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0_1 | A top Turkish official, presidential adviser Yasin Aktay, has said he believes Jamal Khashoggi's body was dissolved in acid after being cut up. The "only logical conclusion", he said, was that those who had killed the Saudi journalist in Istanbul had destroyed his body "to leave no trace behind". Khashoggi, a critic of... | What has the investigation found so far? | 2,109 | There is still no consensus on how Khashoggi died. He entered the consulate to sort out documents for his marriage. But on Wednesday Turkey said he had been strangled immediately after entering the consulate and his body dismembered "in accordance with plans made in advance". Turkish media had previously quoted sources... | 0.368637 |
1_0 | Former Labour MP Luciana Berger has joined the Liberal Democrats, saying the party is "unequivocal in wanting to stop Brexit". She said leader Jo Swinson had offered "a vital, positive alternative" to Labour and the Conservatives. Ms Berger left Labour in protest at the handling of anti-Semitism allegations. Along with... | Who is Luciana Berger? | 1,505 | Ms Berger has been the MP for Liverpool Wavertree since 2010, where she has a majority of 29,466. As an MP she held a number of posts, including shadow minister for energy and climate, shadow minister for public health and shadow minister for mental health. Before becoming an MP she worked for management consultancy co... | 0.358018 |
5_1 | A quarantine imposed in Mongolia after two people died from the bubonic plague has been lifted, allowing a number of tourists to leave the area. The Mongolian couple contracted the illness after eating the raw meat of a marmot, a type of rodent. Following their deaths, a six-day quarantine was declared on 1 May in Mong... | How dangerous is the plague now? | 1,644 | While rare, the plague still continues to be a threat to humans. The disease - typically transmitted from animals to humans by fleas - has a 30%-60% fatality rate if left untreated. In Mongolia, one case was reported in 2017 but it was not fatal. In 2016, no cases were reported. From 1989 to 1997, there were 69 cases i... | 0.623756 |
6_3 | China has announced a $46bn investment plan which will largely centre on an economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan looks at the significance of the plans. The money China is planning to pour into Pakistan is more than twice the amount of all foreig... | What do the US and India think? | 6,219 | There are indications the Americans have been encouraging China to play a stabilising role in Afghanistan. And few in Pakistan believe that American influence is likely to significantly recede from this region in the short run. In the long run, though, the Americans will definitely be working on strategies to cope with... | 0.487359 |
11_0 | The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been active in north-eastern Nigeria for well over a decade. President Buhari says its activities have been largely brought under control since he assumed office in 2015. His political opponents disagree and say the situation has recently deteriorated both in terms of the numb... | What is Boko Haram? | 501 | Formed around 2002 as a non-violent organisation with the aim of purifying Islam in northern Nigeria, it became increasingly radicalised and eventually adopted militant tactics in pursuit of its aims. It has been active not only in Nigeria, but also in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Tens of tho... | 0.603554 |
11_1 | The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been active in north-eastern Nigeria for well over a decade. President Buhari says its activities have been largely brought under control since he assumed office in 2015. His political opponents disagree and say the situation has recently deteriorated both in terms of the numb... | Have attacks by Boko Haram declined? | 2,220 | Insecurity and poor communications in rural areas make assessment both for the government and independent organisations particularly difficult and many incidents go unreported. The Nigerian government's National Bureau of Statistics provides public access to economic, social and general security data gathered within Ni... | 0.599687 |
12_3 | Tent camps have become one of the most prominent and controversial symbols of San Francisco's problem with homelessness. The camps have sprung up along streets and under overpasses, swelling in some cases to 30 or 40 tents. They have divided opinion in a city which has seen an influx of well-paid tech workers in recent... | Is homelessness particularly bad in San Francisco? | 3,486 | Not exactly. San Francisco has a lower homelessness rate than many major US cities including LA, Seattle, and Washington DC. But San Francisco does have a significantly higher proportion of unsheltered homeless people - 511 per 100,000 people, according to 2015 data from the city's Housing Department. That's more than ... | 0.796113 |
13_1 | It's crunch time for the government's EU Withdrawal Bill - the bill which aims to ensure European law will no longer apply in the UK after Brexit. This key plank of legislation, once known as the Great Repeal Bill, has reached committee stage in the House of Commons, which is the bit where there will be hundreds of att... | How much EU law is there? | 3,210 | A lot. The government's White Paper says there is "no single figure" for this, but that there are believed to be 12,000 EU regulations (one type of EU law) in force, while Parliament has passed 7,900 statutory instruments implementing EU legislation and 186 acts which incorporate a degree of EU influence. The total bod... | 0.756006 |
15_0 | The death in a prison cell of a Syrian refugee suspected of planning a bomb attack in Germany is a judicial scandal, his lawyer has said. Jaber al-Bakr, 22, strangled himself in a jail in Leipzig with his shirt and the government has demanded an immediate inquiry. His lawyer said the prison was aware Bakr was a suicide... | What went wrong at the jail? | 767 | Sebastian Gemkow, justice minister in the eastern state of Saxony, told reporters a psychological assessment of the prisoner had been made and safety measures had been taken. And the head of the prison described Bakr during the day as "calm and on an even keel". "It shouldn't have happened, but it did," the justice min... | 0.394024 |
15_1 | The death in a prison cell of a Syrian refugee suspected of planning a bomb attack in Germany is a judicial scandal, his lawyer has said. Jaber al-Bakr, 22, strangled himself in a jail in Leipzig with his shirt and the government has demanded an immediate inquiry. His lawyer said the prison was aware Bakr was a suicide... | How serious is the blow to German intelligence? | 2,211 | German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere demanded a "rapid and comprehensive inquiry". He told German TV that Bakr's death had made the task of investigating the possible Berlin airport bomb plot much harder. Centre-right CDU politician Wolfgang Bosbach said it was a tragedy to lose such an important source of intel... | 0.430031 |
18_0 | US President Donald Trump has attacked Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, calling it a "total mess" and "absolutely nuts". He tweeted on Thursday that investigators were "threatening" people to provide "the answers they want". "They are screaming and shouting ... | What is behind the Russia investigation? | 3,368 | In 2016, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had used a state-authorised campaign of cyber attacks and fake news stories planted on social media in an attempt to turn the election against Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. A team of investigators led by Mr Mueller is looking into whether anyone from Mr Trum... | 0.580374 |
