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1. Vladimir Putin’s chilling warning on Ukraine: The worst is yet to come
Vladimir Putin vowed to "seize the whole of Ukraine" and made clear that "the worst is yet to come" as he drew up plans to crush dissent in Russia by imposing martial law.
Putin insisted on Thursday that the invasion was "going strictly to schedule", despite claims from Ukrainian officials that 9,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. He called Ukrainians resisting his army "extreme gangsters" and "neo-Nazis". Read the full story.
2. Boris Johnson sanctions Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov
Boris Johnson on Thursday sanctioned two more Russian oligarchs after mounting criticism over the UK not targeting as many individuals as the European Union.
Alisher Usmanov, who had recent ties to Everton Football Club and before that Arsenal, and Igor Shuvalov, a former Russian deputy prime minister, were the men sanctioned. Read the full story.
3. Brexit on back burner as Ukraine war hits Boris Johnson’s ability to trigger Article 16
The war in Ukraine has curbed Boris Johnson's ability to trigger Article 16 before the Stormont elections in May, government sources have told The Telegraph.
The Prime Minister is now "unlikely" to deploy the safeguard mechanism in the Northern Ireland Protocol, which would suspend "disruptive" post-Brexit trade rules governing the province, this side of the Assembly vote. Read the full story.
4. Bill Gates' relationship with 'evil' Jeffrey Epstein a factor in $105bn divorce, says ex-wife Melinda
Bill Gates’ relationship with “evil and abhorrent” Jeffrey Epstein was a factor in Melinda French Gates’s decision to divorce the Microsoft founder, she has revealed.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the couple announced their split in May last year, Ms French Gates, 57, said she “made it very clear” how uncomfortable she felt with her then-husband’s interactions with the convicted paedophile, but that the warning appeared to fall on deaf ears. Read the full story.
5. NHS axes free flu jabs for over-50s and secondary students
Ten million people aged 50 and over will no longer receive free flu jabs after the NHS reversed its policies in the wake of the pandemic, The Telegraph can reveal.
The vaccine rollout this year will also exclude secondary school children, health service documents show. Read the full story.
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