Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Today
- Patients say hospital stays making them more ill
- Scots Labour deputy leader could face ethics complaint
- How much to live near a top school?
- PM rules out EU referendum re-run
06.00 BBC Today headlines
Isis leader Abu Muhammad al-Adnani killed in Syria by US airstrike … Italian coastguard rescues further 3000 migrants … Cabinet to hold first meeting at Chequers … Russia refuses to accept UN finding that Syria used chemical weapons … Brazilian senators prepare to vote on president’s impeachment … Trump to visit Mexico.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
Isis leader killed ... Citizens Advice says poor paying more for essential services ... Chequers meeting ... MPs criticise treatment of new mothers in workplace ... International council of education advisers meets ... Don't worry about lights going out says National Grid chief ... Survey: East and North Ayrshire 'worst place in UK to raise families'.
Front pages
In The Herald, health correspondent Helen Puttick reports on a Scottish Government-commissioned survey which says almost one in four patients have complained their conditions deteriorated during their stay in hospital.
The National pictures Professor Joseph Stiglitz, who yesterday backed an independent Scotland having its own currency.
The Mail highlights Conservative claims that uncertainty over indyref2 was harming inward investment in Scotland.
Exclusive: In the Evening Times, Catriona Stewart meets parents urging the council to build a buggy path to stop them having to climb a hill of steps to a school.
The Telegraph says Britain may cut corporation tax to attract international firms post-Brexit vote.
A Times poll says Jeremy Corbyn is ahead of Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest by 62% to 38% - putting the incumbent on course for a larger mandate.
The Guardian highlights a report by the Commons Women and Equalities Committee which says there has been a “shocking and unacceptable” rise in workplace discrimination against new and expectant mothers.
The FT says the £11 billion EU tax penalty against Apple has set the stage for “a bruising transatlantic political tussle over the taxation of US multinationals”.
FFS: Five in five seconds
1. What’s the story? Donald Trump is off to Mexico today.
2. Mexico. The country he said was bringing drugs, rapists and other criminals to the US? The place he wants to put behind a wall? And make the people of Mexico pay for it? The very same. The Republican presidential candidate announced the visit in a tweet last night.
I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2016
3. Why is he going? Besides the president's invitation (also extended to Hillary Clinton), the private meeting will be a headline-generating warm-up for a speech on immigration he will deliver in Arizona later on Wednesday.
4. Will Mr Trump receive a warm welcome in Mexico City? Well, President Nieto once likened Trump’s tone to that of Mussolini and Hitler’s, saying: “That’s how Mussolini got in, that’s how Hitler got in: they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis.” He later said his remarks had been taken out of context.
5. And everyone else? Let's just say Trump pinatas are a big seller in Mexico.
Afore Ye Go
“In hindsight, that may have been a mistake.”
Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning Scottish Government economic adviser, reflects on the SNP's plan to keep the UK pound after independence. It would also be a mistake to join the euro, he added. The answer? Scotland should consider having its own currency. BBC Good Morning Scotland. JP Yim/Getty Images
"There is a simple solution for the SNP on the currency. It's called the UK pound and most people in Scotland would like to keep it.”
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser
"Beyond the obvious targeting of Apple, the most profound and harmful effect of this ruling will be on investment and job creation in Europe.”
Chief executive Tim Cook reacts to the £11 billion tax bill handed to Apple by the EU. The European Commission said the tech firm had benefited unfairly from an arrangement with the Irish government. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
"It is reported some members of parliament are reluctant to turn on their computers because they don't know how to. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard it said.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggests that he is fully down with the computer kidz at the launch of his “digital democracy manifesto”, which includes protections for people’s privacy. The live-streamed event in London was hit by technical hitches. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Via the new Private Eye pic.twitter.com/5vFuWDWsDj
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) August 30, 2016
"The PM has been clear there will be no second referendum. I think the PM has been clear there will be no general election either. That position has been well set out.”
But a Downing Street spokesman did not say whether Theresa May will give MPs a vote in the Commons on triggering Article 50, which marks the formal start of Brexit talks. Yui Mok/PA Wire
"You lot p*** me off, f*** off."
Some of the verbal abuse doled out by a woman driver in Kensington, London, to BBC broadcaster and cyclist Jeremy Vine, captured by his helmet camera and posted on his Facebook page. Jeremy Vine/PA Wire
"These discussions cannot result in an agreement by the end of the year. The negotiations have bogged down, the positions have not been respected, the imbalance is obvious.”
France’s president Hollande on the prospects of reaching an EU-US trade deal before Barack Obama leaves office in January. AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool
"The North of England is its own country in all but name. Perhaps it is time to cut loose. Anyone for Nexit?”
Lord (Melvyn) Bragg, who has just started a new Radio 4 series on the North. Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for Advertising Week
ICYMI: Anthony Weiner knew his marriage was "busted" https://t.co/cwwP17zUQR pic.twitter.com/wCAgspHG8G
— New York Post (@nypost) August 30, 2016
The Weiner marriage split as reported by the New York Post.
"This is frankly utterly shameless and the former PM should be ashamed.”
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron on hearing that David Cameron had given huge pay rises, in some cases of 24%, to special advisers just months before they received golden goodbyes. Analysis by Civil Service World. Hannah McKay/PA Wire
“The FBI is investigating whether Russian intelligence agencies have hacked the computers at The New York Times, or as the Times reported it, ‘Putin named world's sexiest leader’.”
Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Greg Baker-Pool/Getty Images
#sadnessinhiseyes pic.twitter.com/ZoVw5U3EH7
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) August 30, 2016
That canine face illustrating an item on dog/human communication looks familiar to some viewers ...
@hendopolis Isn't that the same dog so brilliantly captioned by the BBC a while ago? Bounce is a veteran... pic.twitter.com/0Mw28iDYXQ
— The Spurs Report (@spurs_report) August 30, 2016
And still in animal news corner...
One Lucky Squirrel in Downing St this morning as Palmerstone takes chase and one bemused police officer ! pic.twitter.com/TSYGXfFEd4
— Political Pictures (@PoliticalPics) August 30, 2016
Thanks for reading - see you tomorrow. Twitter: @alisonmrowat
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