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This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson. And at 14 hours GMT on Monday, the 8th of March, these are our main stories. Britain's main opposition party has called for an investigation into an allegation of racism in the royal household made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. President Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry, heads to Europe on a quest to reduce global warming. Also in this podcast, the security forces in Myanmar widen their actions as three people are killed in the latest protests.

People awoke today to many hospitals being occupied by the military and by police.

And the jury is being picked for the trial of the police officer accused of killing George Freude, which provoked worldwide protests. We begin with Harry and Meghan, the main opposition party in Britain, has called for the royal family to investigate an allegation of racism made in a US television interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a two hour programme, they made a series of dramatic revelations about their life inside the British royal family. In their first interview since moving to the US, Megan and Harry told Oprah Winfrey about their fears for their mental health while remaining in the U.K..

The couple gave details of their rift, including a claim that someone within Buckingham Palace voiced concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin would be.

At the same time, Prince Harry spoke about his disappointment about how his father, Prince Charles, behaved. They also revealed they exchanged vows in a secret ceremony three days before the wedding. We all saw in 2018. And they're expecting a daughter in the summer.

Our correspondent in Los Angeles, David Willis, watched the interview go out on prime time TV.

Well, we learned a variety of things, Alex. Prince Harry saying that his family has cut him off financially and he's living off the money he inherited from his mother, Diana. Of course, as we heard about his relationship with his father having been damaged and Prince Charles refusing to answer his calls at one point, those suicidal thoughts on the part of Megan Michael, which you mentioned conversations within the royal household about how dark her unborn son skin might be.

And she also said that the royal family had taken her passport, keys and driving licence when she married Harry and tried to limit her movements. So above all else, I think it revealed how lonely, how isolating life can be within the royal family and how the people running it, known as the firm, exert such tight control. I might add it's also been revealed that we've got a little insight into the somewhat cuzzi behind the scenes relationship between the royal family and the tabloid press in the U.K., including holiday parties at the palace.

Meghan Markle making the point that the press always wanted a narrative, as she put it, of hero and villain, a reference to her sister in law, Kate Middleton.

Just how big a story is this in the United States?

Well, America has no royal family of its own, of course. And there's an old saying that British appreciation of American celebrities is rivaled only by American appreciation of British royals. They loved the diversity that Megan brought to the royal family. And they've also seen it down the years, Americans as a real life soap opera, if you like. We haven't got the viewing figures for this interview yet, but it will almost certainly be one of, if not the most watched events of the year here, such as the level of interest.

David Willis.

There's been a lot of reaction to the interview already in the U.K. where people won't be able to watch it in full until this evening. These early morning commuters in London had this to say.

I think they've done the wrong thing. And I'm sorry, really, because I don't think they've done themselves any good at all.

I just think it's really sad that family matters can't be played out within their family. And at a time when so many people are suffering due to losing, people use coronavirus losing their jobs. I think it's a good thing that people can hear about the experience of the royal family. It's not that a blocked off experience anymore. So I think that's good.

There's been no response from Buckingham Palace so far. Our royal correspondent Daniela Ralfe is following developments.

A lot of the senior members of the royal family won't have watched this live overnight. So you can expect some of them to be given a briefing this morning. They will then have to be discussions within the royal household about whether this warrants some kind of response. There is so much to unpick inside this interview. A lot of it is also very personal. There are some things that they just won't address in any detail, but perhaps some of the more wider institutional problems that may get in particular talked about not being supported when she went to seek help wanting that level of support to help her out of her isolation and help her mental health, that that that was not forthcoming.

She said. Could they perhaps address some of those more institutional issues around those areas rather than more personal stuff? I think that's possible, but I think this morning they will be looking at what's been said and trying to make a judgment call on whether it's worth responding or referring to the position that they often take, which is to say nothing at all.

Our royal correspondent, Daniela Relf. Climate change is one of President Biden's top priorities as the US president. On his first day in office, he rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, his. Special envoy on climate John Kerry has come to Europe to discuss how to improve action on global warming. His first stop is London. I've been speaking to our environment analyst, Roger Carabine. There are two focuses, really.

One is the upcoming meeting that President Biden is going to be hosting. He's called his own climate summit, separate from the UN process. And then the U.K. is is hosting its climate summit, part of the UN process in November. And both of those summits need to make really strong progress because so far the world is lagging so far behind the targets that scientists say are necessary.

If we want a reasonably stable climate on this planet, isn't the reality that if the changes that would stop devastating climate change were to be made, the political choices that would need to be made by the leaders who are in power now are so, well, really unelectable that they're not going to make them?

