WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Putin prevaricates, Swinney hosts a Trump, and alcohol joins the trade wars

 
today's international story

Zelenskyy calls Putin's truce comments 'manipulative'

What happened
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Vladimir Putin's response to a US-led ceasefire proposal "manipulative" and called for more pressure to be exerted on Russia to agree to a peace deal.

Yesterday the Russian president expressed "reservations" about a US-brokered 30-day ceasefire and appeared to set out a series of sweeping conditions before a truce could be agreed.

Who said what
In his evening address yesterday, Zelenskyy said Putin's comments had been "very predictable, very manipulative", adding: "Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians."

Setting conditions for a ceasefire, the Russian president said he would not allow Ukrainian forces to peacefully withdraw from Russia's Kursk region, instead saying they had to surrender, a condition that "may be impossible for Ukraine to accept", said The New York Times. But unlike last year, he at least didn't demand that Kyiv withdraw its troops from four regions of Ukraine that Russia claims, but doesn't fully control, added the paper.

What next?
By avoiding a total rejection of Trump's ceasefire plan, Putin "appears to be balancing between not openly rebuffing Trump's push for peace while also imposing his own stringent demands – potentially prolonging negotiations", said The Guardian.

Donald Trump and his cabinet "now face a test of nerve and credibility", said Roland Oliphant in The Telegraph. But "if the Americans get tough, Russia will probably fold". Accordingly, "the ball is now in Mr Trump's court".

 
 
today's diplomacy story

Swinney meets with Trump's son Eric

What happened
Scottish First Minister John Swinney has held "warm" talks with Donald Trump's son Eric at Bute House in Edinburgh.

Who said what
Eric Trump (pictured above) said he was "delighted" to have held a "very warm and friendly meeting" with Swinney. "This is the first time that a first minister has invited us to Bute House," he said. "The first minister thanked me for the Trump Organisation's ongoing colossal investment and commitment to Scotland."

The meeting "took place over tea and biscuits", said the BBC, and is "understood to have lasted about 50 minutes and solely focused on Trump's golf resorts".

What next?
There has often been a "fraught relationship between the Trump family and the SNP", said The Times. Donald Trump fell out with Alex Salmond during his first term, and earlier this month Swinney suggested that an invitation for a state visit to the US president should be revoked due to his stance on Ukraine. This meeting, therefore, appeared to be Swinney "extending the olive branch" to Trump.

 
 
Today's trade story

Trump threatens 200% tariff on EU alcohol

What happened
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on alcohol imports from the EU if the bloc does not remove its duty on US whiskey.

It is the latest shot in a "global trade war" that "kicked off" when the US put a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium coming into the country, said the BBC.  In response, the EU said it would increase its levies on up to €26 billion worth of US goods – including boats, bourbon and motorbikes – from 1 April.

Who said what
Posting on his Truth Social platform yesterday, the US president said the alcohol move was a response to the EU’s decision to impose a "nasty" 50% tariff on whiskey.

What next?
European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill told the BBC it had "no new comment" to make on Trump's statement, but said "calls are being prepared" with US officials. Stocks in alcohol companies fell sharply in response to the tariff threat.

 
 

It's not all bad

The Edinburgh International Festival will celebrate truth and creativity this year, with large-scale performances and mass participation events. Promoting the event, festival director Nicola Benedetti emphasised the role of the arts' in countering disinformation and showcasing human achievement. Highlights will include an eight-hour choral marathon, a youth orchestra collaboration and a genre-blending hip-hop interpretation of Bach. Despite funding cuts, Benedetti remains optimistic, touting the festival's accessibility through affordable tickets and its welcoming atmosphere. The festival will run from 1-25 August.

 
 
under the radar

An ingredient in Coca-Cola may be funding Sudan's war

Westerners' consumption of a little-known tree gum – used in everything from Coca-Cola and Nestlé pet food to L'Oréal lipsticks and M&M sweets – could be funding both sides in Sudan's bitter civil war.

Gum arabic, derived from the sap of acacia trees, is widely used as a stabiliser, thickener and binding agent. For global, billion-dollar consumer companies, "uninterrupted access to this key ingredient is non-negotiable", said financial news site Finshots.

About 80% of the world's gum arabic is harvested in Sudan, where the acacia trees stretch from border to border. But the sap is "increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas" of the war-torn nation, industry sources told Reuters. This is "complicating Western companies' efforts" to disengage their supply chains from the devastating conflict.

Because of this complexity, few Western companies are taking active steps to avoid Sudanese gum arabic, said The Wall Street Journal. Some have argued that doing so would "hurt hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who depend on the sap for their livelihoods", against the backdrop of growing famine.

But it is also logistically difficult. The raw product is "making its way to Sudan's neighbours without proper certification", sources told Reuters. Recently, traders in countries with lower production, such as Chad and Senegal, or which "barely exported it before the war" – Egypt and South Sudan – have begun to "aggressively" offer it at cheap prices "without proof that it is conflict-free".

Both Nestlé and Coca-Cola declined to comment to Reuters, while L'Oréal and M&Ms maker Mars "did not return requests for comment".

 
 
on this day

14 March 2004

Vladimir Putin, who became president of Russia in 1999 after Boris Yeltsin resigned, was re-elected to a second term. Last year he won a fifth term and can seek a sixth in 2030, potentially remaining in power until 2036, which would see him surpass Joseph Stalin as Russia's longest-serving leader.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Many papers, including The Telegraph, lead on Moscow's lukewarm response to the US-led peace deal for Ukraine. Health leaders tell The Times that the upheaval caused by Keir Starmer abolishing NHS England could distract from goals like cutting wait times. Meanwhile, The Sun splashes on an interview with Prince William revealing why he fell in love with Aston Villa and explaining his match day ritual.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Brew lies

American social media users have been left baffled by a supposed "tea time alarm" that allegedly requires Brits to drink tea every day at 3pm or face a government fine. Viral videos from British creators claim non-compliance could lead to arrest. The videos, of course, are just a prank on our transatlantic cousins – although some have embraced the idea, with one US social media user commenting: "We need a tea time alarm in the US."

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Jamie Timson, Harriet Marsden, Ross Couzens, and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Andrew Kravchenko / Bloomberg / Getty Images; Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images; Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Shutterstock.