A guide to the big stories of the week ahead provided by Foresight News.
The week begins with Chelsea and former England football captain John Terry in the dock, for a trial expected to last for five days. Terry pleaded not guilty on February 1 to a racially aggravated public order offence following an incident last year in which he allegedly directed on-pitch racial abuse at Queen’s Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.
Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker is up before the Treasury Committee in the wake of the Barclays Libor scandal on Monday morning. His appearance follows claims in a memo released by eviscerated Barclays chief exec Bob Diamond last week, suggesting that Tucker nudged Barclays to lower its inter-bank lending rate. Outgoing Barclays chairman Marcus Aegis gives his take tomorrow.
Tuesday sees retailer Marks & Spencer release its Q1 results. The store is seen as something of a bellwether for the wider state of the British high street and analysts have warned that, thanks to the non-stop dire weather, Marks may revise down its full-year profits guidance.
Also on Tuesday, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s embezzlement trial continues, in spite of some heroic not-going-to-football-matches action by the UK Government. Tymoshenko, who human rights groups believe is a political prisoner after being jailed for abuse of power, faces charges that she embezzled some $405m in state funds through the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) in the 1990s.
Labour hosts a fundraising ‘Sports Dinner’ on Wednesday, and Tony Blair is on the bill alongside Daily Mail favourite, Cherie Blair. The former PM joins Ed Miliband and a host of sports personalities to try and raise money for the debt-ridden party by auctioning such treats as tennis with Tony and tea with Nancy Dell-Olio.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are off to the West Midlands as part of Her Majesty’s ongoing Diamond Jubilee jaunt. The pair will be visiting Hereford, Worcester, Birmingham and Shropshire, which should provide the Duke with at least four separate opportunities to say something gravely offensive about the locals.
The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes its second Fiscal Sustainability report on Thursday, providing annual analysis on the long-term sustainability of the UK’s public finances. Last year’s report found public sector pension liabilities up an eye-watering £322bn and net debt just shy of 85% of GDP.
Thursday also marks 50 years since former hip young gunslingers the Rolling Stones played their first gig. The original line-up of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Dick Taylor and Tony Chapman played their first gig at London’s Marquee Club on July 12, 1962, and the current incarnation of Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts are off to Somerset House to celebrate the milestone.
On Friday, China holds its monthly press conference on the country’s economic situation, which includes GDP as well as retail and industrial production figures. The Q2 numbers are expected to show that China, which has generally had a good crisis, had a tough quarter.
A year ago on Friday, media giant NewsCorp withdrew its bid for the remaining 69% of shares in BSkyB. The takeover, which had looked like a shoo-in, fell apart amid allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World, and turned out to be just the first of many casualties of the affair.
Labour’s Ed Miliband kicks off his weekend by addressing the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday. The annual procession, held to commemorate the history and solidarity of the once-great mining profession, was snubbed by John Smith, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown during their spells as Labour leader, making Ed the first to address the Gala in 23 years.
David Haye squares up to Dereck Chisora on Saturday for the first time since the boxers brawled in Munich following Chisora’s defeat by Vitali Klitschko. The British Boxing Board of Control has refused to sanction the fight because neither man holds a British license, so the fight is sanctioned instead by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation. As if that wasn’t edgy enough, noted hard-man Dappy performs We Will Rock You ahead of the fight.
On Sunday, the deadline arrives for Somalia to appoint a parliament, although it’s increasingly likely it will be missed. According to the a UN plan, Somalia’s Elders (a group of respected leaders) must choose 825 members of parliament by today, the last step in the troubled state’s bid to restore functioning central government before presidential elections on August 20.
Back in London, the United States Olympic Committee moves into the Royal College of Art for the duration of the 2012 games. The Americans bring with them a Budweiser Bar and a McDonald’s, ensuring two totems of American culture are safely ensconced in a London that clearly lacks either beer or fast food.
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