That is always a problem. And if we face that, then we're not going to be leaving a very good climate behind for our grandchildren. But only in the UK. For instance, there was a UK budget recently which did very little to cut climate change emissions in the short term and certainly didn't do anything at all that would tempt people out of their cars in the short term or insulate their homes better. We may see a difference with what's happening in the USA, where just over the past few days the Senate has agreed a one point nine trillion dollar package for financial stimulus, and that does include a lot of green measures.

So we may see some movement there. But, you know, just in the USA is not nearly enough. The rest of the world needs to move to. And just also, in recent days, we've seen China's five year plan and climate scientists and experts really quite hopeful that China was going to come up with something kind of surprisingly ambitious in that. But they haven't. Some critics have called it the Great Leap Backwards in which we could actually see China's emissions increasing.

John Kerry is a very tall, imposing figure, and he carries with him all the weight of American diplomacy and also American cash. He clearly has the ear of the president who he's known for for so many years, and that will count. But whether it will count enough to get the cuts made of the size that scientists say is necessary. Well, that is a very different matter.

Roger Harradine. At least three people have been shot dead by the security forces in Myanmar on the day when the main trade unions called an indefinite general strike to try to paralyze the economy as the reach of the military government gets ever wider. James Rotifer, the senior UN human rights officer for Myanmar, said they were already tracking hundreds of people who had been arrested.

People awoke today to many hospitals being occupied by the military and by police. I mean, it does appear that these occupations may have impacted the ability of the hospitals to operate. Again, there were nitrate mass arrests. We currently are are tracking over 7500 individuals that have been arbitrarily arrested and held in detention.

Jonathan Head, our South Asia correspondent, has been following events in Myanmar with the.

The city of Mitchener, Kachin state and volleys of gunfire tear into a crowd of protesters who've pushed forward sheltering behind their homemade shields. These offer little protection. A moment later, they're racing back, carrying two people who were killed and helping a young woman whose arm has been badly injured by a bullet. Five weeks after their coup, the armed forces in Myanmar are still facing open rebellion in almost every corner of the country. They are arresting anyone suspected of involvement in the civil disobedience movement.

Two died in custody over the weekend. Their bruised bodies returned to their families with little ceremony or explanation.

At night, soldiers roam the streets, firing their weapons to terrorize residents, anyone unlucky enough to be caught or detained risks a beating or worse. Troops have also occupied several hospitals. The decision by some of the biggest unions to launch an indefinite general strike is a desperate one, hoping that destroying an already damaged economy might bring enough pressure to force the military to step back. But this is an army which has already said it will accept all hardships and isolation inflicted on the country as a fair price to pay for keeping power.

Jonathan Head. Israel has led the world in terms of the speed and scale of its vaccination program, but the roll out for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza has been much lower from today, though those Palestinians who have Israeli work permits will receive their covid vaccine as they cross into Israel.

Our Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem, Tom Bateman, told me, how is vaccination program will work?

Well, it's got underway today. And the idea is, as far as Israel is concerned, to vaccinate up to 130000 or so Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank, but cross either, as you say, into Israel proper through the checkpoints each day to work or those who work in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Now, the purpose of this, as far as the Israeli military is concerned, is that they say there are common health and economic interests and that's why this process has started.

I'm currently outside one of these temporary vaccination clinics, which is on the so-called Green Line in front of me to a very high fence with electronic sensors on it that separates this part of Israel from the West Bank beyond. I can see the Palestinian town of Tulkarm and the buildings and houses there. And I've just been chatting to some of the workers who've come through these checkpoints every day. And we're pretty pleased as far as they were concerned, to be getting their vaccines.

But once said to me, it's fine for him. He hasn't told his family yet because none of them on the Palestinian side have had a vaccine yet.

And human rights activists, as you indicate, say the program should go much, much further.

That's right. Human rights groups and the United Nations Human Rights Council have been calling on Israel for many weeks to vaccinate more Palestinians, both in the West Bank and Gaza. They say it's it's a moral and legal responsibility under the Fourth Geneva Convention as the occupying power. Israel, though, says that it believes it's clear in the Oslo Accords, previous peace accords between Israelis and Palestinians that that job falls to the Palestinian Authority.

Tom Bateman, the British food delivery firm Delivery, has announced plans for its listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The flotation is expected to value the company at more than seven billion dollars, even though it's never made a profit.

Delivering reported a reduced loss of nearly 300 million dollars for the past year. Our economics correspondent Andrew Walker has the details.

