Datasets:

faisaltareque

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consum_v8

like 0

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51371670

'My African name stopped me getting job opportunities'

Lawyer and diversity campaigner Funke Abimbola says she suffered "bias" when she tried to get into the profession.

About a third of FTSE 100 companies have no ethnic minority representation on their boards, a report has revealed. The Parker Review Committee found 31 of the 83 firms which provided relevant information fell into this category. Ms Abimbola said: "I found a number of barriers to entering the profession because I had an African name and am a black woman, without any doubt." She told the BBC: "I had to make over 100 phone calls to get a foot in the door. "I have experienced bias and situations where, being a black woman, I was judged more harshly over other colleagues. You are more likely to be noticed and are far more likely to have negative judgements made about you if you are part of an ethnic minority." The Parker report also found even lower representation at board level across FTSE 250 companies, where 119 out of 173 (69%) had no ethnic diversity. Ms Abimbola said: "The report doesn't surprise me. There are so many barriers to senior roles for minority ethnic clients to be considered." The Parker committee, formed to consult on the ethnic diversity of company boards, published its first report into the subject in 2017. At the time, 51 of the FTSE 100 companies had no ethnic representation on their boards, in comparison with about 33% today. Data was not collected from the FTSE 250 firms. That report recommended that each FTSE 100 company should have at least one director of colour by 2021, and that each FTSE 250 board should do the same by 2024. Speaking on BBC's Today programme, committee chairman Sir John Parker admitted that with two years still to go, achieving the target "still looks a pretty tall climb". "On the other hand I recall well when I was on the Davies Committee on women on boards, about the halfway stage we had a not dissimilar situation and we met the 25% [target] in that case by the end of the five-year period. "There are some leaders who want to wait and see and let others take the lead and thankfully there are those who take the lead and I think there will be a few who will wait till the bitter end because they're not totally convinced that it's the right thing to do, but they will move as they did on women on boards when they see widespread adoption," he added. To help speed up the process, the new report has recommended that companies should: Ms Abimbola believes that introducing an action plan to help with targets of ethnic minority representation is the key. "There are a few agencies in the UK who specifically recruit diverse talent. They set up power lists every year across many talents, so if you want to look for BAME candidates, you need to work your way through these lists." Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said the report showed "firms have much more to do" to attract employees from black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) backgrounds. Ms Leadsom said: "I want the UK to be the best place in the world to work and to grow a business. Research consistently shows that diversity in businesses is not only essential for good working practice but makes them more successful. "This government backs business and wants it to succeed in becoming more diverse." Arun Batra, a partner at Ernst and Young and an adviser to the review said: "We recognise that meaningful change takes time, but the data tells us that the current pace of change is not quick enough to meet the targets set by the review. "Businesses need to continue to challenge traditional ways of working and legacy issues, and really investigate the talent that they have available in their business." Dr Jill Miller, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said: "The lack of ethnic diversity at the top of organisations is unacceptable in 2020 and although we are seeing movement in the right direction, the speed of progress reported today is disappointing. "Systemic change is needed to ensure businesses are building diverse talent pipelines all the way through their organisation to support long-term change. Action is long overdue and must be a business priority."

['Diversity', 'Companies', 'FTSE 100', 'Black women', 'Employment discrimination', 'Representation']

[{"entity": "Funke Abimbola", "label": "PER"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Diversity", "Companies", "FTSE 100", "Black women", "Employment discrimination", "Representation"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-38314832

Uber tracked Beyonce's movements - here's how you can stop them doing it to you

Uber workers have been using the taxi app to

Samuel Ward Spangenberg is suing Uber for age discrimination and "whistleblower retaliation". In a case filed in the US in October, he alleges that Uber staff were using the company's internal "God View" tool to check up on customer movements. He claims he lost his job after raising concerns with the firm's bosses. Uber doesn't just monitor journeys - like many apps it can keep track of your location at all times. This raises several important questions for users of the app and not just the big one - "Why is Beyonce using Uber?" You might also be asking yourself how you can stop Uber following your movements. The answer is relatively simple. If you're using an iPhone you can stop Uber tracking you by following these steps. Open Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Uber and then change "Always" to "Never". If you're using an Android phone with the Marshmallow or Nougat operating system you can follow a similar process. Open Settings > Privacy > Location Services > and switch to "Never". You don't need to allow Uber access to your location when ordering a taxi if you know the address of your starting location and destination. So there's no need for the company to follow your (or Beyonce's) movements. Uber collects information from your phone on your location, contacts, what type of device you're using as well as details of any calls or messages you exchange with drivers. Uber says it uses this information to help continue to develop the app, but also to share with drivers and other users if you're using the Uberpool feature. The firm also says it may share information collected with other organisations as part of a "partnership or promotional offering". Buzzfeed first reported on Uber's "God View" software in 2014. The company says the software is only used for "legitimate business purpose" but Uber staff claimed it was easy to access for employees. Drivers are not able to access "God View". Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

['Apps', 'Mobile phones', 'Uber', 'Beyoncé']

[{"entity": "Uber", "label": "ORG"}]

Uber

["Apps", "Mobile phones", "Uber", "Beyonc\u00e9"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38893632

Harambe cheeto sells for $99k and a day without women

A single Cheeto snack that looks similar to Harambe the gorilla is now a luxury product and Women's March is set to turn into a day without women.

How much would you be prepared to pay for a single cheese-flavoured corn puff? Well, it seems like someone has paid $99,900 (£80,687) for one. Yes, just one. It all began when a user, valuestampsinc, put a "one of a kind" Cheeto up for sale on Ebay which looks like Harambe, the gorilla which was shot dead last year at the Cincinnati Zoo after a small boy fell into its enclosure. When the auction was shared on Twitter yesterday by an advertising firm, the highest bid stood at $11.99. But within hours, the tiny snack gained popularity and up went the bids, hitting $99,900 this morning, for which it seems to have been sold. When contacted by the BBC, the seller who didn't want his name to be revealed, said the Cheeto "has been sold". Nice one. Just so you know, you can buy a pack of Cheetos in the UK for £1. The organisers behind the Women's March against US President Donald Trump are now planning a day of strike, calling on women to walk out of work for one day. A message about the planned walkout was posted on the group's social media accounts last night. "General strike: A day without a woman. Date to be announced," it said. Millions of protesters in US cities and across the globe attended the first rally, a day after Mr Trump's inauguration. Some female celebrities have already thrown their support behind the idea. Feminist author Jessica Valenti wrote: "The only downside to this is enduring a dozen articles about the BRAVE men who sacrificed and made their kids lunches for one whole day." Canadian pop due Tegan and Sara simply said: "Yes!" However, not all women are game. "Why do they act like they speak for all women? I'm not going on strike," said one. Another woman said she would rather be "available for my family and my responsibilities." Commons Speaker John Bercow's opposition to President Trump addressing both Houses of Parliament has not only ruffled a few feathers in Westminster, social media is equally polarised. #Bercow has been a top trend all day, and to say people's verdict is divided would be an understatement. Some have questioned whether Mr Bercow should have publicly voiced his opinion on Mr Trump's planned state visit in the first place. Regardless of party affiliations, the Speaker must remain politically impartial at all times. Political blog Guido Fawkes reported Mr Bercow had previously hosted representatives from North Korea and Vietnam in Parliament. "Who elected #Bercow to decide our foreign policy? Which foreign heads will he approve of?" tweeted one. Another user referred to one of Mr Bercow's most used phrases in the Commons chamber, saying Mr Trump "must be heard". But there are others lauding Mr Bercow's comments. One thought the Speaker's view "restores Britain's sense of dignity". Another user said opposition to racism and sexism is a matter of principle, not politics. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders may have inspired thousands of American youths during the Democratic Party's primaries, but his influence has now been expanded into the world of fashion. Luxury brand Balenciaga's catwalk during Paris Fashion Week included a number of models wearing clothes themed on the campaign logo used by Mr Sanders. When asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about his fashion credentials, Mr Sanders said: "Of my many attributes, being a fashion maven is not one of them." "Don't sell yourself short, Bernie!" tweeted fashion reporter Daisy Alioto. CNBC journalist Steve Kopack said he was "still processing" the thought of Senator Sanders as a fashion icon.

['Social media', 'BBC Monitoring']

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Cheeto ||| Harambe ||| Women's March

["Social media", "BBC Monitoring"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57530407

Eurovision winners Måneskin enter UK top 10

Eurovision Song Contest winners Måneskin have entered the top 10 of the UK singles chart for the first time.

The Italian glam-rockers climbed to number seven on Friday with their track I Wanna Be Your Slave. They won last month's contest with the song Zitti e Buoni, and the follow-up has now become the biggest hit by a Eurovision-winning act for nine years. US pop singer Olivia Rodrigo's single Good 4 U remained in the top spot for the fourth week in a row. The 18-year-old's guitar-driven track "appears to be ushering in a wave of rock-inspired hits", according to the Official Charts Company. "It has long been anticipated that rock would one day return to the Official Singles Chart, but few would have expected it to be pioneered by an ex-Disney Channel actress and a Eurovision winning act," chart boss Martin Talbot said in a statement. "But that's what appears to be happening, thanks to Olivia Rodrigo and Italian Eurovision winners Måneskin." When they collected their Eurovision trophy in Rotterdam, Måneskin frontman Damiano David declared: "Rock and roll never dies." He soon found himself the subject of an official drugs investigation, but organisers cleared him of any wrongdoing. Zitti e Buoni peaked at number 17 in the UK following their win. The last Eurovision winner to go into the top 10 was Sweden's Loreen, whose winning tune Euphoria reached number three in 2012. In this week's album chart, former Oasis singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher racked up the 12th number one of his career in total, with his new solo best-of collection Back The Way We Came. Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

['Eurovision Song Contest', 'Official UK music charts']

[{"entity": "Eurovision Song Contest", "label": "MEDIA"}, {"entity": "M\u00e5neskin", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "UK", "label": "LOC"}]

Måneskin ||| UK

["Eurovision Song Contest", "Official UK music charts"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41239383

Irma: Why Florida avoided catastrophe

At the end of last week Florida was bracing itself for one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, but this week it is clear the US state was spared much of the predicted devastation.

This is mostly down to the route of the storm, but is also partly because of how much notice the state had to prepare. The storm was a category five - the highest possible - when it swept over the Caribbean destroying nearly all the buildings on some islands. But when it hit the Florida Keys islands on Sunday, it was down to category four, and it continued weakening over other parts of Florida. "I didn't see the damage I thought I would see," said the state's Governor Rick Scott, after flying over the Keys to survey damage. Irma went further west than expected. Rather than travelling from the Keys straight northwards to Miami, it moved west and made landfall at Marco Island. That left people on the west coast having to move fast, but it also gave the hurricane time to weaken before hitting a major population centre. Hurricanes are fuelled by warm moist air, which is best gathered over tropical seas. Travelling over land makes them reduce their strength and speed. However, the state was not completely spared. Cities like Jacksonville did suffer flooding, and about 60% of homes across Florida were left without power. Yet the damage did not reach the level predicted, and analysts have cut their estimates of how much the damage would cost to rebuild. Miami's storm surge was small - a "mere fraction" of what would it would have been if the storm were further east, a former National Hurricane Center director tweeted. Contrast this with the Caribbean, where dozens of people have died. Officials on the island of St Martin officials said six out of ten buildings are uninhabitable, while 95% of buildings have been damaged on Barbuda. Hurricane preparation is an annual part of life in Florida, and buildings are generally well-built to deal with the winds. As the hurricane was predicted well in advance, people had a week in which to board up their houses, close the storm shutters and - for the most part - evacuate, as the government recommended. The Caribbean is also hit by hurricanes year on year, and after heavy winds and flooding the damage was severe. A government architect from Montserrat, Linda Dias, said, in a Facebook post, that houses on many Caribbean islands are built to withstand hurricane winds, just not ones at the speed Irma reached. Some island residents are angry that governments in London, Paris and The Hague did not send help to their overseas territories sooner. A British naval ship has since arrived in the Caribbean, while UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and President of France Emmanuel Macron are on their way to see the damage for themselves. British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK had responded "very quickly" and was making an "international effort" alongside the US, France and the Netherlands. Those people who left their Florida homes are starting to return to a landscape changed, but not destroyed. Many homes are without power and rebuilding homes and business will take time. But as the mayor of Miami, Carlos Gimenez, said: "Inconvenience is a great thing versus having your home destroyed and your life significantly altered." It was undoubtedly an epic hurricane - it travelled 3,700 miles (6,000km), stayed a hurricane for 11 days, and dumped 400mm (15 inches) of rain in some places. It had the fastest Atlantic wind speeds recorded in a decade. But the fact that it lost some of its strength before hitting mainland US is a relief for people in Florida.

['Hurricane Irma', 'Florida']

[{"entity": "Florida", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Atlantic", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "US", "label": "LOC"}]

Florida ||| Atlantic ||| US

["Hurricane Irma", "Florida"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46959605

Football coach Kit Carson died of brain injury in crash

A football coach killed in a car crash on the first day of his sex abuse trial died from a traumatic brain injury, an inquest has heard.

Michael "Kit" Carson's Mazda 3 hit a tree at Bottisham, near Cambridge, on the morning of 7 January. The 75-year-old, of Riverside, Cambridge, had denied abusing boys over a period of 30 years. A coroner said there were "further investigations to be done" into the circumstances of the crash. The inquest in Huntingdon heard Mr Carson's car crashed on a straight section of the single-carriageway A1303, which has a 60mph (95km/h) speed limit. Cambridgeshire's senior coroner David Heming said a post-mortem examination concluded the cause of death was a brain injury. He said: "The circumstances as presently known are that the vehicle left the carriageway on to a wide grass verge and collided with a tree. "It's clear that there are further investigations to be done by Cambridgeshire Police concerning the circumstances of the accident." Routine toxicological analysis of blood samples would take about six weeks, he added. The full inquest is due to take place on 18 June. Mr Carson's trial was due to open at Peterborough Crown Court on the day of his death. He denied 13 counts in total, which included one charge of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The charges related to 11 boys under the age of 16 and the offences were alleged to have taken place between 1978 and 2009. Mr Carson worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

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["Peterborough", "Cambridge", "University of Cambridge", "Bottisham", "Norwich"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39481361

Yorkshire Ripper: Cases linked to Peter Sutcliffe reviewed

Police have confirmed they are reviewing historical unsolved cases linked to the Yorkshire Ripper.

The Sun newspaper has claimed that Peter Sutcliffe, who now calls himself Peter Coonan, has been interviewed in prison about 17 unsolved attacks. Sutcliffe was given 20 life terms in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more. The 1982 Byford Report said he could have been responsible for a further 13 offences. More stories from across Yorkshire The former Bradford lorry driver, now 70, attacked and murdered women between 1976 and 1981. Most of his victims were women working as prostitutes. West Yorkshire Police said it would not comment on who detectives had spoken to in the course of an ongoing investigation. In 2016, detectives spoke to a small number of people named in the Byford Report - an inquiry into the force's investigation which was only made public in 2006. The report said there was an "unexplained lull" in Sutcliffe's criminal activities between 1969, when he first came to the police's attention, and the first officially-recognised Ripper assault in 1975. The report said: "We feel it is highly improbable that the crimes in respect of which Sutcliffe has been charged and convicted are the only ones attributable to him." Sutcliffe was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia following his life sentence and spent three decades at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. He was moved to Frankland Prison in Durham in August after a health tribunal ruled he no longer required treatment for any mental disorder. Wilma McCann, aged 28, Leeds, October 1975 Emily Jackson, aged 42, Leeds, January 1976 Irene Richardson, aged 28, Leeds, February 1977 Patricia Atkinson, aged 32, Bradford, April 1977 Jayne McDonald, aged 16, Leeds, June 1977 Jean Jordan, aged 21, Manchester, October 1977 Yvonne Pearson, aged 22, Bradford, January 1978 Helen Rytka, aged 18, Huddersfield, January 1978 Vera Millward, aged 41, Manchester, May 1978 Josephine Whittaker, aged 19, Halifax, May 1979 Barbara Leach, aged 20, Bradford, September 1979 Marguerite Walls, aged 47, Leeds, August 1980 Jacqueline Hill, aged 20, Leeds, November 1980

['Manchester', 'West Yorkshire Police', 'Leeds', 'Schizophrenia']

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NoPresentEntity

["Manchester", "West Yorkshire Police", "Leeds", "Schizophrenia"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55270322

Biden and Harris named Time's Person of the Year

US President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2020.

"The Biden-Harris ticket represents something historic," Time tweeted. The Democratic pair beat three other finalists: frontline healthcare workers and Dr Anthony Fauci, the racial justice movement, and President Donald Trump, who lost the White House race. Time has been choosing the year's most influential person since 1927. "For changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year," wrote Time's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal. Mr Biden and Ms Harris, who was not mentioned on Time's initial shortlist, are yet to publicly comment on the announcement. In 2016, Mr Trump, then also president-elect, received the same recognition from the magazine. Every year, Time chooses a person, a group, an idea or an object that "for better or for worse" has had the most impact on the events over the 12 months. In 2019, the publication expanded Person of the Year to include such categories as a Businessperson of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Athlete of the Year and the Guardians of the Year. So, this year's winners are: Last year, Time's Person of the Year was Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change. Thunberg, who was 16 at the time, was the youngest person to have won the nomination. Pope Francis In 2013, the world's first pontiff from the Americas was chosen as Person of the Year. Argentina's Jorge Mario Bergoglio had become Pope Francis in March of that year, and had already made his mark, rejecting the glittering trappings of the role to focus on the poorest in society. Vladimir Putin In 2007, the title went to a man who Mr Trump has repeatedly said he admires: Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, whether Time Magazine admires Mr Putin is less clear. "TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honour. It is not an endorsement," it wrote in an editorial explaining the decision that year. "It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world - for better or for worse." Martin Luther King The civil rights activist was named Person of the Year in 1963 - the same year he stood at the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his acclaimed "I Have a Dream" speech. He was the first African American to grace the cover, and publically said later he saw it not simply as a personal victory, but a victory for the civil rights movement. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the following year. Adolf Hitler If there was ever a recipient to prove the claim that Person of the Year was not an "honour", it was the choice for 1938. Among other things, 1938 was the year Adolf Hitler "had stolen Austria before the eyes of a horrified and apparently impotent world". But it is the final line that is perhaps the most chilling: "To those who watched the closing events of the year it seemed more than probable that the Man of 1938 may make 1939 a year to be remembered." Wallis Simpson The first woman to be named what had been until then the "Man of the Year" was Wallis Simpson, the divorcee who had almost brought the British monarchy crashing to the ground. She is still one of the few women to grace the cover alone. Others include Queen Elizabeth II, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Philippine President Corazon Aquino.

['Kamala Harris', 'Joe Biden']

[{"entity": "Joe Biden", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Kamala Harris", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Time magazine", "label": "MEDIA"}]

Joe Biden ||| Kamala Harris

["Kamala Harris", "Joe Biden"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57312832

'White fungus': Drug-resistant fungal infections pose threat to India patients

In May, a middle-aged-man suffering from Covid-19 was admitted in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

As his condition deteriorated, the patient was put on a ventilator. He was administered steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients. But the drug also reduces immunity and pushes up blood sugar levels in patients. After a prolonged stay in the ICU, the patient had recovered and was ready to go home when doctors found he was infected with a deadly, drug-resistant fungus. Candida auris (C. auris), discovered a little over a decade ago, is one of the world's most feared hospital microbes. This bloodstream infection is the most frequently detected germ in critical-care units around the world and has a mortality rate of around 70%. "We are seeing an increased number of patients with the infection during the second wave of Covid-19. There are a lot of sick people in the ICUs and many of them are on high steroid doses. That could be the reason," Dr Om Srivastava, a Mumbai-based infectious diseases specialist, said. As the second wave washes over India and severely ill patients clog the ICUs, doctors are seeing an uptick in a host of dangerous fungal infections. First, there was an outbreak of mucormycosis or the black-fungus, a rare but dangerous infection, which affects the nose, eye and sometimes the brain. Some 28,000 cases and more than 200 deaths from the disease have been already recorded. Now doctors are reporting a rise in other deadly fungal infections in Covid-19 patients, mostly after a week or 10 days of stay in the ICU. There are two species of Candida fungi - auris and albicans - and they can be fatal for human beings. Aspergillus, which is another kind of fungi group, affects the lungs, and it can also be fatal. Of the more than five million types of fungi, Candida and Aspergillus are the two major groups which cause a lot of human deaths. Candida is a germ that can be present on many surfaces, like shower curtains, computer screens, doctor's stethoscopes and railings of railway carriages. Doctors say C. auris frequently causes bloodstream infections, but can also infect the respiratory system, the central nervous system and internal organs, as well as the skin. Aspergillus also remains in the environment and is often found in heating or air conditioning systems. Normally our immunity helps prevent the entry of the fungal spores in the respiratory tract. But in patients suffering from Covid-19, the fungus, helped by the damage done to the skin, blood vessel walls and other linings of the airway by the coronavirus, manages to enter the respiratory tract. This infection affects about 20% to 30% of the severely ill, mechanically ventilated Covid-19 patients, according to Dr SP Kalantri, medical superintendent of the 1,000-bed non-profit Kasturba Hospital in Wardha, Maharashtra state. Symptoms of some fungal diseases can be similar to those of Covid-19, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. For superficial Candida infections, symptoms include a white coloured thrush - hence sometimes it is called the "white fungus" - in nose, mouth, lungs and stomach or nail beds. For a more invasive form of infection - when the bug travels into the blood - the symptoms are often a fall in blood pressure, fever, abdominal pain and urinary tract infections. At least 5% of Covid-19 patients become critically ill and require intensive-care treatment, sometimes for a long period. Experts say that those who are put on mechanical ventilation are always at greater risk of developing bacterial or fungal infections. Lowered infection control in crowded intensive-care units during the pandemic is a major reason, say doctors. Overworked staff in clunky protective gear, increased use of major fluid tubes, decrease in hand washing compliance and changes in cleaning and disinfection practices contribute to lower infection control. "With a prolonged pandemic, complacency and fatigue has set in among healthcare workers. Infection control practices have gone down. That is the major cause," says Dr Arunaloke Chakrabarti, president of the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology. There are other reasons too. Overuse of steroids and other drugs, which weaken the body's immune system, and underlying conditions make Covid-19 patients in critical care more prone to such infections. "These fungi typically cause infections after the body's immune system is suppressed significantly. They are also known as opportunistic infections," says Dr Zachary Rubin, an immunologist. Dr Rubin says patients with HIV/Aids have a significantly increased risk of getting sick with such fungi. "These fungal diseases are normally rare in association with Covid-19, but are becoming increasingly more common in India." Diagnosis is not easy - testing typically requires a specimen from deep in the lungs. And the drugs are expensive. "It is very worrying and frustrating for the doctors treating these infections. It is a triple whammy - the patient's lungs are already damaged by Covid-19, they have bacterial infections and now the fungal infections," says Dr Kalantri. "It is almost like fighting a losing battle."

['Asia', 'Black fungus', 'India', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

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NoPresentEntity

["Asia", "Black fungus", "India", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58170506

Johnny Depp's film festival awards insulting, domestic abuse charities say

Leading domestic abuse charities have criticised two major European film festivals for deciding to honour Johnny Depp at their forthcoming events.

Depp, who lost a libel case last year over an article that called him a "wife beater", will be feted at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival later this month. The US actor and director is also due to receive the San Sebastian Film Festival's Donostia award in September. The Women's Aid Federation said this was disrespectful to abuse survivors. Solace Women's Aid, another charity that is one of its member organisations, said such awards were "misleading" and "insulting". The San Sebastian Film Festival in northern Spain announced on Monday that Depp would receive its "highest honorary award" on 22 September. It hailed Depp as "one of contemporary cinema's most talented and versatile actors" with a reputation for playing "almost always misfits". On Tuesday, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic said it would pay its own tribute to the actor's "extensive career and lasting legacy". It described him as a "multifaceted artist" and "icon of the contemporary cinema" whom it was "thrilled" to honour at the festival, which runs from 20 to 28 August. Depp denied assaulting his ex-wife Amber Heard, but a High Court judge last year ruled that The Sun newspaper's article was "substantially true". It was not a criminal trial. Sophie Francis-Cansfield, campaigns and policy manager at Women's Aid, said: "When a perpetrator is celebrated, allowing them to continue to garner success and public approval suggests that abuse is acceptable and does not matter. "Survivors must be believed and supported. It is crucial that survivors know that their experiences will be taken seriously and that abuse will not be tolerated by anyone." In her response to the Spanish announcement, Solace's public affairs manager Erin Mansell said: "When perpetrators of domestic abuse are lauded for their professional achievements in spite of evidence they have assaulted current or former partners, it sends a misleading message to survivors that the abuse doesn't matter. "The decision to award this lifetime achievement prize is particularly insulting in the wake of a year where domestic abuse spiralled under conditions needed to address a global pandemic." Respect, which runs a charity helpline for domestic abuse perpetrators, said in June it had seen a 27% rise in the number of calls it had received since the first UK lockdown. The San Sebastian Film Festival's decision to honour Depp has also been criticised by the Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, a professional association based in Madrid. "This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership and transmits a terrible message to the public," its president Cristina Andreu told the Associated Press. Depp's career has suffered since his unsuccessful attempt to sue The Sun. The 58-year-old was replaced in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and another film, a biopic entitled Minamata, has yet to receive a US release. In a letter last month, reprinted in Deadline, Minamata director Andrew Levitas accused the MGM studio of being "concerned... the personal issues of an actor in the film could reflect negatively upon them". However, Minamata, in which Depp plays the renowned photojournalist W Eugene Smith, will be released in UK cinemas this week by Vertigo Releasing. Another of Depp's films, crime thriller City of Lies, received a minimal release this year, 30 months after having its original release postponed. Depp continued to be employed by Christian Dior after the court ruling, appearing in advertising campaigns for its Sauvage cologne. He also maintains a devoted and passionate fanbase that posts regularly on social media using the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp. One Twitter user said the festival accolades showed "producers and directors across Europe would be more than happy to work with Johnny in the near future". Many of his supporters are calling for a boycott of the third Fantastic Beasts film and of the 2022 Aquaman sequel, in which Heard is set to appear. Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

['Domestic abuse', 'Johnny Depp', 'Amber Heard', 'Film']

[{"entity": "Johnny Depp", "label": "PER"}]

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["Domestic abuse", "Johnny Depp", "Amber Heard", "Film"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-36085624

Russians respond to 'disabled should die straight away' row

A leading Russian journalist has faced a public backlash to an opinion piece in which he appeared, to many readers, to put forward the view that disabled people should not have children and would ideally "die straight away". But the article's author says that his words have been misinterpreted and taken out of context.

The article appeared in the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, and was seemingly prompted by a visit to Russia by Australian, Nick Vujicic, who was born with Phocomelia, a rare condition which means he has no arms or legs. Many people find Vujicic's upbeat attitude towards life inspiring and he has built a career as a motivational speaker, travelling the world and sharing his stories. His trip to Russia inspired Yevgeniy Arsyukhin, to write an op-ed entitled "Nick Vujicic and rejecting evolution". In the piece, Arsyukhin - who is chief editor of the newspaper's sister radio station - presented his view of how society's attitude towards disabled people had changed over the centuries. "Our disgust towards ugliness, sickness and to death is hardwired into us by evolution and natural selection," he wrote, going on to add "defective individuals should not produce offspring, it's better that they die straight away. And we should never let disabled people get to the top of the social pyramid." Many Russians were outraged as they believed these views to be Arsyukhin's personal opinions. A pro-Kremlin blogger, Kristina Potupchik launched an online petition on Change.org, demanding that Arsyukhin be dismissed from his post. The petition rapidly picked up more than 90,000 signatures. Others labelled the newspaper article "disgusting" and called Arsyukhin himself a "fascist". "The furnaces of Auschwitz are firing up," wrote one on Facebook. Join the conversation on this and other stories here. But not everyone denounced the piece, and a number of campaign groups argue that in Russia, attitudes towards disabled people can be very different from those in the West. Last year, BBC Trending wrote about Oksana, the autistic sister of supermodel Natalia Vodyanova, who was thrown out of a cafe for "scaring all the customers away". In response to that incident, Irina Dolotova of Road to World - a Russian charity for people with special needs - told BBC Trending there was "little awareness in Russian society" about disabled people, who had been kept largely hidden from mainstream society until at least the 1990s. So what was in Arsyukhin's mind when he sat down to write his column? He did not respond to BBC Trending's request for comment. But he has responded to the controversy by claiming that the opinions he was describing were not his own, and that he was simply paraphrasing attitudes towards disabled people that were prevalent in ancient times. Speaking to news website Meduza, he said "I don't think I offended anybody. The text might have been too complicated for an online audience. But to call me a fascist is way too much." And addressing Nick Vujicic he said "If he is offended, I would be really sad. And if he wants me to apologise, I will." BBC Trending contacted Vujicic through his charity, Life Without Limbs, and received a statement from his team that said "Nick was not offended". Arsyukhin remains in post despite the petition for his removal. But his article itself has suffered an unusual fate. It was first deleted entirely from the newspaper's website, with only a note to say it was removed due to a "negative reaction" by many readers. But several days later it re-appeared with an editorial introduction, explaining that many readers had misinterpreted it, and had not read past the first paragraph. Arsyukhin himself made an addition, to say he had merely been pondering on the "progress of humanity". And now? Well at the time of publication, the article has been removed for a second time, and replaced by a new note, to say that even the modified version had prompted a negative response. Blog by Dmytro Zotsenko Next story Moldovans despair at 'theft of the century' A video of a man stealing paving stones in the Moldovan capital has provoked some national soul-searching. READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

['Social media', 'Russia', 'Disability']

[{"entity": "Russian", "label": "LOC"}]

Russian

["Social media", "Russia", "Disability"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34957153

Jeremy Corbyn insists 'I'm not going anywhere'

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is "not going anywhere", despite reports of potential leadership challenges against him from his MPs.

Mr Corbyn told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show he was enjoying "every moment" of his time as leader. He has found himself at odds with some of his MPs on issues including air strikes in Syria and Trident renewal. Unite union chief Len McCluskey accused Mr Corbyn's critics of using the Syria debate to undermine his leadership. The Labour leader's opposition to air strikes is not shared by most of his shadow cabinet - and his decision on Thursday to write to MPs setting out his opposition provoked an angry reaction and the threat of resignations if his front bench are ordered to vote with him next week. Meanwhile his ally, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, was criticised by some in the party for his response to George Osborne's Spending Review - during which he quoted Chairman Mao in the House of Commons. Mr Corbyn told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show he was enjoying "every moment" of his time as leader. He has found himself at odds with some of his MPs on issues including air strikes in Syria and Trident renewal. Unite union chief Len McCluskey accused Mr Corbyn's critics of using the Syria debate to undermine his leadership. The Labour leader's opposition to air strikes is not shared by most of his shadow cabinet - and his decision on Thursday to write to MPs setting out his opposition provoked an angry reaction and the threat of resignations if his front bench are ordered to vote with him next week. Meanwhile his ally, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, was criticised by some in the party for his response to George Osborne's Spending Review - during which he quoted Chairman Mao in the House of Commons. Mr Corbyn, the Islington North MP who won the Labour leader race with more than half of the votes earlier this year, said: "I feel there are some people who haven't quite got used to the idea that the party is in a different place. It's much bigger than it's been in all of my lifetime. "We have a very open electoral system. The result was a very, very clear mandate for me to be leader of the party. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm enjoying every moment of it." Andrew Marr put it to Mr Corbyn that he had had a "terrible, terrible few weeks" including suggestions by Newport West MP Paul Flynn saying the leader may be forced to resign over his stance against air strikes in Syria as it was causing "terrible divisions" in the party. But Mr Corbyn hit back and said: "It hasn't been terrible at all, party membership has gone up, we forced the government to retreat on tax credits, we forced the government to retreat on police cuts." Mr Corbyn, the Islington North MP who won the Labour leader race with more than half of the votes earlier this year, said: "I feel there are some people who haven't quite got used to the idea that the party is in a different place. It's much bigger than it's been in all of my lifetime. "We have a very open electoral system. The result was a very, very clear mandate for me to be leader of the party. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm enjoying every moment of it." Andrew Marr put it to Mr Corbyn that he had had a "terrible, terrible few weeks" including suggestions by Newport West MP Paul Flynn saying the leader may be forced to resign over his stance against air strikes in Syria as it was causing "terrible divisions" in the party. But Mr Corbyn hit back and said: "It hasn't been terrible at all, party membership has gone up, we forced the government to retreat on tax credits, we forced the government to retreat on police cuts." Mr Corbyn also said headlines about him being against a shoot-to-kill policy in the event of a terror attack had been "spun" in the media which was a "regret". Seeking to clarify his position, he said: "Shooting to kill on the streets of Britain, purely based on suspicion, is illegal and dangerous. "Involving a direct intervention by security forces, as happened in Paris, to stop someone setting off a bomb or shooting a gun directly at somebody is a reasonable form of response." Mr McDonnell told BBC 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics that what looked liked "splits" within the party were actually democracy in action, and were "healthy" expressions of different views. Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, meanwhile, compared Mr Corbyn to "Marmite" adding: "It's one of those where people love it or they don't." Former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, himself briefly a Labour leadership contender earlier this year, told Sky News Mr Corbyn was a "good and decent man who has deeply-held beliefs", while former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend he was concerned about party unity. He said: "You've got to cry, haven't you? Most of our people, when I go round the country people say to me 'John, what the hell is happening?'" In a Huffington Post article, Mr McCluskey - who recently criticised the Labour leader - said Mr Corbyn had been "denounced" for expressing his views on Syria while shadow ministers were making their pro-air strikes views clear. He denounced backbench MPs for calling on Mr Corbyn to "quit for having the temerity to maintain his values and principles". Mr McCluskey said Unite - Labour's biggest financial backer - would "resist all the way" any attempt to force Mr Corbyn out through a "Westminster Palace coup". Mr Corbyn also said headlines about him being against a shoot-to-kill policy in the event of a terror attack had been "spun" in the media which was a "regret". Seeking to clarify his position, he said: "Shooting to kill on the streets of Britain, purely based on suspicion, is illegal and dangerous. "Involving a direct intervention by security forces, as happened in Paris, to stop someone setting off a bomb or shooting a gun directly at somebody is a reasonable form of response." Mr McDonnell told BBC 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics that what looked liked "splits" within the party were actually democracy in action, and were "healthy" expressions of different views. Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, meanwhile, compared Mr Corbyn to "Marmite" adding: "It's one of those where people love it or they don't." Former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, himself briefly a Labour leadership contender earlier this year, told Sky News Mr Corbyn was a "good and decent man who has deeply-held beliefs", while former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend he was concerned about party unity. He said: "You've got to cry, haven't you? Most of our people, when I go round the country people say to me 'John, what the hell is happening?'" In a Huffington Post article, Mr McCluskey - who recently criticised the Labour leader - said Mr Corbyn had been "denounced" for expressing his views on Syria while shadow ministers were making their pro-air strikes views clear. He denounced backbench MPs for calling on Mr Corbyn to "quit for having the temerity to maintain his values and principles". Mr McCluskey said Unite - Labour's biggest financial backer - would "resist all the way" any attempt to force Mr Corbyn out through a "Westminster Palace coup".

['Jeremy Corbyn']

[{"entity": "Labour", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Jeremy Corbyn", "label": "PER"}]

Labour

["Jeremy Corbyn"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-28789374

American Adventure site plans for 300 homes resubmitted

Plans to build on a disused theme park have been criticised for being the same as proposals already rejected.

Waystone Development wants to build up to 300 homes, a retirement village and leisure facilities on the site of the old American Adventure in Derbyshire. In May the scheme was rejected by Amber Valley Borough Council for being "too vague" about types of housing. Shipley Parish Council has said new proposals were "no different" and it would maintain its opposition. Nobody was available to comment from the Alfreton-based developers. In the published planning statement, Waystone Development said it wanted to build up to 307 mostly two-storey homes, a retirement village, neighbourhood centre, hotel, business and leisure areas all focused around a 30-acre lake. The statement said the buildings would be along a "connected network" of streets, footpaths and cycleways. But Shipley Parish Council remains opposed to the development over complaints it would only have one access road and traffic on the A610 is already heavy. Councillor David Wood said: "They've dropped down the number of homes from 400 to 300 but we don't really think it's any more detailed than the previous application. "The plans are very airy fairy, if you read it. There's no definite detail." The new proposals will be considered by Amber Valley Borough Council later this year. The land is owned by Derbyshire County Council and, until 2007, was the American Adventure theme park. Previously, Waystone Development said the development would be "better progressed on the basis of an outline planning application" with more detailed plans later.