20_0 | US President Donald Trump has named Lt Gen HR McMaster as his national security adviser. He will replace Lt Gen Michael Flynn who was fired after just three weeks and three days in the job. A lieutenant general with the US Army, HR McMaster served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked on a government anti-corruption... | Who is Lt Gen HR McMaster? | 439 | Mr Trump has praised Herbert Raymond McMaster as "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience" who is "highly respected by everybody in the military". Gen McMaster served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and is known as a thoughtful, if straight-talking, military strategist, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Washin... | 0.622046 |
21_0 | Chat apps that promise to prevent your messages being accessed by strangers are under scrutiny again following last week's terror attack in London. On Sunday, the home secretary said the intelligence services must be able to access relevant information. Her comments followed the discovery that Khalid Masood appeared to... | What has this got to do with encryption? | 898 | Several chat apps have adopted a technique called end-to-end encryption. This digitally scrambles their messages' contents when it leaves a sender's device, and then reassembles it on the recipient's computer using a shared key. The technology company running the service is not made privy to the key, so is unable to ma... | 0.442361 |
22_0 | Austria's highest court has annulled the result of the presidential election narrowly lost by the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party. The party had challenged the result, saying that postal votes had been illegally and improperly handled. The Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, lost the election to the former... | What powers does the Austrian president have? | 3,867 | It is a mostly ceremonial post. But the president does have the power to dissolve the National Council - the more powerful lower house of parliament. That triggers a general election. The president can only do that once for a particular reason - he cannot use the same grounds to dissolve it again. It is the chancellor'... | 0.425524 |
24_0 | A government-appointed human rights group in Zimbabwe has accused soldiers of using "systematic torture" in a crackdown on protests. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission strongly criticised authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations. Unrest broke out more than a week ago following a sharp rise in fuel prices.... | What has been alleged? | 1,061 | In a blunt statement, the commission said at least eight deaths had been reported since last week, "mostly attributed to use of live ammunition". "Armed and uniformed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police instigated systematic torture." It said the torture was "organised" in that securi... | 0.399691 |
24_1 | A government-appointed human rights group in Zimbabwe has accused soldiers of using "systematic torture" in a crackdown on protests. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission strongly criticised authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations. Unrest broke out more than a week ago following a sharp rise in fuel prices.... | What is President Mnangagwa doing? | 2,286 | On Monday Mr Mnangagwa, 76, broke off a trip to Europe to deal with the continuing unrest. He had been due to attend the Davos economic summit where he was expected to seek investment for Zimbabwe. Back in Harare, he took to Twitter to urge all sides to work together to fix a broken economy. In a series of tweets, he s... | 0.643759 |
28_0 | Gibraltar has freed an Iranian oil tanker detained last month on suspicion of sanctions-busting, despite a last-minute plea by the US authorities. The UK territory received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not discharge its cargo in Syria. Grace 1, carrying Iranian oil, was stopped by Royal Marines on 4... | How was the Iranian tanker seized? | 2,538 | It was stopped after the government of Gibraltar suggested it was heading for Syria. About 30 marines were flown from the UK to Gibraltar to help police detain the tanker and its cargo, at the request of the Gibraltarian government. The initial seizure of the tanker sparked a diplomatic crisis between the UK and Iran w... | 0.578248 |
28_1 | Gibraltar has freed an Iranian oil tanker detained last month on suspicion of sanctions-busting, despite a last-minute plea by the US authorities. The UK territory received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not discharge its cargo in Syria. Grace 1, carrying Iranian oil, was stopped by Royal Marines on 4... | Why did the court not consider the American request? | 3,180 | Confirming that the tanker had been "released from detention", Mr Picardo explained that the US justice department had requested that a "new legal procedure for the detention of the vessel should be commenced". "That is a matter for our independent Mutual Legal Assistance authorities who will make an objective, legal d... | 0.370688 |
28_3 | Gibraltar has freed an Iranian oil tanker detained last month on suspicion of sanctions-busting, despite a last-minute plea by the US authorities. The UK territory received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not discharge its cargo in Syria. Grace 1, carrying Iranian oil, was stopped by Royal Marines on 4... | Why are US relations with Iran so strained? | 4,310 | Washington suspects Iran of continuing efforts to develop nuclear weapons, something Tehran has always denied, and also accuses it of seeking to destabilise the Middle East. Last year, the US withdrew from a 2015 deal to limit Iran's nuclear activities and re-imposed sanctions against the country. The UK and other Euro... | 0.488294 |
30_1 | Arming more teachers could help tackle gunmen targeting students if there were "four to five guns to one", a senior Texan official has said. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was speaking two days after 10 people were killed at the Santa Fe High School, which had an armed guard. He had previously said schools had "too ma... | What did the Houston police chief have to say? | 3,064 | Chief Acevedo runs the police department of America's fourth most populous city, Houston, which lies nearly 40 miles (64 km) north-west of Santa Fe. "I know some have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I've hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue. Please d... | 0.484073 |
30_2 | Arming more teachers could help tackle gunmen targeting students if there were "four to five guns to one", a senior Texan official has said. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was speaking two days after 10 people were killed at the Santa Fe High School, which had an armed guard. He had previously said schools had "too ma... | What has happened to the attacker? | 5,439 | The 17-year-old suspect has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. Court documents revealed on Saturday that the suspect - who waived his right to remain silent and admitted to the shooting - told police he had spared certain students he liked "so he could have his story told". One... | 0.415309 |
34_2 | Human remains have been found in the hunt for 10 US sailors missing after their destroyer collided with a tanker near Singapore, the navy says. The discovery came when divers were sent down to search inside the USS John S McCain, now berthed at Singapore's Changi naval base. The collision with a Liberian-flagged ship h... | What happened in the previous collisions? | 2,621 | This is the fourth time in a year that a US navy vessel has been involved in an accident. Just two months ago, seven US sailors were killed when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship in Japanese waters near the port city of Yokosuka. Those who died were found in flooded berths on board the ship after the co... | 0.382616 |
