ETHIOPIA / AU KERRY
Addis Ababa: Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ethiopia to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity, the precursor to today's African Union.

SOUTH AFRICA / PROTEST
Johannesburg: Up to 2,000 bikers are expected to stage a go slow on the streets of Johannesburg to protest agains government plans to introduce toll roads around Johannesburg and Pretoria.

CHINA / NORTH KOREA
Beijing: A special envoy of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il, Choe Ryong Hae, is expected to continue his visit to China.

JAPAN / MAYOR
Osaka: An outspoken Japanese mayor Toru Hashimoto meets two former South Korean comfort women. Hashimoto outraged many with his remarks that the system in which Asian women were forced to become wartime prostitutes before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the Japanese military.

JAPAN / STOCK
Tokyo: Japanese stocks plummeted Thursday after a spike in government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing spooked investors sitting atop months of massive gains in share prices. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo nosedived 7.3 percent to close at 14,483.98.

RUSSIA / PRESSER
Moscow: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksander Lukashevich will hold his weekly press briefing on various international issues.

UK / ATTACK
London: Investigations continue, following an incident in which two attackers butchered a British soldier in a daylight attack in London, raising fears terrorism had returned to the capital city.

ITALY / TRIAL
Milan: The Moroccan woman at the center of Silvio Berlusconi's sex scandal is set to testify for a second day.

ITALY / STRIKE
Rome: Transport strike in Rome all day.

ITALY / ELECTION
Rome: Final rallies in Rome, ahead of mayoral election.

LUXEMBOURG / NETHERLANDS
Luxembourg: First official foreign visit for new Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.

TURKEY / SNC
Istanbul: Syrian National Coalition expected to elect new president, approve opposition prime minister's cabinet and is expected to discuss whether to take part in an international conference on the conflict.

IRAQ / PRAYERS
Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials take part in joint Shiite and Sunni prayers.

SYRIA / UNREST
Various: Fierce fighting continues between Syrian rebels and regime loyalists amid ongoing international efforts to stem the bloodshed.