Plus: Geert Wilders drops Dutch PM bid, and I Will Always Love You turns 50
| | | | | | | Hello. Today Steve Rosenberg is taking you to Borovsk, south-west of Moscow. Most residents tell him they will vote for Vladimir Putin in this weekend's Kremlin-controlled election. My colleagues in the east of England are reporting on modern slavery, which is on the rise in the UK. I'm also sharing stories on the Netherlands, 90s music, and gen Z linguistics. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Russia to vote in suspense-free election | | | | President Putin faces no serious challenge as he seeks a fifth term in office. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Russians are going to the polls this weekend to pick their next president, but it's no mystery who is going to win. The election is effectively a "stage-managed event that will hand Vladimir Putin a fifth term in the Kremlin", our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg writes. The president's most vocal critics have either fled into exile or are jailed in Russia. And while there are three officially authorised challengers, an exchange with one of them is enlightening. When asked why he would make a better president than Mr Putin, Nikolai Kharitonov replies. "It's not for me to say. That wouldn't be right." On the streets of Borovsk, an hour from Moscow, many voters tell Steve they will vote for the incumbent."I hope Vladimir Putin will win the election and that it will end the war," one woman tells him. "When there's peace many countries will finally understand that Russia is unbeatable." | | • | Pressure to vote: Moscow has launched a campaign telling residents of occupied parts of Ukraine to vote in Russia's presidential election - with soldiers accompanying officials bringing ballot boxes to their homes. | | • | Recruiting in high school: A compulsory lesson in Russia on "Fundamentals of Security and Defence of the Motherland" comes with a textbook that distorts the history of the war against Ukraine and encourages students to join the army. | | • | More from Steve: Read his piece written after opposition figure Alexei Navalny's funeral, which showed that some dissenting voices were still expressing themselves in Moscow. |
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| | | | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Cambridgeshire, UK | | A modern slave in Britain | | The Salvation Army says modern slavery is on the rise in the UK. Among those it has rescued is Rose - not her real name – who was promised sponsorship for her studies while working as a nanny. But her dreams of a new life became a nightmare of punishing work, physical assault and rape. | | | | Charlotte Rose & Dolly Carter, BBC News |
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| | When a family friend from church told Rose of an opportunity to become a nanny for a wealthy UK couple, who would sponsor her studies, she jumped at the chance. She travelled from Nigeria to the UK on a six-month tourist visa. But she soon found the work was not as advertised. She says she was taken to a restaurant owned by the couple, where she would cook and clean from 17:00 to 05:00. She worked six days a week, and on her only day off did more chores at home. Rose says the gruelling work pattern continued for a year, with no wages and no sign of her starting her studies. "That's when it dawned on me - 'Oh, these people actually bring me here to work for them as a slave.'" |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | A 90s classic turns 50 | | | | Whitney Houston played pop star Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard |
| | Whitney Houston's rendition of I Will Always Love You is a legendary 90s power ballad, taking us back to double denim fashion and portable CD players. But you may not know that it's the cover of a song from country royalty Dolly Parton, who released it 50 years ago this week. From Dolly to Whitney, with a detour by Elvis, Alex Taylor tells us the story of a classic. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | All that rizz isn't gold | | Casual language from Gen Z employees is making some bosses uncomfortable. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | When wildlife rescuer Melissa Stanley welcomed a newborn fox in her centre, she had to find a way to care for the kit without stressing it. And what better than an eerie fox mask? Take a look, as Ms Stanley explains why she took this unusual step. |
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| | | | | | In History Newsletter | | The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. | | |
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– Jules |
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