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| | Putin being misled by fearful advisers, says US | |  | | | | | | | | | There’s tension in Russian quarters over the war in Ukraine, according to the US. The White House claims Vladimir Putin’s advisers are too scared to tell him how badly the conflict is going. Russia’s president "felt misled by the Russian military", says White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield, and this is leading to "persistent tension” between them. While the Kremlin hasn’t commented on this information, British intelligence also shows some Russian troops in Ukraine have sabotaged their own equipment and are short of it, shot down their own aircraft by accident, and are refusing to carry out orders - they are demoralised. China’s been warned not to become "too closely aligned" with Russia by the head of the UK's cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ Sir Jeremy Fleming. "Putin's war has been a strategic blunder that has left Russia weaker over the long term and increasingly isolated on the world stage," Ms Bedingfield says. This situation has given rise to worries that Mr Putin being uninformed could result in a "less than faithful" effort at ending the conflict through peace negotiations, says the Pentagon.
But fighting still rages; scepticism remains over Russia’s pledge to de-escalate in two key areas around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv; and now Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the country is bracing itself for a new Russian offensive in the east. Russia has previously said it will be refocusing on Ukraine's eastern regions - which are largely in the hands of Russian-backed separatists. There’s an "accumulation of Russian troops for new strikes in Donbas", says Mr Zelensky, who says strikes continued in areas that fell under the peace talks pledge. However, Russia - despite demanding a surrender to end shelling - has announced a ceasefire in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, where no humanitarian corridor out remains. Peace talks are due to resume online on Friday, Ukraine says, but so far, a proposal for Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky to meet has been declined by Russia because, it says, more work is needed on a draft treaty. - Follow the latest developments on our live page
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| | Oil prices fall as Biden weighs reserves release | | | | | | | | | The war in Ukraine has caused global energy prices to soar over fears supplies could run out following sanctions on Russia - a major producer of oil and gas. To counter this, the US is considering whether to release up to 180m barrels of oil in the coming months to bring down fuel costs. Though only a consideration at the moment, it has already resulted in oil prices falling sharply. If this goes ahead, it will be the largest-ever release since the US created its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the 1970s. A group of major oil producing nations, known as OPEC+, is expected to stick to its existing deal to gradually increase production. But US is looking to take action as fuel prices have been a major political issue. President Joe Biden is expected to give a speech later on "his administration's actions to reduce the impact of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's price hike on energy prices and lower gas prices at the pump for American families". | | | | | |
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| | Cost of living key to Labour's local election campaign | | | | | | | | | Local elections are just over a month away and Labour’s planning to get its campaign up and running later. These elections will be the first electoral test for party leaders since the start of the war in Ukraine, the political debate sparked by pressures caused by the rising cost of living and the investigation into lockdown parties held in Downing Street. Leader Keir Starmer will launch his party's campaign in the market town of Bury, Greater Manchester, where he will accuse the Conservatives of a "pathetic" response to rising prices following last week’s Spring Statement, which set out measures including a cut to fuel duty. Mr Starmer will urge voters to send the government a message "they cannot ignore" while also highlighting plans to cut energy bills through a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Read more here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | Shyamlee Patel is part of a growing trend on both sides of the Atlantic - she has joined a trade union since the start of the pandemic. Ms Patel, who lives in New York, works in the finance department of a US conservation group. She and her colleagues unionised last year following redundancies at the organisation. Their decision was also in response to independently substantiated allegations that female employees and people of colour were being treated unfairly.
In the US and the UK, trade unionism and worker activism has seen a resurgence over the past two years, as the job cuts caused by coronavirus lockdowns have made people more aware of the insecurity of their employment. Union membership in the UK rose by 118,000 to 6.6 million in 2020, the fourth year in a row that it increased. One of the largest unions, Unite, said in May of that year that "tens of thousands" had joined up "because they are very frightened" about the risk of redundancy. | | | | | | | | | | | | Anne Cassidy | | Business reporter | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | The damning report into catastrophic failures in maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust is the focus of many front pages this morning. Childbirth "is not safe for women in England" until recommendations are fully implemented, says the Times. The Daily Mail writes that a "natural birth dogma" to keep C-section rates low contributed to the deaths of mothers and babies, in what the i newspaper labels as the "biggest maternity scandal" in NHS history. According to the Guardian, police are now investigating a further 600 cases involving the trust, which has apologised. Meanwhile, the latest on the war in Ukraine also features in the papers as well, as does the death of The Wanted singer Tom Parker and a burglary at David and Victoria Beckham’s house. Read the newspaper review in full here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | Maternity Deaths scandal will spark change - Javid | | | | | | | Oscars Will Smith refused to leave after slap, Academy says | | | | | | | Antarctic Attenborough ship proves its polar credentials | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you watch one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | It might not look much in the picture but it’s taken 12.9 billion years for light from this star to reach us. Captured by the Hubble telescope, the star nicknamed Earendel - an Old English word meaning morning star or rising light - is a record breaker. It’s the furthest star we’ve seen so far. What does it look like? And how was Hubble able to capture it? Find out here.
The light in this next one definitely wasn’t made by stars - but glowsticks. For any of you who had them, and whistles, you know we’re taking you back to the time when raves were huge. There’s a new way of experiencing them - with virtual reality. Take a look.
And finally, this isn’t a type of virtual reality headset even though it does have a futuristic feel to it. Dyson, which is best known for vacuum cleaners, has created a set of headphones with an air-purifying visor covering the mouth to filter air pollution. Here’s more if you’re interested. | | | | | |
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| | On this day | | | | | | | 1990 An anti-poll tax rally in central London erupts into the worst riots seen in the city for a century. Hundreds of people are arrested, and police officers and members of the public are injured - watch our report to find out more. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
