WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Nuclear disarmament, charity layoffs, and Putin's Eurovision rival

 
today's international story

Trump proposes nuclear deal with Russia and China

What happened
Donald Trump has said he wants to recommence nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China in a bid to bring down military expenditure.

Who said what
"There's no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons. We already have so many," Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. "You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they're building nuclear weapons."

The US president didn't offer a precise timeline for nuclear arms talks, but said he would hope to engage with the two countries once "we straighten it all out" in the Middle East and Ukraine.

What next?
Russia had warned on Monday that the outlook for extending the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control did not look promising. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New Start, which caps the number of Russian and American nuclear warheads, is due to run out in less than a year – on 5 February 2026.

Moving towards a partial nuclear disarmament would "mark a stark shift in traditional Republican foreign policy", said Newsweek. Trump's hope is that he can "convince the US adversaries to cut their defence spending while also getting them to commit to denuclearisation", said Axios. The budget for the US Department of Defense for the fiscal year 2025 was $850 billion, "more than 11%" of the total budget.

Trump told reporters it didn't matter to him when or where the meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping took place. "It's the end result that counts."

 
 
today's charity story

Macmillan Cancer Support axes 25% of staff

What happened
Macmillan Cancer Support has cut a quarter of its workforce, scaled back its helpline and discontinued its key financial hardship program.

Who said what
The UK's most popular charity said due to a "tough financial climate" it had to make major cuts to secure its "long-term financial sustainability". But according to a Guardian investigation, there are "questions over how Macmillan ended up in this position".

The newspaper's analysis found that in 2023, spending on wages and salaries "surged" to £80 million, up by almost one-fifth (18%) from the £68 million paid the year before. Macmillan had spent £100 million more than it raised over the past six years, claimed The Guardian.

What next?
At least 50,000 low-income cancer patients a year – with less than £1,000 in savings – are now expected to lose access to £200 hardship grants. A spokesperson said the charity had tried to "minimise disruption for people with cancer" and that it was now in a "strong financial position to continue to offer vital support to people with cancer into the future".

 
 
Today's politics story

PM backs Reeves over banking job 'scandal'

What happened
Rachel Reeves has been backed by Keir Starmer over allegations she was involved in an expenses scandal while she worked at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) before becoming an MP.

Documents seen by the BBC detailed an investigation into whether Reeves and two other senior managers were using the bank's money to "fund a lifestyle", with allegations of inappropriate spending on dinners, events, taxis and gifts.

Who said what
Reeves's former colleague Kev Gillett told the BBC that the now chancellor had "nearly" been sacked "due to an expenses scandal where the three senior managers were all signing off each other's expenses".

A lawyer for Reeves has denied any allegations of wrongdoing, saying she left HBOS with a "standard-style agreement" after a "mutually agreed exit was made during the bank's restructure".

What next?
A spokesperson for Starmer said the prime minister had "no concerns whatsoever" about the Reeves's conduct and that he had "full faith in the chancellor".

 
 

It's not all bad

A small clinical trial has offered the strongest evidence yet that semaglutide – sold as Ozempic and Wegovy – may help reduce drinking in people with alcohol use disorder. The drug, originally used for diabetes and weight loss, lowered alcohol consumption and cravings in participants given weekly low-dose injections. Researchers from the University of North Carolina say their findings are promising, but caution that larger studies are needed. While semaglutide shows potential for treating addiction, experts advise sticking to approved medications for now.

 
 
under the radar

Intervision: Putin's Eurovision rival

Vladimir Putin has ordered a reboot of the Soviet-era alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest, with more than a dozen countries said to be signed up.

The "despot" wants his "apparatchiks" to restore the "defunct" Intervideniye song contest as an "anti-woke rival to the sequin-laden and LGBT-friendly original", said The Telegraph.

The Intervideniye contest (Intervision in English) began in Czechoslovakia in 1965 and ran for three years until it was taken off air following the Soviet-led invasion of the country in 1968. It was later revived by Polish television, which made it part of the existing Sopot International Song Festival.

Despite its "clear political undertones", the contest had some connections with the West, said Euronews. European nations such as the Netherlands and Spain "occasionally sent entries", and a "surprising twist" saw neutral Finland win the final Intervision contest in 1980.

Russia then began to take part in Eurovision. Throughout the 2000s the contest became one of Russia's "most highly anticipated events", said The Guardian, with Moscow "frequently sending some of its biggest stars" to compete.

Putin signed a decree on Monday ordering officials to revive the Intervision song contest in Moscow this autumn, with the aim of "developing international cultural and humanitarian co-operation".

It will return under the "isolated" Putin's "stern gaze", added The Telegraph, and it's expected to serve up "staid patriotic fare". In order to guarantee a free and fair outcome, the contest will be "supervised by the Kremlin", said Politico, with domestic policy chief Sergei Kiriyenko as chair of the supervisory board that will be "certifying the results".

 
 
on this day

14 February 1989

The ruler of Iran issued a fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie, calling for his assassination over his "blasphemous" novel "The Satanic Verses". This week Rushdie gave evidence in court against the man accused of repeatedly stabbing him in 2022. Hadi Matar, 27, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.

 
 
Today's newspapers

King Charles plans to travel to the US to "charm" Donald Trump next year amid "global tensions" since he returned to the White House, says The Mirror. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has "begged the world" to not sell out Ukraine to Russia, says the Daily Express, while The i Paper says there is "panic and disbelief" in Europe as Trump plans a "major shift in security guarantees" that have kept peace on the continent for 80 years.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

You kant sing that

Malta's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest cannot be played on BBC radio stations because a lyric sounds similar to an offensive word in English. Miriana Conte was recently chosen to represent the country in May with her song "Kant" (which translates as singing). But because of the chorus – "I do it all the time. Serving kant. Do, re, mi, fa, s-s-serving kant" – BBC Radio star Scott Mills said: "We can't talk about Malta's one at all. We definitely can't play a clip of it … ever, on the BBC."

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Nathan Posner / Anadolu via Getty Images; Education Images / Universal Images Group via Getty Images;  Christopher Furlong / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.