Tuesday briefing: G7 under pressure on Afghanistan

Top story: Taliban warning over ‘red line’

Good morning, I’m Virginia Harrison and here are today’s top stories.

G7 leaders will be under pressure to present a united front at an emergency summit on Afghanistan later today, despite divisions over the deadline to complete evacuations from the country by 31 August. Boris Johnson will chair the virtual summit where, diplomatic sources have told Reuters, G7 nations are expected to show unity on areas including whether to sanction or officially recognise the Taliban to avoid humanitarian catastrophe, and on protecting the human rights of vulnerable groups.

Efforts to get people out of the Afghan capital have continued with a rising sense of urgency as the 31 August cutoff draws closer. US special forces said on Monday they had retrieved 16 American citizens from a site two hours outside Kabul and brought them back to the airport for evacuation processing. As the effort continues, the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, has said the Taliban will not tolerate western forces staying into September, which the Taliban has said would “cross a red line” and “provoke a reaction”.

Speaking from Kabul, Bristow said: “The signalling that we’re seeing from the Taliban, including earlier today, is pretty uncompromising that they want the operation finished by the end of the month. So I think it follows from that, that if the US and its allies were to try to push beyond that, then there’s at least a risk there of us doing so in a much more difficult and less compliant environment.”

Women and girls at risk – Police are failing to impose restraining orders or bail conditions on men accused of rape, domestic abuse, harassment and stalking, a watchdog has found. After a complaint by the Centre for Women’s Justice, a joint investigation by policing bodies found there was a lack of understanding within police forces about how and when to use such protective measures – and that it could lead to women and girls being harmed or victims being less likely to report crime in the future.

Nothing wasted – Thousands of homes could soon be warmed by the heat from giant electricity grid transformers for the first time as part of new plans to harness “waste heat” and cut carbon emissions from home heating. As Jillian Ambrose writes, trials are due to begin on how to capture the heat generated by transmission network transformers, owned by National Grid, to provide home heating for households connected to district heating networks operated by SSE.

Cancer link – A new study could help explain why the incidence of bowel cancer is rising among younger adults in parts of the developed world. US researchers, writing in the journal Gut, found that adult offspring of women who were overweight or obese when pregnant have a greater risk of bowel cancer compared with the children of mothers who were underweight or a healthy weight. Being overweight is known to increase the risk of bowel cancer – and now the researchers say influences in the womb may also play an important role.

Delta fears as schools prepare to reopen – Experts are warning that Covid cases will rise when millions of pupils return to schools across England, Northern Ireland and Wales next week, with some arguing mitigation measures such as face masks could be required. Right now deaths from Covid-19 are averaging 100 a day across the UK, official data shows. In New Zealand, case numbers have once again jumped as the country braces for its worst outbreak yet. It is in the grip of a nationwide lockdown.

When tortoises attack – A giant tortoise has surprised scientists – and an unlucky noddy tern – with its hunting efforts in the wild. Thought to be a strict herbivore, the Seychelles giant tortoise was filmed chasing and eating a baby bird. Researchers say the “horrifying and amazing” attack was the first documented example of deliberate hunting in the wild by the species.

Today in Focus podcast: The art of the pandemic scam

When Rose got an email about a missed parcel, she thought nothing of arranging a new delivery. It was a mistake that would ultimately cost her thousands. Her story is just one in a string of coronavirus scams that have turned lives upside down.

Lunchtime read: ‘I feel like it’s quite shaky acceptance’

For many trans people, experiences of shame and discrimination start early in life, often in their family home. As Shon Faye writes, many trans children find their existence disputed – risking censure or even punishment from adults for expressing their identity.

Sport

Athletic talent and relentlessly compelling human stories will be at the heart of a Paralympic Games that has a rhythm all of its own. Among the ones to watch is wheelchair tennis star Dana Mathewson, who enters the Paralympics as America’s biggest hope for gold in the singles.

West Ham are making it impossible to view last season’s exploits as a fluke after their emphatic destruction of Leicester City. Tom Harrison and a group of senior executives at the England and Wales Cricket Board are poised to share a projected GBP2.1m bonus pot despite making 62 job cuts last year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As Jonathan Liew writes, the anti-vaccination stance of athletes shows myths cut across boundaries of privilege, that stereotypical Covid sceptics are a kind of fringe lunatic but elite sportspeople are reared to keep total control of their bodies.

Business

Sainsbury’s will be one of the most closely watched companies on the stock market again today after shares in the supermarket chain rose to a seven-year high. Speculation that the grocer could follow Morrisons as the target for a private equity buyout pushed the stock up 15% to 340p. It was the highest climber on the FTSE100 which looks like seeing a modest rise of around 0.2% this morning. The pound is buying $1.372 and EUR1.169.

The papers

On today’s front pages Kabul is the dateline, while the story is the as-yet immutable deadline of 31 August for the US, UK and other countries to wrap up their evacuations from Afghanistan. “Race to complete Kabul airlift amid Taliban threat” says the Guardian. The Times says “Britain faces airlift deadline” and also covers the introduction of free heart health checks at pharmacies. The Express says the Taliban has given an ultimatum: “Get out in seven days … or else”. Metro says it’s the “Taliban’s red line … Seven days to go Joe”, while the i has “US and Britain on collision course with the Taliban”.

The Mail says “Yet another day of Kabul chaos” and its picture contrasts twin girls who were able to get out with the plight of a brother and sister who were not. Its main headline is “Security alert over UK airlift” after a person on a no-fly list was evacuated to Britain. The Telegraph takes a similar angle with “Security suspect escaped to UK from Kabul” while its picture slot goes to the beginning of Extinction Rebellion’s latest protest campaign in London.

The Financial Times sees it this way: “Biden squeezed between allies and Taliban over evacuation deadline”. Finally, the Mirror reports “Katie Price hurt in home ‘bust-up'” saying the celebrity has a suspected broken jaw after an alleged attack.

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