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Duke of Sussex faced being the only senior male royal not in uniform, despite serving in Afghanistan

Adelaida Sánchez is a member of the community police force in Cherán, a Purépecha indigenous town in Michoacán, Mexico, which declared itself autonomous in 2011. When the town was under siege from illegal logging, cartel criminals, and corrupt authorities and the men of the town stood by and did nothing, it was left to women to lead the fightback. On the tenth anniversary of the uprising, Adelaida patrols the town and its forests, providing an oasis amidst the murder, kidnap and extortion across the statePhotograph credit: Andrea Murcia Continue reading...

Proposals follow Kenyan government’s ultimatum to UN refugee agency to close Dadaab and Kakuma campsThe UN refugee agency has given the Kenyan government “sustainable and rights-based” proposals for the closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.The response follows a 14-day ultimatum issued by the Kenyan government for the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) to come up with a plan for closing the two camps, which are home to some 430,000 refugees and asylum seekers from more than 15 countries. Continue reading...

Toshihiro Nikai’s comments are at odds with the united front presented by the Japanese governmentA senior member of Japan’s ruling party has said that cancelling the Tokyo Olympics “remains an option” if the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen.“If it seems impossible to do it any more, then we have to stop, decisively,” Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic party, said in a TV interview that has yet to be aired. Continue reading...

The Hollywood star and Italian veteran Toni Servillo attempt to solve a mysterious abduction – a race hampered by never appearing in the same sceneA face-off between Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman and Toni Servillo, that veteran of contemporary Italian classics by Paolo Sorrentino? Sounds good. But sadly, the two never appear together in the same scene, and the film they appear in is frustratingly underpowered and derivative.Into the Labyrinth is a psychological horror-thriller directed by Donato Carrisi and adapted by him from his own bestselling novel L’uomo del labirinto. The setting is Italy, and a distraught young woman (Valentina Bellè) comes round from sedation in a private hospital room where a calm and mysterious doctor called Green (Hoffman) explains that she had been found, dumped unconscious by the side of the road, apparently by the sinister individual who kidnapped her as a teenager 15 years earlier – a sensational unsolved “cold case”. As a forensic profiler working with the police, he will now ask questions to reconstruct her terrifying existence in the prison which her abductor called the “labyrinth”. Continue reading...

Kindergartens given specially themed puzzles and others taught to ‘safeguard homeland’ on National Security Education dayHong Kong school students as young as three have been given national-security themed puzzles as part of activities to mark the city’s “celebrations” of a new legal code widely condemned by the international community.In a much expanded roster of events for the city’s National Security Education day, schools were given teaching material on how to “uphold national security, safeguard our homeland”. Continue reading...

Doctors say ‘absurd’ move, made as second wave surges, is unfair on non-Covid patients

Yoshihide Suga will travel to meet Joe Biden amid growing international condemnation of Beijing’s human rights abusesChina is expected to dominate talks between Joe Biden and the Japanese prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, in Washington on Friday amid growing international condemnation of Beijing’s military exercises near Taiwan and human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.Suga will become the first world leader to meet Biden since his inauguration in January, a repeat of Shinzo Abe’s meeting with the then president-elect, Donald Trump, in late 2016. Continue reading...

In 2019, the body of a man fell from a passenger plane into a garden in south London. Who was he?

The actor grew up on film sets, rubbing shoulders with the biggest stars on earth. Now he’s stepping into his father John’s shoes again – to direct a film about grief, secrets and the Lockerbie bombingWith his father, the legendary director John Huston, it was that gravelly voice that you noticed first. With his sister, Anjelica Huston, it is her magnificent nose. And with his nephew, actor Jack Huston, it’s the moustache. But with actor-director Danny Huston, it is, unarguably, the eyebrows: those great looping Ls that waggle away as you chat with him, as if they were having their own separate conversation with you. People often talk about his resemblance to his father, but, I tell him, the celebrity he always looked most like to me is Jack Nicholson, thanks to those brows.“Yes, Jack defined these eyebrows before I was able to grow into mine,” he grins, bearish in size and wolfish in smile. Isn’t it a little weird for his sister Anjelica that her baby brother looks so much like her ex-boyfriend? “Hmmm, I know what you mean. Well, I think that only enabled her to have greater affection towards both of us – ha!” Continue reading...