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[]

NoPresentEntity

["Heanor", "Ilkeston"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48886673

Badgers lead mammal roadkill list

More than 900 badgers have been reported as roadkill so far this year.

Almost twice as many of the nocturnal animals have been counted compared with foxes and hedgehogs, which are next on the 2019 mammal roadkill list. Pheasants top the list of bird fatalities to date, followed by woodpigeons and blackbirds. Project Splatter, which compiles the data, has received more than 5,500 reports from the public in the six months to June. Top three mammals (this year so far): Top three birds (this year so far): Among some of the more unusual sightings this year are reports of a beaver found on the A9 in Scotland, and a wallaby near Oxford. The number of badgers and foxes being recorded as roadkill is generally in proportion with the animals' wider populations. There are an estimated 485,000 badgers in England and Wales, while there are an estimated 250,000 foxes throughout the UK. Badgers and pheasants also top Project Splatter's all-time list, which is co-ordinated by a team at Cardiff University. They have been collecting data since 2013. Project Splatter co-ordinator and co-founder Sarah Perkins explained that the project began when she was working on a study with a colleague, which led to them wondering about wildlife roadkill and how collecting the data might be of interest from a scientific point of view. "We decided to set up this study to actually find out fundamentally how many animals were being killed on the roads and where it occurred," she told BBC News. "We get well over 10,000 reports each year. That is the tip of the iceberg, of course, because not everyone has heard of the project. "The more people who report, the better, because we can get a better idea about how many animals are killed." Dr Perkins said it was safe to assume that the true number of wildlife being killed by drivers on the UK's roads was much, much greater, perhaps in the millions. "There have been studies where people have tried to scale up and estimate how many animals are killed on the roads in other countries," she observed. "Also, we did a paper a couple of years ago where we looked at how quickly roadkill was scavenged by scavengers, such as crows and magpies. "It is scavenged very, very quickly so we also miss what is occurring because other wildlife is eating it!" Dr Perkins suggests we can mitigate the amount of roadkill by changing drivers' behaviour, and the behaviour of wildlife. "Changing wildlife behaviour is, of course, about putting in green bridges and finding good sites for them," she explained. "Changing driver behaviour is perhaps warning drivers to slow down because there's wildlife in a given area." In June, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling unveiled a new traffic sign, featuring a hedgehog, which would be used to warn road users of the possible presence of wildlife, particularly small mammals. Roads are not just dangerous places for the little critters caught in the full beam of a vast metal box hurtling towards them. Between 2005 and 2017, 100 people were killed, with a further 14,173 injured, in accidents where an animal was involved. Speaking at the time of the traffic sign launch, Mr Grayling said: "The new small-mammal warning sign should help to reduce the number of people killed and injured, as well as helping our precious small wild mammal populations to flourish." Dr Perkins added that the data collected by Project Splatter would be used to help determine in what areas to place the signs. Dr Perkins observed: "Most people think it is going to be motorways. It is not. Motorways, B-roads and minor roads are about the same. "It is A-roads. They have five times as much wildlife roadkill - there is a real risk factor there." If you have spotted wildlife roadkill, you can send the details to the Project Splatter team: Twitter: @ProjectSplatter Email: projectsplatter@gmail.com Alternatively, you could download the Project Splatter app for smartphones - available for both Android and iOS.

['Hedgehogs', 'Wildlife', 'Taxidermy', 'Animals', 'Environment']

[{"entity": "roadkill", "label": "ANIM"}]

roadkill

["Hedgehogs", "Wildlife", "Taxidermy", "Animals", "Environment"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48059328

Sri Lanka attacks: Death toll revised down by 'about 100'

Sri Lanka has revised down the death toll from last Sunday's wave of bombings by more than 100, to "about 253", the health ministry says.

It blamed a calculation error and the difficulty of identifying victims. Scores were killed and hundreds injured when suicide bombers struck hotels and churches in Colombo, Negombo and the eastern city of Batticaloa. Most of those killed were Sri Lankan but dozens of foreigners were also among the casualties. Nine people are suspected of carrying out the attacks. Police have continued carrying out raids and have issued photographs of seven people wanted in connection with the attacks. The authorities blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), soon after the blasts but say the bombers must have had outside help. The Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks and published a video showing eight men but provided no evidence of direct involvement. In other developments: Sri Lankan Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said morgues had provided inaccurate figures. Another official, the head of health services, told Reuters news agency there had been so many body parts it was "difficult to give a precise figure". According to the health ministry, all autopsies had been completed late on Thursday and it transpired that some victims had been counted more than once. BBC World Service South Asia editor Jill McGivering says the revised figure comes as the government is struggling to restore its credibility - amid criticism of its apparent failure to respond to intelligence warnings before the attacks. It's also battling to counter fake news and false rumours about the crisis, she says. This sudden dramatic change in the death toll is unlikely to help. The downward revision means this no longer ranks as the deadliest attack claimed by IS. At least seven suspects are still identified as being at large. Fears of further attacks means that Sri Lanka remains a country on edge, with nightly curfews and security forces making sweeps across the nation, in an effort to root out all connections with the attacks. Over the last few days, a clearer picture has also built up of the bombers, who officials said were well off and well educated and at least one had spent time abroad in the UK and Australia. Thursday saw offices in central Colombo shut early and workers told to go home as well as a brief lockdown in part of the capital because of bomb scares. Rumours and false alarms have also been making the rounds over the past few days. Added to that is the ever-present fear of communal violence and reprisals against Muslims in Sri Lanka. Some Muslims in Sri Lanka report feeling fearful and several Muslim organisations have advised worshippers to stay at home for Friday prayers. In Negombo, a community of refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly belonging to the Ahmadi minority sect from Pakistan, but also including some Christians and Afghan nationals, have been ejected from their homes by landlords. Ahmadi Muslims identify as Muslim and follow the Koran, but are viewed by many orthodox Muslims as heretical. This community of refugees fled persecution and had been sheltering in Sri Lanka - human rights activists say they are likely to have been targeted largely for being both foreign and Muslim. Sri Lanka has a sizeable and centuries-old Muslim population - out of 21 million, just under 10% are Muslim. During Sri Lanka's civil war they were subject to several brutal assaults, and in the years since there has been sporadic violence against Muslims, largely by Sinhalese Buddhists. Muralitharan Kasiviswanathan, BBC Tamil, Negombo As of Wednesday, more than 600 Ahmadis had taken refuge at Faizul Mosque in Negombo, one of the five Ahmadi mosques in Sri Lanka. Most of the Ahmadis were renting their homes from Catholic Christians. Although the bomb blasts happened on Sunday, it was three days later that things got scary for the Ahmadis. "My home is some streets away from the church. After the attack, the owner of my house was very worried and asked me to be safe somewhere. I am paying 13,000 rupees [£58; $74] for that house. Most of us paid a year's rent an advance. Where will we go now?" asks 27-year-old Habis Rabba Soaib. About 800 Ahmadis from Pakistan live here with the help of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Fearing religious prosecution, they fled Pakistan and came to Negombo and hope to eventually seek asylum in Europe or the US. Although the Faizul mosque is small, officials are taking care of them and it is being guarded by the army and the police. More than 5,000 native Ahmadis live in Negombo. Many of them have lived here for years and now own houses and businesses. "Since we have been here for a long time, nobody is threatening us," says one of the Muslim youths who is busy helping the Pakistanis.

['Sri Lanka Easter bombings', 'Sri Lanka']

[{"entity": "Sri Lanka", "label": "LOC"}]

Sri Lanka

["Sri Lanka Easter bombings", "Sri Lanka"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54345263

Coronavirus rules: Boris Johnson blunders into the backbenches

"He's making it too easy."

The prime minister rather made the case for some of the malcontents in his own party today, as one of the key rebels joked. One of the organisers behind backbench moves for more of a say over how the government is handling the pandemic claimed that Boris Johnson's North East coronavirus restrictions blunder underlined their contention - the rules are too complicated, too arbitrary, and haven't been put through the normal grinder of political logic. Mr Johnson said sorry for getting it wrong shortly after he "misspoke" (political speak for getting it wrong), but it gave more immediate ammunition to the opposition too, who accused the prime minister of "gross incompetence". Forget the politics between Number 10 and Labour for a second, and the relationship between Downing Street and the backbenches too, it hardly seems unreasonable for the public to expect that the prime minister would be able to demonstrate a clear grasp of the rules the government has put into force. It seems unlikely that his comments are going to help the public's sense that the rules are clear, firm, and important to follow. Mr Johnson's "misspeak" (being diplomatic), also comes at the crescendo of a tricky moment between Downing Street and grumpy and restless Tory MPs. For some days, backbenchers have been pushing for a way of seeking more influence over, not just the government's decisions on coronavirus, but how Parliament gets involved. As we talked about here, backbenchers were part of what held Number 10 back from going for tighter rules as coronavirus cases rose last week. And since then, many of them have been pushing for a more permanent way of making sure they are heard. It is not just a group of standard rebels either, who love chucking a few political punches, but the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, the Tories' shop steward, if you like, is at the head. It is not normal for the occupant of that position to be overtly critical in this way. Without diving in to the parliamentary weeds from where few return, here's the short version of what they want. Ministers have been bringing in some pretty draconian new rules very quickly during the pandemic, without anything like the normal argy bargy and checks and balances of grinding through Parliament. MPs now want to make sure they have more of a say. And they are also less forgiving of the government, more sceptical of the scientific advice ministers are being offered and more worried about the economy than back in March. What is not surprising is that ministers are less than delighted about having to concede more of their power. What is surprising is that those organising the rebellion, (and they are extremely organised) say that they have as many as 80 of their Tory colleagues willing to defy Number 10. In other words, despite the government's thumping majority, if this goes to a vote, Downing Street is likely to lose. Hold on though. First off, for reasons that require a full dunking in the parliamentary weeds which I will spare you, the demand for MPs to have more of a say may never be called to a vote - the tweak to the legislation that Sir Graham is calling for may not be determined "in scope" by the Speaker. If it's not debated, there won't be a vote, so the government can't lose, or win for that matter. For days Downing Street has been pretty sure that the vote won't happen. So why budge? The numbers of MPs upset is big enough for ministers to have to take it seriously. As one of them told me, they think "the government is going to have to give us something by the sheer number". So tonight the leader of the House of Commons is meeting Sir Graham and there is talk of a compromise. The rebels' hope is a vote for Parliament before any new regulations come into force. Ministers may only offer a chance at retrospective approval. Wherever the talks end up, there is clearly enough concern in government that it is being taken seriously now. And it is possible that by morning a deal will have been brokered. Even administrations that thrive on controversy and revel in power, often need Parliament on their side.

['Coronavirus lockdown measures', 'Boris Johnson', 'Graham Brady']

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["Coronavirus lockdown measures", "Boris Johnson", "Graham Brady"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-44621050

'I've been an NHS patient for 70 years'

Jean Jones was only a toddler when the NHS came kicking and screaming into life on 5 July 1948.

But she immediately became one of its first patients as she had what turned to be a rare cancer called histiocytosis. It had caused permanent damage to her kidneys, lungs and pituitary gland and meant she was constantly in and out of her local hospital, The Christie in Greater Manchester, in the early years of the health service's life. She has remained under the care of the hospital ever since - and even now has regular check-ups and still has to take hormone drugs. She says she owes the health service her life - and her treatment even inspired her to dedicate her career to the NHS, because she went on to become a nurse. "Before the NHS came along you had to pay for everything. I've had a lot of treatment over the years. I don't know if I would have been able to afford it. "I take medication every day, but I've been lucky because it's obviously worked for me. I have every reason to be grateful to the NHS." Her memories of her early treatment are quite hazy - she was only 20 months old in 1948. But she says all the nurses were "very nice" and remembers her mother bringing in her ration book to give sugar coupons to the women who made the tea "so they could buy sweets for the children". After finishing school she worked as a hairdresser for three years, but then retrained as a nurse, eventually specialising in surgical nursing. She has been telling her story as the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday. When the NHS was created it was the first time anywhere in the world that completely free healthcare was made available on the basis of citizenship rather than the payment of fees or insurance. Celebration events are taking place across the UK, including services at Westminster Abbey and York Minister. The NHS logo will also be projected on to famous landmarks including the Eden Project in Cornwall, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye. There will also be thousands of NHS-themed public tea parties taking place. In a reception at Downing Street on Wednesday night for health staff, Prime Minister Theresa May praised the longevity of the NHS. "In my line of work there are not many ideas from 70 years ago that are unquestionably supported today, but that is undoubtedly the case with our National Health Service," she said. "In a world that has changed almost beyond recognition, the vision at the heart of the NHS - of a tax-funded service that is available to all, free at the point of use with care based on clinical need and not the ability to pay - still retains near-universal acceptance." Meanwhile, Game of Thrones TV star Emilia Clarke has also been paying her own tribute to the NHS. She has accepted the position of an ambassador for the Royal College of Nursing - something she said she was inspired to do following the excellent care her dying father received two years ago. She watched on as staff comforted him and then her and is now full of praise for the "awe-inspiring skill" and "emotional intelligence" they showed. "I know my dad received the best care and medical support. "To see family members suffer and then to see nurses selflessly care for that person means so much. "After a panic at hearing bells and buzzers I didn't understand, the hug that came my way and the words that accompanied it both reassured and comforted me. "The NHS is there for everyone - and we will all need it at some point." Thursday is a time for celebration for the health service. But it also comes at a crucial point. The service has been struggling to hit its targets - it has been missing the key targets for cancer, A&E and hospital operations recently. If you can't see the NHS Tracker, click or tap here. There are also significant staff vacancy rates - one in 12 posts are not filled in England. Last week, an independent report produced for the BBC by leading academics warned the NHS was lagging behind other countries when it came to treating common, life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer and heart attacks. But the government maintains it is responding to the challenge. Ahead of the 70th anniversary, the government announced the NHS budget in England would increase by £20bn a year by 2023, with extra funding also made available for the rest of the UK.

['NHS at 70']

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["NHS at 70"]

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-44794095

World Cup reunites Russian and Chinese pen pals after 56 years

If you've lost touch with a pen pal, then here's a story that will give you some hope!

A Chinese reporter covering the World Cup in Saransk, Russia, was approached by a woman who asked for his help to track down her Chinese correspondent from 56 years ago. Whilst most people would consider this an impossible task the CCTV reporter, Zhang Heyun, decided to use social media site Weibo - China's equivalent to Twitter - to post an appeal. It was shared more than 12k times, and received more than 2k comments. News of the search has spread across Chinese social media, including tens of thousands of users of the Chinese online streaming service Miaopai. The CCTV reporter described how Lyudmila Mitricheva - aka Liu Xia in Mandarin - showed him two old, yellowed letters from a female student Duan Chunxiu, who lived in Xiangtan City, in Hunan Province, China. She told him they had both been middle school students when they corresponded and her pen pal had sent her a portrait of Chairman Mao, a postcard of the West Lake, in Hangzhou, and some rose-scented paper. A response from Duan Chunxiu to Liu Xia which thanked her for the "avant-garde emblem and pictures" of her school, and asked for a photo in return, was also featured in Zhang Heyun's Weibo page. Comments on his post have been positive, speaking of destiny, fate and the great spirit of the World Cup. One person wrote: "Some people are destined to meet again." Another said: "This touched me deeper than a film". And another posted: "This story gave me goosebumps - fate is a wonderful thing." One user posted their own correspondence, in the hope that they might also find their long-lost pen pal, writing: "When I was in high school I had an American pen pal online who often wrote to me. "I hope a Chinese journalist will be near her home at the 2026 World Cup, and that she will get in touch with them." Duan Chunxiu's son, Wang Jian, told China's Xiangtan TV that his mother has special memories the time when the women corresponded. "Nowadays we make a phone call or post on WeChat," he said. "We have so many forms of communication now but during that era it must have been very important for my mother." You might also like: Former classmates of Duan Yunjin described how their Russian language teacher encouraged had them to write letters to pen pals. and one posted: "I'm so moved that this Russian woman still wants to connect with her pen pal from over 50 years ago." No doubt there will be jubilant fans cheering for their World Cup teams, but Zhang Heyun recognises this is a very lucky encounter worth celebrating. "More than half a century has passed, fate will allow these two old people to get in touch again in this lifetime and perhaps, thanks to the World Cup," he added.

['Social media', 'China', 'Russia']

[{"entity": "pen pal", "label": "ANIM"}]

pen pal

["Social media", "China", "Russia"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2016-scotland-36241448

Opposition will not 'undermine' the SNP, says Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said the opposition will not "undermine" the SNP's authority, despite her party being two seats short of an overall majority following Thursday's election.

She told BBC Scotland there was "no doubt" the SNP won the Scottish Parliamentary elections. Ms Sturgeon insisted the SNP's mandate for the new parliament was unequivocal. But the Scottish Conservatives said Ms Sturgeon was "asserting a position that is defied by the actual result." The SNP leader made the comments during an interview on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme. She also dismissed suggestions the idea of a second referendum on independence had been "put to bed" after the SNP failed to secure another majority. She instead re-affirmed her commitment for a campaign to be launched in the summer to change minds on the issue. However, Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the idea was now firmly off the table. To listen to the full Nicola Sturgeon interview you can watch again on the BBC iPlayer over the next seven days. Ms Sturgeon has already ruled out coalition talks, saying on 6 May that the SNP's haul of 63 seats gave "a clear and unequivocal mandate" to govern as a minority administration. As the dust settled on Thursday's election, she was quizzed on the politics programme. Interviewer Gordon Brewer said: "You talked about having an unequivocal mandate. That's the bit you don't really have." Ms Sturgeon responded: "I think I do. The SNP polled to just short of 50% - more than one million votes. More than double the number of votes of Labour and the Tories combined. "We didn't win this election narrowly - we won the election comprehensively. "If you look at the arithmetic of the parliament in terms of the SNP's strength there's virtually no change. "We ended the last parliament with I think 64 MSPs, we've now got 63. The relative strengths of the opposition parties have changed. "I'm fairly relaxed about the parliamentary arithmetic. There's no doubt the SNP won the election." She added: "I want to govern in an inclusive way because I think it's the right thing to do to, try to find common ground and build on that common ground where we can. "What I'm not prepared to do, given the scale of the SNP's mandate that we achieved in that election, is to allow opposition parties to undermine our ability to implement that manifesto. On the subject of compromise, she said: "Government is about reaching out. Government is about trying to build alliances and I'm signalling very clearly that I'm going to do that. "But I'm also saying very clearly to the opposition parties that I think they also need to recognise the scale and the emphatic nature of the mandate that the SNP has achieved. "We were elected on a manifesto and as first minister I'm intending and absolutely determined to implement that manifesto." Also on the programme. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: "I think 'unequivocal' is to overstate it. "I don't think there's any doubt in our mind that the preferred government in Scotland is one that is run by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP. "But I think the public have a way of correcting things, and I think they were slightly uncomfortable with the slightly overbearing arrogance of the SNP government and they've decided that they want a proper opposition. "I don't think she's got the right to stand there and say it's all about 'I'. It's about the parliament. "I think she is asserting a position that is defied by the actual result." Labour MSP Anas Sarwar, who also on the show, admitted he had been confident Labour would hold its place as the main opposition. The party was reduced to 24 MSPs and pushed into third place by the Conservatives in Labour's worst result in Scotland for over a century. He said: "If we're honest about it, it's a disappointing result."

['Conservative Party', 'Scottish government', 'Nicola Sturgeon', 'Scottish Labour', 'Jackson Carlaw', 'Anas Sarwar', 'SNP (Scottish National Party)']

[{"entity": "Nicola Sturgeon", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "SNP", "label": "ORG"}]

Nicola Sturgeon ||| SNP

["Conservative Party", "Scottish government", "Nicola Sturgeon", "Scottish Labour", "Jackson Carlaw", "Anas Sarwar", "SNP (Scottish National Party)"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34082850

When a slump hits a vast iron ore mine in Australia

Australia's iron ore industry has hit a slump after decades of boom fuelled by rampant demand from China. This is threatening the livelihoods of thousands of miners and entire communities dependent on these vast opencast mines.

At Perth Airport, just after 05:00 local time, the boarding gate is a sea of fluorescent yellow and blue. This is a regular shuttle service to Fortescue Metals' Cloudbreak mine - the passengers are fly-in-fly-out workers and they come dressed for the job. In just under two hours they'll land at one of the giant iron ore mines in the Pilbara, where the red dirt hides untold riches. But times have changed. The price of ore has plummeted, down around 70% from its 2013 peak. Every mine worker boarding Flight 1970 knows what that means: cost cuts. They've seen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cuts across the industry already and more are likely to come. At Perth Airport, just after 05:00 local time, the boarding gate is a sea of fluorescent yellow and blue. This is a regular shuttle service to Fortescue Metals' Cloudbreak mine - the passengers are fly-in-fly-out workers and they come dressed for the job. In just under two hours they'll land at one of the giant iron ore mines in the Pilbara, where the red dirt hides untold riches. But times have changed. The price of ore has plummeted, down around 70% from its 2013 peak. Every mine worker boarding Flight 1970 knows what that means: cost cuts. They've seen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cuts across the industry already and more are likely to come. China's economic slowdown means the country doesn't need as much iron ore. It's the key ingredient for steel, and if you're not building as many apartments and bridges and roads as before, you don't need as much of it. But the big miners are still increasing production to build market share. It's an easy equation: demand down and supply up, price plummets. In the past few weeks the impact has been writ large on share market screens. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals, Australia's top three iron ore producers, have all seen their share price hammered and their profits crushed. The dozens of workers thumping down the aircraft stairs in their heavy work boots at Cloudbreak mine's airport are not thinking about price this morning. They're focussed on getting to work. Most of them will do a 12 hour shift every day for the next two weeks before they fly out for a week-long break. The shift is called "two and one". It used to be "eight and six", eight days on and six days off. The change means the company needs fewer people, just one of the measures helping Fortescue Metals keep its head above water. "It's a totally different environment," says the mine's general manager Maryanne Kelly. "It's fair to say we have to think differently, we have to behave differently," she says, as she overlooks the mine's giant ore piles, waiting to be loaded onto trains for the nearest port to be shipped to China. "There's no doubt about it - the damage done from this price fall is significant to Australia and it's significant to the Pilbara and it's significant to Western Australia. There's businesses in a lot of pain and it's our role to make sure our business keeps going." China's economic slowdown means the country doesn't need as much iron ore. It's the key ingredient for steel, and if you're not building as many apartments and bridges and roads as before, you don't need as much of it. But the big miners are still increasing production to build market share. It's an easy equation: demand down and supply up, price plummets. In the past few weeks the impact has been writ large on share market screens. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals, Australia's top three iron ore producers, have all seen their share price hammered and their profits crushed. The dozens of workers thumping down the aircraft stairs in their heavy work boots at Cloudbreak mine's airport are not thinking about price this morning. They're focussed on getting to work. Most of them will do a 12 hour shift every day for the next two weeks before they fly out for a week-long break. The shift is called "two and one". It used to be "eight and six", eight days on and six days off. The change means the company needs fewer people, just one of the measures helping Fortescue Metals keep its head above water. "It's a totally different environment," says the mine's general manager Maryanne Kelly. "It's fair to say we have to think differently, we have to behave differently," she says, as she overlooks the mine's giant ore piles, waiting to be loaded onto trains for the nearest port to be shipped to China. "There's no doubt about it - the damage done from this price fall is significant to Australia and it's significant to the Pilbara and it's significant to Western Australia. There's businesses in a lot of pain and it's our role to make sure our business keeps going." You don't have to go too far to see that pain. Five-and-a-half hours' drive from Cloudbreak is Karratha, a small city on the coast, with just a handful of multi-storey buildings and sprawling residential streets. This is a town built on a mining boom. It used to be one of the fastest growing places in the country. But after years of good times, many are finding it difficult to adjust, especially those who have lost their jobs. "Everyone was so happy looking forward to making lots of money, paying off mortgages", says Peter Lynch as he practices his bowls on a weekday afternoon at the Karratha Bowling Club. Mr Lynch worked in the iron ore industry on and off for some 27 years before being made redundant. He's just a few years off retirement and has been unable to find another job. He feels the pain of the recent changes deeply. "All of a sudden someone decided to turn the lights out - wow it was like a knife through the heart," he says. "We've seen a lot of marriage breakups, we've seen mental health issues, uncertainty. Where's the next job going to come from? What's the future for the next generation of Australian people? I'm in exactly that same boat." You don't have to go too far to see that pain. Five-and-a-half hours' drive from Cloudbreak is Karratha, a small city on the coast, with just a handful of multi-storey buildings and sprawling residential streets. This is a town built on a mining boom. It used to be one of the fastest growing places in the country. But after years of good times, many are finding it difficult to adjust, especially those who have lost their jobs. "Everyone was so happy looking forward to making lots of money, paying off mortgages", says Peter Lynch as he practices his bowls on a weekday afternoon at the Karratha Bowling Club. Mr Lynch worked in the iron ore industry on and off for some 27 years before being made redundant. He's just a few years off retirement and has been unable to find another job. He feels the pain of the recent changes deeply. "All of a sudden someone decided to turn the lights out - wow it was like a knife through the heart," he says. "We've seen a lot of marriage breakups, we've seen mental health issues, uncertainty. Where's the next job going to come from? What's the future for the next generation of Australian people? I'm in exactly that same boat." Karratha is also feeling the impact of the end of the construction phase of Australia's mining boom: as jobs go, people leave town, devastating property values. Real estate agent Ryan Crawford takes me round a local housing estate, past neat rows of houses and front lawns battling the red dirt of the Pilbara to stay green. He shows me through a relatively new, two-storey brick home, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. He calls it a "standard executive residence", but the owners are not enjoying the fruits of their investment. "An investor around two years ago would have paid around $1.2m [Australian] for something like this and right now today would sell it in the marketplace for around $A750,000," Mr Crawford tells me, adding that he thinks prices are down around 40 to 50% across the market. It's not surprising that the impact of that price plunge is being felt in the community. Nanette Williams runs the Pilbara Community Legal Service, which provides free advice to locals whose financial problems have become overwhelming. She says she's seen a number of people lose their homes, some just handing over the keys to the bank and walking away. "When you've got young children and you've got a million dollar mortgage and you suddenly can't pay it even after a three months moratorium the bank will foreclose and take that property. "And (if) you still can't find employment, it really can be quite serious and devastating for some people who've been working in the resource industry for some thirty years and have not known before what it's like to be struggling." Karratha is also feeling the impact of the end of the construction phase of Australia's mining boom: as jobs go, people leave town, devastating property values. Real estate agent Ryan Crawford takes me round a local housing estate, past neat rows of houses and front lawns battling the red dirt of the Pilbara to stay green. He shows me through a relatively new, two-storey brick home, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. He calls it a "standard executive residence", but the owners are not enjoying the fruits of their investment. "An investor around two years ago would have paid around $1.2m [Australian] for something like this and right now today would sell it in the marketplace for around $A750,000," Mr Crawford tells me, adding that he thinks prices are down around 40 to 50% across the market. It's not surprising that the impact of that price plunge is being felt in the community. Nanette Williams runs the Pilbara Community Legal Service, which provides free advice to locals whose financial problems have become overwhelming. She says she's seen a number of people lose their homes, some just handing over the keys to the bank and walking away. "When you've got young children and you've got a million dollar mortgage and you suddenly can't pay it even after a three months moratorium the bank will foreclose and take that property. "And (if) you still can't find employment, it really can be quite serious and devastating for some people who've been working in the resource industry for some thirty years and have not known before what it's like to be struggling." And there's a flow through from family finances to local businesses. Deborah Napier, who has run businesses in the Pilbara for 20 years, has never seen the market as bad as it is now. "Revenue has halved and we're having to cut staff to cover the costs. Less people, less money and people's confidence is not there so they're not spending." Fifteen minutes down the road in Dampier is the Mermaid Hotel. It's in a stunning location, on the water's edge with swaying palms and a perfect view of the setting sun from the terrace. Inside there's a small crowd of workers having a beer and playing pool. Owner Keith Bond says it's a very different scene to the boom times, when there would have been up to 400 people in the bar. He's philosophical about the downturn, but worries about the next generation. "I think one week we lost a thousand people here," he says. "I've had my day in the sun but for young people it's tough." There is still money to be made in Karratha, but for those who rode the highs of Australia's mining boom, it's a hard landing. And there's a flow through from family finances to local businesses. Deborah Napier, who has run businesses in the Pilbara for 20 years, has never seen the market as bad as it is now. "Revenue has halved and we're having to cut staff to cover the costs. Less people, less money and people's confidence is not there so they're not spending." Fifteen minutes down the road in Dampier is the Mermaid Hotel. It's in a stunning location, on the water's edge with swaying palms and a perfect view of the setting sun from the terrace. Inside there's a small crowd of workers having a beer and playing pool. Owner Keith Bond says it's a very different scene to the boom times, when there would have been up to 400 people in the bar. He's philosophical about the downturn, but worries about the next generation. "I think one week we lost a thousand people here," he says. "I've had my day in the sun but for young people it's tough." There is still money to be made in Karratha, but for those who rode the highs of Australia's mining boom, it's a hard landing.

['Mining', 'Australia']

[{"entity": "Australia", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "China", "label": "LOC"}]

Australia ||| China

["Mining", "Australia"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53315458

Colombia fuel tanker inferno kills seven and injures dozens

At least seven people have burned to death after an overturned petrol tanker exploded in northern Colombia, local police say.

More than 40 people were injured in the incident on the road near the town of Pueblo Viejo on the Caribbean coast, the police said. Crowds had gathered around the tanker to try to siphon off fuel when the vehicle burst into flames. The injured were taken to several hospitals in the area. Some of them have severe burns, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further. Local officials said that some people ignored police warnings of the dangers.

['Colombia']

[{"entity": "Colombia", "label": "LOC"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Colombia"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43290969

Republicans 'extremely worried' by Trump's metal tariffs plan

Republicans have raised concern about the US president's plan to impose tariffs on metals, with the party's top lawmaker calling for it to be scrapped.

US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he was "extremely worried" about the impact of a trade war, adding that it could undermine economic gains. But Mr Trump pushed back during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We're not backing down," he told reporters on Monday. "I don't think you're going to have a trade war," he said. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that President Trump was "very confident" the US would win any trade war. Mr Trump's Monday comments came an hour after Mr Ryan released a statement urging the White House to reconsider its plan. "We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan," Mr Ryan's spokeswoman AshLee Strong said. "The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don't want to jeopardise those gains." Mr Trump's announcement last week that he would tax imported steel and aluminium has prompted worldwide reaction. The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday also called on member states to "stop the fall of the first dominoes" of a trade war. "Once we start down this path it will be very difficult to reverse direction," WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told negotiators in Geneva on Monday. "An eye for an eye will leave us all blind and the world in a deep recession." Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump hinted that if the US achieved a better deal for itself in the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) he would abandon plans for tariffs on US neighbours. Those tariffs could be removed for Canada and Mexico if they signed a "new and fair" agreement, he suggested. The current round of Nafta talks, which focus on updating the 24-year old treaty, are due to finish on Monday and have achieved little. Mr Trump has decried the US trade deficit with other countries, which he has blamed on "'very stupid' trade deals and policies". On Thursday, he said steel imports would face a 25% tariff and aluminium 10%. He issued a threat against EU-made cars on Saturday, which he repeated during his Oval Office meeting with the Israeli prime minister on Monday. "They have trade barriers that are worse than tariffs. They also have tariffs by the way, but they have trade barriers far worse than tariffs." "And if they want to do something we'll just tax their cars that they send in here like water," he vowed. Over the weekend some Republicans began to question the tariff proposal and have urged the president to reconsider. Many argue that the impact of tax cuts that were passed earlier this year will be wiped out as countries levy new tariffs on US goods and the price of metals climbs. Senator Orrin Hatch said American citizens would be made to pay, adding that Mr Trump's "action could very well undercut the benefits of the pro-growth tax reform we fought to get on the books". Senator Ben Sasse agreed that "kooky 18th Century protectionism will jack up prices on American families". Responding to the criticism on CNN, White House economic adviser Peter Navarro dismissed the number of Republicans opposed Mr Trump's tariff plan. "Guess what: He beat them," Mr Navarro said, referring to the outcome of the 2016 election. He added that Republicans are "dead wrong on the economics". Industry bodies like the US Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association have expressed deep concern. Levi jeans and bourbon could be hit with a 25% import tax by the European Union if Mr Trump imposes tariffs on European steel and aluminium. Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade, told the BBC the items were on a draft list of US goods to be taxed. Ms Malmström told the BBC: "We are looking at possibilities to retaliate, meaning we will also put taxes or tariffs on US imports to the European Union." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had "forcefully defended" Canadian industry in a phone call to Mr Trump on Monday, his office said. A spokesman described the conversation as "constructive" but gave no details. Canada has warned that tariffs would cause disruption on both sides of the border. Downing Street said that during Mrs May's call to President Trump on Sunday she raised "our deep concern at the president's forthcoming announcement on steel and aluminium tariffs, noting that multilateral action was the only way to resolve the problem of global overcapacity in all parties' interests". Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for China's National People's Congress, said it was natural that "some friction will exist" between the US and China, given the volume of trade between them surpassed $580bn (£420bn) last year. But he said China would take "necessary measures" if its interests were hurt. EU trade chiefs could apply 25% tariffs on about $3.5bn of imports from the US - targeting iconic US exports including Levi's jeans, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey. Brazil, Mexico and Japan have said they will consider retaliatory steps if the president presses ahead with his plan next week. The move has also been strongly criticised by the International Monetary Fund and the WTO. The US imports steel from more than 100 nations and brings in four times more steel from abroad than it exports. Since 2000, the US steel industry has suffered, with production dropping and the number of employees in steel work falling. The US is the largest export market for EU cars - making up 25% of the €192bn (£171bn; $237bn) worth of motor vehicles the bloc exported in 2016 (China was second with 16%).

['Nafta', 'Donald Trump', 'United States']

[{"entity": "US", "label": "LOC"}]

US

["Nafta", "Donald Trump", "United States"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35601129

Indonesian Tumblr users fear their 'internet is shrinking'

Indonesia's internet is starting to shrink.

That is the growing fear among Tumblr users in Indonesia after a minister told the BBC the government was blocking the blogging site over pornographic content. On Thursday, the communications ministry appeared to backpedal, saying the ban was not yet in place, but that it was simply writing to Tumblr and 447 other sites asking them to stop allowing porn to be posted. But the reports have still caused alarm. "First it was gay emojis, now it's Tumblr. Take Facebook away from us next and we'll be living in the stone ages," commented a Tumblr user from Jakarta, referring to another recent row. Another user said the authorities should "get their claws off our internet. The ban will only give the government power to act against the interests of Indonesians". In Medan city, one user wrote: "This is getting out of hand. Why are we becoming like China?" The news also spread among Indonesians on other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, who voiced unhappiness at being subjected to "paranoid censorship". Indonesia, one of the largest and most social media savvy countries in the world, has very strict anti-pornography laws and has seen a recent wave of online censorship. Facebook and Twitter remain popular platforms, but Tumblr is favoured by many for allowing users to post lengthy updates as well for its strong community spirit. Prominent Indonesian entertainment and lifestyle blogger HoneyBee, wrote in a note to her followers that while porn could be found on Tumblr, Indonesia was "already pretty strict" about it. "I feel like my internet freedom is being taken one by one because of apparent porn, which I don't care for," she said, saying she may move her blogs elsewhere. Art blogger Ray said he was worried about the impact on Indonesian artists. "Without platforms like it, it's hard to get our names out there when the industry is already so greatly under appreciated." "We are part of this big community; aesthetic, personal and literary bloggers just like you," read another Tumblr note that was quickly re-blogged by other users. "This ban is a big deal to us because our government thinks the only things we post here is porn." Others said that the micro-blog served as a healthy medium for self-expression. In a lengthy note titled, "A Letter to Indonesia", one user wrote: "Tumblr isn't the same as other blogging sites. Where else can one find inspiration and discussion among young adults? Without Tumblr, I wouldn't have a platform to connect to great people sharing the same hobbies and interests as me." "Tumblr is a place that allows people to express their own preferences of interest," highlighted this user in a Tumblr note. "So there is no way anyone is going to take that freedom away from me." "It's a site where you can finally be yourself and find new passions and inspirations," said another angry user. "Blocking Tumblr is not the solution." The ministry's statement on Thursday said it was asking Tumblr to adjust its content to fit Indonesian laws and social values. It said it had written to Tumblr and other sites asking them to self-censor, and would make a decision after seeing what action the sites took.

['Social media', 'Indonesia']

[{"entity": "Indonesia", "label": "LOC"}]

Indonesia

["Social media", "Indonesia"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-28630564

Tributes paid to soldiers who died in Cullybackey crash

Tributes have been paid to two soldiers from England who died in a crash in County Antrim.

