OPEC ministers are due to meet in Vienna in May to decide on production levels ahead of the summer driving season...click here to read the Wall Street Journal article.

OPEC to monitor Venezuelas 'stabilizing oil'...click here to read the Reuters article.

Click here for the OPEC homepage.

Spector faces life sentence for actress's murder...click here to read the Independent article.

Spector will remain at Twin Towers Correctional Facility until his sentencing on May 29...click here to read the First Post article.

Click here to read a related article from the Los Angeles Times.

British troops to complete Iraq mission...click here for the Voice of America article.

British troops to start leaving Iraq...click here to read the Telegraph article.

Australian web vigilantes call for alleged arsonist Brendan Sokaluk to be 'burned at the stake'...click here for the Telegraph article.

Australian arson suspect former volunteer firefighter...click here to read the Times article.

A global energy forum will be organized in Sofia on Friday and Saturday, says the Bulgarian newspaper Standart. The forum will be under the motto "Natural gas for Europe - security and partnership". The biggest event now days on the Balkans will be attended by heads of state, ministries, experts and heads of energy companies. Experts say that Bulgaria becomes intermediary between Russia, the Caspian countries and Europe after the gas crisis in Europe after the scandal between Russia and Ukraine. South stream project will be among the priority issues on the agenda of the Global Energy Forum at Sofia's National Palace of Culture. The Bulgarian newspaper Standart says also, that observers expect a silent energy war to unfold at the forum, waged by centuries-old diplomatic means like the presence or absence of certain delegates, which expresses the position of their countries on certain issues, and the pushing of certain projects and topics up on the agenda at the expense of other. A few days before the opening of the forum, it is still uncertain who will be coming to Sofia. Russian PM Vladimir Putin, Qatar Amir H.H. Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, heads of state from the region and EC President Jose Barroso are expected to attend the forumHigh representatives of twenty-nine countries and international organizations among them being Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), EU institutions, Egypt, Italy, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, USA, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Germany, France, Croatia, Montenegro and the Czech Republic.

After Obama, Hugo Chavez's next summit will be with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...click here to read the article from CNS News.

Iran and Venezuela launch joint development bank...click here to read the AFP article.

Ahmadinejad and Chavez want to jointly tackle the global economic crisis...click here to read the Monsters and Critics article.

Captain Camara pushes for free, fair elections in Guinea...click here to read the Afrique en Ligne article.

Click here to read a related article from Africa News Today.

Click here for the CIA World Factbook page for Guinea.

Officials from China and Taiwan are scheduled to meet in Nanjing. They are due to continue talks on financial services and expanding direct flights.

The trial of Momcilo Perisic is scheduled to continue before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague. Perisic, who served as the Yugoslav army's chief of the general staff between 1993 and 1998, faces eight charges that involve incidents in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia. They include failing to prevent or punish his subordinates for committing crimes, including the shelling of civilian areas of Sarajevo and a rocket attack on the centre of Zagreb. Perisic also faces charges over the attack on Srebrenica in 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces commanded by Ratko Mladic.

The European Commission is scheduled to release its spring economic forecast. Published twice a year, in spring and autumn, the macroeconomic projections cover a set of variables for the European Union member states as well as the aggregate figures for the EU as a whole and the euro zone. The economic forecasts cover data for economic growth, inflation, employment, general government debt and deficit, and investment. Owing to the economic and financial crisis, the Commission in January published an extended interim forecast on all big economic indicators and for all EU countries. At the time, the Commission's services forecast a fall in GDP of 1.8 per cent this year in the EU (-1.9 per cent for the euro area) and +0.5 per cent in 2010 (+0.4 per cent for euro area). The forecast for inflation was 1.2 per cent in 2009 and 1.9 per cent for 2010 (respectively 1.0 per cent and 1.8 per cent for the euro area). A press conference is due to be given by the economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, at 11:30 at the Berlaymont in Brussels.

 

The Czech senate is expected to vote on the Lisbon Treaty - the international agreement signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007 that would change the workings of the European Union. Of the 27 EU member states, only the Czech Republic and Ireland have yet to ratify the reform treaty.The expectation is that it will pass but in an exclusive interview last week Prime Minister Mirek Toplanek told GRN's Bruce Konviser he was only "75%" sure And it's the senator's from his own Civic Demcoraty Party (ODS). On Friday, May 8, the caretaker government of Jan Fischer is expected to be installed, and they will serve until after the parliamentary elections are held, most likely in October.

Nasa is set to launch one of the most challenging and dangerous missions of its 28-year-old space shuttle programme. Atlantis will carry a crew of seven astronauts on an 11-day mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope in a daring operation to be carried out more than 300 miles above Earth. For 19 years, Hubble has beamed back unprecedented glimpses of deep space that have allowed astronomers to solve some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. But it is now in danger of total breakdown. Atlantis's crew, led by daredevil astronaut Scott Altman - a US Navy fighter pilot who flew the aerial stunts for Tom Cruise's character in the film Top Gun - must capture the Hubble while flying alongside at 17,500mph then carry out a series of five spacewalks to repair and replace vital parts. The stakes are high; this is Nasa's last chance to fix Hubble's problems before retiring the space shuttle fleet next year, plus the mission carries an increased risk of trouble due to the abundance of spacejunk present at such an altitude. Nasa is so concerned about the risk of the shuttle getting damaged and becoming stranded that it has taken the unprecedented step of putting a second shuttle and skeleton crew on standby ready to go to the rescue if needed. Both crews say they are ready for anything - and prepared to put their lives on the line for the sake of saving Hubble, a scientific treasure that is considered the greatest astronomical development since Galileo invented the telescope in the 17th century.

