Top story: Troubled skies ahead for other airlines
Good morning – Warren Murray bringing you Thursday’s best and breaking stories.
Exeter-based Flybe, which operates almost 40% of UK domestic flights, collapsed into administration early this morning leaving passengers stranded all over Europe. After the government stalled for two months on a controversial £100m loan, the impact of the coronavirus on bookings proved to be the last straw. Flybe and the Civil Aviation Authority are telling people due to board one of its planes that they should not go to airports.
Gwyn Topham, the Guardian’s transport correspondent, predicts this morning that Flybe won’t be the last. Virgin has enacted emergency money-saving measures after bookings halved; Ryanair and easyJet have cancelled hundreds of flights to Italy and elsewhere; BA has even cut transatlantic flights; and Donald Trump has held crisis talks with US airline bosses.
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‘Family devastated’ after murder – A 16-year-old boy has been found dead after a group of 30 men were seen armed with baseball bats near a railway station. Ahmed Shamur, from Manor Park in east London, was found with head injuries on scrubland near Gallions Reach DLR station just after 8.30am on Tuesday. His family had reported him missing hours earlier. Witnesses reported seeing the group of men near the station at around 7.50 the previous evening. DCI Larry Smith said: “A young teenage boy has died and his family and friends are devastated. They want answers and they deserve all the help the public can give them. If you were a passing motorist using a dashcam you may have recorded something vital. Please make contact.” Anyone with information can call police on 020 8345 3985 quoting CAD 1573/03MAR, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.
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Coronavirus latest – Authorities in Hong Kong say a pomeranian dog has caught Covid-19 from its owner. Owners are being told not to kiss their pets, but not to abandon them either. In the UK there is talk of parliament shutting down, while health authorities have said they will stop providing daily coronavirus updates – both of which are seen as sitting oddly when there were 36 new cases announced on Wednesday alone and the people want to be kept informed by their leaders. The death toll in mainland China has passed 3,000 with a further 31 deaths on Wednesday. California’s governor has declared a state of emergency after the announcement of the first virus-related death there and 53 confirmed cases in the state. Italy has closed all schools and universities until 15 March and ordered all major sporting events to be played behind closed doors. Australia has introduced a travel ban for South Korea and brought in enhanced screening for arrivals from Italy – Australian officials say containment now seems unlikely and their worst-case scenario is millions infected over the course of a few weeks. The latest developments are at our live blog and here is the situation at a glance.
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PM pressured over Patel – Boris Johnson is under pressure to disclose when he first heard claims of bullying by Priti Patel as new details emerged of her alleged behaviour towards staff in three government departments. Jeremy Corbyn asked repeated questions on Wednesday about how much the PM knew when he appointed Patel as home secretary last summer. Several sources claim the Cabinet Office was told about her alleged intimidation of staff in 2017. Patel faces a Cabinet Office inquiry, overseen by Johnson, and an employment tribunal brought by Sir Philip Rutnam, her former permanent secretary. She denies any allegation of wrongdoing. Westminster sources claim the Conservative party was warned about a bullying allegation in the Department for Work and Pensions when Patel was employment minister but failed to take any action.
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Alarm over gender bias – Almost 90% of people are biased against women, according to a new index that highlights the “shocking” extent of a global backlash towards gender equality. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), which produced the findings, is calling on governments to introduce legislation and policies that address engrained prejudice. Despite progress in closing the equality gap, 91% of men and 86% of women hold at least one bias against women regarding politics, economics, education, violence or reproductive rights. It found that almost half of people feel men are superior political leaders and more than 40% believe men make better business executives.
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Climate ultimatum to FTSE companies – The Investment Association, which represents 250 members with £7.7tn under management, has set a three-year deadline for UK-listed companies to explain in their annual reports how they plan to measure and manage the threat of global heating. There are fears that shareholder investments could end up being worthless if companies fail to adapt their business models. Andrew Ninian, the IA’s director of stewardship and corporate governance, said: “With one-third of the FTSE owned by IA members, our industry is looking to the UK’s largest listed companies to demonstrate that climate change is being taken seriously in boardrooms.” Globally, people in some of the poorest countries are receiving as little as $1 each a year in climate finance to help cope with the impacts of the crisis.
