The Week Ahead: November 8-14

The hajj, or annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia begins on November 14.

The Week Ahead is a detailed listing of key events of the coming week affecting RFE/RL's broadcast region.

MONDAY, November 8:

Eastern Europe: Bucharest hosts a Danube Summit, which brings together delegations from 14 Danube countries, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine.

Iraq: The leaders of Iraq's main political blocs meet on forming a new government.

Moldova: Moldava's Prime Minister Vlad Filat visits Romania.

Russia: Finnish President Tarja Halonen visits Moscow (to November 11).

TUESDAY, November 9:

EU: The European Commission adopts the 2010 Enlargement Package, which covers the Western Balkans, Turkey, and Iceland.

Background: "FACTBOX - Draft EU report on membership hopefuls" (Reuters)

Iran: Officials from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Russia hold Caspian Sea ministerial meeting in Tehran (to November 10).

WEDNESDAY, November 10:

Armenia/Russia: Armenian-Russian Interparliamentary Committee on Cooperation meets in Yerevan (to November 13).

Russia: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits South Korea to take part in G20 summit (to November 11).


THURSDAY, November 11:

Iraq: Iraq's parliament is scheduled to hold a session to elect a new speaker.


FRIDAY, November 12:

NATO: NATO Parliamentary Assembly's 56th annual session opens in Warsaw, participated by delegates from Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine with special focus on the situation in Afghanistan.


SATURDAY, November 13:

Belarus: Registration of candidates for the presidency of Belarus begins (to November 23).

Russia: Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pays a working visit to Bulgaria, meets with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov.


SUNDAY, November 14:

Pakistan: Islamabad hosts a meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) to discuss the country's stabilization and reconstruction plans after the floods in late July (to November 15).

Russia/U.S.: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama hold a meeting on the sidelines of APEC summit in Yokohama.

World: The hajj, or annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia begins.