Their car was involved in a collision with a tractor on the Ballyconnelly Road in Cullybackey on Friday night. Lance Corporal David Gwilt and Rifleman Dale Harris, both 24, served with the 2nd Battalion The Rifles based in Lisburn, County Antrim. In a statement, their regiment said their "tragic deaths" had come as a "terrible shock". It was issued on behalf of the commanding officer, officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Rifles. "David and Dale were much liked, professional and hugely competent soldiers who had fantastic futures ahead of them," the statement said. "The whole battalion is deeply saddened by their loss and our heartfelt condolences go to their families and friends at this most difficult time." Rifleman Harris came from Barnsley in South Yorkshire. Lance Corporal Gwilt came from Bedford in Bedfordshire. A 21-year-old man who was also in the car suffered head injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. The driver of the tractor was treated at the scene.

['Barnsley', 'Bedford', 'Lisburn', 'Cullybackey', 'British Army']

[{"entity": "England", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "County Antrim", "label": "LOC"}]

County Antrim

["Barnsley", "Bedford", "Lisburn", "Cullybackey", "British Army"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36246040

Robert Peston's ITV show debuts to mixed reviews

Robert Peston's new ITV Sunday politics talk show has received mixed reviews following its debut this weekend.

The BBC's former economics editor launched Peston on Sunday with guests including Chancellor George Osborne and documentary maker Louis Theroux. The Guardian's John Crace said the changes of tone "felt a bit amateur hour", and the Telegraph's Ben Lawrence felt Peston "looked uncomfortable". However, the Times praised Peston's "sharp" questioning and chatty tone. Peston left the BBC earlier this year to become ITV News's political editor. But it has been his solo Sunday show that has been much-anticipated, with conjecture over how it would compete with rival the Andrew Marr Sunday morning politics show on BBC One. Marr's show, which goes out an hour earlier, included interviews with Prince Harry and Justice Secretary Michael Gove. Peston's other debut guests included Tony Blair's former aide Alastair Campbell and former employment minister Esther McVey. Lawrence said the show "did not start well" and highlighted the relaxed set and style. "Fans of daytime TV may have found much to admire in the pastel-shaded set, but it jarred horribly with the serious journalistic tone," he said. He noted the laid-back approach extended to Peston's own appearance, which included an open-necked shirt and "that lank haircut beloved of arts undergraduates". Meanwhile, despite the lack of ceremony, Lawrence said Peston's discomfort was evident in the way he "whizzed through the show's topics while evoking the false bonhomie of a warm-up act". The discomfort, he said, was contagious, with Campbell sporting "a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp" and McVey dropping her croissant. Meanwhile, Crace also chose to be tongue-in-cheek about Peston's "much-hyped Nicky Clarke haircut" and the "CBeebies atmosphere" of the show. But while Peston seemed near to "hyper-ventilating" with nerves ahead of the first commercial break, things were completely different on the show's return, he said. "Suddenly the whole show began to - if not make sense - at least click into gear," he said. Having been lulled into a sense of security before the break, Mr Osborne was not ready for Peston suddenly "going for the jugular" over the economy, said Crace. "Osborne tried to rescue the situation but could only dig himself in deeper by resorting to platitudes. "By the end he couldn't wait to get out of the Peston's playpen." Also writing in the Guardian, Mark Lawson was won over by Peston's obvious nerves, which showed a "touching vulnerability that may have usefully undercut, for some viewers, the allegations of arrogance that have sometimes haunted the broadcaster". He also focused on the differences to Marr's show, pointing out the contrast of Peston's audience-friendly touches to Marr's serious "button-holed" approach. These touches included a "book club" and a digital screen, to display messages such as tweets, nicknamed "Screeny McScreenface". In the end, Lawson was not totally satisfied or displeased by Peston's show and chose to ponder on its future. "Although Peston and Marr are not going head-to-head, there must still be a question over whether Sunday morning can sustain two news overviews," he said. "Despite showing promising signs, amid inevitable first-morning nerves, of being lively and likable, Peston on Sunday risks winning the energy medal but losing the ratings war to the tie-knotted, old technology Marr." Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail seemed to agree. Letts was scathing of the relaxed elements to Peston's show, including the "glasses of orange juice and a bowl of croissants which, as ever, went uneaten" and the set's "funky glass desk". But overall he concluded: "On the day, Marr's editorial content outperformed Peston but Pesto himself was arguably the more fascinating compere." Lucy Fisher, writing in the Times, said Peston's informal approach "put Mr Osborne at ease, making for a more interesting insight into the relaxed politician's personality than is usually achieved". Nonetheless, Peston "spearheaded a sharp line of questioning in his interview with the chancellor putting paid to critics who worried that the media operator might appear too much of an SW1 insider". And turning away from the professional commentators, the Radio Times asked the audience what it had thought of the show. Recalling Peston had previously told the listings magazine he "wanted to interview politicians in a new, revealing way", it asked readers on Monday: "Did he fail, or do exactly what he set out to do?" Hannah Skeggs was happy, tweeting: "Like Peston on Sunday format. Live feedback combined with calm interview style = cup of tea Sunday viewing." Tony Colville agreed but found it hard to take the show entirely seriously: "Peston is a great way to wake up on a Sunday with a hangover. Awkward George interview, heckling quietly from the back." Matthew McEvoy went further, joking: "Disappointed that Peston on Sunday is a political show. I was looking forward to seeing some Italian cooking." Meanwhile, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson seemed impressed and angling to be invited on as a guest. "Like the studio look of Peston on Sunday, particularly the big chair for the fuller figure."

['Television', 'Robert Peston']

[{"entity": "Robert Peston", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "ITV", "label": "ORG"}]

ITV

["Television", "Robert Peston"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-33535587

What's it like to grow up black, white, Mexican, Nigerian, Bengali....

It's not everyday that a social media conversation goes truly global - but that's what's happened with the "growing up" hashtags currently spreading around the world

It all started in the United States, with some wry inside jokes about life in African-American families. They were posted on social media networks with the hashtag Growing Up Black. It's a phrase that has been around for at least six years, but it appears to have caught on again this week. The hashtag has now been mentioned more than 1.5 million times on Twitter and thousands more times on Instagram and elsewhere. For the most part it was African-Americans joking about their racial identity and culture. "We didn't have dress shoes, we had church shoes," actress Jackee Harry tweeted, while another tweet said: "My mom's best friend was automatically my aunt." It's the kind of joke that often catches on in what some call "Black Twitter" - a hard to define but broadly recognised term for mostly African-American users who highlight their cultural identity (and a community so active that the Los Angeles Times newspaper recently hired a reporter to cover it). But the trend didn't end there. Since it started taking off, hundreds of thousands more from other backgrounds have sharing their own messages and jokes about their childhood experiences. Growing Up Hispanic, Growing Up Arab, Growing Up Nigerian and a least a dozen others have now trended. A lot of these have been about growing up in another minority group within the US. "#GrowingUpMexican no matter how old you are you still have to ask for permission to go out," read one typical tweet, while another said: "#GrowingUpMixed being the only black kid at your white family events and being the only light skin at your black family events." But it's now spread far from the US and across the world. The Growing Up Bengali tag was most popular in the UK, home to a large population of Bangladeshi and Indian descent. Growing Up Nigerian was mainly used within Nigeria itself - and Growing Up Black was also used in various African countries. Before long several were noticing similarities among what would seem to be very different cultural experiences: There was more controversy around one of the offshoots, #GrowingUpWhite, which provoked a flurry of insults along with claims and counter-claims of racism. "Starting a #GrowingUpWhite hashtag doesn't make you racists it just proves how white people copy EVERYTHING WE DO," tweeted one black activist. The trend has also spread beyond ethnic and racial identities. The hashtag Growing Up Gay has been used tens of thousands of times by users sharing their childhood struggles: "Hearing your friends talk about gays not knowing you're one and feeling like an undercover spy infiltrating the hetero camp," read one tweet. "Being a stranger in your own body for your whole childhood," tweeted another user about Growing Up Trans. Blog by Samiha Nettikkara Next story: Who's calling on people to 'Boycott Germany'? Anger at the conditions attached to the latest Greek bailout have prompted political activists across Europe to rally support online for a boycott of German goods. READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending. It all started in the United States, with some wry inside jokes about life in African-American families. They were posted on social media networks with the hashtag Growing Up Black. It's a phrase that has been around for at least six years, but it appears to have caught on again this week. The hashtag has now been mentioned more than 1.5 million times on Twitter and thousands more times on Instagram and elsewhere. For the most part it was African-Americans joking about their racial identity and culture. "We didn't have dress shoes, we had church shoes," actress Jackee Harry tweeted, while another tweet said: "My mom's best friend was automatically my aunt." It's the kind of joke that often catches on in what some call "Black Twitter" - a hard to define but broadly recognised term for mostly African-American users who highlight their cultural identity (and a community so active that the Los Angeles Times newspaper recently hired a reporter to cover it). But the trend didn't end there. Since it started taking off, hundreds of thousands more from other backgrounds have sharing their own messages and jokes about their childhood experiences. Growing Up Hispanic, Growing Up Arab, Growing Up Nigerian and a least a dozen others have now trended. A lot of these have been about growing up in another minority group within the US. "#GrowingUpMexican no matter how old you are you still have to ask for permission to go out," read one typical tweet, while another said: "#GrowingUpMixed being the only black kid at your white family events and being the only light skin at your black family events." But it's now spread far from the US and across the world. The Growing Up Bengali tag was most popular in the UK, home to a large population of Bangladeshi and Indian descent. Growing Up Nigerian was mainly used within Nigeria itself - and Growing Up Black was also used in various African countries. Before long several were noticing similarities among what would seem to be very different cultural experiences: There was more controversy around one of the offshoots, #GrowingUpWhite, which provoked a flurry of insults along with claims and counter-claims of racism. "Starting a #GrowingUpWhite hashtag doesn't make you racists it just proves how white people copy EVERYTHING WE DO," tweeted one black activist. The trend has also spread beyond ethnic and racial identities. The hashtag Growing Up Gay has been used tens of thousands of times by users sharing their childhood struggles: "Hearing your friends talk about gays not knowing you're one and feeling like an undercover spy infiltrating the hetero camp," read one tweet. "Being a stranger in your own body for your whole childhood," tweeted another user about Growing Up Trans. Blog by Samiha Nettikkara Next story: Who's calling on people to 'Boycott Germany'? Anger at the conditions attached to the latest Greek bailout have prompted political activists across Europe to rally support online for a boycott of German goods. READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47727069

Simon Clark murder: 'Paedo' accusation before fatal fight

A man found dead at a holiday park was heard "shouting and screaming" with a neighbour outside his caravan before a fight broke out, a court heard.

The body of Simon Clark, 54, was found at his residential caravan in Grove Caravan Park, Pendine, last September.  Neighbours Steven Baxter, 52, and Jeffrey Ward, 40, deny murdering him.  Mr Ward told Swansea Crown Court he was visiting Mr Baxter, when Mr Clark appeared and accused him of bringing a paedophile on to the site. "(He) said 'I'm not having it, you brought a paedo on to the site and I'm going to bring a pile of boys down'," said Mr Ward. The court heard Mr Baxter's partner, Linda Rowley, then kicked Mr Clark out of their caravan before a fight between all three men started. Mr Ward said Mr Clark punched him twice in the head, before he picked up two bits of pipe to use as a weapon. He claimed he was then injured, after being hit on the hand by a "boulder" thrown by Mr Baxter. Mr Ward said he retreated back into the caravan to tend to his injured hand when he heard Mr Baxter and Mr Clark "shouting and screaming" outside. The court was told Mr Baxter then reappeared back in the caravan covered in blood.  Prosecutors allege both men attacked Mr Clark, with Mr Baxter delivering a fatal stab wound.  "He said that Simon stabbed him with a pole in his arm," said Mr Ward. "All I know is that Simon had stabbed Steve in the arm with a pole." All three men had been involved in growing cannabis, with many people at the holiday site involved in smoking the drug, the court heard. The trial continues.

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["Pendine"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30814302

Technology in schools: Future changes in classrooms

Technology has the power to transform how people learn - but walk into some classrooms and you could be forgiven for thinking you were entering a time warp.

There will probably be a whiteboard instead of the traditional blackboard, and the children may be using laptops or tablets, but plenty of textbooks, pens and photocopied sheets are still likely. And perhaps most strikingly, all desks will face forwards, with the teacher at the front. The curriculum and theory have changed little since Victorian times, according to the educationalist and author Marc Prensky. "The world needs a new curriculum," he said at the recent Bett show, a conference dedicated to technology in education. "We have to rethink the 19th Century curriculum." Most of the education products on the market are just aids to teach the existing curriculum, he says, based on the false assumption "we need to teach better what we teach today". He feels a whole new core of subjects is needed, focusing on the skills that will equip today's learners for tomorrow's world of work. These include problem-solving, creative thinking and collaboration. One of the biggest problems with radically changing centuries-old pedagogical methods is that no generation of parents wants their children to be the guinea pigs. Mr Prensky he thinks we have little choice, however: "We are living in an age of accelerating change. We have to experiment and figure out what works." "We are at the ground floor of a new world full of imagination, creativity, innovation and digital wisdom. We are going to have to create the education of the future because it doesn't exist anywhere today." He might be wrong there. Change is already afoot to disrupt the traditional classroom. The "flipped" classroom - the idea of inverting traditional teaching methods by delivering instructions online outside of the classroom and using the time in school as the place to do homework - has gained in popularity in US schools. The teacher's role becomes one of a guide, while students watch lectures at home at their own pace, communicating with classmates and teachers online. Salman Khan is one of the leading advocates of "flipped" classrooms, having first posted tutorials in maths for his young cousins on YouTube in 2004. Their huge popularity led to the creation of the not-for-profit Khan Academy, offering educational videos with complete curricula in maths and other subjects. The project has caught the eye of the US Department of Education, which is currently running a $3m (£1.9m) trial to gauge the effectiveness of the method. Now the idea has reached the UK. Mohammed Telbany heads the IT department at Sudbury Primary School in Suffolk. He has been experimenting with the "flipped" classroom and recently expanded it to other lessons. "The teachers facilitate, rather than standing in front of the children telling them what to do, and the children just come in and get on with what they are doing," he says. "It has surprised the teachers that the kids can excel on their own, with minimal teaching intervention." In the developing world where, according to some estimates, up to 57 million children are unable to attend primary school, the idea of children learning without much adult intervention is a necessity not a luxury. Prof Sugata Mitra, from Newcastle University, has been experimenting with self-learning since his famous hole-in-the-wall computer experiments in the slums of Delhi in 1999. He was amazed at how quickly the children learned how to use the machines with no adult supervision or advice. From that was born the idea of "cloud grannies" - retired professionals from the UK, mentoring groups of children in India via Skype. He won the $1m Ted prize in 2013 to build a series of self-organising learning environments in both the UK and India. In January he completed the last of seven such units - a striking solar-powered glass building amid the lush vegetation of the village of Gocharan in West Bengal. There will be no teachers and up to 40 children can participate when it suits them. They will have the internet at their disposal and will work in small groups. E-mediators will mentor the children via Skype. Dr Suneeta Kulkarni, research director of the School in the Cloud project, said children would "engage in a variety of activities that are driven by their interest and curiosity", with games typically tried first. The children will also be asked "big questions" that they can answer online. "At yet other times these questions emerge from what the children 'wonder' about. It is also where the grannies or e-mediators are expected to play a significant role," she said. When Canadian teacher and computer programmer Shawn Young wanted to spruce up his lessons, his first thought was gaming. It was a platform many of his students were familiar with and something that was proven to engage children. But it also had a bad reputation in teaching circles - thought to be too violent, addictive and without educational merit. Some early attempts to integrate educational content within games failed. But what makes Classcraft different is that it is not about content - it is more a behaviour-management and motivation tool. "The teacher teaches as normal. Teachers can offer pupils points for good behaviour, asking questions, or working well in their teams and it gives them access to real life powers," Mr Young says. Those powers are decided by the teachers and may include handing in homework a day late. There are also penalties for those not concentrating in class, turning up late or being disruptive. Children play the game in teams, which means a lost point affects the entire group, and encourages them to work together. "It is being used in a school in Texas which has a mix of white, Mexican and Afro-Americans. They would never normally speak to each other," said Mr Young. Teachers using the system - some 100,000 have signed up since it launched in August - have noted not just better interaction between pupils, but better classroom engagement and motivation. "As in other games there are sometimes random events, which could be something like everyone having to speak like a pirate for the day or the teacher having to sing a song in class. The kids love it."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54465174

Coronavirus: Bars to shut in four more French cities with alert level raised

The French government has imposed tighter coronavirus restrictions in four more cities with high infection rates, as a number of European countries see a surge in cases.

The cities of Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne will become zones of maximum alert from Saturday. Bars and restaurants will have to close, as they did in Paris earlier this week and Marseille last month. The measures were announced as France saw a near-record 18,129 new cases. "The situation has deteriorated in several metropolises in recent days," French Health Minister Olivier Veran said at a news conference on Thursday. "Every day, more and more people are infected." France's maximum-alert level comes into force when the infection rate in a locality exceeds 250 infections per 100,000 people and at least 30% of intensive care beds are reserved for Covid-19 patients. Hospitals in the Paris region moved into emergency mode on Thursday, as coronavirus patients took up almost half of intensive-care beds. France's coronavirus situation mirrors that of other European countries, including the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, which all reported record increases in daily cases on Thursday. Even Germany, a relative success story of the pandemic in Europe, has started to see what its health minister has called a worrying rise in cases. A large proportion of the rise in coronavirus cases globally is being driven by outbreaks in Europe, the Americas and South-East Asia. On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours. Germany saw its highest daily rise in infections since April, with confirmed cases rising by almost a third to more than 4,000. It has now recorded a total of 310,144 cases with a death toll of 9,578, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The UK in contrast has registered 544,275 cases and 42,515 deaths. On Thursday 17,540 new cases were recorded in the UK. At a news conference, RKI President Lothar Wieler said Germans must be wary of what he called the "prevention paradox" - the feeling that measures were no longer needed because case numbers were relatively low. "The current situation worries me a lot. We don't know how the situation in Germany will develop in the coming weeks. It's possible we'll see more than 10,000 new cases a day, it's possible the virus will spread out of control," he said. German Health Minister Jens Spahn praised the German people for their "prudent actions" in integrating the rules into their day-to-day lives, but added: "We must not gamble away this achievement." He pointed the finger at large groups of socialising young people, who "think they are invincible", for failing to follow the rules on social distancing and hygiene and welcomed the curfews on evening entertainment introduced by Berlin and Frankfurt. As the autumn school holidays get under way in Germany, rules for domestic travel have also been tightened and include a ban on overnight stays in hotels or holiday apartments for anyone coming from "risk zones" where infection rates top 50 per 100,000 inhabitants. Germans have also been urged to avoid travelling abroad during the holiday period. There are already bans on large gatherings in areas with high infection rates, testing at airports for people arriving from high-risk countries and fines for anyone failing to wear face coverings in shops or on public transport.

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French

["France", "Coronavirus lockdown measures", "Germany", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

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https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58029355

Dave's new album has biggest opening week of 2021

UK rapper Dave has notched up another number one album with We're All Alone In This Together, achieving 74,000 sales with his latest release.

That makes it the biggest album launch of 2021 so far, beating Olivia Rodrigo's Sour, which sold 51,000 copies in its first week. Dave's previous album Psychodrama also topped the chart on its debut in 2019. It went on to win the Mercury Prize and was named album of the year at the 2020 Brit Awards. We're All Alone In This Together has been widely praised, with The Guardian acclaiming it as "an eerie, anguished triumph". More than half of its sales - 40,354 - were on CD, vinyl and cassette, with the remaining sales coming from streaming and downloads. Dave is also seeing success in the singles chart. Clash, his collaboration with Stormzy, rises six places to number two in this week's countdown. The London-born grime star can also be found at number four with Verdansk, and number six with In The Fire. Chart rules prevent artists from having more than three songs in the Top 40 at once, otherwise Dave's album would have generated further new entries in the countdown. However, none of his songs could conquer Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits, which notches up its fifth week at number one. This week saw mannequins of Little Mix unveiled at Madame Tussauds waxworks in central London. The Mixers achieved another milestone by spending their 100th week inside the Top 10 - a record for a girl group, according to the Official Charts Company. Band member Leigh-Anne Pinnock paid tribute to her fans. "You never fail to blow us away," she said. "You're just incredible and we wouldn't be here without you." The band look set to extend their reign next week, after their collaboration with Anne-Marie, Kiss My (Uh-Oh) entered the charts at number 17. Anne-Marie is also the runner-up in the album charts, as her second full-length record, Therapy, enters at number two. That's one place higher than her debut album Speak Your Mind managed upon its release in 2018 - thanks in part to an aggressive marketing campaign that saw Therapy discounted to £4.99 at many retailers. Rodrigo's Sour falls one place to three, while KSI's All Over The Place, last week's number one, drops to four. Further down the chart, Amy Winehouse's Back To Black can be found at seven having jumped 29 places over the last seven days. Last Friday was the 10th anniversary of the British singer's untimely death at the age of 27. Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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Dave ||| We're All Alone In This Together

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english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48043165

'Always be kind' says man who invited widow to his table

"This woman changed my outlook on life."

When a 23-year-old went out for a meal in Alabama with a couple of his friends, he noticed an elderly woman sitting on her own. "I don't ever want to eat alone," Jamario Howard said. "I'm a people person, so I decided to talk to her." Pensioner Eleanor Baker, who visits the restaurant about once a week, "had a look on her face when I approached her", Jamario said. But when he introduced himself and asked if he could sit with her, they started chatting straight away. She told him she had lost her husband and the next day would have been their 60th wedding anniversary. He then decided it would be a nice gesture to invite her to eat with his friends. "She was excited to sit with us and came over straight away. We all felt really comfortable and asked her a bunch of questions." He and his friends talked about her children, grandchildren and dog, then shared numbers before they went their separate ways. When he posted a photo on Facebook of the four of them around the table, it soon got picked up and shared across social media as a wonderful act of kindness. He's also been interviewed by local media. "It's been a bit overwhelming at times, thousands have been in touch, but I've enjoyed meeting lots of people," he said. "I'm a people person, I'd talk to a wall!" On Twitter, Jamario's comment "She just don't know that she made my night!" touched some hearts, with one person saying: "No parent could be any prouder than yours must be." His mother and the rest of his family are indeed very proud of him and he hopes his actions will help encourage more people to reach out to men and women who might need some company. "I want people to see that it's okay to be kind. It means a lot that this is seen." "Kindness doesn't have an age limit on it. Just follow your heart" said Jamario, whose fundamental message is "Always be kind." Interviewed by Sherie Ryder, BBC UGC hub and Social News

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51868737

Netanyahu trial: Israeli prime minister faces Jerusalem court

The trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges has opened in Jerusalem, days after he began a new term in office.

Mr Netanyahu, 70, is the first standing leader to face trial in the country's history. He denies accusations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Arrived at the courthouse for a brief hearing, he said the cases were aimed at "toppling him in any way possible". He was sworn back into office as head of a rare unity government a week ago. His political rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to share power following three inconclusive elections in under a year. He has rejected calls by opponents to step down while he fights the cases. The leader of the right-wing Likud party is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, having been in power continuously since 2009. He also served a term in office from 1996-1999. What happened at the court? As he arrived at the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday, he told reporters: "I'm here with a straight back and my head held high." "When you need to take me down, a strong prime minister from the right, everything is possible," he added. At the start of the hearing, which lasted about an hour, Mr Netanyahu told the judges: "I read and I understand the indictment." He stood in a face mask and refused to sit down on the defendants' bench until the reporters left the room, local media say. His lawyers say they need several months to prepare their defence. The date for the next hearing has been set for 19 July. Mr Netanyahu has been indicted in three cases, known as 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000: Mr Netanyahu has strongly denied all the charges against him, branding them a "witch-hunt" by political opponents, and has vowed to clear his name. According to Israeli law, a leader charged with a crime is not required to resign. But there is no precedent. A former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, stepped down as party leader when he was under investigation for corruption in 2008 but technically remained prime minister until elections the following year - polls which brought Benjamin Netanyahu to power. Under the power-sharing deal with Benny Gantz, a new role of "alternate prime minister" was created, which means when the two men switch positions in 18 months' time, Mr Netanyahu will still occupy a prime ministerial office and stay on as Mr Gantz's deputy. In short, a serving prime minister occupying the most powerful office in the land simultaneously trying to clear his name and avoid jail-time. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called it "an embarrassment" and "horrible for the spirit of the nation" though it is not expected to affect government policy. Mr Netanyahu is still likely to press ahead with plans to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley - territory in the occupied West Bank - in the coming months, a move certain to infuriate the Palestinians. Opinion in Israel as to whether he should carry on as prime minister is split: critics say the spectacle of a trial makes Mr Netanyahu's job untenable, but his supporters - including his party - say he has been democratically elected and should not be forced out. Even if he is convicted, Mr Netanyahu will not be required to resign unless and until any appeals are exhausted - which could, in theory, be many months or years into the future. In Ehud Olmert's case, the former prime minister went on trial in 2009 and after he was convicted only began serving his sentence in 2016 due to the long legal process.

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Benjamin Netanyahu ||| Jerusalem

["Israel", "Benjamin Netanyahu", "Netanyahu corruption trial", "Israel elections 2019", "Benny Gantz"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49925861

Letter from Africa: Why Kenyans never quit

In our series of letters from African writers, Kenyan journalist Wahiga Mwaura says heads must roll after deadly disasters, yet very few officials seem to be held accountable.

The phrase "winners never quit and quitters never win", coined by the late American Football player and coach Vince Lombardi, could also describe the mentality of many Kenyan civil servants. Not the part about being winners but rather about never quitting - especially when disasters happen under their watch. Kenyans have been outraged by two tragedies in the past fortnight that most would agree were preventable and ought to have led to resignations. As I write this, divers are being despatched to Kenya from South Africa to search for the bodies of a 35-year-old woman and her four-year-old daughter in the Indian Ocean. Just over a week ago, the pair had been travelling on a car ferry in Kenya's busy Likoni channel when their vehicle slid off and sank with them inside. It boggles the mind how this came to pass, considering that any vehicles aboard a ferry should be fully secured before it can set off. It is possible that the driver made a mistake. Nonetheless there should have been a safety plan in place and divers on stand-by. But there were none. To add insult to injury, the ferry company went on to wish everyone a "blessed and fruitful day" on its social media pages later that day. It angered many Kenyans. When the management of state-owned Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) finally spoke to the media on Monday, they stuck to an uninspiring script about rescue efforts, but did not talk more about accident prevention. As yet, the bodies still have not been recovered from the sea. The never-quit attitude of those in charge of our ferry services is not peculiar in a country where civil servants swagger around like ambassadors seemingly with diplomatic immunity. Sadly, there are other examples. A fortnight ago, eight children were killed when their school building in the capital, Nairobi, collapsed during morning lessons. This incident at Precious Talent Top School, a private day school in Nairobi, prompted national and county governments to spring into action. In typical fashion, they suspended several officials and ordered the demolition of other poorly built schools. But no-one seemed ready to ask the tough questions: Who could have prevented this disaster in the first place? What about collective responsibility? What we saw was finger-pointing between regulatory agencies, the local MP, the county government and the national government. And because the parents of the children who died appear not to have the financial means to seek serious legal redress, the whole incident was swiftly brushed under the carpet. When the privately-owned Patel dam burst in western Kenya's Solai town last year, at least 44 people were killed. Politicians were quick to express their outrage, and a Water Resources Management Authority spokeswoman said the dam had been built illegally. The farm's manager denied any wrongdoing. More than a year later, no government officials have lost their jobs and nobody has been convicted for the deaths. You may also be interested in: And who will cry out for the 11 endangered rhinos that died last year after a botched relocation attempt from Nairobi National Park to the country's biggest national park, Tsavo East? According to Kenya's market-leading newspaper Daily Nation, a parliamentary committee pointed an accusing finger at Tourism and Wildlife Minister Najib Balala, saying he should take full responsibility for the deaths. But the minister denied any wrongdoing, and passed the buck on to the agencies that coordinated the relocation. I could cite yet more examples to prove my argument, that in Kenya nobody in authority takes responsibility when things go wrong. Until accountability becomes common practice the usual cycle will repeat itself. Social media activist Phillip Ogola once aptly captured the response of politicians to a disaster as follows: "Rush to the scene, condole families, donate items, issue a tough statement, form a commission, wait for another disaster, repeat above". Hopefully one day that will change. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46636848

2018: The year in business - from K-pop to soybeans

One of President Donald Trump's key aims in 2018 was to "level the playing field" of global trade. But so far, his main achievement has been to fill the fields of America with giant mounds of unsold soybeans.

Those soybeans used to be snapped up by Chinese importers, largely to feed that country's pork industry. But this export route was halted in 2018 by a tit-for-tat global trade war that now involves $350bn (£277bn) worth of goods. The Chinese announced their restrictions on US soybean imports in April. That was a response to President Trump's dramatic import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium imports. In July, Mr Trump visited the Granite City steelworks in Illinois which had reopened following his new steel tariffs. The president criticised previous American administrations for past policies that had allowed jobs to be exported abroad. Mr Trump told workers: "That's not free trade, that's fool's trade, that's stupid trade, and we don't do that kind of trade any more." The response of the Chinese leadership has been to match sanctions with more sanctions. In a speech in December, President Xi Jinping insisted: "In a big country like China with more than 5,000 years of civilisation… no one can dictate to the Chinese people what should and what should not be done." Roger Johnson, president of the US National Farmers' Union, told me that the 200,000 family farmers he represents were increasingly concerned. He spoke to us after a trip to his home state of North Dakota, commenting: "There are huge piles of soybeans, not just in stores, but piled on the ground. There is basically no market for many of these soybeans." If kept under cover, soybeans can be stored for up to a year. Even so, Mr Johnson is worried that the trade dispute will have a long term impact on the reputation of the US as a reliable supplier, and soybean production will move to Brazil, Argentina and Eastern Europe. Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asia Trade Centre in Singapore, divides Donald Trump's complaints against China into four elements. These are China's theft of American intellectual property, the forced transfer of technology when US firms build factories in China, cyber spying in the US, and the big US trade deficit with China. Ms Elms agrees that China has not opened up as fast as many had hoped, but she doubts whether complex manufacturing supply chains can be moved from China back to the US for many products. And her assessment of the impact of President Trump's policy so far is that the economic damage from the higher cost of steel in America is offsetting any job gains. She concludes: "There's one US aluminium company that is very happy, and there are a couple of US steel companies that have hired more workers. "But the net result so far to the US economy and US jobs as a result of all of these tariff war policies have been uniformly negative for US workers and US jobs." It is now 10 years since the height of the financial crisis when the reputation of investment bankers hit rock bottom. The Wall Street banks have worked hard since then to demonstrate they are ethical and responsible. It was a heavy blow for Goldman Sachs, then, to find itself caught up in another financial scandal in 2018. This centred on a fund in Malaysia called 1MDB, supposedly designed to finance infrastructure projects to benefit the country. In fact, about $4bn was apparently siphoned off to fund lavish living for insiders. Most embarrassingly for Goldman, the bank's former head of South East Asia, Tim Leissner, has pleaded guilty to facilitating bribes. The executive alleged to US prosecutors that a culture of secrecy at the investment bank led him to conceal wrongdoing. Goldman Sachs itself has now been charged by prosecutors in Malaysia. The bank says it had some rogue employees, but that the charges against it are "misdirected" and will be vigorously defended. A Malaysian financier known as Jho Low, now believed to be in China, was one beneficiary. His spending spree included a $2m bill for one evening at a nightclub, chartering yachts, funding movies, and making friends with celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Leonardo di Caprio. The scandal also led to Malaysian voters turning against prime minister Najib Razak, who founded 1MDB, after $700m turned up in his personal bank account apparently related to the scandal. Malaysians reinstalled their former prime minister, the 93-year-old Mahathir Mohammed. Mr Razak has been charged but denies wrongdoing. Bradley Hope, co-author of a book on the scandal, Billion Dollar Whale, says: "What's really pernicious about this scandal is that the money that was taken was borrowed." Subsidies to Malaysian fishermen have already had to be cut, and the $6.5bn debt in the 1MDB fund will have to be repaid by Malaysia's government, he says. It was another poor year for efforts to halt climate change. The latest global totals for global carbon dioxide emissions suggest a 2.7% rise in 2018 - after a 1.6% rise in 2017. Ambitious targets written into various climate agreements over the years have not led to successful shift in policies. In France, President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to deter fuel use by increasing taxes met with violent protests and he was forced to back down. The cultural barriers are coming down across the global entertainment industry. Netflix continued to span the globe, drawing viewers away from established TV channels. And in the music business there was the breakthrough of Korea's K-pop - with one boy band topping the US album charts. Their secret seems to be lavishly produced and choreographed videos combined with lyrics that speak to their generation. Music journalist Taylor Glasby says the likes of Youtube and Spotify have helped promote K-pop across the globe. Technology was key, she says. Even the lyrics can be immediately translated and put on websites. Put everything together, she says, "and you've got this unstoppable juggernaut of pop magic".

['US economy', 'K-pop', 'Global trade', '1MDB corruption scandal', 'Donald Trump', 'Malaysia', 'Goldman Sachs', 'Asia economy', 'Trade']

[{"entity": "Donald Trump", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "America", "label": "LOC"}]

Donald Trump ||| America

["US economy", "K-pop", "Global trade", "1MDB corruption scandal", "Donald Trump", "Malaysia", "Goldman Sachs", "Asia economy", "Trade"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30411523

Palestinian minister dies at West Bank protest

A Palestinian minister has died after a confrontation with Israeli troops at a protest in the West Bank.

Palestinian medics told the BBC Ziad Abu Ein had died from complications related to tear gas exposure. But several witnesses said the minister had been hit and shoved by soldiers. One said he had been hit in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by them. Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed regret for the minister's death in a statement. The Israeli military (IDF) said it was investigating the incidents surrounding Mr Ein's death. Israeli and Jordanian experts would attend a post-mortem examination, the IDF said. It has also proposed setting up a joint team with the Palestinians to investigate Mr Abu Ein's death. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation into the death and urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation". Following the incident dozens of Palestinians reportedly gathered at the scene, near the village of Turmusaya, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones at security forces. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) meeting in Ramallah following news of the death of the minister, whom he called a "martyr". Palestinian medics told the BBC Ziad Abu Ein had died from complications related to tear gas exposure. But several witnesses said the minister had been hit and shoved by soldiers. One said he had been hit in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by them. Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed regret for the minister's death in a statement. The Israeli military (IDF) said it was investigating the incidents surrounding Mr Ein's death. Israeli and Jordanian experts would attend a post-mortem examination, the IDF said. It has also proposed setting up a joint team with the Palestinians to investigate Mr Abu Ein's death. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation into the death and urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation". Following the incident dozens of Palestinians reportedly gathered at the scene, near the village of Turmusaya, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones at security forces. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) meeting in Ramallah following news of the death of the minister, whom he called a "martyr". Mr Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, was among dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists taking part in a protest against land confiscations. They had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land near the Jewish settlement of Shiloh, which Palestinians believe has been earmarked for annexation by Israel. In the course of the protest, they came into confrontation with a group of about 15 Israeli soldiers. Leading Palestinian activist Mahmoud Aloul, who was also at the protest, told the Associated Press news agency the soldiers had fired tear gas and had beaten some of the activists with rifle butts. At one point, Mr Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister, Mr Aloul said. A Reuters photographer said he had seen Mr Abu Ein being struck by a hand on the neck during an altercation with two soldiers. An AFP news agency photographer said the minister had been hit in the chest. Photos of the incident showed Mr Abu Ein lying unconscious before he was taken away in an ambulance. He died before reaching hospital in the nearby city of Ramallah. There are reports he had a health condition that may have contributed to his death. The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says Palestinians are likely to see the exact cause of death as a secondary issue, and it will serve to sharpen tensions. Condemning "the brutal assault" on Mr Abu Ein, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas promised to take unspecified measures and declared three days of mourning. A Palestinian official told AFP that the session discussed the suspension of security co-operation with Israel, but the decision on whether to take action was deferred until Friday. US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Italy on Sunday to discuss recent developments and security issues in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the state department announced. Mr Abu Ein once received the death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment, from a court in Israel for a 1979 bombing that killed two Israeli teenagers. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange that saw the release of three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon. Mr Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, was among dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists taking part in a protest against land confiscations. They had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land near the Jewish settlement of Shiloh, which Palestinians believe has been earmarked for annexation by Israel. In the course of the protest, they came into confrontation with a group of about 15 Israeli soldiers. Leading Palestinian activist Mahmoud Aloul, who was also at the protest, told the Associated Press news agency the soldiers had fired tear gas and had beaten some of the activists with rifle butts. At one point, Mr Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister, Mr Aloul said. A Reuters photographer said he had seen Mr Abu Ein being struck by a hand on the neck during an altercation with two soldiers. An AFP news agency photographer said the minister had been hit in the chest. Photos of the incident showed Mr Abu Ein lying unconscious before he was taken away in an ambulance. He died before reaching hospital in the nearby city of Ramallah. There are reports he had a health condition that may have contributed to his death. The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says Palestinians are likely to see the exact cause of death as a secondary issue, and it will serve to sharpen tensions. Condemning "the brutal assault" on Mr Abu Ein, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas promised to take unspecified measures and declared three days of mourning. A Palestinian official told AFP that the session discussed the suspension of security co-operation with Israel, but the decision on whether to take action was deferred until Friday. US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Italy on Sunday to discuss recent developments and security issues in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the state department announced. Mr Abu Ein once received the death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment, from a court in Israel for a 1979 bombing that killed two Israeli teenagers. He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange that saw the release of three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon.

