Top story: Trump ‘failed to protect us – unforgivable’

Good morning, Warren Murray bringing you the tail end of an eventful week in the news.

Joe Biden has vowed to unite America and lead the country to overcome “this season of darkness” as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, a long-sought moment that comes more than 30 years after he first ran for president.

Biden, 77, delivered the most important speech of his nearly half a century in public life from a silent ballroom inside the Chase Center, near his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on the last night of the virtual Democratic national convention. “Here and now I give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst,” Biden said. “We can and will overcome this season of darkness. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.

“United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.” Biden presented November’s election as a battle for the soul of the nation, echoing the words he used when he launched his third presidential bid last year. He said the country faces four historic crises: the coronavirus pandemic, the economic fallout, racial injustice and climate change. Without mentioning his rival by name, Biden accused Donald Trump of having “failed in his most basic duty to the nation” by mishandling the pandemic. If elected, he pledged to implement a national strategy to tackle it, including a national mandate on wearing a mask as “a patriotic duty”.

“Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to this nation. He failed to protect us. He failed to protect America. And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable.”

Bid to fly Navalny out – A plane from Germany carrying a medical team has landed in Russia in a bid to retrieve Alexei Navalny, where he is said to be lying in a coma from a suspected poisoning. At time of writing there was a stand-off with Russian doctors reportedly not allowing Navalny to be flown out. On Thursday, Navalny was flying from Tomsk in Siberia to Moscow when he suddenly fell ill and lost consciousness. Supporters suspect the political enemy of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was given a poisoned cup of tea. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, have expressed concern over Navalny’s condition and offered treatment in their countries.

Salty Bannon – Donald Trump’s former chief strategist has appeared in Manhattan federal court after his arrest – on board a 150ft yacht off Connecticut’s coast – for allegedly siphoning more than $1m from a fundraising campaign to build the president’s controversial border wall with Mexico.

A sunburnt and shabbily-turned-out Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty and railed outside court: “This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall.” Bannon was released on $5m in bail undertakings and ordered not to get on any more private yachts, boats or planes. He has until 3 September to get his bail together. Donald Trump says he had nothing to do with any of it.

Coronavirus latest – The families of NHS and social care workers who die from coronavirus will lose welfare benefits if they receive a payout under the government’s Covid-19 compensation scheme, it has emerged. The £60,000 lump sum breaches capital limits rules for most benefits, such as universal credit, housing benefit and pension credit. Labour wants the families affected to be made exempt from capital limits rules. A cross-party group of more than 20 MPs has urged Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, to demand the government change test-and-trace after it admitted failing to conduct a legally required assessment of the privacy implications. Denham has come under criticism after a freedom of information request revealed she had been working from British Columbia, Canada, which is eight hours behind the UK, after her elderly mother was in a car accident there. In New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, has hit back implicitly at Donald Trump who tried to portray her country as being gripped by a “big surge” in cases. “The United States has 16,563 cases per million people. We are 269 cases per million people,” Ardern said. Keep up with further coronavirus developments at our live blog.

California burning – Wildfires that have forced thousands out of their homes are continuing to tax California’s firefighting capacity. The fires have so far destroyed 175 structures, including homes, and are threatening 50,000 more, said Daniel Berlant, of the department of forestry and fire protection. In all 33 civilians and firefighters have been injured while two people have died fighting the fires: a pilot whose water-bombing helicopter crashed and a utility worker who was assisting at the scene of a fire. Big Basin Redwoods state park, California’s oldest state park and home of some of its majestic redwoods, sustained “extensive damage”, according to the state parks and recreation department, with several historic buildings destroyed.

Female talent underplayed – A survey of the top 100 British songs to feature in the UK airplay chart between 1 January and 15 August this year has found that only 19% were by female acts. Male artists accounted for 51% and mixed-gender collaborations made up 30%. As well, 80% of British songwriters on the surveyed tracks were male. Kamille, real name Camille Purcell, who co-wrote and co-produced Break Up Song by Little Mix, described the findings as shocking: “Our voices, creativity and talent need to be heard and seen just as loudly and visibly as our male counterparts.” BBC research last year found three times as many male as female pop stars appeared on the biggest singles of 2018.

Today in Focus podcast: Risking it all in the Channel

The number of migrants arriving in small boats this year is already double that of 2019. But those who manage to reach the UK find themselves confronted by a government that is increasingly hostile to new arrivals.

Lunchtime read: Who is Alexei Navalny?

The Russian opposition leader – put in a coma by a suspected poisoning – is known for his blockbuster investigations of the industrial-scale corruption that he says has proliferated under Vladimir Putin.

Trained lawyer Navalny has become a master of grabby internet journalism – trawling corporate records, and using such means as drone footage and social media content, to reveal to internet-savvy Russians how Putin’s circle has siphoned off billions. For those efforts, which have irritated Russia’s most powerful, he is feared to be paying a heavy price.

Sport

Joe Root has called on his England players to sign off from their “bizarre” summer of biosecure Test cricket by throwing everything at Pakistan. Romelu Lukaku was maligned at Manchester United but no one has done more to carry Inter to tonight’s Europa League final against Sevilla. Catriona Matthew came in from a breezy Troon links with a level-par opening round of 71, to be four shots behind the Women’s Open leader, Amy Olson of the US. First will play third tonight in what could be a rehearsal for the Premiership final but Rob Baxter believes his Exeter players will be unfazed by the favourites tag against Sale.

Novak Djokovic has attacked the media, saying there is a witch-hunt against him and insisting he felt no remorse over his ill-fated Adria Tour. The Kansas City Chiefs will prohibit the wearing of Native American headdresses, face paint and clothing at Arrowhead Stadium, and are also discussing the future of the iconic tomahawk chop as they address what many consider racist imagery associated with their franchise. Magnus Carlsen fought back from the verge of defeat as the world champion clinched his epic seven-day, 38-game match against Hikaru Nakamura by four sets to three. In Australia’s Super Netball competition, controversy has erupted over the sending-off of an elite player, twice, for rough play – Erin Delahunty delves into the fallout.

Business

Asian shares have been higher on hopes for development of a coronavirus vaccine, although worries remain about long-term economic damage from the pandemic. The rise in regional benchmarks echoed the gains on Wall Street, which were led by big technology companies that are benefiting from people staying home during the outbreak. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have said they will take their Covid-19 vaccine candidate with the fewest side effects into final-stage testing. It is one of a handful of experimental vaccines to reach end-stage tests around the world. The FTSE looks flat to a few points higher and the pound is trading around $1.323 and €1.114 at time of writing.

The papers

“Never let him see the light of day” – the Express gives its verdict on 55 years for the Manchester bomber Hashem Abedi. The Metro says “See you in 55 years, pal”. The i reports “Joy at record GCSE results as ministers say sorry” while the Telegraph has an admissions story that is not to do with school results: “Hospital admissions for Covid inflated”.

The Guardian covers “Lockdown fears for Birmingham amid sharp rise in UK infections”. The Mail is incredulous as “Boris carries on camping”, saying the PM has been enjoying a Scottish coastal holiday while exams chaos raged on. “Beeb TV news doomed” says the Mirror after the BBC head of news declared “linear bulletins” would soon be obsolete.

The Times uses a press-kit style portrait, much more flattering than his current appearance, as it reports “Steve Bannon charged over Mexico wall fraud claim” – while its splash is “Middle-class children may be forced to take gap year”. The Financial Times has a front-page picture of Alexei Navalny and leads with a US story: “Credits rail at bonuses paid to US bosses just before bankruptcy”.

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