37_0 | Donald Trump has responded to a guilty plea by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, saying Mr Flynn's actions as a member of his transition team "were lawful". Mr Flynn has entered a plea deal and agreed to co-operate with an inquiry into alleged collusion with Russia. The deal, for a lesser charge than ... | What did Flynn do wrong? | 3,951 | Mr Flynn was questioned by the FBI shortly after Mr Trump took office in January about his December meetings with Mr Kislyak. He was forced to resign in February, 23 days into his job. According to the FBI's statement of offence signed by Mr Flynn, he discussed Russia's response to US sanctions as well as a UN Security... | 0.583087 |
38_0 | Cramming all your recommended weekly exercise into one or two weekend sessions is enough to produce important health benefits, a study suggests. And being active without managing 150 minutes of moderate activity a week was still enough to reduce the risk of an early death by a third. The findings are based on a survey ... | How much physical activity should I do? | 1,633 | People aged 19-64 should try to do: - at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking every week, and - strength exercises (such as lifting weights) on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles Or - 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running or a game of si... | 0.605274 |
42_0 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What is Britain looking for? | 204 | Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under way. Through a series of speeches and newspaper articles, he has given an overview of his priorities but, and in November, he set down his objectives on paper for the first time in a letter to Donald Tusk... | 0.409279 |
42_1 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What else does Mr Cameron want? | 1,822 | The Conservatives want to free business from red tape and "excessive interference" from Brussels and to provide access to new markets through "turbo charging" free trade deals with America and Asia. They also want trade barriers in the services and digital sectors to be removed to create a truly single market as well a... | 0.382777 |
42_2 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | When will the referendum be held? | 2,794 | The official UK government position is that a referendum will be held by the end of 2017 but Downing Street sources have said: "If we can do it earlier we will." it is widely expected to be held in June or July if a deal is reached at the EU summit in February. | 0.780688 |
42_3 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What about the European Court of Human Rights? | 3,056 | The Conservatives will attempt to repeal the Human Rights Act, which requires UK courts to treat the European Court of Human Rights as setting legal precedents for the UK, in favour of a British Bill of Rights. The European Court of Human Rights is not a European Union institution. It was set up by the Council of Europ... | 0.688262 |
42_4 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What about freedom of movement? | 3,553 | The freedom for people to move around Europe, enshrined in the EU treaties, works in parallel with the other three basic freedoms in the single market: freedom of goods, capital and services. It is a "red line" for other EU leaders, who do not want to see it eroded. Mr Cameron's decision to seek the four year ban on so... | 0.475122 |
42_5 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What if Mr Cameron fails to get the changes he wants? | 6,089 | Mr Cameron has faced repeated calls to say whether he would campaign for Britain's exit from the EU in the referendum if he fails to get what he wants from the renegotiation process. All he has said is that he will "rule nothing out" and he has no "emotional attachment" to the EU. | 0.636112 |
42_6 | David Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants. Mr Cameron said he did not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand before serious discussions get under ... | What do other Conservative MPs want? | 6,371 | Some Conservative MPs want Britain to leave the EU no matter what David Cameron manages to renegotiate. A larger group are likely to want more concessions than Mr Cameron has so far indicated he is prepared to demand. Senior backbencher David Davis, who was defeated by Mr Cameron for the Tory leadership in 2005, told t... | 0.502933 |
43_0 | Adult film star Stormy Daniels is suing President Donald Trump over a so-called "hush agreement". Ms Daniels (her real name is Stephanie Clifford) alleges she and Mr Trump had sex in 2006, and that he has been trying to keep it quiet ever since. A lawyer for Ms Daniels has made claims of a cover-up, and others have rai... | Who is Stormy Daniels? | 960 | She was born in Louisiana in 1979. She moved into the adult film industry first as a performer, before in 2004 branching out into directing and also writing. Her stage name comes from Motley Crue's bassist Nikki Sixx's daughter Storm, and the US whisky Jack Daniels - which southerner Ms Clifford chose after reading an ... | 0.41024 |
45_0 | China's National People's Congress has set the country's growth target for 2016 at a lower range of 6.5%-7%. Premier Li Keqiang made the announcement in his opening speech, warning of a "difficult battle" ahead. The annual meeting in Beijing sets out to determine both the economic and political agenda for the country. ... | What is the National People's Congress? | 3,822 | Under China's 1982 constitution, the most powerful organ of state is meant to be the National People's Congress, China's parliament. Critics argue though that it is little more than a rubber stamp for party decisions. The congress is made up of nearly 3,000 delegates elected by China's provinces, autonomous regions, mu... | 0.463436 |
49_0 | Twelve relatives of Nevada's Republican candidate for governor have written an op-ed accusing him of "phoniness" and of being a "fake" Westerner. The family members wrote on Monday that they "feel compelled to protect our family name from being leveraged and exploited by Adam Laxalt". The piece attacks Mr Laxalt's poli... | Who is Adam Laxalt? | 1,216 | Mr Laxalt, Nevada's attorney general, has spoken in campaign ads of being raised by a single mother who was a lobbyist in Washington DC. He was born in Reno but was raised in Washington DC. He returned to Nevada in 2013 and entered politics a year later. Mr Laxalt is the grandson of Paul Laxalt, who served both as gove... | 0.508927 |
50_0 | Last year, a Muslim man in northern India was killed in a mob lynching over allegations that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. The case sparked widespread outrage and a furious debate about religious tolerance. Now, there's a fresh twist in the case that has raised questions over the investigation... | Where was the meat found? | 1,453 | Soon after the incident many media reports had claimed that police had taken meat samples from Mr Akhlaq's fridge. But police told the BBC that they had never collected meat samples from his home. Now, eight months later, the investigating police officer, Anurag Singh, has clarified that the meat samples were collected... | 0.477353 |
50_1 | Last year, a Muslim man in northern India was killed in a mob lynching over allegations that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. The case sparked widespread outrage and a furious debate about religious tolerance. Now, there's a fresh twist in the case that has raised questions over the investigation... | Why was a second test carried out? | 2,005 | The first report, released soon after Mr Akhlaq's death, said the meat in question was mutton and was widely reported in India media. However, Mr HC Singh, in-charge of the Mathura forensic investigation laboratory which released the second report, told BBC News that the preliminary test was only based on a "physical e... | 0.410791 |
