The coming days

The week ahead

Elections in Zimbabwe and other news of the coming week

• THE Olympic torch begins it journey on Monday March 24th from Athens, birthplace of the games, to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the 2008 games in August. The relay is likely to stoke controversy. Despite the recent violent anti-Chinese rioting the torch is still set to pass through Tibet for its ascent up Mount Everest. Human-rights activists are set to stage protests along the route over Tibet and over China's involvement in Darfur.

For background, see article

• THE annual summit of the Arab League begins on Saturday March 29th and for the first time the event will be held in Syria. Leaders of the 22-state body will have much to ponder, not least their efforts to broker a compromise over the selection of a president for Lebanon, whose deeply divided parliament has repeatedly postponed a vote on the matter. Lebanese politicians will try again on Tuesday. The prime minister of Lebanon will wait to decide whether to attend the summit in Damascus. His presence has always been in doubt because Syria is accused of involvement in the assassination of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in 2005.

or background, see article

• ZIMBABWEANS go to the polls for what could prove to be the most exciting election in years. Both presidential and parliamentary votes are taking place, with Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, seeking re-election as president. The despot faces his old opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Making the race more interesting is a former finance minister and one-time ally of Mr Mugabe, Simba Makoni, who is also running for the presidency. Although he was expelled from the ruling party, there is some expectation that Mr Makoni's involvement could make it harder for Mr Mugabe to rig the results.

For background, see article

• AN “OPEN SKIES” treaty concluded between the European Union and America comes into effect on Sunday March 30th. The deal will permit EU and American airlines to operate to and from all of each other's airports for transatlantic flights, replacing a thicket of bilateral deals between countries and carriers. More services and cheaper fares are promised. But some European airlines argue that the full liberalisation of transatlantic air services is impossible without throwing American airlines open to foreign ownership, a likely sticking point as negotiations for phase two of open skies, due in 2010, begin in May.

For background, see article