WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Ukraine ceasefire talks, Duterte at The Hague, and Gaza's growing rubbish crisis

 
today's international story

Trump to challenge Putin to sign ceasefire

What happened
Donald Trump will urge Vladimir Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire after Kyiv approved his plan to bring about an end to the war. The US president is expected to call his Russian counterpart this week to ask him to accept what would be the first negotiated pause in fighting since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Who said what
Speaking in Riyadh after holding talks with a Ukrainian delegation that lasted more than eight hours, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the "ball is now in Russia's court" and that he hoped "Russia will answer yes as quickly as possible".

It is a "dizzying turnaround" from the Oval Office row between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, said The Guardian's defence editor Dan Sabbagh. Now, for the first time, "Russia is being asked to make a commitment", although, added Sabbagh, "it is unclear what will follow if it does sign up".

Despite Ukraine's willingness to agree to a ceasefire, Russia launched an overnight air attack on Kyiv, said Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.

What next?
Putin has signalled that he will demand concessions – such as ruling out membership of Nato for Ukraine – before agreeing to any halt in the war. During his annual news conference in December, the Russian president suggested that a ceasefire would give Ukraine an opportunity to replenish its forces. "We do not need a truce," he said. "We need peace, a long-term and lasting peace."

Yesterday afternoon Trump told reporters that he hoped such a lasting peace would be negotiated in the coming days.

 
 
today's justice story

Ex-Philippines president Duterte sent to The Hague

What happened
After being arrested in Manila, the former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has been transferred to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity brought by the International Criminal Court over his deadly "war on drugs".

Who said what
Current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that by extraditing Duterte, the Philippines was meeting its legal obligations. "Interpol asked for help and we obliged," he told a press conference.

Duterte (pictured above) has "offered no apologies" for his brutal anti-drugs crackdown, which saw more than 6,000 suspects killed during his time as both president and the mayor of Davao city, said the BBC. At the very least, the arrest "represents a significant victory for the ICC", said The New York Times.

What next?
Experts say it could be anywhere from two months to two years before Duterte faces a formal trial at The Hague. Meanwhile, the ex-president's daughter and political heir, Sara Duterte, is tipped as a potential presidential candidate in 2028.

 
 
Today's health story

Patients say they weren't told about 'deviant' drug urges

What happened
Patients prescribed drugs for movement disorders such as restless leg syndrome have claimed that doctors did not warn them about the serious side-effects, including risky sexual behaviour.

Dopamine agonist drugs work by mimicking dopamine (the chemical that helps regulate movement, as well as pleasure and reward). Health guidance body Nice says they have been linked to compulsive gambling and shopping, binge eating and hyper-sexuality.

Who said what
Twenty women told the BBC they were not warned about the potentially life-ruining behaviour. "The only way I could describe it is it was just deviant," said one.

Requip, the brand name for Ropinirole, has undergone "extensive clinical trials" and has a "well-characterised safety profile", a spokesperson for the manufacturer GSK told The Independent.

What next?
GSK was aware of the link between Ropinirole and what it described as "deviant" behaviours in 2003, but says it shared this with drug regulators. Since 2007 there has been a warning about "altered" sexual interest on the patient safety leaflets.

 
 

It's not all bad

Astronomers have identified 128 new moons orbiting Saturn, bringing its total to 274 – almost twice as many as all the other planets in our solar system combined. The moons, officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union, will be named after Norse, Gallic and Inuit gods. Scientists believe many are fragments of larger moons that have been shattered by collisions. The discovery offers fresh insights into the early solar system's chaotic past and the possible origins of Saturn’s iconic rings.

 
 
under the radar

Mountains of rubbish create more hazards in Gaza

Following months of bitter conflict in Gaza, thousands of tonnes of rubbish remain piled up in the streets, creating an even greater ecological and health dilemma for those remaining in the territory. Even before the war broke out following Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Gazans were faced with a lacklustre rubbish disposal system.

The system was just about able to keep up, even as Gazans were generating an estimated 1,540 tonnes of daily waste before the war. But this is no longer the case, and mountains of garbage now threaten the stability of the entire region.

The three main landfills that collected rubbish in pre-war Gaza have been closed due to the conflict, which "forced local authorities to find temporary dumpsites", said Reuters. About 225 of these sites were operating in Gaza as of May last year, according to the outlet.

But more waste is being generated than during pre-war times; there is now an estimated 1,800 tonnes of daily rubbish. In the first eight months of the war, more than 330,000 tonnes of solid waste are "estimated to have built up in the Palestinian territory", said the BBC.

This waste "has brought diseases", Abou Mohammed, a Palestinian who lives near a major landfill, told Reuters. "Our children are suffering from various ailments that we have never seen before."

And it may not just be Gaza that suffers: experts say other areas in the Middle East – including Israel – could soon be at risk from the rubbish piles.

 
 
on this day

12 March 1999

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined Nato. Poland has since become one of the alliance's strongest military powers, recently expanding its army and announcing nuclear ambitions to counter the threat posed by Russia. Hungary, however, has become a prominent dissenter within the alliance, blocking aid for Ukraine and growing closer to Vladimir Putin.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Metro leads on the sentencing of triple killer Kyle Clifford, who was told by relatives of his victims that hell will "roll the red carpet out for you" as he was given life in prison. "Putin told to agree Ukraine ceasefire", says The Telegraph, noting that Donald Trump has agreed to resume sharing intelligence and weapons after Kyiv approved the deal. Meanwhile, The Sun leads on the news that an assistant to Wes Streeting exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl. He has admitted indecent exposure in East London and will be sentenced next month.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Four more beers

A Canadian brewery has announced a special offer of 1,461 cans of lager, which it says is “just enough to get through the full presidential term” of Donald Trump. “If the start of 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that it will take determination to weather four years of political uncertainty – and what better way to make it through each day than with a truly Canadian beer,” said Karen Grigg, director of marketing for the New Brunswick-based Moosehead. The “Presidential Pack”, which is only available to residents living in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from the Moosehead website, costs $3,500 CAD (£1,860), including delivery.

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Ukrainian Presidency / Handout / Anadolu / Getty Images; Dondi Tawatao / Getty Images; Miodrag Ignjatovic / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.