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uk-politics-53186644

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53186644

Long-Bailey sacking risks reopening internal Labour tensions

"He seems a nice fella."

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter This morning, we watched the Labour leader perform what's known in the jargon as a walkabout. Sir Keir Starmer was in Stevenage in Hertfordshire, held by Labour from 1997 until 2010, but by the Tories since then. With social distancing in force, the normal "grip-and-grins" politicians take part in during these sessions were rather different. There were no handshakes, and no high fives with unsuspecting children who happen to be out shopping with their families. But for Sir Keir, it was his first chance at all to get out to meet the public in real life in his relatively new post. Remember, he had to give his crucial speech accepting the Labour leadership in his own front room. The public has seen only him in Parliament, or in a clutch of press interviews over the last few months. The party has found an increasingly confident presence as the government's green-bench opponents, alongside the fading influence of Jeremy Corbyn's supporters. But while his victory in the leadership contest has made huge waves in Westminster, it's plain that he still has work to do to cut through to the public. Before they can do much, opposition leaders have to build a rapport and recognition with the public. As we made our way around Stevenage market, it was obvious that work is far from complete. Lewis on the fish stall told us he seemed nice enough after they had a chat, but before today he just hadn't heard of him at all. Ryan, who sells beauty goodies, was well aware of who he was and that he was turning the party away from Jeremy Corbyn. But was not ready to put faith in him just yet, joking that he was "friendly and approachable, but all politicians are when they are out in the open!" Labour's polling numbers have certainly improved, but as his team is aware, the brutal truth is that many members of the public do not yet know who he is. That, of course, is the point of events like today's, and the digital mega conference calls that he's been trying to do in the last few months. Like it or not, political leaders who don't get recognised find it hard to get noticed too. Swift action But there's a different goal, which Sir Keir's backers believe today he scored, showing that he is willing to act decisively when things go wrong in his own party after a sometimes chaotic and often bitter era under Jeremy Corbyn. As we discussed here so many times, racism against Jewish people was a completely toxic issue during Mr Corbyn's time in the top job. Accusations were always denied, but he was considered by many inside and outside the party to have a blind spot when it came to anti-Semitism. Having carefully avoided irritating Mr Corbyn's tribe in the party during the leadership campaign, when his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey shared an online article containing an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory", Sir Keir moved fast to sack her. For the leader's backers, and many in the Jewish community, his actions are proof that he meant his promises of zero-tolerance on anti-Semitism and will do what he said. There is relief and respect in those circles. But there is a risk. Internal tensions Breaking out online tonight, there is real irritation among the section of the Labour Party that stood by Jeremy Corbyn. A left-wing group of MPs requested a meeting with the leader to protest, but that was denied. Thus far, Sir Keir had managed to stop internal tensions from bubbling over. But his move today might drive them out into the open, and may even drive some members away. His team certainly believed it is the right thing to do, and indeed, a public dispute with the left could prove politically useful as a way of showing a real break with Jeremy Corbyn's project. Sir Keir has certainly shown today that he has more going on than simply being a "nice fella". But as Labour has discovered over the years to its electoral cost, parties at war with themselves tend not to win.

world-latin-america-19909695

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19909695

Nicaragua profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1522 - Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez de Avila names Nicaragua after a local Indian chief, Nicarao. 1523-24 - Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba completes conquest of Nicaragua. 17th-18th centuries - British plunder and extend their influence over the inhabitants of Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. 1821 - Nicaragua becomes independent, but is incorporated into the Mexican empire. 1823 - Nicaragua becomes part of the United Provinces of Central America, which also comprises Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Independence 1838 - Nicaragua becomes fully independent. 1860 - British cede control over the country's Caribbean coast to Nicaragua. 1893 - General Jose Santos Zelaya, a Liberal, seizes power and establishes dictatorship. 1909 - US troops help depose Zelaya. 1912-25 - US establishes military bases. 1927-33 - Guerrillas led by Augusto Cesar Sandino campaign against US military presence. 1934 - Sandino killed on the orders of the National Guard commander, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Somoza family dictatorship 1937 - General Somoza elected president, heralding the start of a 44-year-long dictatorship by his family. 1956 - General Somoza assassinated, but is succeeded as president by his son, Luis Somoza Debayle. 1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded. 1967 - Luis Somoza dies and is succeeded as president by his brother, Anastasio Somoza. 1972 - Managua is devastated by an earthquake that kills between 5,000 and 10,000 people. 1978 - Assassination of the leader of the opposition Democratic Liberation Union, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, triggers general strike and brings together moderates and the FSLN in a united front to oust Somoza. Sandinista revolution and US subversion 1979 - FSLN military offensive ends with the ouster of Somoza. 1980 - Somoza assassinated in Paraguay. FSLN government led by Daniel Ortega nationalises land held by the Somoza family and turns it into cooperatives. 1982 - US-sponsored attacks by Contra rebels based in Honduras begin; state of emergency declared. 1984 - Daniel Ortega elected president; US mines Nicaraguan harbours and is condemned by the World Court for doing so. 1987-88 - Nicaraguan leadership signs peace agreement and subsequently holds talks with Contras. 1988 - Hurricane leaves 180,000 people homeless. Post-Sandinista era 1990 - US-backed centre-right National Opposition Union defeats FSLN in elections; Violeta Chamorro becomes president. 1992 - Earthquake renders 16,000 people homeless. 1996 - Arnoldo Aleman elected president. 1998 - Hurricane Mitch causes massive devastation. Some 3,000 people are killed and hundreds of thousands are left homeless. 2000 - FSLN win Managua municipal elections. 2001 November - Liberal party candidate Enrique Bolanos beats his Sandinista rival Daniel Ortega, in presidential election. 2003 December - Former president Arnoldo Aleman jailed for 20 years for corruption. A year later he is transferred to house arrest. He is freed in 2009 amid controversy. Debts cleared 2004 January - World Bank cancels 80% of Nicaragua's debt to that institution. 2004 July - Agreement with Russia writes off Nicaragua's multi-billion-dollar Soviet-era debt. 2005 April - Rises in fuel prices and the cost of living trigger weeks of sometimes violent street protests. 2005 June - The government and an opposition alliance, which controls Congress, become embroiled in a power struggle. OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza tries to mediate, without success. 2005 October - Political crisis eases as Congress agrees to delay constitutional reforms, which will weaken the powers of the president, until President Bolanos leaves office in 2007. 2006 April - Free trade deal with the US comes into effect. Congress approves the Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) in October 2005. 2006 October - President Bolanos unveils plans to build a new ship canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. MPs approve a tough new bill that bans abortions, including in cases where the mother's life is at risk. 2006 November - Ex-president Daniel Ortega is returned to power in elections. 2007 October - The International Court of Justice in the Hague settles a long-running territorial dispute between Honduras and Nicaragua. 2009 October - Constitutional Court lifts ban on president seeking re-election. 2011 November - President Ortega is re-elected for another five-year term with a landslide victory. 2012 September - The government evacuates about 3,000 people from areas near the San Cristobal volcano, which suddenly began erupting. 2012 November - International Court of Justice in the Hague rules on a group of disputed Caribbean islands, confirming that they belong to Colombia, not Nicaragua. But it expands a disputed maritime-border in favour of Nicaragua. 2013 June - Congress approves a proposal for a canal linking the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans which would rival the Panama Canal. Environmentalists oppose the idea. 2013 August - Nicaragua says it will begin drilling for oil and gas off its Caribbean coast in an area that belonged to Colombia until last year. 2013 November - The Colombian government recalls its ambassador to Nicaragua for consultations amid a worsening row over maritime borders in the Caribbean. 2014 February - Changes to Nicaragua's constitution come into effect, paving the way for President Ortega to run for a third consecutive term in 2016. The opposition argues the changes are a threat to democracy. 2014 November - Nicaraguan officials announce that construction of a new $50bn canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans will start in December. The 278km (172 mile) waterway will be longer, deeper and wider than the Panama Canal. Opponents express alarm about the impact it may have on the environment and on poor communities. 2014 December - Work begins on canal project that will link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Thousands of people from villages along the proposed route stage protests. 2015 December - The International Court of Justice rules in favour of Costa Rica in its long standing border dispute with Nicaragua. 2016 February - The government frees 8,000 prisoners in an effort to ease overcrowding in Nicaragua's jails. 2016 September - Nicaragua grants political asylum the former president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, who is facing allegations of corruption and money laundering at home, charges which he denies. 2016 November - Daniel Ortega wins a third consecutive presidential term. His wife Rosario Murillo becomes vice-president. 2018 April - President Ortega scraps proposed changes to social security after they spark nationwide protests with several deaths.

uk-politics-32891108

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32891108

Queen's Speech - Things can only get tougher

Appearances can be deceptive.

By Nick RobinsonPolitical editor It may be Her Majesty that travels from the Palace to Parliament to deliver it. It may be accompanied by the finery and flummery of a great State occasion. It may be called the Queen's Speech but it is, of course, not really her's at all, but the Prime Minister's. What's more, it is a speech which until the morning after the election before, he and his advisers never expected to hear delivered since they did not expect there to be a Conservative majority government. Palace advisers will have done their best to ensure that the words which emerge from the Queen's lips don't sound like a Tory election broadcast. It will have been a struggle as Downing Street is behaving as if the campaign never ended. Ministers are being sent onto the airwaves to parrot a string of sound bites about a "One Nation government" helping "working people" and creating "a country of security and opportunity for all at every stage in life". Promises to cut tax, increase the number of apprentices and deliver more child care is what they want to talk about. Their aim is clear. It is to exploit to the full the fact that for a very short time they have the political stage entirely to themselves. Their main opponents are distracted and in disarray. Their own party is exhilarated by their surprise victory and have still not unlearnt the habit of discipline which served them well in the run up to polling day. Newly elected MPs can't vote on anything for a few days and many are still finding their new desks. So, Team Cameron have a few days, maybe weeks, perhaps even months to sell positive messages before real world intrudes. Don't imagine for a second, though, that this can last. Intrude the real world will… and soon. Indeed, the first signs are that it already is. The decision not to table a Bill to scrap Labour's Human Rights Act and strengthen the role of the British courts against the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg tells you all you need to know. It combines all David Cameron's real world problems - his party and the Tory press's "obsession" with Europe (his word not mine); a tiny Commons majority of just a dozen; a House of Lords which has an anti-government majority and a newly resurgent SNP. It's not just this Tory manifesto that promised to sort out the oft repeated complaint that "human rights has gone mad". It's not just this Tory leader who set up a group of eminent lawyers to find a way to do it. The Sun today screams "Their rights or yours?" over pictures of a "killer, rapist, paedo rapist and terrorist" and ordinary members of the public. The Mail attacks the "Folly of human rights luvvies" but they can huff and puff all they like. The Conservatives have been trying for over a decade and never found a way forward that is agreed by all in their own party let alone by the legal community. That means the prime minister simply does not have a plan he can get through Parliament which won't be brought down by a Tory backbench revolt, Lords opposition fuelled by protests from, yes, luvvies but also many others outside. Last year I reported on how the government's own top legal adviser, the then Attorney general Dominic Grieve, had dug his heels in. Grieve was opposing a plan by a group of Conservative lawyers. It proposes a new law which would assert that Parliament and not the European Court of Human Rights was the supreme body. Their report predicts that a so-called British Bill of Rights would either force changes in the way the Strasbourg court works or trigger a crisis which could lead to the UK's expulsion from the international body which set up the court and which Britain helped to found - the Council of Europe. Grieve warned his colleagues that it was a plan for "a legal car crash" albeit one with "a built-in time delay". He argued that promising to stay in the European Convention of Human Rights whilst refusing to recognise the court's rulings was "incoherent". So, remember today that appearances really can be deceptive. This is David Cameron's day. His speech. His moment to savour victory, but he is going to find very very soon that it only gets harder from now on.

world-europe-45295968

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45295968

Papal visit: Answers to the most frequently asked questions

The waiting is nearly over.

By Mark SimpsonBBC News NI Pope Francis is due to touch down on Irish soil on Saturday for a 32-hour stay. It will be the first papal visit to Ireland in almost four decades, since Pope John Paul II came in 1979. Ahead of the weekend's events, BBC News NI's Mark Simpson answers all the essential questions about the upcoming papal trip. Where can I see the Pope? If you don't have a ticket for the main events, your best bet is the centre of Dublin on Saturday afternoon. He will be travelling down O'Connell Street in the popemobile just after 16:00 BST, then travelling along Dame Street. Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday evening and Phoenix Park in the city for a Papal Mass on Sunday afternoon. But all the tickets have gone. No, he is going to the Knock Shrine in County Mayo on Sunday morning but again that is a ticketed event, and again they have all been snapped up. The Catholic Church in Ireland asked the Vatican to include a cross-border trip but they politely refused. The fact that there is political deadlock at Stormont may have been a big factor. With no first and deputy first ministers to meet the Pope, it would have been diplomatically awkward. If the trip to Dublin goes well, pressure will grow for a specific visit to Belfast or Armagh in the near future ... if Stormont returns. Once. In 1980 he came for about a month to study English. Not good at all. He is fluent in Italian, and coming from Argentina his native tongue is Spanish. 81. Two days. 32 hours to be exact. He arrives on Saturday morning and leaves on Sunday evening. Yes, but the Vatican has not said when and where. Whatever happens, it is likely to be private. No cameras. We will probably only find out about it after it happens. He will certainly say something. It is the first papal visit to Ireland since the abuse scandal broke. Recent revelations about the widespread abuse by priests in Pennsylvania in the United States have ensured the issue cannot be avoided. Campaigners for victims of abuse want to hear more than an apology. They want to know what action the Pope is going to take. The first opportunity for him to speak about the issue will be at a state reception at Dublin Castle at lunchtime on Saturday. Yes, wherever the Pope goes, demonstrators say they will not be far away. The main protest is at Dublin's Garden of Remembrance on Sunday afternoon at the same time as the Papal Mass at Phoenix Park. Some people snapped up the free tickets to papal events with no intention of attending. It was a form of protest to try to reduce the crowds. It is not clear how widespread the tactic was, and whether it will have an impact. Yes, the Presbyterian, Methodist and Church of Ireland leaders have all been invited to the reception at Dublin Castle. Ian Paisley's old party, the DUP, also received an invitation to Dublin Castle, but current leader Arlene Foster turned it down. Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Robin Swann also said he was double-booked that day, but unlike the DUP, he is sending a representative, Robbie Butler, who is an assembly member for Lagan Valley. An estimated 35 million euros (£31m). This is not a formal state visit. He is coming to attend the World Meeting of Families, a global event for Catholics held every three years. A total of 1,200 from 31 different countries. The Catholic Church no longer enjoys the place in society that it once held in many countries, especially Ireland, but global fascination with the Pope remains. In a word, enormously. There has been a seismic shift on social issues. Politically, church and state have gone through a separation. Economically, Ireland has been transformed since 1979. Oh, and in Dublin pubs, a pint of Guinness is no longer 50p. The last census, carried out in 2016, showed that more than three quarters of the population still describe themselves as Catholic. The rate of attendance at religious services also remains relatively high, compared to other European nations with large Catholic populations. It is estimated that there will be about 80,000 at Croke Park, 45,000 in Knock and 500,000 at Phoenix Park. Around 4,000 servers will be deployed, each responsible for groups of 1,000 people. Mixed. Pilgrims are advised to prepare for rain, especially on Sunday. The crowds are expected to get close to him. But at the main events, selfie sticks have been banned for safety reasons. Papal visit to Ireland: Itinerary highlights Saturday 25 August Sunday 26 August Follow all the events on BBC News You can follow minute-by-minute updates on the Pope's visit here on the BBC News website. There will be Newsline special programmes on BBC2 from 12.00-13:00 and 19:20-21:05 on Saturday and from 22:30-23:00 on Sunday. On Radio Ulster, William Crawley will be presenting special programmes from Dublin Castle from 12:00-13:30 on Friday and from 11:30-13:00 on Saturday. Sunday Sequence (08:30-10:15) and The Sunday News (13:00-14:00) will also be broadcasting from Phoenix Park.

uk-politics-32026914

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32026914

Has David Cameron opened Pandora's Box?

So, what did he mean by that?

James LandaleDeputy political editor@BBCJLandaleon Twitter David Cameron's admission that he will not serve a third term in Downing Street will provoke a flurry of speculation. What was he hoping to achieve? What message was he trying to send? First things first. I asked him a question and he answered it. It was not something that a helpful Downing Street official had suggested I might ask with a heavy hint that I might get an interesting answer. It was just one of many speculative questions that political journalists like me ask in the hope that just occasionally they might get an answer. And this time it did. Second, Mr Cameron's overt aim was to get across the message that he would serve a full second term. He wants to quash speculation that he might stand down early in 2017 after a referendum on the UK's EU membership. But by emphasising that he would do another five years, he inevitably has to address what he would do after that. And his answer was clear. Terms in Downing Street, he said, are like Shredded Wheat: "two are wonderful, three might just be too many." But by answering my question, Mr Cameron has potentially opened a Pandora's Box. He has invited Westminster and the country to contemplate a time when he is no longer prime minister and that is a dangerous gamble to make so close to an election. His aim is to give himself the time and space to finish a job that he told me he feels is half done. He is telling the voters that they can back him one last time in May and then they can see the back of him in five years' time. It lets voters know that unlike some of his predecessors, he will not go on and on. But his opponents will say he is making an arrogant presumption about the election result, an assumption that he will have the choice over whether to serve a third term. In a few weeks' time, the voters may make that decision a little earlier for him. And even if Mr Cameron does remain in Downing Street, he has officially opened the door to what would be a lengthy leadership contest. He did not need to tip some of his potential successors but he did. And I am not sure Theresa May, George Osborne and Boris Johnson will thank him for it. So the prime minister was asked a question, he answered it, and the consequences will help shape an election campaign that is just days away.

business-23055419

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23055419

How big are the government's infrastructure plans?

"And now for the good news..."

By Laurence KnightBusiness reporter, BBC News That is the message the government would like to convey as it details how a third of the £310bn of investments scheduled in the National Infrastructure Plan will be allocated during the 2015-20 parliament. George Osborne may have cut some departments to the bone in the latest Spending Review, but at least there will be new roads, power stations and broadband. Eventually. The chancellor was not short of hyperbole, promising "the largest programme of investment in our roads in half a century" and "the largest rail investment since the Victorian era", no less. The reality is somewhat more nuanced. Speed versus sexiness First off, the government's big glamorous plans will not provide much immediate respite for an economy still barely in recovery. Take the two most grandiose rail schemes. HS2 - the High Speed link from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds - is not due to start work until 2017, with completion pegged for 2032. Crossrail 2 - a second new route under central London - has only just begun to go through a public consultation process. Likewise, many of the long-heralded road improvements are far from getting started, for example the upgrade of the A14, which ferries trucks from Felixstowe container port to the Midlands. Meanwhile progress on more "shovel-ready" but less high-profile projects has been painfully slow. In November 2011, the RAC identified 96 road improvements, worth £11bn, as lacking in funding. It now says that a third of them are actually funded - or a quarter by value. A big question mark also hangs over the very immediate, but decidedly unsexy problem of road maintenance. It is the legal responsibility of local governments to keep about 90% of the network - all roads besides national highways - in good repair. Yet the Spending Review cut the investment budget of the Department for Communities and Local Government by £1.7bn. That comes on top of a 19% cut in the DfT's road maintenance, which had already led the Local Government Association to ask Whitehall for more money. Planning more Most of the projects announced by Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will probably not actually be paid for by taxpayers. The cost of new offshore wind, gas and nuclear power stations and the upgrade of the national grid is ultimately borne by billpayers, while the cost of rail infrastructure mostly lands on farepayers. But the government still plays a critical role, by guaranteeing loans and long-term prices for the companies that do the building and subsequent operating. However, some query why the government doesn't just spend more of its own money, given how cheaply it can borrow these days. "We have among the lowest interest rates in recorded economic history," says the economist Jonathan Portes. "We have lots of... unemployed people and firms with spare capacity. "There's never been a better time to borrow to invest." He wants the chancellor to pump up the economy with an extra £20bn-£30bn of annual spending (about 2% of GDP) on infrastructure and homebuilding. Spending less Yet George Osborne did not announce any increase in infrastructure spending in Wednesday's Spending Review. He stuck with the £50bn-52bn of yearly capital expenditure already laid out in the Budget he unveiled in March. That "capex" covers direct Whitehall spending on building stuff, only a small proportion of which is actually infrastructure, mainly roads. The rest goes on housing, schools, hospitals, military bases and so forth. That level of spending will do little to alleviate the moribund UK construction industry, which has shed almost half a million jobs since our current depression began in 2008. Mr Portes points out that planned investment, net of depreciation (wear-and-tear), is only half of the level it was at during the 2008-09 recession year. Admittedly, 2008-09 is a high benchmark. The then Chancellor Alistair Darling was desperately trying to prop up the economy at the time with a surge of spending. But he was already planning for it to drop off sharply after 2010 when Labour was voted out of office. Common complaint In the absence of more government spending, we are left with the planned reliance on private sector spending. Yet planning is one thing. Delivery is another thing entirely. For example, the government's flagship nuclear project, the Hinkley Point C reactor, has been held up by interminable haggling with EDF over price guarantees. Similarly, investment in the factories needed to produce turbines for offshore wind farms - another big leg of the government's energy plans - have been stymied by uncertainty over government support, according to the renewables industry. Both cases highlight an inherent problem in all infrastructure projects - their time horizon. It's a common complaint. "Rail plans are long-term. Governments aren't," says Gareth Edwards of the London Reconnections transport blog. "At any time there are always critical projects waiting to be done, which you'll find in Network Rail's and Transport for London's strategic plans, but which are not currently funded. "This is because they require large amounts of money at a future point in time, and money is generally only allocated in specific short-term blocks." The planning uncertainty caused by short-sighted government policy has been cited by a London School of Economics study as the main impediment to infrastructure investment. Just consider the vexed issue of London airport capacity as a case in point. The National Infrastructure Plan therefore provides a helpful step towards reducing that uncertainty by looking five years beyond the next election to 2020. It probably also helps that Labour is seemingly even more keen on public investment than the coalition. That funding time horizon meant the Mayor of London could trumpet an "unprecedented" six-year funding package in the Spending Review. But in truth what Transport for London and other infrastructure companies could really do with is to be able to plan for decades into the future.

world-us-canada-44669002

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44669002

Billie razors: 'First razor ad with hairy women' wins praise online

"Body hair. Everyone has it."

Simple words, but they've prompted a debate in the US and beyond this week thanks to a new razor advert that shows women actually shaving their body hair. Surely that's not so revolutionary? Except it is - because normally ads for women's razors show plastic-perfect, airbrushed legs that are already totally smooth. Razor brand Billie says it's the first to feature hairy women for 100 years and the advert has gone viral as a result. 'This is damn beautiful' On social media, many women applauded its close-ups of hairy female toes, armpits, monobrows and stomachs. "THIS IS DAMN BEAUTIFUL" wrote Instagram user @bigparadethroughtown. "I don't like razors but that ad is dope," agreed @hanguk0. "When brands pretend that all women have hairless bodies, it's a version of body-shaming," Billie co-founder Georgina Gooley told Glamour magazine. "It's saying you should feel ashamed of having body hair." As well as its advert, the brand has launched an online campaign to normalise images of fuzzy, stubbly, natural women. It has donated positive, unflinching pictures to the stock photo site Unsplash, which people can use for free. Amid the tide of support, however, some asked why a razor company would be trying to reduce taboos around body hair. In a piece for US website Slate, writer Rachelle Hampton observed: "It's true that at this point in life, I enjoy the feeling of a smooth leg as much as anybody else. But I wouldn't have started shaving had I not been convinced by the age of 11 that there was something fundamentally wrong with having body hair." Can a company selling razors really say it's not complicit in that? Billie addresses the issue with a line of pop-up text: "If and when you feel like shaving, we're here." And interestingly, not all the women are smooth-shaven when the advert ends. "Shaving is a personal choice, and no one should be telling women what to do with their hair," founder Ms Gooley told Glamour. "Some of us choose to remove it, and some of us choose to wear it proudly - and either way, we shouldn't have to apologise for our choice."

blogs-trending-47888242

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-47888242

The Redditor who accidentally spent a year talking to himself

"I just thought I was dull."

By Tom GerkenBBC UGC & Social News Reddit user Andy Bowen could be forgiven for his frank assessment of his online presence. I'm sure we all know the feeling of posting something quite clever online only to feel a bit rubbish when nobody seems to notice it. But what separates Bowen from the rest of us is that he kept posting when faced with silence for an entire year - only to find out he'd been mistakenly "shadow banned" the entire time. In other words, though the 34-year-old could make posts and comments on Reddit, absolutely nobody could see them. Zero to Hero After getting in touch with Reddit support about the problem, discovering the mistake, and then publicly posting about what has happened, Andy has become an overnight sensation with the most "liked" post on the website on Wednesday. More than 123,000 people have "upvoted" his post (Reddit's version of "likes"), with many more paying to give him special rewards - which at the time of writing amount to roughly three and a half years of the website's premium service. "I'm having a very strange day," Andy told the BBC. "I felt quite amazing when someone noticed one of my posts. "I didn't realise it was going to blow up like that - and I had a very frantic quick search in the morning to see if I had to delete anything embarrassing. "People were quite shocked why I wasn't more angry about it, but a moderator contacted me to explain I'd been caught up in an attempt to stop attacks on the website. "They blocked an IP address or account they thought I was linked to, that's it really. I was just so glad it was cleared up." Andy said that for a long time he didn't understand why people weren't commenting on his posts, and highlighted one that he was disappointed nobody saw at the time. "There were a couple of posts on the diabetes forum," he said, "where people had asked questions that I had the answers to. "There's one specific one where someone was putting out a cry for help. Mine was one of only two responses. "It's gone now, they obviously never saw my response, and I don't know, you never know what's happening to the person behind it. "I wonder how would my contribution have changed them during that time." 'Worth it' Andy explained he kept posting simply because he enjoyed contributing to discussions, even if he wasn't getting anything back. "Rather than just sit around and look at social sites I like to do something a little more active and - ironically - interactive. "In the end it took me a long time to contact Reddit support, and they solved it within six hours really." Comparing his year of social silence to his day of fame, Andy said it was "absolutely worth it". "I've had a really funny day of content," he said. "I've had lots of good interactions with people, really good conversations about real lives. "What I don't want to do from this is make any money, so I'm going to contact a charity to see if I can do anything with crowdfunding. "I'm going to try and turn this strange situation into something real."

world-asia-india-55798003

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55798003

India farmers' rally: What's next for the protesters?

The editorials have been unsparing.

Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent After a rally against farm reforms unexpectedly turned violent on Tuesday, India's farm protests have lost their legitimacy, said one. Accept the government's offer to put the reforms on hold and return home, advised another. Yet another described it as "India's Capitol insurrection" moment. To be true, a group of protesting farmers did divert from agreed routes, clash with the police and break through barricades to storm Delhi's historic Red Fort complex. One protester died and some 400 policemen were injured. At the same time, given the scale of the agitation - hundreds of thousands of protesters, many of them riding tractors - the violence could have been much worse. The majority of protesters and the police exercised restraint, with the latter bearing the brunt of the violence. As the protesters called off the rally and dispersed in the evening, traffic gridlocks in the capital eased. Hyperbole and social media outrage apart, India has witnessed far deadlier violent protests in its recent history. Farm union leaders have condemned the violence and blamed the chaos on rogue elements among an otherwise peaceful march. It is increasingly clear that they might have misread the mood within groups in their fold. The night before the Delhi rally, a bunch of young protesters reportedly took over the stage at a protest site and opposed the routes agreed upon between their leaders and the police. That should have been a warning to the leaders. Many believe the long-drawn and physically draining protests - hundreds of thousands of farmers camped out in cold and rain for two months, some 60 of them dead so far, and 11 rounds of failed talks with the government - could have resulted in growing frustration in the "young radicals" amongst them. "Maybe the radical approach was finding currency with many followers. The government also allowed the pressure to build up. After the violence the leaders have lost credibility. Their right to represent the farmers will be questioned," KC Singh, a former diplomat, told me. The farm leaders have said they will isolate the rogue elements. Some of them have alleged that pro-government elements infiltrated Tuesday's demonstration to discredit it. The role of a Punjabi film actor - who campaigned for a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in Punjab - in entering the Red Fort is also being investigated. "The breaching of the Red Fort should be condemned. At the same time, we must uphold the right of farmers to protest," says Pushpinder Singh, a rights activist. What is clear is that the protesters have lost considerable public goodwill and their leaders have a lot of work to do to restore it. "It has been an orderly, peaceful, lawful protest until now. If some elements have broken the peace and created a situation of anarchy, the leaders will have to do some damage resolution and rise to the challenge," says historian Mahesh Rangarajan. So what happens next? One danger is that both sides will become more entrenched in their positions after Tuesday's violence. After multiple rounds of talks and an offer to put the laws on hold for 18 months, the government might well refuse to engage further. At the same time, it is difficult to see the farmers, mainly from the states of Punjab and Haryana, winding up the protests and returning home in what will then be seen as a defeat of the movement. On the other hand, the government might use the upcoming federal budget on 1 February to woo the farmers and announce more concessions and schemes for them. As far as the protesters are concerned, opposition politicians have an opportunity to pick up the cudgels for them in parliament. India's opposition have, of late, never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. More negotiations appear to be the only way out of this crippling trust deficit between the two sides. "It is important to keep talking, than not talking. Negotiations take time," Dr Rangarajan says. Tuesday's violence proves that mass movements need a unified political leader. This agitation has been a "non-party political protest" whose rallying point has not been religion or caste, as is usually the case with agitations in India. It's primarily an "economic movement" by a group of unions against a formidable government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP which rules - singly or jointly with partners - in 16 of India's 28 states. The farmers' agitation is led by dozens of unions of all political persuasions. "Keeping it together for two months has been a miracle. When you have a large following, the following can begin controlling the leadership," Mr Singh says. He believes the protesters need to pipe down, retain the sympathy of the bulk of farmers, call off another planned march to Delhi, meet the government half way and agree to the suspension of the laws. For both the protesters and the government, it has now become an embarrassing stalemate. Read more by Soutik Biswas

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Sao Tome and Principe profile

A chronology of key events:

16th century - Sao Tome colonised by the Portuguese, who bring in slaves to work sugar plantations. Becomes important staging post for slave trade. 1800s - Cocoa introduced. Sao Tome develops into one of world's main cocoa producers. 1951 - Becomes overseas province of Portugal. 1960 - Formation of nationalist group which later becomes the socialist oriented Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP). 1974 - Military coup in Portugal. Portuguese government recognises islands' right to independence, acknowledges MLSTP as sole representative in negotiations. Unrest followed by exodus of Portuguese. Independence 1975 12 July - Independence, with Manuel Pinto da Costa (MLSTP) as president; and Miguel Trovoada as prime minister. Plantations nationalised, strong ties built up with communist countries. 1978 - Government announces suppression of coup attempt, brings in Angolan troops for support. 1979 - Trovoada arrested, accused of complicity in coup attempt. He is released and goes into exile in 1981. 1980s - Government scales down links with communist world as economy deteriorates. Declares itself nonaligned, seeks Western support for recovery plans. 1988 - Coup attempt. 1990 - New constitution allows opposition parties, provides for multi-party elections and restricts president to two five-year terms. Trovoada returns from exile. Multiparty elections 1991 - First multiparty elections. Renamed MLSTP-PSD loses majority. Transitional government installed, pending presidential elections, subsequently won by independent candidate Trovoada. 1992 - Popular unrest sparked by austerity measures. 1994 - MLSTP-PSD regains power. Parliament grants Principe local autonomy. 1995 - Trovoada toppled and detained in bloodless coup by soldiers but is reinstated within days after pressure from donor countries. 1996 - Trovoada re-elected president. Popular protests over economic hardships. 1997 - Unrest over economic conditions. Sao Tome establishes formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan at Trovoada's behest. The move is condemned by the government. China retaliates by suspending ties. 1998 - MLSTP-PSD wins general elections, Guilherme Posser da Costa appointed prime minister. 2000 - Civil servants strike to press for higher pay. Officials say country's external debt in 1998 amounted to US $270 million, more than five times the country's annual gross domestic product of around US $50 million. De Menezes sworn in 2001 - Businessman Fradique de Menezes is declared the winner in the presidential election in July and is sworn into office in early September. 2002 March - MLSTP narrowly wins parliamentary elections. De Menezes appoints Gabriel Costa as prime minister and both main political parties agree to form broad-based government. 2002 August - President De Menezes announces plans for a US naval base in the country, which would aim to protect Sao Tome's oil interests. 2002 October - President De Menezes names new government with Maria das Neves as premier. It replaces administration led by former prime minister Gabriel Costa, which was dismissed by De Menezes in September. 2003 16 July - Military coup topples the government. President De Menezes, in Nigeria at the time, returns to Sao Tome a week later after an agreement is struck with the junta. A general amnesty is given to the coup leaders. Coup attempt 2003 October - Oil companies bid for offshore oil blocs controlled by Sao Tome and Nigeria. Bids are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in licence money for Sao Tome. 2004 March - Row between president, prime minister over control of oil deals threatens to topple government. Four cabinet ministers are replaced. 2004 September - President De Menezes sacks the prime minister and government after a series of corruption scandals. A new prime minister is sworn in. 2004 December - Parliament approves oil law designed to protect revenues from corruption. 2005 February - Sao Tome - jointly with Nigeria - signs its first offshore oil exploration and production-sharing agreement with international oil firms. 2005 June - Prime minister and government resign. Head of the central bank Maria do Carmo Silveira becomes the new premier. 2006 March - Protests against poor living conditions disrupt parliamentary elections in some constituencies, delaying announcement of results. The president's Democratic Movement of Forces for Change (MDFM) is declared winner, taking 23 of the 55 seats in parliament. Debt waived 2007 March - World Bank, IMF forgive $360 million in debt owed by Sao Tome. This represents about 90% of the country's foreign debt. Nigeria and Sao Tome agree to establish a joint military commission to protect their common oil interests in the Gulf of Guinea. 2008 February - Opposition leader Patrice Trovoada becomes prime minister, but is dismissed in May after a no-confidence vote. 2008 June - Rafael Branco, head of Sao Tome's second largest party, sworn in as prime minister at head of a new governing coalition. 2008 December - Several high-ranking former government officials, including to ex-prime ministers, appear in court in Sao Tome's largest corruption scandal. 2009 February - Government says coup plot foiled. 2009 December - Nigeria and Sao Tome agree to set up a joint maritime military commission to protect offshore crude oil fields. 2010 January - Opposition leader Arlecio Costa, jailed over February 2009 coup plot, is pardoned. 2010 March - Sao Tome opens tenders for oil exploitation. 2010 August - Opposition Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party wins parliamentary elections. Patrice Trovoada becomes premier. 2011 August - Independence-era leader Manuel Pinto da Costa wins presidential election. 2012 December - President Pinto da Costa dismisses Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada following a no-confidence vote in the national assembly. 2014 October - Opposition ADI party wins parliamentary elections with an outright majority. 2016 August - Evaristo Carvalho becomes president following elections. 2016 December - Sao Tome re-established diplomatic relations with China after cutting ties with Taiwan.

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Oscars 2017: Best actress nominees

ISABELLE HUPPERT

Find out more about the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards, which will take place on 26 February 2017. Age: 63 Nominated for: Elle The character: Michele Leblanc, the head of a video game company, who is raped in her home. Oscar record: None. The critics said: "Huppert gives a performance of imperious fury, holding the audience at bay, almost goading us to disown her. Audaciously, Elle presents her not so much as a victim but as the casualty of a world she is very much a part of; maybe (still more troublingly) an accessory to." [The Guardian] RUTH NEGGA Age: 35 Nominated for: Loving The character: Mildred Loving, whose interracial marriage to Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton), led to the couple's arrest and banishment from the US state of Virginia in the 1950s. Oscar record: None The critics said: "When her expressive eyes, usually downcast, rise up to confront a world that needs changing, it's impossible not to be moved. The stabbing simplicity of Negga's acting is breathtaking." [Rolling Stone] NATALIE PORTMAN Age: 35 Nominated for: Jackie The character: Jackie Kennedy, whose husband President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Oscar record: Portman won best actress for Black Swan in 2011 and was nominated for best supporting actress for Closer in 2005. The critics said: "Portman's intricate performance... may just trump her Oscar-winning turn in Black Swan as the most high-wire feat she's ever pulled off." [Variety] EMMA STONE Age: 28 Nominated for: La La Land The character: Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress working in a Los Angeles coffee shop. Oscar record: Nominated for best supporting actress for Birdman in 2015. The critics said: "This is a career-best moment for Stone, who is grounded and spunky as the scrappy aspiring actress, then graceful and poised as Mia continues her journey." [Cinema Blend] MERYL STREEP Age: 67 Nominated for: Florence Foster Jenkins The character: Streep plays Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having an awful singing voice. Oscar record: Streep has 19 previous Oscar nominations and has won three times - twice as best actress, for The Iron Lady (2012) and Sophie's Choice (1983), and once as best supporting actress, in Kramer vs Kramer (1980). The critics said: "Ms Streep is a delight, hilarious when she's singing and convincingly on edge at all times." New York Times Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

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Who is Julian Assange?

Who is Julian Assange?

By Nick BryantBBC News, Sydney That nettlesome question - which has intrigued and perplexed since the founder of WikiLeaks first gained global prominence - lies at the heart of a play about his life which has just opened in Sydney. Is he merely a geek with a flair for computer programming or the most consequential revolutionary Australian of our time? Or both? In a theatre strewn with mock-ups of thousands of leaked classified documents, Stainless Steel Rat challenges the audience to decide for themselves. The play tells the story through the lens of a band of fictional film-makers shooting a movie about Mr Assange's life. It assembles a cast of characters that includes US President Barack Obama, Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. Bradley Manning - the US soldier who is alleged to have passed tens of thousands of classified documents to Assange - is also featured. Other characters include Mr Assange's mother, Christine, and his son, Daniel, both of whom live in Australia, the land of Mr Assange's birth. Written by Melbourne playwright Ron Elisha, the play focuses on eight months of his life during which he is fighting extradition to Sweden, where he faces sexual assault allegations. This is not a courtroom drama, but rather an outside-the-courtroom drama. Platinum blond From a cell in Wandsworth prison to the bedroom of the Australian prime minister in Canberra, it explores the motives of those determined to silence him and of those who view him as a champion of free speech and transparency. Assange is portrayed as a megalomaniac - paranoid, self-righteous, weirdly charismatic, angry, fragile and chronically vain. When he discovers, for instance, that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has been selected as Time magazine's Person of the Year, he explodes. Not lacking in self-confidence, he believes he is one of the most significant figures of the past 500 years. "My life is about depriving government of its chief means to power," he says at one point in the play - and he clearly believes he has achieved that goal. The play's star, Darren Weller, has dyed his hair platinum white in preparation, and says he is regularly mistaken in the street for Julian Assange. He has also tried to capture the different shades of Assange's enigmatic personality, and many of the internal contradictions. The play has been called rapid response theatre - an attempt to transfer a story from the headlines to the stage as quickly as possible. What the play isn't is judgemental. "What the playwright has done is present a whole range of factors or elements that make up Julian Assange - and you put it together yourself," says the director Wayne Harrison. '"Most people, when they come to see the play, will be pro-him or anti-him in some way. And maybe we can alter that perception in some way, or reinforce it." Perhaps the most powerful scenes in the play come in the sharp interchange between Assange and his lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. Played out in a cell in Wandsworth prison, it becomes a duel in which Assange's digital fluency and hi-tech know-how are pitted against Robertson's erudition and droll humour. Elusive figure Theatre critics might have problems with the device that the playwright has deployed - the idea of actors playing actors, playing the main protagonists. The play portrays Mr Obama in a very negative light and is merciless in its rendering of Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister. There are laughs aplenty and, in parts, the scripting is quite brilliant. "This isn't Facebook," says this fictional Assange at one point. "I'm not in the business of making friends." In another exchange, Geoffrey Robertson notes: "In cyberspace, nobody can hear you leak." Assange, meanwhile, remains an elusive figure with the script never quite managing to corner him. Who is Julian Assange? This play provides many of the answers, but by no means all.

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Why the horror industry is becoming a profitable genre

A zombie walks into a shopping centre.

By Elizabeth HotsonBusiness reporter, BBC News That may sound like the start of a creepy joke, but for horror fans an encounter with the walking dead is a very serious proposition. In a disused shopping centre, sweating, sometimes screaming, punters run up long-decommissioned escalators to get away from zombies (or at least actors convincingly pretending to be them). Racing past empty newsagents and deserted jeweller, the people desperately try not the draw the attention of the re-animated corpses giving chase. Full immersion It feels like something straight out of a low budget horror film, and in a way it is, says Lee Fields, a director of Zed Events which stages the zombie survival days in Reading, west of London. "What we've created is a full immersion movie-like experience, so instead of playing a computer game or sitting in the cinema watching a zombie movie, you come here," he says. "All hell breaks loose and you participate as if it's happening for real. It's led by actors, they propel you through a story line which you interact with." Punters pay £119 for two to three hours of the grizzly alternative reality, and although it may sound pricey it's attracted visitors from all over the world. "We've had Americans, Canadians, Japanese; people have flown across the world," says Mr Fields. "We also have stag and hen parties, team building exercises, and we've had proposals; in the middle of a zombie attack someone asked, 'if we survive this will you marry me?'." Adrenalin rush So why do people voluntarily spend an afternoon being frightened out their minds? Daniel Benson, horror fan and editor of website Horror Talk.com, managed to escape the clutches of Reading's walking dead to give his assessment. "I think it's that rush of adrenalin, that rush of fear," he says. "You think you're not going to be scared; I didn't think I would be, but there were times when I felt my heart thumping through my chest, and I felt the fear even though I knew I wasn't at risk of any harm." Mr Benson says that horror events in general are frighteningly successful. "The number of zombie experiences are increasing, but so is the fright industry in general - it's big in the US, and we're starting to get more over here." The US, though, is still the place to go for extreme frights, and they don't come more terrifying than haunted house McKamey Manor. Originally built by owner Russ McKamey in San Diego, California, there are now two sites, Alabama and Tennessee. Extreme attraction Mr McKamey, who revels in the incongruity of also being a part time wedding singer, prides himself on running what he calls "the world's most extreme haunted attraction". He claims to have a waiting list of around 30,000, so what makes it so scary? "Every experience is different," says Mr McKamey. "We tailor the particular haunt to that individual's fears and phobias. "We talk to family members, friends and co-workers, and by doing that we're able to dig into that person's psyche. They will experience things such as being buried alive, being inside a water-based coffin with live eels." It's such a horrific experience that despite there being a $2,000 (£1,500) reward for completing the seven to 10-hour ordeal, nobody has. "It's not as easy as it sounds, and there's a reason that in 16 years no one has ever come close. The reason they will always fail is that my mind is stronger than their mind." Test bed Mind games in the form of psychological frights are a speciality of Hammer Films. The studio is best known for its Dracula films, and chairman Simon Oakes explains some of the secrets of a subtler form of scare. "Once there's a sense of jeopardy you get people frightened," he says. "In Psycho there's only one really scary scene at the beginning of the movie. We often use what we call jump scares - in some cases they're nothing, just a tap coming on when you least expect it. Sometimes it can be the atmosphere that makes the film frightening." Atmosphere was crucial to Hammer's recent immersive theatre experience, the Soulless Ones, a vampire-inspired scare evening, set in the spookily made-over Hoxton Hall in east London. Mr Oakes, says this kind of event both brings in new audiences and acts as a testing bed for future film projects. "It's a great creative lab for ideas, out of 10 scripts you might only make two or three, so it's a cost effective way of testing the scripts." Hammer currently has a movie in production, The Lodge, and it's a good time to be in the business according to Georg Szalai, international business editor at The Hollywood Reporter. "There's been a changing feel in the horror genre," he says. "There's now a lot of high concept films, with movies like Get Out, for example, tackling social issues, and there's also been a lot of critical praise. "You don't usually see that with horror, which has often been sneered at and looked down on." Rising profits And fans are voting with their feet; in 2017, the adaptation of Stephen King's It made $697m (£521m). "If you adjust it for inflation, the Exorcist would have made more, but in absolute dollar terms It was the biggest horror film ever," says Mr Szalai. It's also a potentially profitable genre, he adds. "Horror is a low cost bet, you don't usually have stars being paid tens of millions of pounds, and there's often one location so you don't have to go to far-flung destinations. "You generally don't need the big special effects and the blown up buildings so that usually keeps the cost fairly low." Mr Szalai points out that relatively humble budgets can reap creative dividends, "As a very low investment, if it fails you don't lose money, so it's a big area of experimentation and innovation these days." Which all bodes well for fans of fear.

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Local election results will give clue to national poll

The polls have closed.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter These elections are a complicated set of local contests, some old, some new, some electing an individual to a position of great power, most, individual races in wards that make up only a few streets, for councillors who then group together to run our towns and cities. So as the results come in, from the early hours of Friday morning right through the day, what are we looking for? First, these are important elections in their own right, and the results make a big difference to decisions that are made on our behalves all round the country. Local authorities have significant powers over education, planning, local business rates for example, and the drift of government policy has been to give them more, not less. Second, while you will hear my colleagues and me caution dozens of times in the next 24 hours that the results do not translate directly to the general election, they are a really significant barometer. Pay attention, therefore, to how the Conservative and Labour fight shapes up in areas like Nottinghamshire, or Derbyshire. Big Tory inroads will be a real worry for Labour as we hurtle towards the General Election. Sorry, your browser cannot display this map Find an election See results and latest news in your area See all results: EnglandScotlandWalesCymru The loss of Glasgow council to the SNP and falling back in Wales too seem feasible - and would again add to Jeremy Corbyn's party's anxieties about June. The elections will also be a test of whether the UKIP vote really does seem set to fade away now that we are heading for Brexit and, as it seems, Nigel Farage has taken his final bow. And the Lib Dems are crossing their fingers for signs of a comeback. To get their activists gingered up for the General Election they need signs of decent gains around the country. The elections of new metro mayors will also be big headlines - particularly in Birmingham where the two big parties are both desperate to win. It will be a long, and complicated day, and don't forget the caveats with which these results need to be coupled. But the most important test of all will be whether Labour loses or gains seats in England, in parts of the country where the General Election will really be decided. If they lose seats in England, that is a depressing indicator for any political party that wants to be seen to be on track for government

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What colour do you think these tennis balls are?

Are these tennis balls yellow or green?

By Tom GerkenBBC UGC & Social News It seems a simple question - the tennis balls are obviously yellow. But some people say they are obviously green. And then there are the people who say they are obviously both. So what colour are tennis balls? Fortunately, the ATP world number one has provided us with an answer. In a video viewed almost 315,000 times at the time of writing, tennis star Roger Federer is asked what colour tennis balls are. "They're yellow, right?" says the Swiss. You may also like: For some people Federer's word was enough, with one person suggesting "if Roger says they're yellow, they're yellow", and another saying "I've always thought tennis balls were green, but if Roger Federer says they are yellow who am I to argue". Despite one person's protests that if "the grass at Wimbledon is green, the balls cannot also be green", others remained unconvinced. "Roger Federer is wrong" declared one Twitter user, while another suggested that they are a type of "fluorescent yellow" that can also be seen as green. So why do some people see different colours? The answer may lie in a previous optical illusion that made waves online about that white and gold dress. Or was it blue and black? The photo of a dress divided people on social media, with #TheDress trending worldwide in February 2015. At the time Professor Stephen Westland, chair of colour science and technology at the University of Leeds, said the way people see colours varies hugely. "We don't always see colour in the same way," he said. "The surprising thing is that this doesn't happen more often. "It is possible that people could literally be seeing different colours but it's impossible to know what is in someone's head."

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China and Taiwan clash over Wikipedia edits

Ask Google or Siri: "What is Taiwan?"

By Carl MillerBBC Click "A state", they will answer, "in East Asia". But earlier in September, it would have been a "province in the People's Republic of China". For questions of fact, many search engines, digital assistants and phones all point to one place: Wikipedia. And Wikipedia had suddenly changed. The edit was reversed, but soon made again. And again. It became an editorial tug of war that - as far as the encyclopedia was concerned - caused the state of Taiwan to constantly blink in and out of existence over the course of a single day. "This year is a very crazy year," sighed Jamie Lin, a board member of Wikimedia Taiwan. "A lot of Taiwanese Wikipedians have been attacked." Edit wars Wikipedia is a movement as much as a website. Anyone can write or edit entries on Wikipedia, and in almost every country on Earth, communities of "Wikipedians" exist to protect and contribute to it. The largest collection of human knowledge ever amassed, available to everyone online for free, it is arguably the greatest achievement of the digital age. But in the eyes of Lin and her colleagues, it is now under attack. The edit war over Taiwan was only one of a number that had broken out across Wikipedia's vast, multi-lingual expanse of entries. The Hong Kong protests page had seen 65 changes in the space of a day - largely over questions of language. Were they protesters? Or rioters? The English entry for the Senkaku islands said they were "islands in East Asia", but earlier this year the Mandarin equivalent had been changed to add "China's inherent territory". The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were changed in Mandarin to describe them as "the June 4th incident" to "quell the counter-revolutionary riots". On the English version, the Dalai Lama is a Tibetan refugee. In Mandarin, he is a Chinese exile. Angry differences of opinion happen all the time on Wikipedia. But to Ms Lin, this was different. "It's control by the [Chinese] Government" she continued. "That's very terrible." 'Socialist values' BBC Click's investigation has found almost 1,600 tendentious edits across 22 politically sensitive articles. We cannot verify who made each of these edits, why, or whether they reflect a more widespread practice. However, there are indications that they are not all necessarily organic, nor random. Both an official and academics from within China have begun to call for both their government and citizens to systematically correct what they argue are serious anti-Chinese biases endemic across Wikipedia. One paper is called Opportunities And Challenges Of China's Foreign Communication in the Wikipedia, and was published in the Journal of Social Sciences this year. In it, the academics Li-hao Gan and Bin-Ting Weng argue that "due to the influence by foreign media, Wikipedia entries have a large number of prejudiced words against the Chinese government". They continue: "We must develop a targeted external communication strategy, which includes not only rebuilding a set of external communication discourse systems, but also cultivating influential editors on the wiki platform." They end with a call to action. "China urgently needs to encourage and train Chinese netizens to become Wikipedia platform opinion leaders and administrators… [who] can adhere to socialist values and form some core editorial teams." Shifting perceptions Another is written by Jie Ding, an official from the China International Publishing Group, an organisation controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. It argues that "there is a lack of systematic ordering and maintenance of contents about China's major political discourse on Wikipedia". It too urges the importance to "reflect our voices and opinions in the entry, so as to objectively and truly reflect the influence of Chinese path and Chinese thoughts on other countries and history". "'Telling China's story' is a concept that has gained huge traction over the past couple of years," Lokman Tsui, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told BBC Click. "They think that a lot of the perceptions people have of China abroad are really misunderstandings." To Tsui, an important shift is now happening as China mobilises its system of domestic online control to now extend beyond its borders to confront the perceived misconceptions that exist there. Wikipedia has confronted the problem of vandalism since its beginning. You can see all the edits that are made, vandalism can be rolled back in a second, pages can be locked, and the site is patrolled by a combination of bots and editors. People have tried to manipulate Wikipedia from the very beginning, and others have worked to stop them for just as long. However, much of the activity that Lin described isn't quite vandalism. Some - such as Taiwan's sovereignty - is about asserting one disputed claim above others. Others, subtler still, are about the pruning of language, especially in Mandarin, to make a political point. Should the Hong Kong protests be considered "against" China? Should you call a community "Taiwanese people of Han descent", or "a subgroup of Han Chinese, native to Taiwan"? It is over this kind of linguistic territory that many of the fiercest battles rage. Coordinated strategy? The attacks are often not to Wikipedia's content, but rather its community of Wikipedians. "Some have told us that their personal information has been sprayed [released], because they have different thoughts," Lin said. There have also been death threats directed at Taiwanese Wikipedians. One, on the related public Wikimedia Telegram Channel, read "the policemen will enjoy your mother's forensic report". And elections to administrator positions on Wikipedia, who hold greater powers, have similarly become starkly divided down geopolitical lines. Attributing online activity to states is often impossible, and there is also no direct, proven link between any of these edits and the Chinese government. "It's absolutely conceivable," Tsui continued, "that people from the diaspora, patriotic Chinese, are editing these Wikipedia entries. "But to say that is to ignore the larger structural coordinated strategy the government has to manipulate these platforms." Whilst unattributed, the edits do happen against the backdrop where a number of states, including China, have intensified attempts to systematically manipulate online platforms. They have done so on Twitter and Facebook, and researchers around the world have warned of state-backed online propaganda targeting a range of others. Compared with almost any other online platform, Wikipedia makes for a tempting, even obvious, target. "I'm absolutely not surprised," said Heather Ford, a senior lecturer in digital cultures at the University of New South Wales, whose research has focused on the political editing of Wikipedia. I'm surprised it's taken this long actually… It is a prioritised source of facts and knowledge about the world." Of course, every state cares about its reputation. "China is the second largest economy in the world and is doing what any other country in this status would seek," said Shirley Ze Yu, a visiting senior fellow at the LSE. "Today China does owe the world a China story told by itself and from a Chinese perspective. I think it's not only Chinese privilege, it's really a responsibility". Taiwan is itself locked in a messaging war with China, with its own geopolitical points to make and many of the misconceptions may be genuine ones, at least in the eyes of the people who edit them. So does this amount to telling China's story, or online propaganda? At least on Wikipedia, the answer depends on where you fall on two very different ideas about what the internet is for. There is the philosophy of open knowledge, open source, volunteer-led communities. But it may now be confronted by another force: the growing online power of states whose geopolitical struggles to define the truth now extend onto places like Wikipedia that have grown too large, too important, for them to ignore. * The Chinese Embassy was approached for a comment but we did not receive a reply.

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Focus on Africa at 60 - Match the voice

Read more:

How a BBC show helped shape Africa

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Trump impeachment: A place in history he never wanted

And so it is done.

Jon SopelNorth America editor@bbcjonsopelon Twitter Donald Trump now becomes the third member of the exclusive club that no one wants to be a member of. But the framers of the constitution with its impeachment provision could never have imagined the hyper partisanship - on both sides - that has been witnessed during today's sterile House proceedings. Each side with its own narrative, neither side listening to the other. And one can say with some certainty - I would bet all my yet to be gifted Christmas presents - that it will be much the same once this becomes a trial in the Senate in the New Year. Donald Trump will be acquitted. He won't be forced from office. So what changes? Well Donald Trump will have a place in the history books - and for a man with such a huge sense of self that will hurt. Acutely. But 2020? Far from this being a killer blow against Donald Trump, it might turbo charge his bid for a second term. The Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was always wary about going down the impeachment route. We'll discover next November whether that concern was well founded. Judging by what I saw in Michigan this week, Democrats will be acutely aware of the political risks. Want to find out more?

