Top story: Italy coalition expected to form government
Good morning, I’m Warren Murray and I have saved you the best bits of news.
Italians look likely to have a new government today after President Sergio Mattarella accepted a revised list of ministers from the majority coalition in parliament.
Leaders of the government in waiting have stepped back from their insistence that Paolo Savona, an 81-year-old Eurosceptic, should serve as finance minister. His nomination had been refused by Mattarella, who moved to install an interim prime minister in a move that seemed destined to result in another election. Now it appears Giuseppe Conte will be PM after all, at the head of a coalition between the anti-establishment M5S party and far-right League. The political situation is very different in Spain, where prime minister Mariano Rajoy looks like being forced out after a vote of no confidence.
There’s plenty more fuel for European and global turmoil, though. Brussels is poised to impose tariffs on US products and take action at the World Trade Organisation after the Trump administration refused to exempt the EU from trade penalties that come into force today. Amid consternation over why Donald Trump wants to go to the brink of a trade war with his closest allies, Liam Fox, the trade secretary, said it was “patently absurd” for president’s steel and aluminium tariffs to apply to the EU. Canada and Mexico have also announced they are taking action against US imports.
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Brexit from a distance – In a show of remarkable gall (or should that be gaul?) the leading Brexit supporter Nigel Lawson is applying for French residency. The former chancellor – who chaired the Vote Leave campaign, despite living in France – says he has started the process of applying for a carte de séjour to secure his status after Britain exits the EU. Meanwhile a pro-Brexit thinktank has received a slap on the wrist for abusing its charitable status by publishing politically biased material. And a grassroots group of Corbyn supporters and trade unions is launching the Left Against Brexit tour attempting to persuade the Labour leader and his allies to make staying in the EU official party policy.
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Assange under house rules – Ecuador’s president has said the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can stay in its London embassy but the government will “take a decision” if he breaches the conditions of his stay. “Let’s not forget the conditions of his asylum prevent him from speaking about politics or intervening in the politics of other countries. That’s why we cut his communication,” said Lenín Moreno, adding that Assange had “surpassed the limits of freedom of expression”. Moreno said his foreign minister’s granting of Ecuadorian citizenship to Assange had not been the “most suitable” choice. “But I respected it.”
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Unfiltered Kim – Denouncing “US hegemonism” just when things were getting back on an amicable footing might not have been Kim Jong-un’s most tactful move. Hopefully the North Korean leader’s utterance will be forgiven in the afterglow of what Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, called a “good working dinner” with his North Korean rough equivalent, Kim Yong-chol, in New York. Donald Trump says he is now expecting the visitor to deliver a “very important” letter from Kim Jong-un to Washington. Asked what he wanted from the hoped-for 12 June Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un, Trump said: “I’d like to see a total denuclearisation in as quick a period of time as is practicable.”
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Hearty beverage – Green tea contains a molecule that might reduce the risk of heart attack, scientists have found. The substance, known as EGCG, can bind to the plaque that forms inside arteries and cause it to dissolve. It acts similarly against the plaques that cause Alzheimer’s disease. But “if you drink normal quantities of green tea it will probably be unlikely to have an effect” according to Prof David Middleton from the University of Lancaster, who says more study is needed of the molecule’s possible medical use. In separate research, medical scientists hope to one day introduce a routine blood test that could catch 10 different types of cancer before they take hold. “This is potentially the holy grail of cancer research,” said Dr Eric Klein, lead author of the research.
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What an extraordinary fellow – A “royal expert” who waxed plummily on TV networks worldwide during the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry has been exposed as Tommy from upstate New York. He called himself Thomas J Mace-Archer-Mills Esq but he is really an Italian-American named Thomas Muscatello from Bolton Landing near the Vermont border, according to reports. In one TV clip, recorded outside Buckingham Palace, this esteemed gentleman offered advice to the future duchess. “She is loud, she is American, she fights for her cause. We don’t do that here … We do things quietly with dignity.” The remarkable Mr Muscatello is also editor of the biannual Crown & Country Magazine, has reputedly advised the deposed Serbian royals, and calls himself leader of the British Monarchist Federation and Centre for British Royal Studies. He declined to give the Wall Street Journal his current nationality.
Lunchtime read: Another one of those Bill Murray stories
Count on Hadley Freeman to be able to open with an anecdote about the “last time” she met Bill Murray. He lifted her in a bear-hug, spun her around, then disappeared into the Oscars party crowd. In a phone interview this time, he explains that he does those sorts of things “for the purpose of being exciting – I do it because it’s fun. If there’s life happening and you run from it, you’re not doing the world a favour.”
Right now the man once dubbed the “Murricane” is on a music tour with the celebrated cellist Jan Vogler. On film, his career has moved from the wackiness of Ghostbusters and Caddyshack to quieter roles in Lost in Translation and Rushmore. “But whether he does drama or comedy, his work has always been underpinned by tiny movements that make his acting feel so special: the awkward pauses, the sarcastic lifts of the eyebrow, what Ivan Reitman once described as ‘the embellishments you get whenever Bill is on camera’.”
Sport
Reeling from the shock announcement of Zinedine Zidane’s resignation, Real Madrid have moved swiftly with club President Florentino Pérez identifying Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino as the club’s number one candidate to replace the Frenchman. Zidane’s surprise decision just five days after winning the Champions League for a third consecutive time ensures the Real great goes out on his own terms, writes Sid Lowe.
Rafael Nadal has booked a French Open third-round clash with friend Richard Gasquet after sweeping aside Guido Pella, while elsewhere Serena Williams has continued her resurgence with a determined win over Australia’s Ash Barty. Vic Marks writes that defeat at Headingley could land the English cricket team in a pretty pickle, with coach Trevor Bayliss potentially under pressure to keep his job. And finally, the Golden State Warriors have won Game 1 of the NBA finals in dramatic circumstances, requiring overtime to clinch the win after George Hill and then JR Smith passed up opportunities to win for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Business
Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Friday after US stocks slid amid mounting trade tensions. US benchmarks fell after the Trump administration said it is imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium imported from Europe, Canada and Mexico.
Sterling has been trading at $1.326 and €1.135 overnight.
The papers
A number of the papers take the opportunity to run front-page pictures of a shirtless Poldark star Aidan Turner because the show is coming back on. The Mail gets in on that action while its news splash is “Children who have fallen behind by age of four” – which feels like it’s missing “Tragedy of” at the beginning. It is about an Ofsted report criticising the standard of modern-day parenting. “Fox urges Brussels to avoid US trade war”, says the Times. “US pushes allies to brink of trade war” is the Guardian take on the escalating tariff tit-for-tat. According to the FT the methaphorical bullets are already flying: “US fires first shots in trade war with allies”.
“Tories take Putin pal’s £50k” says the Mirror, which reports Theresa May accepted a Russian banker’s donation on the same day she blamed the Kremlin for the poisoning the Skripals. “Red Rom throws his toys out of the Prem” – the Sun censures Roman Abramovich for shelving Chelsea’s £1bn stadium after being denied a visa. The Telegraph has the “Cancer blood test hailed as ‘holy grail’” story – it’s clear that scientists have also discovered the power of the soundbite. “Thank you” is the Express headline after donations helped a terminally nurse receive life-extending medication.
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