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While you’re stockpiling … it just might be the perfect time to take a detour down aisles less travelled. As part of our This Is Europe series, chefs from Spain to Estonia tell us their best-kept food secrets, from Swedish semla buns to Estonian black bread with pickled herrings.
Today in Focus podcast: Battle for Europe’s future
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has staked out his vision for the future of Europe, but with Germany reluctant to sign up, will it fall flat? Plus: Jonathan Freedland on Joe Biden’s spectacular comeback in the Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday.
Lunchtime read: Happy underground
After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. “My permanent des-res,” Van Allen called it. “Just an ideal spot. You had the train station, you had a cafe, you had a Starbucks, you had the hospital, you had the 168 bus, the 24, the 46 … You couldn’t see in from the footpath. It was bloody brilliant.”
But after the bunker was discovered by authorities, and dug up, his life would get even more precarious. Tom Lamont has the remarkable story of a man who just wanted somewhere comfortable to sleep – but ended up in the custody of counter-terror police.
Sport
England’s Women’s Twenty20 World Cup ended without a ball being bowled as rain washed out the semi-final against India in Sydney. Eric Dier is facing a potentially lengthy ban after becoming involved in a confrontation with a Tottenham supporter after his side’s FA Cup penalty shootout defeat by Norwich. The Canaries will meet either Derby County or Manchester United, who meet tonight, in the quarter-finals. Leicester will be hoping to finally get lucky against Chelsea in the last eight after Ricardo Pereira’s late goal enabled them to overcome a hard-working Birmingham, while Sergio Agüero scored the only goal as Manchester City beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 to set up a meeting with Newcastle United. Lauren Hemp, Manchester City’s rising talent, has been widely praised and the teenage forward will go into the SheBelieves Cup out to catch the eye for England. Rory McIlroy hopes the threat of a breakaway circuit can be the trigger for a “streamlined” version of existing tours.
Eddie Hearn has revealed he is “ready to conclude a deal” for a December showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to determine the undisputed world heavyweight champion. The Italian government has confirmed that all sporting events must be staged behind closed doors until 3 April, affecting England’s Six Nations matches against Italy in Rome and all Serie A games. Jonathan Leko has criticised Kick It Out and the Professional Footballers’ Association for what he claims was their lack of support during his racism case against Kiko Casilla. And the Portuguese attorney’s office has confirmed it conducted dozens of searches in connection with its investigation into tax evasion and money laundering at some of the country’s biggest clubs, as well as the super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Business
The falling out between the Barclay brothers, owners of the Ritz hotel and the Telegraph newspapers, has intensified with Frederick threatening to sue the family of his twin, David, if they try to sell the famed hotel for less than £1bn. On the markets, yesterday’s rally in Europe and New York continued in Asia but it was more muted and bond yields also remained under pressure, indicating that investors expect more monetary stimulus. The FTSE100 is seen lifting 0.6% at the opening today, while the pound is worth $1.287 and €1.156.
The papers
The Guardian leads today with “Government accused of secrecy over virus spread” – Sarah Boseley, health editor, writes that it probably wasn’t wise for the Tories to decide to offer less information rather than more about the coronavirus state of play.
“The point of no return” klaxons the Mail, though it lightens things by joining other papers in tortured plays on James Bond and 007 – “No No Seven!” – after the new film’s premiere was put back. The Metro has “Dr Says No” (that’s Metro 2-0 Others in two days). The Express says “Nothing can stop” the virus sweeping Britain – in the Mirror it’s “Bond falls victim to virus”.
The i has “UK virus cases jump – as Italy shuts all schools”. The Times runs with the angle that “Parliament could be shut for months” – here’s how we are covering that. The Telegraph has “New virus cases treble as hospital is locked down” – that’s King’s College hospital where two patients tested positive. The FT has news from the Office for Budget Responsibility: “Immigration crackdown forces watchdog to trim growth outlook”. The story says the OBR has determined that by admitting fewer EU workers, “the result would be a smaller population and labour force which in turn would reduce potential output” (won’t say we told you so – but we did bloody well tell ya).
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