Top story: US and China put ‘new cold war’ on hold
Good morning – Warren Murray making sure that knowing the news is the least of your problems right now.
Joe Biden is hosting more than 40 world leaders virtually today and tomorrow to discuss ways of fulfilling the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and to encourage leading economies to bring forward plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade. Such plans will be crucial to limiting global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with scientific advice. Boris Johnson will address the White House climate summit in a plea to world leaders to make Cop26 in Glasgow later this year a success.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, will attend the summit – Washington and Beijing deem climate change as an area where they can cooperate in a broader relationship that expert observers worry is strained to the point of a “new cold war”. The US has made some key pledges on climate finance for developing countries ahead of the summit, but they fall short of what those countries have been hoping for. Biden has asked Congress to approve $2.5bn in overseas climate finance, including $1.2bn for the Green Climate Fund. However, this only restores some of what was lost under Donald Trump. Barack Obama had pledged $3bn to the Green Climate Fund, of which only $1bn was paid before Trump took office and suspended further payments.
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‘World’s worst outbreak’ – India has set a world record of new cases, as our live blog reports, with 314,835 being recorded on Wednesday. It surpasses the previous record of just over 300,000 set by the US in January. It comes as fears mount over oxygen supplies and hospital beds in some areas of India, as the second wave puts enormous pressure on the health system. India’s media has reacted with understandable despair – the Hindustan Times, a large English-speaking daily, says “World’s worst outbreak” on its front. The Times of India demands the central government led by Narendra Modi step up and ensure cooperation between all levels of government to get “all hands on deck” for this national emergency.
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‘Sleaze, sleaze, sleaze’ – Boris Johnson is regularly texted by business leaders and politicians, sources have admitted, though a loophole means only meetings and not text messages need to be disclosed. The PM was revealed to have texted the pro-Brexit billionaire Sir James Dyson promising his staff would not have to pay extra tax if they came to the UK to make ventilators. “I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic,” Johnson wrote. At PMQs he said he would publish his texts and made “absolutely no apology” for the exchanges, which were revealed by the BBC. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said the Dyson exchanges amounted to “sleaze, sleaze, sleaze” and raised serious concerns about preferential treatment for those with the PM’s personal number. A worried Tory source said: “He is constantly lobbied by phone.” Separately, the just-resigned veterans’ minister Johnny Mercer has launched an extraordinary attack on Johnson’s government, describing it as a “cesspit” and “the most distrustful, awful environment I’ve ever worked in”.
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Maths figures don’t add up – England’s recent improvement in tests comparing the learning of 15-year-olds across the globe is based on “flawed” data which, if corrected, could plunge it down the international rankings, according to new research. The government claimed vindication after results of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) from 2018 saw a marked improvement in England’s maths performance. A study from UCL, however, says the rankings are distorted because of low levels of participation in testing and an underrepresentation of lower achieving students. A more representative sample could see England plummet 11 places in the rankings for maths. An OECD spokesperson said it would ensure this evidence was considered in discussions on future testing. A Department for Education spokesperson said the England data had been “fully accepted by the OECD”.
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Inside Malta’s ‘golden passport’ scheme – Super-rich Russians, Chinese and Saudis have secured unrestricted access to the EU via a Maltese cash-for-passports scheme that requires them to spend less than three weeks in the country, a leak from a passport brokerage has revealed. The emails and documents from Henley & Partners provide a window into so-called “golden passport” schemes. The disclosures are likely to alarm the European commission, which recently initiated potential legal proceedings against Malta over its sale of passports. The Maltese government rejects any suggestion that its residency requirement is a sham. Henley issued a statement saying it was aware of potential risks in handling client applications and it had “invested significant time and capital in recent years to create a governance structure that is committed to the highest of standards, with due diligence at its heart … Our processes are well documented and are significantly more advanced than those of the majority of other investment migration industry participants.”
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Purge the sin of racism, CofE told – The Church of England must include at least one candidate from a minority ethnic background on shortlists for bishops and other senior roles in a drive to rid the church of “racial sin”, a report says. All governing bodies within the church, including parish councils, should have at least 15% minority ethnic representation by 2030. A failure to take immediate action will be “potentially a last straw” for many clergy and worshippers from minority ethnic backgrounds, with “devastating effects” on the future of the church, it adds. The report, From Lament to Action, was produced by an anti-racism taskforce set up by the archbishops of Canterbury and York after George Floyd’s murder last year.
