India royalist, 93, fulfils dream of meeting William and Kate

The dream of a 93-year-old Indian restaurateur to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has come true after a viral social media campaign.

Prince William and his wife Kate met Boman Kohinoor, owner of a famous Mumbai Parsi cafe, on Sunday at the city's Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

The royal rendezvous took place after they were told of the campaign with the misspelled hashtag #WillKatMeetMe.

Mr Kohinoor has a strong claim to be India's oldest and biggest royalist.

The huge cardboard cut-outs of William and Kate that adorn his restaurant reflect a lifetime of devotion. In 2010, he wrote to the Queen asking her to visit and she replied to thank him on a letterhead stamped with the Windsor crest.

"I met Their Royal Highnesses [on Sunday] evening at the Taj," Mr Kohinoor told Conde Nast Traveller.

"They were very kind and asked me about my restaurant and my favourite dishes there.

"I told them about the berry pulao and how it's made using my late wife's recipe."

Mr Kohinoor said that he was asked by the royal pair if he could cook. "I said no, but I serve my customers well," he replied.

"I told them: Give my love to the Queen, and to [your] children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, too. 

"I wish I had more time to speak, but I'm thankful for this opportunity."

The veteran restaurateur said that he was given the opportunity after a video in which he pleaded to meet the royal pairwas posted on the internet.

"TRH (their royal highnesses) were very touched and invited him to their hotel before last night's charity gala," Kensington Palace tweeted on Monday, 

Earlier at the Taj Mahal Palace, the couple spoke to survivors of the 2008 terror attacks in the city.

The seven-day tour will also see them travel to the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Police Warning Over 'Violent' Schizophrenic

Police have issued a warning about a "violent and dangerous" schizophrenic who is on the run from a mental health unit.

Cornell Destouche has absconded from the unit in Hackney, east London, Scotland Yard said.

He was being treated at the John Howard Centre in Homerton, according to reports.

The 25-year-old, who was last spotted on Sunday, requires daily medication to control his paranoid schizophrenia.

He is understood to have fled from a minicab during a period of escorted leave.

Scotland Yard said he should not be approached and anyone who sees him should call 999 immediately if he is spotted.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley, from Hackney CID, said: "Extensive efforts are being made to trace Cornell Destouche.

"He has a history of violence and could pose a threat if confronted.

"If you see him please do not approach or challenge him but dial 999."

Mr Destouche was last seen on 10 April at 5pm at a junction between The Drive and Church Hill Road, Walthamstow.

He is black, 5ft 11in tall (1.8m), of medium build, with braided hair and a black beard.

At the time he vanished, he was wearing a black and grey T-shirt, blue jacket, blue jeans and navy trainers.

He was also carrying a grey rucksack.

He is known to have connections to several parts of east London, including Leyton, Barking, Hackney and the borough of Newham.

Is this the world's safest helicopter?

An 18-rotor multicopter has been taken on its first manned flight in Germany.

Alex Zosel told the BBC that his device was safer than a traditional helicopter because its systems had more redundancy built-in.

The Volocopter can continue to fly if some of its batteries or rotors fail, and can land itself when battery power is low.

However, the multicopter can currently fly for only 25 minutes and is expected to cost £200,000 when it goes on sale.

President Obama Admits the ‘Worst Mistake’ of His Presidency

President Barack Obama said the worst mistake of his presidency was failing to prepare for the aftermath Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s ousting.

“Probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya,” Obama said in an interview with Fox News‘ Chris Wallace that aired Sunday.

Though the president still thinks that getting involved in Libya was the right call, he told the Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg in a lengthy profile it “didn’t work.”

“We averted large-scale civilian casualties, we prevented what almost surely would have been a prolonged and bloody civil conflict,” Obama said of the U.S.’s efforts to prevent mass slaughter in Libya. “And despite all that, Libya is a mess.”

Obama also criticized European leaders for their follow-through in Libya in the Atlantic interview, though British Prime Minister David Cameron said he has no regrets about intervening.

“Do I regret that Britain played our role in getting rid of Qaddafi and coming to the aid of that nation when Qaddafi was going to murder his own citizens in Benghazi? No, I don’t,” Cameron said in 2015.

In the Fox interview, Obama was also asked about his greatest accomplishment as president, to which he responded, “saving the economy from a great depression.”