Britain was the country where Delivery's founder will sue established the company delivering restaurant meals and more by bicycle. He's chosen London as the venue to raise new funds from the stock market. The terms of the listing will give Mr. Shue personally a central role. For the first three years, he shares will have 20 times the voting weight of those held by other investors. Delivery is a business that has thrived in the pandemic, while restaurants have been hit very hard. Many customers have turned to delivery services as an alternative.

Andrew Walker still to come in this podcast. You know what's really crazy about this is that this is a wildlife corridor. The animals need to move in this area so they can move that from the animals corridor cannot be moved.

The elephant vs. avocado stand off in Kenya. One of the many US foreign policy issues President Biden is having to deal with in his first few months in office, perhaps the most difficult is what to do in Afghanistan under a deal between the Taliban and the previous Trump administration or remaining U.S. forces are due to leave the country by the end of next month. But violence has continued and peace talks have stalled, and now details have emerged of new U.S. proposals. The American diplomat spearheading peace efforts, Zalmay Khalilzad, travelled to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday.

Our correspondent there, Secunda Cumani, told me about the latest proposals.

Well, details of these proposals have been emerging really over the past 24 hours, in particular with the leaking of two key documents, including quite a blunt letter from the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani. Lots to unpack in in those documents. But broadly, as you say, talks between the Taliban and Afghan officials in Quetta really aren't making any progress. The U.S. is looking for another way forward. And that way forward includes a major international conference of regional powers in the U.S. and a proposal for a three month reduction in violence in the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

And it also includes, crucially, a push towards a power sharing arrangement and creation of a transitional government that would include both Afghan political leaders and the Taliban. It would rule the country until a new constitution has been drafted by both sides. Now, Zalmay Khalilzad has been in Kabul discussing this. He's been in Doha with the Taliban who say they're looking at the proposals. Now he's here in Islamabad. And that's because Pakistan is seen as having key leverage over the Taliban, who Pakistan's long been accused of tacitly supporting the insurgency.

But it's also now working with the United States on the peace process. So it's thought it could play a role in getting the Taliban on board with these proposals.

What's the reaction been from the Afghan authorities? Well, not particularly positive than some political figures in Afghanistan are certainly very much open to this. But President Ghani will have to make way for any kind of interim administration. And he's always been insistent that he'll only hand over power following fresh elections. And that doesn't seem feasible at all. There's no indication the Taliban are ready to take part in the democratic process, certainly not at the moment. Today, the vice president, Amrullah Saleh, said that America can decide about its troop presence in Afghanistan, but it doesn't get to decide the country's future.

And it does seem to be growing frustration on the US's part with President Karzai's government. In this letter, Anthony Blinken writes that they're still debating whether or not to withdraw all American forces by that May the first deadline agreed last year. It's basically telling President Ghani, we're not going to be here forever. You need to be willing to make compromises.

Our correspondent in Islamabad, Secunda Cumani. The first trial in connection with the death of Jorge Floyd is beginning with jury selection today. Derek Chauvin faces charges of second degree murder and manslaughter. He's the former police officer who was filmed with his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck. The video sparked months of historic protests for racial justice around the world. Barbara Plutarco reports.

This is a studio in a converted warehouse. About a dozen people are on the floor krumping. That's a street dance which uses exaggerated, energetic movements to express raw emotion.

And emotions are raw. The group surrounds and encourages individual dancers, krumping has helped them work out their pain and anger in the months since George Floyd's death.

And it will help them deal with the next phase, the trial of the man charged in the killing, Derrick Chauvin. There is a lot at stake, says the studio leader, Herb Johnson.

I do believe that, however, this trial is going to end will be really big, either on the bad side or the good side.

And I believe that it shows us how much our government cares about us or not.

I cannot really use the graphic video of George Floyd.

Gasping for Air has made this perhaps the most famous case of police brutality in U.S. history right now.

You know, he's a man with no food right now.

The white officer pinning down the black man with his knee and slowly cutting off Mr. Floyd's breath with quiet ferocity.

Check his pork, check his call for protests demanding racial justice and police reform rolled across the country peaceful by day, but in some places followed by looting and arson.

At night, Minneapolis' took a real hit. Rioters inflicted extraordinary damage.

Elias Owasso has managed to restock the drugs in his pharmacy, but his business is still recovering. It was ransacked and destroyed by fire and water.

So these are the pictures that shows the destruction on May 28.

Wow, what a mess. Completely trashed. Yes. Elias and his wife Maudy had invested their lives and savings in the pharmacy just eight months before the unrest.

So the trial kind of brings a nervousness and bring back some of the flashback, what happened in the past during the civil unrest. But at the same time, we feel like it's probably part of the price that we pay for justice.

