Top story: Zelenskiy says sanctions ‘a little late’
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories right now.
Joe Biden will travel to a Polish town near the border with Ukraine today in a show of solidarity with the war-torn country and in an attempt to display western resolve against a Russian invasion that continues to target cities and civilians. After a busy day of summitry in Brussels yesterday, the US president will visit Rzeszów ahead of talks with Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda. More than two million Ukrainians have fled to Poland, which has taken the brunt of the refugee crisis, and Biden will discuss a coordinated humanitarian response to aid Warsaw’s efforts. He will also meet American troops who have been deployed in recent weeks to bolster Nato’s eastern flank. Biden claimed yesterday that Nato had “never been more united” and he warned Vladimir Putin the west would respond if the Russian president used chemical weapons in Ukraine. Boris Johnson also warned that such a move would result in “catastrophic” consequences for Russia. However, EU leaders remain divided however over whether to cut off gas and oil supplies from Russia, and the effectiveness of sanctions was also called into question last night by Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, who said the measures had been “a little late” to deter Putin.
Some Ukrainian refugees have described being forced to return to Ukraine because of protracted delays in securing UK visas, while others are living in underground bomb shelters in Kyiv, dismayed by the long wait for visas to be processed. Foreign legion fighters are actively trying to get into Ukraine, with US volunteers now turning up to fight the invasion. And in Russia, defence minister Sergei Shoigu appeared on TV yesterday in an apparent attempt to quell rumours that he has been scapegoated for the faltering invasion. But you had to be quick to catch him. He disappeared again very quickly, fuelling the suspicions that he has been removed from office. Here’s what we know so far on day 30 of the invasion, and you can also follow developments at the live blog here.
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Poor show – Up to 1.3 million people will fall into absolute poverty next year, economists have warned, as Rishi Sunak tried to counter accusations that he hasn’t done enough to ease the worst drop in living standards for six decades. The Resolution Foundation said the number of people in absolute poverty will rise to 12.5 million, or one-fifth of the population. Asked why he had not given more support for those on universal credit, who will see their benefits rise by just 3% while inflation leaps to nearly 8%, Sunak retorted: “We can’t do everything.” Our economics editor says the upshot is that Britain is no longer a country where workers can expect to get better off year after year.
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Academy earners – The government has failed to control excessive salaries earned by academy trust leaders, according to MPs who also criticised the use of millions in public money to “prop up” poorly managed trusts. According to a report by the public accounts committee published today, the number of academy trusts paying at least one senior staff member more than £100,000 went up from 1,875 in 2019-20 to 2,245 the following year.
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Bridge block – An increasing number of Britain’s road bridges are crumbling. More than 3,200 have been identified as being substandard, with a £1.2bn repair cost, local authorities say. More than 100 council-maintained bridges have been declared unfit for the heaviest vehicles in the past year, with 17 bridges collapsing entirely and 37 partially in that time. Devon has the greatest number of bridges in disrepair – 229 – while Dorset has had the most collapses, at 12.
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Electric charge – The number of electric car chargers could grow tenfold to 300,000 by 2030 after criticism that the rollout of public infrastructure is too slow to match rapid growth in sales. The Department for Transport said it would invest an extra £450m to install more chargers ahead of a ban on sales of new cars and vans with petrol and diesel engines from 2030. There were 420,000 pure-electric cars on UK roads at the end of February but only 29,600 public charge points.
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‘Stand firm, Mark!!!’ – The US conservative activist Ginni Thomas – who is married to supreme court justice Clarence Thomas – implored Donald Trump’s chief of staff to help overturn the 2020 election results, according to reports. In one of 29 messages, Thomas wrote to Mark Meadows on 10 November: “Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!… who is standing for America’s constitutional governance…” Meanwhile, Trump has sued Hillary Clinton over an alleged conspiracy to rig the 2016 election.
Today in Focus podcast: the shameful case of Child Q
After a 15-year-old London girl was strip searched by police at her school, her family and community want accountability, Alexandra Topping tells Nosheen Iqbal.
Lunchtime read: Hollywood, Covid and The Bubble
The Bubble is the first mainstream film to tackle the pandemic and concerns a group of film stars holed up in Cliveden House hotel, Berkshire, in late 2020 to make a dino franchise flick. It appears to take aim at actors’ vanity but its director, Judd Apatow, and star David Duchovny tell Catherine Shoard why the characters might actually be heroes.
Sport
Gareth Bale dazzled on centre stage as he hit a stunning free-kick and a fine individual goal in a 2-1 win over Austria to leave Wales one game from their first World Cup since 1958. Italy missed out on the World Cup finals again after losing 1-0 at home to North Macedonia in their playoff semi-final as Aleksandar Trajkovski’s last-gasp strike earned the visitors a famous win. In Glasgow, Krzysztof Piatek’s stoppage-time penalty denied Scotland victory in a 1-1 friendly draw on a poignant night at Hampden Park. Saqib Mahmood was spurred on by the sight of his England teammates in their whites getting ready to take the field as he and Jack Leach mounted their determined 10th-wicket rearguard on the opening day of the third Test against West Indies in Grenada.
Emma Raducanu’s tough education in her maiden WTA Tour season has continued as she served for the match in her Miami Open debut but still lost to Katerina Siniakova in the second round. The Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, has insisted Eddie Jones is not “bulletproof” and belatedly admitted England’s Six Nations performance was not acceptable. The human rights group Reprieve has demanded Formula One ends its association with Saudi Arabian sportswashing after the family of a teenager sentenced to death wrote to Lewis Hamilton pleading with him to speak out on their son’s behalf before this weekend’s race. And the process of deciding upon a new owner for Chelsea took a step forward after a Saudi Arabian consortium was removed from the running.
Business
Sir Christopher Hohn, the billionaire boss of the hedge fund TCI, has reiterated his support for action on climate change by urging shareholders to vote against bank directors involved in “greenwashing” who lobby against climate action. “Any bank making a net zero promise while actively lobbying against necessary climate regulation … is greenwashing,” he said in a statement.
The papers
The Guardian leads with “Biden’s warning to Putin over chemical weapons”, and the same goes for the Times – “Nato will act if chemical weapons used, says Biden” – and the Telegraph – “Biden: We will respond in kind if Putin uses chemicals”. The Mail reflects Downing Street’s delight at the Kremlin’s condemnation of Boris Johnson: “Kremlin: Boris Is Our No 1 Enemy”. The P&O scandal is the lead in several papers with the FT’s splash saying “P&O chief confesses sackings were illegal but says he would do it again”, while the Mirror has “Shame on you” and the Record goes for “P&O pirates”. The i reports “Sunak and Johnson at odds over UK’s cost of living crisis” and the Express keeps up the pressure on the government over the cost of living issue with a lead saying “Why Britain must act to end this despair”. The Sun’s lead is about the royal visit to Jamaica: “One’s love”, it says.
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