What's Happening Today - Sunday 5 September

China

Thai Prime Minister Aphisit Vejjajiva visits; China expected to confirm interest in construction of high-speed railway link from Bangkok to Rayong

North Korea

Watching developments after reports suggested Korean Workers' Party may hold congress to elect new party leadership; leader Kim Jong-Il may name successor

South Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan has resigned over accusations of nepotism involving his daughter. He has accepted responsibility for the commotion caused by the ministry employing his daughter. It was not immediately clear who would replace him, and his resignation is not expected to affect South Korea's foreign policy.

India

India is scheduled to test-fire the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. The missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, will be test-fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the coast of the state' s Balasore district. It will be inducted into the Indian Army and the Indian Navy.

Nepal

After failing to elect a new prime minister despite five rounds of voting spread over a month, Nepal's parliament will hold an unprecedented sixth round of election. Candidates are Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" and Nepali Congress's Ram Chandra Poudel

Russia

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Baraq visits, holds talks with counterpart Anatoliy Serdyukov

Pakistan

The latest from Pakistan and the flood relief efforts.

Azerbaijan

EU special representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby visits Baku; holds consultations with officials, reps of Azeri community of Nagornyy Karabakh, political parties and civil society; discusses latest developments in Azerbaijan and South Caucasus and forthcoming parliamentary polls in Azerbaijan (-7)

Turkey

Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)'s rally in Diyarbakir starting at 13GMT. Kurdish news agency Firat say 200,000 people are expected to attend the rally in Station Square. But only around 2,600 people have signed an online petition to support the boycott of the constitution referendum so far. There are also two rallies scheduled in Istanbul at 13g, one from BDP and one from AK party.

Syria

Iran's first permanent economic fair will open in Syria's capital, Damascus, on September 23, IRIB news agency reported. Sixty private companies in various fields are scheduled to take part in the exhibition, which Iranian traders and producers' unions have organized.

Qatar

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad visits, scheduled to meet emir Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani

Bahrain

Bahrain has accused 23 Shia opposition leaders arrested in a crackdown of plotting to overthrow Bahrain's monarchy through violent protests and acts of sabotage. Two of the accused are abroad and are not under arrest.

Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a weekly meeting of his cabinet.

Egypt

President Mubarak addresses nation, expected to speak about "challenges facing the Muslim world and ways of overcoming them, particularly the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestine".

Egypt

Arab League meets to discuss preparations for international conference on Quds

Palestine

Following up after Israeli aircraft hit targets in the Gaza Strip late last night

Tunisia

Mahmoud Abbas to visit Tunis to update Tunisian President Zain al-Abideen Bin Ali on the status of negotiations.

Moldova

Referendum on introducing presidential elections by popular vote; Moldovan president is currently elected by parliament

Greece

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou speaks at a party congress meeting.

Serbia

Serbian President Boris Tadic said it was possible to reach a compromise on the resolution on Kosovo that would satisfy both Serbia and the European Union and pave the way for resolving the Kosovo problem

Sweden

World Water Week launched

Denmark

Two Danish inventors hope to launch the world's first amateur-built rocket for human space travel. The homemade rocket is the brainchild of Danish firm Copenhagen Suborbitals, headed by Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen. The team has been building their rocket since about 2004 and has been doing so without any national funding.

Honduras

Honduras has recognized Kosovo’s independence, becoming the 70th country to recognize its independence proclamation after Honduran Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati said his country supports Kosovo entering all international institutions.

Guatemala

Relentless rains have led to the deaths of at least 21 people in Guatemala over the weekend. President Alvaro Colom says the country is in crisis, with not enough means or money to cope with what's been an unusually destructive rainy season.

Chile

It is one month mark since 33 miners were trapped 700 metres underground. Relatives of the miners gather to commemorate the first month of their loved ones' survival.

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