Top story: Macron plots ‘historic solution’
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this morning.
Emmanuel Macron believes he can deliver an “historic solution” to the Ukraine crisis as he prepares to land in Moscow today for talks with Vladimir Putin on ending the standoff. Amid dire warnings from Washington that Russia could attack its neighbour “tomorrow”, the French president said he would use his previous “deep dialogue” with Putin to “de-escalate” the situation. The Russian leader did not want to invade, Macron told a French newspaper, but was merely seeking a “clarification of the rules” with Nato and the European Union. “It is our responsibility is to build a historic solution” to the problem of European security, Macron said. “I believe President Putin is available for this.”
The mood music was more pessimistic in the US where national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that an invasion could take place “as soon as tomorrow”. The US thinks that Putin has amassed 70% of the firepower he needs to annex Ukraine, but the country’s former defence minister told the Guardian that Russia already had enough troops to seize any city in the country. Nevertheless, Macron spoke to Joe Biden for 40 minutes yesterday to “coordinate” his diplomatic mission, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz is heading to Washington to convince the US president he’s behind western efforts to face down Putin.
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Johnson reset – Allies of Boris Johnson have insisted that the “grownups” are in charge in Downing Street after the prime minister tried to rescue his premiership by rebuilding his No 10 team. Guto Harri, the former BBC journalist who is Johnson’s new communications chief, said he was “proud to join a team of capable, grownup, professional and pragmatic people”, while MP Steve Barclay becomes chief of staff. They are likely to face another tough week, however, amid calculations that the number of Tory MPs calling for a no-confidence vote is close to the 54 required to trigger a ballot. More hostile fire is also expected from Johnson’s scorned former adviser, Dominic Cummings. Revelations could involve Johnson’s wife, Carrie, who responded to a bruising weekend of press coverage by saying she had been targeted by her husband’s enemies.
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Peng ‘misunderstanding’ – Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has given her first interview to an independent media organisation since she alleged on Weibo that a senior Chinese official she had been in a relationship with had coerced her into sex, saying it was an “enormous misunderstanding”. In the interview with French sports daily L’Équipe – overseen by a Chinese official – Peng said she had never accused former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault and denied she had disappeared from public view afterwards.
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Cancer delays – The numbers of cancer patients facing delays in seeing a specialist for the first time and starting their treatment have hit record highs in England, amid fears that pandemic-hit NHS services can no longer provide prompt care. Half a million people will have to wait longer than the supposed two-week maximum to see an oncologist this year, an analysis for the House of Commons library reveals. The disclosure comes as a new row over how quickly hospitals can clear the record 6 million-strong NHS backlog has forced ministers to delay publication of the long-awaited plan to tackle it. In another problem for the NHS, a report says children’s access to specialist mental health services in England remains “a postcode lottery”, with huge differences in spending and referrals depending on where families happen to live.
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Ottawa emergency – The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency last night as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse the centre of Ottawa. Residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment by thousands of protesters – many of them truckers angry about vaccine mandates. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has ruled out calling in the military but Ottawa mayor Jim Watson said his emergency declaration highlighted the need for support from “other levels of government”.
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Messy problem – Nature reserves are being deluged with dog poo and urine in such quantities that it is likely to be damaging wildlife. A study found that the resulting overfertilisation of the ground with nitrogen and phosphorus could reach levels that would be illegal on farmland. The scientists based their conclusions on work in Belgium, but said the situation would be similar across Europe, which is home to about 87m dogs. More than 12m of them are in the UK.
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Sport
On the eve of the Winter Olympics, China promised the world a “streamlined, safe and most splendid” Games, but just two days into the event organisers are facing a litany of complaints from athletes and countries on multiple fronts. On the slopes, Mikaela Shiffrin’s bid for a record medal haul at the Winter Olympics got off to a rocky start on Monday morning when the American star missed a gate early in the first run of the giant slalom and was disqualified. Sadio Mané scored the winning penalty as Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 in a shoot-out after a 0-0 draw to win the Africa Cup of Nations.
Eddie Jones’s decision to take Marcus Smith off at a crucial juncture in England’s Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland was premeditated and a missed opportunity for the fly-half, according to his Harlequins coach, Tabai Matson. Non-league side Boreham Wood stunned Championship high-flyers Bournemouth with a 1-0 win that puts them in the fifth round of the FA Cup, while Steve Cooper’s emerging young Nottingham Forest side, inspired by Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence, hammered holders Leicester 4-1. Andy Murray will skip the French Open and the whole of the clay-court season as he plots his course through the rest of 2022.
Business
John Allan, chairman of Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket and largest private sector employer, has warned that he expects the economy to get worse in the coming months as the full impact of a 54% jump in energy prices flowed through. Food inflation could rise from around 1% currently to 5% by spring, he said. The FTSE 100 is looking like opening flat this morning while the pound is on $1.353 and €1.185.
The papers
Images of the Queen populate just about every front page this morning and many of the papers also led with their own takes on her pronouncement about Camilla taking the regal title. “Honoured my ‘darling wife’ will be Queen,” says the Express quoting Prince Charles, but the Mail reckons “Queen gave Camilla plan her blessing years ago”. The Sun’s splash head is “Busy Lizzie” in reference to the monarch’s reappearance in the public eye after some months recuperating.
The Guardian has a picture of the Queen beaming down on sightseers in Piccadilly but it leads with “Half a million people face delays in seeing NHS cancer specialist”. The Telegraph also has a health lead with “Treasury blocks PM’s plan to clear NHS backlog”, as does the Mirror: “Be Blood Donor Hero”. The Times sticks to the Downing Street mess with “Johnson hits reset button with a new No 10 team” and the i reports that “PM in crisis: 100 MPs are ready to vote against him”. The FT leads on “EU prepares gas options if Ukraine crisis hits supplies”. In Scotland, prices are the main concern. The Record says “Food prices to soar by 5%” while the Scotsman has “‘Lives could be lost’ warning as cost-of-living crisis looms”.
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