World News Forecast
Thu, Sep 30 2010
The United States Department of Energy plans to have the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada closed down by Sep 30. Some 90 miles from Las Vegas, the site is designed to store the growing stockpile of nuclear waste from reactors around the nation. Washington and several other states are suing to keep it open, but their court appeal won't be on time. Due to begin on 23 Sep, the hearing has been put on hold.
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Thu, Sep 23 2010
The European Union describes the gathering of European Union defense ministers in Ghent as one of the most important events in the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium will open the meeting. It is intended to showcase EU defense capability, Belgium's own defense forces and defense industry, and to show off East Flanders. The ministers have to wrestle with the implications of huge anticipated defense budget cuts in many EU states.
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Mon, Sep 20 2010
Yukiya Amano, who succeeded Mohamad ElBaradei as director-general on Dec 1, will preside over the 2010 conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The veteran Japanese diplomat, who held senior arms control posts in Japan and was Tokyo's IAEA representative, listed goals when he took office that do not include pressuring Tehran to make a deal or mention sanctions against Iran. The omission suggests he might try to steer the debate away from Iran to other pressing issues.
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Mon, Sep 20 2010
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts the United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, also referred to as the MDG summit, with the aim of accelerating progress towards all the MDGs by 2015. Pakistan's worst-ever floods will be discussed, either as part of the summit or a separate meeting on the sidelines.
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Sun, Sep 19 2010
Sweden's Riksdag election on 19 Sep pits the ruling center-right Alliance for Sweden coalition against the four-party center-left opposition led by the Social Democrats. The ruling party's platform centers on trimming taxes and social services and privatizing more state assets. The opposition Social Democrats sees a roll back on certain tax cuts as a way to finance more spending on services. An opposition win could give Europe another female head of government and Sweden its first.
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Sat, Sep 18 2010
Chile marked the centenary of its independence drive in 1910 by inaugurating many public buildings. The bicentennial celebrations in 2010 are likely to see more of the same--plus cultural events that emphasize the country's rejection of military dictatorships. Coins and stamps, probably depicting Bernardo O'Higgins, can be anticipated. The bicentenary is likely to be a flashpoint for the Mapuche, as as 200 years of post-colonial government has not restored their ancestral lands.
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Sat, Sep 18 2010
The 200th anniversary of the world's biggest public festival can be counted on to draw many more visitors than the usual 6 million or so and raise the level of terror threats. The first will please Bavaria's brewers. The second poses security worries for the authorities. Police received terror threats in 2009 ahead of the country's election. Landmarks that included the Oktoberfest appeared on a Taliban video. Police cancelled flights over the festival as a precaution.
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Sat, Sep 18 2010
Black September, Jordanian King Hussein's war on the Palestine Liberation Organization, happened 40 years ago. It still reverberates. Tempers are raw after the deadly Israeli raid in May on a flotilla delivering aid to besieged Gaza Strip Palestinians. And September also sees the 10th anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and other events that haven't been forgiven. In a region committed to vengeance, the 40th anniversary represents another prompt for retaliation and counter retaliation.
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Thu, Sep 16 2010
In 2010 Mexico celebrates the bicentenary of the start of its independence movement from Spain in September and the centenary of the start of the Mexican Revolution in November.
The entire country celebrates on 16 Sep, and a re-enactment of the call for an uprising is likely to takes place in city halls throughout the country. The country's turnaround from a 6.5 per cent contraction of the economy in 2009 to expected growth in 2010 of 4-5 per cent gives Mexicans something else to celebrate.
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Thu, Sep 16 2010
Pope Benedict XVI will visit England in September. In addition to meeting with Church and politial figures, he is expected to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman on Sep 19, deliver an address at Oxford University and another at Westminster Hall, where Saint Thomas More was tried and convicted before his beheading in 1535. The visit comes amid tensions with Britain's Anglican church.
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