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[ { "context": "California has become the fifth US state to allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives with a doctor's supervision. What does the law say in different states and countries when it comes to the right to die? These terms are not always used consistently. - Euthanasia is an intervention undertaken with the intention of ending a life to relieve suffering, for example a lethal injection administered by a doctor - Assisted suicide is any act that intentionally helps another person kill themselves, for example by providing them with the means to do so, most commonly by prescribing a lethal medication - Assisted dying is usually used in the US and the UK to mean assisted suicide for the terminally ill only, as for example in the Assisted Dying Bills recently debated in the UK - The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg permit euthanasia and assisted suicide - Switzerland permits assisted suicide if the person assisting acts unselfishly - Colombia permits euthanasia - California has just joined the US states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana in permitting assisted dying - Canada will permit euthanasia and assisted suicide from February 2016 (slightly earlier in the province of Quebec) - In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide were effectively legalised through the use of the defence of necessity in prosecutions of (primarily) doctors for providing euthanasia - In Colombia, Montana and Canada, the courts also took the lead in changing the law, on the basis of human rights claims - In Belgium, Luxembourg, Quebec and Vermont, it was the legislature that changed the law - In Oregon and Washington, legislation was enacted because a majority voted in favour of an initiative placed before the electorate following a petition signed by a minimum number of voters In the Netherlands, the patient's suffering must be unbearable, with no prospect of improvement. The suffering need not be related to a terminal illness and is not limited to physical suffering such as pain. It can include, for example, the prospect of loss of personal dignity or increasing personal deterioration, or the fear of suffocation. The Belgian law is similar. The patient's suffering must be constant and unbearable, resulting from a serious and incurable disorder. There is no requirement that the patient be diagnosed with a terminal illness, although additional checks are imposed if the patient is not terminally ill. In Canada, patients will qualify for assistance if they have a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring and intolerable suffering. The five US states permit assisted dying only, so the patient must be terminally ill. There is no additional requirement relating to the patient's experience of the disease or any minimum level of suffering. All of the regimes require the patient to be competent, well-informed, and to make a voluntary request. Oregon requires that the voluntariness of the request be confirmed by two witnesses. Only the Netherlands and Belgium permit euthanasia for patients under the age of 18. - In the Netherlands, a competent patient between the ages of 16 and 18 may request euthanasia or assisted suicide. The parent or guardian does not have a veto, but must be consulted. Competent patients aged between 12 and 16 may also qualify, but only if their parent or guardian consents - In Belgium, a competent patient under the age of 18 may request euthanasia with parental consent. Additional scrutiny of the child's competence is required, and suffering based on a psychiatric disorder is excluded In the Netherlands and Belgium, a second doctor must see the patient to confirm their request is valid and their suffering unbearable. A network of doctors has been trained to undertake these consultations. In the five US states, a second doctor must see the patient to confirm they are terminally ill and their request is valid. In Oregon, Washington and Vermont, the patient must also see a mental health professional if either the attending or consulting doctor suspects they may be suffering from a psychological disorder, such as depression, causing impaired judgment. None of the regimes require the prior consent of a judge, as proposed in the recent Assisted Dying Bills in the UK. In the Netherlands, the doctor must report the case to the coroner, who passes it to a regional committee. If the committee finds the doctor did not follow the legal requirements, the case is referred to the prosecution service, and to the body that regulates doctors. In Belgium, the process is similar, but there is only one committee. In Oregon, the doctor must report each prescription and each death to the state health department. If the doctor fails to comply with the legal requirements, the health department refers the case to the body that regulates doctors. Doctors have been asked about the decisions they have made at the end of patients' lives, using an anonymous survey originally designed by Dutch researchers. These surveys have been carried out in a range of countries, including those where euthanasia and/or assisted suicide are permitted, and those where it is not. The rate of euthanasia in the Netherlands has remained fairly stable at 2.8% of all deaths (in 2010). The most recent survey of doctors in the UK was in 2007-08. The rate of euthanasia was reported to be 0.21% of all deaths, and a similar rate has been reported in France (in 2009), even though euthanasia remains illegal in both countries. In contrast, research carried out in Flanders, Belgium found the rate prior to legalisation was unclear, with separate surveys reporting rates of 0.3% of all deaths in the region (in 2001-02) and 1.1% (in 1998). The rate has risen steadily since legalisation in 2002 to 4.6% of all deaths in the most recent survey in 2013. Very low rates of assisted suicide are reported in countries that both permit and prohibit this practice. Penney Lewis is a professor of law and co-director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2804, "answer_start": 1808, "text": "In the Netherlands, the patient's suffering must be unbearable, with no prospect of improvement. The suffering need not be related to a terminal illness and is not limited to physical suffering such as pain. It can include, for example, the prospect of loss of personal dignity or increasing personal deterioration, or the fear of suffocation. The Belgian law is similar. The patient's suffering must be constant and unbearable, resulting from a serious and incurable disorder. There is no requirement that the patient be diagnosed with a terminal illness, although additional checks are imposed if the patient is not terminally ill. In Canada, patients will qualify for assistance if they have a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring and intolerable suffering. The five US states permit assisted dying only, so the patient must be terminally ill. There is no additional requirement relating to the patient's experience of the disease or any minimum level of suffering." } ], "id": "400_0", "question": "Must the person be suffering?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2993, "answer_start": 2805, "text": "All of the regimes require the patient to be competent, well-informed, and to make a voluntary request. Oregon requires that the voluntariness of the request be confirmed by two witnesses." } ], "id": "400_1", "question": "Which requests by patients will qualify?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4159, "answer_start": 3586, "text": "In the Netherlands and Belgium, a second doctor must see the patient to confirm their request is valid and their suffering unbearable. A network of doctors has been trained to undertake these consultations. In the five US states, a second doctor must see the patient to confirm they are terminally ill and their request is valid. In Oregon, Washington and Vermont, the patient must also see a mental health professional if either the attending or consulting doctor suspects they may be suffering from a psychological disorder, such as depression, causing impaired judgment." } ], "id": "400_2", "question": "What additional safeguards are imposed?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4845, "answer_start": 4160, "text": "None of the regimes require the prior consent of a judge, as proposed in the recent Assisted Dying Bills in the UK. In the Netherlands, the doctor must report the case to the coroner, who passes it to a regional committee. If the committee finds the doctor did not follow the legal requirements, the case is referred to the prosecution service, and to the body that regulates doctors. In Belgium, the process is similar, but there is only one committee. In Oregon, the doctor must report each prescription and each death to the state health department. If the doctor fails to comply with the legal requirements, the health department refers the case to the body that regulates doctors." } ], "id": "400_3", "question": "How are these cases reviewed?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5934, "answer_start": 4846, "text": "Doctors have been asked about the decisions they have made at the end of patients' lives, using an anonymous survey originally designed by Dutch researchers. These surveys have been carried out in a range of countries, including those where euthanasia and/or assisted suicide are permitted, and those where it is not. The rate of euthanasia in the Netherlands has remained fairly stable at 2.8% of all deaths (in 2010). The most recent survey of doctors in the UK was in 2007-08. The rate of euthanasia was reported to be 0.21% of all deaths, and a similar rate has been reported in France (in 2009), even though euthanasia remains illegal in both countries. In contrast, research carried out in Flanders, Belgium found the rate prior to legalisation was unclear, with separate surveys reporting rates of 0.3% of all deaths in the region (in 2001-02) and 1.1% (in 1998). The rate has risen steadily since legalisation in 2002 to 4.6% of all deaths in the most recent survey in 2013. Very low rates of assisted suicide are reported in countries that both permit and prohibit this practice." } ], "id": "400_4", "question": "What is known about the frequency of euthanasia and assisted suicide?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Fancy some slideshows about Free Trade Agreements, non-regression clauses and something called EASA? Thought not. During January officials from the 27 remaining EU countries received a series of presentations from the European Commission about ideas for their future relationship with the UK. The slides reveal valuable clues about the EU's thinking ahead of the next phase of talks. I've read them all so that you don't have to. To help the two sides manage an industry that catches 100 different types of fish worth PS625m a year, the EU is mulling over a bespoke fisheries partnership with the UK. It would be based on current and existing fishing patterns. In other words, it might look very similar to the Common Fisheries Policy. The European Commission helpfully pointed out that the EU catches a lot of fish off the British coast and the UK sells a lot of fish to EU consumers, suggesting a link between access to each other's waters and each other's markets. Officials said that the UK could not remain a member of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the best it could hope for was a deal similar to those with the USA and Qatar, which would allow British airlines to fly into the EU but not between cities inside the EU. Britain's unconditional commitment to European security has been heard loud and clear. The EU is thinking about an agreement to share classified intelligence. The UK could be invited to join individual projects in the EU's new defence co-operation programme, called PESCO. There was a warning that the fall-back for failing to agree a replacement for the European Arrest Warrant would be a 1950s-era convention on extradition that's much less effective. The EU insists that the UK maintains the same data protection standards and guarantees the human rights of EU citizens when it comes to the fight against cross-border crime. \"Governance\" is the name the EU gives to a mechanism for dealing with future problems in the relationship and the punishments available if one side breaks the rules. The main message here is the more the final deal relies on EU law, then the greater the role for the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Brussels has suggested the ECJ settles disputes with the UK if a Joint Committee of British and European officials can't solve them first. That doesn't fly with the British, so European Commission officials also flagged up the EU's agreement with Ukraine. Ukrainian courts can ask the ECJ for advice, but its rulings could lead to the temporary suspension of sections of the deal with the EU, not changes to the law in Ukraine. This is going to be a huge part of the talks about the future relationship. Also known as the LPF, it is Brussels code for ways to stop the UK undercutting the EU on tax, labour and environmental standards. EU officials admit there are few legal ways they could prevent post-Brexit UK from slashing corporation tax to attract businesses, for example. Does the EU sign a tax co-operation deal like they have with Liechtenstein and Monaco? Do they insist on a written pledge to treat each other nicely? Or do they rely on the threat of the UK one day ending up on the EU's list of tax havens? And officials seemed particularly worried about State Aid - the British government using public money to help sectors of the economy with subsidies or investments. The European Commission says this must be dealt within the Brexit deal because existing international rules aren't enough to cope with a very big, very rich, very close neighbour like the UK. The slides show the EU looking confident in some areas, less so in others. Officials are wading through precedents, but are finding the UK is too big and too close to use off-the-shelf solutions for everything. And now a warning. These are the EU's thoughts about some of the things that will have to be addressed in the negotiations over its future relationship with the UK. It is not the policy for the next phase of Brexit talks. At least, not yet. For that we will have to wait for EU leaders to agree their strategy at a summit in March.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4087, "answer_start": 3545, "text": "The slides show the EU looking confident in some areas, less so in others. Officials are wading through precedents, but are finding the UK is too big and too close to use off-the-shelf solutions for everything. And now a warning. These are the EU's thoughts about some of the things that will have to be addressed in the negotiations over its future relationship with the UK. It is not the policy for the next phase of Brexit talks. At least, not yet. For that we will have to wait for EU leaders to agree their strategy at a summit in March." } ], "id": "401_0", "question": "The real deal?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China will hold one of its biggest ever military parades on Tuesday as part of its celebrations for 70 years of Communist Party rule, and Beijing is promising to show off a host of new home-grown weaponry. What equipment might we see on display, and why does China now have the second biggest military budget in the world? The military parade - part of a huge day of celebrations - will take place in Tiananmen Square in front of officials, selected members of the public, and 188 military attaches from 97 countries. A defence ministry spokesman recently said China had no intention or need to \"flex its muscles\" with this display, but that the focus was on demonstrating a \"peace-loving and responsible China\". Nevertheless, the sheer enormity of this parade has generated both admiration and scorn. The Ministry of National Defence has reported that 15,000 military personnel will be taking part, including 59 different elements of the military, while 580 pieces of military equipment will roll through the streets and 160 aircraft will fly overhead. President Xi Jinping will review troops along Chang'an Avenue - Beijing's major thoroughfare - and afterwards a number of foot, armour and aircraft formations will pass through or over Tiananmen Square. For the first time, a contingent from China's 8,000-strong UN peacekeeping standby force will participate. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is clearly excited about showcasing sophisticated new weapons platforms, all of which it says are already in active service. PLA propagandists have placed particular emphasis on new missile, stealth and unmanned vehicle capabilities. Among the machinery we're expecting to see are: - The latest road-mobile DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile, which Chinese analysts say is able to target any part of the globe, will be unveiled. It is said to carry a warhead payload of 10 multiple, independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV). A MIRV warhead can be guided towards a specific target, so one could potentially hit 10 different targets over a wide area. - Another ballistic missile system, the DF-17, said to be able to carry a hypersonic glide vehicle akin to Russia's Avangard system. Such vehicles are able to manoeuvre evasively at incredibly high speeds in order to evade missile defence systems. - More new missile systems including anti-ship, anti-aircraft and cruise missiles, as well as a new long-range multiple rocket launcher. - Two unmanned aircraft, one a supersonic surveillance and targeting drone called the DR-8 and the other a stealthy batwing-shaped drone dubbed Sharp Sword, designed to be launched from aircraft carriers. - Y-20 transport aircraft, J-20 stealth fighters and early warning and surveillance aircraft. - The latest variant of China's strategic bomber the H6-N - capable of in-flight refuelling and carrying air-launched ballistic missiles. The PLA has emphasised that the parade will also demonstrate new levels of innovation from the domestic defence industry, and improved strike capability. Increases in China's military spending have been remarkable, and have accelerated since Mr Xi announced major reforms in 2015. Over the last decade, the defence budget grew by at least 10% every year - it now stands at $168.2bn (PS136.9bn), the second largest in the world. China is also by far Asia's biggest defence investor, in 2018 spending $56.1bn in weapons procurement and defence research and development, just over 33% of China's overall defence budget. A recent defence white paper called this \"reasonable and appropriate\" expenditure. In tune with its emphasis on defence, China has downplayed such spending increases through comparisons to that of the US, which remains the biggest global defence spender by a considerable order of magnitude - a total of $643.3bn in 2018. Beijing argues that despite being the world's second largest economy, its defence spending was less than a quarter of that of the US in 2017, and works out at $100 per head of population - just 5% of that of the US. China says it is building a \"strong military\" to match its international standing and narrow the gap with the world's leading militaries. A clue as to its motivations comes from that white paper, which at the outset accuses the US of provoking and intensifying competition among major countries, significantly increasing its defence expenditure, pushing for additional capacity in nuclear, outer space, cyber and missile defence, and undermining global strategic stability. And right at the top of a list of security risks and challenges, the document describes the fight against separatists becoming more acute and Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party's stubborn adherence to an independence agenda. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province which will one day be brought back under mainland control - by force if necessary. Reunification is a central part of President Xi's goal of \"national rejuvenation\", also a key theme in the parade. With Taiwan's presidential elections only three months away, the prevalence of ballistic missile systems and heavy emphasis on stealth and cutting-edge technologies at the parade will be a message of deterrence. The parade will seek to demonstrate China's determination to defend its core interests, including its disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea. For example, the missile platforms could be used to defend the new naval and air bases built on reclaimed atolls in the Spratly Islands. China, in fact, live-fired anti-ship ballistic missiles into the South China Sea at the end of June. These capabilities are believed to be part of China's Anti-Access, Area Denial (A2AD) strategy, to prevent US access to the South China Sea. One of the big differences with Tuesday, in contrast to the last big parade in Beijing in 2015, will be an air of celebration. The V-day parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War Two, was an altogether solemn affair. This parade on the contrary seeks to celebrate China's achievements in terms of defence innovation and indigenous production. The key message is that the PLA has truly moved into a new era - Xi Jinping's new era - and that following far-reaching reforms, it is well positioned to advance towards becoming a truly modernised force by 2035 and world-class force by 2049. However, while a lavish military parade may showcase the scale of its investment, it cannot portray the PLA's overall military capability. China's need to improve its military salary structuring, integrated joint logistics and training regimes are all part of the mix. In addition, China's ambitious military reform agenda involves a comprehensive and expensive overhaul of command and force structures. Despite the eye-catching sophistication of the arsenal which will be paraded, the PLA is still many decades away from reaching military capability akin to that of the US. Alexander Neill is a Shangri-La Dialogue senior fellow for Asia Pacific security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3038, "answer_start": 1364, "text": "The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is clearly excited about showcasing sophisticated new weapons platforms, all of which it says are already in active service. PLA propagandists have placed particular emphasis on new missile, stealth and unmanned vehicle capabilities. Among the machinery we're expecting to see are: - The latest road-mobile DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile, which Chinese analysts say is able to target any part of the globe, will be unveiled. It is said to carry a warhead payload of 10 multiple, independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV). A MIRV warhead can be guided towards a specific target, so one could potentially hit 10 different targets over a wide area. - Another ballistic missile system, the DF-17, said to be able to carry a hypersonic glide vehicle akin to Russia's Avangard system. Such vehicles are able to manoeuvre evasively at incredibly high speeds in order to evade missile defence systems. - More new missile systems including anti-ship, anti-aircraft and cruise missiles, as well as a new long-range multiple rocket launcher. - Two unmanned aircraft, one a supersonic surveillance and targeting drone called the DR-8 and the other a stealthy batwing-shaped drone dubbed Sharp Sword, designed to be launched from aircraft carriers. - Y-20 transport aircraft, J-20 stealth fighters and early warning and surveillance aircraft. - The latest variant of China's strategic bomber the H6-N - capable of in-flight refuelling and carrying air-launched ballistic missiles. The PLA has emphasised that the parade will also demonstrate new levels of innovation from the domestic defence industry, and improved strike capability." } ], "id": "402_0", "question": "What equipment are we going to see?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4039, "answer_start": 3039, "text": "Increases in China's military spending have been remarkable, and have accelerated since Mr Xi announced major reforms in 2015. Over the last decade, the defence budget grew by at least 10% every year - it now stands at $168.2bn (PS136.9bn), the second largest in the world. China is also by far Asia's biggest defence investor, in 2018 spending $56.1bn in weapons procurement and defence research and development, just over 33% of China's overall defence budget. A recent defence white paper called this \"reasonable and appropriate\" expenditure. In tune with its emphasis on defence, China has downplayed such spending increases through comparisons to that of the US, which remains the biggest global defence spender by a considerable order of magnitude - a total of $643.3bn in 2018. Beijing argues that despite being the world's second largest economy, its defence spending was less than a quarter of that of the US in 2017, and works out at $100 per head of population - just 5% of that of the US." } ], "id": "402_1", "question": "How much does China spend on its military?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Former Peruvian President Alan Garcia has died after shooting himself as police arrived at his home to arrest him over bribery allegations. Mr Garcia was rushed to hospital in the capital, Lima. His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra. A crowd of supporters gathered outside the hospital building, and were held back by a line of police officers. Mr Garcia was accused of taking bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht - claims he denied. Mr Garcia served as president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011. Officers had been sent to arrest him at his home in the affluent Miraflores neighbourhood in connection with the allegations. Interior Minister Carlos Moran told reporters that when police arrived, Mr Garcia asked to make a phone call and went into a room and closed the door. Minutes later, a shot rang out, Mr Moran said. Police forced the door open and found Mr Garcia sitting on a chair with a bullet wound to his head. Ricardo Pinedo, Mr Garcia's secretary, said the former president had four or five weapons in his home, gifts he had received from the military, and that he had used one of these to shoot himself. He underwent emergency surgery in the Casimiro Ulloa hospital in Lima. Health Minister Zulema Tomas said Mr Garcia had to be resuscitated three times after suffering cardiac arrests before finally succumbing to his injuries. In a post on Twitter, Mr Vizcarra said he was \"shocked\" by the former president's death and sent his condolences to his family. Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Mr Garcia's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party, told reporters: \"Alan Garcia has died, long live APRA.\" Investigators say he took bribes from Odebrecht during his second term in office, linked to a metro line building project in the capital. Odebrecht has admitted paying almost $30m (PS23m) in bribes in Peru since 2004. But Mr Garcia maintained he was the victim of political persecution, writing in a tweet on Tuesday that there was \"no clue or evidence\" against him. In November last year he unsuccessfully applied for political asylum in Uruguay. - Born on 23 May 1949 in Lima - Studied law and sociology - Elected to Peru's Chamber of Deputies for the Aprista Party of Peru (APRA) - Became Peru's youngest ever president in 1985 at the age of 36 - A gifted orator, he was described by some as \"Latin America's Kennedy\" - Served two terms as president, first from 1985-1990, then from 2006-2011 Source: BBC Monitoring Odebrecht is a Brazilian construction giant behind major infrastructure projects around the world, including venues for the 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup in its home country. But under the glare of anti-corruption investigators the company admitted paying bribes in more than half of the countries in Latin America, as well as in Angola and Mozambique in Africa. Investigators say Odebrecht bribed officials or electoral candidates in exchange for lucrative building contracts. BBC South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas says the scandal shows no sign of abating almost four years since it was uncovered. No other company in Latin America has had such an ability to sustain so many high-level connections across so many different parties and countries for such a long period of time, he says. Four of Peru's most recent presidents are all being investigated for alleged corruption, with a fifth - Alberto Fujimori - serving a prison sentence for corruption and human rights abuses. Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was taken to hospital with high blood pressure on Wednesday just days after his own arrest in connection with Odebrecht charges. Reports said he was in intensive care. The current leader of the opposition, Keiko Fujimori, is also in pre-trial detention on charges of taking $1.2m (PS940,000) in bribes from Odebrecht. In October, an opinion poll by Datum showed 94% of Peruvians believed the level of corruption in their country was either high or very high. - Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in office 2016-2018, resigned over a vote-buying scandal and detained last week - Ollanta Humala, in office 2011-2016, accused of taking bribes from Odebrecht to bankroll his election campaign, in pre-trial detention in Peru from July 2017 to April 2018, investigation continues - Alan Garcia, in office 2006-2011, suspected of taking kickbacks from Odebrecht, sought asylum in Uruguay's Lima embassy but had his request denied - Alejandro Toledo, in office 2001-2006, accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from Odebrecht, currently a fugitive in the US", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1683, "answer_start": 550, "text": "Officers had been sent to arrest him at his home in the affluent Miraflores neighbourhood in connection with the allegations. Interior Minister Carlos Moran told reporters that when police arrived, Mr Garcia asked to make a phone call and went into a room and closed the door. Minutes later, a shot rang out, Mr Moran said. Police forced the door open and found Mr Garcia sitting on a chair with a bullet wound to his head. Ricardo Pinedo, Mr Garcia's secretary, said the former president had four or five weapons in his home, gifts he had received from the military, and that he had used one of these to shoot himself. He underwent emergency surgery in the Casimiro Ulloa hospital in Lima. Health Minister Zulema Tomas said Mr Garcia had to be resuscitated three times after suffering cardiac arrests before finally succumbing to his injuries. In a post on Twitter, Mr Vizcarra said he was \"shocked\" by the former president's death and sent his condolences to his family. Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Mr Garcia's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party, told reporters: \"Alan Garcia has died, long live APRA.\"" } ], "id": "403_0", "question": "What happened at his home?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2131, "answer_start": 1684, "text": "Investigators say he took bribes from Odebrecht during his second term in office, linked to a metro line building project in the capital. Odebrecht has admitted paying almost $30m (PS23m) in bribes in Peru since 2004. But Mr Garcia maintained he was the victim of political persecution, writing in a tweet on Tuesday that there was \"no clue or evidence\" against him. In November last year he unsuccessfully applied for political asylum in Uruguay." } ], "id": "403_1", "question": "What was Mr Garcia accused of?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3310, "answer_start": 2503, "text": "Odebrecht is a Brazilian construction giant behind major infrastructure projects around the world, including venues for the 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup in its home country. But under the glare of anti-corruption investigators the company admitted paying bribes in more than half of the countries in Latin America, as well as in Angola and Mozambique in Africa. Investigators say Odebrecht bribed officials or electoral candidates in exchange for lucrative building contracts. BBC South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas says the scandal shows no sign of abating almost four years since it was uncovered. No other company in Latin America has had such an ability to sustain so many high-level connections across so many different parties and countries for such a long period of time, he says." } ], "id": "403_2", "question": "What is the Odebrecht scandal?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3990, "answer_start": 3311, "text": "Four of Peru's most recent presidents are all being investigated for alleged corruption, with a fifth - Alberto Fujimori - serving a prison sentence for corruption and human rights abuses. Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was taken to hospital with high blood pressure on Wednesday just days after his own arrest in connection with Odebrecht charges. Reports said he was in intensive care. The current leader of the opposition, Keiko Fujimori, is also in pre-trial detention on charges of taking $1.2m (PS940,000) in bribes from Odebrecht. In October, an opinion poll by Datum showed 94% of Peruvians believed the level of corruption in their country was either high or very high." } ], "id": "403_3", "question": "How is Peru affected?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Climate scientists meeting in Korea are being urged to avoid relying on untested technologies as a way of keeping global temperature rise under 1.5C. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will shortly publish a report on how the world might stay below this limit. Early drafts said it would require machines to suck carbon out of the air. The ideas are unrealistic, said one expert, calling them \"carbon unicorns\". The IPCC special report, to be released on Monday, is expected to point towards the use of technology as a critical part of efforts to keep below the guardrail figure. Earlier versions of the document stated that all the pathways to keeping below 1.5C required rapid reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions with net-zero reached by the middle of this century. If emissions continue at the present rate, the world would \"overshoot\" 1.5C by 2040. If this happens, researchers believe that carbon dioxide removal technologies, in some form, would be needed to help bring the Earth's temperature back down. The IPCC report is expected to mention a number of approaches that range from planting more trees, to direct air capture of CO2, to bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The latter involves growing large amounts of plants that capture CO2, and then burning them for energy while capturing and storing the gas that is emitted. This has long been a controversial approach - requiring huge amounts of land to grow crops for burning. Previous research calculated an area twice the size of India would be needed to help the world stay under 2C of warming this century. \"It sounds crazy, and it is crazy,\" said Dr Glen Peters, a climate researcher at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, Norway. \"But this may be the only way to keep temperatures well below 2C. \"I struggle to see how the world can remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere for decades, but if we want 1.5C then we have to accept that this may be the only possible pathway.\" Others agree that BECCS is possible but impractical, diverting huge amounts of land from food production at a time when the world population is expected to be touching 9 billion. A group of some 40 leading researchers on forests have signed a letter, saying that BECCS is not the \"primary solution\". \"Achieving significant amounts of carbon dioxide removal through use of wood for energy and capturing the resulting carbon in geological reservoirs requires technology that is untested at large scale,\" the authors write. They believe that protecting, and sustainably managing the forests we already have, and restoring the ones we have lost, is the best use of trees in limiting climate change. \"Our planet's future climate is inextricably tied to the future of its forests,\" they say. The IPCC report will also mention the use of machines that capture CO2 directly from the air. A number of companies around the world have developed this type of technology - with some success. Earlier this year, Canadian company Carbon Engineering published a peer-reviewed research paper showing that CO2 can be captured from the air for less than $100 per tonne. The company has now raised over $11m to expand its existing pilot and design its first commercial plant. But some environmentalists see great danger in all these ideas of negative emissions. They believe they are mythical solutions that allow people to keep on using coal, oil and gas. \"There are some countries whose economies are based on fossil fuels who are not ready to face the reality yet, and they will want to continue digging and selling those fossil fuels for quite some time,\" one seasoned climate expert told BBC News. \"I suppose they're presuming that in the future some unicorns will pop up and suck the extra carbon from the atmosphere!\" Another factor that is likely to complicate the rapid reduction in fossil fuel usage is the continuing growth of coal as a power source. A new analysis by a group of environmental organisations says that 1,380 new coal plants or units are planned, or under development, in 59 countries. If built, these plants would add 672,124 megawatts of energy capacity to the global coal plant fleet - an increase of 33%.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2209, "answer_start": 874, "text": "If this happens, researchers believe that carbon dioxide removal technologies, in some form, would be needed to help bring the Earth's temperature back down. The IPCC report is expected to mention a number of approaches that range from planting more trees, to direct air capture of CO2, to bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The latter involves growing large amounts of plants that capture CO2, and then burning them for energy while capturing and storing the gas that is emitted. This has long been a controversial approach - requiring huge amounts of land to grow crops for burning. Previous research calculated an area twice the size of India would be needed to help the world stay under 2C of warming this century. \"It sounds crazy, and it is crazy,\" said Dr Glen Peters, a climate researcher at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, Norway. \"But this may be the only way to keep temperatures well below 2C. \"I struggle to see how the world can remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere for decades, but if we want 1.5C then we have to accept that this may be the only possible pathway.\" Others agree that BECCS is possible but impractical, diverting huge amounts of land from food production at a time when the world population is expected to be touching 9 billion." } ], "id": "404_0", "question": "What are these technology solutions?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2816, "answer_start": 2210, "text": "A group of some 40 leading researchers on forests have signed a letter, saying that BECCS is not the \"primary solution\". \"Achieving significant amounts of carbon dioxide removal through use of wood for energy and capturing the resulting carbon in geological reservoirs requires technology that is untested at large scale,\" the authors write. They believe that protecting, and sustainably managing the forests we already have, and restoring the ones we have lost, is the best use of trees in limiting climate change. \"Our planet's future climate is inextricably tied to the future of its forests,\" they say." } ], "id": "404_1", "question": "What about forests?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4245, "answer_start": 2817, "text": "The IPCC report will also mention the use of machines that capture CO2 directly from the air. A number of companies around the world have developed this type of technology - with some success. Earlier this year, Canadian company Carbon Engineering published a peer-reviewed research paper showing that CO2 can be captured from the air for less than $100 per tonne. The company has now raised over $11m to expand its existing pilot and design its first commercial plant. But some environmentalists see great danger in all these ideas of negative emissions. They believe they are mythical solutions that allow people to keep on using coal, oil and gas. \"There are some countries whose economies are based on fossil fuels who are not ready to face the reality yet, and they will want to continue digging and selling those fossil fuels for quite some time,\" one seasoned climate expert told BBC News. \"I suppose they're presuming that in the future some unicorns will pop up and suck the extra carbon from the atmosphere!\" Another factor that is likely to complicate the rapid reduction in fossil fuel usage is the continuing growth of coal as a power source. A new analysis by a group of environmental organisations says that 1,380 new coal plants or units are planned, or under development, in 59 countries. If built, these plants would add 672,124 megawatts of energy capacity to the global coal plant fleet - an increase of 33%." } ], "id": "404_2", "question": "Why not simply suck CO2 from the air?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "President Donald Trump has lashed out at America's central bank as a stock market whose gains he once took credit for continued a historic plunge. Mr Trump said the Federal Reserve was \"the only problem\" of the US economy. Mr Trump's treasury secretary meanwhile scrambled to calm investors. The Dow Jones fell more than 650 points on Monday, and is on track for its worst December since 1931 during the Great Depression. On Tuesday morning, Japan's Nikkei was down about 5%. The turmoil comes amid a partial government shutdown, US-China trade tensions and reports the president has discussed firing Fed chairman Jerome Powell. Mr Trump continually boasted about Wall Street's steep climb during the first year of his presidency, but has sought to deflect blame since markets hit a rough patch in 2018. On Sunday US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took the unusual step of calling the chief executives of America's six largest banks in a bid to soothe market jitters. On Monday, he called top market regulators and officials from the US central bank to allay fears about the economy. Mr Mnuchin hosted the call with the President's Working Group on Financial Markets to \"discuss co-ordination efforts to assure normal market operations\", according a treasury statement. The board of governors of the US Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission are on the working group. Analysis by Samira Hussain, business reporter, BBC News, New York It is rare for a US treasury secretary to make public his discussions with American financial institutions. But that is exactly what Mr Mnuchin did. He was attempting to ease financial markets but Monday's swoon showed he did the opposite. So then President Trump weighed in by tweet and renewed his criticism of the Federal Reserve. That also did not have the desired effect. Instead of the typical Santa Rally, we saw US investors flee stocks for safety. Not exactly the Christmas cheer the White House was hoping for. What does this mean for 2019? A lot will depend on what happens in Washington: government shutdown, simmering trade tensions and the president's tweets. One thing has been made very clear: if the White House wants to calm nervous investors, it's going to need to get much better at its messaging. Monday saw the worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever for US stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 653 points, falling below 22,000. The S&P 500 entered so-called \"bear market\" territory. US investors are fretful about a range of factors including slowing economic growth at home and internationally, though US economic data is still strong. Mr Trump's ongoing trade war with China as well as Defence Secretary Jim Mattis's surprise resignation have also unsettled investors. In addition, a partial US government shutdown began at midnight on Friday after Congress refused to fund President Trump's planned US-Mexico border wall. The shutdown could continue until the opening of the next Congress on 3 January. A Sunday statement from the treasury took the rare step of divulging details about Mr Mnuchin's discussions with the top US banks. \"The [bank's chief executives] confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumer, business markets, and all other market operations,\" the statement said. \"We continue to see strong economic growth in the US,\" Mr Mnuchin added. Earlier, he dismissed reports that President Trump had discussed the possibility of firing the Federal Reserve chairman after the bank raised interest rates last week. The US treasury secretary tweeted that he had spoken to the president, who insisted he \"never suggested firing\" Jerome Powell and did not believe he had the right to do so. Some financial pundits warned Mr Mnuchin's intervention could backfire. Jared Bernstein, who was economic adviser to former US Vice-President Joe Biden, told the Washington Post: \"The markets are already nervous enough. \"It's like sending out a message saying our space shields can intercept incoming asteroids. Uh, I didn't know there were any coming our way.\" Oliver Pursche, a board member at Bruderman Asset Management, said: \"More than anything else right now, Washington and politics are absolutely driving investor sentiment and market direction and that can turn on a dime.\" Win Thin, head of global currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, told the Financial Times: \"At best, Mnuchin made a rookie policy mistake in trying to reassure markets; at worst, Mnuchin knows something that the markets don't.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3051, "answer_start": 2326, "text": "Monday saw the worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever for US stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 653 points, falling below 22,000. The S&P 500 entered so-called \"bear market\" territory. US investors are fretful about a range of factors including slowing economic growth at home and internationally, though US economic data is still strong. Mr Trump's ongoing trade war with China as well as Defence Secretary Jim Mattis's surprise resignation have also unsettled investors. In addition, a partial US government shutdown began at midnight on Friday after Congress refused to fund President Trump's planned US-Mexico border wall. The shutdown could continue until the opening of the next Congress on 3 January." } ], "id": "405_0", "question": "Why are investors worried?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3775, "answer_start": 3052, "text": "A Sunday statement from the treasury took the rare step of divulging details about Mr Mnuchin's discussions with the top US banks. \"The [bank's chief executives] confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumer, business markets, and all other market operations,\" the statement said. \"We continue to see strong economic growth in the US,\" Mr Mnuchin added. Earlier, he dismissed reports that President Trump had discussed the possibility of firing the Federal Reserve chairman after the bank raised interest rates last week. The US treasury secretary tweeted that he had spoken to the president, who insisted he \"never suggested firing\" Jerome Powell and did not believe he had the right to do so." } ], "id": "405_1", "question": "What did US Treasury say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4592, "answer_start": 3776, "text": "Some financial pundits warned Mr Mnuchin's intervention could backfire. Jared Bernstein, who was economic adviser to former US Vice-President Joe Biden, told the Washington Post: \"The markets are already nervous enough. \"It's like sending out a message saying our space shields can intercept incoming asteroids. Uh, I didn't know there were any coming our way.\" Oliver Pursche, a board member at Bruderman Asset Management, said: \"More than anything else right now, Washington and politics are absolutely driving investor sentiment and market direction and that can turn on a dime.\" Win Thin, head of global currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, told the Financial Times: \"At best, Mnuchin made a rookie policy mistake in trying to reassure markets; at worst, Mnuchin knows something that the markets don't.\"" } ], "id": "405_2", "question": "Did Mnuchin spook markets?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "India's army says it has carried out \"surgical strikes\" against suspected militants along the de-facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir. The operation was aimed at preventing attacks being planned by Pakistan-based militants, a senior army official said. He said \"significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them\". Pakistan denies India carried out any strikes and says two of its soldiers were killed in cross-border shelling. \"The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects,\" the Pakistani military said in a statement. Pakistan said its soldiers died in \"unprovoked\" firing along the Line of Control (LoC)dividing the disputed region. A territorial dispute between the two countries over Muslim-majority Kashmir has been running for decades, but tensions flared earlier this month after a militant attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir left 18 soldiers dead. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied the claim. The operation is thought to have taken place in the early hours of Thursday. Later, Pakistan captured an Indian soldier in a village in the Goi sector on the Pakistani side of the LoC. \"One soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles with weapons has inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan side of the Line of Control,\" said a statement from an Indian army official in Delhi. India's military gave few details of the operation it says it carried out overnight. At a joint press briefing by the army and the foreign ministry, officials said the \"motive of the operation was to hit out at terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into our territory\". India's Director General of Military Operations, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, also blamed Pakistan for \"being unable to control terror activities in territories under its control\". \"Based on receiving specific and credible inputs that some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the Line of Control to carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside Jammu and Kashmir and in various metros in other states, the Indian army conducted surgical strikes at several of these launch pads to pre-empt infiltration by terrorists,\" a statement said. It said the \"surgical strikes\" had caused \"significant damage to terrorists\". But the army did not say whether troops had entered Pakistan-administered Kashmir or had fired across the border. If Indian troops did cross the LoC it would be a serious escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. However, the Press Trust of India quoted sources saying the operation took place between midnight and 04:30 local time on Thursday, that it was a combination of helicopter and ground forces, and seven militant \"launch pads\" had been targeted. Some unconfirmed Indian media reports said more than 30 militants had been killed in the operation. Pakistani army officials said the fighting started in the early hours of Thursday morning and continued for about six hours. Indian army's anger over Kashmir killings Narendra Modi's BJP government swept to power promising a tough line on Pakistan, so it has been been under tremendous pressure to retaliate after the 18 September attack on the army base in Uri in Indian-administered Kashmir. The raid was the deadliest of its kind for years. \"I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,\" Mr Modi declared just hours after the base was attacked. There was also much talk of whether India should continue with its doctrine of \"strategic restraint\" against Pakistan. A \"strike\" now is seen by many observers as aimed at placating an angry domestic constituency and sending out the message that Mr Modi is a strong leader. What's behind Kashmir's deadliest militant raid in years? The country's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, criticised the \"unprovoked and naked aggression of Indian forces\" and said his military was capable of thwarting \"any evil design to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan\". Islamabad says India's stance is a \"blatant attempt\" to deflect attention from human rights abuses in the region. More than 80 people, nearly all anti-government protesters, have died in more than two months of violence against Indian rule. The response in India has been predictably supportive of the army. #ModiPunishesPak was trending top of Twitter in India, hours after the media first reported \"the strikes\". The other top trending hashtags included #SurgicalStrike and #Indian Army. A Narendra Modi fan club account tweeted a clip from a Tom and Jerry cartoon film to show India spanking Pakistan. Government supporters gushed that this was a \"proud moment for India\", with one Bollywood actor thanking the army for doing what India \"should have done 30 years ago\". A clutch of news channels were waxing delirious on how India had taught Pakistan a lesson and speculated endlessly about the details of the operation. Things were much more serious between the two nuclear-armed rivals, they say, after the 2001 attack by Pakistan-based militants on the Indian parliament but there was no social media then, and the calls to escalate the conflict were more muted. Why India needs cool heads Both India and Pakistan claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in its entirety but control only parts of it. The territorial dispute between the two countries has been running for over six decades, and two out of the three wars fought between the nuclear-armed rivals have been over Kashmir. As with every stand-off in Kashmir, the fear of many is that this could eventually escalate into a major clash between two nuclear-armed states. But most analysts still believe that is unlikely to happen and that sporadic clashes and diplomatic sabre-rattling are likely to continue. Why India's water dispute with Pakistan matters Disputed Kashmir profiled Concern over Kashmir police's pellet guns Viewpoint: Living in the shadow of Kashmir Viewpoint: Why mass funerals spark violence in Kashmir", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3849, "answer_start": 3097, "text": "Narendra Modi's BJP government swept to power promising a tough line on Pakistan, so it has been been under tremendous pressure to retaliate after the 18 September attack on the army base in Uri in Indian-administered Kashmir. The raid was the deadliest of its kind for years. \"I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,\" Mr Modi declared just hours after the base was attacked. There was also much talk of whether India should continue with its doctrine of \"strategic restraint\" against Pakistan. A \"strike\" now is seen by many observers as aimed at placating an angry domestic constituency and sending out the message that Mr Modi is a strong leader. What's behind Kashmir's deadliest militant raid in years?" } ], "id": "406_0", "question": "Why now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4307, "answer_start": 3850, "text": "The country's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, criticised the \"unprovoked and naked aggression of Indian forces\" and said his military was capable of thwarting \"any evil design to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan\". Islamabad says India's stance is a \"blatant attempt\" to deflect attention from human rights abuses in the region. More than 80 people, nearly all anti-government protesters, have died in more than two months of violence against Indian rule." } ], "id": "406_1", "question": "What does Pakistan say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "An average of six migrants died crossing the Mediterranean every day last year, a UN report says. Italy had earlier highlighted the lower overall number of deaths last year, due to fewer people making the crossing. But the rate of deaths from Libya rose to one for every 14 arrivals in 2018 - from one in 38 the year before. The report came as seven European countries agreed to end a row over 47 rescued migrants, stranded on a humanitarian boat for 12 days. Sea Watch, a German humanitarian organisation, had taken Italy to the European Court of Human Rights after it pulled the migrants from the Mediterranean near Libya on 19 January. Italy's populist government, which has taken a hardline stance on migrant boats, refused to allow the boat Sea-Watch 3 to dock, so it remained moored off Sicily. On Wednesday, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte said the 47 migrants would be allowed to disembark after \"a list of friendly countries\", including Italy, agreed to take them in. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been vocal about his country's opposition to immigration, which was a key part of his election campaign. In a letter published in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (in Italian), published on Tuesday, he wrote: \"In 2018 there were fewer deaths, 23,370 landings compared to 119,369 the previous year. The trend is also confirmed by the first few weeks of 2019.\" But the latest report from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) highlighted the higher rate of deaths among those who did make the journey, pointing to the difficulties faces by humanitarian rescue groups as the cause. \"Although the overall number of deaths at sea in the Central Mediterranean more than halved in 2018 compared to the previous year, the rate of deaths per number of people attempting the journey rose sharply,\" it said. \"It is likely that reductions to search and rescue capacity coupled with an uncoordinated and unpredictable response to disembarkation led to an increased death rate,\" the report said. An estimated 2,275 people died making the journey in 2018 - an average of more than six every day. The death toll was particularly high on the route to Spain, where it was more than four times the 2017 figure. The report said that Italy's refusal to accept migrants rescued off the Libyan coast coincided with reduced search and rescue operations from European ships - and there had been a rise in \"interceptions\" by the Libyan Coast Guard instead. But the report said those people were then transferred to detention centres, where they faced \"appalling\" conditions. \"Detainees in some facilities were given limited access to food, while there were also reports of an outbreak of tuberculosis,\" it said. For those who were rescued by European ships, it criticised the lack of a coordinated response on their fate. \"On several occasions, large numbers of often traumatised and sick people were kept at sea for days before permission to disembark was granted,\" it said. It recommended that search and rescue operations be stepped up - but also that \"solidarity\" among European nations should allow relocation of asylum seekers to other EU nations, to ease the burden on those dealing with \"a disproportionate number of asylum claims\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2204, "answer_start": 971, "text": "Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been vocal about his country's opposition to immigration, which was a key part of his election campaign. In a letter published in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (in Italian), published on Tuesday, he wrote: \"In 2018 there were fewer deaths, 23,370 landings compared to 119,369 the previous year. The trend is also confirmed by the first few weeks of 2019.\" But the latest report from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) highlighted the higher rate of deaths among those who did make the journey, pointing to the difficulties faces by humanitarian rescue groups as the cause. \"Although the overall number of deaths at sea in the Central Mediterranean more than halved in 2018 compared to the previous year, the rate of deaths per number of people attempting the journey rose sharply,\" it said. \"It is likely that reductions to search and rescue capacity coupled with an uncoordinated and unpredictable response to disembarkation led to an increased death rate,\" the report said. An estimated 2,275 people died making the journey in 2018 - an average of more than six every day. The death toll was particularly high on the route to Spain, where it was more than four times the 2017 figure." } ], "id": "407_0", "question": "Why is the death rate higher?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3227, "answer_start": 2205, "text": "The report said that Italy's refusal to accept migrants rescued off the Libyan coast coincided with reduced search and rescue operations from European ships - and there had been a rise in \"interceptions\" by the Libyan Coast Guard instead. But the report said those people were then transferred to detention centres, where they faced \"appalling\" conditions. \"Detainees in some facilities were given limited access to food, while there were also reports of an outbreak of tuberculosis,\" it said. For those who were rescued by European ships, it criticised the lack of a coordinated response on their fate. \"On several occasions, large numbers of often traumatised and sick people were kept at sea for days before permission to disembark was granted,\" it said. It recommended that search and rescue operations be stepped up - but also that \"solidarity\" among European nations should allow relocation of asylum seekers to other EU nations, to ease the burden on those dealing with \"a disproportionate number of asylum claims\"." } ], "id": "407_1", "question": "What do migrants face in Libya?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China has accused the US of trade bullying after a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods kicked in. The US imposed tariffs on a further $200bn ($152bn) worth of Chinese products, the largest round yet in the escalating trade war between the economic superpowers. The tariffs are in response to what the US says are unfair trading practices by China. Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on $60bn of US goods. In an official white paper, as reported by Xinhua news agency, China said the US was employing \"trade bullyism practices\", \"intimidating other countries through economic measures\", and hurting the global economy. China has also accused the US of starting the \"largest trade war in economic history\". The latest move takes the total amount of Chinese imports hit by US tariffs since July up to $250bn. This means about half of all Chinese imports to the US are now subject to new duties. The latest escalation comes as China cancelled further trade talks with the US, according to media reports. The latest US duties apply to almost 6,000 items, making them the biggest round of trade tariffs yet from Washington. They affect handbags, rice and textiles, although some items such as smart watches and high chairs have been exempted. US companies importing the Chinese products in question will have to pay an additional 10% levy. The tax will rise to 25% from the start of 2019, unless the two countries agree a deal. In contrast, China is placing an additional 5% duty on US products including smaller aircraft, computers and textiles, and an extra 10% on goods such as chemicals, meat, wheat and wine. In total, the US has imposed three rounds of tariffs on Chinese products this year, totalling $250bn worth of goods. It placed 25% tariffs on $50bn worth of imports from China in two separate rounds. In July, the White House increased charges on $34bn worth of Chinese products. Then last month, the escalating trade war moved up a gear when the US brought in a 25% tax on a second wave of goods worth $16bn. Beijing retaliated in kind. In response to the first two rounds of US tariffs, China imposed duties on $50bn of US products, targeting key parts of the president's political base, such as farmers. President Donald Trump says he wants to stop the \"unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China\" and protect jobs. Tariffs, in theory, will make US-made products cheaper than imported ones, thereby encouraging consumers to buy American. The idea is that this will boost local businesses and support the national economy. But many US companies and industry groups have testified to the US Trade Representative's Office that their businesses are being harmed. There are signs that companies are already being affected, and the IMF has warned major escalations will hit global growth. Mr Trump's tariff policies are part of his protectionist trade agenda since taking office, which challenges decades of a global free trade system. There is a long-held view China has cheated not just the US on trade, but other trading partners too. While not all agree with Mr Trump's strategy, his tariff policy is giving others the confidence to be more vocal about their complaints. Indeed, the European Chamber of Commerce in China has said the root cause of the US China trade war is \"China's incomplete market opening\". In China, those criticisms are being met with rising nationalism, according to the Chinese businesses and academics I spoke to. There is a sense the US is jealous of China's rise, and is using the trade war to contain it. For China, backing down is not an option - it's preparing for a long battle. Mr Trump recently said taxes on another $267bn of goods were \"ready to go on short notice\" - that would mean virtually all of China's exports to the US would be subject to new duties. It is unclear how China can match the scale of US tariffs in the long term. The US buys far more from China than it sells to them, so China only has limited room to retaliate through trade. Analysts have said China could get creative when fighting back. It could make life more difficult for American companies in China or force its currency lower to boost exports. Mr Trump recently accused China of doing just that. But China has hit back at these accusations. China \"will never go down the path of stimulating exports by devaluating its currency\", Premier Li Keqiang said last week.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1613, "answer_start": 1006, "text": "The latest US duties apply to almost 6,000 items, making them the biggest round of trade tariffs yet from Washington. They affect handbags, rice and textiles, although some items such as smart watches and high chairs have been exempted. US companies importing the Chinese products in question will have to pay an additional 10% levy. The tax will rise to 25% from the start of 2019, unless the two countries agree a deal. In contrast, China is placing an additional 5% duty on US products including smaller aircraft, computers and textiles, and an extra 10% on goods such as chemicals, meat, wheat and wine." } ], "id": "408_0", "question": "What happened on Monday?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2219, "answer_start": 1614, "text": "In total, the US has imposed three rounds of tariffs on Chinese products this year, totalling $250bn worth of goods. It placed 25% tariffs on $50bn worth of imports from China in two separate rounds. In July, the White House increased charges on $34bn worth of Chinese products. Then last month, the escalating trade war moved up a gear when the US brought in a 25% tax on a second wave of goods worth $16bn. Beijing retaliated in kind. In response to the first two rounds of US tariffs, China imposed duties on $50bn of US products, targeting key parts of the president's political base, such as farmers." } ], "id": "408_1", "question": "What tariffs have we had so far?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2977, "answer_start": 2220, "text": "President Donald Trump says he wants to stop the \"unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China\" and protect jobs. Tariffs, in theory, will make US-made products cheaper than imported ones, thereby encouraging consumers to buy American. The idea is that this will boost local businesses and support the national economy. But many US companies and industry groups have testified to the US Trade Representative's Office that their businesses are being harmed. There are signs that companies are already being affected, and the IMF has warned major escalations will hit global growth. Mr Trump's tariff policies are part of his protectionist trade agenda since taking office, which challenges decades of a global free trade system." } ], "id": "408_2", "question": "Why is the US doing this?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4425, "answer_start": 3656, "text": "Mr Trump recently said taxes on another $267bn of goods were \"ready to go on short notice\" - that would mean virtually all of China's exports to the US would be subject to new duties. It is unclear how China can match the scale of US tariffs in the long term. The US buys far more from China than it sells to them, so China only has limited room to retaliate through trade. Analysts have said China could get creative when fighting back. It could make life more difficult for American companies in China or force its currency lower to boost exports. Mr Trump recently accused China of doing just that. But China has hit back at these accusations. China \"will never go down the path of stimulating exports by devaluating its currency\", Premier Li Keqiang said last week." } ], "id": "408_3", "question": "What comes next?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The captain of an Australian rules football team has launched a high-profile gender discrimination complaint after she was banned from playing in her league's biggest match. Katie Brennan was suspended from the Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) over a rough tackle. A similar offence in the men's league would attract a fine, not a suspension. Brennan has taken her case to the Australian Human Rights Commission. League officials have denied sexism. Australian rules football is a contact sport that involves two teams of 18 people who use their feet or hands to move an oval-shaped ball. Players tackle by wrapping their arms around an opponent and dragging them to the ground. Brennan's tackle was deemed illegal because her opponent's head hit the ground - a rule designed to prevent concussion. The opponent appeared shaken but continued playing. A tribunal ruled that Brennan had used excessive force, and banned her from leading the Western Bulldogs in the AFLW Grand Final on Saturday. Brennan has asserted that her suspension is a \"fundamental breach\" of Australia's Sex Discrimination Act. She argues that AFL rules stipulate a lesser penalty in the men's game, citing incidents involving players Jack Redden and Ben Howlett last year. \"I believe my tackle on [opponent] Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,\" she said in a statement on Friday. \"It is even more troubling to know that if I was a man playing in the AFL and was reported for the identical tackle, I would not have been suspended and I would be playing in a grand final tomorrow.\" AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said it was unfair to call Brennan's case an example of sexism. \"I guess I would say that in different competitions, we have different rules,\" he said on Melbourne radio station 3AW. However, he said the current rules would be reviewed. \"It will definitely be looked at, whether there's change is a different issue. I think there's a fair question to be asked there,\" he said. Western Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains said: \"We share Katie's view that her suspension was wrong and we will fully support her challenging the AFL rules on the basis of gender discrimination.\" Brennan will seek to overturn her suspension through the Australian Human Rights Commission - an independent statutory body that is government-funded. The commission resolves matters through conciliation. There will be no outcome before Saturday, but Brennan said her main aim was to make rules consistent between AFL and AFLW. \"The fight for gender equality is as every bit as important to me as the grand final,\" she said. AFLW began as a professional competition only last year. It has faced controversy over why its players are paid significantly less than men.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1001, "answer_start": 459, "text": "Australian rules football is a contact sport that involves two teams of 18 people who use their feet or hands to move an oval-shaped ball. Players tackle by wrapping their arms around an opponent and dragging them to the ground. Brennan's tackle was deemed illegal because her opponent's head hit the ground - a rule designed to prevent concussion. The opponent appeared shaken but continued playing. A tribunal ruled that Brennan had used excessive force, and banned her from leading the Western Bulldogs in the AFLW Grand Final on Saturday." } ], "id": "409_0", "question": "What was wrong with the tackle?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1604, "answer_start": 1002, "text": "Brennan has asserted that her suspension is a \"fundamental breach\" of Australia's Sex Discrimination Act. She argues that AFL rules stipulate a lesser penalty in the men's game, citing incidents involving players Jack Redden and Ben Howlett last year. \"I believe my tackle on [opponent] Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,\" she said in a statement on Friday. \"It is even more troubling to know that if I was a man playing in the AFL and was reported for the identical tackle, I would not have been suspended and I would be playing in a grand final tomorrow.\"" } ], "id": "409_1", "question": "What is Brennan alleging?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2218, "answer_start": 1605, "text": "AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said it was unfair to call Brennan's case an example of sexism. \"I guess I would say that in different competitions, we have different rules,\" he said on Melbourne radio station 3AW. However, he said the current rules would be reviewed. \"It will definitely be looked at, whether there's change is a different issue. I think there's a fair question to be asked there,\" he said. Western Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains said: \"We share Katie's view that her suspension was wrong and we will fully support her challenging the AFL rules on the basis of gender discrimination.\"" } ], "id": "409_2", "question": "What does the league say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2784, "answer_start": 2219, "text": "Brennan will seek to overturn her suspension through the Australian Human Rights Commission - an independent statutory body that is government-funded. The commission resolves matters through conciliation. There will be no outcome before Saturday, but Brennan said her main aim was to make rules consistent between AFL and AFLW. \"The fight for gender equality is as every bit as important to me as the grand final,\" she said. AFLW began as a professional competition only last year. It has faced controversy over why its players are paid significantly less than men." } ], "id": "409_3", "question": "What happens now?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China has tried to win over eSwatini repeatedly, but the tiny kingdom, previously known as Swaziland, is staying with Taiwan for \"diplomatic and political morality\" even though it is left standing alone. It is the only African country that maintains diplomatic relations with the Asian island after Burkina Faso switched to China in May 2018. China does not allow countries to have official ties with both itself and Taiwan as it regards the island as a breakaway province that it has vowed to retake, by force if necessary. But the government of eSwatini says it will stick with Taiwan. A new economic agreement signed last June has just taken effect and will see the southern Africa nation exporting certain goods - including honey and avocados - to Taiwan duty free. \"It's national interest more than anything else,\" long-serving eSwatini Government Spokesman Percy Simelane told the BBC in the capital, Mbabane. \"They have been with us since independence and they have contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of this country,\" he explained. Taiwan quickly recognised Swaziland when it gained independence from Britain in 1968, leading to an unlikely alliance that has lasted half a century. Howard Zhang, BBC News Chinese Editor In essence, the current dispute between China and Taiwan stems from the technically unfinished Chinese Civil War. The dispute is further complicated by factors such as different interpretations of post-World War Two and post-Cold War international treaties and settlements. In 1945, Japan surrendered control of occupied Taiwan and surrounding islands to the Republic of China (ROC). Four years later, the government of Republic of China lost the Chinese mainland in a civil war and fled to Taiwan. The Communists soon founded a rival government - the People's Republic of China (PRC) - or the China we know today. Nowadays, PRC insists that both Mainland and Taiwan belongs to \"one China\" and reserves the right to reunite the country. Taiwan, still formally known as the Republic of China, is arguing that as a democratic society, the ultimate choice lie with the people of Taiwan. - Read more: What's behind the China-Taiwan divide? ESwatini may be standing its ground in a decades-old dispute between China and Taiwan, but not everyone is all in. The Communist Party of Swaziland, which refuses to adopt the country's new name, says both sides are illegitimate and merely propping each other up on the international stage. \"The people of Swaziland are kept in a state of poverty [because the government] are using donations that are coming straight from Taiwan,\" the party's international secretary Njabulo Dlamini said. The straight-talking teacher, admirer of Cuban society and self-declared revolutionary, is one of the few Communist Party officials still living in eSwatini. \"Swazis do not benefit [but] the monarchy and the friends of the monarchy are directly benefiting from this illegitimate and illegal relationship,\" he added. Poverty is a key challenge for eSwatini, with 38% of the population living in extreme poverty according to World Bank data. The small, landlocked country of just 1.3 million people depends on neighbouring South Africa for about 85% of its imports and sells it about 60% of its exports. Taiwan's leaders dispute China's insistence that it is a province, arguing instead that it is a sovereign state. It has its own constitution, democratically elected leaders, and about 300,000 active troops in its armed forces. It also enjoys diplomatic ties with about 20 nations. However the UN has not recognised the Taiwanese government since 1971, when it switched diplomatic recognition to China instead. ESwatini's King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch and has made 17 trips to Taiwan, including in June 2018 when he accepted an honorary degree in management at the same university from which his son graduated. When African leaders gathered in Beijing for the Forum on China Africa Cooperation summit last September, King Mswati was hosting his annual traditional Reed Dance where he selected his 15th wife. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced another $60bn (PS47bn) in financing to Africa, but eSwatini says it is not missing out. \"We don't want a situation where we are considered people who are in the line of dollar diplomacy. Ours is, more than anything else, a position of diplomatic and political morality,\" said Percy Simelane, who serves as spokesman for both the monarch and the government that he rules by decree. Without the deep pockets of mainland China, Taiwan regularly attacks Beijing's debt-driven spending spree in Africa and sees itself as a better partner for eSwatini. \"We're not sure about that,\" Mduduzi Gina of Swaziland's Trade Union Congress told the BBC. While he will not be drawn on which of the two he favours, he said China's grip on the continent cannot be understated. \"There are some serious arguments going around that some backdoor Asia colonisation is taking place and it has taken the face of mainland China.\" The government of eSwatini touts Taiwan's funding of its rural electrification programme and other support but Taiwan is also winning hearts and minds with scholarships. Thandeka Dlamini's voice cracks with emotion when she talks about her four years spent as an undergraduate in the capital, Taipei, where she graduated top of her International Business and Trade class in 2017. \"I was just a kid, raised by a single parent. It is very touching to me because my mother didn't have the funds, so to get that fully funded scholarship really changed my life.\" She now works for a government agency as a consultant and denies the opposition's claim that King Mswati, the royal family and the elites around him have used their ties with Taiwan to enrich themselves while a majority of the population remain impoverished. \"At the time, the government here was having some fiscal issues and university students did not get their allowance or it wasn't paid on time - but I didn't have any problems and my mother didn't have to send me any money,\" Ms Dlamini says. Taiwan's embassy in eSwatini - the only one in Africa - politely declined interview requests, but its ambassador praised the bilateral ties between the two in a letter to the editor in the Times of Swaziland last September. \"There is no question that China's debt-trap diplomacy, as African, Balkan and South Asian countries have quickly come to discover, is a one-way ticket to poverty and servitude. It is also a sure-fire way of surrendering sovereignty forever,\" wrote Taiwan's Ambassador to eSwatini, Jeremy Liang. Though eSwatini is Taiwan's last ally in Africa, it is only the the island's 156th largest trading partner. But in 2018 trade between the two countries jumped 41% to reach nearly $10m (PS7.8m). \"We can't just throw Taiwan away,\" the government spokesman said. He ruled out a switch to China. \"We're not interested in what is being offered.\" In Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Haiti, Nicaragua, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras and Saint Lucia In Africa: Swaziland In Europe: The Holy See In the Pacific: Kiribati, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Palau", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2185, "answer_start": 1211, "text": "Howard Zhang, BBC News Chinese Editor In essence, the current dispute between China and Taiwan stems from the technically unfinished Chinese Civil War. The dispute is further complicated by factors such as different interpretations of post-World War Two and post-Cold War international treaties and settlements. In 1945, Japan surrendered control of occupied Taiwan and surrounding islands to the Republic of China (ROC). Four years later, the government of Republic of China lost the Chinese mainland in a civil war and fled to Taiwan. The Communists soon founded a rival government - the People's Republic of China (PRC) - or the China we know today. Nowadays, PRC insists that both Mainland and Taiwan belongs to \"one China\" and reserves the right to reunite the country. Taiwan, still formally known as the Republic of China, is arguing that as a democratic society, the ultimate choice lie with the people of Taiwan. - Read more: What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?" } ], "id": "410_0", "question": "Why are countries forced to choose between Taiwan and China?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "North and South Korea gymnasts at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have shown the world a brief moment of unity, in the form of a selfie. Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of the North took a quick smiling snapshot during the training period before the start of the Games. The pictures of the two women have been widely praised as capturing the Olympic spirit. North and South Korea are technically still at war with each other. And relations between the two have been more tense in recent months, with recent missile launches from Pyongyang. \"This is why we do the Olympics,\" tweeted political scientist Ian Bremmer. His tweet was retweeted more than 18,000 times. \"Sports brings everyone together,\" said another user on Twitter. Others hailed it as the \"most iconic photo\" of the games. Some users however, took a more cynical point of view. \"Is she allowed to fraternise with the enemy?\" was one such question asked, while others questioned whether Hong might face punishment on her return home. Lee, 17, and 27-year-old Hong both competed as individual qualifiers, with the games in Brazil being Lee's first Olympics. Hong became North Korea's first gymnast to win a medal at the Olympic Games when she took home the gold in vault in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Many users were quick to point out the contrasting attitudes portrayed by the South and North Korean athlete in comparison to the Lebanese Olympic Team, who allegedly refused to ride on the same bus with Israeli athletes. According to Udi Gal, a member of Israel's Olympic sailing team, the organisers intervened and the two teams travelled separately to \"prevent an international and physical incident\", he said in a post on Facebook. \"How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?\" he added. Lebanon and Israel are officially at war and have no diplomatic relations. However, they weren't the only two countries to get off to a rocky start. Chinese authorities clashed with Australian Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton, after he called Chinese defending champion Sun Yang a \"drug cheat\". \"We think his inappropriate words greatly hurt the feelings between Chinese and Australian swimmers,\" said China's swimming team manager Xu Qi to Chinese news outlet Xinhua. \"We strongly demand an apology.\" Users on social media also quickly flooded Horton's social media with angry comments. \"Horton is a loser because of his bad behaviour. Maybe he won gold in the game but he will never win in life,\" said one person on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2565, "answer_start": 546, "text": "\"This is why we do the Olympics,\" tweeted political scientist Ian Bremmer. His tweet was retweeted more than 18,000 times. \"Sports brings everyone together,\" said another user on Twitter. Others hailed it as the \"most iconic photo\" of the games. Some users however, took a more cynical point of view. \"Is she allowed to fraternise with the enemy?