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094918

South Africa profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

4th century - Migrants from the north settle, joining the indigenous San and Khoikhoi people. 1480s - Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias is the first European to travel round the southern tip of Africa. 1497 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama lands on Natal coast. 1652 - Jan van Riebeeck, representing the Dutch East India Company, founds the Cape Colony at Table Bay. 1795 - British forces seize Cape Colony from the Netherlands. Territory is returned to the Dutch in 1803; ceded to the British in 1806. 1816-1826 - Shaka Zulu founds and expands the Zulu empire, creates a formidable fighting force. 1835-1840 - Boers leave Cape Colony in the 'Great Trek' and found the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. 1852 - British grant limited self-government to the Transvaal. 1856 - Natal separates from the Cape Colony. Late 1850s - Boers proclaim the Transvaal a republic. 1860-1911 - Arrival of thousands of labourers and traders from India, forebears of the majority of South Africa's current Indian population. 1867 - Diamonds discovered at Kimberley. 1877 - Britain annexes the Transvaal. 1879 - British defeat the Zulus in Natal. 1880-81 - Boers rebel against the British, sparking the first Anglo-Boer War. Conflict ends with a negotiated peace. Transvaal is restored as a republic. Mid 1880s - Gold is discovered in the Transvaal, triggering the gold rush. 1899 - British troops gather on the Transvaal border and ignore an ultimatum to disperse. The second Anglo-Boer War begins. 1902 - Treaty of Vereeniging ends the second Anglo-Boer War. The Transvaal and Orange Free State are made self-governing colonies of the British Empire. 1910 - Formation of Union of South Africa by former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, and the Boer republics of Transvaal, and Orange Free State. 1912 - Native National Congress founded, later renamed the African National Congress (ANC). 1913 - Land Act introduced to prevent blacks, except those living in Cape Province, from buying land outside reserves. 1914 - National Party founded. 1918 - Secret Broederbond (brotherhood) established to advance the Afrikaner cause. 1919 - South West Africa (Namibia) comes under South African administration. 1934 - The Union of South Africa parliament enacts the Status of the Union Act, which declares the country to be "a sovereign independent state". The move followed on from Britain's passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which removed the last vestiges of British legal authority over South Africa. Apartheid set in law 1948 - Policy of apartheid (separateness) adopted when National Party (NP) takes power. 1950 - Population classified by race. Group Areas Act passed to segregate blacks and whites. Communist Party banned. ANC responds with campaign of civil disobedience, led by Nelson Mandela. 1960 - Seventy black demonstrators killed at Sharpeville. ANC banned. 1961 - South Africa declared a republic, leaves the Commonwealth. Mandela heads ANC's new military wing, which launches sabotage campaign. 1960s - International pressure against government begins, South Africa excluded from Olympic Games. 1964 - ANC leader Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment. 1966 September - Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd assassinated. 1970s - More than 3 million people forcibly resettled in black 'homelands'. 1976 - More than 600 killed in clashes between black protesters and security forces during uprising which starts in Soweto. 1984-89 - Township revolt, state of emergency. 1989 - FW de Klerk replaces PW Botha as president, meets Mandela. Public facilities desegregated. Many ANC activists freed. 1990 - ANC unbanned, Mandela released after 27 years in prison. Namibia becomes independent. 1991 - Start of multi-party talks. De Klerk repeals remaining apartheid laws, international sanctions lifted. Major fighting between ANC and Zulu Inkatha movement. 1993 - Agreement on interim constitution. 1994 April - ANC wins first non-racial elections. Mandela becomes president, Government of National Unity formed, Commonwealth membership restored, remaining sanctions lifted. South Africa takes seat in UN General Assembly after 20-year absence. Seeking truth 1996 - Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu begins hearings on human rights crimes committed by former government and liberation movements during apartheid era. 1996 - Parliament adopts new constitution. National Party withdraws from coalition, saying it is being ignored. 1998 - Truth and Reconciliation Commission report brands apartheid a crime against humanity and finds the ANC accountable for human rights abuses. 1999 - ANC wins general elections, Thabo Mbeki takes over as president. 2000 December - ANC prevails in local elections. Recently-formed Democratic Alliance captures nearly a quarter of the votes. The Inkatha Freedom Party wins 9%. 2001 April - 39 multi-national pharmaceutical companies halt a legal battle to stop South Africa importing generic Aids drugs. The decision is hailed as a victory for the world's poorest countries in their efforts to import cheaper drugs to combat the virus. 2001 May - An official panel considers allegations of corruption surrounding a 1999 arms deal involving British, French, German, Italian, Swedish and South African firms. In November the panel clears the government of unlawful conduct. 2001 September - Durban hosts UN race conference. 2001 December - High Court rules that pregnant women must be given Aids drugs to help prevent transmission of the virus to their babies. 2002 April - Court acquits Dr Wouter Basson - dubbed "Dr Death" - who ran apartheid-era germ warfare programme. Basson had faced charges of murder and conspiracy. ANC condemns verdict. 2002 July - Constitutional court orders government to provide key anti-Aids drug at all public hospitals. Government had argued drug was too costly. 2002 October - Bomb explosions in Soweto and a blast near Pretoria are thought to be the work of right-wing extremists. Separately, police charge 17 right-wingers with plotting against the state. 2003 May - Walter Sisulu, a key figure in the anti-apartheid struggle, dies aged 91. Thousands gather to pay their last respects. 2003 November - Government approves major programme to treat and tackle HIV/Aids. It envisages network of drug-distributon centres and preventative programmes. Cabinet had previously refused to provide anti-Aids medicine via public health system. 2004 April - Ruling ANC wins landslide election victory, gaining nearly 70% of votes. Thabo Mbeki begins a second term as president. Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi is dropped from the cabinet. 2005 March - Investigators exhume the first bodies in a Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigation into the fates of hundreds of people who disappeared in the apartheid era. 2005 May - Geographical names committee recommends that the culture minister should approve a name change for the capital from Pretoria to Tshwane. Zuma sacked 2005 June - President Mbeki sacks his deputy, Jacob Zuma, in the aftermath of a corruption case. 2005 August - Around 100,000 gold miners strike over pay, bringing the industry to a standstill. 2006 May - Former deputy president Jacob Zuma is acquitted of rape charges by the High Court in Johannesburg. He is reinstated as deputy leader of the governing African National Congress. 2006 June - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits and promises to limit clothing exports to help South Africa's ailing textile industry. 2006 September - Corruption charges against former deputy president Zuma are dismissed, boosting his bid for the presidency. 2006 December - South Africa becomes the first African country, and the fifth in the world, to allow same-sex unions. 2007 April - President Mbeki, often accused of turning a blind eye to crime, urges South Africans to join forces to bring rapists, drug dealers and corrupt officials to justice. 2007 May - Cape Town mayor Helen Zille is elected as new leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). Mass strike 2007 June - Hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers take part in the biggest strike since the end of apartheid. The strike lasts for four weeks and causes widespread disruption to schools, hospitals and public transport. 2007 December - Zuma is elected chairman of the ANC, placing him in a strong position to become the next president. Prosecutors bring new corruption charges against him. 2008 May - Wave of violence directed at foreigners hits townships across the country. Dozens of people die and thousands of Zimbabweans, Malawians and Mozambicans return home. 2008 September - A judge throws out a corruption case against ruling ANC party chief Jacob Zuma, opening the way for him to stand as the country's president in 2009. President Mbeki resigns over allegations that he interfered in the corruption case against Mr Zuma. ANC deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe is chosen by parliament as president. New party launched 2008 December - A new political party is launched in Bloemfontein, in the first real challenge to the governing ANC. The Congress of the People - or Cope - is made up largely of defectors from the ANC and is headed by former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota. 2009 January - Appeals court rules that state prosecutors can resurrect their corruption case against ANC leader Jacob Zuma, opening the way for Mr Zuma's trial to be resumed, just months before general election. 2009 April - Public prosecutors drop corruption case against Jacob Zuma. ANC wins general election. 2009 May - Parliament elects Jacob Zuma as president. Economy goes into recession for first time in 17 years. 2009 July - Township residents complaining about poor living conditions mount violent protests. 2010 June - South Africa hosts the World Cup football tournament. 2010 August - Civil servants stage nation-wide strike. 2011 May - Local elections, with opposition Democratic Alliance nearly doubling its share of the vote since the last poll. President Zuma mediates in Libyan conflict. 2011 October - President Zuma sacks two ministers accused of corruption. Opposition Democratic Alliance picks a black woman - Lindiwe Mazibuko - as its leader in parliament. Trouble within ANC 2011 November - The ANC suspends its controversial and influential youth leader, Julius Malema, for five years for bringing the party into disrepute. National Assembly overwhelmingly approves information bill accused by critics of posing a threat to freedom of speech. The ANC says it is needed to safeguard national security. 2012 July - Member of white extremist group found guilty of plotting to kill Mandela and trying to overthrow government. 2012 August-October - Police open fire on workers at a platinum mine in Marikana, killing at least 34 people, and leaving at least 78 injured and arresting more than 200 others. Prosecutors drop murder charges in September against 270 miners after a public outcry, and the government sets up a judicial commission of inquiry in October. 2012 September - Former ANC youth leader Julius Malema is charged with money laundering over a government tender awarded to a company partly owned by his family trust. Mr Malema says the case is a politically motivated attempt to silence his campaign against President Zuma, in particular over the Marikana shootings. 2012 October - Platinum mine owner Amplats fires 12,000 striking miners as wave of wildcat strikes shows little sign of abating. 2013 December - Nelson Mandela dies, aged 95. Tributes to "the father of the nation" flood in from throughout the world. Fall of Zuma 2013 March - The anti-corruption ombudsman heavily criticises President Zuma for a twenty million dollar upgrade to his private home. 2014 May - Ruling ANC party wins a majority in general elections. 2014 October - Paralympics athlete Oscar Pistorius - nicknamed the ''Blade Runner'' because of his prosthetic limbs - is sentenced to five years in jail for killing his girlfriend. 2015 February - President Zuma announces plans to limit farm sizes and ban foreign farmland-ownership in an attempt to redistribute land to black farmers - a longstanding ANC pledge. Power utility Eskom rations electricity to prevent power cuts, blaming years of poor maintenance. 2015 March-April - A spate of anti-immigrant attacks leaves several people dead. 2015 June - Government receives unwelcome international attention over allegations of bribery to disgraced international footballing body Fifa to secure 2010 World Cup, and allowing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to visit despite International Criminal Court arrest warrant over genocide and war-crimes charges. 2016 March - Supreme Court rules President Zuma violated the constitution for not repaying public money used to improve his private residence. 2017 April - President Zuma dismisses widely-respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, leading to the country's credit rating being cut to junk status. 2018 February - President Zuma resigns under pressure from the governing ANC over corruption charges, which chooses veteran trade unionist and businessman Cyril Ramaphosa as his successor.

world-europe-54383545

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54383545

Why Saturday's top-level Brexit video call matters

It is significant.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter News that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday cannot be dismissed as more blah blah in the Brexit process. "Just wake me up when it's over: trade deal, or no trade deal," I often hear from people who complain the issue has been "dragging on too long". Thing is, it does really matter. In the UK and the EU, lives and livelihoods will be affected by the outcome of these talks. Agreeing the Brexit Divorce Deal last year importantly gave some though not complete peace of mind to the several million EU citizens and their families living in the UK, and UK citizens and their families living in the EU after Brexit. It gave a sense of security - though not as much as was expected, as recent events have shown - to Northern Ireland, sandwiched between post-Brexit GB and EU single market member Ireland and home to a still fragile peace process. The trade and security deal, which has been negotiated for months now, is also something both sides say they want. Not at any price, they insist. But a zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal plus police, judicial and other co-operation between neighbours is regarded by governments on both sides of the Channel as something to aim for. And we may be nearly there Speculation is rife, of course, as to why Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen have suddenly scheduled their digital tête-à-tête. In general, it's interpreted as a positive sign. On Friday, the European Commission president said she and the prime minister would be "taking stock" of negotiations, with time running out to agree a deal. She called for negotiations to be intensified. She said the most difficult issues were still "wide open". And she mentioned state aid and the level playing field in particular - on which the EU is asking the UK to sign up to competition regulations in order to have zero-tariff, zero-quota access to the single market. No surprise there. And this helps explain the leaders' video call tomorrow. The accepted wisdom has always been that negotiating teams can only make so much progress. And that the final push - the politically tough decisions on how much to compromise on the final sticking points - would have to come from up high. In terms of optics too, Boris Johnson in particular perhaps, but also Ursula von der Leyen, will want to be seen to be centre stage in terms of decision-making and finally declaring a deal or no-deal outcome. But we're not there yet. What will they talk about? There have been positive noises coming out of the UK for a week or so, suggesting that solutions were nearing on key issues like state aid - the extent to which governments prop up companies or promote certain industries at home. That has not yet been confirmed by the EU. It's possible the prime minister and Mrs von der Leyen are talking on Saturday to explore who is really willing to make what compromises on the final outstanding issues. Does the UK actually want a deal knowing key concessions must be made, EU diplomats still often wonder aloud. On Friday the prime minister once again said success in finding a deal depended on the EU, not the UK. Will the EU (finally) accept that the UK is now an independent country and cannot and will not sign up to following EU rules after Brexit - for example on fishing and competition regulations, ask government and Conservative Party members - and the UK's often exasperated chief negotiator David Frost. Just see his statement on Friday, with its warning tone following round nine of negotiations. If the answer to both questions is broadly yes, then there is speculation we could get an announcement that negotiators will now enter a media blackout "tunnel", known in EU circles as the "submarine". That would allow negotiators to concentrate, uninterrupted or swayed by media criticism or political commentary. Can compromises be found? The European Commission President rejected the word "tunnel" when asked about this on Friday. The word, but not the concept. But the EU has long insisted there will be no tunnel by that or any other name unless a "landing zone" - ie compromise positions - is visible from the start. We're clearly not there yet on the toughest of issues. Compromises aren't only politically tricky for Boris Johnson. He is vulnerable to being accused in the media and by some members of his own party of "betraying Brexit" if concessions are made. But fishing rights and competition regulations are sensitive political issues for many EU members too. On competition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a stickler for the "integrity of the single market". She has made clear she wants the EU to protect its interests and to make that - not a trade deal with the UK - the number one priority. It's worth noting that the EU's chief negotiator is now reportedly planning to fly to Berlin on Monday to see Mrs Merkel. If the EU accepts (as it arguably will have to, if a deal is to be reached) that the UK won't sign up to the bloc's labour, environment and state aid rules - the so-called level playing field provisions - then European diplomats say they will instead look to the UK to accept "guiding principles" on these issues. Plus a robust mechanism to handle disputes swiftly and effectively if they arise between the two sides. How will France react? On fishing, France's President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to let go of his maximalist approach. He doesn't want to. Fishing is not by any stretch of the imagination a big contributor to GDP in France, but, like in the UK, it is a totemic issue. Mr Macron is mindful of the next presidential election in France. It makes him wary of giving political opponents ammunition to say he abandoned French interests. And then there's the explosive issue of the UK government's Internal Market Bill - part of which overrides last year's EU-UK agreement on Northern Ireland. The EU has started legal proceedings against the UK over this. And the European Parliament says even if a trade deal is soon agreed, it won't ratify that deal unless the government rewrites the bill. But the government insists it won't be changing the text. It says the bill provides a safety net to secure the integrity of the UK's single market. Brussels hopes agreeing a zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal - easing (though not making friction-free!) the post-Brexit flow of trade between the UK and the EU - will allay government fears about Northern Ireland. EU fingers are crossed that will make the contentious parts of the Internal Market Bill obsolete, thereby resolving the row. Deal but not at any price But, again, we're not there yet. For now, the whys and whats of Saturday's talks are pure speculation. The only thing we know for sure: the UK and EU say they want a deal - though not at any price. Yet if and when a deal eventually emerges, both sides will have had to make compromises. Though they'll of course aim to sell the deal to their home audiences as a win. Or, at least, as the best possible outcome considering all the circumstances, be they each side's red lines, the Covid-19 impact and almost inevitably - considering how publicly bad-tempered these negotiations have often been - a dose of cross-Channel finger-pointing, deal or no deal.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45684230

Will Gompertz reviews Elmgreen & Dragset's show at the Whitechapel Gallery ★★★★☆

Marcel Duchamp was a funny guy.

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter It was he who in 1917 came up with the amusing wheeze to test and tease straight-laced curators by entering a urinal for inclusion in a contemporary art exhibition. Ever since, artists have been hell bent on trying to outwit and outdo the philosophical Frenchman. And for 101 years they have failed. There have been some valiant attempts (Robert Rauschenberg's Combines), some famous attempts (Tracey Emin's My Bed), and countless failed attempts (take your pick from those on show at any major modern art museum). At the better-than-most end of the scale are the Scandinavia double-act Elmgreen & Dragset (Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset), who have been given a mid-career retrospective (the Artworld's version of a minor honour) at the Whitechapel Gallery in east London. They are the guys who put that fey four-metre high bronze sculpture of a young boy in lederhosen riding a rocking horse on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth in 2012 (Powerless Structures, Fig. 101). The idea was to gently mock the machismo of the traditional "heroes-on-horses" equestrian statues it faced. But the capital's then mayor, Boris Johnson, didn't see it that way. He mischievously interpreted it as an emblem to represent Britain's gold medal hopes at the forthcoming London Olympics. The artists were not amused. Their serious social commentary had been turned into exactly the sort of jingoistic metaphor they had intended to undermine. Six years later, the boys are back in town with a riposte to the ex-foreign secretary and his party's austerity policies. It comes in the colossal shape of a derelict, life-sized, municipal swimming pool, which fills the Whitechapel's ground-floor gallery. It is very convincing, right down to the cracked tiles, dusty rubble, and occasional autumnal leaf. To add to the sense of drama (Ingar Dragset's background is in theatre not art; Michael Elmgreen was a poet), the gallery assistants are dressed as security guards, replete with gaoler's keys and surrounded by little details: a slug climbs a piece of wood, an ice box sits abandoned in a corner; eeriness pervades all. On the wall by the entrance door there is a panel on which the backstory of The Whitechapel Pool is told. It was built in 1901 and paid for "by funds made available by the Borough of Tower Hamlets." It was renovated in 1953, welcomed 292,000 visitors a-year in "its peak years", and "it is believed that artist David Hockney made his first drawings of the surface of a swimming pool's water at this site". And then… "After being abandoned for nearly thirty years, the building was sold to GenTri (geddit?) Investment in 2016, during Boris Johnson's last year as Mayor of London. In January 2019, renowned architecture firm Corner Leviathan (Duchamp loved to play on words, too) will start a comprehensive renovation of the building for the international Desert Flower Art Hotel & Resort." And there you have it. A space and a place that was once for the benefit of the general public has been sold off by their bête noir Boris to become a luxury hotel exclusively for the super wealthy. Of course none of it is true, the story is as fabricated as their swimming pool. But that's not the point. The point is the point. And their point is that civic spaces are being lost to private developers. And so they are. But not the Whitechapel Gallery thankfully, which was founded in 1901 to "bring great art to the people of east London." It now sees itself as having a "unique role in the capital's cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of east London as a leading contemporary quarter". In fact, the increase in civic spaces and buildings in which the public can see art for free has grown massively in the past twenty years, while libraries and other municipal spaces have withered. You could argue that the likes of the Whitechapel and Tate Modern can precipitate the type of capitalist regeneration that the duo lament; cultural cornerstones that lead to gentrification and rocketing real estate prices. Next week, both public institutions and Elmgreen & Dragset are likely to be schmoozing the very millionaires and billionaires this work criticises (bankers, developers, hedge-find managers etc) at exclusive private dinners arranged across the capital for what has become known as Frieze Week (a week in early October when the world's wealthiest collectors and galleries arrive en-mass in London for the Frieze contemporary art fair). Which is why The Whitechapel Pool feels like the right idea in the wrong place. The art world at this elite level is far too entangled in the world of big business and the super-rich to be a credible voice for social justice. A fact Elmgreen & Dragset acknowledge in a work in the upper galleries called Capitalism Will Collapse From Within (2003). We see the stencilled proclamation presented in the graphic style of art market darling Christopher Wool: black text on white canvas. It is hanging off the wall to one side to reveal a safe behind, suggesting that art and money are one-and-the-same: commodities to be stashed away and out of sight at home for personal gain not aesthetic pleasure. It's not subtle, but then nor is any of their work. One Day (2015), for example, is a monochrome sculpture in which a bare-chested little boy wearing black shorts, white socks, and black shoes looks up innocently at a rifle mounted in a frame on the wall. Any possible future consequences are incomprehensible to him. Gay Marriage (2010) consists of two wall-mounted urinals connected by twisted chrome pipes in a lovers' knot, the symbolism of which doesn't need explaining, other than to say it brings us back to Marcel Duchamp. Who knows what art, if any, he would be making if he were alive today. My guess is it would be darker, funnier, and more original than the work in this show. But I'm not sure it would make you question the nature of reality quite like Elmgreen & Dragset succeed in doing. You don't just look at their work, they entice you into their surreal alternative universe, which exists somewhere between The League of Gentleman's Royston Vasey and The Truman Show. You start to question what you're seeing. Is it a sculpture? Or is it a gallery thermometer? Is it art? What is art? What is real? They make you think, they make you look, they make you doubt; they make you feel. What more could you possibly want from art?

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36021889

Facebook’s next big thing: Bots for Messenger

Humans, we've got company.

Dave LeeNorth America technology reporter No longer satisfied with being the dominant network for our humble species, Facebook is now courting a different type of user: bots. And eventually you'll be able to talk to them as if they were your mates. "Could you transfer £100 to my brother, please?" you might one day ask your bank. Or maybe, "Do you have any blue shirts in my size?" Sometimes they'll ask you things too, with something like: "Do you want to hear today's top stories?" Right now the conversations will be structured - with Messenger bots suggesting things you can say. But the goal is natural conversation, and it could be a huge step. If what Facebook has promised today at its F8 developer conference comes to pass, the effect on our everyday lives could be enormous. It could be, according to Facebook's head of messaging David Marcus, a return to more personal interactions. "Before the internet era, everything was conversational," he told the BBC. "But then we traded conversations for scale." One of the bots being launched on the service today will be from Spring, an artificially intelligent concierge service. "Spring is actually going to build an experience where everything is automated except customer service," Mr Marcus explained. "It's bot for 99.9%, but then if you have a problem, a human can actually jump in and sort out your problem. "That's the best of both worlds." Gold rush There are obvious concerns to all this, and I'll get to those in a second, but first here's how it will work. Messenger Platform, as Facebook calls it, is the firm's latest application programming interface (API). An API is a way for companies like Facebook to give external developers the access and know-how to make things on their platforms. It's a big opportunity - the company's first API, which allowed anyone to create apps on Facebook, led to the birth of multi-billion dollar companies including Farmville creator, Zynga. There are already bots on Facebook - you can book an Uber through it in the US, for instance - but the crucial news today is anyone is now free to make their own bot. Which is why some are seeing today's announcement as the start of another Facebook gold rush. The bots will live within Facebook Messenger - an app that was spun off from the main Facebook app in 2014 in a manner which angered users but makes a lot of sense now as Messenger looks set to become a bigger deal than just instant messaging. While developers will be free to create their own uniquely intelligent bots, they will all be fundamentally powered by Facebook's Bot Engine. Think of it as the centralised brain. As time goes on, Bot Engine should get smarter and more used to human interaction meaning, in theory, that all the bots will collectively get smarter and more "human". It's the Bot Engine, a constantly evolving product of almost a billion people's interactions, that might give Facebook a massive advantage over others in the bot game such as Apple, Google and Microsoft. Other announcements at F8 included: Facebook is a platform that users already talk on constantly. It's a platform that already knows what you like, what you want, and what you may desire in the future. Bringing bots into this mix could be a real game-changer. Friction-free Or it might be a disaster. First - the obvious: Users might not like the idea of companies acting like people in spaces usually reserved for conversations with our friends. This will probably be made more irritating given that Facebook plans to let businesses find you on Messenger if they already have your mobile phone number. Then again, another way of looking at that "feature" is that it'll be fast and easy to find the companies you already interact with in the real world. Cue calls for boycotts of Facebook, and raging that the service will be irreparably destroyed by this new feature. But it will probably pass - history tells us that Facebook's users rarely know what's good for them. But a real concern must lie with security. Unauthorised access to your Facebook account used to mean a dodgy status update or two, but now a breach could have truly devastating consequences. With one Facebook log-in, a hacker could have friction-free access to a whole host of accounts you may have set up on Messenger. Having everything under the one Messenger roof presents unprecedented risk for our personal data, surely? "Yes and no," says Mr Marcus. "The reality is when you think about the number of people who are on the Facebook platform, and how well protected their account is compared to general practice around the world, we feel good that we have best-in-class protections that will protect those accounts better than most companies at a smaller scale can. "We'll continue to build better and better systems. We always recommend that every user turns on two-factor authentication that we offer everyone. "I certainly have." Two-factor authentication on Facebook requires you to enter a code which has been texted to your mobile phone, as well as your password, to log in. Despite Mr Marcus's clear advice, Facebook will not be enabling two-factor authentication by default, even though it is far more secure. The truth is, if it did, people would complain. It's inconvenient. But it's safer. Your call. Top five tussle Microsoft's boss Satya Nadella declared recently that "bots are the new apps". And while we'll have to wait a little to see if Facebook's bots can live up to the expectations set at F8, it's rapidly becoming clear that the app era is winding down. Or more specifically, the era of having dozens of apps on your phone is coming to an end. Mr Marcus pointed out a recent study by Forrester Research which estimated that 80% of the typical US smartphone user's time was spent in just five apps. Five! Of the millions available to us, we just get stuck into using a few. Bots within those big apps will perhaps be the only way some companies will be able to attract our business through our smartphones. Mr Marcus has said Facebook has no plans to take a cut of transactions made through Messenger. Money will instead be made through advertising - pay more, and get your bot seen by more potential users. So brace yourself, everyone. The bots are coming, and they desperately want to be your new best mate. Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook

world-europe-33664269

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33664269

Turkey - from reluctant observer to full player in IS fight

What is Turkey's game?

By Mark LowenBBC Turkey correspondent Within a week, it has gone from a reluctant observer, abstaining from military action against so-called Islamic State, to full-blown military strikes against the group, opening up its bases to coalition attacks and, simultaneously, the first aerial bombing of PKK Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq in four years. Why the sudden turnaround? For months, Ankara resisted military involvement in the US-led coalition of the willing. It insisted that the attacks also target President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Washington's reply was, in effect, that the immediate concern was IS and that the "Assad problem" needed to be put on the back burner. But Turkey's second condition, that a no-fly zone be created in northern Syria, seems to have gained a little more traction. Turkey's foreign minister now says a "safe area" along the Turkish border, free of IS militants, will be created, patrolled by coalition aircraft. That seems to have played a major role in jolting Turkey into action. The Turkish government has long been accused of at best turning a blind eye to the rise of IS - and at worst, actively backing the jihadists against the Assad regime. It has always denied the allegation. But last week came the suicide bombing in Suruc, southern Turkey, in which 32 died and which Turkey blamed on a militant trained by IS. And then a firefight in which IS forces shot at Turkish border guards. That was, it appears, the final catalyst for Turkish involvement. Complex But Ankara's strategy is complex. Alongside the IS strikes, Turkey has now bombed several PKK positions and arrested hundreds of suspected members of the group. That, too, was prompted by last week's violence, after the PKK killed Turkish police officers in the wake of the Suruc bombing, in retaliation for what they saw as Turkey's collaboration with IS. Could Washington's tacit toleration of the PKK strikes have been the price of Ankara's involvement against IS? Critics believe Turkey is only striking the jihadists as cover for going after its real enemy: Kurdish militants. Ankara's reluctance to hit IS earlier, the argument goes, was actually a reluctance to help Kurds fighting IS militants. Now both can be bombed, Turkey is willing to get involved. But there's also potentially a domestic political consideration. In June's general election, the governing AK Party lost its majority and is now in coalition talks to form a government. If that fails, new elections would have to be held in which President Erdogan would hope the AKP could win back nationalist voters who had drifted away. By hitting the PKK and potentially ending the peace process - despised by nationalists - he could well achieve that and regain the AKP majority he craves. The danger, though, is that this two-pronged attack will expose Turkey to more attacks by IS and foment more violence among Turkey's Kurdish minority, spurred by the PKK. Forty-thousand people died during the 30-year armed conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. Turkey can ill afford a return to the bad old days of the 1990s. But the ghosts of the past could be reawakened. A perilous game indeed.

uk-politics-24103858

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-24103858

Cable the Jeremiah

The script's already been written.

