Top story: Trump asks Russia – friend or foe?
Good morning, it’s Warren Murray with the stories to start the day.
The US president will finally meet Vladimir Putin today after giving a speech in Poland where he criticised Russia for acting as a destabilising force in the world when instead it needs to be helping with the fight to save “civilisation itself”. As the two prepare for their encounter at the G20 in Hamburg, Theresa May is being accused of double standards for not confronting Saudi Arabia over extremism.
The expected protests have greeted the arrival of world leaders including May, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, with police turning water cannon and pepper spray against anti-capitalist demonstrators. Police said 74 officers were injured as they came under attack at times with bottles and stones from groups of violent individuals among thousands of people who took to the streets. On the other side of the cordon, a Croatian activist likens the huge security crackdown to a “dystopian nightmare”.
Trump has previously lavished praise on Vladimir Putin, but in his Warsaw speech condemned Moscow’s support for “hostile regimes including Syria and Iran”. Trump being Trump, it is difficult to predict how his encounter with Putin will go.
May is making counter-terrorism, migration, modern slavery and the economy her priorities for the summit. “We must combat the terrorist threat from every angle,” said the PM as she headed for Germany. But Tim Farron of the Lib Dems said nations such as Saudi Arabia were “key exporters of extremist ideology around the world and yet we look the other way in exchange for massive arms deals”. Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn said May must have “difficult conversations” with the Saudis, who deny funding extremism. May is also facing criticism for failing to include climate change on her G20 agenda, though she is expected to affirm Britain’s support for the Paris agreement when she meets Donald Trump.
On his stopover in Warsaw, Trump got a rapturous reception from bussed-in crowds of supporters – but here’s what happened when he tried to shake the Polish first lady’s hand.
* * *
‘A bridge, not a cliff edge’ – Britain’s biggest employer groups will call for an indefinite delay to leaving the common market as they meet today with the Brexit secretary, David Davis. The CBI, representing thousands of employers, is leading the charge, with its head, Carolyn Fairbairn, saying last night that it is “impossible” to think a replacement for EU trade arrangements can be put in place by March 2019. The CBI wants to “roll over” current arrangements beyond the EU exit date, continuing them for as long as it takes to conclude a long-term free trade agreement. But that would probably mean continuing to accept freedom of movement and the jurisdiction of the European court of justice, which would not play well with hardline Tory eurosceptics.
* * *
Mane event – The Lions are heading into their deciding Test against the All Blacks with a cheering crowd of 25,000 hopeful, prayerful supporters behind them in Auckland.
Our New Zealand correspondent Eleanor Ainge-Roy has been sampling the colour (most of it red) on the streets, meeting fans such as Nick and Vanessa Francis from south Wales, who saved £2 coins in whisky bottles until they had enough to afford a no-frills campervan trip for the tour. The New Zealanders are confident in the might of their All Blacks, who have not lost a Test at Eden Park since 1994, but the Lions four-nations choir is warming up in the hope a historic upset.
* * *
‘Third-world wages’ – More abuses in Britain’s “gig economy” have been revealed with complaints of pay lower than £2.50 an hour. Royal Mail subsidiary Parcelforce makes drivers sign contracts renouncing the rights of full employees, according to a report by Frank Field MP, while courier service DPD fines drivers for taking time off sick. A driver for the auto trading website webuyanycar.com said his hourly pay amounted to as little as £2.22. Field called for an end to “poverty pay and shoddy treatment [that] generates huge profits while minimising tax payments”. Companies should be forced to prove staff are self-employed, he said – reversing existing labour laws, where staff have to prove their status. Parcelforce has defended its contracts – BCA, the company behind webuyanycar, and DPD did not comment.
* * *
Gulf turmoil – The four Arab states blockading Qatar over alleged support for extremism have announced they will take new, unspecified “political, economic and legal” steps after it failed to meet their demands. The Saudis, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain want their neighbour to end support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shut al-Jazeera, stop hosting a Turkish military base and distance itself from Iran. The US is calling for a resolution of the dispute and the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is preparing to visit Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator.
