Top story: ‘Planned in an extremely savage manner’
Hello, it’s Warren Murray putting you in the picture on Tuesday morning.
“Nothing will remain secret,” an aide to Turkey’s president has promised, as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prepares for an explosive speech alleging the Saudi government murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Turkish soil. In the latest of a steady flow of leaks from Turkish authorities, CCTV footage has emerged showing a Saudi “body double” leaving the consulate and wandering Istanbul in Khashoggi’s clothes and a fake beard to make it look like he was still alive.
Saud al-Qahtani, an adviser to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is said to have Skyped in to gloat during the last moments of Khashoggi’s life – telling the journalist’s captors to “bring me the head of the dog”. Erdoğan has the chance in his speech at Turkey’s parliament to reveal details of an audio recording said to exist of the moments of Khashoggi’s death and dismemberment. Erdoğan’s spokesman Ömer Çelik vowed Turkey would continue to expose how the “nefarious murder” of Khashoggi was “planned in an extremely savage manner … there has been a lot of effort to whitewash this”.
The White House has continued frantic efforts to reduce the fallout for Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner said he had told crown prince Salman “to be fully transparent. The world is watching.”
Erdoğan is due to speak at 11.45am (0845 GMT). Sam Jones is liveblogging for us.
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Glasgow strike – Hundreds of schools and nurseries will be shut and home care services affected in Glasgow today as 8,000 city council workers walk out in a row over equal pay. Glasgow council said all early years establishments, additional support for learning (ASL) schools and mainstream primary schools would close on both days of the strike, while all mainstream secondary schools would remain open. Home care services for around 6,000 people are expected to be affected. Unions say workers in female-dominated roles such as cleaning and catering have been paid up to £3 an hour less than those in male-dominated jobs like waste collection.
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Still ship shape – Archaeologists have found what they believe to be the world’s oldest intact shipwreck: a probably Greek vessel thought to have lain at the bottom of the Black Sea for more than 2,400 years.
“This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world,” said Professor Jon Adams from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (MAP), which made the find. The five-metre vessel – preserved by a lack of oxygen a mile down – has its mast, rudders and rowing benches in place. A two-hour film on the team’s discoveries is to due to be shown at the British Museum today.
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End austerity and boost economy – They seem an unlikely alliance but a collaboration between the leftwing Fabian Society and the chartered accountants of England and Wales has bolstered calls for Philip Hammond to ditch austerity and pencil in an extra £100bn of spending by the middle of the next decade. Adopting Labour’s tax and spending proposals would allow this, the Fabians say, arguing there is no clear case for the chancellor to stick to his plan of running a surplus and the emphasis should be on investment that will improve economic growth. To that end, Polly Toynbee argues Hammond could reap £155bn a year by attacking “the welfare state for the better-off and the very rich … If Hammond dare not, then lucky Labour will reap them instead. Austerity really could end if Hammond and May wanted it to. Their political lives will be short, so why not?”
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It’s the little things – Plastic stools are becoming more commonplace and this is not about informal seating trends. Nanoplastics are contaminating the human digestive tract, leading to fears the tiny particles may be widespread in the food chain, and strengthening the argument to stop the use of plastic wherever possible. Meanwhile bowel cancer is on the rise among the young in Europe – Professor Scott Montgomery of Örebro University hospital in Sweden and University College London, who was not involved in making the finding, said obesity was the most likely factor. And if you follow a meat-free diet, be aware this morning that some faux burger patties, fakin’ bacon and other simulacra contain more salt than seawater.
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Backstopped in her tracks – Lots of heat in the Commons yesterday about Brexit but in amongst it all were details of Theresa May’s goals to “to break the impasse” with Brussels over the Irish border and reach in-principle agreement by the end of November. There are four elements. The first is to make a UK-wide backstop legally binding so a Northern Ireland-only provision would no longer be needed. The second is to extend the transition period as an alternative to the backstop. Number three is a guarantee that neither a backstop nor the transition can be indefinite (to appease Brexiters). The fourth element is “full continued access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the whole of the UK internal market”. The EU is dug in against any time limits for the backstop, and Adrian O’Neill, Ireland’s ambassador to the UK, has said that since it was designed to operate in all circumstances, a time limit “would rather defeat the stated purpose”. Theresa May is to brief the cabinet on Brexit talks today.