Nick RobinsonPolitical editor The leader will call on his party not to lose its nerve. He'll urge them to finish the job they've begun. A vote billed as "crucial" will end in victory for the leadership and defeat for those party activists who want a change of policy. That, at least, is how Team Clegg are presenting Monday's debate on the economy at the Liberal Democrat conference. There's just one problem. The man most people think of when they think about the Lib Dems and the economy is refusing to be part of the plot. Vince Cable, the business secretary and formerly his party's shadow chancellor, will take no part in the debate. He won't speak in it. He may not even vote (although we are assured that he does back his leader's position) Vince Cable believes that this is an unnecessary fight. He thinks that if Nick Clegg really wanted to he could reach a compromise with party activists who are calling for economic policy to be "re-balanced" to "raise employment and growth". In part this is a row about presentation. Nick Clegg fears that his party would let the Tories "hoover up all the credit" for economic recovery if they give the appearance of wanting to change economic policy now. That's why he will declare on Monday that there is "one thing that both George Osborne and Ed Balls want - for us to throw away our economic credibility". He will tell his party conference "Don't do it" Vince Cable, on the other hand, relishes his reputation as the man who warned about the economic crash - the man mocked here as "the sage of Richmond" and described by the prime minister as "a perpetual Jeremiah" after his recent warnings that things may not be as good as some Tories are suggesting they are. There is, though, substance to the argument. The business secretary has long argued that the Treasury is manned by officials obsessed with a hairshirt approach to the economy. He has fought to persuade his coalition colleagues to spend more on infrastructure and to free local councils to borrow more in order to build more houses. He fears that another housing bubble could lead to an increase in interest rates choking off recovery. He thinks policy makers need to be ready for the moment the Bank of England decides to scale back its support for the economy. If monetary policy does less, then fiscal policy - tax and spend - may need to do more. Before the summer Lib Dem MPs debated their economic policy. Vince made his case and lost. One source close to the party leadership claimed there was a vote in which Clegg's position got 55 votes and Cable's just two. No wonder the sage of Richmond doesn't want to play any part in Monday's pre-scripted confrontation between his leader and his party. Update Monday 10am: I am now told that no vote was held after a debate about economic policy at the Lib Dem parliamentary meeting a few weeks ago. However, sources close to both Vince Cable and Nick Clegg agree that the Business Secretary did urge the party to be prepared to relax fiscal policy if the recovery wasn't sustained. Mr Cable is said to have had the support of just one other Lib Dem MP. Mr Clegg persuaded all the others. So, it was 55 versus 2.

technology-22598148

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22598148

Tumblr and Yahoo: Why sex, jokes and gifs are worth $1.1bn

Yahoo is desperate to be cool again.

By Dave LeeTechnology reporter, BBC News And, like that kid at school who always got the newest gadgets and video games to impress his "friends", there's seemingly no shortage of money available to get what it wants. Now, just two months after splashing out millions on a UK teenager's app Summly, Yahoo is set to buy one of the hottest properties in social media: Tumblr. It will reportedly cost $1.1bn (£723m), a smidgen more than Facebook paid for photo-sharing service Instagram last year. Yet with users already threatening to leave Tumblr en masse, will simply owning something trendy actually boost Yahoo's internet cred? "It's very hard to just buy something cool from somebody else and for it to remain cool," says Robin Klein, a partner at technology investors Index Ventures. "It's important that the leadership at Tumblr comes into Yahoo, stays in Yahoo, and is a key participant there." Chief executive Marissa Mayer has confirmed that founder David Karp is to stay with the company. Jimmy Wales, creator of Wikipedia, says this is an important component if the site is to remain a success. "For a long time Yahoo was viewed in the industry as a very marketing-led company such that any respectable technologist would cringe if they had to work there," he told the BBC. "Marissa is herself a respected technologist, full-on, and a great business person. And I think she is making all the right moves." Global in-jokes But what exactly has she bought? Tumblr describes itself as a way to "effortlessly share anything" using a mixture of text, pictures, videos and various other formats. In plain English, Tumblr can be best described as something that exists between Twitter and a traditional blog, for people who have more than 140 characters to say - but not much time in which to say it. This formula has seen the site notch up more than 100 million registered blogs, which between them have published more than 50 billion posts. The site was set up in 2006, when Mr Karp put together the first bit of Tumblr's code in a two-week period between jobs. Within a year, Mr Karp was - according to his business partner at the time - now the reluctant chief executive of a rapidly expanding start-up. But the huge levels of traffic came with predictable teething problems. Tumblr soon started to suffer from a lack of stability, with its equivalent of Twitter's "fail whale" - the screen presented when the service was over capacity - becoming a common and frustrating sight for users. Several rounds of investment later, and with an employee base that has expanded from two back then to 175 today, the ship has been well and truly steadied. And now, Tumblr thrives. Famed for its lightning-quick set-up speeds allowing people to have a great-looking, full-featured blog in seconds, Tumblr is centre stage in the internet community. Tumblr's forte lies in viral hits or memes, global in-jokes which capture the mood of sometimes niche but passionate readers. One recent example, White Men Wearing Google Glass, pokes fun at the ever-so-dorky appearance of those keen to show off Google's latest invention. Last year's stand-out hit was Texts From Hillary Clinton - a collection of images captioned with humorous examples of what the then US Secretary of State may have been writing. Clinton herself was a fan - the last image is one of her with the blog's creators. Tumblr is even credited with bringing about the resurgence of the animated gif - an image format that until recently had been seen as tacky and outdated, but is now a key component of discourse and comedy online. Not safe for work All that sounds very appealing to Yahoo and its investors - but there is one elephant in the room that needs to be acknowledged. Or rather, naked people in the room. Tumblr is bursting with amateur pornography. The company does not give a breakdown of how many of its sites are adult-orientated, but it's clear it has no issue in accommodating them. The site's terms of service say sharing of explicit pictures is fine - as long as it is clearly labelled as NSFW, meaning not safe for work. As for explicit video, it's a no-no to use Tumblr's own video feature to upload adult clips, but embedded videos uploaded elsewhere is not a problem - indeed, Tumblr even recommends a specific pornographic site to do just that. It's an approach that could create problems for Yahoo, predicts Index Venture's Robin Klein. "This is where segmentation becomes so important," he tells the BBC. "Advertising must go to where it wants to be. "There's no way advertisers will be happy to end up on porn sites." US technology news site AllThingsD has reported a "source close to the situation" as saying Yahoo would have a hands-off approach to running the site - porn and all - once it is under their control. Abandon ship! But that hasn't stopped some users getting nervous. "They're going to lose a number of bloggers," predicts Mr Klein. "I'm sure they've factored that into their thinking. They're going to have to manage this." Wordpress - a rival blogging platform - reported that more than 72,000 people imported their Tumblr blogs to Wordpress in just one hour on Sunday evening. Within moments of the news of the probable buyout becoming public, bloggers flocked to Tumblr to express their dismay. One user wrote: "Tumblr has been my safe place for three years now, and it feels like someone is plunging a white hot poker into the woodwork, and setting it slowly on fire. Thanks Yahoo." A search for the term Yahoo on the site brings many more examples - some with colourful language. Yahoo will be hoping that, like so many internet storms, this anger will drift away - leaving behind a highly active, highly profitable bounty. "Tumblr so far has not made a huge amount of money," says Luke Lewis, UK editor of news site Buzzfeed. "But the potential is there. The people who use Tumblr are really young, they are really engaged and spend hours a day on Tumblr." And while seemingly unpopular, Yahoo does at least have one thing going for it, according to one user. "At least it wasn't bought by Facebook." Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

uk-politics-37634967

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37634967

What do we know about Brexit?

What do we know?

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter One of the most baffling political quotes of all time was the former American Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld's response to questions about weapons intelligence on Iraq back in 2002. He was lampooned at the time, but in the months and years that followed, his bizarre syntax became rather a shorthand for a situation so complicated and fluid that it is almost impossible to rule anything in or out. Just in case you had forgotten - and you can watch it here - here is how he put it at the time. "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know." Of course the situation in respect of Brexit is different indeed, very very different. But I can't help thinking of that quote as right now, we hear government ministers trying, or indeed not trying to give MPs full answers on their plans for Brexit that there are indeed known knowns but also many more known unknowns And indeed, that there are probably unknown unknowns about how we extricate ourselves from the EU, what our relationship with the rest of the EU looks like, and indeed the rest of the world. Frankly, we know almost as little about the plan for Brexit that's concrete as we did that momentous morning after the referendum itself. But there have been plenty of hints, implications and suggestions of priorities that are worth noting, even if just to reveal how much that we can't be sure of. It is not by any stretch an exhaustive list, and without concrete proposals, everything is still open to interpretation. Immigration First off, on immigration, which came to dominate the referendum debate. Theresa May evidently believes, whatever else we end up with, that the British government needs to have more say over how many people come to live here from the rest of the European Union. She's ruled out a points system to determine who gets in and who doesn't, even though we use elements of that to control the numbers of people who move here from other parts of the world. There are plenty of suggestions floating around the place over what a new system might be - for example a work permit system as put forward by the former Cabinet Minister Iain Duncan Smith. Under this option, students, tourists, and people being transferred by their employer for work (known as intra company transfers) can come here without limit, but others must have a job offer before they arrive. But people with particular skills, scientists for example, could be exempt from control altogether. Other ideas have been put forward, regional visas for example by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan. In truth, there isn't a clear position from the government yet, but a clear determination that when we get to the end of the Brexit process, there is a political imperative for Theresa May to be able to say she is able to exert more control over the levels of European immigration. Single market That is what makes the second fiendish issue so politically difficult. Is the government going to try to keep our full membership of the single market - the European Union's giant free trade area where businesses can deal with companies right around the union, with a market of 500 million people, without any obstacles. During the referendum campaign, Vote Leave said that we would indeed leave the single market. Other EU countries have said that we can't stay in the single market if we are intent on restricting European immigration. It's not just a real, but a philosophical point - for the EU single market, countries accept four 'freedoms' - goods, services, people and capital - basically cash, trade and people. So in theory, if we want to control immigration from the EU, we can't stay inside. But, so far ministers hedge around this. In fact three different cabinet ministers have told me they believe that we might keep our membership of the single market if British negotiators can find a cunning wheeze, a way round it. Others believe it is helplessly optimistic to believe that's possible, other ministers suggest it's not even desirable and we'd be better off trying to go it alone within the rules of the World Trade Organisation. Again, the government just hasn't made its position clear. Theresa May is the kind of politician who genuinely wants to look at all the evidence, even if there is swathes of it, before making a decision. And it's worth remembering this is not as binary as it sounds. Being a member of the single market is not like being a member of the AA or the local gym - you don't just stop paying your direct debit and cut up your membership card. There are lots of different models like the deal Norway has, or Switzerland, that allow it to trade with varying expectations of how many of the rules they have to obey. But more to the point, while most EU leaders seem implacably opposed to the UK following Boris Johnson's oft-quoted aspiration of "having its cake and eating it" - keeping all the goodies of the single market and getting more control on immigration - it is always worth remembering that although there are EU regulations and precedents, as one senior Conservative put it, 'there is literally nothing that is unchangeable about the EU if the political leaders want it". Political leadership In this instance, that is a huge if, but it'd be wrong to think that anything about the government's attitude to the single market has been set in stone, and importantly in the next twelve months, many European leaders risk losing their perches in their own elections. They could be replaced by others who are more sympathetic to the UK's case, or in reverse, far more willing to be punitive. But it is also well worth remembering that the UK has over the years managed to exclude itself from some of the biggest EU projects - the single currency and the Schengen border free travel zone. What about the cash we have to stump up? Ministers have been oh so careful not to rule out having to contribute anything to the EU, even after we leave, despite the promises of the Vote Leave campaign that we'd get billions back. You might argue that voters, and certainly many Tory MPs will be furious if under the deal we end up shelling out. But it is a very real possibility that ministers may end up pursuing a deal where we would continue to pay a certain amount to Brussels in return for a trading relationship. It's another known unknown. Equally we know that ministers would rather be able to allow all EU nationals currently living here to stay. But they are miles from committing to that, insistent, rightly or wrongly, that they will only give that guarantee if British citizens who live in EU countries are given the same, racking up something else we are yet to know. So far, I'm afraid, so unclear. There are a few issues however that are clear as crystal. It's unambiguous, that the prime minister is intent on taking us out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This was one of the clues that suggests we'll leave the single market, as the ECJ polices its rules. But then again, Norway is in the market, but is not under the Court, even though its equivalent authority takes much of its guidance from the ECJ. Nudges and hints The European Courts will no longer be the ultimate arbiter of our laws once we have left the EU. Under the Great Repeal Bill, which will be discussed and voted on in Parliament next year, at the moment we leave, all EU laws go into British law. And then, our MPs can, as they see fit, unpick them, replace them, or scrap them one by one. And as David Davis told MPs today, there'll be no possibility of veto, that Brexit means Brexit and we will be leaving the European Union. And very few of the MPs who today so passionately pleaded for more say over how our departure unfolds, would now argue to unpick the result. There are already countless interpretations of all the above, other readings of the nudges and hints we've had from central government. And there are so many other factors in all of this - what happens about the Customs Union, what happens about EU structural funds, what happens to the Northern Irish border, what happens to benefits paid to expats, the list goes on and and on and you guessed it, most of the items on the list are, yes, known unknowns. And as Mr Rumsfeld suggested all those years ago, there are indeed, unknown unknowns. We are only at the very beginning of a process that is going to take years, not months, that will change our relationship with the rest of the continent, and ultimately the rest of the world. There may well be consequences that right now, we can't even imagine, for good or for ill. Right now, there is very little that we can be sure of - the government is yet to come to a concrete position on what it wants to achieve. And even when ministers can agree on their specific aims, that's when the rest of the EU will start to grapple with the detail of a process. The British government reaching its own conclusions is only perhaps the start.

world-asia-29828973

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29828973

Tokyo Olympic stadium: Sports cathedral or white elephant?

Olympic stadiums are a problem.

By Rupert Wingfield-HayesBBC News, Tokyo In Athens, many of the 2004 stadia now stand abandoned and overgrown. Beijing's hugely expensive 2008 "Bird's Nest" may have become a tourist attraction, but has been rarely used for anything else. Even London's "cheap" 2012 stadium is having a troubled and expensive rebirth as a football arena. So what lessons has Tokyo taken away from all this? Huge and expensive state-of-the-art stadiums are a bad idea? Apparently not. 'Ridiculous' Tokyo's 2020 Olympic stadium will be bigger and more expensive than any of its recent predecessors. Renowned British architect Zaha Hadid has designed it. Some have likened it to a spaceship, others to a giant bicycle helmet. The initial budget was $3bn (£1.8bn). That has since been scaled back to "just" $1.7bn. The arching roof will rise 70m (230ft) into the air. The original design would have been three times bigger than London's Olympic stadium. The revised design is now only twice as big. This has got some of Tokyo's more illustrious denizens up in arms. Primary among them is Fumihiko Maki, one of Japan's best-known architects who also designed the Tokyo gymnasium for the 1964 Olympics. "I'm saying it's just ridiculous," he said. "We are raising our voices, but they don't listen." It is hard to imagine this gentle, softly spoken 86-year-old getting angry, but it appears he has. Professor Maki's main issue with the stadium is its huge retractable roof. "My biggest objection is to cover the stadium," he said. "Technically it's more difficult and costly. This kind of system is not ideal for sports. All sports people would be against having a covered field. "If you make an open stadium then later you could reduce the size to 60,000 as you have done in London. By building a covered stadium for 80,000 you can't change it." The reason Tokyo is building such a complex retractable roof is so the stadium can be used for concerts after the Olympics is over. Without a roof, the noise of rock and pop concerts would break Tokyo's tight noise restrictions, especially in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. That brings us to the second big problem: location. Green importance Tokyo, rightly, has a reputation for being a huge sprawling mess, with little in the way of town-planning or green spaces. The ones that it does have are therefore precious. The new stadium is being built smack in the middle of one of the greenest, most historic parts of the city - Meiji Jingu Gaien, whose name means "The outer garden of the Meiji Shrine". The Emperor Meiji is revered in Japan as the man who dragged the isolated backward country in the modern world. "When the Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912, people from all over Japan donated money to buy this land," said Nobuko Shimizu, a member of a group called "The Custodians of the National Stadium" that has been campaigning to stop the old stadium from being demolished. "The Emperor Meiji loved sports. So they built a gymnasium and a baseball field and an art gallery to celebrate his accomplishments." "This place is a kind of oasis," she added, pointing to nearby Ginko trees. "We can walk and chat and hold picnics here. If the new stadium is built, we would lose those parks and greens. It is not acceptable." The exasperation in her voice is clear. Hundreds of her group took to the streets to protest this summer, and more than 13,000 people signed a petition against the new stadium. But the Japanese Sports Council remains unmoved. "I don't think there is a chance it will be changed," said Yoshitaka Takasaki of the Japan Sports Council. "We have notified architects from around the world about the design competition. Forty-six designs were entered, and Zaha Hadid's design was selected. We followed a proper process. We have a responsibility to build a new stadium based on her design." 'Bureaucratic arrogance' Professor Maki remains unimpressed by such arguments. He has accused the sports council of bureaucratic arrogance and leading Tokyo down the same road that Beijing took in 2008. "Somebody at the decision-making level wants to do it again, just like in the case of China," he said. "They want to show off shining technology so that people will marvel at it. It is exactly the same mentality in our government." "We have a very modernised country but we still have a bureaucracy that governs everything," the designer of the 1964 gymnasium added. "We are not a civil society where citizen voices can be critical."

world-middle-east-14541322

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14541322

Bahrain profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1783 - Khalifah family seizes power from Persia. 1861 - Britain assumes responsibility for Bahrain's defence and foreign relations. 1913 - Britain and the Ottoman government sign a treaty recognising the independence of Bahrain, but the country remains under British administration. 1931 - The Bahrain Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil, discovers oil and production begins the following year. 1939 - Britain decides that the Hawar Islands that lie between Bahrain and Qatar belong to Bahrain. 1961 - Sheikh Isa Bin-Salman Al Khalifah becomes ruler. 1967 - Britain moves its main regional naval base from Aden to Bahrain, a year before deciding to close all its bases east of Suez by 1971. 1970 May - The Shah of Iran renounces his country's claim to sovereignty over Bahrain after a United Nations report says that Bahrainis favour independence over rule by Britain or Iran. After the Shah flees in 1979, the Islamic government of Iran refuses to recognise this renunciation. Independence 1971 - Bahrain declares independence and signs a new treaty of friendship with Britain. Sheikh Isa becomes the first Emir and the Council of State becomes a cabinet. 1971 - Bahrain and the US sign an agreement which permits the US to rent naval and military facilities. 1973 December - Elections are held for a National Assembly advisory body, which consists of the 14 cabinet members plus 30 MPs elected by male voters over the age of 20. Rule by decree 1975 August - Following claims by prime minister Sheikh Khalifah Bin-Salman Al Khalifah that the National Assembly is impeding the work of the government, the Emir dissolves the assembly and rules by decree. 1981 May - Bahrain joins the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 1981 December - Seventy-three people, said to be members of the Iran-based Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, headed by Iranian cleric, Hojjat ol-Eslam Hadi al-Mudarrisi, are arrested and accused of conspiring to overthrow the government. 1986 - In April, Qatari troops occupy Fasht al-Dibal Island, but withdraw in June after mediation by Saudi Arabia. 1986 November - Opening of the King Fahd causeway which links Bahrain to the mainland of Saudi Arabia. Operation Desert Storm 1991 January/February - As part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Peninsula Shield Force, Bahrain participates in the US-led Operation Desert Storm against Iraq. 1991 October - Bahrain signs a defence cooperation agreement with the United States, providing for port facilities and joint military exercises. 1992 December - A 30-member Consultative Council, appointed by the emir for a four-year term, is set up. 1994 December - Demonstrations follow the arrest of Shia cleric Sheikh Ali Salman, who called for the restoration of the National Assembly and criticises the ruling family. He is deported and seeks asylum in Britain. 1995 June - The cabinet is reshuffled to include five Shia ministers. 1996 January/February - After bomb explosions in Manama's business quarter, Shia cleric Sheikh Abd-al-Amir al-Jamri is arrested. 'Coup plot' uncovered 1996 June - The government says it has uncovered a coup plot by an Iranian-backed group, Hezbollah-Bahrain. Bahrain recalls its ambassador. 1996 September - The Consultative Council members are increased from 30 to 40. 1997 April - Bahrain acquires sole ownership of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco). 1998 December - Bahrain provides military facilities for "Operation Desert Fox", the US-British bombing campaign against Iraq. 1999 March - Emir Sheikh Isa dies and is succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Hamad. 1999 July - Sheikh Abd-al-Amir al-Jamri is sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment but is pardoned by the new Emir. 1999 December - The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani, visits. Countries establish committee to settle territorial disputes. 2000 September - Emir appoints the first non-Muslims and women to the Consultative Council - four women - one of whom is a Christian - and a Jewish businessman. Political reform 2001 February - Referendum on political reform overwhelmingly backs constitutional monarchy with elected lower chamber of parliament and independent judiciary. 2001 November - Al-Wefaq opposition movement founded. 2002 February - Bahrain becomes a constitutional monarchy, and allows women to stand for office in a package of reforms. Emir Hamad proclaims himself king. 2002 May - Local elections are held, Bahrain's first poll for almost 30 years. For the first time women vote and stand as candidates, but fail to win a seat. 2002 October - Parliamentary elections held, the first for nearly 30 years. Authorities say the turnout was more than 50% despite a call by Islamists for a boycott. 2003 May - Thousands of victims of alleged torture petition King Hamad to cancel law that prevents them from suing suspected torturers. 2004 April - Nada Haffadh is made health minister - the first woman to head a government ministry. 2004 May - Protests in Manama against fighting in the Iraqi Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The king sacks the interior minister after police try to prevent the protest. 2005 March-June - Thousands of protest marchers demand a fully-elected parliament. Shia political opposition 2006 November - The Shia opposition wins 40% of the vote in a general election. A Shia Muslim, Jawad bin Salem al-Oraied, is named deputy prime minister. 2007 September - Thousands of illegal foreign workers rush to take advantage of a government-sanctioned amnesty. 2008 May - A Jewish woman, Houda Nonoo, is appointed Bahrain's ambassador to the USA. She is believed to be the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador. 2009 April - King Hamad pardons more than 170 prisoners charged with endangering national security, including 35 Shias being tried on charges of trying to overthrow the state. 2010 September - 20 Shia opposition leaders - accused of plotting to overthrow monarchy by promoting violent protests and sabotage - arrested in run-up to elections. 2010 October - Parliamentary elections. The main Shia opposition group, Islamic National Accord Association, makes a slender gain. Protests 2011 February - Thousands of protesters gather in Manama, inspired by popular revolts that toppled rulers in Tunisia and Egypt. A security crackdown results in the death of several protestors. 2011 March - Saudi troops are called in following further unrest. Authorities declare martial law and clamp down hard on pro-democracy activists. Protests continue, despite ban on demonstrations. Focal point of demonstrations - the Pearl monument - is demolished. 2011 April - Government moves to ban two main political parties which represent the Shia majority. 2011 November - Government concedes that "excessive force" was used by security forces in Bahrain against pro-democracy protesters. 2012 October - Protesters clash with riot police in Manama at funeral of Ali Ahmed Mushaima, who died in prison after being jailed for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations. The authorities indefinitely ban all protests and gatherings. 2013 February - National dialogue talks begin in effort to end unrest. 2013 March - King Hamad appoints his son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, as deputy prime minister. He is widely viewed as a moderate, who previously occupied an influential position until he was sidelined by hardliners in the ruling family after the 2011 clampdown on unrest. 2013 September - Bahrain's main Shia opposition groups pull out of talks with the government in protest at the arrest of a leading member of Wefaq, the main Shia opposition society. 2014 October - Main Shia opposition group Al-Wefaq banned for three months. 2014 November - Parliamentary elections, boycotted and dismissed by the Shia opposition as a farce. 2014 December - Leader of Al-Wefaq opposition movement Sheikh Ali Salman is arrested. Protests and clashes between his supporters and security forces ensue. 2015 March - Bahrain and four other GCC states take part in Saudi-led air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. 2016 August - A UN-appointed panel accused the authorities of carrying out a systematic campaign of harassment against the country's Shia Muslim population. 2017 January - Bahrain executes three Shia activists convicted of killing three policemen in a bomb attack in 2014 - the country's first execution in six years. 2017 May - The country's most prominent Shia cleric - Isa Qassim - is found guilty of illegal fundraising and money laundering and given a suspended sentence. 2018 April - Bahrain reports discovery of the kingdom's largest oilfield in more than 80 years. 2018 November - Opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman of the banned Al-Wefaq party is sentenced to life in jail on charges of spying for Bahrain's arch-rival, Qatar. Rights organisations denounce the trial as politically-motivated.

world-africa-14093813

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14093813

Senegal profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

8th century - Present-day Senegal is part of the Kingdom of Ghana. 11th century - Tukulor people occupy lower Senegal valley. 12-14th centuries - Rise of the Jolof empire. 1440s - Portuguese traders reach Senegal river estuary. 1588 - Dutch establish slave port on island of Goree. 1659 - French found St-Louis at the mouth of the Senegal river; it becomes a key slave-trading port. 1677 - French take over island of Goree from the Dutch. 1756-63 - Seven Years' War: Britain takes over French posts in Senegal, forms colony of Senegambia. France regains its holdings during American Revolutionary War of 1775-83. 1816 - Britain returns French holdings captured during Napoleonic Wars. Late 1800s - France extends its influence, gains control of all the territory of Senegal. 1895 - Senegal becomes part of French West Africa. 1914 - Blaise Diagne elected as Senegal's first African deputy to French parliament. 1946 - Senegal becomes part of the French Union. 1956 - National Assembly established. 1958 - Becomes an autonomous republic, as part of the French Community. Independence 1960 June - Senegal becomes independent, as part of Mali Federation. 1960 August - Senegal pulls out of Mali Federation, becomes separate republic with Leopold Senghor as president. 1962 - Attempted coup led by Prime Minister Mamadou Dia. 1963 - First constitution drawn-up. 1966 - Senghor's Senegalese Progressive Union becomes country's sole political party. 1978 - Three-party political system introduced. 1981 - Leopold Senghor steps down; Abdou Diouf becomes president in 1981. 1982 - Senegambian Confederation formed; Senegal and neighbouring Gambia aim to combine military and security forces. Dissolved in 1989. 1982 - Separatists in southern province of Casamance form Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces. Political change 2000 March - Opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade wins second round of presidential elections, ending 40 years of Socialist Party rule. 2001 January - Voters back new constitution which shortens presidential term, limits holder to two terms, and gives president power to dissolve parliament. 2001 March - Government signs peace accord with separatist rebels in Casamance. But there is little follow-up as separatists go through splits and leadership changes. 2001 April - Abdoulaye Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party wins an overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections. 2004 December - Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces and government sign pact aimed at ending secessionist struggle in province of Casamance. Tariff row 2005 October - Dispute with neighbouring Gambia over ferry tariffs on the border leads to a transport blockade. The economies of both countries suffer. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo brokers talks to resolve the issue. 2006 August - The army launches an offensive against rebels from a holdout faction of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces. 2006 December - Spain and Senegal agree a series of measures to curb illegal migration to the Canary Islands. Spain is to give 4,000 Senegalese temporary work permits over the next two years. 2007 June - President Wade's ruling coalition increases its parliamentary majority in elections boycotted by the opposition. Habre trial moves 2008 April - Senegal's national assembly amends the country's constitution to allow the trial of Chad's ex-leader Hissene Habre, who is accused of human rights abuses during his eight years in power. 2009 March - Opposition parties win control of several cities in local elections, including Dakar, formerly a stronghold of President Wade. 2009 April - Belgium starts proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to try to force Senegal to bring former Chadian President Hissene Habre to trial for alleged human rights abuses during his time in power. 2009 May - UN court accepts Senegal's pledge to keep in Hissene Habre in the country ahead of trial for rights abuses. 2009 September-October - Clashes between troops and rebels in the province of Casamance. 2010 April - France gives up its military bases in the country. Change of leader 2012 March - Macky Sall wins presidential elections, and his coalition wins July parliamentary elections. 2012 September - MPs abolish the upper house, the Senate, and the post of vice president in an effort to save money for flood relief. Critics say the aim is to weaken the opposition. 2013 July - The Senegalese authorities arrest former Chadian President Hissene Habre in Dakar and put him on trial him for crimes against humanity committed in Chad under his rule. 2014 April - Rebel leader Salif Sadio, who had been fighting for the independence of the Casamance region, declares a unilateral ceasefire. 2015 January - Senegal expels leading Gambian opposition figure Cheikh Sidya Bayo to France, accusing him of being a threat to public order. 2015 March - Karim Wade, the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, is jailed for six years for illicit enrichment while serving as a minister under his father, in what critics say is a politically motivated case. He is pardoned in June 2016 and leaves the country. 2016 March - Voters in a referendum approve a proposal to reduce the presidential term from seven years to five. 2016 May - Former leader of Chad Hissene Habre is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison by an African Union-backed court in Senegal. 2016 October - France drops long-standing warning against travel to Casamance region, in a move likely to boost the important tourism sector. 2017 January - Senegalese troops gather on Gambian border ready to enforce transfer of power under ECOWAS regional mandate after President Jammeh refuses to step down on losing presidential election. 2017 April - Thousands protest in the capital Dakar against the president, demanding the release of several of his political opponents. 2017 August - Parliamentary elections. President Sall's coalition wins more than two-thirds of the seats. 2018 March - Khalifa Sall, the mayor of Dakar and potential rival of the current president in next year's election, is convicted and jailed for corruption.

