Bedugul Coffee: Monday Briefing: Trial in George Floyd death starts

Today's top stories

A bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan, a 'burqa ban' in Switzerland, and alarming new data on disappearing rainforests

The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is due to begin today with the screening of jurors to weigh murder and manslaughter charges in a case seen as a referendum on police violence against Black Americans.

From the crack of the baseball bat in Florida to clinking of cocktails in San Francisco bars, the sounds of spring are in the air as Americans start to return to many of the beloved pastimes they were forced to abandon 12 months ago.

The two top Democrats in New York’s state legislature say that sexual harassment allegations leveled against Governor Andrew Cuomo by five women, most of them former aides, have undermined his ability to lead and he should resign.

Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has accused Britain’s royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son’s skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. It was their first major TV interview since stepping back from the royal family a year ago - read the reactions here.

↑ Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey

WORLD

↑ A combination picture shows healthcare workers in north west England

Marking International Women's Day, we visit the women fighting on Britain's COVID-19 frontline.

Yemen’s Houthi forces have fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, including a Saudi Aramco facility vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh has called a failed assault on global energy security.

A far-right proposal to ban facial coverings in Switzerland has won a narrow victory in a binding referendum instigated by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.

Humans have degraded or destroyed roughly two-thirds of the world’s original tropical rainforest cover, new data reveals – raising alarm that a key natural buffer against climate change is quickly vanishing.

Business

Deliveroo has announced plans to launch what could be the biggest London listing in more than seven years, after the British food delivery firm's business surged during the pandemic.

Iran has quietly moved record amounts of crude oil to top client China in recent months, while India’s state refiners have added Iranian oil to their annual import plans on the assumption that U.S. sanctions on the OPEC supplier will soon ease.

When Elon Musk’s Tesla became the biggest name to reveal it had added bitcoin to its coffers last month, many pundits were swift to call a corporate rush towards the booming cryptocurrency. But there is unlikely to be a concerted crypto charge any time soon - we explain why.

COVID-19 insurance policies are increasingly joining passports and sunscreen as vacation staples, creating opportunities for insurers as more countries require mandatory coverage in case visitors fall ill from the coronavirus.