By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) -Boston violated the free speech rights of a Christian group by refusing to fly a flag bearing the image of a cross at City Hall as part of a program that let private groups use the flagpole while holding events in the plaza below, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Monday.

The 9-0 decision, authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, overturned a lower court’s ruling that the rejection of Camp Constitution and its director Harold Shurtleff did not violate their rights to freedom to speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. President Joe Biden’s administration backed Camp Constitution in the case.

Boston’s flag-raising program was aimed at promoting diversity and tolerance among the city’s different communities. In turning down Camp Constitution, Boston had said that raising the cross flag could appear to violate another part of the First Amendment that bars governmental endorsement of a particular religion.

As a result of the litigation, Boston last October halted the program to ensure that the city cannot be compelled to “publicize messages antithetical to its own.” Boston has said that requiring it to open the flagpole to “all comers” could force it to raise flags promoting division or intolerance, such as a swastika or a terrorist group.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has taken an expansive view of religious rights and has been increasingly receptive to arguments that governments are acting with hostility toward religion.

At issue was whether the flagpole became a public forum meriting free speech protections under the First Amendment to bar discrimination based on viewpoint, as the plaintiffs claimed, or whether it represented merely a conduit for government speech not warranting such protection, as Boston claimed.

Breyer, who is retiring at the end of the court’s current term, wrote that Boston’s “lack of meaningful involvement in the selection of flags or the crafting of their messages leads us to classify the flag raisings as private, not government, speech.” Denying Camp Constitution’s request “discriminated based on religious viewpoint” and violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections, Breyer added.

In a concurring opinion, conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch agreed with the outcome of the case, but not Breyer’s reasoning, which they suggested may not always ferret out when a government is “surreptitiously engaged” in censorship of private speech.

The dispute arose over Boston’s practice of allowing private groups to hold flag-raising events using one of three flagpoles on the plaza in front of City Hall. From 2005 to 2017, Boston approved all 284 applications it received before rebuffing Camp Constitution. The vast majority of flags were those of foreign countries, but also included one commemorating LGBT Pride in Boston.

Camp Constitution, whose stated mission is “to enhance understanding of our Judeo-Christian moral heritage” as well as “free enterprise,” sued in 2018 over its rejection. It was represented in the case by Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group.

“This case is so much more significant than a flag,” Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver said. “Boston openly discriminated against viewpoints it disfavored when it opened the flagpoles to all applicants and then excluded Christian viewpoints. Government cannot censor religious viewpoints under the guise of government speech.”

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the city’s control of the flag-raising program made it government speech.

Breyer wrote that the ruling does not prevent Boston from changing its flag-raising policy to make clear it is intended for government speech not private expression. A city spokesperson said in a statement that “we will ensure that future City of Boston programs are aligned with this decision.”

Among other topics, Camp Constitution’s website posts materials questioning the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and claiming that last year’s U.S. Capitol attack was actually a cover up for “massive” 2020 election fraud. Its website also posts materials blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on provocations by the “Biden and Obama administrations” seeking to integrate Ukraine into NATO and calling Japan’s 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States “carefully orchestrated false flags.”

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump vented fury at protesters outside the White House in 2020, saying “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?” according to then defense secretary Mark Esper.

In a new book, excerpts of which were reported Monday, Esper recalled sitting in the Oval Office with “the president red faced and complaining loudly about the protests under way in Washington” over the police killing of a Black man.

“Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?” Trump is quoted as saying in a preview of the book seen by the Axios news website.

The protests, which were marked by violence as protesters clashed with security forces, were part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations in the wake of the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

US Park Police and National Guard troops deployed tear gas and flash bangs to clear the largely peaceful protesters.

Esper’s account appeared to confirm previous reports of Trump arguing that the military should intervene to quell the spiraling civil unrest.

An earlier book by journalist Michael Bender quoted sources saying the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, argued with Trump against using the military as the president demanded a stronger response.

Bender had quoted Trump as saying “shoot them in the leg — or maybe the foot… but be hard on them!”

Esper publicly stated at the time that he opposed invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely-used 200-year-old law which permits troops to be actively deployed within the United States.

His stance reportedly enraged Trump, and he was sacked in November 2020.

Axios said Esper’s book had been vetted by the Pentagon and reviewed by generals and cabinet members.

LONDON (Reuters) – Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre has upset opera and ballet fans by abruptly cancelling a series of shows this week by directors who have spoken out against the war in Ukraine.