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Hard Brexit could make for heavy going at Cheltenham

What price Cheltenham Races post Brexit?

Patrick BurnsPolitical editor, Midlands It's one of the biggest events in Britain's entire sporting calendar. About 250,000 people converge on Cheltenham's famous recourse during the four days of racing. After weeks of unseasonably bad weather, the going is officially rated 'heavy', but it's the fears of a hard Brexit that threaten to make the atmosphere at the national hunt festival rather less 'festive' than usual. Here's the problem. About 200 of the horses competing there this week are from Ireland. Almost three quarters of the horses raced in Britain each year are bred in either Ireland or France. Around 32,000 people work in the racing industry on either side of the Irish Sea, like a seamless business worth over £5bn a year to the UK and Irish economies according to the accountancy firm Deloitte. How might border restrictions affect their jobs, and the rural economy as a whole in which a further 60,000 people depend on racing for their livelihoods? It may look like a novel twist in the argument about freedom of movement, not just of people but also of horses. But the deal allowing more than 10,000 horses to move freely every year between Britain, Ireland and France goes back to a tripartite agreement struck by those three countries back in the 1960s, long before the UK joined what was then the Common Market. That's why the Environment Secretary Michael Gove, a committed Brexiteer, says it should continue after Britain's departure from the EU. Opting-in, and out "For years they've been demanding opt-outs. Now they want us to give them opt-ins". That's how one European Commission official reportedly summed-up his exasperation with what they see there as the UK's pick-and-mix approach to the negotiations. The Irish vice president of the European Parliament Mairead McGuiness MEP says: "Horse racing depends on the best horses moving freely across Ireland, the UK and France. It would be a disaster if the best horses couldn't even make the first hurdle." Meantime a UK Government spokesman said: "Our priority is for the movement of horses to continue with minimal delay and bureaucracy while safeguarding welfare, bio-security and disease control. We are working with Ireland and France on developing new arrangements for after we leave the EU." So this issue is clearly being drawn into the wider Brexit negotiations. A further peculiarity in all this is that in Parliamentary terms, Cheltenham racecourse is not in Cheltenham at all. It's in the Tewkesbury constituency of one of the most committed Brexiteers on the Conservative back benchers. I asked Laurence Robertson if Britain's departure from the EU could be bad news for an event which brings a business bonanza to his corner of Gloucestershire every year. He told me he was confident a solution would be found because Ireland and France had just as much at stake as Britain. And so did the EU itself. At the risk of mixing my metaphors, he was equally bullish about the position of those stables staff working across the various national borders. Mr Robertson reminded me racing is a global business. "This is not just about the EU," he told me. "Stable staff come here from as far afield as the Indian subcontinent, the Far East and Australia." One racing certainty is that we'll have more on this in this weekend's Sunday Politics Midlands. We come under starter's orders at 11.00 on BBC One.

blogs-trending-36845948

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'Send me back to Africa' - a unique response to racism

"Put your money where your hate is."

By BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why This is the phrase being used by a crowdfunding campaign, currently going viral, which is being seen as a unique response to racism. The campaign seems to take racists at face value, and asks for donations in order for its black founder to be able to go "back to Africa." Larry Mitchell, an African-American man from Kokomo, Indiana, started the clearly ironic GoFundMe petition, and has had his page shared more than 30,000 times on various social media platforms. In the blurb for the petition Mitchell wrote: "If you want me to go back to Africa I will gladly go… you can help make your dream and mine come true… accepting all donations. KKK, Skin Heads and anyone else with like mind thinking are welcome to donate… Thank you.. God bless you and America… #putyourmoneywhereyourhateis." "The petition started as a joke," Mitchell, an aspiring chef, told BBC Trending. "I was reading articles following the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile [black men killed in recent incidents involving US police], and there were comments underneath saying 'these black people should go back to Africa', so I started the petition to say 'fine I will if you pay for it'." Mitchell has, at the time of writing, raised around $1,300 of his $100,000 target. Some of those donating money do, in fact, seem to hold racist views and have taken the campaign at face value. A man named Howard McFonsworth donated $5 and accompanied it with the words "good bye" and a highly offensive racist slur. A user named "fedup whiteguy" also donated $5 and said "you better not come back". However, it seemed most people were in on the joke. A user named David Woo told Mitchell to take the money and enjoy it on a holiday, writing, "I am not a racist, but would love for you to go on some travels and experience the world. Have fun, man!!" Jackson Lam agreed; "Hahaha! Love it. You're genius. Enjoy the trip, but do please come back - we need more clever ideas to solve our complex problems." The majority of the comments were supportive, letting Mitchell know that he was welcome in America, and that they found his method of illustrating racial tensions in America refreshing. The petition, which was started at the start of July, comes at a time of particular racial tension in the United States, following the recent killings of two black men by police and five police officers by a black gunman at protests in Dallas. Mitchell says that the recent unrest is not surprising for him, "this happens all the time, every year - there are several unarmed black men being shot in the streets of America and it doesn't make it into the news. He himself has been convicted of serious offenses, involving drugs, in the past and has served time in custody. Questioned about this by BBC Trending, he cited racism. "You have to understand the context of where I'm from. In Indiana, we've had Klan marches here. We had one of America's last public lynching here. There's an underlying racism that is still here. Black men are watched and targeted by the police." Historically, the notion of "voluntary repatriation" to Africa has been a long discussed subject, used offensively by those holding racist views, but also finding some echoes among black leaders. A supporter of the idea was Marcus Garvey. Garvey was a Jamaican-born black nationalist who created a 'Back to Africa' movement during the early part of the 20th century in the United States, although he clarified that the idea didn't apply to all African-Americans. "We do not want all the Negroes in Africa. Some are no good here, and naturally will be no good there," he said. Mitchell, in his GoFundMe page, also linked to Ghana's more recent 'Right of Abode' programme, which enables people of African descent to apply in order to stay indefinitely in the country. But, if he has no plans to repatriate, what will Mitchell do with the pledged money? "If I do hit the petition target, I will go on vacation somewhere in Africa because I have never been," he said. "But I will come back home." Blog by Megha Mohan Next story: Mrs Trump's other famous quotes: "One small step for man..." After Melania Trump's controversial convention speech the web wonders what other famous lines she might claim. 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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Why is economic growth so poor?

Is it Brexit? Snow?

Kamal AhmedEconomics editor@bbckamalon Twitter The often slightly miserable nature of the first quarter growth figures, affected as they can be by the general economic lull post-Christmas? A mixture of all or none of the above? Untangling why the UK's economic growth has slumped so dramatically in the first three months of the year is not easy. And there are no definitive answers. Which is one of the main reasons why - although the 0.1% figure is likely to increase the doveish voices in the Bank of England on delaying an interest rate rise - the Monetary Policy Committee will wait for next week's construction, manufacturing and services figures before making a final judgement. Weak Brexit uncertainty has been a drag on the economy, as the International Monetary Fund has made clear. The UK was top of the global growth league of our main industrial competitors before the referendum. We are now languishing somewhere near the bottom. Business investment is weak. But nothing has abruptly changed on Brexit in the last three months to explain the sudden fall. If anything, many firms - whose investment decisions drive a large part of the economy - consider recent announcements on progress to be more positive than some feared. Turning to the Beast from the East, the Office for National Statistics says that the effect of the bad weather was "generally small". And in some sectors - such as energy - demand was up because of the cold conditions. Nerves Clearly, though, our most recent winter has had some impact. The construction sector was down sharply (up to 30 days were lost on house building sites, for example, due to the freezing conditions). The Beast from the East also appears to have affected fuel sales and high street shopping more generally. In France, which suffered similar bad weather, growth fell to 0.3% in the first three months of the year from 0.7% in the final quarter of 2017 - though that was as much down to soft investment numbers and slowing exports as the ice. In Britain, more important than the bad weather is, frankly, us. The nervous consumer. Pessimism Little noticed this morning was the latest GfK Consumer Confidence Index, which is used across the European Union to judge how consumers are feeling. It is sitting at -9, meaning that people are generally pretty pessimistic about the state of the economy. It hasn't been in positive territory for precisely two years and four months. The incomes squeeze of the last year and fears about sluggish growth are major negatives in people's minds. There is also some initial evidence that house prices in London are starting to fall. Which could signal a more general weakening in the housing market. If consumers don't feel confident - or better off - spending is affected. Household spending accounts for around 60% of value created in the economy. If that softens, then the whole economy feels the effects.

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Leader profile: Nick Clegg opens up about life outside politics

Nick Clegg is unique in British politics.

James LandaleDeputy political editor@BBCJLandaleon Twitter No MP has such a cosmopolitan and international background - his mother is Dutch, his father half Russian, his wife Spanish. In a rare interview, his mother, Hermance Clegg - who survived three years in a Japanese prison camp in Indonesia - told me that she understood the "stresses and strains" that his job brought. "I feel proud of him. Nick is very strong," she said. And no party leader is so disarmingly transparent. In the latest interview in a series of BBC profiles of the party leaders, Mr Clegg talked frankly about life outside politics. He insisted, of course, that he wanted to stay on as MP for Sheffield Hallam and Lib Dem leader and will campaign hard to do so. But he was also prepared to contemplate what might happen if he was not successful. "I have never thought politics is the be all and end all," he said. Mr Clegg was also open about the tough battle the Lib Dems faced in this election. With the party on single figures in the opinion polls, he told me that this, for the Lib Dems, would be "an election of resilience" from which the party would have to recover. "I have absolutely no doubt that once we are through that, we will grow again in the future," he said. The Lib Dems were "more battle hardened" than they were five years ago. And in the face of so much criticism, from both within and without his party - "there is no point moping or you will never get anything done" - he defended his record. Britain's economy, he said, would have collapsed like Greece's if the Lib Dems had not joined a coalition with the Conservatives. So only days before the election campaign begins, Nick Clegg appears up for a fight. He insists the pollsters and the critics will be proved wrong. But when asked about the future, unlike most politicians, he is at least willing to imagine a life away from Westminster.

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What is Mike Ashley's plan for the High Street?

What is Mike Ashley's game plan?

By Jill TreanorBusiness reporter, BBC News The founder of Sports Direct seems intent on taking over the UK's High Streets. This week the businessman, who has a retail empire that spans budget sportswear and luxury fashion, added Evans Cycles to the High Street names in his sprawling and intertwined retail empire. The cycle chain came wrapped for a quick sale in a special arrangement which freed it of its debts. The price tag was just £8m for the cycle chain after it had been placed into administration. It followed the £90m deal by Sports Direct in August to buy House of Fraser, after the department store chain had been placed in administration. Richard Hyman, a strategic adviser to retailers, said: "I don't really think he's got a strategy as such. He's an opportunist. "But I need to make clear that I don't mean that in a pejorative sense!" The deals have been bolted on to a business that traces its roots to 1982 when Mr Ashley started Sports Direct with one store and a £10,000 loan from his parents. In 2007, Sports Direct was floated on the stock market, by which time it had more than 400 stores, owned Lillywhites in London and brands such as Donnay and Slazenger. Not all of his interests are held through Sports Direct, but they now include a substantial property business, clothing chain French Connection, lingerie chain Agent Provocateur, the upmarket clothing outlets Flannels and Cruise and more brands, including Firetrap and Lonsdale, and, of course, Newcastle United football club. Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, doesn't think there's a concrete plan. He says Mr Ashley's deals are a "combination of both strategic and opportunistic". But the purchase of the Evans Cycles chain - where Mr Ashley admits he will shut half of the 62 shops - does fit with his plans for dominance in the field of sports. "There are [acquisitions] that are clearly relevant. Evans is in that camp. In conversation with Mike five years ago [about] areas of sports and leisure he wasn't involved in, he'd put cycling and fishing in that camp. Evans is relevant to the sports retailing business," said John Stevenson, analyst at stock brokers Peel Hunt. Goals Soccer Centres, the five-a-side football business in which he also holds an interest, also falls into the category. Others, though, are less obvious. Think Debenhams - in which Sports Direct has a-near 30% stake - and Game Group, where it has also amassed shares. The stake in Debenhams - partly amassed through a complex financial trade - is not being used as a prelude to a full takeover. That was set out in September when Simon Bentley, a non-executive director of Sports Direct, clarified remarks he had made that he did not intend to infer a merger between House of Fraser and Debenhams was being discussed. Figuring out what Mr Ashley is planning is not made easy by his less-than-warm relationship with the investment establishment. Mr Stevenson said they "don't engage with the City about what their strategy is". But Mr Ashley has perhaps tried to define his own strategy through eye-catching slogans: The "Selfridges of Sport" for Sports Direct and the "Harrods of the High Street" for House of Fraser. These, though, have provoked some scepticism. "There are hundreds of High Streets in Britain but only one has a got Harrods on it. I think there's a message there," said Mr Hyman. But Mr Ashley is finding opportunities at a time when analysts talk about a period of unprecedented turmoil on the High Street. So what does he look for in a deal? Mr Lim said he will have "a stringent set of tests" as he seeks out well-known brands. Buying a company out of administration allows him to "trim off the fat", Mr Lim said. Half of Evans Cycles stores are to be closed. And the purchases also come with lots of goods. Richard Hyman points to the stock that the chains are carrying. Evans, Mr Hyman said, carried £28m of stock. House of Fraser, Mr Hyman said, was "largely about buying a pile of stock at a heavily discounted price which he can then sell and make a handsome profit from". "This is what I mean by opportunistic. Evans Cycles is not a bad fit. Is he following a strategic plan? I don't think he is. Is he positively opportunistic? Yes. Has got the resources to take advantage of opportunities that come his way? Yes." Mr Hyman adds: "Has he got courage? Yes". If nothing else, his shopping spree has been a bold one.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13285759

DR Congo profile - Leaders

President: Joseph Kabila

Joseph Kabila became president when his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001. He was elected in 2006, and secured another term in controversial elections in 2011. Mr Kabila has enjoyed the clear support of western governments, regional allies such as South Africa and Angola, and mining groups that have signed multi-million dollar deals under his rule. He fought alongside his father in a military campaign from the east that toppled dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 after more than 20 years of despotic, whimsical and corrupt rule. But when Laurent Kabila was killed by a bodyguard in 2001, his soft-spoken, publicity-shy son, who underwent military training in China, was thrust into the political limelight and installed as the world's youngest head of state. Mr Kabila has promised to rule by consensus to try to heal the scars of Congo's many conflicts. Although revered in the Swahili-speaking east, where he is widely credited with helping to end the 1998-2013 wars, he is less liked in the west.

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Why it’s proving hard to nail an election date

The prime minister has made his pitch.

By Iain WatsonPolitical correspondent, BBC News Labour, in his view, is "frit" of an election, and another attempt to call an early poll will be attempted on Monday. Will Labour fold under pressure of allegations of cowardice… or will it continue to refuse to give him what he wants? There have been different views inside the Labour hierarchy but - at the time of writing - these appear close to being reconciled. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has been pretty transparent about the nature of the debate - whether to agree to an early election, or one that takes place slightly later. And it would appear that Jeremy Corbyn is being persuaded to wait. "Later" would be after 19 October - when Boris Johnson would be required by Parliament to seek a Brexit delay following the passage of Hilary Benn's anti-no-deal bill. Mr Corbyn has said when that bill - to delay Brexit - gets royal assent, Labour will consider agreeing to an election at that stage. Others, including shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, have indicated that Labour should wait until the bill isn't just passed, but implemented. Royal assent is expected to happen on Monday, and the government has made clear it will ask Parliament for an election again straight afterwards. It has said this would be under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, requiring a two-thirds Commons majority for it to be approved. So Labour's position will be crucial to when an election is held. Shadow cabinet disagreements Mr Corbyn and key advisers had believed it was better to go early. But other influential figures in the shadow cabinet disagreed - including Mr McDonnell and deputy leader Tom Watson. They argued it was better to force Mr Johnson either to ask for a Brexit extension - breaking a key promise - or refuse to do so, opening him up to a motion of no confidence and giving the opposition the chance to form a temporary administration. The pivotal figure of Len McCluskey - leader of Unite, Labour's largest affiliated trade union - was something of a floating voter between the two positions. But his instinct was to "make Boris wait - and squirm". And it appears he is now moving closer to Mr McDonnell's view. This in turn is persuading Mr Corbyn to block Boris Johnson's election request. But Mr McCluskey and other senior Labour figures have been concerned that the SNP would leave Labour high and dry by agreeing to an election on Monday, and making Mr Corbyn look scared. Labour would, to an extent, be inoculated from charges of dither and delay if the whole opposition remains united. And it now looks like the "rebel alliance" is holding, following cross-party talks at which the SNP's Westminster leader and Mr Corbyn were present. There may have been tensions between the SNP in Edinburgh - the party leader Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to "bring on" an early election - and the SNP at Westminster. Senior SNP figures in London are alive to the possibility that if Mr Johnson is elected in a snap poll and goes for no-deal, the party would be open to the charge of enabling it. And if it turned out, post-election, that Mr Johnson had no overall majority, good relations with Labour and the Lib Dems at Westminster might bring a second independence referendum closer. So the opposition alliance is holding. I am told they are together seeking to find a "mechanism" which enables an election but does not enable no-deal. So, with the help of Commons Speaker John Bercow, could they change what was assumed to be the unamendable Fixed Term Parliaments Act to insert an election date - but one which comes after the date when Mr Johnson is required to seek a Brexit delay? Whitehall sources have said if the Speaker is "flexible" and allows amendments, the government would be happy to specify 15 October - before an EU summit beginning two days later, and before an extension is required. This would allay fears that the prime minister might subsequently change the election date to beyond 31 October so that Brexit happens by default. But these sources are adamant he won't agree to a different date set by the opposition. So what happens if there is no election by the time a Brexit delay is required? One idea being floated is that Labour successfully calls a motion of no confidence in Boris Johnson because he has defied Parliament. Mr Corbyn would form a temporary administration and extend the deadline. But Tory sources say the Conservatives could then call for a motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn. Tory rebels would return to the fold, and Mr Johnson would win the vote. He would fail then to form a government within the specified two-week timescale, after which the law demands an election be called. He would then attack Mr Corbyn for the Brexit delay. There are many other scenarios - including Mr Johnson vetoing his own government's request for a Brexit extension at a Brussels summit (not clear if he could), or getting another European leader to do so, because he makes clear he doesn't want it. Far-fetched, perhaps. But these days, extraordinary is the new normal.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-35920713

Snapchat has new video chats, access to camera rolls and 200 stickers

The wait is over.

No, there's not a new Star Wars film, Frank Ocean (still!) hasn't released a new album and Harry Styles hasn't announced open auditions for a wife. You can now send video in Snapchat chat mode and you can finally access your camera roll from the messaging screen while you're talking to your mates. Other new features include more than 200 stickers like walruses, sloths and aliens - which always come in handy. There is now also an option to invite people into a video call even if they're not already in the chat, plus there are options to chat via audio. If they don't pick up, or you just want to send them a reaction using other means, you can record a short audio or video "note" and it will be waiting for them the next time they open the app. Snapchat introduced chat in May 2014, allowing users to communicate via text and video chat for the first time. Video chat only worked when both users were in the chat, and would end if you removed your finger from the screen. Since then, other popular messaging apps have continued to add features. Facebook has made Messenger into a separate app, WhatsApp added a feature which lets you share documents and iMessage introduced "tap to talk" for sending audio. In an effort to rival those other platforms including the likes of FaceTime, Google Hangouts and Skype - Snapchat has also added the ability to send photos and clips during video chat as you talk. It is also changing the terms of service to include a new privacy centre which it claims will "making things clearer" about safety features like not showing friends a history of everything you've ever posted. The changes come as Instagram has rolled its new feed display and 60 second videos. Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

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Bulgaria profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

500 BC - Thracian tribes settle in what is now southeastern Bulgaria. They are subsequently subjugated by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and later by the Roman Empire. 681 - Bulgarian state established. 890s - The earliest form of the Cyrillic alphabet - later versions of which are now used in dozens of Slavonic languages - is created by Bulgarian scholars. 1018-1185 - Bulgaria is part of Byzantine empire. 1396 - Ottoman Empire completes conquest of Bulgaria. Next five centuries are known as era of the "Turkish yoke". 1876 - Nationwide uprising against Ottoman rule is violently suppressed. 1878 - Treaty of San Stefano - signed by Russia and Turkey at the end of their war of 1877-78 - recognises an autonomous Bulgaria. 1878 - Treaty of Berlin creates much smaller Bulgarian principality. Eastern Rumelia remains under Ottoman rule. 1886 - Eastern Rumelia is merged with Bulgaria. 1887 - Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha elected prince. 1908 - Bulgaria declares itself an independent kingdom. Ferdinand assumes title of tsar. 1914-18 - World War I. Bulgaria allies itself with Germany. Some 100,000 Bulgarian troops are killed, the most severe per capita losses of any country involved in the war. 1939-45 World War II - Soviet army invades German-occupied Bulgaria in 1944. Soviet-backed Fatherland Front takes power. 1946 - Monarchy abolished in referendum and republic declared. Communist Party wins election. Georgi Dimitrov elected prime minister. Soviet-style state 1947 - New constitution along Soviet lines establishes one-party state. Economy and industry sectors nationalised. 1954 - Todor Zhivkov becomes Communist Party general secretary. Bulgaria becomes staunch USSR ally. 1971 - Zhivkov becomes president. 1978 - Georgi Markov, a BBC World Service journalist and Bulgarian dissident, dies in London after apparently being injected with poison from the tip of an umbrella. 1984 - Zhivkov government tries to force Turkish minority to assimilate and take Slavic names. Many resist and in 1989 some 300,000 flee the country. End of Communist era 1989 - Reforms in the Soviet Union inspire demands for democratisation. Zhivkov ousted. Multiparty system introduced. Opposition Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) formed. 1990 - Economic crisis. Communist Party reinvents itself as Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and wins free parliamentary elections. President Petar Mladenov resigns and parliament appoints UDF's Zhelyu Zhelev. BSP government collapses amid mass demonstrations and general strike. 1991 New constitution proclaims Bulgaria a parliamentary republic and provides broad range of freedoms. UDF wins election. 1992 - Zhelev becomes Bulgaria's first directly-elected president. UDF government resigns. Lyuben Berov heads non-party government. Todor Zhivkov sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption in office. 1993 - Mass privatisation programme. 1994 - BSP returns to power in general election. 1995 - BSP's Zhan Videnov becomes prime minister. Economic turmoil 1996 - Financial turmoil. Petur Stoyanov replaces Zhelev as president. Bulgarian Supreme Court overturns Zhivkov's conviction. Videnov resigns as prime minister and chairman of the BSP. 1997 - Mass protests over economic crisis. Opposition boycotts parliament and calls for elections. Interim government installed until elections, when UDF leader Ivan Kostov becomes prime minister. Bulgarian currency pegged to German mark. 1999 - Protracted demolition attempts on marble mausoleum of first communist leader Georgi Dimitrov become national joke. 2000 - Post-communist prosecutors close file on Georgi Markov case. In December Markov is awarded Bulgaria's highest honour, the Order of Stara Planina, for his contribution to Bulgarian literature and his opposition to the communist authorities. 2001 June - Former King Simeon II's party, National Movement Simeon II, wins parliamentary elections. Simeon becomes premier in July. 2001 November - Thousands march through Sofia on 100th day of Simeon's premiership, saying he has failed to improve living standards. Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov wins presidency in an election with the lowest turnout since the fall of communism. He vows to improve people's lives and to speed up EU and Nato entry. 2001 December - Parliament agrees to destroy Soviet-made missiles by late 2002, ahead of Nato membership. 2004 March - Bulgaria is admitted to Nato. 2005 August - Socialist Party led by Sergei Stanishev tops the poll in general elections. After weeks of wrangling the main parties sign a coalition deal under which he becomes prime minister. 2005 December - Bulgaria's contingent of 400 light infantry troops leaves Iraq. In February 2006 parliament agrees to dispatch a non-combat guard unit. 2006 December - Bulgarian officials condemn death sentences handed to five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor by a Libyan court. The six were found guilty of deliberately infecting Libyan children with the HIV virus. Bulgaria joins EU 2007 January - Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, raising the EU membership to 27. 2007 June - The European Commission calls on Bulgaria to do more to combat corruption. 2007 July - The death sentences against six foreign medical workers in the HIV case in Libya are commuted to life in prison. They are repatriated to Bulgaria under a deal with the European Union. 2008 February - European Commission interim report says Bulgaria and Romania have failed to show convincing results in their anti-graft drives. 2008 March - European Union freezes some infrastructure subsidies over corruption in the traffic agency. 2008 April - European Union calls on Bulgaria to take urgent action after two prominent gangland killings, including a senior figure in the nuclear industry. Interior Minister Rumen Petkov resigns over police officers accused of passing state secrets to alleged crime bosses. Government reshuffled in order to combat organised crime and wave of contract killings. Ambassador to Germany, Meglena Plugchieva, appointed deputy prime minister without portfolio to oversee use of EU funds. EU scrutiny 2008 July - European Commission suspends EU aid worth hundreds of millions of euros after series of reports criticise Bulgarian government for failing to take effective action against corruption and organised crime. 2008 September - European Commission permanently strips Bulgaria of half of the aid frozen in July over what it says is the government's failure to tackle corruption and organised crime. 2009 January - Russia's gas dispute with Ukraine cuts supplies to Bulgaria, resulting in a severe energy shortage lasting several weeks and widespread anger at the government's energy policies. 2009 June - Workers rally to protest at government's handling of economic crisis. Centre-right government 2009 July - General election is won by the centre-right GERB party led by Sofia mayor Boiko Borisov. 2010 January - Boris Tsankov, a prominent crime journalist who specialised in reporting on the mafia in Bulgaria, is shot dead in Sofia. 2010 June - EU expresses concern over reliability of Bulgarian national statistics and says these may have to be subjected to EU scrutiny. 2010 July - Former PM Sergei Stanishev is accused of failing to return files containing state secrets relating to security and organised crime after losing the 2009 election, and is charged with mishandling classified documents. 2010 December - A government-appointed commission finds that 45 senior Bulgarian diplomats were secret service agents during the communist era. France and Germany block Bulgaria from joining the Schengen passport-free zone, saying it still needs to make "irreversible progress" in fight against corruption and organised crime. 2011 September - Anti-Roma demonstrations in Sofia and elsewhere following the death of a youth who was hit by a van driven by relatives of a Roma kingpin. 2011 October - Rosen Plevneliev, from the centre-right GERB party of Prime Minister Borisov, beats the Socialist candidate in the presidential election. 2012 January - Bulgaria becomes the second European country after France to ban exploratory drilling for shale gas using the extraction method called "fracking" after an overwhelming parliamentary vote. 2012 July - A suspected suicide bomber kills five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver on a bus in the Black Sea resort of Burgas. 2013 January - A controversial referendum on whether to build a second Bulgarian nuclear plant is invalidated by low turnout. Borisov government falls 2013 February - The Bulgarian authorities say the Burgas suicide attack was most likely the work of the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Hezbollah itself denies the allegation. Prime Minister Borisov resigns after 14 people are injured in clashes with police at anti-austerity protests. 2013 March - After failing to persuade any of the leaders of the main political parties to form a government, President Plevneliev appoints a caretaker cabinet headed by Marin Raikov, the ambassador to France. He is tasked with organising fresh elections. 2013 May - The centre-right Gerb party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov narrowly beats the Socialist Party in parliamentary elections, but falls well short of a majority. The Socialists provide parliamentary support for a technocratic government headed by Plamen Oresharski. 2013 June - Tens of thousands of protestors take to the streets for five days over the appointment of controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski to head the national security agency. Parliament reverses the appointment but anti-government demonstrations continue. 2013 July - Weeks of protests over official corruption culminate in a blockade of parliament and clashes with the police. EU freedom of movement 2014 January - Transitional curbs on Bulgarians' right to work and receive benefits in some EU members in place since Bulgaria joined the bloc in 2007 lapse. 2014 June - Banking crisis. Rumours of liquidity shortfalls cause panic and runs on major banks. 2014 July - Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski steps down after little more than a year in office, paving the way for a snap election. 2014 October - An inconclusive early election produces a parliament divided between a record eight parties. 2014 November - Boyko Borisov returns to the premiership as his Gerb party forms coalition with fellow centre-right Reformist Bloc. 2014 December - Russia scraps plans for South Stream gas pipeline because of EU opposition. The project planned to pump Russian gas across the Black Sea through Bulgaria, bypassing Ukraine. 2015 January - Bulgaria says it will extend a controversial fence along its border with Turkey by 80 km to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants. 2016 November - Socialist Rumen Radev wins the presidential election, triggering the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. 2018 January - Parliament overturns a presidential veto on anti-corruption legislation, clearing the way for the creation of a special unit to tackle high-level abuse.

uk-politics-48712244

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48712244

Tory leadership: Stage set for Johnson v Hunt

Liam Fox is very relieved.

