WORLD AGENDA MARCH 2014

March 2, Los Angeles: The hot tip for best actress at the Academy Awards is Cate Blanchett for her performance in Blue Jasmine, but controversy surrounds the film's writer-director Woody Allen. His adopted daughter has accused him of sexually abusing her at age seven.

March 3-20, Pretoria: Oscar Pistorius stands trial for the 2013 Valentine's Day murder of his 29-year-old girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. The South African Paralympic champion claims he shot her by accident after mistaking her for an intruder.

March 3-28, Geneva: The United States tables a war crimes resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council. Government forces are believed to be behind 40,000 Tamil civilian deaths in the ferocious final months of the country's 26-year civil war.

March 5, Beijing: China's Ministry of Environmental Protection is set to gain radical new powers in a government shake-up. The new leadership is promising to halt the growth-at-all-cost economic model that has led to heavily polluted air triggering mounting public anger.

March 7-16, Sochi: The XI Paralympic Games sees a record 47 countries competing in seven disciplines of five sports for a total of 72 medal events, including para-snowboarding for the first time. Athletes from Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan make their debut appearance.

March 15, Damascus: The outlook for Syria is bleak on the third anniversary of the outbreak of conflict. More than 130,000 people are dead, six million have fled their homes, peace talks are at a standstill and a refugee crisis threatens the region.

March 16, Belgrade: A snap parliamentary election in Serbia is set to put the popular Aleksandar Vucic in pole position to become prime minster. The former ultra-nationalist turned pro-Western moderniser has been at the forefront of an anti-graft campaign.

March 27, Vatican: The growing gap between rich and poor is the focus of Pope Francis and President Barack Obama's first meeting. Oxfam has revealed that the world's richest 85 people control equal wealth to the poorest 3.5 billion, with the super-rich mostly from the United States.

March 28, Riyadh: President Barack Obama travels to Saudi Arabia to meet King Abdullah amid tensions over U.S. policy in the Middle East. Washington's overtures to Iran and reluctance to launch airstrikes in Syria have strained relations with its main Arab ally.

March (undated), North Pacific: Environmental disaster threatens as a fire-ravaged 44,000-tonne tanker, loaded with hazardous chemicals, lies stricken in waters between Japan and South Korea with both neighbours refusing to give it refuge. Hong Kong-registered Maritime Maisie collided with another ship on December 29.
/ENDS