The theatre gave no reason for dropping Timofey Kuliabin’s production of the opera “Don Pasquale” and Kirill Serebrennikov’s ballet “Nureyev”.

Kuliabin has used his Instagram account to express solidarity with Ukraine and ridicule Russia’s description of its actions there. In one post, he showed a mocked-up version of the cover of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, replacing the first word of the title with “Special Operation” – the term used by the Kremlin to describe the invasion.

Serebrennikov told France 24 in an interview last month that “it’s quite obvious that Russia started the war”, and that it was breaking his heart.

“It’s war, it’s killing people, it’s the worst thing (that) ever might happen with civilisation, with mankind… It’s a humanitarian catastrophe, it’s rivers of blood,” he said.

Both directors are currently outside Russia.

The replacement of the two shows with “The Barber of Seville” and “Spartacus”, two longstanding staples of the Bolshoi’s repertoire, drew hundreds of mostly critical online comments from ticketholders. Many demanded in vain to know the reason.

“What disrespect to the spectators and artists!” one woman, Valeria, wrote on the Bolshoi’s Telegram channel.

There was particular outrage at the cancellation of Serebrennikov’s “Nureyev”, a controversial production that premiered at the Bolshoi in 2017. The story of dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who defected to the West in 1961, included a tender scene with his gay lover that tested the Kremlin’s tolerance for what it calls “homosexual propaganda”.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Peter Graff)

Prince Charles once fled from a ghost at Sandringham.

The 73-year-old royal – who is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and is married to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – is said to have run away from the spooky presence at the monarch’s lavish estate in Norfolk, according to a new book.

According to The Sun newspaper, ‘Britain’s Ghostly Heritage’ author John West claims: “Christmas cards move on mantlepieces, doors open on their own, lights turn on and off, and eerie footsteps have been reported at the Queen’s Norfolk retreat.”

The outlet went on to claim that a young Charles and a footman once “fled in terror” from the library after they felt a cold presence and were convinced that a ghostly figure was behind them.

The same book also alleges that Princess Margaret – the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II – had seen the ghost of Tudor monarch Elizabeth I in a corridor at Windsor Castle and that 18th century monarch King George III had been seen “looking longingly” out of the windows whilst confined in Buckingham Palace.

Royal biographer Kenneth Rose claimed that back in 2000, the Queen had a “little service” for the supposed ghouls of Sandringham after learning from servants that one of the rooms was supposedly haunted.

The service was said to have been attended by the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother’s lady-in-waiting Prue Penn, according to diary entries made by Rose and printed in the Daily Mail back in 2019.

The diaries read: “Prue Penn [the Queen Mother’s lady-in-waiting] tells me that at Sandringham in the summer, the Queen invited her to attend a little service in one of its rooms conducted by the local parson. The only other person present was the Queen Mother. Some of the servants had complained that the room was haunted and did not want to work in it. The parson walked from room to room and did indeed feel some sort of restlessness in one of them.”

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have made their red carpet debut as a couple.

The couple – who have been together since October – were in attendance for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington D.C. on Saturday (30.04.22) night, and although they arrived more than 90 minutes after the event began, they still found the time to stop and pose for photos, though they didn’t speak to reporters before heading into the ballroom.

Kim, 41, was invited on behalf of ABC following the debut of her new Hulu series ‘The Kardashians’, while the ‘Saturday Night Live’ star, who joined her at the show’s premiere a few weeks ago, came along as her guest.

The brunette beauty wore a form-fitting silver gown, while 28-year-old Pete donned a black suit, skinny tie and Vans, and kept his sunglasses on throughout.

Trevor Noah hosted the event, while joining President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden were guests including lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and ‘Succession’ actress J. Smith-Cameron.

In March, Kim and Pete made their romance “Instagram official” when the law student shared a series of pictures of them together on her account.

In the caption of the photo dump, the reality television personality wrote: “Whose car are we gonna take?!”

In one of the images, Pete – who met the SKIMS founder when she hosted SNL, the weekly NBC sketch show he stars on – is gazing into Kim’s eyes as she puckers up.

The second photo posted by Kim – who shares North, eight, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, two, with her ex-husband Kanye West – is a black-and-white selfie of the pair, who have been linked since October.

Kim recently gave her first public insight into their relationship as she admitted to not filming with her new boyfriend.

