed because several US plans hint at non-compliance.
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WORLD 22 Jul 2009 Asia and Oceania to see spectacular total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse will turn day to night for 6 min 39 sec at peak viewing areas in its path - northern India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, central China and several islands in the Pacific. The exceptional length of totality makes this eclipse a huge draw for enthusiasts. Japan's first eclipse in 46 years will be visible for over six minutes from islands off the mainland that plan to limit visitors. Tours to other viewing areas are reported to be selling out. full story
EDINBURGH 25-26 Jul 2009 Scotland plans massive gathering of clans
Edinburgh hosts what is being promoted as one of the largest gatherings of Scottish clans in history. It's the signature event of Homecoming Scotland--some 300 special events between the birthday of poet Robert Burns in January and St. Andrew's Day in November. The centerpiece of the weekend is a clan march up the Royal Mile that the organizers liken to Sir Walter Scott's Royal Pageant in 1822.
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UNITED KINGDOM 26 Jul 2009 Report: British astronomer beat Galileo 400 years ago
This year the world celebrates the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), marking the 400th anniversary of the first drawings of celestial objects through a telescope, and Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei has been credited with the achievement. Britain's Royal Astronomical Society says the credit really belongs to British astronomer Thomas Harriot, who made the first drawing of the Moon through a telescope in Jul 1609, several months before Galileo.
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JAPAN 28 Jul 2009 Legislative session ends ahead of election
Japan's conservative Prime Minister, Taro Aso, has extended the current legislative session by 55 days to Jul 28, and is expected to call an election for August or early September. The poll must be held by October. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) hopes to use the country's plummeting economy and Aso's lower approval ratings to beat his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled the country for almost all of the last 50 years. A financial scandal could spoil the DJP plan.
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Iraq's parliament and the United States agreed to a pact in November that sees US troops out of Iraqi cities by Jun 30 and out of the country by 2011. It also transfers the main responsibility for the country's security to Iraqi forces once the pact goes into effect on Jan 1. Its longevity is conditional on a nationwide referendum before 30 Jul that asks Iraqis if they approve the plan. If it fails, Iraq may ask Washington to pull out its troops earlier.
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Left-wing nationalist students broke away from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) on 31 Jul 1959 to form ETA, which has used terror since 1968 to further its campaign for an independent Basque state. The students accused the PNV of failing to resist the rule of General Francisco Franco's right-wing dictatorship, which suppressed the Basque language. A bomb blast in Madrid on Feb 9, blamed on ETA, suggests a new wave of separatist violence ahead of Basque regional elections and 50th anniversary.
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German scientist Manfred Reinke was elected executive secretary of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat at the conclusion of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in the United States in April, and he starts on Aug 1. He faces a difficult 4-year term, as 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty, and 11 countries claim sovereignty over parts of Antarctica to secure the contiguous offshore oil, gas and mineral rights. And taxing environmental issues threaten the health of the South Pole.
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At their 60th anniversary summit, NATO leaders agreed to appoint Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the Alliance's next Secretary General. He takes up his post on Aug 1, when the term of Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer expires. Turkey had threatened to veto Rasmussen's appointment because of his handling of a 2006 crisis triggered by cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper.
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The annual international day of commemoration for the Sinti and Roma victims of the Nazi Holocaust is a reminder each year that an estimated half-million of Europe's largest minority, often referred to as "gypsies," were killed in Nazi death camps in WWII. The day is marked with wreath layings in Roma-Sinti communities throughout the European Union, and 2 Aug 2009 might see the dedication of a Roma and Sinti Holocaust memorial in Berlin.
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President Mamadou Tandja named Aug 4 as the date for a referendum on extending his rule to three terms. He circumvented a ruling by Niger's hightest court against his plan by dissolving parliament on May 26 and assuming emergency powers to rule by decree. The Aug 4 referendum will be followed on Aug 20 by parliamentary elections and a presidential election on Nov 14. Without the extension, his term ends on Dec 22.
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UNITED STATES 4-7 Aug 2009 Space elevator events point potential way into Space
After several cancellations of the event, teams from the United States and Canada will compete for US $2,000,000 in prize money at the Space Elevator Games Climber/Power-Beaming competition on Aug 4-7 in California and in Washington state. A space elevator is designed to send astronauts and payloads shooting up a tethered ribbon into Space. The delevopers assert the technology one day will make travel to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) a daily event and transform the global economy.
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UNITED STATES 9 Aug 2009 Forty years since mass murders by Charles Manson's hippie followers
Cult leader Charles Manson's hippie "family" of young killers burst into a Beverly Hills home on 9 Aug 1969 and killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others. The following night they stabbed to death a wealthy couple, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, in their Los Angeles home. Manson manipulated his hippie "family," which numbered 100 cultists at its height, to kill for him. Forty years on, he and four followers convicted of the murders are in prison. One could soon be released.
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On Aug 10, almost 20 years since the country returned to democracy after a string of military dictatorships, Ecuador celebrates the bicentenary of its declaration of independence from Spain on 10 Aug 1809. President Rafael Correa won't have the cash to mark the milestone in a lavish way. While the other Latin American countries will open museums, monuments, buildings and grand infrastructure works for their bicentenaries, Ecuador's cash flow problem is likely to limit the country to cultural eve
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MALDIVES 13 August 2009 Indian Ocean nation marks Black Friday with likely change of plans
By the fifth anniversary of Black Friday, the 1192-island nation of the Maldives will have a new president, Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party. On 29 Oct 2008, in the first democratic presidential polls in the nation's history, he defeated President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled for 30 years.
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The sides of the 1896 foot-long arch for the Colorado River Bridge, the central part of the 3.5-mile Hoover Dam Bypass Project in Nevada, are coming together despite setbacks. Its 1060-foot concrete arch span will be longest in the United State and fourth longest in the world. Link-up is expected in September or sooner. Some 900 feet above the river, the bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck old road, which crosses the dam. The new bridge opens to traffic in 2010.
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A crush of nostalgic visitors can be expected in Bethel, New York, in August to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock love-in and rock concert. The 1969 Music and Art Fair, which brought some 400,000 rock fans to the town, marks what is considered the high point of the American youth counterculture in the 1960s. A new museum in Bethel, which memorializes the sixties, will be a major draw. Director Ang Lee plans to mark the 40th anniversary with a comedy about Woodstock.
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Despite the state's extreme budget woes, California's Department of Water Resources plans to start underwater drilling in September to find the best route for a controversial US $10-billion canal project in the inland river delta and estuary in the north of the state. Protesters plan to stage a Million Boat Float on the Sacramento River river to register their opposition, then float upstream to demonstrate the following day at the state's legislature.
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Decisions makers, international experts and a few heads of state gather at the World Water Week in Stockholm each year to mull the planet's most urgent water-related issues. The theme for 2009 is Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good. On Aug 19, Canadian manufacturer Trojan Technologies will be awarded the 2009 Stockholm Industry Water Award for what is described as an environmentally sound alternative to traditional chlorine-based water treatment.
