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Friday briefing: Working out and staying out as lockdown eases

<span>Photograph: Harold Lee Miller/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Harold Lee Miller/Getty Images

Top story: UK ‘rejects chance to join EU vaccine scheme’

Morning everyone. My name in Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Friday morning.

Gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres in England will be allowed to reopen within the next two weeks as the government continues to push the country back towards what one minister called “normal life”. Outdoor pools can reopen from tomorrow and indoor gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities can open from 25 July. Pubs, cafes and restaurants will reopen in Wales from Monday, although they might see their takings down after a survey found pubs and restaurants in England have been trading at almost half their normal level after reopening last weekend. Scots will be able to meet each other indoors again and stay overnight from today. Northern Ireland’s gyms open again today. As quarantine rules for people entering Britain from countries deemed “safe” are relaxed today, holidaymakers have been urged by the government to avoid travelling on cruise ships during the pandemic, spelling more woe for the crisis-hit travel sector.

The UK has rejected the chance to join the European Union’s coronavirus vaccine programme due to ministers’ concerns over “costly delays”, according to sources. The WHO warned that the pandemic was accelerating and noted that infections have doubled in the last six weeks to more than 12 million. It is also setting up an independent panel to review its response to the outbreak. The latest high-profile coronavirus cases include the Bolivian president and the influential leader of Venezuela’s Socialist party as the outbreak gathers pace in South America. It is also on the march in Africa where cases have risen 24% in the past week. For all the overnight developments from around the world, go straight to our live blog.

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Race inquiry – Police forces in England and Wales are facing an inquiry to establish whether they racially discriminate against ethnic minorities in their use of force and stop and search. Our exclusive story says the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will use its formal powers to investigate cases and then decide if there is any discrimination. It has vowed to drive “real change in policing”. The investigation has been prompted by a string of controversial cases involving stop and search. One black man, Andrew Boateng, says he was “humiliated” after being stopped when taking part in a charity bike ride with his son.

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Trump ruling – The US supreme court has ruled that Donald Trump is not above the law and that a New York prosecutor investigating alleged hush payments can obtain his financial records, including his tax records. The court ruled against the president’s argument that he was entitled to sweeping immunity that would keep his finances secret. The mostly conservative justices on the nine-strong bench prevented Democrats in Congress from getting similar documents for the time being. But the decision could still blow a hole in Trump’s re-election hopes. Elsewhere in the US, secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced sanctions against three senior Chinese officials – including one politburo member – over the abuse and mistreatment of Uighur people in the western Xinjiang region.

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Ellie and Becky Downie competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016
Ellie and Becky Downie at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

‘Environment of fear’ – Becky and Ellie Downie, Britain’s leading women gymnasts, have added their voices to the mounting criticism of the national team ethos, saying that they lived in “an environment of fear and mental abuse”. The sisters, who are the team’s best female medal hopes at next year’s Olympics, said “cruel” behaviour was “so ingrained in our daily lives that it became completely normalised”. They claimed they faced constant questioning about their weight and attitude, as well as over-training that caused their bodies to break down repeatedly.

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Universal problem – The cost of implementing universal credit benefit has risen to £1.4bn amid more indications that the scheme is not meeting its central objective of getting people back to work. A National Audit Office report says that although more claimants are being paid on time, the much-criticised five-week wait for a first payment continued to exacerbate the debt problems of many claimants.

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Booze run – A man cut through a fence and escaped from quarantine in New Zealand so that he could go and buy some alcohol in the latest breach of isolation facilities in the country. The man, who is in his 50s, was arrested and was due to appear in court in Hamilton today. He arrived in New Zealand on 1 July and has twice tested negative for the virus.

Today in Focus podcast

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has proposed permanently seizing Palestinian territory by annexing swathes of the West Bank – a violation of international law. Journalist Mariam Barghouti describes how this would just formalise a system that millions of Palestinians are already enduring, while Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes examines what is driving Netanyahu’s latest plans.

Lunchtime read: Ellie Goulding on anxiety, marriage and activism

Ellie Goulding performing at the Shepherds Bush Empire
Ellie Goulding performing at the Shepherds Bush Empire

After being buffeted by the relentless music circuit, breakups and family strife, Ellie Goulding is back after five years away with a bold new album of electronic pop. She talks to Ben Beaumont-Thomas about getting married, becoming a climate activist and being made to feel like “a sexual object”.

Sport

West Indies captain Jason Holder is targeting a century after achieving one half of his personal goal for the summer by taking six wickets as England were bowled out for 204 in the first Test at Southampton. He also won the first all-rounder duel of the summer with Ben Stokes by dismissing the England captain. A rare Paul Pogba goal helped Manchester United to a 3-0 win at Aston Villa to deepen the hosts’ relegation worries. They remain rooted in the bottom three along with Bournemouth who drew 0-0 with Tottenham. Six weeks out from the start of the Tour de France, Chris Froome finds himself out of Team Ineos thanks to team boss Dave Brailsford’s “mission clarity and compassionate ruthlessness”, according to our cycling expert William Fotheringham. Jamie Murray has become the latest player to voice concerns about playing in the US Open while the pandemic rages across America.

Business

The heavy punishment meted out to the retail sector shows no sign of abating after Boots and John Lewis announced that they would be cutting a total of 5,300 jobs between them. Burger King said that up to 10% of its outlets might have to close. The news came after the IFS issued a damning verdict on Rishi Sunak’s £30bn summer statement, saying that it was badly timed and “poorly targeted”. The FTSE100 is set to slip by 0.2% this morning, while the pound will buy you $1.258 and €1.116.

The papers

Several lead with the latest easing of lockdown restrictions. The Times says “Now it’s workout to help out as gyms get go-ahead”, the Telegraph has “Salons reopen as normality edges closer” and the i predicts “Swimming and games back for summer”. The Mail spots a downside, however, with the government’s cruise holiday warning: “They’ve sunk our cruises”. The Guardian prefers a global line: “Coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, warns WHO”.

The Mirror leads with “Jobs hell at High St icons” and the FT has the same story: “Boots and John Lewis lead jobs cull as Sunak comes under fire”. The Express howls “A kick in the teeth! BBC ends free TV licences”. The Daily Record leads with the death of entertainer Johnny Beattie – “Showbiz legend Johnny dies at 93” – while the Scotsman has that story on the front but leads with “Sturgeon’s ‘milestone’ on route out of lockdown”.

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