Bryan Adams Axes Show Over Mississippi Law

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams has become the latest performer to cancel a US gig over controversial state legislation involving the LGBT community.

Adams announced he was cancelling an upcoming show in Mississippi, citing the state's new law that allows religious groups and some businesses to decline service to gay couples.

In a statement, the singer said: "I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation."

Adams' decision comes just days after Bruce Springsteen axed a show in North Carolina in protest at the state's move to force transgender people to use public toilets that match their birth gender.

Mississippi's "Religious Liberty" lawenables businesses, religious charities and churches to cite their religious beliefs as a reason for declining services.

Adams said he stood "in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill".

The state's governor, Phil Bryant, who signed the legislation last week, said the law "merely reinforces" existing religious freedom rights.

Missouri is also considering a so-called "religious freedom" bill, but governors in Georgia and South Dakota have vetoed such proposals.

Tennessee is proposing legislation similar to the North Carolina law.

The measures have provoked outcry not only from the LGBT community, but also from large corporations.

PayPal announced last week it was abandoning its plan to build a new operations centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, who would have brought 400 new jobs to the city.

Google, Apple, IBM and American Airlines are among several other companies that have condemned such laws.

Boris Johnson Pays £1m Tax In Four Years

London mayor Boris Johnson paid nearly £1m in tax in four years, a summary of his tax returns show.

Mr Johnson published the summary after similar action by David Cameron, George Osborne and Jeremy Corbyn.

It has emerged that Mr Corbyn had to pay a fine for filing his tax return late.

The politicians have all published details of their finances amid the row over tax avoidance.

William And Kate Pay Respect To Mahatma Gandhi

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have followed Mahatma Gandhi's final footsteps from his humble bedroom to the garden where he was assassinated.

The couple honoured India's founding father during a visit to the Gandhi museum in Old Birla House, scattering rose petals at the spot where he was killed in 1948.

It was one of the more formal engagements on Monday's itinerary as the Duke and Duchess arrived in the Indian capital New Delhi, where they also paid their respects to the country's war dead by laying a wreath at the India Gate memorial.

Kate stops her dress from blowing up at the India Gate war memorial

The Duchess almost suffered a Marilyn Monroe moment when a gust of wind blew her dress up at the national monument, but she was able to catch the hem of her skirt in time.

She changed into a long gown for a garden party at the residence of the British High Commissioner in honour of the Queen's 90th birthday next week.

The Duke paid tribute to the monarch, describing her as  a "wonderful great-grandmother" for his children and very much his "boss".

He also read out a message from the Queen, in which she spoke of her "fond memories" of her visits to India.

She added: "It is with great pleasure that I entrust another generation of my family to strengthen and renew our bonds."

The couple's day began with meeting aspiring young entrepreneurs in Mumbai at a UK Government project called the Great campaign, which promotes the United Kingdom across the globe.

The young people demonstrated their start-up ideas and enterprises at a workspace called The Social - and the Duke and Duchess got hands-on with their gadgets.

Kate put on blindfolds to use a Braille typing machine and spelled out the name of their son George.

William showed off his culinary skills and cooked a dosa - an Indian-style pancake - using an automatic machine and nibbled on his creation, but could not persuade his wife to take a bite, who waved the food away with her hand.

"Being here today, it is clear that India is leading the way in so many areas of innovation and technology," said the Prince.

On Sunday, as they mingled with Bollywood royalty at Mumbai's iconic Taj Palace Hotel at the end of the first day of the seven-day tour, William reportedly took a moment to express grief over the Hindu temple fire that left more than 100 dead in the Indian state of Kerala.

Hundreds more were injured in Sunday's blaze which saw a fireworks display at the Puttingal temple complex in the village of Paravoor, near the city of Kollam, end in tragedy.

"Catherine and I would like to offer our condolences to all those affected by the terrible fire at the temple in Kollam. I know all of you in this room will join us in the sentiments," William told guests, according to the Press Trust of India.

The Duke also praised the country's rich heritage: "Catherine and I embark on a journey to get to know the vibrant India of the 21st century.

"An India whose traditions, culture and civilisation go back thousands of years, and yet co-exist with an India that is young, creative, entrepreneurial - an economic, cultural and political powerhouse, and an established democracy under the rule of law."