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Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, a self-described action-sociologist and founder of the Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement in India, has been named the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. He receives his award during the 2009 World Water Week in August for helping to improve the health of the urban and rural poor of India by means of eco-friendly and cheap toilets. India's poor are more visible to the world after the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, raising interest in this prizegiving.
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Afghanistan's second presidential election falls one day before its 90th anniversary of independence from British control. President Hamid Karzai is expected to win a second 5-year term. He is critical of United States-NATO military operations against the Taliban insurgency in the country of almost 33 million people, and might ratchet-up the criticism in the run up to the election. Lack of security caused a postponement from May, and could cause another delay.
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NIGER 20 Aug 2009 President decrees parliamentary election
The uranium-exporting West African country of Niger holds an election for its 113-seat unicameral National Assembly on Aug 20 that results from a decree by its president, Mamadou Tandja. Annoyed at opposition to his attempt to cling to power, he dissolved parliament on May 26 and announced the election. Opposition coalition head Mahamadou Issoufou, a presidential hopeful, condemned what he called a coup d'etat by Tandja. Opposition parties can be expected to boycott the vote.
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MOSCOW 18-23 August 2009 MAKS 2009 aviation and space salon opens in testing times
Moscow holds the ninth International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2009, one year after its military adventure in Georgia cooled relations with the West. Both the chill and a global financial crisis threaten the success of the salon. A comparison of the MAKS 2009 and the MAKS 2007 figures will gauge the damage, if any. The last show brought in almost 800 exhibitors from 39 countries and 500,000 visitors. Traditionally, the Russian president opens the salon.
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The 50th state in the Union celebrates its 50th anniversary of statehood on 21 Aug. Low-profile events are likely because statehood is controversial in Hawaii. Opponents describe it as an independent country under prolonged illegal occupation by the United States, and some native Hawaiian groups have loudly objected to previous celebrations. This anniversary is further marked by the circumstance that a US election candidate, who could be president by the anniversary, was born in Hawaii.
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WORLD **21 Aug-19 Sep 2009 Muslim mark fasting month of Ramadan
The first sight of the new crescent moon is the signal for Muslims around the world to begin a month of fasting and prapyer. In recent years insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan have waited for Ramadan for major offensives, and the Taliban in Pakistan vowed to step up their attacks in Ramadan 2008. Any increase in violence poses an ethical dilemma for the other side of the conflicts--whether to back off the fight during Ramadan out of respect for Islam or to retaliate with full force.
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On 25 Aug 1609 Galileo Galilei introduced his invention -- the telescope -- to the Venice Republic government. A 400th anniversary exhibition, Galileo 2009, opens in Rimini on Aug 23 and runs until 30 Aug. In mid September, it moves to Vatican City. In 1984 Pope John Paul II formally acknowledged that the Catholic Church erred when it condemned the Italian astronomer for maintaining that Earth revolved around the Sun.
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A large-scale expedition leaves the port of Troms on Aug 30 for the Barents Sea to search for polar explorer Roald Amundsen's sea plane, named Latham 47. Amundsen disappeared in the plane 80 years ago. The expedition will deploy high tech apparatus, seen as pivotal to the success of the mission, from a Royal Norwegian Navy Vessel and its supply vessel. Amundsen was on his way to rescue the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile when he and the plane disappeared.
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JAPAN 30 Aug 2009 Prime Minister Taro Aso calls election for 30 Aug
Prime Minister Taro Aso has called a parliamentary election that could oust his governing Liberal Democratic Party after more than five decades of almost uninterrupted rule. His approval ratings have fallen and his party s chances of losing the election have risen sharply. Aso's LDP and its junior coalition partner, the New Komeito, hold a combined 334 of the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament. Whichever party wins will have to tackle the country's worst recession in 60 years.
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| CYPRUS 3 Sep 2009 Second stage of Cypriot reunification talks begin
The first stage of talks between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on reunifying the divided island of Cyprus ended on Aug 6. The second stage of the United Nations-backed talks begins Sep 3 in the island's UN-controlled buffer zone. At the second round the leaders will take on the toughest issue, property rights on the island, where UN peacekeepers have been deployed since 1964 to prevent fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
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BERLIN 2-4 Sep 2009 Population meeting a red flag for anti-abortion groups
Germany hosts the Global Forum of the International Conference on Population and Development at 15 (ICPD at 15). Under the United Nations umbrella, it brings together NGOs from around the world to review progress in meeting overall reproductive health care needs, particularly for women. The goal represents a red flag for the Vatican, and at least one Catholic publication is protesting that the forum won't seat pro-life NGOs. The meeting also marks the 15th anniversary of the ICPD.
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LIBYA 1 Sep 2009 Muammar Gaddafi coup overthrew king 40 years ago
Libyan King Idris I was overthrown by a group of military officers, who included Muammar Gaddafi, on 1 Sep 1969. Gaddafi has led the authoritarian government, while pressing for the unification of Africa, ever since. After decades of estrangement from the West, relations are warming. Libya's oil and gas are helping a thaw that could still stall. Revolution Day will be celebrated with parades, fireworks, a Gaddafi speech and the release of prisoners.
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POLAND 1 Sep 2009 Hitler's army invaded Poland 70 years ago, starting WWII
Reporters coined the term Blitzkrieg (lightning war) to convey the rapid and mechanized German attack on Poland on 1 Sep 1939, the event that started World War II. Great Britain and France responded, declaring war on Germany on Sep 3. In Poland, official events mark the anniversary. Many of the TV and print retrospectives on Sep 3 will reach back to the 1938 Munich Conference--still cited as a cautionary tale about the perils of appeasement by foreign policy hawks--to begin the story.
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CYPRUS 3 Sep 2009 Second stage of Cypriot reunification talks begin
The first stage of talks between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on reunifying the divided island of Cyprus ended on Aug 6. The second stage of the United Nations-backed talks begins Sep 3 in the island's UN-controlled buffer zone. At the second round the leaders will take on the toughest issue, property rights on the island, where UN peacekeepers have been deployed since 1964 to prevent fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
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STOCKHOLM 4-5 Sep 2009 European Union foreign ministers meet informally
The 27 foreign ministers of the European Union meet in the capital of expansion-friendly EU president Sweden. Iceland's foreign minister could be invited to sit in on both days. Its EU bid is likely to be fast-tracked to give the bloc a bigger voice in Arctic issues. The ministers of EU candidate countries Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey will sit in on the second day. Croatia's and Macedonia's accession bids have been set back, but Turkey's bid might have been helped by a recent pipeline deal.
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UNITED STATES 5 Sep 2009 Santa Fe in New Mexico begins 16-month party for 400th birthday
Invitations have been sent to President Barack Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calder n and the Spanish royal family to attend the 400th brithday party of Santa Fe, which bills itself as the oldest capital city in the United States. Called VIVA! Santa Fe, the celebration begins on the Labor Day weekend 2009 and ends on New Year's Eve 2010. New coins will mark the anniversary. For descendents of the Puebelo Indians on the wrong end of the conquest, the centenary is not a happy milestone.
