WORLD AGENDA APRIL 2011

April 3, Kazakhstan: A call by opposition activists to boycott presidential elections is not set to unseat 70-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled the oil-rich nation since 1989. Nazarbayev, a former steelworker known as "Papa" to many Kazakhs, retains genuine popularity.

April 3-8, Bangkok: Climate negotiators from 200 countries attempt to inch forward on agreeing a successor to the UN's Kyoto Protocol, which expires next year. Implementation of the "Green Climate Fund", to channel aid to developing nations, will be the focus.

April 6, Rome: Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, aged 74, goes on trial for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute, Morocco-born erotic dancer Karima El Mahroug, aka "Ruby". The case follows indictments for fraud, embezzlement and bribery.

April 6, London: A page from a 500-year-old manuscript chronicling the early history of Persia is expected to fetch up to £5 million (pounds) at auction. The illustrated leaf, from the Book of Kings, is one of only a few remaining in private hands.

April 9, Abuja: Goodluck Jonathan is the frontrunner and incumbent in presidential elections taking place a week after Nigeria votes in parliamentary elections, and amid an increase in sectarian violence. Jonathan, from the Christian south, faces Muhammadu Buhari, from the Muslim north.

April 11, Paris: France's new law banning full Islamic veils comes into force, giving police the power to fine wearers up to €150 (euros). The country's five million-strong Muslim community is Europe's largest.

April 12, United States: Artillery fire will open a year of battle re-enactments, exhibitions and other events marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

April 16-19, Havana: The first Cuban Communist Party Congress in 14 years is expected to endorse President Raul Castro's plans for economic reform, seen as the first major overhaul of the island's Soviet-style economic model since the 1960s.

Kiev, April 19: Ukraine marks the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, the world's worst, at the same tima as Japan struggles to prevent another at the Fukushima nuclear complex, damaged by the March 11 earthquake.

April 19, Cape Canaveral: Gabrielle Giffords, the U.S. congresswoman recovering from an assassination attempt, is expected to see her astronaut husband Mark Kelly blast off into space as commander of Endeavour, making its final voyage in Nasa's shuttle programme.

April 29, London: Some 1,900 guests are expected to attend the wedding of Prince William, second in line to the throne, and Kate Middleton. Street parties will be held across the country on what will be a public holiday.

North Africa, (undated): Libya teeters towards war as leader Muammar Gaddafi continues to crush a popular uprising and the West launches Nato-led air strikes. Across the border a humanitarian crisis is unfolding as up to 100,000 try to escape Libya into poverty-stricken Niger.

Tokyo, (undated): Japan faces its biggest national crisis since the second world war after a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11 killed more than 10,000 people and left a trail of destruction along the Pacific coast. Economists say the damage could cost $200 billion.
/ENDS