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| Chemical weapons claims ridiculed as more cities come under attack |
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| | | For the very latest developments in Ukraine, check our live page. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has used a video address to rebuff Russian claims that chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction were developed in his country. The US is calling the claims "laughable", saying they are a "false flag" to justify Russia's potential use of similar weapons in the war. But the UN will hold an emergency meeting on Friday - at Russia's request - to discuss its allegations. In the last few hours, there have for the first time been blasts in the western cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as Dnipro, in central-eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, satellite images show the large Russian convoy outside Kyiv has redeployed, with artillery taking up firing positions outside the Ukrainian capital. Russian forces are also reported to be circling several cities, with Ukrainian officials warning siege-like tactics mean places like Mariupol are running out of food. In Kharkiv, "all of the city is now a front line," says our correspondent Quentin Sommerville, who has spent the week there with cameraman Darren Conway. Their report - a powerful, affecting read - contains material some may find disturbing. | |
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| | | Devastation Images and graphics show scale of Mariupol's destruction |
| ev | | | Analysis Could Putin be prosecuted for war crimes? |
| | | | Social media Facebook to allow calls for violence against Putin |
| | | | Abramovich What do Russian owner's sanctions mean for Chelsea? |
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| People can host Ukrainian refugees - PM |
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| Britons will be able to take Ukrainian refugees into their homes, as part of the UK's response to the war, the prime minister says. The government has been criticised for taking in about 1,000 refugees, when about 1.4 million are in Poland alone and the European Union has given Ukrainians three-year residency without a visa. But Boris Johnson defended the need to check biometric data - such as fingerprints - telling Sky News: "People want us to be generous but also careful." Ukrainians can only currently apply for a visa if they have family settled in the UK. Mr Johnson said details of the second visa scheme would be announced on Monday but would mean "if people want to welcome [them] into their own homes, they can do so". Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg sets out what we know so far about the plan. | |
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| Covid death toll three times higher - research |
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| It's two years to the day since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus pandemic. And after studying mortality data from 191 countries, researchers at Washington University in the US conclude more than 18 million people have died because of Covid - three times the number officially recorded. Some deaths were from the virus, while others were linked to the infection worsening pre-existing conditions, such as heart or lung disease. The researchers measured "excess deaths" - how many more people died than expected when comparing with recent years. This method estimates the UK's total to be similar to official records, at about 173,000, and suggests the highest rates were in Bolivia, Bulgaria, Eswatini, North Macedonia and Lesotho. |
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| | | | | It is potentially a critical moment in the UK's energy history. The government has been criticised for failing to live up to its promises on climate change, but Mr Putin's missiles may have turbo-charged plans to improve achieving energy security while cutting emissions. Labour has seized the moment by demanding what it calls an energy sprint - ramping up renewables and nuclear. It says insulating 19 million homes over a decade would cut UK gas imports by 15% and save up to £400 off the average energy bill... But the real test will be whether at last the government is willing to invest the cash and the policies to deliver its climate targets, hold down bills and protect us from Mr Putin's war. | |
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| | Roger Harrabin | Environment analyst | |
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| | | | The "fall of [the] Roman Empire", is how the Metro styles the sanctioning of Russian oligarchs and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich. Several papers quote Foreign Secretary Liz Truss's view that the billionaire has "blood on his hands", as a result of his links to Vladimir Putin. The results of the Russian president's decision to invade Ukraine are laid out by the Guardian, which reports on the "medieval conditions" faced by people in the besieged city of Mariupol. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says with a total of four million refugees expected to have fled Ukraine within a few days, Home Secretary Priti Patel should "get her act together" to help them. Read our newspaper review in full. | |
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| | | North Korea Pyongyang tested intercontinental missile system - US |
| | | | | | Covid UK inquiry draft terms of reference set out |
| | | | Chelsea If we have enough shirts and a bus, we'll be there - Tuchel |
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| If you do 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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| If you're hoping for happier times ahead, you might find light relief in the form of major events returning after disruption caused by the pandemic. After two cancelled years, could Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebration look a little different next time around? It usually involves a street party for tens of thousands of people, who gather to watch the New Year fireworks. But organisers seeking new producers for the winter programme, say they want them to create an event "unique to Edinburgh". Meanwhile, in Wales, there are changes to the annual Urdd Eisteddfod. Europe's largest travelling youth festival is due to pitch up in Denbighshire in May. And for its return after two virtual years, the Welsh-language literature, music and performing arts event is promising free tickets, a reunion for former members and a "stage for all" to allow as many people as possible to experience Welsh culture. And on the subject of culture, there has been a happy ending to the story of Gaelic books found in a skip in the Scottish town of Oban. Parents have managed to save 2,000 of them from being dumped, with recovered dictionaries being donated to Oban High School. | |
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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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