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Oil ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries hold their 154th Ordinary Meeting to consider whether to cut production, hold it steady or open the spigot. Recent months have shown how volatile prices can be -- with record highs in mid 2008 and extreme lows in early 2009. The success or failure of economic stimulus measures around the world could be the deciding factor. And this could be the meeting that sees Brazil and Russia at the OPEC table as members.
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WASHINGTON DC 10-12 Sep 2009 Tea Party protesters march on US Capitol
The Republican-affiliated Tea Party Movement, aimed at derailing the agenda of the Democrat-led federal government, plans a mass protest in the nation's capital. Democratic President Barak Obama's plan to overhaul healthcare is in their bullseye, but their grievances cover issues that include gun rights, taxes and oil drilling. The movement took its name from an incident on 16 Dec 1773 when American patriots, protesting a British tax, threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
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World Suicide Prevention Day aims to remind governments that suicide is a major preventable cause of premature death. It's also a day to revisit famous suicides, like Vincent Van Gogh's, and the ones that include the deaths of other people, suicide-homicides. A recent Pakistan news story suggests prevention of this class of suicide-homicide, where it is attempted, could lie in rescuing trained suicide attackers before they kill, and reversing brainwashing that can begin at an early age.
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VIENNA 14-18 Sep 2009 53rd IAEA General Conference tackles complex agenda
Polarization in the International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to slow movement on serious issues when member states meet for the 53rd IAEA General Conference. The industrialized "nuclear have" nations and developing "nuclear have nots" have markedly different agendas. The two blocs will have to come together to confirm the appointment of a successor for IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. Consensus on other key issues promises to be more elusive.
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The leaders of the 192 member states of the United Nations gather on Sep 15 to open the 64th General Assembly. General debate begins Sep 23, and some leaders will stay on for focus summits: climate Sep 22; maternal health Sep 23; and a Security Council summit on nuclear arms, led by President Barak Obama, Sep 24. Sixty-fourth session business includes follow-up on two recent UN initiatives -- reforming UN peacekeeping operations and naming and shaming governments that recruit child soldiers.
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LONDON 16 Sep 2009 Whale tooth from Charles Darwin voyage up for auction
A whale tooth memento of Charles Darwin's famous expedition to the Galapagos Islands will go under the hammer at Bonham's Auction House in September. The auction -- and possibly the price of the tooth -- will benefit from going on sale during Darwin's year: The 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of "Origin of the Species" both fall in 2009. The 7-inch memento was decorated by James Bute, a Royal Navy marine private who served aboard the ship, according to Bonham's.
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Innsbruck is the center of bicentenary celebrations marking local hero Andreas Hofer's revolt against Napoleon that began on 9 Apr 1809. He attacked the French Emperor's army during the War of the Third Coalition in 1809 in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to keep his homeland under Austrian rule. The tens of thousands of visitors expected for the parade and music include high-level representatives from all the countries in the conflict. Hofer was recently born again as a comic book hero.
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The leaders of G20 countries will meet in Pittsburgh to assess the effectiveness of measures agreed at the April G20 summit. The growing swine flu epidemic could make the global economy even sicker, pushing the leaders into stronger measures than they agreed to at their April summit.
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The two Koreas reached a deal in August to resume the reunions of families separated for over 60 years by the Korean War. Experts suggest Pyongyang is reaching out to Seoul to ease the financial pain of United Nations sanctions, which were imposed after the North exploded a nuclear device in May. Some 100 families will be reunited at the Mount Kumgang, run by an affiliate of the Hyundai Group from the South. The reunions have not been held for two years. The families will be selected by lottery.
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Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, the three-term prime minister who founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and honed the Sinhalese nationalism that fuels the country's civil war, died on 26 Sep 50 years ago after being shot the previous day by a disgruntled Buddhist monk. The death anniversary is observed, but there is no indication yet of the scale or nature of the observances for the 50th anniversary.
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CZECH REPUBLIC 26-28 Sep 2009 Pope Benedict XVI visits ahead of election
Pope Benedict XVI visits during a time of political turmoil in the Czech Republic. The center-right minority cabinet collapsed in a no-confidence vote in March. A caretaker government replaces it. The Pontiff's visit is described as apostolic and coincides with the feast day of the country's patron saint, St. Wenceslas, but its timing ahead of an October early parliamentary election could be viewed as political.
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The election for the 614-seat Federal Assembly or Bundestag will see the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) looking for a clear majority over the Social Democrats (SPD) to end the present uneasy CDU-SPD "grand coalition" government. The unpopularity of Germany's involvement in Afghanistan could hurt CDU leader Angela Merkel's prospects.
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ENGLAND 27 Sep-1 Oct 2009 Labour Party holds pivotal annual conference
Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will overcome plunging ratings and lead his Labour Party to victory in the next general election. He might not get the chance. If the opposition Conservatives continue to lead in the opinion polls, the 2009 Annual Labour Party Conference in Brighton is likely to replace him. The resignation of several ministers, Labour's poor showing in European and local elections and outrage over the release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber have undercut his prospects.
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European Union defense ministers meeting informally in Gothenburg will look for progress in developing the bloc's military capabilities and at the next steps in achieving the so-called Headline Goal 2010. The bloc is short of consensus on how to achieve it. The goal is to increase EU forces, to make them more flexible, mobile and interoperable, to make better use of available resources by pooling and sharing assets and to increase the responsiveness of multinational forces.
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When Soyuz TMA-16 blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, it will be carrying the seventh and possibly the last space tourist to the International Space Station. The Canadian Cirque du Soleil founder, Guy Laliberte, will be occupying the third seat in the spacecraft, which, once the NASA shuttle is retired, will be needed to rotate the six-member ISS crews. Russian supermarket mogul and Duma member Vladimir Gruzdev had been named, but bowed out. Some reports say he was outbid by Laliberte.
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers governs the world of 1.5 billion Internet users under an agreement, which expires on Sep 30, with the United States Commerce Department. The European Commission wants the agreement for US government oversight of ICANN dissolved, replaced by an independent judicial body described as a "G12 for Internet governance." The issue could result in a showdown between the European Union and the United States.
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The People's Republic of China turns 60 on Oct 1. The milestone is a flashpoint. Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs are seen as the most likely groups to try to spoil the celebrations, which will include the first National Day military parade in a decade. Economic growth, which has helped keep the Communist Party in power, is faltering, and the year's politically sensitive anniversaries will focus disaffected minds on the ruling party's shortcomings.
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UNITED STATES 1 Oct 2009 19th Annual Ig Nobel prizes awarded for improbable research
The Ig Nobel prizes, started as a spoof of the prestigious annual Nobel Prizes, will be awarded for the 19th time to research projects deemed improbable (and risible.) Ten 10 winners, from several continents, will be announced at a Harvard University ceremony. The 2008 Ig Nobel Peace Prize went to a Swiss organization and Swiss citizens for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity, and French researchers won the Biology Prize for discovering dog fleas jump higher than cat fleas.
