BBC Monitoring News Prospects for Thursday 15 April.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Main stories at 0100 gmt

USA: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair meets UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss UN role in Iraq, Middle East peace effort and African issues (as available)

MIDDLE EAST: Watching reaction to US endorsement of Israeli plans to withdraw from Gaza and parts of West Bank (as available)

IRAQ/ITALY: Watching developments as Italy confirms one of four hostages killed; Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledges not to withdraw troops (Italian sources, Al-Jazeera TV)

SOUTH KOREA: Parliamentary elections, widely seen as a referendum on impeached President Roh Moo-hyun (South Korean news agency Yonhap)

Asia-Pacific

CHINA/SKOREA: US Vice-President Dick Cheney visiting Shanghai; delivers speech on Sino-US relations at Fudan University, then leaves for South Korea (15-16) (Chinese news agency Xinhua)

CHINA: European Commission President Romano Prodi visiting (-16) (Chinese news agency Xinhua)

CHINA: Anniversary of death of reform-minded Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang (1989). His death sparked student-led demonstrations for democracy (BBC Monitoring)

FRENCH POLYNESIA: Close of candidate registration for the 23 May elections; elections were called after French President Jacque Chirac dissolved Territorial Assembly - French Polynesia's parliament; according to President Gaston Flosse, fresh elections needed because French Polynesia has new autonomy status, giving it more powers in terms of regional relations, local employment and land tenure (New Zealand Radio New Zealand International)

AUSTRALIA: ASEAN secretary-general Ong Keng Yong visiting …