Top story: White House admits second Trump-Putin meeting
Good morning. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top news stories this Wednesday morning.
The White House has admitted that Donald Trump had a second, undisclosed meeting with Vladimir Putin at the recent G20 summit in Hamburg last week. While Trump tweeted about their first, formal meeting, confirmation of a second came to light only when a political consultant revealed that Trump had sat down to talk to Putin “for about an hour” during a dinner for leaders in Hamburg. Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” but the failure to publicise the meeting will raise further questions about the nature of the president’s links to Russia. It came after CNN revealed that Irakly Kaveladze, a Russian American businessman once accused of money laundering, was at the now-notorious meeting between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer during the election campaign.
Trump Sr earlier blamed Democrats for the failure of Congress to scrap the Obamacare health reforms. Trump, who repeatedly pledged on the campaign trail to dismantle the reforms, raged instead that he would now let Obamacare “fail”.
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Salary flap – The BBC is braced for backlash today when its annual report is expected to reveal the salaries of its top talent. Amid intense media interest about how much presenters such as Gary Lineker, Graham Norton and Fiona Bruce are paid, the corporation has already said that 96 stars earn more than £150,000 a year – the threshold for public disclosure lowered by Theresa May from the previous £450,000. In further embarrassment for the BBC, the report will also show that only a third of the top earners are women.
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Stop the leaks – Tory MPs have given Theresa May the green light to sack disloyal cabinet ministers after a series of leaks seemingly aimed at damaging her and the chancellor, Philip Hammond. Three senior members of the backbench 1922 committee told the prime minister she had their full backing to impose more discipline in the wake of the damaging leaks, which included details of Hammond’s patronising comments about women and have fuelled repeated stories about a plot to unseat her in the autumn.
In Brussels, UK negotiators are said to have balked at the EU’s estimate that Britain’s Brexit divorce bill will be set at £66bn. And while we’re here, Rafael Behr’s withering assessment of David Davis’s suitability to lead the Brexit talks is a must-read. It’s like having a schoolboy in charge of the moon landings, he says.
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Cod, please (with no guilt on the side) – After years of being officially listed as unsustainable, North Sea cod has been cleared as OK to eat with a clear conscience thanks to a startling recovery in fish numbers. The Marine Stewardship Council will announce today that measures such as making the holes in nets bigger to allow younger fish to escape have helped stocks recover fourfold since 2006. Most cod we eat (90%) is imported but the MSC, which has never certified UK cod in its 20-year history, says the famed white fish will be available as early as next week.
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End to ‘rip-off’ charges – More good news for consumers. From January, all extra charges for using a credit card will be banned. The charges have been routinely levied for everything from low-cost flights to takeaway meals and cost Britons millions every year. There’s a slight downside though, because beneficiaries have included taxpayers thanks to enthusastic adoption of the charges by government departments such as HM Revenue & Customs.
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Fancy a bit of Hornussen? – The reputation of the Swiss for being sticklers for the rules has been enhanced after it emerged that a 25-year-old woman who has lived all her life in the country was turned down for citizenship after failing a test and interview with her local council. Funda Yilmaz, whose parents emigrated to Switzerland from Turkey before she was born, lost out because she displayed “gaps” in her knowledge of the municipal recycling system and wasn’t familiar with the local sport of Hornussen, a cross between baseball and golf.
Lunchtime read: One man’s mission to destroy democracy
We all love a good conspiracy theory and George Monbiot’s column today reveals a fascinating nexus between an obscure US academic, a Koch brother and why Britain’s public services are under fire from rightwingers intent on cutting costs. Monbiot charts how James McGill Buchanan, who believed despotism could be the only way to defend freedom, was funded by US billionaires to create a network of thinktanks to stealthily challenge the notions of social security and public education throughout the developed world. It’s a prescription for totalitarian capitalism, Monbiot writes, “and his disciples have only begun to implement it”.
Sport
England will contest the women’s cricket World Cup final after skill, nerve and tension provided a dramatic climax to a semi-final against South Africa. In the men’s team, Gary Ballance has been ruled out of the third Test against South Africa with a hairline fracture of his finger.
José Mourinho has said he wants to be Manchester United manager for “15 years”, though he admits the pressures of the job would make such a lengthy tenure at Old Trafford difficult. Jessica Ennis-Hill will finally get her hands on the 2011 world championships gold medal originally denied her by the Russian drugs cheat Tatyana Chernova at a special ceremony at next month’s world championships in London. British Cycling is on the brink of failing to push through its governance reforms, putting £43m of Sport England and UK Sport funding in serious doubt.
Business
The Bank of England has unveiled the new £10 note featuring Jane Austen, and the currency celebrated by recovering slightly from Tuesday’s hefty losses against the euro to stand at €1.289. Sterling was flat against the dollar at £1.302.
Elsewhere in the markets the Heng Seng rose for the eighth successive day driven by investors who fear a crackdown on risk-taking on the mainland.
The papers
Lots of variety on the fronts today. The Mirror leads on allegations that a police helicopter was used to “spy” on people having sex in their garden and other sunbathers.
The Guardian also has that story but leads on news that Tory backbenchers are urging Theresa May to sack cabinet ministers who leak details of meetings.
The Times has news that consumers will save more than £500m a year after a ban on “rip-off” credit card fees comes in to force.
The Mail’s headline is “Pay panic at the BBC” and says the corporation’s release of the names of broadcast stars earning more than £150,000 a year will stir public anger. The Telegraph also splashes on the story, saying that the revelation of the salaries will also disclose a gender pay gap.
The Sun’s headline is “The primary school cell” and claims that a school is using a 6ft x 5ft room as a calm-down area for children with special needs.
The FT’s main story is that the former chief of high speed rail group HS2 is facing questions over alleged unapproved redundancy payouts.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
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