Condoleezza Rice
Turkish tension
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to meet Turkish leaders in Ankara this week amid US unease over Turkey's military buildup along the Iraq border. Rice will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul on Friday, before the start of a two-day conference on Iraq. (IHT)
Angela Merkel
Increasing cooperation
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is arriving in India on Monday on a three-day visit, during which India and Germany would sign a number of agreements to expand their cooperation in areas like defence, science and technology, and industry. She will be accompanied by a high-profile delegation that would include top officials from companies like EADS and Lufthansa, and heads of some scientific institutions. (indianexpress.com)
King Abdullah
State visit
King Abdullah of Jordan will start a three-day visit to China on Monday. During the visit, the two countries will sign several agreements in the fields of economy, development and culture. (Jordan Times)
Nuclear weapons
Disabling begins?
North Korea could start disabling its nuclear facilities as early as this week. Christopher Hill, the chief US envoy for the North Korean nuclear issue, said two weeks ago that he expected the disabling procedures to begin around November 1. (Guardian)
Olli Heinonen
Tehran talks
The UN nuclear watchdog's deputy director general, Olli Heinonen, is to hold talks in Tehran with Iranian officials this week on an accord over their atomic drive. (AFP)
Mahmoud Abbas
Statehood talks
Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas should meet in Jerusalem on Friday to try to bridge gaps in talks over a document to be presented at a US-run conference on Palestinian statehood. However, Palestinian sources said a delay to as late as Thursday this week was also possible. (Reuters)
Urmas Paet
Building ties
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet will visit Azerbaijan to discuss development of ties and opening of embassies in both countries (Azerbaijani news agency APA)
Republic leaders
Sukhumi summit
The leaders of the Georgian breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Moldova's breakaway Dniester region are to hold a summit in Abkhazia capital Sukhumi (Russian news agency Interfax)
Viktor Yushchenko
Bucharest visit
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko will visit Romania. (Interfax-Ukraine news agency)
King Abdallah
London trip
King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia visits the UK to talk about bilateral relations and regional and international issues. (Saudi TV)
Yoweri Museveni
Regional discussion
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni meets US counterpart George Bush to discuss rebel Lord's Resistance Army, Uganda's peacekeeping mission in Somalia, development plans for northern Uganda, a partnership to combat malaria and HIV/AIDS, and other regional issues. (The New Vision)
Hillary Clinton
60th birthday
Hillary Clinton is due to celebrate her 60th birthday. She was born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. (FENS)
Pope Benedict XVI
Beatification ceremony
Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to beatify nearly 500 priests killed in the Spanish Civil War. There are expected to be 498 Spanish and other priests and other religious raised to the altars—perhaps the largest number of martyrs beatified in one ceremony in the history of the Church. (FENS)
Demo
Traditional march
The nationalist-orientated Conservative Christian Party, part of the opposition Belarusian People's Front, is scheduled to stage its traditional commemorative events for Dzyady, or ancestors' remembrance day. Activists want to march to the Kurapaty Stalin-era massacre site near Minsk. While the party opposes the regime of president Alyaksander Lukashenka, it refuses to join in the oppositional coalition led by Alaksandar Milinkievic. (FENS)
James Baker
Chatham House date
James Baker, former Secretary of State in the administration of President George Bush Snr. and co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, is scheduled to hold a lecture on 'The West and the World: A Question of Confidence' at Chatham House, London. (FENS)
Barack Obama
Virginia campaigning
US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Charlottesville, Virginia.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Climate change conference
A conference on climate change is scheduled to take place in Lisbon, sponsored by the Portuguese EU presidency. The guests are due to include the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has gained a reputation for being at the forefront of government efforts to address the issue. (FENS)
Bernard Kouchner
China trip
The French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, is scheduled to visit China. The visit comes at the invitation of the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, with whom Kouchner is due to hold talks in Beijing. (FENS)
