A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
Leading the week
Monday (April 10) marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which aimed to end the sectarian violence that had been ongoing for nearly 40 years and set up the devolved government in Northern Ireland. While the government has remained tight-lipped on the official events, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit while King Charles may host a state banquet at Hillsborough Castle for the politicians and diplomats who were involved in negotiations. The anniversary comes at a tricky time: while MLAs hold a ceremony to mark the anniversary this Friday (April 7), the Northern Ireland Assembly hasn’t been sitting since February 2022, and the country still has no functioning government following elections last May amid ongoing disagreements between the DUP and the Westminster government over post-Brexit arrangements.
But luckily for the Northern Irish parties, the main focus this week will be on Joe Biden’s visit, confirmed shortly after Sunak announced the new Windsor Framework agreement. The US president touches down in Belfast on Tuesday (April 11) for a day and a half of events to mark the ‘tremendous progress’ made in the last quarter century. Biden travels on to the south on Wednesday (April 12) for a three-day visit which includes stops in County Louth and Dublin, where he addresses a joint sitting of the Irish Parliament on Thursday (April 13), and a speech on Friday (April 14) in his ancestral home of County Mayo to ‘celebrate the deep, historic ties’ linking the US and Ireland.
After a brief hiatus, mass industrial action across the health system re-emerges this week as thousands of junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) walk out for four days between Tuesday (April 11) and Saturday (April 15). The BMA are demanding a 35% annual increase for junior doctors for full ‘pay restoration’, with the union claiming pay has declined in real terms by 26% since 2009. After previous junior doctors’ strikes in March led to the cancellation of over 175,000 appointments and procedures, experts are warning the coming strike may severely impact all hospitals and NHS facilities.
Related
However, just as one dispute escalates this week, another seemingly creeps towards a resolution as ballots on the government’s recent pay offer for non-doctor NHS staff close on Friday (April 14) for members of UNISON and the Royal College of Nursing. Following an exhaustive round of negotiations between Health Secretary Steve Barclay and a number of unions representing NHS staff, with the deliberate and notable exception of the BMA, the government eventually agreed to submit an improved pay offer amounting to a 5% pay increase for the 2023-24 year, as well as a one-off sum ranging between £1,655 and £3,789. Both the RCN and UNISON – who represent the most NHS staff out of any union – are recommending members accept the offer. Unite remains the only union to recommend that members reject the increase, with their ballot on the offer closing later this month.
Looking abroad
In India, a court is set to hold its first hearing on Thursday (April 13) in opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal against his conviction in a defamation case stemming from comments he made in a 2019 speech criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi, the de facto leader of the Congress party, was expelled from parliament shortly after his conviction last month in a move condemned by his supporters as the latest evidence of the erosion of democracy under Modi’s premiership ahead of national elections next year. The case against Gandhi was brought by a BJP member and former Gujarat minister named Purnesh Modi, who is not related to the prime minister, who claimed Gandhi had ‘defamed the entire Modi community’ when he questioned in his speech ‘Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?’ in reference to two other prominent cases.
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The appeals court has already suspended Gandhi’s two-year prison sentence while it considers his case, with Thursday’s hearing expected to focus on a bid stay his conviction, which in turn could pave the way for Gandhi to return to the Lok Sabha while the case is being heard. A further hearing on the merits of his appeal is expected in early May.
In Washington DC, the IMF and World Bank hold their annual Spring Meetings next week, kicking off in earnest on Tuesday (April 11) with the launch of the flagship World Economic Outlook report. The conflict in Ukraine and its economic ramifications are set to cast a shadow once gain over the gathering, which also follows recent tremors in the banking sector linked to rising central bank interest rates aimed at curbing inflation.
Ahead of the meetings, the IMF’s board approved a $15.6 billion loan package for Ukraine, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will attend a ministerial roundtable on Wednesday (April 12) to discuss Ukraine’s medium-term needs and recovery alongside IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and outgoing World Bank President David Malpass. Ukraine will also loom large over the traditional meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday (April 12-13), which last year saw US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lead a walkout in protest at Russia’s involvement. G7 finance ministers are also expected to meet next week, likely to discuss further coordinated action against Russia.
With a host of foreign dignitaries in town, the local think tanks are also chock-full of speakers: two for UK journalists to watch out for on Wednesday are the IIF’s panel on the shifting risk landscape with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, and the Heritage Foundation’s annual Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture, delivered by former prime minister Liz Truss in a rare public intervention since her short-lived premiership.
Also look out for
April 10
- UK State Pension increase takes effect
- SpaceX may launch Starship orbital test flight
- UN Security Council meeting on arms export violations
- Easter Monday
April 11
- Lakeside Shopping Centre murder trial begins
- Emmanuel Macron makes state visit to the Netherlands
- Presentation of evidence begins in Hashim Thaci war crimes trial
- Manchester City host Bayern Munich in UEFA Champions League quarter-final
April 12
- IMF Fiscal Monitor published
- Hearing in FTX bankruptcy proceedings
- Chelsea face Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League quarter-final
April 13
- Rishi Sunak interview with ConservativeHome
- UK GDP (monthly estimate)
- Misconduct hearing over Met Police WhatsApp group
- ESA JUICE mission launches
- TIME 100
- Manchester United host Sevilla in UEFA Europa League quarter-final
April 14
- King Charles attends Sovereign’s Parade
- Donald Trump addresses NRA leadership forum
- Xi Jinping meets with Lula
April 15
- Final German nuclear power plants shut down
- G7 climate, energy and environment ministers meet in Japan
- Changes to Twitter’s ‘For You’ feed take effect
- Grand National
- World Snooker Championship begins
April 16
- G7 foreign ministers meet in Japan
- Orthodox Easter
- Amazon staff in Coventry strike
Statistics, reports and results:
April 11
- Global Financial Stability Report
- BRC Retail Sales Monitor
- China consumer price index
April 12
- US consumer price index
- HIS/Markit Report on Jobs
- Results from: TATA Consultancy Services
April 13
- UK trade statistics
- UK index of production
- OPEC monthly oil market report
- Bank of England credit conditions survey
- NHS Digital statistics on deaths associated with hospitalisation in England
- Results from: Tesco, Delta Airlines
April 14
- IEA Monthly Oil Market report
- Results from: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, CitiGroup, United Health
Anniversaries and awareness days
April 10
- World Homeopathy Awareness Week (to April 16)
April 11
- World Parkinson’s Day
April 12
- International Day for Street Children
April 13
- Scrabble Day
- 70 years ago: first James Bond novel published
April 14
- World Chagas Disease Day
April 15
- World Creativity and Innovation Week (to April 21)
- World Art Day
- World Circus Day
- Worldwide Weekend of Prayer for the Addicted
- North Korean ‘Day of the Sun’ marking Kim Il Sung’s birthday
- 10 years ago: Boston Marathon bombings
- 75 years ago: Polo mint launched
April 16
- International March of the Living begins
The news diary is provided in association with Foresight News.
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