First Thing: Russia seeks to blame Ukraine for massacre despite evidence it was Islamic State

Russia tells US to rethink its assertion that IS was responsible for the attack, despite group claiming responsibility and sharing new footage. Plus, Donald Trump gets the band back together

Good morning.

Moscow has told the US to rethink its assertion that the Islamic State militant group was responsible for the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow that claimed at least 137 lives, as the Kremlin sought, without evidence, to link it to Kyiv.

Writing in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, asked: “Attention – a question to the White House: Are you sure it’s Isis? Might you think again about that?”

Four suspects pleaded guilty in court in Moscow on Sunday after being charged with the attack. On Saturday, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, claimed – without proof – that the gunmen had planned to escape to Ukraine, despite strong evidence backing IS’s claim of responsibility.

IS on Sunday shared new footage of the attack, supporting its claim to be behind the massacre. The four suspects are citizens of Tajikistan, where IS has enlisted heavily.

What’s Russian state media reporting? It has mostly ignored IS, instead focusing on claims that Ukraine was either responsible or ready to shield the attackers. Kyiv has strongly denied the claims.

Could the death toll rise? Russian authorities said they expect it to, with at least a dozen people still in critical condition.

Israel bars Unrwa food aid to northern Gaza, agency says

Israel has prohibited the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, from delivering aid to northern Gaza, where the risk of famine is most severe, according to the organization.

“Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @Unrwa food convoys to the north,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, said. He described the move as “outrageous” and said it was blocking “lifesaving assistance during a manmade famine”.

An Unrwa spokesperson, Juliette Touma, said the decision was communicated in a meeting with Israeli military officials on Sunday, with no reason given. It came after Israel withheld permission for two convoy deliveries, which had left Unrwa unable to deliver food to northern Gaza since 29 January, Touma said.

Israel has accused Unrwa employees of involvement in the 7 October attack and labeled it “a front for Hamas”.

What is the food security situation? Famine was projected to hit northern Gaza by May unless there was urgent intervention, a UN-backed food security assessment showed last week.

Trump gets the band back together

Donald Trump’s old allies appear to be returning to the fold, with the political consultant Paul Manafort among those expected to rejoin his top team, and longtime advisor Roger Stone seen at the Super Tuesday victory party.

Manafort could return as a campaign advisor this year, the Washington Post reported. And according to the New York Times, Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager, could also stage a comeback for July’s Republican national convention.

What does all this mean for the US? Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, told MSNBC: “This campaign is going to be very difficult on the country because these folks are all about one thing and one thing only: Donald Trump’s absolute return to power.”

What does it mean for his election team? It could be a headache. Their efforts to run a professional operation may be disrupted as others vie for influence.

In other news …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, will be handed his prison sentence on Thursday in New York City. While his lawyers argued for a term of only six years, the harshest penalty could lead to the 32-year-old being sentenced to 100 years for perpetrating the $8bn fraud.

The northern lights may be visible on Monday night in the US as far south as the midwest as a result of solar storms. It comes on the same night as a penumbral lunar eclipse, which will be visible globally.

A video of a West Papuan man being tortured, allegedly by Indonesian soldiers, has revived calls for international intervention in the contested region. The video is alleged to have been filmed in early February during a military raid in the Central Papua province.

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica will be completed in 2026, the organization undertaking the completion of the Antoni Gaudí building said. However, a stairway to the entrance, that will extend across two blocks, will not be finished until 2034.

Stat of the day: China accessed the details of about 40m UK voters in 2021 cyber-attack, UK ministers to say

The UK government has blamed Beijing for a 2021 cyber-attack that accessed the personal information of about 40 million UK voters. MPs and peers are among those the government has confirmed have been targeted in a separate attack, with new UK sanctions expected.

Don’t miss this: The fight to cure South Sudan’s mysterious neurological disorder

Investigations are under way in South Sudan to identify the cause of nodding syndrome, a disorder that stunts growth, harms the brain and triggers seizures. While anti-epileptic drugs can help manage symptoms, remote villages struggle to access them. Researchers have found a link between the syndrome, black-fly bites and an infection called onchocerciasis. Meanwhile, education officers are fighting to keep children with the disorder – who are sometimes stigmatized – in school. Florence Miettaux speaks to some of those affected.

Last Thing: Martin Scorsese’s secret life as an obsessive VHS archivist

In the basement of the University of Colorado Boulder’s main library, an 85-year-old stone fortress built in the Italian rural style, the archives of the school’s Rare and Distinctive Collections occupy rows of shelves as far as the eye can see. Here, amid yellowed books, historical maps and medieval manuscripts, Martin Scorsese has quietly made public a very private preoccupation. More than 50 storage boxes hold thousands of VHS tapes that contain films and television programs he recorded directly from broadcast television. The renowned director and film preservationist, it turns out, was also, for decades, a prolific guerrilla archivist.

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