['Israel', 'Palestinian territories']

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english

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45335855

California schoolgirl arrested in Trump hat classroom fracas

A California high school student has been arrested after allegedly throwing a classmate's Make America Great Again hat to the ground.

The student reportedly "verbally berated" the classmate and slapped a teacher's arm, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Authorities have withheld the students' names due to the age of those involved. A pupil at Union Mine High School told local media she is facing battery charges following the incident. The 17-year-old told a CBS affiliate the Maga hats - a staple of President Trump's campaign - are a "racist and hateful symbol." According to the sheriff's office, the student began verbally attacking her peer on Monday because of the Maga hat, before grabbing and hurling it to the ground. When the teacher intervened, holding out his arm to separate the two students, the suspect allegedly slapped his arm. The student was arrested and taken to El Dorado County Juvenile Hall. She faces two battery charges - against both the boy and teacher. She has been suspended from school for a week over the English class fracas, report local media. The teenager told CBS she was venting her political opinion. "Maybe just wake people up in some type of way, because it's not cool the environment our classroom is in," she said. It is not the first time that someone wearing a Trump hat has allegedly been targeted. Attacks against Americans wearing Maga merchandise have been reported at least twice, this past summer alone.

['Donald Trump', 'US politics', 'California']

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["Donald Trump", "US politics", "California"]

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51696368

Two leading SNP figures to step down from Holyrood

Two leading figures in the Scottish National Party have announced they will step down as MSPs.

Michael Russell, who represents Argyll and Bute, will not stand in the Holyrood election next year. Mr Russell, who will be 67 in August, said it may be time for someone younger to represent the constituency. It has also been announced that Stewart Stevenson, who represents Banffshire and Buchan Coast for the SNP, will leave parliament at the election. He is 74 and has been an SNP activist since 1961. Announcing the decision to his constituency association, Mr Russell said: "I will be 67 this summer and 72 at the end of the next Parliament. "Argyll & Bute is a massive area to cover - with 23 inhabited islands and a large swathe of the mainland - and I am getting to the stage of thinking that someone younger would be better able to fulfil all the demands of the constituency. "It is, I think, much better I say that now than wait for someone else to do so." Although initially a Labour supporter as a student, Mr Russell joined the SNP in 1974. He held a number of constituency, and then national, offices in the party before becoming its first full-time chief executive in December 1994. He was elected to the Scottish parliament in the first elections in 1999, although he failed to keep his seat in 2003. Mr Russell first became a minister, responsible for the environment, when he was elected in 2007. He said his decision to leave parliament did not mean he would stop campaigning for Scottish independence. "After next May I still intend to be active in the political sphere," he said. "I think of my decision as stepping back from some current roles, not stepping away from my commitment to our country and the better future it can have and should choose. "Independence is so much closer than it was when I first voted for the SNP 46 years ago. I hope I have contributed something to that success and I still hope to contribute more but in a different way and role." Stewart Stevenson's retirement comes after serving in the Scottish parliament since 2001. He was born in Edinburgh and grew up in Cupar in Fife. Mr Stevenson studied mathematics at the University of Aberdeen and worked in information technology with the Bank of Scotland before becoming a full-time politician. His roles in government have included minister for transport. Announcing his retirement, he said: "I will miss working with, and for, so many people in the constituency, but for the year next I shall continue to work hard to represent the people of the North-east and I hope to say a personal thank you to the many people who have been part of my life over the years in both the constituency and at Holyrood. "My leaving Parliament does not mean that I shall be leaving politics. "Until Scotland can make its own decisions as a normal, independent country, co-operating with friendly neighbours for moral causes, I shall continue to lend my efforts wherever and whenever I can." Fellow SNP MSPs James Dornan, who represents Glasgow Cathcart, and Gail Ross, who represents the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency, have also said in the last week that they will not seek re-election next year.

['Banffshire and Buchan Coast', 'Scottish Parliament', 'Argyll and Bute', 'SNP (Scottish National Party)']

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48111464

Guardian records first operating profit since 1998

The Guardian recorded an operating profit of £0.8m for 2018-19: its first such profit in two decades and the culmination of one of the most significant turnarounds in recent British media history.

The margin is vindication of the strategy pursued by Chief Executive David Pemsel and Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner since their appointments in 2015. It has been registered despite both the structural challenges facing newspapers and websites, and the culture of financial profligacy and massive losses tolerated at The Guardian for decades. However, the operating profit excludes cash payments of between £25-30m for capital costs and other business expenditures, which are an annual draw-down from the Scott Trust, of which The Guardian is part. If these annual costs were included, The Guardian would still be loss-making. Nevertheless, the operating profit marks the completion of a three-year plan that few observers thought likely to succeed, and which leant heavily on a - for British media at least - eccentric business decision to ask readers to contribute financially for something they could get for free. The scale of the turnaround is striking. In 2015, when Pemsel and Viner took the helm, the Guardian's projected losses were forecast to rise to £83m, on a cost base (across editorial and commercial) of around £300m, with headcount expected to rise to around 2,000. That £83m figure is an operating loss alone: if the cash payments funded by the Scott Trust were included, the total forecast loss in that year would have risen to over £110m. In the end, The Guardian posted a loss of £57m in the financial year 2015/16. Today, its small operating profit comes with both the highest revenues (at £223m for Guardian News & Media) since 2008/9, before the effects of the financial crash were felt, and the lowest cost base since 2010/11. In all, if you include those who have left with roles that have closed, 450 positions have gone - of which 120 came from editorial. All have come from voluntary redundancy, albeit with some being gently encouraged to pursue that path. The other significant saving in the past year, which has run into "several millions," has come via the lower production costs of the tabloid edition, which replaced the Berliner format. It has not been a cost-cutting exercise alone. The growth in revenues has been driven by a re-balancing between reader revenue and advertising, and between digital income and print income. This is a familiar story across upmarket publications. The Guardian's transition has been effective. In 2015/16, 40 per cent of revenues came from digital, and 59 per cent from print (other income was marginal); today 55 per cent of total revenues come from digital and only 43 per cent from print. Naturally, senior figures in the company's King's Cross headquarters are keen to talk about their recent success and plans for the future, rather than dwell on horrors past. But it is impossible to understand what just happened without the long view. The Guardian's financial performance over the past decade shows a company bleeding cash relentlessly, even as it won international plaudits in the early part of this decade, under the editorial leadership of Alan Rusbridger, who is now principal of Lady Margaret Hall, a college of the University of Oxford. It shows a culture in which constant, vast losses of the kind most private sector companies would not and could not tolerate had become culturally accepted. In the years 2009/10 (when the effects of the financial crash were felt) through to 2014/15, The Guardian's annual losses were: £26m, £22m, £37m, £28m, £23m, and £34m, rising to the £57m figure for 2015/16. That's an accumulated £227m in seven years. To anyone who has had regular exposure to a P&L, whether in the private, public, or charitable sectors, this is a horror show which suggests a limited, if awkward, relationship between revenues and costs. But, financially, The Guardian is a curious beast: it is part of a billion-pound Trust that, for years, has forked out huge sums in order to fund journalism. It is not like a PLC or private company. That said, a series of poor commercial judgements, each of them signed off by the board, compounded the Guardian's losses. However beautiful, the Berliner format cannot have justified its price tag, reportedly over £80m. The investment in an events space called The Shed, trumpeted at the time as an exciting benefit to members, is now met with derision at the top of the company. Events are not a major focus for the future growth of The Guardian. Excessively fast expansion in Australia and America had to be painfully unpicked. These operations have been cut back: both are profitable now. For many years, The Guardian set itself against asking readers to pay for online content. Toward the end of his reign, Rusbridger set about fundamentally changing the business model of The Guardian, and put in place the foundations for this turnaround together with Pemsel, who was then Deputy CEO, and Andrew Miller, the then CEO. In particular, he launched the membership scheme which would lead, circuitously, to the contributions system whereby readers would be asked to volunteer cash. That was introduced by Viner - and that, too, after a specific project looking at whether a paywall should be introduced. In some media circles, there is a trite orthodoxy (probably recited by this correspondent at some point) about Rusbridger's two-decade reign. Namely, that The Guardian's - and by extension his - financial incontinence was matched by a string of editorial triumphs. These included the phone-hacking scandal, the Wikileaks files, and the Edward Snowden leaks - though all three investigations have their detractors. This rather misunderstands the function of an editor, how institutions are run financially, and The Guardian itself. In politics, there is an adage that chancellors like to save and prime ministers like to spend. In many newspapers, particularly those that lose money, CEOs and editors have played the roles of chancellors and prime ministers respectively. Not at The Guardian. There, CEOs have always indulged their editors. Rusbridger himself has blogged about the issue here. He notes that the financial position of The Guardian was ultimately a matter for the CEO of Guardian Media Group (GMG), not for the editor of The Guardian. Several of the bad calls for which he has been blamed - perhaps understandably, as the public face of the title - originated with other board members (the Berliner format is one). Why would any editor not spend lavishly, if allowed to? It is quite possible to argue that, in persuading the board to sign off on various schemes, including hiring sprees, he was actually doing his job effectively. Most other newspapers in Britain lose money. Many are funded by wealthy individuals whose motivation is influence rather than getting rich. The Scott Trust is, perhaps, less likely to be capricious or unreliable than a wealthy individual. That is why The Guardian has always burned cash: under Alastair Hetherington's editorship (1956-1975), it was almost a "badge of pride" that the newspaper, as it then was, should lose money. In just the past few years, the industry has also been hit by a fresh hurricane, which is the domination of Facebook and Google in the digital ad market. Some of these points are more valid than others; but none, even taken together, can justify a position whereby losses were forecast to rise to £84m in 2015/6 on a headcount of 2,000. When I spoke to Rusbridger, who had lunch with Pemsel recently, he was gracious toward his former colleagues, and still referred to The Guardian with "we". "It's a hugely welcome beacon of hope that the Guardian - once the ninth biggest paper in the UK - is now accessed by 180m-odd browsers around the world - and is building a sustainable economic model to support its journalism," he said. "The Scott Trust have been patient, long-term investors in a sometimes white-knuckled digital journey which began in the late 1990s". "The membership model, which began as a tiny acorn around five years ago, is now a giant oak, with an ambition to grow it to 2m supporters. Credit to great journalism, to good management and to long-term thinking - but perhaps especially to readers who see journalism for what it is: a form of public service which deserves public support. It's never been more necessary". A narrative of crisis and resolution is frequently useful for leaders trying to bring people with them through difficult times. In order to carry staff who worked in a culture with limited history of cost-cutting, Pemsel and Viner were public with both the scale of the losses they inherited and the fact that radical solutions (such as a paywall) were on the table. They also declared the aim of getting to break-even without a completely concrete plan on how they would do it. This imposed a constant discipline, and acted as an incentive to act quickly rather than delay painful decisions. The commercial strategy they pursued had four pillars. First, a deeper relationship with readers, rather than just anonymous reach (Rusbridger laid the ground work here); second, greater financial contribution from readers; third, a better understanding of programmatic advertising; and fourth, agility - in other words, actually cutting costs quickly rather than just saying it should happen. In all, costs have been cut by 20 per cent. The contributions business, in which readers are asked to pay for something they can get for free, arose because of the surprising and immediate success, when tested, of the "while you're here…" messages at the bottom of articles. They were dismissed as a begging-bowl approach by many critics but, having been launched around the story of the Panama Papers, offered a sudden and irresistible route-map to solvency. It is an abiding irony of The Guardian's recent history that it has extended this request for charitable donations to readers when it is the lucky beneficiary of a charitable endowment of around £1bn. When those "while you're here…" notices worked, a team was created, led by Natalie Hanman (who has since moved on to another senior role) and Amanda Michel (an American who had worked for Obama) to squeeze the contributions out of readers. Soon, a "reader funnel" encouraging payment was set up, and data collected on the triggers of why people might contribute over time. In other words, tracking regularity of visits from readers - which creates a greater propensity to contribute - and converting those who don't pay into those who might. It is often said that the exceptionally busy news agenda of the past three years, with Brexit and Trump being anathema to the Guardian's centre-left sensibility, will have helped with contributions. In fact, the data suggests that specific stories - especially the Cambridge Analytica scandal, reporting of which has been led by Carole Cadwalladr of The Observer, the Sunday sibling title - do more to drive contributions. Australian readers have tended to give contributions on a very regular weekly or monthly basis, whereas American readers have tended to give contributions pegged to particular stories, especially on the environment. More than half of the one-off contributions The Guardian receives from around the world are American. At present there are around 650,000 recurring contributors, and over 300,000 one-off contributions in a single year. Will the contributors disappear just as quickly as they arrived? That is, and must be, the constant question asked of The Guardian's new model. But that the company should declare its ambition to get to two million subscribers shows confidence in the system. Then again, Pemsel and Viner have at least once put an ambitious target into the public domain without having a fully worked-out idea of how it can be reached. For each of them, this milestone is both a relief and a source of authority. It buys the credit and space to pursue new ambitions. Viner can, and will, argue that money on the bottom line should be invested back into the journalism - particularly in new ventures such as the Today in Focus podcast, which has grown to a staff of eight, is a net contributor to The Guardian financially, and which counts Pemsel as a fanatical devotee. Pemsel - who had been appointed Chief Commercial Officer in 2012, having worked at Shine Entertainment and ITV - is in his first CEO role. He can expect a few calls from head-hunters over the summer. Of the stories during her reign, Viner, the first female editor-in-chief at The Guardian, is proudest of the reporting of the Windrush scandal. A letter from the Barbados High Commissioner, with pictures of some of those affected, hangs on the wall of her office. She has also launched new products, including The Guardian Weekly magazine. Reaching profitability marks the end of the beginning of her editorship. The next phase will inevitably be global in outlook. The Guardian's print circulation last month was 134,443, down 9.3% year on year, and over 200,000 copies down on a decade ago. The Observer's circulation was 163,814, down 6.9% year on year. Both titles' circulation will likely continue to fall. But their digital reach is huge. Last month, The Guardian had 163m monthly browsers, and 1.35bn page views. Politically, The Guardian has the enjoyable task of navigating the convulsions on Britain's centre-left. Years ago, the Labour Party could rely on the Daily Mirror and The Guardian. The shift in our politics, from socio-economic to socio-cultural voting blocs, and toward a system where the key dividing lines are within parties rather than between them, is an intellectual challenge for the title. There are at least five grounds for scepticism about whether the financial outlook will continue to improve. First, continuing declines in print circulation and advertising. Though print display advertising is now only 6 per cent of revenues, declining circulation means declining cover price revenue. Second, advertising fleeing to Facebook and Google. It is true that these two companies, who don't like being clumped together, dominate the digital advertising market. In the near term, their domination may increase. Of course, the above two points help to illustrate why this turnaround is so striking. Third, a downturn. It will come, at some point. Fourth, complacency. This is the worry at the top. When whispers are heard in corridors about the title being out of the woods, it frightens those on the commercial side. No title in our age is out of the woods. The woods are home. Fifth, unknown unknowns. Could the astonishing growth of Amazon's advertising business - even accounting for a slight slowdown - hurt publishers like The Guardian? How will Brexit, whatever form it takes, affect production budgets - particularly the cost of paper? Might those contributors decide, en masse, to put their money in some other charity instead? Will a bored billionaire launch an exceptionally slick and high-quality rival, that drains traffic and subscriptions from The Guardian? The era of huge technological innovation and disruption with which all media are contending means no digital business can take its current success for granted. By the same token, turning a projected £83m operating loss into an operating profit in three years of that era, is hard to do. Under its new leadership, The Guardian has done it. There are no current plans for redundancies across its editorial or commercial teams. If you're interested in issues such as these, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook; and subscribe to The Media Show podcast from Radio 4.

['Media']

[{"entity": "The Guardian", "label": "ORG"}]

The Guardian

["Media"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41677929

'Stolen Salvador Dali' painting recovered in Lebanon

A painting thought to be the stolen work of renowned Spanish artist Salvador Dali has been recovered by the Lebanese authorities.

Four people were arrested for allegedly trying to sell on the picture, known as Portrait of Mrs Reeves. Police confiscated it last Friday after an investigation in the Cola neighbourhood of the capital, Beirut. Art experts say the picture, if authentic, is a minor work from a series of high society portraits. The piece was probably stolen from a neighbouring country, Lebanese police said. 'Mona Lisa nude sketch' found in France Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Neglected Genius The gay Chinese farmer and his cutting edge art Art historian Lawrence Saphire told Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper that such pictures attributed to Dali usually sold "for a few hundred thousand dollars because they are not considered serious paintings". He suggested it was one of the portraits Dali was commissioned to do of high society ladies when he was in America. Dali expert Nicolas Descharnes, whose father Robert worked closely with Dali as his secretary, was quoted by the paper as saying Portrait of Mrs Reeves had been auctioned several times between 1986 and 1997. Neither art expert would comment on whether the painting found in Lebanon was genuine. Alex Rosenberg, chairperson of Salvador Dali research centre in New York. was quoted as saying many fakes had surfaced in the art market.

['Art', 'Beirut']

[{"entity": "Salvador Dali", "label": "PER"}]

Salvador Dali

["Art", "Beirut"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31635747

South Korean court decriminalises adultery

South Korea's top court has ruled that adultery is no longer a crime, revoking a 1953 law under which cheating spouses could be jailed for up to two years.

South Korea was one of only three Asian countries to criminalise infidelity - about 5,500 people have been convicted since 2008. But out of the nine-judge panel, seven deemed the law unconstitutional. Presiding judge Park Han-Chul said public conceptions of individuals' sexual rights had changed. "Even if adultery should be condemned as immoral, state power should not intervene in individuals' private lives," he said. In recent years, while hundreds of people have been convicted under the law, very few have actually gone to prison. "Recently, it was extremely rare for a person to serve a prison term for adultery," Lim Ji-bong, a law professor at Sogang University in Seoul, told the Associated Press. "The number of indictments has decreased as charges are frequently dropped." The law has previously been reviewed four times by the court and upheld. The most recent was in 2008, when actress OK So-ri petitioned the court after being given an eight-month suspended sentence for adultery. Although she was unsuccessful, it was a narrow loss. Five of the judges deemed the law to be unconstitutional, saying that adultery could be condemned on moral grounds but not as a criminal act. Six judges needed to oppose the law for it to be revoked. The Constitutional Court said on Thursday that anyone convicted since 2008 could have their case reconsidered. But some in South Korea have defended the law, saying its loss would encourage sexual depravity. Justice Ahn Chang-Ho, who read the dissenting opinion at the constitutional court, said that the statute was a key protector of family morals and warned that its abolition would "spark a surge in debauchery".

['South Korea']

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english

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31809075

Overseas aid bill enshrining 0.7% target to become law

Plans to require future governments to honour an overseas aid spending target are on the verge of becoming law in a move welcomed by campaign groups.

Peers approved legislation which would make it a legal requirement for 0.7% of UK's annual national income to be spent on international development, The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill had already been passed by MPs. The government backed the bill but opponents say it is "gesture politics". The proposed legislation is likely to receive its Royal Assent in the coming days. Both the coalition government and its Labour predecessor committed the UK to meeting the UN-inspired aspiration on overseas aid but the bill will bind all future governments. The private members bill was originally tabled by former Scottish Secretary Michael Moore in the Commons and taken through the Lords by Lib Dem peer Lord Purvis. Speaking after the bill was approved by peers on Monday, Lord Purvis said it would help in the fight to provide clean water, better hygiene and access to education in developing countries and parts of the world scarred by conflict "If we can help others take these simple things for granted as we do here, we will be making a worthwhile contribution," he said. Save the Children said the passage of the bill was an "historic decision" which would save millions of lives across the world while Oxfam said it showed the UK was serious about continuing to protect the aid budget and the "vital lifeline" it provided. Some Conservative MPs and peers have said the bill will shackle future governments at a time when unprotected departmental budgets - including defence - are set to face a severe squeeze on spending during the next Parliament.

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overseas aid

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english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38479187

S Koreans protest against President Park on New Year's Eve

South Koreans have gathered in large numbers at a New Year's Eve protest against their impeached leader, demanding her removal from power.

Large crowds formed near the presidential palace and constitutional court in the capital Seoul on Saturday. Park Geun-hye was impeached this month by parliament, but the move requires approval from the constitutional court. The head of the country's national pension fund was arrested on Saturday as the corruption investigation widens. According to the special prosecutor, Moon Hyung-Pyo has admitted to putting pressure on the fund to approve an $8bn (£6.5bn; €7.6bn) merger of two Samsung group units when he served as health minister between 2013-15. What is South Korea's presidential scandal? The friendship that shocked South Korea Samsung tells corruption inquiry of 'gift horse' Saturday's demonstration was the latest in a series of protests against the president, which organisers say nearly nine million people have attended in total. "I hope in 2017 we will see our democracy repaired," Lee Hae-jin, who has attended each of the last 10 protests, told the Associated Press news agency. Some of President park's supporters also took to the streets, surrounded by thick lines of police. Mr Moon's arrest followed a raid on the Samsung and the national pension fund offices amid an investigation into whether President Park had pressured the fund to support the merger. In return, Samsung was alleged to have given financial favours to the president's close confidante, Choi Soon-sil. Ms Choi is currently in custody, facing charges of coercion and abuse of power. Parliament in early December voted to impeach the president but the case rests with the constitutional court - which has up to six months to make a ruling. Ms Park is suspended from her duties until the court makes a decision. If it confirms her impeachment, she will be permanently removed from office, and elections will be held within 60 days.

['South Korea', 'Park Geun-hye']

[{"entity": "New Year's Eve", "label": "TIME"}]

NoPresentEntity

["South Korea", "Park Geun-hye"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-54689413

British Airways 747 to become museum and cinema

A British Airways' 747 passenger plane is being turned into an educational facility and cinema in Gloucestershire.

The aircraft made its final flight from Heathrow Airport on 8 October as more than 18,000 people watched a live stream of the event on Facebook. It landed at Cotswold Airport in Kemble where it will be used for a range of events beginning next spring. BA brought forward the retirement of its fleet of 747-400 aircraft due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The aircraft type was known as the Queen of the Skies, and the one in Kemble is painted in Negus livery which adorned the airline's planes in the 1970s and 1980s. It will be converted for use as a museum, cinema and for school visits, as well as a business, conferencing and private hire venue. A portion of the money raised from events will be used to support Cotswold Airport's scholarship programme and charities. "There is such a huge amount of interest in her as British Airways' last commercially operated 747 and with the historic livery in which she is painted as well," said Suzannah Harvey, chief executive of Cotswold Airport. "We've got a very good support network building already which will help to maintain and preserve her for the future." Boeing announced it would stop making the 747 planes in July, as airlines opt for newer and more fuel-efficient aircraft. BA planned to retire the planes in 2024 but the date was brought forward due to the downturn in the travel industry caused by Covid-19. The first Boeing 747 flight took off in February 1969 and it was the first aeroplane dubbed a jumbo jet. Sean Doyle, chief executive of British Airways, said: "It was with great sadness that we retired our two final 747s based at Heathrow, so we're glad Cotswold Airport is able to give one of these aircraft a new home and a new lease of life." Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk

['Kemble', 'London Heathrow Airport', 'Cotswold Airport', 'British Airways', 'Air travel', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

[{"entity": "British Airways", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Gloucestershire", "label": "LOC"}]

British Airways

["Kemble", "London Heathrow Airport", "Cotswold Airport", "British Airways", "Air travel", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53337488

Texas set to resume prisoner executions amid pandemic

Texas is set to resume executions on Wednesday after a five month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the state.

Billy Joe Wardlow, 45, is to be put to death for the the robbery and murder of a 82-year-old man in 1993. On Tuesday, Texas broke its single day record with over 10,000 new infections. Texas is not the first state to resume executions after suspending them amid virus lockdowns across the country. Missouri executed a prisoner on 19 May. Since that May execution, no other condemned prisoners in the US have been put to death, according to the Associated Press news agency. He was originally due to die on 29 April, but the date was pushed back due to the pandemic. Wardlow is due to die by lethal injection on Wednesday evening. His lawyers have filed petitions to the Supreme Court claiming that he was too young at the time of his crime - 18 year-old - to be given a death sentence. His lawyers argue that developments in neuroscience prove that the human brain continues to develop into a person's 20s. His lawyers, and a group of scientists, argue that it would have been impossible to determine at the time of Wardlow's sentencing whether he would ever offend again. "No technology or methodology available now or at the time of Mr Wardlow's sentencing makes it possible reliably to predict whether someone who commits a crime at the age of 18 will remain dangerous in the future," a group of neuroscientists wrote in a letter to the Supreme Court, asking for a lesser sentence. On Tuesday the Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed that 84 prisoners and 9 guards and prison employees have died from Covid-19. Wardlow's will be the third execution in Texas this year, and the seventh in the US. Since 1976, Texas has led the county in executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Texas has put to death more than four times the number of inmates executed by Virginia, the second highest state. The Covid-19 epidemic had disrupted execution schedules in several US states. However, the US Justice department has said it will resume with carrying out the death penalty for a federal inmate for the first time in 17 years later this month.

['Capital punishment', 'Texas', 'United States', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

[{"entity": "Texas", "label": "LOC"}]

Texas

["Capital punishment", "Texas", "United States", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-57513084

Week in pictures: 12 - 18 June 2021

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.

All pictures are subject to copyright.

['Photography']

[]

NoPresentEntity

["Photography"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52696032

Pakistan girls murdered over phone video footage

Two teenage girls have been murdered in a so-called "honour killing" in north-west Pakistan following a video circulated on the internet.

They are said to have been shot dead by family members earlier this week in a village on the border of the North and South Waziristan tribal districts. The murders came after a video appeared on social media showing the girls with a young man, police said. Two men were reportedly arrested on Sunday in connection with the case. The two men were the father of one of the victims and brother of the other victim, police officials told BBC Urdu. The incident is said to have taken place on Thursday afternoon at Shamplan village, in Garyom region on the border between North and South Waziristan districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police. The reason behind the killings of the two girls, aged 16 and 18, is believed to be a video, provided to the BBC, which shows a young man recording himself with three young girls in a secluded area outdoors. It appeared the video was shot nearly a year ago and most probably went viral on social media a few weeks ago, a senior police official told Dawn newspaper. "At the moment, our topmost priority is to secure the life of the third girl and the man before taking any action," the officer said. Human Rights Watch says that violence against women and girls remains a serious problem in Pakistan. Activists believe about 1,000 such "honour killing" murders are carried out across the country every year. It is the killing of a member of a family who is perceived to have brought dishonour upon relatives. Pressure group Human Rights Watch says the most common reasons are that the victim: But killings can be carried out for more trivial reasons, like dressing in a way deemed inappropriate or displaying behaviour seen as disobedient.

['Pakistan', "Women's rights in Pakistan", "Women's rights", 'Gender']

[{"entity": "Pakistan", "label": "LOC"}]

Pakistan

["Pakistan", "Women's rights in Pakistan", "Women's rights", "Gender"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10537286

Kashmir: Why India and Pakistan fight over it

Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have fought two wars and a limited conflict over Kashmir. But why do they dispute the territory - and how did it start?

Kashmir is an ethnically diverse Himalayan region, covering around 86,000 sq miles (138 sq km), and famed for the beauty of its lakes, meadows and snow-capped mountains. Even before India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain in August 1947, the area was hotly contested. Under the partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act, Kashmir was free to accede to either India or Pakistan. The maharaja (local ruler), Hari Singh, initially wanted Kashmir to become independent - but in October 1947 chose to join India, in return for its help against an invasion of tribesmen from Pakistan. A war erupted and India approached the United Nations asking it to intervene. The United Nations recommended holding a plebiscite to settle the question of whether the state would join India or Pakistan. However the two countries could not agree to a deal to demilitarise the region before the referendum could be held. In July 1949, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to establish a ceasefire line as recommended by the UN and the region became divided. A second war followed in 1965. Then in 1999, India fought a brief but bitter conflict with Pakistani-backed forces. By that time, India and Pakistan had both declared themselves to be nuclear powers. Today, Delhi and Islamabad both claim Kashmir in full, but control only parts of it - territories recognised internationally as "Indian-administered Kashmir" and "Pakistan-administered Kashmir". An armed revolt has been waged against Indian rule in the region for three decades, claiming tens of thousands of lives. India blames Pakistan for stirring the unrest by backing separatist militants in Kashmir - a charge its neighbour denies. Now a sudden change to Kashmir's status on the Indian side has created further apprehension. Indian-administered Kashmir has held a special position within the country historically, thanks to Article 370 - a clause in the constitution which gave it significant autonomy, including its own constitution, a separate flag, and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defence and communications. On 5 August, India revoked that seven-decade-long privileged status - as the governing party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had promised in its 2019 election manifesto. The Hindu nationalist BJP has long opposed Article 370 and had repeatedly called for its abolishment. Telephone networks and the internet were cut off in the region in the days before the presidential order was announced. Public gatherings were banned, and tens of thousands of troops were sent in. Tourists were told to leave Kashmir under warnings of a terror threat. Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir - the Indian state which encompasses the disputed territory - were placed under house arrest. One of them, Mehbooba Mufti, said the move would "make India an occupational force in Jammu and Kashmir," and that "today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy". Pakistan fiercely condemned the development, branding it "illegal" and vowing to "exercise all possible options" against it. It downgraded diplomatic ties with India and suspended all trade. India responded by saying they "regretted" Pakistan's statement and reiterating that Article 370 was an internal matter as it did not interfere with the boundaries of the territory. Within Kashmir, opinions about the territory's rightful allegiance are diverse and strongly held. Many do not want it to be governed by India, preferring either independence or union with Pakistan instead. Religion is one factor: Jammu and Kashmir is more than 60% Muslim, making it the only state within India where Muslims are in the majority. Critics of the BJP fear this move is designed to change the state's demographic make-up of - by giving people from the rest of the country to right to acquire property and settle there permanently. Ms Mufti told the BBC: "They just want to occupy our land and want to make this Muslim-majority state like any other state and reduce us to a minority and disempower us totally." Feelings of disenfranchisement have been aggravated in Indian-administered Kashmir by high unemployment, and complaints of human rights abuses by security forces battling street protesters and fighting insurgents. Anti-India sentiment in the state has ebbed and flowed since 1989, but the region witnessed a fresh wave of violence after the death of 22-year-old militant leader Burhan Wani in July 2016. He died in a battle with security forces, sparking massive protests across the valley. Wani - whose social media videos were popular among young people - is largely credited with reviving and legitimising the image of militancy in the region. Thousands attended Wani's funeral, which was held in his hometown of Tral, about 40km (25 miles) south of the city of Srinagar. Following the funeral, people clashed with troops and it set off a deadly cycle of violence that lasted for days. More than 30 civilians died, and others were injured in the clashes. Since then, violence has been on the rise in the state. More than 500 people were killed in 2018 - including civilians, security forces and militants - the highest toll in a decade. India and Pakistan did indeed agree a ceasefire in 2003 after years of bloodshed along the de facto border (also known as the Line of Control). Pakistan later promised to stop funding insurgents in the territory, while India offered them an amnesty if they renounced militancy. In 2014, India's current Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power promising a tough line on Pakistan, but also showed interest in holding peace talks. Nawaz Sharif, then prime minister of Pakistan, attended Mr Modi's swearing-in ceremony in Delhi. But a year later, India blamed Pakistan-based groups for an attack on its airbase in Pathankot in the northern state of Punjab. Mr Modi also cancelled a scheduled visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for a regional summit in 2017. Since then, there hasn't been any progress in talks between the neighbours. The bloody summer of street protests in Indian-administered Kashmir in 2016 had already dimmed hopes for a lasting peace in the region. Then, in June 2018, the state government there was upended when Mr Modi's BJP pulled out of a coalition government run by Ms Mufti's People's Democratic Party. Jammu and Kashmir was since under direct rule from Delhi, which fuelled further anger. The deaths of more than 40 Indian soldiers in a suicide attack on 14 February, 2019 have ended any hope of a thaw in the immediate future. India blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for the violence - the deadliest targeting Indian soldiers in Kashmir since the insurgency began three decades ago. Following the bombing, India said it would take "all possible diplomatic steps" to isolate Pakistan from the international community. On 26 February, it launched air strikes in Pakistani territory which it said targeted militant bases. Pakistan denied the raids had caused major damage or casualties but promised to respond, fuelling fears of confrontation. A day later it said it had shot down two Indian Air Force jets in its airspace, and captured a fighter pilot - who was later returned unharmed to India. Kashmir remains one of the most militarised zones in the world. India's parliament has now passed a bill splitting Indian-administered Kashmir into two territories governed directly by Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir, and remote, mountainous Ladakh. China, which shares a disputed border with India in Ladakh, has objected to the reorganisation and accused Delhi of undermining its territorial sovereignty. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to challenge India's actions at the UN security council, and take the matter to the International Criminal Court. In an ominous warning, he said: "If the world does not act today... (if) the developed world does not uphold its own laws, then things will go to a place that we will not be responsible for." But Delhi insists that there is no "external implication" to its decision to reorganise the state as it has not changed the Line of Control or boundaries of the region. US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate in the crisis - an overture that Delhi has rejected.

['Pakistan', 'Kashmir tensions', 'India', 'Kashmir', 'India-Pakistan relations', 'India-Pakistan air strikes']

[{"entity": "India", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Pakistan", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Kashmir", "label": "LOC"}]

India ||| Pakistan ||| Kashmir

["Pakistan", "Kashmir tensions", "India", "Kashmir", "India-Pakistan relations", "India-Pakistan air strikes"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52308453

Coronavirus: Free our children from lockdown, says Barcelona mayor

Barcelona's mayor has called for an end to strict coronavirus lockdown measures in Spain which bar children from going out for any reason.

"These children need to get out," Ada Colau wrote on Facebook, herself the mother of youngsters aged three and nine. "Wait no more: Free our children!" Spain - which has the most confirmed cases in Europe - is the only Western European country where children cannot leave home at all. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the nationwide lockdown on 14 March. It has since been extended until at least 26 April - though people in construction, manufacturing and some service jobs were allowed to return to work this week. Rules for children differ widely from country to country, with schools and kindergartens already reopening in Denmark on Wednesday. According to Johns Hopkins University data, worldwide cases of the virus have risen to more than two million. While the spread of infections appears to be easing in much of Europe, the continent has recorded hundreds of thousands of infections - with Spain alone accounting for 19,130 deaths and almost 183,000 cases. A further 551 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, officials said on Thursday. One of the main centres of the Spanish outbreak has been in the Catalonia region of which Barcelona is the capital. Hans Kluge, World Health Organization's Europe director, said on Thursday while there were "optimistic signs" in Europe, the next few weeks would be "critical". The left-wing mayor - the first woman to hold the position in Barcelona - made her plea in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "Week after week, they fight each other more ever day, they have fits of sadness, anger," she wrote, saying that like many other parents she worried about the "psychological and emotional health" of her children. "If adults can go out to walk the dog... why must our children keep waiting?" Ms Colau argues that children should be allowed out in their local area, as in other countries, "in accordance with health experts' advice". "We are tired of being told that we are soldiers and this is a war, instead of talking about how to take care of our lives and each other." The decision to keep children inside is becoming increasingly controversial in Spain. Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias has come under fire after he said he was "very lucky" his three children have a garden, adding he was "aware that millions of families had children in their apartments of 40, 50 or 60m". Conservative politician Mario Gracés Sanagustín tweeted it was "not lucky" he had a garden but in fact part of his "social shield". Save the Children's Spanish branch is calling for children to be allowed outside near their homes for an hour each day. Andrés Conde told AFP news agency that they were "one of the most vulnerable populations during this prolonged confinement". The Spanish Obesity Society (SEEDO) estimates that children will gain on average about 5% of their body weight in lockdown due to lack of exercise and the risk of unhealthy eating. Spain's decision to keep children indoors is stricter than anywhere else in Europe, but there is a wide debate about children in lockdown. Other countries have set age limits for going outside. Under-18s can only go outside in Poland and Bosnia if accompanied by an adult, while Italy - the country with Europe's highest recorded number of deaths at 21,645 - allows all children out if they are with a parent. France requires everyone to carry a signed form explaining why they are outside. Parents must sign the form for their children. Elsewhere, however, children are already returning to education. Denmark reopened primary schools and kindergartens on Wednesday. Norway plans to follow suit shortly, with kindergartens set to open their doors on 20 April and primary schools a week later. Both Iceland and Sweden never closed their primary schools, with Iceland set to reopen high schools and universities on 4 May. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday that pupils would slowly start to return to class on 4 May, with priority given to those with school exams. However, she said there would need to be new rules for break times and school buses, saying it would require "a great logistical effort" to ensure students' safety.

