WORLD AGENDA AUGUST 2009

August 4, Niamey: A referendum on allowing President Mamadou Tandja to extend his mandate threatens long-term instability in Niger, according to analysts. The move underscores a trend among West African nations to renege on democratic gains made over the last decade.

August 7, Colombo: The plight of Sri Lanka's war refugees comes under the spotlight when the resettlement of  3,000 people living in the welfare villages of the Vanni region, in the north of the country, begins. The area holds 250,000 displaced persons.

August 9-10, Guadalajara: U.S. President Barack Obama meets his Mexican and Canadian counterparts at the North American Leaders' Summit where issues to be discussed range from economic recovery to combatting the swine flu pandemic.

August 11, Los Angeles: Alana Stewart, ex-wife of rocker Rod Stewart and a close friend of Farrah Fawcett, who died on June 25, publishes her personal diaries about the Charlie's Angels star's three-year struggle with cancer.

August 15-23, Berlin: Double Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt aims to lower his 100m world record at the World Championships. The Jamaican ran 9.69s at the Beijing Olympics last year and hopes to be in shape to beat that time in Germany.

August 20, Kabul: Presidential elections take place in Afghanistan amid the country's worst violence since the Taliban was ousted in 2001. The poll is seen as a crucial test of the new democracy for both Washington and Kabul.

August 27, London: An exhibition in Winston Churchill's underground wartime headquarters will show how vulnerable the building was to attack. The British leader continued to work from the bunker despite knowing it was not bomb-proof.

August 30, Tokyo: Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso faces an historic defeat in general elections which look set to end half a century of nearly unbroken rule for the Liberal Democrat Party. Polls predict victory for the opposition Democratic Party.

Mid-August, Oslo: The Philippine government and Maoist rebels are set to resume peace talks, stalled since 2005. A 40-year insurgency has killed more than 40,000 people and deterred potential investors in the poor but resource-rich state.

August (undated), Cape Canaveral: Forty years after man first set foot on the moon, raging debate over the $150bn cost of a return voyage by 2020 and future manned trips to Mars nears resolve when a U.S. presidential panel makes its recommendations.
/ENDS