WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Final leader's debate, trapped astronauts, and a link between strawberries and crime

 
today's politics story

Sunak and Starmer clash over gambling scandal

What happened 
With little more than a week until the general election Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer sparred over tax and migration in their final head-to-head TV debate before the event descended into a protracted row about the election date betting scandal.

Who said what
Starmer "launched a fierce attack" on the culture at the top of the Conservative Party, said The Guardian. Placing bets on the future of the country displayed the "wrong instincts", the Labour leader said, likening it to the careless attitude to Covid rules exposed by the Partygate scandal. Sunak responded that the election betting scandal had been "dealt with properly".

And the Tory leader hit back by "repeatedly accusing Starmer of planning tax rises and having no plan to deal with illegal immigration", said the BBC.

When the two party leaders met in their first televised debate three weeks ago the prime minister "saw the event as his last chance to turn the tide of the election", said The Times, but "that hope is now gone". In this debate "the prime minister had nothing to lose ... and it showed".

The final TV clash was an "ill-tempered shouting match", said Sky News's chief political correspondent Jon Craig. But "just like England at the Euros … the debate was a draw". The result was 50%-50% exactly, according to pollsters YouGov.

What next? 
More revelations about the gambling scandal emerged yesterday. As many as 15 Conservative Party candidates and officials are being scrutinised by the Gambling Commission, according to BBC Newsnight. It is understood the regulator will be carrying out interviews this week.

 
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today’s international story

Bolivian leader condemns coup attempt

What happened
Bolivian President Luis Arce has denounced an apparent coup attempt in the administrative capital La Paz after armoured vehicles rammed into the doors of the presidential palace.

Who said what
Arce confronted the general commander of the army Juan José Zúñiga – who appeared to be leading the rebellion – in a hallway of the presidential palace, saying: "I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers."

Bolivia has seen "intensifying protests" in recent months caused by the economy's "precipitous decline", said the BBC. "Tensions have been building" ahead of next year's general elections, when the leftist ex-president Evo Morales is expected to run against his former ally Arce.

What next?
General Zúñiga said he still intends to "restructure democracy" and that, while he respects Arce for now, there will be a change of government.

Arce, meanwhile, has dismissed Zúñiga and appointed new military commanders. New army chief José Wilson Sánchez immediately ordered all mobilised troops to return to their barracks and armoured vehicles and soldiers have reportedly begun withdrawing from around the presidential palace.

 
 
Today’s space story

Boeing capsule remains stuck in space

What happened
A Boeing craft is still trapped in space with two US astronauts on board. The Starliner left Florida on 5 June for an eight-day mission with Nasa after two prior unsuccessful attempts.

But astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have since been stuck in their capsule, which is attached to the International Space Station, while engineers try to fix a problem.

Who said what
Boeing has "adjusted the return of the Starliner crew flight test until after two planned spacewalks" this week and next Tuesday, said a spokesperson. "Four of the five thrusters that were previously shutting down are now operating normally", leaving only one out of 27 offline. "This does not present an issue for the return mission."

But "Boeing's public relations crisis is now out of this world", said The Guardian.

What next?
It is not clear when the astronauts will be able to return to Earth, but they have plenty of supplies and are "not pressed for time".

 
 

It's not all bad

A state-of-the-art glove has restored a German man's ability to do his favourite things, like fishing and cycling. Michael Altheim, who lost four fingers on his right hand in a work accident, was recently fitted with a Hero Gauntlet, a partial hand prosthetic with 3D-printed fingers made by Open Bionics. "The new hand works perfectly without any delay," Altheim told SWNS. Everyday activities are all easier, he said. When shopping, for example, he can hold a basket with one hand and grab items with the other. Open Bionics is now working with insurance groups across Germany to offer its technology to more partial hand amputees.

 
 
under the radar

How strawberries are funding crime in Sweden

Swedes have been warned that picking up punnets of strawberries from roadside vendors risks fuelling the country's gang war.

"What strawberries and cream are to Wimbledon, the jordgubbstarta strawberry cake is to Swedish midsummer", said The Times, "a wholesome and indispensable accompaniment to one of the high points of the national calendar".

But Swedish police raided several roadside strawberry sellers in the run-up to this year's midsummer festival "to cut off what appears to be a lucrative sideline for one of Sweden's most violent criminal organisations".

The fruit trade "might look like an incongruous venture for an outfit whose core business model has traditionally been drugs and racketeering", added The Times, but authorities say it has become "a significant source of income" for one of Sweden's most violent criminal gangs.

According to Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, the raided roadside vendors may have links with notorious gang leader Ismail Abdo. He is nicknamed Jordgubben, which in Swedish means "The Strawberry".

According to The Local, the raided roadside strawberry sellers had been "marketing Belgian strawberries as Swedish" before using the revenue to "fund serious organised crime". Authorities believe that illegal strawberry sales are extremely lucrative for Sweden's criminal gangs, turning over "billions of kronor every year".

In the past few years Sweden has become a "European hotspot for gang-related shootings and bombings'', said the BBC.

In a televised address in September 2023 Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson blamed an "irresponsible immigration policy and failed integration" for the unprecedented violence. "I cannot overemphasise the seriousness of the situation," said the leader of the centre-right Moderate party.

 
 
on this day

27 June 1898

Joshua Slocum and his sailboat Spray arrived at Newport, Rhode Island having completed the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. He had set sail more than three years before on 25 April, 1895. Only a few hundred people have completed the feat single-handed in the 126 years since Slocum's remarkable journey ended.

 
 
Today’s newspapers

The Daily Mail leads on Rishi Sunak's "furious blast" at Keir Starmer at last night's election debate. The PM warned voters not to let Labour "take you for fools", it noted. The Daily Mirror leads on what it calls the "Holly kidnap kit" as it says jurors were shown footage of ankle shackles, a ball gag, rope, metal cable ties and handcuffs that were allegedly going to be used in a plot to kidnap Holly Willoughby. Meanwhile, the FT leads on the election in France where the Rassemblement National party chief is "convinced" it will secure an outright parliamentary majority at the polls.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Too hot for Lincoln

A waxwork of President Abraham Lincoln melted after temperatures soared in Washington DC last weekend. "The head went first, then one of his legs dripped off its torso and a foot turned into a blob," said the BBC. A wax head is being prepared to be reattached to the statue this week, local media has said.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Julia O'Driscoll and Chas Newkey-Burden.

Image credits, from top: Phil Noble - WPA Pool / Getty Images; Mateo Romay Salinas / Anadolu via Getty Images; Satellite image (c) 2024 Maxar Technologies / Getty Images.