WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Ukraine peace talks, new English towns, and a mural in Smethwick for Malcolm X

 
today's international story

Trump and Putin to meet for Ukraine peace talks

What happened
Donald Trump says he will likely meet with Vladimir Putin in the "not too distant future" following a call between the two leaders where they agreed to start negotiations to end the war in Ukraine "immediately".

Who said what
In a social media post Trump said he had held a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with Putin, and that they'd agreed to "have our respective teams start negotiations immediately". He also said he and Putin planned to visit each other's countries.

"A single phone call will not magically end the war in Ukraine," said Steve Rosenberg on the BBC, but Putin has "already scored something of a diplomatic victory". In many ways Putin "has already got what he wants", said The Guardian. "The chance to negotiate directly with the United States on Ukraine, possibly over the heads of Kyiv and Europe." As the Russian newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets put it earlier this week: "Russia is ready for talks. But on its terms. If you drop the diplomatic language, essentially that is called an ultimatum."

What next? 
Russian officials say Moscow is ready for talks, but always refer back to Putin's so-called peace proposal of June last year, which suggests that Russia keeps all the Ukrainian territory it has taken, plus some more land still under Ukrainian control.

Trump said he and Putin expect to meet soon in person to discuss a potential peace plan, probably in Saudi Arabia.

 
 
today's housing story

Starmer unveils plan for 12 new English towns

What happened
Keir Starmer has promised what the Daily Express called a "housing blitz", which could see up to 12 new towns built across England before the next election in 2029. Each town will have the potential for at least 10,000 homes, according to the prime minister.

Who said what
Starmer said he had taken inspiration from the King to build "beautiful communities" following a joint visit to a housing development in Cornwall on Monday.

The plan comes as part of Starmer's promise to deliver the largest house building programme since the post-war era, said The Guardian. Yet the government is "likely to face fierce opposition". David Cameron's efforts to build new garden cities "fizzled out", while Gordon Brown's vision of eco-towns "fell foul of local protests".

What next?
Starmer said there had been 100 applications from local councils to build new towns in every region in England. The final 10 to 12 sites will be announced in six months' time.

 
 
Today's health story

Obese staff to get weight loss jabs on work insurance

What happened
Obese office staff will be able to obtain weight loss injections via their work medical insurance for the first time, private health insurer Vitality has announced.

Two weekly injections, Wegovy and Mounjaro, are not currently covered by insurers, and are only available to buy at specialist clinics or private pharmacies. But from spring onwards, adults covered by Vitality with a body mass index of more than 35 will be eligible to access the jabs for a discounted fee.

Who said what
"For businesses, obesity has a huge impact on productivity, as well as recruitment and retention of staff," said Katie Tryon, Vitality's chief commercial director. "Over the past year the potential of weight management medications has become more evident and while they are not a universal solution, they can be a useful tool in improving health."

What next?
Vitality's move could pave the way for other insurers to provide weight loss drugs as part of workplace schemes. About 15 million UK adults are technically obese.

 
 

It's not all bad

A new mural in Smethwick, in the West Midlands, will commemorate Malcolm X's 1965 visit, which linked the US civil rights movement with Britain's anti-racist struggle. The American activist witnessed Britain's racism first-hand during a visit to the Blue Gates pub, which segregated customers at the time. His trip helped spark change, leading to the UK's first Race Relations Act. The new mural, by artist Bunny Bread, will also feature the campaigning journalist Claudia Jones and anti-racism activist Avtar Singh Jouhl, celebrating their roles in Britain's fight for racial equality.

 
 
under the radar

Personality tests are 'locking autistic people out of jobs'

Some of the UK's leading companies are still using personality tests when they recruit staff despite government advice that they make finding jobs harder for neurodivergent people.

These tests are "locking autistic people out of jobs", said the Big Issue, and charities believe they are discriminatory.

Personality tests, sometimes known as psychometric tests, aim to "determine if a worker will fit into a company's culture", said Huck magazine, as well as "how they will respond to their employer's directions".

The tests are used by some of Britain's leading retailers, including Morrisons and John Lewis, but they make job applications "near impossible" for people with autism, said the Big Issue.

A government review has found that only three in 10 working age autistic people are employed, compared with eight in 10 non-disabled people. A study on PubMed found that pre-employment personality tests "prey on several features of autism in an unfair way".

Companies in the UK are legally required to offer "reasonable adjustments" for people with additional needs during the hiring process, said Huck. John Lewis said it made interview questions publicly available online to help applicants prepare, while Morrisons is introducing a new online assessment that it says will support all applicants, "including those that are neurodivergent”.

But completely "opting out of a personality test" is "rarely permitted", said Huck, and the tests have "great potential for harm" when used to decide the fate of a worker who is looking for employment and an income. "People are far more complex than a quiz ... and it's about time that modern recruitment processes reflect that."

 
 
on this day

13 February 1945 

Allied planes began bombing Dresden, causing a firestorm that destroyed the German city and killed about 25,000 people – one of the most devastating attacks of the Second World War. Last month about 10,000 residents had to be evacuated from Dresden after an unexploded bomb dating back to the war was discovered.

 
 
Today's newspapers

The Daily Mail wonders if Trump's proposed "peace deal" to end the Ukraine war would "betray Ukraine". The US has already warned Kyiv it "must cede territory", says The Guardian. Keir Starmer is planning his first reshuffle, says The i Paper. Those at risk include Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. "Join a terror group, stay in the UK" says The Telegraph, covering the case of a Nigerian woman who it says was granted political asylum after joining a terrorist group.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Måke Califørnia Great Ægain

More than 200,000 Danish people have signed a satirical petition urging Denmark to buy California from the US in retaliation to Donald Trump's bid to purchase Greenland for the US. "Have you ever looked at a map and thought, 'You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees and roller skates'," it reads. "Let's buy California from Donald Trump! We'll bring hygge to Hollywood, bike lanes to Beverly Hills and organic smørrebrød to every street corner." The petition's website bears the slogan: "Måke Califørnia Great Ægain."

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images; Leon Neal / Getty Images; Munro / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.