What's Happening Today - Tuesday 11 January

China: 

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates continues visit (-12) after talks with Defence Minister Liang Guanglie, Vice-President Xi Jinping yesterday; also, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell concludes three-day trip after discussing President Hu Jintao's trip to USA on 18-21January

China: 

Maldivian Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid visits to meet top legislator Wu Bangguo (-16) 

Vietnam:

Ruling Communist party will hold its 11th Party Congress, convened every five years. The congress will reshuffle the country’s top leadership.

Bangladesh: 

Watching developments after record stock market plunge on Monday led to street protests in Dhaka's business district 

India:

Joint exercises between the Indian and French navies 

Afghanistan/Pakistan: 

US Vice-President Joe Biden visits, meets president Hamed Karzai today; expected to go on to Pakistan

Nepal: 

Parliament holds yet another vote to elect prime minister 

Russia: 

TENTATIVE Another unauthorized nationalist rally expected in Moscow following riots by football fans in Manezhnaya Square on 11 December

Russia: 

Israeli National Security Council (NSC) chairman Uzi Arad visits Moscow for annual consultations with counterpart Nikolay Patrushev (-12)

Russia: 

State Duma (parliament's lower house) opens spring session; reports suggested that it may ratify Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with USA between 20 and 26 January 

Russia:

Activists of the Mestnyye [pro-Kremlin] youth movement hold a rally outside the British embassy to Russia in support of the founder of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange.

Kyrgyzstan:

Trial of former deputy and former presidential administration chief Usen Sydykov, who is accused of organizing riots in Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces.

Kazakhstan:

Last day for signing petition to keep President Nursultan Nazarbayev in office until December 2020, so far 3 million signatures collected (around 15% of the population)

Iraq:

Watching for reaction after the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Interior Ministry transferred 20,000 Zerevani peshmerga to the Iraqi Interior Ministry

Kuwait:

Turkish business forum held before moving to Qatar on 12 January

Qatar:

Prime Minister Erdogan arrives to meet with Emir Hamad Bin-Khalifa Al Thani and Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad Bin-Jasim Bin-Jabir Al Thani.

Qatar: 

Forum for the Future begins in Doha (-13); annual meeting of government representatives, civil society organisations from G8, Middle East, North African states; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends

Oman: 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may visit as part of Middle East tour 

Israel:

An East Jerusalem resident, Mahmud Sharif, indicted for throwing stones at the car of Elad head David Be'eri – the Israeli settler who purposely ran over two children –  is to stand trial for stone throwing. [Elad is an organization promoting Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem]

Yemen:

Clinton to visit Sana'a for four hour visit in the afternoon

Yemen:

Gul wraps up visit to Yemen. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu delayed his trip to Iraq to join Gul

Djibouti:

Iranian Navy commander Admiral  Habibollah Sayyari said that Iran seeks to educate the Djiboutian Navy in producing, improving and maintaining equipment and logistics

Sudan: 

Week-long referendum on Southern Sudan's proposed independence continues (-15))

Tunisia: 

Watching developments as government orders closure of all schools and universities until further notice, following wave of protests over unemployment in which at least 14 people have died

Tunisia:

Following up after unisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali anncounced on Tunisian national television a plan to create 300,000 jobs over the next two years

Zambia: 

Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu visits as part of regional tour that will also take him to Mauritius, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Senegal (-19) 

Chad: 

Celebrations marking 50th anniversary of independence; French Defence Minister Alain Juppe attends; postponed from 11 August 2010 due to rainy season which makes many regions inaccessible 

Niger:

Municipal, regional elections 

Cyprus:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Cyprus.

Ukraine: 

EU Commissioner for Enlargement, European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fuele visits to meet leadership, opposition, media to discuss human rights, media freedoms, EU-Ukraine agenda for 2011; second and final day 

Greece:

Government  will hold a 1.5 billion euro ($1.96 billion) auction of six-month treasury bills.

Estonia:

Finance Ministers from the three Baltic states to meet.

Poland:

The upper chamber of the parliament, the Senate, to deal with Poland's 2011 budget (0900).

EU:

Taiwan visitors will be able to visit Europe without a visa

Italy:

Trial resumes in the Constitutional Court over whether Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be allowed to have judicial impunity.

Holland:

The International Court of Justice at The Hague is scheduled to hold its first hearing concerning the legal action by Costa Rica against Nicaragua in the countries’ border dispute.

UK:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange due to appear in court.

UK:

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang meets British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

UK:

British parliament to discuss proposed EU "referendum lock" bill.

Spain:

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to present a summary of the economy over 2010.

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