THE WORLD IN February 2005
FEBRUARY 2005
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
EXETER, England- G8 conference on climate change. British Prime Minister Tony Blair to host, (To February 3).
BRUSSELS- Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to appear at Belgian parliament and later meet EU Commissioner for trade Peter Mandelson (1430/1330 GMT), Commissioner for Industry Guenter Verheugen and Commissioner for Internal Market Charlie McCreevy
MOSCOW/ANKARA- Final day of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's visit to Russia, following which he will depart to Turkey.
KATHMANDU- General strike in Nepal after King Gyanendra sacked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government saying it failed to hold long-delayed elections or restore peace amid an escalating civil war with Maoist rebels. International flights were turned back as the airport in the capital was closed after the King assumed power.
BANDA ACEH- Nearly 38,500 refugees living in squalid tent camps around Aceh will move to new relocation centres in the first stage of resettling more than 400,000 people who were displaced due to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
JERUSALEM- German President Horst Koehler visits Israel to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries, (To February 4). He will arrive in Israel at 1130
GMT, visit the grave of late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin AT 1245 GMT, visit the Yad Vashem holocaust museum at 1315 GMT and meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at 1545 GMT
CAIRO- 40 Palestinian police officers due to arrive in Egypt for training as part of Egypt's contribution to the new security arrangements in Gaza.
BUENOS AIRES- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to meet Argentinian counterpart Nestor Kirchner.
MANILA- Peace talks to resume between Philippine government and the Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
BRUSSELS- Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos to visit Belgium, (To February 3).
LONDON- Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to meet his British counterpart Tony Blair for talks on Northern Ireland.
SINGAPORE- Australian prime minister, John Howard,
scheduled to visit Singapore for meetings with his counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, (To February 2).
PARIS- French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier meets his
Australian counterpart Alexander Downer. The meeting is a part of Downer's European trip for talks on European involvement in security issues in the Asia Pacific and about tsunami aid.
BELGRADE- Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski visits, meets Serbia-Montenegro's President Svetozar Marovic (0900) and Serbian President Boris Tadic (1200 GMT).
TAIPEI- A new cabinet to take office in Taiwan. Taiwan
President Chen Shui-bian's cabinet resigned en masse on Jan. 24 to pave the way for a reshuffle after his pro-independence party was defeated in legislative elections last month.
MOSCOW- State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan of the Chinese State Council to visit Russia, (To February 4).
BEIJING- Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to visit
China, (To February 5).
BEIJING- Michael Green, senior director for Asia on the U.S. National Security Council to visit China.
TAIPEI- Top Chinese envoys to visit Taiwan to attend the
funeral of Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Straits Exchange
Foundation (SEF), who died on January 3. Funeral will take place on Feb. 2.
NEW YORK- Annual Empire State Building Run-Up race. A selection of competitors gather to race up the 1575 stairs of the Empire State Building from the lobby to the 86th floor
KINSHASA - Democratic Republic of Congo's top politicians start three-day meeting on election timetable, which expected to recommend a postponement of the vote.
PHUKET, Thailand- First charter flights from Sweden return to Phuket after the Dec 26 tsunami.
DURBAN- South African government in partnership with UN Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) and African Union hosts the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development
TOKYO- Tokyo district court to hear the case of chess master Bobby Fischer for breaking Japanese immigration laws. Fischer was arrested in Japan last July for travelling on an invalid U.S. passport and has been moving around East Europe and Asia to avoid deportation to the U.S. where he faces federal charges of violating sanctions by playing a chess match in Serbia.
SANTA MARIA- Jury selection for pop superstar Michael
Jackson's trial continues. Jackson is charged in a 10-count
indictment with lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and
conspiracy.
UNITED NATIONS- U.N. Security Council expected to hold a public meeting to vote on a resolution drafted by France that would strengthen the U.N. arms embargo on Ivory Coast- 2100 GMT
BRUSSELS- European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner meets Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.
PODGORICA, Serbia and Montenegro- The Hague war crimes tribunal's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte arrives in an official visit at 1715 GMT, (To February 2)
BRUSSELS- Gholam Reza Aqazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, visits EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
ANKARA- The European Parliament's Women's Rights Committee visits Turkey.
LOS ANGELES- The group USA for Africa to reissue the
Grammy-winning single, "We are the World," recorded by more than 40 superstars to raise money for AIDS and tsunami victims.
MOSCOW- Slovenian foreign minister and the OSCE
Chairman-in-office Dimitrij Rupel to hold talks with Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
CONAKRY- UNHCR Ruud Lubbers visits Guinea as part of the West African tour. Lubbers will also visit Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast.