50_2 | Last year, a Muslim man in northern India was killed in a mob lynching over allegations that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. The case sparked widespread outrage and a furious debate about religious tolerance. Now, there's a fresh twist in the case that has raised questions over the investigation... | Why did the results of the second test take so long? | 2,595 | According to Mr Singh, his laboratory had known that the meat was beef as early as October. However the test results were only submitted to the police in December. Mr Singh attributed the delay to a "lack of postage stamps" at the laboratory and the fact that they did not have a chairman for three months - excuses that... | 0.504086 |
50_3 | Last year, a Muslim man in northern India was killed in a mob lynching over allegations that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home. The case sparked widespread outrage and a furious debate about religious tolerance. Now, there's a fresh twist in the case that has raised questions over the investigation... | Will this have a bearing on the murder trial? | 4,257 | The court and police have consistently insisted that the new lab results will have no bearing on the case. The police investigating the case told the BBC that "this has nothing to do with the investigation of the murder of Akhlaq by a mob." And Ram Sharan Yadav, one of the lawyers for the accused, said that the court h... | 0.374146 |
51_0 | US President Donald Trump has said Huawei could be part of a trade deal between the US and China, despite branding the telecoms firm "very dangerous". The US-China trade war has escalated in recent weeks with tariff hikes and threats of more action. Washington has also targeted Huawei by putting the firm on a trade bla... | What are the concerns about Huawei? | 1,066 | Huawei faces a growing backlash from Western countries, led by the US, over possible risks posed by using its products in next-generation 5G mobile networks. Several countries have raised concerns that Huawei equipment could be used by China for surveillance, allegations the company has vehemently denied. Huawei has sa... | 0.708744 |
51_1 | US President Donald Trump has said Huawei could be part of a trade deal between the US and China, despite branding the telecoms firm "very dangerous". The US-China trade war has escalated in recent weeks with tariff hikes and threats of more action. Washington has also targeted Huawei by putting the firm on a trade bla... | What about trade tariffs? | 1,799 | Mr Trump's latest comments on Huawei came on the heels of an announcement of a $16bn ($12.6bn) aid programme to help US farmers hurt by the trade conflict with China. Earlier this month the US increased tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese imports from 10% to 25% after the two sides failed to reach a deal on trade. China... | 0.533147 |
52_0 | The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has risen to at least 429, the disaster mitigation agency says. On Saturday giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn gene... | What warning was given? | 895 | On Monday, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency told a news conference that another tsunami was a possibility because of the continued volcanic eruptions of Anak Krakatau. "Recommendations from [the] Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency are that people should not carry out activities on th... | 0.383968 |
52_1 | The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has risen to at least 429, the disaster mitigation agency says. On Saturday giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn gene... | Why was Saturday's tsunami so deadly? | 2,426 | The tsunami struck at 21:30 local time (14:30 GMT) during a local holiday, with few of the warning signals that might have come had it been generated by an earthquake. Seawater did not recede as it would with an earthquake tsunami. Experts say that even if there had been warning buoys near the volcano, there would have... | 0.58057 |
52_2 | The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has risen to at least 429, the disaster mitigation agency says. On Saturday giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn gene... | How did the tsunami happen? | 3,181 | By Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent Everyone in the region will have been aware of Anak Krakatau, the volcano that emerged in the sea channel just less than 100 years ago. But its rumblings and eruptions have been described by local experts as relatively low-scale and semi-continuous. In other words, it's been ... | 0.538098 |
52_3 | The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has risen to at least 429, the disaster mitigation agency says. On Saturday giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn gene... | How common are tsunamis in Indonesia? | 3,924 | Indonesia is prone to tsunamis because it lies on the Ring of Fire - the line of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific Rim. In September, more than 2,000 people died when a powerful earthquake struck just off the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, setting off a tsunam... | 0.738571 |
53_1 | Some 100,000 people have fled their homes in north Syria, the UN reports, as Turkey presses on with its cross-border offensive on Kurdish-held areas. Many people are sheltering in schools or other buildings in Hassakeh city and the town of Tal Tamer, the UN says. Turkey took action on Wednesday after US President Donal... | What about displaced people? | 3,196 | A refugee crisis is developing. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) gave the figure of 100,000 but aid groups say as many as 450,000 people could be forced to move. According to aid workers on the ground, the vast majority of civilians have fled Tal Abyad and those who remain fear for th... | 0.426406 |
54_3 | The government has announced that most imports into the UK would not attract a tariff in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Under a temporary scheme 87% of imports by value would be eligible for zero-tariff access. At the moment 80% of imports are tariff free. Tariffs would be maintained to protect some industries, includi... | How will the Irish border system work? | 3,502 | The government also announced that it will not introduce any new checks or controls, or require customs declarations for nearly all goods moving from across the border from Ireland to Northern Ireland in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The move, to avoid friction at the UK's land border with the EU, will... | 0.550015 |
61_1 | Twelve Thai boys trapped in a cave have exchanged emotional letters with their parents, for the first time since their ordeal began two weeks ago. "Don't worry, we are all strong," one child said in a note. "Teacher, don't give us lots of homework!" he joked. The football coach who took the boys into the cave apologise... | What is the situation inside the cave? | 2,677 | The boys were found inside the cave by British rescue divers on Monday, 10 days after they went missing. They were perched on a rock shelf in a small chamber about 4km (2.5 miles) from the cave mouth. Teams of Thai and international divers have since supplied them with food, oxygen and medical attention. There are conc... | 0.588792 |
61_2 | Twelve Thai boys trapped in a cave have exchanged emotional letters with their parents, for the first time since their ordeal began two weeks ago. "Don't worry, we are all strong," one child said in a note. "Teacher, don't give us lots of homework!" he joked. The football coach who took the boys into the cave apologise... | When could the group be rescued? | 3,246 | Above ground, a huge military and civilian operation is racing against the clock to bring the boys out. Monsoon rains are threatening further flooding in the coming weeks and month. On Saturday, the governor of the Chiang Rai region, where the cave is located, said the next three to four days were "the most favourable ... | 0.368248 |
