First Thing: Yulia Navalnaya takes on mantle of late husband

Alexei Navalny’s wife accuses Russian authorities of murdering him. Plus, Israeli minister gives Rafah attack timeline

Good morning,

Yulia Navalnaya has vowed to continue her late husband’s political work and called on Russians to rally around her to fight for a free Russia, in a powerful video address published today.

The 47-year-old accused the Russian authorities of murdering her husband, hiding his body and waiting for traces of the nerve agent novichok to disappear from it. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, died in a remote prison camp on Friday, authorities said.

• Key quote. “I will continue Alexei Navalny’s work … I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia.”

• Ukraine war latest. Belgium’s foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, has called on the EU to develop an army amid growing concerns that Russia could defeat Ukraine, as her Lithuanian counterpart demanded the bloc increase its military support.

Israeli minister gives Rafah timeline

Israel will launch a ground invasion in Rafah unless Hamas frees the remaining Israeli hostages by the time Ramadan begins in three weeks, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has said.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge in the southern city following Israeli evacuation orders. It is the last major city not invaded by ground troops and foreign governments have urged Israel against invasion.

It comes as local and UN health officials said Israeli raids, fuel shortages and fighting have taken the largest of Gaza’s working hospitals out of action, with seven deaths due to a lack of oxygen at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

• What is the WHO saying? World Health Organization head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a WHO team had not been allowed to enter Nasser hospital on Friday or Saturday to deliver generator fuel.

Rightwing megadonors drift back to Trump

Megadonors are returning to back Donald Trump as his campaign pushes the narrative that his victory over primary rival Nikki Haley is inevitable.

Trump last month won the support of billionaire developer Robert Bigelow, the biggest donor to the Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s failed presidential campaign. Bigelow pledged $20m to Trump’s campaign, and another $1m towards his growing legal costs, while Wall Street financier Omeed Malik is also onboard.

While many donor concerns remain – not least following Trump’s comments about abandoning Nato members – for some donors they appear subordinate to their support of policies including low taxes and environmental deregulation.

• Who has turned away? Tech billionaire Peter Thiel will not donate again; neither will the chief executive of Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman.

In other news …

• Progressive congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on her fellow Michigan Democrats to reject Joe Biden in the state’s presidential primary election. She called on them to vote “uncommitted” in late February over Biden’s support for Israel’s strikes on Gaza.

• Dozens have been killed in a new outbreak of tribal violence in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea, according to local police. Men from two tribes ambushed another group, killing 26, police said.

• A group of international students who were wrongly accused of cheating in their English tests to renew their UK study visas are taking legal action against the Home Office. Ten years on,the students are seeking compensation for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, loss of earnings and mental health impacts.

• Two police officers and a firefighter have been fatally shot attending a call in suburban Minneapolis early on Sunday. A suspect in the shooting also died, officials said, while a third officer was wounded.

Stat of the day: New Zealand recorded lowest number of births in 20 years in 2023

The number of births in New Zealand last year fell by 1,932 on the previous year, despite a 3% rise in the number of women aged between 15 and 49. It means the fertility rate has plunged to a record low of 1.56 births per woman – far below the 2.1 needed to replace population numbers in the long term, and mirroring international trends, especially in the west.

Don’t miss this: Arts Council England’s crackdown on ‘political’ art

Last week, Arts Council England warned that “political statements” made by individuals linked to an organisation can cause “reputational risk and may breach funding agreements”. Art historian Katy Hessel examines the history of politics in art, from the marginalisation of textile artists to the way abstract expressionism showed the horrors of war. “To deny someone the right to make their work freely … is to deny expression, and the act of making, and looking at, art itself,” she writes.

Climate check: Perth breaks records with seven February days above 104F

Perth in Western Australia has recorded seven days above 104F this February – well above the previous record of four days, set in February 2016. The heatwave is being partly attributed to El Niño, the climate crisis and the Indian Ocean dipole.

Last Thing: Bullet train food carts become Japan’s latest must-have

As passengers increasingly buy their snacks and drinks before boarding the train, Central Japan Railway Company ended food cart sales on one popular train route in January. They were going to just dispose of the food carts used on the high-speed line, but were persuaded to sell them by train lovers. The response was overwhelming: 1,942 bids.

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