['Catalonia', 'Spain', 'Coronavirus lockdown measures', 'Children', 'Barcelona', 'Madrid', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

[{"entity": "Barcelona", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Spain", "label": "LOC"}]

Barcelona ||| Spain

["Catalonia", "Spain", "Coronavirus lockdown measures", "Children", "Barcelona", "Madrid", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52814833

Coronavirus: Local lockdowns will be used to suppress 'flare-ups', says Hancock

"Local lockdowns" will be introduced to tackle regional outbreaks of coronavirus in England in the future, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock suggested restrictions will be introduced in areas with "flare-ups", but not others, as part of a system being put in place. He did not specify a timeframe, but said the measures will be part of the test, track and trace system. It comes as more than 35 Tory MPs have called on the PM's top aide to resign. The government's daily coronavirus briefing on Tuesday was dominated by questions about Dominic Cummings travelling to County Durham during lockdown. But concerns were also raised about the potential for second waves of infections. Asked what tools will be given to local officials to tackle outbreaks, Mr Hancock said: "We will have local lockdowns in future where there are flare-ups." "We have a system that we're putting in place with a combination of Public Health England and the new Joint Biosecurity Centre, along with the local directors of public health who play an absolutely crucial role in the decision-making in the system." Under government plans to ease lockdown restrictions, the Joint Biosecurity Centre will identify changes in infection rates - using testing, environmental and workplace data - and advise chief medical officers. As a result, schools, businesses or workplaces could be closed in areas that see spikes in infection rates, the government's plan says. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said if the system worked it would be used "on quite a micro level". "If there is a flare-up in one particular community - and that could be on quite a small scale like a particular workplace or school - then measures can be introduced which hopefully the public will get behind, enable us to control the virus in that locality and enable the rest of the population to have more freedom to go about their daily business," he told BBC Breakfast. Earlier this month Mr Jenrick said that it was the government's "strong preference" for lockdown measures to be lifted uniformly, but some restrictions could be reintroduced locally if necessary. But he said the local interventions that could be considered are "quite different from making major changes to lockdown measures in one part of the country versus another". Also speaking during Tuesday's briefing, Prof John Newton, leader of the government's Covid-19 testing programme, said "many different organisations", including councils and local businesses, will be involved in the response to local outbreaks. "It is a whole-country effort. It has a national component, but it has a very important local component as well, which needs to reflect... the special characteristics of different parts of the country," he said. Latest government figures show the number of people to die with coronavirus in the UK rose by 134 to 37,048 on Tuesday. The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has been gradually declining since the peak over Easter. However, the picture is different across the UK's nations and regions, with numbers falling faster in some areas than others. Cases were originally concentrated in London, the Midlands and the North West of England. But South Wales and parts of the North West and North East also have a high proportions of cases. Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England will have a "world-beating" track and trace system in place from June - with 25,000 contact tracers, able to track 10,000 new cases a day. Contact tracing is a system used to slow the spread of infectious diseases by identifying people patients have been in contact with. One method involves tracking by phone or email, while another uses a location-tracking mobile app.

['Coronavirus lockdown measures', 'Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC)', 'Coronavirus testing', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

[{"entity": "England", "label": "LOC"}]

England

["Coronavirus lockdown measures", "Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC)", "Coronavirus testing", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54498357

Robert Jenrick dismisses call for constituency fund probe

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has dismissed Labour's call for an investigation into the award of a £25m regeneration grant to his constituency.

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr show the decision to give the money to Newark, Nottinghamshire, had been taken by fellow minister Jake Berry. Mr Jenrick said he had himself decided to grant funds to a town in Mr Berry's constituency under the same scheme. He called this "perfectly normal" and accused Labour of "distraction". But Labour described the allocation of the money "murky" and urged Mr Jenrick to submit himself to a "full" investigation. The £25m was awarded to Newark under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's £3.6bn Towns Fund, set up last year to help places that had "not always benefitted from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas". Newark and Sherwood District Council submitted its town investment plan - including better transport, training and digital connectivity - in July. Mr Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark since 2014, supported the bid. For Labour, shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News's Ridge on Sunday: "The whole question has always been quite a murky one as to how this money was allocated. "The secretary of state has questions to answer and an investigation is the right way forwards." But Mr Jenrick said the government had a "robust" system in place for choosing which places would benefit from the Towns Fund and that the rules had been created before he became communities secretary. He added that Mr Berry, who oversees local growth in England as a minister within Mr Jenrick's department, had made the decision following advice from civil servants. Darwen, a town in Mr Berry's Rossendale and Darwen constituency, was also allocated money from the Towns Fund. The decision, Mr Jenrick said, had been "made by myself". He added: "This is perfectly normal. Ministers don't get involved in making decisions for their own constituency. "But neither should their constituencies be victims of the fact that their MP is a minister." Mr Jenrick also said: "The Labour Party front bench need to get beyond the M25 and see what's happening in our constituencies." Earlier, he told Sky News that Labour's accusations were "completely baseless". But, following the interviews, shadow communities secretary Steve Reed insisted that, if "Robert Jenrick has nothing to hide, he should submit himself to a full investigation". In August, Mr Jenrick said he regretted sitting next to property developer Richard Desmond at a Conservative Party fundraising event last year. Mr Desmond donated £12,000 to the Conservatives in January, 12 days after the minister overruled government planning inspectors to approve a development at the former Westferry print works in east London. Labour said this had raised suggestions of "cash for favours". But Mr Jenrick has always insisted he had no knowledge of the donation and was motivated by a desire to see more homes built.

['Robert Jenrick', 'Nottingham', 'Labour Party', 'Newark on Trent']

[{"entity": "Robert Jenrick", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Labour", "label": "ORG"}]

Robert Jenrick ||| Labour

["Robert Jenrick", "Nottingham", "Labour Party", "Newark on Trent"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45165840

Muslim Council urges PM to avoid Boris Johnson 'whitewash'

The UK's largest Muslim organisation is calling on Theresa May to ensure the inquiry into Boris Johnson's burka comments is not a "whitewash".

According to the Guardian, the Muslim Council of Britain will tell the prime minister "no-one should be allowed to victimise minorities with impunity". Mr Johnson is facing an investigation after saying women in burkas looked like "letter boxes" or "bank robbers". He did not respond to the row in his latest newspaper column. The Muslim Council of Britain's letter, seen by the Guardian, said it was "hopeful" that the party "will not allow any whitewashing of this specific inquiry currently in process". The council previously said the support shown to Mr Johnson from Tory MPs had "shone a light on the underbelly of Islamophobia" within the party. The organisation added that it had received Islamophobic hate mail referring to former foreign secretary Mr Johnson's comments. Meanwhile, the Tell Mama project, which monitors anti-Muslim violence, reported an increase in incidents of abuse aimed at women wearing the niqab or hijab over the past week. Mr Johnson - who returned home from his holiday in Italy over the weekend - has not yet responded to the row. In his latest column in Monday's Daily Telegraph - one week on from his original comments about the Muslim full-face veil - Mr Johnson did not mention the issue but instead chose to write about housing. Earlier, he refused to answer the questions of journalists waiting outside his Oxfordshire home, saying he had "nothing to say about this matter" except to offer out cups of tea. The Conservative Party launched its disciplinary investigation after receiving dozens of complaints about Mr Johnson's remarks. Mrs May and Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis have called on him to apologise. But others - including Brexiteer backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg and comedian Rowan Atkinson - have expressed support. According to a ComRes poll for the Sunday Express, 53% of people who responded believe Mr Johnson should not be disciplined for his comments. The complaints against him are being looked at by an investigating officer, who can dismiss them if they are found to be obviously trivial, lacking in merit or unable to be fairly investigated. Communities and Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire told BBC Breakfast: "There is an ongoing investigation in relation to complaints that have been made over Boris's comments last week. I think that's the right approach." He added "I would certainly have not chosen the words that Boris used," but would not comment on it further during the investigation. Should they be upheld, the complaints will then be looked at by an independent panel which could refer Mr Johnson to the party's board, which has the power to expel him. On Friday, in a separate investigation into a complaint, the UK's equalities watchdog said Mr Johnson's remarks were "inflammatory and divisive" and his comments risked "vilifying Muslim women".

['Conservative Party', 'Boris Johnson burka row', 'Boris Johnson']

[{"entity": "UK", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Theresa May", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Boris Johnson", "label": "PER"}]

UK

["Conservative Party", "Boris Johnson burka row", "Boris Johnson"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-58738286

Christmas shortages warning from Welsh retailers

One supermarket chain is using extra freezers to make sure there are enough turkeys for Christmas, as shop owners warn of potential shortages this year.

Shoppers in Wales have already seen some empty shelves which has been blamed on a lack of lorry drivers. Now, some business owners are warning supply and delivery issues could affect Christmas stock. Matthew Hunt, of Filco Foods supermarkets, said he expected to see higher prices this winter. He urged shoppers to get orders in early. "At this stage turkey could be a concern so we've powered up our freezers, so if we're not able to offer a fresh bird we'll be able to offer a frozen one instead," he said. Sharon Flanagan, who co-owns homeware shop No 39 in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, said despite putting her order in for Christmas stock in February, it would not now arrive until late November. "We were hoping to introduce Christmas stock earlier this year after the lockdown last year and it's a disaster," she said. "It's eight weeks we won't be able to trade on Christmas stock, so if you were hoping to come in October to pick something up for Christmas, it's not going to be here." In Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Jolene Barton, director of online toy retailer Babi Pur, said shoppers might need to be "a bit more open-minded this Christmas". "There's plenty of things to go around, it's just maybe you won't get exactly what you'd hoped for." Ms Barton also said changes following Brexit could add to the disruption: "There are a lot of extra costs, extra charges, problems with deliveries that have to be paid for. We can't keep absorbing those costs. "I don't think retailers will be able to keep the costs down." Kieren Clarke-Hill and his wife have already done most of their Christmas present shopping, having started in September. He said: "This year, with Covid, and you know something else is going to happen down the line, we like to be a little bit cautious and thought why not." Victoria Jones said she was not "overly concerned" about any potential shortages. "We've gotten used to learning how to be content and survive anyway, so if we can survive a pandemic, we can survive a few shortages." You can see more about this story in Wales Live on the BBC iPlayer Shoppers in Wales have already seen some empty shelves which has been blamed on a lack of lorry drivers. Now, some business owners are warning supply and delivery issues could affect Christmas stock. Matthew Hunt, of Filco Foods supermarkets, said he expected to see higher prices this winter. He urged shoppers to get orders in early. "At this stage turkey could be a concern so we've powered up our freezers, so if we're not able to offer a fresh bird we'll be able to offer a frozen one instead," he said. Sharon Flanagan, who co-owns homeware shop No 39 in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, said despite putting her order in for Christmas stock in February, it would not now arrive until late November. "We were hoping to introduce Christmas stock earlier this year after the lockdown last year and it's a disaster," she said. "It's eight weeks we won't be able to trade on Christmas stock, so if you were hoping to come in October to pick something up for Christmas, it's not going to be here." In Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Jolene Barton, director of online toy retailer Babi Pur, said shoppers might need to be "a bit more open-minded this Christmas". "There's plenty of things to go around, it's just maybe you won't get exactly what you'd hoped for." Ms Barton also said changes following Brexit could add to the disruption: "There are a lot of extra costs, extra charges, problems with deliveries that have to be paid for. We can't keep absorbing those costs. "I don't think retailers will be able to keep the costs down." Kieren Clarke-Hill and his wife have already done most of their Christmas present shopping, having started in September. He said: "This year, with Covid, and you know something else is going to happen down the line, we like to be a little bit cautious and thought why not." Victoria Jones said she was not "overly concerned" about any potential shortages. "We've gotten used to learning how to be content and survive anyway, so if we can survive a pandemic, we can survive a few shortages." You can see more about this story in Wales Live on the BBC iPlayer

['Christmas', 'Cowbridge', 'Retailing', 'Wales Brexit', 'Supermarkets', 'Brexit', 'Porthmadog', 'Haulage']

[{"entity": "Christmas", "label": "TIME"}]

Christmas

["Christmas", "Cowbridge", "Retailing", "Wales Brexit", "Supermarkets", "Brexit", "Porthmadog", "Haulage"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-42620379

Venezuela pill shortage triggers rise in teenage pregnancies

In downtown Barquisimeto, Margaret Khawan's pharmacy is looking a bit empty these days.

What products she does have she has spaced out along the shelves to make them look a bit fuller. Ms Khawan has not had any deliveries of contraceptive pills for a year. Every day people come looking for them and every day she has to turn them away. People are having to adapt. "It used to be just men buying condoms but women are buying them too now because there's nothing else," she says. "The price of condoms has gone up 200%." Across town, Darnellys Rodríguez is living the consequences of these shortages. She had her first baby when she was 15 years old. Then she had a second baby, and hoped that would be it, but then she got pregnant with her third. "My first reaction was to cry," she says. "Getting contraceptive pills is really hard. There's nothing and when you can get hold of them, the cost is beyond my reach." Financially it is a struggle. She lives with her children and partner in a corrugated iron shack in a poor neighbourhood of Barquisimeto. Now she is pregnant, she says her older boys have to go without clothes and shoes so she can pay for some of her medical tests. "I'm making plans to get sterilised," she says. "The idea of having another baby is too much." According to the United Nations Population Fund, around one in four babies in Venezuela is born to a teenager. The country has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Latin America. "It's a situation that's got worse in the last year," says Delia Mondragón, the vice-president of the Association of Family Planning in Lara state, where Barquisimeto is located. "It's especially hard for young people. A box of contraceptives could cost as much as what their parents earn [in a month], or even double that." Every weekday, her waiting room is full of women coming for advice or medical help. One of the other big concerns is malnutrition. Recent research suggests that three-quarters of Venezuelans lost weight in the past year, an average of 9kg (20lb). Watch: "They're not eating because the family doesn't have food, they don't have anything to eat." Ms Mondragón says. "So malnutrition is really severe. When they go to give birth, we're finding lots of malnourished girls." Women are often asked to bring a "kit" of medical supplies to the cash-strapped public hospitals. Gloves, antibiotics and robes to hand to the doctor before they give birth. There are no official statistics but paediatrician Dr Huniades Urbina Medina, the president of the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Paediatrics, says that of the births he attends, the vast majority are now unplanned. He says it is a public health emergency. "An adolescent at 12 or 13 or even 15 is a child giving birth to another child," he says. "They don't understand what it means to be a mother. It's like a play for them but it's a real problem for us paediatricians, for obstetrics, for the hospital, for the future of the country." Dr Urbina blames the problem squarely on the government. "When an adolescent gives birth, almost 80% leave school and that's a big problem," he says. "The government, instead of teaching sex education, gives you money if you are an adolescent mother, gives you a house. So a teenager thinks if she if gets pregnant, she can leave her house and become an adult." The BBC asked to speak to the health ministry but had no response. Betsimar Villalobos Reinosa is certainly growing up in 2017. She turned 15 and, like many Venezuelan girls, had a big party or quinceañera, marking her passage into womanhood. And in two months' time there is another important date: the birth of her daughter Josehanny Alicet. The family says her pregnancy was a surprise and a disappointment to them. But her mother Juana is practical and says she will do what she can to support her daughter. "I never imagined it would happen," she says. "There've been lots of young girls getting pregnant recently because of the crisis. Some girls try and find men because they're going hungry - they want somebody to provide for them." Betsimar wants to go back to school after the birth of Josehanny but there are no guarantees that will happen. "I'm afraid," she says. "Once I give birth, because it's hard to get contraceptives and condoms, I'm scared if I have sex I will get pregnant again."

['Women', 'Venezuela', 'Childbirth', 'Teenage pregnancy', 'Family planning', 'Contraception']

[{"entity": "Barquisimeto", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Margaret Khawan", "label": "PER"}]

Barquisimeto

["Women", "Venezuela", "Childbirth", "Teenage pregnancy", "Family planning", "Contraception"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32033246

Penrose Inquiry: The key questions over contaminated blood

The findings of

Thousands of people were infected with Hepatitis C and HIV through blood transfusions and blood products. The inquiry, led by a former High Court judge, has taken six years and cost about £12m to complete. Between 1970 and 1991, thousands of people were infected with Hepatitis C and/or HIV through blood products supplied by the NHS. The total number of victims is not known, but the Department of Health recently estimated it was 30,000 UK-wide. There are many unanswered questions surrounding this public health disaster. An inquiry was a key election promise of the SNP and was announced in 2007 when the SNP came to power. However, there was then a delay of nearly two years before the inquiry opened - a delay which was criticised by a senior Scottish judge. This is the first statutory inquiry in the UK - one with the power to force witnesses to give evidence. However, Lord Penrose did not have the power to summon witnesses from outside Scotland. This is a major limitation, since health policy before 1999 was controlled by Westminster and many crucial decisions were made by England-based politicians and civil servants. Hepatitis C is a virus which damages the liver. In the early stages most people are unaware they have the infection, and between 15-25% of people will clear the virus from their system naturally. For the remaining 75-85%, their health will gradually deteriorate. They may suffer jaundice, drowsiness, and pain. Drug treatments are effective in just over half of all cases, although new drugs are offering more effective cure rates. Twenty years after infection, approximately 15% to 20% of the remaining patients will develop cirrhosis or advanced liver disease, which is fatal without a liver transplant. Those infected with HIV as well as Hepatitis C develop cirrhosis sooner and have a higher risk of death. The first big question is whether the authorities did enough to protect people from becoming infected. Children being treated at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow for haemophilia were given plasma products sourced from paid donors in the US which were known to be high-risk. As a result, most were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C by the age of five. Also, the Scottish NHS continued to collect blood from prisoners for two years after it had been told to stop because of the increased risk. The NHS has always argued that it sought to protect patients in line with understanding at the time - knowledge of HIV and Hepatitis C was still emerging during the 1980s. The second big question is whether, once the risks became known, enough was done to warn people. Anyone who has received a blood transfusion before 1991 is at risk of Hepatitis C infection since blood donations were not screened before this date, yet no large-scale public warning has ever been issued. Early diagnosis is essential for the best chance of successful treatment. Even haemophiliacs who received high-risk clotting drugs were not warned of the dangers for many years - by which time they had unwittingly exposed their partners and family to the risk of infection. There are other questions which the inquiry won't address: in particular, why have the medical notes of so many of the victims gone missing, particularly the sections relating the crucial period of infection? Many victims want to see prosecutions, but this is unlikely. Lord Penrose said no individuals or institutions would be held criminally liable as a result of his inquiry. Three men who contracted Hepatitis C from blood transfusions have already begun a legal case to challenge the support available to them, and it is likely further legal action will follow. For several years, people infected with Hepatitis C have been eligible for payments from the UK government, depending on the stage of their illness. The government has always refused to call this compensation, since it maintains it was not to blame for the disaster. Many victims argue that the payments - of between £20,000 and £70,000 - are insufficient given that, even if they have survived, they cannot get life insurance or a mortgage and many are unable to work. Earlier this year that view was supported by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilic and Contaminated Blood, which found many victims were living in poverty and that support arrangements were inadequate. Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison is expected to make a statement to Holyrood on Thursday. The UK government says it is considering improvements to the support system.

['HIV & Aids']

[]

NoPresentEntity

["HIV & Aids"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48445934

Tiananmen Square: What happened in the protests of 1989?

Thirty years ago, Beijing's Tiananmen Square became the focus for large-scale protests, which were crushed by China's Communist rulers.

The events produced one of the most iconic photos of the 20th Century - a lone protester standing in front of a line of army tanks. In the 1980s, China was going through huge changes. The ruling Communist Party began to allow some private companies and foreign investment. Leader Deng Xiaoping hoped to boost the economy and raise living standards. However, the move brought with it corruption, while at the same time raising hopes for greater political openness. The Communist Party was divided between those urging more rapid change and hardliners wanting to maintain strict state control. In the mid-1980s, student-led protests started. Those taking part included people who had lived abroad and been exposed to new ideas and higher standards of living. In spring 1989, the protests grew, with demands for greater political freedom. Protesters were spurred on by the death of a leading politician, Hu Yaobang, who had overseen some of the economic and political changes. He had been pushed out of a top position in the party by political opponents two years earlier. Tens of thousands gathered on the day of Hu's funeral, in April, calling for greater freedom of speech and less censorship. In the following weeks, protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square, with numbers estimated to be up to one million at their largest. The square is one of Beijing's most famous landmarks. At first, the government took no direct action against the protesters. Party officials disagreed on how to respond, some backing concessions, others wanting to take a harder line. The hardliners won the debate, and in the last two weeks of May, martial law was declared in Beijing. On 3 to 4 June, troops began to move towards Tiananmen Square, opening fire, crushing and arresting protesters to regain control of the area. On 5 June, a man faced down a line of tanks heading away from the square. He was carrying two shopping bags and was filmed walking to block the tanks from moving past. He was pulled away by two men. It's not known what happened to him but he's become the defining image of the protests. No-one knows for sure how many people were killed. At the end of June 1989, the Chinese government said 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel had died. Other estimates have ranged from hundreds to many thousands. In 2017, newly released UK documents revealed that a diplomatic cable from then British Ambassador to China, Sir Alan Donald, had said that 10,000 had died. Discussion of the events that took place in Tiananmen Square is highly sensitive in China. Posts relating to the massacres are regularly removed from the internet, tightly controlled by the government. So, for a younger generation who didn't live through the protests, there is little awareness about what happened.

['Tiananmen Square', 'Tiananmen Square protests of 1989', 'China', 'Democracy in China', 'Beijing']

[{"entity": "Beijing", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Tiananmen Square", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "China", "label": "LOC"}]

Beijing ||| Tiananmen Square ||| China

["Tiananmen Square", "Tiananmen Square protests of 1989", "China", "Democracy in China", "Beijing"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-38827581

Ambulance-wait man 'in rain' in Cheddar for four hours

An elderly man was left lying in a gutter for four hours with a broken hip while waiting for an ambulance, his family said.

They claim they were told not to move Dennis Welchman, 75, after he fell in Cheddar, Somerset on Tuesday night. South Western Ambulance Service (SWAS) said it was given conflicting information about his injuries. A spokesman added staff were called out to two life-threatening emergencies in Cheddar at the time. Mr Welchman fell while getting out of his car at about 16:00 GMT and a passer-by called the emergency services. The family said three more 999 calls were made before the ambulance crew arrived at 19:45. SWAS said in the first call they were told a man had fallen but was uninjured and did not want an ambulance to attend. Mr Welchman's daughter, Carren Chew, said: "Four hours, that's exceptional, it's out of order." His son, Neil Welchman, said: "He has been lying in the middle of the road in the soaking wet and it's taken this long to get an ambulance there - it's disgusting." When I arrived at the scene, the patient was being treated in the ambulance. The rain was easing off but it had been pretty heavy for some time. I spoke to Neil Welchman, the son of the patient, who was clearly distressed. He told me his father Dennis had been lying by the side of the road in a pool of water for hours. This call would not have been considered life-threatening and therefore there is no target time for such callouts. However, his family feel, given the circumstances, it should have been much sooner. A spokesman for SWAS said because Mr Welchman was conscious and breathing, the call was categorised as "priority three" which means it is "not immediately life-threatening". "Owing to the volume of calls the ambulance service is dealing with - more than 500 additional calls every day than five years ago - it is necessary to prioritise our resources to patients who are unconscious and not breathing," the spokesman added. "Unfortunately, there are occasions like this where we take longer to reach patients than we would like."

['South Western Ambulance Service', 'NHS', 'Cheddar']

[{"entity": "broken hip", "label": "DIS"}]

NoPresentEntity

["South Western Ambulance Service", "NHS", "Cheddar"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31855535

'Long struggle' warning on climate

America’s chief climate negotiator has warned of the long battle ahead to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Todd Stern told BBC News that by the end of the month, he expects the US to make a “quite ambitious” declaration on climate change. He praised China’s projected offer to the December climate summit in Paris. But he said the conference would not itself solve the climate problem. That, he argued, would need ongoing effort over decades. Nations are desperate for the Paris meeting to avoid a repeat of the shambolic gathering in Copenhagen in 2009 that failed in its billing as the summit to save the planet. This time, rich nations have agreed to make their offers well in advance to reduce the chance of last-minute chaos. The EU has already offered a 40% cut on 1990 levels by 2030. The US will soon offer – probably a 26-28% reduction below 2005 levels by 2025. Comparison is hard because of different baselines, but some experts say the two appear roughly comparable in terms of effort. China is expected to offer to peak emissions by 2030 at the latest, and to produce 20% of its energy from nuclear and renewables by the same date. Mr Stern said: “You can look at the US, the EU, China - you could say I wish they did a little more than that, but that is a significant target the Chinese have announced. It’s not perfect - but then nobody’s is.” He warned against expectations that the Paris summit would produce an agreement to keep global temperature rise within 2C. “The two-degree goal will be reached if countries execute a deep decarbonisation of their economies over a significant period of time," he said. “So what will we see from this agreement, if we get what I would like? We’ll get strong initial targets. They are not going to be everything everybody wants but I want to caution people against looking at this agreement from a 2015 snapshot.” China’s commitment to add 800 gigawatts of renewables or nuclear was “really impressive,” he said. “This is an enormous amount – more than all the coal used in China now. To put it in perspective, the entire US energy system is about 1,100 gigawatts.” I first met Mr Stern when he was advising President Clinton on climate policy. I asked if he felt positive about progress since then. He replied: “I think we have come quite far but there is quite far to go. In the US, more has happened to developing technologies and putting in place regulations that will drive the energy transformation. That has never happened before. “On the international agreement, there has been a lot of movement and we have a historic opportunity to deliver an important agreement in which all countries are genuinely part of the regime and taking action that’s ambitious and rules-based, fair and durable. If we do this right, it will send a message to markets that we are on a path to action and there’s no going back.” The US has recently begun to turn the screw on the other great power, India, which has declined to offer climate targets because it says India is too under-developed to make promises to cut emissions. Pressure from the other powers is unwelcome in Delhi. “This is the pot calling the kettle black”, Kirit Parikh, a former member of India’s planning commission, told BBC News. “China is saying it will peak in 2030 but not what level it will peak, and not when it will reduce emissions away from that peak,” he said. They could hit a peak and stay there. This is just an illusion of progress.” His comments sound an alarm bell for Paris. The great economic blocs may be back-patting at their mutual efforts – but the summit is supposed to embrace all nations. Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan working for Christian Aid, said: “The initial commitments from the big polluters are inadequate – they won’t put the world on the path to two degrees. Anyway, two degrees is too much for Africa – we are already seeing terrifying impacts after only 0.8 degree level of warming; that means adapt or die for parts of Africa and we can’t accept that.” The great powers are likely to keep their promise to put their targets up for scrutiny this month - but when that happens it's them who will become the targets. Follow Roger on Twitter

['Climate change', 'Renewable energy']

[{"entity": "America", "label": "LOC"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Climate change", "Renewable energy"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58499900

Plea to religious leaders follows fiancé's suicide

A man whose fiancé took his own life after his religious family refused to accept his sexuality is pleading with religious leaders to help improve relationships between LGBT+ children and their parents.

Nazim Mahmood hid his relationship for 13 years. Two days after coming out to his parents, he took his own life. His death led partner Matt Mahmood-Ogston to consider killing himself too. As a result, Matt set up a charity to help others in a similar situation. The Naz and Matt Foundation aims to "prevent any religion from coming between the unconditional love of a parent and child". Matt has written an open letter to religious leaders in the UK, pleading with them for to help improve relationships between LGBT+ children and their parents. Recent research by Maru/Blue, commissioned by the charity, suggests that nearly two in three LGBT+ people from religious backgrounds struggle with suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression as a result of not being accepted by their parents. The couple met in 2001 but Matt says Naz feared coming out to his parents, worried there would be consequences. In 2014, after returning to his home city of Birmingham from the couple's London home to celebrate Eid, Naz was confronted about his sexuality for the first time and decided to tell his family he was in love with a man. "Their reaction was to tell him to go to a psychiatrist [to be 'cured' of being gay]. They treated him like he was a disease who needed to be removed from that family," Matt said. It was at that moment that Matt says he began to understand that their future was "beginning to unwind". "I got a call to come home. As I turned into the street, I saw the police car, the police tape, the crowds gathered," he said. "That's when I began to realise that my Naz, my happiness and my soulmate, was no longer here." Matt is asking religious leaders to speak out against all attempts to force conversion therapy on a person, or attempts to lean on someone to change or suppress their sexuality or gender identity in any way. He said he hoped to help "give parents the tools to help them understand and accept their own children". Matt said: "Naz was the most beautiful, caring, loving person. He was a much-loved GP in the community - his patients loved him. All he really wanted in life was just to be happy. "He knew he could never come out to his parents because he feared what would happen if they knew he was gay. We realised that to be ourselves, to be together, we would have to run away from our home city of Birmingham to the bright lights of London, free from the fear of being discovered." Matt, who hopes that his pain can help other people, said: "I want this problem to go away. And this letter is a step towards having more conversations. "My message to LGBTQI+ individuals and their parents is to sign this letter, to work with religious leaders to make our communities a more accepting place to live." He hopes the letter will be a small step forward towards lasting change and ensure his fiancé did not die in vain. Matt said: "He spent his whole life helping other people. I just hope the work we're doing is contributing to his legacy. "I want the world to never forget Naz and why he died so early." The BBC Action Line has details of organisations offering information and support if you, or someone you know, has been affected by the issues raised in this story

['Birmingham', 'Suicide prevention', 'LGBT', 'Mental health']

[]

NoPresentEntity

["Birmingham", "Suicide prevention", "LGBT", "Mental health"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-51148801

Edinburgh brothers set rowing world records in the Atlantic

Three brothers from Scotland have set three world records after rowing the Atlantic Ocean in just 35 days.

Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan MacLean are the first three brothers to row any ocean, and the youngest trio and the fastest trio to ever row the Atlantic. They set off from La Gomera, in the Canary Islands on 12 December and have now completed the 3,000-mile trip to Antigua. Previously, the fastest a trio had ever rowed the Atlantic Ocean was 41 days. The MacLean brothers, known as Broar, overcame seasickness, battery issues, storms, dehydration and exhaustion to reach Antigua in record time. Originally from Edinburgh, the brothers finished third overall (first among trios) in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, beating many teams of four and five. They had to row the last 20 days without any music, podcasts or audiobooks, as their iPhone cables succumbed to damage caused by a combination of sun and seawater. However, being musicians, they kept themselves entertained with a bagpipe, harmonica and ukelele on board. Jamie and Lachlan, students at the Glasgow University and Glasgow School of Art respectively, convinced their brother Ewan, a design engineer for Dyson in Bristol, to take a sabbatical from work to make this world record attempt. The 27-year-old said: "They had to twist my arm but I will be forever grateful to my brothers for convincing me to do this. "This was, without doubt, the defining experience of my life. It was incredibly difficult but the way we came together, the way our bodies and minds coped with every single challenge, will stay with me for a long time. "It definitely tested our relationship, but it was remarkable how we were able to lift each other up as we struggled. It's brought us closer together, although I am looking forward to getting to see and talk to some different people." The MacLean brothers developed a love for the outdoors during summers spent in Nedd in Sutherland. Once they come home to Scotland, they plan to head back to Nedd to plan their next adventure. They completed the challenge in 35 days nine hours and nine minutes. They are hoping to raise £250,000 for Feedback Madagascar and Children First.

['University of Glasgow', 'Nedd', 'Edinburgh', 'World records', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Antigua and Barbuda', 'Glasgow', 'Glasgow School of Art']

[{"entity": "Scotland", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Atlantic Ocean", "label": "LOC"}]

Scotland ||| Atlantic Ocean

["University of Glasgow", "Nedd", "Edinburgh", "World records", "Atlantic Ocean", "Antigua and Barbuda", "Glasgow", "Glasgow School of Art"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39664212

Borussia Dortmund bombs: 'Speculator' charged with bus attack

Police in Germany have charged a man suspected of being behind an attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus.

Rather than having links to radical Islamism, he was a market trader hoping to make money if the price of shares in the team fell, prosecutors say. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder, triggering explosions and causing serious physical injury. He has been identified only as Sergej W, and was staying in the team's hotel overlooking the scene of the attack. Two people needed medical help after three bombs exploded near the bus. Spanish footballer Marc Bartra underwent wrist surgery and a police officer was treated for shock. Following the attack on 11 April, Borussia Dortmund's home Champions League match against Monaco was rescheduled a day later, which led Dortmund fans to open their doors to stranded away supporters. Police initially treated the blast as a terrorist attack. However, the following week, investigators cast "significant doubt" on jihadist motivations being behind it. They now say the attack was in fact motivated by financial greed. Sergej W, 28, would have made about €3.9m euros ($4.2m; £3.2m) from his actions, Germany's Bild newspaper reported. In a statement on Friday (in German), the German federal prosecutor's office said he has German and Russian nationality. He was arrested on Friday near Tubingen in Rottenburg, south-west Germany. The suspect had allegedly bought 15,000 put options on Borussia Dortmund shares - reportedly priced at €78,000 (£65,000; $83,600) - betting that they would drop sharply after the attack. He would have made large profits if the team's share price collapsed. Experts have likened the alleged plot to a sophisticated form of insider trading - because he tried to use information not widely available to the public to make money quickly. He was staying at the team's L'Arrivée hotel in Dortmund on the day of the attack and had moved to a room on the top floor, overlooking the street where it took place, prosecutors say. The suspect placed the bet on 11 April using an IP address traced to the hotel, after taking out a loan for the money. Investigators believe three explosive devices packed with metal pins were hidden in a hedge and set off as the bus passed. The bus was damaged about six miles from the Westfalenstadion - officially called Signal Iduna Park - in Dortmund about 90 minutes before kick-off. Pictures from the scene showed its windows broken and its tyres burst.

['Germany']

[{"entity": "Germany", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Borussia Dortmund", "label": "ORG"}]

Germany ||| Borussia Dortmund

["Germany"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-41433932

Star Wars filming request turned down by Queen's Crown Estate

A Star Wars request to film on land owned by the Queen was turned down, it has been revealed.

The Crown Estate said no to the film franchise when it wanted to film scenes at Windsor Great Park, Berkshire. An estate spokesman said the planned scenes were not suitable for the park, adding: "Our head isn't turned by star names or star films." Part of the 5,000-acre park was recently used for the new Winnie-the-Pooh film, Goodbye Christopher Robin. The Star Wars revelation came as the Crown Estate's head of commercial operations, Nick Day, spoke to the BBC about a forest in the park being used as the 100 Acre Wood, the home of Pooh and his chums. Mr Day said: "Star Wars was just such a huge thing that the risk for the park was just too great. "The location they were interested in wasn't suitable for large numbers of people in there. "Our priority is to maintain and protect Windsor Great Park and we can facilitate film crews if we're sure the risk to the park is minimal. "But Star Wars is a huge machine, and there's also massive outside interest in those sort of things. It wasn't right for here." He added Windsor Great Park, which has different areas including park land, forests and open farmland, is often a popular location for films being shot at nearby Pinewood Studios. He would not reveal the Star Wars film in question, out of discretion, but said he was approached "a few years ago". In recent years, the park's Obelisk Pond transformed into a part of the River Congo for The Legend Of Tarzan, and a farmer's field was used to film a rock concert scene in Bridget Jones's Baby. But Mr Day said he turns down at least "eight out of 10" film location requests, no matter how big budget the movie is. He said: "If it doesn't work for here then, no matter who you are, I'm afraid that dollars, bright lights and names don't sway us."

['Windsor', 'Star Wars']

[{"entity": "Star Wars", "label": "MEDIA"}]

Star Wars

["Windsor", "Star Wars"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38205042

'My baby isn't dead, she was stolen from me'

More than two years after doctors at a clinic in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata told her that her newborn had died, Kanon Sarkar believes that her baby girl is still alive.