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STRASBOURG 1 Oct 2009 Ceremony marks Council of Europe's 60th anniversary
The 47-member Council of Europe, not to be confused with the European Council, the European Union's policy-making body, holds a belated 60th anniversary ceremony on Oct 1. Now covering most of the Continent, CoE was founded on 5 May 1949. Europe's watchdog on legal, cultural and social issues, the CoE recently launched its New Earth Deal and aims to push for a global treaty at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December. CoE plans a pre-Copenhagen conference in September.
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MOLDOVA 9 Oct 2009 Chisinau hosts CIS leaders
The roll call of leaders at the summit of the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States could be one of the more newsworthy aspects of the event as it is likely to measure the temperature of several ongoing internal CIS disputes. Only five CIS members attended Russia's informal CIS summit in July. The Abkhazian and South Ossetian leaders attended at Russia's invitation. Georgia is quitting the CIS because of Russia's support for the two breakaway regions of Georgia as sovereign states.
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MOON 9 Oct 2009 Lunar impact probe due to hit Cabeus A site
NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite is due to hit the surface of the Moon at a dark depression believed to harbor ice. NASA says the crash should be visible from Earth with a good amateur telescope. NASA launched the water-seeking impact probe, LCROSS, and The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, on Jun 18. The LRO will orbit the Moon, for a year, mapping the lunar surface and characterizing landing sites for future missions.
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BOGOTA 9 Oct 2009 Colombia stages its biggest earthquake drill
President Alvaro Uribe and Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno will coordinate the largest tremor drill in Colombia's history, a US $1.2 billion simulation aimed at assessing Bogota's ability to respond to powerful earthquakes. The Colombian capital is close to the boundaries of three major geological faults, increasing the odds of a major quake. The 52-hour drill will involve 600 local, national and international rescuers, and international agencies will perform an independent evaluation at the scene.
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ISTANBUL 6-7 October 2009 IMF-World Bank meetings to review crisis and development goals
Turkey expects 184 government leaders in Istanbul for the year's biggest International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting. The Turkey meeting offers an opportunity to gauge the impact of United States legislators' agreement in Oct 2008 to bail out Wall Street, and other efforts around the world to address the global economic crisis. By Oct 2009 there will be some picture of whether these have had any significant impact.
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PARIS 6-23 Oct 2009 UNESCO holds 35th General Conference
The 35th General Assembly of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization installs a new director-general to take over from Ko chiro Matsuura of Japan, whose second term ends in November. Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova became the first woman elected to lead UNESCO, beating out Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny. Other business concerns protecting heritage sites and selecting new ones. Babylon in Iraq has been red-flagged after damage by the United States military.
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SWEDEN 1-2 Oct 2009 Gothenburg hosts European Union finance ministers
At their informal meeting (ECOFIN) in Sweden's second largest city, European Union finance ministers will assess measures already taken and new proposals for reversing Europe's worst recession since WWII. The European Commission has the hedge fund and private equity sectors in its sights, but EU rotating president Sweden, which has prioritized stabilizing the European economy, is warning against overzealous regulation of these sectors.
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Ireland votes again on the Lisbon Treaty, which replaces the failed European Constitution and lays out how the European Union will govern itself with 27-plus members. Irish voters said No in June, derailing the entire EU reform process because the treaty can only go into effect if it is ratified by all EU states.
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Copenhagen hosts the first International Olympic Committee congress in some 15 years. IOC congresses shape the functioning and direction of the organization. In Oct 2009 the IOC is expected to decide which of four shortlisted cities will host of the 2016 Summer Games, and some or all of the leaders of the candidate countries are likely to be present to lobby for hosting honors. Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro are on the shortlist.
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VATICAN 4-25 Oct 2009 Pope Benedict XVI hosts African bishops
Pope Benedict XVI focuses on Africa again in October, when he presides at the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. The event aims to find ways Africa can overcome lingering conflicts and seek reconciliation, justice and peace, according to the Vatican. During the pope's maiden apostolic visit to Africa in March, he sparked a controversy when he said condoms increase the problem of AIDS. The remark overshadowed the visit, and the synod is likely to refresh the uproar.
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When the Nobel Prize juries announce the winners of the 2009 prizes in October, most eyes will be on the Oct 9 announcement in Oslo of the Peace Prize winner. Twitter, United States President Barak Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are among the 205 nominees -- a record number. Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, a frequent nominee, has asked the Nobel Committee to remove his name from the list because previous laureates include Israeli President Shimon Peres.
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Britain's Conservative Party, stoked by poll numbers and big gains in recent local elections, expects to annihilate the governing Labour Party at the next general election. The vote is expected between mid October and May 2010. Despite an expenses scandal, the lead over Labour is wide enough that the Tories are planning their post-election victory lap. They are likely to prepare at the conference in Manchester by tweaking their message of free trade and opposition to a federal Europe.
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A new book of Winnie-the-Pooh adventures, an authorized sequel to the 1920s-era Pooh stories by A A Milne, goes into print on Oct 5. The author of "Return to the Hundred Acre Wood" is novelist and playwright David Benedictus, who has adapted several Pooh stories for CD. The initial print run will be in excess of 100,000. The early publicity for the new book and the enduring popularity of the originals suggest they will fly off booksellers' shelves.
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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak gather in Beijing to talk about how to press Pyongyang to return to talks aimed at its nuclear disarmament. The South Korean president recently offered North Korea a "grand bargain" -- giving up its nuclear plans in exchange for aid and security guarantees. The three leaders will also consider a Japanese proposal for the creation of a European Union-style East Asian Community.
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In 2009 it will be 60 years since Chinese nationalists fled the mainland at the end of China's civil war. Taiwan's national day, which follows China's by nine days, marks the 1911 Nationalist revolt that toppled the imperial Qing dynasty to establish China's first republic. A friendly tone in President Ma Ying-jeou's national address will reassure Beijing, which still regards the island as its own. Independence-minded former president Chen Shui-bian's tone enraged Beijing.
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Gay activists plan to march again on Washington to demand Congress act to establish equal rights for the gay community. The first march on Washington, in 1993, attracted 300,000-1,000,000 participants. The 2009 march coincides with National Coming Out Day and the launch of a campaign for equality for the gay, lesbian and transgender community. The announcement preceded President Barak Obama's signing of a memorandum that increases rights for gays but falls short of the community's demands.
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Pope Benedict XVI will canonize five Europeans at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square during the Synod of Bishops for Africa. The best known is Father Damien (1840-1888), a Belgian priest who won renown for his care of lepers at a colony in Molokai in Hawaii. He is the patron of lepers, outcasts, HIV/AIDS and the State of Hawaii.
