Turkey ‘losing hope’ on visas, banks cull corrupt accounts and the airline cabin class war

The prospect of a televised EU debate between David Cameron and Boris Johnson has dwindled, after Downing Street indicated that the prime minister would not take part in any head-to-head encounter with a Conservative colleague.

Vote Leave, the official Out campaign, reacted furiously after Mr Cameron instead agreed to take part in an hour-long ITV programme also featuring Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence party. The Remain campaign has sought to depict the divisive Mr Farage as thede facto leader of the Out campaign. (FT)

In the news

Turkey ‘losing hope’ on visas Volkan Bozkir, the country’s minister for European Union affairs, said he was losing hope of reaching a deal on visa-free travel for Turks within Europe. Mr Bozkir said the EU’s request that Turkey narrow its definition of terrorism would be impossible. The FT’s David Gardner looks at the state of Turkish politics as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan bludgeons his way to one-man rule. (BBC, FT)

Dilma Rousseff’s last stand? The Brazilian senate is voting on Thursday on whether to impeach the president, a move that would force her to stand down. But what is she actually accused of? (FT)

Britain turns down Indian request to deport Vijay Mallya The Narendra Modi government is keen to make an example of the tycoon, who is sheltering in London from creditors demanding repayment of $1.3bn in debts and accumulated interest left by the 2012 collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines. (FT)

Nissan eyes Mitsubishi stake Nissan is in talks to buy more than a 30 per cent stake in Mitsubishi Motors for about Y200bn ($1.8bn) as the smaller Japanese rival grapples with a scandal over inflated fuel economy data. (FT)

Banks cull corrupt accounts Deutsche Bank, Barclays and UBS are closing the accounts of between 20,000 and 35,000 customers either because they are considered too risky under anti-money laundering rules or because they have become uneconomic in light of new regulations. (FT)

Regulators, mount up Anbang Insurance Group and local competitors are being examined by China’s insurance regulator as concerns grow about the sector’s aggressive investment policies. The inspection comes amid a regulatory crackdown on search engine Baidu, which has been hit with sanctions following the death of a cancer patient who received an experimental treatment advertised on the site. (FT, NAR)

It's a big day for

The BBC A white paper will propose the broadcaster have a single overarching board, intended to end the muddled hierarchies that contributed to scandals over management pay-offs and coverage of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuses scandal. (FT)

UK rates The Bank of England is expected to keep its key rate at 0.5 per cent, a record low, as Brexit looms large over the British economy. Here’s what Brexit might mean for the markets. (FT)

Food for thought

London’s dirty secret An insider at a Swiss bank warned Britain’s financial watchdogs that bankers in its UK office were offering services that could facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. Did the regulators turn a blind eye? The FT investigates the City’s role as a global hub for illicit finance. (FT)

America’s middle-class meltdown For decades, the Sun Belt — an area stretching from the country’s south-east to south-west — promised jobs and a lower cost of living. But the benefits of the boom have been shared unequally and the problems of wage inequality are beginning to catch up. (FT)

Living on the Isis hit list Thousands of New Yorkers have been informed by the FBI that their names are on the jihadist group’s hit list, but many are not taking the threat as credible. “I am more threatened by Donald Trump and more terrorised by his existence than by Isis,” says one. “He’s a terrorist and I am so frightened of him. I speak for a lot of people.” (Newsweek)

The airline cabin class war A study from Harvard Business School has found that class envy can trigger bouts of air rage among airline passengers — and this holds true for both economy and first class flyers. “It is the genius of the airline industry to make people so uncomfortable that they will pay thousands of dollars more to be less uncomfortable — but still sitting in conditions that would be intolerable at home,” muses Michael Skapinker. (FT)

How we would stop an asteroid When it comes to the possibility of an asteroid crashing into earth, experts say it is not a question of if, but when. But fret not, there are some plans in the works to prevent such a scenario. The simplest method is a kind of space billiards, while another proposal involves using the gravitational pull of a massive spacecraft to nudge the rock off course. (BBC)

Man v marathon Yannis Pitsiladis wants to redefine the limits of human endurance by training a man to run a marathon in less than two hours without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. (NYT)

Video of the day

What London wants under Sadiq Khan The scope of London’s new Labour mayor Sadiq Khan to make the city more affordable will be limited and the unrivalled success of London comes at an inevitable price, argues Janan Ganesh. (FT)