Plus, could you pledge not to fly for a year?
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| Russian forces unleashed as Ukraine declares invasion under way |
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| | | After months of escalating tensions, sanctions and attempts to find a resolution through diplomacy, Russia announced it was launching a military operation in Ukraine. There are already reports of missile strikes and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for martial law to be instated. The crisis has escalated rapidly after Russian President Vladimir Putin changed his peacekeeping mission in Donbas region - run by Moscow-backed separatists - to a "special military operation" in a televised address. He urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay down weapons and return to their homes. Many people have already left the region. And while Mr Putin said Russia didn’t plan to occupy Ukraine, there would be "instant" action if anyone tried to take them on. Ukraine says this is a "full-scale invasion", something which Western allies have been warning would happen for weeks. It’s time to "up the pain level" on Russia, says US Senator Mark Warner, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised decisive action, alongside the country’s allies. Ukrainians have been putting on a united front but there are now reports of explosions in several cities, and gunfire near the main airport in the capital Kyiv. Russia’s defence ministry claims it's targeting military infrastructure, air defence and air forces - not cities. The action being taken is "premeditated war", says US President Joe Biden, who adds: "The world will hold Russia accountable." So, what does Mr Putin want? This appears to mark the start of Russia's long-awaited attack, says our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams, as G7 leaders are due to meet later. I don’t think people expected this full-on assault on their country, says our Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford. People I’ve spoken to are frightened. No one even knows where to run to, if they wanted, she adds. Follow our live page for the latest developments on this story | |
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| Students to pay off loans until their 60s |
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| Student loans, which cover university fees, are written off after 30 years under the current system, if those who receive them don’t earn enough in that time to make the payments. But that’s about to change and could mean students will be paying off debts for 40 years - which would take them into their 60s. This extended repayment period will apply to anyone who’s starting university from next year. It's part of the government's plan to reduce the bill for taxpayers as more students than ever go to university. The shake-up will also see course costs frozen for two years, and students will repay their loans whenever their annual earnings are above £25,000 rather than the current £27,295 threshold. Labour says these changes will "hit those on low incomes hardest", with lower-earning graduates impacted more. | |
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| Covid restrictions end in England |
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| Today is the day all remaining legal restrictions relating to coronavirus end in England. That means there's no legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive - although you're still advised to do it if you have the virus. It's all part of the government's Living with Covid plan to get back to normal life. The plan's been broadly welcomed but some businesses are nervous now that restrictions have ended. One independent shop owner is one of those who's worried. She wants to get back normality but removing restrictions "seems a bit too quick" to her. Read more here. | |
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| | | | | "I got an email to say she was serving us notice… I was quite upset, quite emotional, it was panic mode." Rachel, her partner and her adult daughter had lived in their rented home in east London since August 2019. But after struggling financially during the Covid pandemic, her landlord told them they would have to leave. The government introduced a ban on evictions in March 2020 to protect renters during the pandemic, but this was lifted in May 2021. Now government figures show that repossession claims by private landlords are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Figures show a total of 9,410 court claims against tenants made in the final quarter of 2021, compared with 9,676 in the same period in 2019. "We were shocked," Rachel said. "The landlord had told us that the last tenant had been there eight years and that is what she wanted from the tenancy. Her vision matched ours in that respect." The eviction notice from her landlord was under Section 21 - a "no fault" eviction where no reason needs to be given for the decision. | |
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| | Larissa Kennelly | BBC News | |
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| | | | The crisis in Ukraine once again leads many of this morning's papers. The Daily Mirror has a warning to Russian soldiers that they will enter "hell" if they invade Ukraine, which has declared a state of emergency, reports the Guardian. Comments from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone "full tonto" appear in the Metro and the Daily Star. This quote is also used in the Daily Express, which claims Mr Putin is "hell-bent", and there's "no stopping" him. The i divides its front page to cover this story, but also another about student loans, which is also the focus of the Times. Other stories appearing in the papers include Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s vow about taxes. Read the newspaper review in full here. | |
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| | | Chancellor Rishi Sunak 'believes in lower taxes' despite April rise |
| | | | US Facebook accused of blacklisting OnlyFans’ rivals |
| | | | Imports Don't drop foie gras and fur ban, Tory MPs urge |
| | | | Cycling British Olympic legend Jason Kenny retires |
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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? |
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| We know the dinosaurs were wiped out when an asteroid struck Earth millions of years ago. But what we don’t know is the time of year that happened - until now. It's more than likely the asteroid caused devastation during the Northern Hemisphere's springtime, but why does this matter? Find out here. Now to a less dramatic fall from space, which is worth more than its weight in gold. A bean-sized fragment of meteorite weighing 1.7g landed in an English town last year. It was put up for auction and sold for £9,256 - 120 times the value of its weight in gold. Take a look. And finally, the title of Queen Consort to be bestowed on the Duchess of Cornwall when Prince Charles becomes King is priceless. Camilla’s spoken to us after the Queen revealed this was her wish for her. Here’s what she had to say. | |
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| | | | 1950 Clement Attlee returns as prime minister after the Labour Party wins the general election with a single-figure majority. |
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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. | |
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