JANUARY

01: LATVIA - Joins the eurozone.

22: SWITZERLAND - Geneva to host an international conference to bring peace to Syria.

FEBRUARY

07-23: RUSSIA - Sochi hosts the XXII Winter Olympics.

No date set yet: EGYPT: Parliamentary elections (two months after voting on a new constitution)

MARCH

03-20: SOUTH AFRICA - Murder trial of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius.

APRIL

05: AFGHANISTAN - Presidential election

23-24: BRAZIL - Sao Paolo hosts global conference on Internet governance.

27: VATICAN - Canonisation of popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

30: IRAQ - Legislative elections. SOUTH AFRICA - General elections, dates to be announced.

MAY

22: EUROPE - European Parliament elections, until May 25 in certain countries.

INDIA - To hold legislative elec-

tions sometime in the second quarter of 2014.

JUNE

04-05: RUSSIA - Group of Eight (G8) summit in Sochi.

06: FRANCE - 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy.

12: BRAZIL - FIFA football World Cup opens in Sao Paolo.

JULY

05: BRITAIN - Start of Tour de France cycling race in Leeds, England, to finish on July 27 in Paris.

09: INDONESIA - Presidential election.

11: BOSNIA • 19th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, when Serb forces killed almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.

AUGUST

01: EUROPE - 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1.

TURKEY - Presidential election -on either the 14th or 28th.

SEPTEMBER

01: GERMANY - 75th anniversary of the start of World War II, when German troops invaded Poland.

18: BRITAIN - Scottish referendum on independence from Great Britain.

No date set: NEW YORK - UN climate summit.

OCTOBER

05: BRAZIL - General elections.

NOVEMBER

04: UNITED STATES - Mid-term legislative elections (Congress and state governors).

14-15: AUSTRALIA - Group of 20 (G20) summit in Brisbane

DECEMBER

03-14: PERU - Lima hosts 195 countries for a summit on climate change.

31: AFGHANISTAN - Deadline for withdrawal of Nato forces.