Wednesday briefing: Welcome to the age of hate thy neighbour
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Version 0 of 1. Top story: Making the world hate again Hello, this is Warren Murray with today’s Guardian morning briefing. Purveyors of hate speech around the world (case study further down) have been blamed by Amnesty for vilifying refugees and migrants to a degree rarely witnessed since the 1930s – with Donald Trump leading the list of offenders who exploit and inflame prejudices. Amnesty warns the international consensus to “never again” repeat the horrors of the second world war is being torn up as we witness the “very real human consequences of politicians like Trump, Orbán, Duterte, wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanises entire groups of people”. In one move to counter the ugly trend, a weekend of street parties and picnics is being planned to honour Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered by a far-right fanatic during the EU referendum campaign. Milo had to go – The Breitbart career of Milo Yiannopoulos has come to an end after he quit over remarks that seemed to endorse sex between young boys and older men. Yiannopoulos said he was “horrified by paedophilia” but his “poor choice of words” had become a distraction for his colleagues at the US far-right website. Dorian Lynskey has documented the rise and fall of a middling British columnist who turned hate speech into showbiz and became the ultimate conservative troll. Cate Blanchett does drag – The actor has joined some other queens of the stage to lip-synch her way through Dusty Springfield’s You Don’t Own Me at Manhattan’s famous Stonewall Inn. The performance was in aid of the Newtown Action Alliance against gun violence. Blanchett later returned to the stage in a “pussy hat” but you’ll have to Google that bit. ‘Isis Briton’ killed – A Manchester man who was once held in Guantánamo has been blown up fighting for Isis in Iraq, according to reports. Jamal al-Harith, 50, known as Abu-Zakariya al-Britani, is believed to have taken part in a car bomb attack on a military base on the outskirts of Mosul. Brexit gamble – A feared exodus of banking jobs from the City of London to the continent could destabilise the financial system across Europe. Experts are warning an “ecosystem” of UK-based professions servicing the sector throughout the EU is at risk of breaking down. There may be little sympathy for bankers in the post-Lehman era, but as our special coverage continues we examine whether Britain can really afford to lose what is, in effect, a £72bn export industry. Pointy issue – Iceland’s pizzas will continue to have pineapple on them – and we are talking about the country, not the supermarket. President Guðni Jóhannesson told school pupils at a Q&A that he was “fundamentally opposed” to the tropical topping and would ban it if he could. That triggered quite a stir online, resulting in a statement from the president that he had no such power and no such plans. He presumably won’t be shopping in British stores where, as Tony Naylor laments, pretentious toppings have become big dough. Lunchtime read: Spot the real Vladimir Putin The Kremlin’s man of many moods is credited with everything from wreaking havoc in the US election to fake news in the Czech Republic. But is he really an evil puppeteer pulling the world’s strings – or just a KGB everyman who made good? Keith Gessen explains the seven theories that have emerged from more than a decade of “Putinology” and suggests we might be over-thinking his talents and reach. Sport A brace from Sergio Agüero helped Manchester City pull it out of the fire against Monaco. It was Champions League football, writes Paul Wilson, but not as Pep Guardiola knows it. José Mourinho, meanwhile, has admitted he cannot guarantee Wayne Rooney will still be at Manchester United in a week’s time when China’s transfer window closes. In rugby, England’s Joe Marler says taking a break in 2016 has revitalised him, and it’s a similar story for recent Australian Open champion Roger Federer, who now looks set to play on until 2019. On the other side of the coin, British Cycling’s reputation faces another battering after it was accused of misleading UK Sport. Business The Trump effect may be causing chaos in US domestic politics and international diplomacy but it is still exerting a positive force on the world of finance. Asian stock markets rose again overnight, following on the coat-tails of the Dow Jones on Wall Street which closed at a record high for the eighth session in a row. The pound was buying US$1.25 and €1.19 overnight. The papers The Times leads with Brexit secretary David Davis saying British workers will not be in a position to fill the jobs vacated by European migrants for “years and years”. The Mail says a Briton who received £1m in compensation from the government after being held at Guantánamo Bay went on to become a suicide bomber. The Mirror and the Express lead on Doris, the storm heading to Britain that could bring flooding, power cuts and “flying debris” (Labour is worried it might also affect turnout in the Stoke and Copeland byelections). The Telegraph says the chancellor is set to offer business rates rise relief to small firms after the revolt by Tory MPs over what they claimed would be huge increases. The FT on the other hand says Phillip Hammond has warned his colleagues that any sweeteners in next month’s budget, for business rates, schools and social care, must be paid for with higher taxes or savings elsewhere. 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