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Princess of Wales: A 'happy and smiling' Kate filmed out shopping with Prince William

19 March

The Princess of Wales has been filmed smiling and looking happy while out shopping with Prince William.

The couple were seen strolling through a car park on Saturday, in video published by The Sun, which said they were at Windsor Farm shop, close to their home.
Kate, 42, was wearing a hoodie and leggings and carried her own shopping, while the Prince of Wales was dressed in a blue coat, jeans, trainers and a baseball cap.
None of their three children, 10-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis were with them.
The paper quoted shopper Nelson Silva, who took the video, and said they appeared "super relaxed", while Kate looked "happy and relaxed".
Another eyewitness who watched the footage said it was "just a woman shopping with her husband on a Saturday afternoon just like thousands of other couples across the country".
The couple have, in recent weeks, faced social media speculation surrounding Kate's health and whereabouts.
The duchess spent time in hospital in January for abdominal surgery, shortly after her 42nd birthday.
Kensington Palace later confirmed the surgery was successful and she would be taking time to recover at home in Windsor.
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Earlier this month, the princess apologised "for any confusion" after it emerged a Mother's Day photograph of her with her children had been edited before being sent to picture agencies.
Kate said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.
"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared caused."
The image was circulated by a number of picture agencies on the day, before Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) told media outlets to "kill" the photo from their systems and archives.
A week ago, the prince and princess were seen in public for the first time since the controversy, when they were pictured leaving Windsor. William went on to attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, but Kate did not.
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's individual profiles on the Royal Family website have been replaced with a combined one which is further down the page.
The joint profile includes some of the work they have done, such as Prince Harry's Invictus Games and Sentebale charity in Lesotho, and Meghan being a patron of several organisations.

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'Treated like dogs': Russia recruiting thousands of Nepali men to fight in war on Ukraine

19 March

Around 2,000 Nepali men have been recruited by Russia to fight in its war against Ukraine, Sky News understands.

Driven by poverty, many of the Nepali mercenaries are now desperate to return.
Ganesh, 35, is one of the few recruits lucky enough to have made it home. He spent four and a half months fighting in Donetsk and he says Nepalis were "treated like dogs".
"It was very frightening. It wasn't man to man, bullet to bullet. We were attacked by drones and it was terrifying," he said.
We spoke to him in Kathmandu as he prayed at a temple, relieved but traumatised by his experience on the frontline.
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He says soldiers were taken to Avangard training centre, a military academy outside of Moscow, where they were for two weeks.
Ganesh served 10 years in the Indian army, but many others alongside him were young and inexperienced. He describes some as never having held a gun before.
'Thrown into conflict with little support'
After training, he says there was a sharp shift in the way foreign mercenaries were treated: they were suddenly thrown into conflict with very little support.
"For the first two weeks of training, life was good. But once we were sent to Ukraine, we didn't have enough food and were beaten by the Russians. It was really bad."
Nepali men, Ganesh claims, were cannon fodder in their war. "The original Russian soldiers were behind us. On the frontline it was mercenaries."
He describes a clear pecking order with Russian criminals, Nepalis and Indians ahead of Kremlin troops.
Ganesh saw three Nepali men killed on the battlefield, but has heard of many, many more casualties.
Soldiers told Russia was 'full of opportunities'
He says he was struggling to find work and when he went to an agent to see if he could work in Luxembourg, the agent suggested he should go to Russia instead because it was "full of opportunities".
Ganesh then had to take out a loan and pay him one million Nepali Rupees (nearly £6,000) to travel from Moscow via Dubai on a tourist visa.
The average monthly Nepali salary is the equivalent of less than £150. But he was told by the agent he could earn about £1,675 a month if he joined the Kremlin's campaign.
Once in Russia he then had to pay another agent nearly £800 just to be taken to the training camp.
The figure of 2,000 men recruited into the Russian army is based on the testimony of returning soldiers, as well as Russian immigration data. It has also been cross-referenced with estimates provided by campaigners supporting the families of those still serving or dead.
Many Nepalis have described being given student or tourist visas to get to Russia and the Nepali government is so concerned, that it has taken action.
Nepal has asked for soldiers to be repatriated
It was already illegal for Nepalis to fight for foreign militaries, including Russia's. But in January this year, the government banned its citizens from travelling to Russia or Ukraine for work and has asked Moscow to repatriate all Nepalis who were recruited.
Superintendent Nawaraj Adhikari told Sky News the police are cracking down on agents - the men who help sort the documents required to cross into Russia and illegally fight its war.
"Police have already arrested 22 suspects," he said. "It's a big, serious problem."
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The relatives of more than 150 Nepali mercenaries have filed requests appealing to the consular department after losing contact with their relatives. And yet, men desperate to escape poverty, continue to make the perilous journey to the battlefield.
'It's not like it looks on TikTok'
Many say they were wooed by watching TikTok videos of happy-looking recruits training in Russia. But Ganesh is urging anyone considering it not to sign up.
"I would tell them not to go. On TikTok you see them with fancy uniforms with fancy guns. But it's nothing like that."
Getting out of the war is proving treacherous. Ganesh said he tried to flee with six other Nepali men, but was caught and badly beaten by Russian soldiers.
He tried a second time to use an agent. "There was a Nepali guy, I contacted him and he said to send me 200,000 rubles (£1,700).
"I did that, then ran away from the barracks and looked around for the taxi he was meant to send but it wasn't there. Then he went out of contact."
Ganesh said many of his fellow Nepalis had tried the same. "I have seen 10 to 15 Nepalis who were wandering around, out of their minds, cheated by agents."
He eventually fled again on foot, sleeping in old buildings, spending a week in the forest before finally surrendering to the Russian police in Donetsk.
"I realised I could not cross the border and that I wouldn't survive if I stayed here. I gave myself up and went to the police. I was detained for one-and-a-half months and then they sent me back to Nepal."
Kritu Bhandari, a Kathmandu-based politician and social campaigner, has become the leader of a group of family members of Nepali mercenaries who are calling for their return from Russia.
She says in recent weeks about 700 families have asked her for help in bringing their relatives home. She says she is also aware of 260 mercenaries who are out of contact with their loved ones.
The Nepali government told Sky News 246 of its citizens are fighting for the Russian army currently and that at least 21 have been killed. But lawmakers and human rights' campaigners in Nepal say those official estimates vastly underestimate the real numbers.
According to the Nepali Foreign Ministry, Russian authorities have reportedly agreed to provide compensation to the victims' families and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has assured his Nepali counterpart that he will address their concerns.
But Moscow has said nothing yet about stopping the recruitment of Nepalis or repatriating the dead. Sky News asked the Russian Ministry of Defence and the embassy in Nepal to comment on Ganesh's allegations, and to provide the number of Nepali mercenaries in its armed forces. Neither have yet responded.
What is clear is that Nepal is caught in a conflict it has no stake in, driven by many who were trying to escape poverty.
They now look increasingly exposed with no guarantees of a safe return.