64_3 | Leading opposition politician Imran Khan has promised to create a "new Pakistan" ahead of general elections this summer. What are the former cricketer's prospects - and who are the "electables" he hopes will help him? Mr Khan addressed a rally of tens of thousands of supporters in the eastern city of Lahore, where he l... | Where does Mr Khan stand on extremism? | 2,477 | Mr Khan has faced accusations of being soft on Islamist extremism, at one stage earning the nickname "Taliban Khan". He strongly rejects the claims and says he has merely advocated peace talks with insurgent groups as a way of resolving conflict within Pakistan. When asked by the BBC whether Pakistan would be more or l... | 0.655861 |
66_0 | After five days of debate on Theresa May's Brexit agreement, MPs will finally vote on the deal later. The final day of debate will end with a speech from the prime minister at about 18:20 GMT. But before the vote on the Brexit agreement happens, MPs will get a chance to reshape, or reject, the deal by voting on a serie... | What time will the vote happen? | 102 | The final day of debate will end with a speech from the prime minister at about 18:20 GMT. But before the vote on the Brexit agreement happens, MPs will get a chance to reshape, or reject, the deal by voting on a series of amendments to it, from about 19:00 GMT. This will start with votes on three or four backbench ame... | 0.50389 |
66_1 | After five days of debate on Theresa May's Brexit agreement, MPs will finally vote on the deal later. The final day of debate will end with a speech from the prime minister at about 18:20 GMT. But before the vote on the Brexit agreement happens, MPs will get a chance to reshape, or reject, the deal by voting on a serie... | How can I watch the debate and the vote? | 641 | There will be live updates on the BBC News website and it will be broadcast on the BBC News channel or watch BBC Parliament live on BBC iPlayer. | 0.386464 |
68_0 | Recently, there have been more stories about Yahoo shutting bits of its business than celebrating successes. The firm's own internet services are now valued to be worth a fraction of its stake in the e-commerce giant Alibaba. So, after the US tax authorities effectively blocked Yahoo's sales of shares in the Chinese bu... | Does anyone use Yahoo anymore? | 666 | In much of the world, Yahoo may be considered a marginal internet brand. But in the US, it is still a force to be reckoned with. In February, it was the States' third most visited online platform, attracting more than 204 million people, according to research firm Comscore. To put that in context, Facebook had only 1% ... | 0.449626 |
70_0 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | When are the polls? | 105 | Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. | 0.553736 |
70_3 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | When are we expecting the results? | 2,661 | Some English and Welsh councils will begin counting ballots as soon as polls close at 22:00 BST. Others will start counting on Friday morning, with results continuing all day Friday. Scotland's 32 councils will start their counts on Friday morning, with first results expected from midday. Most mayoral results will be d... | 0.376892 |
70_4 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Where can I watch the results? | 3,000 | There will be full live text and video coverage of the results as they come in on the BBC News website and on special BBC news programmes. | 0.641574 |
70_6 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Who is barred from voting? | 3,661 | Convicted prisoners, anybody found guilty of election corruption within the past five years. Members of the House of Lords and anyone subject to any legal incapacity to vote. | 0.518076 |
70_7 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | How do I vote? | 3,836 | If you are registered to vote you should have received a polling card telling you where you should go to cast your vote on Thursday. You do not have to take the card with you when you go to vote. No form of identity is required. If your polling card hasn't arrived, contact the electoral services department at your loca... | 0.573717 |
70_8 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Can I vote by post? | 4,168 | The deadline for asking for a postal vote from the electoral registration office at your local council has passed. If you have applied to vote by post, you cannot vote in person at the polling station. However, you can return your postal vote to the polling station before 22:00 BST, or to the returning officer at your ... | 0.587614 |
70_9 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | What about proxy votes? | 4,641 | You can only apply for a long-term proxy vote if you have a specific reason such as a disability or being overseas. To vote by proxy for just one election, you must have a reason - for example you will be on holiday or away owing to work. The deadline to vote by proxy has already passed, but if you are suddenly incapac... | 0.582219 |
70_11 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | What help is there for disabled voters? | 5,256 | To help blind and partially sighted voters, there has to be a "tactile device" in each polling station and there are rules on the size of print on ballot papers. The vast majority of polling stations are now more accessible for wheelchair users. Proxy ballots are allowed for those unable to vote because of disability. ... | 0.661083 |
70_12 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | What happens if a voter is illiterate? | 5,678 | There is no literacy qualification for voting: anyone who cannot read or write can ask the polling officer at the polling station to mark their ballot, or have the candidates names read out, or take a companion to help them. | 0.598634 |
70_14 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Is my vote secret? | 5,975 | Yes. The ballot papers contain a serial number and it is possible, but illegal, to trace all the votes to the people who cast them. The number is there to stop electoral fraud. | 0.383543 |
70_16 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | What about mayoral elections? | 6,661 | Six new mayors are being elected to represent several regions of England. These mayors are being created as part of the government's drive to devolve more power to English regions. The mayors will serve and represent a number of local authorities in each region. Their exact powers vary according to the different agreem... | 0.583146 |
70_17 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Who can stand as a candidate? | 7,306 | Candidates must be aged 18 or over and either be British or citizens of other European Union or Commonwealth countries. In addition, those standing in English council elections must be on the electoral register of the council concerned or must have lived in or worked in the council area within the past year. Those bann... | 0.506611 |
70_18 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | How can I set up a political party? | 7,846 | All political parties have to be registered with the Electoral Commission if they want their names to appear on the ballot papers. The commission will need the names of three party officials and details of the party's financial structure. It can refuse to register a party if its name is confusingly similar to another p... | 0.498603 |
70_19 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Who organises the election? | 8,284 | The top official of the local authority is the returning officer for the elections in each constituency, with the day-to-day running of the poll left to the head of the council's electoral registration office. | 0.580465 |
