Top story: ‘No to war’ – editor’s TV protest
Hello, this is Warren Murray with the stories you shouldn’t miss.
Early this morning, explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, with reports of residential apartment blocks on fire after a Russian missile strike. Russia and Ukraine are due to meet again for talks aimed at ending the 20-day war. In Russia, an editor on state-run Channel One TV has burst on to the set of the nightly news shouting “Stop the war, no to war”. Marina Ovsyannikova waved a sign saying: “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.” It was signed “Russians against the war”.
Ovsyannikova also released a video online saying she was ashamed at working for Channel One spreading “Kremlin propaganda … Ashamed that I allowed the zombification of the Russian people.” Ovsyannikova was reportedly arrested shortly after her protest and taken into police custody as a wave of praise and support for her actions spread online. She could face prison time under Russian legislation that criminalises speaking out about the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia-Ukraine talks will continue today, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said overnight. One of his advisers has claimed the war will be over “by May” because Russia was running out of troops and resources to keep the invasion going.
In an address, Zelenskiy called on Russian soldiers to surrender: “What are you dying for? … If you surrender to our forces we will treat you as humans have to be treated, with dignity.”
China has already decided to provide Russia with economic and financial support during its war on Ukraine and is contemplating sending military supplies such as armed drones, US officials fear. The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has laid out the US case against Russia’s invasion in an “intense” seven-hour meeting in Rome with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. In its version of the discussions, China said Yang had urged all parties to exercise “maximum restraint” and protect civilians. The statement did not specifically refer to the claims of Russia asking Beijing for weapons. Keep up with Ukraine developments at our live blog.
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Trainee doctors shut out – Almost 800 medical graduates could be denied the chance to train as doctors this year, as they are told the NHS has no places for them despite crippling shortages of medics. Doctors are worried some of those denied a place will either go to work abroad instead or give up medicine altogether. The most recent official figures showed that the NHS in England is short of almost 8,200 doctors. The UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO), which ensures that aspirant doctors just graduated from medical school are able to start their training, has warned it is “over-subscribed” to a record level this year, with 8,209 places filled. The 791 who have missed out so far have been put on a reserve list. The UKFPO is telling graduates without a training place that they will get one somewhere in the UK by August.
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Covid travel curbs to end – All remaining Covid travel restrictions are to be dropped across the UK from later this week, despite a concerning rise in cases and hospitalisations. Ministers approved the scrapping of passenger locator forms and the requirement for all unvaccinated arrivals to get tested, with the changes to come into force from 4am on Friday. Quarantine hotels, which have not been used since the “red list” of countries was emptied in December but have been kept on standby, will also be fully stood down from the end of March. In the past week, 444,201 positive cases have been recorded – an increase of 48.1%. The number of patients admitted to hospital has also risen steeply to 10,576 in England as of 8am on 14 March – 19% up on the previous week.
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Trouble in train – There are warnings of a “spring of discontent” on the railways as unions and senior rail officials prepare for industrial action in response to curbs in government emergency funding that spell job cuts, pay freezes and closures. A deal for no compulsory redundancies and no walkouts lapsed at the end of 2021. Now, formal proposals for cuts are expected in the coming weeks.
There is doubt over whether rail strikes still work for unions. Bringing London to a standstill for most of the working week would have been intolerable to many businesses before Covid; but with tube trains normally now only two-thirds full, the impact this month of London Underground strikes was muted. Many commuters were able to stay at home to work instead. Gwyn Topham, Guardian transport correspondent, explains further.
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Insecurity premium – Half of low-paid workers in the UK are given less than a week’s notice of their shifts, according to the Living Wage Foundation, highlighting an “insecurity premium” faced by employees on close to the minimum wage. It says almost half lose out on £30 or more a month because of last-minute changes, increasing their reliance on credit cards and borrowing to make ends meet. A separate study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has found that while the national living wage has helped increase pay levels, results have been mixed: pay growth for the lowest-paid tenth of workers has been twice as fast compared with workers on average pay.
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Snacks pack in salt – Seven in 10 snacks sold as part of lunchtime meal deals in UK high street shops and supermarkets contain dangerously large amounts of salt, sugar or saturated fat, says Action on Salt. The worst offenders include biscuits, cakes and crisps, according to its research. For example, a packet of lemon and coriander green olives sold in the Co-op contained 2.02g of salt – a third of the adult daily maximum recommended by England’s health authorities. Denis Campbell’s story lists the saltiest snacks in the survey.
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Sport
Pep Guardiola said he had “no regrets” over Manchester City’s performance at Crystal Palace despite seeing his side drop two points that could prove critical to the title race. Groups interested in buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich are rushing to ensure their takeover proposals are ready before this week’s deadline to submit bids. Lewis Hamilton has proved to be an inspiration for prisoners in Bahrain after demanding last year that Formula One takes responsibility for human rights issues in the countries it visits. Rafael Nadal extended his winning run to 17 matches by beating Britain’s Dan Evans in straight sets to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells.
Australia’s Cameron Smith produced errors and moments of brilliance as he held on to win the Players Championship and $3.6m prize money. Eddie Jones has said grand-slam chasing France have most to ponder as England attempt to expose their frailties in the Six Nations. Irish trainers are on course for another greenwash at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. Rachael Haynes held firm as a wobbly Australia claimed a seven-wicket Women’s World Cup win over the West Indies to stay unbeaten at the tournament in New Zealand. And Manchester United are considering all options with regard to updating Old Trafford, including knocking the stadium down and building a new one on the same site.
Business
Asian shares have mostly been lower and oil prices have fallen after another day of losses on Wall Street as anxiety over the war in Ukraine and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates keep global financial markets on edge. The FTSE will open lower too, futures trading predicts. The pound is worth $1.304 and €1.188 at time of writing.
The papers
Our Guardian front-page lead today is “Russia’s deadly raids plunge Ukrainians into ‘nightmare’”. Also on the front, the Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova’s brave on-air, placard-waving protest, after which she was reportedly arrested. The Telegraph has “West made terrible mistake with Putin, says PM” – Boris Johnson says the Russian ruler should have been properly punished for the 2014 takeover of Crimea.
The Daily Express says “3 ex-special forces Brits killed in Ukraine” – that’s following a rocket attack on the Yavoriv military base, just six miles from the border with Poland. The Mirror has that as “3 Brits killed in missile hell” saying more than 100 died in the “Polish border strike”. The Metro has “You’re Putin us up mate” and uses a picture of protesters on the balcony of oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s mansion which they occupied.
“UK families open homes to refugees” – that’s the i while the Daily Mail says “44,000 sign up to give a refugee a home”. The Sun plays with fonts, printing “UKraine” with the UK part in union jack colours – “25,000 Brits offer to take in refugees” it adds. “Rush to take in Ukrainians” says the Times and it has a picture of the out-of-favour Roman Abramovich sitting in an airport lounge in Tel Aviv. The Financial Times has “China signalled willingness to provide Russia with military support, says US”.
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