| | | | | | | Hello. Today we're reporting on the Royal Family, after four news agencies retracted a picture of Princess Catherine and her children over "manipulation" concerns. Daniela Relph tells us what this means for the Royals. Yolande Knell is reporting on the tension in Jerusalem as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins. We have more updates on the Oscars, Europe's aid to Ukraine, and doctors on planes. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Kate apologises over edited picture | | | | Details in a picture taken by the Prince William have raised scrutiny. Credit: Prince of Wales |
| | A photograph issued on Sunday by Kensington Palace, in which Princess Catherine is seen smiling next to her children, was supposed to quell public curiosity and social media rumours swirling around the Princess of Wales' wellbeing. But details in the wholesome family picture, such as Kate's daughter Princess Charlotte's wrist appearing misaligned with her cardigan, instead fuelled the drama and the theories around it. Four international photo agencies have now retracted the picture, citing concern over "manipulation". But just before we sent this email, the Princess of Wales apologised for any confusion, saying she "occasionally experiments with editing". Faking the entire picture, writes our royal correspondent Daniela Relph, would have been a "very high-risk strategy" from the Kensington Palace team. But in the age of AI, when false pictures can be easily believed and real pictures easily doubted, it seems that some overzealous editing of the photograph has actually raised questions on its authenticity. | | • | A private photo: The picture was not taken by a royal photographer, or a photojournalist, but by Prince William himself. Here's more on the usual protocol from Daniela Relph. | | • | Royal challenges: The Royal Family has had a difficult start to 2024. Royal correspondent Sean Coughlan listed the hurdles they will need to jump to get back on track. | | • | Sign up: Get the latest royal stories and analysis from Sean every week, with our Royal Watch newsletter. Subscribe here. |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Oppenheimer's world: The atomic biopic swept the Oscars on Sunday night, when Emma Stone's Poor Things also won big. Here are the full list of winners, the most important moments and, naturally, the best looks. | | • | Portugal: The country's centre right has claimed a narrow victory in Sunday's general election, but has little chance of forming a majority government. Only the far-right Chega party has made significant gains in what will be a fragmented parliament. | | • | Gaza: A ship carrying 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid, which had been expected to depart for Gaza on Sunday, is still docked in Cyprus amid what the charity leading the mission called "a quickly evolving and fluid situation". | | • | Haiti violence: The country is fast descending into anarchy, after gangs attacked the National Palace and set part of the Interior Ministry on fire, reports our Central America correspondent Will Grant. Prime Minister Ariel Henry remains unable to fly back home. Here's more context on the armed groups. | | • | Ready for doze off: Indonesia is investigating local carrier Batik Air after both pilots were found to have fallen asleep for 28 minutes mid-flight. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | East Jerusalem | | Tension in Jerusalem as Ramadan starts | | With no sign of a truce in time for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, there are renewed fears of Israeli-Palestinian violence spreading. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque is third holiest shrine in Islam but the site - known as Temple Mount - is also Judaism's holiest place. | | | | Yolande Knell, Middle East correspondent |
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| | Last week, the courtyards of al-Aqsa were calm as I visited, but Palestinian worshippers' minds were on the war. "People don't feel like celebrating and enjoying the regular Ramadan traditions," said one woman, Ayat, sadly. "This year, they won't go ahead because of what's happening in Gaza." Israeli police are always visibly dotted around the vast al-Aqsa mosque complex and have officers present at every gate, controlling access. This weekend, thousands of police have been deployed in the Old City. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | Is Europe doing enough to help Ukraine? | | | | Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian PM Alexander De Croo. Credit: Reuters |
| Two years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European capitals have largely maintained their political backing for Kyiv. But EU countries have sometimes failed to meet their targets for military aid, or to swiftly agree on what they are willing to send. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are slowly losing ground. Our diplomatic correspondent James Landale takes a closer look.
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| | | | Something different | | Talking on the Moon | | The next giant leap? The quest to establish lunar wi-fi. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Some people like to do a bit of work while on a plane. But Hassan Khan, a medical doctor returning to the UK from his holiday in Jordan, was not planning on taking an early shift. Yet the 28-year-old had to deliver a baby up in the sky, using nothing but towels, when an expectant mother's water broke above the Mediterranean. You might think this is more common than it actually is - I challenge you to guess the number of babies believed to have been born in commercial flights. |
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