Monday briefing: Europe a big foe, says Trump as he meets Putin
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Version 0 of 1. Top story: Presidents come face to face in Helsinki Hello, I’m Warren Murray, welcome to another week of news. Donald Trump has arrived in Finland to meet with Vladimir Putin after leaving a trail of diplomatic collateral damage in the UK. The US president capped off four days of ceremony, golf, insults and flouted protocol by putting Europe first on his list of big “foes” of the US. “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade,” Trump told CBS News at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. “Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.” Like their peers in Britain, anti-Trump activists in Finland have prepared to make the two presidents feel unwelcome. “It doesn’t feel good to have them here,” said Anna Bruun, a civil servant, as protesters took to the streets of Helsinki on Sunday. Washington is watching the meeting anxiously. Max Bergmann, from the Center for American Progress, said: “It’s leaving the Washington foreign policy community utterly terrified. In the past week Trump has been sowing discord in Europe and undermining the traditional alliances: these are all objectives that Russia has had since they were the Soviet Union.” Putin and Trump are expected to discuss issues from nuclear arms treaties to the conflict in Syria, but publicly at least the agenda has only been very loosely defined. Test for May and Chequers plan – Theresa May this evening faces a concerted rebellion from the hard-Brexit ERG wing of the Tory party. Its members are being marshalled on WhatsApp in support of four amendments that are aimed at halting the customs plan announced by May at Chequers nine days ago. Reports at the weekend suggested 40 of the 48 MPs required had lodged letters with the chairman of the party’s backbench 1922 Committee calling for a vote of no confidence in the PM – and it might happen by Wednesday. May has vowed to fight off any challenge: “I have always said I’m in this for the long term.” The former education secretary Justine Greening has called for a new referendum, saying voters should get a three-way choice between “the PM’s final negotiated Brexit deal, staying in the EU, or a clean Brexit break and leaving with no deal”. Not so hot property – A glut of homes on the market is keeping prices down, according to the biggest property listings site. Rightmove says properties coming on to the market nationally in July rose by 8.6% but there has been no corresponding increase in buyers. Annual price growth slowed to 1.4% in July, down from 1.7% the previous month. There are regional variations: in Scotland, asking prices are up by 8.5% over the past year, and by 5.6% in the West Midlands. But in London, asking prices are down by 1.7% over the year and fell another 0.5% in July alone. Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agency Jackson-Stops, said: “The market is finely balanced at the moment and the latest political uncertainties over Brexit will do little to help build confidence.” Super-rich still want UK visas – There has been a 46% increase in the number of foreigners investing £2m to live and work in Britain. The government has ordered a crackdown on unexplained wealth flowing into the UK, with Roman Abramovich among those to have had his visa renewal withheld. Still, 405 people applied for tier 1 visas in the year to 31 March, up from 278 in the previous 12 months. They included increased numbers of applicants from Russia, China and Turkey. James Badcock, a partner at Collyer Bristow, lawyers to the global super-rich, said: “Despite Brexit uncertainty, the UK is attractive to many HNWIs [high net worth individuals] as a place to live and invest in.” Ship ahoy – A Tudor shipwreck has been discovered on a Kent beach by a local historical group. They were looking for second world war pillboxes on Tankerton beach near Whitstable when they spotted the outline of a ship at low tide in the mud flats, where it has been preserved by silty sand for more than 300 years. The site has been given protected status and archaeologists hope to recover evidence about the cargo and crew. Another vessel being exposed by the tide at Camber Sands is thought to date to the 18th or 19th century, and may be the Nova Scotia-built Avon, believed to have wrecked on the beach in 1852. Fewer delays possible – Motorway roadworks speed limits might be increased from 50mph to 60mph on Sundays when workers are less active. “People understand roadworks are necessary but are also frustrated by them,” says Highways England CEO Jim O’Sullivan. “At the same time we have to ensure as they drive through them that they, and our road workers, are safe.” Trials are to be carried out over the next 12 months. World Cup France will be waking to an enormous