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
Editor’s note: Speculation over the viability of President Joe Biden’s bid for a second term, which briefly abated in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, has only grown in recent days. It goes without saying that an announcement to the effect that Biden is dropping out of the race would immediately dominate the news agenda.
Congress returns next week following the Republican convention and kicks off with what is likely to be a bombshell hearing on Monday (July 22) with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle following the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. While the House Oversight Committee had felt confident enough to announce her appearance at the session at the start of the week, chair Rep. James Comer subsequently issued a subpoena to Cheatle compelling her appearance and accusing the DHS of running interference before confirming her testimony.
Cheatle has faced harsh and at times sexist criticism amid questions over how the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to take up a position on a rooftop some 130m away from where Trump was speaking and come astonishingly close to killing the Republican presidential candidate. The House Homeland Security Committee, which is conducting its own investigation, has invited Cheatle to appear alongside DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Chris Wray at a second hearing on Tuesday (July 23).
On Wednesday (July 24), Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a controversial address to a joint session of Congress, his first since the October 7 attacks. The speech will be closely watched given suggestions an Israel-Hamas hostage deal could be imminent and the charged political atmosphere in the US ahead of November’s election. A planned meeting with Joe Biden, which had been penciled in for Monday (July 22) before Biden contracted Covid-19, may be delayed until later in the week depending on the president’s recovery. Biden’s already-strained relationship with Netanyahu was tested further last month when Netanyahu released a video, in English, directly accusing the Biden administration of withholding military aid beyond the widely-publicized single shipment of bombs that was announced in May as a deterrence to Israeli operations in Rafah (which went ahead anyway).
The decision to invite Netanyahu to address Congress has been criticized by some Democrats – including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and even Nancy Pelosi – as well by Netanyahu’s opponents in Israel such as Yair Lapid, who has said the prime minister should cancel his address unless he first agrees to a deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. But Netanyahu, who enjoys widespread support among Republicans, may well view his speech as an opportunity to repair his alliance with Donald Trump ahead of November’s election. While the pair enjoyed a close relationship when Trump was president, Trump was said to be incensed by Netanyahu’s decision to acknowledge Biden’s victory in 2020 and has openly criticized the Israeli premier over security failings connected to the October 7 attacks. Netanyahu may be calculating that a ‘helpful’ speech could in turn help secure his own political future come January.
On a lighter note, the Olympics kick off with the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday (July 26) ushering in a little over two weeks of sporting drama. In a departure from tradition, the ceremony is set to take place along the River Seine, with athletes and performers parading on boats and showcasing some of the City of Lights’ iconic landmarks, before it arrives at the Place du Trocadéro facing the Eiffel Tower. Performances from French-Malian superstar Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion, health permitting, are also rumored though yet to be confirmed.
The first weekend of sport includes what are likely to be emotional appearances from Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who is playing in the men’s doubles alongside his compatriot and recent Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, and injury-beset British veteran Andy Murray, who is set to retire after the Games. In the pool on Sunday (July 28), medal events include the women’s 100m butterfly, likely featuring Gretchen Walsh, who set a new world record at the USA trials last month, and the men’s 100m breaststroke final, where Britain’s Adam Peaty is seeking a third Olympic gold medal in the distance after taking a year out to focus on his mental health. The marquee women’s and men’s 100m track finals are scheduled for following weekend, on August 3 and 4 respectively, while breakdancing makes its Olympic debut on August 9.
Looking abroad
Venezuela holds presidential elections on Sunday (July 28) as socialist former bus driver Nicolas Maduro seeks a third term in charge of the oil-rich South American nation. The last election, held in 2018, was marred by irregularities and led to opposition figure Juan Guaidó, then National Assembly president, being recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s interim president. But Maduro was able to hold on to power and ultimately signed an agreement last year with the opposition Unity Platform, paving the way for next week’s election, which coincides with the birthday of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez. This time around, the opposition candidate is retired diplomat Edmundo González, who was chosen by the Unitary Platform after their preferred candidate, former lawmaker María Corina, was barred from running. Polling suggests González holds a comfortable lead over Maduro heading into the vote, but whether Maduro would accept defeat remains an open question.
Ahead of his formal inauguration on July 30 following his victory earlier this month over hardliner Saeed Jalili, Iran’s relatively moderate president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian is due to appear alongside the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday (July 28) at what is known as a Tanfiz ceremony, where Khamenei will formally recognize Pezeshkian as the country’s legitimate president. Given Khamenei’s ultimate authority in Iran, the ceremony is arguably as important as the oath of office before lawmakers. Since winning the election, Pezeshkian has stressed Iran’s close ties with Russia and India while suggesting he hopes to improve relations with Europe. But the prospect of a thawing of relations between Tehran and Washington remains distant, with Pezeshkian writing that the US ‘needs to recognize the reality and understand, once and for all, that Iran does not – and will not – respond to pressure’.