The Week Ahead

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Monday Jan 26 2009 The week ahead January 26 – February 1 China celebrates the Year of the Ox, the world marks Holocaust Victims' day, Davos hosts the World Economic Forum, Sotheby's auctions a $12m masterpiece, Uefa discusses Euro 2012, Honda closes a factory and the Super Bowl is contested Monday JANUARY 26 Communications report Lord Carter, the UK minister for communications, is expected to launch his "Digital Britain" report, which will discuss innovation and investment in the digital and communications industries. Somali elections Somali voters are due to go to the polls to elect a president. Year of the Ox The Chinese New Year, which this year is the Year of the Ox, is celebrated by Chinese communities around the world. Serb membership The European Policy Centre is scheduled to host a forum in Brussels on Serbia's potential membership of the European Union. Solar eclipse An annular solar eclipse will be visible in southern Africa, Antarctica, south-east Asia and Australia India celebrates Indian Republic day is due to be celebrated with defence service parades. Nasa looks into the sun Nasa is scheduled to launch the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The SDO is designed to help understand the Sun's influence on the Earth and near-Earth space. Australian anniversary Australia day marks the arrival at Sydney of 11 ships bearing 717 convicts and some 200 officers. UN tackles hunger Ban Ki-moon, United Nations secretary-general, and José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish prime minister, are due to chair a meeting on tackling global hunger in Madrid (to January 27). Paris haute couture Paris hosts its spring-summer 2009 haute couture collections (to January 29). African Union summit Ethiopia is to host the 12th African Union summit (to February 3). The main theme will be infrastructure development. Tuesday JANUARY 27 FOMC meets The Federal Reserve's open markets commitee's two-day meeting starts today, which will be followed by an announcment on Wednesday on any interest rate moves and monetary policy developments. (See Economic Outlook). Conservatives on the NHS Andrew Lansley, the Conservative shadow health secretary, is due to address the British Medical Association, laying out the opposition party's plan for the National Health Service. Regiment honoured The Prince of Wales is scheduled to present medals to members of 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps on their return from active operations. Costa Book of the Year The winner of the 2008 Costa Book of the Year, formerly the Whitbread Book Awards, is scheduled to be announced in London. Now in their 38th year, the awards recognise writers based in the UK and Ireland. Holocaust remembered Ceremonies around the world mark Holocaust Victims' day, held on the anniversary of the Russian liberation of the former Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. Russian Orthodox election The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church is scheduled to meet to elect a new patriarch (to January 29) following the death of Aleksy II in December. The successor will be enthroned on February 1. European Gas Conference Vienna is due to host the European Gas Conference (to January 29), where supply, distribution, security, storage issues, liquefied natural gas and key pipeline projects will be discussed. Anti-globalisation forum The World Social Forum 2009 is scheduled to take place in Brazil (to January 29). Anti-globalisation activists have chosen the date to rival the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Wednesday JANUARY 28 Davos begins The World Economic Forum is to hold its annual forum at Davos. Some 2,500 political, economic and media leaders from 88 countries are due to attend. Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister, is set to give the opening address. Organisers say the financial crisis has prompted a record number of business and political leaders to register. Societal research The UK's National Centre for Social Research is due to publish its annual report, entitled "British social attitudes". Wen visits Europe Wen Jiabao, Chinese prime minister, is due to meet Angela Merkel, German chancellor, in Berlin. He is due to travel to Brussels on January 29 and London on January 30. Corruption highlighted The Public Eye Awards are scheduled to be awarded by Greenpeace Switzerland to companies it feels are guilty of the most blatant cases of corporate and environmental hazards. Afghanistan aid talks Senior figures from the European Commission and the Czech European Union presidency are due to meet counterparts from Afghanistan in Prague to discuss economic aid and reconstruction for the country. Human rights forum The British Institute of Human Rights is scheduled to hold its annual conference. Speakers include Jack Straw, justice secretary, Monica McWilliams, chief commissioner for human rights in Northern Ireland, and Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Australia visit to India Kevin Rudd, Australian prime minister, is due to visit India and meet his counterpart, Manmohan Singh, to discuss issues including security and climate change. Thursday JANUARY 29 Masterpiece for sale Sotheby's in New York puts up for sale J.M.W. Turner's "The Temple of Jupiter Panellenius", estimated to be worth $12m-$16m. The work is said to be one of the most important oil paintings by the artist remaining in private hands. Friday JANUARY 30 Uefa discusses Euro 2012 The executive committee of European soccer body Uefa meets in Switzerland to discuss Poland's and Ukraine's faltering preparations for Euro 2012. Liquidity scheme closes The Bank of England closes its special liquidity scheme, introduced in autumn 2008 to ease pressure on banks during the credit crunch. Saturday JANUARY 31 Honda closes factory Honda, the Japanese vehicle manufacturer, is set to close its UK Swindon plant for 50 days. The plant is expected to make 21,000 fewer vehicles as a result. The plant is expected to reopen at the end of March. Sunday FEBRUARY 1 Super Bowl XVIII The American football season reaches its climax as the Arizona Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 43rd Super Bowl. Japan in charge Japan is scheduled to take over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council. Iranian celebration Iran is due to hold the 30th annual Ten-Day Dawn celebrations (to February 11), marking the anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. preview@ft.com Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.