\" was one such question asked, while others questioned whether Hong might face punishment on her return home. Lee, 17, and 27-year-old Hong both competed as individual qualifiers, with the games in Brazil being Lee's first Olympics. Hong became North Korea's first gymnast to win a medal at the Olympic Games when she took home the gold in vault in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Many users were quick to point out the contrasting attitudes portrayed by the South and North Korean athlete in comparison to the Lebanese Olympic Team, who allegedly refused to ride on the same bus with Israeli athletes. According to Udi Gal, a member of Israel's Olympic sailing team, the organisers intervened and the two teams travelled separately to \"prevent an international and physical incident\", he said in a post on Facebook. \"How could they let this happen on the eve of the Olympic Games? Isn't this the opposite of what the Olympics represents?\" he added. Lebanon and Israel are officially at war and have no diplomatic relations. However, they weren't the only two countries to get off to a rocky start. Chinese authorities clashed with Australian Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton, after he called Chinese defending champion Sun Yang a \"drug cheat\". \"We think his inappropriate words greatly hurt the feelings between Chinese and Australian swimmers,\" said China's swimming team manager Xu Qi to Chinese news outlet Xinhua. \"We strongly demand an apology.\" Users on social media also quickly flooded Horton's social media with angry comments. \"Horton is a loser because of his bad behaviour. Maybe he won gold in the game but he will never win in life,\" said one person on Twitter." } ], "id": "411_0", "question": "The most iconic photo of the Games?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Mexico's incoming president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known by his initials Amlo) plans to take a 60% pay cut when he takes office in December. The winning left-wing candidate will now earn a salary equivalent to about $5,707 (PS4,310) a month and no other public official will be able to earn more than him. Mr Lopez Obrador said the official residence, Los Pinos, will become a cultural centre. The Mexican politician is certainly not the first leader to make the statement of lowering his or her salary. It's a populist gesture often used to demonstrate that a leader of a country is in touch with the people, putting distance between themselves and the elite, says Dr Philipp Koeker at the Leibniz University, Hannover, who has studied presidential salaries in Europe. Reality Check has looked at some of the countries where this has happened before. Allowances and expenses mean there can be differences between the official salary and what the prime minister or president actually earns so it's not always easy to know the total income. But there are still significant gaps in the basic salaries of leaders around the world. The Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is said to be the highest earner - paid more than $2m (PS1.5m) a year. That amount is tied to the highest salaries in the country's private sector. British Prime Minister Theresa May earns about PS150,000 a year, less than German Chancellor Angela Merkel who earns closer to PS200,000 whereas Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to earn just $22,000 (PS16,600) a year. Uruguay's Jose Mujica in power until 2015, labelled the world's poorest president, gave away 90% of his monthly salary, which was about PS7,500. Although many leaders have forgone part of their earnings, they've still enjoyed the exclusive perks of the job. However, Mr Mujica drove an old Volkswagen Beetle and chose to live in a farmhouse instead of the presidential residence. Also in the region, Evo Morales the president of Bolivia, reduced his salary to about PS1,000 a month when he took power in 2005. He was fulfilling an election campaign promise. In Bolivia, no public sector employee is allowed to earn more than the president, which meant at the time there were pay reviews across the government. In 2015, the then president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, under fire for the country's widespread economic challenges, ordered mass cuts to government jobs and a 10% reduction to her own salary to about $90,000 (PS68,000) a year. A 10% cut to the salaries of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his staff was announced in 2015 amid rising food prices and Western sanctions. Mr Putin declared an income of 18.73m roubles (PS226,444) in 2017. More than half of this amount came from the sale of a property in the Moscow area. South Africa's new president Cyril Ramaphosa said he intends to cut his salary in half, which means about PS100,000 will be distributed through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. A former businessman and one of South Africa's richest men Mr Ramaphosa reportedly has a fortune of more than $400m. The presidential salary in Nigeria was $70,000 (PS53,000) before Muhammadu Buhari and his vice president agreed to a 50% pay cut at the beginning of his term in 2015. Going back further, in the 1980s the former president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara took a monthly wage of $450 and banned the use of chauffeur-driven cars and first class airline tickets by his ministers, according to the Guardian. The current Slovakian president, Andrej Kiska, who entered politics a rich man, donates his entire salary to a charity. In 2013, the Slovakian president had received a monthly salary of more than $9,000 (PS6,800). It was the highest in central and eastern Europe at the time, according to an analysis by Dr Koeker. Donald Trump has followed in the footsteps of other US presidents by donating most of his salary to charity and only taking $1 a year. Herbert Hoover and John F Kennedy made the same symbolic gesture. American presidents earn about $400,000 (PS320,000) a year. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told journalists at a news conference in March 2017 that Mr Trump wanted the help of the media to decide where the salary should be donated. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3475, "answer_start": 1551, "text": "Uruguay's Jose Mujica in power until 2015, labelled the world's poorest president, gave away 90% of his monthly salary, which was about PS7,500. Although many leaders have forgone part of their earnings, they've still enjoyed the exclusive perks of the job. However, Mr Mujica drove an old Volkswagen Beetle and chose to live in a farmhouse instead of the presidential residence. Also in the region, Evo Morales the president of Bolivia, reduced his salary to about PS1,000 a month when he took power in 2005. He was fulfilling an election campaign promise. In Bolivia, no public sector employee is allowed to earn more than the president, which meant at the time there were pay reviews across the government. In 2015, the then president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, under fire for the country's widespread economic challenges, ordered mass cuts to government jobs and a 10% reduction to her own salary to about $90,000 (PS68,000) a year. A 10% cut to the salaries of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his staff was announced in 2015 amid rising food prices and Western sanctions. Mr Putin declared an income of 18.73m roubles (PS226,444) in 2017. More than half of this amount came from the sale of a property in the Moscow area. South Africa's new president Cyril Ramaphosa said he intends to cut his salary in half, which means about PS100,000 will be distributed through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. A former businessman and one of South Africa's richest men Mr Ramaphosa reportedly has a fortune of more than $400m. The presidential salary in Nigeria was $70,000 (PS53,000) before Muhammadu Buhari and his vice president agreed to a 50% pay cut at the beginning of his term in 2015. Going back further, in the 1980s the former president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara took a monthly wage of $450 and banned the use of chauffeur-driven cars and first class airline tickets by his ministers, according to the Guardian." } ], "id": "412_0", "question": "Who else has taken a pay cut?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4239, "answer_start": 3476, "text": "The current Slovakian president, Andrej Kiska, who entered politics a rich man, donates his entire salary to a charity. In 2013, the Slovakian president had received a monthly salary of more than $9,000 (PS6,800). It was the highest in central and eastern Europe at the time, according to an analysis by Dr Koeker. Donald Trump has followed in the footsteps of other US presidents by donating most of his salary to charity and only taking $1 a year. Herbert Hoover and John F Kennedy made the same symbolic gesture. American presidents earn about $400,000 (PS320,000) a year. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told journalists at a news conference in March 2017 that Mr Trump wanted the help of the media to decide where the salary should be donated." } ], "id": "412_1", "question": "Who doesn't take a salary?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Emergency talks are being held at the UN this week over threats from the US to withdraw from a 145-year-old postal treaty. The agreement sets rates for sending packages between 192 countries. But the US says discounted prices for countries like China are putting its businesses at a massive disadvantage. It says it will pull out of the agreement next month unless the specialised body, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), reaches a deal this week. Should this happen, the US will become the first country ever to withdraw, and it's unclear what impact this will have on international trade and commerce. \"It is really a nightmare scenario,\" UPU secretary-general, Bishar Hussein, told a news conference on Tuesday. International mailing rates are governed by the UPU, a unit of the United Nations that traces its roots back to 1874. The current deal is signed by 192 countries, and sets the cost of delivery between the postal operator of the origin country and the postal operator of the destination country. Each nation is placed into one of four categories based on their economic and postal development. The most industrialised countries, like the US, are placed in Group 1 while the least developed fall under Group 4. Higher rates are set for wealthier nations, and lower rates for poorer countries. The system is reviewed every four years during a quadrennial congress, and the UPU says it ultimately aims for every country to fall under the same rules. Several countries have expressed their opposition, but last October the US became the first to threaten withdrawal. It argues that China, a major global exporter, is now the biggest beneficiary of the system because it is a major economic power but still pays lower rates than the US. US firms say that, as a result, it can cost significantly more to post an item within the US than shipping it from abroad. Officials say this is unfair to US manufacturers and facilitates the shipment of counterfeit goods. The US wants changes to the postal treaty to allow countries to set their own rates for parcels weighing under 2kg (4.4lb). They are already allowed to do so for bigger packages. During talks on Tuesday, President Donald Trump's hardline trade adviser Peter Navarro called for changes to the system \"that everyone in this room knows is broken\". \"The mission here today is to retool this system for the brave new world of e-commerce,\" he told delegates on Tuesday. The three-day conference will end on Thursday, and unless a deal is reached, the US says it will make good on its threat to withdraw. The process of withdrawing from the treaty will take at least a year, and would require the US to set up its own bilateral agreements with countries around the world. During talks, the US has signalled that it is willing to accept a two-phased option allowing it to impose new rates immediately, while giving other countries five years to do the same. Mr Navarro said Washington could quit without any problems, and UPU spokesperson David Dadge told the BBC that the UN body had a plan of action should the US decide to withdraw. Speaking to reporters, Mr Hussein warned that \"major disruption is on the way if we don't solve the problem today\". He said every country would have to \"figure out how to send mail to the United States\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1459, "answer_start": 714, "text": "International mailing rates are governed by the UPU, a unit of the United Nations that traces its roots back to 1874. The current deal is signed by 192 countries, and sets the cost of delivery between the postal operator of the origin country and the postal operator of the destination country. Each nation is placed into one of four categories based on their economic and postal development. The most industrialised countries, like the US, are placed in Group 1 while the least developed fall under Group 4. Higher rates are set for wealthier nations, and lower rates for poorer countries. The system is reviewed every four years during a quadrennial congress, and the UPU says it ultimately aims for every country to fall under the same rules." } ], "id": "413_0", "question": "How does the system currently work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2431, "answer_start": 1460, "text": "Several countries have expressed their opposition, but last October the US became the first to threaten withdrawal. It argues that China, a major global exporter, is now the biggest beneficiary of the system because it is a major economic power but still pays lower rates than the US. US firms say that, as a result, it can cost significantly more to post an item within the US than shipping it from abroad. Officials say this is unfair to US manufacturers and facilitates the shipment of counterfeit goods. The US wants changes to the postal treaty to allow countries to set their own rates for parcels weighing under 2kg (4.4lb). They are already allowed to do so for bigger packages. During talks on Tuesday, President Donald Trump's hardline trade adviser Peter Navarro called for changes to the system \"that everyone in this room knows is broken\". \"The mission here today is to retool this system for the brave new world of e-commerce,\" he told delegates on Tuesday." } ], "id": "413_1", "question": "Why is the US opposed to the current system?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3299, "answer_start": 2432, "text": "The three-day conference will end on Thursday, and unless a deal is reached, the US says it will make good on its threat to withdraw. The process of withdrawing from the treaty will take at least a year, and would require the US to set up its own bilateral agreements with countries around the world. During talks, the US has signalled that it is willing to accept a two-phased option allowing it to impose new rates immediately, while giving other countries five years to do the same. Mr Navarro said Washington could quit without any problems, and UPU spokesperson David Dadge told the BBC that the UN body had a plan of action should the US decide to withdraw. Speaking to reporters, Mr Hussein warned that \"major disruption is on the way if we don't solve the problem today\". He said every country would have to \"figure out how to send mail to the United States\"." } ], "id": "413_2", "question": "What happens now?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "An extra 10,000 new prison places will be created and stop-and-search powers expanded, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised. The first new prison in the PS2.5bn programme will be at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire, where expansion plans have previously been announced. The government said the plans showed it was \"serious about fighting crime\". But Labour's shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said \"random\" stop-and-search was a \"recipe for unrest\". The government's focus on law and order will add to speculation that No 10 is preparing for an autumn general election, said BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake. But Mr Johnson has previously ruled out an election before October 31. The prison and policing plans for England and Wales follow other recent initiatives from Downing Street about the NHS and immigration. Last month, the government also pledged to recruit 20,000 extra police officers, nearly replacing the number of officers lost since the Conservatives returned to power. Policing Minister Kit Malthouse told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: \"We know the greatest deterrent to crime is the perception of the likelihood of getting caught. Prevention is really what we're after.\" But on the same programme, Lord Heseltine accused the government of \"economic irresponsibility\", saying it was \"trashing money around the place like there is no tomorrow, aimed very specifically at very clear electoral targets\". The 10,000 new prison places are expected to be created by building new jails and expanding existing ones, at a cost of up to PS2.5bn. The first new prison will be built alongside the maximum security jail at HMP Full Sutton, the Ministry of Justice said. But plans already announced there have drawn objections from police, who said it would increase violent crime in the jail. Previously decommissioned prison venues will also be refurbished and brought back into use, the government said. Mr Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the investment was \"long overdue\". He also argued that too many serious violent or sexual offenders are coming out of prison long before they should, and tougher sentences were needed. \"We need to come down hard on crime,\" he wrote. \"That means coming down hard on criminals. We need to reverse the balance of fear. \"I want the criminals to be afraid - not the public.\" In 2016, former justice secretary Liz Truss unveiled a white paper promising a PS1.3bn investment in prisons, adding an extra 10,000 places by 2020 - later pushed back to 2022. The Ministry of Justice said it was on course to create 3,360 places at two new prisons by 2023. Government sources said the PS2.5bn funding would allow it to deliver 10,000 places on top of that, including projects already at a planning stage such as HMP Full Sutton. But a spokesman for the Prison Reform Trust said the suggestion that all 10,000 places were new was \"misleading\" given earlier announcements. The trust said prisons needed 12,000 more places just to eliminate overcrowding and accommodate new prisoners who have already been sentenced. \"We know the aggressive rhetoric of 'prison works' invariably drives up the use of imprisonment long before the capacity to deal with that has been created,\" said Peter Dawson, the trust's director. \"Tough rhetoric is no substitute for understanding the evidence.\" A pilot scheme making it easier for police to search people without reasonable suspicion, in places where serious violence may occur, is being extended to all 43 forces across England and Wales. In March, when he was home secretary, Sajid Javid first introduced the scheme in seven police force areas: London, the West Midlands, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Wales and Greater Manchester. The latest move will see restrictions over using section 60 stop-and-search lifted more widely, giving officers across England and Wales a limited time period to search anyone in a designated area in order to prevent violent crime. Inspectors will now be able to use section 60 without seeking the authorisation of a senior officer and there will be a lower threshold for its use, with police only needing to reasonably believe that violence \"may\" occur, not that it will. The Home Office and Number 10 said their decision to extend stop-and-search was based on \"initial feedback\" from the three-month trial in seven areas. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: \"Stop-and-search works. We hear again and again from police that [they] need to be empowered.\" She said powers needed to be used in the \"right, legal and professional way\" but their use was supported by families of victims of knife crime, from \"communities that have suffered so much trauma and pain\". The announcement comes days after a police officer was stabbed in the head with a machete in east London. Stop-and-search powers have been controversial for many years, with evidence that they are sometimes misused and that they disproportionately target black people. In 2017-18, black people were 9.5 times more likely to be searched than white people, a gap which has grown in recent years. Jonathan Hinds, who campaigns against its misuse, told BBC Radio 5 Live he had been stopped three times within a mile by three different police officers. He warned black people faced being \"targeted by these draconian powers\". Elena Noel, co-chair of Southwark's anti-knife crime forum, said action was needed to halt the \"crisis\" but \"independent data does not show that stop-and-search stops knife crime and violence\". A study of stop-and-search over a decade in London by the College of Policing found it to be \"inconsistent\" and \"weak\" as a deterrent. Labour accused the Conservatives of trying to \"appear tough\" instead of dealing with the root causes of crime. Ms Abbott said evidence-based stop-and-search was an important tool, but \"random stops have only poisoned police community relations\" and were a \"tried and tested recipe for unrest\". The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman Ed Davey accused Mr Johnson of repeating the \"failed policies of the past\" and said extending stop-and-search disproportionately affected black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Analysis by Jonathan Blake, BBC political correspondent Talking tough on crime will always grab headlines for governments and that's exactly what Boris Johnson's done. These announcements may address public concern about violent crime and follow the priorities Mr Johnson set for his government on day one. But they are also the type of promises the prime minister would like to point to during an election campaign. And the announcements, coming in such quick succession from the government, add to the sense that it is preparing to go to the polls. Whether the prime minister is forced into it through a vote of no confidence, or chooses to call for one himself, there is an increasing sense that an election isn't far away - either before or after the Brexit deadline of 31 October. Promising to do something is one thing, but paying for it and delivering it is another - and with these policy announcements comes an increasing bill for the Treasury to foot. Tax rises or extra borrowing are a much harder sell for MPs campaigning on the doorstep, so we might have to wait some time to find out exactly where the money's coming from. The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents police officers, said it welcomed forces across the country being given the same tools to tackle knife crime. John Apter, the federation's national chairman, said: \"We can't have a postcode lottery on keeping the public safe.\" \"We are in the grip of a wave of violent crime on a scale we've not seen before, with young people being killed or stabbed on our streets, and we have to do something about it,\" he told BBC Radio 5 Live. He acknowledged concerns about stop-and-search and said police officers would be as professional as possible, with many wearing body cameras. But he said they also had to respond to people who could be \"incredibly hostile, aggressive and violent\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2338, "answer_start": 1433, "text": "The 10,000 new prison places are expected to be created by building new jails and expanding existing ones, at a cost of up to PS2.5bn. The first new prison will be built alongside the maximum security jail at HMP Full Sutton, the Ministry of Justice said. But plans already announced there have drawn objections from police, who said it would increase violent crime in the jail. Previously decommissioned prison venues will also be refurbished and brought back into use, the government said. Mr Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the investment was \"long overdue\". He also argued that too many serious violent or sexual offenders are coming out of prison long before they should, and tougher sentences were needed. \"We need to come down hard on crime,\" he wrote. \"That means coming down hard on criminals. We need to reverse the balance of fear. \"I want the criminals to be afraid - not the public.\"" } ], "id": "414_0", "question": "What are the plans for prisons?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3334, "answer_start": 2339, "text": "In 2016, former justice secretary Liz Truss unveiled a white paper promising a PS1.3bn investment in prisons, adding an extra 10,000 places by 2020 - later pushed back to 2022. The Ministry of Justice said it was on course to create 3,360 places at two new prisons by 2023. Government sources said the PS2.5bn funding would allow it to deliver 10,000 places on top of that, including projects already at a planning stage such as HMP Full Sutton. But a spokesman for the Prison Reform Trust said the suggestion that all 10,000 places were new was \"misleading\" given earlier announcements. The trust said prisons needed 12,000 more places just to eliminate overcrowding and accommodate new prisoners who have already been sentenced. \"We know the aggressive rhetoric of 'prison works' invariably drives up the use of imprisonment long before the capacity to deal with that has been created,\" said Peter Dawson, the trust's director. \"Tough rhetoric is no substitute for understanding the evidence.\"" } ], "id": "414_1", "question": "Is the money for prison places new funding?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4809, "answer_start": 3335, "text": "A pilot scheme making it easier for police to search people without reasonable suspicion, in places where serious violence may occur, is being extended to all 43 forces across England and Wales. In March, when he was home secretary, Sajid Javid first introduced the scheme in seven police force areas: London, the West Midlands, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Wales and Greater Manchester. The latest move will see restrictions over using section 60 stop-and-search lifted more widely, giving officers across England and Wales a limited time period to search anyone in a designated area in order to prevent violent crime. Inspectors will now be able to use section 60 without seeking the authorisation of a senior officer and there will be a lower threshold for its use, with police only needing to reasonably believe that violence \"may\" occur, not that it will. The Home Office and Number 10 said their decision to extend stop-and-search was based on \"initial feedback\" from the three-month trial in seven areas. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: \"Stop-and-search works. We hear again and again from police that [they] need to be empowered.\" She said powers needed to be used in the \"right, legal and professional way\" but their use was supported by families of victims of knife crime, from \"communities that have suffered so much trauma and pain\". The announcement comes days after a police officer was stabbed in the head with a machete in east London." } ], "id": "414_2", "question": "How is stop-and-search changing?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6177, "answer_start": 4810, "text": "Stop-and-search powers have been controversial for many years, with evidence that they are sometimes misused and that they disproportionately target black people. In 2017-18, black people were 9.5 times more likely to be searched than white people, a gap which has grown in recent years. Jonathan Hinds, who campaigns against its misuse, told BBC Radio 5 Live he had been stopped three times within a mile by three different police officers. He warned black people faced being \"targeted by these draconian powers\". Elena Noel, co-chair of Southwark's anti-knife crime forum, said action was needed to halt the \"crisis\" but \"independent data does not show that stop-and-search stops knife crime and violence\". A study of stop-and-search over a decade in London by the College of Policing found it to be \"inconsistent\" and \"weak\" as a deterrent. Labour accused the Conservatives of trying to \"appear tough\" instead of dealing with the root causes of crime. Ms Abbott said evidence-based stop-and-search was an important tool, but \"random stops have only poisoned police community relations\" and were a \"tried and tested recipe for unrest\". The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman Ed Davey accused Mr Johnson of repeating the \"failed policies of the past\" and said extending stop-and-search disproportionately affected black, Asian and minority ethnic communities." } ], "id": "414_3", "question": "Why are some people concerned about stop-and-search?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 7314, "answer_start": 6178, "text": "Analysis by Jonathan Blake, BBC political correspondent Talking tough on crime will always grab headlines for governments and that's exactly what Boris Johnson's done. These announcements may address public concern about violent crime and follow the priorities Mr Johnson set for his government on day one. But they are also the type of promises the prime minister would like to point to during an election campaign. And the announcements, coming in such quick succession from the government, add to the sense that it is preparing to go to the polls. Whether the prime minister is forced into it through a vote of no confidence, or chooses to call for one himself, there is an increasing sense that an election isn't far away - either before or after the Brexit deadline of 31 October. Promising to do something is one thing, but paying for it and delivering it is another - and with these policy announcements comes an increasing bill for the Treasury to foot. Tax rises or extra borrowing are a much harder sell for MPs campaigning on the doorstep, so we might have to wait some time to find out exactly where the money's coming from." } ], "id": "414_4", "question": "A pledge that hints at a general election?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 8054, "answer_start": 7315, "text": "The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents police officers, said it welcomed forces across the country being given the same tools to tackle knife crime. John Apter, the federation's national chairman, said: \"We can't have a postcode lottery on keeping the public safe.\" \"We are in the grip of a wave of violent crime on a scale we've not seen before, with young people being killed or stabbed on our streets, and we have to do something about it,\" he told BBC Radio 5 Live. He acknowledged concerns about stop-and-search and said police officers would be as professional as possible, with many wearing body cameras. But he said they also had to respond to people who could be \"incredibly hostile, aggressive and violent\"." } ], "id": "414_5", "question": "What are the police saying?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "It has been a poor week for German economic news. On Friday, we learned that industrial production in February - excluding energy and construction - had fallen. The previous day, new official data showed that manufacturing orders also declined in the same month. At the start of the week, another survey of the same sector reported new orders and export sales \"falling at rates not seen since the global financial crisis\". We look at what's gone wrong for the German industrial machine. There's no question that the German economy has hit a difficult patch. The widest measure of economic activity, gross domestic product (GDP), declined in the third quarter of last year by 0.2% and failed to grow in the following three months. In terms of recession, as widely defined (two consecutive quarters of contraction), that is a very near miss indeed. That said, the jobs market in Germany is still in pretty decent health. The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world at 3.1%. Among the rich countries, only the Czech Republic, Iceland and Japan have lower figures. Germany's unemployment rate has continued to decline during this period of weak GDP performance. Another way of looking at it is the employment rate - the percentage of the working age population who do have jobs (or self-employment). That continued to grow in the last two quarters of 2018; by 0.2% in each period. It's also worth noting that other business surveys this week have been much more upbeat, pointing to continued expansion in services and construction. But manufacturing is going through a more difficult spell. Growth in the the eurozone as a whole has slowed. In part, that reflects Germany's situation. It accounts for 29% of eurozone economic activity, so weakness in Germany drags down the average even if nothing changes anywhere else. Some eurozone countries don't seem to have lost momentum to any great extent so far. Among the large economies Spain is the obvious example. But others have had a setback, notably Italy, which is in recession. The country has a persistent problem with weak growth. Growth has never been strong and went into reverse last year. In fact, the Italian economy is still smaller than it was before the financial crisis a decade ago. Eurozone unemployment varies widely. It is down from the highest levels it reached during the eurozone crisis, very sharply in some cases. But at 7.8%, it is still fairly high. Unemployment is still in double figures in three countries: Italy, Spain and Greece, where the figure is 18%. The recovery after the eurozone financial crisis was never that strong. But in the last year or so, the region has been hit by adverse trade winds. It matters particularly to Germany, which is Europe's leading goods exporter and number three globally (after China and the US). There are several factors. China's economic slowdown has weakened demand for foreign goods and it's an important market for Germany. President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium are also an issue. Looking ahead the possibility that he might impose tariffs on cars could do a lot more damage to Germany. The uncertainty associated with Brexit is also a factor mentioned by German firms in their survey responses. There have also been some temporary factors that have contributed to Germany's problems. New emissions testing procedures set back car production last year and low water levels on the Rhine restricted cargo traffic for a time. The river is a very important transport route for German industry. Using economic policy to tackle this slowdown is challenging. The options available to policymakers are seriously constrained. The European Central Bank (ECB) already has interest rates at or close to the lowest level they can be. Its main rate is zero and one - the deposit rate for money held overnight for commercial banks - is even lower; it's negative. The ECB halted its \"quantitative easing\" policy of buying financial assets with newly created money at the end of last year. Reviving them is certainly possible, but there are complications. For some types of asset the ECB is approaching the maximum amount it wants to hold - to avoid distorting the market too much. And politically it would be difficult especially in Germany where the programme was always viewed with unease. \"Printing money\" as the programme is sometimes called can conjure up fears of high inflation and Germany has had seriously disruptive episodes of that in the first half of the twentieth century. Another option to stimulate economic activity in a slowdown is the government finances: tax cuts or spending increases. Many economists would argue that Germany has the scope to do that. The government currently spends less than it collects in taxes. But it is reluctant to use its finances as a stimulus. There are legal restrictions in German law and the whole thrust of eurozone policy on government finances has been affected by the experience of the government debt crisis earlier in the decade. Even if Germany does have some room in principle to use its finances to stimulate the economy, others have less. The most recent assessment by the European Commission concluded that there was still a need for \"prudent\" policies to ensure the sustainability of government finances. Some, critics, however think that the EU's rules for eurozone government finances are too restrictive.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2542, "answer_start": 1599, "text": "Growth in the the eurozone as a whole has slowed. In part, that reflects Germany's situation. It accounts for 29% of eurozone economic activity, so weakness in Germany drags down the average even if nothing changes anywhere else. Some eurozone countries don't seem to have lost momentum to any great extent so far. Among the large economies Spain is the obvious example. But others have had a setback, notably Italy, which is in recession. The country has a persistent problem with weak growth. Growth has never been strong and went into reverse last year. In fact, the Italian economy is still smaller than it was before the financial crisis a decade ago. Eurozone unemployment varies widely. It is down from the highest levels it reached during the eurozone crisis, very sharply in some cases. But at 7.8%, it is still fairly high. Unemployment is still in double figures in three countries: Italy, Spain and Greece, where the figure is 18%." } ], "id": "415_0", "question": "What about the rest of the eurozone?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3529, "answer_start": 2543, "text": "The recovery after the eurozone financial crisis was never that strong. But in the last year or so, the region has been hit by adverse trade winds. It matters particularly to Germany, which is Europe's leading goods exporter and number three globally (after China and the US). There are several factors. China's economic slowdown has weakened demand for foreign goods and it's an important market for Germany. President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium are also an issue. Looking ahead the possibility that he might impose tariffs on cars could do a lot more damage to Germany. The uncertainty associated with Brexit is also a factor mentioned by German firms in their survey responses. There have also been some temporary factors that have contributed to Germany's problems. New emissions testing procedures set back car production last year and low water levels on the Rhine restricted cargo traffic for a time. The river is a very important transport route for German industry." } ], "id": "415_1", "question": "Why are Germany and the eurozone struggling?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4511, "answer_start": 3530, "text": "Using economic policy to tackle this slowdown is challenging. The options available to policymakers are seriously constrained. The European Central Bank (ECB) already has interest rates at or close to the lowest level they can be. Its main rate is zero and one - the deposit rate for money held overnight for commercial banks - is even lower; it's negative. The ECB halted its \"quantitative easing\" policy of buying financial assets with newly created money at the end of last year. Reviving them is certainly possible, but there are complications. For some types of asset the ECB is approaching the maximum amount it wants to hold - to avoid distorting the market too much. And politically it would be difficult especially in Germany where the programme was always viewed with unease. \"Printing money\" as the programme is sometimes called can conjure up fears of high inflation and Germany has had seriously disruptive episodes of that in the first half of the twentieth century." } ], "id": "415_2", "question": "Can the European Central Bank do anything?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Sudan's ruling military council has said it foiled an attempted coup aimed at blocking a power-sharing deal with opposition groups. More than a dozen people - among them former and current army officers and members of the security services - were arrested, a military spokesman said. Sudan has faced turmoil since President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April. Meanwhile, a BBC investigation has heard claims linking the military council to an attack on protesters. Analysis by BBC Africa Eye of mobile phone footage from the 3 June massacre showed the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group under command of the ruling military council, firing at protesters with live ammunition. Two men who said they were serving RSF officers told the BBC that the attack was ordered by the leadership of the RSF. Their allegations could not be independently verified by the BBC. The RSF leadership has denied responsibility, and claimed that rogue elements were behind the attack. General Jamal Omar, a member of the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC), said in a television broadcast that 12 officers and four soldiers had been arrested. He said the organiser of the alleged coup had not been found. \"We saw the dangers and threats, which have been threatening the safety and security of this nation, by a group of people who refuse the demands of the people,\" Gen Omar said. Earlier in July, the military agreed to share power with a civilian opposition alliance. The agreement has yet to be signed, but it would see control over a governing sovereign council rotate between civilian and military rule for three years until elections can be held. Previous talks between the demonstrators and the military collapsed in the wake of the 3 June massacre. Pro-democracy demonstrators remained on the streets of Khartoum after the removal of President Bashir in April, occupying the square outside the military headquarters as negotiators tried to persuade the military council to hand power to civilians. In early June, security forces moved on the protesters, firing live ammunition into the crowds to clear the square. A health ministry official said 46 people died in the violence. But opposition groups said at least 100 people were killed by the RSF. Survivors said the paramilitary unit threw corpses in the river Nile after the massacre. The RSF grew out of the Janjaweed militia which was accused of carrying out a genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan. General Mohamed Hamdan \"Hemeti\" Dagolo, the vice-president of the military council and leader of the RSF, denied any responsibility for the deaths. He blamed rogue elements for the violence, saying impostors wearing RSF uniforms had been arrested before the massacre took place. But two men who say they are currently serving RSF officers - and admitted taking part in the 3 June violence - told the BBC that orders came from the top. One source said General Hemeti himself gave them the instructions to clear the sit-in. \"He told us to clear it and that's what we did. We carry out any orders that the commander gives,\" the source said.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3102, "answer_start": 1750, "text": "Pro-democracy demonstrators remained on the streets of Khartoum after the removal of President Bashir in April, occupying the square outside the military headquarters as negotiators tried to persuade the military council to hand power to civilians. In early June, security forces moved on the protesters, firing live ammunition into the crowds to clear the square. A health ministry official said 46 people died in the violence. But opposition groups said at least 100 people were killed by the RSF. Survivors said the paramilitary unit threw corpses in the river Nile after the massacre. The RSF grew out of the Janjaweed militia which was accused of carrying out a genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan. General Mohamed Hamdan \"Hemeti\" Dagolo, the vice-president of the military council and leader of the RSF, denied any responsibility for the deaths. He blamed rogue elements for the violence, saying impostors wearing RSF uniforms had been arrested before the massacre took place. But two men who say they are currently serving RSF officers - and admitted taking part in the 3 June violence - told the BBC that orders came from the top. One source said General Hemeti himself gave them the instructions to clear the sit-in. \"He told us to clear it and that's what we did. We carry out any orders that the commander gives,\" the source said." } ], "id": "416_0", "question": "What happened in the massacre?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Deutsche Bank has made the first of the 18,000 job cuts announced on Sunday as part of a radical reorganisation. Staff working in share trading in London, New York and Tokyo were told that their jobs were going. In London, some staff stayed away from work after being told their passes would stop working at 11:00. A spokesperson said the aim of the changes, which will shrink its investment banking business, was to make the bank \"leaner and stronger\". Deutsche Bank is yet to specify the details of the job cuts, but it will pull out of activities related to trading shares, much of which takes place in London and New York. Deutsche Bank's equities business in Asia is managed out of Hong Kong, but a spokesperson declined to comment on the impact the bank reorganisation would have on job numbers in Asia. With almost 8,000 staff, Deutsche Bank is one of the biggest employers in the City of London. Outside the bank's London HQ staff have been seen speaking on their phones - with some visibly upset - just hours after arriving at work. Some workers have been sent home while others are still waiting to find out whether their jobs are at risk. BBC business correspondent Andy Verity reports from Deutsche Bank's London HQ In a bar near the huge, banana-shaped building that is Deutsche Bank's London headquarters, some of the bank's employees are having a drink. Some work for the share trading businesses that Deutsche Bank is now shutting down. They told me that around 800 people in London work for those operations. \"It's not an easy market right now. People aren't falling over themselves to hire more traders,\" one glum-looking former employee told me. Aside from those who buy and sell shares or the derivatives based on them, staff at Deutsche still don't know if they'll be casualties of the cull. \"They haven't told us,\" one told me. \"It's all done on a need-to-know basis.\" Don't you need to know? \"We'd like to know. But if we're not being told, hopefully that means we're ok.\" \"We will retain a significant presence here and remain a close partner to our UK clients and to international institutions that want to access the London market,\" Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Monday. In a conference call, Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing declined to give regional breakdowns of the job cuts, but confirmed that the process of informing those affected had already begun. He described the job losses as \"painful but unavoidable to ensure Deutsche Bank's long-term success\". Shares in Deutsche Bank were down more than 5% on Monday as investors reacted to the shake-up. Deutsche Bank said it would cut its global workforce to 74,000 by 2022, part of a reorganisation that will cost the company EUR7.4bn ($8.3bn; PS6.6bn) over the next three years. It will also report a second-quarter loss of EUR2.8bn, partly due to the costs of the shake-up. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson said: \"We have decided to focus our resources on businesses where clients need us most. \"We are setting up a dedicated corporate bank specialising in the financing and treasury products the world's companies need to support trade and investment around the globe. \"Deutsche Bank will remain an international bank. That's what our clients need.\" Basically, they buy and sell shares on behalf of clients and companies. Transactions may include buybacks, when a company wants to repurchase its own stock as a way of returning money to shareholders, or rights issues, when a company needs to raise cash on the capital markets. This sector of banking, the equities business, is one area in which Deutsche Bank has decided it is just not competitive enough. Mr Sewing told journalists on Monday that the aim was to create \"a bank that competes to win\". He added: \"If we can't compete with the best, we won't be in the game.\" The reorganisation of the business follows the failure of merger talks with rival Commerzbank in April. The German government had supported the tie-up, hoping it would create a national champion in the banking industry. However, both banks concluded that the deal was too risky, fearing the costs of combining might have outweighed the benefits. Deutsche Bank has been struggling for years with the decline of its investment bank and has made several attempts to revamp its business. The latest plan, the most ambitious so far, has already prompted the resignation of one top executive. On Friday, the bank announced that its head of investment banking, Garth Ritchie, was leaving. Certainly hundreds, possibly thousands. The businesses Deutsche Bank is exiting or cutting back are predominantly based in New York and London so it seems very likely the axe will fall harder in the UK and US than in Germany. The bank is cutting 20% of its global workforce and the bank has nearly 8,000 people in the UK. That arithmetic gets you into the thousands quite easily. Does it mean we are in the foothills of another financial crisis? No. This is a problem specific to Deutsche Bank, which expanded rapidly in the 1990s and 2000s. When the financial crisis hit it was slow to respond by cutting its business back to a more sustainable size. It is paying the price for that now Read more from Simon here", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3248, "answer_start": 2602, "text": "Deutsche Bank said it would cut its global workforce to 74,000 by 2022, part of a reorganisation that will cost the company EUR7.4bn ($8.3bn; PS6.6bn) over the next three years. It will also report a second-quarter loss of EUR2.8bn, partly due to the costs of the shake-up. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson said: \"We have decided to focus our resources on businesses where clients need us most. \"We are setting up a dedicated corporate bank specialising in the financing and treasury products the world's companies need to support trade and investment around the globe. \"Deutsche Bank will remain an international bank. That's what our clients need.\"" } ], "id": "417_0", "question": "What is the bank doing?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3822, "answer_start": 3249, "text": "Basically, they buy and sell shares on behalf of clients and companies. Transactions may include buybacks, when a company wants to repurchase its own stock as a way of returning money to shareholders, or rights issues, when a company needs to raise cash on the capital markets. This sector of banking, the equities business, is one area in which Deutsche Bank has decided it is just not competitive enough. Mr Sewing told journalists on Monday that the aim was to create \"a bank that competes to win\". He added: \"If we can't compete with the best, we won't be in the game.\"" } ], "id": "417_1", "question": "What do the staff who are losing their jobs actually do?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4504, "answer_start": 3823, "text": "The reorganisation of the business follows the failure of merger talks with rival Commerzbank in April. The German government had supported the tie-up, hoping it would create a national champion in the banking industry. However, both banks concluded that the deal was too risky, fearing the costs of combining might have outweighed the benefits. Deutsche Bank has been struggling for years with the decline of its investment bank and has made several attempts to revamp its business. The latest plan, the most ambitious so far, has already prompted the resignation of one top executive. On Friday, the bank announced that its head of investment banking, Garth Ritchie, was leaving." } ], "id": "417_2", "question": "What went wrong?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Spain's minimum wage will jump by 22% in 2019 - the largest annual increase in more than 40 years. It means millions of low-paid workers could see a pay rise from EUR736 ($835; PS665) to EUR900, effective from January. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the increase on Wednesday, declaring \"a rich country cannot have poor workers\". The announcement comes two days after France's president Emmanuel Macron announced a EUR100 increase for minimum wage earners from 2019. Mr Macron's move came after weeks of sometimes violent protests from the \"gilets jaunes\" movement against high costs of living. But while Spain's increase is part of an annual review, it is far higher than any adjustment in recent years. Spain's minimum wage is lower than that of the UK, Germany and France but higher than in other EU members including Portugal, Greece and Poland. Many workers in Spain are paid for 14 months of work, with extra payments in July and December - making the effective annual minimum salary EUR12,600. Ministers will approve the measure at their meeting on 21 December, Mr Sanchez said. It will then be authorised by royal decree, without the need for approval by parliament. Spain sets the minimum wage annually, but recent increases have been much smaller - set at just 4% a year ago. If all goes to according to plan, the increase will be the biggest since 1977, the year of Spain's first free elections following the death of dictator Francisco Franco. The large bump is the result of an ongoing attempt by Mr Sanchez's minority government to secure its political plans - including budget measures - with the help of anti-austerity party Podemos. Podemos claimed the minimum wage increase as a victory for the party, with its General Secretary Ramon Espinar calling it \"the first step to balance the scales\". Mr Sanchez is also under pressure from Catalan separatist parties - they have refused to back him over rising tensions between the semi-autonomous region and Madrid - and from the success of far-right party Vox - it made gains in Andalusia's regional election. Four weekends of violent protests against fuel tax rises, living costs and other issues prompted Mr Macron to announce economic concessions. The effective increase of 7% will be met by the government rather than employers, at the cost of billions of euros in public money. Other measures included cancelling a planned tax increase for low-income pensioners, overtime pay no longer being taxed, and employers asked to pay a tax-free end of year bonus to employees. But Mr Macron did not reinstate a tax on the wealthy he had abolished, saying \"this would weaken us, we need to create jobs\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2080, "answer_start": 713, "text": "Spain's minimum wage is lower than that of the UK, Germany and France but higher than in other EU members including Portugal, Greece and Poland. Many workers in Spain are paid for 14 months of work, with extra payments in July and December - making the effective annual minimum salary EUR12,600. Ministers will approve the measure at their meeting on 21 December, Mr Sanchez said. It will then be authorised by royal decree, without the need for approval by parliament. Spain sets the minimum wage annually, but recent increases have been much smaller - set at just 4% a year ago. If all goes to according to plan, the increase will be the biggest since 1977, the year of Spain's first free elections following the death of dictator Francisco Franco. The large bump is the result of an ongoing attempt by Mr Sanchez's minority government to secure its political plans - including budget measures - with the help of anti-austerity party Podemos. Podemos claimed the minimum wage increase as a victory for the party, with its General Secretary Ramon Espinar calling it \"the first step to balance the scales\". Mr Sanchez is also under pressure from Catalan separatist parties - they have refused to back him over rising tensions between the semi-autonomous region and Madrid - and from the success of far-right party Vox - it made gains in Andalusia's regional election." } ], "id": "418_0", "question": "What's behind Spain's rise?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2670, "answer_start": 2081, "text": "Four weekends of violent protests against fuel tax rises, living costs and other issues prompted Mr Macron to announce economic concessions. The effective increase of 7% will be met by the government rather than employers, at the cost of billions of euros in public money. Other measures included cancelling a planned tax increase for low-income pensioners, overtime pay no longer being taxed, and employers asked to pay a tax-free end of year bonus to employees. But Mr Macron did not reinstate a tax on the wealthy he had abolished, saying \"this would weaken us, we need to create jobs\"." } ], "id": "418_1", "question": "What is France doing?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Firstly, congratulations where they are due. Boris Johnson has achieved what many said was impossible (although not this column). He has struck a revised deal with the European Union anent the UK's departure. In doing so, he has countered claims in many quarters (although not here) that his endeavours were calculated and designed to fail. Further, he has undermined the assertion (widely heard, although not....ok, you get the concept by now) that the EU would never under any circumstances reopen the Withdrawal Agreement reached with Theresa May. He did so by astutely pursuing a bilateral deal with the Republic of Ireland, thus encouraging the remainder of the EU to follow suit. By now, the EU 27 are desperate for a settlement, eager for a deal which was designed to foster rather than thwart trade, inasmuch as such a concept is feasible in the new set-up. Your verdict upon that relates to your broader verdict upon Brexit. The EU 27 wanted that deal because of what you might call the Mercedes Momentum or the Fiat Factor. In short, the desire of European industry and business to continue trading as easily as possible with the UK. Plus the understandable desire to be shot of the whole affair. Witness now the intriguing set of responses to Mr Johnson's deal. Each of those various responses is predicated upon the underlying nature of the agreement, in addition to its overt substance. The DUP, upon whom Mrs May depended for a confidence and supply deal, are decidedly unhappy. (Confidence? Remember that? Supply? That is, a majority Commons vote upon budgetary matters. For now, dream on.) That DUP discontent is to be expected. By definition, an agreement which placates the Republic of Ireland is unlikely to suit the Democratic Unionist Party. In essence, Mr Johnson has concluded that he simply could not provide everything which the DUP required while still reaching a deal with the member states of the EU, including Ireland. Hence an agreement which, in practice, provides for distinctive treatment of Northern Ireland by establishing a monitored regulatory and customs border in the Irish Sea. To be clear, however, NI would be within the customs zone of the UK and would leave the EU along with the UK. Now, the DUP have not been averse to distinctive treatment in the past. In return for providing Mrs May with confidence and supply, they received substantial investment for Northern Ireland: investment which was not made comparably available to Scotland or elsewhere. But this is different - and one grasps the difference. This is treating Northern Ireland in a distinctive constitutional fashion - and, what is more, arguably aligning it more closely with the EU via the Republic of Ireland than the remainder of the UK. Again, one might say that such a tendency is already present in the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement which placed devolution within the wider context of north/south co-operation on the island of Ireland. But this, again, is different. It plays to the underlying anxiety of Unionists in Northern Ireland - which is that closer co-operation might lead to the elision of the border altogether. I get the concept. Boris Johnson undoubtedly gets the concept. But he has chosen, deliberately, to suit the wider interests of the UK, as he perceives them. Prior to this, the most zealous Brexiteers in Tory ranks, the European Research Group, indicated that they would take their lead on sundry agreements and sundry Commons votes from the DUP. If they were happy, etc. But what is this? Now, various members of the ERG say they might well vote for the Johnson deal, despite the DUP anger. Others still say they will study the text. How can this be? Partly, it is a desire for a deal before the entire project risks unravelling in either a general Election or a second EU referendum or both. But, it is also because, for the Tory Right, this was never really about Northern Ireland. Yes, they excoriated the NI backstop. But that was largely because it contained the prospect that the entire UK would be kept within the EU customs union indefinitely, pending a wider trade deal. That would have prevented the UK from striking new global trade arrangements because such individual negotiations are barred within the customs union. Now the backstop is gone. It has been replaced by a new front page or advance guard, call it what you will. That aims to sort Ireland from the outset, with the proviso that the agreement is subject to regular review by Stormont (when reconvened.) Even that review is potentially to be granted by a simple majority rather than full cross-community support, as is standard in NI (although that option is also present.) Cue, again, decided disquiet from the DUP - whose veto just vanished. For the Tory Right, though, for the Brexiteers, there is another prize. The draft future relationship now disavows the prospect that the UK might, in practice, maintain regulatory alignment with the continuing EU. It still might - but the default position has gone. This opens the prospect, dear to Brexiteers, that the UK might pursue trade deals under different rules and regulations, distinct from those of the EU 27. That, for them, is why the backstop had to go. It was a potential block in the path of UK flexibility. And UK flexibility was one of the main reasons they sought Brexit in the very first place. So where now? The SNP points out that the deal brings about the prospect of the hardest Brexit thus far on offer - and that Scotland, uniquely among the territories of the UK, gets nothing which matches the voting pattern of her people. They say that Scotland voted by a substantial margin to remain in the European Union - yet is to be withdrawn from the EU, the customs union and the single market. By contrast, they say that England voted to Leave, Wales voted to Leave - and the Northern Ireland Assembly has been granted a review function. Tories tend to respond by saying that Scotland voted to stay in the UK in 2014 and thus falls under the ambit of a UK decision on Brexit. Now, the focus turns to the vote in the Commons. Already, the recriminations have begun. The SNP says Labour will \"never be forgiven\" if their MPs help to facilitate what the Nationalists call a \"Tory Brexit\". Why might some Labour MPs, in England, vote for Mr Johnson's deal? Two reasons. Firstly, the scunner factor. Like many voters, they may find the continuing discourse over Brexit to be weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. They may want it simply to end. That factor may also influence some wavering Tories. But, for Labour MPs, there is an additional element. A fair number represent constituencies which voted to leave the EU. They may find it very hard to vote to thwart the fulfilment of that verdict. I suspect that Jeremy Corbyn fully understands that motivation. In Scotland, of course, gaming such matters produces rather different considerations. The SNP is the largest party here - and advocates Remain (while also including Leave supporters among its vote.) The Liberal Democrats also back Remain - either through a referendum, like the SNP, or (somewhat boldly) through reversing Brexit altogether if there is a majority LibDem UK government. All of that adds to the pressure upon Labour in Scotland. And, of course, the Tories. The Scottish Conservative leadership has advocated Remain and, in particular, talked up at various points the advantages of the EU single market. Ruth Davidson didn't just follow that line. She played a prominent role in leading it, during the 2016 referendum. Now, she has stepped down, largely for family reasons but also because she could not credibly advocate the new course being pursued by Boris Johnson. In her place, for now, Jackson Carlaw has dropped any lingering adherence to the EU single market and urged the party to back the PM. Scots Tory MPs seem inclined to agree. In practice, given the momentum behind Boris Johnson, Mr Carlaw had little realistic option while his Scottish Tories remain thirled to the GB party and the Commons Conservative Whip. (Some say that should change - but that is for another day.) Will they then face a backlash in Scotland if Mr Johnson gets his deal through? They may indeed. As may Labour. Although that may be mitigated somewhat by the scunner factor - the desire to be done with this and to move on - and by calculations as to the relative salience of Brexit, as against other issues such as the economy and independence. Can Mr Johnson, even at this stage, get the DUP on board? As I write, that seems all but impossible. He could try offering further financial inducements to Northern Ireland. Indeed, there was talk at an earlier stage of a New Deal for NI. Echoes of Roosevelt, suggestions of hard cash. Such manoeuvres have been a tactic of the British state since Nye Bevan bought off opposition to the NHS from some doctors by \"stuffing their mouths with gold\". Actually, that tactic was pursued previously, then and since, rather assiduously on occasion. But this is different. This is not a here today and gone tomorrow confidence and supply agreement. This is fundamental. This is about the very future of Northern Ireland. This is about the founding principles of Ulster Unionism, its raison d'etre. Arguably, no funding package can compensate for that. Mr Johnson may still hope to assuage DUP concerns, to persuade them that the Union they cherish, that of the UK, is not in jeopardy because of a deal with another Union, that of the EU. He may then offer to underpin such assurances with cash. Right now, that does not look like working. Which leaves Mr Johnson dependent on corralling: his own Conservative MPs; the departed ex-Tories (those who left and those he sacked); and sufficient Labour MPs from Leave constituencies. Can he do it? Yes he can. Will he do it? By no means certain. If he fails, presumably he writes a letter to the EU requesting an extension of the Brexit timetable - with, equally presumably, a broad hint that he rather hopes they reject his request. What if, as seems certain, this all eventually results in an early UK general election? Mr Johnson will hope to shepherd Leave and loyal Tory votes into his corner. He has much more clout in doing so, now that he has a specific agreement, ratified by the EU. By contrast, I have long felt that a Tory pitch for support, based on People v Parliament, was less likely to succeed in the absence of a negotiated deal on the table in advance. In Scotland, the SNP will seek to blend Remain voters with their customary support, adding in those who might feel Scotland has been short-changed. The signs are they may be relatively successful in that quest. Throughout the UK, the Liberal Democrats will seek Remain voters. And Labour? Their current position is to offer a referendum, perhaps pitting Remain versus the Johnson deal (or, now perhaps less probably, their own renegotiated Labour version.) Without, as things stand, specifying which option their leadership supports. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Congratulations to Mr Johnson on the simple fact of reaching agreement with the EU. Over to the MPs and their respective political parties to offer a verdict on content.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 11293, "answer_start": 9663, "text": "Which leaves Mr Johnson dependent on corralling: his own Conservative MPs; the departed ex-Tories (those who left and those he sacked); and sufficient Labour MPs from Leave constituencies. Can he do it? Yes he can. Will he do it? By no means certain. If he fails, presumably he writes a letter to the EU requesting an extension of the Brexit timetable - with, equally presumably, a broad hint that he rather hopes they reject his request. What if, as seems certain, this all eventually results in an early UK general election? Mr Johnson will hope to shepherd Leave and loyal Tory votes into his corner. He has much more clout in doing so, now that he has a specific agreement, ratified by the EU. By contrast, I have long felt that a Tory pitch for support, based on People v Parliament, was less likely to succeed in the absence of a negotiated deal on the table in advance. In Scotland, the SNP will seek to blend Remain voters with their customary support, adding in those who might feel Scotland has been short-changed. The signs are they may be relatively successful in that quest. Throughout the UK, the Liberal Democrats will seek Remain voters. And Labour? Their current position is to offer a referendum, perhaps pitting Remain versus the Johnson deal (or, now perhaps less probably, their own renegotiated Labour version.) Without, as things stand, specifying which option their leadership supports. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Congratulations to Mr Johnson on the simple fact of reaching agreement with the EU. Over to the MPs and their respective political parties to offer a verdict on content." } ], "id": "419_0", "question": "Can he do it?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Worries over Deutsche Bank's health are dragging down its share price, and in its wake, those of the rest of the world's banks. Back in June, it was described as the world's most dangerous bank - by the International Monetary Fund, no less. The latest trigger is the threat of a new fine for misdemeanours - a mammoth $14bn in the US for mis-selling mortgage-backed bonds before the financial crisis of 2008. That is roughly the market value of the entire bank, so does this leave us on the brink of a new modern banking crisis, just eight years on from the last one? Deutsche operates in 70 countries with 100,000 employees, but is shedding about 15% of its workforce, disposing of its retail bank, Postbank, and pulling out of other countries. Deutsche Bank's assets are about EUR1.6tn. HSBC, the biggest non-Chinese bank in the world, has assets 50% greater than that, but Deutsche is still in, or near, the top 10 biggest global banks. Deutsche's assets minus its liabilities, its theoretical value, are about EUR67bn. However, investors subtracting the fines the bank might have to pay, and adding in what they suspect are a raft of dodgy assets, think the truer figure is EUR14bn. A share price at an all-time low suggests fear about the business. But there's also some game-playing going on. Certain hedge funds let it be known they had withdrawn investments from Deutsche Bank overnight, giving the share price the jitters and providing a great opportunity for short-sellers to make a profit. The bank sought to soothe investors' feathers with its statement saying its clients \"are amongst the world's most sophisticated investors... the vast majority of them have a full understanding of our stable financial position\". Since the banking crisis, systems have been put in place to ensure that investors in a bank stump up before governments do, and the bank can - as it is doing - sell assets to raise money. It can also sell shares in itself. It could take help from the German government, but there are strict rules about state aid and that would be politically very unpopular. And the German government has denied it was putting together a rescue plan. It is, though, certainly in the \"too big to fail\" camp. One leading banking analyst says that if Deutsche were allowed to go, it would make the demise of Lehman Brothers and the after-effects of that look like a mere ripple. And some say the US will not want to impose the threatened mammoth fine on the business, as they fear the risks of Deutsche going under would threaten their own banks. In the wake of the 2008 banking crisis, major US and UK banks were forced to sort themselves out and beef up their capital buffers - whether by selling assets, hiving off businesses good and bad, or selling new shares in themselves. Europe's banks have not been through that to such a severe extent, although they have carried out asset sales and issued new share issues. Indeed, Deutsche Bank itself has had three massive re-capitalisations since the crisis. There are reforms within the eurozone that have been going on since 2009, but these are slow, largely curbs on how much risk banks can take on. Any impetus for faster reform is likely to hinge on whether Deutsche Bank's woes are under- or overstated.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1186, "answer_start": 568, "text": "Deutsche operates in 70 countries with 100,000 employees, but is shedding about 15% of its workforce, disposing of its retail bank, Postbank, and pulling out of other countries. Deutsche Bank's assets are about EUR1.6tn. HSBC, the biggest non-Chinese bank in the world, has assets 50% greater than that, but Deutsche is still in, or near, the top 10 biggest global banks. Deutsche's assets minus its liabilities, its theoretical value, are about EUR67bn. However, investors subtracting the fines the bank might have to pay, and adding in what they suspect are a raft of dodgy assets, think the truer figure is EUR14bn." } ], "id": "420_0", "question": "How big?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2556, "answer_start": 1187, "text": "A share price at an all-time low suggests fear about the business. But there's also some game-playing going on. Certain hedge funds let it be known they had withdrawn investments from Deutsche Bank overnight, giving the share price the jitters and providing a great opportunity for short-sellers to make a profit. The bank sought to soothe investors' feathers with its statement saying its clients \"are amongst the world's most sophisticated investors... the vast majority of them have a full understanding of our stable financial position\". Since the banking crisis, systems have been put in place to ensure that investors in a bank stump up before governments do, and the bank can - as it is doing - sell assets to raise money. It can also sell shares in itself. It could take help from the German government, but there are strict rules about state aid and that would be politically very unpopular. And the German government has denied it was putting together a rescue plan. It is, though, certainly in the \"too big to fail\" camp. One leading banking analyst says that if Deutsche were allowed to go, it would make the demise of Lehman Brothers and the after-effects of that look like a mere ripple. And some say the US will not want to impose the threatened mammoth fine on the business, as they fear the risks of Deutsche going under would threaten their own banks." } ], "id": "420_1", "question": "Should the world worry?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3267, "answer_start": 2557, "text": "In the wake of the 2008 banking crisis, major US and UK banks were forced to sort themselves out and beef up their capital buffers - whether by selling assets, hiving off businesses good and bad, or selling new shares in themselves. Europe's banks have not been through that to such a severe extent, although they have carried out asset sales and issued new share issues. Indeed, Deutsche Bank itself has had three massive re-capitalisations since the crisis. There are reforms within the eurozone that have been going on since 2009, but these are slow, largely curbs on how much risk banks can take on. Any impetus for faster reform is likely to hinge on whether Deutsche Bank's woes are under- or overstated." } ], "id": "420_2", "question": "Is this a wake-up call?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The demonstration of a new US system to get astronauts into orbit is under way. The SpaceX company has launched a capsule designed to carry people from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is uncrewed for this flight, but if it goes well, the American space agency is likely to approve the system for regular astronaut use from later this year. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said this could be the first step towards opening space travel to commercial customers. Not since the retirement of the shuttles in 2011 has the US been able to put humans in orbit. It has been paying to use Russian Soyuz vehicles instead. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew capsule lifted off from Kennedy's historic Pad 39A at the precise planned time of 02:49 EST (07:49 GMT). The 11-minute ascent put the Dragon on a path to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. Because this is just a demonstration, there are no astronauts aboard - but there is a \"test dummy\". Dressed in a spacesuit and sitting next to a window, this anthropomorphic simulator is fitted with sensors around the head, neck, and spine. It will gather data on the type of forces that humans will experience when they get to ride in the spacecraft. SpaceX has nicknamed the dummy \"Ripley\" - after the Sigourney Weaver character in the Alien movies. For the California company, this mission is a key milestone in its short history. Mr Musk, a technology entrepreneur and engineer, set up the organisation with the specific intention of taking people into space. \"It's been 17 years to get to this point, from 2002 to now. To be frank, I'm a little emotionally exhausted because it was super stressful,\" he told reporters immediately after the launch. \"Our focus has been on serving Nasa's needs but once Dragon is in regular operation, I think we will seek commercial customers of which the Nasa administrator, and Nasa in general, has been very supportive.\" Mr Musk said those customers could include private citizens going to the ISS, just as they have done on Soyuz vehicles in the past. Separately, the entrepreneur is developing a much bigger system - which he calls the Starship and Super Heavy rocket - to transport people to the Moon and Mars. The Dragon crew capsule is a variant on the ISS cargo freighter flown by SpaceX. Upgrades include life-support systems, obviously; and more powerful thrusters to push the vessel to safety if something goes wrong with a rocket during an ascent to orbit. It also has four parachutes instead of the freighter's three to control the return to Earth. Dragon crew capsules will splash down in the Atlantic not far from Kennedy. Nasa is essentially now contracting out crew transport to SpaceX. Whereas in the past, Nasa engineers would have top-down control of all aspects of vehicle design and the agency would own and operate the hardware - the relationship with industry has been put on a completely new footing. Today, Nasa sets broad requirements and industry is given plenty of latitude in how it meets those demands. Agency officials still check off every step, but the approach is regarded as more efficient and less costly. Nasa chief, Jim Bridenstine, stressed on Saturday that the re-introduction of American crew transport did not mean an end to cooperation with Russia. \"We want to make sure that we keep our partnership with Russia which has been very strong for a long period of time, going all the way back to the Apollo-Soyuz era,\" he said. \"But we also want to make sure we have our own capability to get back and forth to the International Space Station, so that we can have this strong partnership where they can launch on our rockets and we can launch on their rockets.\" After being taken to orbit, the Dragon makes its own way to the station using onboard thrusters. One of the big differences between this mission and standard cargo flights is the mode of approach and attachment to the ISS. Freighters come up under the orbiting lab and are grappled by a robotic arm and pulled into a berthing position. On this occasion, we will see the crew version of Dragon approach the station at the bow and dock automatically, using a new design of connection ring. Arrival is set for 11:00 GMT on Sunday. ISS astronauts will be watching closely to see that the capsule behaves as it should. The Dragon is expected to stay at the station until Friday. The current plan has it undocking, firing its thrusters to come out of orbit, and splashing down at roughly 13:45 GMT. Kirk Shireman, the manager of Nasa's ISS programme, said: \"You'll hear us talk about this being a flight test; it absolutely is, although we view it also as a real mission, a very critical mission. \"The ISS still has three people onboard so this mission coming up to the ISS for the first time has to work; it has to work.\" Nasa is also working with Boeing on crew transport. The company has developed a capsule of its own called the Starliner. This will have its equivalent demo flight in the next couple of months. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2657, "answer_start": 882, "text": "Because this is just a demonstration, there are no astronauts aboard - but there is a \"test dummy\". Dressed in a spacesuit and sitting next to a window, this anthropomorphic simulator is fitted with sensors around the head, neck, and spine. It will gather data on the type of forces that humans will experience when they get to ride in the spacecraft. SpaceX has nicknamed the dummy \"Ripley\" - after the Sigourney Weaver character in the Alien movies. For the California company, this mission is a key milestone in its short history. Mr Musk, a technology entrepreneur and engineer, set up the organisation with the specific intention of taking people into space. \"It's been 17 years to get to this point, from 2002 to now. To be frank, I'm a little emotionally exhausted because it was super stressful,\" he told reporters immediately after the launch. \"Our focus has been on serving Nasa's needs but once Dragon is in regular operation, I think we will seek commercial customers of which the Nasa administrator, and Nasa in general, has been very supportive.\" Mr Musk said those customers could include private citizens going to the ISS, just as they have done on Soyuz vehicles in the past. Separately, the entrepreneur is developing a much bigger system - which he calls the Starship and Super Heavy rocket - to transport people to the Moon and Mars. The Dragon crew capsule is a variant on the ISS cargo freighter flown by SpaceX. Upgrades include life-support systems, obviously; and more powerful thrusters to push the vessel to safety if something goes wrong with a rocket during an ascent to orbit. It also has four parachutes instead of the freighter's three to control the return to Earth. Dragon crew capsules will splash down in the Atlantic not far from Kennedy." } ], "id": "421_0", "question": "Who is this character Ripley?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3721, "answer_start": 2658, "text": "Nasa is essentially now contracting out crew transport to SpaceX. Whereas in the past, Nasa engineers would have top-down control of all aspects of vehicle design and the agency would own and operate the hardware - the relationship with industry has been put on a completely new footing. Today, Nasa sets broad requirements and industry is given plenty of latitude in how it meets those demands. Agency officials still check off every step, but the approach is regarded as more efficient and less costly. Nasa chief, Jim Bridenstine, stressed on Saturday that the re-introduction of American crew transport did not mean an end to cooperation with Russia. \"We want to make sure that we keep our partnership with Russia which has been very strong for a long period of time, going all the way back to the Apollo-Soyuz era,\" he said. \"But we also want to make sure we have our own capability to get back and forth to the International Space Station, so that we can have this strong partnership where they can launch on our rockets and we can launch on their rockets.\"" } ], "id": "421_1", "question": "How has Nasa changed since the shuttle?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has been charged with corruption linked to a multi-billion dollar arms deal. The 75-year-old denies any wrongdoing. Newly democratic South Africa decided its military needed to be overhauled - and five years after coming into power following the end of white minority rule, the African National Congress (ANC) government signed contracts totalling 30bn rand ($5bn; PS3bn in 1999). The deal involved companies from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain, France and South Africa. Even before the allegations of corruption were made, the spending of billions of dollars on new fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and warships was contentious in a country where millions lived in poverty. Others also pointed out that there was no credible threat to South Africa's sovereignty to justify the spending. Questions emerged about the deal within months, leading to official investigations into allegations of conflict of interest, bribery and process violations in the purchasing of equipment. There have only been two convictions: - The ANC's chief parliamentary whip at the time, Tony Yengeni, was found guilty of fraud after it emerged he had received a large discount on the purchase of a luxury car from one of the firms bidding for a contract. He also lied to parliament about the benefit. After various appeals he was jailed in 2006, although he only served five months of his four-year sentence. - Financial adviser and businessman Schabir Shaik was jailed for 15 years in 2005 for soliciting a bribe on behalf of Mr Zuma from Thint, the local subsidiary of French arms company Thales. He was released on medical parole in 2009. The allegations also formed part of US and British inquiries into BAE Systems and in 2010 the UK military contractor pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting and making misleading statements and paid more than $400m in penalties to end the investigations into questionable payments made to win contracts. The following year Swedish firm Saab admitted that 24m rand was paid to secure a contract for fighter jets, but said the payments had been made through BAE Systems. A new South African commission of inquiry into the deal, formed in 2011, concluded in 2016 that no new charges should be brought. But a week later the High Court ruled, in a case brought by the opposition, that Mr Zuma should face charges over the deal. They had been dropped weeks before he became president in 2009. He is alleged to have received bribes from a French arms firm via his financial adviser in order to protect Thales from scrutiny. He was first charged in 2005, but a trial has never come to fruition - thanks to many challenges, other technicalities and backing from a strong faction within the ANC. But the arms deal, among other scandals, dogged his presidency. Last year, the Supreme Court backed the decision that charges be reinstated and he now faces 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering. In total, he is accused of accepting 783 illegal payments. A High Court judge said the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to drop the charges in 2009 was \"irrational\". The NPA had done so after receiving phone-tap evidence from Mr Zuma's lawyers, which suggested there had been political interference in the investigation. But the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) pursued the case after Mr Zuma became president, winning a court battle to make the sealed recordings public and then arguing there was no evidence to warrant the charges being dropped. - October 2005: Charged with corruption - September 2006: Trial is struck from the court list when the prosecution asks for yet another delay to gather evidence - November 2007: The court of appeal opens the way for charges to be brought again when it rules that the seizure by police of incriminating documents from his home and office was legal - December 2007: Ten days after Mr Zuma becomes ANC president, prosecutors bring new charges of corruption, racketeering and tax evasion - September 2008: A judge declares that the prosecution was invalid and throws out the charges on a legal technicality - January 2009: Appeals court overturns the ruling, just months before general elections - April 2009: The chief prosecutor drops charges against Mr Zuma after phone-tap evidence suggested there had been political interference - April 2016: High Court rules Mr Zuma should face the charges and prosecutor's decision was \"irrational\" - October 2017: The Supreme Court backs that ruling - April 2018: He is charged with corruption - two months after resigning as president.