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The organizers plan to combine formal events for spacefaring interests at the 60th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation with a festival for the public. A focus at the event in Daejeon will be on getting young people interested in Space. Space-related laws are at issue for spacefaring interests, particularly the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). At the 2008 IAC concerns were raised that the laws are not keeping pace with the rapid commercialization of Space.
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The organizers expect the 2009 Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill to far outstrip the 2008 drill, in which 5.4 million people participated, which would give this year's event the title of the biggest earthquake drill in the state's history. Two days after the 2009 event, San Francisco will mark the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, a 7.1 temblor on 17 Oct 1989 that killed 63 and injured 4000. Seismologists see a 50 percent chance of another big one within 30 years.
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Berlin's historic Neues Museum opens again on 16 Oct, 150 years after its first opening and after a restoration project that has lasted a decade. One of the most ambitious building projects in Prussia when it opened in 1859, the museum was severely damaged from Allied air raids during World War II. It was situated in what was East Germany, and there was little thought to restoring it until after the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago. full story
UNITED STATES 16 Oct 2009 West Virginia marks 150th anniversary of anti-slavery raid
The 150th anniversary of the storied raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry by white slavery abolitionist John Brown and 21 other men, regarded as the trigger for the American Civil War, could revive debate about his sanity. The raiders intended to arm the slaves on nearby plantations with seized weapons and touch off a slave rebellion. As Brown is one of the most controversial figures in American history books, the raid re-enactment and other anniversary events are likely to be popular.
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American engineers Martin Cooper and Raymond S. Tomlinson receive the 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research for contributing to the development of the mobile phone and email respectively. The two lines of research have revolutionized the way thousands of millions of people all over the world communicate, according to the jury. Other laureates include British naturalist Sir Richard Attenborough, British architect Sir Norman Foster and the World Health Organization.
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THAILAND 23-25 Oct 2009 ASEAN plans second summit of 2009
Heartened by its success at hosting a foreign ministers' forum in July without security incidents, the Association of South-East Asian Nations set a date for the 15th annual ASEAN summit. The second of 2009, it will meet at the Cha-am and Hua Hin resorts. There, ASEAN leaders will continue talks on a European Union-style economic alliance and the new ASEAN Charter, which critics have attacked as toothless. A high point could be the adoption of a human rights charter for the 10-nation body.
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BRATISLAVA 22-23 Oct 2009 Slovakia hosts meeting of NATO defense ministers
A year ago at the NATO defense ministers' meeting, Russia's reawakened militarism was the biggest preoccupation. Now, worry about Afghanistan overshadows all else. For the coalition forces, 2009 has been the deadliest year since the United States-led invasion in 2001. Afghanistan tops the priorities of new NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, so US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates might have his help as he tries to coax more troops from NATO allies who see the war as unwinnable.
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NIGER 20 Oct 2009 (New Date) President resets parliamentary poll date
The uranium-exporting West African country of Niger holds an election for its 113-seat unicameral National Assembly on Oct 20 that results from a decree by its president, Mamadou Tandja. Annoyed at opposition to his attempt to cling to power, he dissolved parliament on May 26 and announced the election. Opposition coalition head Mahamadou Issoufou, a presidential hopeful, condemned what he called a "coup d'etat" by Tandja. Opposition parties plan to boycott the vote.
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BRUSSELS 18 Oct 2009 European Union foreign policy chief steps down
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who has represented the bloc for 10 years, plans to step down just as the job he holds could win real clout. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty creates the posts of EU president and an EU foreign minister. Solana, a former Spanish foreign minister and NATO secretary-general, would have been in line for the latter. Solana's successor will have the challenge of trying to unify the bloc's foreign policy.
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BEJING 17-20 Oct 2009 China hosts conference of reproductive rights
China hosts the 5th Asia-Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health & Rights. The question is whether the rights discussed will cause the host country to question its own policies. Its rigid one-baby policy could become a topic at the conference. Apart from any rights issues of the policy, which has led to abortions of girls in families intent on having a boy, it has left the countryside short of females.
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The Dutch child protection agency, evaluating the physical and mental fitness of 13-year-old Laura Dekker to sail solo around the world, is expected to announced its decision. She had planned to set out on Sep 1 on her 26-foot yacht in an attempt to break a world record. A Dutch court ruled on Aug 28 that she is too young and ordered the evaluation. Officials argue that isolation, sleep deprivation, weather hazards and danger in foreign ports would be too much for a 13-year-old.
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NASA has set Oct 27 for the launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida of the Ares 1-X, a test version of the Ares 1 launch vehicle. Ares 1 and the Orion Crew Capsule are under development as NASA's Constellation Program to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars. The program has critics, who say Orion and Ares rockets are not the best option to retake a lead in the space race. Funding worries are helping them sell their point
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On Black Tuesday, 29 Oct 1929, the stock market crashed. The specter of that crash, which triggered the 10-year Great Depression, motivated many of the emergency economic measures organized by the administration of President Barak Obama. The anniversary invites comparisons of government attempts at remedies then and now.
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GREECE 29 October 2009 Torch for Vancouver Winter Olympics begins record-setting journey
After the lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, the torch for the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be flown to Canada for the relay that begins on 30 Oct. It ends at the opening ceremony on Feb 12. The Vancouver Organizing Committee describes it as the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history. First Nations (aboriginal) activists are expected to protest their country's slow settlement of treaty claims during the Games.
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UNITED STATES 29 Oct 2009 Internet first used 30 years ago
On 29 Oct 1969 Charley Kline at the University of California-Los Angeles tried to send information to Stanford University via the network later named the Internet. Though the attempt didn't succeed, Kline is credited with the pioneering use of the technology that has spawned a language and become indispensible to countless lives around the world. It has also generated its own brand of crime, leading to recent discussion about establishing a special police force to control it.
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BRUSSELS 29-30 Oct 2009 European Union leaders meet
European Union leaders meet for the first summit of the EU presidency of Sweden, the member that has the highest share of renewable sources in its energy use at around 43 per cent. Its stated goal is to see the rest of the bloc in step on climate issues before the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen in December. A coherent EU climate goal could be elusive as the bloc faces institutional uncertainty and members are battling Europe's most severe economic depression in decades.
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NEW YORK 2-7 Nov 2009 United States Navy commissions USS New York
On Nov 7 the United States Navy commissions the USS New York, an amphibious transport ship containing almost 200,000 pounds of steel in its bow stem that was salvaged from the ruins of the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks of 11 Sep 2001. Constructed in New Orleans, it was christened "New York" to honor the 9/11 attack victims in that city. The original USS New York was decommissioned at the end of WWII.
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IRAN 4 November 2009 United States hostage crisis in Iran began 30 years ago
On 4 Nov 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took 71 hostages. Nineteen were released within weeks. The other 52 were held for 444 days. Their long captivity--and an abortive US attempt to rescue them--harmed US prestige and killed Jimmy Carter's chances of a second term as US president. Thirty years on, the quest by the United States for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear interest are preventing any warming of Washington-Tehran relations.