They're troubled by how often the criminal justice system fails. Black Americans who fall foul of policing but anxious about the coming weeks as a community member and as a business owner, we worry what's going to happen.

And that's just the reality of the people that live in the city now.

And it's unfortunate we come here today as people who thirst for justice, but we hunger as well for peace and justice for George.

The rallying cry that shaped a movement.

Activists and faith leaders gathered outside the courthouse for a prayer service where now they face a moment of reckoning and trials in police killings are rare in a nation that seldom punishes cops for the way they use force. So this is a test case on whether anything's changed about holding police officers to account and about attitudes towards racism and policing in America.

Ha. Yeah, I say, oh, I agree.

Barbara Platt ushe with that report on International Women's Day. One woman in Nigeria is pushing for a gender based violence law to be passed in her state and further afield.

She is Zainab Chynn Cafi Bagua, the first lady of Kabi State in northwestern Nigeria.

She told us about the importance of the law.

Definitely, as we know with the covid-19 pandemic, there's been an increase in the conversation about gender based violence. There's been an increase in the occurrence and the conversation. It has been it has always been happening. But in my part of the world, especially in the northern part of Nigeria, it's an unspoken conversation. So with the advent of the pandemic, we've been able to speak to it more openly to discuss with women and also with the bodies that the authorities, such as the legislator, the authority, the police authorities and so on.

It's important for us to have a law to back this because everything we do is futile. If at the end of the day, we're not able to take the perpetrators to prosecute the perpetrators in a court of law, but we're yet to have it passed and we're still pushing for that to happen.

Zainab, Chynn Cafi Bagua, the first lady of Kabi State in northwestern Nigeria. We finish in Kenya and a stand off between the elephant and the avocado.

About seventeen hundred elephants who live in and around the Amboseli National Park near Mount Kilimanjaro are unknown to observers and conservationists by name. That's how closely they've been studied over almost 50 years. But now their fate has been called into question. After an avocado plantation appeared, Dr. Paula Komba, an expert on elephants and CEO of Wildlife Direct, a conservation campaign organization, told Claire MacDonald how the avocados were adversely affecting elephants.

The Amboseli ecosystem is basically a huge, vast area, and the national park is only a tiny part of that is like an oasis in a large, very dry area. The elephants that live in this area move in and out of the park on a daily basis. And they also migrate across the landscapes, particularly the bulls and sometimes the families in search of trees and food. And sometimes the bulls move back and forth from eating this area. The national park is very safe, but around it are communities that own the land, which is a buffer area, as well as the movement corridors.

This avocado farm is smack in the middle of one of the corridors that was actually negotiated by the community, the government and the local NGOs that work and do research in that area. And they basically are threatening to constrain that and prevent the elephants from moving. OK, so this was all agreed, you're saying the usage plan for the area drawn up many years ago, if that is the case, then is there not any kind of legal comeback against these plans?

Absolutely. I mean, the management plan was was gazetted by the local people and Amboseli was identified as critical for iconic species movements. So this has never been gazetted legally in the Ministry of Planning. And this is just a timing issue. The company that Clearville that is behind this farm has taken advantage of that small window of opportunity. They have gone and purchased land, fenced it and started basically bulldozing the land, cutting down all the trees. 180 acres has been converted from prime wilderness habitat to basically the scarred landscape for the planting.

So it's already happening and they can do it because they have the law on their side. Are you hoping that there can be something enacted retrospectively in this case? Absolutely.

The law is not on their side. Absolutely not. In fact, when they got their permit, they got a permit from the local government and the government has now rescinded that permit. So now they don't have any support from the local government. They don't have support from central government. They don't have support from the local community and the landowners and the communities that live around there who have all said they object to this. Most importantly, the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is required to give their support and their endorsement, were never consulted.

And they're saying this thing has to be stopped because they were never consulted either. You know, what's really crazy about this is that this is a wildlife corridor. The animals need to move in this area. They can move their farm. The animals corridor cannot be moved.

Dr Paula Kamba of Wildlife Direct. We asked Kelly Avery for a statement. However, clearly AVOs lawyers told Reuters that the farm was actually 17 kilometres away from Amboseli in an area which they say was designated for farming.

And that's all from us for now.

But there'll be an updated version of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is Global Podcast at BBC, Dot Seo Dot UK.

I'm Alex Ritson, the studio manager with Ben Andrews, the producer, Tracy Gordon, and the editor Karen Martin. Until next time. Goodbye. Why do you get deja vu? Why are you attracted to symmetrical faces? Why do you listen to songs that bum you out?

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