By Iain WatsonPolitical correspondent, BBC News The international trade secretary said he couldn't possibly contemplate two former journalists in the final. After voting for Jeremy Hunt, he told some of us gathered outside the parliamentary polling booth that it was the party's job to "provide good governance - not entertainment". Privately, Team Hunt successfully urged Conservative MPs to avoid a "psychodrama" as the final two compete for the votes of Conservative members. The Gove team failed to persuade enough MPs to put two veterans of Vote Leave in the final. Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have history. Apparently best buddies during the EU referendum campaign, the relationship soured in the subsequent leadership contest in 2016. Mr Gove knifed Mr Johnson in the front when he abandoned the latter's campaign and launched his own. There were suggestions that team Boris saw Mr Hunt as an easier candidate to beat and that some of his supporters lent votes to the current foreign secretary to help him see off Mr Gove's ambitions. A key Johnson aide denied this - but said he couldn't speak for others. And with Mr Johnson's own vote going up and demonstrating momentum, it's a difficult charge to prove. So there is only one Leaver in the contest. But Mr Hunt will portray himself as a born-again Brexiteer, who would contemplate no deal - and, as an apparently more competent minister, someone who also has more chance of delivering a deal. The candidates' differences on Brexit seem in truth minuscule, each professing they want a deal that bins the backstop, or time limits it, despite likely opposition from Brussels. Mr Johnson says it's "feasible" to leave on 31 October, while Mr Hunt is prepared to take a little longer if a deal seems close. Beyond Brexit, Mr Hunt will suggest that he is a champion of the least well-off, the better to contrast with Mr Johnson's ambition to take more people out of the higher tax band. He will be willing to admit past mistakes and pledge to put them right, for example, suggesting that social care has been underfunded. And he will point to prominent Remainers and Brexiteers on his team to suggest he can bring the party and country back together. But Mr Johnson has two clear advantages with the members. First, he will cite polling to say only he has the chance of beating Labour if there is an early election. a distinct possibility for a leader of a minority government. Second, he has the ability to make the party feel good about itself. He paints a big picture in vivid primary colours. Mr Hunt has survived running the big-spending frontline Department of Health and Social Care but he may need to display more inspiration than perspiration as the contest moves to the country and the two candidates go head to head in 16 hustings. Mr Johnson certainly has plenty of political opponents but often his worst enemy is himself. Mr Hunt will be hoping his gaffe prone competitor will lose the plot and then lose the contest. But so far Mr Johnson has reined in his characteristic eloquence, and exercised a quality many had thought would always elude him: discipline. The stakes are high - the prize is the premiership, not just the Conservative leadership - so it would be surprising if the forthcoming contest didn't throw up heat as well as light.

science-environment-54483853

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54483853

Planet Mars is at its 'biggest and brightest'

Get out there and look up!

By Jonathan AmosBBC Science Correspondent Mars is at its biggest and brightest right now as the Red Planet lines up with Earth on the same side of the Sun. Every 26 months, the pair take up this arrangement, moving close together, before then diverging again on their separate orbits around our star. Tuesday night sees the actual moment of what astronomers call "opposition". All three bodies will be in a straight line at 23:20 GMT (00:20 BST). "But you don't have to wait until the middle of the night; even now, at nine or 10 o'clock in the evening, you'll easily see it over in the southeast," says astrophotographer, Damian Peach. "You can't miss it, it's the brightest star-like object in that part of the sky," he told BBC News. Even though this coming week witnesses the moment of opposition, it was Tuesday of last week that Mars and Earth actually made their closest approach in this 26-month cycle. A separation of 62,069,570km, or 38,568,243 miles. That's the narrowest gap now until 2035. At the last opposition, in 2018, Earth and Mars were just 58 million km apart, but what makes this occasion a little more special for astrophotographers in the Northern Hemisphere is the Red Planet's elevation in the sky. It's higher, and that means telescopes don't have to look through quite so much of the Earth's turbulent atmosphere, which distorts images. Experienced practitioners like Damian use a technique called "lucky imaging" to get the perfect shot. They take multiple frames and then use software to stitch together the sharpest view. Damian's picture at the top of this page shows up clearly the "Martian dichotomy" - the sharp contrast between the smooth lowland plains of the Northern Hemisphere and the more rugged terrain in the Southern Hemisphere. Evident too is Mars' carbon dioxide ice cap at the southern pole. The image was captured using a 14-inch Celestron telescope. "That's quite a serious bit of equipment; it's not something you get on a whim," says Damian. "But even a telescope half that size will show up all the major features on Mars quite easily. And if you've got a good pair of binoculars, you'll certainly be able to make out that it's actually a planet and not a star." It's around opposition that space probes are launched from Earth to Mars. Obviously - the distance that needs to be travelled is shorter, and the time and energy required to make the journey is less. Three missions are currently in transit, all of which were sent on their way in July: The United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter; China's Tianwen orbiter and rover; and the Americans' Perseverance rover. Europe and Russia had hoped to despatch their ExoMars "Rosalind Franklin" rover, too, but they missed the launch window and will now have to wait until late 2022. That's the penalty you pay when the planets align only every 26 months. Hope, Tianwen and Perseverance are all on course to arrive at Mars in February. In 2003, Mars made its closest approach to Earth around opposition in nearly 60,000 years - a separation of just 56 million km. The distance between the two at opposition can be over 100 million km, as happened in 2012. The variation is a consequence of the elliptical shape of the orbits of both Mars and Earth. [email protected] and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

uk-scotland-32633319

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-32633319

Election 2015 updates and analysis

UPDATE: 04:00 BST

Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland Shock as a Scottish seat fails to go SNP. Alistair Carmichael wins Orkney and Shetland. 03:54 BST Ian Davidson says Jim Murphy must stand down as leader. Says campaign had no strategy. 03:33 BST Nicola Sturgeon says Labour has been losing trust for years. 02:19 BST: First Scottish results in. Not so much advance for the SNP as as rout. This is a democratic insurrection in process, driven by the popular will. 00:52 BST: Labour's Tom Harris predicts he will lose his Glasgow seat. Why? "Not enough votes." Lib Dem Malcolm Bruce is conceding that Alex Salmond is set to take Gordon for the SNP. The first three UK results were all in Sunderland - each suggesting poor performance by LibDems. Will that be replicated in Scotland - or will the picture be different, particularly given that the UKIP factor, which was prominent in the Sunderland trio, is unlikely to be so salient in Scotland? 23:12 BST: Exit poll suggesting Conservative lead - and SNP with an incredible 58 seats. Might it be literally incredible? Personally, I still bear the scars from 1992. All four political partisans on our panel tonight are highly sceptical about the exit poll. Derek Mackay for the SNP says it's about managing expectations - downwards - for his party. Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats concedes he has the opposite problem. The biggest problem with the exit poll is to use a system designed for two parties and trying to extend it the six parties. We will get the real results soon enough. We will update this page with the latest analysis from Brian as events unfold throughout the night.

world-asia-pacific-16495600

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16495600

Cook Islands profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1596 - Spaniard Alvaro de Mendana is the first European to sight the islands. 1773 - Captain James Cook explores the islands and names them the Hervey Islands. Fifty years later they are renamed in his honour. 1821 - English and Tahitian missionaries arrive, become the first non-native settlers. 1888 - Cook Islands are proclaimed a British protectorate and a single federal parliament is established. 1901 - Islands are annexed to New Zealand. 1946 - Legislative Council is established. For the first time since 1912, the territory has direct representation. 1965 5 August - Islands become a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. Albert Henry, leader of the Cook Islands Party, is elected as the territory's first prime minister. 1974 - Prime Minister Albert Henry is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. 1979 - Albert Henry is found guilty of electoral fraud and is stripped of his knighthood. 1981 - Constitution is amended. Parliament grows from 22 to 24 seats and the parliamentary term is extended from four to five years. 1985 - Agreement on creating a South Pacific nuclear-free zone - the Rarotonga Treaty - is opened for signing on the main island. 1997 - November - Cyclone Martin kills at least six people; 80% of buildings are damaged and the black pearl industry suffers severe losses. 2002 - Prime Minister Terepai Maoate is ousted from government following second vote of no-confidence in his leadership 2004 April - Prime Minister Robert Woonton visits China; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao grants $16m in development aid. 2004 September - General elections: Ruling Democratic Party wins majority, incumbent PM Robert Woonton keeps his seat by four-vote margin. 2004 December - Recount reveals tie between Prime Minister Robert Woonton and his challenger in September's election. High Court orders by-election. Jim Marurai is sworn in as new premier. 2005 February-March - Four cyclones in as many weeks hit the territory, causing widespread damage. Cook Islands are removed from an international list of territories whose policies against money laundering are deemed to be too weak. 2006 July - Snap election is called after a by-election tips the parliamentary balance of power in favour of the opposition Cook Islands Party. 2006 September - Parliamentary elections. The Democratic Party keeps majority of seats in parliament, but parliament is unable to meet as a result of petitions filed by the Cook Islands Party over alleged voting irregularities. 2010 November - Elections won by Cook Islands Party. Proposal to reduce size of parliament rejected in referendum. 2013 April - Data leaked to British authorities identifies thousands of companies allegedly hiding money offshore in places such as the Cook Islands. 2014 July - The governing Cook Islands Party retains its majority in parliamentary elections, after initial results pointed to a hung parliament. 2014 September - Ruling Cook Islands Party loses its one-seat majority as a result of a court decision, raising the possibility of a hung parliament. 2015 April - Ruling Cook Islands Party wins crucial Vaipae-Tautu by-election securing an overall majority in parliament. William Heather is elected leader of the opposition Cook Islands Democratic Party replacing Wilkie Rasmussen. 2015 May - World Health Organization's latest estimate says Cook Islands is officially the fattest country in the world with just over half the population classified as obese. 2017 August - The Cook Islands opens the world's largest marine reserve - a one million-sq-km (411,000-sq-mile) swathe of the Pacific Ocean.

world-latin-america-11539036

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-11539036

Miners clock off 69-day shift from hell

Camp Hope is slowly emptying.

By Vanessa BuschschluterBBC News, San Jose mine, Chile Relatives of those miners who have already been hauled to safety have relocated to the hospital in nearby Copiapo, where the men are being treated. The shrines they had built to them now are no longer needed. The candles in front of their pictures remain unlit. And without constant sweeping, the men's photographs and banners are quickly covered in the dust of the Atacama desert. Few will miss this desolate spot, a 30-minute drive from the nearest town along a winding dirt road. Lucy Herrera, the sister of Daniel Herrera, the 16th miner to be rescued, says she hopes she will never see this part of the world again. She cannot wait to spend some time with her younger brother. But, she says, she would like to catch up with him far away from here. Life's lessons Most of the men who were trapped in the 5 August rockfall come from mining families. But Daniel, 27, is not one of them, he was not even a miner, just a driver who happened to work inside a mine. So his relatives are keen to go back to their home town of Marchigue. There, his aunts and uncles have spent the time he was underground finishing off an annex to his mother's home, which will serve as his new home when he gets back. His mother, Alicia, says she has no idea what tiles and furnishings they have chosen. She had not allowed herself to look beyond the moment of her son's rescue. She says she only managed to survive the first 17 days - when no-one knew whether the trapped men were alive or dead - by living from one Mass to another. Now, for the first time in 70 days, she can again think about more mundane things, but insists she has learned important lessons during the past two months. And her young nephew, Cristian, echoes her thoughts. He smuggled a bottle of champagne into the camp to celebrate his uncle's rescue. Spraying the assembled journalists with bubbly and punching the air, he gave an impassioned speech. "In this world we worry so much about insignificant things, while these 33 men were trapped underground just trying to survive," he says. "Maybe it's time we all started concentrating on the vital things in life, and these two months have shown that everyone counts!" 'Marriage plea' Lilian Ramirez's husband, Mario Gomez, the ninth man rescued, has been a miner for more than 30 years. She is by no means convinced he will stay over ground, even after what happened to him. In one of the letters she wrote to him, she told him he would have to retire from mining for good if their marriage was to work. After his rescue, one of the first questions journalists ask her is if he has agreed to her terms. She says she did not bring the topic up when he first stepped out of the capsule. "I was just lost for words for the first few moments," she says. "Then, I told him I loved him." But is she afraid he may go back to mining? It is not something she could dictate to him, she says. "But let's put it this way: he owes me big time. We're talking at least a long holiday, just the two of us, away from it all. Maybe a cruise, as far away from tunnels and shafts as you can get!" 'A good kicking' Maria Segovia wants to have a stern word with her brother, too. "I'm going to give him a good kicking," the sister of Dario Segovia says. She says he had been complaining about the safety of the mine even before the rockfall. "He said the mine was crying, and he went in anyway, how stupid is that?" she says, referring to the term miners use when rocks fall from the roof of tunnels. "Hopefully this will teach us not to chase money, but to be humble and treasure our friends and family instead," she says. Maria cannot forget that Dario was not due to work the shift when the rockfall happened. He was offered a double shift for double pay, and jumped at the chance of earning some money towards the greengrocer's shop he wants to open. But Maria, unlike some of the other relatives, thinks it is important not to abandon Camp Hope altogether. She promised to stay until the last miner was out, even though her brother - number 20 on the list - was transported earlier to hospital. But more than that, she wants the families to gather here at key dates, to remember what happened and to share the unique insights she says they have gained. Lucy Herrera says wherever they are, the lessons they have learned at Camp Hope will stay with them. "My brother said it in one sentence as he came out of the capsule," she tells me, as she's packing up her belongings. Daniel had said: "Don't worry about me, my shift is finally over, and a new one is about to begin."

uk-26231133

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26231133

Can outsourcing probation services cut reoffending rates?

Lee has got something to say.

By Danny ShawHome affairs correspondent, BBC News Something he is ashamed and embarrassed about. The 39-year-old Londoner is sitting with his probation officer at a cafe in Bristol, where he now lives. He takes a sip of coffee and a deep breath - and confesses that in order to feed the heroin addiction that has blighted his adult life he has burgled thousands of houses. And he's been caught so many times that he's spent more than 20 years in prison. "It was a vicious cycle," he says. When he came out of jail, his drug use would "spiral", he would commit crimes, and then be arrested and imprisoned again. But over the past six months Lee has turned a corner. 'Measurable impact' A face-to-face meeting with two householders whose homes he had broken into convinced him it was time to change. "I was sick of creating victims," he explains. With the help of probation and other professionals he is trying to come off drugs and go straight. But the government believes there are too many offenders like Lee - too many people stuck in a revolving door of crime, prison, crime, prison. So it is introducing radical reforms in an attempt to lower reoffending rates and cut the costs to the criminal justice system. The key plank of the reforms involves outsourcing the majority of probation work to private firms and voluntary groups. They will be awarded contracts to supervise low- and medium-risk offenders - there are currently about 160,000 across England and Wales. The successful bidders will receive a basic fee for monitoring offenders, which will be topped up if they meet targets to cut reoffending - an approach known as payment-by-results. It is similar to a scheme at Peterborough Prison in Cambridgeshire where, since September 2010, short-term prisoners have been given intensive supervision on release. Risk register Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, says Peterborough is a "snapshot of where this world is heading" and is having a "measurable impact" on reoffending rates and the number of crimes committed. Interim figures published by his department appear to support his contention: reoffending rates among the Peterborough prisoners are falling, while among a national sample of offenders they are increasing. But Carol Hedderman, a criminologist from Leicester University, says the statistics do not compare like with like. "The bottom line is that these results don't tell you anything very much," says Prof Hedderman, who is part of an independent team commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to examine the Peterborough project. "Until we do our much more detailed and sophisticated analysis you won't know the answer to that question as to whether Peterborough has been a success or not," she says, adding that she has not yet seen any examples of effective payment-by-results schemes. There are other warning signs about the government's probation reforms. BBC File on 4 has been shown a "risk register" - a document compiled by civil servants to gauge which parts of the reforms could be problematic. It sets out risks ranging from a failure to deliver the reforms on time and to a sufficient standard, to reputational damage to the Ministry of Justice. A second, more recent, risk register written by probation managers paints a similar picture. But Mr Grayling says the documents are designed to ensure that risks are planned for. "It would alarm me if the team running the project and my team here wasn't thinking of the consequences of things that could go wrong and wasn't taking steps to make sure they didn't," he says. Appeals lodged The probation union, Napo, is considering a legal challenge against the government to halt the reforms - one of the potential grounds is that ministers acted unreasonably because they knew the reforms were fraught with difficulty. Napo, which represents more than 7,000 staff, is also concerned about the process for allocating probation officers to their roles in the new system. Some are being told they will be working for the outsourced organisations, to be known as community rehabilitation companies. Others will be employed by a new public body, the National Probation Service, which will deal with high-risk offenders including sex attackers and those convicted of serous violence. Napo says 553 probation officers from about half of the probation areas have lodged appeals against the roles they have been assigned - with 119 successful so far. Mr Grayling says the number of appeals is a "tiny fraction" of what he was expecting - but it is expected to increase significantly as more staff are told where they will be working. The changes have driven Joanna Hughes, deputy chair of Napo in Gloucestershire, to make a momentous decision. After 16 years in probation she is quitting and is considering standing as an independent parliamentary candidate at the next election to campaign against the reforms. She believes that dividing offender supervision between different bodies will lead to communication problems and make further offences more likely. "All the reasons I became a probation officer are now being destroyed," she says. Pressing ahead Joanna won't be the only one to depart. File on 4 has learned that ten of the 33 most senior probation officials plan to leave when their probation trusts are abolished as part of the reforms. The Probation Chiefs Association says it represents a loss of "hundreds of years of experience". But the justice secretary is pressing ahead with the changes, due to be in place by April next year, before the general election. Under his reforms, almost 50,000 adult offenders released from jail terms of under 12 months will be monitored on release. They are the group with the highest reoffending rates, but there is currently no legal requirement for them to be supervised. Mr Grayling says at last they will leave jail with more than just a cash discharge grant of £46. But if the reforms are to work, then more offenders like Lee, the heroin addict and repeat burglar, will have to be motivated and given the right help. "A lot of clients will stick their fingers up," says an unconvinced Lee. "They'd rather go to jail and sit in jail with a telly, three meals a day, than being out here, being on tag." File on 4 will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 18 February.

business-41805801

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41805801

Smartphone use falls among young for first time

Are we seeing the start of peak phone?

By Rebecca MarstonBusiness reporter, BBC News For the first time, young people in the UK aged between 16 to 24 are spending slightly less time on their smart devices, according to a report. Market researcher Kantar TNS found that those within that group now spent an average of 3.8 hours on their phones a day down from 3.9 hours last year. And this may be a surprise to parents, but a third of those said they thought they spent too much time on their phones and wanted to cut down. That of course leaves the other two thirds. June King, who is 24 years old, says she has not cut down her usage: "It's part of my life, I just use it all the time. I think I'm on it for 12 hours a day! "The only thing that worries me is electro-magnetic waves at night. So I try to keep it away from me while I sleep." The group with the biggest growth in smartphone use are pensioners, according to the research. Kantar TNS said the amount of time the older generation in the UK spent on their phones had rocketed between this year and last year, from 36 minutes to 54 minutes a day globally. The average use across all generations is 2.4 hours a day. Ann Morseby, who is in her 60s, says her usage remains fairly modest, about 40 minutes a day, but it is creeping up. "I check my emails more frequently, although I still mostly use it for texting. I have started playing games more on it, though, so perhaps those 40 minutes are actually more like an hour," she says. Can't live The slight fall in smartphone use among the young in the UK does not mean the appetite for connectivity is still anything less than voracious. The vast majority of under-24s - 94% - have a smartphone, and one device is often not enough. Some 40% of 16 to 24 year-olds use multiple devices at the same time when they're online. Kantar's research found that over half of 16 to 24 year-olds (52%) don't think they could live without social media and 84% use social media on a daily basis - up from 75% in 2015.

uk-politics-54803338

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54803338

US election 2020: Would Trump or Biden be best for the UK?

"They call him Britain Trump."

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter In Donald Trump's world, perhaps there was no greater compliment for Boris Johnson than saying he was, well, just like him. And this was how he greeted the prime minister's ascent to power. While both leaders enjoy casting themselves as outsiders, that caricatured comparison is far from a complete picture. But as the world waits to find out whether the president will defy the polls and stay in the White House, or Joe Biden will get to move in, it's worth wondering for a moment who the UK government would rather hold the key. For one senior politician with experience of dealing with Trump's White House and Boris Johnson, it's a simple equation: "It's short term, versus long term". They suggest in the immediate future, it's better to have a very pro-UK ally on Pennsylvania Avenue, easing the path to a trade deal, and holding the diplomatic ties between our two countries firm, rather than being tempted to move closer to Paris or Berlin. But in the long term, Biden's a better pick, they suggest, because the UK's standing in the world is based on its participation in institutions and alliances - the very structures they say Trump wants to "wreck". And has the president's obvious liking for the prime minister really translated into much for the UK anyway? Another source who has been involved with handling that fabled special relationship isn't so sure, suggesting the Britain that "Trump loves is the country of the royal family and Winston Churchill, not modern Britain". And his liking for the PM and his own ties to the UK "haven't translated to listening" to the government's opinion. But the relationship with Biden could have problems. The same insider suggests that he thinks that Brexit is "nuts" and sees the UK government as a little too like Trump's for his liking. During the campaign, he even went on the record to make plain his opposition to the UK's controversial Internal Market Bill. Joe Biden's public image might perhaps be less aggressive, more reasonable and predictable. But when it comes to a trade deal, a Biden White House would be dealing with the same strong commercial interests in the US - the same farmers, the same car makers, the same healthcare industry that wants to make the most of potential opportunities in the UK and defend their same interests just as strongly. And if there is a change of administration, one senior official told me the work of the trade deal with the US would essentially have to start again. Biden in charge, however, could bring other opportunities for the UK, particularly on climate change, when the Trump administration seems barely interested in the conversation. The UK is hosting the huge COP26 climate conference in 2021 - a willing White House could make all the difference to making that count. And with the UK taking charge of the G7 group through next year comes another opportunity to prove that international cooperation can work. Whitehall doesn't expect immediately to be Joe Biden's best European friend if he wins - the expectation is that he would go first to Berlin. But there are big chances to show that the special relationship, so fretted over on this side of the pond, counts in the near future, if Biden is in charge. Longer-term interests The personal and political contrasts between the two US rivals are vast, as are their attitudes to the UK, particularly over the issue of Brexit. But in practice, the gap from across the Atlantic on many issues may not be so wide after all. For all the angst and excitement of an election, for all the profound differences between the candidates this time round, the longer-term strategic interests shared by the UK and the US are bigger than any one, or even two politicians. The security and defence cooperation between the two countries is close and longstanding, and many miles under the radar of the wild swings of Trump's Twitter diplomacy. And whisper it, VERY different domestic administrations in the White House have held similar positions sometimes when it comes to foreign affairs. Chemistry matters President Trump has used a megaphone to criticise Nato, as well as how much other EU countries stump up towards the alliance. But one insider points out that Barack Obama shared that view: "Trump shouts it. Obama whispered it," but essentially they agreed. How Joe Biden might say it, if he wins, we'll have to see. For all that the "Britain Trump" characterisation is a misleading tag, the chemistry between leaders does matter. A change in the White House would mean a loss of political affinity between the prime minister and the most powerful leader in the West. But it could mean a more predictable partner for the UK, at a time of huge change. Westminster will be watching the election results carefully, along with the rest of the world.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25685637

President Francois Hollande's ' affair' tests French privacy limits

After the bombshell, the silence.

By Hugh SchofieldBBC News, Paris Perhaps the most noticeable thing about the presidential love scoop is the near absence of a reaction. The main French television stations are treating the story with coy disinterest. For most of them it is way down the running order: a bit of muck dug up by their (distant) cousins in the "people" press. Mid-morning, no-one had even sent a crew to film the alleged trysting-place. When I arrived, I was expecting hordes. But only I and a Belgian snapper were present. Even on the French version of Google News, you have to look hard to find the latest on the Hollande-Gayet match. Either there is genuinely no interest in the story; or there is a vast conspiracy to pretend no-one's interested. From an Anglo-Saxon perspective, of course it looks faintly ludicrous - as if the French can't spot a good tale when it's staring them in the face; or else are too scared to tell it. But from a French point of view it is different. So much of the French way of doing things is conditioned by their horror at what they see when they look across the Channel. This nostrum certainly applies in the world of the press. 'People' watching The French are brought up to believe in the appalling intrusiveness of the British and American tabloids. They also like to nurse the notion that - being open-minded types - they don't give a hoot about politicians' private lives. All of which explains why - if you ask them - most French people will agree that the Hollande love match is a non-story which their newspapers are quite right to treat with disdain. And yet. The very fact that Closer magazine has dared to go public with the story shows how things are moving. Such a report would have been unthinkable in the press a few years ago. True, the story of Francois Mitterrand's love-child with Anne Pingeot was first reported in Paris-Match. But that was almost certainly by prior arrangement with the people concerned. The fact is that the limits of what constitutes privacy in France are being tested as never before. Technology is changing, the press is changing, and people's expectations are changing too. Certainly French courts continue routinely to hand out damages to aggrieved celebrities. But now judges are beginning to ask difficult questions about how far the celebrities have gone to entice media interest. By posing for money in the glossies, for example. And they adjust the damages accordingly. And on the whole issue of public interest, a broader, more "Anglo-Saxon" reading is starting to make headway. Only a few weeks ago, for example, publishers were given the go-ahead for a book disclosing the homosexuality of a leading member of the National Front. The judges said this was acceptable because it had a bearing in the debate on gay marriage. Those in the know In the Hollande-Gayet affair, there is at the very least a case to be made that disclosure is in the public interest. Closer made a half-hearted nod in this direction by claiming there were security issues at stake. However given that the alleged love-apartment is in a guarded street next to the Elysee, that seems a little far-fetched. A more convincing case might be that Francois Hollande is the president of the French, and as such represents the French. So they have a right to know it, if he's planning to ditch his current "First Mistress" (Valerie Trierweiler) for another. Or the French might like to know what lies behind the president's widely reported unhappiness at the moment. Is his unpopularity due to the dire state of the economy? Or is it his domestic situation? But surely one of the strongest arguments in favour of disclosure is that, in fact, a lot of people had already heard rumours of the presidential affair. It was just that, as usual, these people were the Paris "in-crowd" - the sort of people who gravitate around the same politico-journo-thespian circles that Hollande and Gayet both frequent. Events of recent weeks - the rise of the new populism as represented by the comic Dieudonne - should have convinced anyone that one of the biggest problems in France is the growing divide between those inside the "system" and those out of it. The long-standing complicity of insiders in keeping certain facts to themselves has certainly not helped.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33440315

Budget 2015 key points: At-a-glance summary

Personal taxation and pay

George Osborne has delivered his seventh Budget as chancellor, the first for a majority Conservative government since November 1996. Here is a summary of his main announcements. Analysis: What it means for you Welfare and pensions Analysis: Who will be affected by benefit changes? The state of the economy Public borrowing/deficit/spending Analysis: End to the big squeeze Alcohol, tobacco, gambling and fuel Business Health and education Housing/infrastructure/transport/regions Defence

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-18682091

Westfield unveils plans for Croydon shopping centre

First they headed west.