On a summer evening in July 2014, the clinic handed her family the corpse of an infant, tightly wrapped in white cloth, and told them to go home. The grief-stricken family returned to their village, some 100km (60 miles) from the city, and following Hindu tradition, immersed the infant's body in a river skirting the village. A year later, the parents burned the death certificate "to forget the bad memories". "Now I am convinced that my newborn baby was stolen and sold. And I was given somebody else's dead baby," Mrs Sarkar, 27, told the BBC, welling up, outside her sparse home in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. Her suspicions were aroused when news of a baby trafficking racket emerged in mid-November. Detectives belonging to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) raided a grubby nursing home in Baduria, 80km from Kolkata, and rescued three newborns from cardboard biscuit boxes. The babies were meant to be sent to a Christian charity in the neighbourhood, from where they would be sold to childless couples. Days later, there were more appalling developments. Ten more babies - all female, aged between one and nine months - were rescued from a home for the mentally ill near Kolkata. The babies were wrapped in rags and visibly undernourished. Some were suffering from bed sores, and at least one was vomiting milk, Jahanara Bibi, the caretaker of the home, told us. The dark story took a chilling turn when two skeletons of infants were exhumed from small graves when detectives raided the Christian charity, which doubled as a free clinic and school for children. The detectives believe the infants died after falling sick in transit and were buried in a garden and a field. "There could be more graves here, who knows," said Bijon Ghosh, a local policeman. The police soon announced that they had unearthed a baby-trafficking racket. "It appears to be pretty big operation. We suspect 45-50 babies may have been trafficked and sold to childless couples," Rajesh Kumar, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), told me. Thirteen babies - 10 girls and three boys - have been rescued, three nursing homes shut down and 20 people arrested so far. They include nurses, midwives, middlemen, clerks who allegedly faked adoption certificates and the people who ran the nursing home that was raided, the charity and the home for the mentally ill. Also arrested were three doctors, one of whom bore the same name as the one tasked with Mrs Sarkar's delivery. He had accompanied her and the baby to a nursing home in Kolkata on the fateful day after telling her that the newborn needed specialised treatment for an unexplained heart condition. Mrs Sarkar's husband, Ashish, heard the news about the doctor's arrest on TV news and called up the toll free police number in Kolkata. They asked him to call the CID. There, they put the line through to a detective, who asked him to rush to the city and identify the doctor. "So I went to Kolkata and identified the doctor. When I confronted him in front of the police, he said he had only accompanied us to the nursing home in Kolkata so that our baby could get better treatment," Mr Sarkar, 37, a construction contractor, told us. The so-called doctor had been referred to the Sarkars by a relative, whose children he had delivered. Although he had no formal qualifications, he had been carrying out normal deliveries at his home for as cheaply as 3,500 rupees ($51; £40). The Sarkars called him their "family doctor". Five ultrasound scans had confirmed that the foetus was in good health and developing well. When Mrs Sarkar had her labour pains early on a July morning in 2014, she had been taken to him. He had given her an injection, and taken her over bumpy village roads to a nursing home, some 30km away, for the delivery. Four hours later, she gave birth to a baby girl. Things began going "suspiciously" wrong after that, the Sarkars recollect. A man at the nursing home who described himself as a paediatrician told the family, "without conducting any tests", that the baby had a "hole in the heart and other abnormalities". He said the infant needed to be urgently rushed to a clinic in Kolkata for treatment. The "family doctor", he insisted, would accompany the mother and the baby. Mrs Sarkar said she cradled her newborn the long journey through a gridlocked, narrow highway to the city. "I was feeding her, she was smiling, crying, flailing her arms, behaving like a normal baby. I couldn't make out how they were telling me that she was sick." What happened in the clinic in Kolkata was even more intriguing. First, a paediatrician appeared, checked the baby and told the parents "there was nothing wrong" with her. Then the "family doctor" went inside and brought out a friend who overturned the diagnosis and told the family that the infant needed to be admitted for tests. The family left the clinic before midnight, leaving the baby and mother behind. The next morning, Mr Sarkar received a call from the clinic with the news that their baby had died. That evening, they were handed a corpse and asked to go home. "The dead baby appeared to be longer than my sister's girl, and looked bloated," says Ujjal Bala, Mrs Sarkar's brother. Looking back, the family believes that the doctors need to answer several questions. "They told my husband that my baby died half an hour after he left the hospital. Why did they wait until the next morning to inform him? Why did the first doctor at the Kolkata clinic tell us that she was fine? Why didn't they conduct any tests on my baby when they kept telling us she had a heart problem? How was the baby healthy on the journey if she was so sick?" wonders Mrs Sarkar. These are all good questions, say the detectives investigating the case. They have described the "family doctor" as the alleged mastermind of the racket and are investigating whether the Sarkars were given somebody else's dead baby, while their baby was sold. "The doctor is definitely under the scanner," Mr Kumar of the CID said. "We have received one more similar complaint against him from another couple. It is all very fishy." The latest episode of baby trafficking exposes many serious issues in modern India. In a country with tough adoption laws and a long waiting list for those who want to adopt - there were only 3,011 legal adoptions in the country during the 2015-2016 financial year against a waiting list of 12,000 couples - desperate, childless would-be parents buy babies from a countrywide illegal market. The racket also illuminates how abject poverty forces poor mothers to sell their babies, and how how unwed mothers are duped by touts and shady clinics to deliver their babies, and give them away for a pittance. It reveals the familiarly odious gender and colour biases. Fair-skinned baby boys fetched the highest prices - up to 700,000 rupees ($10,257; £8,070) according to police - and dark-skinned girls the lowest. All the 10 babies rescued from the home in Kolkata were dark-skinned girls. And the mushrooming of unlicensed nursing homes and lack of adequate public health services means that unscrupulous clinics and doctors can easily prey on the poor. Back in the village, Mrs Sarkar believes she will be reunited with her baby. "My nine-year-old daughter Ananya has begun asking me: 'When will my little sister come home?' I want an answer too."

['Asia', 'India', 'Adoption']

[{"entity": "Indian", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Kolkata", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Kanon Sarkar", "label": "PER"}]

Kolkata

["Asia", "India", "Adoption"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56416855

P&O Cruises says travellers will need vaccinations

P&O Cruises has said that anyone wanting to take its cruises around the British Isles this summer will need to be vaccinated first.

Travellers will have to prove that they have had two coronavirus jabs to take the trips which depart from June. Saga Cruises and Virgin Voyages in the US have made similar moves recently. It comes amid renewed fears about the damaged travel industry, with airports warning that summer 2020 passenger numbers were their lowest since 1975. P&O Cruises, which is part of the Carnival group, will run trips on two ships this summer. The Britannia will cruise from Southampton along the south coast of England for three or four days, and the Iona will travel up to Scotland from Southampton for seven-day trips. Carnival said that passengers wishing to board would have to have had both vaccination jabs at least a week before departure. Guests will also have to have travel insurance that "must include medical and repatriation cover" and medical expenses related to Covid-19. Guests and crew will be expected to respect social distancing rules and wear masks when appropriate. And should anyone test positive on board, they will be isolated and quarantined. Paul Ludlow, the president of P&O Cruises, said Carnival expected a government-approved way to prove people had been vaccinated by the summer. "This is moving at pace," he said. "We anticipate by the 27 June, which is our first sailing, there will be a government-accredited scheme to prove your vaccination, but at the very least, then of course, a letter from your GP would suffice." He said that P&O Cruises was "in close conversation with government every day" about travellers being able to prove their vaccination status. "At the moment we're stipulating that all guests of all ages must be vaccinated to come on board with us," Mr Ludlow added. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said it was leading efforts "to develop a framework that can safely facilitate international travel when the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants". Carnival follows Saga cruises, which said in January that all customers had to be vaccinated. British Airways also plans to let people register when they have had two vaccinations on a smartphone app. Carnival has not run cruises for a year due to the coronavirus crisis. The cruise industry was brought to its knees after regulators around the world stopped ships from sailing to try to limit outbreaks. There were a number of deaths from Covid-19 after people were infected on board Carnival ships early last year. The first UK citizen to die of coronavirus was infected on the Carnival-run Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. At the time, the outbreak on the ship was the largest outside mainland China, with more than 600 people infected. Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, said "a lot is unusual" about the "staycation" cruises P&O is planning. "Because the voyages are 'cruises to nowhere', the captains will look at the weather forecast and aim to sail where it is warm and sunny," he said. He added the P&O concept is "you can look but you can't touch". "On a voyage around the Scottish islands, for example, Iona will anchor off Iona, the magical island after which she was named, but you can't step ashore," he said. Doing this circumvents all kinds of problems, he said. "There are concerns about shore excursions. Some ports of call may not welcome hundreds of people from a wide range of locations wandering around, and conversely some cruise lines do not want their passengers to mingle with locals - MSC Cruises has made it a condition of travel," he said. Carnival has been burning through cash and last quarter said it had made a net loss of $2.2bn. Airport operators have also been on the ropes due to the coronavirus crisis. They said on Wednesday that passenger numbers travelling through UK airports last summer plunged to their lowest level since 1975. Airport Operators Association chief executive Karen Dee called for tailored government support. "Despite dealing with the biggest crisis in their history, most airports remain operational to support vital public services, such as Royal Mail, air ambulances, Coastguard and the National Police Air Service, as well as other critical services such as freight, including PPE and vaccines," she said. The Unite union also called for tailored support, saying that more than 5,100 UK aviation and related jobs have been lost every month since February 2020. Unite assistant general secretary for transport Diana Holland said: "It has been heart-breaking to see so many UK jobs go in aviation when we know that demand will come back. "A staggering number of workers in the sector are now unemployed but when we look across the Channel, we see that a different approach from governments actually saves these jobs." The government has previously said that it has provided unprecedented support to businesses across sectors of the economy including aviation. A spokesperson told the BBC the government was committed to restarting cruise travel when it is safe to do so, and is working closely with the sector to prepare for a safe and successful restart. "We have put in place an unprecedented package of business support and recently extended government-backed loans and furlough payments to businesses, including in the travel industry. "Around £7bn has been pledged to the aviation sector since the start of the pandemic, and through the Global Travel Taskforce we are working hard to restart international travel when it is safe to do so," the spokesperson said.

['Tourism', 'Cruise ships', 'Southampton', 'Coronavirus pandemic']

[{"entity": "P&O Cruises", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "British Isles", "label": "LOC"}]

P&O Cruises

["Tourism", "Cruise ships", "Southampton", "Coronavirus pandemic"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34196426

Star Wars and Action Man: The rise and fall of Palitoy

Action Man, Care Bears and Star Wars figures were toys almost every British child in the 1970s and 80s couldn't wait to get their hands on. So why did Palitoy, the company that made them, fall into decline?

They were once the must-have playthings coveted by children across the UK. Christmases and birthdays were rarely complete without the presence of an Action Man, a Care Bear, a Tiny Tears doll or a Star Wars figurine. All of these toys were made at Palitoy - a company based in the industrial town of Coalville, in Leicestershire. Yet at the height of its selling powers, the firm was being wound down and closed. What led to its demise? The company, originally named Cascelloid, was founded in 1919 by a man named Alfred Pallett. The toy division, which produced toy windmills and baby rattles, became part of a larger plastics factory. By the 1950s and 60s, Cascelloid's toy section was performing strongly and it created a separate toy division named Palitoy - a nod to the company's founder. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s brands such as Spirograph, Airfix and Tiny Tears were really taking off. Alongside them was one of Palitoy's most enduringly popular toys - Action Man. Launched in 1966, Action Man was originally based on the American toy G I Joe. But the design was inherently British, with Action Man driving Land Rovers and Scorpion Tanks and wearing anything from a Grenadier Guards uniform to a Manchester United strip. And the character's most famous feature, his gripping hand, also had its origins close to home. Former chief toy designer Bob Brechin said he modelled the body part on his own. "We turned him into a British toy," he said. "We came up with the idea of giving him hair on his head, rather than just painted hair, and gave him his distinctive gripping hand." All of this home-grown success brought Palitoy to the attention of the international market and in 1968 it was sold to the US giant General Mills, which already owned other toy producers. By the late 70s, the success of Action Man meant expansion for the business, with sales topping 20 million. Palitoy was producing many of its figures on licence, meaning it manufactured other companies' ideas and paid for the privilege. One of the most successful franchises it took on was Star Wars, which became the company's biggest-ever seller. The firm was responsible for the redesign of some Star Wars products for a UK audience, including a cardboard, self-assembly version of the Death Star. Mr Brechin said the plastic playset was originally considered too expensive for the British market. Nowadays, the card Death Star is hugely collectable. "I am really chuffed that the collectors, even in the States, are so keen on our design," Mr Brechin said. But behind the cuddly toys and action figures, a corporate strategy was at work that would spell the end for the company. By the early 80s, the production of most of the toys had shifted to Hong Kong. It was a cheaper process, but the beginning of the end for Palitoy. The first two years of the decade saw redundancies within the company, despite the fact that, by 1983, it held between 10 and 15% of the British toy market. In 1984, Palitoy's design and development departments were shut down when General Mills decided to abandon all European product development. Although many of the lines continued to be manufactured by other producers, Palitoy, in effect, became a marketing company, repackaging products designed in the United States for European markets. By 1986 it had ceased trading, and in 1994 the Coalville site was eventually closed, although production had ended there many years earlier. Yet today the Palitoy name is big business once again - this time, at collectors' markets. One Star Wars figure, the bounty hunter Boba Fett, sold for £18,000 at auction, which experts say is a world record for an action toy. "It's crazy, the prices they fetch," said Mr Brechin. "You can't believe people are collecting things that were just work to us. "I just wish I had kept a few." Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One East Midlands at 19:30 on Monday 14 September and nationwide for 30 days thereafter on the iPlayer. They were once the must-have playthings coveted by children across the UK. Christmases and birthdays were rarely complete without the presence of an Action Man, a Care Bear, a Tiny Tears doll or a Star Wars figurine. All of these toys were made at Palitoy - a company based in the industrial town of Coalville, in Leicestershire. Yet at the height of its selling powers, the firm was being wound down and closed. What led to its demise? The company, originally named Cascelloid, was founded in 1919 by a man named Alfred Pallett. The toy division, which produced toy windmills and baby rattles, became part of a larger plastics factory. By the 1950s and 60s, Cascelloid's toy section was performing strongly and it created a separate toy division named Palitoy - a nod to the company's founder. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s brands such as Spirograph, Airfix and Tiny Tears were really taking off. Alongside them was one of Palitoy's most enduringly popular toys - Action Man. Launched in 1966, Action Man was originally based on the American toy G I Joe. But the design was inherently British, with Action Man driving Land Rovers and Scorpion Tanks and wearing anything from a Grenadier Guards uniform to a Manchester United strip. And the character's most famous feature, his gripping hand, also had its origins close to home. Former chief toy designer Bob Brechin said he modelled the body part on his own. "We turned him into a British toy," he said. "We came up with the idea of giving him hair on his head, rather than just painted hair, and gave him his distinctive gripping hand." All of this home-grown success brought Palitoy to the attention of the international market and in 1968 it was sold to the US giant General Mills, which already owned other toy producers. By the late 70s, the success of Action Man meant expansion for the business, with sales topping 20 million. Palitoy was producing many of its figures on licence, meaning it manufactured other companies' ideas and paid for the privilege. One of the most successful franchises it took on was Star Wars, which became the company's biggest-ever seller. The firm was responsible for the redesign of some Star Wars products for a UK audience, including a cardboard, self-assembly version of the Death Star. Mr Brechin said the plastic playset was originally considered too expensive for the British market. Nowadays, the card Death Star is hugely collectable. "I am really chuffed that the collectors, even in the States, are so keen on our design," Mr Brechin said. But behind the cuddly toys and action figures, a corporate strategy was at work that would spell the end for the company. By the early 80s, the production of most of the toys had shifted to Hong Kong. It was a cheaper process, but the beginning of the end for Palitoy. The first two years of the decade saw redundancies within the company, despite the fact that, by 1983, it held between 10 and 15% of the British toy market. In 1984, Palitoy's design and development departments were shut down when General Mills decided to abandon all European product development. Although many of the lines continued to be manufactured by other producers, Palitoy, in effect, became a marketing company, repackaging products designed in the United States for European markets. By 1986 it had ceased trading, and in 1994 the Coalville site was eventually closed, although production had ended there many years earlier. Yet today the Palitoy name is big business once again - this time, at collectors' markets. One Star Wars figure, the bounty hunter Boba Fett, sold for £18,000 at auction, which experts say is a world record for an action toy. "It's crazy, the prices they fetch," said Mr Brechin. "You can't believe people are collecting things that were just work to us. "I just wish I had kept a few." Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One East Midlands at 19:30 on Monday 14 September and nationwide for 30 days thereafter on the iPlayer.

['Companies', 'Children', 'Toys', 'Coalville', 'Star Wars']

[{"entity": "Action Man", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Care Bears", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Star Wars", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Palitoy", "label": "ORG"}]

Action Man ||| Star Wars ||| Palitoy

["Companies", "Children", "Toys", "Coalville", "Star Wars"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-28241779

Blantyre House: Robbers Shaine Tester and Sean Horsley abscond

Two men serving sentences for robbery have absconded from a prison in Kent.

Shaine Tester, 25, and Sean Horsley, 45, failed to attend a roll call at Blantyre House Prison in Goudhurst on Wednesday. Blantyre is a 120-capacity category C/D open prison designed to prepare men for their eventual release. Both men are described as slim with short brown hair. Tester has a London accent, while Horsley may have his left ear pierced. Anyone who has seen the two offenders is asked to contact Kent Police.

['Goudhurst']

[{"entity": "Kent", "label": "LOC"}]

Kent

["Goudhurst"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-37649387

Ivy Atkin death: 'Unlawful killing' over care resident death

An 86-year-old care home resident who weighed just 4st when she died was unlawfully killed, an inquest finds.

Ivy Atkin died of pneumonia in November 2012 after being transferred from Autumn Grange home in Nottingham. Yousaf Khan, the owner of the home, was jailed in February for gross negligence manslaughter over her death. Health inspectors were criticised by the Nottinghamshire Assistant Coroner for "missing opportunities" to uncover conditions at the home. More on this story and more news in Nottinghamshire Assistant coroner Stephanie Haskey said there had been a "degree of failure" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In a statement, Sue Howard, CQC's deputy chief inspector for adult social care, said: "The level of care at Autumn Grange was unacceptable and our inspectors were truly shocked by what they found. "We took urgent action in November 2012 to ensure the safety and welfare of people using the service, with our partner agencies, and cancelled the home's registration, which closed the home." Ms Haskey said in the light of concerns raised about conditions at the home, the inspection "should have been more rigorous" and inspectors failed to "be proactive". In February 2012, the home had a warning about infection control and cleanliness, the inquest was told. Six months later, a staff member said there was no Criminal Records Bureau check on her while she worked there. Then in October, there was a fight between two residents where one was injured and taken to hospital. Mrs Atkin and the other residents were moved out on 4 November after a snap inspection, but she died on 22 November. The inquest also heard Mrs Atkin died from pneumonia as a result of debilitation and low body mass index (BMI), contributed to by dementia. Her BMI was just 10.7, while the healthy weight range is between 18.5 and 24.9. On Wednesday, inspector Lesley White told the inquest that during her inspection weeks before Mrs Atkin died, residents were "sat in dirty clothes, in their own urine". However, Mrs White said she had not "missed anything" in an inspection in September and that a home could go "downhill quickly". Ms Howard added: "We acknowledge the coroner's comments about aspects of our response to the level of poor care being provided at Autumn Grange during September and October of 2012. "Since this time, as was recognised by the coroner, CQC's approach to monitoring and inspecting adult social care has changed and is now far more robust. "We have more inspectors with greater expertise and we are working more closely with our local partners to respond to concerns." After the inquest Nottingham City Council said they expected very high standards from care homes and if anyone was concerned about care their complaints "would be looked into as a matter of urgency".

['Nottingham']

[]

NoPresentEntity

["Nottingham"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36704791

Turks hit back at Erdogan plan to give Syrians citizenship

"I am sorry but I don't want unregulated Syrian immigrants in my country. Turkey is not a refugee camp,"

That view from one Turkish Twitter user summed up the response of many to a remark on Sunday by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Syrian refugees living in Turkey could eventually be granted citizenship. Mr Erdogan didn't explain how this would actually happen, whether all the Syrians would be eligible to apply for citizenship or on what criteria. It was all left rather vague. But still his pledge sparked huge reaction on social media. A hashtag targeting Syrian migrants became one of the trending topics worldwide on Twitter: #UlkemdeSuriyeliIstemiyorum means simply "I don't want Syrians in my country". "Granting citizenship to almost three million people just like that? That's unheard of," says immigration expert Murat Erdogan. "Turkey has not implemented a policy of integration up until now. If we soon grant citizenship and if all this procedure is not well managed, this could lead to serious tensions within communities," he warns. Turkey has adopted an open-door policy towards Syrians since the uprising began five years ago in their home country. Currently, there are more than 2.7 million Syrians living in Turkey. They are not granted refugee status, but legally are regarded as "guests" under a temporary protection regime provided by the 1951 Geneva Convention. Around 10% of Syrian migrants in Turkey live in over 20 refugee camps built across Turkey. The rest reside in urban cities, frequently in dire conditions. "This will have a psychological impact on the Syrians in Turkey. I believe they will try more to abide by the rules and stay away from crime in order to earn the right to apply for citizenship," says İbrahim Kavlak from the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants. "I think this would also decrease the temptation amongst the migrants to travel to Europe," he argues. The European Union and Turkey reached a deal in March this year to stem the flow of migrants to Europe. Under that deal, Brussels pledged to give €6bn ($6.7bn; £5bn) in aid to Ankara to increase the living standards of Syrian migrants in Turkey. "If Syrians are granted citizenship, why would Europe give financial support to Turkey?" asks Murat Erdogan. He believes such a move would deter Brussels from lifting visa restrictions against Turkish citizens - one of the major demands of Ankara under the migrant deal. "If we give each and every Syrian Turkish passports and say 'Now you can travel to Europe', how can Europeans manage that?" Polls in Turkey suggest that less than 10% of the Turkish public supports granting citizenship to Syrian migrants, although they have been overwhelmingly welcoming towards Syrians. Opposition parties argue President Erdogan is actually playing politics, By pledging citizenship to Syrians, they argue, he wants to grow his support base before the next elections or before a referendum where he might seek further constitutional powers. More than 1.5 million Syrians will be eligible to vote in the next elections, if granted citizenship. "The governing party clearly showed that they're not thinking about the future of these people, but rather their own political gain," said Veli Agbaba, an opposition MP. The leader of the MHP nationalist opposition party, Devlet Bahceli, went even further to suggest that giving citizenship to Syrians could cause ethnic tensions and chaos in Turkey. "Syrian migrants do not speak Turkish. They have poor education. Nearly half of them do not even know how to read or write," says Murat Erdogan. "There is over 10% unemployment in Turkey already. Competing for jobs will cause complications with other ethnic or religious groups. I'm afraid, the pledge of citizenship could also increase the flow of migrants to Turkey too," he argues. For Ribal Azzin, a Syrian who settled in Turkey six months ago after fleeing the fighting in Aleppo, President Erdogan's pledge is promising. "Life for Syrian people is already very difficult. Not only Syrians with some money but every one of us should have residency and passport. The gates shouldn't be closed to us," he says.

['Turkey', 'Refugees and asylum seekers', 'Europe migrant crisis', 'Syria']

[{"entity": "Turkey", "label": "LOC"}]

Turkey

["Turkey", "Refugees and asylum seekers", "Europe migrant crisis", "Syria"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37307009

Trump and Putin: Geopolitical bromance or fleeting one-way crush?

Donald Trump's praise for Vladimir Putin - calling him "far more of a leader" than President Barack Obama - is just the latest in a long series of warm comments about the Russian president.

Neither have the compliments been entirely one-way traffic - Mr Putin has described Mr Trump as "colourful and talented". There are policy implications too. Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants to work more closely with Russia to defeat so-called Islamic State and has also said he would consider lifting sanctions and recognising its annexation of Crimea. The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says that with all this in mind, it would be astonishing if the Kremlin did not welcome the prospect of a Trump White House. So a budding geopolitical bromance then, albeit a somewhat one-sided one. Whether it would survive if Mr Trump wins in November is another matter. Why Russians like Trump Are there Trump links to Putin? "If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him. I've already said he is really, very much of a leader... the man has very strong control over a country. Now it's a very different system and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly, in that system he's been a leader far more than our president has been a leader." "Lot of people say as an example, Russia, you know Hillary likes to play tough with Russia. Putin looks at her and he laughs. He laughs. Putin. Putin looks at Hillary Clinton and he smiles. Boy would he like to see her. That would be easy." "You know, he feels good about me. I feel, frankly, good about him. I think that we can do things with Russia that are to our advantage... It's a mutual advantage. Now, they're jealous as hell because he's not mentioning these people. He's not going to mention them, so they're jealous as hell." "When people call you 'brilliant' it's always good, especially when the person heads up Russia. He's running his country and at least he's a leader. You know, unlike we have in this country." "[Putin] does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I'm sure that Obama doesn't like him very much. But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now." "You see, it's like I said. Trump's a colourful person. And well, isn't he colourful? Colourful. I didn't make any other kind of characterisation about him. "But here's where I will pay close attention, and where I exactly welcome and where on the contrary I don't see anything bad: Mr Trump has declared that he's ready for the full restoration of Russian-American relations. Is there anything bad there? We all welcome this, don't you?" "He is a very colourful and talented man, no doubt about that. He is the absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it."

['Russia', 'Donald Trump', 'US election 2016', 'Vladimir Putin', 'United States']

[{"entity": "Donald Trump", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Vladimir Putin", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Barack Obama", "label": "PER"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Russia", "Donald Trump", "US election 2016", "Vladimir Putin", "United States"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28206138

How Gandhi became George Osborne's hero

That Mahatma Gandhi will be commemorated with a statue in Parliament Square is perhaps extraordinary - given that he was the leader of the nationalist movement against British rule in India.

But the whole thrust of British diplomatic relations these days with India is to build bridges with the world's second most populous country - in large part because of the important opportunities that may become available for British businesses. The plan for a Gandhi statue, to be installed next year, has been announced in Delhi by the chancellor and foreign secretary. George Osborne said it was fitting that "the father of the world's largest democracy should take his place in front of the mother of parliaments" (though the chancellor presumably knows the House of Commons is not the mother of parliament, in John Bright's original formulation; England is). Whether Mahatma Gandhi would have thought it fitting is another matter. Later today, Mr Osborne and William Hague will meet the new Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, with the hope that he will agree to a communique on strengthening and deepening commercial relations between India and Britain. But the British government and Narendra Modi have not always been the best of friends, because in 2002 the UK helped to organise an effective ban on Mr Modi travelling to Europe - after Mr Modi was accused of not doing enough to prevent a brutal massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, where he was chief minister. In 2012, the UK made a rapprochement with Mr Modi, when his ascent in Indian politics became hard to ignore. And although there have been concerns that Mr Modi might hold a grudge, everything is apparently forgiven and forgotten - on both sides. If there is some sort of parallel with the way Britain over a much longer period has gone from seeing Gandhi as enemy to hero, Messrs Osborne and Hague will hope that Mr Modi approves.

['UK economy', 'India', 'Asia economy', 'George Osborne']

[{"entity": "Mahatma Gandhi", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Parliament Square", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "India", "label": "LOC"}]

Mahatma Gandhi ||| India

["UK economy", "India", "Asia economy", "George Osborne"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32781968

Cooper reveals back pain from Elephant Man stage role

Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper has revealed he has to hang upside down on an inversion table to straighten his back after playing Joseph Merrick on stage in The Elephant Man.

Cooper plays the physically deformed Merrick by contorting his body rather than using prosthetics. He told BBC Radio 4's Front Row that twisting his features had left one side of his face bigger than the other. "Right now my face twitches sometimes," he said. The play is transferring to London after a successful run in New York, and Cooper said that having experienced back pain during the New York shows, he had brought his table with him. He distorts his body for the role and appears on stage virtually naked. "It's all about illusion," he said of the play, written by Bernard Pomerance in 1977. "The physical challenge is having to twist body and hold it for two hours. It's brutal, we did 120 performances in New York and in the last two weeks of the play I started to feel it in my back and my mouth and my face, all the muscles got very strong. "This side is bigger, I don't know what's going to happen [in London]. I do worry a little bit, I'm not going to lie," he laughed. He said that the inversion table has been "amazing for my spine". "You lie on it and then like a bat you turn over - I have it where I'm staying. You do that morning and night and then find a person who can do massage work every day." The actor joked that he experienced pain because, aged 40, "I'm not a young man." The story of John Merrick also inspired David Lynch's Bafta-winning 1980 film, which starred John Hurt. Cooper told the BBC he was first inspired to become an actor after seeing Hurt's performance. "There was something about the way he lived his life, the curiosity, the levity he had. Given all of his physical afflictions, it was mesmerising to me in a cinematic form, in a physical form, and it made me think 'I want to tell stories like this,'" he said. US critics have raved about Cooper's performance as Merrick, following on from his three Oscar nominations for American Sniper (2014), American Hustle (2013) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Despite the pain he endures on stage, Cooper said that the most physically demanding role he has had was as Chris Kyle, a US military sharp-shooter, in American Sniper. He had to pile on "40lb of primary muscle" and bulk up by eating "all protein, no fat, no sugar - it was not fun eating 6,000 calories of healthy food each day", he said. Cooper is among many actors who have faced physical challenges for their roles. Actor Hugh Laurie, who starred in US hit series House, complained that playing the limping title character was playing havoc with his knees; while Matthew McConaughey has spoken of the pain of having to lose 47lb to play Aids patient Ron Woodroof for 2013's Dallas Buyer's Club. Christian Bale lost 60lb to star in The Machinist in 2004, only to bulk up six weeks later to play Batman. Directed by Scott Ellis, The Elephant Man will play at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 8 August. Cooper is interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Front Row at 1915 BST.

['Theatre', 'Performing arts']

[{"entity": "Bradley Cooper", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Joseph Merrick", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "The Elephant Man", "label": "LOC"}]

The Elephant Man

["Theatre", "Performing arts"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47996207

Nxivm: Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman pleads guilty in 'sex cult' case

US heiress Clare Bronfman has pleaded guilty to her role in an alleged sex trafficking operation.

Bronfman, the 40-year-old heir to the Seagram alcohol fortune, was accused of using more than $100m (£77m) to fund the suspected sex cult Nxivm. She pleaded guilty on two counts - conspiracy to conceal and harbour illegal immigrants for financial gain, and fraudulent use of identification. She told the court in Brooklyn that she was "truly remorseful". "I wanted to do good in the world and help people," she added. "However, I have made mistakes." Six people in total have been accused of being involved with Nxivm, pronounced nexium. Bronfman is the fifth to plead guilty, with just one defendant - the suspected cult leader Keith Raniere - due to go on trial next month. Bronfman will be sentenced on 25 July. She could face up to 25 years in prison, although sentencing guidelines suggest it could be up to only 27 months. Nxivm is a group that started in 1998 as a self-help programme and says it has worked with more than 16,000 people, including Smallville actress Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty earlier this month. On its website, Nxivm describes itself as a "community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people and answer important questions about what it means to be human". Despite its tagline of "working to build a better world", its leader, Mr Raniere, stands accused of overseeing a "slave and master" system within the group. According to the group's website, it has suspended enrolment and events because of the "extraordinary circumstances facing the company at this time". Prosecutors allege the group mirrors a pyramid scheme, in which members paid thousands of dollars for courses to rise within its ranks. Bronfman, a philanthropist and former showjumper, is the daughter of the late Canadian businessman Edgar Bronfman, whose net worth was estimated to be about $2.6bn (£2bn). Bronfman was on Nxivm's executive board. The millions of dollars she was accused of giving to the group were thought to have been used to pay for fake identities and court summons against perceived enemies. Female recruits were also allegedly branded with Mr Raniere's initials and expected to have sex with him, as part of the system. Appearing at a court in Brooklyn, Bronfman admitted knowingly harbouring a woman brought to the US on a fake work visa in order to exploit her for labour. As part of her plea, she agreed to forfeit $6m (£4.6m) and not to appeal any prison sentence of 27 months or less. Mr Raniere, 58, was arrested in Mexico last year on sex trafficking charges, and is being held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty to charges against him. His defence team has argued that the alleged sexual relationships with women were consensual, and says he has denied child abuse charges against him.

['Cults', 'New York', 'United States']

[{"entity": "Clare Bronfman", "label": "PER"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Cults", "New York", "United States"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35833760

Hundreds of rapists and child abusers taken off sex offenders register

Almost 700 convicted sex offenders have been removed from the register in the past four years, the BBC has learned.

Since 2012 at least 170 rapists and 157 child abusers were told they no longer had to register with the police. They include people convicted of raping boys and girls, incest, and taking indecent images of children. More than 50% of applications - allowed under a 2010 Supreme Court ruling - were successful, a Freedom of Information request revealed. Figures showed North Wales Police approved 90% of requests, while neighbouring Dyfed-Powys Police did not approve any. There were 49,466 registered sex offenders in the UK as of 31 March 2015 and they are only able to appeal 15 years after leaving prison. The Home Office has issued guidance stating offenders should only be removed if it is no longer necessary for them to be registered to protect the public from sexual harm. Among those removed from the register include 27 offenders who raped people under 16 years old and three who committed incest with children under 13. Theresa May brought in these new rules through gritted teeth after the Supreme Court declared that, with no right of review, requiring sex offenders to register their address with police and inform them of travel plans was disproportionate and incompatible with the right to privacy. In 2012, when the rules came into force, the Home Office said police had to conduct a "robust review" and be "satisfied that it is not necessary, for the purpose of protecting the public from the risk of sexual harm", for a sex offender to continue to register. This comprehensive set of figures appears to demonstrate that police are interpreting that guidance very differently. How else can you explain the huge variations between North Wales, where 90% of requests not to register with police succeeded and Dyfed-Powys where none did; or Northumbria, 79.2% and North Yorkshire, 7.1%? Find out the percentage of applications approved by your local police force. David Hines, founder of the National Victims' Association, said it was "outrageous" that people who had committed "horrific crimes" were no longer on the register. He said: "I think the public will be outraged as well. These people should stay on the register. This is not protecting the public." A Home Office spokesman said: "Public safety is at the heart of all decisions taken by police. "Those who continue to pose a risk will remain on the sex offenders register - if necessary, for life." A spokesman for North Wales Police said removals from the register are only authorised after a senior officer has reviewed the case. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 made all sex offenders sentenced to more than 30 months in prison subject to indefinite notification requirements, without an opportunity for review. But in 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that under human rights laws offenders in England and Wales should have the opportunity to prove they had reformed. The offenders who brought the challenge said permanent inclusion on the register with no chance of a review was disproportionate. And although the Supreme Court said an appeal should be possible, it underlined that it was lawful to monitor someone for life if they are a danger to society. At the time of the ruling Home Secretary Theresa May said: "We will deliberately set the bar for those appeals as high as possible. Public protection must come first." What is the sex offenders register? A total of 40 UK police forces responded to a Freedom of Information request from BBC News, out of 44 forces that can approve applications. They reported 1,289 requests to be removed had been received, out of which 679 (53.7%) were approved. Information about the offences people had committed was also provided by 35 of the forces.

['Child abuse', 'North Wales Police', 'Dyfed-Powys Police']

[{"entity": "BBC", "label": "ORG"}]

BBC

["Child abuse", "North Wales Police", "Dyfed-Powys Police"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28762878

Robbie Savage donates hair to National Football Museum

Former Premier League footballer Robbie Savage has donated his trademark blond locks to the National Football Museum in Manchester.

The former Wales international and Blackburn midfielder gave his long hair the red card after nearly missing his flight to the World Cup in Brazil. He had picked up his wife's passport mistaking it for his own, as they both had the same hairstyle. "I thought I've got to make a change," he said. Savage, who sported long blond hair throughout his football career, explained: "I said I'm going to donate my hair to the National Football Museum. They said 'are you serious' and I said well I wasn't but I am now." Sally Hawley, collections officer at the museum, said: "As Robbie's now a pundit, his hair will go alongside John Motson's coat and Jim White's tie," Savage retired from professional football at the end of the 2010/11 season, after playing for Crewe Alexandra, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and Brighton and Hove Albion.

