Top story: ‘Businesses are clear – deal is essential’
Hello, Warren Murray with a roadmap of today’s news.
Today the latest round of Brexit trade deal negotiations is due to start in London and it comes against a background of revelations that the EU has become deeply distrustful of Boris Johnson’s agenda. Leaked cables obtained by the Guardian suggest Brussels suspects Johnson of playing a game of brinkmanship over fisheries, state aid and dispute resolution; believes Britain is trying to sidestep the EU and deal directly with members on internal security; and thinks Downing Street is planting articles in the British press to suggest EU officials, not Johnson’s government, are being intransigent.
There are concerns the government appears poised to renege on parts of the withdrawal agreement, with legislation to be published on Wednesday that would leave customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea at the UK’s discretion – rebutting terms that are meant to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, and setting up a legal battle between the government and the EU. Business leaders are warning that a Brexit deal is essential for safeguarding Britain’s economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak and avoiding higher prices in the shops for already financially stretched British consumers. Josh Hardie, deputy director general of the CBI, said: “Amid all the noise and negotiations, businesses in the UK and EU remain clear: a good deal is essential.”
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Another Belarus politician taken – Germany and Britain have demanded answers after the senior Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova was reportedly snatched off the street in central Minsk. Kolesnikova was taken along with members of the Coordination Council, which was set up to seek a peaceful transfer of power amid widespread rejection of a presidential election that gave Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote. On Sunday more than 100,000 people marched on the president’s residence calling on him to quit. Riot police arrested 633 people and pro-government thugs beat up departing protesters. Kolesnikova, 38, has been the only one remaining in Belarus of a trio of women who fronted the presidential campaign of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was intimidated into leaving after the election and given refuge in Lithuania.
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Journalists forced to flee China – Two Australian foreign correspondents in China have been urgently flown home after a tense diplomatic standoff. It comes as China is accused of using “hostage diplomacy” against journalists from countries whose leaders have criticised its Communist party government. The ABC’s Bill Birtles took sanctuary in the Australian embassy in Beijing after being told by Chinese police that he was banned from leaving the country. He was apparently allowed to leave after several days, having agreed to be interviewed by Chinese authorities while accompanied by Australia’s ambassador. Birtles said after returning to Sydney: “It’s a relief to be back in a country with genuine rule of law.” The Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith was similarly aided by the Australian consulate in Shanghai after being visited by Chinese police. According to reports, both journalists had been told they were persons of interest in an investigation into the Chinese-born Australian news anchor Cheng Lei, who was detained in China last month.
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‘Long Covid’ – Up to 60,000 people in the UK may have been suffering from the aftermath of coronavirus for more than three months, unable to get the care they need. Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said the app-based coronavirus symptom study that he runs showed around 300,000 people had reported “long Covid” symptoms lasting for more than a month and a fifth of them went on longer, with some people needing wheelchairs.
England’s deputy chief medical officer has said the rise in coronavirus cases suggests people have “relaxed too much” over the summer, as Matt Hancock, the health secretary, urged young people in particular to stick to physical distancing rules. The UK recorded 2,948 daily confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to government data published on Monday, the second biggest 24-hour rise since May.
One in three university students were unable to access online learning during the Covid-19 lockdown, according to new research that suggests disabled students and those from poorer backgrounds have been worst affected. The return to work is coming too late to save many city centre stores from going under, the British Retail Consortium is warning. It says that unless businesses and government can coax office workers back into city and town centres, some stores will be unable to afford their September quarter rent and other fixed costs. Nicola Sturgeon has ordered the extension of lockdown restrictions in the Glasgow area to Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire, affecting more than 1 million people. More on the coronavirus pandemic is at our global live blog.
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Eateries must tighten our belts – Calories in pizzas, chips, crisps and other unhealthy foods must be cut dramatically to help the fight against obesity, the government has declared. Cafes, fast food takeaways and restaurants have been told along with supermarkets to cut calorific content of goods they sell by up to 20% by 2024, as Public Health England unveils targets that it expects both supermarkets and out-of-home food outlets to deliver. There is also an ambition for children’s meals to shed 10% of their calories by 2024. However, health groups have complained that the targets are only voluntary. The Obesity Health Alliance of more than 40 health groups says firms and outlets not complying should be fined.
