Top story: ‘A chance to back a national unity Brexit’

Good morning, Warren Murray helping you face the second half of the week.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are to attempt to reach a compromise deal for a soft Brexit. After a gruelling seven-hour meeting with her cabinet, the PM said: “I’m offering to sit down with the leader of the opposition, and to try to agree a plan that we would both stick to.” Corbyn responded: “We will meet the prime minister. We recognise that she has made a move.”

May said a deal would have to incorporate the current EU-endorsed withdrawal agreement and negotiations should focus on the “future relationship” with the EU. If she and Corbyn could not agree on a single course of action, several agreed options would be put to the Commons. A further extension of article 50 would be needed, but the aim was to settle Brexit before 22 May so Britain would not need to take part in EU elections. Corbyn pointed to his main aim: “We voted for a customs union in the house [on Monday], it narrowly lost.” The Labour leader will be under intense pressure from his MPs to secure a second referendum as well.

From the sidelines, Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the European Research Group of Tory hard Brexiters, accused May of trying to collaborate with “a known Marxist”. The Democratic Unionists said May had failed to deliver a “sensible Brexit that works for all parts of the UK”. Centrist Conservatives were more welcoming. George Freeman said it was right that “those MPs who have voted against her Brexit deal have a chance to back a national unity Brexit”.

The Tories might be in continuing turmoil over Brexit, but Corbyn’s party is no nest of singing birds either. John Crace writes: “May is sick and tired of the Tory party tearing itself apart … why not have some fun in her last few days and see if she could get the Labour party to tear itself apart as well?”

Air pollution’s human toll – Children born today will have their lives shortened by 20 months on average by the toxic air that is widespread across the globe, with the greatest toll in south Asia, according to a major study. Air pollution contributed to nearly one in every 10 deaths in 2017 – bigger than malaria and road accidents, and comparable to smoking, says the State of Global Air (SOGA) study. There are signs that actions taken by governments are working, including reducing forms of some particulate pollution in the developed world, while China’s levels of air pollution are also starting to fall. The report found ground-level ozone remains a major problem in rich countries, where it is produced by nitrogen oxides and similar pollutants emitted from traffic and industry.

Midweek catch-up

> The MoD has come under fire for keeping obsolete nuclear submarines in storage with radioactive fuel still on board. Some of the 20 subs date back to 1980 and it has cost £500m to store them.

> The burnt body of British environmental activist and missionary Paul McAuley, 71, has been found in the Amazon city of Iquitos, Peru. The Portsmouth-born lay Catholic brother had campaigned to keep oil and gas companies out of the rainforest.

> A Chinese woman carrying computer malware got past security at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Yujing Zhang, 32, has been charged with lying to federal agents and trespass in a restricted area.

> An English judge has been criticised for saying a husband having sex with his wife is a “fundamental human right”, in a case that centres on whether the woman has the intellectual capacity to give consent.

Academies in isolation scandal – Academy schools have been accused of driving children into depression and anxiety by putting them in silent “isolation booths” for weeks. One pupil in Kent tried to kill herself, and her mother is taking action against the government. Legal action was also threatened against the Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) after a boy with ADHD spent up to 35 days in isolation in one academic year – his punishment for “failing” the isolation room was another day in the isolation room. Dan Rosenberg, an education solicitor, said the booths were being used “as a dumping ground for children, particularly those with special educational needs. Unlike if pupils receive fixed-term exclusions, there is no automatic mechanism for reporting the level of isolations to the governing body, nor do the cutoffs (15 days in a term, 45 days in a year) apply.”

Guardian and Observer accolades – The Guardian’s Windrush campaign has won the prestigious Cudlipp award at the National Press awards, while the Observer’s Cambridge Analytica coverage was named investigation of the year. Carole Cadwalladr won technology journalist of the year for her Cambridge Analytica stories and Daniel Taylor received the Hugh McIlvanney sports journalist award for his coverage of the child sex crimes of the former football coach Barry Bennell. The awards, described as the Oscars for the British press, are organised by the Society of Editors to honour the best in national journalism and media.

Follow the oranges – Donald Trump has predicted a Pulitzer prize for journalists who uncover the “oranges” of the Mueller investigation.