['Manchester', 'Blackburn']

[{"entity": "Premier League", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "Robbie Savage", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "National Football Museum", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Manchester", "label": "LOC"}]

National Football Museum

["Manchester", "Blackburn"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39376285

Why Apple's red iPhones are not 'Red' in China

Apple's latest iPhone might be red, but it's not Red in China. The special-edition version of the iPhone 7 and 7plus goes on sale in more than 40 countries, but China has done it slightly differently. The BBC explains why.

Red is a charity looking to combat Aids and was originally founded by U2 musician Bono and activist Bobby Shriver. It gives the money it raises to the Global Fund for HIV/Aids that doles out grants. This includes providing testing and treatment for patients with the aim of wiping out transmission of HIV. Apple is the world's largest corporate donor to the Global Fund. The special-edition devices celebrate Apple's long-running partnership with Red and a portion of the sales will go towards its relief operations in Africa. But Apple's Chinese-language sites don't mention the product or cause. This left some perplexed. Internet users were among the first to spot that there was different branding on Apple's landing page depending on the Chinese territory. When translated from Mandarin, Apple's China retail website for the Red devices simply read as "now in red" while the Taiwanese site used the words "product" Red which the US and other countries have as well. Some analysts read this as yet another example of Chinese politics interfering with Western brands looking to do business in the world's most populous nation. Apple had no comment on the matter. One possibility is that Apple is looking to navigate sensitivities in a state where messages are controlled: HIV/Aids and homosexuality remain taboo topics in China. The first case of HIV in China was recorded in 1989. By 2000 the disease was found in most of China, and as it continued to spread, the government kept denying the problem. Today discrimination against Aids patients is common. Well there's the Dalai Lama. Earlier this year Red's Instagram page showed a picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader, whom China considers a dangerous separatist. This has led some to point to how the post was trolled. Apple has faced numerous challenges in China of late, which may be one of the reasons why it is offering the Red iPhones as a colour option as opposed to a product. Last year Apple's online film and book services were shut down in China. Apple was also made to pull the New York Times from the China App store following a request from the authorities. But the red iPhones are poised to sell well because the colour is considered to be the most auspicious in Chinese culture and it is considered a prestige product there. The tech behemoth is clearly trying to maintain relations with its fastest-growing sales region. Apple chief executive Tim Cook has been making semi-regular trips to China and is opening four research and development centres later this year.

['China', 'Apple', 'iPhones']

[{"entity": "Apple", "label": "ORG"}, {"entity": "China", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "China", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "BBC", "label": "ORG"}]

Apple ||| China ||| China

["China", "Apple", "iPhones"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39376379

Twitter considers paid membership option

Twitter is considering adding a paid membership option for businesses and power users.

The micro-blogging service, which has struggled to grow its user base in recent years, is carrying out surveys to “assess interest” in the idea. Paying members would get access to an enhanced version of Tweetdeck, Twitter’s souped-up interface that offers more functionality than Twitter.com. The company has not made any indication it is considering charging regular users of the service. But a premium membership scheme could offer Twitter a new revenue stream at a time when users are increasingly turning to other networks such as Snapchat. Twitter’s active user base has plateaued - and advertising revenues, currently the firms only meaningful income stream, are in decline. Twitter’s struggles come despite the online advertising market growing considerably in the past year. 'More valuable' Twitter has surveyed a small selection of its users about the idea. In a statement, the company said: "We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people’s Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we're exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals.” In an email to selected users, the company described how the new tool would work. "This premium tool set will provide valuable viewing, posting, and signaling tools like alerts, trends and activity analysis, advanced analytics, and composing and posting tools all in one customizable dashboard,” the note said. "It will be designed to make it easier than ever to keep up with multiple interests, grow your audience, and see even more great content and information in real-time.” If it goes ahead with premium accounts, Twitter will be competing with more established players like SocialFlow and HootSuite - companies that have offered enhanced ways to use Twitter for many years. Why it has taken the company this long to roll out its own initiative is not clear. In 2009, co-founder Biz Stone said the firm had hired a product manager to develop premium features, but these never materialised - and Mr Stone left the company in 2011. Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC. You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370

['Companies', 'Twitter']

[{"entity": "Twitter", "label": "INST"}]

Twitter

["Companies", "Twitter"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33341548

Heathrow expansion: Cameron promises decision this year

The government will make a decision on airport expansion by the end of the year, David Cameron has said.

The PM was speaking after the Airports Commission recommended a third runway at Heathrow as its chosen solution. Several high-profile Conservatives are opposed to Heathrow expansion, including London mayor Boris Johnson, who predicted it "won't happen". Labour said it favoured a new Heathrow runway and claimed Mr Cameron was being "bullied by Boris". In its final report, the commission, set up under the previous coalition government, said it would add £147bn to the economy and 70,000 jobs by 2050. During Prime Minister's Questions, Labour's acting leader Harriet Harman said Mr Cameron had been "overruled" by Mr Johnson. "Will he stand up for Britain's interests or will he just be bullied by Boris", she asked. Airport expansion: What happens next? Airport expansion: Latest updates In pictures: Heathrow airport A history of UK airport plans Mr Cameron, who ruled out Heathrow expansion "no ifs, no buts" in 2009, told Ms Harman there were legal reasons why the government could not announce its decision before fully digesting the report. "If you make some precipitate decision or rule out one particular option you will actually make the decision you would like to make impossible to achieve because of judicial review," he added in a response to Conservative MP and likely 2016 mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith. Mr Johnson was asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme about his pledge to lie in front of bulldozers if Heathrow expansion was approved. He replied: "As it happens, I don't think my services as a bulldozer blocker will be required for decades, if ever." He said a third runway would be a "precursor" for a fourth runway in the future, saying the commission's call for a law to rule a fourth one out was a "fiction". "This is the sort of thing you could have got away with in China in the 1950s," he said, adding that the impact in terms of the environment and noise would be "so huge" that it was "not deliverable". Mr Johnson repeated his view that an airport in the Thames estuary was the best solution. He told BBC News the "discomfort being endured" by Londoners on the hottest day of the year "would be nothing compared to the noise pollution that will be visited on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent people and the vehicular pollution as a result of a catastrophic decision to increase runway capacity in the west of the city. That will not happen." International Development Secretary Justine Greening said her Putney constituents would be "extremely disappointed" by the commission's recommendation of an expanded Heathrow. On her website, she raised concerns about noise pollution, traffic, cost and the opposition from "millions of residents under the flight path". Mr Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond Park, said he stood by his pledge to resign and trigger a by-election if Heathrow expansion was backed by the Conservative Party, but said he did not think this would happen. "A decision in favour of Heathrow expansion is really just a decision in favour of delay and fudge," he added. It's cost millions of pounds and runs to hundreds of pages. But do the maps, graphs and paragraphs in the Airports Commission's final report get us any closer to diggers rolling up somewhere in the south east of England, with a few lorries full of tarmac trundling along behind? The honest answer is a bit closer, but not much. Because whilst the commission offers weighty analysis, it's a knotty political decision in the end. And whilst the commission says Heathrow, the prime minister's "no ifs, not buts" promise not to sanction expansion there would take one heck of a lot of wriggling out of. Just think Nick Clegg and tuition fees and what broken promises can do to you. But here's another thought: David Cameron won't be prime minister forever. He'll be gone in less than five years. And it takes longer than that to build a runway. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told MPs the government would look at the best way to achieve planning permission "quickly and fairly" if expansion is to go ahead. He added that ministers would report back to Parliament in the autumn "to provide a clear direction on the government's plans". In 2009, Mr Cameron said the Conservatives' pledge on Heathrow was made with "no ifs, no buts". But John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow's chief executive, said the latest proposals were "an entirely different plan to the one the prime minister rejected". "We have changed" he said, adding: "We have u-turned so that the prime minister does not need to." BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said Conservative MPs who favoured Heathrow had demanded cabinet ministers opposed to a third runway for constituency reasons be barred from any say in the final decision. There are about five cabinet ministers who would be affected by a third runway, including Ms Greening, Home Secretary Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers. Conservative MPs who live close to Gatwick have written to the cabinet secretary urging him to rule those cabinet ministers with a constituency interest should not be allowed a vote on the third runway. Labour London mayoral hopeful David Lammy said the backing for Heathrow was "good news for our city", adding: "We urgently need new runway capacity." But his rival Sadiq Khan used a New Statesman article to say expanding Heathrow would be "the wrong decision for London and for Britain", saying he would do everything in his power to prevent it if he became mayor. But Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said his party was "vehemently opposed to any expansion at Heathrow, as well as at Stansted or Gatwick". Labour MP Louise Ellman, who chairs the Commons Transport Select Committee - which has also backed Heathrow expansion - welcomed the report and said the government should not "seek excuses for further delay". Sir Howard Davies's report said that the new runway should come with severe restrictions to reduce the environmental and noise effects. Night flights should be banned and the government should make a Parliamentary pledge not to build a fourth runway. "Heathrow offers the kind of long-haul connectivity - flights to emerging markets which are very important to the future of the British economy - and expanding it would allow Heathrow to offer more of those flights," Sir Howard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. But Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport was "still very much in the race". "The commission's report makes clear that expansion at Gatwick is deliverable," he added. A third option for extending the present runways at Heathrow was rejected. The government has said that it will give its official response to the Commission in the autumn and it is estimated that, if given the go-ahead, any new runway would take more than a decade to build.

['Heathrow', 'Boris Johnson', 'Gatwick Airport']

[{"entity": "David Cameron", "label": "PER"}]

David Cameron

["Heathrow", "Boris Johnson", "Gatwick Airport"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39743452

'Our family's housing market generation gap'

How did we go so wrong as a nation that something the baby boomer generation took for granted - being able to buy a decent-sized family home - now appears out of reach for so many of their children?

That's the question I was trying to answer in Liverpool this week as part of the Today programme's series of reports on big election issues. Housing is one of them, for obvious reasons: the gap between the number of new homes needed in England and those available is estimated at 100,000 a year. While our politicians are quick to acknowledge the problem, it's far less clear if the solutions they propose will deliver change on the required scale. In the meantime, the experience of 33-year-old Michael Sergison tells a bigger story. At first glance he appears to have everything going for him; he and his new wife both have stable jobs - his in a Liverpool lettings agency, hers in a local hospital. But for the last few years, they've been living with his parents, trying to save enough for a deposit on a house. After they got married last month, that situation no longer felt right. "We wanted to move out. Not straight away, but as a married couple we feel as if we should be on our own, rather than with my mum and dad." Having spent a lot of their savings on their wedding in Las Vegas last month, the only option was to rent. The day I met Michael he was in the process of moving into a one-bedroom flat, with his father, also Michael Sergison, helping him out. Michael Senior is quick to reflect on the contrast between his son's situation and what he could do at the same age: he and his wife paid £10,500 for their first home, a three-bedroom semi, in 1978. The home that Michael Junior and his wife Francine dream of buying in Liverpool is upwards of £200,000: on a combined salary of £40,000 per annum, they could be years away from it. For now, they're out of his parents' home and into one that belongs to someone else - his landlady Sue Earle, whose experience of the housing market also tells a bigger story. She is a buy-to-let investor and sees the flat as a way to safeguard her future. "I own two properties with my brother, which we purchased just to rent out. "We both have successful careers, but we felt we needed to make sure that we have additional funds when we retire." She hopes the rental income, of about £530 per month, will pay off the mortgage within ten years. After that, she could continue to let the flat out, or sell it at a profit. Sue says she knows what it's like to have to save for a deposit, and worked hard to build up the funds that enabled her three mortgages. For Michael, it's all about that first step on the housing ladder, for which his work at the lettings agency is not only crucial to his earnings, but also a valuable insight into the property market. His manager at Belvoir Sales & Lettings, Adam Rastall, thinks the government should look at particular points where the market seizes up. "I would focus more on the OAPs and the baby boomers and look for appropriate and suitable housing for them in the future. "If we can help the older generation find suitable accommodation and give them incentives to move, then that would free up some good-quality housing for the younger generation." I thought immediately of the older Michael Sergison, who has just retired from his work as a pipe-fitter and is living with his wife in a four-bedroom house. But downsizing? Not a chance. "It's not our fault. When you get to a certain age you think 'why should I?' he explained to me. "Whatever incentive they offered me, it just wouldn't work. I'm quite happy where I am." Not surprisingly, Michael Senior wants to enjoy the house - and garden - that is the fruit of his own working life. He looks around his son's one-bedroom flat and struggles to imagine it as home. "I couldn't live in this. I'd go stir crazy," he says. But he knows this is the reality for many thousands of younger people. As far as the younger Michael is concerned, he's looking to the future, satisfied to be making the right start to married life. "I'm happy that we've got a place to call our own. It's not our house or our flat, but we'll make it our home." That's the question I was trying to answer in Liverpool this week as part of the Today programme's series of reports on big election issues. Housing is one of them, for obvious reasons: the gap between the number of new homes needed in England and those available is estimated at 100,000 a year. While our politicians are quick to acknowledge the problem, it's far less clear if the solutions they propose will deliver change on the required scale. In the meantime, the experience of 33-year-old Michael Sergison tells a bigger story. At first glance he appears to have everything going for him; he and his new wife both have stable jobs - his in a Liverpool lettings agency, hers in a local hospital. But for the last few years, they've been living with his parents, trying to save enough for a deposit on a house. After they got married last month, that situation no longer felt right. "We wanted to move out. Not straight away, but as a married couple we feel as if we should be on our own, rather than with my mum and dad." Having spent a lot of their savings on their wedding in Las Vegas last month, the only option was to rent. The day I met Michael he was in the process of moving into a one-bedroom flat, with his father, also Michael Sergison, helping him out. Michael Senior is quick to reflect on the contrast between his son's situation and what he could do at the same age: he and his wife paid £10,500 for their first home, a three-bedroom semi, in 1978. The home that Michael Junior and his wife Francine dream of buying in Liverpool is upwards of £200,000: on a combined salary of £40,000 per annum, they could be years away from it. For now, they're out of his parents' home and into one that belongs to someone else - his landlady Sue Earle, whose experience of the housing market also tells a bigger story. She is a buy-to-let investor and sees the flat as a way to safeguard her future. "I own two properties with my brother, which we purchased just to rent out. "We both have successful careers, but we felt we needed to make sure that we have additional funds when we retire." She hopes the rental income, of about £530 per month, will pay off the mortgage within ten years. After that, she could continue to let the flat out, or sell it at a profit. Sue says she knows what it's like to have to save for a deposit, and worked hard to build up the funds that enabled her three mortgages. For Michael, it's all about that first step on the housing ladder, for which his work at the lettings agency is not only crucial to his earnings, but also a valuable insight into the property market. His manager at Belvoir Sales & Lettings, Adam Rastall, thinks the government should look at particular points where the market seizes up. "I would focus more on the OAPs and the baby boomers and look for appropriate and suitable housing for them in the future. "If we can help the older generation find suitable accommodation and give them incentives to move, then that would free up some good-quality housing for the younger generation." I thought immediately of the older Michael Sergison, who has just retired from his work as a pipe-fitter and is living with his wife in a four-bedroom house. But downsizing? Not a chance. "It's not our fault. When you get to a certain age you think 'why should I?' he explained to me. "Whatever incentive they offered me, it just wouldn't work. I'm quite happy where I am." Not surprisingly, Michael Senior wants to enjoy the house - and garden - that is the fruit of his own working life. He looks around his son's one-bedroom flat and struggles to imagine it as home. "I couldn't live in this. I'd go stir crazy," he says. But he knows this is the reality for many thousands of younger people. As far as the younger Michael is concerned, he's looking to the future, satisfied to be making the right start to married life. "I'm happy that we've got a place to call our own. It's not our house or our flat, but we'll make it our home."

['Affordable housing', 'Housing market', 'Liverpool', 'Social housing']

[{"entity": "baby boomer", "label": "TIME"}]

baby boomer

["Affordable housing", "Housing market", "Liverpool", "Social housing"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-35542241

Thousands of 'dangerous' teeth whiteners seized in Warwickshire

More than 15,000 "dangerous" teeth whitening products have been seized by trading standards officers.

Some intercepted items contained more than 33% hydrogen peroxide, Warwickshire County Council said. The maximum legal limit for use by the general public is 0.1%, or 6% for dentists and other registered practitioners. The total value of 15,398 products taken since May 2015 is an estimated £100,000. More on this story and other updates from Coventry and Warwickshire A joint operation by trading standards officers based in Coventry's Parcelforce International Hub and the UK Border Force led to the seizures. John Horner, the county council's cabinet member for community safety, said less stringent safety procedures around imported products presented a risk to residents. "Unfortunately, in many areas of the world, consumers do not get the same levels of protection UK shoppers expect and receive, and products we consider dangerous are regularly manufactured and sold," he said.

['Coventry']

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["Coventry"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50556578

Malta Caruana murder: Resignations spark government crisis

Two years after the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a volley of resignations has rocked Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's government.

His chief aide, Keith Schembri, quit amid reports he was being questioned by police, and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi also resigned. The Economy Minister, Chris Cardona, took the decision to suspend himself. Opposition MPs heckled the prime minister with shouts of "mafia" when he walked into parliament. The three men who stepped aside from Mr Muscat's government on Tuesday all deny wrongdoing. Under mounting pressure, the prime minister said he would not speculate on whether Mr Schembri was being questioned or what any questioning could be about. Malta's business community has said the unfolding inquiry reveals the extent of damage caused to the country. In a statement, the chamber of commerce said it had become clear "the extent to which criminal activity had infiltrated the circles of power, and operated unperturbed for years". Investigations into Caruana Galizia's murder in a car bombing intensified when a suspected middleman was pardoned. The prime minister told parliament the suspect, Melvin Theuma, was being given immunity in return for information about the killing. Maltese reports suggested he had audio recordings linked to the case. Last week, prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech was arrested in a dramatic raid on his yacht. He too is reported to have requested a pardon in exchange for information. He received hospital treatment after his arrest and has been given police bail. Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist, was killed on 16 October 2017 after blogging about corruption. She alleged that a company called 17 Black, owned by Mr Fenech, had links to high-level politicians and in her last blog, she wrote about the prime minister's aide, Mr Schembri. Mr Schembri was named in the massive 2016 data leak known as the Panama Papers and Caruana Galizia alleged that he and Konrad Mizzi had benefited from secretive "shell companies". Commentators point out that both members of the government caught up in the Panama Papers leaks have now left office. Mr Mizzi did initially leave the government after the leak but he was later given the tourism brief. Although Mr Cardona has not been linked to the leak, he was recently approached by police for "further clarifications" and said he was stepping aside as economy minister in the national interest. At least two of Mr Muscat's party colleagues were restrained by security guards as they attempted to confront the hecklers. Protesters outside parliament were kept back behind railings. Speaking to the BBC, the editor-in-chief of the Times of Malta, Herman Grech, said the anger aimed at Mr Muscat was extraordinary, especially given his widespread support. "He has won successive elections with landslides, he is extremely charming, he is very popular with his supporters," said Grech. "But what I am seeing tonight, at least in Valletta, where people were even throwing eggs at his car, I mean, this is quite unprecedented for Malta, especially for a country that doesn't really do protests." Adrian Delia, leader of the conservative Nationalist party, has called for a debate on the future of Mr Muscat as prime minister. According to Maltese reports, the prime minister said earlier he had been given unanimous support in a meeting of his parliamentary group. Three people have so far been charged with carrying out the journalist's murder but police have continued to investigate in the hope of finding out who ordered the killing. The late journalist's sister, Corinne Vella, told the BBC it was time the truth came out. "We're finally starting to see some progress in the investigation into Daphne's murder," she said. "It's welcome, it's important, but it's very far long overdue. To us, Daphne's death has always been linked to her work, and we've maintained all along that justice for Daphne means justice for her murder, but also justice for all her stories, because to us they were connected."

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Maltese

["Joseph Muscat", "Malta"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-40469504

Pembrokeshire ex-soldier wins UK visa bid but wife still waits

An ex-soldier refused UK citizenship has been granted indefinite leave to remain here, he has confirmed.

But Fijian father Sam Cataki, who served in the British Army for 12 years, said he was still awaiting news of his wife Seini's application. Mr Cataki, 36, who lives in Neyland, Pembrokeshire, lost his job last month after his application was refused. He was later told he could work again while his case was considered by the Home Office. Mr Cataki said the Home Office called him on Friday to say he had been granted him indefinite leave to remain in the UK - permanent residency - and he received the letter on Saturday. This means he will be able to apply for British citizenship in one year's time. He said he was very happy and very appreciative of all the support he received. A petition set up in support of Mr Cataki attracted more than 34,000 signatures. Stephen Crabb, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, has been assisting Mr Cataki since 2014. Before he left the Army in 2013, Mr Cataki said he applied for citizenship in the UK but believes he was rejected because of three points on his driving licence. Mr Cataki, who has a one-year-old and a five-year-old, returned to his job at the Milford Haven Port Authority, where he has worked for two years, last week.

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[{"entity": "UK", "label": "LOC"}]

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26262966

Classic locomotives in Wales on new Royal Mail stamps

A set of stamps celebrating four of Wales' classic steam locomotives is being unveiled by Royal Mail.

The Hunslet No. 589 Blanche on the Ffestiniog Railway will be featured, along with the LMS 7720 which ran between Gwynedd and Anglesey. Two other stamps feature "The Earl" steam train in Welshpool, Powys, and another pulling coal in Merthyr Tydfil. Royal Mail said the locomotives had contributed to the economic life of Wales. The four stamps - a first class stamp and three international stamps on sale at selected post offices from 20 February - are the last in a series which also celebrated engines in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The set includes: Volunteers on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway at Porthmadog have been "sprucing up" the Hunslet No. 589 ready for the launch. Spokesman Andrew Thomas said: "We are delighted to be helping Royal Mail launch the stamps and highlight the work that volunteers do to ensure that their history is preserved and enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year." The new set of stamps is designed to celebrate the "work horses" of the railways, before diesel and electric took over. Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson, said: "These new stamps pay tribute to the locomotives and their crews which contributed to the economic life of Wales."

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english

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https://www.bbc.com/news/education-39444999

The pendulum swings back on school tests

If news stories could have a soundtrack, then this scrapping of tests in the early years of primary school would have the creaking sound of a pendulum slowly swinging back.

The Department for Education is proposing that national curriculum tests taken by seven-year-olds in England could be ditched. Instead there would be an assessment of five-year-olds by a teacher - a so-called "baseline test" - which would be used as a starting point for measuring progress through primary school. It represents a step backwards from more and more testing - a shift in attitude as much as policy. And it raises again the thorny question of what kind of tests young children should face in primary school. Are such tests a helpful indicator for identifying pupils' needs? Or are they an unnecessary pressure - a case of too much, too young? And are such tests going to mean a paper mountain of extra bureaucracy for teachers, hindering rather than helping learning? The teachers' unions have broadly given their support to the government's announcement to row back on the tests for seven year olds in reading, writing, maths and science. But the National Union of Teachers still says the idea of a baseline test for four or five-year-olds remains a "triumph of hope over experience". The teachers' union questions whether this can ever be a sufficiently reliable test to be used as a fixed point against which to measure all the following years of a child's progress. But the counter-argument to this is that you have to start somewhere. If schools are to be held to account for how much progress children have made by the age of 11 - then it has to be measured against a starting point. And isn't the natural starting point in the first year? There is also a strong argument that it is the low achievers and the disadvantaged who will be most in need of the extra help that a test might identify. And at the last general election, all three main political parties were sympathetic to the principle of baseline testing. But the announcement on testing also raises another great back and forth of the education pendulum. How much data is too much? Parents' evenings, with spreadsheets and targets, can feel like a chat with the accountants. And for the schools themselves, the accumulation and analysis of data has become a major part of their working lives. It is make or break too, because Ofsted inspectors will also be using the same crowded panel of charts and indicators, tracking progress on computer screens like mission control following a space probe or some trader overseeing the foreign exchange markets. This has often prompted the accusation that an over-emphasis on testing undermines those cultural and mind-expanding things that can't be tested - like putting on plays, debating ideas and playing sport. And there is an argument that tests shape all around them. Once a test is set, with rewards and penalties, then that metric becomes the priority that overrides everything else. It isn't so much the testing, as the use to which it is put and the consequences built upon it. But Sats tests have been part of primary school life in England for more than 25 years - and there is little chance of them completely disappearing. Supporters of testing will point to the importance of holding schools to account for all their pupils. Tests have been seen as a way of focusing attention. It means that schools that are failing their pupils can be identified and improved. If there were no tests and targets, wouldn't it be easier for an underachieving youngster to drift through school without recognition of the support and intervention they might need? England's relative success in education rankings compared with Wales has been claimed as being linked to the absence of Sats tests and league tables in Wales. But the battle over testing will continue - often as much about perception as anything else. The international TIMSS tests - the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study - which have been measuring international education standards since the 1990s, recently examined the almost universally-accepted truth that testing had becoming increasingly frequent and pupils were under more scrutiny and pressure. Except, when this was investigated across a wide range of countries, it was broadly speaking untrue. Testing was not particularly more common than in the 1990s. The Sats tests in England were once at the ages of seven, 11 and 14 - with the test for 14 year olds scrapped when Ed Balls was education secretary. And in striking out the test for seven-year-olds, the education secretary has pushed the pendulum a little further away from testing.

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[{"entity": "primary school", "label": "TIME"}]

primary school

["Primary schools", "Schools", "Department for Education", "Primary education", "Sats"]

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en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29921797

Police investigate Alex Salmond bonfire effigy

Police are investigating a complaint about effigies of Alex Salmond which were due to have been burnt at bonfire celebrations in an English town.

The two effigies of the Scottish first minister were withdrawn from the celebrations in Lewes after a storm of protest on social media. Thousands of people attended the bonfire event in the East Sussex town. The Waterloo Bonfire Society, which produced one of the models, said it had "no wish or intention to offend". A Sussex Police statement said: "We are aware of the portrayal of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond as an effigy at the 2014 Lewes Bonfire event and acknowledge that concerns have been raised. "Whilst we accept there is a long tradition of creating effigies of high-profile individuals in politics, sport, the media, etc, a complaint has nevertheless been received and will be investigated." The row began on Wednesday afternoon when East Sussex County Council tweeted a picture of one of the effigies of Mr Salmond, complete with a "Yes" badge, a sign saying "45%" and the Loch Ness monster looking over his shoulder. They faced an immediate backlash on Twitter with one user responding: "Can you imagine the uproar amongst Better Together campaigners had Yes supporters burned an effigy of David Cameron?" Others posted the council's switchboard telephone number, and urged people to complain. The council later clarified: "Please note that the Alex Salmond and Nessie models were created by Waterloo Bonfire Society #LewesBonfire and have NO connection to ESCC". The original tweet was removed. Mr Salmond responded to the initial tweet by telling BBC Scotland he was "used to insults from Tories in East Sussex". He questioned the judgement of those behind the effigy. But Mr Salmond, who will stand down as first minister and Scottish National Party leader next week, said he was more worried about Nessie, who was also to be burned. Just before 21:00 on Wednesday, Sussex Police tweeted: "For those enquiring we have been advised that there won't be any burning of the Alex Salmond effigies this evening in Lewes." In a statement, the Waterloo Bonfire Society said it had a "tradition of creating satirical tableaux in caricature based on topical local, national and international events". It said: "It is a tradition which has endured for many years and is intended to portray familiar stories and characters in a light hearted way. Clearly the Scottish Referendum has been a big story in the news recently and Alex Salmond is high a profile figure. "We are a traditional Sussex family bonfire society and have no political affiliations. We can assure that we have no wish or intention to offend and have never found ourselves in a position where we have done so in the past. To clarify we do not burn tableaux. They are incorporated into our firework display. "In the light of the responses received to our tableau idea this year we have made the decision to withdraw it from our celebrations." The Waterloo Bonfire Society is one of six which parade through the town every year. The societies all have their traditions, costumes, fire sites and fireworks. A second effigy of Mr Salmond was paraded through the Sussex town. by another bonfire society - the Commercial Square Bonfire Society. An effigy of David Cameron holding a "puppet Nick Clegg" was burned in Lewes in 2010. Other effigies in previous years have included Osama Bin Laden. The event is said to be one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the UK, with 45,000 people attending. The two effigies of the Scottish first minister were withdrawn from the celebrations in Lewes after a storm of protest on social media. Thousands of people attended the bonfire event in the East Sussex town. The Waterloo Bonfire Society, which produced one of the models, said it had "no wish or intention to offend". A Sussex Police statement said: "We are aware of the portrayal of Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond as an effigy at the 2014 Lewes Bonfire event and acknowledge that concerns have been raised. "Whilst we accept there is a long tradition of creating effigies of high-profile individuals in politics, sport, the media, etc, a complaint has nevertheless been received and will be investigated." The row began on Wednesday afternoon when East Sussex County Council tweeted a picture of one of the effigies of Mr Salmond, complete with a "Yes" badge, a sign saying "45%" and the Loch Ness monster looking over his shoulder. They faced an immediate backlash on Twitter with one user responding: "Can you imagine the uproar amongst Better Together campaigners had Yes supporters burned an effigy of David Cameron?" Others posted the council's switchboard telephone number, and urged people to complain. The council later clarified: "Please note that the Alex Salmond and Nessie models were created by Waterloo Bonfire Society #LewesBonfire and have NO connection to ESCC". The original tweet was removed. Mr Salmond responded to the initial tweet by telling BBC Scotland he was "used to insults from Tories in East Sussex". He questioned the judgement of those behind the effigy. But Mr Salmond, who will stand down as first minister and Scottish National Party leader next week, said he was more worried about Nessie, who was also to be burned. Just before 21:00 on Wednesday, Sussex Police tweeted: "For those enquiring we have been advised that there won't be any burning of the Alex Salmond effigies this evening in Lewes." In a statement, the Waterloo Bonfire Society said it had a "tradition of creating satirical tableaux in caricature based on topical local, national and international events". It said: "It is a tradition which has endured for many years and is intended to portray familiar stories and characters in a light hearted way. Clearly the Scottish Referendum has been a big story in the news recently and Alex Salmond is high a profile figure. "We are a traditional Sussex family bonfire society and have no political affiliations. We can assure that we have no wish or intention to offend and have never found ourselves in a position where we have done so in the past. To clarify we do not burn tableaux. They are incorporated into our firework display. "In the light of the responses received to our tableau idea this year we have made the decision to withdraw it from our celebrations." The Waterloo Bonfire Society is one of six which parade through the town every year. The societies all have their traditions, costumes, fire sites and fireworks. A second effigy of Mr Salmond was paraded through the Sussex town. by another bonfire society - the Commercial Square Bonfire Society. An effigy of David Cameron holding a "puppet Nick Clegg" was burned in Lewes in 2010. Other effigies in previous years have included Osama Bin Laden. The event is said to be one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the UK, with 45,000 people attending.

['Alex Salmond', 'East Sussex County Council']

[{"entity": "Alex Salmond", "label": "PER"}]

Alex Salmond

["Alex Salmond", "East Sussex County Council"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32202633

Doctor Who 'to remain on-screen until at least 2020'

Doctor Who will remain on TV for at least another five years, according to its executive producer Steven Moffat.

"I thought it would last 10 years," he told Doctor Who magazine. "It's going to do a minimum of 15." Last month the sci-fi drama celebrated the 10th anniversary of its relaunch, having been brought back by the BBC in March 2005. "Ten years on, our ratings are pretty much the same," Moffat went on. "It's extraordinary". He said the show's international ratings had gone up, adding: "You're meant to go down!" First broadcast in 1963, Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 2013. "As long as the people looking after it are passionate about it... there's absolutely no reason why it can't do another 50 years," said Ben Stephenson, the BBC's outgoing head of drama commissioning. The next series is due to be shown in the autumn, with Peter Capaldi returning as the time-travelling Time Lord. Moffat took over from original Doctor Who "showrunner" Russell T Davies in 2009 and is also the executive producer of BBC One's Sherlock series.

['Television', 'Doctor Who']

[{"entity": "Steven Moffat", "label": "PER"}]

NoPresentEntity

["Television", "Doctor Who"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49548946

Boris Johnson's new rescue puppy moves into Downing Street

A puppy from an animal rescue charity in south Wales has moved into Downing Street with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The 15-week-old Jack Russell-cross, which has been named Dilyn, had been left abandoned by puppy farmers. It has moved from Friends of Animals Wales in Rhondda, into the flat above No 11 Downing Street where Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds live. They were keen to promote Lucy's Law - a crackdown on puppy farms. A spokesman for the prime minister said: "The PM has always been a passionate supporter of animal welfare and believes in giving animals the best start in life." The link between the couple and Friends of Animals Wales (FOAW) came through TV vet Marc Abraham who has worked with the charity's owner Eileen Jones. "It was important to shine a light on the work she's doing," he said. "It's entirely voluntary with huge vets bills so they only rescue and rehabilitate the ones with the most problems. "When I was speaking to Carrie about what dog to get and where to get it from, she gets it. She is a massive supporter of the Lucy's Law campaign. "Carrie and Boris are helping to get a very, very vulnerable dog that's otherwise likely to be killed. "They are both massive dog lovers." Ms Symonds tweeted: "Thanks to the wonderful Eileen who rescued Dilyn after she got a tip-off that he was to be dumped by a puppy dealer because he was born with a crooked jaw. "Eileen fixed his little jaw and saved his life. She is a hero." Mr Abraham said it was unlikely there would be much contact between the dog and the No 10 cat, Larry, as he would be living in the flat and having walks around St James Park. But, he added: "He has been living in a foster home with a cat and is house-trained, and is doing the basic commands already." The puppy was in foster care for five weeks having been abandoned by an unlicensed puppy farm in west Wales because it was regarded "unsellable" due to a misaligned (overshot) jaw. Charity owner Eileen Jones, of Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf, described Dilyn's journey from unwanted puppy to Downing Street as a "Cinderella story". "It's a wonderful rags to riches story but, for such a small dog, he has a huge amount on his shoulders," she said. "His adoption raises awareness of the campaign against puppy farming and also highlights the importance of adopting, rather than shopping for puppies. "It's great that Carrie and Boris have picked such a normal, scruffy little terrier rather than some designer pooch. "He's had a great start, he was well-looked after and has taken his favourite toys and bed. He's a real little character and I'm sure he's going to settle in." Lucy's Law is being rolled out in England next year and the Welsh Government has also confirmed it will adopt the law but no date has been set yet. FOAW added: "We know only too well why Lucy's Law is such an important piece of legislation because we pick up the pieces of third-party puppy selling every day. "The suffering of these dogs is unimaginable unless you see it first-hand as we have done for so many sad years."

['Rhondda', 'Ynysybwl', 'Carrie Symonds', 'Boris Johnson', 'New UK prime minister', 'Dogs', 'Animal welfare']

[{"entity": "Wales", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Downing Street", "label": "LOC"}, {"entity": "Boris Johnson", "label": "PER"}]

Wales ||| Downing Street

["Rhondda", "Ynysybwl", "Carrie Symonds", "Boris Johnson", "New UK prime minister", "Dogs", "Animal welfare"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45272554

La Roux attacks Fox for using Bulletproof in segment on kids clothes

La Roux has described the use of her track Bulletproof to accompany a segment about children's clothes on a US TV channel as "abhorrent".

Fox Business used the song when introducing an item about bullet proof school backpacks and clothing. It comes after several recent fatal shootings in US schools. The singer told Billboard: "I have never and would never approve my music to be used in this way." In a statement a Fox Business Network spokesperson said: "The song was chosen by the production team and the selection has been addressed." Monday's broadcast of Mornings With Maria showed a segment on back-to-school gear lined with hard ballistic plates. Ahead of the item, a clip of La Roux's 2009 single Bulletproof was played, using the song's hook: "This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof". The broadcast focused on what was described as "high-end bulletproof backpacks and clothing that are revamping the protective equipment market" highlighting some "fashion-forward" items - including a puffer jacket and a protective tank top. The latter costs $1,500 (£1,162). La Roux, real name Elly Jackson, said in a statement: "Using Bulletproof, a song I wrote about relationships, for a piece like this is abhorrent. I have never, and would never approve my music to be used in this way." It follows a number of recent school shootings including a shooting in Santa Fe, when 10 students were killed by Dimitrios Pagourtzis in May. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

['Television', 'United States']

[{"entity": "La Roux", "label": "PER"}, {"entity": "Bulletproof", "label": "MEDIA"}]

La Roux ||| Bulletproof

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english

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32844656

South Africa's 'stolen staircase' mystery explained

South African officials have denied that an external staircase on a block of flats had been stolen, after a photo caused a stir on social media.

A widely-shared picture claimed the stairs had been stolen but it turns out they had been deliberately moved. "The old staircase will be replaced with new stairs," councillor Peter Rafferty told local media. He said residents of the now famous block in Eldorado Park south of Johannesburg, had been relocated. But some residents told the BBC they had moved back because the work has taken so long, and they are resorting to using ladders to get into their homes. Mr Rafferty said the renovations in Diamant Street were nearly finished. A new staircase has already been installed in a nearby block, local media report.