70_20 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Why are elections held on Thursdays? | 8,494 | They do not have to be - it is just convention. One theory about its origins is that people were not paid until Fridays and so holding polls on Thursdays ensured they were not too drunk to vote. The Electoral Commission has recommended trials of weekend voting to boost turnout. | 0.662169 |
70_21 | As voters go to the polls in local and mayoral elections, here's a guide to what's going on and where... Voting will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 BST on 4 May. Elections will be held in 34 councils in England, all 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 councils in Wales. In addition, six areas in England are voting for n... | Are there rules for the BBC's coverage? | 8,773 | Every part of the corporation has to follow election guidelines published by the BBC They included advice on "appropriate" level of coverage to give to each of the political parties. | 0.61157 |
72_1 | The US Senate is poised to loosen banking rules instituted in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, marking a key turning point in the long-running debate over the regulations. The proposal would reduce the number of firms subject to strict oversight. Supporters, who include Democrats and Republicans, say the pla... | What are people saying about the bill in the Senate? | 2,440 | Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, has stewarded the bill through years of negotiations. He says the changes will make it easier for people and businesses to get access to credit, while preserving much of the regulatory framework. The legislation has also won support from some Democrats in moderate states, such as Mo... | 0.537568 |
73_2 | The pound plummeted in Asian trading early on Friday. And no-one really seems to know why. Did a trader make a mistake? Did the computers go haywire? And where will the pound go next? Overnight the value of the pound fell dramatically. It was briefly down 6%, hitting a value of $1.18 against the dollar at 7:09am in Hon... | What exactly is algorithmic trading? | 1,389 | Also known as automated trading, this is where specialised, bespoke computer programs are designed to help traders work faster. They will receive information from multiple sources such as data on previous crises and trades, as well as information from news sites and even social media. The programs then trade immediatel... | 0.559616 |
73_5 | The pound plummeted in Asian trading early on Friday. And no-one really seems to know why. Did a trader make a mistake? Did the computers go haywire? And where will the pound go next? Overnight the value of the pound fell dramatically. It was briefly down 6%, hitting a value of $1.18 against the dollar at 7:09am in Hon... | Where will the pound go from here? | 2,845 | The good news is that the value of the pound recovered slightly, after the initial plunge. But the gradual decrease is expected to continue as the UK's economy struggles to cope with Brexit uncertainty. John Wraith, head of UK rates strategy at UBS, predicts: "It is only a matter of time before less positive [economic]... | 0.450744 |
76_2 | US immigration officials say they have temporarily released about 300 people who were arrested in a massive raid in Mississippi on Wednesday. Democrats and rights groups have condemned the arrests as "cruel". Nearly 700 workers from seven agricultural processing plants were arrested for allegedly not having proper docu... | What happened to the children? | 3,729 | Some children were taken to a local gym after they came home to find their parents gone. In one video posted on Facebook from the Koch Foods plant in Morton, a young girl can be heard weeping uncontrollably as bystanders watch people being loaded on to a bus. An officer allows her to see her mother, who is the girl's o... | 0.40255 |
77_0 | The stories of three people stranded in the Australian outback for two weeks have captured global attention. Two of them survived, while a body was found on Thursday, presumably of the third person. The outback is a vast remote area in the centre of Australia: dry, arid and almost entirely uninhabited. During summer, t... | How long can you survive without water? | 534 | "The biggest two factors are heat and dehydration," explains Dr Matt Brearley of Australia's Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre. Generally, a person can survive for three days without water - but that is only under certain conditions: without physical exertion or being exposed to too much heat in the direct sun. ... | 0.584003 |
77_1 | The stories of three people stranded in the Australian outback for two weeks have captured global attention. Two of them survived, while a body was found on Thursday, presumably of the third person. The outback is a vast remote area in the centre of Australia: dry, arid and almost entirely uninhabited. During summer, t... | How long without food? | 1,474 | "Food is actually one of the least concerns in a situation like this," says Gordon Dedman of Bushcraft Survival Australia. People can survive without food for about three weeks, he explains. That means that long before food becomes an issue, it's the heat and the water that'll become crucial. "We sum it up with the rul... | 0.760776 |
77_2 | The stories of three people stranded in the Australian outback for two weeks have captured global attention. Two of them survived, while a body was found on Thursday, presumably of the third person. The outback is a vast remote area in the centre of Australia: dry, arid and almost entirely uninhabited. During summer, t... | How dangerous is the heat? | 2,060 | Aside from the dangers of dehydration, it's the heat itself that comes into play. Temperatures can rise well above 40C (104F) during the summer and that means that unsheltered exposure for a prolonged period of time can be deadly. "The normal body temperature is between 37 and 38 degrees," explains Dr Brearley . "If it... | 0.513663 |
78_0 | Detectives investigating devices sent to addresses in London and Glasgow have said a claim of responsibility has been made in the name of the "IRA". The Met and Police Scotland said similar packages were sent in the past by dissident Northern Ireland groups. Officers also revealed that one package may be unaccounted fo... | Who are 'the new IRA'? | 1,463 | Julian O'Neill, BBC Northern Ireland Home Affairs Correspondent The parcel bomb incidents come almost a year after MI5 downgraded the threat posed in Britain by Irish Republicans. It is currently classified as "moderate", meaning attacks are possible, but not likely. In Northern Ireland, the risk is greater, exemplifie... | 0.573327 |
79_0 | The European Court of Human Rights is due to rule on whether the Russian government should have done more to prevent a school siege in the city of Beslan in which more than 330 people died in 2004. Chechen separatists took more than 1,000 hostages at School Number One, the vast majority of them children. It ended when ... | What happened in Beslan? | 556 | Masked men and women, wearing bomb belts, burst into the school, opening fire in the courtyard as a ceremony marking the beginning of the school year was finishing. The hostages were crammed into their school sports hall beneath explosives strung from the basketball hoops. Their captors were demanding Russian troops pu... | 0.373052 |
82_0 | Rival protests over a murder in the east German city of Chemnitz have ended with several people injured as objects were hurled by both sides, police say. Far-right activists had gathered in the centre for a second day as a Syrian and an Iraqi remained under arrest on suspicion of Sunday's deadly stabbing. Anti-Nazi act... | What happened on Sunday? | 1,253 | It is unclear what triggered a fight which reportedly preceded the stabbing, at about 03:15 (01:15 GMT) on Sunday, on the sidelines of a street festival. The far-right demonstration in the city centre on Sunday caused the festival to be cancelled abruptly. The stabbing victim, a carpenter aged 35, was critically wounde... | 0.361439 |