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Dreams of careers and family life have been replaced with death and injury in the wake of the 1 February coupFor Myanmar’s young people, 2021 was supposed to be a year for optimism. After seeing through the Covid-19 pandemic, the rollout of the vaccine had begun and general elections in November had marked a step towards the country realising its potential.But in the wake of the 1 February coup, their dreams have turned into nightmares, as many of Myanmar’s young people have found themselves forced to sacrifice their futures to take a stand against the military. Continue reading...

The Australian defence force’s latest scandal involves a twerk dance in hotpants in front of the HMAS Supply – and an upset Liberal MP

Australian gunman earlier said he wanted to start legal action over his designation as a terrorist and lack of access to news and lettersThe Christchurch terrorist who said he wanted to take the government to court over a lack of access to news and letters in jail and his designation as a terrorist entity has failed to attend the first court hearing on the matter.The hearing in Auckland, New Zealand, was indefinitely postponed and the terrorist must ask to have it rescheduled after his no show on Thursday. Continue reading...

CDC advisers say they need more evidence to decide if cases of unusual blood clots were linked to the Covid vaccineJohnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine will remain in limbo a while longer after US health advisers told the government Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot – and if so, how big the potential risk really is.The reports are exceedingly rare – six cases out of more than 7m US inoculations with the one-dose vaccine. But the government recommended a pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccinations this week, not long after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca vaccine, a shot made in a similar way but not yet approved for use in the US. Continue reading...

New report points finger at nation’s penny-pinching policies and failure to act on scientific advice

France will use Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine despite its suspension in US while Sweden said it would await the findings the EMA

Thursday: Leading climatologist says Coalition policies do not address crisis and the US won’t be fooled. Plus: what Australia can learn from other countries’ vaccine rolloutsGood morning. Australia could be in for a frosty reception at global warming talks, a police shooting fans tensions in Minneapolis once again and Indigenous families call for justice, 30 years after the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. All that, and more, in today’s morning mail.One of the world’s leading climate scientists has accused the Australian government’s approach to emission reductions of being “smoke and mirrors”, cautioning that the Biden administration would not be “fooled” by rhetoric designed to mask a “clear record of inaction”. Michael E Mann, a distinguished professor of atmospheric science, also said “renewed American leadership” on the crisis would increase scrutiny on Australia, as Scott Morrison prepares for a virtual climate summit next week at US President Joe Biden’s invitation. A major report suggests Australia would need to triple its 2030 emissions reduction target and achieve net-zero emissions by 2035 to help prevent temperature rises above 2C. Meanwhile, WWF Australia has announced it will help fund community legal challenges against development decisions that involve forest clearing. Continue reading...

Journalist and author was jailed after writing pieces critical of president Recep Tayyip ErdoğanA Turkish court has released the journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison on charges of involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt, charges he had always denied.The court of cassation ruling came a day after the European court of human rights (ECHR) demanded the 71-year-old’s freedom in a verdict that accused Turkey of violating his civil rights. Continue reading...

The hit French comedy about a celebrity talent agency is making a surprise return after its fourth season was scheduled to be its lastThe acclaimed French comedy Call My Agent is set to return for a fifth season as well as a film.The news comes as a surprise after its recent fourth season was expected to be the last. The announcement was made by Thomas Anargyros, chief executive of Mediawan Studios, the company behind the series, on French radio station Europe 1. Continue reading...

Russia’s military buildup is a test of western resolve and Ukraine has suffered enough from territorial aggressions by its neighbourThe motive for Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine is unclear, but opacity is the point. Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy is meant to defy and confound international onlookers. Ordinary Russians have nothing to gain from the Kremlin’s sending tens of thousands of soldiers, plus tanks and artillery, to menace a neighbouring state, just as they saw no material benefit in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. On the contrary, they suffered from the ensuing international sanctions.But Mr Putin’s military adventures allow him to pose as a strongman who defies the west. Seizing territory that was once in the Soviet Union was central to the campaign to restore national pride after the loss of superpower status. That agenda is vital to a president who has little else to offer his people. Endemic corruption and bullying authoritarianism have produced economic stagnation. For want of a plan to make Russia competitive in civil spheres, the Kremlin relies on military posturing, cyber-espionage and geopolitical mischief to prove that it cannot be ignored. Continue reading...