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Help for Windrush victims – The low number of applications to the Windrush compensation scheme has prompted the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and law firms to launch a free service today to help prospective claimants complete their applications. Two years after the launch of the compensation programme only 1,996 claims have been made, against official estimates of more than 12,000 people being potentially eligible. Thousands of people who moved to the UK legally in the 1950s and 1960s were later misclassified as immigration offenders. At least 180 were mistakenly detained and deported.
Today in Focus podcast: US policing after the Chauvin verdict
Oliver Laughland, the Guardian’s US southern bureau chief, covered the trial of the former police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been found guilty of the murder of George Floyd in a landmark moment in US criminal justice history. Oliver looks at what the verdict means for America.
Lunchtime read: The end for burnout culture?
In the last decade, employees have been encouraged to see work and life as interchangeable, and to hustle ever harder. But the pandemic has brought a new reckoning, writes Zoe Williams.
Sport
Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City have issued grovelling apologies for the European Super League fiasco, as clubs try to regain the trust of their fans. The controversial project appears dead in the water, but the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, remains defiant and has insisted it is merely “on standby”. Considering the scale of the damage caused across two tumultuous days, writes Jonathan Liew, the dirty dozen who originally signed up must now not be allowed to slip back into their routines.
Goals from Phil Foden and Rodri helped Manchester City come from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 and get the result they needed to move closer to the Premier League title. Son Heung-min scored a late penalty to give Tottenham a 2-1 win over Southampton in Ryan Mason’s first match as interim manager of the home team. Emma Hayes expressed her relief after Chelsea maintained their edge in the race for the Women’s Super League title as the league leaders survived losing their lead twice to earn a point against a tenacious Manchester City. Richard Freeman, the former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor found guilty of ordering banned testosterone for an unnamed rider, is to appeal in an effort to clear his name. Mark Williams blasted a bid to ban his controversial break-off technique after cruising into the second round of the World Snooker Championship with a 10-4 victory over qualifier Sam Craigie. And Sam Warburton has backed Maro Itoje to follow in his footsteps and captain the British & Irish Lions this summer in South Africa.
Business
One in five government Covid contracts raised possible red flags for corruption, according to a study by Transparency International, which claimed firms could be fast-tracked into a “VIP lane” by political connections. The markets have bounced back today in Asia after a couple of days in the doldrums. The FTSE100 is set to lift 0.36% this morning while the pound will garner you $1.393 and €1.159.
The papers
“Neglect of Commonwealth victims of war fuelled by racism, says report”. The Guardian’s lead story deals with how hundreds of thousands of predominantly black and Asian personnel who died fighting for the British Empire have not been formally commemorated in the same way as their white comrades. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is expected to issue a formal apology on Thursday after it discovered that at least 116,000 – but potentially up to 350,000 – predominantly African and Middle Eastern first world war casualties may not be commemorated by name, or at all.
The Times has “Whitehall chief’s fears over access to Johnson”, which is about the PM being lobbied on his mobile phone by “people who could potentially influence policy decisions”. He refuses to change his number. The i says “Fight racism in the UK in George’s name” following on from the conviction of Derek Chauvin in a case that has resonated strongly in the UK. The Metro reports “They’re taking the PPE” after findings that billions in Covid contracts may have been corruptly awarded. On the Sun you have “Costa Bravo” as it says Britons will be welcomed to European hotspots this summer due to our “stonking jabs success”. “Don’t ruin the final farewells for 80,000 families” says the Mail as undertakers call for earlier easing of funeral rules.
“Draghi plots €221bn rebuilding of Italy’s recession ravaged economy” – the Financial Times mentions the Italian PM, no doubt familiar to readers as the former head of the European Central Bank. “Queen – I am deeply touched” – the Mirror passes on the sovereign’s sentiments on her 95th birthday as she mourns Philip’s death. “Bravo! Zero Covid cases pave way to new freedoms” – that’s the Express on the testing “trial event” at the world snookers; while the Telegraph leads with “MI5 joins social media in new era of openness” – we’ve come a long way since the Spycatcher affair …
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