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1024, "answer_start": 515, "text": "Even before the allegations of corruption were made, the spending of billions of dollars on new fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and warships was contentious in a country where millions lived in poverty. Others also pointed out that there was no credible threat to South Africa's sovereignty to justify the spending. Questions emerged about the deal within months, leading to official investigations into allegations of conflict of interest, bribery and process violations in the purchasing of equipment." } ], "id": "422_0", "question": "Why was it controversial?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2460, "answer_start": 1025, "text": "There have only been two convictions: - The ANC's chief parliamentary whip at the time, Tony Yengeni, was found guilty of fraud after it emerged he had received a large discount on the purchase of a luxury car from one of the firms bidding for a contract. He also lied to parliament about the benefit. After various appeals he was jailed in 2006, although he only served five months of his four-year sentence. - Financial adviser and businessman Schabir Shaik was jailed for 15 years in 2005 for soliciting a bribe on behalf of Mr Zuma from Thint, the local subsidiary of French arms company Thales. He was released on medical parole in 2009. The allegations also formed part of US and British inquiries into BAE Systems and in 2010 the UK military contractor pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting and making misleading statements and paid more than $400m in penalties to end the investigations into questionable payments made to win contracts. The following year Swedish firm Saab admitted that 24m rand was paid to secure a contract for fighter jets, but said the payments had been made through BAE Systems. A new South African commission of inquiry into the deal, formed in 2011, concluded in 2016 that no new charges should be brought. But a week later the High Court ruled, in a case brought by the opposition, that Mr Zuma should face charges over the deal. They had been dropped weeks before he became president in 2009." } ], "id": "422_1", "question": "What was the outcome?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3042, "answer_start": 2461, "text": "He is alleged to have received bribes from a French arms firm via his financial adviser in order to protect Thales from scrutiny. He was first charged in 2005, but a trial has never come to fruition - thanks to many challenges, other technicalities and backing from a strong faction within the ANC. But the arms deal, among other scandals, dogged his presidency. Last year, the Supreme Court backed the decision that charges be reinstated and he now faces 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering. In total, he is accused of accepting 783 illegal payments." } ], "id": "422_2", "question": "What is Mr Zuma's alleged involvement?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3554, "answer_start": 3043, "text": "A High Court judge said the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to drop the charges in 2009 was \"irrational\". The NPA had done so after receiving phone-tap evidence from Mr Zuma's lawyers, which suggested there had been political interference in the investigation. But the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) pursued the case after Mr Zuma became president, winning a court battle to make the sealed recordings public and then arguing there was no evidence to warrant the charges being dropped." } ], "id": "422_3", "question": "Why did the courts order the charges be reinstated?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The front cover may be striking, but few would find it a page-turner. However, when it comes to our money, the Budget Red Book is probably the most significant publication of the year. The 120 pages - even more if you count the supporting documents - outline the chancellor's plans for public and personal finances. Yet the pages are far from fresh. Much of what is detailed in Philip Hammond's speech and in the book has already been announced. This may not be immediately clear, so here is some of what we already know. A total of 31 million people pay income tax in the UK: 18 million men and 13 million women. Some 25.6 million of these taxpayers pay income tax at the basic rate. The amount earned a year before this basic rate of income tax is paid - called the personal allowance - stands at PS11,850. This is scheduled to rise in April and the Budget will show us by how much. The Conservative manifesto pledged that the first PS12,500 of earnings would be free of income tax by 2020-21. The higher rate of tax starts to be paid at PS46,350. The government has already pledged to increase this to PS50,000 by 2020-21. The way income tax is levied is different in Scotland, owing to its devolved powers. The starter rate also begins when annual earnings reach PS11,850, while the higher rate starts at PS43,430. Any changes will be announced in the Scottish Budget in December. National insurance rates and any changes to capital gains tax will also be announced in the chancellor's Budget. There has been some speculation that some self-employed people will no longer be free from some national insurance contributions. The Treasury believes a third of people claiming self-employed status as a \"personal service company\" are actually full employees and should pay more tax. Public sector pay in England and Wales was frozen for two years in 2010, except for those earning less than PS21,000 a year, and since 2013, rises have generally been capped at 1%. However, with some fanfare, the government has said that the public sector pay cap has effectively been lifted. There has been some flexibility with more significant pay rises for police, NHS workers and others. However, these increases have needed to come from departmental budgets, so a squeeze on funding remains. Any pay awards starting in April will be announced in the Budget. The level of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, currently PS7.83 an hour, in April may also be part of the Budget declarations. This is going to be an area that is very closely watched, primarily as a result of Prime Minister Theresa May's speech at her party's recent conference. In it, she said that austerity was over. Exactly how this is defined is open to debate. Many working-age benefits will be three years through a four-year freeze by April. These include Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, some types of Housing Benefit, and Child Benefit. Overall, out of PS15bn of cuts to working age benefits announced since 2015 and scheduled to run until 2022-23, only PS7bn have so far taken effect, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Some other benefits, including the state pension, maternity pay, and some disability allowances are likely to rise in line with inflation (2.4%) or, in the case of the state pension, in line with average wages (2.6%). The chancellor is also under pressure from some of his own party's MPs to soften the impact of the gradual implementation of Universal Credit. Employees who have been automatically enrolled into a pension will see the amount they need to contribute into their savings pot from their pay packet rise from 3% of their salary now to 5% in April. The contribution from their employer will go up from 2% to 3%. The gradual process allowing people to pass on property to their descendants free from some inheritance tax will enter its third year. It will reach its target by 2021. Many buy-to-let landlords are seeing the amount of tax relief that they can claim on mortgage interest payments cut over the course of four years. The process began in April 2017. Eventually, they will only be able to claim at the lower rate of tax, not the higher. There is the chance of private landlords receiving a tax break if they sell their property to a long-term tenant. Also on the property front, April will see a change to the Rent a Room scheme - which allows people to earn up to PS7,500 a year tax-free from letting out a spare room - will only be available to those living in the premises for some of the letting period. Some changes to the way higher redundancy payments, company cars, and employee loans are taxed will also take effect in April. One controversial, and somewhat hidden, proposal in the last Budget was the government paving the way for the end of 1p and 2p coins as it began a consultation on the future of cash. A backlash followed and Downing Street had to make it clear that there was no plan for pennies to be dropped. At the end of that consultation, the Treasury confirmed that pennies would remain and there would be a new polymer PS50 note. However, as the cost of living rises, and pennies hold less spending power, there is always a chance of the debate reigniting. The Prime Minister has already announced, again in her conference speech, that fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth year in a row. The main rate of corporation tax is set to fall from the current level of 19% to 17% in April 2020, although there is speculation that this might be paused. However, nobody is expecting any major giveaways as the chancellor has already been committed to giving the NHS an extra PS20bn by 2023. That money will have to be found from cuts or tax rises. Some of the possibilities include cutting the tax relief available to higher earners putting their money into a pension; imposing VAT on private school fees; charging more tax from offshore gambling companies; and introducing a 3% stamp duty surcharge on overseas buyers who are not tax resident in the UK. Overseas non-residential property owners already face a higher capital gains tax bill from April. The chancellor might also increase Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), which stands at 12% and has been increased three times in recent years by government, from 6% in November 2015, but remains lower than the general VAT rate of 20%. Insurers say this has put up the cost of home and motor cover for millions of people. However, with no Parliamentary majority the chancellor will be wary of introducing anything that will upset Tory voters and their MPs.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2491, "answer_start": 1783, "text": "Public sector pay in England and Wales was frozen for two years in 2010, except for those earning less than PS21,000 a year, and since 2013, rises have generally been capped at 1%. However, with some fanfare, the government has said that the public sector pay cap has effectively been lifted. There has been some flexibility with more significant pay rises for police, NHS workers and others. However, these increases have needed to come from departmental budgets, so a squeeze on funding remains. Any pay awards starting in April will be announced in the Budget. The level of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, currently PS7.83 an hour, in April may also be part of the Budget declarations." } ], "id": "423_0", "question": "Will there be a pay rise for public servants?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3756, "answer_start": 2492, "text": "This is going to be an area that is very closely watched, primarily as a result of Prime Minister Theresa May's speech at her party's recent conference. In it, she said that austerity was over. Exactly how this is defined is open to debate. Many working-age benefits will be three years through a four-year freeze by April. These include Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, some types of Housing Benefit, and Child Benefit. Overall, out of PS15bn of cuts to working age benefits announced since 2015 and scheduled to run until 2022-23, only PS7bn have so far taken effect, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Some other benefits, including the state pension, maternity pay, and some disability allowances are likely to rise in line with inflation (2.4%) or, in the case of the state pension, in line with average wages (2.6%). The chancellor is also under pressure from some of his own party's MPs to soften the impact of the gradual implementation of Universal Credit. Employees who have been automatically enrolled into a pension will see the amount they need to contribute into their savings pot from their pay packet rise from 3% of their salary now to 5% in April. The contribution from their employer will go up from 2% to 3%." } ], "id": "423_1", "question": "What about benefits?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5719, "answer_start": 5236, "text": "The Prime Minister has already announced, again in her conference speech, that fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth year in a row. The main rate of corporation tax is set to fall from the current level of 19% to 17% in April 2020, although there is speculation that this might be paused. However, nobody is expecting any major giveaways as the chancellor has already been committed to giving the NHS an extra PS20bn by 2023. That money will have to be found from cuts or tax rises." } ], "id": "423_2", "question": "Will there be any giveaways?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6573, "answer_start": 5720, "text": "Some of the possibilities include cutting the tax relief available to higher earners putting their money into a pension; imposing VAT on private school fees; charging more tax from offshore gambling companies; and introducing a 3% stamp duty surcharge on overseas buyers who are not tax resident in the UK. Overseas non-residential property owners already face a higher capital gains tax bill from April. The chancellor might also increase Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), which stands at 12% and has been increased three times in recent years by government, from 6% in November 2015, but remains lower than the general VAT rate of 20%. Insurers say this has put up the cost of home and motor cover for millions of people. However, with no Parliamentary majority the chancellor will be wary of introducing anything that will upset Tory voters and their MPs." } ], "id": "423_3", "question": "Where might that come from?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Joanna and Stephen never wanted to marry. But they have always wanted to make a \"public declaration\" of their relationship - and this became even more pressing when Stephen was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer six years ago. They went to their local registry office and found, to their great surprise, that they weren't allowed a civil partnership. So they waited. And waited. Now it's been announced that all couples in England and Wales - not just same-sex couples - will be able to choose to have a civil partnership rather than get married. But for this couple, at least, it's not about finances or security. \"It would just be nice to share some public declaration, particularly with our children,\" says Stephen Anderson, 57. \"And there is urgency because I'm living with this illness. It would be a jolly nice thing to do.\" The couple have been together for 30 years and have three grown-up children. Joanna Christina, 63, a retired teacher who now runs a vegan street food business, and Stephen, a retired lecturer, are opposed to marriage because they feel it is outdated. For them the attraction of a civil partnership lies in the fact it \"hasn't been socially defined yet - it leaves us to define what we want it to mean\". \"It is more egalitarian. It's a partnership... Civil partnerships are the way ahead for those who value liberalism,\" explains Joanna. There is no timescale for any law change - and the couple's disappointment at this is all too clear. \"We want to know when - when, when, when - is this going to happen?\" says Joanna. She is confident that without June's Supreme Court ruling the government \"would be doing nothing\". \"We need a timetable now.\" \"I'm fed up and frustrated,\" adds Stephen. \"I'm not delighted that it's been announced because it's been a great frustration that it hasn't been allowed from the first instance.\" The campaign for Equal Civil Partnerships says it now hopes Joanna and Stephen will be one of the first different sex couples to form a civil partnership. Stephen says he'd like the law change to happen \"this afternoon\" - but for now the couple, who live in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, simply \"celebrate each day\" they have together. And on the day the law changes? \"We'd go and initiate the process immediately and then have a jolly good party!\" says Stephen.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1864, "answer_start": 1377, "text": "There is no timescale for any law change - and the couple's disappointment at this is all too clear. \"We want to know when - when, when, when - is this going to happen?\" says Joanna. She is confident that without June's Supreme Court ruling the government \"would be doing nothing\". \"We need a timetable now.\" \"I'm fed up and frustrated,\" adds Stephen. \"I'm not delighted that it's been announced because it's been a great frustration that it hasn't been allowed from the first instance.\"" } ], "id": "424_0", "question": "When? When? When?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Chinese state media have released a video appearing to show a Uighur musician previously reported to have died in a detention camp. The video, dated 10 February, features a man said to be Abdurehim Heyit stating that he is in \"good health\". Turkey earlier called on China to close the camps following reports of his death. Up to a million Uighurs are reportedly being detained. Some Uighurs have questioned the video's authenticity. Nury Turkel, chairman of the US-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, told the BBC that some aspects of the video were \"suspicious\". The Uighurs are a Muslim Turkic-speaking minority based in the north-western Xinjiang region of China, which has come under intense surveillance by Chinese authorities. Their language is close to Turkish and a significant number of Uighurs have fled to Turkey from China in recent years. The video was released by China Radio International's Turkish-language service, which said Turkey's criticism of China was unfounded. In it, Mr Heyit appears to say he is \"in the process of being investigated for allegedly violating national laws\". China has called on Turkey to retract its \"false accusations\". \"We hope the relevant Turkish persons can distinguish between right and wrong and correct their mistakes,\" foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters. Its foreign ministry had said that detained Uighurs were being subjected to \"torture\" in \"concentration camps\". Foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said the reports of Mr Heyit's death \"further strengthened the Turkish public's reaction to the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang\". \"The reintroduction of concentration camps in the 21st Century and the systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities against the Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity,\" Mr Aksoy said. He called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres \"to take effective steps to end the human tragedy\" there. China has described the comments as \"completely unacceptable\". By John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing Critics have long seen Turkey's silence over the plight of China's Uighurs as a strategic blunder, undermining President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lofty claim to moral leadership of the Muslim world. But belatedly basing its condemnation of China's system of internment camps on a wrongful claim of a death in custody might be seen as an even bigger blunder. That is certainly the view of China's foreign ministry. \"The video clip has provided very good evidence for the truth,\" the ministry's spokeswoman said. In reality it's impossible to verify anything about the status of Abdurahim Heyit. Before the claims of the musician's death, and China's quick rebuttal, there had been no official word about his detention at all. Like hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, he had simply disappeared into a legal black hole. And the video bears all the hallmarks of the forced, televised confessions regularly produced by the combined efforts of China's Communist Party controlled courts, police investigators and state-run media. China has been quick to claim that the reports of Mr Heyit's death prove that much of the criticism of the situation in Xinjiang is based on falsehoods. But critics will continue to argue that the confusion - stemming from the lack of any independent scrutiny - shows precisely why there's such growing concern, even, finally, in Turkey. So far few Muslim-majority countries have joined in public international condemnation of the allegations. Analysts say many fear political and economic retaliation from China. However Mr Turkel said the release of the video showed that the Chinese government did respond to public pressure. \"The Chinese government responds to Turkey because of the influence it has in the Muslim world,\" he said, adding that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had been \"awfully quiet\" on the issue of detentions in Xinjiang. \"The ball is in the Chinese government's court. They detained Heyit. They detained 10% of the Uighur population. They are trying to tell the world there is no abuse and these are just so-called vocational training centres. It's their responsibility to prove the video is authentic,\" he said. Mr Turkel said the Chinese government was capable of doctoring video because of the \"technological advantages it has\". \"With today's technology it is possible to create a video presentation. It's not that difficult,\" he said. Amnesty International has said it is very concerned about reports of his death. He was a celebrated player of the Dutar, a two-stringed instrument that is notoriously hard to master. At one time, he was venerated across China. He studied music in Beijing and later performed with national arts troupes. Mr Heyit's detention reportedly stemmed from a song he had performed titled Fathers. It takes its lyrics from a Uighur poem calling on younger generations to respect the sacrifices of those before them. But three words in the lyrics - \"martyrs of war\" - apparently led Chinese authorities to conclude that Mr Heyit presented a terrorist threat. The Uighurs make up about 45% of the population in Xinjiang. They see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. In recent decades, large numbers of Han Chinese (China's ethnic majority) have migrated to Xinjiang, and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are under threat. Xinjiang is officially designated as an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1327, "answer_start": 851, "text": "The video was released by China Radio International's Turkish-language service, which said Turkey's criticism of China was unfounded. In it, Mr Heyit appears to say he is \"in the process of being investigated for allegedly violating national laws\". China has called on Turkey to retract its \"false accusations\". \"We hope the relevant Turkish persons can distinguish between right and wrong and correct their mistakes,\" foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters." } ], "id": "425_0", "question": "What is in the video?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1996, "answer_start": 1328, "text": "Its foreign ministry had said that detained Uighurs were being subjected to \"torture\" in \"concentration camps\". Foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said the reports of Mr Heyit's death \"further strengthened the Turkish public's reaction to the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang\". \"The reintroduction of concentration camps in the 21st Century and the systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities against the Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity,\" Mr Aksoy said. He called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres \"to take effective steps to end the human tragedy\" there. China has described the comments as \"completely unacceptable\"." } ], "id": "425_1", "question": "What did Turkey say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3389, "answer_start": 1997, "text": "By John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing Critics have long seen Turkey's silence over the plight of China's Uighurs as a strategic blunder, undermining President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lofty claim to moral leadership of the Muslim world. But belatedly basing its condemnation of China's system of internment camps on a wrongful claim of a death in custody might be seen as an even bigger blunder. That is certainly the view of China's foreign ministry. \"The video clip has provided very good evidence for the truth,\" the ministry's spokeswoman said. In reality it's impossible to verify anything about the status of Abdurahim Heyit. Before the claims of the musician's death, and China's quick rebuttal, there had been no official word about his detention at all. Like hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, he had simply disappeared into a legal black hole. And the video bears all the hallmarks of the forced, televised confessions regularly produced by the combined efforts of China's Communist Party controlled courts, police investigators and state-run media. China has been quick to claim that the reports of Mr Heyit's death prove that much of the criticism of the situation in Xinjiang is based on falsehoods. But critics will continue to argue that the confusion - stemming from the lack of any independent scrutiny - shows precisely why there's such growing concern, even, finally, in Turkey." } ], "id": "425_2", "question": "Turkey's strategic blunder?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4419, "answer_start": 3390, "text": "So far few Muslim-majority countries have joined in public international condemnation of the allegations. Analysts say many fear political and economic retaliation from China. However Mr Turkel said the release of the video showed that the Chinese government did respond to public pressure. \"The Chinese government responds to Turkey because of the influence it has in the Muslim world,\" he said, adding that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had been \"awfully quiet\" on the issue of detentions in Xinjiang. \"The ball is in the Chinese government's court. They detained Heyit. They detained 10% of the Uighur population. They are trying to tell the world there is no abuse and these are just so-called vocational training centres. It's their responsibility to prove the video is authentic,\" he said. Mr Turkel said the Chinese government was capable of doctoring video because of the \"technological advantages it has\". \"With today's technology it is possible to create a video presentation. It's not that difficult,\" he said." } ], "id": "425_3", "question": "How unusual is the Turkish stance?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5067, "answer_start": 4420, "text": "Amnesty International has said it is very concerned about reports of his death. He was a celebrated player of the Dutar, a two-stringed instrument that is notoriously hard to master. At one time, he was venerated across China. He studied music in Beijing and later performed with national arts troupes. Mr Heyit's detention reportedly stemmed from a song he had performed titled Fathers. It takes its lyrics from a Uighur poem calling on younger generations to respect the sacrifices of those before them. But three words in the lyrics - \"martyrs of war\" - apparently led Chinese authorities to conclude that Mr Heyit presented a terrorist threat." } ], "id": "425_4", "question": "What do we know about Heyit's fate?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5476, "answer_start": 5068, "text": "The Uighurs make up about 45% of the population in Xinjiang. They see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. In recent decades, large numbers of Han Chinese (China's ethnic majority) have migrated to Xinjiang, and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are under threat. Xinjiang is officially designated as an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south." } ], "id": "425_5", "question": "Who are the Uighurs?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Voter turnout in the second round of France's parliamentary election is sharply down on the last vote five years ago, official statistics show. Turnout was 35.3% at 17:00 local time (16:00 BST) on Sunday, down from 46.42% at the same time in the 2012 election. The second-round vote is a run-off between the top candidates from last Sunday's first round. President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to obtain a strong mandate in parliament to help him pursue his reform plans. His La Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move or LREM) with its MoDem allies is expected to win most seats. Traditional parties are urging voters to back Mr Macron's rivals to stop a monopolisation of power. President Macron formed his party just over a year ago, and half of its candidates have little or no political experience. They include a retired bullfighter, a Rwandan refugee and a mathematician. A party needs 289 seats to control the 577-seat National Assembly. LREM is predicted to win more than 400. In the first round Mr Macron's LREM and MoDem won 32.3% of the vote. The centre-right Republicans had 21.5%, while the far-right National Front (FN) had 13.2%, followed by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on just over 11%. The Socialists, previously France's ruling party, and their allies won just 9.5%. However, the turnout was low, despite claims that President Macron had re-energised the voting public. Analysts said it reflected a sense of resignation among his opponents. Only four seats were settled in the first round. The second round will see the two top-placed contenders for each seat facing each other, along with any other candidate who won the support of at least 12.5% of registered voters in the district. Here are some of the key battles to look out for: - Ex-Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem could be turfed out of her Rhone seat by Bruno Bonnell from LREM - National Front MP Gilbert Collard is neck and neck with ex-bullfighter and LREM candidate Marie Sara - Manuel Valls, the unpopular Socialist ex-prime minister rejected as a candidate by both LREM and the Socialists, is tipped for victory in his Essonne seat - Leading centre-right figure Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has a real fight on her hands against LREM novice Gilles Le Gendre - FN leader Marine Le Pen is likely to win in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France where she is facing LREM novice Anne Roquet - Far-left ex-presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is expected to win his battle in Marseille against LREM first-timer, Corinne Versini Is Macron the anti-Trump? Can Macron's new party win majority he needs? Mr Macron, 39, defeated Marine Le Pen in the presidential run-off in May. He needs a majority to push through the changes that he promised in his campaign, which include: - Budget savings of EUR60bn (PS51bn; $65bn) in the next five years - Cutting the number of public servants by 120,000 - Reforming the labour market and generous state pension schemes, bringing them into line with private schemes Macron's economic plans", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1481, "answer_start": 986, "text": "In the first round Mr Macron's LREM and MoDem won 32.3% of the vote. The centre-right Republicans had 21.5%, while the far-right National Front (FN) had 13.2%, followed by the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on just over 11%. The Socialists, previously France's ruling party, and their allies won just 9.5%. However, the turnout was low, despite claims that President Macron had re-energised the voting public. Analysts said it reflected a sense of resignation among his opponents." } ], "id": "426_0", "question": "What happened in part one?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2623, "answer_start": 1482, "text": "Only four seats were settled in the first round. The second round will see the two top-placed contenders for each seat facing each other, along with any other candidate who won the support of at least 12.5% of registered voters in the district. Here are some of the key battles to look out for: - Ex-Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem could be turfed out of her Rhone seat by Bruno Bonnell from LREM - National Front MP Gilbert Collard is neck and neck with ex-bullfighter and LREM candidate Marie Sara - Manuel Valls, the unpopular Socialist ex-prime minister rejected as a candidate by both LREM and the Socialists, is tipped for victory in his Essonne seat - Leading centre-right figure Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has a real fight on her hands against LREM novice Gilles Le Gendre - FN leader Marine Le Pen is likely to win in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France where she is facing LREM novice Anne Roquet - Far-left ex-presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is expected to win his battle in Marseille against LREM first-timer, Corinne Versini Is Macron the anti-Trump? Can Macron's new party win majority he needs?" } ], "id": "426_1", "question": "Who is in the second round?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has attacked Spain's King Felipe VI for \"deliberately ignoring millions of Catalans\", after a disputed vote was held on independence. He accused the king of adopting the Spanish government's position. King Felipe made a TV address on Tuesday night, calling Sunday's vote illegal and undemocratic. Mr Puigdemont has already indicated that independence could be declared next week. \"This moment calls for mediation,\" he said in a televised statement late on Wednesday. He claimed that the king had rejected a moderating role granted to him by the Spanish constitution. In response, the Spanish government in Madrid said it would not accept \"blackmail\" from the Catalan leader. Mr Puigdemont must return to the path of law before any negotiation could take place, it said in a statement (in Spanish). His criticism of the king showed that he was \"out of touch with reality,\" it added. Mr Puigdemont told the BBC on Tuesday that he would declare independence \"at the end of this week or the beginning of next\". The Catalan government has said there will be an extraordinary meeting of parliament on Monday to discuss the outcome of the disputed referendum. Catalan officials say more than 2.2 million people voted on Sunday and that nearly 90% of them backed independence. The turnout has been estimated at 42% but final results have not been given. There have been a number of reports of irregularities, partly because voters were allowed to cast ballots anywhere to avoid police measures aimed at halting the vote. In some areas far more votes were cast than the number of residents. In his statement on Wednesday evening, Mr Puigdemont did not give any further details of a possible declaration of independence. Switching to Spanish from Catalan, he thanked Spanish citizens who had sent their \"solidarity\" to Catalonia. Nearly 900 people - according to Catalan authorities - were hurt as police violently tried to enforce a Spanish court order suspending the vote, which the government had declared illegal. Some police officers were seen firing rubber bullets, storming into polling stations and pulling women by their hair. Thirty-three police officers were also injured, local medical officials said. Shocked by what they had seen, hundreds of thousands of Catalans joined street protests on Tuesday. A general strike was also called in protest at \"the grave violation of rights and freedoms\". By Patrick Jackson, BBC News, Girona It was a rare public attack on the Spanish monarch but King Felipe himself, symbol of national unity, seldom addresses the country on TV, and President Puigdemont had to respond. At a bar in the Catalan leader's home region, they clapped respectfully afterwards, happy with their leader and his call for mediation, and then they joked about the Game of Thrones TV series. \"We need a king like Jon Snow who tries to keep his lands together and is with the people,\" said one woman, laughing. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, by common agreement, was the Night King, wishing eternal winter on Catalonia. \"I want a Spain that cares for all its cultures,\" she added more seriously. \"Why not love them all? We don't understand the speech of Felipe VI.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2429, "answer_start": 1853, "text": "Nearly 900 people - according to Catalan authorities - were hurt as police violently tried to enforce a Spanish court order suspending the vote, which the government had declared illegal. Some police officers were seen firing rubber bullets, storming into polling stations and pulling women by their hair. Thirty-three police officers were also injured, local medical officials said. Shocked by what they had seen, hundreds of thousands of Catalans joined street protests on Tuesday. A general strike was also called in protest at \"the grave violation of rights and freedoms\"." } ], "id": "427_0", "question": "What happened on Sunday?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The UN Security Council is struggling to agree a resolution seeking a ceasefire in Syria and has put back a vote until Saturday. The vote has already been delayed several times since Thursday. Russia wanted changes to a draft that calls for a 30-day calm to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations. Western diplomats have accused Russia, Syria's key ally, of stalling for time. France said failure to act may spell the end of the UN itself. Minds have been focused amid outrage at the plight of civilians in the Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave. Activists say 462 people have now been killed there this week. Warplanes maintained the bombardment on Friday, witnesses said. Douma and Hamouriyeh were among areas hit. Western powers suspect that Moscow wants to give Syria time to deal a final blow to forces defending the rebel-held enclave on the edge of Damascus. The United States, the UK and France had called for the resolution to be approved without delay. UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said a truce had to be followed by immediate, unhindered access to the Eastern Ghouta. Commenting on Friday evening, US President Donald Trump pointed the finger of blame firmly at Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, for the humanitarian crisis. \"What those three countries have done to people over the last, short period of time is a disgrace,\" he said, speaking alongside the visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Washington. The draft, put forward by Kuwait and Sweden, calls for a nationwide truce to go into effect 72 hours after the resolution is passed. Medical evacuations and aid deliveries would start 48 hours after that. The draft says 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities across the country are in acute need. Sweden's UN ambassador Olof Skoog told the BBC that getting aid to the Eastern Ghouta, where conditions were described by the UN secretary general as \"hell on earth\", was the main objective. \"I think that without the pressure coming from a united Security Council things are not happening the way they should on the ground,\" he said. \"So I think for the council it's a little bit less about the details and more about giving a political pressure to ensure that this happens.\" France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre said the UN's inability to help Syrian civilians would result in a devastating loss of credibility. \"The Syrian tragedy must not also become a graveyard for the United Nations,\" he added. The draft resolution also calls for all parties to avoid establishing military positions in civilian areas, including schools and hospitals. Sieges of populated areas should be lifted. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote a joint letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to back the resolution. Under the terms of the draft resolution, any ceasefire would not apply to the Islamic State group, or the Nusra Front - formerly al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says it must go further and exclude other groups \"co-operating with them\" and which have shelled Damascus. This could include the two biggest rebel groups in Eastern Ghouta - Jaish al-Islam and its rival Faylaq al-Rahman. Faylaq al-Rahman has in the past fought alongside the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of factions led by the Nusra Front. Mr Lavrov told reporters his country would be prepared to vote for the ceasefire under certain conditions. \"There are no guarantees that [the rebels] will not continue shooting at Damascus residential areas,\" he told a briefing. He said Russia had proposed \"a formula which would make the ceasefire real\". Meanwhile, two of Russia's most advanced fighter planes, Su-57s, have been sent to its coastal Hmeimim airbase, Russian military sources told BBC Russian. The sources said the stealth fighter planes were still undergoing flight tests and there was no confirmation they had yet been used in combat. For the sixth day running, Syrian government forces have pounded the Eastern Ghouta. A witness in Douma speaking to Reuters news agency early on Friday said the bombing there was the most intense so far. Syrian state TV says rebels have shelled Damascus, killing one and injuring dozens more. The US has also accused Russia of attacking Ghouta, allegations that Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed as \"groundless\". The number killed since Sunday in the Eastern Ghouta has risen to 462, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group says, at least 99 of them children. Barrel bombs and shell fire have rained down on the area, where some 393,000 people remain trapped. The Syrian government has denied targeting civilians and insisted it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from \"terrorists\" - a term it has used to describe both jihadist militants and the mainstream rebel groups that dominate the enclave. Aid groups report dozens of hospitals being put out of action since Sunday.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2800, "answer_start": 1451, "text": "The draft, put forward by Kuwait and Sweden, calls for a nationwide truce to go into effect 72 hours after the resolution is passed. Medical evacuations and aid deliveries would start 48 hours after that. The draft says 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities across the country are in acute need. Sweden's UN ambassador Olof Skoog told the BBC that getting aid to the Eastern Ghouta, where conditions were described by the UN secretary general as \"hell on earth\", was the main objective. \"I think that without the pressure coming from a united Security Council things are not happening the way they should on the ground,\" he said. \"So I think for the council it's a little bit less about the details and more about giving a political pressure to ensure that this happens.\" France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre said the UN's inability to help Syrian civilians would result in a devastating loss of credibility. \"The Syrian tragedy must not also become a graveyard for the United Nations,\" he added. The draft resolution also calls for all parties to avoid establishing military positions in civilian areas, including schools and hospitals. Sieges of populated areas should be lifted. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote a joint letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to back the resolution." } ], "id": "428_0", "question": "What does the draft resolution say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3977, "answer_start": 2801, "text": "Under the terms of the draft resolution, any ceasefire would not apply to the Islamic State group, or the Nusra Front - formerly al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says it must go further and exclude other groups \"co-operating with them\" and which have shelled Damascus. This could include the two biggest rebel groups in Eastern Ghouta - Jaish al-Islam and its rival Faylaq al-Rahman. Faylaq al-Rahman has in the past fought alongside the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of factions led by the Nusra Front. Mr Lavrov told reporters his country would be prepared to vote for the ceasefire under certain conditions. \"There are no guarantees that [the rebels] will not continue shooting at Damascus residential areas,\" he told a briefing. He said Russia had proposed \"a formula which would make the ceasefire real\". Meanwhile, two of Russia's most advanced fighter planes, Su-57s, have been sent to its coastal Hmeimim airbase, Russian military sources told BBC Russian. The sources said the stealth fighter planes were still undergoing flight tests and there was no confirmation they had yet been used in combat." } ], "id": "428_1", "question": "What are the Russian objections?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5004, "answer_start": 3978, "text": "For the sixth day running, Syrian government forces have pounded the Eastern Ghouta. A witness in Douma speaking to Reuters news agency early on Friday said the bombing there was the most intense so far. Syrian state TV says rebels have shelled Damascus, killing one and injuring dozens more. The US has also accused Russia of attacking Ghouta, allegations that Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed as \"groundless\". The number killed since Sunday in the Eastern Ghouta has risen to 462, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group says, at least 99 of them children. Barrel bombs and shell fire have rained down on the area, where some 393,000 people remain trapped. The Syrian government has denied targeting civilians and insisted it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from \"terrorists\" - a term it has used to describe both jihadist militants and the mainstream rebel groups that dominate the enclave. Aid groups report dozens of hospitals being put out of action since Sunday." } ], "id": "428_2", "question": "How bad is the situation in the Eastern Ghouta?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The case of a Thai army cadet who died under mysterious circumstances and had his organs removed has left his family angry and with many questions. Phakhapong Tanyakan died on 17 October - and his family was told the cause of death was a sudden cardiac arrest. Yet his family became suspicious - because he had previously described brutal treatment at the school. They secretly had a new autopsy done - revealing bruises, broken ribs and many of his vital organs missing. Phakhapong Tanyakan was a first year student at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School. When he suddenly died in October the army gave cardiac arrest as the cause of death. But the family did not trust the official version - so when the body was transferred to them for the funeral they brought it for a second autopsy at a private clinic. What the doctors found were severe bruise marks, several broken ribs and broken collarbones - and the brain, heart, stomach and bladder had been removed from the body. \"It's beyond words,\" the young cadet's father told BBC Thai. \"This incident for us is similar to a boat capsizing. He drowned to death and left us adrift.\" What added to the family's suspicions was that the cadet had previously described experiencing excessive physical punishment. The Bangkok Post cites the cadet's mother saying that he once had to stand on his head as a punishment and had gone into shock and needed CPR to be revived. He had also told his parents that he had been brutally disciplined by senior students in the academy. Rights groups have said that corporal punishment and torture are a common problem in the Thai military. The military responded with a press conference, insisting the death was from heart failure and that the organs had been removed for the first autopsy by the military. An army hospital doctor cited by the Nation newspaper said the organs had been taken out for detailed examination because the body had no signs of injuries. He added they could be returned to the family now the examination had wrapped up. Addressing the allegations of brutal punishment, the military said disciplinary action was under way but that the instances were not linked to Phakhapong's death. Mr Tanyakan's family says it's not yet making allegations or accusations but wants the military to investigate and explain the circumstances of the death.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1142, "answer_start": 472, "text": "Phakhapong Tanyakan was a first year student at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School. When he suddenly died in October the army gave cardiac arrest as the cause of death. But the family did not trust the official version - so when the body was transferred to them for the funeral they brought it for a second autopsy at a private clinic. What the doctors found were severe bruise marks, several broken ribs and broken collarbones - and the brain, heart, stomach and bladder had been removed from the body. \"It's beyond words,\" the young cadet's father told BBC Thai. \"This incident for us is similar to a boat capsizing. He drowned to death and left us adrift.\"" } ], "id": "429_0", "question": "What happened?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2355, "answer_start": 1632, "text": "The military responded with a press conference, insisting the death was from heart failure and that the organs had been removed for the first autopsy by the military. An army hospital doctor cited by the Nation newspaper said the organs had been taken out for detailed examination because the body had no signs of injuries. He added they could be returned to the family now the examination had wrapped up. Addressing the allegations of brutal punishment, the military said disciplinary action was under way but that the instances were not linked to Phakhapong's death. Mr Tanyakan's family says it's not yet making allegations or accusations but wants the military to investigate and explain the circumstances of the death." } ], "id": "429_1", "question": "What did the army say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The family of a Brazilian man shot dead in London by police who thought he was a suicide bomber have taken their legal battle to the European Court of Human Rights. Jean Charles de Menezes was shot at Stockwell Tube station after being mistaken for a terror suspect. His family are challenging a decision not to prosecute anyone for murder over the electrician's July 2005 death. Lawyers are putting the family's case against the UK before the judges. They argue the assessment used by prosecutors in deciding no-one should be charged is incompatible with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers the right to life. They claim the test applied by the Crown Prosecution Service - that there should be sufficient evidence for a \"realistic prospect\" of conviction - is too high a threshold. The CPS ruled out prosecuting officers in 2006, but they did charge the Met Police with breaching health and safety laws, leading to a PS175,000 fine. An inquest jury later returned an open verdict after being told by the coroner they could not conclude Mr de Menezes had been unlawfully killed. The Strasbourg case was lodged by Patricia da Silva, a cousin of Mr de Menezes, who was 27 when he died. Hugh Southey QC, representing the family, told the court he would argue that previous investigations into the death did not satisfy the requirements of Article 2. Profile: Jean Charles de Menezes In short, the article says the state must never arbitrarily take someone's life, and must also safeguard the lives of those in its care. It lists three scenarios where force at the hands of the state could be justified: - In defence of any person from unlawful violence - In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained - In action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection. It also requires the government to carry out a independent investigation into all deaths caused by the state. This investigation must be brought about by the state of its own accord, and include an element of public scrutiny. Mr Southey said: \"We submit that the legal test does not correspond to Article 2 and fails to hold the officers to account. The investigation did not satisfy Article 2, it does not justify that the shooting was lawful. \"If the public don't believe that officers may be held to account, the order of the law is called into question.\" Mr de Menezes was shot amid an operation to hunt down the men responsible for the failed suicide bombings of 21 July 2005 in London - attacks that came after the deaths of 52 people in four similar explosions two weeks earlier. Representing the UK, Clare Montgomery QC, told the court that in the aftermath of the London bombings there was \"huge pressure on the officers\". She said while it was recognised they had failed in their \"duty of care\" to Mr Menezes, none of the mistakes they made \"amounted to gross negligence or manslaughter\". Undercover police officers began following Mr de Menezes because they thought he looked like one of the bombers who was on the run, and he lived in a flat that shared a communal entrance with another linked to the suspect. They followed him into the station where he was pinned down and shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by two officers trained in stopping suicide bombers. Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent Article 2 of the European Convention requires a proper investigation into a death when the state is involved. In the UK, that usually means an inquest or, in Scotland, a fatal accident inquiry. But the de Menezes family say that the CPS denied them that full investigation by refusing to prosecute anyone for murder. The CPS said there was no realistic prospect of a conviction - and it is that well-established legal test for criminal prosecutions in the UK that is under attack in this European Court case. The Grand Chamber's judgement will be many months away - but a decision against the UK could have profound implications for how the CPS decides who goes on trial. So what's at stake in this case is not just the outcome of a long-fought family campaign - but, potentially, a key part of the prosecution system itself. Ms da Silva said: \"For 10 years our family has been campaigning for justice for Jean because we believe that police officers should have been held to account for his killing. \"Jean's death is a pain that never goes away for us. \"Nothing can bring him back, but we hope that this legal challenge will change the law so that no other family has to face what we did.\" - 22 July 2005: Shot dead by police at Stockwell Tube station - 17 July 2006: CPS says no officers will be prosecuted, but Met Police will be tried for breaching health and safety laws - 1 November 2007: Met Police found guilty of breaching health and safety laws and fined - 22 October 2008: Inquest under way - coroner rules out unlawful killing verdict a month later - 12 December 2008: Inquest jury returns open verdict - 16 November 2009: Met Police settles damages claim with family", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2077, "answer_start": 1411, "text": "In short, the article says the state must never arbitrarily take someone's life, and must also safeguard the lives of those in its care. It lists three scenarios where force at the hands of the state could be justified: - In defence of any person from unlawful violence - In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained - In action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection. It also requires the government to carry out a independent investigation into all deaths caused by the state. This investigation must be brought about by the state of its own accord, and include an element of public scrutiny." } ], "id": "430_0", "question": "What is Article 2?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China massively increased security spending in 2017 in the far-western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims are alleged to have been detained, a new report says. Spending in areas \"that explain nearly all security-related facility construction\" rose by 213% between 2016 and 2017, said the US-based Jamestown Foundation. Satellite data shows a spike in new security facilities in 2017. China says they are training centres. But according to budget data reviewed by German academic Adrian Zenz for the report, spending on vocational training in Xinjiang actually decreased by 7% in 2017. Spending on security-related construction, meanwhile, increased by nearly 20bn yuan ($2.9bn). Xinjiang's budget figures \"reflect patterns of spending consistent with the construction and operation of highly secure political re-education camps designed to imprison hundreds of thousands of [Uighurs] with minimal due process,\" Mr Zenz said. Mr Zenz has previously suggested, based on local government tendering documents, that at least several hundred thousand and perhaps over a million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities could have been detained in Xinjiang. Such estimates were also quoted at a UN human rights panel earlier this year. China denies the facilities are internment camps. The top official in the region has instead said that a \"vocational education and training programme\" helps people to \"reflect on their mistakes and see clearly the essence and harm of terrorism and religious extremism\". According to regional officials, classes are given on Chinese history, language and culture. Former Uighur detainees now living overseas have told the BBC that they had to sing Communist Party songs in the camps, and recite laws accurately or face beatings. One man said he was detained in 2015 after police found a picture of a woman wearing a face veil on his phone. Mr Zenz, an anthropologist and expert on Chinese ethnic policy at the European School of Culture and Theology in Germany, also found the camps were built by the same organisation that oversaw China's now-abolished labour re-education system. Separately on Tuesday, China's human rights record was reviewed at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In response to British, French, German and US concerns about the suspected mass detentions, Chinese representative Le Yucheng said his country \"will not accept politically-driven accusations from a few countries that are fraught with biases\". He insisted that China must be free to \"choose its own path\" when it came to human rights. The US has said it would consider sanctioning China over its policies, which Human Rights Watch says violate the rights to freedom of expression, religion and privacy. The Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims mostly based in Xinjiang. They make up about 45% of the population there. They see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations, and their language is similar to Turkish. In recent decades, large numbers of Han Chinese (China's ethnic majority) have migrated to Xinjiang, and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are under threat. Xinjiang is officially designated as an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3243, "answer_start": 2738, "text": "The Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims mostly based in Xinjiang. They make up about 45% of the population there. They see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations, and their language is similar to Turkish. In recent decades, large numbers of Han Chinese (China's ethnic majority) have migrated to Xinjiang, and the Uighurs feel their culture and livelihoods are under threat. Xinjiang is officially designated as an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south." } ], "id": "431_0", "question": "Who are the Uighurs?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A small experiment. Which of the following do you consider the most (or least) credible: \"Trust me, I'm a doctor\", \"trust me, I'm an architect\", or \"trust me, I'm a FTSE chief executive\"? Unfortunately, ample evidence shows that - along with \"trust me, I'm a journalist\" - the final example of the businessman is met with widespread disbelief. The financial crash of 2008, although originating in financial services, did immense harm to trust in businesses across the board. Decency, fairness and plain-dealing - doing \"the right thing\" if you like - appear often to be in short supply. Many have found it hard to escape the conclusion that business is there just to maximise shareholder profit while pulling the wool over all our eyes. The first stop on my trust in business odyssey for BBC Radio 4's In Business programme was Ingolstadt in Bavaria, the home of Audi, which is part of the scandal-hit VW group. There I was granted an audience with Audi's chairman Rupert Stadler. Despite everything - the latest blow being a $20bn (PS13bn) lawsuit from the US government - he appeared surprisingly optimistic on his corporate naughty step. While acknowledging that some very serious things had gone wrong, customers had been let down, and things had to be \"cleaned up\", he was confident in his company's long-term future. \"There will be a slight short-term reaction in markets. A little insecurity. In long run no impact,\" he says. I sensed Mr Stadler was keen to create some clear blue water between his premium, high-margin Audi brand and the VW mothership. Neither did he think the good name of \"made in Germany\", the premium that can be added to manufactured goods made in that country, would be affected by the reputational fallout. \"All those comments are exaggerated. I'm absolutely convinced 'made in Germany' still has a high value.\" At the other end of the trust scale sits the British John Lewis Partnership comprising the John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose supermarkets. Its chairman Charlie Mayfield says: \"I think trust means three things. Firstly, act in the customer's interests. \"Secondly, make sure you always do as you say you will, and thirdly, if something goes wrong - admit it and then deal with the problem.\" This combination of honesty, integrity and transparency is no bad yardstick. \"You get a 'trust deficit' when an inherent conflict arises between the making of profit and the interests of the consumer,\" says Mr Mayfield. \"At the extreme these two can be in opposition. So maximisation of profit is not our goal. We aim to make sufficient profit.\" The annual Edelman Trust Barometer, which measures trust across the business world. is announced the week after next at the World Economic Forum at Davos. Trust levels have been down across the board in recent years. Edelman, a global PR consultancy, used to be run in the UK by Robert Phillips, who has recently written a book entitled, Trust me, PR is Dead. \"Trust is the most abused word in the business lexicon,\" he says. \"Trust is not a message to be sold by PRs, it is an outcome.\" Mr Phillips, a repentant spinner, also thinks corporate social responsibility has had its day, and thinks that concentrating on being \"trustworthy\" by becoming more transparent and honest is the only way forward for companies if they wish to succeed. For Rachel Botsman, who teaches at the Said Business School in Oxford, there are signs of hope, however. She says the rise of the collaborative economy shows that trust can be re-found. \"It's messy, but we are at the start of a profound trust shift,\" says Ms Botsman. \"Direct business interactions between individuals, such as occur with the French lift-sharing service Bla Bla Car, show that social trust is the new thing. \"This is miles away from the old world of licences, regulation, contracts and top down corporations.\" It's become commonplace to say that business is more mistrusted today than ever before. I'm not sure this is true. Was there ever a golden age of trust? The Victorian era when robber barons ruled the land, and children were put up chimneys and down mines, and Charles Dickens laboured in a boot-blacking factory aged 12? The 1920s and 1930s were decades of bitter strikes, worker lock-outs, and compulsory wage cuts. In recent decades we had Robert Maxwell, Polly Peck, and Enron. What is true, however, is that mistrust of business is mostly confined to large companies. It's unusual for people to feel so hostile towards business in their local communities - indeed, if they did these small and medium-sized firms would be unlikely to survive. There's something about the size that comes with success and growth that engenders trouble on the trust front. Maintaining clear purpose, engagement among your staff, and your integrity, is undoubtedly far harder once the boss no longer knows everyone. Coming back to VW - the group has a long way to go to rebuild its reputation. Who remembers the classic TV commercial for the Volkswagen Golf from the 1980s, when the model Paula Hamilton leaves her boyfriend, discards her fur coat and ring as she leaves the house, before stepping into her Golf? The tagline at the end was - \"If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen\". You can hear Matthew Gwyther's episode of In Business - the Business of Trust - at 20:30 GMT on Thurs, 7 Jan 2016 and again at 21:30 GMT on Sun, 10 Jan 2016 on BBC Radio 4. Or you can download the podcast here.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5454, "answer_start": 3857, "text": "It's become commonplace to say that business is more mistrusted today than ever before. I'm not sure this is true. Was there ever a golden age of trust? The Victorian era when robber barons ruled the land, and children were put up chimneys and down mines, and Charles Dickens laboured in a boot-blacking factory aged 12? The 1920s and 1930s were decades of bitter strikes, worker lock-outs, and compulsory wage cuts. In recent decades we had Robert Maxwell, Polly Peck, and Enron. What is true, however, is that mistrust of business is mostly confined to large companies. It's unusual for people to feel so hostile towards business in their local communities - indeed, if they did these small and medium-sized firms would be unlikely to survive. There's something about the size that comes with success and growth that engenders trouble on the trust front. Maintaining clear purpose, engagement among your staff, and your integrity, is undoubtedly far harder once the boss no longer knows everyone. Coming back to VW - the group has a long way to go to rebuild its reputation. Who remembers the classic TV commercial for the Volkswagen Golf from the 1980s, when the model Paula Hamilton leaves her boyfriend, discards her fur coat and ring as she leaves the house, before stepping into her Golf? The tagline at the end was - \"If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen\". You can hear Matthew Gwyther's episode of In Business - the Business of Trust - at 20:30 GMT on Thurs, 7 Jan 2016 and again at 21:30 GMT on Sun, 10 Jan 2016 on BBC Radio 4. Or you can download the podcast here." } ], "id": "432_0", "question": "Golden age?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has survived a no-confidence vote over the deal his government made to settle a name dispute with Macedonia. It was tabled by the country's main opposition party, New Democracy, but was rejected by 153 votes to 127. The result paves the way for an historic signing ceremony on Sunday. Mr Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev have agreed that Greece's neighbour will be renamed the Republic of North Macedonia. The aim of the deal was to distinguish it from a province in northern Greece also called Macedonia. The name has been a subject of contention for more than two decades since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, with Athens arguing that by using the name Macedonia the country was implying it had a claim to the Greek region. But opposition figures in Greece argue that Mr Tsipras has made too many concessions in the deal. On Saturday, protesters angry with the government briefly clashed with police on the steps of the parliament building. Following the vote, the foreign ministers from both countries are expected to meet on the border for a ceremony in which they will sign the agreement. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Macedonia's Nikola Dimitrov will sign the pact on Sunday and both prime ministers will be present. But there is still some way to go before the name change becomes official. Yes, the agreement will have to overcome a few obstacles before it goes through. Macedonia's parliament will first need to back the deal. That would be followed by a referendum in September or October. If voters there support it, the government would have to change the constitution which is a key Greek demand. Things have been complicated further as Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov is refusing to sign the agreement. He has the power to veto the deal - but not indefinitely. If he refuses to sign it, it will be sent back to parliament for a second vote. If it passes again, President Ivanov would then be obliged to approve the legislation. The deal will finally have to be ratified by the Greek parliament, a process which may also not be straightforward.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1368, "answer_start": 1003, "text": "Following the vote, the foreign ministers from both countries are expected to meet on the border for a ceremony in which they will sign the agreement. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Macedonia's Nikola Dimitrov will sign the pact on Sunday and both prime ministers will be present. But there is still some way to go before the name change becomes official." } ], "id": "433_0", "question": "What happens now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2132, "answer_start": 1369, "text": "Yes, the agreement will have to overcome a few obstacles before it goes through. Macedonia's parliament will first need to back the deal. That would be followed by a referendum in September or October. If voters there support it, the government would have to change the constitution which is a key Greek demand. Things have been complicated further as Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov is refusing to sign the agreement. He has the power to veto the deal - but not indefinitely. If he refuses to sign it, it will be sent back to parliament for a second vote. If it passes again, President Ivanov would then be obliged to approve the legislation. The deal will finally have to be ratified by the Greek parliament, a process which may also not be straightforward." } ], "id": "433_1", "question": "So could the change be stopped?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Thousands of Pakistanis have attended the state funeral of assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani joined the mourners in the city of Lahore amid tight security. Mr Taseer, one of Pakistan's most outspoken liberal politicians, was shot on Tuesday by a bodyguard angered by his opposition to blasphemy laws. Although many have condemned the assassination, some religious leaders have praised the governor's killer. The governor - a senior member of the governing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - had recently angered Islamists by appealing for a Christian woman, sentenced to death for blasphemy, to be pardoned. Mr Gilani has declared three days of national mourning and appealed for calm. The bodyguard, Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri, 26, was showered with rose petals by supporters as he appeared in court in Islamabad on Wednesday. Mr Gilani and thousands of supporters of the PPP attended funeral prayers at Governor's House in Lahore. Mr Taseer's coffin was then taken by helicopter to a graveyard in a military zone. Security was intense and the city virtually shut down. The assassination has drawn condemnation from around the world. However, some Pakistani religious leaders have praised the governor's killer and called for a boycott of the ceremonies in Lahore, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad. One small religious party, the Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat Pakistan, warned that anyone who expressed grief over the assassination could suffer the same fate. \"No Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for Salman Taseer or even express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident,\" the party said in a statement. It said anyone who expressed sympathy over the death of a blasphemer was also committing blasphemy. The Pakistani Taliban - Tehreek Taliban - also said anyone offering prayers for Mr Taseer would be guilty of blasphemy. Speaking to the BBC, its deputy chief, Ehsanullah Ehsan, also warned religious scholars not to change their stance on blasphemy laws. The bodyguard Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri was detained immediately after the shooting at Kohsar Market in Islamabad. He confessed to the murder, said Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik. At his first court appearance in Islamabad the guard was showered with rose petals by sympathetic lawyers and hugged by other supporters. He was remanded in police custody and is due back in court on Thursday on charges of murder and terrorism. After leaving court he stood next to an armoured police van wearing a garland of flowers given by a supporter and shouted \"God is great\". Police are now questioning the rest of Mr Taseer's security detail and are also carrying out an inquiry into the governor's security arrangements. \"We will investigate whether it was an individual act or there is some organisation behind it,\" Mr Malik told a news conference. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says the questions being asked at the moment are whether the killer acted alone and why other members of Mr Taseer's security team did not try to prevent the assassination. There are few credible explanations as to why the guard was able to empty two magazines of his sub-machine gun at the governor without being shot by his colleagues, our correspondent says. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those who condemned the killing. Pakistan's high commissioner to London, Wajid Shamshul Hassan, told the BBC's Newshour programme that Pakistan would not allow itself to \"be held hostage by a minority of [radical] religious people\". \"We will be tough on them. Unless we get rid of such people in our society... you can't feel that justice will be done.\" Mr Taseer had called for a pardon for Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with other farmhands in a Punjab village in June 2009. She denies the charge. Critics say the blasphemy law has been used to persecute minority faiths in Pakistan and is exploited by people with personal grudges. Pakistan's government last week distanced itself from a private member's bill which seeks to amend the law by abolishing its mandatory death sentence. The death of Mr Taseer - a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari - is the most high-profile assassination in Pakistan since former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in December 2007. The PPP-led government has been under considerable threat in recent times. One of its coalition partners walked out at the weekend. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is withholding the latest tranche of its $11.3bn loan to Islamabad, while petrol prices have increased sharply and chronic fuel shortages are causing unrest. Pakistan is also under pressure from the US to move against militants in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3264, "answer_start": 869, "text": "Mr Gilani and thousands of supporters of the PPP attended funeral prayers at Governor's House in Lahore. Mr Taseer's coffin was then taken by helicopter to a graveyard in a military zone. Security was intense and the city virtually shut down. The assassination has drawn condemnation from around the world. However, some Pakistani religious leaders have praised the governor's killer and called for a boycott of the ceremonies in Lahore, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad. One small religious party, the Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat Pakistan, warned that anyone who expressed grief over the assassination could suffer the same fate. \"No Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for Salman Taseer or even express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident,\" the party said in a statement. It said anyone who expressed sympathy over the death of a blasphemer was also committing blasphemy. The Pakistani Taliban - Tehreek Taliban - also said anyone offering prayers for Mr Taseer would be guilty of blasphemy. Speaking to the BBC, its deputy chief, Ehsanullah Ehsan, also warned religious scholars not to change their stance on blasphemy laws. The bodyguard Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri was detained immediately after the shooting at Kohsar Market in Islamabad. He confessed to the murder, said Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik. At his first court appearance in Islamabad the guard was showered with rose petals by sympathetic lawyers and hugged by other supporters. He was remanded in police custody and is due back in court on Thursday on charges of murder and terrorism. After leaving court he stood next to an armoured police van wearing a garland of flowers given by a supporter and shouted \"God is great\". Police are now questioning the rest of Mr Taseer's security detail and are also carrying out an inquiry into the governor's security arrangements. \"We will investigate whether it was an individual act or there is some organisation behind it,\" Mr Malik told a news conference. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says the questions being asked at the moment are whether the killer acted alone and why other members of Mr Taseer's security team did not try to prevent the assassination. There are few credible explanations as to why the guard was able to empty two magazines of his sub-machine gun at the governor without being shot by his colleagues, our correspondent says." } ], "id": "434_0", "question": "Acting alone?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Nicaragua's government and opposition groups have agreed a ceasefire after weeks of violence that has left about 170 people dead. A truth commission will also be established and international investigators allowed into the country. Friday's peace talks in Managua were brokered by the Roman Catholic Church. The protests began on 19 April after President Daniel Ortega's government imposed cuts to pension and social security programmes. The cuts were later scrapped but the protests evolved into a rejection of the Ortega government, and thousands of people have since taken to the streets. Government officials, opposition civil society groups and Catholic bishops said there should be an immediate cessation of violence and threats by all sides. They also said the truth commission would investigate \"all deaths and acts of violence\" and identify those responsible. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and representatives of the European Union would be invited to Nicaragua to help with the inquiry. The country's Roman Catholic Church would also play a key role in the process. Despite the deal, there is still a long way to go before any sense of a stable peace can be achieved, the BBC's Will Grant reports. Last month, the IACHR visited Nicaragua and said it had seen grave violations of human rights during the protests. It said state security forces and armed third parties had used excessive force. Nicaragua's foreign ministry has rejected the report as \"biased\". The street protests have become the biggest challenge to Mr Ortega's authority since he took office in 2007. He says rallies have been infiltrated by criminals and gang members. Student activists and union leaders have accused him of violent repression and called for him to step down. So far, President Ortega has shown little sign of accepting calls for for early elections. Mr Ortega is a former left-wing Sandinista guerrilla who helped to overthrow the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s. However, his critics accuse him and his wife Rosario Murillo, who is his vice-president, of also behaving like dictators.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2162, "answer_start": 592, "text": "Government officials, opposition civil society groups and Catholic bishops said there should be an immediate cessation of violence and threats by all sides. They also said the truth commission would investigate \"all deaths and acts of violence\" and identify those responsible. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and representatives of the European Union would be invited to Nicaragua to help with the inquiry. The country's Roman Catholic Church would also play a key role in the process. Despite the deal, there is still a long way to go before any sense of a stable peace can be achieved, the BBC's Will Grant reports. Last month, the IACHR visited Nicaragua and said it had seen grave violations of human rights during the protests. It said state security forces and armed third parties had used excessive force. Nicaragua's foreign ministry has rejected the report as \"biased\". The street protests have become the biggest challenge to Mr Ortega's authority since he took office in 2007. He says rallies have been infiltrated by criminals and gang members. Student activists and union leaders have accused him of violent repression and called for him to step down. So far, President Ortega has shown little sign of accepting calls for for early elections. Mr Ortega is a former left-wing Sandinista guerrilla who helped to overthrow the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s. However, his critics accuse him and his wife Rosario Murillo, who is his vice-president, of also behaving like dictators." } ], "id": "435_0", "question": "What was agreed at the peace talks?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Scientists have developed a brain implant that can read people's minds and turn their thoughts to speech. The team at the University of California, San Francisco says the technology is \"exhilarating\". They add that their findings, published in the journal Nature, could help people when disease robs them of their ability to talk. Experts said the findings were compelling and offered hope of restoring speech. The mind-reading technology works in two stages. First an electrode is implanted in the brain to pick up the electrical signals that manoeuvre the lips, tongue, voice box and jaw. Then powerful computing is used to simulate how the movements in the mouth and throat would form different sounds. This results in synthesised speech coming out of a \"virtual vocal tract\". You might think it would be easier to scour the brain for the pattern of electrical signals that code for each word. However, attempts to do so have only had limited success. Instead it was focusing on the shape of the mouth and the sounds it would produce that allowed the scientists to achieve a world first. Prof Edward Chang, one of the researchers, said: \"For the first time, this study demonstrates that we can generate entire spoken sentences based on an individual's brain activity. \"This is an exhilarating proof of principle that, with technology that is already within reach, we should be able to build a device that is clinically viable in patients with speech loss.\" It is not perfect. If you listen to this recording of synthesised speech: You can tell it is not crystal clear (the recording says \"the proof you are seeking is not available in books\"). The system is better with prolonged sounds like the \"sh\" in ship than with abrupt sounds such as the \"buh\" sound in \"books\". In experiments with five people, who read hundreds of sentences, listeners were able to discern what was being spoken up to 70% of the time when they were given a list of words to choose from. Many diseases can lead to the loss of speech including: - motor neurone disease - brain injuries - throat cancer - some strokes - neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis The team say it could work in some of these diseases. However, the technology relies on the parts of the brain which control the lips, tongue, voice box and jaw working correctly. So patients with some types of stroke would not be able to benefit. \"This is not a solution for everyone who cannot communicate,\" says Prof Chang. There is also the more distant prospect of helping people who have never spoken, including some children with cerebral palsy, to learn to speak with such a device, say the researchers. The participants in the study were told not to make any specific mouth movements. Prof Chang said: \"There were just asked to do the very simple thing of reading some sentences. \"So it's a very natural act that the brain translates into movements itself.\" At the moment it is too hard. Prof Chang said: \"We and others actually have tried to look at whether it's actually possible to decode just thoughts alone. \"And it turns out, it's a very, very difficult and challenging problem. \"That's only one reason why, of many, we really focus on what people are actually trying to say.\" However, some scientists have argued there is an ethical debate to be had about brain-machine interface technologies that read the mind. A commentary, published alongside the research, said the results were \"compelling\". It added: \"We can hope that individuals with speech impairments will regain the ability to freely speak their minds and reconnect with the world around them.\" Prof Sophie Scott, from University College London, said: \"This is very interesting work from a great lab but it must be noted that it is at very early stages and is not close to clinical applications yet.