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| Thursday briefing: Coup de-Grace as Zimbabwe sidelines Mugabes | Thursday briefing: Coup de-Grace as Zimbabwe sidelines Mugabes |
| (2 months later) | |
| Top story: President and wife on way out – but what comes next? | Top story: President and wife on way out – but what comes next? |
| Good morning, it’s Warren Murray with the news you need to start your Thursday. | Good morning, it’s Warren Murray with the news you need to start your Thursday. |
| It looks to be the end for Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule in Zimbabwe after the military put the despotic president under house arrest. As our story says, “few other than the close associates who benefited directly from Mugabe’s rule will mourn his passing from power”. This morning our Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, explains for you how a rare tactical error by the president brought him to grief. | It looks to be the end for Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule in Zimbabwe after the military put the despotic president under house arrest. As our story says, “few other than the close associates who benefited directly from Mugabe’s rule will mourn his passing from power”. This morning our Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, explains for you how a rare tactical error by the president brought him to grief. |
| Mugabe, 93, was trying to install his unpopular wife, Grace Mugabe, as his successor. His removal of the vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, proved the last straw for the military, which has carried out a remarkably low-key takeover. There has been no sign of resistance to either the coup, or the arrest of a series of senior officials associated with Grace Mugabe and her G40 faction. | Mugabe, 93, was trying to install his unpopular wife, Grace Mugabe, as his successor. His removal of the vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, proved the last straw for the military, which has carried out a remarkably low-key takeover. There has been no sign of resistance to either the coup, or the arrest of a series of senior officials associated with Grace Mugabe and her G40 faction. |
| Mugabe is assumed to be still in military custody and speculation has turned to how he will be replaced. Some predict he will resign this week and Mnangagwa will take charge, possibly with opposition leaders installed as vice-president and prime minister. But there are warnings that the former spy chief Mnangagwa is “every bit as iron-fisted” as the man he might replace. Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of the opposition MDC party, has urged respect for “peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life” as the transition takes place. | Mugabe is assumed to be still in military custody and speculation has turned to how he will be replaced. Some predict he will resign this week and Mnangagwa will take charge, possibly with opposition leaders installed as vice-president and prime minister. But there are warnings that the former spy chief Mnangagwa is “every bit as iron-fisted” as the man he might replace. Nelson Chamisa, the deputy head of the opposition MDC party, has urged respect for “peace, constitutionalism, democratisation, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life” as the transition takes place. |
| Mugabe’s misrule has left Zimbabwe short of cash and struggling to pay for imports owing to a shortage of dollars. State employees, including some soldiers and police, have gone for months without payment of their salaries, deepening discontent with the government. | Mugabe’s misrule has left Zimbabwe short of cash and struggling to pay for imports owing to a shortage of dollars. State employees, including some soldiers and police, have gone for months without payment of their salaries, deepening discontent with the government. |
| ‘Historic moment’ – Leonardo da Vinci’s long-lost painting Salvator Mundi has sold for $450.3m, a world record for any auctioned work of art. The buyer is unknown but the seller was Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian fertiliser oligarch. | ‘Historic moment’ – Leonardo da Vinci’s long-lost painting Salvator Mundi has sold for $450.3m, a world record for any auctioned work of art. The buyer is unknown but the seller was Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian fertiliser oligarch. |
| The only Leonardo in private hands, the work commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago had long been presumed lost. It changed hands for $10,000 at an estate sale in the US in 2005 and was subsequently authenticated. The winning bid at the Christie’s auction in New York was $400m, while the standard “auction house premium” added a trifling $50.3m to the price. | The only Leonardo in private hands, the work commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago had long been presumed lost. It changed hands for $10,000 at an estate sale in the US in 2005 and was subsequently authenticated. The winning bid at the Christie’s auction in New York was $400m, while the standard “auction house premium” added a trifling $50.3m to the price. |
| Cancer drugs approved – Thousands of women with breast cancer will benefit from new drugs on the NHS that delay the progress of the disease. The medications, called palbociclib and ribociclib, have been shown to slow the progression of advanced cancer by at least 10 months and can delay the need for chemotherapy, giving women the chance to live a normal life for longer. It is estimated about 8,000 people in England will be eligible for treatment with either palbociclib or ribociclib each year. | Cancer drugs approved – Thousands of women with breast cancer will benefit from new drugs on the NHS that delay the progress of the disease. The medications, called palbociclib and ribociclib, have been shown to slow the progression of advanced cancer by at least 10 months and can delay the need for chemotherapy, giving women the chance to live a normal life for longer. It is estimated about 8,000 people in England will be eligible for treatment with either palbociclib or ribociclib each year. |