FRANKFURT- Ticket sales for the 2006 Soccer World Cup to begin at midnight on February 1.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
BRUSSELS- European Commission due to present final draft proposals to overhaul the EU's stalled economic reform
programme, known as the Lisbon Agenda. The revised agenda has three main aims: creating more and better jobs, boosting knowledge and innovation; ensuring the EU was an attractive location for business.
BAKU- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit
Azerbaijan.
BRUNSBUETTEL, Germany- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder takes part in inauguration of the world's biggest wind energy plant REpower 5M (1400 GMT).
SEOUL- Michael Green, senior director for Asia on the U.S. National Security Council to visit South Korea.
WASHINGTON- Senate confirmation hearing for Michael Chertoff who has been nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush for the post of Homeland Security Secretary.
MAPUTO- Inauguration of Armando Emilio Guebuza as
Mozambique's president. He will succeed Joaquim Chissano.
SOFIA- Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany will host the International Launch of the Initiative Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015. Its intended to enable the amelioration of Roma's social and economic position through assistance in education, employment, healthcare and housing. Roma are the poorest and most numerous minority in Europe.
BEIJING- Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov to visit China, (To February 5).
HARARE- (TENTATIVE) Zimbabwean opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), expected to meet and make a decision on whether it would contest the Parliamentary elections due in March.
PODGORICA, Serbia and Montenegro- The U.N. war crimes chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte meets Montenegro's President Filip Vujanovic (1030), Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic, Interior Minister Dragan Djurovic and Deputy Defence Minister of the state union Vukasin Maras.
WASHINGTON- (TENTATIVE) U.S. President George W. Bush delivers the Annual State of the Union address.
WASHINGTON- (TENTATIVE) Deadline set by U.S. for a reply from North Korea on whether the communist state will return to six-party talks on its nuclear arms programme. If Pyongyang does not reply positively by the time U.S. President George W. Bush gives his State of the Union address (Feb. 2), the U.S. may bring the matter to the U.N. Security Council.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3
MADRID- Olympic inspectors to visit Madrid in their tour of
bid cities hoping to stage the 2012 Games,(To February 6).
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4
WASHINGTON- The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) deputy director for intelligence Jami Miscik to step down from her post. Miscik has headed analysis at the agency since 2002, a period in which pre-war assessments of Iraq and its illicit weapons, proved to be mistaken.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5
RIYADH- (TENTATIVE) Saudi Arabia to host an international conference to combat terrorism, (To February 8).
RIO DE JANEIRO , Brazil- Rio carnival (To February 8).
LOS ANGELES- Annual Screen Actors' Guild awards to be presented.
BANGKOK- 4th annual MTV Asia Awards.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6
BAGHDAD- Emergency laws in Iraq expected to expire. State of emergency was first declared on Nov. 7, for a period of two months but has been extended by a month to give the government special powers to prevent insurgents from derailing the January 30, Parliamentary elections.
MONACO- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Monaco World Summit to organise forum titled, " Together for a More Humane World ." The forum will be co-chaired by HSH Prince Albert, Crown Prince of Monaco and Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO,(To February 8). LINK : http://www.cmf.ch/sommet_terre/world05set.htm
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
NEW ORLEANS- Mardi Gras
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
BEIJING, China- Chinese New Year.
BEIJING/TAIPEI- (TENTATIVE) China and Taiwan expected to allow special direct charter flights during the Chinese Lunar New Year. Taiwan has banned direct transport links with the mainland since Chinese Nationalists fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war with the Communists.
NICE, France- NATO informal meeting of defence ministers, (To February 10).
AMSTERDAM- Court reconvenes to set trial date and procedures in Ahold fraud, forgery and accounting malpractice case.
EARLS'S COURT, London- Annual Brit Music Awards presented. Link: www.brits.co.uk
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10
BAGHDAD- Portuguese paramilitary contingent's mission in Iraq scheduled to end. The 110- strong contingent's mission extended from November 12 to provide security for the Iraqi Parliamentary elections.
RIYADH- Saudi Arabia to hold its first nationwide municipal elections, seen as a step towards democracy in the deeply conservative kingdom. Women will not be allowed to vote. First round of elections will be held on February 10 in the capital. Other regions to vote in March and April.
BERLIN- The Berlin film festival, (To February 20).
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11
MUNICH- 41st Munich Conference on Security Policy, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, (To February 13). http://www.securityconference.de/
BARCELONA- Spain to hold summit attended by leaders of France and Germany to promote EU's first constitution. Spain is due to hold a referendum on the Charter on February 20.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12
LONDON- British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) presents annual film awards. www.bafta.org
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13
LOS ANGELES - 47th Annual Grammy Awards to be hosted at Staples Center.