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english

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35160282

French police foil 'terror plot' near Orleans

French police have foiled a terror attack on police and army personnel in the region of Orleans, the interior minister has said.

Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday that two men, aged 20 and 24, were arrested on 19 December and were being held for questioning. Both are thought to have had contact with a Frenchman who is believed to be in Syria. France saw its worst attacks in decades last month, with 130 killed in Paris. Speaking in the southern city of Toulouse, Mr Cazeneuve said 10 attacks had been foiled in France since 2013. He said the investigation into the latest alleged plot south-west of Paris will look into whether the Frenchman in Syria, thought to be a jihadist, ordered the attack. Paris attacks - in depth One of the detainees confessed they had intended to attack police officers, military personnel and anyone identified with the French state, Mr Cazeneuve said. Investigators think the suspects had raised money for the plot and were searching for weapons. One suspect was reportedly unknown to police, while the other was a known petty criminal. Mr Cazeneuve also said 3,414 people had been denied entry to France since a state of emergency was declared in the wake of the Paris attacks, "due to the risk they present to security and public order".

['France', 'November 2015 Paris attacks', 'Counter-terrorism']

[{"entity": "Orleans", "label": "LOC"}]

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-57086105

Ex-Met Police sergeant sentenced for sex messages to woman

A former police sergeant bombarded a woman with hundreds of messages years after they had last spoke when she reported a crime, a court has heard.

Syed Ali sent nearly 500 messages and images of a sexual nature to the woman between May and July last year. The 46-year-old, from Dagenham, east London, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment without violence. He was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court to six weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. The court was told Ali sent messages to the woman over a 10-week period from May 2020, five years after they had last spoken. The woman told the counter-terrorism officer to stop contacting hr. However, Ali continued to send her texts, including 450 between 13 and 23 July, before he was arrested. Prosecutor David Roberts said the messages, which Ali sent from his work phone, were "unreciprocated" and left his victim feeling anxious and vulnerable. The woman wrote in a victim impact statement: "Police are meant to look after the public, not make them feel uncomfortable." In mitigation, the court was told Ali's father had fallen ill at the time he began contacting the woman again, and that the majority of the messages were sent after he had died. Sentencing Ali, who resigned from the Met last month, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said such harassment "undermines public confidence and there is a risk that people will stop reporting crime". In addition to the suspended jail sentence, Ali was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and was made subject to a three-year restraining order not to contact the woman. In a statement, Ch Supt Stephen Clayman described the former sergeant's actions as "utterly shocking". "This type of conduct has absolutely no place in the organisation and we are committed to bringing the perpetrators of such crimes to justice," he added.

['Metropolitan Police Service', 'Dagenham']

[]

NoPresentEntity

["Metropolitan Police Service", "Dagenham"]

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41956191

Venus and Jupiter conjunction: Sky-watchers witness dawn display

Jupiter and Venus - the two brightest planets - have appeared together in the morning sky.

The planetary conjunction was visible to the naked eye across much of the UK, with the time before dawn being the best to catch the spectacle. Experts said the planets were so close as to appear almost on top of each other. One astronomer said it would probably be "decades rather than years" before they appeared as close together. While the planets have been visible to the unaided eye, viewers with a telescope have also been able to see Jupiter's four Galilean moons. People in the UK have taken to social media to share their photos of the planetary display. Viewed from London, the planets began appearing shortly before 06:00 GMT with the conjunction occurring just after. Those on high ground with a clear view of the eastern horizon had the best chance of witnessing the planetary display. Mark Thompson, an astronomer and former presenter on the BBC show Stargazing Live, said conjunctions occur when planets line up in such a way that they appear from Earth to be next to each other - despite in this case being hundreds of millions of miles apart. Mr Thompson told the BBC the cloudy atmospheres of the two planets made them appear bright to the naked eye. He said the event was not uncommon - Venus and Jupiter appeared together in 2015 and 2016, also on 13 November - but it was much rarer for them to appear so close to each other. "There have certainly been cases where they've been close in the sky but they've not been this close in recent years, certainly the last couple of planetary conjunctions. "This is actually quite a good conjunction because they're so close, and over the next few years they'll pass each other and be close but not this close… "One as close as this, you're probably looking decades rather than years." The conjunction can also be seen in countries in the mid-northern latitudes, including parts of the US. Those who missed the event will be able to see the two planets again on Tuesday morning, but they will not be as close together. According to Nasa, stargazers will be treated to another planetary pairing later this month, when Saturn will meet Mercury on the western horizon at dusk on 24 and 28 November. You may also like:

['Jupiter', 'Astronomy', 'Planets']

[{"entity": "Jupiter", "label": "CEL"}, {"entity": "Venus", "label": "CEL"}]

Jupiter ||| Venus

["Jupiter", "Astronomy", "Planets"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56842712

AI unlocks ancient Dead Sea Scrolls mystery

Researchers say Artificial Intelligence (AI) has for the first time shown that two scribes wrote part of the mysterious ancient Dead Sea Scrolls.

Tests were carried out on the longest text, known as the Great Isaiah Scroll. It was found that probably two unknown individuals had copied down the words using near-identical handwriting. The scrolls, which include the oldest known version of the Bible, have been a source of fascination since their discovery some 70 years ago. The first sets were found by a Bedouin in a cave at Qumran near the Dead Sea in what is now the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They contain manuscripts, mostly written in Hebrew as well as Aramaic and Greek, and are believed to date from about the Third Century BC. The Isaiah Scroll is one of some 950 different texts discovered in the 1940s and 50s. It is unique among the scrolls in that its 54 columns are divided into halves, written in an almost uniform style. Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands examined the Isaiah scroll using "cutting edge" pattern recognition and AI. They analysed a single Hebrew letter, aleph, which appears more than 5,000 times in the scroll. In a paper published by scholars Mladen Popovic, Maruf Dhali and Lambert Schomaker, they said they had "succeeded at extracting the ancient ink traces as they appear on digital images". "The ancient ink traces relate directly to a person's muscle movement and are person specific," they said, using a technique which helped produce evidence that more than one scribe was involved. "[The] likely scenario is [one of] two different scribes working closely together and trying to keep the same style of writing yet revealing themselves, their individuality." The researchers said the similarity in handwriting suggested the scribes could have undergone the same training in a school or family, such as "a father having taught a son to write". They said the scribes' ability to "mimic" the other was so good that until now modern scholars had not been able to distinguish between them.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52968565

Coronavirus: Cut negatives capture the isolation of lockdown

During the coronavirus crisis, many photographers have been taking socially distant pictures of their neighbours or images of the unusually empty streets where they live. For some though it is not about recording the seen world, it is about creating an image that captures their own experiences of the past few months.

Here photographer Aletheia Casey talks about her series To Dance With Shadows. A dog howls in the distance. A bird lies dead on the pavement. The sound of a passing train echoing through the unpolluted air seems louder now. There is a silence, an emptiness, and a solitude that I have never experienced before in the city. The world seems to have been thrown into a quiet chaos, and the future suddenly feels messy and uncertain. The flowers in my kitchen, long dead, still sit in their vase. When I arranged them, florists, like everything else, were still open. I touch the transparent, delicate petals; a reminder of the fragility of human life. The trees outside have burst into new life, in contrast to the near empty streets below them. In the absence of people, pigeons and foxes have reclaimed the streets. A single masked figure walks by, the only visible reminder that life is all but normal. I find respite from the anxiety of the situation by making photographic work. I cut into my negatives, damaging and distorting them; overlaying my own grief and fear onto the images. I manipulate and disfigure the photographs to reflect the way in which the future seems distorted and dark with shadows. As time passes I rework images of scenes captured when life was predictable and the future more certain. I dissect and scratch the images, separating and isolating the pieces of negatives, the lonely splinters of cut film now sitting apart from one another, disconnected, much as I now feel disconnected from many of those that I love. I overlay the fragments of the cut negatives on top of ink paintings that my young son and I made together while his school was closed and I was his main companion. The ink from the paintings slowly stains the film, and as it dries and cracks it seems to resemble a virus under the microscope, spreading and infecting. Loneliness creeps in under my living room door. It is an unwelcome guest, but I allow it in to sit with me while I work, a silent companion. My own rhythmic breathing becomes a calming background to the production of these images. Outside my window, a fragile cherry tree is aflame with delicate blossoms. Several days later, the flowers have fallen to the ground as if in defeat, making the pavement resemble the aftermath of a lost fight. All photographs courtesy Aletheia Casey, with text by Aletheia Casey and Ben Smith.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34581591

Congo anti-third term protests: Gunfire and tear gas

Police have fired shots and tear gas in Congo's capital, Brazzaville, in a clamp down on protests against the president's bid for a third term.

Texting and internet services have been cut and public meetings have been banned ahead of a controversial referendum on Sunday, residents said. The vote is aimed at pushing through changes to the constitution such as scrapping age and two-term limits. This would allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 71, to run for office again. Mr Nguesso is one of Africa's longest-serving rulers, first coming to power in 1979 and ruling until 1992 when he lost elections. He returned as president in 1997 after a brief civil war and has since won two elections. An opposition coalition had planned to hold a rally in the city centre to protest against the proposals to be put to a referendum on Sunday. Angry youths have burnt tyres in Brazzaville's southern Bacongo and Makelekele districts, sending plumes of smoke into the sky, the AFP news agency reports. There have been reports that a number of people have been injured in clashes between security forces and protesters. Other journalists told the BBC that most shops in Brazzaville were shut, and people were staying at home amid fears of violence. "People are demonstrating across the city. The police are firing tear gas bombs," Tresor Nzila, head of the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights, told the Reuters news agency. "In certain places, the police have fired warning shots with live fire." Thousands of protesters waved banners reading "Sassou get out" and "No to the referendum", Reuters reports. The opposition have been campaigning under the slogan "Sassoufit", a pun on the French expression for "that's enough". After the government announced a ban on public meetings, saying it expects people to work normally ahead of the referendum, the signal of Radio France International - which is popular in the former French colony - was also cut, AFP reports. Africa's longest-serving leaders: The arrogance of power The Mobutu and Gaddafi effect

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33520643

Ofsted Trojan Horse warning on pupils taken out of school

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned of "potentially high numbers of pupils" disappearing from school registers in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in east London.

Sir Michael said this "serious safeguarding issue" emerged as inspectors made follow-up visits after the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries. The chief inspector said it was unclear where some pupils had gone next. The Department for Education said it would take "immediate steps". "The safety of young people in our schools is paramount and we will be taking immediate steps to strengthen our guidance to schools on safeguarding and to amend the current regulations about the information schools collect when a pupil is taken off the register," said a Department for Education spokesman. The Ofsted chief had warned there was a lack of robustness in identifying why pupils had been taken off school registers or their next destination - making it difficult to know if they could be at risk from "extremist ideologies". In some cases he said there were "generic" descriptions, such as "moved abroad" or "gone to live with grandparents" - or in one case "gone back to Libya". There are also pupils who are thought to have been moved to unregistered schools. Sir Michael says inspectors have found "potentially high numbers of pupils whose names are being deleted from school admissions registers without either the schools or the local authorities having an accurate understanding of where those pupils have gone". Between September 2013 and June 2015, more than a thousand pupils moved from 14 schools being monitored. But in more than 350 cases their intended destination was not clearly recorded. These pupils might be safely studying in other schools in other parts of the country, but Ofsted warns that there is a worrying lack of certainty. "It is an issue which I believe has wider implications for schools and local authorities across the country," said the chief inspector. The report from Sir Michael provides Education Secretary Nicky Morgan with an updated assessment on the so-called Trojan Horse inquiries, which examined allegations that groups with a hardline Muslim ethos had been trying to take over schools. Sir Michael's progress report says that there has been an overall improvement in both state schools and some independent schools. But he highlights his concerns about a lack of a clear legal requirement for schools to establish where pupils move if they leave a school, warning that current practices are "inconsistent" and "inadequate". Sir Michael says this makes it "very difficult, if not impossible" to establish if pupils are at risk. "We cannot be sure that some of the children whose destinations are unknown are not being exposed to harm, exploitation or the influence of extremist ideologies." A Department for Education spokesman said: "It is vital local authorities failing in this area take immediate action to establish the identities of children missing education and we are working with them to improve their approach so that children are kept safe from harm." It is expected that schools, both state and independent, will be given clearer guidance of the need to gather more precise information about where pupils, being taken off their registers, are intending to move next and the schools they will attend. This will be shared with local authorities. Schools receiving pupils will also be expected to liaise with the school and local authority from which pupils have left. A Birmingham City Council spokesman said the council welcomed "Ofsted's focus on what is clearly an issue for all schools and local authorities". "We are improving our work to track children who are missing from school and this is part of our overall drive to make improvements."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50215171

How did my MP vote on triggering an early election?

MPs have rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for an early election for the third time.

The motion needed the support of two-thirds of all MPs - 434 out of 650 - but only 299 supported holding an election. Seventy members voted against and 272 did not vote. To find out how your MP voted, use the search box below. Click here if you cannot see the look-up. Data from Commons Votes Services. Of the 272 MPs that did not vote, 201 were Labour members whose party policy is to avoid an election until a no-deal Brexit has been ruled out. The SNP and the DUP also abstained. One Labour MP, Brexit-supporting Kate Hoey, backed the government, along with many of the former Conservatives expelled from the party in September. The Independent Group for Change, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party's Caroline Lucas all voted against, as well as 38 Labour MPs and all but one Liberal Democrat. By Daniel Dunford, Edwin Lowther, Maryam Ahmed and John Walton.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-58458292

Social care reform plans facing Tory tax backlash

Boris Johnson will unveil his long-term plans for social care and the NHS as early as Tuesday, amid rows over how to pay for multi-billion pound funding.

The PM said he had a plan to reform social care when he took power in 2019 but has yet to announce the detail. Reports of an increase in National Insurance to cover the cost - which would break his commitment not to raise taxes - has angered Tory MPs. The NHS in England will get an extra £5.4bn over the next six months. The prime minister said the money would "go straight to the front line" to help "bust the Covid backlogs". Organisations representing the NHS have warned services may have to be cut unless NHS England receives an extra £10bn in funding next year. Meetings to discuss the social care plan for England have been taking place between the PM, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid across the weekend, according to government sources. But while a deal is said to be "close", Laura Kuenssberg said it "sounded like haggling was still going on" over how to solve the funding issue. And she said a delay in reaching an agreement had "created plenty of space for a backlash before the details have even emerged". The rumoured increase in National Insurance - which has only been raised twice in the past 20 years - has particularly angered some Conservative MPs, with one cabinet minister telling the BBC: "It is the wrong thing to do, and the wrong way to go about it". Former minister and Tory MP Jake Berry also said it would not be a "fair and equitable way" to secure the money. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the rise would disproportionately affect working people "on lower wages than many others in the country", who would end up "paying tax to support people to keep hold of their houses in other parts of the country where house prices may be much higher". What do you think about the reported social care reform plans? Email 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: But it is widely accepted that major changes are needed to social care - which helps older and disabled people with day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and medication - due an to ageing population and failures to address issues in the past. Defence Minister James Heappey said too many governments had "ducked the opportunity" to fix the system, leading to the "social contract in the UK to be broken". He told BBC Breakfast: "The social contract is that whilst you are of working age, you pay your taxes to pay for those who aren't working in anticipation that when you yourself are retired, those who are of working age at that time will do the same for you. "That social contract has become dangerously out of balance." Mr Heappey would not confirm if National Insurance would be part of the government's proposals, but he said any plan would have pros and cons, and it was up to MPs to "fiercely debate" them when final detail is announced. Earlier this week, the government did not deny newspaper reports that it was considering increasing National Insurance contributions by at least 1% to improve social care and tackle the NHS backlog. National Insurance is paid by workers until they reach the state pension age and by employers. For someone on average earnings of £29,536 a year, a 1% increase in National Insurance would cost them £199.68 annually. Governments have only increased the tax twice since the 1990s - the Tory/Lib Dem coalition upped it in April 2011 (although it was announced by the previous Labour government) to improve public finances after the 2008 financial crash, and in 2003, Labour raised it to boost NHS spending. The last time the Conservatives increased National Insurance was in April 1994. But on all three occasions, the figure went up by 1%. Some Tories accept that a tax rise is needed - but say it should not be National Insurance because that could hit younger and lower income workers harder, while pensioners would not have to pay. However, during the last election, the Conservatives made a manifesto commitment not to raise National Insurance, income tax or VAT. Labour has voiced its opposition to an increase to National Insurance, with its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, ruling out his party's support. He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We do need more investment in the NHS and social care but National Insurance, this way of doing it, simply hits low earners, it hits young people and it hits businesses. "We don't agree that is the appropriate way to do it. Do we accept that we need more investment? Yes we do. Do we accept that NI is the right way to do it? No we don't. "But we will look at what [the government puts] forward because after eleven years of neglect we do need a solution." The SNP also called for the prime minister to "go back to the drawing board" over how to cover the cost. The party's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, tweeted: "This deeply regressive move would hammer young people, low paid workers and Scottish families by hundreds of pounds each year." The PM said he had a plan to reform social care when he took power in 2019 but has yet to announce the detail. Reports of an increase in National Insurance to cover the cost - which would break his commitment not to raise taxes - has angered Tory MPs. The NHS in England will get an extra £5.4bn over the next six months. The prime minister said the money would "go straight to the front line" to help "bust the Covid backlogs". Organisations representing the NHS have warned services may have to be cut unless NHS England receives an extra £10bn in funding next year. Meetings to discuss the social care plan for England have been taking place between the PM, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid across the weekend, according to government sources. But while a deal is said to be "close", Laura Kuenssberg said it "sounded like haggling was still going on" over how to solve the funding issue. And she said a delay in reaching an agreement had "created plenty of space for a backlash before the details have even emerged". The rumoured increase in National Insurance - which has only been raised twice in the past 20 years - has particularly angered some Conservative MPs, with one cabinet minister telling the BBC: "It is the wrong thing to do, and the wrong way to go about it". Former minister and Tory MP Jake Berry also said it would not be a "fair and equitable way" to secure the money. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the rise would disproportionately affect working people "on lower wages than many others in the country", who would end up "paying tax to support people to keep hold of their houses in other parts of the country where house prices may be much higher". What do you think about the reported social care reform plans? Email 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: But it is widely accepted that major changes are needed to social care - which helps older and disabled people with day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and medication - due an to ageing population and failures to address issues in the past. Defence Minister James Heappey said too many governments had "ducked the opportunity" to fix the system, leading to the "social contract in the UK to be broken". He told BBC Breakfast: "The social contract is that whilst you are of working age, you pay your taxes to pay for those who aren't working in anticipation that when you yourself are retired, those who are of working age at that time will do the same for you. "That social contract has become dangerously out of balance." Mr Heappey would not confirm if National Insurance would be part of the government's proposals, but he said any plan would have pros and cons, and it was up to MPs to "fiercely debate" them when final detail is announced. Earlier this week, the government did not deny newspaper reports that it was considering increasing National Insurance contributions by at least 1% to improve social care and tackle the NHS backlog. National Insurance is paid by workers until they reach the state pension age and by employers. For someone on average earnings of £29,536 a year, a 1% increase in National Insurance would cost them £199.68 annually. Governments have only increased the tax twice since the 1990s - the Tory/Lib Dem coalition upped it in April 2011 (although it was announced by the previous Labour government) to improve public finances after the 2008 financial crash, and in 2003, Labour raised it to boost NHS spending. The last time the Conservatives increased National Insurance was in April 1994. But on all three occasions, the figure went up by 1%. Some Tories accept that a tax rise is needed - but say it should not be National Insurance because that could hit younger and lower income workers harder, while pensioners would not have to pay. However, during the last election, the Conservatives made a manifesto commitment not to raise National Insurance, income tax or VAT. Labour has voiced its opposition to an increase to National Insurance, with its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, ruling out his party's support. He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We do need more investment in the NHS and social care but National Insurance, this way of doing it, simply hits low earners, it hits young people and it hits businesses. "We don't agree that is the appropriate way to do it. Do we accept that we need more investment? Yes we do. Do we accept that NI is the right way to do it? No we don't. "But we will look at what [the government puts] forward because after eleven years of neglect we do need a solution." The SNP also called for the prime minister to "go back to the drawing board" over how to cover the cost. The party's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, tweeted: "This deeply regressive move would hammer young people, low paid workers and Scottish families by hundreds of pounds each year." The social care system is devolved across the four nations, meaning governments need to develop separate solutions. In England, social care is generally not provided for free. Typically, only those with savings and assets worth less than £23,250 can get help from their council. There is no overall limit on costs, meaning thousands every year end up selling their homes to pay. Personal care, such as help with washing and dressing, is free in Scotland for those assessed by their local authority as needing it. Those in a home still have to contribute towards accommodation costs. The SNP said the UK government at Westminster should guarantee Scottish workers would not pay for an "England-only policy". Some care costs are capped in Wales, and home care is free for the over-75s in Northern Ireland. For decades now there have been arguments over how we pay for the support needed as people live longer with more complex health conditions. Scotland made the decision twenty years ago to give families more help with the costs. Wales and Northern Ireland have tweaked their systems making them slightly more generous, but in England, all plans for change have so far become mired in political arguments over how we pay the bill. In the meantime the crisis in social care has deepened, leaving a system that is underfunded, has patchy quality, struggles to recruit enough staff and relies on the many people who fund their own care to subsidise the care of those who get council help. Anyone with more than £23,250 pays for all their care costs, which when it comes to residential care can run into thousands of pounds a month. This is as true for someone who bought their council house under the Tories right to buy scheme, as it is for someone who lives in a mansion. Also about half of local authority care spending is on younger adults with disabilities and their needs are unlikely to be addressed in these plans. The danger is that too much heat and noise over the funding mechanism will obscure meaningful discussion about what the vision should be for a care system of the future - because at its best it could help many more people live the lives they want for longer. The social care system is devolved across the four nations, meaning governments need to develop separate solutions. In England, social care is generally not provided for free. Typically, only those with savings and assets worth less than £23,250 can get help from their council. There is no overall limit on costs, meaning thousands every year end up selling their homes to pay. Personal care, such as help with washing and dressing, is free in Scotland for those assessed by their local authority as needing it. Those in a home still have to contribute towards accommodation costs. The SNP said the UK government at Westminster should guarantee Scottish workers would not pay for an "England-only policy". Some care costs are capped in Wales, and home care is free for the over-75s in Northern Ireland. For decades now there have been arguments over how we pay for the support needed as people live longer with more complex health conditions. Scotland made the decision twenty years ago to give families more help with the costs. Wales and Northern Ireland have tweaked their systems making them slightly more generous, but in England, all plans for change have so far become mired in political arguments over how we pay the bill. In the meantime the crisis in social care has deepened, leaving a system that is underfunded, has patchy quality, struggles to recruit enough staff and relies on the many people who fund their own care to subsidise the care of those who get council help. Anyone with more than £23,250 pays for all their care costs, which when it comes to residential care can run into thousands of pounds a month. This is as true for someone who bought their council house under the Tories right to buy scheme, as it is for someone who lives in a mansion. Also about half of local authority care spending is on younger adults with disabilities and their needs are unlikely to be addressed in these plans. The danger is that too much heat and noise over the funding mechanism will obscure meaningful discussion about what the vision should be for a care system of the future - because at its best it could help many more people live the lives they want for longer.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56910687

Richard Pusey: Australian jailed for filming dying officers

An Australian man has received a 10-month jail sentence for filming and mocking police officers as they lay dying at a crash scene.

Last month Richard Pusey pleaded guilty to the rare charge of outraging public decency, as well as other offences. The 42-year-old has already been in custody for nearly 300 days, so he will probably complete his sentence within days. The sentencing judge called his actions "heartless, cruel and disgraceful". Still, families of the victims were disappointed with the length of the sentence in a case that has stirred huge public anger. Last month, Judge Trevor Wraight said the media had demonised Pusey to the point where he was "probably the most hated man in Australia". The mortgage broker had been speeding in his car on a Melbourne freeway last year when he was pulled over by four officers. While they were making his arrest, all four were struck by a lorry that had veered out of its lane. Senior Constables Lynette Taylor and Kevin King, and Constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney died at the scene. Pusey had been standing a few metres away and avoided the crash, but afterwards pulled out his phone and began filming numerous videos, some of which ran for more than three minutes. The court had heard that Pusey stood over and taunted Senior Constable Taylor as she remained pinned under the lorry. Experts said she was most likely still alive at the time. "There you go. Amazing, absolutely amazing," he said, according to vision from the constable's body-worn camera which was tendered to a court. "All I wanted was to go home and have some sushi," he added, before using expletives to blame the officers for ruining his Porsche sports car. He fled the scene on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway shortly after. The next day he was arrested at his home and initially charged with speeding, drug possession and reckless conduct offences. However, police then also discovered Pusey's video and that he had shared it among friends. The lorry driver, Mohinder Singh, was jailed earlier this month to 22 years for the deaths. A court found that the truck driver had been high on drugs, suffering delusions and hallucinations, and driving erratically when he ploughed his truck into the officers. On Wednesday, Judge Wraight condemned Pusey's behaviour while noting he was only being sentenced for his actions. Pusey hadn't caused the deaths of the officers, contrary to some public opinion, the judge said. "Your conduct in recording the police officers in their dying moments, together with the words you used as you recorded, was not only derogatory and horrible... but it was also callous and reprehensible conduct," Judge Wraight said. He noted that Pusey had a history of mental health problems, including a complex personality disorder "which may go some way to explaining your behaviour". But he said it did not excuse his actions. Pusey had previously testified he felt ashamed about the videos and that he often said offensive things "because that's how [it] comes out of my head". Pusey was also fined A$1,000 (£557; $774), put on a two-year good behaviour bond, and had his drivers licence suspended. Families and supporters of the police officers criticised the sentence after it was handed down in Victoria's County Court. Stuart Schulze, the husband of Constable Taylor, said he felt "almost unbearable" pain every time he remembered how his wife was treated in her final moments. "This sentence is totally inappropriate of this offending," Mr Schulze told reporters outside court. He argued it was the court's duty to "set the appropriate standard" in penalising such behaviour. The offence of outraging public decency has rarely been prosecuted in Australia, and the charge carries no set penalty. The head of Victoria state's police union also criticised the sentence. "Four upstanding heroes died on that day and… one soulless coward lived," Wayne Gatt said.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41694066

Is now the time to raise interest rates?

It's been 10 years since the UK last saw interest rates rise.

Back then, the iPhone had only just been unveiled, Twitter was a one-year old mystery and Instagram didn't even exist. Hard to imagine life without these things now, but interest rates of 5.75% and Gordon Brown as prime minister seem strangely alien. After that 0.25% rise, the world of monetary policy went into a tailspin, with central banks imposing a rapid series of interest rate cuts as it attempted to outrun the credit crunch. Finally, in March 2009 they hit a record low of 0.5% until being cut again to 0.25% in August 2016 in the aftermath of the shock Brexit vote. It will certainly be an unfamiliar feeling to see rates rise, although discussions about lifting them have rumbled during much of that almost nine-year period of record lows. Next month is hotly tipped to be the one that changes the direction of interest rates. Last month, Mark Carney dropped what was seen as his biggest hint yet that rates would be increased soon, possibly in November. Granted, the economic backdrop is difficult to decipher. This week saw inflation at a five-year high, weak retail sales figures on Thursday - but government borrowing figures on Friday way better than expected. And the underlying picture is of sluggish economic growth, persistently weak productivity, and wage rises that lag inflation and eat into earning power. On top of that, household debt is rising five times faster than earnings and is more than £200bn - a state of affairs that Bank of England governor Mark Carney has remarked on often. We ask two former rate-setters from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee whether now is the time to bite the bullet. "First of all, I would try very hard not to give advice to the Monetary Policy Committee. When you're on it, you have so much more information to go on. But I might be tempted to join the 'Raise' group. "I am concerned about the level of credit." She believes the Brexit effect is one that is out of the Bank's control: "You can cut the level of credit, you can't really do anything with monetary policy to offset the difficulties that are inevitable because of Brexit. "We are going to go into a period of economic difficulty that will be worse if we have people with high borrowing." But won't higher interest rates make life even worse for those with high debts, by simply making them harder to pay off? "We have to try to keep the economy in reasonable balance. There was a failure to pay enough attention to what was going on with credit in households and small businesses in the run-up to the crisis. "The debt position is precarious. Sooner or later, we are going to have to move to raise rates. If not, even more people will be taking on credit. We need to encourage savers and discourage borrowers." She accepts there is a worry about higher inflation, while the tightness of the labour market - which should mean higher wages - getting tighter still if fewer people come to the UK to work from the European Union. She accepts the retail sales figure for September was weak, but points out that it does not capture the whole of what the consumer is doing, and that the GDP numbers are "fairly feeble". Her vote is to move rates higher now. "In essence, in an ideal world, it would have been good if rates had been raised a year, or two, or three ago and were now at a higher level. "That would have helped to prevent the build-up of consumer debt that Kate and so many of us are concerned about. "However, at this stage, the horse has bolted. The debt has already built up now and I'm not sure the macro-economic conjuncture justifies a rise at this stage," Dr Wadhwani says. He accepts higher inflation, which is outstripping wages, is a worry, but says that will work itself out of the system: "We all know that inflation is higher because of temporary factors relating to the pound and Brexit. Wage rises are benign and growth is pretty anaemic - and could get even weaker. "It seems odd to be raising rates at a time when growth is likely to weaken further. It would be much better to hang on and wait for the uncertainty surrounding Brexit to lift." He also sees Kate Barker's point on Brexit being none of the Bank of England's doing - and hard for it to counter: "It's true that the bank has no responsibility to deal with Brexit per se - it's a political decision. "You are, though, dealt a hand and you have to deal with it - Brexit appears to reduce demand more than it reduces supply, so as a bank, you have to keep your foot on the pedal [keep rates low] to stimulate the economy, and that's what it should do. "No real policy mistake is going to be committed by not raising rates at this stage."

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english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46082324

Asia Bibi: Lawyer flees Pakistan in fear of his life

The lawyer representing a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after eight years on death row has fled Pakistan in fear for his life.

Saif Mulook told news agency AFP he had to leave so he could continue to represent Asia Bibi, whose conviction was overturned by judges on Wednesday. Officials have since agreed to bar Asia Bibi from leaving Pakistan in order to end violent protests over the ruling. Campaigners blasted the deal as akin to signing her "death warrant". Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours, and many are calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty following her acquittal. Mr Mulook told the BBC earlier this week she would need to move to a Western country for her own safety. A number of attempts have previously been made on her life. Several countries have offered her asylum. Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry defended the government against allegations that a deal reached with an Islamist party was capitulating to extremists. He said the government would "take all steps necessary" to ensure Asia Bibi's safety. Mr Mulook, however, called the agreement "painful". "They cannot even implement an order of the country's highest court," he told AFP before he boarded the plane to Europe. Mr Mulook said he had decided to leave as it was "not possible" to continue living in Pakistan, adding: "I need to stay alive as I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi." He told Pakistan's Express Tribune he would return to the country to defend his client - but needed the government to provide security. The protests were led by the Tehreek-i-Labaik (TLP) party. As party of its deal with the TLP, the government said it would not oppose petitions filed against the Supreme Court's verdict. All protesters arrested since Asia Bibi's acquittal will be released, and any violence towards them will be investigated. The government will also start legal proceedings to put her on a list which would ban her from leaving Pakistan. In return, the TLP is asking its supporters to stop the protests and disperse peacefully. The authorities earlier said that Asia Bibi was scheduled for release later this week. The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi, whose full name is Asia Noreen, had with a group of women in June 2009. They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean. Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response. She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation. In Wednesday's ruling, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on flimsy evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd "threatening to kill her". Islam is Pakistan's national religion and underpins its legal system. Public support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong. Hard-line politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way of shoring up their support base. But critics say the laws have often been used to get revenge after personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence. The vast majority of those convicted are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi community, but since the 1990s, scores of Christians have been convicted. They make up just 1.6% of the population. The Christian community has been targeted by numerous attacks in recent years, leaving many feeling vulnerable to a climate of intolerance. Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy.

['Pakistan', 'Asia Bibi blasphemy case', 'Islamabad', 'Islam', 'Blasphemy']

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Pakistan

["Pakistan", "Asia Bibi blasphemy case", "Islamabad", "Islam", "Blasphemy"]

english

en

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50000646

Turkey Syria offensive: What did the Kurds ever do for the US?

Even by President Trump's own remarkable standards, his off-the-cuff remark that the US alliance with the Kurds is of little importance because they were not at Normandy - they did not fight with the US and its allies in World War Two - is extraordinary.

It is much more recent history that matters in Syria and there, the Kurds have proved Washington's closest and most effective partner. The US approached the Syrian civil war with caution. Though opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, its chief concern was that the chaos there provided ungoverned space for the expansion of the so-called caliphate of Islamic State (IS). All sorts of players including the Turks, the Gulf Arab States and so on pitched in with assistance to various rebel groupings in the hope of removing the Assad regime. But with its own focus firmly on counter-terrorism rather than re-making Syria, the US sought to find elements on the ground who could mount a serious challenge to the fighters of IS. Various abortive attempts at arming and training local militias failed - in some cases US weapons were simply handed over to IS. Finally Washington turned to the Kurds. This was always going to present diplomatic problems. There are significant Kurdish populations in several Middle Eastern countries, including Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Many aspire to Kurdish nationhood. Indeed in Turkey, a separatist Kurdish movement known as the Kurdistan Workers Party or the PKK waged a long-running campaign against the Turkish state. Both the US and the Turkish authorities regard the PKK as simply terrorists. Across the border in Syria another Kurdish group known as the YPG had some links with the PKK in Turkey. And it was this group that formed the core element of the mixed Kurdish and Arab militia that Washington decided to throw its weight behind. Kurdish internal politics are undoubtedly complex. And it is interesting that President Trump himself mixed up these two Kurdish groups - the PKK and the YPG. But in Turkish minds there is little difference. For Ankara these Kurdish groups are terrorists and thus Washington was effectively siding with enemies of the Turkish state. Washington's decision to support the Kurds with training and equipment reaped dividends. They proved both reliable and capable and the dismantling of the IS caliphate in Syria owes much to their efforts. Simultaneously the US has sought to bend over backwards to calm Turkish fears, most recently developing a pattern of joint patrols between US and Turkish troops as a confidence-building measure in the border area. It is these US forces that were withdrawn ahead of the Turkish operation. President Trump appears to have decided that now the Kurds do not count for much and, despite his denials, he seems effectively to have given the Turks a green light to mount this operation by failing to make it clear to Ankara that this partnership really mattered to Washington. This of course is not the first time that the Kurds see themselves as having been failed by Washington. At least twice before when Iraqi Kurds were encouraged to rise up against the authorities in Baghdad by the Americans they were let down. In 1972, partly armed by Washington and urged on by the then Shah of Iran, Iraqi Kurds defied the government in Baghdad. But the Shah subsequently did his own deal with Iraq and the Kurds were brutally suppressed. Much the same happened in the wake of the US eviction of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991. The then US President George HW Bush called on the Kurds in Iraq to rise up against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Little practical support was offered and the Kurdish revolt was again brutally put down. If Mr Trump is to be taken at his word, alliances - whether it be with the Kurds or even within Nato - are for him simply transactional business arrangements to be judged according to a short-term cost-benefit analysis: what is the US giving and what is it getting in return? In seemingly writing off the Kurds he suggests that the US can easily find other allies in the region. Really? The US tried pretty well every other option before backing the Kurds. If there is a resurgence of IS then who is Washington going to turn to? Of course this whole episode also raises questions about the relationship between the US and another important ally - Turkey, which incidentally was also not at Normandy in WWII. Turkey's offensive into Syria risks becoming a major test of Turkey's whole relationship with the West. This is after all the same Turkey that recently purchased advanced Russian air defence missiles and was thus ejected from the US F-35 fighter programme. Threats are being made from all sides. Mr Trump has warned Turkey that if it goes too far he will do terrible damage to the Turkish economy. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is telling the Europeans that, if they condemn Turkey's actions, he will allow huge numbers of refugees to head for the EU's borders. And to think that all these countries are Nato allies!

['Turkey', 'Turkey offensive in Syria', 'Recep Tayyip Erdogan', 'Syrian civil war', 'Turkey offensive in Syria', 'Syrian Democratic Forces', 'YPG', 'Kurds', 'Syria']

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["Turkey", "Turkey offensive in Syria", "Recep Tayyip Erdogan", "Syrian civil war", "Turkey offensive in Syria", "Syrian Democratic Forces", "YPG", "Kurds", "Syria"]