Top story: ‘A national health crisis’

Obesity rivals smoking as a cause of cancer, responsible for more cases of bowel, kidney, ovarian and liver cancer than cigarettes, according to Cancer Research UK, Britain’s leading cancer charity. While smoking is still the biggest cause of cancer, the charity has warned the government to take action, as obese people outnumber smokers by two to one. “As smoking rates fall and obesity rates rise, we can clearly see the impact on a national health crisis when the government puts policies in place – and when it puts its head in the sand,” said Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s chief executive. She said Britain needs “urgent government intervention to end the epidemic” and save lives.

Excess weight causes about 1,900 more cases of bowel cancer than smoking in the UK each year. There are also 1,400 more cases of kidney cancer caused by excess weight than by smoking each year, 460 more ovarian cancers and 180 more cases of liver cancer. The warnings come as figures were released showing that the overall smoking rate has declined to 14.7%, down from 19% in 2011. Across the UK, 26% of adults were classified as obese in 2016, while 40% of men and 30% of women were overweight.

Grace Millane murder – Google has been accused of “flipping the bird” at New Zealand laws by refusing to change company policy after it broke suppression orders related to the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane last year. In December the name of a 27-year-old Auckland man charged with her murder was suppressed, but it appeared in Google’s “what’s trending in New Zealand” email that went out to thousands of subscribers. Google executives assured the New Zealand justice minister, Andrew Little, the issue would be dealt with, but this week it said it would not be making any changes. Little said the company appeared to be “flipping the bird” at the country’s law. “Google’s contempt for New Zealand law, and for Grace Millane’s family, is unacceptable and I will now be considering my options,” Little said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The New Zealand justice minister has criticised Google for disregarding the law in the case of the murder of backpacker Grace Millane. Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Media money – Nigel Farage is earning at least €30,000 (£26,900) a month from his media company Thorn in the Side, his latest earnings declaration reveals. That’s on top of pre-tax monthly MEP salary of €8,758. Farage is the sole director of the company he founded in 2011 to handle earnings from media appearances and lectures. Farage recently fell foul of the European parliament’s obligation to reveal expenses after it was claimed he had failed to declare lavish gifts from the Brexit-supporting tycoon Arron Banks, including rent on a £4.4m Chelsea home with fixtures and fittings, a car with a driver and a promotional tour in the US.

Mid-week catchup

> Philip Hammond has hinted he could vote against the next Tory PM and has warned of a £90bn hit to finances in a no-deal Brexit. Hammond, who has made a series of increasingly forthright interventions in recent days, dropped a heavy hint on Tuesday that he would be prepared to vote against a no-deal Brexit, even if it meant breaking the party whip. It comes as Tory leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson promises to review whether so-called “sin stealth taxes” on tobacco, alcohol and sugar are effective.

> A new report by the British Council has said Brexit and the difficulty of new GCSE and A-level exams have combined to put off young people from studying modern foreign languages at school.

> Two women will head up two of the EU’s most powerful bodies, breaking with more than 60 years of male dominance. Germany’s defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, will replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission and France’s Christine Lagarde will take over at the European Central Bank.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ursula von der Leyen will become the next president of the European Commission. Photograph: Hayoung Jeon/EPA

> Uber’s co-founder, Garrett Camp, has bought a Los Angeles mansion $72.5m, shining a light on the city’s wealth gap, and prompting criticism from drivers who have been protesting about the company’s labour policies and advocating for better working conditions. “Drivers are living in their cars. We’re fighting for fair wages,” said Nicole More, a ride-share driver in LA.

> The United Arab Emirates sheikh and fashion designer Khalid Al Qasimi has died at the age of 39. He was the crown prince and second son of Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah. Last week, Qasimi was involved in a disagreement with the Vetements brand over a replication of his 2017 T-shirt design that read “Don’t shoot” in Arabic, French and English.