\" Follow James on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 779, "answer_start": 411, "text": "The mind-reading technology works in two stages. First an electrode is implanted in the brain to pick up the electrical signals that manoeuvre the lips, tongue, voice box and jaw. Then powerful computing is used to simulate how the movements in the mouth and throat would form different sounds. This results in synthesised speech coming out of a \"virtual vocal tract\"." } ], "id": "436_0", "question": "How does it work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1459, "answer_start": 780, "text": "You might think it would be easier to scour the brain for the pattern of electrical signals that code for each word. However, attempts to do so have only had limited success. Instead it was focusing on the shape of the mouth and the sounds it would produce that allowed the scientists to achieve a world first. Prof Edward Chang, one of the researchers, said: \"For the first time, this study demonstrates that we can generate entire spoken sentences based on an individual's brain activity. \"This is an exhilarating proof of principle that, with technology that is already within reach, we should be able to build a device that is clinically viable in patients with speech loss.\"" } ], "id": "436_1", "question": "Why do it like that?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1964, "answer_start": 1460, "text": "It is not perfect. If you listen to this recording of synthesised speech: You can tell it is not crystal clear (the recording says \"the proof you are seeking is not available in books\"). The system is better with prolonged sounds like the \"sh\" in ship than with abrupt sounds such as the \"buh\" sound in \"books\". In experiments with five people, who read hundreds of sentences, listeners were able to discern what was being spoken up to 70% of the time when they were given a list of words to choose from." } ], "id": "436_2", "question": "How good is it?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2676, "answer_start": 1965, "text": "Many diseases can lead to the loss of speech including: - motor neurone disease - brain injuries - throat cancer - some strokes - neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis The team say it could work in some of these diseases. However, the technology relies on the parts of the brain which control the lips, tongue, voice box and jaw working correctly. So patients with some types of stroke would not be able to benefit. \"This is not a solution for everyone who cannot communicate,\" says Prof Chang. There is also the more distant prospect of helping people who have never spoken, including some children with cerebral palsy, to learn to speak with such a device, say the researchers." } ], "id": "436_3", "question": "Who could it help?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2931, "answer_start": 2677, "text": "The participants in the study were told not to make any specific mouth movements. Prof Chang said: \"There were just asked to do the very simple thing of reading some sentences. \"So it's a very natural act that the brain translates into movements itself.\"" } ], "id": "436_4", "question": "What do people have to think?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3867, "answer_start": 3394, "text": "A commentary, published alongside the research, said the results were \"compelling\". It added: \"We can hope that individuals with speech impairments will regain the ability to freely speak their minds and reconnect with the world around them.\" Prof Sophie Scott, from University College London, said: \"This is very interesting work from a great lab but it must be noted that it is at very early stages and is not close to clinical applications yet.\" Follow James on Twitter." } ], "id": "436_5", "question": "What do the experts say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Apple's new smart speakers can discolour wooden surfaces, leaving a white mark where they are placed, the firm has acknowledged. The US company has suggested that owners may have to re-oil furniture if the HomePod is moved. The device went on sale last week after having been delayed from its original 2017 release date. Apple updated its help page to suggest \"placing your HomePod on a different surface\" if customers were concerned. \"It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-dampening silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces,\" the company said. \"The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface. \"If not, wiping the surface gently with a soft damp or dry cloth may remove the marks. If marks persist, clean the surface with the furniture manufacturer's recommended cleaning process.\" Gadget review site Pocket-Lint told the BBC it had never seen anything like this problem. The website's founder, Stuart Miles, told the BBC that a speaker left a mark on his kitchen worktop within 20 minutes. \"To clear it, I had to sand the wood down and then re-oil it,\" Mr Miles said. \"It wasn't the end of the world for us. But if you've bought an expensive Scandinavian sideboard or some beautiful piece of wooden furniture and then got a mark on it from the speaker, you can imagine the horror,\" he added. The problem has also been experienced by a New York Times review and the 9to5Mac news site as well as by at least one member of the public. The NYT's Wirecutter site said Apple told it that \"the marks can improve over several days after the speaker is removed from the wood surface.\" Apple added that if the marks did not improve then customers could \"try cleaning the surface with the manufacturer's suggested oiling method\". It is not yet clear if the problem affects all HomePod speakers or just a sample of the initial production run. The PS319 HomePod has been praised in reviews for the quality of the bass notes that it can produce. But to do so, it needs to be placed on a flat surface. \"Most others devices that I test have small feet that raise them off the counter ever so slightly to cause an air flow,\" commented Mr Miles. \"But the HomePod appears to need contact with the surface that it's on to resonate and create the powerful bass. \"I put it on a coaster to see if that would combat [leaving a mark] but that destroyed the bass qualities, so that's not a fix to the problem,\" he added. According to one furniture polish advice site, the most common causes of white marks on wooden furniture are heat and moisture. The BBC has asked Apple for more details about the issue. One blogger who closely follows the company was surprised by the development. \"Anyone who runs into this should be outraged,\" wrote Daring Fireball's John Gruber. \"Apple has been making products that go on shelves and tables for years... and I've never seen a report of damage to a surface. \"This seems like an issue that should have been caught during the period where HomePod was being widely tested at home by many Apple employees.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3197, "answer_start": 2012, "text": "The PS319 HomePod has been praised in reviews for the quality of the bass notes that it can produce. But to do so, it needs to be placed on a flat surface. \"Most others devices that I test have small feet that raise them off the counter ever so slightly to cause an air flow,\" commented Mr Miles. \"But the HomePod appears to need contact with the surface that it's on to resonate and create the powerful bass. \"I put it on a coaster to see if that would combat [leaving a mark] but that destroyed the bass qualities, so that's not a fix to the problem,\" he added. According to one furniture polish advice site, the most common causes of white marks on wooden furniture are heat and moisture. The BBC has asked Apple for more details about the issue. One blogger who closely follows the company was surprised by the development. \"Anyone who runs into this should be outraged,\" wrote Daring Fireball's John Gruber. \"Apple has been making products that go on shelves and tables for years... and I've never seen a report of damage to a surface. \"This seems like an issue that should have been caught during the period where HomePod was being widely tested at home by many Apple employees.\"" } ], "id": "437_0", "question": "Heat and moisture?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Facebook is finalising plans to launch its own crypto-currency next year. It is planning to set up a digital payments system in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020. The social media giant wants to start testing its crypto-currency, which has been referred to internally as GlobalCoin, by the end of this year. Facebook is expected to outline plans in more detail this summer, and has already spoken to Bank of England governor Mark Carney. Founder Mark Zuckerberg met Mr Carney last month to discuss the opportunities and risks involved in launching a crypto-currency. Facebook has also sought advice on operational and regulatory issues from officials at the US Treasury. The firm is also in talks with money transfer firms including Western Union as it looks for cheaper and faster ways for people without a bank account to send and receive money. Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs. Nicknamed Project Libra, Facebook's plans for a digital currency network were first reported last December. The project will see it join forces with banks and brokers that will enable people to change dollars and other international currencies into its digital coins. A small group of co-founders are expected to launch the Swiss-based association in the coming weeks. Facebook is also reportedly in talks with a number of online merchants to accept the currency as payment in return for lower transaction fees. Virtual currencies can be used to pay for things in the real world, such as a hotel room, food or even a house. Digital tokens are held in online wallets, and can be sent anonymously between users. Crypto-currencies run on blockchain technology. A blockchain is a ledger of blocks of information, such as transactions or agreements, that are stored across a network of computers. This information is stored chronologically, can be viewed by a community of users, and is not usually managed by a central authority such as a bank or a government. The concept was designed to ensure security and anonymity for users, by preventing tampering or hijacking of the network. Facebook has come under fire in recent years over its handling of users' personal data, and regulators are likely to examine the launch closely. Earlier this month, the US Senate and Banking committee wrote an open letter to Mr Zuckerberg questioning how the currency will work, what consumer protection will be offered and how data will be secured. Facebook has also discussed the process of identity checks and how to reduce money laundering risks with the US Treasury. It is believed that Facebook and its partners want to prevent wild swings in the coin's value by pegging it to a basket of established currencies, including the US dollar, euro and Japanese yen. It's not the first time Facebook has dabbled in digital currencies. A decade ago, it created Facebook Credits, a virtual currency that enabled people to purchase items in apps on the social networking site. However, Facebook ended the project after less than two years after it failed to gain traction. The company will also have to navigate a myriad of regulations in the countries it wants to launch in. India, a rumoured target for Facebook, has recently clamped down on digital currencies. However, the biggest test is likely to be whether people will trust the social networking giant enough to start changing their cash for the digital coin. Facebook is in the initial phase of engaging with governments, central banks and regulators, and insiders admit that launching any crypto currency network by the start of next year is ambitious. Facebook, Western Union and the Bank of England declined to comment. The biggest attraction of digital currencies to banks and big firms is the technology that underpins them. Blockchain technology can help to slash the time and cost of sending money across borders by bypassing banking networks. Lord King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, warned two decades ago that central banks could become \"irrelevant\" if people started to use digital currencies as pounds and pennies are used today. Blockchain expert David Gerard said that Facebook would gain access to valuable spending data by creating its own payment system. However, he questioned why the social media giant needed to mint its own crypto-currency to harvest that data. Instead, he said, Facebook could create a platform like PayPal, which allows users to transfer traditional currencies. Crypto-currencies are vulnerable to fluctuations in value, which Gerard said could create a barrier to the success of Facebook's so-called GlobalCoin. \"Normal people don't want to deal with a currency that's going up and down all the time,\" he explained. But Garrick Hileman, a researcher at London School of Economics, said the GlobalCoin project could be one of the most significant events in the short history of crypto-currencies. Conservatively, he estimated that around 30 million people use crypto-currencies today. That compares to Facebook's 2.4 billion monthly users.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1721, "answer_start": 867, "text": "Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs. Nicknamed Project Libra, Facebook's plans for a digital currency network were first reported last December. The project will see it join forces with banks and brokers that will enable people to change dollars and other international currencies into its digital coins. A small group of co-founders are expected to launch the Swiss-based association in the coming weeks. Facebook is also reportedly in talks with a number of online merchants to accept the currency as payment in return for lower transaction fees." } ], "id": "438_0", "question": "How will Facebook's crypto-currency work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2388, "answer_start": 1722, "text": "Virtual currencies can be used to pay for things in the real world, such as a hotel room, food or even a house. Digital tokens are held in online wallets, and can be sent anonymously between users. Crypto-currencies run on blockchain technology. A blockchain is a ledger of blocks of information, such as transactions or agreements, that are stored across a network of computers. This information is stored chronologically, can be viewed by a community of users, and is not usually managed by a central authority such as a bank or a government. The concept was designed to ensure security and anonymity for users, by preventing tampering or hijacking of the network." } ], "id": "438_1", "question": "What is a crypto-currency?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3055, "answer_start": 2389, "text": "Facebook has come under fire in recent years over its handling of users' personal data, and regulators are likely to examine the launch closely. Earlier this month, the US Senate and Banking committee wrote an open letter to Mr Zuckerberg questioning how the currency will work, what consumer protection will be offered and how data will be secured. Facebook has also discussed the process of identity checks and how to reduce money laundering risks with the US Treasury. It is believed that Facebook and its partners want to prevent wild swings in the coin's value by pegging it to a basket of established currencies, including the US dollar, euro and Japanese yen." } ], "id": "438_2", "question": "What are the concerns?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3968, "answer_start": 3056, "text": "It's not the first time Facebook has dabbled in digital currencies. A decade ago, it created Facebook Credits, a virtual currency that enabled people to purchase items in apps on the social networking site. However, Facebook ended the project after less than two years after it failed to gain traction. The company will also have to navigate a myriad of regulations in the countries it wants to launch in. India, a rumoured target for Facebook, has recently clamped down on digital currencies. However, the biggest test is likely to be whether people will trust the social networking giant enough to start changing their cash for the digital coin. Facebook is in the initial phase of engaging with governments, central banks and regulators, and insiders admit that launching any crypto currency network by the start of next year is ambitious. Facebook, Western Union and the Bank of England declined to comment." } ], "id": "438_3", "question": "Will it be second time lucky?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "New Zealand has launched a gun buy-back scheme in the wake of the deadly Christchurch mosque shootings. More than $208m New Zealand dollars (PS108m, $136m), have been set aside to compensate owners of semi-automatic weapons which were banned following the attacks. The ban was agreed by parliament in April, weeks after the shootings. In March, a gunman killed 51 people at a mosque and Islamic centre during Friday prayers. The scheme, which only applies to licensed guns, will last six months meaning people will have until 20 December to hand in their weapons. \"The buy-back has one objective - to remove the most dangerous weapons from circulation,\" Minister of Police Stuart Nash said. \"Police have detailed plans in place for the next step, which is the collection of firearms from the community. It will be a huge logistical exercise and is expected to get under way in mid-July.\" The new gun laws agreed in April ban military-style semi-automatic weapons and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms. The money set aside will compensate owners up to 95% of the original price of their weapons. Police estimate that around 14,300 military style semi-automatic weapons would be covered by the new legislation. So far, almost 700 weapons have already been handed in before the buy-back scheme was launched and around 5,000 have been registered by owners for the police to collect. On 15 March, Australian Brenton Tarrant, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, attacked the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch. He is charged with the murder of 51 people, 40 counts of attempted murder and one terrorism charge in New Zealand's deadliest peace time mass shooting. The gunman, armed with semi-automatic rifles, is believed to have modified his weapons with high-capacity magazines so they could hold more bullets. The suspect pleaded not guilty to all charges and is expected to face trial next year. In 2016, New Zealand Police estimated that there were 1.2 million legal firearms owned by civilians - that equates to around one for every four people.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1399, "answer_start": 425, "text": "The scheme, which only applies to licensed guns, will last six months meaning people will have until 20 December to hand in their weapons. \"The buy-back has one objective - to remove the most dangerous weapons from circulation,\" Minister of Police Stuart Nash said. \"Police have detailed plans in place for the next step, which is the collection of firearms from the community. It will be a huge logistical exercise and is expected to get under way in mid-July.\" The new gun laws agreed in April ban military-style semi-automatic weapons and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms. The money set aside will compensate owners up to 95% of the original price of their weapons. Police estimate that around 14,300 military style semi-automatic weapons would be covered by the new legislation. So far, almost 700 weapons have already been handed in before the buy-back scheme was launched and around 5,000 have been registered by owners for the police to collect." } ], "id": "439_0", "question": "How will the buy-back work?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The foreign exchange market is not easy to manipulate. But it is still possible for traders to change the value of a currency in order to make a profit. As it is a 24-hour market, it is not easy to see how much the market is worth on a given day. Institutions find it useful to take a snapshot of how much is being bought and sold. Until February, this happened every day in the 30 seconds before and after 16:00 in London and the result is known as the 4pm fix, or just the fix. Since these violations came to light, the window has been changed to five minutes to make it harder to manipulate. The fix is very important, as it is the peg on which many other financial markets depend. So how do you make currency prices change in the way you want? Traders can affect market prices by submitting a rush of orders during the window when the fix is set. This can skew the market's impression of supply and demand, so changing the price. This might be where traders obtain confidential information about something that is about to happen and could change prices. For example, some traders shared internal information about their clients' orders and trading positions. The traders could then place their own orders or sales in order to profit from the subsequent movement in prices. This can relate to the 4pm fix, with a trader placing a trade before 4pm because he knows something will happen at around 4pm. It is easier to move prices if several market participants work together. By agreeing to place orders at a certain time or sharing confidential information, it is possible to move prices more sharply. That could result in traders making more profits. Collusion can be \"active\", with traders speaking to each other on the phone or on internet chatrooms. It can also be \"implicit\", where traders don't need to speak to each other but are still aware of what other people in the market are planning to do. Last November, the UK's financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) gave some examples of how traders at banks calling themselves names such as \"the players\", \"the 3 musketeers\", \"1 team, 1 dream\" and \"the A-team\" attempted to manipulate foreign exchange markets. In one example, it said traders at HSBC had colluded with traders from at least three other firms to attempt to drive the fix for the sterling-dollar rate lower. It said traders had shared confidential information about client orders prior to the fix, and then used this information to attempt to manipulate the fix downwards. The sterling/dollar exchange rate fix fell from PS1.6044 to PS1.6009 in this particular example, making HSBC a $162,000 profit. Afterwards, traders congratulated themselves, saying: \"Loved that mate... worked lovely... pity we couldn't get it below the 00\", \"there you go.. go early, move it, hold it, push it\", \"nice works gents..I don my hat\" and \"Hooray nice teamwork\". In another example, the FCA said Citi traders had attempted to drive the euro/dollar fix upwards by sharing information on its buy orders with traders at other firms. Traders at these firms then transferred their buy orders to Citi, giving it more influence on the market Ultimately, the euro/dollar fix rose and Citi's profit for the trade reached $99,000. After the trade was completed, traders shared congratulatory messages such as \"lovely\", \"yeah worked ok\" and \"cn't teach that\". The price movements arising from the manipulation are so small that holidaymakers are unlikely to notice a big difference when buying foreign currency. The biggest losers are companies found guilty of manipulation. Even for big banks PS2bn is a lot of money. The regulators say that some of the banks' clients could have suffered from the market being skewed. That could affect the value of pension funds and investments. This kind of manipulation also further undermines trust in the financial system, which has been through a series of scandals.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3922, "answer_start": 3373, "text": "The price movements arising from the manipulation are so small that holidaymakers are unlikely to notice a big difference when buying foreign currency. The biggest losers are companies found guilty of manipulation. Even for big banks PS2bn is a lot of money. The regulators say that some of the banks' clients could have suffered from the market being skewed. That could affect the value of pension funds and investments. This kind of manipulation also further undermines trust in the financial system, which has been through a series of scandals." } ], "id": "440_0", "question": "Who gets hurt?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Victims of a tower block fire in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Thursday may have been trapped because emergency exits were locked, officials say. At least 25 people died and 70 others were injured in the blaze. Six of the victims are believed to have fallen to their deaths when they jumped from the burning high-rise building. Shajahan Shikdar, from Dhaka's fire department, told the BBC's Bengali Service that there was also a shortage of fire safety equipment inside. It is not yet clear what caused the fire in the commercial district of Banani. The government has ordered an investigation. The fire broke out at about 12:50 local time (06:50 GMT) on Thursday, quickly engulfing the high-rise property and trapping people inside. Many are believed to have been stuck on the upper floors of the building, above where the fire had started. \"The fire safety system of this building was not satisfactory,\" Mr Shikdar told BBC News. \"There was only a narrow, two-feet-wide iron staircase available as a fire escape, but it was found locked on different floors. So the people in this building were not able to use it during the fire.\" According to Bengali newspaper the Daily Star, it took 22 firefighting units, backed up by the army, navy and air force, to tackle the blaze. Military helicopters were seen dropping water on the building from above, and rescuing people from the rooftop. The fire was eventually brought under control at 16:45 local time (10:45 GMT), after almost four hours. Analysis by Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC South Asia Regional Editor The Bangladeshi capital is a city of high-rise commercial and residential buildings - but how many of these buildings strictly adhere to the government's building code is a big question. It is not uncommon to see emergency exits locked or unwanted office furniture and other junk dumped near fire doors. In some places, the fire exit stairs are so narrow that it will be difficult to navigate through them even under bright light. Some buildings do not carry out regular fire drills or organise awareness programmes for its occupants. In some buildings, steel ladders are used as fire exits and I have seen them particularly in some clothing factories outside Dhaka. In the latest incident, the fire service officials said, even those ladders were locked. Rescue teams also found that there were no water sprinklers inside the tall building. It is still not clear what caused the blaze. The government says a case will be filed against the owner of the building. But there will be questions on how such a commercial building without proper fire safety measures was allowed to operate all these years. Mostaq Ahmed, from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told local media on Friday that 25 victims had been recovered and identified, and that all but one had been handed over to their families. He added that officials from the fire service were still inspecting the building, and that the police would take over shortly afterwards. The fire service initially put the death toll at 19, but on Friday the police confirmed that at least six more people had been killed. Another 70 people are being treated in hospital, with one person said to be in a critical condition. Large fires are relatively common in Bangladesh, owing to lax safety regulations and poor building conditions. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years. Last month, a massive blaze in Dhaka's old quarter killed at least 78 people and injured dozens more. That same month, a fire in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong killed at least nine people. Dhaka, with a population of more than 18 million, is one of the world's most densely populated cities. Some 3.5 million of its people live in slums, according to the World Bank.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1493, "answer_start": 598, "text": "The fire broke out at about 12:50 local time (06:50 GMT) on Thursday, quickly engulfing the high-rise property and trapping people inside. Many are believed to have been stuck on the upper floors of the building, above where the fire had started. \"The fire safety system of this building was not satisfactory,\" Mr Shikdar told BBC News. \"There was only a narrow, two-feet-wide iron staircase available as a fire escape, but it was found locked on different floors. So the people in this building were not able to use it during the fire.\" According to Bengali newspaper the Daily Star, it took 22 firefighting units, backed up by the army, navy and air force, to tackle the blaze. Military helicopters were seen dropping water on the building from above, and rescuing people from the rooftop. The fire was eventually brought under control at 16:45 local time (10:45 GMT), after almost four hours." } ], "id": "441_0", "question": "What was the sequence of events?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3221, "answer_start": 2659, "text": "Mostaq Ahmed, from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told local media on Friday that 25 victims had been recovered and identified, and that all but one had been handed over to their families. He added that officials from the fire service were still inspecting the building, and that the police would take over shortly afterwards. The fire service initially put the death toll at 19, but on Friday the police confirmed that at least six more people had been killed. Another 70 people are being treated in hospital, with one person said to be in a critical condition." } ], "id": "441_1", "question": "What have officials said?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3762, "answer_start": 3222, "text": "Large fires are relatively common in Bangladesh, owing to lax safety regulations and poor building conditions. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years. Last month, a massive blaze in Dhaka's old quarter killed at least 78 people and injured dozens more. That same month, a fire in a slum in the coastal city of Chittagong killed at least nine people. Dhaka, with a population of more than 18 million, is one of the world's most densely populated cities. Some 3.5 million of its people live in slums, according to the World Bank." } ], "id": "441_2", "question": "How often does this happen?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "If last week is anything to go by, we can expect a lot of sound and fury over the next few days about Brexit debates within the cabinet, the government and the Conservative Party. Demands for the government to clarify its ambitions for the UK's long-term relationship with the EU continue to grow. And this raises the question of how long creative ambiguity for the purpose of negotiation (if that is what it is) can continue. Not much longer is a fair assumption - not least because in two months' time businesses will suddenly find themselves entering the financial year in which Brexit is due to happen. Plans need to be put in place. The EU has already emphasised on numerous occasions that until it has a clearer idea of the UK position (beyond the desire for a \"deep and special partnership\"), negotiations on the future can't really begin. But that doesn't mean there isn't plenty going on, and plenty to do, in the meantime. In that spirit, another round of negotiations is taking place in Brussels this week. To begin with, the agreement reached in December that \"sufficient progress\" had been made on a series of \"divorce\" issues still needs to be turned into a viable legal text - a withdrawal agreement that would have to be signed and ratified before the UK leaves the EU, on 29 March 2019. You'll remember the main issues involved: - the future status of the Irish border - a financial settlement or \"divorce bill\" - future rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens elsewhere in Europe The Irish border has emerged as the most difficult issue to resolve - a dilemma encapsulated in the argument surrounding \"the\", \"a\" or even \"an\" customs union. Staying in any kind of customs union would not in itself ensure that the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic would remain as invisible as it is at the moment. There's a good explanation of that here. But the future customs relationship has become a bit of a lightning rod for a host of other issues. The government says it wants a new bespoke customs arrangement, without providing a huge amount of detail about how it can be achieved. Some kind of deal on the Irish border needs to be done, though, before the withdrawal agreement can be finalised. At the same time, intensive negotiations on a transition period for up to two years after Brexit are about to begin. (Yes we know - just to confuse matters still further, the government prefers to call it an implementation period.) The EU's guidelines for the negotiations on transition stipulate that it will take place under all existing EU rules and regulations, although the UK will no longer have any say in making them. The UK will however be able to start negotiating (although not implementing) its own trade deals around the world. The government has broadly signed up to the terms of transition, but it wants a few exceptions built in to the system. That suggests that it may not be quite as easy as both sides hope to finalise the transition negotiations at a European summit in March. Once again, there is political pressure coming from all sides. Brexiteers fear that the transition will turn the UK into a \"vassal state\", while the government says it will give businesses more time to plan for the future. But what will the future actually look like? Negotiations on that haven't even begun yet: the other 27 EU countries are still considering their joint position while they wait for more clarity from London. Above all, they want to know more detail about the kind of trade relationship the UK hopes to have. Will it remain closely aligned with EU rules and regulations? Will it try to forge its own path? Or - as seems likely - will it try to negotiate a mixture of the two? The EU is already warning against \"cherry-picking\" the best bits. There are also a host of other areas in which the UK cooperates closely with the EU - security and policing, for example, and foreign policy - new relationships need to be negotiated there too. So \"plenty to do\" is perhaps putting it mildly - no wonder the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said on Monday there wasn't a minute to lose. Unravelling an intricate relationship that has developed over more than 40 years was never going to be easy. But difficult decisions can't be put off much longer. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3254, "answer_start": 2235, "text": "At the same time, intensive negotiations on a transition period for up to two years after Brexit are about to begin. (Yes we know - just to confuse matters still further, the government prefers to call it an implementation period.) The EU's guidelines for the negotiations on transition stipulate that it will take place under all existing EU rules and regulations, although the UK will no longer have any say in making them. The UK will however be able to start negotiating (although not implementing) its own trade deals around the world. The government has broadly signed up to the terms of transition, but it wants a few exceptions built in to the system. That suggests that it may not be quite as easy as both sides hope to finalise the transition negotiations at a European summit in March. Once again, there is political pressure coming from all sides. Brexiteers fear that the transition will turn the UK into a \"vassal state\", while the government says it will give businesses more time to plan for the future." } ], "id": "442_0", "question": "Transition or implementation?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "For seven years, Julian Assange took refuge in a small office that was converted into a bedroom in Ecuador's embassy in an upmarket neighbourhood of central London, where he lived with his cat, James. It had a bed, sun lamp, computer, kitchenette, shower and treadmill. During his time there, the 47-year-old Wikileaks co-founder welcomed guests including Lady Gaga and Pamela Anderson and, from a tiny balcony, addressed supporters and held news conferences. But, apparently, not everyone was happy. Relations between him and Ecuador's government worsened after President Lenin Moreno took office in 2017. This became evident last year when Assange was given a set of house rules, including paying for internet use, food and laundry, taking better care of his cat and keeping the bathroom clean. That fuelled speculation that Ecuador had finally had enough. On Thursday, President Moreno said Ecuador's patience had \"reached its limit\" with Assange's \"discourteous and aggressive behaviour\". Accusing him of \"repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols\", he announced on Twitter the abrupt end of Assange's diplomatic asylum. More details emerged later, when Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told Congress that Assange had been using a mobile phone not registered with the embassy, repeatedly insulted the mission's workers - reportedly calling them US spies - and damaged the facilities by riding his skateboard and playing football, despite being told not to do so. Cleaning staff, Mr Valencia said, had described \"improper hygienic conduct\" throughout Assange's stay, an issue that a lawyer had attributed to \"stomach problems\". One unnamed senior Ecuadorean official told AP news agency that other issues included \"weeks without a shower\" and a \"dental problem born of poor hygiene\". Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo then complained that Assange had been allowed to do things like \"put faeces on the walls of the embassy and other behaviours of that nature\". Vaughan Smith, a friend who visited Assange last week, told Reuters that he rejected this claim. \"Julian has been under stress but seemed in a balanced frame of mind every time I have seen him. It doesn't seem in character.\" Mr Valencia added that the decision was taken to prevent a further deterioration of Assange's health, without giving details. Quoting an unnamed friend, the New York Times said Assange had become deeply depressed and that diplomats - many of them recently appointed by the Moreno administration - were tired of his behaviour. President Moreno, who ordered Assange to cut back his online activity soon after taking office, also said Assange had \"violated the norm of not intervening in the internal affairs of other states\", most recently in January 2019 when Wikileaks released documents from the Vatican. He said that, and other cases, confirmed suspicions that Assange was still linked to Wikileaks. The president also accused Assange of having installed forbidden \"electronic and distortion equipment\" and of accessing the embassy's security files. There was also the suspicion that Wikileaks was linked to an anonymous website that said the president's brother had created an offshore company, and leaked material included private pictures of President Moreno and his family. Mr Moreno denies any wrongdoing. Mr Valencia added that, in January, Assange told Ecuador's ambassador he had installed panic buttons that he would activate if he considered his life to be in danger. It was not clear what he meant by that but British authorities who arrested him on Thursday were careful to prevent Assange from returning to his room during the operation, according to AP. The whistle-blower also allegedly played loud music - in at least one occasion this reportedly happened during office hours, disturbing staff who were working - and deliberately blocked the embassy's security cameras. Assange's stay at the embassy cost Ecuador some $6.5m (PS5m) from 2012 to 2018, Mr Valencia said. Assange's Ecuadorean citizenship was also suspended. The Australian national had been in the Ecuadorean embassy since 2012, after seeking asylum there to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation, which he has always denied. He was given protection by then President Rafael Correa, a strong advocate of Wikileaks. It is unclear what has happened to James. His own Instagram account has not offered any clues, with the last picture posted in 2017. Reports suggest he was given to a shelter by the Ecuadorean embassy some time ago while Italian newspaper La Repubblica said last year Assange had himself freed him.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4325, "answer_start": 4058, "text": "The Australian national had been in the Ecuadorean embassy since 2012, after seeking asylum there to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation, which he has always denied. He was given protection by then President Rafael Correa, a strong advocate of Wikileaks." } ], "id": "443_0", "question": "Why did Assange end up at the embassy?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4624, "answer_start": 4326, "text": "It is unclear what has happened to James. His own Instagram account has not offered any clues, with the last picture posted in 2017. Reports suggest he was given to a shelter by the Ecuadorean embassy some time ago while Italian newspaper La Repubblica said last year Assange had himself freed him." } ], "id": "443_1", "question": "What about his cat?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Should Germany become a major military power? And will it happen? With Vladimir Putin destabilising the east, Middle Eastern and Asian conflicts spurring new migration into Europe, and Donald Trump questioning US commitment to NATO, Germany has good reason to feel insecure. Chancellor Merkel told Germans in May that \"we must fight for our future ourselves as Europeans\". German troops have been deployed in locations ranging from Lithuania to Afghanistan and Mali. And Merkel has promised to raise German defence spending. But Germany and its Chancellor face a fundamental problem. Most Germans are very reluctant to go down this road. They regard their own army with suspicion - an attitude reinforced by a recent scandal involving the Bundeswehr. Foreign deployments are tightly restricted by German law and parliament. Above all, attitudes are shaped by the shadow of history. So successful have outsiders been in demilitarising Germany - so sensitive are Germans about their warlike past - that today's greatest European power is likely to remain a battlefield weakling. After World War Two, there was much debate about whether Germany should have any armed forces. An end had to be made, it was argued, to a cycle which began with Prussian militarism and ended in Nazi war crimes. While communist-ruled East Germany did create a People's Army following German military traditions, in democratic West Germany - occupied by Britain, France and the US - a very different armed services emerged. The Bundeswehr, born in the mid 1950s, was a deliberately modest force, meant only to defend West German territory, not fight abroad. Its recruits were taught to think of themselves as \"citizens in uniform\". Indeed the uniform itself, says historian James Sheehan, \"really does resemble [that of] bus drivers rather than the old guards' regiments\". Modern Germany, says Sheehan, \"thinks of its military very much the way most states think of their police force\". What he calls a \"persistent distrust of military institutions,\" he adds, \"continues to be strong, and in some ways has become stronger\". Underlying all this is the enduring memory of the horrors of World War Two - not only the shame of Nazi crimes but also the devastation inflicted on civilians. Werner Kraetschell, a Protestant pastor from an old Prussian family who became a military chaplain, speaks of many thousands of Germans growing up after the war \"without fathers\". That still prompts what he calls the \"inner reactions\" of Germans when it comes to military affairs. For a long time, says military expert Sophia Besch from the Centre for European Reform: \"If you were a soldier [in Germany] you could not really ride a train in your uniform. You'd be approached by passengers calling you a 'murderer'.\" When the Cold War ended and Germany reunified, its people believed peace was now more or less permanent. But Christian Democrat politician and former defence minister Franz Josef Jung says \"reality has caught up with us\". Yet he concedes that \"our population has had an attitude shaped more by pacifism\". \"We have to make clear,\" he argues, the need for new policies to \"overcome internal and external security challenges\". Since reunification Germany has begun to deploy troops abroad for the first time. But the sensitivities are acute. In 2009 there were allegations of a cover up following a military strike in Afghanistan involving German forces that caused civilian deaths. Dr Jung was forced to resign as a minister. Parliamentary supervision of any deployment is intense - with the Green party among the most critical. Doris Wagner, Green MP and security specialist, says she wants to keep the idea of Germans being \"more restrained in military action\". Meanwhile the old idea of a citizens' army has struggled to survive. Germany has abolished conscription and is concentrating, like other modern armies, on smaller specialist forces. And old angst about the military revived last month when a scandal exposed far right infiltration of the Bundeswehr - including an alleged terror plot to murder asylum seekers and celebration of Nazi-era traditions. Some said the problem was exaggerated in a fevered atmosphere. But it shows, says Sophia Besch, \"that there's still a really tortured relationship between the Bundeswehr and the German public\". There is now real urgency in the German debate about its military future. Donald Trump's claims that NATO is \"obsolete\" and his broader questioning of collective security has been a \"big surprise\" to Germans says Bethold Kohler, an editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. \"Nobody could imagine a US president would say such a thing.\" Kohler did his bit to prompt a radical rethink, arguing in his prestigious newspaper for Germany to consider acquiring its own nuclear weapons. But such ideas remain, he believes, more or less \"unthinkable and unsayable\" for most Germans. While some are opposed to nuclear weapons in principle, many others spent decades living comfortably under the US and Nato nuclear shield. \"No-one expected that we would have to think about it,\" he says. And few in Germany want to now. Germany currently spends only around 1.2% of GDP on defence. \"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military,\" tweeted President Trump recently. '\"Very bad for U.S. This will change.\" Germany will resist Trump's calls for huge extra spending, but underfunding has been at times highly embarrassing, such as the revelation that during a Nato exercise in 2014 Bundeswehr tank commanders covered up their lack of machine guns by using broomsticks painted black. So how far will Berlin go? Werner Kraetschell, who knows Angela Merkel and her thinking well, says she wants a \"strong German army able to take international responsibility\". But her difficulty is that \"the German people are against the army\". Perhaps the Germans will continue a unique historical experiment, trying to become a growing international power without significant military effort. For the past still weighs heavily. Whatever happens, there'll be no brash marching into action abroad. Instead, Germany's military will tiptoe warily into a highly uncertain future. Analysis: Germany - Anxious Giant is on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 12 June at 20:30 BST. You can listen online or download the programme podcast.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6388, "answer_start": 5155, "text": "Germany currently spends only around 1.2% of GDP on defence. \"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military,\" tweeted President Trump recently. '\"Very bad for U.S. This will change.\" Germany will resist Trump's calls for huge extra spending, but underfunding has been at times highly embarrassing, such as the revelation that during a Nato exercise in 2014 Bundeswehr tank commanders covered up their lack of machine guns by using broomsticks painted black. So how far will Berlin go? Werner Kraetschell, who knows Angela Merkel and her thinking well, says she wants a \"strong German army able to take international responsibility\". But her difficulty is that \"the German people are against the army\". Perhaps the Germans will continue a unique historical experiment, trying to become a growing international power without significant military effort. For the past still weighs heavily. Whatever happens, there'll be no brash marching into action abroad. Instead, Germany's military will tiptoe warily into a highly uncertain future. Analysis: Germany - Anxious Giant is on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 12 June at 20:30 BST. You can listen online or download the programme podcast." } ], "id": "444_0", "question": "Unique historical experiment?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Adrian Edmondson's latest stage role sees the former Young Ones star in the grip of a mid-life crisis. Bits of Me Are Falling Apart is a new play based on William Leith's 2008 bestselling memoir about a man who is sleeping on an old mattress in his office after the collapse of his relationship. Co-written by Edmondson and Steve Marmion (who also directs), the one-man show opened at London's Soho Theatre this week. Edmondson is best known for his roles in anarchic TV sitcoms The Young Ones and Bottom, the latter of which he co-wrote with his comedy partner Rik Mayall, who died in 2014. He is no stranger to the Soho district, having been part of the alternative comedy circuit that flourished there in the early 1980s at the Comedy Store and the Comic Strip Club. By coincidence, Edmondson's daughter Beattie - the second of his three daughters with Ab Fab star Jennifer Saunders - will be performing in her own comedy show at the Soho Theatre at the same time as her father. Speaking to the BBC on opening night, Edmondson talks about adapting Leith's book, the future of his folk/punk band, The Bad Shepherds, and addresses the rumours about him being cast in the next Star Wars film. It seemed to fit what we're all thinking about, and it seemed to do it in a very witty and cogent way. William's tangents are very QI-like - you suddenly get a riff about the Normandy beaches being like your immune system. It all made sense to me. It was all written in the first person so his language was ripe for speaking. I read it about five years ago and I immediately thought it was ripe for performance. I sent it off to one producer and heard nothing back. And then I met William - I thought I'd better get the rights to it - and he seemed very up for it. I kept trying to write it myself and I couldn't get it to work and then someone suggested I work with Steve Marmion [the artistic director at Soho Theatre]. A lot like William. Sometimes it seems perfectly fine, sometime its feels painful. I guess we're all heading that way. It feels like being home. When we were in Soho in the 80s and 90s, this theatre used to be a synagogue. People say areas mustn't change - there's a big campaign at the moment on Soho being gentrified. Areas do change, otherwise they become museums. I think that project's had its day. Our agent started booking stuff for this summer and I started thinking, 'I just don't want to do it.' I love the band, there's nothing I'm embarrassed about, but I do feel we've done it, and we'd be just be doing it again. It is with some sadness [that we're breaking up], but I plan to do something else musical. I think it was a brilliant idea and I want it to remain as a brilliant thing that happened - like The Young Ones, we only made 12 episodes of that. I wouldn't know if I am or not. I can tell you I've signed a great big non-disclosure agreement for something - I've no idea what it was! [Laughs a lot]. Bits of Me Are Falling Apart runs at the Soho Theatre until 3 December. Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2284, "answer_start": 2034, "text": "It feels like being home. When we were in Soho in the 80s and 90s, this theatre used to be a synagogue. People say areas mustn't change - there's a big campaign at the moment on Soho being gentrified. Areas do change, otherwise they become museums." } ], "id": "445_0", "question": "What's it like performing back in Soho where you first started out?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2783, "answer_start": 2285, "text": "I think that project's had its day. Our agent started booking stuff for this summer and I started thinking, 'I just don't want to do it.' I love the band, there's nothing I'm embarrassed about, but I do feel we've done it, and we'd be just be doing it again. It is with some sadness [that we're breaking up], but I plan to do something else musical. I think it was a brilliant idea and I want it to remain as a brilliant thing that happened - like The Young Ones, we only made 12 episodes of that." } ], "id": "445_1", "question": "What's the future for your band The Bad Shepherds?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3143, "answer_start": 2784, "text": "I wouldn't know if I am or not. I can tell you I've signed a great big non-disclosure agreement for something - I've no idea what it was! [Laughs a lot]. Bits of Me Are Falling Apart runs at the Soho Theatre until 3 December. Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram at bbcnewsents, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk." } ], "id": "445_2", "question": "Is it true that you are going to be in Star Wars Episode VIII?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones and one-time chief executive Rebekah Brooks was cleared in what became known as the phone-hacking trial. Four other defendants were cleared along with Ms Brooks. Allegations that News International journalists were involved in hacking people's phones for information led to the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in 2011 and a trial costing reportedly up to PS100m. The scandal went to the heart of Downing Street. Among those in the dock at London's Old Bailey for the eight-month trial were a close family friend of the prime minister and Coulson, David Cameron's official spokesman. It was some nine years ago that the News of the World published a story about Prince William's treatment for an injury, based on information that it could only have come by because one of its journalists had listened to the prince's voicemails. The ensuing police investigation, which uncovered \"a vast number\" of other victims, would begin the saga that led to the conviction of Coulson, the closure of a newspaper bought by millions every week and moves to change the way newspapers are regulated. Phone hacking was a technique used to listen to people's mobile voicemail. Reporters and a private investigator working for the News of the World used it to target people in the news - celebrities, politicians and crime victims - so they could find angles on stories that would get them ahead of the competition. They would listen to private messages left on voicemail, make a recording of them, and use the information to help write stories. The News of the World was closed down in 2011 after its owners, Rupert Murdoch's News International, admitted the scale of hacking that had been going on, dating back many years. The company had battled against growing allegations for two years - one of its private investigators and the News of the World's royal editor were jailed in 2007 over a story gleaned from hacking. The paper's original position - that rogue staff had acted alone - could not stand. Eventually Rupert Murdoch decided he had no choice but to close the newspaper down after it emerged Milly Dowler, a teenager who was abducted and murdered, had her voicemails hacked. The Crown Prosecution Service charged two former editors - Rebekah Brooks and her successor Andy Coulson with conspiracy to intercept mobile voicemails alongside others connected to the newspaper. Alongside Rebekah Brooks and Coulson was former managing editor Stuart Kuttner. Five others had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hack phones before the trial began: private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, news editors James Weatherup and Greg Miskiw and reporters Neville Thurlbeck and Dan Evans. Mulcaire performed thousands of hacks for the newspaper under the instruction of news editors. The newspaper's former royal editor Clive Goodman was also charged with illegal payments to public officials - as was Rebekah Brooks and Coulson. Brooks' husband Charlie Brooks, her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter and News International's head of security Mark Hanna were accused of a conspiracy to hide material from the police. Mrs Brooks, Charlie Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Mr Kuttner and Mr Hanna were cleared of all charges against them. The jury was discharged after failing to reach verdicts on charges that Coulson and Goodman conspired to commit misconduct in a public office by paying police officers for two royal directories. Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman were jailed seven years ago after pleading guilty to intercepting voicemails - but that first trial only concerned a small number of cases. Police did not go through all the evidence seized from Mulcaire. Two years later it emerged that News International had agreed a series of confidential out-of-court settlements which had prevented more allegations being aired. Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire would be \"tasked\" to target a particular mobile phone number to acquire voicemails and report back to the news desk. Mulcaire kept detailed notes of each operation that he carried out, including the target and who had commissioned him. At one point he was being paid PS100,000 a year. Prosecutors sought to prove that Rebekah Brooks and Coulson were part of this conspiracy because they must have known how stories were being acquired and who was being paid. Rebekah Brooks was acquitted of all charges.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1195, "answer_start": 253, "text": "Allegations that News International journalists were involved in hacking people's phones for information led to the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in 2011 and a trial costing reportedly up to PS100m. The scandal went to the heart of Downing Street. Among those in the dock at London's Old Bailey for the eight-month trial were a close family friend of the prime minister and Coulson, David Cameron's official spokesman. It was some nine years ago that the News of the World published a story about Prince William's treatment for an injury, based on information that it could only have come by because one of its journalists had listened to the prince's voicemails. The ensuing police investigation, which uncovered \"a vast number\" of other victims, would begin the saga that led to the conviction of Coulson, the closure of a newspaper bought by millions every week and moves to change the way newspapers are regulated." } ], "id": "446_0", "question": "What was the hacking trial?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Five of the largest banks in the UK paid no corporation tax in 2014, despite making billions of pounds in profits, analysis by Reuters has shown. JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings and Morgan Stanley paid no corporation tax at all, the news agency said. The banks offset past losses against their taxable income for 2013-14. The banks have so far declined to comment, but their tax returns say they complied with UK tax rules. The research into the financial reports found that seven banks, which also included Goldman Sachs and UBS, used tax benefits as well as losses generated during the banking crisis to reduce their corporation tax bills. The seven banks paid a combined PS20m in corporation tax in 2014, even though they had profits of PS3.6bn on revenues of PS21bn, the news agency said. The banks employed 33,000 staff. But the financial reports noted that the banks followed all UK tax rules, and that tax payments can be volatile and may reflect profits and losses from previous years. Laura Lambie of the investment management firm Investec told the BBC that there were a number of reasons why the banks paid little or no corporation tax. \"Certainly in the case of Deutsche there are questions as to why it's not paying UK tax. Some of the other banks, it's because they have big losses carried forward from previous years,\" she said. She added that there was \"a kind of moral issue there\" for the banks, although she acknowledged that bank staff do pay large amounts of UK income tax. She said that fines for foreign exchange or Libor rigging, or consumer product mis-selling, have seen many banks still produce high levels of revenue for the UK authorities. The ability of big banks to offset current profits against previous losses was reduced by the government in the 2014 Autumn Statement. In December 2014, Chancellor George Osborne said that the \"amount of profit in established banks that can be offset by losses carried forward\" would be limited to 50% of their profits in the 2015-16 tax year. But banks were given better news in the 2015 Budget when Mr Osborne said corporation tax was to be cut to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020. The ability of a company to cut its corporation tax bill, by offsetting past losses against current profits, is a long ingrained feature of the UK tax system. It existed even before the current system of corporation tax was invented in 1965, replacing the previous system whereby companies paid income tax and also a separate profits tax. Unlike some countries, the UK does not have a time limit restricting how long a company can hang on to past losses before using them. But UK-based banks are not having it all their own way. From January 2016 banks will have to pay an 8% surcharge on their profits. That is being introduced as an alternative to the Bank Levy on bank balance sheets - first introduced by George Osborne in January 2011 - which is now being cut back over the next six years. A Treasury spokesman said: \"We're creating a tax regime for the banking sector that is sustainable and fair, while maintaining the competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre and supporting lending to the wider economy.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2188, "answer_start": 1035, "text": "Laura Lambie of the investment management firm Investec told the BBC that there were a number of reasons why the banks paid little or no corporation tax. \"Certainly in the case of Deutsche there are questions as to why it's not paying UK tax. Some of the other banks, it's because they have big losses carried forward from previous years,\" she said. She added that there was \"a kind of moral issue there\" for the banks, although she acknowledged that bank staff do pay large amounts of UK income tax. She said that fines for foreign exchange or Libor rigging, or consumer product mis-selling, have seen many banks still produce high levels of revenue for the UK authorities. The ability of big banks to offset current profits against previous losses was reduced by the government in the 2014 Autumn Statement. In December 2014, Chancellor George Osborne said that the \"amount of profit in established banks that can be offset by losses carried forward\" would be limited to 50% of their profits in the 2015-16 tax year. But banks were given better news in the 2015 Budget when Mr Osborne said corporation tax was to be cut to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020." } ], "id": "447_0", "question": "Moral issue?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The outgoing UN human rights chief says Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi should have resigned over the military's violent campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority last year. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein told the BBC the Nobel Peace prize winner should have considered returning to house arrest rather than excusing the military. A new UN report says Myanmar's military should be investigated for genocide. Myanmar has rejected the report as one-sided. The army of the Buddhist-majority nation - which has been accused of systematic ethnic cleansing - has previously cleared itself of wrongdoing. The UN report, published on Monday, blamed Ms Suu Kyi, a long-term leader of the pro-democracy movement, for failing to prevent the violence. \"She was in a position to do something,\" Mr Hussein said in an interview with the BBC's Imogen Foulkes. \"She could have stayed quiet - or even better, she could have resigned.\" \"There was no need for her to be the spokesperson of the Burmese military. She didn't have to say this was an iceberg of misinformation. These were fabrications,\" he said. \"She could have said look, you know, I am prepared to be the nominal leader of the country but not under these conditions. \"Thank you very much, I will resign, I will go back into house arrest - I cannot be an adjunct accessory that others may think I am when it comes to these violations.\" Between 1989 and 2010, Ms Suu Kyi, 73, spent about 16 years under house arrest by the military government. On Wednesday, the Nobel committee said Ms Suu Kyi could not be stripped of the Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991. While it is acknowledged that Ms Suu Kyi does not control the military, she has faced international pressure to condemn the army's alleged brutality. For decades, she was hailed as the heroine of the human rights community - most notably for enduring house arrest for her pro-democracy activism during a brutal military dictatorship. When communal violence broke out in 2012 and displaced more than 100,000 Rohingya people, Ms Suu Kyi sought to reassure the international community and pledged to \"abide by our commitment to human rights and democratic values\". \"Muslims have been targeted but Buddhists have also been subjected to violence,\" she told the BBC at the time. \"This fear is what is leading all the trouble.\" She said that it was down to the government to bring an end to the violence, explaining: \"This is the result of our suffering under a dictatorial regime.\" In 2015, her National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory and she became Myanmar's de-facto leader. As the Rohingya crisis continued, Ms Suu Kyi's comments on the situation tended to play it down or suggest that people were exaggerating the severity of the violence. The last time she spoke to the BBC in April 2017, she said: \"I don't think there is ethnic cleansing going on. I think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening.\" Since an outbreak of violence started in August 2017, Ms Suu Kyi has missed several opportunities to speak publicly about the issue, including the UN General Assembly in New York last September. She later claimed the crisis was being distorted by a \"huge iceberg of misinformation\" - but then also said she felt \"deeply\" for the suffering of \"all people\" in the conflict. Myanmar, she said, was \"committed to a sustainable solution... for all communities in this state.\" Imogen Foulkes, BBC Geneva correspondent Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein is known for his bluntness and his comments on Aung San Suu Kyi were no exception. He bitterly criticised her attempts to excuse Myanmar's military. This week, UN investigators published evidence linking senior commanders to act of genocide. His harsh words are another indication that Aung San Suu Kyi may now go down in history not as a Nobel Peace prize winner and pro-democracy leader, but as a woman who failed to act in the face of unspeakable human rights violations. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship and considered illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh despite calling the Rakhine state home for generations. The military launched a crackdown in Rakhine last year after Rohingya militants carried out deadly attacks on police posts. Thousands of people have died and more than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017. There have also been widespread allegations of human rights abuses against the Rohingya, including arbitrary killing, rape and burning of land over many years.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3441, "answer_start": 1609, "text": "While it is acknowledged that Ms Suu Kyi does not control the military, she has faced international pressure to condemn the army's alleged brutality. For decades, she was hailed as the heroine of the human rights community - most notably for enduring house arrest for her pro-democracy activism during a brutal military dictatorship. When communal violence broke out in 2012 and displaced more than 100,000 Rohingya people, Ms Suu Kyi sought to reassure the international community and pledged to \"abide by our commitment to human rights and democratic values\". \"Muslims have been targeted but Buddhists have also been subjected to violence,\" she told the BBC at the time. \"This fear is what is leading all the trouble.\" She said that it was down to the government to bring an end to the violence, explaining: \"This is the result of our suffering under a dictatorial regime.\" In 2015, her National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory and she became Myanmar's de-facto leader. As the Rohingya crisis continued, Ms Suu Kyi's comments on the situation tended to play it down or suggest that people were exaggerating the severity of the violence. The last time she spoke to the BBC in April 2017, she said: \"I don't think there is ethnic cleansing going on. I think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening.\" Since an outbreak of violence started in August 2017, Ms Suu Kyi has missed several opportunities to speak publicly about the issue, including the UN General Assembly in New York last September. She later claimed the crisis was being distorted by a \"huge iceberg of misinformation\" - but then also said she felt \"deeply\" for the suffering of \"all people\" in the conflict. Myanmar, she said, was \"committed to a sustainable solution... for all communities in this state.\"" } ], "id": "448_0", "question": "What has Aung Sun Suu Kyi said?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4567, "answer_start": 3980, "text": "The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship and considered illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh despite calling the Rakhine state home for generations. The military launched a crackdown in Rakhine last year after Rohingya militants carried out deadly attacks on police posts. Thousands of people have died and more than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017. There have also been widespread allegations of human rights abuses against the Rohingya, including arbitrary killing, rape and burning of land over many years." } ], "id": "448_1", "question": "What is the Rohingya crisis?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "South Korea and the US have this week launched the world's first commercial 5G services, promising a new wave of capabilities for smartphone users. Samsung said its Galaxy S10 5G device will offer speeds up to 20 times faster than current phones as it began selling the handsets on Friday. Countries are racing to build 5G networks that will be crucial for future tech such as driverless cars. Nations are also working to resolve security concerns tied to the networks. 5G is the fifth-generation of mobile internet connectivity. Users will get more data faster, with less delay. It also promises wider coverage and more stable connections. Ed Barton, chief television and entertainment analyst at Ovum, said the shift from today's 4G networks to 5G will be significant. He said first-generation or 1G networks enabled voice, 2G brought text, 3G static images or photos, and 4G enabled video. \"We're expecting the leap from 4G to 5G to be a much greater leap than ever before.\" Part of the \"leap\" will come from the ability to move much greater volumes of data across networks. 5G will mean more devices can be connected to the network at better speeds. Nikhil Batra, senior research manager at technology consultancy IDC Asia Pacific, said speeds will be 10 times faster than what is possible with 4G. Samsung said its 5G device will be up to 20 times faster. Initially, 5G will bring higher-quality streaming and the ability to livestream to bigger audiences - a better experience for people watching live sports or cloud gaming. Ovum's Mr Barton said down the track it will enable more augmented reality capabilities, such as better mapping apps and shopping experiences. 5G will be crucial for driverless cars. The scope of possibilities is vast, from remote surgery to holographic video calls. Mr Barton said we don't yet know what the \"killer apps and use cases will be\". \"It's a bit like no one predicted that ubiquitous smartphones with payments and location awareness would give rise to Uber,\" he said. The technology is being piloted in trials all over the world but commercial applications are just becoming available. South Korea's top three mobile carriers launched 5G services this week, while US telco Verizon also launched 5G services in parts of two cities this week. DJ Koh, president of IT & mobile communications at Samsung Electronics said it has begun \"a new era where the incredible speed and connectivity of 5G becomes a reality\". Frost & Sullivan telecoms analyst Quah Mei Lee says South Korea and Japan have been leaders in 5G development. She said South Korea has always been strong in consumer applications but there's \"more than it can do\" in 5G. \"We will see more applications coming to the market over the next three-to-six months.\" Much discussion about 5G infrastructure has centred around possible security risks, namely the participation of China's Huawei. Huawei, the world's largest maker of telecoms equipment, has faced resistance from foreign governments over the risk that its technology could be used for espionage. The US, Australia and New Zealand have all blocked local firms from using Huawei gear in 5G networks. In principle, controlling the technology that sits at the heart of vital communications networks gives an operator like Huawei the capacity to conduct espionage or disrupt communications. This becomes a bigger problem as more things - from autonomous vehicles to domestic appliances - become connected to the internet. The US argues Huawei could use malicious software updates to spy on those using 5G, pointing to a Chinese law that says organisations must \"support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work\". Additionally, IDC's Mr Batra said one of the fundamental differences between 4G and 5G networks is the ability for remote control which raises \"potential security concerns\". Mr Batra said with 4G, software and hardware were very tightly coupled. In 5G networks, hardware is separated from the software. \"That allows for remote control... of the network assets. All of these things can be managed virtually, and that makes it challenging in terms of security.\" Still, he said authorities around the world are working with operators to address these concerns and \"we haven't really seen any hard proof in terms of what is the issue\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2011, "answer_start": 1361, "text": "Initially, 5G will bring higher-quality streaming and the ability to livestream to bigger audiences - a better experience for people watching live sports or cloud gaming. Ovum's Mr Barton said down the track it will enable more augmented reality capabilities, such as better mapping apps and shopping experiences. 5G will be crucial for driverless cars. The scope of possibilities is vast, from remote surgery to holographic video calls. Mr Barton said we don't yet know what the \"killer apps and use cases will be\". \"It's a bit like no one predicted that ubiquitous smartphones with payments and location awareness would give rise to Uber,\" he said." } ], "id": "449_0", "question": "What will 5G enable?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "It's the dress you've probably seen everywhere this summer - maybe even several times a day. In fact, a white and black polka dot dress has become such a phenomenon over the last couple of months that an Instagram page has been set up dedicated to sightings of it. But it seems the design has now got a bit too popular for some. Owners of the dress have started going to great lengths to disguise the fact they're wearing the same outfit as everyone else. From cutting it into different styles, to adding alternative accessories or wearing it back-to-front, people are now even dyeing it to make it unrecognisable. It's all about versatility. \"The dress caters for all types of bodies,\" according to Prof Carolyn Mair, who is the author of The Psychology of Fashion. \"If you're into modest fashion you can wear it loose but it's versatile enough so you can wear a belt with it, you can change your shoes or jewellery to really adapt how the dress looks.\" But that versatility has a drawback. \"I was really fed up of wearing a dress that when I went out, I saw someone else in it,\" says Olivia Jackson - who runs her own fashion blog Clothes My Boyfriend Hates. \"I decided because I still loved the dress, I love the shape of it, I was going to dye it a different colour.\" Her white and black dress is now a pink number. But she's not the only one deciding to customise. A quick browse on social media shows others have dyed theirs bright yellow or dark grey. Stylist Faye Oakenfull, 28, set up Instagram account @Hot4theSpot dedicated to sightings of the Zara dress about a month ago because she kept seeing it everywhere. Over 13,000 people already follow the page and now dresses in different colours are cropping up on her grid. \"People are wearing it backwards as well. I've seen people cut the sleeves off. Someone sent me it, they'd cut it into a mini-dress,\" says Faye. Faye explains the reason for the rise in those customising it as people wanting to \"make it their own\". Olivia has also seen other people following suit by changing the colours of the dress: \"A lot of people have been messaging me saying they've been doing the same thing. \"I think the first one I saw was someone who dyed it khaki green. I've since seen bright purple, lilac, another pink one like mine, yellow, grey - there have been quite a few grey - so quite a few have dyed it.\" Prof Carolyn Mair explains people are now tweaking the popular dress because they're wanting to follow fashion but still show they're unique. \"Fashion has a dilemma which on one hand we want to fit in, so this is why we follow fashion, but on the other hand we want to stand out,\" she explains to Newsbeat. \"They can show their own unique style and sense of fashion by adapting it.\" And Olivia points out adapting the dress may be due to environmental issues. \"People are becoming more conscious of fast fashion and not throwing away their clothes. They're trying to do their best to recycle their wardrobe,\" she says. Although she's hoping the trend to customise the dress won't take off quite as well as buying it in the first place, because the whole point was to make it unique again. \"I customised mine so I wouldn't see people wearing the same dress as me but I reckon people will,\" she says. \"It's so easy to do. If they've already got the dress they might want to make sure they're able to wear it without seeing other people in it.\" Faye also thinks we're about to see a lot more of this dress with a variety of takes on it as we approach different seasons: \"I really like darker ones, someone dyed theirs a dark grey the other day and there's been an olive-y green. \"So it seems like the dress is probably going to stick around.\" Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 954, "answer_start": 615, "text": "It's all about versatility. \"The dress caters for all types of bodies,\" according to Prof Carolyn Mair, who is the author of The Psychology of Fashion. \"If you're into modest fashion you can wear it loose but it's versatile enough so you can wear a belt with it, you can change your shoes or jewellery to really adapt how the dress looks.\"" } ], "id": "450_0", "question": "So why has this dress become so popular?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Facebook says almost 50 million of its users were left exposed by a security flaw. The company said attackers were able to exploit a vulnerability in a feature known as \"View As\" to gain control of people's accounts. The breach was discovered on Tuesday, Facebook said, and it has informed police. Users that had potentially been affected were prompted to re-log-in on Friday. The flaw has been fixed, wrote the firm's vice-president of product management, Guy Rosen, adding all affected accounts had been reset, as well as another 40 million \"as a precautionary step\". Facebook - which saw its share price drop more than 3% on Friday - has more than two billion active monthly users. The company has confirmed to reporters that the breach would allow hackers to log in to other accounts that use Facebook's system, of which there are many. This means other major sites, such as AirBnB and Tinder, may also be affected. The firm would not say where in the world the 50 million users are, but it has informed Irish data regulators, where Facebook's European subsidiary is based. The company said the users prompted to log-in again did not have to change their passwords. \"Since we've only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed. We also don't know who's behind these attacks or where they're based. \" He added: \"People's privacy and security is incredibly important, and we're sorry this happened.\" The company has confirmed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and its chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg were among the 50 million accounts affected. Facebook's \"View As\" function is a privacy feature that allows people to see what their own profile looks to other users, making it clear what information is viewable to their friends, friends of friends, or the public. Attackers found multiple bugs in this feature that \"allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens, which they could then use to take over people's accounts\", Mr Rosen explained. \"Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don't need to re-enter their password every time they use the app,\" he added. The breach comes at a time when the firm is struggling to convince lawmakers in the US and beyond, that it is capable of protecting user data. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call on Friday that the firm took security seriously, in the face of what he said were constant attacks by bad actors. But Jeff Pollard, vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester, said the fact Facebook held so much data meant it should be prepared for such attacks. \"Attackers go where the data is, and that has made Facebook an obvious target,\" he said. \"The main concern here is that one feature of the platform allowed attackers to harvest the data of tens of millions of users. \"This indicates that Facebook needs to make limiting access to data a priority for users, APIs, and features.\" When asked by the BBC, Facebook was unable to say if the investigation would look into why the bugs were missed, or if anyone at the company would be held accountable for the breach.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1636, "answer_start": 920, "text": "The firm would not say where in the world the 50 million users are, but it has informed Irish data regulators, where Facebook's European subsidiary is based. The company said the users prompted to log-in again did not have to change their passwords. \"Since we've only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed. We also don't know who's behind these attacks or where they're based. \" He added: \"People's privacy and security is incredibly important, and we're sorry this happened.\" The company has confirmed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and its chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg were among the 50 million accounts affected." } ], "id": "451_0", "question": "Who has been affected?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2208, "answer_start": 1637, "text": "Facebook's \"View As\" function is a privacy feature that allows people to see what their own profile looks to other users, making it clear what information is viewable to their friends, friends of friends, or the public. Attackers found multiple bugs in this feature that \"allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens, which they could then use to take over people's accounts\", Mr Rosen explained. \"Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don't need to re-enter their password every time they use the app,\" he added." } ], "id": "451_1", "question": "What is 'View As'?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3191, "answer_start": 2209, "text": "The breach comes at a time when the firm is struggling to convince lawmakers in the US and beyond, that it is capable of protecting user data. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call on Friday that the firm took security seriously, in the face of what he said were constant attacks by bad actors. But Jeff Pollard, vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester, said the fact Facebook held so much data meant it should be prepared for such attacks. \"Attackers go where the data is, and that has made Facebook an obvious target,\" he said. \"The main concern here is that one feature of the platform allowed attackers to harvest the data of tens of millions of users. \"This indicates that Facebook needs to make limiting access to data a priority for users, APIs, and features.\" When asked by the BBC, Facebook was unable to say if the investigation would look into why the bugs were missed, or if anyone at the company would be held accountable for the breach." } ], "id": "451_2", "question": "What does this mean for Facebook?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "In normal times, in a normal country, court proceedings over mortgage arrears would not be the stuff of headline news. But these are not normal times in Greece and such cases have been making national television bulletins. In a soulless white concrete court building, leaders of the I Won't Pay movement have been turning routine eviction proceedings into the frontline in a popular fight-back against austerity. The protesters - noisy and feisty but non-violent when we saw them - turn out in force to block the progress of cases where banks seek to repossess houses where loans have fallen into arrears. It can be a short, dramatic and effective piece of direct action. On the afternoon we went to court, the demonstrators, chanting and cheering, crowded onto the judicial benches and spilled over into the witness box. A lawyer representing one bank found himself hemmed in and surrounded, unable to make his case because he was unable to make himself heard. The case was adjourned and the housing activists cheered and whistled what they saw as a rare victory for ordinary Greek people over a kind of international machinery of austerity. One of the leaders, Ilias Papadopoulous, said: \"More than half of the Greek people live in poverty below the level where they have any dignity. The government won't protect them so we are here to protect them.