After the heartbreak of a family member’s death, Indigenous Australians face years of gruelling court proceedings, often with little to show for it at the endOne year after the coronial report into her mother’s death in a police cell, Apryl Day was leading another protest. It was a national day of action marking the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. As Day stood on stage her mother’s face looked back at her from placards, along with the faces of some of the other 474 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died in custody since 1991.Tanya Day died from an injury sustained in a police cell after she was arrested for being drunk on a train, under a law the royal commission recommended be appealed 30 years ago. The Victorian government finally agreed to repeal the law in 2019, two years after the Yorta Yorta woman’s death, following the sustained activism of her children. Continue reading...

Copenhagen becomes first government to suspend the vaccine over suspected rare side-effects

Government denies renewal of temporary residency status from about 189 SyriansDenmark has become the first European nation to revoke the residency permits of Syrian refugees, insisting that some parts of the war-torn country are safe to return to.At least 189 Syrians have had applications for renewal of temporary residency status denied since last summer, a move the Danish authorities said was justified because of a report that found the security situation in some parts of Syria had “improved significantly”. Continue reading...

Organisers seek backing of two-thirds of MPs for all-party motion citing China’s treatment of UyghursThe House of Commons is to be given a chance to vote to declare that a genocide is under way in Xinjiang province in China, in a move likely to damage Sino-British relations.The organisers hope that at least two-thirds of MPs will vote on 22 April to back the all-party motion in a declaration of intent against China for its treatment of the Uyghur Muslims. Continue reading...

Prime minister questioned on controversy over Greensill’s influence within government with links to David Cameron and a senior civil servant

It’s most often associated with mint sauce, but can be used for everything from a creamy broad bean pasta to a thirst-quenching lemon sorbetThere are many types of mint, with variations in taste and strength, all of which we can safely ignore: when you buy it in the supermarket, it just says “mint” on the packet. That’s all you need to know.If, however, you wish to explore the subtle differences between ginger mint and pineapple mint, you should probably begin by growing your own. Of all the common culinary herbs, mint is the hardest to kill: it’s easy to raise from seed, but if you stick a sprig in a jar with some water, it will sprout roots in a matter of days. It doesn’t mind shade, rough ground or being ignored. Your biggest problem will be stopping it from taking over. Here are 17 ways to get the most out of it. Continue reading...

The weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker has caused a stir with his tousled look – but experts say pandemic mops are here to stayName: Lockdown hair.Age: One and a bit.

Isobel Rowbotham says she had pleaded with Usman Khan to stop during Fishmongers’ Hall attackA woman injured in the Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist attack in London said she had played dead after the convicted terrorist Usman Khan stabbed her repeatedly, an inquest has heard.Isobel Rowbotham was a part-time officer manager for Learning Together, the group that organised the prisoner rehabilitation conference at the hall where the attack took place on 29 November 2019, the inquest jury was told. Continue reading...

Willie Hay accuses Home Office of discriminating against him and 40,000 other people born across borderA Democratic Unionist peer has said he has been forced to hold an Irish passport because of discrimination by the Home Office.Willie Hay, Lord Hay of Ballyore, told MPs he would not submit to a Life in the UK citizenship test and neither should 40,000 other people like him who were born across the border but have lived their entire lives in Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

Protesters were dispersed by police with flashbangs and gas grenades in the third night of demonstrations and unrest after the death of a black man shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop. The two officers who stopped Daunte Wright, 20, resigned two days after his death in Brooklyn Center on Sunday.Across town, at Hennepin county courthouse, relatives of Daunte Wright and George Floyd talked about the two cases of fatal police violence. 'The world is traumatised, watching another African American man being slain,' said George Floyd's brother

Campaigners stage ‘solidarity workouts’ in protest against homophobic attacksPolish activists are set to embrace “equality jogging” at this summer’s Pride parades following the success of exercise sessions under rainbow flags in public spaces across the country as a show of defiance following a homophobic attack on members of an LGBTQ+ sports club.Two people were hospitalised last month when members of the Homokomando club were attacked while exercising by a gang of 30 masked men in Gdansk. Continue reading...