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UNITED KINGDOM 6-7 Nov 2009 G20 finance ministers meet
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet with a long agenda in St. Andrews, Scotland, on the 10th anniversary of their first meeting. They will be expected to move ahead on the decisions taken at two G20 crisis summits in 2009. The leaders have agreed to changes in the global financial architecture to battle the global recession, and have also pledged a US $1.1 trillion injection into the world economy. It will be up to the ministers to help turn the agreements into results.
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CANBERRA 6-7 Nov 2009 APEC marks 20th anniversary
Ministers from 12 Pacific Rim countries met in Australia's capital in Nov 1989 to discuss how to advance regional economic cooperation. They launched the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group. APEC leaders will observe the 20th anniversary at their November summit, and a global 20th anniversary essay contest is under way. The anniversary invites an assessment of APEC's progress towards its 1994 Bogor Goals.
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UNITED STATES 6-8 Nov 2009 NASA astronauts stage scholarship fundraiser
Visitors to the 2009 Astronaut Autograph and Memorabilia Show at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov 6-8 will have the opportunity to meet and dine with some 60 NASA astronauts, incuding the first two men to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz (Edwin) Aldrin. The event invites retrospectives on the Apollo program, scrutiny of NASA's plan to return to the Moon, and a look at the post-Apollo lives of the only humans to walked on the Moon.
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BERLIN 9 Nov 2009 City celebrates 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
Germany celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov 9 with an all-night street party at the Brandenberg Gate and a concert and fireworks. Events begin on May 7 with an open-air exhibition about the Wall on Alexanderplatz. Retailers can expect a run on Cold War spy thriller books and DVDs. Checkpoint Charlie and 80s leaders Mikhael Gorbachev, Erich Honecker and Ronald Reagan will live again in 2009 in the TV and print retrospectives.
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At the 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima the leaders of the United States, China, Japan and 18 other economies in Asia and the Americas promised fast and decisive action on the economic crisis. They said free trade and higher government spending were key to resolving the crisis. Their 2009 summit in Singapore will be looking at whether promises have been kept and have borne fruit.
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NIGER 14 Nov 2009 Presidential election planned for volatile West Africa country
President Mamadou Tandja succeeded in his bid to cling to power, and will be running for a third presidential term in the November election. His success rested on a Yes vote in a controversial constitutional referendum on the third term. Tandja dissolved parliament and announced on May 26 that he would rule by decree, a means of circumventing a court ruling against the referendum. Opposition parties and some former allies oppose the vote. They plan demonstrations.
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UNITED STATES 10 Nov 2009 Playboy Magazine begins serialization of lost Nabokov novella
Playboy Magazine, best known for pictures of scantily clad women and celebrity interviews, won the rights to serialize the lost Vladimir Nabokov novella, "The Original of Laura." The story by the Russian-born American novelist, about an overweight academic in an unhappy marriage to a promiscuous woman, has stayed hidden for three decades. Though the author's dying wish was for the uncompleted work to be destroyed, his son Dmitri put the book on the market.
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Yasser Arafat, then head of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, died five years ago in Paris on Nov 11. The year sees related anniversaries: Aug 24 would have been his 80th birthday; he became Palestinian Liberation Organization leader 40 years ago; set up the PA 15 years ago; and won the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. Tight security and massive commemorations are likely, as well as renewed calls for an end to inter-Palestinian rivalry and strife.
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SINGAPORE 11-12 Nov 2009 APEC ministers hold pre-summit meeting
The main task of the ministers of member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore is finalizing the agenda for the APEC summit three days later. The principles of the so-called Lima Declaration made by the APEC leaders at the 2008 summit are likely to be restated in the agenda and measured against members' actions to address the financial woes caused by the global and regional economic meltdown. Protectionism is likely to be a strongly-worded theme.
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Charles Manson, the cult figure who masterminded one of the most cold-blooded murders of the 20th Century, turns 75 in Corcoran State Prison in California, where he is likely to end his days. His birthday falls in the 40th anniversary year of the murders. The 35th anniversary year of the best-seller that chronicles the prosecution, Helter Skelter, also falls in 2009. The birthday could prompt a run on books, films, archived news clips and other media about the murders.
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SINGAPORE 14-15 November 2009 APEC summit reviews crisis measures
At the 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima the leaders of the United States, China, Japan and 18 other economies in Asia and the Americas promised fast and decisive action on the economic crisis. They said free trade and higher government spending were key to resolving the crisis. Their 2009 summit in Singapore will be looking at whether promises have been kept and have borne fruit.
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NIGER 14 Nov 2009 Presidential election planned for volatile West Africa country
President Mamadou Tandja succeeded in his bid to cling to power, and will be running for a third presidential term in the November election. His success rested on a Yes vote in a controversial constitutional referendum on the third term. Tandja dissolved parliament and announced on May 26 that he would rule by decree, a means of circumventing a court ruling against the referendum. Opposition parties and some former allies oppose the vote. They plan demonstrations.
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ROME 16-18 Nov 2009 Global leaders meet for World Summit on Food Security
Heads of state and government will be asked by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to reach a broad consensus on the total and rapid elimination of hunger when they gather for the World Summit on Food Security in November. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf also wants them to agree to increase agriculture s share of official development assistance to 17 per cent, the level it was in 1980, from the current 5 per cent.
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PRAGUE/BRATISLAVA 17 Nov 2009 Czechs, Slovaks mark 20th Velvet Revolution anniversary
A clash between student demonstrators and police 20 years ago on Nov 17 marked the beginning of the so-called Velvet Revolution that brought down the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The anniversary could be marked by protests, something almost unimaginable before the revolution, that include anti-government, far-right and student rallies in both countries.
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MOSCOW 19-20 Nov 2009 Russia convenes First Global Ministerial Road Safety Conference
Russian President Dimitri Medvedev opens the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, a meeting co-chaired by the World Health Organization. Road safety is a headline issue in most countries, and Russia s road accident mortality rate is the highest in Europe. A 2007 British Medical Journal article describes road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death worldwide. It adds that for every traffic accident death, some 20 people are injured.
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Providing there are no last hour setbacks for the new Lisbon Treaty, which is aimed at streamling the operations of the 27-nation bloc and boosting its clout on the world stage, European Union leaders will hold an extra summit in 2009. Its purpose is to select an EU president and foreign minister, who will head a new EU diplomatic corps. Former British prime minister Tony Blair was favored to win the presidency, but his lead is slipping away as the number of contenders grows.
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VATICAN 21 Nov 2009 Pope Benedict XVI hosts artists in Sistine Chapel
Five hundred artists from around the world have been invited by Pope Benedict XVI to tour the Vatican's vast art collection on Nov 20, then join him on Nov 21 in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. The Sistine, the popes' own chapel, was erected from 1473 81 and is famous for its frescoes by Michelangelo and other Renaissance masters. It is used by the College of Cardinals for papal elections.
