Top story: PM’s appeal for ‘courage, trust and leadership’

Hello, it’s Warren Murray teasing out the threads you need to be following today.

“EU leaders dined on pan-fried mushrooms, fillet of turbot cooked in wheat beer and a trio of fruit sorbets while they discussed their next steps on Brexit following a 15-minute meeting with Theresa May, who was not invited to dinner.” And there on a plate you have the most substantial details to emerge from the PM’s visit to Brussels.

As she addressed EU27 leaders, May did make noises about extending the post-Brexit transition period to keep the Irish border open. But mostly her speech seems to have been anchored in platitudes about “courage, trust and leadership” being needed to reach agreement. Afterwards, EU officials indicated their leaders did not think she offered enough to warrant a further “extraordinary” summit in November. On that point the Briefing thanks the PM of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, for allowing a reprise of the gustatory theme by saying he was not willing to come back just for “a cup of coffee and shortbread”.

At home, Brexiters predictably bristled at the idea of a longer transition, while Labour and remainers condemned government plans to restrict amendments during the so-called “meaningful vote” on any Brexit deal.

Man dies in beating – The Metropolitan police have launched a murder investigation after a man reportedly died following a fight in south-west London. Officers were called to reports of a group of men fighting in a communal area in a block of flats in Battersea on Wednesday afternoon. A 46-year-old man was found in Charlotte Despard Avenue and pronounced dead at the scene. All suspects had already fled the area. Police called for information and said a post-mortem examination was to be scheduled.

Another airline folds – Cobalt, which flies from Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick, announced last night that it was cancelling all flights and ceasing operations immediately. “Passengers who have un-flown tickets are instructed not to go to [Cyprus’s] Larnaca airport or any departure airport tomorrow, October 18, as no Cobalt flights will operate and no Cobalt staff will be present.” Heathrow airport said: “We will provide assistance to customers who turn up at the airport tomorrow.” The demise of the Cyprus-based carrier comes after Danish budget carrier Primera Air also ceased trading this month.

Trump denies giving cover to Saudis – If the increasingly graphic leaked details are correct, Jamal Khashoggi died a death of sheer medieval brutality inside the Saudi consulate in Ankara. Donald Trump says the US has asked Turkey for the reported recording of Khashoggi’s death “if it exists … [it] probably does”. The president denied giving cover to Saudi Arabia’s rulers after suggesting he accepted their denials of involvement. The president continued to claim $110bn worth of US arms deals with the Saudis could be put at risk by rushing to judgment, but the figure has been shown to be hugely inflated. Several of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s security detail have been identified in press reports as members of a hit squad sent to murder Khashoggi that also included a forensic doctor who spent part of his career observing autopsies in Australia.

UK showered visas on foreign rich – Henley & Partners, the firm at the centre of the “golden passports” controversy, was consulted by the government before Theresa May’s Home Office let a wave of wealthy Russians and other non-Europeans settle in Britain. The UK “tier 1 visa” scheme allows high net worth families to buy residency in exchange for a £2m investment in government bonds or British businesses. Successful applications soared under the Conservatives to reach a peak of 1,172 in 2014. It was particularly popular with Chinese and Russians. Today the Home Office has no idea how many of the individuals are “politically exposed” persons who present a high corruption risk. Seven hundred visas given out to Russians are being reviewed in the wake of the Salisbury novichok poisonings.

Compassion in Politics – A cross-party group in parliament has launched a campaign to make politics more compassionate. It is being headed by Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who fled the Nazis in Czechoslovakia to find refuge in Britain as a child. Polling has found 60% of Britons think politicians are not compassionate enough. The campaign aims to focus on providing more help to refugees and asylum seekers, and on equality and climate change. Dubs writes in the Guardian today: “In different ways, British citizens too are victims of an insidious political narrative that blames and punishes the vulnerable, the disabled and the poor, victimises minorities and deliberately divides communities … that says that all humans are just greedy and selfish and our political system and society must be built in that image.”

