WORLD AGENDA MAY 2011

May 2, Ottawa: As Canadians go to the polls to elect their fourth national government in seven years, polls show Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservatives will win re-election and possibly gain enough seats in Parliament to form a majority government.

May 5, London: Britain's coalition government faces division when the country votes in a referendum on electoral reform. Prime minister David Cameron wants to stick to first-past-the-post, while the reputation of his deputy, Nick Clegg, hangs on conversion to the Alternative Vote.

May 7, Ecuador: President Rafael Correa is expected to win a referendum on reform of the judiciary, widely seen as corrupt. The opposition sees the move, giving the leader more authority over the selection of judges, as a power grab.

May 14, Japan: The World Triathlon Championship, with a 1.5km swim in Yokohama harbour, 300km south of the Fukushima nuclear reactor in meltdown, is due to go ahead. The sport's Olympic champion Jan Frodeno has blasted the decision as unsafe.

May 14-15, Los Angeles: John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds are expected to fetch more than $200,000 at auction. The Beatle disputed speculation that the song was a paean to the drug LSD.

May 16, Tanzania: The UN's Rwandan Genocide Court examines evidence against two of the most wanted suspects still on the run. Felicien Kabuga and Protais Mpiranya are accused of involvement in the 1994 murder of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days.

May 17, Perugia: Amanda Knox, the American student serving 26 years for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher, is back in court charged with slandering Italian police. The 23-year-old is on trial for accusing officers of slapping her during her interrogation.

May 17-20, Dublin: Queen Elizabeth II visits the Republic of Ireland in the first state visit by a British monarch since that of King George V in 1911, when the country was still part of the UK. The 85-year-old will visit some of the most symbolic memorials of the struggle for independence.

May 23, New York: A ban on smoking in parks, beaches, boardwalks, plazas and other public spaces comes into effect. The law extends the city's existing ban on smoking in restaurants and bars.

May (undated), Paris/Tokyo: G20 nuclear power watchdogs meet to set out new industry standards in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Meanwhile Japanese fishermen protest over the decision to dump tons of radioactive water from the stricken plant into the Pacific Ocean.

May (undated), Santiago: The remains of Chile’s former president, Salvador Allende, will be exhumed as part of an inquiry to determine whether he killed himself, or was killed by soldiers in the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.

May (undated), Tripoli: The international spotlight remains on Libya as the United States, Britain and France pursue their mission to remove Colonel Gaddafi from power. The Libyan leader's shows of defiance will be tested as military strikes continue.
/ENDS