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Advance US News Diary

May 1-7: Biden hosts Bongbong, Met Gala, Fed rate decision, latest Sudan ceasefire ends

Jerome Powell
April 28, 2023
  • 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 

After hosting South Korean leader (and surprisingly accomplished crooner) Yoon Suk-yeol this week, President Biden keeps the focus on Asia next week when Philippine president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr visits the White House on Monday (May 1). Marcos’s first trip to Washington since taking office last summer comes amid a reset of relations between Manila and Washington in the post-Duterte era, as the Philippines finds itself increasingly entangled in the broader power struggle between the US and China. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited in February when an agreement on increased US access to military bases in the Philippines was announced, and earlier this month Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted their Philippine counterparts for joint talks just ahead of the largest-ever joint military drills between the countries. 

President Marcos with Vice President Kamala Harris

China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang, meanwhile, used a visit to Manila later in the month to reiterate Beijing’s concerns about the increased US military presence in the Philippines, particularly since the February agreement included deals on access to bases near the disputed South China Sea and close to Taiwan. Monday’s talks, as well as a planned address by Marcos at the CSIS on Thursday (May 4) are therefore likely to be closely watched in Beijing as Biden prepares to visit the region later in May for the G7 and Quad summits in Japan and Australia. 

In less existentially ominous news, the Met Gala takes place in New York City on Monday (May 1) night, with some of the biggest names from fashion, entertainment, sports and beyond descending on the Big Apple to attend the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The theme for this year’s ‘Oscars of Fashion’ is Karl Lagerfeld, in honor of the late giant of fashion who passed away in 2019 and is the subject of this year’s spring exhibition, which opens to the public on Friday (May 5). Hosts this year, alongside Anna Wintour, are singer Dua Lipa, writer and actor Michaela Coel, actress Penélope Cruz and former tennis star Roger Federer.

All eyes will be on the Fed when it announces its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday (May 3), followed by the traditional press conference with Jerome Powell. Most observers are expecting a further 0.25% hike, which would mark the tenth consecutive rate rise by the US central bank as it attempts to bring down inflation. Whether it is the last such hike may well hinge on April’s inflation data, which isn’t out until May 10, though this week’s disappointing growth data makes that a more likely scenario.  


Looking abroad 

Map of Sudan

After the last-minute 72-hour extension to the shaky ceasefire between the warring parties in Sudan amid a rush to secure the evacuation of foreign nationals from the country, Monday (May 1) has become the new focus for international efforts to bring the country back from the brink of a full-blown civil war with potentially catastrophic consequences for the country and broader region. Diplomatic efforts to broker talks between the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka ‘Hemedti’, and the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, are being spearheaded by the so-called Quad, made up of the UK, US, Saudi Arabia and UEA, and Trilateral Mechanism (made up of the AU, IGAD and UN). However, planned talks in the South Sudanese capital for today between the RSF and Sudanese Army do not appear to have materialized at the time of writing, perhaps an ominous signal that, despite the ceasefire extension, the parties are in no mood to talk. 

Sergey Lavrov

Western leaders will also be keeping a close eye on Goa, where Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is expected to attend a two-day gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Thursday and Friday (May 4 and 5) alongside his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and likely Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The meeting of key non-Western players is likely to discuss the war in Ukraine, among other topics, and China-watchers will be looking out for new insights into Beijing’s stance in the wake of the recent phone call between Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, their first since Russia’s invasion in February last year. 

The Crown

In the UK, next week sees history made as King Charles III is crowned King on Saturday (May 6) following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September. Charles III will be crowned at Westminster Abbey before proceeding to Buckingham Palace where he’ll appear on the balcony alongside Queen Camilla, Prince William and his family. As a non-working royal, Prince Harry won’t be included in the balcony moment, and he’ll attend his father’s coronation without his wife, Meghan, or their children, who are remaining in California to celebrate Archie’s fourth birthday. A litany of famous political figures and dignitaries are confirmed to be attending the ceremony, with the US delegation led by First Lady Jill Biden. 

Predictably, the coronation invitation list is not without its controversies. This week, Sinn Fein leader Michelle O’Neil confirmed she would attend the ceremony, saying she was committed to ‘being a First Minister for all, representing the whole community’. Meanwhile, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who previously oversaw a crackdown on civil liberties across Hong Kong, is heading up the Chinese delegation, much to the opprobrium of human rights activists and a number of Conservative MPs. Nor will all of the British public be sharing in the adulation surrounding the crowning of a new King. Anti-monarchist campaign group Republic are planning to stage a #NotMyKing protest along the coronation procession route to call for the abolition of the royal institution, while Scottish independence campaigning group All Under One Banner (AUOB) are planning a similarly timed march in Glasgow to call for a second independence referendum. 


 

Also look out for...

May 1

Kevin McCarthy addresses Israel’s Knesset 

Donald Trump’s civil trial on rape accusation resumes 

Glenn Youngkin speaks at Reagan Institute 

Hunter Biden due in court in Arkansas in paternity case 

More protests in France at pensions reforms 

May 2

Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics 

CashApp founder murder suspect arraigned 

US Ambassador to China addresses Stimson Center 

Tony Awards nominations

May 3

Senate hearing on global information wars 

Utah’s abortion clinic ban legislation enters into force 

Launch of annual FAO report on global food crises 

Russian ISS astronauts conduct rescheduled spacewalk

May 4

Nikki Haley rally in South Carolina 

Olaf Scholz visits Ethiopia and discusses Sudan 

UK local elections 

Viktor Orban at CPAC Hungary

May 5

Employment Situation released 

Idaho’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law enters into force 

Somalia’s president delivers address at London’s Chatham House 

May 6

Oprah Winfrey delivers commencement address in Tennessee 

Dallas mayoral election 

Pete Davidson hosts SNL 

Kentucky Derby

May 7

Dress rehearsal takes place ahead of annual Moscow military parade 

MTV Movie & TV Awards 

Miami Grand Prix

Statistics, Reports and Results

May 1

ISM Manufacturing Report on Business 

Construction Put In Place  

May 2

Flash euro area inflation 

Hong Kong Q1 GDP 

Results from: BP, HSBC, Starbucks, Pfizer, Ford

May 3

ADP employment report 

Brazil interest rate decision  

Results from: Qualcomm, Kraft-Heinz, Lloyds Banking Group, Airbus, Lufthansa, BNP Paribas

May 4

International trade in goods and services 

ECB interest rate decision 

Results from: Apple, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BMW, Volkswagen, Lyft, ArcelorMittal 

May 5

Results from: IAG, Air France-KLM, Adidas, Audi, InterContinental Hotels

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

May 1

International Workers’ Day

May 2

World Asthma Day 

May 3

World Press Freedom Day 

Poland Constitution Day 

May 4

International Firefighters’ Day 

Star Wars Day 

May 5

Cinco de Mayo (Mexico) 

International Day of the Midwife 

National Children’s Day (Japan) 

World Hand Hygiene Day 

International Tuba Day

May 6

Free Comic Book Day 

May 7

World Laughter Day 

World AIDS Orphans Day


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