Globe Trotters.

Olympic Games
Opening ceremony
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony is to be attended by world leaders including US President George Bush, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (Official website).

Kevin Rudd
South Korea trip
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visits South Korea, arriving from Beijing (Radio Australia).

Japan and North Korea
Nuclear talks
Japan and North Korea hold working-level consultations in Shenyang (Japanese news agency Kyodo)

Dmitry Medvedev
Russia China relations
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing (Russian news agency ITAR-TASS).

OSCE
Observation mission
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's long-term observation mission arrives in Belarus ahead of parliamentary elections on September 28 (Belarusian television).

Angela Merkel
Russia trip
German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi (Russian news agency ITAR-TASS)

Dalai Lama
Senate meeting
The Dalai Lama visits France meeting with Senate members. The Dalai Lama's office has denied speculation that he will also meet President Nicolas Sarkozy (French Senate website, French news agency AFP).

Group of friends
Abkhaz no show?
The UN Secretary-General's Group of Friends for Georgia (which includes the United States, Russia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom) meets in Berlin. Abkhaz separatist leader Sergey Bagapsh on August 4 announced the "suspension" of Abkhazia's participation in the meeting because of the recent upsurge in tension between Georgia and the other breakaway region, South Ossetia (Gazprom-owned Russian NTV).

Olli Heinonen
Nuclear talks
International Atomic Energy Association deputy director-general Olli Heinonen visits Tehran (Iranian news agency Fars).

Richard Williamson
Sudan diplomacy
US envoy Richard Williamson visits Sudan for meetings with Foreign Minister Deng Alor and other officials (Sudanese newspaper Al-Ayyam).

Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Algeria-Iran relations
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika visits Iran (Algerian newspaper El-Acil).

Michel Sulayman
Lebanon-Syria relations
Lebanese President Michel Sulayman visits Damascus for talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Asad (Lebanese Hezbollah Al-Manar TV website).

Nechirvan Barzani
Iran visit
Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visits Iran (Iranian news agency ISNA)