| ‘NO OPTION BUT TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE’ – A landlord in Grimsby says this is not a threat to tenants, but a reminder to make sure the six-week universal credit delay doesn’t put them behind in their rent. Jeremy Corbyn quoted from the letter during PMQs, asking: “Will the prime minister pause universal credit so it can be fixed? Or does she think it is right to put thousands of families through Christmas in the trauma of knowing they are about to be evicted because they are in rent arrears because of universal credit?” May replied she would “look at the issue of this particular case” but the government wanted people to be able to manage their own budgets. | ‘NO OPTION BUT TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE’ – A landlord in Grimsby says this is not a threat to tenants, but a reminder to make sure the six-week universal credit delay doesn’t put them behind in their rent. Jeremy Corbyn quoted from the letter during PMQs, asking: “Will the prime minister pause universal credit so it can be fixed? Or does she think it is right to put thousands of families through Christmas in the trauma of knowing they are about to be evicted because they are in rent arrears because of universal credit?” May replied she would “look at the issue of this particular case” but the government wanted people to be able to manage their own budgets. |
| ‘Undermining our democracy’ – More evidence has emerged of fake Russian-run Twitter accounts seeking to influence UK politics. Thousands of Russia-based accounts posted more than 45,000 messages about Brexit in just 48 hours during last year’s referendum, UK academics believe, and more than 13,000 of those accounts disappeared after the ballot. Parliament’s intelligence watchdog is set to reconvene to investigate – in an interesting twist the chief Tory “Brexit mutineer” Dominic Grieve is likely to return as its chairman. | ‘Undermining our democracy’ – More evidence has emerged of fake Russian-run Twitter accounts seeking to influence UK politics. Thousands of Russia-based accounts posted more than 45,000 messages about Brexit in just 48 hours during last year’s referendum, UK academics believe, and more than 13,000 of those accounts disappeared after the ballot. Parliament’s intelligence watchdog is set to reconvene to investigate – in an interesting twist the chief Tory “Brexit mutineer” Dominic Grieve is likely to return as its chairman. |
| Shepard vs Fox – A Fox News anchor has enraged viewers by demolishing the network’s own story about the “Clinton uranium scandal”. Fox has made much of the revived allegations that while she was secretary of state, Hillary Clinton approved a deal to sell US uranium mining interests to Russia – in return for a $140m donation to the Clinton Foundation. The anchor, Shepard Smith, showed how the story was “inaccurate in a number of ways” and Clinton had no say over the deal. Conservatives fumed on Twitter: “Get Shepard Smith off of Fox. He’s arrogant and doing his own spin. Nobody knows how deep the left’s conspiracy goes” and so on and so forth. | Shepard vs Fox – A Fox News anchor has enraged viewers by demolishing the network’s own story about the “Clinton uranium scandal”. Fox has made much of the revived allegations that while she was secretary of state, Hillary Clinton approved a deal to sell US uranium mining interests to Russia – in return for a $140m donation to the Clinton Foundation. The anchor, Shepard Smith, showed how the story was “inaccurate in a number of ways” and Clinton had no say over the deal. Conservatives fumed on Twitter: “Get Shepard Smith off of Fox. He’s arrogant and doing his own spin. Nobody knows how deep the left’s conspiracy goes” and so on and so forth. |
| Seasoned journalism – Guess it’s time for the Briefing to decide how to approach its first Christmas and the deluge of gift guides, turducken tutorials and such that Guardian colleagues are starting to churn out. Let’s open the bidding with this guide to the best winter light festivals around the UK – a bit of light reading for you ho ho. And here’s the open-and-shut case against luxury advent calendars. We promise not to drive you completely crackers with this stuff sorry can’t stop please help me … | Seasoned journalism – Guess it’s time for the Briefing to decide how to approach its first Christmas and the deluge of gift guides, turducken tutorials and such that Guardian colleagues are starting to churn out. Let’s open the bidding with this guide to the best winter light festivals around the UK – a bit of light reading for you ho ho. And here’s the open-and-shut case against luxury advent calendars. We promise not to drive you completely crackers with this stuff sorry can’t stop please help me … |
| Lunchtime read: Take Friday off – every week | Lunchtime read: Take Friday off – every week |
| “The liberation of workers from excessive work was one of the pioneering demands of the labour movement … It is a cause that urgently needs reclaiming.” Owen Jones today makes the case for a four-day week, arguing it would bring health, social, economic and environmental benefits. | “The liberation of workers from excessive work was one of the pioneering demands of the labour movement … It is a cause that urgently needs reclaiming.” Owen Jones today makes the case for a four-day week, arguing it would bring health, social, economic and environmental benefits. |