By Andy DangerfieldBBC News, London For London's debut mega-mall, which opened in 2008, White City, on the doorstep of the affluent Notting Hill and Holland Park, was an obvious choice of location for retail giant Westfield's property developers. It was a shrewd second move to look east. Next door to the Olympics Park, the regenerated Stratford was chosen for Westfield's second giant London shopping complex. It opened last September and has generated more than £500m in sales. Now the retail giant has unveiled plans to build its third shopping mall in the capital - in Croydon, south London. Westfield promises a £1bn redevelopment of the Whitgift shopping centre, which would offer 1.5 million sq ft (0.46 million sq m) of retail space, a multi-screen cinema, a bowling alley and a multitude of restaurants. An alternative scheme by retail developers Hammerson, which already owns the neighbouring Centrale shopping centre, is expected to be unveiled later this month. But why Croydon? With department store Allders, whose flagship store has been the town since 1862, announcing it had gone into administration last month, surely the town's success as a shopping destination is not guaranteed? In another blow to the town's confidence, in January, confectionery giant Nestle announced it was moving its UK headquarters and 840 jobs from Croydon to West Sussex after more than 40 years. Riots fund Independent record store owner Duncan Barnes said: "Croydon used to be very cosmopolitan and thriving. But the rot's been setting in for years and has never been addressed. "The recession has brought the chickens home to roost. Croydon's now full of empty boarded up shops, bringing the tone of the place down. "The riots exposed Croydon's shortcomings to the world," added Mr Barnes, who set up his 101 Records store in Croydon in 1973. Croydon was one of the areas of London worst hit by rioting and looting last August. In September, it was announced the area would receive £23m as part of a regeneration fund allocated to the boroughs worst affected by the disorder. 'Great location' Westfield's development director John Burton explained why the firm had set its sights on Croydon, in a scheme he says will create 5,000 jobs and up to 600 new homes. "It's a great location with good transport links," he said. "There are huge numbers of people who really should be shopping in Croydon, who aren't because the variety, fun, safety and excitement just isn't there. "We can create something that will convince people to come back and return Croydon to the top of the ladder." A Hammerson spokesman explained why he thought his company was more suited to developing the Whitgift centre. "We have deep experience in redeveloping town and city centres, and can help return Croydon to its rightful place as one on the UK's top retail destinations," he said. 'Abysmal footfall' Meanwhile 101 Records' Mr Barnes said he approved of plans for regeneration but added: "I don't think Westfield is the right tenant." His store is based in the Centrale shopping centre, owned by Hammerson and across the road from the Whitgift centre. "Westfield will not help bring customers to my store. We're over the other side - in a location with abysmal footfall," Mr Barnes added. "If two opposing landlords own the different shopping centres in Croydon, there will be constant bickering, slowing progress down." But Mr Burton said the firm's shopping centre plans for south London would attract more people to Croydon, increasing footfall to shops throughout the town centre. He added that Stratford retailers raised similar concerns before east London's Westfield was built but "Stratford has not been decimated as people predicted." "The tales of doom, gloom and devastation have not come true," he said. Back at 101 Records, Mr Barnes, has some heartfelt advice for whichever of the firms is successful in Croydon. "We're all at the end of our tether," he said. "They need to get a move-on with the redevelopment. Time is running out." A four-day exhibition showing Westfield's proposal is being held on North End near the Whitgift Centre.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-23249384

A big day for health in Wales

Guest post from @TobyMasonBBC

Betsan PowysFormer political editor, Wales There are few days in the Assembly at the moment where the state of the health service isn't in the spotlight - today was exceptional in that there were three major stories happening at once. They're at once separate but linked. First up, the current top brass of Betsi Cadwaladr health board were in front of the Public Accounts Committee to answer some tough questions about the joint WAO/HIW report into governance. They got a pretty rough going over, not helped by the disclosure by consultants, hours before the hearing, of a claimed spike in mortality statistics at Ysbyty Gwynedd. The officials refused to confirm figures, but admitted they were urgently looking at the reasons behind "a drift up in numbers". They also lit the fuse on a slow burn row - which was the admission that some acute and specialist services are unlikely to be viable across three sites in North Wales. It means that they're facing a similar controversy to that in South Wales around services at the Royal Glamorgan in the fairly near future. There were also questions about cancelled operations at the end of the financial year, lengthening waiting list figures and tensions at the top of the organisation. It wasn't a surprise that the session ran well over its allotted time. We also got a much better idea today about the future of another troubled institution in the health service - the Welsh Ambulance Trust. Health Minister Mark Drakeford said he had considered dissolving it entirely - but rejected that because of the upheaval involved. Instead, from now on, ambulances will be funded by a new National Delivery Body made up of the seven health boards in Wales, rather than by the obscure Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, as before. The idea behind this is simple - the new delivery body should be much sharper - laying down what it expects from the ambulance service in terms of performance in return for the funding that it gives out. Don't forget the Ambulance Trust has missed its key response time targets for each of the past 12 months. One nagging question remains - each of the health boards will naturally want the maximum resources for their area; it's not clear from the Minister's statement who will arbitrate between them in the event they can't agree. The response from the opposition parties was a cautious welcome. The ambulance service, renamed or not, will face just as much scrutiny after this announcement as it did before. And then, a few moments ago, came the announcement that could have the greatest impact in the coming months. Giving the Welsh Government's response to the lessons that the NHS here needs to learn from the events of Mid Staffordshire, Dr Drakeford made the following announcement: Jointly with the Finance Minister I will be undertaking a review of the NHS budget over the summer to ensure that it reflects the lessons to be learnt from Francis, the additional burdens which face the health service and to ensure that there is a proper match between the quality of care, patient safety issues and the budgets to support them. Now that is stone that he will have thought very long and hard before turning over. The implications are potentially massive. The NHS in Wales consumes more than 40% of the total devolved budget. The health boards have been grappling with "cash flat" budgets for several years, being forced to meet inflationary pressures with efficiency savings or straight up and down cuts. It's hard to see, on this basis, how any credible review won't suggest some increase in resources for health boards. The timescale for this review means - critically - it will be complete in time for the start of this autumn's inter-departmental wrangling over the Welsh Government budget for the 2014-15 financial year. If it recommends any significant uplift in the £6bn NHS budget, even a small percentage, then the other portfolios had better look out. The political implications could be huge. Remember the Finance Minister's options for getting the votes she needs to pass her budget have reduced sharply in the past month, with the announcement that Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats will jointly negotiate to get their priorities implemented in return for their votes. Neither, historically, have put health spending top of their wish lists, opting for economic development and education respectively. There is one party that has consistently called for significantly more of the Welsh Government's budget to be allocated to health - and they will be Labour's only other option if a Plaid/Lib Dem deal can't be made to work. They're the Welsh Conservatives. Quite a day.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47651440

Line of Duty: New series is 'scariest yet'

The wait is nearly over.

By Helen BushbyEntertainment and arts reporter After two years, Line of Duty is back and it's "definitely the scariest" season yet, says Martin Compston, who plays DI Steve Arnott. The season four finale was watched by 7.4 million viewers in 2017, with the Telegraph saying the show "blindsides viewers with its canny genius." The Guardian said it was "more like being abducted by TV than watching it". Line of Duty's plots are unpredictable to say the least, and there were gasps from the audience during a recent screening of season five's opening episode. Compston and co-stars Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar are careful not to drop any plot spoilers, so we will follow suit. However, if you do not want to find out what happened in previous series of Line of Duty, look away now. The trailer for the first episode reveals that three police officers have been murdered in a hijack by armed men wearing balaclavas. McClure's character, DI Kate Fleming, says the hijack "required a police insider". The final episode of series four cast suspicion over Dunbar's Superintendent Ted Hastings for the first time. Is he as clean-cut as he appears? Duplicitous WPC Maneet Bindra is also back. Much has been made of the identity of "Balaclava Man", the ringleader of the criminal gang suspected of working with a corrupt, high-level police officer known as H. Balaclava Man, aka gang leader John Corbett, is played by guest star Stephen Graham, whose previous work includes This Is England and Pirates of the Caribbean. "He's the most dangerous guy we've come up against by far," says Compston. "Stephen's a force of nature as an actor, and it was great having him on set, because it lifts our game when he's on. "He's genuinely scary," he adds. "Bullets will fly." The new series sees a change of direction for AC-12. "Usually the AC-12 remit is going after bent cops, but we've been chasing this mythical character H and we're not getting any luck, so we're changing tack," says Compston. "We're actually going after the criminal gang who the cops have been in league with, so we're going to see behind the balaclava. The levels of danger are ramped right up." Off-set, Graham is great friends with both Compston and McClure. "He's a powerhouse," says McClure of Graham, who calls the actor "one of my best mates". When Graham is on set, McClure continues, "we all have to pull our socks up." But she's sad she didn't get to work with him more. "There's not a lot with me and him in this," she says. The camaraderie between McClure, Compston and Dunbar is palpable, and McClure misses them when they're not filming. "I get really emotional," she says. "I love these two guys." 'Panic' over script contents The actors live in adjoining flats in Belfast when they are filming the show, with Dunbar revealing they have "designated rooms". Lines are learnt in McClure's flat, meals are eaten in his, while Compston's is the "party flat with all the booze". McClure says Jed Mercurio's scripts are terrifying to open. "We all panic we're getting killed off," she confesses. Mercurio - who also wrote Bodyguard, the most watched BBC drama since 2008 - is known for bumping off characters when you least expect it. Security surrounding the scripts is incredibly high. ("Rightly so," says Compston.) No one wants to spoil the suspense for viewers. Yet Dunbar is prepared to give away a tiny nugget of information about Hastings, saying "there's something going on with him" that "will be explored". "His personal life is in focus again," the actor continues. "He'll find himself under scrutiny." Dunbar didn't know until the last day of filming on series four that his character was going to be seen looking oddly shifty. 'How dare you!' "Those shots at the end of series four weren't in the script," he says. "Jed came on to direct that last bit and suddenly he put in those few shots. "I thought, 'what's this he's doing, why are we doing this?' And then I thought 'Oh. My. God'. "'He's given himself a little springboard and he hasn't told us anything about it.' "I just thought, 'you git - how dare you!'" Dunbar laughs. "'We've just gone through six episodes and you do this when we're at the end.'" Despite the show's enormous popularity, it seems fans are happy to be kept in the dark. Dunbar says the public are "very strange with us. They usually come up and say 'I love the series but DON'T tell me anything.' "People like to watch it in real time and then talk about it the next day. Of course there are people catching up on it, but fans like the page-turny twists and they don't like to know in advance. "That's what gives the show such credibility I think." Rochenda Sandall is another guest star on the show. The actress, previously seen as policewomen in Coronation Street and Girlfriends, plays Lisa McQueen, Corbett's second in command. Being on Line of Duty is "a total dream come true as an actor", she says. "It's like a massive family, we had such a laugh." Sandall reveals there is a "power struggle" between her character and Graham's - and that she too wears a balaclava. Because of her hair, though, she had a "special lady one to fit my barnet". Sandall says it's "quite unusual for a woman to be in that line of work", explaining that her character "rose up through the ranks" of the gang. The show is so huge there's been talk of it going to the US. Were that to happen, who would the stars like to be played by? "I think Richard Gere would be a good fit for me," says Dunbar without missing a beat. Compston chooses Tom Cruise, "because of the height". McClure says she'd like to be played by "Jennifer, um I can't remember her name…" "Lopez," suggests Dunbar. "You could call it Line of Booty." "To be fair, I have got a big arse," laughs McClure. (She hasn't.) "But Jennifer Lawrence is who I was thinking of." Despite the jokes, the show is a very serious business. But while another series has been commissioned, Mercurio says he doesn't know how long the drama will run. "A lot depends on how people respond to it," he says. "It's got a life-span, so I'll calibrate that against the audience response." His final words? "We like to surprise." Line of Duty is on BBC One on 31 March at 21:00 BST. The first episode of the Obsessed With… Line of Duty podcast will be available soon on BBC Sounds, with further episodes available the day after each episode broadcasts. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12990566

Myanmar profile - Leaders

Outgoing president: Thein Sein

Thein Sein was sworn into office in March 2011, officially launching a nominally civilian government to replace almost 50 years of military rule. He had been hand-picked by Senior General Than Shwe, the country's paramount leader since 1992, to succeed him as Myanmar's head of state. The military-led State Peace and Development Council was dissolved, although the new cabinet included several ex-military men, many of whom were ministers in the junta. Mr Thein Sein, who held the rank of general and was prime minister in the previous administration, competed in parliamentary elections in November 2010. The elections were marred by the absence of the National League for Democracy party which won the previous election of 1990 by a landslide and which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest at the time of the election. The NLD opted to boycott the vote. Mr Thein Sein had long been seen as the relatively untainted face of the military government, and it is thought that Senior General Than Shwe regarded him as the most suitable frontman for Myanmar's democratic transition. He is generally considered to be a reformer, and since he became president, there have been undeniable moves towards political liberalisation.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28790582

Windows XP upgrade proves tricky business for John Lewis

How did your Windows XP upgrade go?

By Mark WardTechnology correspondent, BBC News The need to replace the operating system (OS) became urgent in April when Microsoft officially stopped supporting the venerable workhorse. No more support means no more bug fixes or security patches - a situation that makes it much more vulnerable to attack by cyber thieves. My XP end-of-life experience was great. I carried out a "forklift upgrade" - tech slang for a major overhaul - and replaced the old machine with a new one running Windows 7. Easy. Much more straightforward than the massive task many big companies faced. "The scope of our project was 26,000 devices, both desktops and laptops, that needed to be upgraded to Windows 7," says Paul Miles, a project manager in John Lewis Partnership's IT department. Those 26,000 machines are found in Waitrose supermarkets, John Lewis department stores and the company's head office. Planning for the multi-million pound project began in 2011, says Mr Miles, but the big switch really got going in early 2013. In the early days there was talk of putting it off completely and just paying Microsoft to keep offering bespoke support, he says. Some big XP users have made this choice but it is not cheap. For just one year of extended support, the UK government is paying £5.5m. With Microsoft saying support prices will increase, keeping XP going could get very expensive. "No-one thought that would be good value for money," Mr Miles says, especially as that put off the problem rather than solved it. User control The next step for the John Lewis Partnership involved cataloguing all the apps sitting on those ageing XP boxes. "We had 800 separate applications we were running on XP," he says. "There was a lot of activity at the beginning to see which ones will work, and which ones will not work and will never work and need to be upgraded." Dealing with the applications is the hard part of any upgrade, says Nik Simpson, a research vice-president at consultancy Gartner. "Updating an operating system is relatively painless. Updating all the applications that run on top of it is something else entirely." What makes moving applications harder in XP, he says, is a series of changes that Microsoft introduced in its successor, Vista, that affect what a program can do. Vista ushered in a security technology, known as User Account Control (UAC), which limits what your account on a machine can do to that device. On XP, said Mr Simpson, there was no such compartmentalisation. "UAC broke some old applications because those old programs assumed they could write anywhere on any user directory," he says. In addition, says Garry Owen from virtual machine developer VMWare, many of those older applications hooked into proprietary features in the browser, IE6, that came with XP. Remove either end of that code chain, he says, and there will be problems that an XP upgrade has to deal with. By contrast, upgrading today is easier because the IT world no longer revolves around Microsoft Windows. Figures gathered by VMWare suggest that fewer than 50% of all business apps are written for Windows alone. "Most applications now are not written for an operating system, they are written for a browser," he says. Another challenge of an OS upgrade is that all that corporate software that was written in-house somehow has to be transferred to the new computers. "Very often companies have these black box applications [software that carries out a function without revealing the process responsible] that just work but nobody knows how," he says. "The perception is that companies cannot take the risk of them stopping working because if they do the business stops, too." Party time At the John Lewis Partnership, about 90% of its applications ran on Windows 7. But that still left a good chunk - 80 programs in all - that needed work. "A lot of those, we had to completely re-write," says Mr Miles, "because they were our most important systems." "In the end, some applications we had to keep on XP because there is no alternative," he says. "We have had to implement additional security to make sure they stay safe." It was at this point that the scale of the task began to tell, he recalls. What seemed like a straightforward project had grown to involve complicated software and hardware audits, had disrupted several software development projects for key systems, and was going to demand some careful scheduling to get everything done on time. "It was an enormous exercise," he says. The final part involved replacing 60% of those 26,000 desktops, installing the new machines, training the staff how to use the new applications, and making all the printers work. Despite all this, the retail group did hit the deadline and got everything done before the 8 April cut-off. "It's been difficult but we have got some good things out of it," he says. "There are all sorts of knock-on effects to this that are not apparent when we kicked this off." According to Mr Miles those "good things" include: Once everything was done, IT staff at JLP involved in the project had "several celebrations", he says. "They were quite low key, and to me that was a good sign because it meant that the deployment had gone well."

entertainment-arts-41095364

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41095364

Toronto Film Festival: 13 films we're looking out for

What plans do you have for March 2018?

By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter at Toronto Film Festival If you're anything like us, you'll barely know what you're doing this weekend, let alone that far ahead in the calendar. But in Hollywood, it's a different story. Preparation for awards season has already started, with the Venice Film Festival in Italy and the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado taking the lead in identifying likely Oscar contenders. Now it's Toronto's turn. Hollywood is about to descend on the Canadian city to premiere the major releases that will dominate cinemas this winter - and, they hope, the Oscars next March. Among the possible awards contenders showing at TIFF are First They Killed My Father, directed by Angelina Jolie; Breathe, directed by Andy Serkis; Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool starring Annette Bening; and Roman J Israel, Esq starring Denzel Washington. We couldn't possibly do justice to the 250+ feature films showing at the festival, which opens on Thursday and runs until 17 September. Here, though, is everything you need to know about 13 of the highest-profile titles in this year's programme. Downsizing I, Tonya The Current War Molly's Game Borg/McEnroe On Chesil Beach Battle of the Sexes Suburbicon Gaga: Five Foot Two Kings Super Size Me 2 Stronger Mother! Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40339044

Carney and Hammond join forces on Brexit risk

So, he's said it.

Kamal AhmedEconomics editor@bbckamalon Twitter Mark Carney made the direct link between "weaker real income growth" and the process of leaving the European Union. Brexit is likely to make people poorer, the governor of the Bank of England said. Since the referendum the markets have sold off sterling, making the currency weaker and increasing inflation in the UK. That means that price rises are now running ahead of wage growth and real incomes are falling again. Mr Carney's speech at the Mansion House called for an "innovative, co-operative and responsible" approach to Brexit. "Fragmentation is in no-one's interest," he argued when it came to the key relationship of financial services in particular. Some might describe that as a plea for a "soft" Brexit - no cliff edge at the end of exit negotiations, rather a "slope" - as the chancellor has described it. Speaking alongside the governor, Philip Hammond said that no-one voted for Brexit to become poorer. He also made it clear that he wants to put the economy at the heart of the Brexit negotiations. Rather than sovereignty or controlling immigration, which are the issues likely to motivate other colleagues in the Cabinet and certainly in the Conservative Party. The tensions are clear. The chancellor - strengthened since the general election - gave the greatest detail yet about what his approach might mean for our future relationship with the EU. Yes, as he said at the weekend, the UK will be leaving the customs union. But he made the case for a new form of customs agreement with "current border arrangements" - which presumably means agreeing to some form of EU oversight for some years following Britain's exit from the union. It is nailing down this "transition" or "implementation" period which is important for many businesses. Some will be relieved that both Mr Carney and Mr Hammond are calling for Britain to play a longer game when it comes to the Brexit process. Others may fear that tying the UK formally to the EU after Britain leaves the union in March 2019 could mean, for a few years of transition at least, Brexit does not, quite, mean Brexit.

uk-politics-57052502

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57052502

Labour: Messy reshuffle knocks Sir Keir Starmer's authority

Was it worth it?

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter Reshuffles are moments when leaders have a chance to assert their authority - to show they are in charge. Even the most ardent political obsessive would acknowledge (probably) that opposition reshuffles are not necessarily noticed by the public. But they matter to the mood and atmosphere of parties and Parliament. And for a party to win favour with voters over time, it needs to show the public trusted and favourite faces, to give the impression of an organisation ready for government - a group of people who we can all imagine in charge. Sir Keir Starmer's first reshuffle, however, has been a very messy affair. It began badly with a bust up with his deputy, Angela Rayner, who was being moved from one of her roles - in charge of campaigns. Her allies said she was being sacked. Sir Keir's team said she was being moved. They can't both be telling the whole truth. But there was a late night howl of backlash to the notion she was being ousted, putting pressure on the leader to find a way to make her stay. 'No mood to compromise' It took all day for the two to agree. That may seem astounding given that Sir Keir is meant to be the boss. Remember, however, that Ms Rayner's position as deputy leader is an elected one, and even the suggestion of her losing part of her role had already provoked outrage. Clearly, she was in no mood to compromise. Whether it was settled in the end by an arm wrestle, a staring match, or screaming and shouting, the length of time it took created a massive vacuum - which Sir Keir's critics on the left of the party filled, almost with glee, to push him for a change in direction. And even some of his backers felt anxious, cross about the delays, concerned about the competence of the so called "brains trust" - a nickname for his team of advisers, not always used in a very complimentary way. After a day of dispute and delay, in the end, the list emerged. Some important changes, but not a sweeping recasting of the team - you can read about the changes here. Ms Rayner did stay in the end, with a prominent job, and - according to her allies - a newfound confidence. Within minutes, they were briefing that her power has been boosted, implying she was the victor in the stand-off with the boss. One of her supporters said: "On Friday Keir couldn't answer a simple question about what Labour's vision is, what our offer is and how we will win back the voters in our heartland seats. "Angela can answer that question and is the best person to lead the fight back in the Red Wall." 'Political test' Although an accommodation of sorts has been reached over her job, it doesn't seem like the two have reached a truce. It's easy for moments like these to be overplayed as seismic and massively significant, when in a few months, the mood calms, events fade. But these last few days have been an important political test for the Labour leader. In a statement, Sir Keir said: "The Labour Party must be the party that embraces the demand for change across our country. That will require bold ideas and a relentless focus on the priorities of the British people. "Just as the pandemic has changed what is possible and what is necessary, so Labour must change too." The election results were expected to be grim, but the handling of the reshuffle was a mess that could have been avoided - and a knock to his authority he didn't need.

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Is Egypt heading for holy war?

Even posing that question will annoy many.

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent Away from the troublespots, life for millions of Egyptians continues as normal. Egypt's most fundamental problems are more economic than political. But in a week when the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood called for "an uprising by the great people of Egypt against those trying to steal their revolution with tanks", when dozens were killed in clashes between the army and Islamists and when the grand sheikh of al-Azhar warned of a civil war, an awkward question hovers in the air. Is Egypt now prone to a new "holy war" fought by Islamists against the authorities? Extremist minority There are plenty of grounds for optimism that the Arab world's most populous country should be able to avoid a descent into wide-scale, fanatical, religiously-inspired violence following the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi last year. Having lived there twice, for several years, I have experienced first-hand how good-natured, generous and mostly tolerant Egyptians can be. There are extremists in their midst but they are in a minority. Their views, however noisily they are broadcast, do not represent the bulk of the population. Egypt has also survived worse crises within living memory: the assassination of its president by a jihadist cell in 1981 and an Islamist insurgency that killed more than 700 people in the late 1990s, culminating in the massacre of 58 foreign tourists at Luxor in 1997. But given the unhappy confluence of events and trends surfacing in Egypt this week, it would be unwise to ignore the seeds of a potential holy war now being sown. Let's look at the ingredients: 'Martyrdom', banners and rhetoric "We will carry out explosions, we will shoulder arms, and nothing other than death will dissuade us from restoring President Morsi to the palace," the newspaper, al-Hayat, quoted a bearded man proclaiming at one of the sit-ins by Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Small numbers of young men are starting to be seen in the crowd wearing the white shrouds of "martyrdom", a theatrical show of how far some say they are prepared to go to return an elected Islamist president to power. Since Mr Morsi's removal, some internet forums have erupted with angry calls for vengeance against Egypt's military, calling it "the enemy of Islam" and declaring police and soldiers to be targets for attack, as they were in southern Egypt during the insurgency of the 1990s. For now, these statements are mostly rhetorical and aspirational - although security forces have often been attacked in the Sinai. The threat to mainland Egypt only becomes real when such rhetoric inspires people to translate it into violent action. Available weapons Security in Egypt has deteriorated dramatically since the overthrow of the dictatorial President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but compared with Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen there are still relatively few firearms in private hands. Yet mainland Egypt is sandwiched between two land masses awash with illegal weapons: Libya and the Sinai peninsula. The overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime next-door in Libya threw open the doors to his armouries, releasing a flood of firearms, many of which have ended up with jihadist groups operating across the Sahara and in eastern Libya. A UN report published in April concluded that "weapons used during the Libyan civil war against Muammar Gaddafi are being funnelled at an alarming rate to other countries in the region". It said the weapons ranged from small arms to high-powered explosives, mines and portable air-defence systems. The report said this flow of weapons into Egypt was a threat to its internal security because many were reaching anti-government insurgents in Sinai. Religious clashes Nearly 10% of Egypt's population are Coptic Christians. Mostly, they live harmoniously in this Muslim-majority country but some Islamist extremists want to see them driven out, as much of Iraq's Christian population has been. There have been isolated but deadly attacks on Egypt's churches and Christians, and for the past year during Mr Morsi's presidency, many Egyptian Copts doubted his government's commitment to protect their community properly. Now that he has been ousted, there is a counter-suspicion by some Muslim Brotherhood supporters that Christians somehow had a hand in his removal. If Egypt were to fall prey to jihadist violence, then its Coptic Christians would find themselves easy targets. Political frustration There is an almost unanimous view amongst analysts of the Middle East that, however incompetent the rule of President Morsi was, his forced removal after just one year in office sends a very dangerous message to Islamists. It risks leaving them with the conclusion that the democratic process the West has touted for so long is an avenue closed to them, prompting some to turn to the bullet instead of the ballot. Writing in al-Quds al-Arabi, the editor Abdel Bari Atwan said: "The military coup will certainly lead to serving extremist groups within the Islamic current, specifically within the Muslim Brotherhood, and will confirm the argument of al-Qaeda and other groups, which reject democracy and consider it a Western invention." Failing economy Lastly, but no less importantly, Egypt is facing a slow-motion economic crisis. Since the 2011 uprising against Mr Mubarak, the country's latent economic and fiscal problems have gone into free fall. Tourism has slumped, unemployment and crime has soared, confidence has evaporated and the government is running out of money. Mr Morsi's inability to fix these problems was a major contributor to his unpopularity but those problems will still be there for whoever becomes his elected successor. A combination of a failing economy, zero job prospects and profound political frustration can lead to a dangerous sense of despair. Fertile ground, then, for those looking to recruit for nefarious purposes. You can follow Frank on Twitter @FrankRGardner Mardell: When is a coup not a coup? Bowen: Egypt's failed democratic experiment Q&A: Egypt in turmoil Key players in the Egyptian crisis

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Midlands set to become an even bigger 'Powerhouse'

"Come and join us!"