She said: “I have not filmed with him, and I’m not opposed to it. It’s just not what he does. But if there was an event happening and he was there, he wouldn’t tell the cameras to get away. I think I might film something really exciting coming, but it wouldn’t be for this season. It wouldn’t reach until next season.”

A dancer from Singapore will portray the young Princess Elizabeth in the Diamond Jubilee pageant.

Organisers of the celebratory carnival were keen to cast a woman of colour in the role to represent modern Britain and Queen Elizabeth’s status as a role model around the world so have selected 22-year-old Janice Ho to open the ‘Let’s Celebrate’ section of the carnival, which will take place in front of Buckingham Palace on 5 June.

Janice will interact with a huge dragon puppet as she depicts the monarch in her younger years coming to terms with her power and responsibility when she takes over as queen.

The London Contemporary Dance School Student told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: “I’m really excited to be able to perform to such a big crowd in countries across the Commonwealth.

“London is such a diverse place and being able to represent that is such a great opportunity.”

Janet plans to play the princess by capturing her “sense of light-heartedness”, before she had to “face the reality” of her future life as head of state.

Angie Bual, the artistic director of Trigger, which have created the ‘Princess and the Dragon’ segment, said of the casting: “She is a woman of colour and that is something we really strongly stand by.

“The Queen is such a role model, obviously in this country and internationally, and I think we need to role model all types of diversity. It is a reflection of the make-up of Britain and London today.

“I didn’t want to cast somebody that looks exactly like Queen Elizabeth. I’m really interested in bringing new, unexpected talent in.”

While Janice will be the only performer directly portraying the “real” queen, a diverse cast will portray other carnival queens that have been directly inspired by the monarch.

The eldest will be 90 and part of a ‘Gangsta Grannies’ troupe, while the parade will also feature a giant puppet Queen walking her corgis, a huge wire frame bust surrounded by dancers in the shape of the coronation robe, the royal wedding reimagined with a Bollywood slant, and a drag queen named Cheddar Gorgeous.

‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’s costume designer found it “glorious” to put Laura Carmichael in trousers for the first time.

The period drama’s second movie is set in the late 1920s and Anna Robbins enjoyed embracing the changing trends of the time period, taking particular delight in sourcing costumers for Laura’s character Lady Edith.

She said: “I found a beautiful pyjama set for Edith and we had her in trousers for the first time, which was glorious.

“It was the perfect moment.

“As a forward-thinking working woman, Edith would have absolutely embraced wearing trousers at the earliest opportunity.”

And Anna and Michelle Dockery were keen to use clothes to show a “softer” side to the actress’ alter ego, Lady Mary Talbot.

Anna said: “Michelle and I talked about how we would show a softer, more vulnerable side of Lady Mary through silhouette, fabric and colour.

“I looked at reintroducing a waistline to her outfits. During the 1920s, dresses became more linear, then it became a dropped waistline, then as we get to the end of the 20s, we find form in the waist again.”

The wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) provided Anna with one of her favourite moments working on the film, admitting finding the right bridal gown was a “labour of love”.

She told Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “That goes down as a favourite, but it’s hard for a wedding dress not to come into your top costumes.”

The “quintessential 1920s bride” look included a layered asymmetric skirt, low back and vintage veil.

Anna said: “It felt cutting-edge for the time. I wanted to get a contrast between the wedding dresses we’ve seen previously in the series and to give the sense Lucy would be able to lift up her skirt and have a dance.”

By Tim Cocks

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Two new sublineages of the Omicron coronavirus variant can dodge antibodies from earlier infection well enough to trigger a new wave, but are far less able to thrive in the blood of people vaccinated against COVID-19, South African scientists have found.

The scientists from multiple institutions were examining Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages – which the World Health Organization last month added to its monitoring list. They took blood samples from 39 participants previously infected by Omicron when it first showed up at the end of last year.

Fifteen were vaccinated – eight with Pfizer’s shot; seven with J&J’s — while the other 24 were not.

“The vaccinated group showed about a 5-fold higher neutralisation capacity … and should be better protected,” said the study, a pre-print of which was released over the weekend.

In the unvaccinated samples, there was an almost eightfold decrease in antibody production when exposed to BA.4 and BA.5, compared with the original BA.1 Omicron lineage. Blood from the vaccinated people showed a threefold decrease.

South Africa may be entering a fifth COVID wave earlier than expected, officials and scientists said on Friday, blaming a sustained rise in infections that seems to be driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants.