| We would be less prone to depression and strokes, more productive, and have a smaller carbon footprint. Gender equality would benefit from men being more available to help around the home. But apart from that, we simply work too much these days. “Work can be a fulfilling activity for some … but few would disagree with the notion that we should spend more time with our families, watching our children grow, exercising, reading books, or just relaxing.” | We would be less prone to depression and strokes, more productive, and have a smaller carbon footprint. Gender equality would benefit from men being more available to help around the home. But apart from that, we simply work too much these days. “Work can be a fulfilling activity for some … but few would disagree with the notion that we should spend more time with our families, watching our children grow, exercising, reading books, or just relaxing.” |
| Sport | Sport |
| World rugby has been left embarrassed and in disarray after France was announced as the surprise host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, prompting accusations of horse-trading and a power struggle at the heart of the sport’s governing body. Meanwhile, Owen Farrell is being tipped to drive a sharply improved England performance as Eddie Jones prepares to recall his rested Lion against Australia on Saturday. | World rugby has been left embarrassed and in disarray after France was announced as the surprise host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, prompting accusations of horse-trading and a power struggle at the heart of the sport’s governing body. Meanwhile, Owen Farrell is being tipped to drive a sharply improved England performance as Eddie Jones prepares to recall his rested Lion against Australia on Saturday. |
| Sir Bradley Wiggins has claimed his life was made “a living hell” because of a “malicious witch-hunt” into the contents of a bag delivered to him at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. The affair, known as Jiffy-gate, has been a costly mess that leaves all parties neither damned nor cleared, writes Sean Ingle. And the Derbyshire all-rounder Shiv Thakor has been found guilty of exposing himself to two women on a housing estate. | Sir Bradley Wiggins has claimed his life was made “a living hell” because of a “malicious witch-hunt” into the contents of a bag delivered to him at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. The affair, known as Jiffy-gate, has been a costly mess that leaves all parties neither damned nor cleared, writes Sean Ingle. And the Derbyshire all-rounder Shiv Thakor has been found guilty of exposing himself to two women on a housing estate. |
| Business | Business |
| Rupert Murdoch saw off a shareholder rebellion at the annual general meeting of his 21st Century Fox entertainment group in Los Angeles overnight. But the investor pushback against the group’s controversial dual-class voting structure, which ensures Murdoch family control, won 43% of the votes. At News Corp’s AGM, also in LA last night, Murdoch admitted digital advertising had been “tremendously damaging” to his print empire and that some of his newspapers were “struggling”. | Rupert Murdoch saw off a shareholder rebellion at the annual general meeting of his 21st Century Fox entertainment group in Los Angeles overnight. But the investor pushback against the group’s controversial dual-class voting structure, which ensures Murdoch family control, won 43% of the votes. At News Corp’s AGM, also in LA last night, Murdoch admitted digital advertising had been “tremendously damaging” to his print empire and that some of his newspapers were “struggling”. |
| Asian share markets were mostly up overnight and the FTSE100 is set to rise 0.2% this morning. The pound has been trading at $1.317 and €1.118. | Asian share markets were mostly up overnight and the FTSE100 is set to rise 0.2% this morning. The pound has been trading at $1.317 and €1.118. |
| The papers | The papers |
| It’s Zimbabwe all the way for most of the newspaper front pages this morning, with the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Financial Times, the i and Metro all focused on the low-key coup that is loosening President Robert Mugabe’s grip on power. | It’s Zimbabwe all the way for most of the newspaper front pages this morning, with the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Financial Times, the i and Metro all focused on the low-key coup that is loosening President Robert Mugabe’s grip on power. |
| The Daily Mail is still concerned about the so-called Brexit mutineers, serving up a page-one warning: “Don’t betray your voters!” The Scottish government’s legal victory over minimum alcohol pricing leads the Scotsman; England’s school funding cuts occupy the Mirror. And the Sun starts your morning with photos “taken between late 2013 and this April” of BBC News channel workers napping on their night shifts. | The Daily Mail is still concerned about the so-called Brexit mutineers, serving up a page-one warning: “Don’t betray your voters!” The Scottish government’s legal victory over minimum alcohol pricing leads the Scotsman; England’s school funding cuts occupy the Mirror. And the Sun starts your morning with photos “taken between late 2013 and this April” of BBC News channel workers napping on their night shifts. |
| For more news: www.theguardian.com | For more news: www.theguardian.com |
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