Henry Paulson
China strategy
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will be in China this week to talk with senior Chinese officials about lingering economic disputes and the environment. The talks are part of the ongoing US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). The US Congress has grumbled for several years about what it regards as China's undervalued currency, its lack of intellectual property protection, and Beijing’s over-reliance on subsidies.
Vlaidmir Titov
Russian and US experts will meet in Washington this week to discuss a controversial US plan to place elements of a missile shield in Europe. The opening round of talks will take place on Monday and Tuesday and will include an examination of Russian proposals to involve its European partners into solving the problem of missile defence. The deputy foreign ministers of the respective countries, John Negroponte and Vladimir Titov, will lead the delegations at the meeting.
IAEA
Heavy water
Iran will let inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog revisit its heavy-water reactor site early this week in a UN push for more transparency concerning Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Inspectors will visit the Arak heavy-water complex on Monday or Tuesday, four months after Iran cut off IAEA access there in protest at existing sanctions.
Gordon Brown
First date
US President George Bush may host UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown for their first official meeting this week. Both sides have declined to provide specific details of the meeting, including its location, which could take place at the official Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or at the president's private ranch in Texas.
Chrysler
The deal to wrap up Cerberus Capital Management's acquisition of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group could occur on Monday or Tuesday, with a celebration tentatively planned for August 1 at Chrysler's Auburn Hills headquarters.
Floods
Floods in London?
London could be the next area of the UK to suffer severe flooding with torrential rain set to hit the capital. The River Thames is at its highest level with high tides. Meterological Office forecasters fear sustained rain could hit south-east England on Tuesday.
Angel Gurria
OECD secretary-general visits Brazil
The secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, is scheduled to visit Brazil. The visit is due to include appointments in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro.
United Nations Special Committee
Israeli investigations
The UN special committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories is scheduled to visit Jordan. The visit comes as part of a wider tour of the region that has seen the committee travel to Egypt (July 21-26) and will also take its members to Syria (August 1-4).
Bernard Kouchner
Lebanon's Last Chance?
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner is to travel to Lebanon for the second time since his appointment in May, and will remain in the country for 'at least two days'. Kouchner invited the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, to join him on this visit. The aim is to build upon the dialogue begun in Paris on July 14-15 between the various rival factions.
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Condoleezza Rice
Rice heads East
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is provisionally expected to hold a meeting with Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. The visit is likely to form part of her trip to the Middle East with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, which is due to take place in early August.
Danish Troops
Iraq withdrawal
Denmark is due to complete the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq this month. In February, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that the approximately 470 troops stationed in Iraq would pull out by August this year. The soldiers, most of whom are under UK command in the southern city of Basra, will be replaced by around 50 air force personnel operating four surveillance helicopters.
Evo Morales
Eastern Grand Tour
Bolivian President Evo Morales is scheduled to embark on a tour of Middle Eastern countries and to visit Russia in early August. He will travel to Algeria, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia. Issues on the agenda will include energy cooperation, in particular the possibility of agreements between his hosts' state energy companies and Bolivia's own state oil company, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).
Darfuri rebels
Talks in Arusha
Darfuri rebel factions who did not sign the 2006 Abuja peace deal have been invited by the U N and the African Union to take part in peace talks to be held in Arusha, Tanzania. Most rebel groups said they would attend, although they were not named. Attendees are to include the new rebel umbrella of five groups, recently formed under Eritrean mediation. Similar efforts are being undertaken by Libya to aid in uniting smaller factions of the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM). However, the founder of the SLM, Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, has said that his group will not attend the talks until demands are met including compensation for victims and a no-fly zone over Darfur.