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Almost no dentist believes Tory 'recovery plan' will solve NHS patient crisis, poll finds

19 March

Just 3% of dentists believe the government's dental recovery plan will result in them seeing more NHS patients, a new poll has found.

A survey of 1,104 dentists in England found that 43% believe the proposals will lead to them seeing fewer patients, while 54% said the number of NHS patients they see will remain the same.
The government unveiled its £200m plan to bolster NHS dentistry in England last month.
However, a new poll by the British Dental Association (BDA) found three-quarters (75%) of dentists do not believe the plan will improve NHS access for new patients.
More than nine in 10 (93%) said the proposals are not sufficiently ambitious to meet the scale of the challenge facing NHS dentistry.
Chris McCann, from Healthwatch England, said: "NHS dentistry has been in crisis for some time, with many people unable to access an NHS dentist and not having the means to pay for private care.
"We've yet to see any official data on how well the plan is working, but it's concerning to hear that so few dentists appear to have confidence that it will."
MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee will quiz Dame Andrea Leadsom, a health minister, on the government's recovery plan on Tuesday.
The government has said the plan will "fund more than 1.5 million additional NHS dentistry treatments or 2.5 million NHS dentistry appointments".
However, the BDA has called for the modelling behind the claim to be released.
What's in the £200m plan?
• £20,000 bonuses for dentists working in under-served communities
• Dentists being paid more for NHS work
• A "Smile for Life" advice programme aimed at new parents and mobile dental teams being deployed to schools
• The rollout of so-called "dental vans" in rural and coastal communities
• Plans for the biggest expansion of water fluoridation in England since the 1990s
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Shawn Charlwood, chair of the BDA's general dental practice committee, who will also give evidence to the committee on Tuesday, said: "Check-ups are hard to come by, but it will prove much harder for ministers to find a dentist who backs their outlandish claims.
"Empty soundbites won't stop queues outside practices, and dodgy statistics won't call time on 'DIY' dentistry."
Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "After 14 years of Conservative neglect, patients are literally pulling their own teeth out, and tooth decay is the number one reason for six to 10 year-olds going to hospital."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Backed by £200m in 2024/25, the fully funded plan will support practices to deliver on their obligations and provide more NHS care for patients."