PC Colin Noble allegedly made ‘completely inappropriate comments’ at woman’s home, tribunal hearsA police constable visited a domestic violence victim’s house unannounced up to 30 times and made a “catalogue of completely inappropriate comments”, a tribunal has heard.PC Colin Noble of West Midlands police is accused of “trying it on” with four domestic abuse victims and faces dismissal for gross misconduct. Continue reading...

After finding the baby pale-headed snake, Alexander White had a troubling thought: ‘What if the snake has come from something else?’A Sydney couple received a fright when they discovered a rare venomous snake in a bag of supermarket lettuce – but recovered and later used the fresh produce in a salad wrap.The juvenile pale-headed snake, Hoplocephalus bitorquatus, was tucked into a two-pack of cos lettuce which Alexander White and his partner, Amelie Neate, purchased from an Aldi supermarket in Sydney on Monday. Continue reading...

US label Judith Leiber’s depiction of the god on £6,340 leather clutch criticised as ‘demeaning’Harrods has stopped selling a luxury handbag after the accessory caused offence among the Hindu community.The bag, from the New York label Judith Leiber favoured by Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, sculptures the Hindu god Ganesha into a leather clutch. Many Hindus saw the image of the god on a handbag as demeaning and commodifying their religion. They believe in non-violence against animals, so the use of leather is considered insensitive, especially in this context. Continue reading...

As the Biden administration enlists its neighbours in attempts to slow the flow of people, families seeking a future free from hunger and violence journey onGroups of men, women and children stepped off small boats and on to Mexican soil without showing their documents to anyone.Drivers quickly bundled them into taxis which sped past an immigration office to a nearby crossroad, where the travelers climbed into a vans for the next leg of their journey toward the US border. Continue reading...

We would like to hear from young people in Northern Ireland on their views and experiencesNorthern Ireland will soon mark the centenary of the state’s foundation in May 1921 after the partition of Ireland. Demographic changes and Brexit have fuelled questions about whether the region’s future lies in the UK or a united Ireland.We would like to hear from young people in Northern Ireland on their thoughts and experiences ahead of the centenary. What are the most pressing issues you face? What are your hopes for the future? Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith says the allegation he buried classified information regarding Afghanistan in his backyard ‘is false’The Australian federal police has launched a fresh investigation into former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith after it was alleged he buried sensitive material in his backyard and attempted to intimidate a witness in an active investigation into war crimes.The AFP deputy commissioner, Ian McCartney, told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday that police had opened an investigation into the new allegations. Continue reading...

They scored a UK No 1 single and the biggest-selling independent album ever. Thirty-seven years into their career, the California band ponder middle-aged sex – and being denied respect“It’s very fashionable now to say, ‘When we were young, we didn’t fit in,’” says Dexter Holland, frontman for multi-platinum punk-rockers the Offspring, Zooming from the band’s plush Orange County recording studio. “But it really was true for us in high school, where everything was about looks, athleticism and popularity. I mean, look at us!”Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, guitarist and Holland’s long-standing foil, leans in and taps his milk bottle-lensed specs. “And you should have seen me back when I had braces and headgear,” he grins. Continue reading...

After sitting alone in my flat for most of last year, I jumped at the chance to deliver Covid vaccines. This is what I’ve learned

Bryan Jones will challenge the congressman, who is under investigation for alleged sex trafficking, in the next primaryA veteran air force pilot is laying the groundwork to challenge the scandal-hit congressman Matt Gaetz in the Republican primary for Florida’s first congressional district. Continue reading...

Without travel, I missed New York terribly – and I realized I need to spend time there to feel more like meIn 2005, the year I turned 40, I moved upstate after living in New York City for 15 years, relinquishing a part of my identity I thought I never would.I’d dreamt about being a writer in the electric city from the time I was a teen sneaking in by myself on the Long Island Rail Road, and people-watching all around Manhattan. I moved there in my mid-20s after a failed suburban starter marriage. Over the course of a blissfully stimulating but sometimes lonely decade-and-a-half there, I reinvented myself from a suburban dork to a city geek, a freelancer with a finger on the pulse of the vibrant arts and social scenes. It was where I became me. Continue reading...