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ROMANIA 22 Nov 2009 Presidential elections held in volatile political climate
The government fell Oct 13 after losing a vote of no confidence, the first such measure since the end of Communist rule 30 years ago. The first task of the winner in the Nov 22 presidential election will be putting together a new government, a tall task because of turmoil over demands for reforms made by the International Monetary Fund. President Traian Basescu has the edge in the polls over the Social Democrats' Mircea Geoana and the National Liberal Party's Crin Antonescu.
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Stakeholders in the Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty meet in Cartagena to review the impact the agreement has made in the 10 years since it came into force. It prohibits the use, trade, production and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines. It also obliges countries to clear their mined areas within 10 years of signing. New technology could make mine clearance safer and cheaper. President Barack Obama has been asked to reconsider United States opposition to global treaties prohibiting the weapons.
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WASHINGTON DC 30 Nov-3 Dec 2009 Antarctic Treaty Summit marks 50th anniversary of pact
The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 Dec 1959, internationalized and demilitarized the Antarctic and provided for its cooperative exploration and use. It did not foresee the fierce international rivalry in the 21st Century for oil and minerals. Eleven countries have claimed sovereignty over parts of Antarctica to secure the contiguous offshore oil, gas and mineral rights. The Antarctic Treaty Summit will observe the 50th anniversary and wrestle with a host of challenges to Antarctic health.
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PHILIPPINES 30 Nov 2009 Registration deadline to shrink field of election candidates
The Philippines holds presidential elections in May 2010, and Nov 30 is the deadline for individuals to register their candidacy for national office. The likely candidates are Senator Benigno Aquino, the son of democracy icon Corazon Aquino, who leads in the polls with 60 per cent, and property tycoon Senator Manuel Villar, who trails him. Former president Joseph Estrada is also expected. Though he was ousted 2001, he remains popular.
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HONDURAS 29 Nov 2009 Hondurans due to vote for president, legislature
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya pulled out of a last-hour agreement with interim leader Roberto Micheletti that was aimed at solving the country's political crisis, and he has asked his supporters to boycott the presidential and legislative election on Nov 29. Zelaya's attempt to change the constitution so he could run for a second term triggered a military coup on Jun 28 and the subsequent crisis.
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A proposal to ban the construction of minarets, the slender towers attached to mosques, goes before Swiss voters in a referendum on Nov 29. The Swiss People s Party, the largest party in the Swiss parliament, proposed the ban. Supporters see minarets as divisive political symbols and signs of an increasing Islamic presence in Switzerland.
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In 2009 the 53-nation Commonwealth of Nations celebrates the 60th birthday of its modern version with questions about its relevance. Critics regard it as an outdated relic of colonialism. Among likely top issues for the 2009 summit of Commonwealth heads in Port of Spain are the global financial crisis, anti-Christian violence in India and Fiji military leader Voreqe Bainimarama. The leaders are also fine-tuning climate change decisions from their last summit, in 2007.
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UNITED STATES 1 Dec 2009 Planet's largest cruise ship sails
Barring new financial woes, the largest and most technologically-advanced cruise ship in the world will sail out of her home port of Port Everglades in Florida on Dec 1, bound for Labadee. The coastal beauty spot is leased in Haiti by the ship's owner, Royal Caribbean. The Oasis of the Seas, a 16-deck, 220,000-ton monster built in Finland, will accommodate some 5,400-passengers in 2,700 state-rooms. The 7-day official inaugural cruise, to the Caribbean, has been moved ahead from Dec 12 to Dec 5.
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THE HAGUE 1-11 Dec 2009 Group challenges Kosovo statehood
The International Court of Justice will hear a challenge to the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Serbia and Russia will join three European Union states -- Spain, Romania and Cyprus -- to give anti-Kosovo depositions during the hearings before the United Nations' top legal body. The challenge was brought by Serbia, which continues to fight against the secession of its former province. Slovakia and Greece also do not recognize Kosovo's independence.
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European Union leaders at their October summit set Dec 1 as a target date to bring into force the hard-fought set of institutional rules aimed at streamlining decision making in the bloc and boosting European clout on the world stage. The entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty across 27 EU states will end an 8-year stretch of negotiating and setbacks. The leaders wishfully thought the end was in sight once before. French and Dutch citizens voted against the treaty in 2005.
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SOUTH AFRICA 4 Dec 2009 FIFA announces draw for 2010 World Cup football
The F d ration Internationale de Football Association, soccer's global governing body, announces in Cape Town the match-up of the 32 men's teams that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup competition in South Africa in Jun-Jul 2010. There is particular interest in games where where the teams of mutually hostile countries are matched up, such as the United States vs. Iran or North Korea, and in which countries 2006 champion Italy will meet.
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The judges of Britain's prestigious but controversial Turner Prize select their choice from among four finalists and present the award on the same day, 7 Dec. The award worth UK 25,000 Pounds (US $40,000) was set up in 1984 to celebrate new developments in contemporary art. It is best known for exhibits, such as pickled sheep and soiled beds, that are often described as incomprehensible. Damien Hirst, the 1995 Turner prize winner, attracted controversy for his exhibit of a pickled cow.
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BOLIVIA 6 Dec 2009 Bolivians elect president, both houses of legislature
When Bolivians go to the poll in December, leftist President Evo Morales will be standing again for the presidency. Divided Bolivia will be electing more members of the Senate than before and fewer members of the Chamber of Deputies in a new first-past-the-post system. The changes follow a constitutional referendum in Jan 2009, which also gave South America's first indigenous head of state the ability to run for reelection. Violence and an opposition election boycott are likely.
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UNITED STATES/RUSSIA 5 Dec 2009 START treaty for strategic nuclear weapons expires
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, START, is a bilateral agreement between the United States and the former Soviet Union signed 31 Jul 1991. The United States and the countries with nuclear weapons following the Soviet break-up Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine signed a follow-up pact on 5 Dec 1994. The signatories are negotiating a replacement that further limits the weapons, but the talks are likely to involve horse-trading to resolve issues such as the US missile shield plan.
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LUXEMBOURG 5-6 Dec 2009 Third International EuroSpaceward conference opens
The Third International Conference on Space Elevator and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Tether Design, organized by the EuroSpaceward Association, brings together experts in extreme Space engineering, nanotechnology and power-beaming from around the world. EuroSpaceward's flagship mission is to send astronauts and payloads spacewards on an Earth-tethered carbon nanotube or ribbon. The challenges include developing tethers that are both long enough and strong enough.
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INDIA 3 Dec 2009 Lethal Bophal toxic leak happened 25 years ago
On 3 Dec 1984, a gas tank exploded at the Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal. The lethal methyl isocyanate cloud killed nearly 3000 people and at least 15,000 died later from related causes. The leak remains the world's worst industrial disaster, and has become a cause for national and international NGOs. The 25th anniversary will see survivors and their supporters protesting in Delhi and other cities, and the plant will open for 15 days from Nov 25 to mark the anniversary.
