ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 18 – 24 July
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 18 July to Sunday, 24 July from ForesightNews
A Budapest court is expected to deliver its verdict on Monday in the case of Sandor Kepiro, a 97-year-old charged with Nazi war crimes dating back to 1942.
In Geneva, the biennial World Trade Organisation and OECD Aid for Trade Global Review kicks off, looking at the impact and outcomes of the programme’s promotion of trade-related skills in developing countries.
The phone hacking scandal in the UK reaches fever pitch on Tuesday, as Rupert and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks have all been called before a hearing of parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Brooks has already accepted the Committee’s invitation, but James Murdoch said he was unavailable and Rupert Murdoch declined, leading the Committee to issue a formal summons for both.
In Minnesota, the trial of Omer Abdi Mohamed is scheduled to begin. Mohamed faces terrorism charges over his alleged role in helping around 20 men travel to Somalia to join terrorist group Al Shabab.
Space Shuttle Atlantis, which launched amid much fanfare on 8 July, lands on Wednesday, bringing the American Space Shuttle programme to an end.
In Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Valerie Amos launches of Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs disaster appeal mid-year review, which looks at aid received for disaster-hit regions. Amos is expected to focus on Haiti, where only 22 per cent of target funds have been met.
On Thursday, Japan’s Chiba District Court is expected to deliver the verdict in the high-profile case of Tatsuya Ichihashi, who is charged with the 2007 rape and murder of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker. Ichihashi has pleaded guilty to rape and abandoning Hawker’s body, but denies murder because he says he did not intend to kill her.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pays a visit to Cairo to participate in the annual Egypt-Turkey strategic dialogue, the first since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.
Friday sees Portugal’s Partido Socliasta begin elections for its new secretary general, which continue into Saturday. Former Prime Minister Jose Socrates stepped down from the party leadership in June after being defeated in early elections sparked by his failed austerity budget.
In London, mourners mark the sixth anniversary of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot by police in 2005 after being mistaken for a terrorist connected to attempted bombings on 21 July.
Latvians go to the polls on Saturday in a referendum on whether to dissolve the current session of parliament, which was just elected in October. The referendum was called by outgoing President Valdis Zatlers in May, after lawmakers failed to pass a motion which would have lifted immunity for an MP being investigated for corruption.
On Sunday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presides over the marriage of his chief policy advisor and his partner to mark the first day of state-sanctioned same-sex marriage.
