Meghan and Harry on Oprah: Duchess contemplated suicide and ‘concerns’ about Archie’s skin colour

Sky News says Meghan and Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah has aired in the US, with the Duchess of Sussex claiming there were “concerns” about baby Archie’s skin colour before he was born and saying she had suicidal thoughts during her time in the Royal Family.

American audiences were the first to see the two-hour Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A Primetime Special, in which the couple made a series of bombshell claims – including Harry saying Prince Charles had at one point stopped taking his calls, and alleging he was “trapped, but didn’t know I was trapped” in the royal system, “like the rest of my family”.

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French billionaire politician Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash

France24 says French billionaire Olivier Dassault, a politician and scion of the Dassault aircraft-making family, was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday. 

Dassault, 69 and a father-of-three, died around 6 pm (1700 GMT) when his helicopter crashed near the upmarket coastal resort of Deauville in northwest France, parliamentary and investigation sources told AFP.

President Emmanuel Macron led tributes, saying in a tweet that “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, local MP, reserve commander in the air force; throughout his life he never stopped serving our country”.

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UK records lowest deaths since October as England schools return on Monday

The Guardian says the UK has recorded its lowest daily deaths since October, with just 82 people dying on Sunday from Covid. It brings the total deaths to 124,501 and is down from 144 last Sunday.

It’s the first time deaths have dropped below triple figures in five months. There were also 5,177 new cases recorded, which is the lowest daily count since September.

The figures come as schools prepare to return in England after months of remote learning.

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Egypt denies Turkish claims over Mediterranean talks

Arab News says Egyptian diplomatic sources have denied rumors that Cairo discussed the eastern Mediterranean issue with Turkey.

Egypt is committed to Cyprus and Greece being part of any negotiations with Turkey, the sources added. Cairo also has “no intentions” of negotiating with Turkey over the issue, they said.

Turkish claims that a resolution is close to being reached are false, the sources said. “The Egyptian side is sticking to its position rejecting the maritime agreement signed between the Libyan Government of National Accord and Ankara,” they said.

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Australia cuts Myanmar military ties amid ‘rising death toll’

Aljazeera says Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Myanmar amid concern about the “escalating violence and rising death toll,” Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said as the country’s military steps up its crackdown on enormous protests against its coup last month.

Myanmar was plunged into turmoil after the army detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and officials from her National League for Democracy party on February 1 and seized control of the country. The coup has triggered a national Civil Disobedience Movement and mass protests in which dozens have been killed.

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Swiss voters narrowly back controversial proposal to ban face coverings

TRT World says Swiss voters on Sunday have narrowly backed a ban on full face coverings in public places, a decision has been hailed by supporters as a move against extremists but branded sexist and racist by opponents.

Official results showed that 51.21 percent of voters, and a majority of federal Switzerland’s cantons, supported the proposal.

Some 1,426,992 voters were in favour of the ban, while 1,359,621 were against, on a 50.8 percent turnout.

The so-called anti-burqa vote comes after years of debate in Switzerland following similar bans in other European countries, and in some Muslim-majority states, despite Muslim women in full-face veils being an exceptionally rare sight in Swiss streets.

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Floyd’s Cause of Death, Former Cop’s Use of Force Will Be Keys at Trial

VOA says a Minneapolis police officer was swiftly fired and charged with murder after a bystander video showed him pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck, ignoring the Black man’s cries that he couldn’t breathe. But even with that powerful footage, legal experts say the case isn’t a slam dunk for the prosecution.

Jury selection begins Monday in Derek Chauvin’s trial, which is expected to come down to two key questions: Did Chauvin’s actions cause Floyd’s death, and were his actions reasonable?

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