Play Video 0:56 Trump asks journalists to look into the 'oranges' of the Mueller investigation – video

Efforts at translation would no doubt prove fruitless, but the president is clearly still pithed about the whole Russia thing. Shake that tree, fake news media.

Today in Focus podcast: Brexit and the Tory leadership race

Europe has haunted Tory leaders for decades and it now looks set to dominate the next leader’s tenure. With at least 10 candidates weighing up their chances, the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Rowena Mason, examines the favourites with Anushka Asthana. And: is Joe Biden’s presidential bid over before it has even begun? David Smith in Washington discusses the week in which the former vice-president faced allegations from several women of inappropriate physical contact.

Lunchtime read: Climate change – let nature reverse its course

Restoring natural forests and coasts can tackle both climate change and the annihilation of wildlife, an international group of campaigners have said. “We are championing a thrilling but neglected approach to averting climate chaos while defending the living world: natural climate solutions,” they write in a letter to the Guardian. “Defending the living world and defending the climate are, in many cases, one and the same.”

Play Video 1:43 The Natural Climate Solutions approach to tackling climate change explained – video

Recent research indicates that about a third of the greenhouse gas reductions needed by 2030 can be provided by the restoration of natural habitats, but such solutions have attracted just 2.5% of the funding for tackling emissions. George Monbiot says the potential is enormous. “Coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marsh and seagrass beds stash carbon 40 times faster than tropical forests can,” he writes. “Scientists have only begun to explore how the recovery of certain animal populations could radically change the carbon balance.” Meanwhile, parents and grandparents from 16 countries are mobilising in support of the global youth strikes for climate movement. “What our kids are telling us is what science has been telling us for many years – there is no time left,” says the Parents for the Future group in an open letter. “We now owe it to them to act.”

Sport

Ole Gunnar Solskjær said Manchester United contributed to their own downfall after they were beaten by Wolves for the second time in less than three weeks. Fulham’s fragile grasp on Premier League safety was finally relinquished as they conceded three times in 12 second-half minutes on their way to a 4-1 defeat at Watford, a dismal and decisive spell that Scott Parker admitted was “a snapshot of our season”. A British runner, Nicky Spinks, was one of the last women to drop out in this year’s Barkley Marathons, a gruelling race that has been completed by just 15 people in its history and has ascents equivalent to climbing Everest twice.

Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, said “it felt like home in the garage” after a hugely successful debut driving a Formula One car in a test for Ferrari. Danny Cipriani has signed a bumper three-year contract with Gloucester, ending speculation over his future, while Geordan Murphy believes his coaching recruit Mike Ford will give Leicester “a bit of a kick” and help the struggling former champions avoid the threat of relegation from the Premiership. And the former Sunderland and Manchester City midfielder Adam Johnson has said he “deeply regrets” his actions after he was freed from prison where he served three years for child sex offences.

Business

Asian shares rose to seven-month highs on Wednesday as investors lapped up signs of progress in US-China trade talks and brisk economic data, while oil approached the key $70-per-barrel mark. Australian shares were up 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei stock index added 0.8%. Chinese blue-chips were flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.7%. Sterling has been sitting around $1.313 and €1.170 while the FTSE looks like opening a shade higher.

The papers

Theresa May’s decision to meet Jeremy Corbyn to talk about a way forward on Brexit is the splash for many of the papers today. The Metro takes the pun cake, with “It’s Jezz the two of us”.

The Telegraph has: “Cabinet backs no-deal Brexit – but May turns to Corbyn instead”, the Mirror has May pleading: “Help me, Jeremy”, whereas the Express frames May’s invitation to Corbyn as a move of strength: “It’s time for national unity ... over to you Mr Corbyn”.

The Sun says May has “gone soft” over Brexit: “Is that your bright idea?” The Mail calls the move “Theresa’s last stand”, the Times has “May invites Corbyn to break Brexit deadlock” and the Guardian has: “May calls for talks with Corbyn in bid to save Brexit”. The FT reports: “May inflames Tory civil war by opening door to softer Brexit” and the i says: “May calls in Corbyn to break impasse”.

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