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
Following his holiday in Delaware, President Joe Biden is back on the road next week from Monday (August 7), when he is due to begin a three-state swing through the southwest that includes stops in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Details about the four-day trip remain scant, but he is expected to highlight investments under the Inflation Reduction Act ahead of the anniversary of its signing on August 16 while raising funds for his reelection campaign.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to hold a campaign event in New Hampshire on Tuesday (August 8) before appearing in court in Fort Pearce, Florida, on Thursday (August 10) to be arraigned on the superseding indictment in his classified documents case. The latest case against Trump comes as yet another prosecutor, this time Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has indicated charges are imminent over Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The Iowa State Fair opens on Thursday (August 10), which means not only the unveiling of the iconic butter cow display, but also a host of appearances from presidential hopefuls, starting with former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who are scheduled to speak at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox. Other candidates taking in the fair next week include Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
To the knockout rounds.
Match Recap » https://t.co/he1yKxufBF pic.twitter.com/6nkpxihXC0
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 1, 2023
The USWNT faces off against Sweden on Sunday (August 6) in the women’s World Cup after narrowly advancing to the round of 16 with their 0-0 draw against Portugal. Despite being the pre-tournament favorites to win their third consecutive World Cup, the team had a lacklustre group stage performance, only winning one game against Vietnam and drawing against the Netherlands and Portugal to take second place in their group behind the Dutch. Sweden beat the US in the 2021 Olympics, leading some to worry about the American women’s future in this tournament. If the US beats Sweden, they will take on Japan or Norway on Friday (August 11) in the quarter finals. The Japanese have had a strong showing so far, winning their group, and the matchup would continue a storied rivalry between two of the best women’s soccer programs in the world.
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 (August 12), 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 fall 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 (August 8-9) 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 organized 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.