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BRUSSELS 3-4 Dec NATO foreign ministers meet
NATO foreign ministers will tackle the priorities of the Alliance's new Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, at their December meeting. They include assistance and troop training for Afghanistan, improving relations with Russia and with partner Muslim nations, and NATO's new push to define its purpose -- the Strategic Concept for the Alliance. The foreign ministers' work on the Secretary-General's priorities will form the backbone of the NATO summit agenda in 2010.
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ENGLAND 2 Dec 2009 Origin of the Species published 150 years ago
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin was published 150 years ago on 2 Dec. The date closes out the Darwin year that began with the bicentenary of his birth on 12 Feb, but debate over how evolution is taught in United States public schools could continue until Doomsday. The 150th anniversary invites a look at how the Beagle project is faring. Darwin's world voyage in HMS Beagle gave rise to his theory of evolution, and the plan is to recreate the voyage in a replica of the 1813 vessel.
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UNITED STATES 1 Dec 2009 Planet's largest cruise ship sails
Barring new financial woes, the largest and most technologically-advanced cruise ship in the world will sail out of her home port of Port Everglades in Florida on Dec 1, bound for Labadee. The coastal beauty spot is leased in Haiti by the ship's owner, Royal Caribbean. The Oasis of the Seas, a 16-deck, 220,000-ton monster built in Finland, will accommodate some 5,400-passengers in 2,700 state-rooms. The 7-day official inaugural cruise, to the Caribbean, has been moved ahead from Dec 12 to Dec 5.
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The legislative and presidential election in Chile at the end of 2009, almost 10 years since the country returned to democracy, could give South America a nudge to the right. Sebasti n Pi era of the National Renewal Party, Jorge Arrate of the Communist Party, Marco Enriquez Ominami, an independent, and Eduardo Frei of the Christian Democratic Party are vying for the presidency. President Michelle Bachelet is ineligible for a consecutive term.
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UNITED STATES 13 Dec 2009 Jewish survivors mark 70th anniversary of SS St. Louis voyage
Notables from around the world gather in Miami Beach, Florida, to honor 32 suriviving passengers of the SS St. Louis on the 70th anniversary of its ill-fated voyage to Cuba. The ship, carrying some 900 passengers fleeing the Nazi, left Germany in May 1939. Arriving in Cuba in July, it was refused entry. The captain appealed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to let them enter the United States. The request was denied. The ship returned to Europe, where many of the refugees found asylum.
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BRUSSELS 10-11 Dec 2009 Sweden hosts final summit of its EU presidency
The final summit of Sweden's six-month presidency of the European Union could be a triumphal affair as the bloc has succeeded in securing its Lisbon Treaty and has elected a president and foreign minister to preside over the soon-to-be streamlined body. The EU gathering parallels part of the Copenhagen climate change conference. Recriminations are likely to flavor the EU summit if no agreement is found in Copenhagen.
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OSLO/STOCKHOLM 10 Dec 2009 Nobel prizes awarded
The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded in a ceremony in Oslo, presided over by King Harald V of Norway, on Dec 10. On the same date in Stockholm King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will present the Nobel prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences. Demonstrations can be anticipated in Oslo: US President Barak Obama receives the Peace Prize just days after announcing a troop surge in Afghanistan.
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WELLINGTON 9-11 Dec 2009 New Zealand hosts meeting on ship-borne Antarctic tourism
The country that serves as the main gateway to the frozen continent hosts the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts (ATME) on the management of ship-borne tourism. The experts will be looking at ways to to limit threats to the frozen continent from too many visitors, oil spills, grounded ships and other accidents. Mandatory limits to the size of cruise ships and number of visitors are under consideration, but the tour industry can be expected to push back against mandated measures.
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The European Parliament awards the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought to individuals or organizations fighting suppression, intolerance and injustice. Moscow-based NGO Memorial, after a bloody year for human rights activists in Russia, will receive the 2009 prize at a ceremony at the parliament on Dec 16.
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BERLIN 15-16 Dec 2009 G20 turns 10
The inaugural meeting of the Group of 20 took place in Berlin on 15-16 Dec 1999, hosted by German and Canadian finance ministers. The year has seen two summits of G20 leaders in search of a global response to the economic meltdown. The year has also seen the G20, which groups leading industrialized countries with major emerging markets, overtaking the G7-G8 as the top financial forum. The issue of the moment -- with no consensus on action -- is the expansion of global economic governance.
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UNITED STATES 15 Dec 2009 Gone with the Wind premiered 70 years ago
The classic movie Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, 70 years ago on Dec 15. It's the tale of a manipulative woman and a rogue who carry on a torrid love affair in the American south during the Civil War. The 3.5-hour epic had everything - romance, rape, drunkenness, moral dissipation and adultery. It won 10 Oscars - a 20-year record. Stars Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable have long gone, but the movie lives on; remastered for and rescreened on key anniversaries.
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UNITED STATES 20 Dec 2009 Author of shocking torture study died 25 years ago
Dec 20 is the 25th anniversary of the death of Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, whose 1974 study exposed ordinary people as potential torturers. December also sees the first anniversary of findings that mirror Milgram's. His images of average people administering electric shocks in his "obedience study" have retained their power to shock through three decades. The photos of US military personnel abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004 were a jolting reminder.
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LUANDA 22 Dec 2009 Angola hosts 155th OPEC meeting
A decline in the dollar is helping to offset weakness in the price of oil. Kuwait's oil minister, Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah, told Bloomberg in October that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is likely to maintain oil production levels when it meets in Angola and that prices may stay near the October level. In support of his prediction, he described demand from Asia as good and exressed optimism that inventories will go down in the United States and Europe as their economies improve.
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FRENCH GUIANA 24 Dec 2009 ESA, Arianespace mark 30th anniversary of Ariane launcher
The Ariane 1 launcher made its maiden space flight on Christmas Eve, 1979. In 30 years, Arianespace, the organization set up to manage it as a commercial venture, has established the Ariane family of launchers as the world's largest provider of commercial launch services. The December launch of an Ariane 5 GS with a French military payoad, the seventh Ariane launch of 2009, salutes the anniversary, which invites a look at what's next for the launcher.
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INDIAN OCEAN 26 Dec 2009 Five years ago, tsunami claimed some 240,000 lives
A tsunami claimed 230,000 lives in 14 Indian Ocean countries five years ago. Memorials and a minute of silence for the victims will be held throughout the region on the anniversary. Warning systems have been under development there since the disaster, but a lethal South Pacific tsunami on 29 Sep 2009 showed that alert systems are not fail safe. The anniversary focuses attention on their limitations and on whether Indonesia will be ready to take over its own system in 2010.
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Lunar eclipses only redden the Moon as it aligns within Earth's shadow. They don't offer the drama of solar eclipses, which can turn night into day. The otherwise unexceptional partial eclipse on Dec 31 could make headlines, however, as it nearly coincides with other newsworthy lunar events of 2009. The first was the announcement in September that there is water on the Moon, a discovery that make lunar real estate more valuable and places pressure on the 1979 United Nations Moon Agreement.
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