LONDON- London Fashion Week for autumn and winter 2005 collections, (To February 17). LINK:
www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14
BUDAPEST- International Labour Organisation (ILO) VII
Regional Conference. The conference, jointly funded by the ILO, Hungary and Luxembourg will address the growing impact of globalisation on jobs, migration, and employment security in Europe and Central Asia,(To February 18).LINK:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/51.htm
CANNES, France- 3GSM World Congress 2005, (To February 17). LINK: www.3gsmworldcongress.com
HOUSTON- Court to hear arguments on dismissing Russian oil firm YUKOS's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, (To February 17). A Houston federal court scheduled the hearing after YUKOS had filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to halt the sale of its core unit Yugansk. Russian authorities who do not recognise U.S. court's jurisdiction auctioned off Yugansk to recoup part of a disputed $27 billion tax bill that YUKOS owes.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
ISLAMABAD- Indian foreign minister Natwar Singh to visit
Pakistan in a bid to bolster the peace process between the two South Asian neighbours, (To February 17).
BARCELONA, Spain- A "Football for Hope" benefit match to help victims of the Asian Tsunami to be played at Barcelons'a Nou Camp stadium.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16
HOUSTON- Court to hear arguments on dismissing Russian oil firm YUKOS's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, (To February 17). A Houston federal court scheduled the hearing after YUKOS had filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to halt the sale of its core unit Yugansk. Russian authorities who do not recognise U.S. court's jurisdiction auctioned off Yugansk to recoup part of a disputed $27 billion tax bill that YUKOS owes.
UNITED NATIONS- Kyoto Protocol, the international environment accord on global warming, comes into force. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol obliges 55 industrialised nations to cut overall emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12 by curbing use of coal, oil and natural gas and shifting to cleaner energies like solar or wind power.
LONDON- Olympic inspectors to visit London in their tour of bid cities hoping to stage the 2012 Games, (To February 19).
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa- "Nations Cup" ATP senior tour tournament, first in South Africa for 10 years. John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Jim Courier and Michael Stich are expected to participate,(To February 20).
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18
MIAMI- Deadline for submitting detailed agreement by the U.S. government, over 24 boxcars filled with $50 million to $200 million worth of gold, art and household goods seized by the U.S. Army at the end of World War Two, to settle the lawsuit with tens of thousands of Hungarian Holocaust survivors.
VIRGINIA- Former Chief Financial Officer of Boeing, Michael Sears, to be sentenced in U.S. district court in Alexandria, Virginia. He pleaded guilty, on November 15,2004, to one felony count of aiding former U.S. Air Force arms buyer Darleen Druyun's illegal hiring into Boeing, while she was still overseeing the company's business with the Air Force.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19
PARIS- (TENTATIVE) The 29th annual Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20
SPAIN- Spain is scheduled to be the first European Union
member to hold a referendum on the European Union constitution.-
LONDON- (TENTATIVE) The Laurence Olivier Awards, Britain's leading theatre honours, presented at the Hilton Park Lane.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21
BRUSSELS- European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers meeting, (To February 22).
NEW YORK- Olympic inspectors to visit New York in their tour of bid cities hoping to stage the 2012 Games, (To February 24).
CAIRO- Three-day symposium, organised by the Cairo Foreign Press Association, titled "The Cultural Symbiosis between Egypt and Europe" opens, (To February 23).
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
BRUSSELS- U.S. President George W. Bush to visit the NATO and EU to promote transatlantic relations. He is expected to meet French President Jaques Chirac and other leaders in Brussels.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
BERLIN/WIESBADEN- U.S. President George W. Bush to visit Germany and will meet Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. LINK :
http://berlin.usembassy.gov/germany/visit_announcement.html
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24
BRATISLAVA- U.S. President George W. Bush to meet Russian counterpart Vladmir Putin at a Russian-U.S. summit to be held at Slovakia.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25
MIAMI- Follow-up hearing to settle a lawsuit with tens of
thousands of Hungarian Holocaust survivors over a trainload of gold, jewellry and other property seized by the U.S, Army at the end of World War Two.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26
HOLLYWOOD- Winners of the 25th Golden Raspberry awards announced.
HOLLYWOOD- 77th Academy Awards (Oscars).
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27
AUSTRALIA- Danish Crown Prince Frederik Andre Henrik Christian and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth to visit Australia, (To March 11).
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28
VIENNA- Start of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting.
BANGKOK- Deadline for Thailand Government to wipe out bird flu virus (H5N1).The decision was made in an emergency meeting summoned by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following a suspected case of human-to-human transmission of the disease.
DHAKA- Deadline for Bangladesh to destroy about 200,000 mines in line with its commitment under the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty. As per the treaty obligations the mines should be destroyed by February 2005.
OSLO- Deadline for Nobel peace prize nominations.
Source: Reuters