* * *
Cosby retrial – The American comedian Bill Cosby will be back in court in November on charges he gave a woman three pills and then sexually assaulted her. The new trial date has been set after a jury became deadlocked in the case last month. Andrea Constand says she was 31 and working for the women’s basketball team at Temple University in Philadelphia when the assault by Cosby took place. Cosby, about to turn 80, admits giving pills or alcohol to women before sexual encounters but denies it was non-consensual.
* * *
Bearly made it – A professional distance runner has told of outpacing two bears after coming face to face with them during an 18-mile run in the Maine woods. Moninda Marube, originally from Kenya, said that when a staredown didn’t work he thought about climbing a tree (but bears can too) or jump in a nearby lake (but “I fear swimming”). He sprinted to a vacant house and hid in its screened porch. The bears chased him there, sniffed the door for a while and then left. Coming from Africa, he said, “I don’t fear lions – but a bear is scary.”
Lunchtime read: Heartbreak of trusting the experts
The decisions of doctors and judges might cause us frustration and anguish – but we must believe in them if we are to continue to benefit from their expertise, Gaby Hinsliff argues, in a powerful and compassionate commentary on the case of Charlie Gard.
“People everywhere will understand why Charlie’s poor distraught parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard … have clung to the belief that an unproven treatment available in America might somehow work miracles, even when his doctors concluded otherwise.” The Gards lost their court battle for experimental treatment in the US, after a series of medical witnesses testified it would be no use. Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and the Vatican may wade in offering the family help, but “without a belief that experts are, if not infallible, generally more reliable than people with no idea what they’re talking about, medicine can’t function. But nor can science, the rule of law, or government itself.”
Sport
Andy Murray is used to making tennis history and says he’s been given extra motivation to win Wimbledon by the growing number of critics who say he won’t. Jo Konta, on the other hand, is the new favourite in a wide open women’s singles field, and Kevin Mitchell reports that she’s turned to muffins and Poldark in an attempt to keep her cool. Novak Djokovic’s straight sets win was followed by a firm message to John McEnroe: the Serbian ace says he’s no Tiger Woods. Far worse off is Bethanie Mattek-Sands, whose sickening knee injury has led to much scrutiny of the courts at the All England Club.
In cricket, newly minted English Test captain Joe Root has started his reign on a perfect note, posting an unbeaten 184 out of England’s 357-5 against South Africa on day one of the first Test. Root says he feels like he’s living in a “dream world” at the moment. Ah, the optimism of youth. A little more cagey is Warren Gatland, who knows the All Blacks will be much improved in their series-deciding Test against the Lions in Auckland. Gatland’s men are relishing their chance to carve out a slice of history, reports Rob Kitson.
Lewis Hamilton believes the decision not to penalise Sebastian Vettel after the Ferrari driver deliberately drove into him at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has demonstrated a lack of fibre from Formula One’s governing body. And last but certainly not least, Romelu Lukaku is due to have his medical in Los Angeles before sealing a £75m move to Manchester United.
Business
Asian markets were down again overnight albeit slightly. Reuters reports that shares lost ground after a weak session on Wall Street, while global sovereign debt yields were elevated across the board on bets the European Central Bank is moving ever closer towards unwinding its massive monetary stimulus. The analysis continues: “The prospect of the ECB turning off the flow of easy money has been a dominant global market theme since President Mario Draghi’s hawkish comments last week, pushing bond yields higher and hurting equities.”
Overnight the pound was buying €1.14 and US$1.30.
The papers
The Daily Mail leads with “Maggie statue plan blocked” – campaigners wanting to erect a £300,000 likeness of the former prime minister are being thwarted amid fears the statue may attract vandals. The Times says “hard left activists” have drawn up a hit list of moderate Labour MPs they want deselected before the next election.
The Guardian splashes with the news that business leaders in the UK – represented by the CBI – want an indefinite delay in Britain leaving the single market and customs union. The Telegraph puts it like this: Business threat to derail Brexit.
The Mirror leads with a court case involving a man accused of putting horse meat into hamburgers. The Sun has a food theme too, reporting that Britain is facing its worst butter shortage since the second world war. Apparently not enough milk and cream is being produced and the popularity of butter has been increased by cooking shows and the allaying of health fears.
The FT splashes with news that the global Petya malware attack may have cost consumer goods company Reckitts Benckiser £110m.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Morning Briefing bright and early every weekday, sign up here.
