WORLD AGENDA SEPTEMBER 2008

Sep 1-4, United States: Up to 60,000 anti-war marchers converge on St Paul, Minnesota, when Senator John McCain accepts his nomination as Republican candidate for the presidential election. McCain and Democat nominee Barack ObamaÕs first presidential debate takes place in Mississippi on Sep 26.

Sep 3, Nicosia: Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat are to launch reunification talks, raising hopes for a deal that has eluded the ethnically-divided island for decades.

Sep 6-7, Brussels/Washington: The European UnionÕs relationship with Russia following its invasion of Georgia is questioned when EU foreign ministers meet. Meanwhile, U.S. Congress debates persuading Olympic organisers to strip Russia of its host status for the 2014 Winter Games.

September 5, Luanda: Angola holds its first parliamentary elections in 16 years. The country, whose 27-year civil war ended in 2002, rivals Nigeria as AfricaÕs biggest oil producer but two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day.

Sep 6-17, Beijing: South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, who made history in August as the first amputee to compete in the Olympic Games, races in the Paralympics. The worldÕs top disabled athletes compete in 20 sports, including wheelchair basketball, fencing, rugby and tennis.

Sep, Lourdes: Pope Benedict visits the famous shrine in southwest France, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of what the Roman Catholic church believes to have been the apparition of the Virgin Mary to a 14-year-old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous.

Sep 12, South Africa: A court decides on ruling party leader Jacob ZumaÕs attempt to have a graft case against him dismissed. The case is the biggest obstacle to Zuma succeeding President Thabo Mbeki after general elections next year.

Sep 12-26, Sao Paulo: Brazil conducts military manoeuvres to demonstrate its capability in defending the 5-8 billion barrels of oil discovered offshore last November. The deposit, the worldÕs second biggest discovery in 20 years, could turn the country into a global energy player.

Sep 17, Jerusalem: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is frontrunner to replace the corruption-dogged Ehud Olmert as Prime Minister in the ruling Kadima partyÕs leadership election. A popular politician, viewed as non-corrupt, Livni is nevertheless criticised for her lack of military experience.

Sep (undated), Italy: A hotly-disputed plan to build a Disney-style theme park outside Rome may be given the thumbs up. Critics say the move is inappropriate for the city, where tourist attractions centre on ancient ruins, the Vatican and Renaissance art.

Sep (undated), Havana: Evo, a baby giraffe named after Bolivian President Evo Morales, is among around 10 animals expected to be shipped from Cuba to Venezuela to replenish its depleted zoos. A lion, a pygmy hippopotamus and two hyenas are also included.
/ENDS