'I can't shoot my people': Myanmar police officers flee to India after defying military orders

A number of Myanmar police officers have fled to India after being "ordered to shoot protesters" and "beat them", Sky News has been told.

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  • Plea to follow coronavirus rules amid concern over ‘dangerous wave’ overseas

    Public Health England’s Yvonne Doyle said it was ‘even more vital’ to follow coronavirus rules as lockdown is lifted.

  • Have your say: Are you going to watch Prince Philip's funeral?

    The BBC's Huw Edwards will lead six hours of coverage of Prince Philip's funeral across three channels – despite record complaints to the broadcaster about its coverage of his death.

  • Primary school places to be announced as families wait anxiously

    Parents need more support due to pandemic, say school leaders

  • John Cleese pokes fun at Hank Azaria's apology for Apu on 'The Simpsons'

    Cleese said he was sorry for 'any distress' caused.

  • Michel Barnier warns that Frexit remains a risk ahead of presidential elections

    Michel Barnier has warned that France could follow the UK out of the EU, as polls show growing support for the Eurosceptic Marine Le Pen. He said there was “social unrest and anger” over immigration and Europe’s failure to defend its borders and for the “red tape and complexity” of the EU. “We could draw some lessons from Brexit for ourselves. It's now too late for the UK but not for us," the former EU chief negotiator said. “We can find, not just in the UK, but here in France, in the northern regions […] citizens who want to leave the EU,” Mr Barnier, who has returned to domestic politics, said. He added, “It is our responsibility to understand why the British left [...] it's important for us to listen to the anger that was expressed in the UK, and to implement the kind of changes that are necessary to better understand and reassure the European citizens that remain.” Latest IFOP polling shows that Ms Le Pen, who leads the National Rally party, would beat the pro-EU Emmanuel Macron by two percentage points in the first round of next year’s presidential elections. Mr Macron is predicted to win in the second round by 54 percent to 46 percent but that is narrower than the 66.1 percent to 34.6 percent defeat she suffered four years ago. Ms Le Pen called for Frexit in that election but has since stopped campaigning for France to leave the bloc. Instead she wants to create a “Europe of nations”. Mr Barnier hopes to rebuild support for the centre-Right Républicains party ahead of the elections. He was speaking at an event on Brexit in Northern France, where fishermen are complaining they have not yet got fishing licences from the UK since Brexit. Clément Beaune, France’s Europe Minister, said the EU was accused of “being weak and slow”. He said that the bloc should take heart from its robust approach to the Brexit negotiations. “Back in 2016 people thought that this was the beginning of the end for Europe, but we have been able to show that we can be agile, that we can react, that we can be consistent in defending our interests in a firm way to defend the greatest European assets – the Single Market and our political unity.” He added: “These are lessons that we must all keep in mind as Europe is facing more difficulties.” The European Commission warned Britain that any further unilateral action over the Northern Ireland Protocol was unacceptable at a meeting on Thursday night. Maros Sefcovic, the commission vice-president, told Lord Frost that “solutions can only be found through joint actions and through joint bodies”. Britain insists that its unilateral actions in extending the grace periods on food products and parcels is lawful and made in good faith. The meeting over the implementation of new post-Brexit customs arrangements in Northern Ireland was said to be “constructive” by both sides.

  • 'This is a disaster': Boris Johnson urged to act after cases of Indian 'double mutant' variant found in UK

    Experts have called for the government to take action after it emerged that a concerning COVID variant first found in India has already been detected in the UK.

  • Prince Philip apologised to Richard Nixon for faux pas with 'lame' toast during White House visit

    Throughout his decades in public life, Prince Philip was known for putting his royal foot in his mouth with occasional off-the-cuff remarks that could be embarrassing. But his faux pas at a White House dinner with President Richard Nixon in 1969 was enough for Philip to actually lose sleep. In a handwritten note to the president uncovered by archivists at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, the Duke of Edinburgh wrote to "humbly apologise" for failing to toast the president's health as dictated by protocol during a "stag" dinner in his honor. "After the brilliance of the other speakers and yourself, I am afraid my contribution was very lame," Philip wrote to Nixon from Greenland on Nov 7 after his solo US trip had concluded. He added: "That night I woke up in a cold sweat when I realised I had forgotten to propose your health!" Philip died last week at age 99, and his funeral is Saturday. He was married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years. "I think the letter itself shows the character of Prince Philip that so much of the public in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, and really across the world, have come to admire," said Jim Byron, executive vice president of the Nixon Foundation. He said the letter was discovered before the coronavirus pandemic but made public this week, as a way of marking Philip's death. "It expresses some private feelings of a moment in time that the public really doesn't always get a chance to see," Mr Byron added.

  • China asks Japan deputy PM to drink Fukushima water he said was safe

    Chinese foreign ministry spokeperson says ‘Japan should not forget the historical tragedy’

  • Democrats unveil bid to expand Supreme Court from nine to 13

    Congressional Democrats introduce legislation to expand the US Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, arguing it is necessary after the Senate confirmed former president Donald Trump's nominee just eight days before the 2020 election to give the bench a firm conservative majority. The move has drawn angry protests from Republicans accusing their rivals of attempting a power grab to enact President Joe Biden's agenda.

