WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Presidential security, a French stalemate, and Ethiopia's kidnapping epidemic

 
today's international story

Trump security boosted weeks ago due to 'Iran plot'

What happened 
The US Secret Service increased security around Donald Trump prior to last weekend's assassination attempt in response to a separate plot by Iran to kill the former president.

Who said what
Details of the potential Iranian operation were obtained through "human source intelligence", a US national security official told CBS. 

Though there is no suggestion that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter who fired at Trump at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday was in any way connected to the Iran plot, the existence of the threat from a hostile foreign intelligence agency "raises new questions about the security lapses", said CNN.

Trump has "faced threats from Tehran" since ordering the drone strike assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds force, in Iraq in 2020, said the BBC.

The Iranian mission at the United Nations denied the allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated and malicious", but added that Trump was "a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law".

What next? 
Joe Biden has called for an "independent review" of the security planning for Trump's 13 July rally. The Secret Service is "facing intense questions over the security perimeter at the rally", said The New York Times. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has said she will "participate fully" with investigations into her agency's failings.

But voices on the right, including Fox News columnist David Marcus, have said Biden must go further than the security review, calling for Cheatle to be fired from her post.

 
 
today’s Europe story

Macron accepts French PM's resignation

What happened
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government resigned yesterday, but will stay on as caretakers until a new cabinet is appointed following elections that delivered no outright winner.

A broad left-green alliance – called New Popular Front (NFP) – won the most seats, but "has been scrambling" to find a consensus candidate for prime minister, said France 24.

Who said what
Since its election win the left-wing alliance has been "marred by infighting", said the BBC.

Leftist deputy of the French National Assembly Francois Ruffin called the NFP's division "shameful". Green politician Sandrine Rousseau said the alliance's inability to find a suitable PM made her "very angry".

What next?
Attal and his ministers will continue to deal with day-to-day business as a caretaker government. Part of their role will be to ensure the Olympics, which start on 26 July, run smoothly. But they cannot submit new laws to parliament or make any major changes, experts say.

 
 
Today’s entertainment story

'Strictly Come Dancing' sinks deeper into crisis

What happened
The BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" is in full-blown crisis after a second professional dancer left the show amid allegations of abuse. Graziano Di Prima was sacked last week for allegedly "hitting, kicking and spitting" at his celebrity partner, former "Love Island" star Zara McDermott, during rehearsals last year.

The departure of fellow dancer Giovanni Pernice (who denied three partners' allegations of abusive methods) in May and the subsequent BBC investigation brought "shocking" footage of Di Prima's training sessions to light.

Who said what
"I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly," said Di Prima, 30. "My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime."

McDermott, who did not complain, said she had struggled to speak out about her "incredibly distressing" experience because she "wrestled with fear" about "victim shaming".

It is "well known that the BBC has established robust duty of care procedures", said the broadcaster.

What next?
For this year's 20th anniversary series the show will likely introduce much closer supervision of rehearsals.

 
 

It's not all bad

Women may soon have access to DIY cervical screening tests on the NHS after research showed home testing significantly boosted screening rates. Self-testing could encourage 400,000 more women to participate in cervical screening annually, academics from King's College London suggested. Cervical cancer, caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types, affects 3,200 women in the UK each year, leading to 850 deaths. Despite the HPV vaccination program, screening attendance is declining, with nearly a third of women missing tests due to embarrassment, pain concerns and inconvenient appointments.

 
 
under the radar

Ethiopia's kidnapping epidemic

More than 100 people, mostly students, are being held for ransom by kidnappers in Ethiopia, the latest victims of a wave of abductions in the troubled country.

The kidnappings are centred on the restive Oromia region. Buses travelling from a university in the area to the capital Addis Ababa this month were attacked and the passengers taken.

Such incidents are nothing new. It is now "very rare" to find a family "that has not been affected by kidnapping", one local told The Guardian in January. "The government has no control" over the problem.

Not all abductions are for "political aims", said The Guardian. In Ethiopia's "broken economy" collecting ransoms is seen as "easy money" and "anyone can be a target".

Last year the non-governmental Ethiopian Human Rights Council said victims of the kidnapping scourge "often endure torture, cruel treatment and detainment under inhumane conditions, constituting severe crimes against human dignity".

Last summer more than 50 passengers travelling from the Amhara region to Addis Ababa were kidnapped, and in late 2019 18 university students in Oromia were said to have been kidnapped by armed attackers. Although Oromia is a "hotspot" for abductions, kidnappers also operate elsewhere, said the BBC, such as the "war-scarred regions" of Tigray and Amhara.

The government's response has been "ham-fisted", characterised by "arbitrary arrests and unlawful killings", according to the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Britain's embassy in Ethiopia advises UK nationals to "avoid regular patterns of travel or movement" in large parts of Oromia because of the risk of kidnapping.

 
 
on this day

17 July 1717

Boats anchored on the River Thames near Chelsea to hear the premiere of George Frideric Handel's "Water Music" – with the royal barge carrying King George I among them. The three-part suite was composed for 50 musicians – enough to ensure the music could be heard across the water. It remains one of the composer's most famous works.

 
 
Today’s newspapers

Communities will only be able to debate "how, not if" homes are built under Keir Starmer's "fresh assault" on the planning system, says the Daily Mail. The Telegraph leads on Donald Trump and Boris Johnson's meeting at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, reporting that Johnson urged Trump not to abandon Ukraine. Gareth Southgate, who announced his resignation as England manager yesterday, features widely. The Mirror describes him as a "man of honour", the i paper and the Daily Star call for former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to replace him.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Fire crews free horse

A horse that got stuck in four feet of mud in a boggy Welsh field was rescued after fire crews spent two hours saving the animal. The 20-year-old horse had tired itself out trying to get free after one of its legs got sucked into the mud patch, said Sky News. Salvage sheets, shovels, strops and a slide mat were used by members of the rescue team, who were assisted by the animal's owner and local vets.

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Joe Appel / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images; Mike Marsland / WireImage / Getty Images.