Only about 30% of South Africa’s population of 60 million is fully vaccinated.

“Based on neutralisation escape, BA.4 and BA.5 have potential to result in a new infection wave,” the study said.

(Editing by Frances Kerry)

By Alexandra Ulmer and Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) – The month of May brings Donald Trump the biggest test of his political clout since the end of his presidency, as candidates he has endorsed contest Republican primaries that will set the stage for November’s midterm congressional elections.

Trump-backed candidates in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina face active and well-funded challengers seeking the Republican nomination to run for U.S. Senate. The former president has also backed a challenger to Georgia’s sitting Republican governor, who angered Trump by rejecting his false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud.

They are among the highest-profile — and in the case of the Senate, most critical for the party — of the more than 150 candidates for federal, state and local races Trump has endorsed this year. Their races will be closely scrutinized for any sign that Trump’s iron-clad grip on his party could be waning as he flirts with a possible 2024 White House run.

“It’s important for him to maintain that perception, and perhaps a reality, that he is a king-maker in the Republican Party,” said Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist, cautioning: “The Trump endorsement is still powerful, but it’s not undefeatable.”

Victories in May by some of Trump’s more controversial Senate picks, including former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia and television doctor Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, would not guarantee success in the Nov. 8 general elections and missteps could allow Democrats to hold onto their razor-thin Senate majority.

Polls show that at least one of Trump’s May picks, Senate candidate J.D. Vance in Ohio, is leading going into his Tuesday primary. But Oz trails rival David McCormick ahead of the May 17 Pennsylvania primary and former Senator David Perdue lags Georgia Governor Brian Kemp heading into their May 24 matchup.

Poor performances by Trump-backed candidates may not diminish his support with his core supporters. Reuters/Ipsos polling last week showed 83% of Republicans view the former president favorably and 40% said he is the leader who best represents their party, well ahead of the 25% for his nearest potential rival for the 2024 nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“His power base is tens of millions of disaffected voters around the country,” said Justin Sayfie of Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm with ties to Trump. “No matter what happens to his endorsed candidates, I don’t think it will change the conventional wisdom that he would still be the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for 2024.”

Trump is expected to finalize a midterms spending plan for his massive war chest following the contests in Ohio and Pennsylvania, sources told Reuters last month.

A spokesman for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

TRUMP’S CANDIDATES

Trump stunned Ohio Republicans on April 15 by endorsing Vance, a venture capitalist and author who has been bitterly critical of the former president.

More than 40 Republican officials had written to Trump urging him to not endorse Vance, arguing that his history of criticizing Trump would be fodder for his Democratic opponent.

Following Trump’s endorsement, a Fox News poll showed Vance leaping 12 percentage points from a previous poll to notch the support of 23% of primary voters, whereas opponent Josh Mandel lost 2 points to poll at 18%. Still, 25% of voters said they were undecided.

In Pennsylvania, Trump’s April 9 endorsement of Oz has done little to move the polls, with the latest survey showing a tight race with former hedge fund CEO McCormick.

In a Monmouth University poll released last week, 61% of Pennsylvania Republicans say they were “very likely” to vote for McCormick compared to 51% for Oz.

In North Carolina, polls show Trump-backed Senate candidate Representative Ted Budd leading rival former Governor Pat McCrory, though a crowded field in that race could force a July run-off.

In Georgia, Trump defied the Republican establishment by encouraging Perdue to challenge popular incumbent Kemp, who infuriated Trump by certifying the 2020 election results that showed President Joe Biden defeated him in the state.

Perdue lagged Kemp by some 20 points in a recent poll published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Georgia is going to be the proving ground for what the rest of the country is going to see: It’s time to turn the page,” said Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, an anti-Trump Republican.

Even Trump’s faith in Perdue appears to be wavering. At a Georgia rally in March, Trump turned to Perdue and said: “I hope, David, you’re going to be the governor. Or I just wasted a helluva lot a time tonight.”

(The story refiles to fix second paragraph to ‘rejecting’, from ‘rejected’.)

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco and Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Sunday paid tribute to journalists who have died or been jailed in the line of duty, defending a free press and praising those in the media who courageously report on “humanity’s wounds”.

Speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly address and blessing, Francis noted that May 3 will be the United Nations World Press Freedom Day.

“I render homage to journalists who pay in person for this right,” he said, citing statistics that 47 journalists were killed and more than 350 jailed last year.

