A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
Leading the week
Having spent this week making overtures to motorists and anti-ULEZ advocates in the wake of the narrow Tory by-election victory in Uxbridge, the government is expected to turn its attention towards immigration next week with a series of announcements on migrant housing and Channel crossings.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be hoping to kick off “migration week” with the long-awaited arrival of the first asylum seekers aboard the Bibby Stockholm, now reportedly set for Monday (7 August) – though we’ve heard that before.
The barge was initially due to receive its first 50 residents weeks ago, but the operation has been plagued by numerous health and safety concerns, forcing the Home Office into a series of delays. The government has brushed off the Fire Brigade Union’s description of the barge as a “potential death trap” in a letter written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Wednesday, and hasn’t responded to the union’s request for an urgent meeting to discuss its concerns.
While Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has refused to commit to a definitive opening date beyond confirming that the first migrants will arrive in “the coming weeks”, the government will be hoping to avoid more headline-grabbing delays as it tries to drive home its “stop the boats” messaging next week.
The women’s World Cup moves into the knockout stages next week, and England take on Nigeria in a winnable-looking tie on Monday (7 August). The Lionesses made a slow start to the tournament but exploded into life in their final group game against China, with Lauren James doing her best to single-handedly make up for the injury-induced absence of several key players.
A win on Monday would lead to a quarter final fixture on Saturday (12 August) against either Colombia or Jamaica, who knocked out previous winners Brazil on their way to qualifying for the knockout rounds for the first time.
England will now be among the favourites to go all the way after several big names failed to progress from the group stages. A win on Saturday would nicely tee up the first full day of the men’s Premier League season, which kicks off with champions Manchester City travelling to Burnley on Friday (11 August) to give their former captain Vincent Kompany a baptism of fire in his first match as a Premier League manager.
Looking abroad
Following months of political turmoil in Pakistan stemming from the ousting of then-prime minister Imran Khan, his successor Shehbaz Sharif is due to step down next week before the current five-year term of the National Assembly expires on Saturday (12 August), with elections expected in October.
While an interim prime minister is scheduled to take over from Sharif until the elections are held, he has suggested that his elder brother Nawaz Sharif is likely to be the party’s candidate in the autumn after the Assembly passed a new law in June limiting how long lawmakers can be disqualified from office.
The former prime minister’s return will intensify an election campaign that is already raising concerns about instability following the deadly Islamic State attack at a Taliban-linked political rally this week and the ever-present threat of violence between Khan’s supporters and detractors over more than 150 criminal charges that have been brought against him.
In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is hosting a summit of Amazonian leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday (8-9 August) in Belem, the site of COP30 in 2025.
The meeting follows news yesterday that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 66% in July to hit a six-year low, a marked turnaround from the destruction that surged under Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. Leaders from the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, meeting for the first time since 2009, will look to agree a common policy on forest conservation and security amid growing concerns over “narco-deforestation” and the impact of organised crime on the jungle.
Attendees include Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, who met with Lula in May to launch a “new era” between the two countries after diplomatic ties were cut under Bolsonaro’s rule.
Also look out for
August 7
- Huw Pill hosts virtual Q&A on BoE monetary policy report
- ASLEF train drivers begin week-long overtime ban
- Inquest opens into death of man in ‘moldy’ flat
- Joe Biden begins three-state swing to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah
- Cambodian leader Hun Sen replaced by son Hun Manet
- Tory Lanez sentenced over shooting Megan Thee Stallion
August 8
- Scottish exam results released
- Sentencing of Colombian “Clan del Grupo” cartel leader Otoniel in New York
- Hearing scheduled in Imran Khan terrorism case in Lahore
August 9
- Prince Harry attends ISPS Sports Values Summit in Tokyo
- E.ON financial results
- NIESR quarterly economic forecast
August 10
- Donald Trump arraigned on superseding indictment in documents case
- National Student Survey findings published
- RWE (nPower owner) financial results
- Joanna Cherry in conversation at Edinburgh Fringe
- Second commercial spaceflight for Virgin Galactic 02
- Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand
August 11
- UK Q2 GDP
- BMA junior doctors begin latest round of strike action
- Possible launch of Russian Luna-25 moon mission
August 12
- Prince Harry participates in Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in Singapore
- Anthony Joshua v Dillian Whyte II
- Apprentice Boys Derry march
- Glorious Twelfth
- Perseid meteor shower peaks
August 13
- Greta Thunberg at Edinburgh International Book Festival
- Primaries ahead of Argentina’s presidential election
Statistics, reports and results:
August 7
- Halifax House Price Index
- IHS Markit/REC Report on Jobs
- Results from: BioNTech, Toshiba, Paramount
August 8
- BRC Sales Monitor
- Results from: SoftBank, abrdn, New York Times, UPS, Glencore, Bayer AG, Eli Lilly, Porsche SE, Lyft
August 9
- China consumer price index
- Results from: E. ON, Honda Motor, Sony, Disney, Flutter
August 10
- British Red Cross report on heatwaves
- US inflation figures
- NHS key services combined performance data
- Annual stats on FGM
- UK Finance stats on mortgage arrears and possessions
- India interest rate decision
- Results from: RWE, Siemens, News Corp, ThyssenKrupp, Petrofac
August 11
- ONS climate change insights: families and households
- UK trade stats
- Moody’s sovereign review of Ukraine
- HMICFRS report on police contribution to the prevention of homicide
Anniversaries and awareness days
August 7
- Afternoon Tea Week (to August 13)
- National Allotments Week (to August 13)
August 9
- National Book Lovers Day
- Singapore National Day
- Women’s Day (South Africa)
- Elvis Week (to August 17)
- Nine years ago: Michael Brown killed (Ferguson, US)
- 78 years ago: Nagasaki atomic bomb
August 10
- Prisoners’ Justice Day
- World Lion Day
August 11
- National Sideburns Day
- 50 years ago: the birth of hip-hop
August 12
- International Youth Day
- World Elephant Day
- Six years ago: “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, US
August 13
- International Left Handers’ Day
- National Bowling Day (US)
- 11 years ago: Austin Tice kidnapped in Syria
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