The plucky ones – It may have started with the “Swift effect” but women and girls now solidly comprise half of guitar beginners in the UK and US. “Taylor has moved on, I think playing less guitar on stage than she has in the past,” says Andy Mooney, the CEO of Fender. “But young women are still driving 50% of new guitar sales.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ellie Rowsell from Wolf Alice. Photograph: Matthew Baker/Getty Images

Across the board 61% of women and girls told a Fender survey they simply wanted to learn songs to play socially or by themselves. Guardian music writer Caroline Sullivan still thinks the “look at me factor” of playing the guitar on stage appeals to millennial women rather than “standing behind a keyboard looking pretty”. Wolf Alice and its guitarist-lead singer Ellie Rowsell won the Mercury prize this year, though around two-thirds of live acts in the UK still have no female members.

Lunchtime read: Going soft but not in old age

“If you look at the rise of easily accessible pornography, people have an expectation that men are going to be great performers,” says Raymond Francis, a London psychotherapist. Performance anxiety, rather than erectile dysfunction, seems to be behind a rise in the incidence of young men failing to maintain an erection.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Not being able to get an erection can feel like the most shameful thing that could happen to them.’ Photograph: Guardian Design Team

A few fumbled or unsatisfactory episodes can be enough to set up a pattern. “Shortly before the man finds himself in bed with his partner, the anxiety builds,” says Francis. “The more he imposes a demand on himself, and the more that demand is not met, the more disturbed he becomes. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.” One sufferer was offered no more by an NHS doctor than advice to “think happy thoughts and you’ll be fine.” By the time he was referred to psychosexual counselling, his year-long relationship had ended. Another had his girlfriend abandon him for Tinder. “Before I began researching this article,” writes our contributor Sirin Kale, “I expected it to be a story about sex – or the lack of it. But shame is the word that actually came up most often. For men, it seems that not being able to get an erection can feel like the most shameful thing that could happen to them.

Sport

Nathan Hughes has been suspended for six weeks and is unavailable for three of England’s four autumn internationals next month after his “what a joke” tweet led to two extra weeks being put on to his suspension. Shahid Khan, the Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner, has withdrawn his proposed £600m purchase of Wembley Stadium, which grew to seem more jarring and unnecessary the longer the FA’s consultations went on.

Ben Stokes crashed an almighty six to seal a seven-wicket ODI victory for England against Sri Lanka in which the tourists had scarcely looked troubled. Tom Johnstone marked his international rugby league debut with a first-half hat-trick which helped put England out of sight against France by the halftime break in Leigh. Karen Carney praised Chelsea’s “magnificent attitude and response” after her penalty against Fiorentina saw them shake off a crushing defeat by Arsenal and put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals, but Barcelona doused Glasgow City’s dreams with a crushing 5-0 win. And Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, men of conscience and integrity, continue to risk their good name by accepting an invitation to play in a meaningless exhibition in Saudi Arabia, a regime under critical scrutiny for the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, writes Kevin Mitchell.

Business

Asian stock markets were depressed by hawkish minutes from the last US Federal Reserve meeting, which appeared to defy Donald Trump and indicate that it will continue to raise rates. Higher US borrowing costs were one of the major factors behind last week’s rout of global shares and investors fear they could be here to stay. The FTSE100 is poised to open slightly up, although Wall Street is set for more losses at the opening bell. The pound is buying $1.309 and €1.139.

The papers

We have a separate Brexit and Brussels-oriented round-up of the papers – what follows is the digested version. The Guardian’s splash is “Brexit deadlock as May ‘offers no new ideas’ at EU summit”. “May offers to extend transition by a year,” says the Telegraph. The i reports: “May open to Brexit extension in bid to save deal”. The Mail fumes: “Another year in Brexit limbo?”. So too the Sun, which laments “Brextra time!”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Guardian front page, Thursday 18 October 2018.

The FT’s splash is “US threatens EU bans with ban over Brexit clearing plans”. The Times leads with “Autistic woman ‘pimped out’ in care scandal”. The Mirror has an interview with Sergei Skripal’s mother: “Poisoned spy’s mum: I fear I’ll never see him again” and the Express reports on comments from the founder of a support line for elderly people: “Scrapping free TV licence ‘act of cruelty’”. Several papers feature a photograph of Prince Harry delivering a speech in Dubbo, Australia, as Meghan holds an umbrella over his head, giving subeditors a chance to pull out their best rain puns – “Meghan won’t let it rain on Harry’s parade,” says the Express. The Mail goes with “Glancing in the rain Down Under”.

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