WORLD AGENDA AUGUST 2012

August 1, Jerusalem: A controversial ruling, ending the exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox men, is due to come into force. Heated debate in the Knesset continues as politicians attempt to agree a replacement for the Tal Law, deemed unconstitutional in February.

August 1-7, Global: World Breastfeeding Week highlights the benefits of following optimal feeding practices, including reduced malnutrition and poverty. Only 32.6% of 136.7 million babies born worldwide are breastfed exclusively for the first six months, the recommendation by the Who/Unicef initiative.

August 5, London: The men’s 100m final looks set to live up to its billing as the hottest ticket at the Olympic Games. Contenders include triple gold medallist Usain Bolt, fellow Jamaicans Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell, and Americans Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin.

August 6, Cape Canaveral: Nasa’s new Mars rover is due to touchdown into Gale Crater, near the planet’s equator, to assess conditions for life. A glitch in the system means the US space agency may not know for hours whether the rover arrives safely.

August 16, Kiev: Ukraine’s high court hears former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s appeal against conviction for abuse of office. The Orange Revolution heroine, suffering mysterious but debilitating back pains since her incarceration, is refusing treatment by Ukrainian doctors for fear of contamination.

August 20, Mogadishu: Somalia’s first elected government in more than 20 years is due to replace UN-backed transitional rule. The country, wracked by fighting since 1991, is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.

August 29, London: The Paralympic Games opens in the UK capital. The event has its origins in the last London Olympics in 1948 when Dr Ludwig Guttmann hosted a simultaneous sports competition for disabled World War II veterans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

August 22, Guantanamo Bay: A preliminary hearing for five men accused in the 9/11 attacks on America in 2001 takes place. Confessed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others were formally charged with murder and terrorism in May.

August 31, Angola: President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who, after 32 years in power is Africa's second longest ruler, looks set to win another term. The elections will be only the second since the end of a 27-year civil conflict in 2002.

August (undated), Niamey: A European Union mission gets underway to train security forces in Niger to fight al-Qaeda. The move signals the depth of EU concern over growing Islamic militancy in central and west Africa.
/ENDS