ICFTU ONLINE...

October 12-18 1998

Brussels, October 9, 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): The following is a selection of next week's events. This selection has been prepared for the information of subscribers to the ICFTU's OnLine

service, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the ICFTU.

Monday October 12: Nominations for the post of Director General of the World Trade Organisation have to be in by today. The incumbent Director General Renato Ruggiero ends his term in April 1999. Possible successors include: Roy McLaren, Canadian Trade Minister, Mike Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Luis Felipe Lampreia, Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister, Supachai Panitchpahdi, deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, and former Moroccan trade minister Hassan Abouyou. The final selection will be made by the end of November.

Monday October 12: Russian President Boris Yeltsin is expected to visit Kazakhstan where he is due to sign several bilateral agreements with his counterpart President Nursultan Nazarbayev. (The visit was originally scheduled for September 8 but was postponed owing to Russia’s economic crisis).

Monday October 12: The World Economic Forum is organising an "East Asia Economic Summit" in Singapore. High-level business and political leaders are expected to attend.

Monday October 12: The annual meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) opens in Geneva.

Tuesday October 13: The Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry are to be announced in Stockholm by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Wednesday October 14: The executive board of the ICFTU’s African Regional Organisation (AFRO) opens its annual meeting in Nairobi. The meeting will close on October 16.

Thursday October 15: The executive board of the ICFTU’s regional organisation for Asia and the Pacific (APRO) meets in Wellington (New Zealand).

Thursday October 15: The International Graphical Federation (IGF) holds its Congress in Spain. The Congress will decide whether or not to merge with another international trade secretariat.

Thursday October 15: A referendum on constitutional change is to take place in Kyrgyzstan. The proposed changes are aimed at restricting the power of parliament, allowing for the private ownership of land and at guaranteeing press freedom.

Thursday October 15: The computer company Microsoft is to face trial. It is accused by the United States Justice Department and 20 US States of using its dominant position on the computer market to gain dominance in the burgeoning Internet market. Microsoft boss Bill Gates submitted a pre-trial deposition last August.

Friday October 16: The identity of the winner (or winners) of the Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced in Oslo by the Norwegian Nobel Committee (the other Nobel prizes are awarded in Sweden). The prize is worth 7.5 m Swedish kroner. Front runners for this year’s prize include Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, the First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly, David Trimble, and Czech President Vaclav Havel. President Bill Clinton had also been mentioned as a possible winner, thanks to his role in the peace process in Northern Ireland. The prize may be awarded to several people involved in the Irish peace process, in which case the British Prime Minister may be included alongside David Trimble and Gerry Adams.

Friday October 16: Pope Jean-Paul II celebrates the 20^th anniversary of his accession to the Throne of St. Peter. The 78-yer-old Pontiff’s health is failing, and speculation is rife as to who will succeed him.

Friday October 16: The European employers’ federation UNICE is to hold a meeting of its Council of Presidents in Brussels. The scope and content of possible negotations with the European Trade Union Confederation, particularly over the question of worker consultation, will be the focus of discussions.

Friday October 16: United Nations World Food Day, organised by the FAO. It is followed on October 17 by the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, now in its tenth year.

Sunday October 18: Legislative elections are due to take place in Macedonia and local elections are to be held in Hungary.

Sources: These forecasts have been prepared in cooperation with Future Events News Service in London (FENS), 8-10 Wiseton Rd, London SW17 7EE. Tel.:++44 181 672 31 91. Http://www.hubcom.com/fens

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 155, B - 1210 Brussels, Belgium. For more information
please contact: Luc Demaret on: 00 322 224 0212 - press@icftu.org

ICFTU OnLine