\" The victory, of course, isn't final - it's hard to believe that the bank will give up on its money and its reasonable to assume that its lawyer will be back in court one day soon. But the case provided an insight into the popular mood in a country worn down by years of austerity. Even the European Commissioner for Finance Pierre Moscovici has spoken of the need to provide the Greek people with some kind of light at the end of the austerity tunnel. He's even pronounced himself \"hopeful\" on the issue. But it is hard to find many Greek people who share in his share of optimism. In a week in Athens I met a couple planning to emigrate in search of work immediately after their wedding next month, the manager of a TV station whose staff have not been paid for months and a young man with an MBA working as a taxi-driver, who told us he saw \"absolutely no hope\" for the future. So the mood could hardly be bleaker as the Greek government prepares for another round in its apparently never-ending dance with its main international creditors - the eurozone and the IMF. Greece is hoping that the previous formula whereby it signed up to painful economic reforms in return for phased bailouts might now be relaxed. Why is Greece back in the headlines? Greece: EU and IMF in 'common position' In big picture terms, the Greek position remains dauntingly bad. Its ratio of debt to GDP - how much it owes compares to how much it earns - stands at an eye-watering 180% and its long term hope has to be that at some point at least some of that debt will be written off. In the short term though that's highly unlikely. The leaders of the eurozone face elections this year in the Netherlands, France and Germany - not a good moment to tell their taxpayers that they will not be getting their money back from Greece. And the IMF, which is sympathetic to a write-off, would only want to see it happen in the context of further structural reforms which would try the patience of the Greek voters to breaking point. \"The idea of reform has become toxic in Greece,\" says Nick Malkoutzis, editor of the influential economic intelligence website MacroPolis, \"because when the other side says, 'This is what you need to do in order to put your economy on a better footing', what the average Greek hears is that 'I'm going to take another hit in my pocket'\". The Greek government, though, senses a moment of opportunity in a world where its debt crisis has been overshadowed at least for now by the dramas of Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump. They intend to push for a different framework for negotiations with their creditors where in future on direct concessions on pension reform would be balanced out by, for example, a possible tax cut. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos calculates that what he calls a global elite which has already suffered a series of shocks in recent months won't want to resist provoking the anger of the Greek people. \"There is a general disenchantment in Europe,\" he told me, \"especially in Greece because we have been hit harder by austerity. \"So the real question now is how to reverse austerity and I think there is hope in that because I think that the elite know they can't govern as they did before - the election of Trump shows that and shows the people won't consent to be governed as they were before.\" We will not know if the minister's calculation is correct until Greece begins formal negotiations with its creditors again. If he's right then perhaps the pervasive mood of gloom in Greece might begin to lift - but for now when Greeks hear talk about \"light at the end of the tunnel\" they feel the tunnel remains dauntingly long and the light remains frustratingly dim.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5084, "answer_start": 3696, "text": "The Greek government, though, senses a moment of opportunity in a world where its debt crisis has been overshadowed at least for now by the dramas of Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump. They intend to push for a different framework for negotiations with their creditors where in future on direct concessions on pension reform would be balanced out by, for example, a possible tax cut. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos calculates that what he calls a global elite which has already suffered a series of shocks in recent months won't want to resist provoking the anger of the Greek people. \"There is a general disenchantment in Europe,\" he told me, \"especially in Greece because we have been hit harder by austerity. \"So the real question now is how to reverse austerity and I think there is hope in that because I think that the elite know they can't govern as they did before - the election of Trump shows that and shows the people won't consent to be governed as they were before.\" We will not know if the minister's calculation is correct until Greece begins formal negotiations with its creditors again. If he's right then perhaps the pervasive mood of gloom in Greece might begin to lift - but for now when Greeks hear talk about \"light at the end of the tunnel\" they feel the tunnel remains dauntingly long and the light remains frustratingly dim." } ], "id": "452_0", "question": "Elite caution?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "For many young people in Asia, going to the West to study and work is the stuff dreams are made of. But that dream turned into a nightmare for Declan Ee when he became an unwitting victim of the financial crisis 10 years ago. He was working for Lehman Brothers in the sub-prime mortgage division in London as a junior banker at the time, and was on a career path to success. Or so the young Singaporean thought. \"I never felt safe after the global financial crisis,\" he tells me. \"I had really bought into the whole culture of the industry at the time.\" Declan was one of thousands who lost their jobs during the Lehman Brothers collapse, an event which many mark as the start of the crisis. Overnight, credit dried up. Jobs disappeared. Banks lost billions of dollars. The developed world fell into economic disarray. As the chart below shows the US, UK and Japan all fell into recession. It has taken a decade to recover from that, and many economists would argue that we are yet to see a real recovery. Ultimately though, this was effectively a crisis of global confidence in the ability of banks to survive. Asia's financial sector wasn't spared, although it wasn't hit nearly as badly as the West. Ten years ago, many of Asia's banks were facing job losses, wage freezes and cost cutting measures. DBS - South East Asia's largest bank - was also affected. The bank had to write off millions of dollars worth of loans and investments because of its exposure to the crisis. Terence Yong Yew Tiek was on the frontline for the bank at the time and remembers how tough it was. But he says DBS - like so many other businesses in the region - was only momentarily affected, and recovered quickly because of the inherent strength in Asia's economies - and China. \"Fundamentally, there was broad-based growth across Asia,\" he says. \"Whether that was in the auto sector, airlines, consumer goods, commodities, services - all of these things were actually growing because of middle-income growth in Asia. China was also increasingly a factor, and that drove demand across borders within Asia.\" The global financial crisis meant Asian companies had to change tactics too. Singapore-based plastic parts maker Sunningdale Tech saw its automotive products orders from North American clients fall to zero during the crisis. The company's chief executive, Khoo Boo Hor, has vivid memories of the time. The firm had to cut salaries, shorten the working week and reduce executive pay just to survive. But the crisis taught Sunningdale a valuable lesson: you can't count on just one market. \"You have to assume that if a crisis has happened in one region, it may happen in another region,\" he told me. \"So what we do today is we build a model - we don't depend on one country, one region, one product or one customer.\" That growth in Asia and China coincided, some say, with an increasing disdain and lack of trust among many in the region of the West's financial practices. Investment manager Hugh Young is a bit of a crisis connoisseur - he has lived through two of them. He says the global financial crisis changed the way Asia viewed the West. \"It would be the start... of Asia looking away from the West,\" he told me. \"That's been a steady phenomenon, and if anything the global financial crisis accelerated that. It probably also accelerated the rise of China - which was going to happen anyhow - but now we see China playing on the global stage as big a role - arguably a bigger role - than even the US.\" China was a big factor in why Asia managed to escape the global financial crisis relatively unscathed. But that's not to say China wasn't affected by the crisis. On the contrary, as Yu Yongding, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, explains the turning point of China's growth happened in September 2008, after the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. A closer look at his numbers will illustrate exactly what he means. In 2007, China's GDP growth rate was 13%. In 2008, after the Lehman Brothers fiasco, GDP fell to 9% in the third quarter and 6.8% in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2009, China's growth rate fell further to 6.1%. The Chinese government \"took action swiftly\" as Professor Yu says, and introduced a massive stimulus package which didn't just help to stabilise and revive China's economy - it became the lifeline for the rest of Asia. But there are concerns that China's economy is now mired in a mountain of debt, and as the International Monetary Fund pointed out in its outlook for the world economy earlier this year, the large and opaque nature of the financial system in China poses a risk to stability. The last 10 years have seen strong growth in Asia and China and that's helped this region weather the storm during the global financial crisis. For better or for worse, it shifted Asia away from a heavy reliance on the West. But now with Asia's biggest economy - China - slowing down, the big fear is that another crisis could be brewing. No-one's quite sure where it would start this time - and how badly we could all be affected.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5102, "answer_start": 4671, "text": "The last 10 years have seen strong growth in Asia and China and that's helped this region weather the storm during the global financial crisis. For better or for worse, it shifted Asia away from a heavy reliance on the West. But now with Asia's biggest economy - China - slowing down, the big fear is that another crisis could be brewing. No-one's quite sure where it would start this time - and how badly we could all be affected." } ], "id": "453_0", "question": "Another crisis?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The Great British Bake Off's first episode on Channel 4 has gone down well with viewers - although some took time to adjust to the new line-up and advert breaks. The new series - which is the first since the show left the BBC - sees Paul Hollywood joined by fellow judge Prue Leith, with Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig on presenting duties. An average of 5.8 million viewers watched the show - rising to 6.5 million when those watching on +1 are included. The first episode of the series broadly won over the critics, but it's the viewers Channel 4 needed to convince. \"I feel like I'm breaking some kind of law by watching this without Mel, Sue and Mary,\" tweeted Kelly as the episode started. But with other viewers declaring the show \"the best thing about being British,\" most stuck with it and had been won over by the time it ended. Toksvig was popular on Twitter, with Mary writing: \"Sandi is a natural to give this show coherence and polish.\" Michelle said Sandi's co-host Noel was \"pretty adorable\" while Rob said he was \"totally on board\" with the Mighty Boosh star as a presenter. Greg wrote that Fielding was going to \"single-handedly save this series\". But Stephanie said: \"It's like Top Gear all over again \" (We don't think that's a compliment given how Chris Evans's season went down.) Chloe said Sandi and Noel were \"no Mel and Sue\", while Hannah tweeted: \"The word bake just doesn't sound the same coming from them.\" But former contestant Rav Bansal spoke for many when he said: \"Although Mel and Sue will always have my heart, Sandi and Noel are doing brilliantly.\" Very diplomatic. Not everybody was a fan of the commercial breaks, and many viewers were quick to tweet their thoughts when the ads started rolling. \"Adverts in GBBO is just wrong,\" was one of the more printable reactions to the first break. By the third, Julie said she was getting \"fed up\" with the interruptions and Gemma tweeted they were the \"only thing I hate about the new GBBO\". Former winner Nadiya Hussain even said she was holding off on watching the show until she could skip the adverts: But Pauline pointed out: \"Don't mind the adverts - allows me to make tea!\" Similarly, Katie felt the ads \"built the tension\" while Vicky said they \"give you a chance to debrief in between segments\". Line-up changes and ad breaks aside, many viewers said the show felt reassuringly familiar. Sue tweeted: \"Hats off to Channel 4 - well done for keeping GBBO the same great format. \"Yes the ads aren't great but they weren't too badly placed! \" \"Channel 4 have nailed this... Right time for a change it was getting a bit stale,\" tweeted Sam. 1Xtra presenter Nick Bright said the show was \"literally exactly the same with a couple of different people\". \"So glad they kept the familiar format. I'm hooked,\" wrote Wendy. Aoife said: \"BBC? Channel 4? Who cares. People are making delicious cake for Paul. All is still well in the world.\" Good question. The show is, after all, about the contestants and their bakes. \"For the first week these showstoppers look amazing!\" said Alex, referring to the extremely high standard in the first episode. Flo's watermelon cake looked \"amazing\" according to James, although Fiona said it had \"far too much food colouring in the batter for my liking\" (up your game, Flo). Laura singled out the champagne bottle and loaf-of-bread cakes for being \"absolutely stunning\". The dishes all looked so appetising that Laura (a different one) said: \"Now I'm confused about whether I want cake, a BLT or some chicken katsu? \"All I know is that I'm now extremely hungry \" By the sounds of it, yes. \"What a brilliant first episode of #GBBO - so excited for the rest of this series!\" tweeted Rhys. Dee said: \"Glad GBBO is back. Note to self: record rest of series to avoid the ads. Miss Mary, Sue and Mel - adjusting to new line up and loving Flo \" Some viewers might not stick with the series, however. \"You've ruined a brilliant show,\" Louise wrote on the show's official Facebook page. \"Jokes are forced, the bakers are not good enough and the challenges too hard. \"Prue is too judgemental and the whole thing is far too rushed trying to create an idea of tension. So disappointed.\" The Telegraph's Michael Hogan said: \"Mary, Mel and Sue might be gone, but the show's recipe remains as winning as ever.\" According to The Guardian's Mark Lawson, \"The eighth series of the extreme patisserie challenge manages to seem exactly the same but also just different enough.\" Frances Taylor of the Radio Times wrote: \"It's a bit rough around the edges, a little burnt on the outside. But it's still our Bake Off.\" - Read more: What do the critics make of C4's GBBO? Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4188, "answer_start": 3577, "text": "By the sounds of it, yes. \"What a brilliant first episode of #GBBO - so excited for the rest of this series!\" tweeted Rhys. Dee said: \"Glad GBBO is back. Note to self: record rest of series to avoid the ads. Miss Mary, Sue and Mel - adjusting to new line up and loving Flo \" Some viewers might not stick with the series, however. \"You've ruined a brilliant show,\" Louise wrote on the show's official Facebook page. \"Jokes are forced, the bakers are not good enough and the challenges too hard. \"Prue is too judgemental and the whole thing is far too rushed trying to create an idea of tension. So disappointed.\"" } ], "id": "454_0", "question": "So, will the viewers be returning?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4661, "answer_start": 4189, "text": "The Telegraph's Michael Hogan said: \"Mary, Mel and Sue might be gone, but the show's recipe remains as winning as ever.\" According to The Guardian's Mark Lawson, \"The eighth series of the extreme patisserie challenge manages to seem exactly the same but also just different enough.\" Frances Taylor of the Radio Times wrote: \"It's a bit rough around the edges, a little burnt on the outside. But it's still our Bake Off.\" - Read more: What do the critics make of C4's GBBO?" } ], "id": "454_1", "question": "What did the critics think?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A fragment of wood believed to have formed part of Jesus' manger has been returned to Bethlehem after more than 1,000 years in Europe. Pope Francis ordered the return of the thumb-sized relic from Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore as a gift. The relic had been in Rome since the 7th Century. It was briefly put on display in Jerusalem before continuing its journey to Bethlehem to coincide with the start of Christmas celebrations there. The relic, encased in an ornate stand, was welcomed to Bethlehem on Saturday by a procession of marching bands and taken to the Church of St Catherine, next to the Church of the Nativity where tradition says Jesus was born. Some Christians believe the tiny piece of wood formed part of the crib that Jesus lay in after being born. Custodia Terrae Sanctae, the custodian of Catholic religious sites in the Holy Land, said the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Sophronius, donated the relic to Pope Theodore I in the 7th Century. It said the relic had since been kept on display in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where a \"very large number of pilgrims from all over the world\" went each day to \"venerate it\". While most of it has remained in Rome, the return of the small fragment was celebrated by Christians in the region. \"My heart is beating. I'm really crying from joy for this event and thankful also for the Pope, for this kindness that he brought to Bethlehem,\" Louisa Fleckenstein, a guide for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, told AP news agency. But some were underwhelmed. \"When we heard that the manger is coming back we thought it would be the whole manger, but then we saw it,\" Sandy Shahin Hijazeen told Reuters. The Vatican has described the return of the relic as a gift from Pope Francis. Bethlehem's mayor, Anton Salman, told Palestinian news agency Wafa that its return followed a request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a recent visit to the Vatican. Its return coincided with the beginning of Advent, a four-week period leading up to Christmas. Christians make up an estimated 1% of the Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, but Bethlehem is a popular place for Christian pilgrims from around the world, particularly at Christmas time. Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims are expected this month, according to Wafa. \"To celebrate Christmas with the presence of part of the manger in which Jesus Christ was born will be a magnificent and huge event,\" said Amira Hanania, a member of Mr Abbas's Higher Committee of Churches Affairs. Dr Yisca Harani, an Israeli expert on Christianity, described the relic's return as an \"inversion of history\". \"A thousand years ago, Rome was busy collecting relics from the East to build itself up as an alternative Jerusalem. Now, Rome is strong enough that it can return relics to Jerusalem and Bethlehem,\" she told Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The relic of the manger is not the first religious artefact to be returned by the Pope. Earlier this year, he gave some of the purported bone fragments of Saint Peter to the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He later said the move was intended to bring the Orthodox and Catholic churches together.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1673, "answer_start": 668, "text": "Some Christians believe the tiny piece of wood formed part of the crib that Jesus lay in after being born. Custodia Terrae Sanctae, the custodian of Catholic religious sites in the Holy Land, said the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Sophronius, donated the relic to Pope Theodore I in the 7th Century. It said the relic had since been kept on display in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where a \"very large number of pilgrims from all over the world\" went each day to \"venerate it\". While most of it has remained in Rome, the return of the small fragment was celebrated by Christians in the region. \"My heart is beating. I'm really crying from joy for this event and thankful also for the Pope, for this kindness that he brought to Bethlehem,\" Louisa Fleckenstein, a guide for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, told AP news agency. But some were underwhelmed. \"When we heard that the manger is coming back we thought it would be the whole manger, but then we saw it,\" Sandy Shahin Hijazeen told Reuters." } ], "id": "455_0", "question": "How important is the relic?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "European Council President Donald Tusk has explicitly ruled out any EU action over Catalonia, despite the \"concerning\" situation. \"There is no room, no space for any kind of mediation or international initiative or action,\" he said. He was speaking at a joint news conference with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. A referendum outlawed by Spain was held on 1 October. Of the 43% who voted, 90% were in favour of independence. Mr Tusk's remarks came hours after Spain said it was beginning the process of imposing direct rule on the autonomous region. \"I am of course for many reasons in permanent contact with (Spain's) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,\" Mr Tusk said. \"There is no hiding that the situation in Spain is concerning, but our position... is clear.\" He was speaking ahead of an EU Council summit, but said the issue of Catalonia was \"not in our agenda\". Other European leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, also threw their support behind Madrid. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crisis exposed Western hypocrisy, which backs some separatist movements but not others. He argued that Western nations had supported the independence of Kosovo from Serbia - a Russian ally - but not Catalonia or for Iraqi Kurdistan. He also raised the opposition of many nations to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, which resulted in international sanctions against Russia. Katya Adler: A slow, dangerous game of political chess Spain said it would begin the process of imposing direct rule on Saturday by activating article 155 of the country's constitution. But Catalonia's leader said the region's parliament would vote to formally declare its independence if Spain continued \"repression\". Some fear the latest moves could spark further unrest after mass demonstrations before and since the ballot on 1 October. Spain's supreme court declared the vote illegal and said it violated the constitution, which describes the country as indivisible. Article 155 of the constitution, which cemented democratic rule three years after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked. But the Spanish government now says it will begin the procedure on Saturday. \"No-one doubts that the Spanish government will do all it can to restore the constitutional order,\" a government statement said. On Saturday, the government is due to decide a list of specific measures to transfer powers from Catalonia to Madrid. The extent of those measures is not yet clear - but could include taking control of the regional police, or even calling a snap election. Xavier Arbos, a constitutional expert at the University of Barcelona, said: \"We simply do not know what measures the Spanish government could enact. \"We do not know how the powers of the Catalan government could be affected.\" Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list. Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures. After the 1 October vote, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence, but immediately suspended it to allow for talks. He has warned the suspended status could change. \"The Catalan parliament could proceed, if it is considered opportune, to vote on a formal declaration of independence,\" he said. But if Madrid takes control of the region's finances or police force, or dissolves the Catalan regional parliament, such a vote would be a challenge. The constitution does not put any time limit on the process, however.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2442, "answer_start": 1503, "text": "Spain said it would begin the process of imposing direct rule on Saturday by activating article 155 of the country's constitution. But Catalonia's leader said the region's parliament would vote to formally declare its independence if Spain continued \"repression\". Some fear the latest moves could spark further unrest after mass demonstrations before and since the ballot on 1 October. Spain's supreme court declared the vote illegal and said it violated the constitution, which describes the country as indivisible. Article 155 of the constitution, which cemented democratic rule three years after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked. But the Spanish government now says it will begin the procedure on Saturday. \"No-one doubts that the Spanish government will do all it can to restore the constitutional order,\" a government statement said." } ], "id": "456_0", "question": "What's happening in Catalonia?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3203, "answer_start": 2443, "text": "On Saturday, the government is due to decide a list of specific measures to transfer powers from Catalonia to Madrid. The extent of those measures is not yet clear - but could include taking control of the regional police, or even calling a snap election. Xavier Arbos, a constitutional expert at the University of Barcelona, said: \"We simply do not know what measures the Spanish government could enact. \"We do not know how the powers of the Catalan government could be affected.\" Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list. Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures." } ], "id": "456_1", "question": "What happens now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3747, "answer_start": 3204, "text": "After the 1 October vote, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence, but immediately suspended it to allow for talks. He has warned the suspended status could change. \"The Catalan parliament could proceed, if it is considered opportune, to vote on a formal declaration of independence,\" he said. But if Madrid takes control of the region's finances or police force, or dissolves the Catalan regional parliament, such a vote would be a challenge. The constitution does not put any time limit on the process, however." } ], "id": "456_2", "question": "Where does this leave the Catalan leader?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Hong Kong has experienced weeks of unrest now, sparked by opposition to an extradition bill, with increasing outbreaks of violence and strikes causing major disruption. The Chinese government has strongly criticised the protesters, but many are wondering whether it will eventually lose patience and take more direct action. What legal options does Beijing have to intervene, and could we ever see Chinese military action in Hong Kong? The Basic Law - Hong Kong's mini constitution since the UK handed the territory back to China in 1997 - is very clear. Unless China declares an all-out state of emergency or war in Hong Kong, Chinese military intervention can only come at the request of the Hong Kong government, and for the \"maintenance of public order and in disaster relief\". But most analysts say at this stage is almost unthinkable that PLA troops will be seen in Hong Kong. \"It would bring dramatic change to the structural and economic environment,\" said Prof Ivan Choy of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. \"The consequences of [such a] move would be far reaching.\" Dr Choy says such a move would shatter faith in the \"one country, two systems\" model that has governed Hong Kong since the handover, possibly irreparably. The PLA has had about 5,000 personnel based in Hong Kong since the handover, which Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University, describes as a largely \"symbolic presence of China's sovereignty\". But on 31 July, the garrison broke its silence on the protests, releasing a video which included footage of soldiers shouting - in Cantonese - \"all consequences are at your own risk\", troops advancing against protesters and a scene where police held up a banner with the words \"Stop charging or we use force\", a warning commonly used by Hong Kong police during unrest. Dr Choy says Beijing has been trying to \"continually remind people in Hong Kong that there is the possibility [of military force]\". \"They don't want to rule out the possibility of such a move... [hoping] this will create some sort of psychological pressure.\" So far, China's top policy office on Hong Kong has said it has full faith in the police to handle the unrest. But spokesman Yang Guang also warned that \"those who play with fire will perish by it\" and protesters should not \"mistake restraint for weakness\". Mr Ni said the political risk for the Chinese government, both domestically and internationally, of military intervention was simply too great, and could indeed worsen the crisis. \"Any military response short of overwhelming force would lead to further resistance,\" he told the BBC. Hong Kong's political set up is not fully democratic - which has sparked resentment among protesters, and led to calls for democratic reform. China has arguably also made a number of political interventions, and that has been a driving factor behind recent protests. Hong Kong's parliament, the Legislative Council, is tilted in Beijing's favour and is only partly democratic - about half the seats are directly elected by voters. Meanwhile, the chief executive is chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee - which in turn is chosen by only 6% of the electorate. As a result, critics say Hong Kong's leaders answer to Beijing, rather than Hong Kong's electorate. Carrie Lam was elected in 2017, and it was she who introduced the extradition bill that sparked the new protests, becoming a focus of the anger herself. Prof Dixon Ming Sing of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology says Beijing has \"done a lot to show its power... adamantly refusing the resignation of Carrie Lam and refusing to [let her] formally withdraw the bill\". \"If Beijing wants her to resign, can it be done? Absolutely,\" he said. \"But I think Beijing doesn't want to do so because it wants to show it cannot be shaped by public opinion.\" Of course, even if Ms Lam did leave her post, her replacement would also have to have Beijing's backing. And other political moves in Hong Kong in recent years - including opposition MPs being disqualified for failing to say the oath of allegiance properly, and a law proposing banning disrespect of the Chinese national anthem - have made it clear that the authorities in Hong Kong are keen to counter anti-Beijing sentiment. The protests were trigged by an extradition bill, which critics feared could have been used by China to remove political activists to the mainland, where they would face almost certain conviction. Carrie Lam has said the bill is now dead, but even without it, there have been enough reports of China bypassing such laws to detain Hong Kong citizens for protesters to be worried. Gui Minhai, who ran a bookstore in Hong Kong selling books critical of the Chinese government, is one of the most high-profile cases. He went missing in Thailand in 2015, before reappearing in China where he was detained over a fatal car accident in 2003. A Chinese court sentenced him to two years in prison. He was released in 2017 but was allegedly seized again the following year while on a train in China. He has not been seen since. And even if activists themselves don't fear arrest, some may fear repercussions for any family members on the mainland. However despite fears of direct intervention in Hong Kong, Beijing's most effective tool to calm the unrest is likely to be a subtle but potent economic one. Hong Kong is an economic powerhouse, and has remained so since handover in part because of the special status it has enjoyed as part of the handover agreement. But cities on the mainland like Shenzhen and Shanghai have rapidly caught up since 1997 nonetheless. If Hong Kong continues to challenge Beijing's authority, the government could further redirect investment and trade towards the mainland, squeezing Hong Kong's economy and making it far more reliant on Beijing's goodwill.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4264, "answer_start": 2605, "text": "Hong Kong's political set up is not fully democratic - which has sparked resentment among protesters, and led to calls for democratic reform. China has arguably also made a number of political interventions, and that has been a driving factor behind recent protests. Hong Kong's parliament, the Legislative Council, is tilted in Beijing's favour and is only partly democratic - about half the seats are directly elected by voters. Meanwhile, the chief executive is chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee - which in turn is chosen by only 6% of the electorate. As a result, critics say Hong Kong's leaders answer to Beijing, rather than Hong Kong's electorate. Carrie Lam was elected in 2017, and it was she who introduced the extradition bill that sparked the new protests, becoming a focus of the anger herself. Prof Dixon Ming Sing of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology says Beijing has \"done a lot to show its power... adamantly refusing the resignation of Carrie Lam and refusing to [let her] formally withdraw the bill\". \"If Beijing wants her to resign, can it be done? Absolutely,\" he said. \"But I think Beijing doesn't want to do so because it wants to show it cannot be shaped by public opinion.\" Of course, even if Ms Lam did leave her post, her replacement would also have to have Beijing's backing. And other political moves in Hong Kong in recent years - including opposition MPs being disqualified for failing to say the oath of allegiance properly, and a law proposing banning disrespect of the Chinese national anthem - have made it clear that the authorities in Hong Kong are keen to counter anti-Beijing sentiment." } ], "id": "457_0", "question": "Can China intervene politically?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China has rebuked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for remarks he made on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest. Mr Pompeo criticised China's human rights record and called for it to reveal how many died in the crackdown. A Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington DC said his comments were \"an affront to the Chinese people\". In 1989, a large political protest in Beijing triggered a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities. The Chinese government has never said how many people died at Tiananmen Square, although estimates range from the hundreds to thousands. On Monday, Mr Pompeo had urged China to \"make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history\". He also accused China of \"[abusing] human rights whenever it serves its interests\", giving the example of China cracking down on its minority Uighur people in the Xinjiang region. Mr Pompeo said US \"hopes have been dashed\" of China becoming \"a more open, tolerant society\" through greater global integration. On Tuesday, in a rare public reference to Tiananmen Square, the Chinese embassy said China had \"reached the verdict on the political incident of the late 1980s long ago\". A spokesman said Mr Pompeo had \"used the pretext of human rights\" for a statement that \"grossly intervenes in China's internal affairs\". It added that his remarks were filled with \"prejudice and arrogance\". It also rebutted Mr Pompeo's comments about human rights in China, saying they were currently in their \"best period ever\" and that anyone who attempted to \"patronise and bully the Chinese people... will only end up in the ash heap of history\". More than one million pro-democracy protesters occupied Tiananmen Square in April 1989 and began the largest political demonstration in communist China's history. It lasted six weeks. On the night of 3 June tanks moved in and troops opened fire, killing and injuring many unarmed people in and around Tiananmen Square. Afterwards the authorities claimed no-one had been shot dead in the square itself. Around the world, dozens of rallies are taking place to remember the victims and call for change. In Hong Kong - a semi-autonomous region of China - 180,000 people are expected to turn out for a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to attend a rally in Washington DC later. China has never held any official acts of remembrance for the Tiananmen Square protests. Ahead of the anniversary, Defence Minister Wei Fenghe made a rare mention of the protests during a regional forum in Singapore. \"That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy,\" he said. He added that because of the government's action at that time \"China has enjoyed stability and development\". In Tiananmen Square itself on Tuesday, in central Beijing, security remained tight, with police checking the identification cards of commuters leaving the subway station. Many foreign journalists have not been allowed onto the square, those who have been allowed in were warned not to take pictures. China has escalated its routine censorship of all references to Tiananmen or 1989 in the run-up to the anniversary. However, some in China are remembering the event in their own ways. Chen Wei is one of several activists who will be fasting for 24 hours on Tuesday. The former student organiser told The Guardian that fasting was the one thing that \"could not be restricted\" by authorities.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2085, "answer_start": 1684, "text": "More than one million pro-democracy protesters occupied Tiananmen Square in April 1989 and began the largest political demonstration in communist China's history. It lasted six weeks. On the night of 3 June tanks moved in and troops opened fire, killing and injuring many unarmed people in and around Tiananmen Square. Afterwards the authorities claimed no-one had been shot dead in the square itself." } ], "id": "458_0", "question": "What happened in 1989?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2402, "answer_start": 2086, "text": "Around the world, dozens of rallies are taking place to remember the victims and call for change. In Hong Kong - a semi-autonomous region of China - 180,000 people are expected to turn out for a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to attend a rally in Washington DC later." } ], "id": "458_1", "question": "How is the Tiananmen anniversary being marked?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3563, "answer_start": 2403, "text": "China has never held any official acts of remembrance for the Tiananmen Square protests. Ahead of the anniversary, Defence Minister Wei Fenghe made a rare mention of the protests during a regional forum in Singapore. \"That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy,\" he said. He added that because of the government's action at that time \"China has enjoyed stability and development\". In Tiananmen Square itself on Tuesday, in central Beijing, security remained tight, with police checking the identification cards of commuters leaving the subway station. Many foreign journalists have not been allowed onto the square, those who have been allowed in were warned not to take pictures. China has escalated its routine censorship of all references to Tiananmen or 1989 in the run-up to the anniversary. However, some in China are remembering the event in their own ways. Chen Wei is one of several activists who will be fasting for 24 hours on Tuesday. The former student organiser told The Guardian that fasting was the one thing that \"could not be restricted\" by authorities." } ], "id": "458_2", "question": "What is the situation in Beijing on the anniversary?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Astronomers have discovered a vast structure in our galaxy, made up of many interconnected \"nurseries\" where stars are born. The long, thin filament of gas is a whopping 9,000 light-years long and 400 light-years wide. It lies around 500 light-years from our Sun, which is relatively close by in astronomical distances. The discovery, outlined in the journal Nature, came from work to assemble a new map of the Milky Way. An international team analysed data from the European Gaia space telescope, which was launched in 2013. The monolithic structure has been dubbed the Radcliffe Wave, in honour of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge, Massachusetts. \"What we've observed is the largest coherent gas structure we know of in the galaxy, organized not in a ring but in a massive, undulating filament,\" said co-author Joao Alves, from the University of Vienna, Austria, and Harvard. It is in the spiral arm (the long thin extensions of spiral galaxies that give them their name) located closest to our Solar System. Gaia was launched with the intention of precisely measuring the position, distance and motion of stars in our galaxy. Team members used data from the European Space Agency telescope, along with other measurements, to construct a detailed, 3D map of interstellar matter in the Milky Way. The results correct a previous view of this region of the Milky Way. Many of the star-forming regions found in the Radcliffe Wave were previously thought to be part of a structure called Gould's Belt that was around 3,000 light-years (20 quadrillion km) wide. First described in 1879, Gould's Belt was thought to be comprised of star-forming regions, believed to be oriented around the Sun in a ring. The new study in Nature transforms that picture into one of a 90 quadrillion-kilometre-long, four quadrillion-kilometre-wide star-forming filament. Co-author Prof Alyssa Goodman, from Harvard, commented: \"We were completely shocked when we first realised how long and straight the Radcliffe Wave is, looking down on it from above in 3D.\" She added: \"The wave's very existence is forcing us to rethink our understanding of the Milky Way's 3D structure.\" All of the stars in the Universe, including our Sun, are formed when clouds of gas and dust undergo a gravitational collapse. But working out how much mass the clouds have and how large they are has been difficult, because these things depend on how far away the clouds are. Co-author Douglas Finkbeiner said: \"Studying stellar births is complicated by imperfect data. We risk getting the details wrong, because if you're confused about distance, you're confused about size.\" The results are being presented at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. Follow Paul on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2802, "answer_start": 1598, "text": "First described in 1879, Gould's Belt was thought to be comprised of star-forming regions, believed to be oriented around the Sun in a ring. The new study in Nature transforms that picture into one of a 90 quadrillion-kilometre-long, four quadrillion-kilometre-wide star-forming filament. Co-author Prof Alyssa Goodman, from Harvard, commented: \"We were completely shocked when we first realised how long and straight the Radcliffe Wave is, looking down on it from above in 3D.\" She added: \"The wave's very existence is forcing us to rethink our understanding of the Milky Way's 3D structure.\" All of the stars in the Universe, including our Sun, are formed when clouds of gas and dust undergo a gravitational collapse. But working out how much mass the clouds have and how large they are has been difficult, because these things depend on how far away the clouds are. Co-author Douglas Finkbeiner said: \"Studying stellar births is complicated by imperfect data. We risk getting the details wrong, because if you're confused about distance, you're confused about size.\" The results are being presented at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. Follow Paul on Twitter." } ], "id": "459_0", "question": "Small, or far away?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A US federal court has ruled that the Trump administration must halt its policy of requiring Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico pending US approval. The ruling from the San Francisco-based appeals court temporarily upends Mr Trump's policy The so-called \"Remain in Mexico\" policy is touted by supporters as key to reducing illegal migration. Friday's decision is expected to be challenged in the US Supreme Court. In the past year, some 60,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico. The border cities where migrants wait for months are suffering from growing crime rates. According to charity Human Rights First, there have been more than 800 reports of kidnapping, rape and other violent crimes against returned migrants. The policy, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), took effect in January 2019. It requires migrants entering through the southern border to wait in Mexico as US immigration courts hear their cases. Asylum-seekers were previously permitted to remain in the US pending the outcome of their case, which sometimes takes years to resolve. Mr Trump has claimed that allowing asylum-seekers to remain in the US made it more likely that they would skip the legal process. The policy does not apply to Mexican citizens. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the MPP is \"invalid in its entirety\" due to its inconsistencies with existing laws. The three-judge panel ruled that a block on the MPP, which was granted by a lower court, was \"not an abuse of discretion\". In a separate decision, the court agreed to stop another major Trump administration policy denying asylum to anyone caught entering the US illegally from Mexico. The numbers of migrants entering the US illegally has declined sharply in recent months. In an October report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called the Remain in Mexico policy \"an indispensible tool in addressing the ongoing crisis at the southern border and restoring integrity to the immigration system\". It was unclear whether the decision meant migrants being held in Mexico would immediately be allowed to cross into the US. The DHS has not returned a BBC request for comment.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2188, "answer_start": 1270, "text": "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the MPP is \"invalid in its entirety\" due to its inconsistencies with existing laws. The three-judge panel ruled that a block on the MPP, which was granted by a lower court, was \"not an abuse of discretion\". In a separate decision, the court agreed to stop another major Trump administration policy denying asylum to anyone caught entering the US illegally from Mexico. The numbers of migrants entering the US illegally has declined sharply in recent months. In an October report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called the Remain in Mexico policy \"an indispensible tool in addressing the ongoing crisis at the southern border and restoring integrity to the immigration system\". It was unclear whether the decision meant migrants being held in Mexico would immediately be allowed to cross into the US. The DHS has not returned a BBC request for comment." } ], "id": "460_0", "question": "What did the court say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "France is entering uncharted political water - and it is not because Marine Le Pen is in the final round of the presidential election. It is because the next head of state is almost certain to be Emmanuel Macron. Let us remind ourselves how preposterous this state of affairs would have seemed just a few months ago. Here was a man who, at 39, had the gall to walk out of government - turning his back on his protector, President Francois Hollande - and set up his own political \"movement\". He had no experience of electoral politics. He had no party backing. He had none of the organisational support of the Socialists, the Republicans or even the Front National. And yet somehow Emmanuel Macron read the zeitgeist. He found an untapped reservoir of support among the young, the disillusioned-but-optimistic, the anti-cynics. Through his energy, his youth, and his incomparable charm and articulacy, he has pulled off a political coup that will go down in the annals. Macron has, of course, also been blessed by good luck. It helped that the two main parties held primaries that selected candidates from the outer edges of their respective political camps: Benoit Hamon for the left and Francois Fillon for the right. It created a monumental opening down the centre. And it helped even more that Fillon's campaign was torpedoed even before it started by the scandal over his wife's job - and perhaps more by subsequent revelations over his attitude to money. Of all the losers in the first round, Fillon's fall is the most painful. His name is now mud in his party. And it should also be remembered that although Emmanuel Macron is the clear victor of the first round of the vote - and the likely next head of state - the country is deeply divided. When the two-round system was created, it was expected that the main candidates of right and left would get around 30% in round one, and then rally satellite parties to their side for the run-off. But this time there were four candidates - with four very different versions of what to do next - all split nearly evenly at around 20%. Macron did the best but he remains a minority leader. On 7 May he will almost certainly become a majority leader. Marine Le Pen will fight a hard campaign, and her vote will go up (which her father's barely did between the two rounds in 2002), but it is almost inconceivable that she will win. But then will come the uncharted water. Not being from a political party, how will Emmanuel Macron ensure a majority in parliament? Without this he cannot rule in the manner in which French presidents have grown used to. He says the \"logic\" of the system will prevail, and the French will elect a majority of candidates from his En Marche movement. But that is far from self-evident. The parties - especially the centre-right Republicans - will want their revenge, and do everything to ensure they keep up their numbers in the National Assembly. So then - without a majority - a President Macron would be made to negotiate his programme through parliament. The prime minister would become a crucial figure. Power would shift. It would be a very different Fifth Republic.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3148, "answer_start": 2378, "text": "But then will come the uncharted water. Not being from a political party, how will Emmanuel Macron ensure a majority in parliament? Without this he cannot rule in the manner in which French presidents have grown used to. He says the \"logic\" of the system will prevail, and the French will elect a majority of candidates from his En Marche movement. But that is far from self-evident. The parties - especially the centre-right Republicans - will want their revenge, and do everything to ensure they keep up their numbers in the National Assembly. So then - without a majority - a President Macron would be made to negotiate his programme through parliament. The prime minister would become a crucial figure. Power would shift. It would be a very different Fifth Republic." } ], "id": "461_0", "question": "What would President Macron do?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "More evidence has been discovered of a reported massacre in 2014 of up to 600 inmates at Badoush prison near Mosul, Iraqi forces say. The Shia-led Hashd al-Shaabi forces said human remains had been found at the site \"with prison uniforms\". So-called Islamic State (IS) is alleged to have killed hundreds of inmates, most of them Shia Muslims, when it seized Mosul in 2014. Badoush prison was recaptured earlier this week. A spokesman for the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces, Karim Nouri, said the bodies had been \"lined up in a way that indicates they were shot dead in groups\". On Saturday, Iraqi forces said that a \"large mass grave\" had been found that contained the remains of hundreds of \"civilian prisoners who were executed by (IS) gangs after they controlled the prison during their occupation of Mosul\". The news follows a 2014 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) which said that hundreds of male inmates were murdered by IS gunmen at the time. \"We are waiting for forensic teams and human rights officials to begin unearthing the grave to uncover the whole story,\" Mr Nouri said on Sunday. After Badoush prison was seized in June 2014, some 1,500 inmates were rounded up and transported by lorry to an isolated stretch of desert about 2km (1.2 miles) away, survivors told HRW. According to the rights group's report, IS gunmen separated the Shia inmates from the Sunnis and Christians and then marched them to a ravine, where they were forced to kneel along its edge. The Shia inmates were shot in the head or back with assault rifles and automatic weapons, according to the survivors, who escaped by pretending to be dead or because they were shielded by the bodies of victims who fell on top of them. The Iraqi army's 9th Armoured Division and allied militiamen recaptured Badoush prison, north-west of Mosul, last week. A statement released by the Iraqi forces did not say whether they found anyone who was being detained by IS. On Sunday, the Iraqi military said it had retaken two more neighbourhoods in the western district of Mosul from IS. Iraqi security forces said they now control more than a third of west Mosul. Iraq's government launched an operation to retake Mosul in October, and announced that the city's eastern side had been liberated in January. Troops are now continuing their push into the more densely-populated west.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1944, "answer_start": 1103, "text": "After Badoush prison was seized in June 2014, some 1,500 inmates were rounded up and transported by lorry to an isolated stretch of desert about 2km (1.2 miles) away, survivors told HRW. According to the rights group's report, IS gunmen separated the Shia inmates from the Sunnis and Christians and then marched them to a ravine, where they were forced to kneel along its edge. The Shia inmates were shot in the head or back with assault rifles and automatic weapons, according to the survivors, who escaped by pretending to be dead or because they were shielded by the bodies of victims who fell on top of them. The Iraqi army's 9th Armoured Division and allied militiamen recaptured Badoush prison, north-west of Mosul, last week. A statement released by the Iraqi forces did not say whether they found anyone who was being detained by IS." } ], "id": "462_0", "question": "What happened at the prison?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "US President Donald Trump insists the US will still build a wall along its border with Mexico, despite ending the longest-ever US government shutdown without securing funds for the project. On Twitter, Mr Trump said the deal to temporarily reopen government was \"in no way a concession\" on the wall. The bipartisan agreement announced on Friday covers just three weeks. Mr Trump indicated he might trigger another shutdown or declare a national emergency if his demands are not met. The Republican president has vowed to reject any budget unless Congress includes $5.7bn (PS4.3bn) to fund his signature campaign pledge. The Democratic Party, which controls the House of Representatives, has flatly refused. In a tweet on Saturday, Mr Trump said negotiations between Democrats and Republicans would start immediately but would not be easy because both sides were \"very dug in\". In recent weeks Mr Trump has taken a hard line against thousands of migrants arriving at the US southern border. \"The case for national security has been greatly enhanced by what has been happening at the border and through dialogue. We will build the Wall!\" he tweeted. On Friday, the Senate and House unanimously passed a bill to temporarily end the shutdown, after which President Trump signed the bill into law. Following the votes in Congress Mr Trump tweeted that his decision was not a concession but was \"taking care of the millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the shutdown\". Most US media saw President Trump's move as yielding to political pressure after the unprecedented 35-day shutdown. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump said federal workers affected by the political standoff, whom he called \"incredible patriots\", would receive full back-pay. Mr Trump also said he would not yet resort to \"a very powerful alternative\" - an apparent reference to declaring a national emergency. Analysts say this could divert military funding towards building the border wall but would provoke constitutional uproar and legal challenges. On Friday, about 800,000 civil servants missed another payday amid the five-week closure of about a quarter of the federal government. Earlier, hundreds of flights were grounded or delayed at US airports because of unpaid air traffic controllers calling in sick. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted arrivals for about an hour at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Flights were also delayed at Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport because of staff shortages, the FAA said. Meanwhile, thousands of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees failed to show up after they were ordered to return to work unpaid, the Washington Post reported. The Trump administration recalled 26,000 IRS workers this week to handle the looming tax filing season. But about 14,000 of them did not come back as of Tuesday, IRS officials told members of Congress. In a video message to agents on Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said: \"I'm about as angry as I've been in a long, long time.\" Of the shutdown's effects on his agency, he said: \"It's mind-boggling, it's short-sighted, and it's unfair.\" His remarks came after an FBI report this week revealed its resources were at \"breaking point\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2041, "answer_start": 1148, "text": "On Friday, the Senate and House unanimously passed a bill to temporarily end the shutdown, after which President Trump signed the bill into law. Following the votes in Congress Mr Trump tweeted that his decision was not a concession but was \"taking care of the millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the shutdown\". Most US media saw President Trump's move as yielding to political pressure after the unprecedented 35-day shutdown. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump said federal workers affected by the political standoff, whom he called \"incredible patriots\", would receive full back-pay. Mr Trump also said he would not yet resort to \"a very powerful alternative\" - an apparent reference to declaring a national emergency. Analysts say this could divert military funding towards building the border wall but would provoke constitutional uproar and legal challenges." } ], "id": "463_0", "question": "How did the shutdown end?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3262, "answer_start": 2042, "text": "On Friday, about 800,000 civil servants missed another payday amid the five-week closure of about a quarter of the federal government. Earlier, hundreds of flights were grounded or delayed at US airports because of unpaid air traffic controllers calling in sick. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted arrivals for about an hour at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Flights were also delayed at Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport because of staff shortages, the FAA said. Meanwhile, thousands of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees failed to show up after they were ordered to return to work unpaid, the Washington Post reported. The Trump administration recalled 26,000 IRS workers this week to handle the looming tax filing season. But about 14,000 of them did not come back as of Tuesday, IRS officials told members of Congress. In a video message to agents on Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said: \"I'm about as angry as I've been in a long, long time.\" Of the shutdown's effects on his agency, he said: \"It's mind-boggling, it's short-sighted, and it's unfair.\" His remarks came after an FBI report this week revealed its resources were at \"breaking point\"." } ], "id": "463_1", "question": "How bad was the shutdown?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Newspaper headlines this week have advised women that they can take contraceptive pills \"every day of the month, without any break\" to avoid monthly bleeds and period pain. But the professional body behind the guidelines that prompted the news reports says their recommendations have been misinterpreted. The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) says while some women may safely try it, it won't suit everyone. Women should still talk to their doctors about what method of contraceptive is best for them. The combined oral contraceptive pill - usually just called \"the pill\" - contains hormones that can prevent pregnancy by stopping the user from releasing any eggs from her ovaries. When taken correctly, it is more than 99% effective - fewer than one in every 100 women who use it will get pregnant in one year - but it's around 91% effective based on \"typical use\". There are lots of different brands but the most commonly-taken packs contain 21 tablets - one to be taken each day for three weeks, with a seven day pill-free period at the end of the month when a woman will usually bleed. Some women can't take contraception that contains oestrogen and instead take the progesterone-only pill - also known as \"the mini pill\". The mini pill is taken daily without any breaks. The pill only works well as a contraceptive if you remember to take it as recommended. You've \"missed a pill\" if you take it more than 24 hours later than your chosen time. (This is different for the progesterone-only pill. Follow the instructions for your own medication.) Some brands contain 28 tablets - 21 real ones and seven inactive ones - to make it easier for women, meaning there is no break between packets of pills, although they will still probably have some bleeding each month. The FSRH says some women could take packets of 21 pills continuously, dropping the seven-day break entirely. Their recommendations, which are intended to guide healthcare professionals prescribing to women, say there is no health benefit from the seven-day pill break and some women can safely take fewer or no breaks to avoid monthly bleeds and cramps. It might make it easier for women to take them without forgetting a pill and reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy, they say. FSRH spokeswoman Dr Diana Mansour said: \"Pill-taking often isn't perfect; the riskiest time to miss pills is at the beginning and the end of a pill-free interval.\" Dr Jane Dixon, from the FSRH, told the BBC a lot of people stuck to the pattern of three weeks on, one week off, because they felt some reassurance that having a bleed meant they weren't pregnant. However, that bleed, she explained, actually doesn't give any such guarantee - it's just a reaction to no longer having the contraceptive chemicals in your system. She goes on: \"There's no build-up of menstrual blood if you miss your break. And actually, for many women, it's not convenient to have a monthly bleed when they don't need one. \"Also we know that quite a lot of women develop side effects in that week, like headaches and mood change.\" The pill can cause some side effects and it does not offer any protection against sexually transmitted infections. It has been linked to some serious health conditions, such as blood clots and breast cancer, although the risk is small. Dr Sarah Hardman from the FSRH said: \"We are all different: there isn't any one method of contraception that is the 'best' method for every woman, so it's really important that women have choice. \"Women need to know that there is a small increase in some health risks with combined hormonal contraception, so it isn't suitable for everyone.\" The combined pill is not suitable for women over 35 who smoke, or women with certain medical conditions. You should not take it if you are pregnant. - Taking it more than 24 hours late - Vomiting within two hours of taking it - Very severe diarrhoea that lasts for more than 24 hours - Some medicines can reduce the effectiveness of the combined pill, so check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1294, "answer_start": 521, "text": "The combined oral contraceptive pill - usually just called \"the pill\" - contains hormones that can prevent pregnancy by stopping the user from releasing any eggs from her ovaries. When taken correctly, it is more than 99% effective - fewer than one in every 100 women who use it will get pregnant in one year - but it's around 91% effective based on \"typical use\". There are lots of different brands but the most commonly-taken packs contain 21 tablets - one to be taken each day for three weeks, with a seven day pill-free period at the end of the month when a woman will usually bleed. Some women can't take contraception that contains oestrogen and instead take the progesterone-only pill - also known as \"the mini pill\". The mini pill is taken daily without any breaks." } ], "id": "464_0", "question": "What is the pill?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2430, "answer_start": 1295, "text": "The pill only works well as a contraceptive if you remember to take it as recommended. You've \"missed a pill\" if you take it more than 24 hours later than your chosen time. (This is different for the progesterone-only pill. Follow the instructions for your own medication.) Some brands contain 28 tablets - 21 real ones and seven inactive ones - to make it easier for women, meaning there is no break between packets of pills, although they will still probably have some bleeding each month. The FSRH says some women could take packets of 21 pills continuously, dropping the seven-day break entirely. Their recommendations, which are intended to guide healthcare professionals prescribing to women, say there is no health benefit from the seven-day pill break and some women can safely take fewer or no breaks to avoid monthly bleeds and cramps. It might make it easier for women to take them without forgetting a pill and reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy, they say. FSRH spokeswoman Dr Diana Mansour said: \"Pill-taking often isn't perfect; the riskiest time to miss pills is at the beginning and the end of a pill-free interval.\"" } ], "id": "464_1", "question": "Why not take the pill every day?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3076, "answer_start": 2431, "text": "Dr Jane Dixon, from the FSRH, told the BBC a lot of people stuck to the pattern of three weeks on, one week off, because they felt some reassurance that having a bleed meant they weren't pregnant. However, that bleed, she explained, actually doesn't give any such guarantee - it's just a reaction to no longer having the contraceptive chemicals in your system. She goes on: \"There's no build-up of menstrual blood if you miss your break. And actually, for many women, it's not convenient to have a monthly bleed when they don't need one. \"Also we know that quite a lot of women develop side effects in that week, like headaches and mood change.\"" } ], "id": "464_2", "question": "Is there any benefit to having a break?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3803, "answer_start": 3077, "text": "The pill can cause some side effects and it does not offer any protection against sexually transmitted infections. It has been linked to some serious health conditions, such as blood clots and breast cancer, although the risk is small. Dr Sarah Hardman from the FSRH said: \"We are all different: there isn't any one method of contraception that is the 'best' method for every woman, so it's really important that women have choice. \"Women need to know that there is a small increase in some health risks with combined hormonal contraception, so it isn't suitable for everyone.\" The combined pill is not suitable for women over 35 who smoke, or women with certain medical conditions. You should not take it if you are pregnant." } ], "id": "464_3", "question": "Is the pill safe?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Pope Francis has called for international mediation to ease rising tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear activity. The pontiff suggested that Norway, for example, was \"always ready to help\". He warned the crisis risked sparking a devastating war in which \"a good part of humanity\" would be destroyed. His comments came hours after North Korea test-fired another ballistic missile, which the US and South Korea say exploded shortly after take-off. The missile was fired from a site in South Pyeongan province, north of Pyongyang, South Korea said. US President Donald Trump accused Pyongyang of showing \"disrespect\" towards China and its president. Mr Trump recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised him for \"trying very hard\" on North Korea. The test came just hours after the UN Security Council had discussed North Korea's missile programme. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane after a visit to Egypt, Pope Francis said: \"There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example.\" He warned that the situation had become \"too hot\" and said the \"path is the path of negotiations, of a diplomatic solution\". The United Nations, he said, had become \"too watered down\". In 2003 six-party talks - involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia - were launched to address concerns over the North's nuclear programme. But Pyongyang withdrew from the negotiations in 2009. Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises. North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturise nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US. It is not known what kind of missile was unsuccessfully launched on Saturday. However, US officials told Reuters news agency that it was probably a medium-range missile known as a KN-17. The land-based, anti-ship ballistic missile has already had two failures. Meanwhile, the American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and supporting warships have arrived on the Korean peninsula. The US has threatened to use military force in North Korea if necessary. In an interview with CBS on Saturday, Mr Trump said he would \"not be happy\" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un went ahead with a further nuclear test. Asked whether that would mean US military action, he said \"I don't know. I mean, we'll see.\" North Korea has had two failed missile launches this month - but that does not mean they will always fail, an expert has said. Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told the BBC this was to be expected when testing a new missile as there was such a variety of things which could go wrong. \"Every time you have a new missile there are going to be growing pains,\" he said. \"There is nothing unusual if it is new missiles. \"It will fail until it doesn't. \"In fact, the [American] rocket which put Alan Shepard [the first US man] in space was known as 'Old Reliable', but it failed nine out of 10 of its first tests.\" Data collected by his institute also suggested North Korea's old missiles \"work just fine\", he added. Among other developments in recent weeks: - North Korea carried out an earlier failed missile launch and held a massive military parade in an apparent show of strength - The US deployed a group of warships and a submarine to the region - Pyongyang reacted angrily, threatening a \"super-mighty pre-emptive strike\" - The US began installing a controversial $1bn (PS775m) anti-missile system system called Thaad in South Korea - which Mr Trump said South Korea should pay for. Seoul said on Friday there was \"no change\" in its position that the US would pay for it - Mr Tillerson and US Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea, reiterating that \"all options were on the table\" in dealing with the North", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3195, "answer_start": 2431, "text": "North Korea has had two failed missile launches this month - but that does not mean they will always fail, an expert has said. Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told the BBC this was to be expected when testing a new missile as there was such a variety of things which could go wrong. \"Every time you have a new missile there are going to be growing pains,\" he said. \"There is nothing unusual if it is new missiles. \"It will fail until it doesn't. \"In fact, the [American] rocket which put Alan Shepard [the first US man] in space was known as 'Old Reliable', but it failed nine out of 10 of its first tests.\" Data collected by his institute also suggested North Korea's old missiles \"work just fine\", he added." } ], "id": "465_0", "question": "Are the missile failures unusual?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "About 6.5 million homes in Florida, two-thirds of the total, are without power after Hurricane Irma cut a deadly path through the state, officials say. Relief operations are under way and engineers are working to restore power, but many areas remain stranded. The islands of the Florida Keys and western parts of the US state bore the brunt of the category-four hurricane. Irma hit Florida on Sunday and weakened to a tropical storm before becoming a tropical depression early on Tuesday. The storm was downgraded as it moved north towards Atlanta, with maximum sustained winds of 56km/h (35mph) later recorded, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement. The NHC statement added that while heavy rain was expected to continue across south-eastern states, all storm surge and tropical storm warnings had been discontinued. Media reports link at least four deaths to the storm in Florida. Last week it killed at least 37 people in Caribbean islands. White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said it will be some time before residents in the Florida Keys are able to return to their homes. \"I would expect that the Keys are not fit for re-entry for regular citizenry for weeks\", he said. Speaking as he went on an aerial tour of the Keys, Florida Governor Rick Scott said: \"Power lines are down throughout the state. We've got roads that are impassable, so everybody's got to be patient as we work through this.\" The Keys are cut off from the mainland, as the 42 bridges that link them are being assessed for damage. Reports say that 10,000 people decided to ride out the storm. Although Miami was spared the worst, large parts of the city are under water. Winds have snapped power lines and 72% of homes there are without electricity, officials say. On the west coast of Florida, drone footage from Naples, a town on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico about 125 miles (200km) to the north-west, shows rows of shattered suburban homes on streets under water. President Donald Trump has released emergency federal aid for Florida, describing the hurricane as a \"big monster\". \"We feel the building swaying all the time,\" restaurant owner Deme Lomas told Reuters news agency by phone from his 35th-floor apartment in Miami. At least four deaths have been connected to the storm: - Two police officers died when their vehicles collided in Hardee County in central Florida - A person died in a single-car crash near Orlando - A man died in the town of Marathon in the Florida Keys when his vehicle hit a tree on Saturday Some 6.3 million people in the state were told to evacuate before Irma arrived. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport were closed on Monday. Night-time curfews have been imposed in areas such as Miami, where 13 people were arrested on suspicion of looting. Irma is the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, and caused widespread destruction on several Caribbean islands: - Cuba: At least 10 people were killed by the storm on the island, officials say. Three quarters of the population are without power - St Martin and St Barthelemy: Six out of 10 homes on St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands, are now uninhabitable, French officials say. Nine people had died and seven were missing in the French territories, while four are known to have died in Dutch Sint-Maarten - Turks and Caicos Islands: Widespread damage, although extent unclear - Barbuda: The small island is said to be \"barely habitable\", with 95% of the buildings damaged. One death has been confirmed - Anguilla: Extensive damage with one person confirmed dead - Puerto Rico: More than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died - British Virgin Islands: Widespread damage reported, and five dead - US Virgin Islands: Damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed Another hurricane, Jose, has been weakening over the western Atlantic, with swells due to affect parts of Hispaniola (the island split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, later this week. Are you in the region? Are you a holidaymaker unable to get a flight home or a resident who has been preparing for Hurricane Irma? If it is safe for you to do so, share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: - WhatsApp: +447555 173285 - Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay - Send pictures/video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk - Upload your pictures / video here - Send an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100 - Please read our terms & conditions", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2091, "answer_start": 1599, "text": "Although Miami was spared the worst, large parts of the city are under water. Winds have snapped power lines and 72% of homes there are without electricity, officials say. On the west coast of Florida, drone footage from Naples, a town on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico about 125 miles (200km) to the north-west, shows rows of shattered suburban homes on streets under water. President Donald Trump has released emergency federal aid for Florida, describing the hurricane as a \"big monster\"." } ], "id": "466_0", "question": "How big will the disaster response be?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2832, "answer_start": 2092, "text": "\"We feel the building swaying all the time,\" restaurant owner Deme Lomas told Reuters news agency by phone from his 35th-floor apartment in Miami. At least four deaths have been connected to the storm: - Two police officers died when their vehicles collided in Hardee County in central Florida - A person died in a single-car crash near Orlando - A man died in the town of Marathon in the Florida Keys when his vehicle hit a tree on Saturday Some 6.3 million people in the state were told to evacuate before Irma arrived. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport were closed on Monday. Night-time curfews have been imposed in areas such as Miami, where 13 people were arrested on suspicion of looting." } ], "id": "466_1", "question": "How have residents felt the impact?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4175, "answer_start": 2833, "text": "Irma is the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, and caused widespread destruction on several Caribbean islands: - Cuba: At least 10 people were killed by the storm on the island, officials say. Three quarters of the population are without power - St Martin and St Barthelemy: Six out of 10 homes on St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands, are now uninhabitable, French officials say. Nine people had died and seven were missing in the French territories, while four are known to have died in Dutch Sint-Maarten - Turks and Caicos Islands: Widespread damage, although extent unclear - Barbuda: The small island is said to be \"barely habitable\", with 95% of the buildings damaged. One death has been confirmed - Anguilla: Extensive damage with one person confirmed dead - Puerto Rico: More than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died - British Virgin Islands: Widespread damage reported, and five dead - US Virgin Islands: Damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed Another hurricane, Jose, has been weakening over the western Atlantic, with swells due to affect parts of Hispaniola (the island split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, later this week." } ], "id": "466_2", "question": "Which areas were hit before Florida?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Marco Antonio Sanchez, the Mexican secondary school student whose disappearance five days ago triggered protests, has been located. Marco, 17, was found on Sunday evening wandering Melchor Ocampo, north of Mexico City, near where a court had released him the previous evening. Police in Mexico City had arrested him on Tuesday for allegedly stealing a mobile phone he was using. His whereabouts where unknown for five days and a city-wide alarm was raised. Hundreds of people took part in a march in Mexico City calling for his safe return. The teenager was arrested by police on Tuesday while taking photos in Azcapotzalco, in north-western Mexico City. Officers accused the student of stealing the mobile phone he was using to take the photos and took him away, a witness said. His parents contacted the local prosecutor's office in Azcapotzalco the same day but were told their son had been released by the officers. Yet when they did not hear from their son, they began to fear he had been abducted. Mexican security forces have been accused of committing human rights abuses in the past, including torture and murder. In one of the most infamous cases, 43 students disappeared in the Mexican town of Iguala after a confrontation with the security forces. One of their bodies was later found. Mexico City's human rights commission demanded that police open an investigation into what happened to Marco Antonio Sanchez. Four of the officers involved in his arrest were questioned. Two of them are in detention and are being investigated for allegedly failing to follow due protocol. But it was only until Sunday that city officials announced that the student had been released the previous evening after a court in Tlalnepantla, just north of where he was arrested, ruled there were no charges for him to answer. They also released CCTV footage of the youth showing him being escorted by police into the courthouse in Tlalnepantla. Marco was found almost 24 hours later and has been reunited with his family. It is not yet clear what exactly happened to him between his arrest on Tuesday and his court appearance on Saturday night or why his parents were not informed of his arrest.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2185, "answer_start": 1423, "text": "Four of the officers involved in his arrest were questioned. Two of them are in detention and are being investigated for allegedly failing to follow due protocol. But it was only until Sunday that city officials announced that the student had been released the previous evening after a court in Tlalnepantla, just north of where he was arrested, ruled there were no charges for him to answer. They also released CCTV footage of the youth showing him being escorted by police into the courthouse in Tlalnepantla. Marco was found almost 24 hours later and has been reunited with his family. It is not yet clear what exactly happened to him between his arrest on Tuesday and his court appearance on Saturday night or why his parents were not informed of his arrest." } ], "id": "467_0", "question": "What action is being taken over Marco's treatment?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A Canadian convenience store worker and his daughter have been jailed and fined C$4.6m ($3.5m, PS2.6m) for stealing a winning lottery ticket. Jun-Chul Chung, 68, and his daughter Kathleen Chung, 36, were sentenced to seven and four years in prison. Her brother, Kenneth Chung, who ran the convenience store in a Toronto suburb where his father worked, was given a 10-month sentence. The real ticket winner eventually got his C$12.5m earnings - plus interest. \"I'm just really happy,\" winner Daniel Campbell said in 2011, when the winnings were restored. He split the jackpot with six of his colleagues who were part of a lottery pool. \"It's a big deal for myself and my family and I can maybe help them out and take care of them. I'm a little overwhelmed; a lot overwhelmed.\" Justice Douglas Gray ordered the father and daughter to each pay C$2.3m, the amount remaining on the winning ticket after approximately C$8m of assets were seized by the courts. The court found the fraudsters had used the winnings to buy a mansions and luxury cars. Mr Campbell got the ticket in 2003 from Variety Plus in Burlington, Ontario, after a previously purchased ticket won him five \"free plays\". Kenneth Chung managed the store, but it was his father Jun-Chul Chung who validated the five free plays. Upon discovering that one of them was the winner, Jun-Chul stole it and returned the four losing tickets to Mr Campbell. Then his daughter Kathleen Chung cashed the ticket in at the prize centre. Months later, an investigator for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which runs the province's lottery, discovered her brother owned the Variety Plus where the ticket was validated. But the OLG paid the ticket out to Chung anyway. The \"shocking\" fraud was highlighted in a 2007 government report on \"suspicious wins\" in the provincial-run lottery. The report called out the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for not doing enough to stop fraud perpetuated by lottery ticket sellers. The government estimates lottery retailers, employees and their families have taken home $198m in prizes over the past 13 years. \"They had a real policy of coddling up with retailers and retailers exploited that, and many were wily and got away with that,\" former Ontario's ombudsman Andre Marin told CBC News. The gaming corporation has since cracked down on retailer fraud and police have charged a number of winners.