Gunman who was sentenced to life in prison last year and was designated a ‘terrorist entity’ has requested a judicial reviewThe Australian man who carried out the Christchurch mosque massacres is launching a legal challenge against his jail conditions in the New Zealand high court.Brenton Tarrant, who was last year sentenced to life imprisonment for 51 murders and one charge of terrorism, will represent himself in a hearing in Auckland on Thursday. Continue reading...

After a year of lockdown, many of us are finding it hard to think clearly, or remember what happened when. Neuroscientists and behavioural experts explain whyBefore the pandemic, psychoanalyst Josh Cohen’s patients might come into his consulting room, lie down on the couch and talk about the traffic or the weather, or the rude person on the tube. Now they appear on his computer screen and tell him about brain fog. They talk with urgency of feeling unable to concentrate in meetings, to read, to follow intricately plotted television programmes. “There’s this sense of debilitation, of losing ordinary facility with everyday life; a forgetfulness and a kind of deskilling,” says Cohen, author of the self-help book How to Live. What to Do. Although restrictions are now easing across the UK, with greater freedom to circulate and socialise, he says lockdown for many of us has been “a contraction of life, and an almost parallel contraction of mental capacity”.This dulled, useless state of mind – epitomised by the act of going into a room and then forgetting why we are there – is so boring, so lifeless. But researchers believe it is far more interesting than it feels: even that this common experience can be explained by cutting-edge neuroscience theories, and that studying it could further scientific understanding of the brain and how it changes. I ask Jon Simons, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, could it really be something “sciencey”? “Yes, it’s definitely something sciencey – and it’s helpful to understand that this feeling isn’t unusual or weird,” he says. “There isn’t something wrong with us. It’s a completely normal reaction to this quite traumatic experience we’ve collectively had over the last 12 months or so.” Continue reading...

She went from Leicester to Los Angeles – and is now bound for outer space. But Intergalactic, which was filmed in Manchester, has made the British star want to return homeI can’t tell if the pained expression on Parminder Nagra’s face is because of the bad Zoom connection or the words I can’t help blurting out the moment she appears on my screen. She’s sitting at a table in her home in Los Angeles, the California sun streaming through sash windows into a sitting room dotted with keepsakes from her many films, and all I can think to say is: “I can’t believe I’m talking to Jess from Bend It Like Beckham! I loved that film!”We’re meant to be discussing the actor’s new role in Intergalactic, a dystopian sci-fi drama about a group of female high-security prisoners who hijack a spaceship and set off in pursuit of freedom. But instead we’re discussing the role Nagra took on almost 20 years ago, playing Jess, a teenager who discovers herself on the football pitch, while navigating her Indian heritage and British life. Is it annoying that people still talk about Bend It? “No,” says Nagra, “because it’s such a huge part of my life. I’ve just gotten older. I keep thinking people are going to think I still look the same, when I don’t. But I’m still proud of the film. It’s probably what I’m most recognised for.” Continue reading...

Reporters Without Borders speaks of pressures on press freedom after murder of Giorgos Karaivaz in Athens last weekThe murder of a high-profile Greek journalist last week marks the fourth killing of a reporter in Europe in the past five years and has underlined growing concerns about a steady decline of press freedoms in several EU member states.Related: Greek crime journalist shot dead in Athens in ‘execution-style’ murder Continue reading...

Members of the public are being offered gifts and discounts to encourage vaccine take-up

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has announced plans for a domestic Covid-status certificate. We look to Israel, where a similar scheme has been introduced, and discuss how it might work hereLast week, Boris Johnson set out plans for a domestic vaccine passport system to help the country emerge from lockdown.To see how it might work, Anushka Asthana talks to the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Oliver Holmes, about life in Israel, where the government introduced a similar scheme in February. Continue reading...

Doctors speak of a new variant of the virus that appears to be spreading faster than ever before