WORLD AGENDA JULY 2011

July 1, Rabat: Morocco holds a referendum on transforming its political system into a constitutional monarchy, but critics say King Mohammed VI’s reforms, devolving some of his powers to parliament, do not go far enough.

July 1-2, Monaco: Prince Albert ends the principality's 30-year wait for a monarch's wedding when he ties the knot with former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, from South Africa. It's hoped the union will provide the 53-year-old, who has two illegitimate children, with an heir.

July 3, Bangkok: Yingluck Shinawatra, the frontrunner in Thailand's closely fought elections, will face a coup if she wins, according to analysts. Her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, lives in self-exile after being removed from power by the military five years ago.

July 5, London: A rare Michelangelo drawing is expected to fetch up to £5 million at auction. The male nude is one of only 24 sheets relating to his uncompleted work, The Battle of Cascina.

July 8, Cape Canaveral: Nasa launches its final shuttle flight, firing Atlantis and four astronauts into space on a 12-day supply mission to the International Space Station. The programme's three-ship fleet is being retired after three decades because of high operating costs.

July 9, Khartoum: Southern Sudan becomes independent from the North while fighting rumbles on in the disputed Abyei border region. The secession is the outcome of a referendum in January following the country's 20-year civil war that ended in 2005.

July 18, New York: Dominique Strauss-Kahn is due in court after being accused of attempting to rape a hotel maid. The 62-year-old former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, who resigned after being arrested in May, faces up to 25 years in prison.

July 23, London: Tourists will be able to view the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress which goes on display at Buckingham Palace until October 3. The ivory and white satin-gazar dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

Early July, Greece: A 12 billion-euro international bailout is released to debt-struck Greece. The fifth installment in a 110 billion-euro package is made in return for economic policy reforms as prime minister George Papandreou faces mass protests against austerity measures.

July (undated), Kabul: The U.S. begins withdrawing its 97,000 troops from Afghanistan amid criticism of the war's annual $110 billion cost, a decade after it began. Washington aims to hand over all combat operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.

July (undated), Paris: A report is due on the causes of Air France's worst ever air disaster, the 2009 crash over the Atlantic which killed all 228 people on board. Salvage teams finished retrieving bodies and wreckage 12,800 feet beneath the surface in June.
/ENDS