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1722, "answer_start": 1042, "text": "Mr Campbell got the ticket in 2003 from Variety Plus in Burlington, Ontario, after a previously purchased ticket won him five \"free plays\". Kenneth Chung managed the store, but it was his father Jun-Chul Chung who validated the five free plays. Upon discovering that one of them was the winner, Jun-Chul stole it and returned the four losing tickets to Mr Campbell. Then his daughter Kathleen Chung cashed the ticket in at the prize centre. Months later, an investigator for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which runs the province's lottery, discovered her brother owned the Variety Plus where the ticket was validated. But the OLG paid the ticket out to Chung anyway." } ], "id": "468_0", "question": "What happened?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Until the age of 16, my dream was to become a housewife. My mother was one and so were my grandmothers. I also didn't have many friends whose mothers worked. It was the most obvious choice. Now that I have become a mother myself, I realise it is much harder work than I'd expected. But as a teenager, supporting a hardworking husband by doing all the housework, and raising a child or two felt like a perfect fairy tale. I wasn't alone in wanting to pursue what is known in Japan as \"permanent employment\", and many of my friends have become stay-at-home wives or mums. We are in our early 30s, however, and I expected the younger generation to be different. So I was surprised to see the result of a recent survey - by Japanese advertising and public relations company Hakuhodo - which showed that more than one-third of single women in their 20s want to become a housewife. Even more surprisingly, the number of married women in their 20s who think women should stay at home and focus on housework has risen from 35.7% in 2003 to 41.6% in 2013. That's according to the National Survey on Family by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Two thirds of them think mothers shouldn't be back at work until the children are three years old, and about the same percentage of women give up their jobs after having their first child. \"Japan is a nation of housewives,\" says journalist and lecturer Touko Shirakawa who writes about women. \"There are certainly more career women today than before but it's still not the norm.\" The government wants to change this. As part of its economic policy known as Abenomics, it is trying to make it easier for women to continue working after giving birth. For example, it is tackling the shortage of childcare facilities, albeit slowly. Sagawa Express is a parcel delivery company, and has been hiring more women as its courier drivers. This traditionally male-dominated industry is known for long working hours, but the firm is allowing women to work part-time and take on flexible hours to make it easier for them to juggle work with family life. \"We have more deliveries to individual homes thanks to online shopping, which means our drivers don't have to carry parcels that are too heavy,\" Shozo Hayashi explains. \"Our female customers also feel safer if the items are delivered by women, so it has been very popular.\" But these part-time drivers earn less than 1 million Japanese yen ($8274; PS5498) a year, which means in the eyes of the taxman they remain dependents of their husband and don't pay tax on their incomes. And while there are now more households with double incomes than single, the majority of wives work part-time. What the government wants to encourage is women in full-time employment. But mothers who continue to pursue their careers are still far and few between. \"Women who don't want to quit their jobs tend not to, or at least delay the marriage until they meet Mr Perfect because there are so few jobs which you can juggle with housework,\" says Ms Shirakawa who also teaches at a girls-only university. And in most Japanese families, the housework falls on women. The government's National Survey on Family revealed that almost half (46%) of husbands do less than 10% of housework even if their wives work full time. If more women choose not to get married or have children to focus on their career, however, it affects Japan's demographic problem. The Japanese population has been shrinking annually for the last four years. Last year, the country welcomed just over one million newborns, and that is a record low. So is it possible for Japan to achieve the ambitious target set by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to almost triple the proportion of female managers to 30% by 2020? - Came into effect in Japan in April 1986 - Prohibits gender discrimination in areas of recruitment, hiring, promotion, training and job assignment Satoko Ubukata is the general manager of the advertising department at chemicals business Toray Industries, and she says she hasn't faced much sexism as she climbed up the corporate ladder. \"I graduated from university in 1986 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law had just passed, so there were 77 female new hires at Toray,\" she says. \"Thirteen of them are still with the firm, nine of whom in management.\" At Toray Industries, 4.2% of the management is female, which is the highest in the chemical industry. \"Comparing numbers might be handy, but I personally don't think setting a particular target is a good idea,\" adds Ms Ubukata. \"Women shouldn't have to receive special treatment to be promoted, but it seems like in Japan, you need the government to set the target in order for companies to act.\" When Ms Ubukata joined Toray, pouring tea and cleaning ashtrays were the duties of female staff. \"We thought that was what we were meant to do so we didn't think much about it,\" she says, adding that the custom gradually ended in the late 1990s. \"I don't think the opposition came from the female staff, but the societal attitude started to change so it was natural for the company to stop, too.\" Despite the government's efforts to get more women to rejoin the workforce, Ms Ubukata thinks Japan's problem is more fundamental. \"Regardless of your gender, it is difficult to get a full-time job after taking a long break, and it is more common for women to leave the corporate world for a few years to raise a child or look after the old,\" she says. The government is tackling the issue by creating job centres that are specifically for women with a nursery. But when I visited one in Osaka, the societal attitude remains a hurdle. \"I feel that the employers definitely prefer candidates without kids,\" says Miyoko Takahashi who came in with her one-year-old daughter. \"I understand why because I as a mother cannot work long hours. If I was on the other side of the table, maybe I'd choose someone without kids, too,\" she adds. I feel that I have done my part by giving birth and juggling motherhood with a full-time job as a reporter. But if I was working for a Japanese company and if I was married to a Japanese man, it would have been much harder. \"The government wants me to give birth, raise a child properly and work full time? Are they trying to kill me?\" is a comment that Touko Shirakawa heard from some of her female students. For Japan to fully utilise its female workforce, it will take more than just policy changes and it may take a generation or more to change the society's attitude.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6504, "answer_start": 5100, "text": "Despite the government's efforts to get more women to rejoin the workforce, Ms Ubukata thinks Japan's problem is more fundamental. \"Regardless of your gender, it is difficult to get a full-time job after taking a long break, and it is more common for women to leave the corporate world for a few years to raise a child or look after the old,\" she says. The government is tackling the issue by creating job centres that are specifically for women with a nursery. But when I visited one in Osaka, the societal attitude remains a hurdle. \"I feel that the employers definitely prefer candidates without kids,\" says Miyoko Takahashi who came in with her one-year-old daughter. \"I understand why because I as a mother cannot work long hours. If I was on the other side of the table, maybe I'd choose someone without kids, too,\" she adds. I feel that I have done my part by giving birth and juggling motherhood with a full-time job as a reporter. But if I was working for a Japanese company and if I was married to a Japanese man, it would have been much harder. \"The government wants me to give birth, raise a child properly and work full time? Are they trying to kill me?\" is a comment that Touko Shirakawa heard from some of her female students. For Japan to fully utilise its female workforce, it will take more than just policy changes and it may take a generation or more to change the society's attitude." } ], "id": "469_0", "question": "Change in attitude?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Brazil's Michel Temer is battling to save his presidency, amid allegations he authorised paying bribes to silence a witness in a huge corruption scandal. \"I will not resign. I know what I have done,\" he said in a televised address. The turmoil caused the Brazilian stock market to have its worst day in over a decade, dropping 9%. A year ago, Mr Temer took over office, after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. Now there are calls for his impeached, too. Brazilian authorities have released an audio recording where Mr Temer appears to be discussing bribes. The Supreme Court has approved an investigation into the allegations, but Mr Temer said he would prove his innocence. The audio came from a conversation between the president and Joesley Batista, the chairman of meat company JBS. It was originally obtained by O Globo newspaper, having been recorded by Mr Batista using a hidden device. Much of the conversation is inaudible, but the key line comes when Mr Temer appears to discuss making payments to silence politician Eduardo Cunha, who is currently in jail. When Mr Batista appears to imply he was paying Cunha to remain silent, the president was recorded saying, \"You need to keep that up, okay?\" It does not say what Cunha was being asked to keep quiet about. Mr Temer has said the footage is authentic, taken from a meeting in March, but he has strongly denied wrongdoing. In his address, he said, \"I never authorised any payments for someone to be silent. I did not buy anyone's silence. I fear no accusations.\" Mr Temer is already deeply unpopular in Brazil but his centre-right party has been able to govern as part of a coalition. Opposition parties have been demanding snap elections and his impeachment. Various cities held protests on Thursday night, calling \"Fora Temer\" (Temer out). Of more concern to Mr Temer may be signs of dissent within his administration, with a leader of his coalition allies, the social democrat PSDB, saying they were considering leaving the government. The allegations have rattled Brazilian markets, with investors concerned that if Mr Temer is forced out, his efforts to pull the economy out of recession would be derailed. The main Sao Paulo share index closed down 9% and the Brazilian currency suffered its worst day in 14 years. The president will be eagerly seeking the backing of Congress to secure his future. However, his economic reforms, which he saw as legacy project but which were widely unpopular, have been stalled. If he were to be impeached, his successor would be his vice president. But he does not have one. This is because he himself was rapidly elevated from vice president to president, when Ms Rousseff was impeached almost exactly a year ago. Instead the top job would fall to the Speaker of the Lower House, Rodrigo Maia, although another automatic accession would likely cause major protests and calls for an election. The next election is scheduled for October 2018 and Mr Temer plans to hold his position until then. It is the first time Mr Temer has become fully embroiled in the massive corruption inquiry known as Operation Car Wash. The probe, launched in March 2014, centres on companies that were offered deals with state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for bribes, which were funnelled into politicians' pockets and political party slush funds. The scandal has engulfed Brazilian politics, with a third of Mr Temer's cabinet under investigation for alleged corruption. Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is facing five charges. The man Mr Temer allegedly condoned the bribery of - Eduardo Cunha - is in prison for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Both men played a key role in the downfall of former President Dilma Rousseff, who was removed from office accused of illegally manipulating government accounts. She denies all the charges.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1526, "answer_start": 676, "text": "The audio came from a conversation between the president and Joesley Batista, the chairman of meat company JBS. It was originally obtained by O Globo newspaper, having been recorded by Mr Batista using a hidden device. Much of the conversation is inaudible, but the key line comes when Mr Temer appears to discuss making payments to silence politician Eduardo Cunha, who is currently in jail. When Mr Batista appears to imply he was paying Cunha to remain silent, the president was recorded saying, \"You need to keep that up, okay?\" It does not say what Cunha was being asked to keep quiet about. Mr Temer has said the footage is authentic, taken from a meeting in March, but he has strongly denied wrongdoing. In his address, he said, \"I never authorised any payments for someone to be silent. I did not buy anyone's silence. I fear no accusations.\"" } ], "id": "470_0", "question": "What do the recordings say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2284, "answer_start": 1527, "text": "Mr Temer is already deeply unpopular in Brazil but his centre-right party has been able to govern as part of a coalition. Opposition parties have been demanding snap elections and his impeachment. Various cities held protests on Thursday night, calling \"Fora Temer\" (Temer out). Of more concern to Mr Temer may be signs of dissent within his administration, with a leader of his coalition allies, the social democrat PSDB, saying they were considering leaving the government. The allegations have rattled Brazilian markets, with investors concerned that if Mr Temer is forced out, his efforts to pull the economy out of recession would be derailed. The main Sao Paulo share index closed down 9% and the Brazilian currency suffered its worst day in 14 years." } ], "id": "470_1", "question": "Can he survive?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3846, "answer_start": 2998, "text": "It is the first time Mr Temer has become fully embroiled in the massive corruption inquiry known as Operation Car Wash. The probe, launched in March 2014, centres on companies that were offered deals with state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for bribes, which were funnelled into politicians' pockets and political party slush funds. The scandal has engulfed Brazilian politics, with a third of Mr Temer's cabinet under investigation for alleged corruption. Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is facing five charges. The man Mr Temer allegedly condoned the bribery of - Eduardo Cunha - is in prison for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Both men played a key role in the downfall of former President Dilma Rousseff, who was removed from office accused of illegally manipulating government accounts. She denies all the charges." } ], "id": "470_2", "question": "What's the wider picture?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Pope Francis has made it mandatory for Roman Catholic clergy to report cases of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups to the Church. In an Apostolic letter, which is set to become Church law, he makes clear that any sexual advance involving the use of power will now be considered abusive. The clarification is being seen as a message to the Church hierarchy that no-one will be exempt from scrutiny. The Pope promised in February to take concrete action to tackle abuse. The new Apostolic letter makes clear that clerics should also follow state law and meet their obligations to report any abuse to \"the competent civil authorities\". The new guidelines were welcomed by some Vatican commentators, who argued that they broke new ground in attempts to end Church sexual abuse. By James Reynolds, BBC Rome correspondent The Pope's decree is meant to change the way the Church investigates cases of abuse. For the first time, clerics and other Church officials will be obliged to disclose any allegations they may have heard. Previously, this had been left to each individual's discretion. Reports are expected to be made within 90 days to offices within Church dioceses. The decree also defines the covering-up of abuse as a specific category. The Church's senior leaders - its bishops - are specifically included in this. That is because in many documented cases bishops covered up crimes of priests who reported to them. The decree does not change the penalties for crimes committed. \"The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,\" the Pope writes in the letter. He outlines three forms of sexual abuse: - \"Forcing someone, by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts\" - \"Performing sexual acts with a minor or a vulnerable person\" - \"Production, exhibition, possession or distribution... of child pornography\" and \"the recruitment of or inducement of a minor or a vulnerable person to participate in pornographic exhibitions\" The guidelines further cover \"actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil investigations or canonical [Church] investigations, whether administrative or penal, against a cleric or a religious\" for sexual abuse. He is under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to what is the most pressing crisis facing the modern Church - one which some say has left its moral authority in tatters. When he was elected in 2013, he called for \"decisive action\" on abuse but critics say he has not done enough to hold to account bishops who allegedly engaged in cover ups. Thousands of people are thought to have been abused by priests over many decades, and the Church has been accused of covering up crimes around the world. Survivors say new safeguarding protocols are needed to protect minors.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2907, "answer_start": 2305, "text": "He is under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to what is the most pressing crisis facing the modern Church - one which some say has left its moral authority in tatters. When he was elected in 2013, he called for \"decisive action\" on abuse but critics say he has not done enough to hold to account bishops who allegedly engaged in cover ups. Thousands of people are thought to have been abused by priests over many decades, and the Church has been accused of covering up crimes around the world. Survivors say new safeguarding protocols are needed to protect minors." } ], "id": "471_0", "question": "How much pressure is the Pope under?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Saudi Arabia has blamed the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on a \"rogue operation\", giving a new account of an act that sparked a global outcry. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News \"the murder\" had been a \"tremendous mistake\" and denied the powerful crown prince had ordered it. Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The Saudis, under intense pressure to explain Khashoggi's whereabouts, have offered conflicting accounts. They initially said he had left the consulate on 2 October - but on Friday admitted for the first time he was dead, saying he had been killed in a fight. This claim met widespread scepticism. Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi government, was murdered by a team of Saudi agents inside the building and say they have evidence to prove it. Adel al-Jubeir's comments, describing the incident as murder, are some of the most direct to come from a Saudi official. \"We are determined to find out all the facts and we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder,\" he said. \"The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority,\" he added. \"There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up.\" The minister also said that Saudi Arabia did not know where the body was and insisted the action had not been ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, seen as the country's most powerful figure. \"Even the senior leadership of our intelligence service was not aware of this,\" he said, calling it a \"rogue operation\". However, Yeni Safak, a media outlet close to Turkey's government, says it has information showing that the office of the crown prince received four phone calls from the consulate after the killing. Reuters news agency reported on Sunday it had spoken to a Saudi official who said Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a rug and given to a local \"co-operator\" to dispose of. A Saudi operative then reportedly donned Khashoggi's clothes and left the consulate. Separately, CNN quoted a senior Turkish official as saying a Saudi agent had been captured on surveillance footage dressed as the journalist. The video appears to show the man leaving the consulate by the back door on the day the journalist was killed, wearing Khashoggi's clothes, a fake beard and glasses, CNN said. In another development, Turkish police found a car belonging to the Saudi consulate left in an underground car park in Istanbul. The police asked prosecutors and Saudi diplomats for permission to search the vehicle. Turkish media also posted footage apparently showing Saudi consular staff in Istanbul burning documents a day after Khashoggi's disappearance. Saudi Arabia admitted for the first time on Friday that the journalist had died, suggesting he had been killed in a fight with some of the people he was meeting inside the consulate. Until this point the authorities had maintained that the Saudi critic was last seen leaving the building alive. Officials say they have arrested 18 people, sacked two aides of Mohammed bin Salman and set up a body, under his leadership, to reform the intelligence agency over the killing. Both King Salman and the crown prince called Khashoggi's son, Salah, on Sunday to express their condolences over his death, the Saudi Press Agency reports. Salah Khashoggi resides in Saudi Arabia and had reportedly been barred from leaving the country to visit his father who was living in self-imposed exile in the US. Meanwhile, Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who raised the alarm about his disappearance after waiting for him for hours outside the consulate, was given 24-hour police protection, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reports. Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dismissed the Saudi version of events. \"One cannot help but wonder how there could have been a 'fist fight' between 15 young expert fighters... and a 60-year-old Khashoggi, alone and defenceless,\" he wrote in Yeni Safak newspaper. \"The more one thinks about it, the more it feels like our intelligence is being mocked.\" President Erdogan said he would reveal the \"naked truth\" of the matter in parliament on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump earlier said there had been \"deception\" and \"lies\" in Saudi Arabia's explanation, having previously said he found their narrative to be credible. The UK, France and Germany expressed shock at the death and demanded a full explanation. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemned the killing \"in the strongest possible terms\". He acknowledged Britain's close security links with Saudi Arabia but warned that London would \"act accordingly\" if \"the appalling stories we are reading turn out to be true\". German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier said she would not allow arms exports to Saudi Arabia to continue, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatened to cancel a multi-billion dollar defence contract. But several of Saudi Arabia's regional allies - including Kuwait and Egypt - have come out in its support. Turkish investigators say they have audio and video evidence which shows Khashoggi was killed by a team of Saudi agents inside the consulate. Police have searched the nearby Belgrad forest in Istanbul where they believe the body may have been taken. Both the consulate and the residence of the Saudi consul have been searched.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1622, "answer_start": 847, "text": "Adel al-Jubeir's comments, describing the incident as murder, are some of the most direct to come from a Saudi official. \"We are determined to find out all the facts and we are determined to punish those who are responsible for this murder,\" he said. \"The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority,\" he added. \"There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up.\" The minister also said that Saudi Arabia did not know where the body was and insisted the action had not been ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, seen as the country's most powerful figure. \"Even the senior leadership of our intelligence service was not aware of this,\" he said, calling it a \"rogue operation\"." } ], "id": "472_0", "question": "How has the Saudi version of events changed?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3858, "answer_start": 3134, "text": "Officials say they have arrested 18 people, sacked two aides of Mohammed bin Salman and set up a body, under his leadership, to reform the intelligence agency over the killing. Both King Salman and the crown prince called Khashoggi's son, Salah, on Sunday to express their condolences over his death, the Saudi Press Agency reports. Salah Khashoggi resides in Saudi Arabia and had reportedly been barred from leaving the country to visit his father who was living in self-imposed exile in the US. Meanwhile, Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, who raised the alarm about his disappearance after waiting for him for hours outside the consulate, was given 24-hour police protection, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reports." } ], "id": "472_1", "question": "What is Saudi Arabia doing about it?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5187, "answer_start": 3859, "text": "Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dismissed the Saudi version of events. \"One cannot help but wonder how there could have been a 'fist fight' between 15 young expert fighters... and a 60-year-old Khashoggi, alone and defenceless,\" he wrote in Yeni Safak newspaper. \"The more one thinks about it, the more it feels like our intelligence is being mocked.\" President Erdogan said he would reveal the \"naked truth\" of the matter in parliament on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump earlier said there had been \"deception\" and \"lies\" in Saudi Arabia's explanation, having previously said he found their narrative to be credible. The UK, France and Germany expressed shock at the death and demanded a full explanation. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemned the killing \"in the strongest possible terms\". He acknowledged Britain's close security links with Saudi Arabia but warned that London would \"act accordingly\" if \"the appalling stories we are reading turn out to be true\". German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier said she would not allow arms exports to Saudi Arabia to continue, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatened to cancel a multi-billion dollar defence contract. But several of Saudi Arabia's regional allies - including Kuwait and Egypt - have come out in its support." } ], "id": "472_2", "question": "How has the world reacted?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5514, "answer_start": 5188, "text": "Turkish investigators say they have audio and video evidence which shows Khashoggi was killed by a team of Saudi agents inside the consulate. Police have searched the nearby Belgrad forest in Istanbul where they believe the body may have been taken. Both the consulate and the residence of the Saudi consul have been searched." } ], "id": "472_3", "question": "Where is the investigation now?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "TikTok is thought to have about half a billion active users worldwide, with a large percentage in their teens or early 20s. The short-form video app has become a fertile birthing ground for memes, many of them music-related. One example involved users and their pets switching into cowboy and cowgirl clothing at a certain point in rapper Lil Nas X's song Old Town Road - something that is credited with it becoming a huge hit. But some politicians are worried the app's Chinese owner, Bytedance, poses a risk to national security. Regulators have also raised their own safety concerns. So is the app safe or is the fervour about TikTok a tempest in a teapot? People - mostly under-20s - use the app to post 15-second videos. Many involve lip-synching to songs, comedy routines and/or unusual editing tricks. These are then made available to both followers and strangers. By default, all accounts are public, although users can restrict uploads to an approved list of contacts. An algorithm analyses what type of material each user pays most attention to, to hook them on other clips, and it's easy to lose track of time as one auto-plays after another. Members can also search for specific topics or users and browse by clicking on hashtags. TikTok also allows private messages to be sent but this facility is limited to \"friends\". Anyone over the age of 13 can use it and there are parental controls. Many of its long-term members originally downloaded Musical.ly, a rival short-form video app owned by a separate Chinese start-up. But it was acquired by Bytedance, in 2017, which merged the two platforms. Beijing-based Bytedance, also has a sister app, Douyin. This is run on a different network in order to comply with Chinese censorship rules. The company is no stranger to controversy. This past year, it garnered a temporary ban in India, a US counter-intelligence investigation and a record PS4.3m fine after Musical.ly was found to have knowingly hosted content published by under-age users. Critics in the US warn the app has the potential to compromise users' privacy. Alex Stamos, who is the former chief security officer of Facebook and now a Stanford professor, tweeted his concern after reports emerged of a clash between Bytedance's US and Chinese employees. Former members of the US content-vetting team - which removes clips featuring terrorism and pornography - had said their China-based colleagues had also told them to take down videos that would not normally be flagged for abusive content in the US, according to a report in the Washington Post. The deleted videos reportedly contained heavy kissing, suggestive dance moves and political debate. Others worry about the fact China requires its social-media apps to provide the state access to users' information. But Bytedance says data about users in other countries is stored separately and not shared with the Chinese authorities. Earlier this week, US politicians asked TikTok to testify at a congressional hearing. They wanted the company to clear up allegations it was beholden to the Chinese state. Several US senators have joined the call for a government investigation. Arkansas senator Tom Cotton has claimed TikTok might be the target of a foreign-influence campaign, like those carried out on Facebook and Twitter in the 2016 election. Bytedance says TikTok does not carry political ads - but the senator said there were still concerns China might find other ways to use \"personal sensitive information\" about the app's users. And he worries the company could be compelled to co-operate with intelligence work driven by the Chinese Communist Party. The company says it has changed over the course of 2019. It used to apply \"one-size-fits-all\" content guidelines to all its international markets - but now US moderation decisions are handled locally. Vanessa Pappas, US general manager for TikTok told BBC News: \"Consistent with our rapid growth, we are working to further strengthen the capabilities and increase the autonomy of the US team.\" In addition, the company has hired a third party to carry out an audit meant to ensure users' data is not transmitted to China via third-party apps that can plug into TikTok. What does this mean for TikTok? Grindr, the gay dating app acquired by the Chinese company Kulun, represents a cautionary tale for TikTok. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cifius) has compelled Kulun to sell Grindr, which it has agreed to do in 2020. Cifius has the power to unwind foreign takeovers of US companies if it finds there to be a national security threat. And it ruled Grindr held too much personal information about US soldiers. The same committee is now reported to be looking into the takeover of Musical.ly on the basis the company had a California base, even though it was headquartered in Shanghai. If Bytedance is unable to convince lawmakers - who are in the midst of an election cycle - it does not pose a potential threat, TikTok could suffer a similar fate. Three things could happen: - the app could be geo-blocked in the US, where it has 26.5 million monthly active users - TikTok could be spun off as a separate company based outside China - Bytedance might have to sell TikTok to another technology company TikTok also faces regulatory scrutiny in the UK. Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham confirmed in July she was investigating how it used children's data. \"We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so you can watch that space,\" the regulator told MPs.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2001, "answer_start": 660, "text": "People - mostly under-20s - use the app to post 15-second videos. Many involve lip-synching to songs, comedy routines and/or unusual editing tricks. These are then made available to both followers and strangers. By default, all accounts are public, although users can restrict uploads to an approved list of contacts. An algorithm analyses what type of material each user pays most attention to, to hook them on other clips, and it's easy to lose track of time as one auto-plays after another. Members can also search for specific topics or users and browse by clicking on hashtags. TikTok also allows private messages to be sent but this facility is limited to \"friends\". Anyone over the age of 13 can use it and there are parental controls. Many of its long-term members originally downloaded Musical.ly, a rival short-form video app owned by a separate Chinese start-up. But it was acquired by Bytedance, in 2017, which merged the two platforms. Beijing-based Bytedance, also has a sister app, Douyin. This is run on a different network in order to comply with Chinese censorship rules. The company is no stranger to controversy. This past year, it garnered a temporary ban in India, a US counter-intelligence investigation and a record PS4.3m fine after Musical.ly was found to have knowingly hosted content published by under-age users." } ], "id": "473_0", "question": "How does it work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2908, "answer_start": 2002, "text": "Critics in the US warn the app has the potential to compromise users' privacy. Alex Stamos, who is the former chief security officer of Facebook and now a Stanford professor, tweeted his concern after reports emerged of a clash between Bytedance's US and Chinese employees. Former members of the US content-vetting team - which removes clips featuring terrorism and pornography - had said their China-based colleagues had also told them to take down videos that would not normally be flagged for abusive content in the US, according to a report in the Washington Post. The deleted videos reportedly contained heavy kissing, suggestive dance moves and political debate. Others worry about the fact China requires its social-media apps to provide the state access to users' information. But Bytedance says data about users in other countries is stored separately and not shared with the Chinese authorities." } ], "id": "473_1", "question": "Why are people worried about TikTok's handling of data?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5536, "answer_start": 3636, "text": "The company says it has changed over the course of 2019. It used to apply \"one-size-fits-all\" content guidelines to all its international markets - but now US moderation decisions are handled locally. Vanessa Pappas, US general manager for TikTok told BBC News: \"Consistent with our rapid growth, we are working to further strengthen the capabilities and increase the autonomy of the US team.\" In addition, the company has hired a third party to carry out an audit meant to ensure users' data is not transmitted to China via third-party apps that can plug into TikTok. What does this mean for TikTok? Grindr, the gay dating app acquired by the Chinese company Kulun, represents a cautionary tale for TikTok. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cifius) has compelled Kulun to sell Grindr, which it has agreed to do in 2020. Cifius has the power to unwind foreign takeovers of US companies if it finds there to be a national security threat. And it ruled Grindr held too much personal information about US soldiers. The same committee is now reported to be looking into the takeover of Musical.ly on the basis the company had a California base, even though it was headquartered in Shanghai. If Bytedance is unable to convince lawmakers - who are in the midst of an election cycle - it does not pose a potential threat, TikTok could suffer a similar fate. Three things could happen: - the app could be geo-blocked in the US, where it has 26.5 million monthly active users - TikTok could be spun off as a separate company based outside China - Bytedance might have to sell TikTok to another technology company TikTok also faces regulatory scrutiny in the UK. Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham confirmed in July she was investigating how it used children's data. \"We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so you can watch that space,\" the regulator told MPs." } ], "id": "473_2", "question": "What is TikTok doing to allay concerns?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "More than 200 houses in the Australian city of Rockhampton have been flooded after a river reached its flood peak, authorities say. The Fitzroy River rose to 8.75m (29ft) in the central Queensland city on Thursday. It comes nine days after Cyclone Debbie made landfall in northern Queensland, causing floods along a 1,200km (745 miles) stretch of coast. Authorities said Rockhampton would face a \"major flood\" for at least a day. \"This body of water is incredible,\" Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. At least 217 homes had been flooded and the river was expected to remain at its current level for at least a day, said local councillor Tony Williams. Despite temporary levees being installed, floodwaters hit many buildings and forced roads and an airport to close. Mr Williams, chair of the local disaster management committee, said it could take businesses up to two years to recover. \"I think it will be the nail in the coffin for a lot of businesses,\" he told Seven News. Cyclone Debbie pounded Australia's east coast as a category four system before causing torrential rain as a tropical storm. The Insurance Council of Australia has estimated the damage bill could reach A$1bn ($770m). Rockhampton sits near the mouth of the Fitzroy River, which draws water from a catchment twice the size of Tasmania. The peak came so long after Cyclone Debbie because the catchment is upstream, said civil engineer Dr David Callaghan from the University of Queensland. \"The reason for this delay is that it is a large catchment,\" he told the BBC. \"It takes time for water in a large area of that total catchment to all arrive at once to any particular location along the river.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1683, "answer_start": 1205, "text": "Rockhampton sits near the mouth of the Fitzroy River, which draws water from a catchment twice the size of Tasmania. The peak came so long after Cyclone Debbie because the catchment is upstream, said civil engineer Dr David Callaghan from the University of Queensland. \"The reason for this delay is that it is a large catchment,\" he told the BBC. \"It takes time for water in a large area of that total catchment to all arrive at once to any particular location along the river.\"" } ], "id": "474_0", "question": "Why has the flood peak taken so long?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique thrive on their image as idyllic sun, sea and sand destinations for tourists. But few visitors are aware that these lush, tropical islands have a chronic pollution problem. A pesticide linked to cancer - chlordecone - was sprayed on banana crops on the islands for two decades and now nearly all the adult local residents have traces of it in their blood. French President Emmanuel Macron has called it an \"environmental scandal\" and said the state \"must take responsibility\". He visited Martinique last year and was briefed on the crisis on the islands, known in France as the Antilles. The French parliament is holding a public inquiry which will report its findings in December. \"We found anger and anxiety in the Antilles - the population feel abandoned by the republic,\" said Guadeloupe MP Justine Benin, who is in charge of the inquiry's report. \"They are resilient people, they've been hit by hurricanes before, but their trust needs to be restored,\" she told the BBC. Large tracts of soil are contaminated, as are rivers and coastal waters. The authorities are trying to keep the chemical out of the food chain, but it is difficult, as much produce comes from smallholders, often sold at the roadside. Drinking water is considered safe, as carbon filters are used to remove contaminants. In the US a factory producing chlordecone - sold commercially as kepone - was shut down in 1975 after workers fell seriously ill there. But Antilles banana growers continued to use the pesticide. It is a chlorinated chemical similar to DDT, and an endocrine disruptor - meaning it can interfere with hormones and cause disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes it as \"potentially carcinogenic\". It causes liver tumours in lab mice. Banana plantations in the Antilles used it to eradicate root borers - weevils that attack banana plants. Chlordecone was already recognised as hazardous in 1972. It was banned in the US as kepone after several hundred workers were contaminated at a factory in Hopewell, Virginia, in 1975. Their symptoms included nervous tremors, slurred speech, short-term memory loss and low sperm counts. As French agriculture minister in 1972 Jacques Chirac, who later became president, authorised chlordecone as a pesticide. It was not banned in the Antilles until 1993 - a delay attributed to lobbying pressure from banana growers. The chemical is very slow to break down in the environment: contamination can persist for centuries, experts say. It was restricted globally under the Stockholm Convention in 2016, along with 25 other \"Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)\". Read more on pesticide risks: \"The economic impact is enormous,\" says Prof Luc Multigner, head of research at Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Prof Multigner has investigated the chlordecone crisis and says Antilles residents are very anxious and feel the French state is not doing enough. \"The authorities have banned fishing near the coast, but small-scale fishermen get by from day to day, so they are out of work,\" he told the BBC. \"One-third of coastal waters are contaminated, all the rivers are - fishing is banned there. Agricultural land is 30-50% contaminated, so some cultivation has to stop.\" However, he notes that the chemical does not contaminate bananas. Last year the official unemployment rate in Guadeloupe was 23% and in Martinique 18%, compared with 9% in mainland France. The Antilles rely heavily on French state subsidies. Serge Letchimy, a Martinique MP leading the French parliamentary inquiry, said half of the island's 24,000 hectares (59,305 acres) of agricultural land had some chlordecone contamination, and 4,000 ha of that was totally polluted. Ms Benin said compensation claims would follow the inquiry, but \"the priority is more research, we need soil analysis and impact assessments for the affected farmers\". Determining responsibility was proving hard because the pesticide's licensing and distribution was complicated, she said. \"The kepone licence was resold several times,\" she said, adding that so far the inquiry had been unable to speak to the producers. A study in 2013-2014 found that among adults in Martinique, 95% had chlordecone in their blood, while the figure for Guadeloupe was 93%. That corresponds to about 750,000 people. In 2010 Prof Multigner and colleagues found a link between higher chlordecone concentrations in the blood and prostate cancer. Their conclusion was based on a study of 623 men in Guadeloupe with newly diagnosed prostate cancer and a control group of 671. The World Cancer Research Fund reports that prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. In 2018, the highest rates in the world were in Guadeloupe (189 per 100,000) and Martinique (158 per 100,000). The rate for mainland France was 99. \"Chlordecone contributes to the higher rate [in the Antilles], but it is not the only factor,\" Prof Multigner said. Ethnicity and lifestyle are also factors in hormone-dependent cancers. Prostate cancer is more common among Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American men than among white Europeans or Asians. But testicular cancer rates are higher among white European men. Inserm's research also found a link between chlordecone exposure and \"adverse effects on cognitive and motor skills development in infants\". Another scientific study in the Antilles suggested that the chemical was a factor in premature births. Since 2008 France has conducted public awareness campaigns in the Antilles, warning of the chlordecone risk. The islands' authorities are monitoring local fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish. The French ministers of health, overseas territories, research and agriculture have been questioned at the parliamentary inquiry. But MP Serge Letchimy said just 16% of the polluted land had been mapped and \"the measures adopted to deal with this drama bear no relation to its gravity\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2690, "answer_start": 1550, "text": "It is a chlorinated chemical similar to DDT, and an endocrine disruptor - meaning it can interfere with hormones and cause disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes it as \"potentially carcinogenic\". It causes liver tumours in lab mice. Banana plantations in the Antilles used it to eradicate root borers - weevils that attack banana plants. Chlordecone was already recognised as hazardous in 1972. It was banned in the US as kepone after several hundred workers were contaminated at a factory in Hopewell, Virginia, in 1975. Their symptoms included nervous tremors, slurred speech, short-term memory loss and low sperm counts. As French agriculture minister in 1972 Jacques Chirac, who later became president, authorised chlordecone as a pesticide. It was not banned in the Antilles until 1993 - a delay attributed to lobbying pressure from banana growers. The chemical is very slow to break down in the environment: contamination can persist for centuries, experts say. It was restricted globally under the Stockholm Convention in 2016, along with 25 other \"Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)\". Read more on pesticide risks:" } ], "id": "475_0", "question": "What is chlordecone?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4196, "answer_start": 2691, "text": "\"The economic impact is enormous,\" says Prof Luc Multigner, head of research at Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Prof Multigner has investigated the chlordecone crisis and says Antilles residents are very anxious and feel the French state is not doing enough. \"The authorities have banned fishing near the coast, but small-scale fishermen get by from day to day, so they are out of work,\" he told the BBC. \"One-third of coastal waters are contaminated, all the rivers are - fishing is banned there. Agricultural land is 30-50% contaminated, so some cultivation has to stop.\" However, he notes that the chemical does not contaminate bananas. Last year the official unemployment rate in Guadeloupe was 23% and in Martinique 18%, compared with 9% in mainland France. The Antilles rely heavily on French state subsidies. Serge Letchimy, a Martinique MP leading the French parliamentary inquiry, said half of the island's 24,000 hectares (59,305 acres) of agricultural land had some chlordecone contamination, and 4,000 ha of that was totally polluted. Ms Benin said compensation claims would follow the inquiry, but \"the priority is more research, we need soil analysis and impact assessments for the affected farmers\". Determining responsibility was proving hard because the pesticide's licensing and distribution was complicated, she said. \"The kepone licence was resold several times,\" she said, adding that so far the inquiry had been unable to speak to the producers." } ], "id": "475_1", "question": "How big is the problem?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5497, "answer_start": 4197, "text": "A study in 2013-2014 found that among adults in Martinique, 95% had chlordecone in their blood, while the figure for Guadeloupe was 93%. That corresponds to about 750,000 people. In 2010 Prof Multigner and colleagues found a link between higher chlordecone concentrations in the blood and prostate cancer. Their conclusion was based on a study of 623 men in Guadeloupe with newly diagnosed prostate cancer and a control group of 671. The World Cancer Research Fund reports that prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. In 2018, the highest rates in the world were in Guadeloupe (189 per 100,000) and Martinique (158 per 100,000). The rate for mainland France was 99. \"Chlordecone contributes to the higher rate [in the Antilles], but it is not the only factor,\" Prof Multigner said. Ethnicity and lifestyle are also factors in hormone-dependent cancers. Prostate cancer is more common among Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American men than among white Europeans or Asians. But testicular cancer rates are higher among white European men. Inserm's research also found a link between chlordecone exposure and \"adverse effects on cognitive and motor skills development in infants\". Another scientific study in the Antilles suggested that the chemical was a factor in premature births." } ], "id": "475_2", "question": "What is the health impact?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5987, "answer_start": 5498, "text": "Since 2008 France has conducted public awareness campaigns in the Antilles, warning of the chlordecone risk. The islands' authorities are monitoring local fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish. The French ministers of health, overseas territories, research and agriculture have been questioned at the parliamentary inquiry. But MP Serge Letchimy said just 16% of the polluted land had been mapped and \"the measures adopted to deal with this drama bear no relation to its gravity\"." } ], "id": "475_3", "question": "What is France doing about it?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "People angered by ambulances blocking their driveways have been asked not to leave rude notes on the vehicles because it upsets the crews. East Midlands Ambulance Service (Emas) said their staff were responding to an emergency in Leicester when someone left a note asking the staff to \"have some consideration\". The note writer said the ambulance had been there for 45 minutes. Emas has asked people to speak to their crews instead. \"It is so disappointing to see that a rude note has yet again been left on one of our ambulances,\" said Lee Brentnall, paramedic and ambulance operations manager for Leicestershire. \"This upsets our dedicated ambulance crews when they are trying to help our patients and do their job. \"Leaving a note will not resolve the situation as we are unlikely to see it until we are leaving in the ambulance to take the patient to hospital or to go to our next job.\" Emas said people should not be afraid to knock on doors and approach their crews. \"If you genuinely need to leave your house urgently and we are blocking your access, please come and knock on the door where the emergency is taking place,\" said Mr Brentnall. \"Sometimes we will be able to move the vehicle, for example if we are treating a patient but they do not need both of us there at the time. \"However, there will be times that we are treating someone experiencing a life-threatening and time-critical emergency and moving our ambulance will not be our priority. \"In these cases, you will need to be patient as we try to save someone's life.\" Earlier this year a woman who verbally abused paramedics and left a foul-mouthed note on their ambulance in Stoke-on-Trent was prosecuted for a public order offence. In May, a paramedic in London was verbally abused and had a note thrown at her for parking in a \"private space\" when her ambulance got a flat tyre. The note warned that if the vehicle parked there again it would \"be smashed\". Not all notes left on ambulances are aggressive though. Two paramedics in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, found a note which read: \"Big hugs to you all in the ambulance service. You do a fantastic job.\" Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1538, "answer_start": 891, "text": "Emas said people should not be afraid to knock on doors and approach their crews. \"If you genuinely need to leave your house urgently and we are blocking your access, please come and knock on the door where the emergency is taking place,\" said Mr Brentnall. \"Sometimes we will be able to move the vehicle, for example if we are treating a patient but they do not need both of us there at the time. \"However, there will be times that we are treating someone experiencing a life-threatening and time-critical emergency and moving our ambulance will not be our priority. \"In these cases, you will need to be patient as we try to save someone's life.\"" } ], "id": "476_0", "question": "What's the best thing to do?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been ordered by Democrats to turn over documents relating to the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine. In a letter, the heads of three House committees subpoenaed Mr Pompeo to produce the documents within a week. It is the latest move in rapidly escalating impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. He is being scrutinised for pushing Ukraine's president to investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden. In a separate development on Friday, the US special envoy for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, resigned, according to US media reports. Washington has been rocked by a complaint from an intelligence whistleblower that Mr Trump was \"using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 US election\". Mr Trump had denied putting any pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call in July, when Mr Biden was leading polls to win the Democratic nomination for the White House race. But a transcript of the call released by the White House showed that the president did press Mr Zelensky to investigate Mr Biden. Mr Trump has alleged that Mr Biden pressed for the sacking of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin in 2016 to protect a business that employed his son, Hunter Biden. Mr Biden did call for the sacking of Mr Shokin, even threatening to withhold $1bn (PS813m) in aid to Ukraine. But so did a number of other Western officials who saw Mr Shokin as a hindrance to anti-corruption investigations. Impeachment is a rarely exercised two-stage political process by which a US president can be removed from office for wrongdoing. Even if President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, he is unlikely to be forced out of the White House because Republicans control the Senate. The US president has dismissed the impeachment proceedings as a \"hoax\" and \"another witch-hunt\". The subpoena was issued in a joint letter by the House's Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees. The committees are headed by Elliot Engel, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings, respectively. In the letter, the committees said they were investigating \"the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression\". They added that the subpoena was issued because Mr Pompeo had failed to comply with demands to provide relevant documents. They said his refusal \"impairs Congress' ability to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities to protect our national security and the integrity of our democracy\". The three committees also scheduled testimony from five other State Department officials - including Mr Volker and the former US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Mr Pompeo is yet to publicly comment on the subpoena. Democrats began a formal impeachment inquiry earlier this week amid allegations that the president had abused the power of his office to help with his re-election. The whistleblower's complaint, which was released on Thursday, characterises the president's conduct as a \"serious or flagrant problem, abuse, or violation of law\". The whistleblower said they had learned from several sources that senior White House officials had intervened to \"lock down\" all details of the call with the Ukrainian president, particularly an official word-for-word transcript. \"This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call,\" the whistleblower wrote. The whistleblower's identity remains unknown, but several media outlets have identified them as a CIA officer. On 25 July, Mr Trump raised Mr Shokin's removal during a phone call with Ukraine's newly-elected president - details of which were released by the White House following the whistleblower's complaint. Mr Trump went on to discuss Hunter Biden and the unsubstantiated allegation that his father - then the US vice-president - stopped an investigation into his son's employer by lobbying Ukraine to fire Mr Shokin. The chief prosecutor's office had an open inquiry into Burisma, a natural gas company on which Hunter Biden was a board member. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Bidens. In a BBC interview, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Mr Shokin was sacked for corruption, denying Mr Trump's claims. Appointed in 2017 in a volunteer capacity, Mr Volker was a key player in US efforts to help resolve an ongoing crisis in Ukraine that started with the annexation of Crimea by Russia and Moscow's support for separatists in the east. Mr Volker was mentioned in the whistleblower's complaint on 12 August. It says that Mr Volker and the US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, met President Zelensky and other Ukrainian politicians on 26 July. The complaint says Mr Volker and Mr Sondland \"reportedly provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to 'navigate' the demands that [President Trump] had made of Mr Zelensky\". Mr Volker and Mr Sondland are also said to have spoken with Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump's lawyer, to try to \"contain the damage\" to US national security. Democrats accuse Mr Trump of illegally seeking foreign help in the hope of smearing Mr Biden. Mr Trump has acknowledged that he personally blocked nearly $400m (PS324m) in military aid to Ukraine days before the call, but denied that it was to pressure the Ukrainian leader into investigating Mr Biden. The aid package has since been released. According to the transcript, the US president called on the Ukrainian leader to talk to US Attorney General William Barr and Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani about investigating Hunter Biden's past business dealings.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2907, "answer_start": 1905, "text": "The subpoena was issued in a joint letter by the House's Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees. The committees are headed by Elliot Engel, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings, respectively. In the letter, the committees said they were investigating \"the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression\". They added that the subpoena was issued because Mr Pompeo had failed to comply with demands to provide relevant documents. They said his refusal \"impairs Congress' ability to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities to protect our national security and the integrity of our democracy\". The three committees also scheduled testimony from five other State Department officials - including Mr Volker and the former US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Mr Pompeo is yet to publicly comment on the subpoena." } ], "id": "477_0", "question": "What is the Pompeo subpoena about?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3728, "answer_start": 2908, "text": "Democrats began a formal impeachment inquiry earlier this week amid allegations that the president had abused the power of his office to help with his re-election. The whistleblower's complaint, which was released on Thursday, characterises the president's conduct as a \"serious or flagrant problem, abuse, or violation of law\". The whistleblower said they had learned from several sources that senior White House officials had intervened to \"lock down\" all details of the call with the Ukrainian president, particularly an official word-for-word transcript. \"This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call,\" the whistleblower wrote. The whistleblower's identity remains unknown, but several media outlets have identified them as a CIA officer." } ], "id": "477_1", "question": "How did we get here?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4458, "answer_start": 3729, "text": "On 25 July, Mr Trump raised Mr Shokin's removal during a phone call with Ukraine's newly-elected president - details of which were released by the White House following the whistleblower's complaint. Mr Trump went on to discuss Hunter Biden and the unsubstantiated allegation that his father - then the US vice-president - stopped an investigation into his son's employer by lobbying Ukraine to fire Mr Shokin. The chief prosecutor's office had an open inquiry into Burisma, a natural gas company on which Hunter Biden was a board member. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Bidens. In a BBC interview, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Mr Shokin was sacked for corruption, denying Mr Trump's claims." } ], "id": "477_2", "question": "What is the claim about Joe Biden?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5237, "answer_start": 4459, "text": "Appointed in 2017 in a volunteer capacity, Mr Volker was a key player in US efforts to help resolve an ongoing crisis in Ukraine that started with the annexation of Crimea by Russia and Moscow's support for separatists in the east. Mr Volker was mentioned in the whistleblower's complaint on 12 August. It says that Mr Volker and the US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, met President Zelensky and other Ukrainian politicians on 26 July. The complaint says Mr Volker and Mr Sondland \"reportedly provided advice to the Ukrainian leadership about how to 'navigate' the demands that [President Trump] had made of Mr Zelensky\". Mr Volker and Mr Sondland are also said to have spoken with Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump's lawyer, to try to \"contain the damage\" to US national security." } ], "id": "477_3", "question": "Who is Kurt Volker?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5797, "answer_start": 5238, "text": "Democrats accuse Mr Trump of illegally seeking foreign help in the hope of smearing Mr Biden. Mr Trump has acknowledged that he personally blocked nearly $400m (PS324m) in military aid to Ukraine days before the call, but denied that it was to pressure the Ukrainian leader into investigating Mr Biden. The aid package has since been released. According to the transcript, the US president called on the Ukrainian leader to talk to US Attorney General William Barr and Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani about investigating Hunter Biden's past business dealings." } ], "id": "477_4", "question": "Why is the July phone call controversial?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A final deadline for Catalonia to drop a secession bid has passed, with Spain warning it will suspend the region's autonomy. Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont was given until 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) to clarify his position. After a referendum on 1 October, he signed an independence declaration but then suspended it, asking for dialogue. Reports suggest he will press ahead on independence if Madrid moves to take direct control. There are fears that this may lead to civil unrest in Catalonia. Article 155 of Spain's 1978 constitution, which cemented democratic rule after the death of dictator General Franco three years earlier, allows Madrid to impose direct rule in a crisis but it has never been invoked. In the lead-up to the deadline, there have been mass protests over the detention of two leaders of the separatist movement. Political leaders in Madrid and Barcelona have been engaged in a tense stand-off since the disputed referendum, which Catalan leaders say resulted in a \"Yes\" vote for independence but which the central government regards as illegal. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy set the deadline for Mr Puigdemont to offer a definitive answer on the independence question, and called on him to \"act sensibly\". \"It's not that difficult to reply to the question: has Catalonia declared independence? Because if it has, the government is obliged to act in one way, and if it has not, we can talk here,\" he said in parliament on Wednesday. This was the second and final deadline, as Madrid says Mr Puigdemont on Monday failed to clarify whether he had declared independence. If Mr Rajoy decides that his government should intervene, he is expected to call a special cabinet meeting to discuss what specific measures should be taken. He is due to attend an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday afternoon. It is possible a cabinet meeting could be called before he goes or postponed until Friday. The government will then be expected to draw up a list of specific measures under Article 155 of the constitution, launching the transfer of powers from Catalonia to Madrid. The article says: \"If a self-governing community does not fulfil the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain, the government... may... take all measures necessary to compel the community to meet said obligations, or to protect the above-mentioned general interest.\" It is thought the measures taken could range from taking control of the regional police and finances to calling a snap election. Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list. The timetable for this process is imprecise. Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures. For Madrid this is about upholding the rule of law in Catalonia, protecting the Spanish constitution and disciplining what it sees as an unruly, disobedient devolved government, the BBC's Tom Burridge in Barcelona reports. However, the central government wants to minimise the risk of large-scale demonstrations, our correspondent says. Civil servants and government lawyers have thought long and hard about what measures to adopt and when and how they should be implemented. Reports in Spanish and Catalan media suggest Mr Puigdemont will move ahead with the independence bid if Madrid rejects his call for dialogue and suspends the autonomy of the wealthy north-eastern region. He is under pressure from influential factions within the secessionist movement to lift the suspension of the independence declaration. On Wednesday, Barcelona football fans called for political negotiations, unveiling a huge banner reading \"Dialogue, Respect, Sport\" during a Champions League match against Olympiakos from Greece. Mr Puigdemont appears to have one more option. If he calls elections in the region himself, Madrid would not invoke Article 155, government sources say. This would allow Catalans to decide on their future in a way that was acceptable to the central government, unlike the referendum, analysts say. But the foreign affairs chief for Catalonia's regional government, Raul Romeva, said on Wednesday: \"Elections are not on the table now.\" As well as the ruling PP, Mr Rajoy has the support of the centre-left Socialists and centrist Cuidadanos (Citizens) on the Catalan crisis. Between them they control at least 254 out of 350 seats in the lower house - the Congress of Deputies - and at least 214 out of 266 seats in the Senate. However, there have been sharp exchanges in recent days, with the head of one left-wing Catalan party accusing the government of choosing humiliation, repression and fear over dialogue. The radical left-wing Podemos party and other regional leftist groups are also opposed to the government position, and have protested against the detention of Catalan activists.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1605, "answer_start": 1077, "text": "Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy set the deadline for Mr Puigdemont to offer a definitive answer on the independence question, and called on him to \"act sensibly\". \"It's not that difficult to reply to the question: has Catalonia declared independence? Because if it has, the government is obliged to act in one way, and if it has not, we can talk here,\" he said in parliament on Wednesday. This was the second and final deadline, as Madrid says Mr Puigdemont on Monday failed to clarify whether he had declared independence." } ], "id": "478_0", "question": "What is Madrid's position?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3394, "answer_start": 1606, "text": "If Mr Rajoy decides that his government should intervene, he is expected to call a special cabinet meeting to discuss what specific measures should be taken. He is due to attend an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday afternoon. It is possible a cabinet meeting could be called before he goes or postponed until Friday. The government will then be expected to draw up a list of specific measures under Article 155 of the constitution, launching the transfer of powers from Catalonia to Madrid. The article says: \"If a self-governing community does not fulfil the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain, the government... may... take all measures necessary to compel the community to meet said obligations, or to protect the above-mentioned general interest.\" It is thought the measures taken could range from taking control of the regional police and finances to calling a snap election. Spain's Senate, controlled by Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) and its allies, would then have to approve the list. The timetable for this process is imprecise. Analysts say Article 155 does not give the government the power to fully suspend autonomy, and it will not be able to deviate from the list of measures. For Madrid this is about upholding the rule of law in Catalonia, protecting the Spanish constitution and disciplining what it sees as an unruly, disobedient devolved government, the BBC's Tom Burridge in Barcelona reports. However, the central government wants to minimise the risk of large-scale demonstrations, our correspondent says. Civil servants and government lawyers have thought long and hard about what measures to adopt and when and how they should be implemented." } ], "id": "478_1", "question": "What happens now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4365, "answer_start": 3395, "text": "Reports in Spanish and Catalan media suggest Mr Puigdemont will move ahead with the independence bid if Madrid rejects his call for dialogue and suspends the autonomy of the wealthy north-eastern region. He is under pressure from influential factions within the secessionist movement to lift the suspension of the independence declaration. On Wednesday, Barcelona football fans called for political negotiations, unveiling a huge banner reading \"Dialogue, Respect, Sport\" during a Champions League match against Olympiakos from Greece. Mr Puigdemont appears to have one more option. If he calls elections in the region himself, Madrid would not invoke Article 155, government sources say. This would allow Catalans to decide on their future in a way that was acceptable to the central government, unlike the referendum, analysts say. But the foreign affairs chief for Catalonia's regional government, Raul Romeva, said on Wednesday: \"Elections are not on the table now.\"" } ], "id": "478_2", "question": "What are the Catalan leader's options?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5021, "answer_start": 4366, "text": "As well as the ruling PP, Mr Rajoy has the support of the centre-left Socialists and centrist Cuidadanos (Citizens) on the Catalan crisis. Between them they control at least 254 out of 350 seats in the lower house - the Congress of Deputies - and at least 214 out of 266 seats in the Senate. However, there have been sharp exchanges in recent days, with the head of one left-wing Catalan party accusing the government of choosing humiliation, repression and fear over dialogue. The radical left-wing Podemos party and other regional leftist groups are also opposed to the government position, and have protested against the detention of Catalan activists." } ], "id": "478_3", "question": "How much support does Mr Rajoy have in parliament?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Most Mexicans reacted in one of two ways to the surreal news that Joaquin \"El Chapo\" Guzman, one of the world's most dangerous - and wealthiest - criminals had escaped from a high-security prison. Again. It was either anger or laughter. But it was humour that won out, at least for the first 24 hours. Pretty soon, fake selfies appeared on social media showing El Chapo outside Trump Tower smiling. A dig, of course, at businessman Donald Trump who outraged Mexicans recently when he said those who came to the US were \"bringing drugs, bringing crime, they're rapists\". Sarcasm and dark humour are what seem to be getting Mexicans through these difficult times. And these times are excruciating for President Enrique Pena Nieto too. Little over a year ago, he was celebrating catching El Chapo after 13 years on the run. He held it up as an example of how successful Mexico was in tackling the cartels, unlike his predecessor Felipe Calderon, whose so-called war on drugs was seen as too confrontational and stoking violence. So confident was he, Pena Nieto went on television to make it clear that El Chapo could not and would not escape for a second time. He even used the word \"imperdonable\" (inexcusable). It would be unforgiveable, he said, if it were to happen again. But he is going to have to beg his people for forgiveness after all. For his legacy runs the risk of being associated with El Chapo for all the wrong reasons. Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution in Washington DC says despite understanding the need to curb violence, Pena Nieto's approach has not been successful. He has, she says, essentially repeated all the same policies as his predecessor - that of targeting criminals. But it has not all been a failure. The president has tried to prioritise economic reform too and has made some progress. This week, the country held the first round of oil auctions - a huge step in opening up the energy sector to private investment. According to Duncan Wood of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Centre, it is the campaign promise that has proved most successful - but amid falling oil prices and struggling production, it has not been without its challenges either. Pena Nieto tried to look on the bright side this week, praising Mexico as an open and competitive economy on the up. But for all the talk of economics, it is public safety that people here are more worried about. The disappearance of 43 students from the town of Iguala last September was a low point for the president. The Mexican electorate has got used to years of drug violence but this was a step too far. Pena Nieto's slow reaction did not go down well and approval ratings plummeted. They have not risen much since. But even before that, there were human rights violations that have rocked the administration. In 2014, soldiers opened fire on a group of people in the town of Tlatlaya, killing 22. Seven police officers have been charged with torturing three witnesses. Then in November came the so-called \"White House\" scandal - questions about how the president and First Lady Angelica Rivera acquired their $7m (PS4m) private home. Duncan Wood says El Chapo's escape just adds to the disillusion, disenchantment and disappointment that the Mexican people already have with established politicians. But can Pena Nieto use this as a chance to look seriously at improving the rule of law? Several senior prison officials, including the head of the Altiplano prison, have been dismissed but no cabinet members' heads have rolled. For many Mexicans, that is not surprising. \"It's been made extremely clear that transparency and political accountability are not the fortes of the Pena Nieto administration,\" says Dwight Dyer of Control Risks. Promises made, he adds, have been \"broken a thousand times\". Iguala - President criticised for being slow to respond to the mass kidnapping. He gave his first public address 10 days after the students disappeared. Tlatlaya - The government was accused of delaying an independent inquiry into the killing of more than 20 people. The army initially described the incident as an armed clash but witnesses indicated that more than a dozen of the people killed had been shot after surrendering or as they lay wounded. \"White House\" scandal - an investigation by Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui revealed Pena Nieto's wife had purchased a luxury house owned by a major government contractor. It led to allegations of corruption. Aristegui was subsequently fired by her radio station, they say for an unrelated internal issue. But that did not stop accusations of censorship. El Chapo escape - The capture of Mexico's most dangerous criminal was meant to be a high point for Pena Nieto. He has lost a great deal of respect with his escape. This escape, says security analyst Alejandro Hope, has come at great cost to Pena Nieto's domestic and international image. \"His whole political persona is built on the notion that he's an efficient and effective ruler, that he can deliver things,\" he says. At the very best, this escape makes Enrique Pena Nieto's government look foolish. At the very worst, it highlights just how rotten many of Mexico's institutions are. One thing experts do agree on is the problem of institution building. Vanda Felbab-Brown says Pena Nieto has struggled with this more than his predecessors. Ironically, the one institution Pena Nieto has been trying to dismantle above all others - El Chapo's Sinaloa drug cartel - seems to be stronger than ever.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2406, "answer_start": 1433, "text": "Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution in Washington DC says despite understanding the need to curb violence, Pena Nieto's approach has not been successful. He has, she says, essentially repeated all the same policies as his predecessor - that of targeting criminals. But it has not all been a failure. The president has tried to prioritise economic reform too and has made some progress. This week, the country held the first round of oil auctions - a huge step in opening up the energy sector to private investment. According to Duncan Wood of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Centre, it is the campaign promise that has proved most successful - but amid falling oil prices and struggling production, it has not been without its challenges either. Pena Nieto tried to look on the bright side this week, praising Mexico as an open and competitive economy on the up. But for all the talk of economics, it is public safety that people here are more worried about." } ], "id": "479_0", "question": "Economic success?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Actress Uma Thurman has detailed long hinted-at allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. In a New York Times article, she says Weinstein pushed her down and \"tried to expose himself\" at the producer's hotel room in London during the 1990s, before she managed to \"wriggle away\". Harvey Weinstein's spokeswoman said the claims about an assault \"are untrue\". The 47-year-old star also said she was forced into sex as a teenager by an unnamed actor 20 years older than her. Thurman had expressed anger at Weinstein last November, saying: \"I'm glad it's going slowly - you don't deserve a bullet.\" She did not make specific allegations against Weinstein at the time. But she details her claims in a 3,000-word feature published in the New York Times on Saturday, entitled: \"This is why Uma Thurman is angry\". Among the revelations in the article are that Thurman was sexually assaulted at age 16, at the beginning of her career. She met an actor - who is not named - at a Manhattan nightclub, and was \"coerced\" when she returned to his home for a late-night drink. \"I was ultimately compliant,\" she told the newspaper. \"I tried to say no, I cried, I did everything I could do. He told me the door was locked but I never ran over and tried the knob.\" \"When I got home, I remember I stood in front of the mirror and I looked at my hands and I was so mad at them for not being bloody or bruised.\" Her allegations regarding Weinstein took place in the time period after the success of the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, which was produced by Weinstein. The alleged incident took place at his suite in London's Savoy Hotel. \"He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me... He did all kinds of unpleasant things,\" Thurman told the Times. \"But he didn't actually put his back into it and force me. You're like an animal wriggling away, like a lizard.\" She said a bunch of flowers arrived the next day with a note reading: \"You have great instincts.\" And that in the aftermath, Weinstein's assistants kept calling about new film projects. A spokeswoman for Harvey Weinstein - who is in rehab - issued a statement in the wake of the story's publication. It said his team had contacted the New York Times and sent photographs \"that demonstrate the strong relationship Mr Weinstein and Ms Thurman had\". The newspaper acknowledged receiving \"chummy photos\" of the pair at premieres and parties. \"Mr Weinstein acknowledges making an awkward pass 25 years ago at Ms Thurman in England after misreading her signals, after a flirtatious exchange in Paris, for which he immediately apologised and deeply regrets,\" the statement said. \"However, her claims about being physically assaulted are untrue.\" \"There was no physical contact during Mr Weinstein's awkward pass and [he] is saddened and puzzled as to why Ms Thurman... waited 25 years to make these allegations public\". Thurman also detailed the rift between herself and director Quentin Tarantino, who - alongside Weinstein - made Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, two of Thurman's most successful films. But she revealed that she fell out with Tarantino over a car crash scene in Kill Bill. She alleges that there were known issues with the convertible car, that Tarantino was \"furious\" at her insistence that they use a stunt driver during filming, and persuaded her to drive the car - which crashed, injuring her. The incident would mar the pair's relationship. Thurman threatened to sue Weinstein's studio but says she was denied access to the crash footage for 15 years. Tarantino has yet to issue any public statement about Thurman's claims.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2053, "answer_start": 815, "text": "Among the revelations in the article are that Thurman was sexually assaulted at age 16, at the beginning of her career. She met an actor - who is not named - at a Manhattan nightclub, and was \"coerced\" when she returned to his home for a late-night drink. \"I was ultimately compliant,\" she told the newspaper. \"I tried to say no, I cried, I did everything I could do. He told me the door was locked but I never ran over and tried the knob.\" \"When I got home, I remember I stood in front of the mirror and I looked at my hands and I was so mad at them for not being bloody or bruised.\" Her allegations regarding Weinstein took place in the time period after the success of the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, which was produced by Weinstein. The alleged incident took place at his suite in London's Savoy Hotel. \"He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me... He did all kinds of unpleasant things,\" Thurman told the Times. \"But he didn't actually put his back into it and force me. You're like an animal wriggling away, like a lizard.\" She said a bunch of flowers arrived the next day with a note reading: \"You have great instincts.\" And that in the aftermath, Weinstein's assistants kept calling about new film projects." } ], "id": "480_0", "question": "What does Uma Thurman say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2880, "answer_start": 2054, "text": "A spokeswoman for Harvey Weinstein - who is in rehab - issued a statement in the wake of the story's publication. It said his team had contacted the New York Times and sent photographs \"that demonstrate the strong relationship Mr Weinstein and Ms Thurman had\". The newspaper acknowledged receiving \"chummy photos\" of the pair at premieres and parties. \"Mr Weinstein acknowledges making an awkward pass 25 years ago at Ms Thurman in England after misreading her signals, after a flirtatious exchange in Paris, for which he immediately apologised and deeply regrets,\" the statement said. \"However, her claims about being physically assaulted are untrue.\" \"There was no physical contact during Mr Weinstein's awkward pass and [he] is saddened and puzzled as to why Ms Thurman... waited 25 years to make these allegations public\"." } ], "id": "480_1", "question": "What was Harvey Weinstein's response?