Future King Prince William Says 'Change on Agenda'

 Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 1, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool via Reuters)
Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 1, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool via Reuters)
TT

Future King Prince William Says 'Change on Agenda'

 Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 1, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool via Reuters)
Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the launch of the Global Humanitarian Memorial in London, Britain October 1, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool via Reuters)

Britain's Prince William likes to zip about the grounds of Windsor Castle on an electric scooter, his children haven't been given phones and he's ready for "change", he reveals in a rare interview about his future role as king.

"Change is on my agenda –- change for good. Not overly radical change, but changes that I think need to happen," the prince, 43, declares in his encounter with Hollywood star Eugene Levy.

"Tradition has a huge part in all of this (royal life) but there's also points where you look at tradition and go: 'Is that still fit for purpose today?'," he adds.

A helicopter pilot and horseman, William surprises Levy by arriving on two wheels when they met at Windsor Castle, west of London.

The prince lives on the sprawling royal estate with his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their three children George, 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven.

He is seen whizzing through an ancient archway into a castle courtyard, prompting the 78-year-old Canadian actor and comedian to ask if this is his usual mode of transport.

"It is around here," he replies with a laugh. "It gets around quite nicely... it's fun."

The interview with Levy, for his Apple TV+ series "The Reluctant Traveler", is one of the most personal William has ever given.

Levy, star of the hit series "Schitt's Creek", is seen enjoying a walk with William and his pet cocker spaniel Orla through the grounds.

Asked whether he finds Windsor's past overwhelming, William responds: "History can be a real weight and an anchor around you" but it is "important to live for the here and now".

Family matters are another question, he says, adding that 2024 was the "hardest year" of his life.

Both his wife and father King Charles III were diagnosed with cancer last year.

"Life is said to test us as well and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are."

Catherine is making a gradual return to public life after announcing she is in remission. Charles is still undergoing treatment.

"When it's to do with family and things like that, then that's where I start getting a bit overwhelmed -– as I think most people would," William said.

"Because it's more personal, it's more about feeling, it's more about upsetting the rhythm," he said, adding he was "so proud" of how his wife and father had handled their illnesses.

"My children have managed brilliantly as well."

The prince said part of his and Catherine's strategy for protecting their children included a phone ban.

The family "sit and chat, it's really important. None of our children have any phones, which we're very strict about".



Oscar Statuette for 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Goes Missing on Flight

FILE PHOTO: File Photo: Pavel Talankin arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 98th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: File Photo: Pavel Talankin arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 98th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo/File Photo
TT

Oscar Statuette for 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Goes Missing on Flight

FILE PHOTO: File Photo: Pavel Talankin arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 98th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: File Photo: Pavel Talankin arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 98th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo/File Photo

The Oscar statuette belonging to Pavel Talankin, the Russian director who won best documentary this year for "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," has gone missing after he was forced to check the award into hold luggage on a flight from New York to Germany, his co-director said.

Talankin was due to fly from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Frankfurt on German carrier Lufthansa. But Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents told him that the 8.5 lb (3.8 kg) statuette posed a potential security threat, his co-director David Borenstein said on Thursday.

"At the airport, a ⁠TSA agent stopped ⁠him and said the Oscar could be used as a weapon," Borenstein said on Instagram.

"Pavel didn’t have a bag to check it in, so the TSA put the Oscar in a box and sent it to the bottom of the plane," he said, posting a series of pictures, ⁠including of the box.

"It never arrived in Frankfurt."

Responding to Borenstein's Instagram post, Lufthansa said it was taking the matter seriously.

"We deeply regret this situation," a company spokesperson later said in response to a Reuters request for comment.

"Our team is handling this matter with the utmost care and urgency and we are conducting a comprehensive internal search to ensure that the Oscar is found and returned as soon as possible.”

Speaking to the online magazine Deadline.com after arriving in Germany on Thursday, ⁠Talankin ⁠said it was "completely baffling how they consider an Oscar a weapon."

On previous flights on various airlines, he had flown with it "in the cabin, and there never was any kind of problem," he told the outlet.

Talankin and Borenstein's documentary used two years of footage that Talankin recorded at a school where he worked in Russia's Chelyabinsk region, to show how students were exposed to pro-war messaging.

The 35-year-old Talankin, who fled Russia in 2024, has defended the film as a record for posterity to show how "an entire generation became angry and aggressive."