‘Shocking lack of understanding’ – Race-equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust has called for lessons on migration and empire to be made compulsory in secondary schools. It says the Windrush scandal has exposed a “shocking lack of understanding” at government level about the winding up of the empire, and it wants to see a new approach to teaching on the subjects in schools. “Migration and empire are not marginal events: they are central to our national story. As it stands the story we are telling is incomplete,” the trust’s new report says. Only 4% of pupils taking GCSE history choose the “migration to Britain” option according to the trust’s new report, yet nearly 17% – one in six – of children aged 0-15 in England and Wales are from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. BME young people make up more than one in four (27%) of state-funded primary and secondary school pupils.

Mystery substance – Organisers of Boston’s so-called “Straight Pride” march have revealed that threatening envelopes posted to them that prompted calls to the police turned out to be full of nothing more hazardous than glitter. The envelopes, filled with a “granular substance”, were addressed to three members of “Super Happy Fun America”, a group whose membership have previously organised and attended events, some of which have turned violent and who have links to far-right figures. One of the group’s leaders lamented the “violence” they received at the hands of the anonymous glitter-sender.

Today in Focus podcast: Should doctors face jail when treatment goes wrong?

The death of a patient at a private London hospital after a delay in his treatment led to the imprisonment of David Sellu. After 15 months behind bars, his name was finally cleared. He tells his harrowing story as a new report reveals that doctors from ethnic minorities are twice as likely to face disciplinary action as white doctors. Plus: Gaby Hinsliff on Jeremy Corbyn and the civil service.

Lunchtime read: The curated ear: why piercings are the new tattoos

Conch, rook, helix, daith: these words won’t mean anything to most people but to an army of voguish women they are immediately recognisable as the parts of the ear that can be pierced. Look around boutique gyms, co-working spaces for the creative industries and stylish bars, and you will see women – mostly in their 20s and 30s – with intricately pierced ears. They’re all fans of the “curated ear” – a craze for multiple ear piercings, in unusual placements – that has arguably replaced tattoos as the body adornment du jour.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A model at the Alexander McQueen show during Paris fashion week in March. Photograph: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Sport

Phil Neville said he wanted “smiles not tears” after England’s third successive semi-final defeat in a major tournament was leavened by the sense that the Lionesses are extremely close to catching up with the world’s best. Eoin Morgan has told his England players to stay in the moment and forget the consequences of a must-win game against New Zealand. Despite an awful start, England came within a hairsbreadth of maintaining their unbeaten run as Australia hobbled to a two-wicket victory in the opening 50-over match of the Women’s Ashes. Britain’s Johanna Konta made a confident start to her title campaign on another good day for the home players at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal survived an early scare in his straight sets win over Yuichi Sugita but must now prepare for another rumble on Thursday when he faces his new nemesis, Nick Kyrgios. Brazil advanced to the Copa América final with a 2-0 win over their old rivals Argentina in Belo Horizonte thanks to a goal in each half from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino.

Business

Asian shares fell on Wednesday as initial enthusiasm over the latest US-China trade truce was overtaken by fresh concerns over Washington’s threat of tariffs on additional European goods. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.3% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.6% in early trade. On Tuesday the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, warned that trade tensions triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff policies could “shipwreck” the global economy and are having a chilling effect on growth. He added that trade tensions had increased the “downside risks” for a UK economy already grappling with Brexit uncertainty.

The pound is buying €1.115 and $1.259.

The papers

All the papers carry pictures of the Lionesses’ loss to the US in the women’s World Cup, but most vent their fury on the BBC in the annual bash-the-broadcaster-for-how-much-they-pay-their-presenters day. The Mirror reports: “BBC stars’ hidden millions”, the Sun calls it: “British Broadcasting Cover-up”. The Telegraph says: “BBC gives starts £11m pay rise as it cuts free TV licences”, the Express reports: “TV licence fury as BBC pay bill soars” and the Mail calls the publication of the salaries: “BBC’s new kick in the teeth for over-75s”.

Photograph: The Guardian

The Guardian reports: “Chancellor ready to fight no-deal from backbenches”, the Times has: “Obesity tops smoking as main cause of cancers”, the i’s splash is: “Climate change ‘raising risk of European heatwaves’” and the FT says “Lagarde to head ECB after leaders reach agreement on key EU roles.”

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