The coming days

The week ahead

The BRIC countries hold a summit meeting

• THE leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China (collectively known as the BRICs) are set to hold a two-day summit meeting in Brasília starting on Thursday April 15th. The four developing-market giants held a first summit in Russia last year, where they flexed their growing international muscle by raising the possibility of a new global reserve currency to replace the dollar. This time the BRICs are likely to renew calls for increased representation and voting rights for emerging economies in international financial organisations such as the IMF.

• SHORTLY after agreeing on a new strategic arms-reduction treaty with Russia Barack Obama is due to play host to over 40 heads of government in Washington, DC, to for a two day nuclear-security summit beginning on Monday April 12th. Mr Obama wants pledges from his guests—including the leaders of Russia, China, India, Israel and Pakistan—to secure nuclear materials around the world and to crack down on those who traffic in them, ahead of next month’s five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the world’s main bulwark against proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Mr Obama may be gratified to note that Iran, a country excluded from his meeting for its relentless pursuit of atomic materials, is also joining in the summitry with a meeting on Sunday entitled “Nuclear energy for all, nuclear arms for no one”.

• AMERICA’S treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, postponed a report due for release on Tuesday April 15th that might have condemned China for for manipulating its currency, by keeping it weak to favour its exporters. His decision secured the presence of China’s president at the summit on nuclear proliferation in Washington. Speculation is rife that, for its part, China may allow a small revaluation of the yuan and let it wobble a little more in daily trading with the dollar. This may not prove enough to keep members of Congress happy. Last month 130 of them wrote to Mr Geithner urging tougher action against China. After the currency report was postponed, Chuck Schumer, a New York senator, said he would push a bill to slap anti-dumping duties on some Chinese goods and countervailing tariffs on all of them if China did not allow its currency to strengthen.

• A MUCH-DELAYED United Nations report on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will finally see the light of day on Thursday April 15th. Pakistan's former prime minister was murdered in Rawalpindi in 2007 during an election campaign. The country’s leader at the time, President Pervez Musharraf, blamed Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban in Pakistan. Mrs Bhutto's followers repeatedly suggested that Mr Musharraf or his allies were involved and demanded that the UN investigate to reveal the truth. The trials of several Islamist militants charged in connection with the assassination are currently underway in Pakistan.