World Cup hangover this morning after Didier Deschamps’ side beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win a second world crown, following their 1998 success. A million people turned out on the Champs-Élysées in Paris to express their love for the young, diverse squad. “Eternal happiness” gushed sports daily L’Équipe while Le Figaro chimed “The day of glory has arrived” as the French media reacted to the comprehensive victory at the Luzhniki Stadium. Kylian Mbappé, scorer of one of France’s goals and a Croatian tormentor in chief, departs Russia as one of the tournament’s standout players – the top ticket in a collection of bottomless French talent – while another, Croatia’s captain Luka Modrić, helped a team from a nation of just 4 million punch well above their weight. Modrić and his teammates are certain to return home to a heroes’ welcome. And with Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann managing just one goal each, England captain Harry Kane was able to secure the Golden Boot and join the exalted company of the likes of Eusébio, Garrincha and the Brazilian Ronaldo. Lunchtime read: Last hope of ‘Snowden refugees’ They lived in obscurity until two years ago, when their identities were disclosed after a documentary revealed that asylum seekers in Hong Kong had hidden Edward Snowden – the US intelligence whistleblower who lifted the lid on sweeping surveillance. The four adults and three children are in the process of appealing for asylum status in Hong Kong. One of them is ex-Sri Lankan soldier Ajith Kankanamalage, who fled abuse by his country’s military but was left stranded in Hong Kong by migration brokers. There, he was recruited by an immigration lawyer to help the fugitive Snowden. Hong Kong takes in less than 1% of asylum applicants and the group is looking to Canada to save them from deportation back to Sri Lanka and the Philippines where they face hostility and persecution. “I know I’m not safe in the Philippines,” says Vanessa Rodel, who has a daughter aged six, and fled captivity and rape by communist militants. “[In Canada] we can start a new life.” Sport Novak Djokovic is a Wimbledon champion once more, for a fourth time in his career, after he dispatched Kevin Anderson in straight sets to cap a remarkable return to the top after a difficult few years. “There was no better place to make my comeback,” he said. “This is a sacred place for tennis.” But it was not quite the ending Jamie Murray and Victoria Azarenka wanted as they fell to defeat in the mixed doubles final to Alexander Peya and Nicole Melichar. The stars fell like ninepins on the cobbles of the Hell of the North, as the Tour de France finally exploded into life with Richie Porte, long considered a threat to the defending champion Chris Froome, forced to abandon the race. And the USA strolled to a comfortable victory in the Athletics World Cup in London, beating their nearest rivals, Poland, by 57 points. Great Britain, who were buoyed by a victory in the women’s 4x100m relay on Sunday, finished third. Business Asian shares have been lower after data from China showed growth in the world’s second-largest economy slowed slightly to 6.7% in the second quarter, down from the previous quarter’s 6.8%. Sterling has been trading at $1.323 and €1.132 overnight. The papers The Guardian’s front-page picture is France winning the World Cup – the news lead is Donald Trump calling the European Union one of his greatest “foes”. The Mail presents its poll findings today that the majority of Britons think “Police have no control” of the streets, and also plugs its “Enchanting official album” of the christening of Prince Louis. The Mirror leads with “Sex-text Tory unfit to be an MP”, about the scandal enveloping minister Andrew Griffiths, which is also on the Mail’s front. The Telegraph also features the christening picture – its news lead is on Boris Johnson as he returns to writing a column for the paper. The Times says “New Brexit referendum is only way to break deadlock” – that’s quoting Justine Greening, the Conservative MP and former minister. “Save my charity begs Esther” is the front-page headline in the Express about Dame Esther Rantzen and Silverline, the crisis call service for older people. The FT goes with “US dashes Europe hope of relief from Iran sanctions” after Washington rebuffed a high-level plea to exempt crucial industries for the sake of the nuclear limitation deal. Theresa May will fight an “MP plot” to derail her Brexit plans and possibly try to topple her as PM, says the i. “Landed of hope and glory” says the Sun as it lauds the return of England’s World Cup team with a full-page picture. Sign up The Guardian morning briefing is delivered to thousands of inboxes bright and early every weekday. If you are not already receiving it by email, make sure to subscribe. For more news: www.theguardian.com |