Top story: EU likely to grant Brexit extension
Hello – Warren Murray here to save you the runaround this Wednesday morning.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit withdrawal bill is in abeyance after MPs voted to let the legislation go forward – but thenblocked the PM’s attempt to ram it through the House of Commons in three days. The passage of the withdrawal agreement bill (WAB) through parliament was automatically paused as a result – throwing into disarray the government stated aim of an orderly Brexit by 31 October.
The European council president , Donald Tusk, quickly suggested he would recommendthe EU 27 accede to the three-month delaythat Johnson was previously forced by MPs to request . The prime minister and his aides will have to decide whether to seek an election – in line with a threat he made earlier in the day, which was ignored – or to draw up plans for a longer debate. Johnson may be swayed to allow more time for debate because of the larger-than-expected majority of 30 the government won for the deal in principle. But there is still his insistence that he wouldrather be “dead in a ditch”than accept a further delay. Make sure toanchor yourself to our politics live blogfor all today’s developments.
Damning Trump-Ukraine testimony –Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, has told congressional committees considering whether to impeach Donald Trump of efforts involving Rudy Giuliani that were focused solely on getting Ukraine’s president to announce investigations that would damage Joe Biden. The veteran diplomat said that soon after taking up his posting in Kyiv he became concerned “our relationship with Ukraine was being fundamentally undermined by an irregular informal channel of US policymaking, and by thewithholding of vital security assistance for domestic political reasons”. Democrats are calling Taylor’s testimony the clearest account to date of Trump’s abuse of office in the Ukraine scandal. Taylor flew to Washington to testify in defiance of a gag attempt by the Trump administration.
Midweek catch-up
>The presidents of Russia and Turkey have agreed on a proposed Turkish-administered“Safe zone” in Syria. It is a blow to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who are being told to pull back 18 miles from their positions on the border before Turkish and Russian soldiers begin joint patrols.
>China is reportedly planning toreplace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam with an “interim” chief executivebut wants pro-democracy protests to die down first. Speculation over Lam’s future came as the man whose murder case prompted the extradition bill that set off months of protests was released from prison.
>Mark Zuckerberg will tell Congress today he is willing to delay the launch of Facebook’scryptocurrency venture Libraamid growing pushback from legislators and the pullout of major payment companies like Mastercard, PayPal, Stripe and Visa.
>After Canada’s federal election, rival party leaders have begun laying out their conditions tosupport Justin Trudeau as head of a minority government. Vying for a slice of power are the cash-strapped New Democratic party and the nominally separatist Bloc Québécois.
>Deliveroo’s highest paid director, understood to be the co-founder Will Shu, received a near 57% increase in basic pay and £ 8.3m in share options last year, despitewidening losses at the food delivery firm.
Heart pills better at night –Taking blood pressure medication at bedtime rather than on wakinghalves the risk of events such as heart attack and stroke, a major study has revealed. Professor Ramón Hermida, first author of the study from the University of Vigo in Spain, said the effect was thought to be down to the bodily processes varying over a 24 – hour period, meaning the same drug can have vastly different effects at different times. Separately, doctors in the US have launched a clinical trial to see whether exposure to flickering lights and low-frequency sounds can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Animal tests have shown thatexposure to light and sound waves at 40 Hzappears to boost the activity of the brain’s immune cells that remove defective proteins. And a US company has revived its previously shelved experimental Alzheimer’s therapy, known as aducanumab, claiming that in high doses it helps slow patients ’decline in cognitive ability and activities.
Cabs make electric switch –London is to get its first fully electric black cabs since 1899. They didn’t take off back then, when most cabs were horse-drawn. Now,the Dynamo, a taxi converted from a Nissan electric vanin a Coventry factory, will help drivers in “doing their bit to improve our filthy air”, says the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats are pushing for a legally binding “duty of care” on environmental and social issues for companies. It would prevent them selling goods from deforested areas and force them toinvestigate their overseas supply chains for exploitative practicessuch as modern slavery and the use of child labor.
Missing a culinary trick –More than 8m pumpkins comprising over18, 000 tonnes of edible pumpkin fleshwill go in Britain’s bins this Halloween. The environmental charity Hubbub said: “It’s all too easy for people to forget that Halloween pumpkins are still food. When they are only used for carving this contributes to the £ 15 bn of food waste in UK homes every year. ”Britain’s first commercially brewed beer made from pumpkin flesh that would otherwise go to waste will go on sale at the end of November. Toast Ale, a social enterprise, will brew the Belgian-style pumpkin dubbel.
Today in Focus podcast: Fox and Trump – a parting?
Luke O’Neil on whether things are starting to sour in the powerful relationship betweenDonald Trump and his favorite TV network. Plus: Jonathan Franklin on the protests in Chile that have turned deadly.
Today in Focus
(Trump and Fox – a parting?)
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2019 / 10 / 22 – 65773 – 911024 TIF_TrumpFox.mp3
00: 00: 00
00: 27: 35
Lunchtime read: See you later, Gladiator
Warrior, Raider, Hunter, Saracen and Trojan; Falcon, Rhino, Cobra, Nightshade, Wolf and Panther; Amazon, Vogue, Lightning, Jet and Zodiac. They were the champions of 90 s Saturday-night TV, overpowering opponents in action-packed, foam- based contests. But where are they now, 20 years later?Sirin Kale finds out.
Sport
The countdown is on to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, andBath wing Anthony Watson is confident England can upset the All Blacksto book a spot in the decider. The mind games are well and truly on in Tokyo, withEngland coach Eddie Jones claiming his team were spied onas they prepared for the clash with New Zealand. In Champions League football, Raheem Sterling bagged a second-half hat-trick asManchester City crushed Atalanta 5-0. Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed an equally facile win over Red Star Belgrade, butBarney Ronay writes the opposition was so poor it’s difficult to get too excitedwith the performance. Back to the Rugby World Cup, andWales defense coach Shaun Edwards says his side must be ready for a blowtorch of speed from South Africain their semi-final.
Business
Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street lower after major companies reported mixed earnings and Donald Tusk said he would recommend that the EU grant a delay to Brexit. Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong all declined. The US share retreat was led by a tech sell-off as investors weighed mixed earnings from McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and other big companies. The pound has been trading around $ 1. 284 and € 1. 156 while the FTSE is tracking ever so slightly lower ahead of the open.
The papers
Most of today’s papers – whose fronts pages you can seehere– blame parliament for the latest sting in the Brexit tale. “Brexit is in purgatory,” says theTelegraph, with later versions of the story saying the PM has “put Britain on a general election footing” after Tuesday’s setback.
TheGuardiansays MPs blocked Johnson’s timetableeven after he threatened to pull the bill and call for a general election. TheSundeploys Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard to interpret the two votes with the headline: “Yeah but no but…”
TheMailsays “Trust this lot [MPs] to turn triumph into disaster!” and theExpressaccuses MPs of “yet more dithering”. TheTimesnudges Brexit into a picture slot, saying the PM is “frustrated”. TheFTsays Johnson has won a landmark vote but been “thwarted” on the deadline. TheMirrorand theiuse the Halloween idea to say “PM’s Brexit horror” and “Johnson’s Halloween Brexit in tatters”.
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