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.
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Leading the week
Following the death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter last Sunday at the age of 96, ceremonies are held in Georgia next week ahead of her funeral on Wednesday (November 29). Her remains are due to arrive at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta on Monday (November 27) afternoon, with members of the public able to pay their respects from that evening. A memorial service at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Tuesday (November 28) will be the key public moment.
The White House has confirmed President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will all attend, while former presidents and first ladies are also expected alongside the likes of country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. The funeral itself, a private service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, follows on Wednesday morning followed by a private internment early that afternoon. Carter’s family have said they are hopeful Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice care since February, will be well enough to attend the service.
It’s a busy week in the Republican race to secure the party’s nomination next year, starting on Monday (November 27) when Nikki Haley kicks off the week with a town hall in her home state of South Carolina. Haley heads to New Hampshire later in the week, with town halls planned for Tuesday (November 28) in Derry and Wednesday (November 29) in Meredith and Wolfeboro. Her rival Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, holds his debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom in Georgia on Thursday (November 30) before he heads to Haley country on Friday (December 1) for a town hall in Prosperity. He returns to Iowa on Saturday (December 2) for an event the campaign has to date said little about.
Chris Christie, who has made no secret about his strategy of focusing on New Hampshire ahead of the January 23 primary, holds a town hall in Concord on Thursday (November 30). Finally, frontrunner Donald Trump, who delivered a typically heartwarming message on Thanksgiving ahead of his planned visit to South Carolina this weekend, has announced he’ll be in Iowa for a campaign event in Cedar Rapids on Saturday (December 2).
In what looks set to be a relatively quiet week in terms of economic news aside from the OPEC+ meeting on Thursday (November 30), the New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit on Wednesday (November 29) has plenty of interesting speakers, starting with Elon Musk, who was a no-show at the APEC CEO Summit earlier this month after endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. According to Israeli outlet N12, Musk may respond to the controversy with a trip to Israel next week to visit the sites of Hamas’ attacks near the border with Gaza, while in New York he’ll almost certainly have to field questions on the decision by several major companies to pull their advertising from X. Alongside Musk, speakers include Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner CEO David Zaslav, FTC Chair Lina Khan, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
Meanwhile, in what will likely be his last remarks before the blackout period leading up the Fed’s December 13 interest rate decision, Jerome Powell is scheduled to visit Spelman College in Georgia on Friday (December 1) for a ‘fireside chat’ with the college’s president Helene Gayle. With a further hike this year looking pretty much off the cards as markets turn towards anticipated cuts next year, his remarks will be closely followed for even the slightest hint as to when that cut might come.
Looking abroad
Following news that a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas began this morning ahead of the first hostage exchanges currently underway, the conflict looks set to dominate the international news agenda once again next week amid a flurry of diplomatic activity. With US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly planning a visit to Israel early next week ahead of the NATO ministerial on Tuesday and Wednesday (November 28-29), there will be much interest in whether the pause can be extended beyond Tuesday, when it is due to expire unless Hamas agrees to release more hostages.
Tuesday also sees Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visit Turkey for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva begin visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East at the UN General Assembly in New York. On Wednesday (November 29), the UN Security Council will debate the situation in the Middle East, which coincides with International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, likely marked by further protests over the conflict.
The world’s leaders convene in Dubai for COP28 on Thursday (November 30) to review commitments to reduce carbon emissions, as well as undertake the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. Longtime climate activist King Charles delivers the summit’s opening address on Friday (December 1), while on Saturday (December 2), Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to attend the conference. While Biden is not expected to attend, observers will be looking at the relationship between the US and China, two of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, as key to the success of the talks. The pair’s climate envoys resumed talks in California earlier this month, raising hopes that they could find some common ground head of the meeting in Dubai.
In the run up to the gathering, some have criticized the hosts over the decision to appoint Sultan Al Jaber as COP28 President, given he also leads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. He has countered that his background and contacts make him well-positioned to help negotiate realistic solutions based on public-private cooperation.
Though the big names will be around to open the conference, the crunch talks on an actual agreement usually come at the end of the summit, which wraps up on December 12.