Top story: Row with Congress over ‘unprecedented’ request
Hi, Warren Murray here to shed some light on things.
The US treasury has refused to release Donald Trump’s tax records to the House Ways and Means committee – triggering a row over the power of Congress to oversee other branches of government. Trump’s treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said it was an “unprecedented” request that “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose”. The committee chair, Richard Neal, said: “I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.” Democrats in Congress have insisted the tax returns must be scrutinised but Trump has refused to provide them.
Separately, hundreds of former US prosecutors have said Trump would face obstruction charges over the Russia investigation if he wasn’t president. They have highlighted the president’s efforts to fire Robert Mueller and falsify evidence about that effort; his efforts to limit the scope of Mueller’s investigation; and his efforts to prevent witnesses cooperating with investigators.
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‘The whole fabric unravels’ – The biomass of the world’s wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction – all largely as a result of human actions that leave our civilisation in jeopardy, a report for the UN warns. From coral reefs to rainforests, nature is being destroyed at a rate tens or hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10m years, says the study, compiled over three years by more than 450 scientists and diplomats.
A striking Guardian photo essay puts the focus on some of the species and ecosystems under threat. One expert warns separately this morning that a collapse in insect populations threatens their role as the “the glue in nature … At some stage the whole fabric unravels and then we will really see the consequences.”
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Farage under fire – Nigel Farage repeatedly took part in interviews with the far-right US talkshow host Alex Jones (who has just been banned permanently from Facebook), in which the Brexit party leader openly fuelled toxic conspiracy theories about a “new world order” and Jewish financiers wanting to replace nation states with a global government. Jones notoriously claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting was faked. Both Jewish and Islamic groups have condemned Farage’s association with Jones, as Farage runs in the EU elections as leader of the Brexit party. The Labour MP David Lammy said: “His indulgence in conspiracy theories about a ‘new world order’ should send chills down the spine of all who are aware of how these tropes have been used in the past.”
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Jailed reporters freed – In Myanmar two Reuters journalists have finally been freed after spending more than 500 days in jail for reporting on ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, were let out this morning as part of a government amnesty for 6,520 prisoners. Closer to home the journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead as she observed riots in Derry in April, has been memorialised with a mural in her home city of Belfast.
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Infected blood files found – The titles of 139 key files about HIV and infected blood transfusions that were missed by a Department of Health internal search have been revealed using freedom of information. The material has now been handed over to the infected blood inquiry. Before effective screening was introduced, NHS patients were given transfusions and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s containing HIV and hepatitis C viruses. The scandal is estimated to have claimed more than 3,000 lives. The files include documents from the 1980s on the link between Aids and blood factor products, as well as transmission of hep C through transfusions.
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‘Treacherous decision’ – Turkey’s hardline Erdoğan government has been condemned after the country’s election board cancelled the results of Istanbul’s mayoral election, which was won by an opposition party. Kati Piri, the European parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, said the decision “ends the credibility of democratic transition of power through elections” in the country. The AK party of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lost the election to Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s party (CHP) – its candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, called the annulment of his mayoralty a “treacherous decision” and vowed to fight on, in front of thousands of supporters in central Istanbul. In the capital, Ankara, where the AKP also lost the mayor’s office to the CHP, police last night blocked the entrance to the election board’s headquarters.
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Lies and the liars who tell them – With Theresa May refusing to believe Gavin Williamson’s claims of innocence, and Donald Trump estimated to have told 10,000 fibs in office, how can you tell when someone’s pants are on fire? Get them to tell their story backwards, which is difficult for someone making it up. Beware of people who agree with your opinions – you are more likely to believe them. Test their answers against the evidence. But above all, don’t get the idea you can spot their generic “tells” – you probably can’t (honest!).
Today in Focus podcast: New space race
Science writer Philip Ball has always been fascinated by space. He looks at the latest missions to the moon and beyond. And: Carole Cadwalladr on why she used her TED talk to tell tech billionaires they had broken democracy.
Lunchtime read: How China dismantles Uighur Islam
More than two dozen Islamic religious sites have been partly or completely demolished in China’s Xinjiang province since 2016, according to an investigation by the Guardian and open-source journalism site Bellingcat. In the name of containing religious extremism, China has overseen an intensifying state campaign of mass surveillance and policing of Muslim minorities – many of them from the Turkic-speaking Uighur group. Researchers say as many as 1.5 million Uighurs and other Muslims have been involuntarily sent to internment or re-education camps.
Campaigners and researchers believe authorities have bulldozed hundreds, possibly thousands of mosques. “Nothing could say more clearly to the Uighurs that the Chinese state wants to uproot their culture and break their connection to the land than the desecration of their ancestors’ graves, the sacred shrines that are the landmarks of Uighur history,” said Rian Thum, a historian of Islam at the University of Nottingham.
Sport
After Manchester City placed one hand on the Premier League trophy thanks to the performances of Bernardo Silva and Vincent Kompany in a 1-0 win over Leicester, Pep Guardiola hit back at Liverpool, claiming City’s title rivals play “without pressure”. Luis Suárez expects a warm reception on his return to Anfield and has claimed there will be no repeat of his Camp Nou celebrations should he score against Liverpool in tonight’s Champions League semi-final. Bristol’s Judd Trump beat John Higgins 18-9 at the Crucible to win his first world snooker title having resumed at the halfway stage with a 12-5 lead.
Katie Boulter, the young Fed Cup star who helped Great Britain back to the competition’s elite level for the first time in 26 years, has been forced to withdraw from the French Open with a lingering back injury. Joe Root has been given food for thought by Jofra Archer’s impressive contribution to England’s T20 victory against Pakistan in Cardiff on Sunday. And a 14-year-old featured in a Sports Illustrated article about young athletes who would rule the future of sports has been shot dead.
Business
Asian shares have staggered up from five-week lows with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.5%, erasing earlier losses. The index had tumbled 2% on Monday after Donald Trump unexpectedly jacked up pressure on Beijing in the midst of trade negotiations. The pound is worth $1.312 and €1.170 while the FTSE is tracking to open higher.
The papers
It’s all about the royal baby today, with most front pages splashing on Prince Harry’s comments to the media after the birth of his and Meghan’s son.
The Daily Mirror, which dedicates the first 11 pages to news of the birth, leads in with: “‘I’m so incredibly proud of my wife. This little thing is absolutely to die for …’” The Express (also 11 pages) goes with the classic: “It’s a boy!” The Telegraph focuses on Harry’s excitement, with the headline: “‘This little thing is absolutely to die for – I’m just over the moon’”, as does the Mail: “‘This little thing is absolutely to die for!’”
The Sun, bless them, focuses on the fact that the baby was born at “daybreak”, which gives them the chance to pun on the news: “Sonrise at Windsor”.
The UN report on biodiversity leads the i: “Planet in crisis: ‘one million species at risk of extinction’” and the Guardian: “Humanity facing ‘urgent threat’ from loss of Earth’s natural life”. The FT has “Trump threat to ramp up China tariffs unnerves world markets” and the Times reports: “NHS looks abroad for thousands of nurses”.
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