He did give the source of the statistics. UNESCO, the U.N. organisation that sponsors World Press Freedom Day, said earlier this year that 55 journalists and media workers were killed in 2021.

“A special thanks to those who, with courage, keep us informed about humanity’s wounds,” the pope said.

Last month Francis honoured journalists killed covering the Russia-Ukraine war, saying he hoped God would reward them for serving the common good.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says it has confirmed that at least seven journalists have died while covering the war in Ukraine and is investigating whether others were killed because of their work.

Reporters Without Borders, which is based in Paris, says it has documented a number of attacks directly targeting journalists wearing “Press” arm bands in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Paul Mescal is thought to be engaged to his girlfriend Phoebe Bridgers.

A partygoer claims that the singer introduced the ‘Normal People’ star as her fiancé as she attended a bash at the Coachella festival in California recently.

Phoebe performed at the event while Paul was also seen mingling with his ‘Normal People’ co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones at the festival.

The pair were first romantically linked in 2020 when the American singer referred to Paul as “the cute boy” during an interview and revealed she “got a little pitter-patter” in her heart when she noticed the actor was following her on Instagram.

Mescal then landed a role in her music video for the track ‘Saviour Complex’ before the pair went Instagram official at the end of last year.

The 26-year-old actor hasn’t publicly confirmed the relationship but has spoken about the positive aspects of having a girlfriend.

Paul said: “To have someone too lean on through such a mad, mad time has been invaluable. Really, I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

Phoebe, 27, came out as bisexual when she was in high school and previously suggested that she “doesn’t believe in” straight people.

The singer said: “I don’t know — I actually don’t believe that anyone is, like, entirely straight.

“I just don’t believe in straight people! It’s like, how? It’s 2021!”

Phoebe explained that she found coming out “was kind of the opposite of an issue” as she was attracted to both “innocent indie boys” and “bombshell” movie characters.

She said: “I feel like I love little innocent indie boys, and then my most seminal female crushes were always the bombshells in ‘Transformer’ movies, or Jessica Rabbit, or whatever.”

By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s head of corporate affairs, Geoff Morrell, is leaving the company three months after joining from oil and energy company BP Plc, according to an email on Friday from Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek.

Morrell’s brief tenure has been marked by controversy over the company’s response to Florida’s law barring classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity for some younger students.

“It has become clear to me that for a number of reasons it is not the right fit,” Morrell wrote in a separate email to his staff. “I have decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.”

Both emails were seen by Reuters.

Kristina Schake will lead the company’s communications efforts, Chapek said in the email. Her 30-plus years of experience include heading up President Joe Biden’s vaccine education program, as well as communications for Instagram and work in the Obama administration.

Government relations and global public policy will be led by Disney’s general counsel, Horacio Gutierrez.

Disney became the focus of criticism for initially failing to speak out publicly against the Florida legislation, which critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The company said it worked behind the scenes to influence the legislation, an approach Chapek admitted had failed. He later voiced disappointment with the measure and apologized to the company’s LGBTQ employees for failing to be a “stronger ally in the fight for equal rights.”

When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law on March 28, Disney issued a statement saying it “should never have passed” and said that it should be repealed.

Disney’s public condemnation opened a new front in the nation’s culture wars, with DeSantis signing a bill on April 22 that would strip the company of its self-governing authority at its Orlando-area parks in apparent retaliation.

The company has yet to issue a statement on the new law, which would take effect on June 1, 2023.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)

Golda Rosheuvel was told not to come out by a lesbian director.

The 52-year-old actress – who is best known for her role as Queen Charlotte in Netflix hit ‘Bridgeton’ – was advised against disclosing her sexuality publicly and was left feeling “confused” because she was already out to family and friends.

Without naming the director, she said: “I really admired her and I was really confused. This is really bizarre. How come I can be out privately to my family, to my friends every day, but there’s something about being professionally out and publicly out. We were talking about being out and proud and representation and whether I should say I was gay in interviews. And it was an absolute no.”

The West End star – who is in a long term relationship with writer Shireen Mula – claimed that the director told her she would “ruin her career” if she revealed her sexuality to the world but insisted that she would “rather not be” in showbusiness if it meant not being true to herself.

Speaking on the ‘Just For Variety’ podcast, she added: ” [She said to me] ‘You absolutely shouldn’t do that. It could or it would ruin your career as an actor. “I would rather lose a job than not be true to who I am. I’d rather not work in an industry that doesn’t accept me. It just wasn’t how I was raised. And then her being out as a female director, as a lesbian director, I was like, ‘I don’t understand this advice. I just don’t understand. It just doesn’t track!”

