Top story: Call to address Rhodes legacy
Good morning to you from me, Warren Murray, here with the news.
An independent commission has recommended removing Oxford University’s statue of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes. In the report, seen by the Guardian, a majority of commission members supported the expressed wish of the governing body to take down the statue.
Oxford University’s Oriel College voted last year in favour of removing its Rhodes statue. The subsequent independent inquiry, as well as affirming that decision, made other recommendations, including that the college fund fellowships and scholarships in fields related to its Rhodes legacy.
The student group Rhodes Must Fall Oxford welcomed the news and said: “Crucially, the college must now follow through on the recommendation of its independent inquiry, and remove the statue once and for all.” The commission’s recommendation follows the removal of nearly 70 tributes to slave traders, colonialists and racists in Britain since last summer’s anti-racist protests, according to Guardian analysis. A statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
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Bashir-Diana report due – The findings of the BBC’s inquiry into the tactics Martin Bashir used to obtain his sensational interview with Princess Diana are due to be published today, with former senior executives associated with the 1995 Panorama programme told to expect criticism. The findings will cover issues including whether Bashir used fake documents to gain the trust of the family, and the subsequent actions of BBC bosses who dealt with the allegations.
Bashir has quit the BBC on health grounds after being on sick leave for several months. The 58-year-old, most recently the BBC’s religion editor, has had a quadruple heart bypass and been seriously unwell with Covid-related complications. After publication of the report a Panorama investigation into the 1995 interview will air on BBC One at 7pm, having been delayed from its scheduled broadcast slot on Monday night.
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Further attacks after Biden urges ceasefire progress – Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza have pursued further cross-border attacks early this morning after Joe Biden called publicly for progress towards a ceasefire and Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue military operations until “quiet and security” is restored. Israel carried out more than a dozen airstrikes on Gaza after midnight. Medics said four people were wounded in an airstrike on the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Both sides in the conflict denied on Wednesday that a truce was imminent but efforts are continuing amid growing international pressure. France has circulated a UN resolution adding pressure on the US to demand a ceasefire.
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Standoff over Daniel Morgan findings – The panel investigating the scandal surrounding the murder of Daniel Morgan has refused to hand over its report for Priti Patel to review prior to publication. Morgan, a private investigator, was murdered in March 1987 in south London. No one has been convicted. The inquiry was ordered in 2013 to look at “police involvement in the murder” and the role played by police corruption; as well as allegedly corrupt “connections between private investigators, police officers and journalists at the former News of the World and other parts of the media”.
Patel has cited the need to consider national security and human rights obligations before making the report public. But one source with close knowledge said: “There are no national security issues involved. There are national embarrassment issues.” The report, which runs to more than 1,000 pages, was already at the printers when the Home Office intervened. The row has delayed its publication, due next Monday, angering both the Morgan family and members of the panel conducting the inquiry.
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‘Afraid of the truth’ – The US House of Representatives has voted in favour of a bill that would create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the deadly attack on the Capitol in January. Thirty-five Republicans joined Democrats in passing the measure, while 175 Republicans voted against. It is unclear whether the legislation can make it through the upper house after the top Republican senator, Mitch McConnell, announced he would not support it. Democrats would need to win 10 Republican votes without McConnell’s backing. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, sharply criticised Republicans for opposing the bill. “It sounds like they are afraid of the truth, and that’s most unfortunate, but hopefully they’ll get used to the idea that the American people want us to find the truth.”
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The big melt – A giant slab of ice almost four times the size of New York City has sheared off from the Ronne ice shelf of Antarctica into the Weddell sea, becoming the largest iceberg afloat in the world, according to the European Space Agency. The berg, designated A-76 by scientists, was spotted in recent satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.
The Ronne shelf is one of several enormous sheets of ice that connect to the continent’s landmass and extend out into the surrounding seas. Periodic calving-off of large chunks is part of a natural cycle but some have undergone rapid disintegration in recent years, which scientists believe may be related to climate change.
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Sport
Jürgen Klopp said it was “insane” that Liverpool are one win from securing Champions League qualification after leap-frogging Leicester into fourth place with victory at Burnley. In what could turn out to be Harry Kane’s final home match as a Tottenham player, his side limped to an underwhelming 1-2 defeat against a confident Aston Villa. West Ham took another step towards European football next season as goals from Tomas Soucek, Angelo Ogbonna and Michail Antonio gave them a 3-1 victory against relegated West Brom. Two goals from Nicolas Pépé and one from Gabriel Martinelli drove Arsenal to a 3-1 win at Selhurst Park in Roy Hodgson’s last home game as Crystal Palace manager.
Tiger Woods, in the midst of recuperation from a serious car accident, is already playing a key role in the US team’s preparations for the Ryder Cup later this year. Jofra Archer has set his sights on returning as a force in Test cricket amid an upbeat prognosis from England’s bowling coach, Jon Lewis. Lewis Hamilton has insisted the Monaco Grand Prix must change if it is to appeal to fans. Mauro Schmid secured his first Grand Tour win on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, a 162km ride from Perugia to Montalcino, while Egan Bernal extended his lead in the general classification. Britain’s Max Burgin, on his final day as an 18-year-old, underlined his enormous potential by destroying a high-class field in the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava to set the fastest 800m time in the world this year. Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics, has died aged 74. And US national cycling champion Gwen Inglis was struck and killed by a car on Sunday while training near her Denver home, authorities said. She was 47.
Business
Bitcoin slipped a bit in Asian trading overnight but the losses were nothing compared with yesterday’s wild gyrations that saw it plunge 30%. There are still some jitters in the markets after US Federal Reserve minutes revealed that policymakers had more lengthy discussions than assumed by investors about whether to wind up the central bank’s giant quantitative easing scheme. That has knocked the pound back against the dollar to $1.411 and it’s buying €1.158. The FTSE100 is nevertheless on course to open up around 1%.
The papers
The Guardian leads with “‘Freedom’ plan may be diluted after sharp rise in Covid variant”. Ministers are considering reining in plans for “freedom day” in England on 21 June and delaying the end of all social distancing rules after another sharp increase in cases of the “Indian variant” of Covid. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said no announcement either way would be made until 14 June.
Meanwhile ministers and scientists have warned Britons not to count on an overseas holiday in 2021, with travel to almost all countries off-limits and the “green list” of destinations unlikely to grow quickly. Hancock said the government was being “absolutely straightforward” that travel to amber-list destinations is legal but people should not go without an urgent reason such as a funeral or serious family illness.
The Times sees things as more rosy than that – “Hopes rise for end to lockdown next month” – because hospital admissions are “flat” in hotspots. The i reports on “Red list travel queue chaos at Heathrow” with “passengers from red-list countries” waiting alongside others and complaints of inadequate social distancing. The Metro reports it’s all change on the trains with “Season tickets go flex June 21” – the rail industry will be simplified but still substantially privatised as a rebranded Great British Railways. There are plans to streamline and simplify fares, including extending contactless and pay-as-you-go systems to more parts of the country.
The Mail says “Holiday police to knock on your door” if you are a returning traveller who has to quarantine. The Telegraph and the Sun both report on the probe into the BBC Panorama interview with Princess Diana. And the Financial Times leads today with “Bitcoin tumbles 30% after China cracks down on cryptocurrency” – read about it here.
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