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‘The Polish Macron’ – Poland’s first openly gay politician has said “progressives” can win in the country, after setbacks for the rightwing ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) in local elections. “If you give people a tempting, credible offer, people are willing to trust you,” said Robert Biedroń, who stood down as mayor of Słupsk to launch a pro-European, “pro-democratic” movement that aims to contest upcoming EU elections and Polish elections. Biedroń has been called “the Polish Macron” but his political manifesto is not yet complete. The left has no seats in the lower house and the governing PiS party is hostile to the EU. The European council president, Donald Tusk, is believed to be eyeing a return to Polish politics once he finishes up in Brussels.
Lunchtime read: It can grate at first, but learn to be grateful
“Even hearing the word ‘gratitude’ makes my shoulders tense and my eyes narrow,” writes Moya Sarner. “I am too cynical to get on board this particular Oprah bandwagon – too British, too atheist, too sensitive to schmaltz.”
“But gratitude’s currency continues to increase in value. Study after study has found a robust association between higher levels of gratitude and wellbeing, including protection from stress and depression, more fulfilling relationships, better sleep and greater resilience.” It can be as simple as spending part of every day for two weeks writing a list of three things for which you are grateful. “As the pages in my diary filled up with scribbled gratitude, I started to find the concept less vomitous,” Sarner writes. “After four weeks of counting my gratitude, I think I will keep doing it.”
Sport
On the eve of his return to Old Trafford for Juventus tonight, Cristiano Ronaldo said he is a “happy man” and claimed “the truth comes first” as he answered questions in Manchester about the allegation of rape against him. Arsenal made it 10 victories on the spin in all competitions – seven of them in the Premier League – with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Leicester, orchestrated by Mesut Özil.
The most recent al-Jazeera documentary on spot-fixing in cricket is to be welcomed, writes Vic Marks, but it remains a source of frustration as well – every time it seems to be getting to the nitty-gritty, names are withheld. The much-debated changes to England’s traditional domestic rugby calendar will be announced today at Twickenham and, rather than lasting from early September to late May, the Premiership season will extend deep into June with all summer tours earmarked for July. And Usain Bolt’s remarkable bid to become a professional footballer in Australia could end this week with the Jamaican sprint star excluded from Central Coast Mariners training until contract talks are finalised.
Business
Asian stocks have slid after worries about softening Chinese growth rattled investors, following a rally that was not picked up by Wall Street overnight. Traders are readying for a flurry of earnings reports that would show how American businesses are coping with rising interest rates, inflation and the impact of trade disputes. Big names like Caterpillar, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, will post their results this week.
Sterling has been trading at $1.295 and €1.131 overnight.
The papers
The Guardian’s lead story today is “May confronts party critics and pleads for time to deliver Brexit”. Also on the front page is an exclusive on special needs education and news of the CCTV footage that appears to show the Saudis using a body double of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on the day he died. The Times also splashes with a Brexit story: “May snubs Brussels over Irish border”.
Health news abounds today: the FT reports “Hammond in £13bn annual windfall to ease NHS pressure”, the Telegraph says “Antibiotics crisis gives hip surgery lethal risk”, the i’s lead story is “Cancer treatment without chemo” and the Mail has news of a study showing that tiny particles of plastic were found in every person tested: “The proof we all eat plastic”. The story of the trial of Michael Stirling, accused of killing midwife Samantha Eastwood, is on the front of the Sun as “Deadly affair” and the Mirror as “I killed midwife after affair”. The Express leads with “Parliament unites to end army witch-hunt” as scores of MPs sign an open letter to May about soldiers being investigated for crimes in Northern Ireland.
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