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3603, "answer_start": 2881, "text": "Thurman also detailed the rift between herself and director Quentin Tarantino, who - alongside Weinstein - made Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, two of Thurman's most successful films. But she revealed that she fell out with Tarantino over a car crash scene in Kill Bill. She alleges that there were known issues with the convertible car, that Tarantino was \"furious\" at her insistence that they use a stunt driver during filming, and persuaded her to drive the car - which crashed, injuring her. The incident would mar the pair's relationship. Thurman threatened to sue Weinstein's studio but says she was denied access to the crash footage for 15 years. Tarantino has yet to issue any public statement about Thurman's claims." } ], "id": "480_2", "question": "What about Quentin Tarantino?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Claim: The US is suffering from a trade imbalance, with a trade deficit of $800bn (PS579bn) in 2017. Reality Check verdict: The President is incorrect about the US trade deficit - it was $566bn (PS410bn) in 2017. Economists generally agree that neither trade deficits nor surpluses are necessarily 'good' or 'bad' for an economy. In a marked change of direction from his predecessors and decades of American trade policy, US President Donald Trump signalled a shift away from free trade towards more protectionist policies by signing two proclamations which levied significant tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium into the United States. Part of his justification for the move was his belief that US trade deficits have hurt the US economy. In remarks at the White House announcing the trade tariff plan, President Trump said \"we lose $800bn (PS578bn) a year on trade, every year\". It's a claim he's made repeatedly, in tweets and speeches. President Trump seems to be citing the fact that the US imported $810bn worth of goods in 2017. That was what he referenced in a June 2016 campaign speech in Pittsburgh, which many in his administration are pointing to now to suggest they've fulfilled a campaign promise. But in doing so, he's ignoring the amount of services the US exported in 2017, which totalled $242.7bn. Discounting that contribution to US trade ignores a significant part of what makes the US economy tick. This is why most economists agree that the US trade deficit in 2017 was $566bn (PS410bn). Like many developed economies, the US has shifted over the past century from an economy primarily focused on manufacturing goods to one that is primarily composed of services. The service sector accounts for 90 million US jobs and 80% of US economic activity, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The biggest US service exports were travel and tourism, financial services like banking, and environmental services. In the White House speech, and in recent days, President Trump has taken particular aim at China - saying the US is losing out because of a $500bn trade deficit with China, which he also mentioned during a 5 March speech. However, the US has never run a trade deficit with China that is above $337bn. Over the past ten years, the US has run an annual trade deficit with China that's hovered between $200bn and $300bn. And when it comes to steel and aluminium imports to the US, China barely ranks. Although China has nearly half of the world's steel-making capacity according to the OECD, the US imports the majority of its steel from Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Mexico. In 2017, Chinese steel imports accounted for just 2% of the 34 million tonnes of steel the US imported, or 3% of the total value. A big reason President Trump has pursued these tariffs is his desire to appeal to manufacturing workers in Democratic swing states like Ohio. He has specifically said he wants to see the US return to being a country that \"makes\" goods. In the past, he's cited statistics that he says indicate that poor trade policies have hurt the US manufacturing sector overall. For instance, in a tweet earlier in the week President Trump said that since President George H.W. Bush came into office in 1989, the US has lost 55,000 factories and six million manufacturing jobs. According to the US Census bureau, the US actually lost a total of 77,314 manufacturing establishments from 1989 until 2014 (the last year for which data is available). However, establishments can encompass anything from a traditional factory to something like a bakery or a candy store, so it is hard to definitively say if more than 70,000 factories were lost in the intervening decades. In terms of manufacturing employment, these numbers are slightly exaggerated. The US lost a total of 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since 1989. US manufacturing employment peaked in 1979. It suffered its sharpest declines in employment in the early 1980s. Since then, manufacturing employment in America has been on the decline. Some of the decline is certainly due to unfair trade practices - but a large portion of it could be due to automation, which has resulted in fewer workers on factory floors. It bears mentioning that manufacturing employment has declined in most major western industrialised nations over the past few decades as well, although the timing of the decline has varied from country to country. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1938, "answer_start": 946, "text": "President Trump seems to be citing the fact that the US imported $810bn worth of goods in 2017. That was what he referenced in a June 2016 campaign speech in Pittsburgh, which many in his administration are pointing to now to suggest they've fulfilled a campaign promise. But in doing so, he's ignoring the amount of services the US exported in 2017, which totalled $242.7bn. Discounting that contribution to US trade ignores a significant part of what makes the US economy tick. This is why most economists agree that the US trade deficit in 2017 was $566bn (PS410bn). Like many developed economies, the US has shifted over the past century from an economy primarily focused on manufacturing goods to one that is primarily composed of services. The service sector accounts for 90 million US jobs and 80% of US economic activity, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The biggest US service exports were travel and tourism, financial services like banking, and environmental services." } ], "id": "481_0", "question": "What's he referring to?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2743, "answer_start": 1939, "text": "In the White House speech, and in recent days, President Trump has taken particular aim at China - saying the US is losing out because of a $500bn trade deficit with China, which he also mentioned during a 5 March speech. However, the US has never run a trade deficit with China that is above $337bn. Over the past ten years, the US has run an annual trade deficit with China that's hovered between $200bn and $300bn. And when it comes to steel and aluminium imports to the US, China barely ranks. Although China has nearly half of the world's steel-making capacity according to the OECD, the US imports the majority of its steel from Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Mexico. In 2017, Chinese steel imports accounted for just 2% of the 34 million tonnes of steel the US imported, or 3% of the total value." } ], "id": "481_1", "question": "What about China?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A US school district has banned students who have more than $75 (PS58) in lunch debt from attending the prom and other extra-curricular activities. The school board president of Cherry Hill in New Jersey said the plan struck a \"balance of compassion\" while \"holding people accountable\". A businessman said he would settle the debts but the board rejected his offer. The prom ban was brought in after previous measures taken by the district were condemned as \"lunch-shaming\". In August, Cherry Hill had announced that students behind on payments would only be given tuna sandwiches rather than a full meal. Following a public outcry, the board withdrew the policy, replacing it with the ban on indebted students taking part in extra-curricular activities. The district has 19 schools with a total of about 11,350 students, of whom about 20% are eligible for reduced-price or free meals, The Inquirer reports. A meal at Cherry Hill costs $3, rising to $3.10 for high school students. Steve Ravitz, who runs a Cherry Hill supermarket chain, posted on Facebook earlier in September that he would be \"happy to solve this issue\". But a later post from Mr Ravitz said: \"I understand that the board has decided to NOT accept any significant donation to help with the 'lunch' issue. Strange.\" Eric Goodwin, the school board president, said a one-time charitable donation would not help families address underlying problems, the Courier Post reports. \"Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed,\" he told the Inquirer.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1590, "answer_start": 982, "text": "Steve Ravitz, who runs a Cherry Hill supermarket chain, posted on Facebook earlier in September that he would be \"happy to solve this issue\". But a later post from Mr Ravitz said: \"I understand that the board has decided to NOT accept any significant donation to help with the 'lunch' issue. Strange.\" Eric Goodwin, the school board president, said a one-time charitable donation would not help families address underlying problems, the Courier Post reports. \"Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed,\" he told the Inquirer." } ], "id": "482_0", "question": "Why was the donation rejected?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Kim Jong-un may have made history by crossing the military line into South Korea, but it was a throwaway quip about cold noodles that began the most unexpected of crazes. Once the handshake was done and dusted, the North and South Korean leaders were not averse to making jokes and Kim Jong-un's contribution to the jollity was a remark about how he had brought some of North Korea's famous cold noodles for the summit. According to media reports, he said: \"I've been checking news and people are talking about food a lot. So I brought some Pyongyang cold noodles for President Moon to enjoy. Pres Moon, please feel easy and have some delicious Pyongyang noodles that we brought.\" Another translation suggested he also joked that the noodles had been brought \"a long way... ah, we probably shouldn't say it is far\". On the face of it, not a momentous statement of diplomacy - but his comments lit up South Korea and sparked a craze for Pyongyang cold noodles. Long queues have formed in the South outside cold noodle shops - and, on social media, the term is even trending higher than the North Korea-South Korea summit. Pyongyang Naengmyeon is the cold buckwheat noodle dish that Mr Kim was referring to. According to the Korea Herald, it shot to the top trending keywords on Twitter. But it wasn't just online that the mania was evident. South Koreans have seized the moment and gone out to eat it with lines forming outside Seoul restaurants that serve it. Sungjoo Han shared a selfie on Instagram saying: \"I ate the cold noodles for lunch to celebrate two Korea summit.\" \"There was a long line when I arrived there. No seats available in the restaurant so I had to wait to eat the noodle. I believe everybody came to the restaurant for the same reason,\" he told BBC Korean. The Yonhap news agency quotes one Pyongyang cold noodles restaurant in eastern Seoul say it had run out of parking because of the demand. It also says that at one restaurant, Jeongin Myunok in Yeuido, Seoul, people shouted with joy when they were called by the staff for their turn. \"Wow, let's try Pyongyang Naengmyeon,\" one of them said out loud. \"Let's eat them with Kim Jong-un\". One tour operator that offer tours of Pyongyang refers to the dish as one of the most \"iconic noodle dishes\", and one you'll find in every major Pyongyang restaurant. For the uninitiated, they are handmade buckwheat noodles served cold in a flavoured broth of beef, pork and chicken and topped with kimchi, cucumber and pickles or meat. In North Korea, the noodles are known as Raengmyun.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2551, "answer_start": 2163, "text": "One tour operator that offer tours of Pyongyang refers to the dish as one of the most \"iconic noodle dishes\", and one you'll find in every major Pyongyang restaurant. For the uninitiated, they are handmade buckwheat noodles served cold in a flavoured broth of beef, pork and chicken and topped with kimchi, cucumber and pickles or meat. In North Korea, the noodles are known as Raengmyun." } ], "id": "483_0", "question": "What's the dish actually like?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Ruja Ignatova called herself the Cryptoqueen. She told people she had invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, and persuaded them to invest billions. Then, two years ago, she disappeared. Jamie Bartlett spent months investigating how she did it for the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, and trying to figure out where she's hiding. In early June 2016 a 36-year-old businesswoman called Dr Ruja Ignatova walked on stage at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of adoring fans. She was dressed, as usual, in an expensive ballgown, wearing long diamond earrings and bright red lipstick. She told the cheering crowd that OneCoin was on course to become the world's biggest cryptocurrency \"for everyone to make payments everywhere\". Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the biggest and best-known - its rise in value from a few cents to hundreds of dollars per coin by mid-2016 had given rise to a frenzy of excitement among investors. Cryptocurrency as an idea was just entering the mainstream. Lots of people were looking to get involved in this strange new opportunity. OneCoin, Dr Ruja told the Wembley audience, was the \"Bitcoin Killer\". \"In two years, nobody will speak about Bitcoin any more!\" she shouted. All over the world, people were already investing their savings into OneCoin, hoping to be part of this new revolution. Documents leaked to the BBC show that British people spent almost EUR30m on OneCoin in the first six months of 2016, EUR2m of it in a single week - and the rate of investment could have increased after the Wembley extravaganza. Between August 2014 and March 2017 more than EUR4bn was invested in dozens of countries. From Pakistan to Brazil, from Hong Kong to Norway, from Canada to Yemen... even Palestine. But there was something very important these investors didn't know. To explain this, I need first to explain briefly how a cryptocurrency actually works. This is notoriously difficult - go online and you'll find hundreds of different descriptions, some of them utterly baffling to the non-specialist. But this is the first principle to grasp: money is only valuable because other people think it's valuable. Whether it's Bank of England notes and coins, shells, precious stones or matchsticks - all of which have historically been used as money - it only works when everyone trusts it. For a long time, people have tried to create a form of digital money independent of state-backed currencies. But they have always failed because no-one could trust them. They would always need someone in charge who could manipulate the supply, and forgery was too easy. The reason so many people are excited by Bitcoin is that it solves that problem. It depends upon a special type of database called a blockchain, which is like a huge book - one that Bitcoin owners have independent but identical copies of. Every time a Bitcoin is sent from me to someone else, a record of that transaction goes into everyone's book. Nobody - not banks, not governments, or the person who invents it - is in charge or can change it. There is some very clever maths behind all this, but this means that Bitcoins can't be faked, they can't be hacked and can't be double-spent. (I tested this explanation on my mother, the family technophobe, and she told me I'd failed to make it clear enough and should start again. So don't worry too much if you don't follow it either.) The key point is that these special blockchain databases are what make cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin work. For its fans this is a revolutionary new form of currency, with the potential to sideline the banks and national currencies, and provide banking for anyone with a mobile phone. And if you get in early, there's the chance to make a fortune. Dr Ruja's genius was to take all of this and sell the idea to the masses. But there was something wrong. In early October 2016 - four months after Dr Ruja's London appearance - a blockchain expert called Bjorn Bjercke was called by a recruitment agent, with a curious job offer. A cryptocurrency start-up from Bulgaria was looking for a chief technical officer. Bjercke would get an apartment and a car - and an attractive annual salary of about PS250,000. \"I was thinking: 'What is my job going to be? What are the things that I'm going to have to do for this company?'\" he recalls. \"And he said: 'Well, first of all, they need a blockchain. They don't have a blockchain today.' \"I said: 'What? You told me it was a cryptocurrency company.'\" The agent replied that this was correct. It was a cryptocurrency company, and it had been running for a while - but it didn't have a blockchain. \"So we need you to build a blockchain,\" he went on. \"What's the name of the company?\" asked Bjercke. \"It's OneCoin.\" He didn't take the job. One spring day a few months earlier, Jen McAdam received a message from a friend about an unmissable investment opportunity. Sitting at her computer, the Glaswegian clicked on a link and joined a OneCoin webinar. Over the next hour or so she listened carefully to people talking enthusiastically about this exciting new cryptocurrency - how it could transform her fortunes. All of them were \"very up-tempo, full of beans, full of passion\", she remembers. \"You are so lucky that you're seeing this webinar right now,\" she was told. \"You're in at such an early stage and it's just going to go like Bitcoin. It's going to go bigger.\" The webinar hosts talked about Dr Ruja's glittering background: Oxford University, a PhD from Konstanz, a stint with the respected management consultancy, McKinsey and Company... A speech Dr Ruja had given at a conference hosted by The Economist magazine was shown - and that's what clinched it for McAdam. \"That ticked a box... The power of the woman - well done! I felt proud of her.\" By the time the webinar had finished she had decided to invest EUR1,000. It was easy: you purchased OneCoin tokens, and these then generated coins, which went into your account. One day soon, she was told, she would be able to turn these coins back into euros or pounds. It seemed like easy money. Maybe EUR1,000 wasn't enough? The promoters said it was the larger packages that were really life-changing. The smallest package cost EUR140, but they went all the way up to EUR118,000. One week later McAdam bought a \"tycoon\" package, for EUR5,000. Before long, she had invested EUR10,000 of her own money - and persuaded friends and family to invest EUR250,000 of theirs. She watched excitedly on the OneCoin website as the value of her coins steadily rose. Before too long they had passed PS100,000 - a 10-fold return. She started planning holidays and shopping trips. But towards the end of the year Jen McAdam was contacted by a stranger on the internet. He claimed to be a good Samaritan, someone who had studied OneCoin carefully and wanted to speak to people who had invested. Reluctantly, she agreed to a conversation on Skype. It turned out to be a shouting match, but it would send McAdam's life in a new direction. The stranger was Timothy Curry, a Bitcoin enthusiast and cryptocurrency advocate. He thought OneCoin would give cryptocurrencies a bad name, and he told McAdam bluntly that it was a scam - \"the biggest scam in the [expletive] world\". He said he could prove it, too. \"Well then prove it to me!\" she replied, sharply. Over the next several weeks, Curry sent a stream of information about how cryptocurrencies work: links, articles, YouTube videos. He introduced her to Bjorn Bjercke, the blockchain developer who said there was no blockchain. It took McAdam three months to go through it all, but questions were starting to form. She started asking the leaders of her OneCoin group if there was a blockchain. At first she was told it was something she didn't need to know, but when she persisted she finally got the truth in a voicemail in April 2017. \"OK Jen... they don't want to disclose that kind of information, just in case something goes wrong where the blockchain is being held. And plus, as an application, it doesn't need a server behind it. So it's our blockchain technology, a SQL server with a database.\" But by this stage, thanks to Curry and Bjercke, she knew that a standard SQL server database was no basis for a genuine cryptocurrency. The manager of the database could go in and change it at will. \"I thought, 'What???' And literally my legs just went, and I fell on the floor,'\" she says. The inescapable conclusion was that those rising numbers on the OneCoin website were meaningless - they were just numbers typed into a computer by a OneCoin employee. Far from putting an end to their financial worries, she and her friends and family had thrown a quarter of a million euros away. Although Jen McAdam had now seen the light, few other OneCoin investors had. Dr Ruja was still travelling the world to sell her vision - hopping from Macau to Dubai to Singapore, filling out arenas, pulling in new investors. OneCoin was still growing fast, and Dr Ruja was starting to spend her new fortune: buying multi-million-dollar properties in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, and the Black Sea resort of Sozopol. In her downtime she would throw parties on her luxurious yacht The Davina. At one, in July 2017, the American pop star Bebe Rexha performed a private set. Despite the successful facade, trouble was brewing. The opening of a long-promised exchange that would allow OneCoin to be turned into cash kept being delayed - and investors were growing more and more concerned. This was to be resolved at a large gathering of European OneCoin promoters in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 2017. But when the day came, Dr Ruja - who was famously punctual - didn't show up. \"She was on her way. Nobody knew why she wasn't there,\" recalls one delegate. Frantic calls and messages went unanswered. The head office in Sofia, where she was such an imposing presence, didn't know anything either. Dr Ruja had vanished. Some feared she'd been killed or kidnapped by the banks, who - they'd been told - had most to fear from the cryptocurrency revolution. In fact, she had gone underground. FBI records presented in court documents earlier this year indicate that on 25 October 2017, just two weeks after her Lisbon no-show, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens. And then went completely off radar. That was the last time anyone saw or heard from Dr Ruja. Igor Alberts is wearing black-and-gold everything. Black-and-gold shoes, black-and-gold pleated suit, black-and-gold shirt, black-and-gold sunglasses, and he has a thick black-and-gold ring on. And every item of clothing is Dolce and Gabbana. \"When you look at my clothes, they are disciplined,\" he says. His wife, Andreea Cimbala, nods along, adding that if he wakes up and puts on pink underwear, he sticks to pink as he chooses his shirt, trousers and jacket. They live in an enormous house in an affluent neighbourhood on the outskirts of Amsterdam. At the gated entrance to their mansion is a 10ft-high wrought iron gate with their names and the slogan \"What dreams may come\". A Maserati and Aston Martin are parked outside. Alberts was brought up in a poor neighbourhood. Then he got into network marketing, or multi-level marketing (MLM) as it is often known, and started making money. Lots of money. He claims he has made EUR100m over the last 30 years. Here is how multi-level marketing works. I pay PS100 to start selling vitamin tablets directly to people. I sell a box to my friends, Georgia and Phil, and make a small cut. But then I recruit Georgia and Phil to start selling too, and I make a cut on their sales as well. They are now in what's called my downline. Phil and Georgia both recruit two people, and then all four of them recruit two more, and so on. This mushrooms very rapidly - 25 rounds of recruitment later and everyone in the UK would be selling vitamins. (And I, at the top, would be making a cut on all the sales.) MLM is not illegal. Big companies like Amway and Herbalife use these techniques. But it is controversial, because usually only a small number of people make all the money. It's also notorious for exaggerated promises of high earnings and tough sales targets. When there is nothing of value to sell, though, and all the money is made by recruiting other people, it is illegal and goes by another name: a pyramid scheme. In May 2015, already a very successful MLM seller, Igor Alberts was invited to a OneCoin event in Dubai, where he met lots of people, all apparently making fortunes with this new currency. Dr Ruja herself made a powerful impression too, with her \"princess's dresses\" and her vision of a financial revolution. Igor returned with a new mission - and gave new instructions to all the salespeople in his downline: stop whatever you're doing, and start selling OneCoin. \"We gathered the teams together and we started to work like crazy,\" he says. \"We made in our first month almost EUR90,000 out of nothing. Bang!\" Dr Ruja's genius was to recognise that established MLM sellers with huge downlines were the perfect vehicle to market her fake coin - a plan the FBI says she privately referred to as \"the bitch of Wall Street, meets MLM\". This was the secret of OneCoin's success. It wasn't just a fake cryptocurrency, it was an old-fashioned pyramid scheme, with the fake coin as its \"product\". No wonder it spread like wildfire. Fairly soon Igor Alberts was making more than EUR1m a month from OneCoin, which quickly became the biggest product in network marketing. \"No other company even came close,\" Alberts says. Sixty per cent of the income Igor Alberts and Andreea Cimbala made from OneCoin (in the end, more than EUR2m per month) was paid in cash, the rest in OneCoin. But they used some of this cash to buy more OneCoin. They, like almost everyone else involved, were convinced they were earning a fortune. \"I did the calculation how many coins we needed to become the richest person on the planet,\" Igor says. \"I said to Andreea, 'We need to build it up to 100 million coins, because when this coin goes to EUR100 and we have 100 million, we are richer than Bill Gates.' It's mathematic. It's easy as that.\" The nature of MLM networks - where people often recruit others who are close to them - creates a blurred sense of responsibility. Blame is not easy to apportion. And if sellers have invested their own money, they are victims too. After Dr Ruja's non-appearance in Lisbon, a point came when Igor Alberts, like Jen McAdam, asked to see evidence of the blockchain. He didn't get it, and in December 2017 he quit. I ask if he felt guilty, for having sold so many people a coin that didn't exist, and for having made so much money in the process. \"I felt responsibility. Not guilt,\" he replies. \"You can never be blamed for believing in something. I had no clue that it could be false. I didn't even know what is a blockchain... What doubt can I have?\" He points out that he spent millions buying OneCoin, possibly more than anyone else. By contrast, Jen McAdam says she bears a heavy burden of guilt. I ask her how much she earned from selling OneCoin and she says it was EUR3,000 - EUR1,800 of which she received in cash, and which she used to buy more OneCoin. She feels guilty towards those who she introduced to OneCoin, she says, but also towards her late father, a miner, who worked hard all his life in horrible conditions, and left her the money that she then gave away. It's hard to know how much money has been put into OneCoin. Documents leaked to the BBC say EUR4bn between August 2014 and March 2017. I've also been told by more than one person that it could be as much as EUR15bn. There's a famous saying in journalism, \"Follow the money.\" So with Georgia Catt, producer of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, I went to see Oliver Bullough, an expert on what he calls Moneyland - the shadowy parallel world where criminals and the super-rich hide their wealth. The problem, he explains, is that following the money isn't as easy as it sounds, because criminals structure their companies and bank accounts in such a way that their assets seem to disappear. \"They still exist\", he says, in his garden near the village of Hay-on-Wye. \"You can still use them to buy things, you can still use them to buy political influence and nice houses and yachts. But when it comes to someone trying to find them - whether that's a journalist or a police officer - they are invisible.\" It's no surprise, then, that OneCoin's corporate structure is incredibly complicated. Here's an example: Ruja bought a very large property in central Sofia. Technically it was owned by a company called One Property. One Property was owned by another company called Risk Ltd. Risk Ltd was owned by Ruja, but was then transferred to some unnamed Panamanians, but it was still managed by another company called Peragon. And Peragon was owned by another company called Artefix, which was owned by Ruja's mother, Veska. And then in 2017, the ownership of Artefix was sold to an unknown man in his 20s. Oliver describes this kind of dizzying arrangement as \"improbably standard\". For several months, a French journalist called Maxime Grimbert tried to unpick OneCoin's corporate workings, collecting as many company names and bank account details as he could. I show his results to Bullough, who immediately notices how many British companies there are. \"British companies are the companies of choice,\" he comments. \"They're very easy to set up and they look legitimate.\" He takes the first one on the list and looks it up on the Companies House website. Everything is meant to be transparent - the website contains the details of every company in the UK. It's thought to be a key anti-corruption tool. \"We are very proud of this in this country,\" he says. \"The problem is that when you create this company, no-one checks any of the information provided.\" He clicks to see the company's filing history, but where you should see company accounts, there is nothing. \"This is classic,\" he exclaims. \"Look, nothing has happened. They have filed no financial information at all.\" Then he tries checking the company's owners. The UK began to insist recently that companies must enter the name of the person with \"significant control\" - the real owner. \"This is supposed to mean that you can no longer use a British company to hide behind,\" he says, as he scrolls down the page. \"Oh, hey presto, they haven't filed a person with significant control. That's illegal... That is an anonymous shell company, as anonymous as anything that you can buy anywhere in the Seychelles or Nevis or the Marshall Islands or Vanuatu.\" So much for following the money. In an interconnected global economy, assets can simply vanish, and you end up chasing shadows. Listen to The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, with Jamie Bartlett and producer Georgia Catt, on BBC Sounds When you're dealing with a scam worth billions of euros, it's not unusual for shadowy groups to get involved. Several of the people Georgia and I interviewed spoke darkly about mysterious people and connections they didn't want to name. \"When you talk about the amount of money that's been put into OneCoin of course there's people out there who are pissed off and would do anything to shut anyone like me up,\" says Bjorn Bjercke, the blockchain expert who discovered there was no blockchain, and started talking about it publicly. He tells me he's received death threats as a result of speaking out. \"If I knew what I would have to go through, I would have never blown the whistle. I would have just turned my back and walked away,\" he says. When I ask him who might be behind the threats, he won't elaborate. \"I can't discuss that. It starts to get very very very scary, very very very fast.\" According to Bjercke, Dr Ruja never expected OneCoin to grow so big. People involved at the early stages have told him it was never supposed to be a billion-dollar scam. She tried to close it down, he says, but the dark forces wouldn't let her. \"Once OneCoin was running above 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, something happened where she was unable to stop it,\" Bjercke says. \"I think she was so scared in the fall of 2017 that she decided to skip.\" Igor Alberts, the MLM seller, also talks about the involvement of \"very influential people\". When I ask for more details, he replies: \"No, I cannot tell that because I don't want to take that risk with our lives.\" It's not clear who Bjorn and Igor are talking about, or whether they are even talking about the same people, but the US Department of Justice claims to have evidence of a link between Dr Ruja's brother, Konstantin Ignatov - who took over the running of OneCoin when Ruja disappeared - and \"significant players in Eastern European organised crime\". On 6 March 2019 Konstantin Ignatov was at Los Angeles International airport, waiting to fly back to Bulgaria after some OneCoin meetings in the US. Just as he was boarding his flight home, he was pounced on by FBI agents, arrested ,and charged with fraud in connection with OneCoin. Around the same time, the US authorities charged Dr Ruja in absentia for wire fraud, security fraud and money laundering. Amazingly, even after this, OneCoin continued to function - and people continued to invest in it. When Georgia and I visited Sofia a month later, Dr Ruja's personal mansion appeared to be locked up and empty, but the OneCoin office gave every appearance of being a busy workplace. Why have so many people continued to believe in OneCoin, despite all the evidence? Investors often told us that what drew them in initially was the fear that they would miss out on the next big thing. They'd read, with envy, the stories of people striking gold with Bitcoin and thought OneCoin was a second chance. Many were struck by the personality and persuasiveness of the \"visionary\" Dr Ruja. Investors might not have understood the technology, but they could see her talking to huge audiences, or at the Economist conference. They were shown photographs of her numerous degrees, and copies of Forbes magazine with her portrait on the front cover. The degrees are genuine. The Forbes cover isn't: it was actually an inside cover - a paid-for advertisement - from Forbes Bulgaria, but once the real cover was ripped off, it looked impressive. But it seems it's not just the promise of riches that keeps people believing. After Jen McAdam invested into OneCoin she was constantly told she was part of the OneCoin \"family\". She was entered into a Whatsapp group, with its own \"leader\" who disseminated information from the headquarters in Sofia. And McAdam's leader prepared her carefully for conversations with OneCoin sceptics. \"You're told not to believe anything from the 'outside world',\" she recalls. \"That's what they call it. 'Haters' - Bitcoiners are 'haters'. Even Google - 'Don't listen to Google!'\" Any criticism or awkward questions were actively discouraged. \"If you have any negativity you should not be in this group,\" she was told. Prof Eileen Barker of the London School of Economics, who has spent years studying groups like the Moonies and Scientologists, says there are similarities between OneCoin and messianic millennium cults, where people believe they are part of something big that is going to change the world - and no matter what the evidence, once they've signed up, it's very hard for them to admit they are wrong. \"When prophecy fails they believe more strongly,\" she says. \"Particularly if you have invested something, not only money, but belief, reputation, intelligence. You think, 'Wait a bit longer.'\" Money might push people to invest in the first place, but the sense of belonging, of doing something, of achieving something, is why they stay, Barker says. \"And in that sense it's cultic.\" In an ideal world, regulators would take action to protect consumers from scams like OneCoin. But the authorities all over the world have been slow to react, partly because the whole area of cryptocurrencies is relatively new. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is responsible for regulating financial markets in the UK, issued a warning on its website only in September 2016. \"We believe consumers should be wary of dealing with OneCoin,\" it said. \"We are concerned about the potential risk this poses to UK consumers.\" Less than a year later, the warning was removed from the website. The FCA said it had been up for long enough, but OneCoin promoters presented this as proof that the UK authorities considered OneCoin a legitimate investment. \"There's the answer, right from the horse's mouth, it's official,\" said one promoter from Alberta, Canada, in a video posted online. \"If they still thought we were a fraudulent company, then guess what, that warning's not removed. Game over.\" Several OneCoin events took place in the UK after the FCA took down the warning, and money continued to be invested. The FCA did not respond to the BBC's request to comment. The fact that OneCoin was operating internationally also created difficulties for the authorities. In August this year, the City of London police ended a two-year investigation into OneCoin. \"The companies and individuals behind OneCoin are based outside UK jurisdiction,\" it said. \"We've been unable to identify UK-based assets, which could be used to compensate UK investors.\" Such explanations don't offer much comfort to those affected. \"I'm devastated for all the UK victims,\" Jen McAdam told me, when she heard the news. She now runs Whatsapp support groups for OneCoin investors who realise they have been swindled. \"Where's the support? Where's the help? More folk are going to promote this. It's a green light for the OneCoin scammers to continue and extort more money from innocent people in the UK and nothing has been done about it. They don't care!\" The City of London Police told the BBC: \"There was insufficient evidence to support criminal proceedings against individuals based in the UK, though the force has never specified that there had been no concerns surrounding OneCoin. The force has provided assistance to foreign law enforcement partners in respect of their investigations concerning OneCoin personnel and will continue to do this. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud in relation to OneCoin or you suspect someone of actively marketing OneCoin, please come forward and report it to Action Fraud online.\" Until this week, however, the OneCoin head office remained open for business - and people were continuing to promote the currency. In the Ntangamo region of Uganda, not far from Rwandan border, most people make their living growing bananas, or sometimes cassava, sweet potato, beans or groundnut. In 2016 it was here that 22-year-old Daniel Lienhardt came as he was scraping together the 700,000 Ugandan shillings ($250) he needed to buy a OneCoin starter package. He already had 400,000 shillings in savings, and to raise the rest he returned from the capital, Kampala, to his family home, took three goats raised by his younger brothers, and sold them. \"There was no other way,\" he says ruefully. Daniel is one of thousands of Ugandans who've bought into Dr Ruja's fake cryptocurrency - and the OneCoin financial documents leaked to the BBC reveal that as time went on, investors like him became increasingly important to OneCoin. In Europe, less money was invested in the first six months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. But in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, it was the other way round. As the money started drying up in Europe, promoters turned more and more to countries like Uganda. Daniel took me and Georgia to meet Prudence, who first introduced him to OneCoin. They are still friends, even though both now realise it's a scam. Prudence is a nurse in a Kampala slum, who thought she could make more money selling OneCoin and set about recruiting new investors. A senior promoter gave her a nice car to impress customers, and instructed her to visit farmers when their crops were being harvested and they had money in their pocket. People in villages trust people from the city, Prudence tells us. To buy the packages some sold their cattle, their land and even their houses - with disastrous consequences. \"Some of their kids are at home sitting without going to school - some don't have anywhere to sleep. Some are running because they got loans from a bank. Some are hiding. Some are divorced.\" If anyone asks Prudence when the investment is going to deliver the promised riches, she tells them to wait. She can't bring herself to tell them the truth. \"I'm somehow hiding myself. I don't want those people I introduced into OneCoin to see me moving around. They can easily kill me. They thought I ate their money.\" But though she has stopped recruiting, many others haven't, and there are still plenty of interested buyers, she says. One of the main OneCoin offices in Kampala is attached to a church. There are videos of the minister, known as Bishop Fred, leading the congregation in call and response. \"One Life!\" he shouts. \"One Coin!\" the congregations replies. Bishop Fred, we learned, is now one of the country's top promoters of OneCoin, though he says it's no longer promoted during church services. As in other countries, OneCoin has spread here through networks of friends and families. Together with Daniel, Georgia and I travel south to meet his mother. She lives in a concrete house with a tin roof - five small rooms, a small television and a cooking area. A towel covers the front door, and a few metres away is her land, where she grows her own food and sells anything left over at the local market. The family had saved about PS3,000 to buy a maize store so that Daniel's mother could stop spending every day in the fields. But when Daniel found out about OneCoin, it suddenly seemed like a much better alternative. His mother had doubts, but he persuaded her to put the money into OneCoin instead. She had no computer or smartphone, to do her own research. She doesn't speak English either, so I'm shocked to discover, as we sit and talk, that Daniel has never actually told his mother that the money is lost. \"I've never told her directly that it's not going to work - that there is no more money, there's no more hope,\" he tells me. \"I've been telling her it's changing. They keep postponing this. That I don't know what they're thinking. Maybe it's just a delay. I haven't given her 100% full confirmation that it won't work.\" I ask him why not. \"It's hard. It's hard to say.\" Daniel's mother then tells us that when she first saw me and Georgia, she assumed it was a good sign - that perhaps it meant that her money was going to arrive at last. She asks what news we have about OneCoin. Will she get her money back? I look at Daniel. \"Maybe you can tell her... Maybe...\" he says. He doesn't seem certain it's a good idea. Perhaps it would put him in an uncomfortable position. I don't want to be the person that breaks the news to Daniel's mother. Georgia suggests we tell Daniel's mother that we are journalists, and that we are investigating OneCoin because a lot of people aren't getting their money. Daniel translates, and his mother's reply comes back. \"If you have your money and it's taken away from you, life becomes stressful,\" she says. \"You've been planning, planning for something. If it doesn't happen, life is hard.\" When we started planning the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast in late 2018, no-one really had a clue what happened to Dr Ruja after her disappearance. It was only earlier this year that the US authorities revealed she'd flown to Athens on 25 October 2017. And even then, the question remained, where had she gone next? There were rumours of course - lots of them. Igor Alberts, the MLM kingpin, said he'd heard she has Russian and Ukrainian passports and travels back and forth between Russia and Dubai. It's also been suggested that there are powerful people who might protect her in her native Bulgaria - and that she could hide in plain sight because of plastic surgery that makes her unrecognisable. I've even heard that she might be in London. Others told us she was dead - which does remain a possibility. This is clearly a question for a professional, which is why Georgia and I went to see private investigator Alan McLean. Finding people is his speciality, and there is one thing above all he says we should focus on. \"What was her lifestyle? That's the most important thing of all,\" he says. \"Go back to her life before OneCoin. Find out who her friends were, what her lifestyle was like, her family.\" Another tip he gives us is to find out where she has been on her yacht. We should try to get the tracker off it, he says, and he doesn't appear to be joking. I explain that this is probably beyond my abilities (apart from being illegal). Then he says I should check what yachts were bought in Athens around the time she arrived there from Sofia. \"In my opinion, for what it's worth, she's moving around the Mediterranean,\" he says. A few weeks after our meeting Alan gets back in touch, with some amazing information. His colleagues - also private investigators - visited top-end restaurants in Athens armed with photos of Ruja, and in one of them several waiters claimed to clearly remember her dining there earlier this year. When Georgia and I called them ourselves to check, they confirmed it. So it seems Ruja is still alive, and is able to visit a European capital without fearing arrest. Another lead comes our way when we pay a visit to a bizarre OneCoin beauty pageant in Bucharest. It's as glitzy as you would expect. Men are drinking champagne from the bottle, everyone is eyeing us in a way that makes us feel very uncomfortable. We soak up the atmosphere, cheer the British contestant, and then leave. But later we hear that we might have been in the presence of Dr Ruja - that she was there, in the same room, right in front of our noses. Except now with plastic surgery, and so harder to spot. From either Greece or Romania Dr Ruja could be extradited to the US. If it's true she was in these countries earlier this year, she probably has a fake identity. Taking seriously Alan McLean's advice about studying Dr Ruja's life before OneCoin, Georgia and I turn to the internet, which fortunately never forgets anything. Even the most obscure entry or innocuous comment on a forum is usually saved somewhere, and with enough digging can be found. You've heard of Google, but there are several other search engines that specialise in this. So we start unearthing previous addresses, known friends, old phone numbers, anything that could help us. We already knew that Dr Ruja spent some of her childhood in Schramberg, southern Germany. We had also visited the town of Waltenhofen in Bavaria, not far away, where she and her father bought a steelworks around a decade ago, an episode that led to her being tried for fraud. (She received a fine and a suspended sentence in October 2016.) While in Waltenhofen, we learned that she had a German husband, a lawyer for the well-known firm, Linklaters. But we were still surprised when, during our internet searches, Frankfurt started appearing over and over again. It wasn't a place we'd previously thought of looking. There were several old addresses in the Frankfurt area - ones she'd posted in forums many years ago, or were associated somehow with old phone numbers of hers. Then we started looking at some old photos of Ruja, and spotted one friend who appeared with her all the way back to 2011. And that friend was visiting the richest neighbourhood in Frankfurt in summer this year. From a tiny fragment of a poster advertising a tennis tournament, an expert identified the park in which one photograph was taken. We also learned that Dr Ruja had a daughter in late 2016, and that she remained very close to her. The daughter, we were informed, might be in Frankfurt. This is also where Dr Ruja's husband - or perhaps ex-husband - lives and works. Armed with a microphone and several photographs of Dr Ruja, we headed off to Frankfurt and searched old addresses and gated neighbourhoods said to be the most expensive in Germany. A couple of people looked at the photographs and paused for a long time, raising our hopes - but then said they didn't recognise her. A postman thought he recognised the name, but couldn't be sure. We called the lawyer who is (or was) married to her, and he didn't want to talk. Did we get close to her? Could she really be hiding out in the heart of the EU? We don't know. Frankfurt probably isn't the only place she goes - it might be one of several places, including perhaps Dubai and Russia. Then a few days later we received a call from a trusted source we cannot identify. He told us we were right - Frankfurt is indeed where she spends much of her time. But we need to keep going, we needed to find the house. \"You will find her,\" he said. \"You must dig deeper.\" She would have known that we were looking for her, he added, and she would have laughed at us. On 5 November 2019, the day after the final episode of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast was released, Dr Ruja's brother, Konstantin Ignatov, appeared in court in New York, testifying for the government in a case against a lawyer accused of laundering $400m of the money OneCoin made in the US. In court it was revealed that Ignatov signed a plea deal on 4 October, in which he pleaded guilty to several fraud charges. A court reporter was there to hear his testimony, and according to his account of the proceedings Ignatov appears to have implied that his sister had duped him with the same line the organisation put out to its investors - that OneCoin critics were \"haters\" who could not be believed. She vanished, he said, because she was afraid that somebody close to her was going to give her up to the FBI. She had got hold of a \"big passport\", he said, and asked him to get her plane tickets to Vienna, then Athens. OneCoin has always denied wrongdoing. It told the BBC: \"OneCoin verifiably fulfils all criteria of the definition of a crypto-currency.\" It said the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast \"will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased\". It added that the allegations made about it around the world were being challenged, stating: \"Our partners, our customers and our lawyers are fighting successfully against this action around the globe and we are sure that the vision of a new system on the basis of a 'financial revolution' will be established.\" OneCoin was a familiar scam with a digital twist - a new and hugely successful take on the old pyramid scheme. But to me it symbolises something else too. It represents the dark side of rapid technological change - the way that every new technology creates amazing new opportunities and possibilities for people who understand it, but also the chance to exploit the people who don't. Dr Ruja identified several of society's weak spots and exploited them. She knew there would be enough people either desperate enough, or greedy enough, or confused enough to take a bet on OneCoin. She understood that truth and lies are getting harder to tell apart when there is so much contradictory information online. She spotted that society's defence against OneCoin - the law-makers, the police, and also us in the media would struggle to understand what was happening. And, most frustratingly of all, she correctly guessed that by the time we realised it, she'd be gone, along with the money.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 39566, "answer_start": 31414, "text": "When we started planning the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast in late 2018, no-one really had a clue what happened to Dr Ruja after her disappearance. It was only earlier this year that the US authorities revealed she'd flown to Athens on 25 October 2017. And even then, the question remained, where had she gone next? There were rumours of course - lots of them. Igor Alberts, the MLM kingpin, said he'd heard she has Russian and Ukrainian passports and travels back and forth between Russia and Dubai. It's also been suggested that there are powerful people who might protect her in her native Bulgaria - and that she could hide in plain sight because of plastic surgery that makes her unrecognisable. I've even heard that she might be in London. Others told us she was dead - which does remain a possibility. This is clearly a question for a professional, which is why Georgia and I went to see private investigator Alan McLean. Finding people is his speciality, and there is one thing above all he says we should focus on. \"What was her lifestyle? That's the most important thing of all,\" he says. \"Go back to her life before OneCoin. Find out who her friends were, what her lifestyle was like, her family.\" Another tip he gives us is to find out where she has been on her yacht. We should try to get the tracker off it, he says, and he doesn't appear to be joking. I explain that this is probably beyond my abilities (apart from being illegal). Then he says I should check what yachts were bought in Athens around the time she arrived there from Sofia. \"In my opinion, for what it's worth, she's moving around the Mediterranean,\" he says. A few weeks after our meeting Alan gets back in touch, with some amazing information. His colleagues - also private investigators - visited top-end restaurants in Athens armed with photos of Ruja, and in one of them several waiters claimed to clearly remember her dining there earlier this year. When Georgia and I called them ourselves to check, they confirmed it. So it seems Ruja is still alive, and is able to visit a European capital without fearing arrest. Another lead comes our way when we pay a visit to a bizarre OneCoin beauty pageant in Bucharest. It's as glitzy as you would expect. Men are drinking champagne from the bottle, everyone is eyeing us in a way that makes us feel very uncomfortable. We soak up the atmosphere, cheer the British contestant, and then leave. But later we hear that we might have been in the presence of Dr Ruja - that she was there, in the same room, right in front of our noses. Except now with plastic surgery, and so harder to spot. From either Greece or Romania Dr Ruja could be extradited to the US. If it's true she was in these countries earlier this year, she probably has a fake identity. Taking seriously Alan McLean's advice about studying Dr Ruja's life before OneCoin, Georgia and I turn to the internet, which fortunately never forgets anything. Even the most obscure entry or innocuous comment on a forum is usually saved somewhere, and with enough digging can be found. You've heard of Google, but there are several other search engines that specialise in this. So we start unearthing previous addresses, known friends, old phone numbers, anything that could help us. We already knew that Dr Ruja spent some of her childhood in Schramberg, southern Germany. We had also visited the town of Waltenhofen in Bavaria, not far away, where she and her father bought a steelworks around a decade ago, an episode that led to her being tried for fraud. (She received a fine and a suspended sentence in October 2016.) While in Waltenhofen, we learned that she had a German husband, a lawyer for the well-known firm, Linklaters. But we were still surprised when, during our internet searches, Frankfurt started appearing over and over again. It wasn't a place we'd previously thought of looking. There were several old addresses in the Frankfurt area - ones she'd posted in forums many years ago, or were associated somehow with old phone numbers of hers. Then we started looking at some old photos of Ruja, and spotted one friend who appeared with her all the way back to 2011. And that friend was visiting the richest neighbourhood in Frankfurt in summer this year. From a tiny fragment of a poster advertising a tennis tournament, an expert identified the park in which one photograph was taken. We also learned that Dr Ruja had a daughter in late 2016, and that she remained very close to her. The daughter, we were informed, might be in Frankfurt. This is also where Dr Ruja's husband - or perhaps ex-husband - lives and works. Armed with a microphone and several photographs of Dr Ruja, we headed off to Frankfurt and searched old addresses and gated neighbourhoods said to be the most expensive in Germany. A couple of people looked at the photographs and paused for a long time, raising our hopes - but then said they didn't recognise her. A postman thought he recognised the name, but couldn't be sure. We called the lawyer who is (or was) married to her, and he didn't want to talk. Did we get close to her? Could she really be hiding out in the heart of the EU? We don't know. Frankfurt probably isn't the only place she goes - it might be one of several places, including perhaps Dubai and Russia. Then a few days later we received a call from a trusted source we cannot identify. He told us we were right - Frankfurt is indeed where she spends much of her time. But we need to keep going, we needed to find the house. \"You will find her,\" he said. \"You must dig deeper.\" She would have known that we were looking for her, he added, and she would have laughed at us. On 5 November 2019, the day after the final episode of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast was released, Dr Ruja's brother, Konstantin Ignatov, appeared in court in New York, testifying for the government in a case against a lawyer accused of laundering $400m of the money OneCoin made in the US. In court it was revealed that Ignatov signed a plea deal on 4 October, in which he pleaded guilty to several fraud charges. A court reporter was there to hear his testimony, and according to his account of the proceedings Ignatov appears to have implied that his sister had duped him with the same line the organisation put out to its investors - that OneCoin critics were \"haters\" who could not be believed. She vanished, he said, because she was afraid that somebody close to her was going to give her up to the FBI. She had got hold of a \"big passport\", he said, and asked him to get her plane tickets to Vienna, then Athens. OneCoin has always denied wrongdoing. It told the BBC: \"OneCoin verifiably fulfils all criteria of the definition of a crypto-currency.\" It said the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast \"will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased\". It added that the allegations made about it around the world were being challenged, stating: \"Our partners, our customers and our lawyers are fighting successfully against this action around the globe and we are sure that the vision of a new system on the basis of a 'financial revolution' will be established.\" OneCoin was a familiar scam with a digital twist - a new and hugely successful take on the old pyramid scheme. But to me it symbolises something else too. It represents the dark side of rapid technological change - the way that every new technology creates amazing new opportunities and possibilities for people who understand it, but also the chance to exploit the people who don't. Dr Ruja identified several of society's weak spots and exploited them. She knew there would be enough people either desperate enough, or greedy enough, or confused enough to take a bet on OneCoin. She understood that truth and lies are getting harder to tell apart when there is so much contradictory information online. She spotted that society's defence against OneCoin - the law-makers, the police, and also us in the media would struggle to understand what was happening. And, most frustratingly of all, she correctly guessed that by the time we realised it, she'd be gone, along with the money." } ], "id": "484_0", "question": "Where are you, Dr Ruja?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Armando (not his real name) is afraid. For Armando, a small bruise or a cut could have serious consequences, and even lead to death. Armando has haemophilia, an illness that impedes blood cells from forming clots, which means that when he cuts himself, he bleeds for longer. While haemophilia cannot be cured, bleeding can normally be controlled with medication. But Armando lives in Venezuela, where there are acute shortages of medicines. Venezuela's Pharmaceutical Federation reports that only 15% of medicines are readily available and Armando has not been able to find the drugs he needs for the past six months. \"I used to have a normal life, where I could have the drugs in my fridge in case of an emergency, but now I don't have anything,\" he told me. Armando's plight has stirred his son into action. The son, who is in his early twenties, is taking part in the anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the country for almost four months. He is part of the \"The Resistance\", a group of protesters who, with their faces masked and carrying shields, march at the front of the demonstrations clashing with the police and the National Guard. They started out as a ragtag band of students and youths who wanted to \"protect\" those marching in protest to government buildings. They would step in to protect the marchers when the security forces fired tear gas or birdshot. Rodrigo (not his real name) does not want to be identified for fear of being imprisoned. At least 3,000 people have been detained since the beginning of April. Some are being kept in detention despite a judge ordering their release. Venezuela's chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, has accused the government of \"state terrorism\", citing the heavy-handed tactics used by the security forces in the demonstration and the detentions. Rodrigo says he fears for his future. He lives with his family in a block of flats in a working-class neighbourhood in central Caracas. It is crammed with many other members of his large family. Like many other Venezuelans, they are eating less. \"Sometimes we go through hard days, like coming back home and not having anything to eat,\" says Rodrigo. In a poll, eight out of 10 Venezuelans said that they had to make do with two meals a day last year. One month after the current wave of protests began, President Nicolas Maduro convened a constituent assembly. The new body, which will have hundreds of elected members, will be given the task of rewriting the country's constitution. Voting will take place on Sunday and many candidates will be nominated by the governing PSUV party. The opposition, which is boycotting the process, the United States and the majority of South American countries have denounced the election as a blow to democracy. The opposition coalition, MUD, says the new body will seek to quash dissent. While President Maduro says it is all about restoring \"peace\" he has also said that it will help him imprison the opposition leaders who are behind the current protests. \"I've got a cell ready waiting with your name on it, for when we get the new constitution in place\", he said referring to an opposition leader. But a new constitution will also send into the oblivion the little blue book that the late president, Hugo Chavez, used to wave constantly during his television programmes or at rallies. Mr Chavez, who was President Maduro's mentor and predecessor in the top job, used to carry the pocket-size version of the constitution with him at all times, brandishing it as one of his most proud achievements. The then-president proposed drafting a new constitution in 1999. But unlike Mr Maduro now, Mr Chavez put his proposal to the people. A referendum was held and a majority backed the idea of convening a constituent assembly. Eighteen years on, Mr Maduro now wants to draft a new document. \"No constitution is ever truly untouchable,\" high-ranking PSUV party member and government minister Freddy Bernal says. \"Why? Because society moves on and these changes will bring the constitution in line with these new times,\" he says in a rare interview with the BBC. The difference now is that President Maduro is not asking the people in a referendum, he is simply doing it. And this is one of the main reasons why the constituent assembly is proving so unpopular. The other is that people are struggling to see how redrafting the constitution can improve the country's dire economic situation. Rodrigo is one of those who cannot see it working. \"As a university student, I can't see any future with a new constitution,\" he tells me. \"I just can't see it, it's not there.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3547, "answer_start": 2261, "text": "One month after the current wave of protests began, President Nicolas Maduro convened a constituent assembly. The new body, which will have hundreds of elected members, will be given the task of rewriting the country's constitution. Voting will take place on Sunday and many candidates will be nominated by the governing PSUV party. The opposition, which is boycotting the process, the United States and the majority of South American countries have denounced the election as a blow to democracy. The opposition coalition, MUD, says the new body will seek to quash dissent. While President Maduro says it is all about restoring \"peace\" he has also said that it will help him imprison the opposition leaders who are behind the current protests. \"I've got a cell ready waiting with your name on it, for when we get the new constitution in place\", he said referring to an opposition leader. But a new constitution will also send into the oblivion the little blue book that the late president, Hugo Chavez, used to wave constantly during his television programmes or at rallies. Mr Chavez, who was President Maduro's mentor and predecessor in the top job, used to carry the pocket-size version of the constitution with him at all times, brandishing it as one of his most proud achievements." } ], "id": "485_0", "question": "Constitution the solution?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Ministers and junior doctors in England have spent several years locked in a dispute. But what exactly is the row about? It erupted over the introduction of a new contract. Ministers announced in 2012 they wanted to change the term and conditions, which were originally agreed in the 1990s. Talks began but broke down in 2014. By the summer of 2015, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced he could wait no longer as the government had committed to seven-day services in its election manifesto and said he would seek to impose a deal. The British Medical Association responded by balloting its members and 98% voted in favour of strike action. Talks restarted at the turn of the year at conciliation services Acas, but a deal could not be reached and so ministers announced in February they would be imposing the contract from this summer. The terms included making part of Saturday a normal working day so it would not attract the weekend supplement it had traditionally done. In the first four months of the year, there were six strikes, including two all-out stoppages, the first time in the history of the NHS that this has happened. No. The term junior doctor is a little misleading. It covers medics who have just graduated from medical school through to those who have more than a decade of experience on the front line. The starting salary for a junior doctor is currently just under PS23,000 a year, but with extra payments for things such as unsociable hours, this can quite easily top PS30,000. Junior doctors at the top end of the scale can earn in excess of PS70,000. But it's important to remember these doctors can be in charge of teams, making life-and-death decisions and carrying out surgery. They are behind only consultants in seniority. In total, there are 55,000 junior doctors in England - representing a third of the medical workforce. The BMA has more than 40,000 members. In May, after a week-and-a-half of talks, it was announced that a deal had been reached. There were several major changes to the contract the government said it would impose. The rise in basic pay was reduced from 13.5% to between 10% and 11%. In return a different system was agreed for weekend work. Instead of Saturdays and Sundays being divided up between normal and unsocial hours, a system of supplements will be paid which depend on how many weekends a doctor works. Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA junior doctor leader who has now stepped down, welcomed it as a good deal, but agreed to put it to a vote of members. They rejected the contract by 58% to 42%. This has been one of the most contentious areas of the dispute. The health secretary has argued that he wants to improve care on Saturdays and Sundays because research shows patients are more likely to die if they are admitted at the weekend. A study published by the British Medical Journal in September found those admitted on Saturdays had a 10% higher risk of death and on Sundays, 15% higher compared with Wednesdays. But doctors have objected to suggestions that all those deaths are avoidable and could be prevented through increased staffing. Patients admitted at weekends tend to be sicker and while researchers tried to take this into account they could not say whether they had accounted for it totally. However, the paper did say the findings raised \"challenging questions\" about the way services were organised at weekends, while many believe it is access to senior doctors - consultants - that is key rather than junior doctors. The dispute over the contract is an England-only issue. Scotland and Wales have both said they will be sticking to their existing contracts, while Northern Ireland has yet to make a decision. This is largely because they do not have the pressures on costs in terms of seven-day services. While there are moves to improve access to care at weekends elsewhere in the UK, the plans are not on the scale of what the government in England is trying to achieve. For example, in Wales, the focus has been on more weekend access to diagnostic tests, pharmacies and therapies rather than creating more seven-day working across the whole system.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1136, "answer_start": 121, "text": "It erupted over the introduction of a new contract. Ministers announced in 2012 they wanted to change the term and conditions, which were originally agreed in the 1990s. Talks began but broke down in 2014. By the summer of 2015, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced he could wait no longer as the government had committed to seven-day services in its election manifesto and said he would seek to impose a deal. The British Medical Association responded by balloting its members and 98% voted in favour of strike action. Talks restarted at the turn of the year at conciliation services Acas, but a deal could not be reached and so ministers announced in February they would be imposing the contract from this summer. The terms included making part of Saturday a normal working day so it would not attract the weekend supplement it had traditionally done. In the first four months of the year, there were six strikes, including two all-out stoppages, the first time in the history of the NHS that this has happened." } ], "id": "486_0", "question": "What caused the dispute?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1896, "answer_start": 1137, "text": "No. The term junior doctor is a little misleading. It covers medics who have just graduated from medical school through to those who have more than a decade of experience on the front line. The starting salary for a junior doctor is currently just under PS23,000 a year, but with extra payments for things such as unsociable hours, this can quite easily top PS30,000. Junior doctors at the top end of the scale can earn in excess of PS70,000. But it's important to remember these doctors can be in charge of teams, making life-and-death decisions and carrying out surgery. They are behind only consultants in seniority. In total, there are 55,000 junior doctors in England - representing a third of the medical workforce. The BMA has more than 40,000 members." } ], "id": "486_1", "question": "Does this just involve new doctors?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2558, "answer_start": 1897, "text": "In May, after a week-and-a-half of talks, it was announced that a deal had been reached. There were several major changes to the contract the government said it would impose. The rise in basic pay was reduced from 13.5% to between 10% and 11%. In return a different system was agreed for weekend work. Instead of Saturdays and Sundays being divided up between normal and unsocial hours, a system of supplements will be paid which depend on how many weekends a doctor works. Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA junior doctor leader who has now stepped down, welcomed it as a good deal, but agreed to put it to a vote of members. They rejected the contract by 58% to 42%." } ], "id": "486_2", "question": "Did the two sides reach a deal?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3501, "answer_start": 2559, "text": "This has been one of the most contentious areas of the dispute. The health secretary has argued that he wants to improve care on Saturdays and Sundays because research shows patients are more likely to die if they are admitted at the weekend. A study published by the British Medical Journal in September found those admitted on Saturdays had a 10% higher risk of death and on Sundays, 15% higher compared with Wednesdays. But doctors have objected to suggestions that all those deaths are avoidable and could be prevented through increased staffing. Patients admitted at weekends tend to be sicker and while researchers tried to take this into account they could not say whether they had accounted for it totally. However, the paper did say the findings raised \"challenging questions\" about the way services were organised at weekends, while many believe it is access to senior doctors - consultants - that is key rather than junior doctors." } ], "id": "486_3", "question": "Are weekend death rates behind it all?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4137, "answer_start": 3502, "text": "The dispute over the contract is an England-only issue. Scotland and Wales have both said they will be sticking to their existing contracts, while Northern Ireland has yet to make a decision. This is largely because they do not have the pressures on costs in terms of seven-day services. While there are moves to improve access to care at weekends elsewhere in the UK, the plans are not on the scale of what the government in England is trying to achieve. For example, in Wales, the focus has been on more weekend access to diagnostic tests, pharmacies and therapies rather than creating more seven-day working across the whole system." } ], "id": "486_4", "question": "What about the rest of the UK?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Democratic presidential candidates have given their reaction to a warning by former President Barack Obama against moving too far left in politics. Mr Obama's rare intervention into the Democratic race was a talking point at campaign events on Saturday. Some Democrats called for unity, while others defended their policy agenda. Nearly 20 candidates remain in the running and there is much debate over the best approach to taking on President Trump next year. Speaking at a fundraising forum in Washington, the former president - considered a moderate - cautioned candidates against pursuing polices that were not \"rooted in reality\". Mr Obama, who was in office from 2009 to 2017, said \"ordinary Americans\" didn't want to \"completely tear down the system\". \"This is still a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement,\" Mr Obama said to an audience of wealthy donors on Friday. The remarks represented Mr Obama's most pointed intervention yet in a crowded race featuring 18 candidates. Former vice-president Joe Biden and senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are leading the pack, but Mr Obama is yet to publicly back a candidate. Although none of the Democratic candidates explicitly rebuked Mr Obama's comments, Mr Sanders mounted the strongest defence of his policy platform. Answering questions on a forum aired by Univision, a Spanish-language TV network, he was asked whether Mr Obama was \"right\" to say voters didn't want systemic change. Mr Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist and progressive, laughed and said: \"Well, it depends on what you mean by tear down the system.\" \"The agenda that we have is an agenda supported by the vast majority of working people,\" he said. \"When I talk about raising the minimum wage to a living wage, I'm not tearing down the system. We're fighting for justice.\" Elizabeth Warren, another left-leaning frontrunner, struck a more conciliatory tone, choosing to praise Mr Obama's trademark health care policy, the Affordable Care Act. \"I so admire what President Obama did,\" Ms Warren said at a campaign event in Iowa, the New York Times reported. \"He is the one who led the way on health care and got health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans when nobody thought that was possible.\" New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said the party ought to be focusing its energy on defeating Republican President Donald Trump, not internal political squabbles. \"Let's stop tearing each other down, let's stop drawing artificial lines,\" he said. Unlike Mr Obama, Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, said he was confident any Democratic candidate would beat President Trump, regardless of their political persuasion. \"Their vision for the future of the country is much better and will be more popular than Donald Trump's,\" Mr Castro, former housing secretary in the Obama administration, said. Obama has studiously avoided weighing in on the large field of Democratic candidates vying for the party's 2020 presidential nomination. Behind closed doors on Friday, however, he tipped his hand a bit. Sanders is preaching political revolution. Warren is urging \"big systemic change\". The former president clearly had those two frontrunners in mind when he suggested such aggressive talk risks alienating the kind of middle-of-the-road voters necessary to defeat Donald Trump next year. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Obama, despite being labelled a radical socialist by his conservative critics, governed as a pragmatic moderate. That created a fair amount of consternation of among progressives in his party, who thought he was one of their own when elected. Some view his presidency as a missed opportunity to enact fundamental structural reforms in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. This time around, they're throwing their support behind Warren and Sanders and won't appreciate being indirectly lectured by the former president. The moderate-progressive division within the Democratic Party is very real, and it has the potential for combustion. Obama may not be picking a favourite candidate, but it looks like he's picking sides. Others not involved in the race for the nomination were more blunt. In a tweet, Peter Daou, a former aide to Hillary Clinton, wrote: \"Saying 'Americans are moderate than these wild leftists' is basically conceding that the far-right propaganda machine has prevailed.\" In a later tweet, Mr Daou included the hashtag #TooFarLeft, which was widely used by other social media users who disagreed with Mr Obama. The Democratic race is still in flux as the first of the state-by-state votes that will decide which of the contenders challenges Mr Trump for the White House looms in Iowa in February. Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, topped the latest poll of likely Democratic voters in Iowa. Some Democrats are concerned that Mr Biden, a moderate who was vice-president to Mr Obama, will struggle to beat Mr Trump, prompting a flurry of latecomers to join the race. In recent days Deval Patrick, the two-time former governor of Massachusetts, entered the field amid speculation that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may follow suit. But Democratic hopes of electoral success in 2020 were boosted on Saturday after Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards secured a second term as Louisiana governor. Election day is less than a year away now and the race to become the Democratic challenger to Donald Trump is heating up. The latest polling suggests Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are the front-runners, while Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are not far behind.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2901, "answer_start": 1169, "text": "Although none of the Democratic candidates explicitly rebuked Mr Obama's comments, Mr Sanders mounted the strongest defence of his policy platform. Answering questions on a forum aired by Univision, a Spanish-language TV network, he was asked whether Mr Obama was \"right\" to say voters didn't want systemic change. Mr Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist and progressive, laughed and said: \"Well, it depends on what you mean by tear down the system.\" \"The agenda that we have is an agenda supported by the vast majority of working people,\" he said. \"When I talk about raising the minimum wage to a living wage, I'm not tearing down the system. We're fighting for justice.\" Elizabeth Warren, another left-leaning frontrunner, struck a more conciliatory tone, choosing to praise Mr Obama's trademark health care policy, the Affordable Care Act. \"I so admire what President Obama did,\" Ms Warren said at a campaign event in Iowa, the New York Times reported. \"He is the one who led the way on health care and got health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans when nobody thought that was possible.\" New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said the party ought to be focusing its energy on defeating Republican President Donald Trump, not internal political squabbles. \"Let's stop tearing each other down, let's stop drawing artificial lines,\" he said. Unlike Mr Obama, Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, said he was confident any Democratic candidate would beat President Trump, regardless of their political persuasion. \"Their vision for the future of the country is much better and will be more popular than Donald Trump's,\" Mr Castro, former housing secretary in the Obama administration, said." } ], "id": "487_0", "question": "How did candidates respond to Mr Obama?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5633, "answer_start": 5370, "text": "Election day is less than a year away now and the race to become the Democratic challenger to Donald Trump is heating up. The latest polling suggests Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are the front-runners, while Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg are not far behind." } ], "id": "487_1", "question": "Who will take on Trump in 2020?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Claims of voter suppression have erupted ahead of the mid-term election in the US, with critics saying tougher identification and registration requirements in several states are designed to limit participation. There have been allegations of voter suppression in previous elections but the claims now are more severe, experts say. Many states, the majority of them governed by Republicans, have put in place new legislation, saying it is needed to prevent rampant voter fraud. Those opposed to the measures say the threat is extremely low and argue that their true goal is to prevent specific groups - such as minorities, who tend to favour Democrats - from voting. \"They're occurring in places where Republicans currently have partisan control but they're concerned they might lose it,\" says Vanessa Williamson, a governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, who has written about the topic. \"It's indisputable that these choices are strategic for several reasons because often enough, local and state election officials have said out loud the intention of removing certain demographics from voting rolls.\" Since the 2010 election, 24 states have introduced new restrictions. But ahead of the November vote, attention has mainly focused on three states for different reasons. Some 1.5 million ex-felons will not be allowed to vote as the state is one of few to bar ex-offenders from voting unless the governor gives them a pardon. That number reportedly included almost 500,000 African-Americans, who traditionally vote Democrat. The disenfranchisement law was implemented by Republican Gov Rick Scott, who won two gubernatorial races by a margin of just 60,000 votes. He is now running for the Senate. Mr Scott reversed a policy that had restored rights to tens of thousands of felons, blocking tens of thousands of others from getting a chance to vote. The race for governor is a tight one between Democrat Andrew Gillum, who wants to become the state's first black leader, and Republican Ron DeSantis. Mr Scott is facing Democrat Bill Nelson for a Senate seat in another highly contested fight. On election day, voters in Florida will also be asked to decide whether to restore voting rights to ex-felons. It is a change that could have a significant impact in a key swing state with 29 electoral votes - in 2016, Donald Trump won over Hillary Clinton by just 112,000 votes. More than 50,000 voter registration applications - 70% of them from African-Americans, according to the Associated Press - have been put on hold due to alleged problems with identification information. That is because of the \"exact match law\" that requires the application to have exactly the same information existing on the voter's driving licence or Social Security databases. People whose applications are now pending have been required to confirm their identities, and that is the source of confusion. Georgia's Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, has denied any attempt at voter suppression - in his post, he oversees the election process. His campaign says those affected can solve any problems before or on election day. The state's race is one of the most fiercely contested in this election. Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams is hoping to become the country's first black female governor, and says the new law, passed last year, is designed to \"make it harder\" for people to vote. There have also been reports about the cancellation of more than 100,000 registrations last year of people who have not voted in recent elections, and complaints over the closure of more than 200 polling stations across the state in the last six years. A new law demands voters show identification that provides their name, date of birth and residential address. That requirement has a special impact on thousands of Native Americans who live in reservations with no street address - they have post office boxes instead. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld the law, signed by Republican Gov Doug Burgum in 2017. That means that the requirements now are different than in the primaries held just months ago, which could confuse some voters. Supporters of the new rules say the legislation is a way to prevent voter fraud, as the state does not require any prior registration - people can vote by showing their ID at polling stations. They add that individuals affected can contact their county's 911 co-ordinator to have an address assigned. Critics, however, say the process is costly and not so simple. The changes could have a decisive impact on the Senate race. Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, who is facing Republican Kevin Cramer, won her seat in 2012 by fewer than 3,000 votes. Tensions have also erupted in North Carolina and Kansas over tougher ID rules. Requirements vary across the US, where there has been an effort to encourage people to register and vote. Many states allow voters to cast an early vote or register at polling stations even on election day. Research by the nonpartisan Pew Research Group released this week suggested that two-thirds of the public said \"everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote.\" Only a third said citizens \"should have to prove they want to vote\" by registering in advance. \"Republicans, however, are far more likely than Democrats to support removing people from voter lists if they have not recently voted or confirmed their registrations,\" the report said, adding that there were more people concerned about eligible voters being barred from voting than those ineligible casting ballots. Commenting on the claims of voter suppression, Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot and a Mother Jones magazine journalist, told NPR: \"You're seeing a national effort by the Republican Party to try to restrict voting rights, and it's playing out in states all across the country.\" - UK: Registered voters receive a letter from the Electoral Registration Office stating their polling station. Voters give their name and address to the staff at the polling station, and only in Northern Ireland they are required to show a photo ID. People must register before they can vote - Australia: People can vote at any polling station in their home state or territory. At the polling station, voters are asked their name and address, and there is no requirement to present any proof of identification. Enrolment and voting is compulsory for those aged 18 or older - to enrol, citizens need to provide evidence of identity - Canada: People must be registered and they can do it just before voting. On election day, they must prove their ID and address", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1134, "answer_start": 331, "text": "Many states, the majority of them governed by Republicans, have put in place new legislation, saying it is needed to prevent rampant voter fraud. Those opposed to the measures say the threat is extremely low and argue that their true goal is to prevent specific groups - such as minorities, who tend to favour Democrats - from voting. \"They're occurring in places where Republicans currently have partisan control but they're concerned they might lose it,\" says Vanessa Williamson, a governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, who has written about the topic. \"It's indisputable that these choices are strategic for several reasons because often enough, local and state election officials have said out loud the intention of removing certain demographics from voting rolls.\"" } ], "id": "488_0", "question": "What is happening?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1303, "answer_start": 1135, "text": "Since the 2010 election, 24 states have introduced new restrictions. But ahead of the November vote, attention has mainly focused on three states for different reasons." } ], "id": "488_1", "question": "Where is it happening?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5892, "answer_start": 4798, "text": "Requirements vary across the US, where there has been an effort to encourage people to register and vote. Many states allow voters to cast an early vote or register at polling stations even on election day. Research by the nonpartisan Pew Research Group released this week suggested that two-thirds of the public said \"everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote.\" Only a third said citizens \"should have to prove they want to vote\" by registering in advance. \"Republicans, however, are far more likely than Democrats to support removing people from voter lists if they have not recently voted or confirmed their registrations,\" the report said, adding that there were more people concerned about eligible voters being barred from voting than those ineligible casting ballots. Commenting on the claims of voter suppression, Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot and a Mother Jones magazine journalist, told NPR: \"You're seeing a national effort by the Republican Party to try to restrict voting rights, and it's playing out in states all across the country.\"" } ], "id": "488_2", "question": "How is it seen across the country?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The boss of Instagram is meeting England's Health Secretary to discuss ways of handling content about self-harm and suicide. Teenager Molly Russell took her own life in 2017 and links have been made between her death and content she was looking at on social media. The UK government is urging social media companies to take more responsibility for harmful online content. But some say talking about mental health problems on social media in an honest way can sometimes help recovery. So is there a responsible way to post about self-harm or suicide? Time To Change is a campaign group that says it wants to change how people think and act about mental health. Its director, Jo Loughran, told Radio 1 Newsbeat: \"Clearly we don't want triggering content to be on social media sites - that's a given.\" \"However many of our supporters do tell us that using social media provides a means of speaking to people with similar experiences to themselves,\" she said. She gave us her tips on how to discuss what is happening with your mental health in a safe way. Jo recommends thinking prior to posting about not only the effect it may have on yourself but also your followers. \"Number one is thinking about the impact posting online might have, what you write, what you share.\" Her second tip is to think about the future impact of what you're about to share or reveal about yourself. \"Once it's out there, do you think that you're going to be happy with that content being out there in one year's time, two years' time, in five or in ten years' time?\" Jo believes it's key to think about the domino effect a negative post may have on your followers. \"We cant take away from people the experiences they've had but we can help them to think more carefully about those triggering elements. \"Both for themselves and for their potential audience.\" Georgie Kelly, 21, blogs about her mental health on Instagram. She's also a volunteer for Time To Change. She has an eating disorder and has found blogging and social media incredibly helpful in her recovery. \"Mental health is just as important as any physical illness - and that's what I really try and get across on my blog.\" She has these recommendations for those posting about mental health: Georgie says the words she uses are vital for her to be able to post on social media about self-harm or suicide without triggering anyone to hurt themselves. \"It's being honest while still maintaining that safe space - so people can look and they can resonate with you but you're also not giving them any ideas.\" She says it is essential not to make any harmful activities seem inspirational. \"You're not romanticising an eating disorder or a mental health issue. \"That's why I like it. I'm kind of saying 'Yes I'm living with this. I'm struggling right now but I will be OK'.\" Georgie believes blocking negative posts and hashtags on social media will help reduce the problem. \"There are so many young people out there that will go on to those hashtags - it's so damaging to their mental health. \"They should make it a law that you cannot post things that can endanger lives because there are people out there that will go searching for that thing.\" If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can take a look at the BBC Advice pages on self-harm and suicide, or at the BBC Action Line. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1542, "answer_start": 1268, "text": "Her second tip is to think about the future impact of what you're about to share or reveal about yourself. \"Once it's out there, do you think that you're going to be happy with that content being out there in one year's time, two years' time, in five or in ten years' time?\"" } ], "id": "489_0", "question": "Will it have a lasting impact?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2230, "answer_start": 1543, "text": "Jo believes it's key to think about the domino effect a negative post may have on your followers. \"We cant take away from people the experiences they've had but we can help them to think more carefully about those triggering elements. \"Both for themselves and for their potential audience.\" Georgie Kelly, 21, blogs about her mental health on Instagram. She's also a volunteer for Time To Change. She has an eating disorder and has found blogging and social media incredibly helpful in her recovery. \"Mental health is just as important as any physical illness - and that's what I really try and get across on my blog.\" She has these recommendations for those posting about mental health:" } ], "id": "489_1", "question": "Could it trigger others?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar \"should know better\" than to \"play around\" with Northern Ireland over Brexit, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party says. Arlene Foster accused Mr Varadkar of being \"reckless\" as Brexit talks enter a \"critical phase\". She was speaking after meeting Theresa May at Downing Street. The Irish government says any hard border with Northern Ireland should be off the table. And an EU paper recently suggested Northern Ireland would have to continue to follow many EU rules after Brexit if a hard border was to be avoided. It hinted Northern Ireland may need to stay in the EU customs union if there were to be no checks at the border. That is something which the UK Conservative government - which is supported in key votes by the DUP at Westminster - have said they cannot accept as it would effectively create a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. By the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg While there are genuine and sincerely held logistical and understandable concerns about what happens to the Irish border after Brexit, there is a sense building that perhaps the Irish government is playing those concerns rather harder than is justified. DUP leader Arlene Foster, using rather strong language, told off the Irish leader Leo Varadkar for doing just that today. But the next step in what many would say is a conspiracy theory, borne out of Brexiteer desperation, is to ponder whether the EU as a whole is over-egging their true level of worry about what happens to the border. Speaking to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mrs Foster said: \"Some people are taking their moment in the sun, to try and get the maximum in relation to the negotiations - and I understand that but you shouldn't play about with Northern Ireland particularly at a time when we're trying to bring about devolved government again.\" She said that suggesting leaving the EU would jeopardise the peace process was \"a very careless thing to say\", particularly with no devolved administration in place, and accused Ireland's government of being \"reckless\". Mrs Foster said she recognised Brexit was a \"big shock\" for the Republic of Ireland - \"and they are trying to process all of that\". \"But they certainly shouldn't be using Northern Ireland to get the maximum deal for their citizens.\" Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that will share a land border with an EU state post-Brexit, and what happens to the border is one of the key subjects being debated between the EU and the UK. Key to this is how to avoid customs checks on the border when the UK leaves the EU's customs union - the arrangement that allows goods to flow freely between member states. Negotiations have yet to make a breakthrough so the EU says talks on future matters like trade and customs cannot begin yet. But Mrs Foster said it was crucial to move on to the second phase now because the trade arrangement is linked to the border situation. The DUP pledged in June to support Theresa May's minority government over Brexit and other core issues as part of a parliamentary pact due to last at least two years. But Nigel Dodds, the party's deputy leader, has warned that any prospect of the border moving to the Irish Sea after Brexit - an idea suggested by some within the Irish government - would be \"gravely destabilising\" to the UK government. \"They (the Conservatives) know that,\" he told the BBC's Daily Politics. Given Northern Ireland's trade links with the rest of the UK, he said such a move would be \"madness economically, never mind the political consequences\". But Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said his government was right to seek more assurances about the border issue before agreeing to the next phase of Brexit talks. \"This is a much bigger issue than trade,\" he told the Evening Standard. \"This is about division on the island of Ireland.\" Arguing Dublin had the support of the other 26 EU members, he added. \"I will not be an Irish foreign minister that presides over a negotiation which is not prioritising peace on the island of Ireland.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1525, "answer_start": 905, "text": "By the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg While there are genuine and sincerely held logistical and understandable concerns about what happens to the Irish border after Brexit, there is a sense building that perhaps the Irish government is playing those concerns rather harder than is justified. DUP leader Arlene Foster, using rather strong language, told off the Irish leader Leo Varadkar for doing just that today. But the next step in what many would say is a conspiracy theory, borne out of Brexiteer desperation, is to ponder whether the EU as a whole is over-egging their true level of worry about what happens to the border." } ], "id": "490_0", "question": "Conspiracy theory?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US has called for a swift cessation of hostilities in Yemen, where three years of civil war have caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Defence Secretary James Mattis said all parties needed to take part in UN-led peace talks within the next 30 days. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meanwhile urged the Saudi-led coalition battling the rebel Houthi movement to end its air strikes on populated areas. The US has faced growing pressure to end its support for the coalition. UN human rights experts say coalition forces may have committed war crimes in Yemen and humanitarian organisations say their partial blockade of the country has helped push 14 million people to the brink of famine. The murder of the US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul this month has also strained ties between Washington and Riyadh. Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in early 2015, when the Houthis seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad. Alarmed by the rise of a group they saw as an Iranian proxy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government. They have received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France. At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,560 injured in the fighting, according to the United Nations. Thousands more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health. Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday, Mr Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict \"for long enough\". \"We have got to move towards a peace effort here, and we can't say we are going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next 30 days,\" he said. Mr Mattis added that all sides were being urged to meet UN special envoy Martin Griffiths in Sweden in November and \"come to a solution\". In a separate statement, Mr Pompeo called on the Houthis to end missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and on the coalition to subsequently cease air strikes on all populated areas in Yemen. \"It is time to end this conflict, replace conflict with compromise, and allow the Yemeni people to heal through peace and reconstruction,\" he added. The Trump administration has previously backed Mr Griffiths' mediation efforts and called for a settlement in keeping with UN Security Council 2216, which demands that the Houthis withdraw from all areas they have seized and relinquish their heavy weapons. The Houthis have rejected those demands. By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent, BBC News For months the Trump administration has said little about this bloody conflict, leaving its Saudi allies to take the lead. But the remarks by Mr Mattis and Mr Pompeo show the US is now engaging in a way it has not for some time. Until now both the US and the UK have resisted calling formally for a ceasefire through the UN while it was obvious that neither side was willing to contemplate one. But that seems to have changed. The question, of course, is why? Diplomats point to the growing pressure from the US Congress to act ahead of the mid-term elections. The US might also be hoping to use the backlash against Saudi Arabia over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to put pressure on Riyadh to try to end the conflict. Some diplomats have even spoken of a Saudi compromise on Yemen being part of the rehabilitation of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto leader. The big question is how Iran, the main backer of the Houthi rebels, will react. Some diplomats have suggested that Tehran would not be unhappy to step back from Yemen, that its involvement there was always opportunistic rather than strategic, and that it has bigger priorities elsewhere. But it is not clear whether Iran would be willing to help the US when it is re-imposing sanctions on its economy after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. So the US move is important, but there is still a long way to go before a ceasefire becomes possible, let alone a political process to end the conflict for good. There was no immediate response from the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis or Yemen's government. Mr Griffiths said the UN welcomed the US calls and stressed that there could be no military solution to the conflict. \"We remain committed to bring the Yemeni parties to the negotiations table within a month. Dialogue remains the only path to reach an inclusive agreement,\" he said. Mr Griffiths suffered a setback last month when Houthi representatives refused to fly to Geneva for the first peace talks in two years because of what they said was the UN's failure to guarantee their safe return to the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted: \"All parties must listen to the important call from the US for de-escalation in Yemen, in line with the UK's long-standing position. I discussed this issue with Martin Griffiths... at the FCO last night and we must back his efforts to find a political solution to the hilt.\" A spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee, a charity operating in Yemen, said hostilities needed to end as soon as possible so aid could be delivered to those suffering the most. \"From our perspective there's a lot that could have been done before a call for this ceasefire, but [it] is a significant breakthrough in this war and a welcome recognition that the current policy is failing,\" Kellie Ryan said.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1507, "answer_start": 845, "text": "Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in early 2015, when the Houthis seized control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad. Alarmed by the rise of a group they saw as an Iranian proxy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government. They have received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France. At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,560 injured in the fighting, according to the United Nations. Thousands more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health." } ], "id": "491_0", "question": "Why is there a war in Yemen?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2604, "answer_start": 1508, "text": "Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday, Mr Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict \"for long enough\". \"We have got to move towards a peace effort here, and we can't say we are going to do it sometime in the future. We need to be doing this in the next 30 days,\" he said. Mr Mattis added that all sides were being urged to meet UN special envoy Martin Griffiths in Sweden in November and \"come to a solution\". In a separate statement, Mr Pompeo called on the Houthis to end missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and on the coalition to subsequently cease air strikes on all populated areas in Yemen. \"It is time to end this conflict, replace conflict with compromise, and allow the Yemeni people to heal through peace and reconstruction,\" he added. The Trump administration has previously backed Mr Griffiths' mediation efforts and called for a settlement in keeping with UN Security Council 2216, which demands that the Houthis withdraw from all areas they have seized and relinquish their heavy weapons. The Houthis have rejected those demands." } ], "id": "491_1", "question": "What did the US officials say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5516, "answer_start": 4150, "text": "There was no immediate response from the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis or Yemen's government. Mr Griffiths said the UN welcomed the US calls and stressed that there could be no military solution to the conflict. \"We remain committed to bring the Yemeni parties to the negotiations table within a month. Dialogue remains the only path to reach an inclusive agreement,\" he said. Mr Griffiths suffered a setback last month when Houthi representatives refused to fly to Geneva for the first peace talks in two years because of what they said was the UN's failure to guarantee their safe return to the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted: \"All parties must listen to the important call from the US for de-escalation in Yemen, in line with the UK's long-standing position. I discussed this issue with Martin Griffiths... at the FCO last night and we must back his efforts to find a political solution to the hilt.\" A spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee, a charity operating in Yemen, said hostilities needed to end as soon as possible so aid could be delivered to those suffering the most. \"From our perspective there's a lot that could have been done before a call for this ceasefire, but [it] is a significant breakthrough in this war and a welcome recognition that the current policy is failing,\" Kellie Ryan said." } ], "id": "491_2", "question": "What has been the reaction?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Authorities in China have ordered an investigation into a vaccination scandal as panic grows over product safety. Last week vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co was found to have falsified production data for its rabies vaccine. The firm has been ordered to halt production and recall rabies vaccines. There has been no evidence of harm from the vaccine, but the scandal has sparked a huge outcry in China. Changsheng, which suspended trading in its shares for part of Monday, saw their value drop by 10% on the day. The shares have slumped 47% since mid-July, when news of the scandal first broke. On Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged severe punishment for the people involved, saying the incident had \"crossed a moral line\". \"We will resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that endanger the safety of peoples' lives, resolutely punish lawbreakers according to the law, and resolutely and severely criticise dereliction of duty in supervision,\" he said in a statement posted on a government website. Changsheng has apologised, saying that it was \"guilty and embarrassed\" and would co-operate with drug regulators to carry out a comprehensive internal investigation. On 15 July, China's State Drug Administration (SDA) announced that Changchun Changsheng had falsified production data during the production of its freeze-dried human rabies vaccine. According to a report by Xinhua, an official said the company had \"fabricated production records and product inspection records\", as well as \"arbitrarily changed process parameters and equipment\" during production. The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said the rabies vaccine had been recalled and that the company would be put under investigation. Days later, Jilin province authorities announced a 2017 batch of the firm's diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine - or DTaP - was also substandard. According to state media outlet CGTN, more than 250,000 doses of DTaP in the batch had already been sold to disease control and prevention centres in eastern China. The company has now been ordered to pay a fine of 3.4m yuan ($510,000; PS387,957). According to the CFDA, there is no evidence that anyone has been harmed by the vaccine. Concern has now shifted to the safety of the DTaP vaccine. The vaccine is subsidised by the government and is given to infants across the country. It is not known how many children have received the vaccine, but there have not been any reports of children falling ill after receiving the inoculation. The Chinese government has not said what impact the substandard vaccine could have on a person's health. People are furious. \"Thousands of mothers around the country are worried. Over 200,000 children could be affected. What kind of society am I living in?\" asked one person on Weibo. \"My son will be vaccinated next month. I don't know whether or not to let him,\" said another. Chinese censors have also identified the issue as highly sensitive. A widely circulated article pointing out murky practices in the vaccine industry in China was deleted. This is not the first time substandard vaccines have been produced in China. In 2016, an illegal vaccine ring which involved hundreds of people was uncovered. Some $88m worth of vaccines were found to be inadequately refrigerated and were not transported in approved conditions.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2146, "answer_start": 1191, "text": "On 15 July, China's State Drug Administration (SDA) announced that Changchun Changsheng had falsified production data during the production of its freeze-dried human rabies vaccine. According to a report by Xinhua, an official said the company had \"fabricated production records and product inspection records\", as well as \"arbitrarily changed process parameters and equipment\" during production. The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said the rabies vaccine had been recalled and that the company would be put under investigation. Days later, Jilin province authorities announced a 2017 batch of the firm's diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine - or DTaP - was also substandard. According to state media outlet CGTN, more than 250,000 doses of DTaP in the batch had already been sold to disease control and prevention centres in eastern China. The company has now been ordered to pay a fine of 3.4m yuan ($510,000; PS387,957)." } ], "id": "492_0", "question": "How did all this happen?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2640, "answer_start": 2147, "text": "According to the CFDA, there is no evidence that anyone has been harmed by the vaccine. Concern has now shifted to the safety of the DTaP vaccine. The vaccine is subsidised by the government and is given to infants across the country. It is not known how many children have received the vaccine, but there have not been any reports of children falling ill after receiving the inoculation. The Chinese government has not said what impact the substandard vaccine could have on a person's health." } ], "id": "492_1", "question": "How will this affect people?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3364, "answer_start": 2641, "text": "People are furious. \"Thousands of mothers around the country are worried. Over 200,000 children could be affected. What kind of society am I living in?\" asked one person on Weibo. \"My son will be vaccinated next month. I don't know whether or not to let him,\" said another. Chinese censors have also identified the issue as highly sensitive. A widely circulated article pointing out murky practices in the vaccine industry in China was deleted. This is not the first time substandard vaccines have been produced in China. In 2016, an illegal vaccine ring which involved hundreds of people was uncovered. Some $88m worth of vaccines were found to be inadequately refrigerated and were not transported in approved conditions." } ], "id": "492_2", "question": "What has the reaction been?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "If you want to understand the way China really feels about its controversial claim to huge swathes of the sea off its southern shore, then the island of Hainan is a good place to start. This is a place where everything is bent towards justifying and upholding that assertion of sovereignty, from government and military policy, to fishing and tourism, and even history itself. We came to the fishing port of Tanmen, on Hainan's east coast, because of recent state media reports about the existence of an extraordinary document - a 600-year-old book containing evidence of vital, national importance. The book, in the possession of a retired fisherman called Su Chengfen, is said to record the precise navigational instructions by which his long-distant forefathers could reach the scattered rocks and reefs of the far-flung Spratly islands, many hundreds of nautical miles away. China's insistence that these features are Chinese territory rests largely on a \"we were there first\" argument. So 81-year-old Mr Su's book, \"cherished\" and \"wrapped in layers of paper\" is apparently a kind of maritime Holy Grail. In fact, the reports suggest, it offers nothing less than \"ironclad proof\" of China's ownership of the South China Sea. So we went to meet Mr Su and found him busily building a model boat in his front yard, a short walk from the beach. \"It was passed down from generation to generation,\" he tells me when I ask about the book. \"From my grandfather's generation, to my father's generation, then to me.\" \"It mainly taught us how to go somewhere and come back, how to go to the Paracels and the Spratlys, and how to come back to Hainan Island.\" But then, when I ask to see the document - the existence of which was, just a few weeks ago, being so widely reported in China and beyond - there's a surprising development. Mr Su tells me it doesn't exist. \"Although the book was important, I threw it away because it was broken,\" he says. \"It was flipped through too many times. The salty seawater on the hands had corroded it... In the end it was no longer readable so I threw it away.\" Q&A: South China Sea dispute China's Island Factory Why are Chinese fishermen destroying coral reefs? Beijing accuses US of militarisation Whatever it was, Mr Su's book is not, it seems, any longer ironclad proof of anything. Except perhaps China's Communist Party-controlled media's willingness not to let a few facts get in the way of the official narrative. We leave Mr Su's house, a little baffled by the experience, and are given another glimpse of Hainan's readiness to control the message when it comes to the South China Sea. Everywhere we go, we're followed by a number of blacked-out government cars; from the port where we try to interview fishermen, to the fish market where we speak to traders, and all the way back to our hotel. The attention seems a little unnecessary as almost no-one we approach wants to talk anyway. And those that do, tell us nothing more controversial than a simple repetition of the official line, that the South China Sea belongs to China because Chinese fishermen were there first. But the authorities are taking no chances. We learn soon afterwards that one of those who did agree to answer a few of our questions, a boat captain, was immediately picked up and questioned by the police. All of this comes, of course, amid the much-anticipated international court ruling on the South China Sea, expected some time in the next few weeks. The Philippines has gone to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to ask for a technical ruling about the extent of the territorial waters that can be claimed on the basis of the possession of various coastlines, islands and rocks. The ruling is not widely expected to favour China, and may even go so far as to invalidate its most expansive claim - the \"nine-dash line\" that encompasses up to 90% of the disputed Sea. China has, perhaps unsurprisingly, said it will neither take part in the tribunal nor accept the authority of its ruling. Which is why it has instead been vigorously defending its position by other means; ratcheting up the propaganda - particularly its insistence that history is on its side - and engaging in a diplomatic push to win allies to its cause. This may help to explain why a foreign journalist's presence in Hainan at this particular moment in time is likely to attract such close attention from the authorities. Although in our case there may have been another reason: we were, perhaps, asking too many questions about Hainan's notorious \"maritime militia\". China has been known to be giving its fishermen military training for decades. But in recent years, the number of militiamen on fishing boats is reported to be increasing and their actions appear to be becoming more assertive in helping to underwrite and enforce China's sovereignty claims. Their strategic advantage is that they can be, and often are, used for irregular military engagements - occupying territory at sea, carrying out surveillance or harassing other vessels - while operating under the guise of civilian fishing boats. The activities of the militia units in the port of Tanmen have been well documented. They even have their own headquarters inside the town's government compound, honoured with a visit in 2013 by the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Despite our efforts though no-one would talk about the role this shadowy force plays within China's fishing fleet, and the more we ask, the more intense the tailing and government surveillance seems to become. Prof Andrew S Erickson from the Chinese Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College believes the presence of the militia in already troubled waters raises risks. \"I see a tremendous risk of miscalculation and escalation,\" he told me. \"The current approach that China is taking to the use of its maritime militia not only puts them in danger, [it] puts any other individuals and vessels around them in danger and it indeed imposes a risk of force being used against them by the US and other forces in legitimate self defence or to ensure the legitimate passage of vessels.\" And that risk may rise even further, he suggests, after the Permanent Court of Arbitration Ruling. \"When the arbitral tribunal finally hands down some sort of a ruling I think China is going to try to find a way to concretely register its opposition, its resolve and its displeasure. \"And I think using maritime militia forces to further approach in close proximity and potentially harass US, Philippine and other vessels is something that policy makers from those countries must be prepared for.\" So, while the Philippines could well soon be given a ruling that will vindicate its position, it may turn out to be something of a pyrrhic victory. The international arbitration will not constrain China in regard to its expansive claims in the sea. It has already made that very clear. But it may instead further convince the government and military leaders in Beijing that there is only one way forward - force. We end our trip to Hainan in the southern city of Sanya, watching a cruise ship set sail for the disputed Paracel Islands. The five-day package tour began operating in 2013 and thousands of Chinese tourists have since taken the trip, which is not open to foreign passport-holders. It's a bizarre holiday concept - a long voyage to take in a few reefs and largely uninhabited rocks, many miles out to sea. They are the same rocks, of course, that retired fisherman Su Chengfen's forefathers very likely did visit all those centuries ago. There is certainly some evidence that complex navigational knowledge from ancient times has indeed been passed down, orally, from one generation to the next. But the need to make all facts fit the official history appears to have magically turned Mr Su's heritage into hard, concrete evidence which is then published in national newspapers in the service of an argument which itself doesn't stand up to much interrogation. Even if Mr Su could produce a 600-year-old book to show us, it would be proof only of the ancient use of the South China Sea, not necessarily ownership of it. Many other South China Sea nations can, of course, also point to evidence that fishing communities along their coastlines have long been using the waters too. But in China there is only one narrative and our experience in Hainan is a perfect illustration of how effectively that narrative is being defended and reinforced. I ask one woman, as she prepares to board the cruise ship, why on earth she has chosen to spend her valuable vacation time visiting a few barren rocks. \"We're not going to enjoy ourselves,\" she replies. \"We've been educated since birth that it's our motherland's sacred territory. It's our duty to go and see.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 7038, "answer_start": 6128, "text": "And that risk may rise even further, he suggests, after the Permanent Court of Arbitration Ruling. \"When the arbitral tribunal finally hands down some sort of a ruling I think China is going to try to find a way to concretely register its opposition, its resolve and its displeasure. \"And I think using maritime militia forces to further approach in close proximity and potentially harass US, Philippine and other vessels is something that policy makers from those countries must be prepared for.\" So, while the Philippines could well soon be given a ruling that will vindicate its position, it may turn out to be something of a pyrrhic victory. The international arbitration will not constrain China in regard to its expansive claims in the sea. It has already made that very clear. But it may instead further convince the government and military leaders in Beijing that there is only one way forward - force." } ], "id": "493_0", "question": "A pyrrhic victory?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Two students, aged 16 and 14, have been killed and three others injured by a gunman who opened fire at a secondary school in California, officials say. The victims died in a brief, 16-second gun attack shortly before classes began on Thursday at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles. The attack came on the 16th birthday of the suspect, named by US media as fellow student, Nathaniel Berhow. The suspect then shot himself in the head and died several hours later. No motive has been established so far, with police saying the attacks \"still remains a mystery\". Students and teachers spoke of how they barricaded themselves in classrooms amid chaotic scenes, carrying out an active shooter drill that many schools have implemented in recent years following deadly attacks around the country. It was first reported at 07:38 local time (15:38 GMT) on Thursday, LA county sheriff Alex Villanueva said, adding that police were at the scene within two minutes. The suspect was standing in the school courtyard when he took a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol from his backpack and opened fire for about 16 seconds before turning the gun on himself, Sheriff's Captain Kent Wegener said. \"He just fires from where he is. He doesn't chase anybody. He doesn't move,\" Capt Wegener said. Students barricaded themselves in classrooms under an active shooter drill for more than an hour as police tried to determine if the gunman was still at large. Officers found six people suffering from gunshot wounds and transferred them to local hospitals. The suspect was later identified as one of those injured. The names of those who died have not yet been released. They were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. The three injured, also as-yet unnamed, were two girls, aged 14 and 15, and a 14-year-old boy. They are all in a stable condition. All attended Saugus High School. The suspect had no known connection to the victims, Capt Wegener said. The attack came on the suspect's 16th birthday. The FBI said it appeared he had acted alone and was not affiliated with any particular group or ideology. The Associated Press quoted a fellow student, Brooke Risley, as saying the suspect was introverted but \"naturally smart\", adding that he had a girlfriend and was a boy scout. AP said the boy lived locally in a modest home, and that his father died two years ago. A neighbour told Reuters the boy had struggled with his father's death. Investigators have searched the home and interviewed the boy's mother and girlfriend. There were no initial indications that he had been bullied at school. There were reports of an Instagram posting saying \"Saugus have fun at school tomorrow\", but it was later revealed the account was not owned by the suspect. One student told NBC she was doing her homework when people started running. \"I was really, really scared. I was shaking,\" she said. Another student, named as Azalea, told CBS she and her classmates had barricaded the classroom door with chairs. \"It was just really scary, having everybody panic and call their parents, saying they love you.\" Teacher Katie Holt told NBC she was huddled in her office with 30 students when a girl ran in saying she had been shot. Ms Holt dressed the injuries as best she could her with her gunshot-wound kit, with a fellow student applying pressure. There were emotional reunions once the lockdown was lifted. Jeff Turner, 58, told the New York Times he found his daughter, Micah, upset and crying. \"She was saying, 'I feel guilty that I didn't stay and help the people who were shot,'\" he said. \"And that was the thing that made me break down in tears.\" The school has an unarmed sheriff's deputy and nine \"campus supervisors\" with guard training, district administrator Collyn Nielson told Associated Press. There are a number of security cameras but no metal detectors, and lockdown drills are held three times a year. News of the attack emerged during a Senate debate on gun control legislation. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, was arguing for gun control when he was given a note with the news. \"We are complicit if we fail to act,\" he said. \"It is not just a political responsibility, it is a moral imperative.\" Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement that his department took school shootings \"very seriously\" and would help the authorities \"develop trainings and resources to improve response capabilities and better protect soft targets\". Gun control, and the right to bear arms, is a divisive political issue in the US. About 40% of Americans say they own a gun or live in a household with one, according to a 2017 survey, and the rate of murder or manslaughter by firearm in the country is the highest in the developed world. According to the Washington Post, more than 230,000 young people in the US have experienced gun violence at school since the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in 1999. The US journal Education Week has been listing school shootings since 2018. It says there have been 22 incidents that have resulted in death or injury so far in 2019. There were 24 such incidents last year, it says, but the casualty toll was higher, at 114. That includes the 17 people killed in the deadliest incident - at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day. The Everytown gun control advocacy group, using separate methodology, said Saugus was the 85th incident of gunfire at a school this year, but that includes those where there were no casualties.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1611, "answer_start": 812, "text": "It was first reported at 07:38 local time (15:38 GMT) on Thursday, LA county sheriff Alex Villanueva said, adding that police were at the scene within two minutes. The suspect was standing in the school courtyard when he took a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol from his backpack and opened fire for about 16 seconds before turning the gun on himself, Sheriff's Captain Kent Wegener said. \"He just fires from where he is. He doesn't chase anybody. He doesn't move,\" Capt Wegener said. Students barricaded themselves in classrooms under an active shooter drill for more than an hour as police tried to determine if the gunman was still at large. Officers found six people suffering from gunshot wounds and transferred them to local hospitals. The suspect was later identified as one of those injured." } ], "id": "494_0", "question": "What do we know about the shooting?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1954, "answer_start": 1612, "text": "The names of those who died have not yet been released. They were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. The three injured, also as-yet unnamed, were two girls, aged 14 and 15, and a 14-year-old boy. They are all in a stable condition. All attended Saugus High School. The suspect had no known connection to the victims, Capt Wegener said." } ], "id": "494_1", "question": "What do we know of the victims?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2755, "answer_start": 1955, "text": "The attack came on the suspect's 16th birthday. The FBI said it appeared he had acted alone and was not affiliated with any particular group or ideology. The Associated Press quoted a fellow student, Brooke Risley, as saying the suspect was introverted but \"naturally smart\", adding that he had a girlfriend and was a boy scout. AP said the boy lived locally in a modest home, and that his father died two years ago. A neighbour told Reuters the boy had struggled with his father's death. Investigators have searched the home and interviewed the boy's mother and girlfriend. There were no initial indications that he had been bullied at school. There were reports of an Instagram posting saying \"Saugus have fun at school tomorrow\", but it was later revealed the account was not owned by the suspect." } ], "id": "494_2", "question": "What has been revealed about the gunman?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3643, "answer_start": 2756, "text": "One student told NBC she was doing her homework when people started running. \"I was really, really scared. I was shaking,\" she said. Another student, named as Azalea, told CBS she and her classmates had barricaded the classroom door with chairs. \"It was just really scary, having everybody panic and call their parents, saying they love you.\" Teacher Katie Holt told NBC she was huddled in her office with 30 students when a girl ran in saying she had been shot. Ms Holt dressed the injuries as best she could her with her gunshot-wound kit, with a fellow student applying pressure. There were emotional reunions once the lockdown was lifted. Jeff Turner, 58, told the New York Times he found his daughter, Micah, upset and crying. \"She was saying, 'I feel guilty that I didn't stay and help the people who were shot,'\" he said. \"And that was the thing that made me break down in tears.\"" } ], "id": "494_3", "question": "How did students and parents react?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3910, "answer_start": 3644, "text": "The school has an unarmed sheriff's deputy and nine \"campus supervisors\" with guard training, district administrator Collyn Nielson told Associated Press. There are a number of security cameras but no metal detectors, and lockdown drills are held three times a year." } ], "id": "494_4", "question": "How much security is there at Saugus?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5532, "answer_start": 3911, "text": "News of the attack emerged during a Senate debate on gun control legislation. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, was arguing for gun control when he was given a note with the news. \"We are complicit if we fail to act,\" he said. \"It is not just a political responsibility, it is a moral imperative.\" Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement that his department took school shootings \"very seriously\" and would help the authorities \"develop trainings and resources to improve response capabilities and better protect soft targets\". Gun control, and the right to bear arms, is a divisive political issue in the US. About 40% of Americans say they own a gun or live in a household with one, according to a 2017 survey, and the rate of murder or manslaughter by firearm in the country is the highest in the developed world. According to the Washington Post, more than 230,000 young people in the US have experienced gun violence at school since the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in 1999. The US journal Education Week has been listing school shootings since 2018. It says there have been 22 incidents that have resulted in death or injury so far in 2019. There were 24 such incidents last year, it says, but the casualty toll was higher, at 114. That includes the 17 people killed in the deadliest incident - at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day. The Everytown gun control advocacy group, using separate methodology, said Saugus was the 85th incident of gunfire at a school this year, but that includes those where there were no casualties." } ], "id": "494_5", "question": "How have officials responded?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A row has broken out after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed he had \"proof\" the NHS was at risk under a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. Mr Corbyn said he had a 451-page dossier showing initial talks had taken place, proving the NHS was \"for sale\". But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the claims were \"nonsense\" and the NHS would not be part of trade talks. The Tory manifesto explicitly states neither the price paid for drugs nor NHS services will be \"on the table\". Meanwhile the SNP has published its manifesto which includes a pledge to \"stop the NHS becoming a lever in any international trade deal\" through its NHS Protection Act. And other parties have criticised the Tories, including Liberal Democrat shadow Brexit secretary Tom Brake, who said the public would be \"horrified by what looks like a deal cooked up between the Tories and Donald Trump that puts our NHS on the table\". Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said the Conservative Party \"can no longer claim the NHS is not for sale\", adding: \"Under their watch, it is.\" Mark Dayan, policy analyst and the head of public affairs at the Nuffield Trust think tank said the NHS was not being \"flogged off\" in the sense that US companies will not own hospitals. But he said the documents suggest the US is trying various tactics to get the NHS to pay more money to their pharmaceutical companies for the drugs that they sell. \"Obviously from the NHS's point of view, that is a concern... you're really losing out in that situation,\" he said. Mr Dayan said if talks with the US continue, UK negotiators must \"push hard for the interests of the UK and the NHS\". Labour obtained uncensored government documents covering six rounds of talks between US and UK officials in Washington and London between July 2017 and July 2019. They are all preparatory meetings ahead of formal trade talks. These documents provide more detail on the meetings Channel 4's Dispatches programme reported on last month. They show the US is interested in discussing drug pricing - mainly, extending patents that stop cheaper generic medicines being used. One document quotes a UK official saying the talks are helpful in determining the areas the US may want to discuss, while acknowledging the UK would have objections. As well as the pharmaceutical industry, the talks also covered other areas including agriculture and climate change. The UK team inquired about including a reference to climate change in any US-UK trade deal, something the US side said was not allowed by Congress. The document also refers to the US policy of making \"total market access\" a starting point in any trade talks - but says it is up to other countries to specify anything they want to be excluded from talks. There is no indication in the documents that the UK team agreed to anything in the talks. Jeremy Corbyn doesn't provide evidence ministers have agreed the health service should be part of a trade deal with US. But details of discussions about the demands of US pharmaceutical companies will still be motivating for Labour voters worried about the NHS. \"Not for sale,\" has been the biggest mantra at Labour events, even though the Tories have always furiously denied the NHS is in any way \"up for sale\". It's clear US drug companies want access to UK markets - Labour suggests the UK has agreed they could extend the patents on some medicines, which could cost the NHS more, for example. But whether any UK government would ever do a deal that made medicines much more expensive for the NHS, and therefore the taxpayer, which would be massively costly for the government and probably prove deeply unpopular, is a big political question. The Conservative manifesto says the NHS will not be on the table in post-Brexit trade talks. Currently, the NHS is able to use its bargaining power as a centralised health system to negotiate low prices for drugs. It also has a strong track record in resisting attempts to lengthen patents on drugs, to allow cheaper generics to be used more quickly than they are in the US. The US currently pays two and a half times more for drugs than the NHS does. Meanwhile, about 7% of the NHS budget in England goes on private companies that provide NHS services, mainly non-emergency treatments such as knee and hip replacements and some community services. And Labour has warned this market could be extended further under the Tories. Mr Corbyn said the documents showed talks were at a \"very advanced stage\" and gave the lie to Boris Johnson's claims the NHS would not be part of any trade talks. \"The uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson's denials in absolute tatters,\" he told a news conference in London. \"We have now got evidence that under Boris Johnson the NHS is on the table and will be up for sale. \"He tried to cover it up in a secret agenda and today it has been exposed.\" Reacting to Mr Corbyn's latest claims, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said it was simply a stunt. \"Jeremy Corbyn is getting desperate and is out and out lying about what the documents contain. \"People should not believe what he says.\" Mr Johnson, meanwhile, said the claims were \"total nonsense\". \"This is continually brought up by the Labour Party as a diversionary tactic from the difficulties they are encountering,\" he said. And he could give an \"absolute cast iron guarantee\" the NHS would not be on the table. He also pointed out the documents had been available online for two months.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2830, "answer_start": 1635, "text": "Labour obtained uncensored government documents covering six rounds of talks between US and UK officials in Washington and London between July 2017 and July 2019. They are all preparatory meetings ahead of formal trade talks. These documents provide more detail on the meetings Channel 4's Dispatches programme reported on last month. They show the US is interested in discussing drug pricing - mainly, extending patents that stop cheaper generic medicines being used. One document quotes a UK official saying the talks are helpful in determining the areas the US may want to discuss, while acknowledging the UK would have objections. As well as the pharmaceutical industry, the talks also covered other areas including agriculture and climate change. The UK team inquired about including a reference to climate change in any US-UK trade deal, something the US side said was not allowed by Congress. The document also refers to the US policy of making \"total market access\" a starting point in any trade talks - but says it is up to other countries to specify anything they want to be excluded from talks. There is no indication in the documents that the UK team agreed to anything in the talks." } ], "id": "495_0", "question": "What evidence has Labour obtained?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3769, "answer_start": 2831, "text": "Jeremy Corbyn doesn't provide evidence ministers have agreed the health service should be part of a trade deal with US. But details of discussions about the demands of US pharmaceutical companies will still be motivating for Labour voters worried about the NHS. \"Not for sale,\" has been the biggest mantra at Labour events, even though the Tories have always furiously denied the NHS is in any way \"up for sale\". It's clear US drug companies want access to UK markets - Labour suggests the UK has agreed they could extend the patents on some medicines, which could cost the NHS more, for example. But whether any UK government would ever do a deal that made medicines much more expensive for the NHS, and therefore the taxpayer, which would be massively costly for the government and probably prove deeply unpopular, is a big political question. The Conservative manifesto says the NHS will not be on the table in post-Brexit trade talks." } ], "id": "495_1", "question": "Is this proof the NHS is up for sale?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5458, "answer_start": 4404, "text": "Mr Corbyn said the documents showed talks were at a \"very advanced stage\" and gave the lie to Boris Johnson's claims the NHS would not be part of any trade talks. \"The uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson's denials in absolute tatters,\" he told a news conference in London. \"We have now got evidence that under Boris Johnson the NHS is on the table and will be up for sale. \"He tried to cover it up in a secret agenda and today it has been exposed.\" Reacting to Mr Corbyn's latest claims, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said it was simply a stunt. \"Jeremy Corbyn is getting desperate and is out and out lying about what the documents contain. \"People should not believe what he says.\" Mr Johnson, meanwhile, said the claims were \"total nonsense\". \"This is continually brought up by the Labour Party as a diversionary tactic from the difficulties they are encountering,\" he said. And he could give an \"absolute cast iron guarantee\" the NHS would not be on the table. He also pointed out the documents had been available online for two months." } ], "id": "495_2", "question": "What is the row about?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Hillary Clinton has admitted that she should have fired an adviser accused of sexual harassment during her 2008 presidential campaign. Burns Strider was initially docked pay and told to seek counselling but was later fired from a campaign group after again being accused of harassment. Mr Strider has not commented on the allegations. Mrs Clinton posted the statement moments before President Donald Trump began his state of the union speech. It has prompted some speculation that she was seeking to bury her apology in the storm of media coverage around the address. The 30-year-old woman who made the complaint shared an office with Mr Strider, the New York Times said when it reported on the claims last week. The newspaper said that, according to three former campaign officials, the unidentified staff member told a campaign official that Mr Strider had rubbed her shoulders inappropriately, kissed her on the forehead and sent suggestive emails. When her complaint was investigated, two advisers, including her campaign manager, recommended Mr Strider be fired, reported the New York Times. But Mrs Clinton instead decided to send him to counselling sessions he never attended, according to the report. The young woman was moved to another job within the campaign. The matter has raised questions about Mrs Clinton's judgement and stated commitment to women's advancement. In her lengthy Facebook statement, Mrs Clinton says: \"I'm being asked as to why I let an employee on my 2008 campaign keep his job despite his inappropriate workplace behaviour. \"The short answer is this: If I had it to do again, I wouldn't.\" She says she understands the scrutiny of her decision to retain Mr Strider given her work to \"support and empower women\". Mrs Clinton then goes on to explain her reasoning in detail. She decided to do so, she says, \"because I didn't think firing him was the best solution to the problem. \"He needed to be punished, change his behaviour, and understand why his actions were wrong. The young woman needed to be able to thrive and feel safe. \"I thought both could happen without him losing his job,\" Mrs Clinton writes. She says she has \"reached out\" to the woman in question. \"The fact that [she] felt heard and supported reinforced my belief that the process worked - at least to a degree,\" Mrs Clinton writes. But she points out that the events took place long before the \"seismic shift\" in social attitudes towards sexual harassment. Mr Strider was Mrs Clinton's faith adviser and has continued to send her scripture readings over recent years, the New York Times said. After the story first emerged last Friday, Mrs Clinton tweeted that she was \"dismayed\" by the staff member's alleged ordeal. But she said the woman \"had her concerns taken seriously and addressed\". Not good for Mrs Clinton. Vox, a liberal leaning media outlet, was not impressed by her latest bid to tamp down the controversy. It wrote: \"Her statement falls short as an apology, attempting to deflect attention onto others and failing to address some of the key issues in the case. \"Hillary Clinton is not directly responsible for Strider's conduct during her campaign. But she is responsible for how she reacted to it - a reaction that affected a woman's career and that may have left others vulnerable to harassment. Her statement on that reaction leaves a lot to be desired.\" Houston Chronicle opinion columnist Alyssa Rosenberg wrote: \"It's been the longest relationship of my life as a voter, and as a writer on culture and politics. \"But after last week, and the revelation that she failed to take her campaign manager's advice and fire an aide accused of sexual harassment in 2008, Hillary Clinton and I are done. \"And to be honest, it's probably overdue.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1378, "answer_start": 568, "text": "The 30-year-old woman who made the complaint shared an office with Mr Strider, the New York Times said when it reported on the claims last week. The newspaper said that, according to three former campaign officials, the unidentified staff member told a campaign official that Mr Strider had rubbed her shoulders inappropriately, kissed her on the forehead and sent suggestive emails. When her complaint was investigated, two advisers, including her campaign manager, recommended Mr Strider be fired, reported the New York Times. But Mrs Clinton instead decided to send him to counselling sessions he never attended, according to the report. The young woman was moved to another job within the campaign. The matter has raised questions about Mrs Clinton's judgement and stated commitment to women's advancement." } ], "id": "496_0", "question": "What is the allegation?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2790, "answer_start": 1379, "text": "In her lengthy Facebook statement, Mrs Clinton says: \"I'm being asked as to why I let an employee on my 2008 campaign keep his job despite his inappropriate workplace behaviour. \"The short answer is this: If I had it to do again, I wouldn't.\" She says she understands the scrutiny of her decision to retain Mr Strider given her work to \"support and empower women\". Mrs Clinton then goes on to explain her reasoning in detail. She decided to do so, she says, \"because I didn't think firing him was the best solution to the problem. \"He needed to be punished, change his behaviour, and understand why his actions were wrong. The young woman needed to be able to thrive and feel safe. \"I thought both could happen without him losing his job,\" Mrs Clinton writes. She says she has \"reached out\" to the woman in question. \"The fact that [she] felt heard and supported reinforced my belief that the process worked - at least to a degree,\" Mrs Clinton writes. But she points out that the events took place long before the \"seismic shift\" in social attitudes towards sexual harassment. Mr Strider was Mrs Clinton's faith adviser and has continued to send her scripture readings over recent years, the New York Times said. After the story first emerged last Friday, Mrs Clinton tweeted that she was \"dismayed\" by the staff member's alleged ordeal. But she said the woman \"had her concerns taken seriously and addressed\"." } ], "id": "496_1", "question": "What did Clinton say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3756, "answer_start": 2791, "text": "Not good for Mrs Clinton. Vox, a liberal leaning media outlet, was not impressed by her latest bid to tamp down the controversy. It wrote: \"Her statement falls short as an apology, attempting to deflect attention onto others and failing to address some of the key issues in the case. \"Hillary Clinton is not directly responsible for Strider's conduct during her campaign. But she is responsible for how she reacted to it - a reaction that affected a woman's career and that may have left others vulnerable to harassment. Her statement on that reaction leaves a lot to be desired.\" Houston Chronicle opinion columnist Alyssa Rosenberg wrote: \"It's been the longest relationship of my life as a voter, and as a writer on culture and politics. \"But after last week, and the revelation that she failed to take her campaign manager's advice and fire an aide accused of sexual harassment in 2008, Hillary Clinton and I are done. \"And to be honest, it's probably overdue.\"" } ], "id": "496_2", "question": "What's the reaction?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Almost 1,000 North Korean defectors have had their personal data leaked after a computer at a South Korean resettlement centre was hacked, the unification ministry said. A personal computer at the state-run centre was found to have been \"infected with a malicious code\". The ministry said this is thought to be the first large-scale information leak involving North Korean defectors. The hackers' identity and the origin of the cyber-attack is not yet confirmed. The North Gyeongsang resettlement centre is among 25 institutes the ministry runs to help an estimated 32,000 defectors adjust to life in South Korea. The North Korean government does not know the identities of all citizens who have defected. Some may be considered \"missing persons\" or they may have even been registered as dead. Some 997 North Korean defectors have now been informed that their names, birth dates and addresses have been leaked but it is not clear what impact this will have. Analysts say there are some concerns that the leak could endanger the defectors' family members who remain in North Korea. Sokeel Park, South Korea Country Director for Liberty in North Korea, an international NGO that assists North Korean defectors, says this hack will make other defectors feel less safe living in South Korea. They may change their names, phone numbers and home addresses. Investigations by the unification ministry and the police are currently ongoing, with the ministry saying it would \"do its best to prevent such an incident from happening again\". On 19 December, the ministry became aware of the leak after they found a malicious program installed on a desktop at a centre in North Gyeongsang province. The ministry said that no computers at other Hana (resettlement) centres across the country had been hacked. One expert on North Korean cyber-warfare, Simon Choi, believes that this might not be the first time a Hana centre has been hacked. \"[There is a North Korean hacking] group [that] mainly targets [the] North Korean defector community... we are aware that [this group] tried to hack a Hana centre last year,\" he told the BBC. However, he added that it was not yet clear if any North Korean groups were responsible for the latest attack. Cyber-security experts have been warning of the increasing sophistication of hackers from the North for some time. In September, US prosecutors charged a North Korean man alleged to have been involved in creating the malicious software used to cripple the UK's National Health Service. The 2017 incident left NHS staff reverting to pen and paper after being locked out of computer systems. One of the most high profile hacks linked to North Korea in recent years targeted Sony's entertainment business in 2014 - wiping out massive amounts of data and leading to the online distribution of emails, and sensitive personal data. North Korean state media has also often threatened to silence defectors in the South who make derogatory statements about the regime. Sokeel Park told the BBC that cyber-attacks and phishing attempts on people working on North Korea are a common occurrence. \"They represent an asymmetric advantage for the North Korean authorities because attribution for cyber-attacks is so difficult and because the North Korean government intentionally relies so little on the internet\", he added. However, the government in the South has not pointed the finger at North Korea this time.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2229, "answer_start": 614, "text": "The North Korean government does not know the identities of all citizens who have defected. Some may be considered \"missing persons\" or they may have even been registered as dead. Some 997 North Korean defectors have now been informed that their names, birth dates and addresses have been leaked but it is not clear what impact this will have. Analysts say there are some concerns that the leak could endanger the defectors' family members who remain in North Korea. Sokeel Park, South Korea Country Director for Liberty in North Korea, an international NGO that assists North Korean defectors, says this hack will make other defectors feel less safe living in South Korea. They may change their names, phone numbers and home addresses. Investigations by the unification ministry and the police are currently ongoing, with the ministry saying it would \"do its best to prevent such an incident from happening again\". On 19 December, the ministry became aware of the leak after they found a malicious program installed on a desktop at a centre in North Gyeongsang province. The ministry said that no computers at other Hana (resettlement) centres across the country had been hacked. One expert on North Korean cyber-warfare, Simon Choi, believes that this might not be the first time a Hana centre has been hacked. \"[There is a North Korean hacking] group [that] mainly targets [the] North Korean defector community... we are aware that [this group] tried to hack a Hana centre last year,\" he told the BBC. However, he added that it was not yet clear if any North Korean groups were responsible for the latest attack." } ], "id": "497_0", "question": "Are defectors' families in danger?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The oceans contain almost 200,000 different viral populations, according to the latest count. Marine viruses were found from the surface down to 4,000m deep and from the North to the South Pole. Though most are harmless to humans, they can infect marine life, including whales and crustaceans. And scientists are only just starting to understand how these tiny microbes play a role in the life and chemistry of the seas. Researchers at Ohio State University drew up a global map of marine viruses based on seawater samples from nearly 80 sites around the world. Their viral tally is almost 12-fold higher than previous estimates. They were surprised to find that the viruses fell into just five groups based on their location and depth. \"When we examined the genes of the viruses in each of those communities, we found evidence of genetic adaptation to the different zones of the ocean,\" said researcher Ann Gregory, now of KU Leuven in Belgium. The second surprise was that the Arctic Ocean had lots of different types of viruses. It had been thought that hotspots for microbial diversity would be at the equator. The world's oceans are teeming with viruses, yet we are at the edge of our understanding on how they impact ocean health and function. Among previous discoveries are \"giant\" marine viruses, which can infect green algae. A litre of seawater typically contains billions of viruses - the vast majority of which remain unidentified. In the latest dataset, 90% of the populations could not be classified to a known group. Better knowledge of ocean viruses is important because of their influence on other marine microbes, including bacteria and fungi. Viruses have an impact on organisms, such as plankton, which produce more than half of the oxygen we breathe and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. \"Without microbes, the Earth, its oceans, and even our human bodies come to a halt,\" said Matthew Sullivan of Ohio State University. \"Our lab is helping researchers finally 'see' the hidden viruses that infect these microbes.\" The study is reported in the journal Cell. Most of its data comes from the Tara Oceans expedition (2009-2013) using the 36m aluminium-hulled research schooner, Tara. Follow Helen on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2236, "answer_start": 1115, "text": "The world's oceans are teeming with viruses, yet we are at the edge of our understanding on how they impact ocean health and function. Among previous discoveries are \"giant\" marine viruses, which can infect green algae. A litre of seawater typically contains billions of viruses - the vast majority of which remain unidentified. In the latest dataset, 90% of the populations could not be classified to a known group. Better knowledge of ocean viruses is important because of their influence on other marine microbes, including bacteria and fungi. Viruses have an impact on organisms, such as plankton, which produce more than half of the oxygen we breathe and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. \"Without microbes, the Earth, its oceans, and even our human bodies come to a halt,\" said Matthew Sullivan of Ohio State University. \"Our lab is helping researchers finally 'see' the hidden viruses that infect these microbes.\" The study is reported in the journal Cell. Most of its data comes from the Tara Oceans expedition (2009-2013) using the 36m aluminium-hulled research schooner, Tara. Follow Helen on Twitter." } ], "id": "498_0", "question": "What do viruses do in the oceans?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Congress approved a humanitarian aid plan for migrants at the US-Mexico border, but the political crisis over how to deal with migrants attempting to reach the US continues. Migrants continue to die en route to the border, including a Salvadorean father and daughter whose bodies were photographed lying face down in a river near the border. The photo has led to condemnation. President Donald Trump has repeatedly used the term \"invasion\" to describe the situation on the US southern border. In February he declared a \"national emergency\" in order to force through funding for his planned border wall. However his opponents say his government has created a \"manufactured crisis\". So what's really happening? The number of border apprehensions dropped by 28% in June, according to US authorities. The decline follows a record number of apprehensions between ports of entry in May - the highest in over a decade. Drops in migrations are typical during the summer months, where temperatures can soar above 32C, but this June saw a sharper decline than previous years. Trump administration officials have attributed the decrease to new policies with Mexico to curb migration. It's impossible to say for certain, but US Border Patrol says it has made 688,375 southwest border apprehensions since October 2018. The previous US fiscal year there were 303,916, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The number fell dramatically in President Trump's first year but rose again last year. The number of migrants apprehended at the border surged in May to the highest level since 2006, with 132,887 detained - including 11,507 unaccompanied children. It was the first time that detentions had exceeded 100,000 since April 2007. The UN Missing Migrants project reports that 170 migrants have died or are missing on the US-Mexico border so far in 2019 - including 13 children. Border Patrol figures show that 283 died last year, but human rights activists say the number is likely to be higher. Looking at the wider picture, until numbers rose this spring, there has been a sharp fall in the number of people arrested in the last 18 years. But even before the 2019 spike, when migration numbers were in fact at historic lows, Mr Trump described the situation on the border as a national security crisis. This year's surge in migration is significant, if not the highest ever. And changing migrant demographics have undoubtedly overwhelmed US agencies - but the situation along the border is a different kind of crisis than what the president described for years. Apprehension numbers released by the CBP include asylum seekers (a person who applies for refugee status at a US port of entry or from within the country). In fiscal year 2018, 92,959 people were deemed to have made claims of credible fear\" and asked for asylum at the border. That's a pretty big jump from fiscal year 2017, when 55,584 claims were made. Kate Jastram, senior staff attorney for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, says that families fleeing violence in Central America began to make up a much larger part of border crossings beginning in 2014. She says that has more to do with conditions in those countries than any immigration policy implemented by the Trump administration. \"Single men from Mexico were by and large not seeking asylum, they were looking for work,\" says Jastram. \"[Now] we have families and children specifically seeking protection.\" In November 2018, a caravan of 7,000 migrants arrived at the US-Mexico border, many claiming to be fleeing violence in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Mr Trump labelled the caravan an \"invasion\". Overall, the rate of asylum denials is on the rise in the US and has been for the past six years. President Trump and his administration have tried a variety of deterrent measures affecting both illegal entrants and asylum seekers in recent years. They are: - asylum seekers caught crossing illegally must wait across the border in Mexico for adjudication - border officials have decreased the number of asylum cases they process each day, a strategy called \"metering\" - last June, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that claims of domestic and gang violence would no longer qualify as grounds for asylum in the US - this was defeated in court - most controversially, in spring, thousands of migrant children were separated from their parents at the border as a part of a \"zero tolerance policy\" that prosecuted anyone found crossing illegally \"This situation is child abuse,\" Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of the government's policy. \"It is an atrocity that violates every value we have, not only as Americans, but as moral beings.\" In May, an inspection at an El Paso Border Patrol station found that at one point 900 migrants had been crammed into the 125-person facility. Illegal border crossings are not limited to the southern border - in 2017, for example, there were also 3,027 illegal apprehensions along the Canadian border and 3,588 from the coastal border. While cross-border migrants often make headlines, the largest number of illegal migrants settling in the US each year is those who stay in the country after their visas expire. This has been the case since 2007, official statistics say. In 2016, there were a total of 739,478 overstays, compared to 563,204 illegal border crossings. It's also important to note that, according to the Pew Research Center, overall the number of immigrants living in the US illegally has actually declined since 2007, in large part due to a dip in the number of people coming from Mexico. Apprehensions at the south-western border peaked at 1.64 million in 2000. In total, Pew estimates that in 2017 there were 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants living in the US. A White House briefing report on immigration says 3,755 known or suspected terrorists were prevented from entering the US in the fiscal year 2017. But that includes terror suspects who have been stopped at any US border, and the vast majority are stopped at airports. Reporting by Micah Luxen, Jessica Lussenhop and Rajini Vaidyanathan", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1172, "answer_start": 709, "text": "The number of border apprehensions dropped by 28% in June, according to US authorities. The decline follows a record number of apprehensions between ports of entry in May - the highest in over a decade. Drops in migrations are typical during the summer months, where temperatures can soar above 32C, but this June saw a sharper decline than previous years. Trump administration officials have attributed the decrease to new policies with Mexico to curb migration." } ], "id": "499_0", "question": "What's happening at the border now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2564, "answer_start": 1173, "text": "It's impossible to say for certain, but US Border Patrol says it has made 688,375 southwest border apprehensions since October 2018. The previous US fiscal year there were 303,916, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The number fell dramatically in President Trump's first year but rose again last year. The number of migrants apprehended at the border surged in May to the highest level since 2006, with 132,887 detained - including 11,507 unaccompanied children. It was the first time that detentions had exceeded 100,000 since April 2007. The UN Missing Migrants project reports that 170 migrants have died or are missing on the US-Mexico border so far in 2019 - including 13 children. Border Patrol figures show that 283 died last year, but human rights activists say the number is likely to be higher. Looking at the wider picture, until numbers rose this spring, there has been a sharp fall in the number of people arrested in the last 18 years. But even before the 2019 spike, when migration numbers were in fact at historic lows, Mr Trump described the situation on the border as a national security crisis. This year's surge in migration is significant, if not the highest ever. And changing migrant demographics have undoubtedly overwhelmed US agencies - but the situation along the border is a different kind of crisis than what the president described for years." } ], "id": "499_1", "question": "How many people are crossing the border illegally?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3815, "answer_start": 2565, "text": "Apprehension numbers released by the CBP include asylum seekers (a person who applies for refugee status at a US port of entry or from within the country). In fiscal year 2018, 92,959 people were deemed to have made claims of credible fear\" and asked for asylum at the border. That's a pretty big jump from fiscal year 2017, when 55,584 claims were made. Kate Jastram, senior staff attorney for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, says that families fleeing violence in Central America began to make up a much larger part of border crossings beginning in 2014. She says that has more to do with conditions in those countries than any immigration policy implemented by the Trump administration. \"Single men from Mexico were by and large not seeking asylum, they were looking for work,\" says Jastram. \"[Now] we have families and children specifically seeking protection.\" In November 2018, a caravan of 7,000 migrants arrived at the US-Mexico border, many claiming to be fleeing violence in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Mr Trump labelled the caravan an \"invasion\". Overall, the rate of asylum denials is on the rise in the US and has been for the past six years." } ], "id": "499_2", "question": "What's different about migration now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4911, "answer_start": 3816, "text": "President Trump and his administration have tried a variety of deterrent measures affecting both illegal entrants and asylum seekers in recent years. They are: - asylum seekers caught crossing illegally must wait across the border in Mexico for adjudication - border officials have decreased the number of asylum cases they process each day, a strategy called \"metering\" - last June, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that claims of domestic and gang violence would no longer qualify as grounds for asylum in the US - this was defeated in court - most controversially, in spring, thousands of migrant children were separated from their parents at the border as a part of a \"zero tolerance policy\" that prosecuted anyone found crossing illegally \"This situation is child abuse,\" Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of the government's policy. \"It is an atrocity that violates every value we have, not only as Americans, but as moral beings.\" In May, an inspection at an El Paso Border Patrol station found that at one point 900 migrants had been crammed into the 125-person facility." } ], "id": "499_3", "question": "What has the Trump administration done to address all this?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5851, "answer_start": 4912, "text": "Illegal border crossings are not limited to the southern border - in 2017, for example, there were also 3,027 illegal apprehensions along the Canadian border and 3,588 from the coastal border. While cross-border migrants often make headlines, the largest number of illegal migrants settling in the US each year is those who stay in the country after their visas expire. This has been the case since 2007, official statistics say. In 2016, there were a total of 739,478 overstays, compared to 563,204 illegal border crossings. It's also important to note that, according to the Pew Research Center, overall the number of immigrants living in the US illegally has actually declined since 2007, in large part due to a dip in the number of people coming from Mexico. Apprehensions at the south-western border peaked at 1.64 million in 2000. In total, Pew estimates that in 2017 there were 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants living in the US." } ], "id": "499_4", "question": "Do most illegal entries take place at the southern border?" } ] } ]