82_1 | Rival protests over a murder in the east German city of Chemnitz have ended with several people injured as objects were hurled by both sides, police say. Far-right activists had gathered in the centre for a second day as a Syrian and an Iraqi remained under arrest on suspicion of Sunday's deadly stabbing. Anti-Nazi act... | How did protests spread? | 2,461 | Initially, about 100 people gathered on Sunday for a rally which passed off without incident, AFP news agency reports. However, some 800 people later gathered at the Karl Marx monument, a focal point in the centre of Chemnitz. The monument is a throwback to the city's days as a model socialist city in the former German... | 0.438982 |
82_2 | Rival protests over a murder in the east German city of Chemnitz have ended with several people injured as objects were hurled by both sides, police say. Far-right activists had gathered in the centre for a second day as a Syrian and an Iraqi remained under arrest on suspicion of Sunday's deadly stabbing. Anti-Nazi act... | What did Merkel's office say exactly? | 3,818 | "We don't tolerate such unlawful assemblies and the hounding of people who look different or have different origins and attempts to spread hatred on the streets," Mrs Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told journalists. "That has no place in our cities and we, as the German government, condemn it in the strongest ter... | 0.463429 |
82_3 | Rival protests over a murder in the east German city of Chemnitz have ended with several people injured as objects were hurled by both sides, police say. Far-right activists had gathered in the centre for a second day as a Syrian and an Iraqi remained under arrest on suspicion of Sunday's deadly stabbing. Anti-Nazi act... | Why is the migrant issue so thorny? | 4,625 | In 2015, Chancellor Merkel decided to let in a record 890,000 asylum seekers. Syrians fleeing the civil war comprised the biggest group - a 403% rise on Syrian arrivals the previous year, the German migration office reported. She and her allies were punished by voters at last year's general election, when the anti-immi... | 0.398071 |
83_1 | Indonesia's so-called fire season last year was one of the worst on record, but the fires are back and burning out of control with a state of emergency already declared in one province. Between about June and October, more than 100,000 fires burned down millions of hectares of fragile forest lands. There were human and... | How has Indonesia tackled its fires in the past? | 2,546 | Policing the companies and small farmers responsible for lighting fires has been a huge challenge, and the forestry industry is often described as being riddled with corruption. Last year President Joko Widodo told the BBC that he had gone to great lengths to tackle the fires, including the deployment of more than 10,0... | 0.730993 |
84_0 | UK and EU politicians have given very different accounts of how the UK's Brexit negotiations should proceed. The EU's Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, says the UK cannot begin negotiating trade terms with the bloc until after it has left. "First you exit then you negotiate," she told BBC Newsnight. But the BBC un... | When do Brexit talks start? | 1,519 | Not until a new Conservative leader is elected, who will replace David Cameron as prime minister by October. Then it will be up to the new leader to decide when to trigger the EU's Article 50, the procedure for withdrawing from the EU. Article 50 sets a two-year deadline for withdrawal from the EU. But the detailed neg... | 0.413182 |
84_1 | UK and EU politicians have given very different accounts of how the UK's Brexit negotiations should proceed. The EU's Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, says the UK cannot begin negotiating trade terms with the bloc until after it has left. "First you exit then you negotiate," she told BBC Newsnight. But the BBC un... | What sort of deal does the UK want? | 1,915 | Much depends on who wins the Conservative leadership. There are also divisions in the Leave camp over which of the UK's current EU arrangements should be kept. Immigration was such a key issue in the referendum there is likely to be hard bargaining over free movement of EU workers. But EU leaders have said access to th... | 0.434633 |
84_2 | UK and EU politicians have given very different accounts of how the UK's Brexit negotiations should proceed. The EU's Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, says the UK cannot begin negotiating trade terms with the bloc until after it has left. "First you exit then you negotiate," she told BBC Newsnight. But the BBC un... | Who will negotiate with the UK? | 2,545 | Once the UK has given notification under Article 50, the European Council - that is, the other 27 governments and council president - will adopt guidelines for the negotiations. It is not yet clear how the EU will organise its negotiating team, but the European Commission will take charge of the details. The final deal... | 0.62786 |
91_0 | Bushfires ravaging the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have largely destroyed a very small town, residents have said. More than 80 fires - including 20 uncontained - were still burning on Monday following record temperatures. The Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it was remarkable no lives were lost amid "catastr... | What causes the fires? | 2,275 | Australia is particularly prone to bushfires as much of the country has both a hot, dry climate, and plenty of vegetation to burn. All it then takes to start a fire is ignition, and there can be as many as a thousand lightning strikes in a storm. | 0.481242 |
96_1 | European leaders have welcomed the result of the Netherlands election, which saw the anti-immigration party of Geert Wilders fail to become the largest in parliament. Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centre-right VVD won by some margin. For Francois Hollande of France it was a "clear victory against extremism", while German... | Where does Wilders stand now? | 2,604 | Weeks before the election, opinion polls forecast the PVV winning the biggest number of seats but Mr Wilders' lead vanished as the vote drew near. He had pledged to take the Netherlands out of the EU, close all mosques and ban the Koran. He warned that Mr Rutte had "not seen the last" of him. "It's not the 30 seats I h... | 0.397436 |
97_0 | A violent storm on the Sun could cripple communications on Earth and cause huge economic damage, scientists have warned. Why are solar storms such a threat? In 1972, dozens of sea mines off the coast of Vietnam mysteriously exploded. It was recently confirmed the cause was solar storms, which can significantly disrupt ... | What causes an extreme solar event? | 683 | The Sun is a star, a seething mass of electrified hydrogen. As this fluid moves around, it builds up energy within its complex magnetic field. This magnetic energy is released through intense flashes of light known as solar flares and through vast eruptions of material and magnetic fields known as coronal mass ejection... | 0.657736 |
99_0 | Britain's bus network has shrunk to levels last seen in the late 1980s, BBC analysis has revealed. Rising car use and cuts to public funding are being blamed for a loss of 134 million miles of coverage over the past decade alone. Some cut-off communities have taken to starting their own services, with Wales and north-w... | Why is the bus network shrinking? | 2,411 | There are a number of reasons why Britain's bus network is shrinking in size, according to John Disney, a transport researcher and lecturer at Nottingham Business School. He said: "Commercial operators have definitely, over the last 10 years, become much more risk-averse and so they are really concentrating on what the... | 0.57525 |