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Rust armourer calls for new trial after involuntary manslaughter conviction

19 March

A weapons armourer on the film set of Rust has asked for a new involuntary manslaughter trial and to be released from prison.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty after a two-week trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins, 42, on the western film set in October 2021.
"Ms Gutierrez-Reed is requesting this court vacate her conviction and order new trial," lawyers Jason Bowles and Monnica Barreras said, in an emergency motion.
"She is further requesting this court to release her pending further proceedings whether it be in this court or on appeal or writ."
The court documents appear to have been filed on the same day that Alec Baldwin's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor over the shooting.
In it, the actor's lawyers accused prosecutors of "violating nearly every rule in the book" in acquiring the indictment.
Among the claims, it is alleged state prosecutors gave the grand jury instruction on involuntary manslaughter that "unfairly stacked the deck against Baldwin", who was re-charged with involuntary manslaughter in January and will go on trial in July.
The Hollywood actor faces two counts of manslaughter, one for negligent use of a firearm and another for failure to exercise due caution - and faces a maximum of 18 months in prison if found guilty.
The 30 Rock actor has denied responsibility for Hutchins' death, saying the gun went off without him pulling the trigger.
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Hutchins died when a Colt. 45 revolver Baldwin was rehearsing with fired a live round that also wounded director Joel Souza during filming of the Western movie Rust.
Gutierrez-Reed will be sentenced on 15 April for the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 (£3,900) fine.

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'Historic moment for fans': Legislation to create football regulator

19 March

The government has announced its plan for an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) for the professional men's game.

The IFR came about following a review by Tory MP Tracey Crouch, which itself was launched after the attempt by clubs to form the European Super League.
But the Premier League has responded by saying they "remain concerned" about the legislation, which they claim could unintentionally "weaken the competitiveness and appeal of English football".
Among the measures contained in the IFR - which will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny - are:
• New "stronger tests" for new owners and directors to "stop clubs falling into the wrong hands". They face being blocked and even struck off from future attempts;
• "Backstop powers" to sort out the financial distribution between the Premier League and English Football League, if they cannot come to an agreement themselves;
• All clubs from National League One to the Premier League will be need to be licensed to compete in competitions, following "a number of issues in recent years including financial mismanagement, breakaway plans for the European Super League, and changes to club names, badges and colours against the wishes of fans";
• New requirements to protect from "breakaway competitions" and "stadium relocations";
• An obligation to consult fans on "key off-field decisions" will also be a requirement of the licence. This could include decisions on cub heritage and strategic direction.
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As well as statutory regulation of football clubs, the government has also announced that the IFR will produce a periodical report, called "State of the Game", which will analyse the financial state of football.
The government says the IFR will not be "overly-interventionist", and will instead take an "advocacy first" approach - although these will be backed by a "broad suite of powers to investigate suspected non-compliance, compel information, and enforce if necessary".
It is also pledged that the bill will have "no input in on-field decisions and will act in a way that minimises any impact on sporting competitions".
A "shadow regulator" will be set up to run while the IFR is created, with a location, chair and board make-up all still up in the air.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "Football has long been one of our greatest sources of national pride. Up and down the country, it brings people together in celebration or commiseration.
"But for too long some clubs have been abused by unscrupulous owners who get away with financial mismanagement, which at worst can lead to complete collapse - as we saw in the upsetting cases of Bury and Macclesfield Town.
"This bill is a historic moment for football fans - it will make sure their voices are front and centre, prevent a breakaway league, protect the financial sustainability of clubs, and protect the heritage of our clubs big and small."
Ms Crouch said that "football fans can begin to breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that the next steps towards protecting the long term sustainability of the pyramid have now been taken".
In response to the announcement, a spokesperson for the Premier League said it would study the bill once it is published.
"We agree it is vital that football clubs are sustainable, remain at the heart of their communities and that fans are fundamental to the game," it added.
"The government has consistently stated that it wishes to support the Premier League's continued global success which generates funding to help sustain the entire football pyramid.
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"With our clubs, we have advocated for a proportionate regime that enables us to build on our position as the most widely watched league in the world.
"Mindful that the future growth of the Premier League is not guaranteed, we remain concerned about any unintended consequences of legislation that could weaken the competitiveness and appeal of English football."

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