Russia Successfully Test Launches New Soyuz-5 Rocket from Kazakhstan, Space Agency Says

The ⁠new rocket is ‌capable of ‌carrying payloads of up to ‌17 metric tons. (AP file)
The ⁠new rocket is ‌capable of ‌carrying payloads of up to ‌17 metric tons. (AP file)
TT

Russia Successfully Test Launches New Soyuz-5 Rocket from Kazakhstan, Space Agency Says

The ⁠new rocket is ‌capable of ‌carrying payloads of up to ‌17 metric tons. (AP file)
The ⁠new rocket is ‌capable of ‌carrying payloads of up to ‌17 metric tons. (AP file)

Russia has test launched its new Soyuz-5 rocket for the first time, the country's space agency said late on Thursday, saying it had lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan without any issues.

The Soyuz-5, which Roscosmos, ‌Russia's space ‌agency, describes as a ‌launch ⁠vehicle equipped with ⁠the world's most powerful liquid-fueled engine, lifted off successfully at 2100 Moscow time (1800 GMT) on April 30, it said in a statement.

The ⁠new rocket is ‌capable of ‌carrying payloads of up to ‌17 metric tons, will significantly ‌reduce launch costs, and is more effective than its predecessors at placing objects like satellites in near ‌earth orbit, the agency said.

Dmitry Bakanov, the head ⁠of ⁠Roskosmos, said the rocket - which he hailed as a "new step in space exploration" - would create new jobs in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Bakanov has previously told President Vladimir Putin that the Soyuz-5 is the first new launch vehicle that Russia has developed since 2014.


Afghans Celebrate Spring in Bright Red Poppy Fields

This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows Afghan men taking a selfie as they stand among the common poppy flowers on a hillside in the Jalayer Valley of Northern Afghanistan’s Shirin Tagab district. (AFP)
This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows Afghan men taking a selfie as they stand among the common poppy flowers on a hillside in the Jalayer Valley of Northern Afghanistan’s Shirin Tagab district. (AFP)
TT

Afghans Celebrate Spring in Bright Red Poppy Fields

This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows Afghan men taking a selfie as they stand among the common poppy flowers on a hillside in the Jalayer Valley of Northern Afghanistan’s Shirin Tagab district. (AFP)
This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows Afghan men taking a selfie as they stand among the common poppy flowers on a hillside in the Jalayer Valley of Northern Afghanistan’s Shirin Tagab district. (AFP)

In the middle of a field filled with bright red poppies, Afghans frolic among the spring flowers in a tradition deeply rooted in the country's north.

Families flocked to the valleys of Shirin Tagab district, near the border with Turkmenistan, to be among thousands of flowers that appeared after abundant rain.

"There has been a drought for almost 10 years. No flowers or greenery grew," said Ghawsudin, who only uses one name.

"This year has been very good, and God is merciful," said the 79-year-old, who drove for three hours just to see the flowers.

Mohammad Ashraf, a 35-year-old visitor, said he hadn't seen so many poppies for more than a decade.

"Now there are so many red flowers, and you see people come here for picnics," he told AFP.

The landscape in Shirin Tagab is brightened by the common poppy, not the opium poppy that authorities have banned.

- 'Vitality and freshness' -

Many Afghans living in the north used to travel to see the poppies after celebrating Persian New Year, Nowruz, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Taliban government, which applies a strict interpretation of religious law, has stopped such celebrations each spring.

But the tradition of visiting the poppies, which are widely revered in poems and songs, has endured.

Oriane Zerah, a photographer who published a book about Afghans and flowers, said they are an integral part of daily life.

"As soon as an Afghan has a little space in their garden, they plant a flower. Even in displacement camps, there'll be a flower somewhere. They put them on their pakol, one of their traditional hats, and there are desserts made with flowers," she told AFP.

The poppy has also been associated with wartime in the country, with the flower often placed on the coffins of fighters, according to Afghan writer Taqi Wahidi.

"Dying in the path of the homeland, or in the path of religion and faith, was considered a kind of new resurrection and entry into a new life," he told AFP.

The same flower is widely used in countries, such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand, where people wear artificial poppies to remember those killed in past conflicts.

Nowadays in Afghanistan, however, the poppy "symbolizes vitality and freshness", according to Wahidi.

"At the same time that nature is renewed, human beings also want to bring new colors into their lives," he said.