100_0 | US special envoy Stephen Biegun has urged North Korea to come to the negotiating table, saying: "We are here, let's get this done." His comments in Seoul come days after North Korea conducted missile tests at a satellite launch site. North Korea has set an end-of-year deadline for the US to come up with a new denuclear... | What tests did North Korea carry out? | 1,030 | Pyongyang appears to have shut the door on further US talks, focusing instead on testing missiles. On 8 December, it said it carried out a "very important test". It held a second test less than a week later on 14 December. Both tests were said to be carried out at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground - a site that Nort... | 0.687835 |
100_1 | US special envoy Stephen Biegun has urged North Korea to come to the negotiating table, saying: "We are here, let's get this done." His comments in Seoul come days after North Korea conducted missile tests at a satellite launch site. North Korea has set an end-of-year deadline for the US to come up with a new denuclear... | How are US - North Korea relations? | 1,581 | The US and North Korea have reached a nuclear impasse. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his US counterpart Mr Trump held historic talks in Singapore in June 2018 and in Vietnam earlier this year aimed at denuclearisation. They also held "impromptu" talks at the Demilitarised Zone that separates North and South Korea... | 0.599533 |
103_0 | Italian police are investigating a leaked photo of a blindfolded American teenager who is accused of killing an officer in Rome. The photo of murder suspect Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, was shown by Italian media on Sunday. Mr Natale-Hjorth and his friend, 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder, were arrested on suspic... | What do we know about Rega's killing? | 2,074 | The two suspects were allegedly in the Trastevere area, near to Vatican City, trying to buy drugs. They are said to have stolen a rucksack from an alleged drug dealer who had sold them fake product, according to Ansa. They reportedly offered to bring it back to him, if he paid them $100 (PS80; EUR90) and gave them a gr... | 0.471357 |
107_0 | An artist in India is challenging sexist drawings of women in comic books by parodying them using male heroes in poses typically associated with women. She-Hulk has superhuman strength and speed and is one of the most formidable hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel world. Like Hulk, not only does she have physical pow... | What is 100 Women? | 3,677 | BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation. | 0.55738 |
108_0 | The chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to investigate allegations that top FBI and justice department officials discussed ways to remove President Trump from office. Senator Lindsey Graham said the claims were an "attempted bureaucratic coup". Ex-acting FBI chief Andrew McCabe said Deputy Attorney ... | What are the 25th Amendment claims? | 1,732 | The allegations that Mr Rosenstein discussed invoking the amendment were first reported last year by the New York Times, which cited anonymous sources. However, Mr McCabe's quotes are the first to be made on the record from someone present at the meeting where the alleged comments were reportedly made - in May 2017, af... | 0.564261 |
108_1 | The chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to investigate allegations that top FBI and justice department officials discussed ways to remove President Trump from office. Senator Lindsey Graham said the claims were an "attempted bureaucratic coup". Ex-acting FBI chief Andrew McCabe said Deputy Attorney ... | What is the 25th Amendment? | 3,418 | It provides for the removal of a president if he is deemed unfit for office. Duties are transferred to the vice-president. Activating the relevant section of the 25th Amendment would require the approval of eight of the 15 members of Mr Trump's cabinet, the vice-president and two-thirds majorities in Congress. Ronald R... | 0.674748 |
108_3 | The chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to investigate allegations that top FBI and justice department officials discussed ways to remove President Trump from office. Senator Lindsey Graham said the claims were an "attempted bureaucratic coup". Ex-acting FBI chief Andrew McCabe said Deputy Attorney ... | What did McCabe say about the Russia inquiry? | 4,928 | Mr McCabe said the FBI was right to investigate Mr Trump's ties to Russia. When Mr Trump had told journalists and Russian diplomats that the Russia inquiry was among the reasons he had fired Mr Comey, his comments indicated that "a crime may have been committed", he said. Mr McCabe said he was "very concerned" about th... | 0.693854 |
111_0 | A Toronto landscaper accused of killing eight men who went missing between 2010-17 has pleaded guilty to their murders. Bruce McArthur, 67, was arrested last January and charged in the deaths of two men, and police subsequently charged him in six other cases. Most of his victims had links to Toronto's Gay Village neigh... | What were his crimes? | 888 | In court on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Michael Cantlon described how McArthur had "staged" and photographed the victims, keeping mementos such as jewellery and a notebook. He described all of the crimes as "sexual in nature", adding that there is evidence he tied the victims up during the murders. While many of the rema... | 0.352648 |
111_2 | A Toronto landscaper accused of killing eight men who went missing between 2010-17 has pleaded guilty to their murders. Bruce McArthur, 67, was arrested last January and charged in the deaths of two men, and police subsequently charged him in six other cases. Most of his victims had links to Toronto's Gay Village neigh... | Who are the victims? | 2,906 | So far, all of the eight victims except one had ties to the city's Gay Village. Many were immigrants from South Asia or the Middle East. Members of Toronto's LGBT community have criticised police, saying they did not take their concerns about the missing men seriously. The first two alleged victims were identified in J... | 0.48791 |
114_2 | President Lenin Moreno has imposed a night curfew near government buildings after protesters clashed with security forces inside Ecuador's heavily guarded parliament. Demonstrators briefly burst through a police cordon before being driven back with tear gas, witnesses said. Mr Moreno declared a state of emergency last ... | Why were fuel subsidies scrapped? | 2,454 | Mr Moreno said the subsidies, which cost the government $1.3bn (PS1bn) annually, were no longer affordable. The elimination of the subsidies, introduced in the 1970s, are part of his plan to shore up Ecuador's flagging economy and ease its debt burden. The government has agreed to cut public spending as part of a loan ... | 0.376375 |
115_2 | US senators have passed a sweeping tax cuts bill, paving the way for Donald Trump's first big legislative victory. The package would mark the biggest tax overhaul since the 1980s. It was passed by 51 votes to 49, after a series of amendments in a marathon session. Democrats complained it only benefited the wealthy and ... | How did senators react? | 4,441 | After the vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his opponents would pay the price at the ballot box in mid-term elections next year. "My Republican friends will ultimately pay consequences for this bill in 2018 and beyond. The Republican party will never again be the party of tax cuts for middle-class peopl... | 0.433918 |
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