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
Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he has been indicted on federal criminal charges over his handling of records and will appear in court in Miami on Tuesday (June 13) will dominate the news next week. Trump will make history by becoming the first former (or sitting) president to appear charged in a federal court when he is arraigned, once again putting his would-be rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in the awkward position of backing the former president or appearing to side with an allegedly ‘weaponized’ Department of Justice. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who officially entered the race this week, may be the exception to the rule: the former Trump-ally-turned-arch-critic is scheduled to take part in a live CNN town hall on Monday (June 12) night, having said he would wait for charges to be confirmed before making a judgement.
It’s also a big week in economic news, with the Federal Reserve due to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday (June 14) amid market expectations that the Fed may pause rate rises following 10 consecutive hikes. While a pause is viewed as the most likely scenario, key consumer inflation data out on Tuesday (June 13) is likely to be pivotal in determining the Board’s decision.
Looking abroad
The wide-ranging ramifications from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday mean the conflict in Ukraine is set to remain front and center next week, not least amid growing evidence it was caused by an explosion from within the dam. The destruction of the dam prompted fresh concerns around the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi plans to visit in the coming days.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Washington on Monday and Tuesday (June 12-13) for talks with President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Beyond discussions over the allied response to the dam’s destruction, Stoltenberg is likely to use his meetings in DC to compare notes on negotiations on Sweden’s bid to become a fully-fledged member of NATO. Sweden’s accession is supposed to happen in time for next month’s NATO summit, and efforts have intensified following the recent re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. Stoltenberg then heads back to Brussels, where NATO and Swedish defense ministers are gathering on Thursday and Friday (June 15-16). Members of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group are due to meet on the Thursday morning ahead of the formal NATO meetings.
Meanwhile, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address, runs from Wednesday to Saturday (June 14-17), though reporting on what Putin has to say about prospects for the Russian economy may be limited after the forum banned journalists from ‘unfriendly countries’ from attending. Finally, a delegation of African leaders is slated to visit Kyiv on Friday (June 16) and then St. Petersburg on Saturday (June 17) for talks aimed at brokering a peace.