  • Colin the Caterpillar vs Cuthbert, Curly and Wiggles: we decide which tastes best

    In the tale of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, along with an ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice each of Swiss cheese and salami, a lollipop, a wedge of cherry pie, a sausage, cupcake and a slice of watermelon, our ravenous protagonist devours a piece of chocolate cake. It is perhaps no coincidence that the latter has become synonymous with the insect (and visa versa), and subsequently that a caterpillar-shaped sponge is often the most familiar guest at birthday parties and office celebrations across the land. Nor is it surprising that the news of Marks & Spencer taking Aldi to court in a bid to protect its Colin the Caterpillar cake has provoked such an uproar. The retailer has accused the discounter chain of riding on its reputational coat-tails after Aldi began selling its own Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake, which looks very similar. But since M&S launched Colin (a chocolate-coated sponge cake bearing buttercream, topped with sweets and fronted by a smiling white-chocolate face) some 30 years ago, similar critters have emerged, and not only from the German discount store. From Cuthbert and Wiggles to Curly and Carl the free-from caterpillar, there are cute-faced chocolate Swiss rolls in almost every supermarket – and each has a band of fervently loyal supporters. But how do they compare to each other? Does Colin hold the gold standard when it comes to softness of sponge and flavour of edible boot? Are the sprinkles on Curly superior to those adorning Morris? While Aldi has not stocked its Cuthbert cake since mid-February and so was sadly unavailable for review, we netted the best of the rest and put them to the test.

  • Vulnerable asylum seeker kept at Napier Barracks for weeks after attempting to take his life

    Safeguarding failings meant suicidal individuals and potential trafficking victims remained in camp for weeks despite Home Office saying vulnerable people should not be there, previously unseen report shows

  • The Covid R Rate May Be Above 1 In Parts Of England

    Official figures, published for the first time since England unlocked on Monday, show London is among the areas with rising cases.

  • Why Peter Phillips is the ideal peacemaker to stand between William and Harry

    Peter Phillips is the ideal peacemaker to stand between his cousins Prince William and Prince Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral. However badly the brothers have fallen out, they remain extremely fond of their first cousin. Ever since they were born, Peter Phillips has been the cousin they most look up to. As the oldest grandchild of the Queen and Prince Philip, he occupies a powerful role among the next generation of royals. At 43, he is 30 years older than his youngest royal first cousin, Viscount Severn, Prince Edward’s younger child. Five years older than William, and seven years older than Harry, Peter was the tough, strong, no-nonsense boy they admired when they were children. Now they’re grown-up, you can see how close they remain to him, joshing each other and laughing away. Prince Philip latest news and funeral updates

  • Frank Worthington: Ex-England striker's widow forced to sell home and faces 'terribly bleak' future

    Former Huddersfield, Leicester and England forward Frank Worthington was one of the English game's great mavericks. The latter years of his life saw wife Carol become his full-time carer as he battled dementia and prostate cancer, with benefits their only source of income. The death of the former Philadelphia Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies player has left his widow in financial difficulties.

  • London may need restrictions for ‘longer’ as new variant clusters emerge, warn scientists

    Mass surge testing underway in parts of the capital after cluster of South African variant detected

  • 9 best skincare products under £10: From face serums to body lotions

    Update your routine with these affordable picks that are effective and easy on your bank account

  • Prince Philip funeral: all eyes on William and Harry and the Queen

    Prince Philip funeral: all eyes on William and Harry and the QueenBody language experts will aim to dissect estranged princes’ movements and the Queen will pay silent tribute to her husband Prince Harry and Prince William in 2015. Senior royals must wear civilian clothes to Prince Philip’s funeral. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

  • ‘Comically evil’: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert cause outrage by voting against bone marrow donor program

    In comments to The Independent, spokesman for Greene brings up abortion, Boebert mentions growing national debt as reasons for voting against legislation

  • White House calls Adam Toledo killing a ‘chilling’ reminder that police often use ‘unnecessary force’

    White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the recently released video footage of the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo serves as a “chilling” reminder that “too often in this country law enforcement uses unnecessary force.” Ms Psaki said she does not know whether President Joe Biden has seen the video that was released on Thursday, in which a Chicago police officer fatally shoots the teenager while his hands are up. “And a reminder that across the country there are far too communities where there is violence that is impacting... that too often in this country law enforcement uses unnecessary force, too often resulting in the death of Black and brown Americans.”

  • Moderna sees shortfall in Britain COVID vaccine shipments, EU deliveries on track

    U.S. drugmaker Moderna expects a shortfall in COVID-19 vaccine doses from its European supply chain hitting second-quarter delivery quantities for Britain and Canada, though European Union- and Swiss-bound shipments are on track, a spokesperson said. The delays, first announced on Friday when Canada said Moderna would be delivering only about half the planned 1.2 million doses by the end of April, come as Switzerland's Lonza ramps up three new production lines to make active ingredients for Moderna vaccine supplies outside of the United States.