News diary 1-7 October: Las Vegas marks mass shooting anniversary and Jodie Whittaker becomes first female Doctor Who

Foresight News provides a look-ahead to the key events that need to be in your news diary for next week…

The Conservative Party’s Autumn conference continues in Birmingham on Monday with some of the Cabinet’s big hitters due to address assembled party members.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson and Environment Secretary Michael Gove all take to the conference stage today.

Much of the action is likely to take place away from the hall on the conference fringe, where Europhile and Eurosceptic Tories are expected to trade barbs as the party’s internal row over Brexit rumbles on.

Highlights include an appearance by totemic Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg at a Policy Exchange event and Anna Soubry and Justine Greening at a rally for supporters of a second referendum.

Monday also marks a year since the Las Vegas mass shooting, the worst such incident in modern US history. Opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel, gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 and left 851 injured before turning the gun on himself.

Memorial services are scheduled to take place across the city, and all the screens on the Las Vegas strip will show a message of commemoration. The city’s iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign will also be turned off to honour the victims of the shooting.

Donald Trump addresses a rally in Tennessee on the same day, but the US president will likely use the opportunity to hold forth on the recent confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The event is also the first rally since the president’s appearance at the UN summit earlier this week, and Trump may confront reports that his speech drew mocking laughter from assembled world leaders.

On Tuesday, Boris Johnson addresses what’s sure to be a packed “chuck Chequers” event on the fringe of the Tory Conference. Johnson has been a thorn in Theresa May’s side since his resignation from Cabinet in July, and is almost certain to use the event to slam the Prime Minister’s Chequers deal and set out his own plan for Brexit negotiations.

The former Foreign Secretary proposed negotiating a “Super Canada” deal with the EU in a 4,500 word screed for the Telegraph last week, and pro-European Tories fear Johnson will use the event to bolster a future leadership challenge.

Back in the conference hall, party members can enjoy speeches from Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Justice Secretary David Gauke in the morning, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Education Secretary Damian Hinds in the afternoon session.

Theresa May reaches another crucial juncture in her premiership on Wednesday when she delivers the conference’s closing speech. After the challenge laid down by Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn at Labour conference last week, the Prime Minister is now under even greater pressure to reassure her party and prove she can deliver on her Brexit promises.

But time is running out: there are just over two weeks until the European Council next meets, by which time EU Council President Donald Tusk has said he expects “maximum progress and results” from negotiations.

The International Monetary Fund releases analytical chapters from two of its closely-watched biannual reports: the World Economic Outlook, which looks at coming global economic developments, and the Global Financial Stability Report, which assesses the world’s financial markets.

This year’s WEO chapters feature a discussion of the recovery in the decade since the 2008 financial crisis, while the GFSR will likely consider the currency crisis gripping emerging markets.

On Thursday, workers from McDonald’s, JD Wetherspoon and TGI Fridays stage unprecedented strike action in an attempt to achieve a £10 minimum hourly wage.

The action will affect branches in London and Brighton and has been coordinated by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union. It follows previous walkouts by McDonald’s staff, which became known as McStrike, to demand guaranteed hours and the higher wage.

As Russia and India continue to develop closer military ties, Vladimir Putin travels to New Delhi for a two-day state visit where the agenda includes talks with Narendra Modi on the “special privileged partnership” between the two nations.

The meeting represents an opportunity for Putin to secure a valuable economic partner as he attempts to revive Russia’s economy and circumvent international sanctions.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on Friday, and despite the efforts of Norwegian and American politicians, the medal is unlikely to be awarded to Donald Trump for his efforts at denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula (though 2019 could be the president’s year).

There are 331 nominations for this year’s prize, the second-highest total to date, with 216 individuals and 115 organisations in the running. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons received the award in 2017.

And conference season continues: Green Party co-leaders Jonathan Bartley and Sian Berry deliver their speech to members in Bristol, while in Cardigan the newly-elected Adam Price addresses Plaid Cymru delegates for the first time. Price won the party’s leadership on 28 September after defeating the incumbent Leanne Wood and Rhun ap Iorweth.

After almost two years away from the Octagon, Conor McGregor returns to the UFC on Saturday as he faces off against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the Lightweight World Championship. McGregor attracted no small amount of controversy during his time away from the sport, and was arrested in April after attacking a bus at a UFC press event in New York.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is in Pudsey, Yorkshire, to deliver a speech on Labour’s plans to revive the economy and raise living standards.

The speech follows on from the party’s autumn conference, where McDonnell hinted a Labour government could scrap the controversial Universal Credit system, and would tackle issues facing those who work in the gig economy.

This year’s SNP conference gets underway in Glasgow on Sunday. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is likely to use her keynote speech to continue recent broadsides on Theresa May’s handling of Brexit. The Prime Minister responded ahead of the gathering by claiming the party is failing to focus on the issues which matter to Scotland.

Voters head to the polls for elections in Brazil, Cameroon, and Bosnia- Herzegovina. In Brazil, a turbulent campaign has included an assassination attempt on the current frontrunner and accusations of widespread misinformation.

Incumbent President Michel Temer is not seeking election, having first taken office in the wake of Dilma Rouseff’s impeachment in 2016.

And finally, Jodie Whittaker (pictured) gets her hands on the sonic screwdriver as she becomes the first female Doctor. Whittaker replaces Peter Capaldi and becomes the thirteenth Doctor.

The news diary is provided in association with Foresight News.