Top story: Attack on Jair Bolsonaro could prove pivotal
Good morning, it’s Warren Murray getting your Friday under way.
The effective frontrunner in Brazil’s presidential election has been stabbed in the stomach at a campaign rally. Jair Bolsonaro was attacked as he rode on the shoulders of a supporter in Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles (200km) north of Rio de Janeiro. He was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery and remains in a serious but stable condition after the apparent assassination attempt.
Doctors said his recovery could take days or weeks – the election is in a month. Police said a suspect named Adélio Bispo de Oliveira was taken into custody. Bolsonaro has polarised opinion in the campaign with homophobic comments, calls for looser gun laws and praise for Brazil’s murderous 1964-1985 military dictatorship. But crime and corruption scandals in Brazilian politics have propelled him to second place in the polls. Ex-president Lula da Silva is theoretically in front but his eligibility is contested because he is in jail for corruption. Bolsonaro himself is facing trial for hate speech.
Paulo Baía, a politics professor in Rio, said: “The attack strengthens Bolsonaro and practically guarantees him a place in the second round … it is the most important event in the campaign from diverse points of view.”
Blair: how to dislodge Corbyn? – Tony Blair says Labour has undergone a “profound change” since Jeremy Corbyn became leader and he is not sure it is possible for “moderates” to regain control of the party. “Can it be taken back? I don’t know,” Blair said, speaking on Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast for the BBC. The former Labour prime minister said he could not imagine the British people wanting to choose between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, and a “progressive, moderate” party might “fill that vacuum”. He could not imagine the current antisemitism row taking place “in the Labour party that I joined”. “I can’t imagine that we have had three to four months debating over something where we have profoundly insulted the Jewish community in our country,” Blair said.
Farewell to the Bandit – The Hollywood macho man Burt Reynolds has died aged 82. Reynolds memorably starred in the films Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run and Boogie Nights.
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The burly leading man was much reduced in his later years by illness and injury, as described by Hadley Freeman in her poignant reminiscence of meeting and interviewing him in 2015. Our obituary tells his remarkable life story including how he turned down the chance to take over the role of James Bond from Sean Connery.
‘Playing dice with people’s lives’ – Russia has been bombarded with condemnation at the UN security council over the Salisbury nerve agent poisonings. “The time for lies and recrimination has passed – it is now time for truth and accountability,” said the UK ambassador to the UN, Karen Pierce, who accused Russia of “playing dice with the lives of the people of Salisbury”. The US, Canada, France and Germany issued a statement saying they had “full confidence” in the British assessment of Russian responsibility. The Kremlin’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, was among those in Russian officialdom repeating familiar denials. But they were hard to give credence in the face of the evidence laid out by British investigators showing how Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov came to the UK from Russia, visited Sergei Skripal’s neighbourhood in Salisbury, then fled Britain. The UK government has said tougher sanctions against Russia could be introduced after Brexit targeting Russian-owned assets and financial activities in Britain.
Boy who died on rugby trip named – A British teenager who died in France while on a rugby trip has been named as Harry Sykes. The 16-year-old went missing before a body was found by searchers in a lake near Carcassone on Wednesday evening. He had been travelling with team-mates from Halifax Elite Rugby Academy. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates at this time,” said his club, Halifax RLFC.
Kim parades his might – North Korea will hold one of its traditionally enormous military parades on Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding. If it wheels out the ICBMs it might be seen as rubbing Donald Trump’s nose in it, as the US president’s attempts to get Kim Jong-un to denuclearise appear to be bearing little fruit. Dignitaries from countries including China will be visiting and a large-scale choreographed performance known as the Mass Games will be held for the first time in five years. The last parade, in February, had 13,000 soldiers and this one seems likely to be bigger.
Fur out of fashion – London fashion week (LFW) has become the first of the main catwalk carnivals to ditch animal fur. The British Fashion Council says none of the designers on the official schedule will be using it. More than 250 protesters demonstrated at LFW last September. There are concerns, though, around the environmental impact of alternatives such as synthetic faux fur or fake leather. “Animal-free doesn’t automatically mean guilt-free,” said Rachael Stott, senior creative researcher at the Future Laboratory, pointing out the use of toxic and polluting chemicals to make such materials. “Consumers can be misled into thinking ‘vegan’ is entirely environmentally friendly.”
Lunchtime read: Under the Swami’s spell
In the beginning, Agama Yoga was paradise for most who walked through its gates; a haven on the Thai island of Koh Phangan that embraced tantric teachings under the watchful eye of guru Swami Vivekananda Saraswati.
But beneath the surface, it seems this was no ordinary yoga school. Fourteen women and two men claim that for 15 years the retreat facilitated sexual assault, rape and misogynistic teachings, allegedly “brainwashing” hundreds of women into having sex with the Swami – whose real name is Narcis Tarcau – in the name of helping them achieve enlightenment. Hannah Ellis-Petersen, the Guardian’s south-east Asia correspondent, investigates.
Sport
A 6-3, 6-0 blitz of Anastasija Sevastova at the US Open went a long way to re-establishing the aura that has already put Serena Williams one clear of Steffi Graf’s 22 grand-slam titles and one short of the all-time record set by Margaret Court. Meanwhile, the United States Tennis Association has issued a reminder that supervisors “will decide whether to retire” a player perceived to be suffering from heat exhaustion. The focus on England’s cricket team will now shift to Keaton Jennings as Alastair Cook, the team’s record runscorer, prepares to bow out. Ryan Giggs outlined his belief that Wales can be a match for any team in the world after delivering a swashbuckling and ruthless display to secure a first victory over the Republic of Ireland in 26 years. Premiership rugby executives believe their league could be a billion-pound business by 2025 if agreement can be reached this month to inject significant fresh capital into the club game. And the World Surf League’s controversial, much-hyped Surf Ranch Pro event is under way in the unlikely location of Lemoore, an inland town lying in California’s farm belt 70 metres above sea level and 200km (120 miles) from the Pacific coastline.
Business
Asian stocks have mostly been lower as US–China sabre rattling over tariffs continued. Sterling has been trading at $1.293 and €1.112 overnight.
The papers
Most papers, including the Guardian, have a picture of Burt Reynolds, who died aged 82, on their front pages. Our paper’s splash today is a follow-on from the finding that the Salisbury poisoning was the work of people employed by the Russian intelligence services – “Novichok: UK’s allies queue up to accuse Putin over poisoning”. The continuing novichok story also features on the front pages of the Telegraph – “GCHQ chief plots revenge on Russia” – and Times – “‘Reckless’ Russian agents could have killed 4,000”.
The FT’s lead story is “May’s switch to energy price cap set to benefit 11m households”. While the i reports: “No-deal Brexit means deeper cuts to Britain’s public sector”. The Express asks “Have police given up chasing criminals?” as figures reveal four in five burglaries and three-quarters of vehicle thefts go unsolved. The Mail leads with the story of British Airways customers having their details stolen: “380,000 bank cards hacked from BA”.
The Sun reports that Boris Johnson has split with his wife over accusations of cheating – “Bonking Boris booted out by wife” – and the Mirror’s splash is: “Film legend Burt dead at 82”.
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