Condoleezza Rice
Talking Turkey
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Turkey this week in a new diplomatic push to reduce tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Kurdish rebels. Rice will be in Turkey on November 2 for meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
Ibrahim Gambari
Second mission
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari will visit Burma on Saturday on a second mission to the Southeast Asian country.
Kim Yong Il
Trip conclusion
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong Il will conclude a trip to Cambodia in which he met Prime Minister Hun Sen and former king Norodom Sihanouk, who formed a close personal relationship with North Korean founding father Kim Il-sung at the height of the Cold War.
Ballot box
Run-off vote
There will be a run-off vote between presidential candidates on Sunday in Guatemala. Some 50 candidates and political supporters have been killed in the lead-up to the election.
Moon orbiter
Apogee reached
China launched its first moon orbiter last week. Barring technological failure, it will reach its lunar orbit on Monday.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Medal of honour
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Cuban dissident Oscar Elias Biscet will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian award. They will be honoured at a White House ceremony on Monday.
Nicolas Sarkozy
Two day trip
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's two-day visit this week with US President George Bush will cover topics such as Iran and include a formal dinner and a trip to the former home of George Washington.
Ben Bernanke
Hot seat
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before the congressional Joint Economic Committee at a hearing on the US economic outlook on Thursday. Committee members will ask Bernanke for his views on the economic fallout of the subprime mortgage crisis, large trade deficits, the weakening dollar and the overall health of the US economy.
Benazir Bhutto
Short trip
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto may fly to Dubai this week to see her family, three weeks after returning to Pakistan. Bhutto said she may leave on a short trip and return before a public meeting in Rawalpindi on Friday.
King Abdullah
First encounter
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will meet with Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday in the first encounter between a Saudi monarch and a Roman Catholic pontiff.
Ban Ki-moon
Gauging damage
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Antarctica and Amazon rain forests during his visit to Latin America and Europe this week to gauge the damage done to the environment by human activities.
Robert Gates
Maiden trip
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is travelling this week to China, South Korea, and Japan for security talks. It will be Gates' first trip to northeast Asia since becoming secretary of defense in December.
Sharks
Raising awareness
"Sharkwater", a film that will raise awareness over the practise of shark finning, opens this Friday in 20 US markets on the heels of a regional Florida release last month.
