WORLD AGENDA NOVEMBER 2004

November 1, Brussels: Former Cypriot minister Markos Kyrianou, advocate of a Europe-wide ban on smoking in public places, takes office as the European UnionÕs health and consumer protection commissioner. Kyrianou wants a ban in force by the end of his five-year mandate.

November 2, United States: Americans decide whether to give George Bush a second four-year term when the worldÕs only superpower goes to the ballot box. Opinion polls put the Republican incumbent neck and neck with Democrat challenger John Kerry: among 19 swing states to watch are Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

November 2, Los Angeles: Californians vote on Proposition 71, authorising $3 billion spending on stem cell research, including on embryonic stem cells, in defiance of Bush administration-imposed limits. Researchers hope to find treatments for AlzheimerÕs, ParkinsonÕs and diabetes.

November 8, Cape Canaveral: NASA launches Swift, the first observatory of its kind which will gather information about gamma-ray bursts, brief, intense flashes of gamma radiation that could reveal clues about the creation of the universe.

November 17, London: The British royal family falls under the spotlight when Elaine Day, a former personal assistant at Clarence House, Prince CharlesÕs official household, claims sex discrimination and unfair dismissal before an employment tribunal.

November 18, Arkansas: The Clinton Library, boasting the largest collection of presidential history anywhere, opens in the former leaderÕs home town, Little Rock. The $165 million facility includes a museum, research centre and university.

November 22, New York: The International Emmy Awards are announced with a political satire from Argentina expected to be a strong contender. Caiga Quien Caiga won a record five nominations.

November 25, Vienna: The deadline for Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activity and the meeting date for the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, which may decide to report Iran to the UN Security Council, which can impose economic sanctions.

November 25, Cairo: IraqÕs neighbours, the Group of Eight nations, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference will thrash out plans for an election in Iraq, which the Iraqi government intends to press ahead with in January despite raging violence.

November 29, Nairobi: A review of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, to which 143 states are party, takes place halfway to the 2009 deadline for most member states to clear minefields. World leaders, NGOs, international organizations, landmine survivors and UN agencies will attend. Landmines and unexploded ordnance cause up to 20,000 new casualties each year

Parliamentary elections in Czech Republic (Senate, Nov 5-6); Namibia (Nov 16); and Romania (Nov 28). Presidential elections in Palau (Nov 2); United States (Nov 2); Niger (Nov 13); Ukraine (second round, Nov 14); Namibia (Nov 15); Uruguay (second round, Nov 28); Romania (first round, Nov 28).