Bulgaria officially launched on Sunday the pre-election campaign for the upcoming European elections, which will be held on June 7, says Bulgarian news agency Novinite. The campaign will end at midnight on June 6. Bulgarians will be urged to head for the polls twice this summer after Bulgarian parliament rejected the ‘two votes in one day' proposal put forward by the National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) of the former Tsar and PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg, says also the agency. Still surveys show that local businesses and organized crime figures can easily buy their way to power in Bulgaria since about 40% of potential voters say they are likely to sell their vote. Bulgarian voters will elect MEPs and members of Bulgarian parliament on June 7 and July 5 respectively, which is expected to affect negatively the turnout.

The Guantanamo war crimes trials remain officially frozen while U.S. President Barack Obama weighs how to proceed with the terrorism prosecutions, but several of the cases are still very much in motion.The chief judge in the Guantanamo court, Army Colonel Stephen Henley, ordered the public release on Tuesday of a document in which five defendants boastfully repeated their claims of guilt in plotting the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks. Military lawyers are still filing legal documents in other cases in anticipation that the Guantanamo trials will resume as soon as Obama's freeze order expires on May 20. For full article, click here.

As Milosevic's intelligence chief, Jovica Stanisic is accused of setting up genocidal death squads. But as a valuable source for the CIA, an agency veteran says, he also 'did a whole lot of good'... click here to read the LA Times article.

Click here for the UN's press release regarding Stanišić's fitness to stand trial.

Click here for the LA Times' timeline of the case.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit President Barack Obama at the White House for summit... click here for Irish Independent article.

BBC profile of Mahmoud Abbas here.

President Barack Obama will join Nicolas Sarkozy in visiting World War Two D-Day beaches in Normany to mark the 65th anniversary of the landings on 6 June 1944.

For Yahoo News' article click here.

For Reuters article click here.

Click here for St Petersburg International Economic Forum website.

Click here for a summary of plans for the event.

Sarkozy to preside over Louvre Abu Dhabi ceremony after attending Maritime Security Conference... click here to read The Art Newspaper article.

Click here... to read CIA factbook on UAE.

Barack Obama to make long awaited address to Islamic world in attempt to rebuild bridges... click here for Yahoo News article.

Click here for LA Times article.

Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to hold summit in Washington... click here for White House announcement on summit.

More nuclear test firing by North Korea could take place whilst the South Korean President is in Washington... click here for the LA Times article.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor's trial for crimes against humanity is scheduled to resume after the Special Court for Sierra Leone at the Hague dismissed his defence teams argument that there was not enough evidence for the the trial to proceed... click here for a BBC article.

Click here ...for BBC profile of Charles Taylor.

Click here... for Wikipedia biography of Charles Taylor

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is set to visit Denmark next week, followed by his first official visit to Finland, a spokesperson for the United Nations announced today.Marie Okabe told reporters in New York that Mr. Ban arrives on Sunday for a two-day visit to Copenhagen, where he will address the opening of the World Business Summit on Climate Change, and meet with Al Gore, former United States Vice President and Chairman of Generation Investment Management. He will also hold a joint news conference with the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy. While in Copenhagen, the Secretary-General will meet with Queen Margrethe II, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, for Development Cooperation, and for Defense. He will also attend a lunch meeting on “Global Compact and Climate” hosted by the Minister for Development Cooperation and the Nordic Compact Network, and deliver remarks at a dinner co-hosted by the Global Compact & the UN Foundation with leading top executives attending the World Business Summit. Negotiations are ongoing ahead of a major UN conference in Copenhagen this December where nations are expected to reach agreement on a new greenhouse gas emissions pact. Mr. Ban has stressed the need to achieve a climate change deal in December that is “ambitious, comprehensive and fair.” In a video message to a climate change forum in Seoul today, Mr. Ban noted that cities not only lie at the heart of the problem, but must also be part of the solution. The Secretary-General’s visit will also include a public dialogue meeting entitled “Relaying the World – Global Crisis/Global Answers: The Role of the United Nations” with Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller. In addition, he will officially open the Copenhagen headquarters of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Mr. Ban then heads to Helsinki, Finland, on Monday evening for a two-day visit, where he is expected to meet with President Tarja Halonen, as well as Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen. While in Helsinki, he will address the Finnish Parliament and have a bilateral luncheon meeting with the speaker. The Secretary-General will also meet with the former President and Nobel laureate, Martti Ahtisaari, and pay a visit to the UN University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)... click here for the UN websites article on the visit.

The prosecution is due to finish its case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, who stand accused of the murder of 21 year old British student Meredith Kercher in October 2007. Rudy Guede who was tried separately from Knox and Sollecito was found guilty of rape and murder on October 28, 2008 and sentenced to 30 years in prison... click here for the BBC profiles of Kercher and Sollecito.

Click here... for a Telegraph article on the implications of DNA evidence found on a knife.

US President Barack Obama's foreign tour next week will include a stop-off in Saudi Arabia, his spokesman said in a late addition to the schedule. Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama would hold talks with King Abdullah in Riyadh on 3 June to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace moves, Iran and terrorism. Some analysts say the US administration is considering adopting a modified Arab peace plan proposed by the Saudis. The inclusion of Saudi Arabia "was not born of anything specific", Gibbs said. Apart from a brief stop-off in Iraq in April, the visit will be Mr Obama's first foray into the Middle East cauldron, though he has been busily engaged with regional diplomacy in the White House... click here for more of this BBC article.

Click here to see the CIA factbook on Saudi Arabia.