Tuesday newspaper round-up: Novichok, US-China trade war, Brexit, Fever-Tree, Aldi

Britain is making plans to seek the extradition from Russia of two suspects identified as the perpetrators of the Salisbury poisonings. Scotland Yard detectives are understood to be confident that they have identified the would-be assassins and an extradition request is part of the plan to renew pressure on the Kremlin over the nerve agent attack. - The Times

Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with China and the EU is poised to put an end to the nearly decade-long Bull Run in equity markets, investors were warned today as HSBC became the latest global company to admit fears over tariffs. The wealth management arm of the Swiss investment bank UBS said the East-West conflict has reached a “tipping point” and urged action by its 
clients. - Telegraph

Britain’s hot summer has masked the weakness of consumer demand by prompting the sharpest monthly growth in food spending in five years, the latest snapshot of the high street has shown. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the main beneficiaries of the long, dry spell were supermarkets and pubs as well as shops selling fans and other cooling equipment, but that other parts of the sector suffered. - Guardian

Moderate Labour MPs have been holding secret meetings in a luxury farmhouse to plot a takeover of the party, it was claimed last night. Around 12 MPs are said to have met at the Sussex holiday estate at least twice to plan the fightback. - Daily Mail

A hard Brexit would pose a risk to public safety, police leaders have warned in a leaked letter. Police and crime commissioners called on Sajid Javid, the home secretary, to draft contingency plans for a “no-deal” Brexit immediately. - The Times

The founders of Fever-Tree are set to toast a £73m payday, after unveiling plans to sell another tranche of shares in the mixer maker. Both Charles Rolls, non-executive deputy chairman, and Tim Warrillow, chief executive, plan to sell around 1 million shares each, leaving them will stakes of 8pc and 4.7pc respectively. - Telegraph

The Insolvency Service is to start interviewing former directors of the collapsed government contractor Carillion as it steps up an investigation into one of the biggest corporate failures in recent British history. Nearly seven months after Carillion entered liquidation, the government agency said it had finished transferring 278 contracts to new suppliers as part of a painstaking process designed to ensure smooth continuity of public services. - Guardian

Food manufacturers are fighting back against Aldi, accusing it of producing knock-offs of their products. The German discounter was labelled a 'parasite' after it was found selling a range of products almost identical to those made by smaller firms. - Daily Mail

A funding squeeze in the NHS led one of Britain’s biggest private hospital companies to issue a profit warning yesterday, sending its shares tumbling below their float price. Spire Healthcare said that underlying earnings this year were expected to be “materially lower” than 2017, blaming fewer NHS referrals and higher investment costs. - The Times

Earth may be on a runaway trajectory towards a ‘hothouse’ climate which will see huge swathes of the planet become uninhabitable and 200 ft sea level rises, an international team of scientists has warned. A new review found that even if targets to cap global warming at 2C are met, it may already be too late because of a ‘domino effect’ of other factors such as the ongoing reduction in Arctic sea ice and the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. - Telegraph

Plumes of smoke towered over flame-engulfed mountains in northern California on Monday as firefighters grappled with the largest wildfire in state history. At a community hall in a small farming community 121 miles north-east of San Francisco, Renato Lira, an American Red Cross disaster services worker, looked through photos on his phone of the fire he had just driven through to set up an evacuation center. As he flicked, his screen turned red. - Guardian

Space firms have hailed an investment boom as they prepare to launch the first satellites from UK soil. Industry figures say cash has started to flow in after a spaceport in the Scottish Highlands was announced. It is one of several programmes aimed at making Britain a world-leading hub for low-orbit launches, adding to its already-strong reputation for building and managing satellites. - Daily Mail

China is ready to fight a long trade war with the United States, its state media has said, as the world’s largest economies brace for fallout from their fierce dispute. Editorials in Chinese newspapers have warned President Trump, who has declared that tariffs are “working big time”, that American businesses could collapse and its farms risk closure if the bitter row intensified. - The Times

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blasted as "psychological warfare" a wave of US sanctions that were reimposed on the country on Tuesday. The United States brought back into effect harsh penalties that had been lifted under a historic, multi-party nuclear agreement that President Donald Trump abandoned in May. - Telegraph

Rescuers in Lombok are still pulling people out alive from the rubble two days after a deadly earthquake struck the Indonesian island, causing widespread damage and panic. The 6.9-magnitude quake that struck early on Sunday evening killed 98 people, injured more than 236 others, and destroyed thousands of homes. - Guardian

An electronics and homeware chain run by the owners of House of Fraser has gone bust. Brookstone, a chain bought by Sanpower in 2014 at the same time as it paid £480m for House of Fraser, has filed for bankruptcy in the US. It will now close all 101 shopping centre stores, with its 35 airport shops and website staying open for business. - Daily Mail