The Week Ahead

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Monday Mar 23 2009 The week ahead March 23-29 The European Parliament considers copyright issues; Kevin Rudd, Australia's prime minister, visits the US for a White House summit; the Winter Music Conference gets under way; the Baselworld watch and jewellery show opens; EU foreign ministers meet in the Czech Republic; European summertime begins Monday MARCH 23 EU looks at copyrights The European parliament meets for a plenary session in Strasbourg (to March 26). A report into copyright and related rights matters is on the agenda. Bologna book fair Publishers and producers of children's books and multimedia materials gather in Italy for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. An area is dedicated to negotiating deals between publishers and television and film companies. Lessons from Obama The left-wing Fabian Society publishes a book titled: The Change We Need: What Britain can learnfrom Obama. The launch in London will be hosted by Alastair Campbell, former director of communications in Downing Street. Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, penned the book's foreword. Sporting match-ups Sports bodies and investors hoping to form partnerships meet in Denver for the Sportaccord Conference. Speakers include George Gillett, co-owner of English football club Liverpool FC and owner of hockey team the Montreal Canadiens. World's cheapest car Tata Motors' Nano car goes on sale. It will retail for $2,500, making it the world's cheapest new vehicle. The trade press has reported that the car will be available in Europe from 2010. Tuesday MARCH 24 Rudd in the White House Kevin Rudd Kevin Rudd, Australia's prime minister Kevin Rudd, Australia's prime minister, will be welcomed into the White House by Barack Obama, US president. Nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan and the global financial crisis will be on the agenda for discussions between the two leaders. Nuclear forum The two-day European Nuclear Forum in Brussels brings traditional power generators and the nuclear industry together. Speakers include Xavier de Rollat, Société Générale's director of corporate and investment banking. Malaysian leadership choice The United Malays National Organisation, Malaysia's ruling party, will choose a new leader. Abduallah Badawi, prime minister, is likely to cede control to Najib Razak, his deputy. Marketers' meeting The International Direct and Interactive Marketers Forum takes place in New York. Building websites that are friendly to overseas customers and cross-border privacy laws are among the topics to be discussed. Second Talf round Details of the second round of funding under the US Treasury's and Federal Reserve's term asset-backed securities loan facility will be announced. Talf aims to revive securitisation markets that provide credit for families. On Wednesday, money from the first round of Talf funding will be released. Road-building exhibition Civilex, Ireland's largest roads, traffic management and construction exhibition, takes place over the next two days in Dublin. Free seminars let professionals find out about the latest changes in legislation. Luxury trade show Christian Blanckaert, executive vice-president of French fashion house Hermès International, will be among the speakers at the Sustainable Luxury trade show in New Delhi. Wednesday MARCH 25 Dancing and debating Dance music professionals, including artists, producers, retailers and distributors, meet at the four-day Winter Music Conference in Miami. Seminars will cover issues such as music and social change, and choosing the right agent. Minsk demonstration call The Belarusian Popular Front has asked the state authorities in Minsk to allow a mass demonstration to mark the anniversary of the state's first declaration of independence in 1918. It is protesting against the policies of Alexander Lukashenko, president, and the effects of the global economic crisis. Thursday MARCH 26 Watch and jewellery show Baselworld, which describes itself as "the world's watch and jewellery show", opens for eight days in the Swiss city. The event offers insights into the latest trends, as well as networking opportunities with brand owners. New chief for IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors will hold a closed meeting during which there will be a ballot to choose a new director-general. The candidates are Yukiya Amano of Japan and Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa. Soyuz launch Russian and US astronauts travel to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz-TMA 14, which will be launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. UN considers Darfur The United Nations Security Council meets in New York to consider the Darfur mediation process. Technology for the world The World Economic Forum releases The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 in Geneva. The report assesses technological readiness around the world. FT report Corporate Finance 2009 Friday MARCH 27 Foreign ministers meet European Union foreign ministers meet in the Czech Republic for two days of informal talks. Afghanistan and the western Balkans are expected to feature prominently in discussions. IDB annual meeting The annual meetings of the boards of governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation take place in Medellin, Colombia (to March 31). These will consider the development challenges caused by the economic crisis. MDC conference The three-day annual conference of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change party will be held in Harare, led by the Morgan Tsvangirai, the country's prime minister. FT report Watches and Jewellery 2009 Sunday MARCH 29 Here comes summer Clocks go forward one hour in the UK and Europe. Unemployment discussions Labour and social policy ministers from the G8 and other nations meet in Rome for three days to discuss the affects of unemployment on the global economy. Arab states summit Representatives of governments from the League of Arab States hold a two-day summit in Doha. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan president, has been invited and is likely to attend, in spite of an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest being issued this month. 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.