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
Michelle O’Neill’s role in the Covid-19 pandemic as then-Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland is set to be closely examined next week as she appears at the UK’s pandemic inquiry for an all-day session on Tuesday (May 14). The now-First Minister is likely to face questioning over her attendance at the funeral of senior IRA figure Bobby Storey in June 2020 – an event which Alliance Party leader Naomi Long told the inquiry last week led to a loss of ‘cohesion’ in the Executive amid suggestions lockdown rules were broken for the occasion. O’Neill may also be asked about the absence of Conor Murphy, a former finance minister who she appointed to the economy brief after the reformation of the Executive earlier this year, after he told the inquiry this week that he wouldn’t appear on medical grounds.
I T S / ShutterstockFormer DUP leader and pandemic-era First Minister Arlene Foster is then quizzed on Wednesday (May 15), when she can be expected to expand on her previous remarks, made to the inquiry in 2023, that the UK Government should have stepped in to aid the region’s pandemic planning given there was no functioning executive between 2017 and 2020. Foster is followed by the former Permanent Secretary at Stormont’s finance department and current Labour Party Chief of Staff Sue Gray, who appears on Thursday (May 16).
The arrival of warmer weather may not be enough to keep the nation away from their TVs with a number of top sporting events to watch next week. On Saturday (May 18), lineal world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury aims to become undisputed champion by beating Oleksandr Usyk in their clash in Riyadh. The fight, which will cost fans around £25 to watch on pay-per-view, was rescheduled in February due to Fury suffering a cut in sparring. The winner is rumoured to be taking home more than $100m (£80m) for the fight, but whoever comes out on top won’t be able to rest on their laurels with a guaranteed rematch pencilled in for October 12 or 13. Anthony Joshua is also seeking a fight with the winner in the near future, which could take place at Wembley Stadium should Fury prove victorious.
On Sunday (May 19) another Premier League season comes to a close. The title race may well go to the wire: at the time of writing, Arsenal hold a slender advantage over champions Manchester City, who have a game in hand over the Gunners. Relegation to the Championship could also be decided, with Nottingham Forest, who have had points deducted due to controversial PSR rules, one of the teams facing the drop. It will also be an emotional day in Liverpool, with the Reds saying goodbye to manager Jurgen Klopp after the Premier League and Champions League winner announced in January he would be stepping down from the job and taking a sabbatical from football. Dutchman Arne Slot is set to take over at Anfield next season.
Looking abroad
Lawmakers in Georgia are scheduled to the third and final reading of the country’s controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill on Friday (May 17). The legislation has prompted major pro-European Union protests amid fears the legislation will be used to crack down on free speech and opposition voices ahead elections expected at the end of October, as well as damaging Georgia’s prospects of joining the EU. Although Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has said she will veto the bill, the ruling Georgian Dream party and its allies have the votes to override a veto.
Cannes Film Festival opens in France’s Côte d’Azur on Tuesday (May 14) amid swirling rumours this year’s gathering may be upended by the publication of a list of figures from the French film industry accused of sexual impropriety. Last year’s festival featured premieres of three films which went on to receive nods for Best Picture at the Oscars, and there are a slate of releases from major directors this year that could repeat that feat, along with an out of competition premiere for the latest instalment of the Mad Max franchise. Cinema great Francis Ford Coppola is among nominees for the prestigious Palme d’Or for his latest Megalopolis, alongside auteur David Cronenberg and Poor Things director Yórgos Lánthimos. Screen legend Meryl Streep, meanwhile, is set receive an honorary award at the opening ceremony on Tuesday in what will only be her second ever appearance at the festival after the event opens with a comedy by French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux. The Palme d’Or is awarded at the festival’s conclusion on May 25.