Thursday briefing: Climactic moment as Trump decides on Paris accord
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Version 0 of 1. Top story: Global warming fight ‘will go on without Trump’ Donald Trump is due to declare at 8pm UK time whether the US government will continue to back the Paris agreement on tackling climate change. Following intense speculation, Trump said overnight that he would give his decision in the White House rose garden. Obama signed the treaty in April 2016 – just over a year later, major signatories are making alternative plans because they expect Trump to renege. China and the European Union are “joining forces to forge ahead on the implementation of the Paris agreement and accelerate the global transition to clean energy”, according to the EU climate commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete. The White House press office has meanwhile slapped a ban on questions about Russian influence on Donald Trump and his campaign. Press secretary Sean Spicer said reporters should talk to Trump’s personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz instead. Elsewhere in ever-turbulent US politics, Hillary Clinton has condemned a Republican congressman for “literally beating up, body-slamming” Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. Corbyn wrong-foots May – Jeremy Corbyn attacked the Conservatives on the social impact of their cuts during a televised debate last night where he exploited the absence of Theresa May. The Labour leader, a surprise last-minute entry, said her refusal to take part typified a “stage-managed, arms-length campaign”. Amber Rudd, taking the prime minister’s place, was laughed at by the audience when she asked voters to “judge us on our record”. Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said viewers should go and make a cup of tea rather than listen to stand-in Rudd. The PM, according to our own John Crace, stayed at home in her own echo chamber. Today we take the pulse of the safest Labour and Conservative seats. Polly Toynbee visits down-at-heel Knowsley – home to the worst schools in the country and a place where Tory austerity has hit hard. While in well-groomed North East Hampshire, the constituents are overwhelmingly Conservative but don’t seem to be feeling it as far as the current crop is concerned, writes Zoe Williams. Are you getting the Snap, our morning roundup on the general election? Details on how to subscribe are at the bottom. Plane scare – Passengers and crew have overpowered a man on a Malaysia Airlines flight who ran towards the cockpit carrying a black cylinder and allegedly threatened to blow up the plane. The aircraft turned back to Melbourne where armed security forces arrested and removed him. Police in the state of Victoria say the incident is not thought to be terror-related. Some reports said he was drunk and brandished a “powerbank” phone charger. The flight had been en route to Kuala Lumpur. ‘Only instinct’ – What to do with the tiger that killed Cambridgeshire zookeeper Rosa King will be left for the zoo to decide, police have said. Tributes have continued for King as Huntingdonshire district council and police investigate how the tiger got into the enclosure at Hamerton zoo park where she was working. Zoos can euthanise an animal if it is deemed dangerous to the public. The RSPCA, Born Free Foundation and other campaigners have called for the tiger to be spared. “You cannot blame a wild animal for doing what it does naturally,” said Nicola O’Brien from the Captive Animals Protection Society. Kabul bombing – The huge explosion in the Afghan capital that killed more than 90 people in one of the city’s tightest security zones has shattered any sense that the city was a relative oasis from a tide of violence sweeping the country. Whether the Taliban or Isis are behind it, the “slaughter of innocents”, as one analyst puts it, is bound to undermine confidence in a weak government whose foreign allies are wary of committing more of their own troops to try to bring stability. ‘What if?’ – Parents of a severely ill and brain damaged baby are going to the supreme court for the right to take him for experimental treatment in the US. Charlie Gard, who is less than a year old, is on life support because of mitochondrial disease. Doctors, backed by the high court, say his battle is over and he should be allowed to “die with dignity”. But his mother, Connie, and father, Chris, have raised £1.3m for nucleoside therapy overseas. Their lawyers argue they want to exhaust all options, but the legal team for Great Ormond Street hospital says the unproven trial therapy offers no real hope. Lunchtime read: ‘World’s biggest corruption scandal’ Lava Jato – “Operation Car Wash”, the racketeering investigation that has rocked Brazil - may be the biggest criminal case of its kind. And it continues to grow. In simple terms: executives at the state oil company Petrobras overpaid key contractors, who kicked back some of the proceeds into slush funds, which Petrobras directors then used to pay off politicians. Luxury cars, Rolex watches, yachts and helicopters were dispensed along the way. Today Jonathan Watts explains a saga that has seen a Brazilian president forced out of office after she refused to call off the investigation, her successor accused of obstructing its progress and a list of other powerful figures facing prosecution. Sport Eoin Morgan offered a characteristic dose of clarity on the eve of the Champions Trophy, expressing his full confidence that Ben Stokes will be fit to bowl against Bangladesh today. Andy Murray is also in action, playing Slovakia’s Martin Klizan at the French Open; the Scot says he is ready for anything against a tricky customer who was involved in a row with this first-round opponent. The 20 Premier League clubs earned record income of £3.649bn in the last year before the more lucrative TV deal began, a Guardian analysis has revealed. And police in Florida have released dashcam footage of Tiger Woods’s arrest for driving while under the influence. Business It has been another mixed day on the Asia-Pacific markets. Tokyo was up more than 1% thanks to strong corporate profits but bourses in South Korea, Hong Kong and China were all down after the unofficial Caixin snapshot of Chinese manufacturing pointed to a downturn. US political uncertainty continues to dog investors but the Fed’s San Francisco president John Williams said in Seoul that he expected at least two more rate rises this year, and possibly three, as the US economy strides on. Yesterday’s unexpected YouGov survey suggesting a possible hung parliament has hurt the pound again. It has been buying $1.288 and €1.145 overnight. The papers The Daily Mail suggests Jeremy Corbyn benefited from “the most leftwing audience ever” in last night’s TV debate and says Tories are claiming BBC bias. The i says the prime minister’s surrogate faced an “Ambush” – her name’s Amber Rudd, geddit? – after rival party leaders trained their fire on her. The Telegraph’s front page gives Rudd the portrait treatment and says she answered the “call of duty”. The Guardian’s headline: “Corbyn confronts Rudd on cuts in fractious TV debate.” The Times says May will today try to answer “accusations of political cowardice” by presenting herself as the best leader to bring us through Brexit. The FT calls it “the no-show” but its splash is about China and EU taking up the cudgel on climate change in case Donald Trump ditches the Paris accord. The Sun leads with an ex-BBC presenter on trial for indecent assault. Sign up If you would like to receive the Guardian Morning Briefing by email every weekday at 7am, sign up here. The Snap Get up to speed on the day before, and the day ahead, in the general election race – subscribe here. |