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Advance UK News Diary

August 29-September 4: Artemis I launch, criminal barristers strike, and US Open begins

Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B
August 26, 2022
  • Slice 1

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.

Leading the week 

NASA takes its first step in a new era of space exploration on Monday (August 29) with the launch of its Artemis I lunar mission aboard the giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The uncrewed Orion capsule will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, further than any spacecraft designed for humans ever has before, and do two flybys around 60 miles above the surface of the Moon during its 42-day mission. The goal is to test the capsule and rocket systems ahead of future flights as part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans. If the launch is successful, it will usher in Artemis II, a crewed orbit mission currently scheduled for May 2024, and the return of humans (including the first woman and first person of colour) to the lunar surface with 2025’s Artemis III. 

But the programme isn’t just about getting back on the Moon for the first time in over 50 years – NASA wants to use the Moon as a staging post for human exploration of Mars, and Artemis is designed to test some of the technology and effects of long-term space travel on astronauts that will be needed to get there. To say NASA is excited is an understatement: the live broadcast of the launch will include celebrity appearances from the likes of Chris Evans, Keke Palmer and Jack Black, a rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ by Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock, and ‘America the Beautiful’ performed by The Philadelpha Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma.

Sign outside of the Old Bailey reading Central Criminal Court
Crown court trials face disruption as barristers strike.

The indefinite shutdown of crown courts across England and Wales begins on Tuesday (August 30) as criminal barristers continue their fight with the government over legal aid funding reforms. Members of the Criminal Bar Association have held periodic walkouts since June, and voted overwhelmingly this week to down tools until further notice from September 5. A week of action at the end of August had already been scheduled, meaning all criminal cases will effectively grind to a halt from Tuesday. The strike comes as the government struggles to tackle substantial and increasing crown court backlogs, which the legal profession has put down to years of underfunding by consecutive administrations. The Law Society claims only a ‘radical shift’ in the Ministry of Justice’s stance will address the problem, a seemingly unlikely prospect in the wake of Dominic Raab’s comments that barristers are ‘holding justice to ransom’.

Serena Williams

Monday (August 29) also sees the start of the US Open, with all eyes on Serena Williams following her Vogue interview heavily hinting at an imminent retirement from the sport. Williams, widely viewed as the greatest female player of all time, has had a tough season, most recently losing in straight sets to last year’s surprise champion Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati earlier this month. Regardless of her performance in Flushing Meadows, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is certain to receive a triumphant reception from the home crowd. The British audience will also be watching Raducanu in hopes of a repeat of last year’s victory. Though she’s had a difficult follow up season, the 19-year-old, who was this week named as one of the top 10 highest-paid players last year, has been backed by the likes of Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters to go the distance defending her title. 


Looking abroad 

EU foreign ministers will gather in the Czech capital on Tuesday (August 30) for the first time since the summer break for a two-day meeting once again set to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine. The informal gathering, known as a Gymnich, comes amid calls from some nations – notably Estonia, Finland and the Czech presidency – for a total ban on tourist visas for Russians wishing to visit the bloc. Speaking last week, however, EU High Representative Josep Borrell poured cold water on the proposal, which is also opposed by the powerful German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, urging a more ‘selective’ approach. Scholz will be able to elaborate on his position on Sunday (September 4), when he hosts Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal in Berlin.

Donald Trump speaks at a MAGA rally
Former President Trump makes his first public appearance since the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Pennsylvania is shaping up to be a key battleground in November’s US midterm elections, and next week will see both President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump visit the Keystone State. First up is Biden, who on Tuesday (August 30) makes a rescheduled visit to Wilkes-Barre after being forced to postpone a planned trip last month when he tested positive for COVID-19. Biden, who was famously once described by Barack Obama as a “scrappy kid from Scranton”, is due to deliver a speech at Wilkes University, where his remarks are expected to focus on his administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence.

Many, though, will view Biden’s trip as an amuse-bouche ahead of Donald Trump’s rally, also in Wilkes-Barre, on Saturday (September 3), his first since the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Allies of the former president have leapt to his defence, decrying the raid as an abuse of power, and it’s easy to imagine Trump leaning into this narrative at the rally, which will also be attended by the controversial Republican candidates Doug Mastriano and Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Gabriel Boric addresses supporters
Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

Meanwhile in Chile, a referendum takes place on Sunday (September 4) on a proposed new constitution drawn up in the wake of mass protests in 2019. But while voters overwhelmingly backed a body charged with drawing up the new charter to replace the existing one, which dates back to the days of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, enthusiasm for the project has since dwindled, and polls suggest a ‘no’ vote is the more likely outcome. This could in turn spell trouble for the country’s youthful leader Gabriel Boric, a 36-year-old leftist former student leader, who was elected on a platform of hope and whose fate many view as tied to the new constitution. 

Also look out for...

August 29

Voldoymyr Zelensky at Bled Strategic Forum and MEDEF Conference

Summer Bank Holiday

August 30

Andy Burnham and Mick Lynch address Enough is Enough rally 

Liz Truss interview with Nick Robinson airs on BBC 

Court hearing for six people found guilty of harassing Nick Watt 

Early access to at-home abortions becomes permanent in England and Wales 

Russian military exercise Rostok 2022 begins 

August 31

Final membership hustings in Conservative leadership election 

Nord Stream 1 pipeline temporarily shuts down 

Journalists at Reach plc titles begin strike action 

Asymptomatic Covid testing at English hospital and care homes pauses 

25 years ago: Princess Diana died 

September 1

Premier League transfer window closes 

Met Office publishes summer climate statistics 

Pre-inquest review into Shoreham Airshow disaster 

Rachel de Souza at Policy Exchange event on The Family Review 

September 2

Members’ ballot closes in Conservative leadership election 

Nadhim Zahawi in conversation with Andy Haldane on the next Prime Minister 

Wayne Couzens in court to face indecent exposure charges 

Alleged ISIS ‘Beatle’ facing terror charges in UK court 

September 3

Nord Stream 1 gas delivery resumes 

FT Weekend festival begins 

The Hundred finals 

September 4

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg premieres on BBC One 

Kate McCann & Adam Boulton host new Times Radio show 

Tour of London begins 

F1 Netherlands Grand Prix 

Statistics, reports and results

August 29

OECD GDP growth statistics 

August 30

Weekly statistics on deaths in England and Wales 

BRC economic briefing report 

CBI quarterly service sector survey 

Results from: HP, Bunzl

August 31

Working and workless households statistics 

BRC shop price index 

Scottish population statistics, 2021 

DfT annual reports on walking, cycling, and travel 

Q2 GDP for Canada, India and Turkey 

September 1

HMRC figures on movement of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britian 

NHS vacancies statistics 

Fire prevention and protection statistics 

Q2 GDP for Brazil and Italy

September 2

FAO Food Price Index 

BRC footfall monitor 

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

August 30

Turkey Victory Day 

International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances  

One year ago: final US troops left Afghanistan 

August 31

Malaysian Independence Day 

600 years ago: Henry V died 

September 1

Scroll Free September begins 

World Alzheimer’s Month begins 

London Dog Week begins 

September 2

VJ Day (United States) 

Artsakh Independence Day (formerly Nagorno-Karabakh) 

Vietnam National Day 

September 3

Merchant Navy Day 

World Beard Day 

Visit My Mosque Day 


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