Morning Report

today's international story

Uncertainty hangs over Ukraine peace talks

What happened
A much-anticipated round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey unravelled before it began yesterday as the two delegations landed in different cities and argued over whether they'd even meet. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Ankara, criticised Russia's "disrespect", saying it had only sent mid-level negotiators to Istanbul, with Vladimir Putin having declined the Ukrainian president's suggestion that both leaders should meet one another face to face.

Who said what
"There is no time of the meeting, there is no agenda, there is no high-level delegation," Zelenskyy told reporters. "I think Russia's attitude is unserious." Donald Trump, speaking from Qatar, said "nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together".

The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the opening weeks of the war "descended into bluster and confusion", said The New York Times. In a slight to Kiev, Moscow "notably withheld its top diplomatic heavyweights", said The Guardian.

What next?
Talks may resume today, though it is unclear when or how. Zelenskyy said he was willing to try, but made it clear that Ukraine's expectations were low. "Russia does not want to end this war," he said. Meanwhile, the fighting in Ukraine "rages on", said the BBC, with Russia claiming that its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Donetsk yesterday.

Today's drugs story

British teen appears in Georgia court

What happened
A British teenager – the great-granddaughter of the late Labour MP Frank Cook – is being held in Georgia on drug charges.

Bella Culley, 18, was believed to have gone missing in Thailand until authorities announced that they had detained her in Tbilisi on Saturday. Culley, from Billingham on Teesside, appeared in court on Tuesday accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of drugs including marijuana.

Who said what
Georgian police said officers had seized up to 12kg of marijuana and just over 2kg of hashish in a bag at Tbilisi International Airport.

Culley is "a child, in my personal opinion", said Ia Todua, a lawyer appointed to represent her. "When she was explained the essence of the accusation she was worried to speak. When we asked her to testify at that moment she decided to choose silence." The Foreign Office confirmed that it was "supporting the family of a British woman" detained in Georgia.

What next?
Culley is being held in a pre-trial detention facility in the city of Rustavi. She faces up to 20 years in prison – possibly even a life sentence – if found guilty.

It's not all bad

A team studying dolphin communication has won the $100,000 Coller-Dolittle Prize for its ground-breaking research into the marine mammal's whistles. Led by Laela Sayigh and Peter Tyack, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has spent more than 40 years decoding bottlenose dolphin sounds. Using non-invasive tools, it identified whistles that may signal alarm or surprise. Judges praised the vast dataset and ethical methods, saying the work could one day lead to real communication between humans and dolphins.

under the radar

Arctic permafrost's 'toxic' legacy

People picture the Arctic as a "harsh wilderness of endless tundra, criss-crossed by rivers of crystal-clear water and home to wildlife untouched by humans", said the World Wide Fund for Nature. But this "picturesque image masks a stark reality": the industrial exploitation of the mineral-rich Arctic permafrost regions.

There are tens of thousands of contaminated sites, ranging from "micro-dumps full of toxic sludge from oil and gas exploration to abandoned military installations to stockpiles of mining debris".

Operators "assumed that the permafrost would reliably and permanently seal off" the substances underground. In many cases they did not "make adequate disposal efforts". Now, the permafrost is thawing as the earth warms and it is threatening to unleash many of these toxic substances into the environment.

Donald Trump's talk of taking control of Greenland and annexing Canada has intensified the "cold rush", said The Wall Street Journal. Miners are rushing to claim the valuable rare earth materials buried under the permafrost that are needed for smartphones and EV batteries. But that comes with "high, and enduring, risks and costs".

The Arctic is "dotted" with long-term operations. Canada's government estimates that there are 24,000 in that country alone. Last year a mine in the Yukon "spilled an avalanche of zinc and cyanide into the landscape and nearby waterways".

Giant Mine, near the subarctic city of Yellowknife in Canada, is in danger of leaking 237 tonnes of locked-in arsenic trioxide. Many locals say the government's plan for dealing with it "isn't good enough" in the long term. Given that arsenic doesn't degrade, the mine will "be toxic forever". The elders of the Indigenous people from the area call Giant Mine "Nahga": the monster.

on this day

16 May 1929

The first Academy Awards were presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with the silent war film "Wings" winning Best Picture. The Oscars have since become the high point of the Hollywood calendar, although this year's ceremony was nearly cancelled due to the devastating wildfires across Los Angeles.

Today's newspapers

'Imploding live'

Keir Starmer was "left squirming" after Albania rejected his proposed migrant deal "live on TV", says the Daily Mail. He's now "poised" for talks with up to nine countries about plans to deport asylum seekers, says The Times. Children will be "taught to show some grit", says The Telegraph, after ministers wrote a story calling for children to be prepared for life's "ups and downs" in schools. A "rare fillip" for Labour saw the economy expand at its fastest pace in a year in the first quarter, the Financial Times says, but any impact from Donald Trump's tariffs is expected to hit soon.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Austen's power

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of good taste must appreciate Jane Austen. And since Netflix announced its new adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" last month, Spotify has recorded a 75% increase in listeners of the audiobook and a 120% spike in streams of the soundtrack to the 1995 BBC adaptation. Bath-based company Strictly Jane Austen Tours says it has seen a 50% increase in bookings over the past six months, with growing demand from Gen Z and Millennials.

Ukrainian man charged over fires at homes linked to PM