Golda explained that “representation” in whatever form is important as she insisted that she is “out and proud” and is just as important as anyone else.

She said: “Representation is really important, whether its race whether its sexuality whether its men whether its women — whatever it is. Representation is important. I’m out and proud. My sexuality is really important to me, in terms of existing, in terms of being around the campfire and knowing that I’m important. I’m as important as anyone on the planet.”

Prince Charles has backed an initiative to put face masks on cows.

The 73-year-old royal – who is a passionate environmentalist – is a supporter of Francisco Norris’ start-up company Zelp (Zero Emissions Livestock Project) which wants to fit methane-catching devices to the creatures in order to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas as the animals emit around 95% of their methane from their mouth and nostrils.

Zelp have been working with ABP, one of the UK’s largest meat producers, to trial the devices to help cut the carbon footprint of British beef and their tests showed a 53% reduction in methane emissions, with the company hoping to reach 60 per cent next year when they launch their commercial rollout.

The masks pass the gases released by cows through a catalyst where they are released into the air as carbon dioxide and water vapour and they “comfortably” fit around the animals’ heads without impacting on their movement or habits.

Zelp’s invention was one of four to win a £50,000 from the Terra Carta Design Lab, a prize for students and alumni of the Royal College of Art, which forms part of Charles’ Sustainable Markets Initiative.

The Prince of Wales was among the panelists selecting the winners, alongside the RCA’s chancellor, Sir Jony Ive, who was also former chief design officer at Apple.

On Wednesday (27.04.22), Charles – who is also the Royal Visitor at the RCA – hailed the cow face masks as “fascinating” as he toured an exhibition showcasing the designs.

He told the winners: “I can’t tell you how proud I am to be associated with the Royal College of Art, particularly as a result of seeing the remarkable ideas presented by many of them alumni and existing students.

“May I say that it is critical because of the urgency we face in terms of the crisis confronting us in all directions and just how important is what their ideas represent in terms of finding solutions rapidly.

“I can only hope as a result of this and drawing more attention to what you are doing that we will have a better chance of winning this battle in shorter time. I can only wish you every possible success. Many congratulations, marvellous.”

A total of 125 inventions were submitted for the competition, with recyclable textile AMPHITEX, Aerseeds – artificial seed pods made from food waste – and The Tyre Collective, a device which collects particles from tyre wear.

Alan Cumming has offered a $10,000 reward to find his missing chimpanzee co-star.

The 57-year-old actor has teamed up with animal rights organisation PETA to help track down Tonka, a creature he became “good friends” with after filming 1997 family comedy ‘Buddy’ – which was based on the real-life story of 1920s socialite Gertrude Lintz, who raised monkeys as part of her family – because the primate has mysteriously disappeared.

Alan said in a statement “During the months we filmed together, baby Tonka and I became good friends, playing and grooming each other and just generally larking about.

“It’s horrible to think he might be in a cage in a dark basement somewhere or have met some other fate, so I’m appealing to whoever knows what has become of him to please come forward and claim the reward.”

The ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’ actor has pledged to match PETA’s $10,000 reward for information as to the whereabouts of the animal, raising the total to $20,000.

According to the organisation, Tonka was last seen at a cage at the former Missouri Primate Foundation – which was previously known as Chimparty – which they described as a “notorious, now-defunct breeding facility in Festus, Missouri that bred baby chimpanzees, rented them out for movies and parties, and sold them to private owners.”

PETA had previously sued the Missouri Primate Foundation over the living conditions of the chimpanzees houses there and were given permission to rescue seven chimps, including Tonka, and transfer them to a sanctuary.

But when they went to take the animals last July, Tonka had vanished and owner Tonia Haddix claimed he had “died”.

In January, a judge ruled the owner’s testimony was not credible and so the organisation have embarked on a hunt to track down Tonka.

PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet said in a statement: “If you know where Cumming’s former co-star may have been shipped to, sold, or hidden away, PETA wants to hear from you.

“If he’s still alive, Tonka deserves to live out the rest of his days surrounded by chimpanzee friends at a lush sanctuary, as ordered by the court, and someone out there might be able to help PETA get him there.”

Anyone with pertinent information should call PETA at 757-622-PETA or submit their tip at PETA.org/Tonka.