Basingstoke, England (CNN)Last May, Steve Bates' phone rang. The UK was in the midst of its first national lockdown -- there was a stay-at-home order, schools and most shops were closed, and experts were warning that a vaccine could still be years out. At the other end of the line was an old friend, , a pharmaceutical investor who had just agreed to lead the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, a team of private sector experts assembled to secure vaccine doses for the British public. She wanted him to join."She wanted my contacts. She knew that I knew everybody in the industry," Bates, a lobbyist who...…Basingstoke, England (CNN)Last May, Steve Bates' phone rang. The UK was in the midst of its first national lockdown -- there was a stay-at-home order, schools and most shops were closed, and experts were warning that a vaccine could still be years out. At the other end of the line was an old friend, , a pharmaceutical investor who had just agreed to lead the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, a team of private sector experts assembled to secure vaccine doses for the British public. She wanted him to join."She wanted my contacts. She knew that I knew everybody in the industry," Bates, a lobbyist who...WW…

Updated 30th December 2020Credit: Patrick Junker/Laif/Redux for CNNGermany's ex-royals want their riches back, but past ties to Hitler stand in the way Perched on a steep hilltop in southern Germany, the striking turrets of Hohenzollern Castle rise in contrast to the rolling countryside that surrounds them. The fortress is the ancestral seat of Germany's last imperial family. If the country still had a monarchy today, the castle's owners would be its , led by Georg Friedrich, whose ceremonial title is also his legal surname: Prince of Prussia. Inside, the would-be Kaiser Prince Georg cranes...…Updated 30th December 2020Credit: Patrick Junker/Laif/Redux for CNNGermany's ex-royals want their riches back, but past ties to Hitler stand in the way Perched on a steep hilltop in southern Germany, the striking turrets of Hohenzollern Castle rise in contrast to the rolling countryside that surrounds them. The fortress is the ancestral seat of Germany's last imperial family. If the country still had a monarchy today, the castle's owners would be its , led by Georg Friedrich, whose ceremonial title is also his legal surname: Prince of Prussia. Inside, the would-be Kaiser Prince Georg cranes...WW…

Brussels, Belgium (CNN)Noah, a slight teenager wearing jeans and sneakers, is dwarfed by the bronze statue of Belgium's astride a horse. The statue, set high on a concrete plinth, has stood opposite the Royal Palace in Brussels since 1926.That could change soon. Armed only with history and an online petition, 14-year-old Noah is determined to bring crashing down.Noah's parents are from what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the late 19th century, the country -- then personally owned by -- was , where hundreds of thousands of Africans died in slavery. "I feel belittled, because it...…Brussels, Belgium (CNN)Noah, a slight teenager wearing jeans and sneakers, is dwarfed by the bronze statue of Belgium's astride a horse. The statue, set high on a concrete plinth, has stood opposite the Royal Palace in Brussels since 1926.That could change soon. Armed only with history and an online petition, 14-year-old Noah is determined to bring crashing down.Noah's parents are from what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the late 19th century, the country -- then personally owned by -- was , where hundreds of thousands of Africans died in slavery. "I feel belittled, because it...WW…