WORLD AGENDA APRIL 2004

April 2, Sri Lanka: An unprecedented split in the Tamil Tigers threatens to overshadow elections and the islandÕs teetering peace process. The rebels are not directly contesting the election but have put up proxy candidates.

April 4, Bahrain: Grand Prix winners will spray non-alcoholic fizz over the crowd at the Sakhir circuit in Manama. Champagne and scantily-clad women Ð the usual trademarks of Formula One Ð have been banned at the event after protests by Bahraini Islamists.

April 10, Iraq: Following devastating attacks at religious ceremonies, more bloodshed is predicted at the ShiÕite festival of Arbain Ð expected to fall on this date Ð when up to five million people gather in the sacred city of Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet MohammadÕs grandson.

April 14, South Africa: A third election victory since the end of apartheid by the African National Congress is expected despite the slow pace of bringing the black majority into the economic mainstream.

April 14, New York: To bid or not to bid is the question facing collectors at the ChristieÕs auction of a 1611 edition of ShakespeareÕs Hamlet. The third quarto edition, first published in 1603, is expected to fetch up to $2 million.

April 15, South Korea: General elections take place amid deep political turmoil following the countryÕs first ever impeachment. President Roh Moo-Hyun was suspended from office for illegally trying to swing the vote in favour of the Uri Party.

April 16, Milan: Italian prime minister Silvio BerlusconiÕs corruption trial resumes after ItalyÕs Constitutional Court annulled a controversial law that had given him legal immunity. The Prime Minister is accused of bribing judges to sway a ruling in the sale of state-held food conglomerate SME in the 1980s.

April 20, United States: The Supreme Court will hear arguments from lawyers representing foreign Òenemy combatantsÓ held incommunicado in open-ended custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At issue is whether the 660 detainees from 44 countries may challenge their detention in U.S. courts.

April 20, India: Violence from rebels seeking secession in the countryÕs volatile northeast is not expected to deflect an election win by Prime Minister Atal Behari VajpayeeÕs coalition. The vote will be held in five stages, the last on May 10.

April 21, Jerusalem: Anti-nuclear hero and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Mordechai Vanunu is due to be released after serving 18 years in solitary confinement for revealing details and photos of IsraelÕs top-secret nuclear plant and weapons.

April 30, Indonesia: The expected release of militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir after only 18 months in jail will prompt international controversy. The Islamic preacher is suspected of leading the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

Late April, Madrid: Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero takes office after his shock victory in last monthÕs elections, days after suspected al-Qaeda bombs killed more than 200 people in Madrid. World attention will focus on the Socialist leaderÕs pledge to pull SpainÕs troops from Iraq. 

Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka (April 2), Indonesia (April 5), South Africa (April 14), South Korea (April 15), India stages 1, 2 and 3 (April 20, 22, and 26) and Equatorial Guinea (April 25). Presidential elections in Slovakia (April 3) Serbia (April 4), Algeria (April 8), Macedonia (April 14), South Africa (April 24), Austria (April 25) and Malta (undated).
ENDS