In the headlines
US intelligence officials claim that, far from withdrawing from the Ukraine border, Russia has bolstered its forces “by as many as 7,000 troops”. The Kremlin has mocked Washington’s false prediction that it would invade yesterday. A spokeswoman asked Western media for a “schedule of our upcoming invasions” so she could plan her holidays. A new “royal scandal” is turning 2022 into a “Plutonium Jubilee”, says Metro: Scotland Yard has launched a “cash for honours” investigation into one of Prince Charles’s charities. Michael Fawcett, former head of the Prince’s Foundation, is alleged to have promised a knighthood and British citizenship to a Saudi donor. A British man has died in Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in almost 60 years. Simon Nellist, 35, was set upon by a great white – an eyewitness said the resulting splash “looked like a car had landed in the water”.