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California fire crisis – Wildfires have burned more than 2m acres (809,000 hectares) in California this year, setting a state record as crews battle dozens of growing blazes in sweltering temperatures. Dry, hot winds are predicted to raise fire danger to critical levels in the coming days. Firefighters working in steep terrain saved the tiny town of Shaver Lake from flames while about 30 houses were reportedly destroyed in the remote hamlet of Big Creek. The heat has been driving the highest electricity use of the year, with transmission losses because of downed powerlines cutting into supplies and authorities warning they might have to make power cuts.
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Harken to the Ghost Hedgehog – White likenesses of hedgehogs are starting to appear on roadsides in Dorset to highlight that they are being killed by fast-moving vehicles. The hedgehogs, made of white-painted wood, are being put up by the Dorset Mammal Group after one small village, Pimperne, reported more than 20 squashed hedgehogs in just a year.
It is hoped that the “ghost hedgehogs”, like the “ghost bikes” where cyclists have lost their lives, will encourage motorists to slow down and drive with more care. Hugh Warwick, ecologist and author of The Hedgehog Book, said: “Hedgehogs provide a point of connection to the natural world more effectively than any other animal. They share our gardens and green spaces – but for that to happen, we need to help them.”
Today in Focus podcast: Proms and the culture wars
Was Rule, Britannia! going to be dropped from the Last Night of the Proms in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement? Apparently not – and yet Boris Johnson was moved to comment on the story. Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik looks at how culture wars have entered mainstream politics.
Lunchtime read: How philanthropy benefits the super-rich
Philanthropy, it is popularly supposed, transfers money from the rich to the poor. But in the US barely a fifth goes that way – and the biggest donations in education in 2019 went to elite universities and schools that the rich themselves had attended. In the UK, in the 10 years to 2017, more than two-thirds of all millionaire donations – £4.79bn – went to higher education, and half of this bounty to just two universities, Oxford and Cambridge.
British millionaires in that same decade gave £1.04bn to the arts but just £222m to alleviating poverty. Little wonder, then, that despite there being more philanthropists than ever, inequality keeps rising.
Sport
Serena Williams played her best match of the year so far, beating Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in two-and-a-half hours at the US Open to reach her 53rd career grand slam quarter-final. In the men’s draw, second seed Dominic Thiem edged a first-set tiebreak before turning up the heat in a resounding 7-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Canadian youngster Felix Auger-Aliassime. The lineswoman who was hit in the throat by a ball from Novak Djokovic, leading to his ejection from the US Open, has faced abuse on social media but may return to work by the end of the event. Ash Barty will not defend her French Open title this year after the world No 1 opted to miss the tournament in Paris due to concerns over coronavirus and a lack of training time spent with her coach.
Gareth Southgate has vowed to protect Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden despite sending the players home after they invited two women to the team hotel in Reykjavik, breaking coronavirus isolation rules. UK Sport has pledged to “identify, confront and eradicate” bullying and abuse in the high-performance system in the wake of the staggering allegations across British gymnastics. Everton have completed the transfer of James Rodríguez from Real Madrid for around £20m, with the Colombia international signing a two-year contract with the option of a third. And Dave Brailsford expects there will be positive Covid-19 tests announced at this year’s Tour de France, after all team staff and riders underwent coronavirus testing during Monday’s rest day in La Rochelle.
Business
Asian shares have been mostly higher so far after European stocks rallied and US markets were closed for a national holiday. Shanghai had fallen slightly and the Hang Seng was up only slightly at time of writing, while the FTSE looked like opening with the addition of a dozen points or so. The pound is worth £1.314 and €1.113 this morning.
The papers
An unstately-sounding headline introduces the splash in the Times this morning: “Don’t kill granny with virus, warns Hancock”, as the health secretary implores the young to stick to social distancing rules. The Mail fumes at “The £3.5 billion furlough farce” – HMRC says up to 10% of the money may have gone on wrong or fraudulent claims.
Unclear whether Brexit turmoil is another headache for the government or a welcome distraction from scrutiny of its coronavirus response, The Express is keen to add favourable angular momentum: “Defiant Boris: I will not back down”. The Telegraph has “Brexit deal never made sense, PM to tell EU” – that is, of course, the same deal he signed.
The i has “Brexit deal on the brink as PM warns: no compromise”. The Guardian has “Brussels’ collapsing trust in PM revealed in leaked EU documents”. The FT says “Johnson faces Barnier warning not to backtrack on Brexit divorce deal”. The Mirror scathes the England players’ indiscretion with “You stupid boys”. And finally in the Metro, a slightly laboured headline effort for the Sussexodus: “Netflix and bill paid in full”.
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