Patrick BurnsPolitical editor, Midlands There was more than an echo of the old Corries song when I talked to the leader of Britain's biggest local authority for Midlands Today. In his first extended interview since the news broke of a ground-breaking agreement between long-time rival local authorities in Birmingham and the Black Country to set up a combined authority, Birmingham's council leader Sir Albert Bore had an overture of his own. Not only did he want Coventry and Solihull to join in too, he also hoped districts in surrounding counties like Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire would collaborate as well. While acknowledging that northern England in general, and Manchester in particular, had been setting the pace in the English devolution debate so far, he was bullish about the prospects for his part of the country. 'No state for extra powers' "I think we have the capacity not only to catch-up with Manchester because a "Midlands Powerhouse" can be bigger than the "Northern Powerhouse," he said. I pressed him on the immense challenges facing his city: the notorious failings in children's services, the aftermath of the "Trojan Horse" letter, the budgetary crisis requiring about £360m savings and a review of the city's governance which some commentators have suggested could lead to the authority being cut in two. I suggested the city was in no state to bid for extra powers. He dismissed the idea of the city being broken-up and reminded me Communities Secretary Eric Pickles did not expect that to happen either. He was emphatic the city is now making strong progress in dealing with its afflictions. He accepted the charge levelled by Lord Warner, the commissioner appointed by the government to sort out the children's services department: successive administrations had, indeed, "parked" the problems there, as Lord Warner put it. 'Catastrophic, fatal, failures' The department has been under special measures for six years and has been implicated in a series of catastrophic, fatal, failures to safeguard the city's children. Reading between the lines of Sir Albert's comments about "Trojan Horse" allegations, he came very close to suggesting that the letter that started it all had been a good thing. "It led us to understand what had been going on in some of our schools" he said. As for his council's budgetary woes he told me the city would not, as some MPs have suggested, go bankrupt. The council would agree a budget for next year albeit "including substantial cuts". So Sir Albert's message to the wider world is that for all its manifest difficulties, his city is worth doing business with. This is how he ended our interview: "We are getting to grips with children's services and education whilst exploring the benefits of being as large as we are to deliver growth in the economy." Can he convince more areas to join him in his joint endeavour with his new-found friends in the Black Country? Will he convince the government that Birmingham's house is sufficiently in order for it to be given more of a role in the rebalancing of the economy? Judge for yourself. The interview is on the Midlands Today Facebook page.

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Romania profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1600-1601 - The three historic principalities of Romania - Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia - are briefly united under one ruler, Michael the Brave. They had been under Habsburg and Ottoman domination. 1683 - The Habsburgs recapture Transylvania from the Ottoman Empire. 1715 - Phanariot Greek governors begin to rule Moldavia and Wallachia on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, and launch administrative reforms. 1821 - Russia oversees the administration of Moldavia and Wallachia. Phanariot rule ends, and native Romanian rulers steadily gain influence. 1834 - Moldavia and Wallachia adopt a unified basic constitution, the Reglamentul Organic, which provides for their eventual unification. 1856 - Russian control over Moldavia and Wallachia ends with Moscow's defeat in the Crimean War. Independence 1859 - Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza is proclaimed prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia, which unite as Romania in 1862. 1866 - Landed interests and disgruntled liberal politicians force the increasingly authoritarian Prince Cuza's abdication. Parliament invites the German prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to succeed him. 1877-1878 - Romania wins full independence from the Ottoman Empire by siding with Russia in the Russo-Turkish War. It also acquires a coastline on the Danube delta. 1881 - Romania becomes a kingdom. 1904 - The oil industry takes off with the opening of the first refinery. 1914 - King Carol's death ends Romania's alliance with the Central Powers - Germany and Austria. His nephew Ferdinand takes Romania into World War I on the Allied side in 1916. 1918 - As part of the peace settlement at the end of the war, Romania virtually doubles in size and population. 1930s - Rise of fascist "Iron Guard" mass movement. 1940 - General Ion Antonescu seizes power, and allies Romania with Nazi Germany. 1944 - Romania switches sides as Soviet forces close in. A Soviet-backed government is installed the following year. Communist takeover 1947 - Romania regains Transylvania under peace treaty but loses some territory to Soviet Union. King Michael is forced to abdicate and Soviet-style people's republic is formed. 1965 - Nicolae Ceausescu becomes Communist leader and pursues a foreign policy that often runs counter to Moscow's lead, while increasing repressive rule and personality cult at home. 1975 - United States grants Romania most-favoured-nation status. 1977 - Bucharest earthquake kills around 1,500 people. 1985-86 - Austerity programme aimed at reducing foreign debt leads to food shortages and widespread power cuts. Revolution 1989 December - Demonstrations in city of Timisoara spread nationwide in a bloody national uprising that leads to the execution of Nicolae Ceasescu and his wife. Former Ceausescu ally Ion Iliescu forms a government pledged to democracy. 1990 May - Government embarks on economic and political reform programme. 1990 June - Student and opposition protests against ex-communist leadership crushed when 20,000 miners are brought in to stage a counter demonstration. 1991 - Riots by miners on strike over soaring prices force Prime Minister Petre Roman's resignation. 1996 - Centre-right election victory sweeps aside former communists. Emil Constantinescu elected president, Victor Ciorbea becomes prime minister. 1997 - Economic reform programme announced. Securitate Communist-era secret police files opened. 1999 January - Security forces prevent 10,000 miners striking over pay from entering Bucharest. 2000 November-December - Ion Iliescu defeats far-right rival Corneliu Vadim Tudor to retake presidency. Leftist Adrian Nastase becomes prime minister in minority government. Path to EU membership 2004 March - Romania admitted to Nato. 2004 November-December - Centrist alliance leader Traian Basescu elected president. Ally Calin Tariceanu becomes prime minister with agenda of speeding up EU-oriented reforms. 2005 April - Romania signs EU accession treaty. 2007 January - Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union. 2008 February - European Commission warns Romania over high-level corruption. Financial crisis 2009 March - The International Monetary Fund and other lenders agree to provide Romania a rescue package worth 20bn euros. 2012 January-February - Clashes over austerity and corruption prompt resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc. 2012 May - Victor Ponta becomes prime minister when his left-wing Social Liberal Union alliance topples the interim government. 2014 November - Conservative Klaus Iohannis beats Victor Ponta in presidential run-off election. 2015 November - Victor Ponta resigns as prime minister after months of scandal, culminating in mass street protests over lax safety regulations at a nightclub where 32 people died in a fire. 2016 May - A Nato missile defence system is installed in the face of Russia opposition. 2017 January - Social Democrats form government after winning December 2016 elections. 2017 February - Some 200,000 people protest over government attempts to water down corruption measures, in largest demonstrations since fall of Communist regime in 1989. 2019 November - Centrist Ludovic Orban becomes prime minister after Social Democrats lose vote of confidence. 2020 December - Defence Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca becomes acting prime minister on the resignation of Ludovic Orban over poorer-than-expected election results.

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The bear which inspired Winnie the Pooh is actually a girl

Winnie the Pooh is a boy.

By Amelia ButterlyNewsbeat reporter He is referred to as "he" in AA Milne's books and in the Disney cartoons his voice has always been provided by a man. But, it turns out that the real-life bear he is named after, was actually a female black bear named Winnie. Christopher Robin, son of AA Milne and star of the books and cartoons, had called his teddy Winnie, having seen the actual bear a number of times in London Zoo. Author Lindsay Mattick has told the story of the Canadian bear in her new book Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. The film rights have already been sold. Ms Mattick posted a picture of her great-grandfather and Winnie on Instagram. Her great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn, rescued Winnie in 1914 and named her for his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. Colebourn was a vet and and travelled to England to help care for horses during the First World War. He brought Winnie with him and she became a favourite with the troops. When Colebourn was shipped over to France, he sent Winnie to stay at London Zoo. He always planned to bring her back to Canada, but when he saw how much children loved visiting her at the zoo, he donated her permanently. "I'm still blown away that, while a lot of people in Canada certainly know the story and know the history now, around the world it's really still not known," Ms Mattick told Winnipeg Free Press. "People don't even realize that there was a real bear. "I want people who love Winnie the Pooh to understand that the real story behind her is just as beautiful and just as amazing." Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram, Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat

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Antigua and Barbuda profile - Timeline

British rule

A chronology of key events: 1493 - Christopher Columbus visits Antigua and names it after the Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua in Seville, Spain. 1632 - Antigua colonised by English settlers from St Kitts. 1667 - France formally ends its claim to Antigua in accordance with the Treaty of Breda. 1674 - Christopher Codrington, a sugar planter from Barbados, sets up a sugar plantation in Antigua. 1685 - Codrington leases the island of Barbuda from the British crown; African slaves imported to grow first tobacco and then sugarcane on plantations. 1834 - Slaves of Antigua emancipated. 1860 - Barbuda reverts to the British crown. 1871-1956 - Antigua and Barbuda administered together as part of the Leeward Islands federation. The Bird era 1946 - Vere Bird forms the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). 1958-62 - Antigua and Barbuda part of the British-sponsored West Indies Federation. 1967 - Antigua and Barbuda become a self-governing state within the British Commonwealth, with Britain retaining control of defence and foreign affairs. 1969 - Barbuda separatist movement comes into being. 1971 - George Walter replaces Vere Bird as prime minister after the Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) beat the ALP in the general elections. 1972 - Sugar industry closed down. 1976 - ALP, led by Bird, returns to power after winning the general election. Independence 1981 - Antigua and Barbuda becomes independent. Early 1980s - Attempts made to replant sugarcane fields, but these are finally abandoned in 1985 because of financial problems. 1983 - Antigua and Barbuda supports the US invasion of Grenada (as it has supported US sanctions against Cuba). 1990 - Prime Minister Vere Bird's son, Vere Jr, removed from public office in the wake of allegations of gun-running. 1993 - Vere Bird resigns as prime minister and is replaced by his son, Lester. 1994 - Lester Bird's ALP wins the general elections. 1995 - Riots erupt in protest against new taxes; Bird's brother, Ivor, convicted of smuggling cocaine into Antigua and Barbuda; Hurricane Luis hits the islands, claiming 75% of all homes and setting back development by 10 years. Allegations of money laundering 1998 - Government closes down six Russian-owned banks accused of money laundering. 1999 February - US State Department describes the country as "one of the most attractive centres in the Caribbean for money launderers". 1999 March - Bird's ALP wins another general election; direct hit by Hurricane Jose causes extensive damage. 2001 Multi-national Financial Action Task Force reports that Antigua is "fully cooperative" in the fight against money laundering. 2004 March - Lester Bird concedes defeat in general election. Baldwin Spencer, leader of United Progressive Party, is sworn in as prime minister. 2004 October - Parliament passes anti-corruption bill, providing for fines and jail terms for errant ministers and officials. 2005 April - Personal income tax - scrapped in 1975 - is re-introduced. Ruling party says move is needed to tackle deficit left by former administration. 2007 March - World Trade Organisation sides with Antigua in ruling that the US has failed to comply with a ruling to relax its restrictions on offshore, online gambling. Antigua, which has an internet betting industry, filed the case in 2003. 2007 December - WTO orders the US to pay compensation to Antigua over its online gambling trade dispute, but far less than the Caribbean nation had been seeking. 2008 July - Tourism industry rocked by shooting of British honeymoon couple in holiday cottage. 2009 February - Antigua's single biggest private investor, Sir Allen Stanford, is charged with massive investment fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Spencer re-elected 2009 March - Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer leads the United Progressive Party to victory again in parliamentary elections, albeit with a reduced majority. 2009 - June - Antigua dismisses its chief financial regulator, Leroy King, after he is charged with helping Texas billionaire Allen Stanford cover up a fraud scheme. 2009 August - Antiguan government says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave it $50m in financial aid after collapse of business empire of its biggest investor, Allen Stanford. 2011 July - Two men are found guilty of murdering a honeymooning British couple shot dead in Antigua in July 2008. 2012 March - A US court finds financier Allen Stanford guilty of running a $7bn Ponzi scheme through his bank based in Antigua. 2013 January - Antigua wins World Trade Organization permission to lift restrictions on US intellectual property, in a possible retaliatory response to US restrictions on the island's online gambling industry. 2013 October - Antigua and Barbuda launches scheme allowing foreigners to acquire citizenship with a $250,000 donation or a property investment of at least $400,000. 2014 June - Antigua Labour Party (ALP) wins general elections. Gaston Browne becomes premier. 2014 September - Disgraced financier Allen Stanford lodges appeal against his conviction and jailing by a US court. 2017 September - The island of Barbuda is all but flattened by Hurricane Irma. Its residents evacuated before the storm hit.

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Coronavirus: Here's how you can stop bad information from going viral

Coronavirus misinformation is flooding the internet.

By Flora Carmichael and Marianna SpringBBC Trending A UK parliamentary sub-committee is asking members of the public to submit examples. The committee has particularly requested submissions of disinformation spread in private groups and closed apps such as WhatsApp. Meanwhile, experts are calling on the public to practise "information hygiene". So what can you do to stop the spread of bad information online? 1. Stop and think You want to help family and friends and keep them in the loop. So when you receive fresh advice - whether by email, WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter - you might quickly forward it on to them. But experts say the number one thing you can do to halt misinformation is to simply stop and think. If you have any doubts, pause, and check it out further. 2. Check your source Before you forward it on, ask some basic questions about where the information comes from. It's a big red flag if the source is "a friend of a friend" or "my aunt's colleague's neighbour". We recently tracked how a misleading post from someone's "uncle with a master's degree" went viral. Some of the details in the post were accurate - some versions, for example, encouraged hand washing to slow the spread of the virus. But other details were potentially harmful, making unproven claims about how to diagnose the illness. "The most reliable sources of information remain public health bodies like the NHS, the World Health Organisation, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA." says Claire Milne, deputy editor of UK-based fact-checking organisation Full Fact. Experts are not infallible. But they are much more reliable than a stranger's distant relative on WhatsApp. 3. Could it be a fake? Appearances can be deceptive. It is possible to impersonate official accounts and authorities, including BBC News and the government. Screenshots can also be changed to make it look like information has come from a trusted public body. Check known and verified accounts and websites. If you can't easily find the information, it might be a hoax. And if a post, video or a link looks fishy - it probably is. Capital letters and mismatched fonts are something fact-checkers use as an indicator a post might be misleading, according to Claire Milne from Full Fact. 4. Unsure whether it's true? Don't share Don't forward things on "just in case" they might be true. You might be doing more harm than good. Often we post things into places where we know there are experts - like doctors or medical professionals. That might be OK, but make sure you're very clear about your doubts. And beware - that photo or text you share might later be stripped of its context. 5. Check each fact, individually There's a voice note that has been circulating on WhatsApp. The person speaking in the note says she's translating advice from a "colleague who has a friend" working at a hospital. It's been sent to the BBC by dozens of people around the world. But it's a mix of accurate and inaccurate advice. When you get sent long lists of advice, it's easy to believe everything in them just because you know for certain that one of the tips (say, about hand washing) is true. But that's not always the case. 6. Beware emotional posts It's the stuff that gets us fearful, angry, anxious, or joyful that tends to really go viral. "Fear is one of the biggest drivers that allows misinformation to thrive," says Claire Wardle of First Draft, an organisation that helps journalists tackle online misinformation. Urgent calls for action are designed to ramp up anxiety - so be careful. "People want to help their loved ones stay safe, so when they see 'Tips for preventing the virus!' or 'Take this health supplement!' people want to do whatever they can to help," she says. 7. Think about biases Are you sharing something because you know it's true - or just because you agree with it? Carl Miller, research director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at think tank Demos, says we're more likely to share posts that reinforce our existing beliefs. "It's when we're angrily nodding our head that we're most vulnerable," he says. "That's when, above everything else, we just need to slow down everything that we do online." Learn more about media literacy: Have you seen misleading information - or something you have doubts about? Email us. With additional reporting from BBC Monitoring Follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, find us on Facebook or subscribe to the BBC Trending podcast. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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Canada profile - Leaders

Prime minister: Justin Trudeau

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor general Justin Trudeau - son of Pierre Trudeau, who dominated Canadian politics in the 1970s - won a resounding election victory for his Liberal Party in October 2015, ending the nine years of Conservative government under Stephen Harper. After a closely fought three-way contest with the Conservatives and centre-left New Democrats, the Liberals leapt from the humiliating third place they won at the 2011 election to gain a surprise overall majority in parliament. Campaigning on a theme of change and his "new vision" for Canada, the youthful Mr Trudeau successfully fought off accusations of inexperience from the Conservatives to effect a late surge in the opinion polls as the New Democrat vote slumped. Mr Trudeau campaigned on promises to shift some of the tax burden from middle-income earners to the richest Canadians, and run a budget deficit to allow spending on infrastructure and boosting growth. Born in 1971, Mr Trudeau has already lived in the prime minister's office as the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, prime minister in 1968-79 and in 1980-84. He achieved political prominence with a moving eulogy at his father's funeral in 2000. Elected on an initial wave of popularity dubbed "Trudeaumania", the charismatic elder Trudeau brought Canada to prominence on the world stage, but still polarises opinion among Canadians. Harper legacy The Harper government Mr Trudeau replaces had been praised for deft economic management, but alienated many Canadians with Mr Harper's aloof, polarising style. His hostility to climate change legislation and support for the oil and gas industry also proved divisive, both at home and abroad. Mr Harper came to power in 2006 after 12 years' of Liberal government, relying on opposition support as a minority government in his first two terms. He won a third term and an overall majority in March 2011, in an election called after an opposition no-confidence motion found the government to be in contempt of parliament over budget plans.

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Cecil Rhodes monument: A necessary anger?

It all started with some excrement.

Andrew HardingAfrica correspondent@BBCAndrewHon Twitter One night last month, a student called Chumani Maxwele scooped some poo from one of the portable toilets that dot the often turbulent, crowded townships on the windswept plains outside Cape Town. The next morning, Mr Maxwele took his package to the foot of nearby Table Mountain - and to the imposing grounds of one of South Africa's oldest and most prestigious universities. Overlooking the rugby field in the centre of the campus is an old bronze statue of a white man. He is in an armchair, one hand on his chin, the other holding some paper - and he is sitting forwards, like a man startled by something he has seen on television. Mr Maxwele promptly set about smearing the statue - and in the process, ignited a furious and fascinating row about history, race and equality. The statue, of course, was of Cecil Rhodes - British diamond magnate, politician and unapologetic colonialist. A man who dreamed of a British empire, stretching from Cape Town to Cairo. The reaction to Mr Maxwele's daubing was swift, loud, often eloquent - and polarised. Critics - yes, lots of them white - condemned it as an infantile, uneducated stunt, a crude attempt to reject history, and an insult to the consensus-building why-can't-we-all-try-to-get-along spirit of Nelson Mandela. After all, they argued, Cecil Rhodes had generously donated land to the University of Cape Town. Plenty of black South Africans have since benefited from Rhodes scholarships. Surely Mr Maxwele could have found a more relevant target, and perhaps a less repulsive weapon. As usual, far nastier arguments were flung on the internet. Online, anonymity breeds contempt here, as it does everywhere else. But Mr Maxwele stood by his actions. As a black South African, he said, he simply found it unbearably humiliating to walk every day past a statue glorifying an undeniable racist. Many others then took that argument further. Black academics called into radio stations to complain about how campuses were still dominated by white men, and by an Anglo-Saxon world-view. Black students poured out their stories of belittlement, of subtle racism, of the way their accents, and first languages still condemn them to a second-class status in their own 21-year-old democracy. And, as often happens here, some people got a little too carried away. Students broke into staff meetings to jeer and intimidate. Copycats took their spray cans to deface other statues, including one in Port Elizabeth that commemorates the horses that served and died over a century ago, during the Boer War. In Pretoria, angry Afrikaners - stout, bearded white men in brown military uniforms - gathered to guard a statue of their iconic Boer War leader Paul Kruger. Someone had splashed it with green paint. I should say at this point that South Africa is not on the brink of a race war. Something crops up here every few months to stir passions in a young nation still trying to work out how to tackle the legacies of racial apartheid. So - as symbolic as it necessarily is - the poo on Cecil Rhodes's face is unlikely to go down as some sort of turning point, the moment Mandela's rainbow nation was swept aside by a thunder storm. In fact a sensible compromise has already been hammered out at the university, and the bronze man in the armchair has been lifted off his plinth to be mothballed until a suitable new location can be found. And yet for me, this whole business has raised some profound issues about today's South Africa. First is the way it's exposed a growing political vacuum here. Once upon a time, the governing ANC would have taken the lead on Cecil Rhodes. It would have marched at the front of the protestors - harnessing their anger, but urging them to focus on the future, not the past. Instead this week, there has been silence. After 21 years in power, the ANC is the establishment - the status quo. It is losing votes and credibility, as its leader, President Jacob Zuma, lurches from corruption scandals to indignant outbursts to denials. The second, related, issue is about anger. For years, many black South Africans have waited, patiently, for the fruits of democracy - guided by Mandela's vision of a gentle, negotiated transition. But while life has improved here for most, millions of young people are trapped in crime-ridden townships, with little education, and no hope of work. And now, unsurprisingly, we are seeing anger growing. Some will argue that it is dangerous, misguided, fuelled by new populist firebrands. But many, for better or worse, will take a different lesson from what Mr Maxwele did with that statue: that patience has its place, but sometimes anger is necessary. Even constructive. How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent: BBC Radio 4: Saturdays at 11:30. Listen online or download the podcast. BBC World Service: At weekends - see World Service programme schedule or listen online. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

world-europe-34763986

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34763986

'Brexit?' Everything now at stake for Cameron

The shadow boxing is over.

Gavin HewittFormer chief correspondent@BBCGavinHewitton Twitter On Tuesday, David Cameron will send a letter to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council. It will set out the government's ambitions for renegotiating its relationship with the EU. The letter will not reveal the minute detail of the government's case. Rather, it will establish the broad themes framed in four or five policy baskets. The government wants to avoid declaring a wish list by which it can be judged. What it wants is to present the British people with a package deal after it has been agreed. But there will be no avoiding instant judgement calls. The Eurosceptics will question whether the government's demands amount to the "negotiation for fundamental change" that David Cameron promised. The heckling of Mr Cameron at the CBI conference is just a foretaste of what is almost certain to be a tough, bruising referendum campaign. The prime minister conceded a vote to keep his party together. Now, that unity will be tested. The polls suggest a narrow majority for remaining in the EU, but they are close enough to indicate a real contest. Detailed negotiations begin So what is the timetable? Next week, the detailed negotiations will begin in Brussels. On the UK side, the team will be led by the British ambassador to the EU, Ivan Rogers. At the same time, the prime minister will embark on a diplomatic offensive to persuade 27 heads of government of the merits of the British case. The aim is to conclude negotiations in time for the European Council meeting on 17 December, when Europe's leaders will deliver their verdict. In the event of a smooth summit, the government would like to hold the referendum in either June next year or in the autumn. A government minister told me the plan was to move as fast as possible - partly to limit the impact of uncertainty on the economy. Few things in Brussels, however, are that straightforward. There is already speculation about British tactics. Some expect David Cameron to stage a fight to convince sceptics in his party he has wrung concessions from the EU leaders, and that, of course, could delay a deal until the spring. So what are the key demands? Some of these demands can be more easily delivered than others. The EU Commission is already committed to less regulation. As regards "ever closer union", last June the European Council described the words as "allowing for different paths of integration for different countries". There is already a "yellow card" mechanism for national parliaments putting a brake on EU legislation, and that could be toughened up. Two-speed Europe Restricting benefits to EU migrants is a much tougher demand. It risks undermining the principle of free movement. It might, however, just be possible to introduce a residency test that would apply to British nationals and non-nationals alike. The government does have an overall vision of what it wants from its relationship with the EU. It wants a two-speed Europe, a Europe that accepts there are multiple currencies with different layers of integration. There is a grand bargain on offer. The UK will not stand in the way of those who want to integrate further - but, in return, it wants its rights and interests protected. What the UK is looking for are binding principles embedded in EU law, which, at a later date, would be written into the EU treaties. What will the referendum question be? The question is always crucial in any referendum. The 2013 suggestion from the Conservatives was: "Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. Yes or no". Some people thought this phrasing leaned too far towards the status quo - the current state of affairs - and the Electoral Commission, which has to approve the question, said it was not clear enough, and proposed: "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" The final decision will be made by MPs, but Downing Street has accepted the amended wording. A guide to the UK's planned in-out EU referendum Does the UK have allies? The Germans are broadly sympathetic. Only last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "The Europe of today is no longer a one-speed Europe." France is against anything that smacks of an a-la-carte Europe. Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands are allies. The Central and Eastern European countries care deeply about freedom of movement. Belgium and Spain don't want a retreat from "ever closer union". Campaign themes So what will be the main themes of the campaign? The "out" campaign will offer to take back control "of our economy, our border and our democracy". The "in" campaign will warn of endangering the economy, of investors staying away, of risks to sterling and the equity markets.. So what would a Brexit look like? Unwinding the relationship with the EU would take time. A transitional relationship would have to be negotiated, securing access to the single market. Already, some US investment banks are warning there would be a run on the pound and less growth. Businesses would need to know what regulations they would be working with. What model would UK follow? We don't know, but outside the EU there are four models: Norway, Switzerland, operating under World Trade Organisation rules, and a free trade agreement. David Cameron says: "Norway has no say in setting EU rules: it just has to implement its directives." Switzerland took years to negotiate its trade deals with the EU. Operating under other rules would see tariffs. But those who want to leave the EU counter by saying the rest of the world would want to do business with the fifth largest economy on the planet. All of this will be argued over. A referendum is always unpredictable. It may turn on the popularity or unpopularity of the government. It may be held just at the moment the migrant crisis is deepening. It may well be that the voters don't focus on the terms of the renegotiation but follow their gut instincts as to what they feel about Europe. Everything is at stake for David Cameron. It is presumed that he wants to stay in a reformed EU. If the vote went against him, it could spur another vote for Scottish independence, split his party and define his legacy.

entertainment-arts-55543585

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55543585

BBC Sound of 2021: Holly Humberstone wants her lyrics to be tattoo-worthy

Holly Humberstone has high standards.

By Mark SavageBBC music reporter When the 21-year-old sits down to write her emotionally-captivating pop songs, she doesn't just want them to be memorable. She wants them to be indelible. "When we were writing, we said that if a lyric isn't painfully honest and really brutal, then it can't be on the song," she says. "That's what I aim for: If it doesn't look like a really dodgy, tattoo-on-the-arm lyric, then it doesn't go on." So far, no-one's actually inked one of her songs onto their wrist ("obviously I'm doing something wrong," she laughs) but it won't be long. Humberstone's sparse arrangements and effortless vocals focus your attention on those lyrics - a mixture of acutely-observed detail and conversational asides. "You never smoked this much before we met," she sings on the recent single, Falling Asleep At The Wheel, raking over the embers of a dying relationship. "Don't know how I got you in such a mess." On the forthcoming single Scarlett, she captures the messy imperfection of a teenage friendship in one line: "We go together / Like bad British weather / On the one day I made plans." Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, she was encouraged to be creative by her parents - both doctors - who banned TV in the house so she would make up songs from poetry books. While she was still at school, she uploaded songs to her local BBC Introducing show, and made her radio debut a week later. That led to an appearance at Glastonbury, where she was spotted by Lewis Capaldi - who invited her on tour at the start of 2020. Although Covid ruined her plans for the rest of the year, she's amassed more than 65 million streams for her debut EP, and has just come second on the BBC's Sound Of 2021 - which aims to predict the most exciting new music for the coming year. She talked to BBC News about her early "crap" songs, finding her sound and living in a haunted house. The top five so far: Congratulations on making the BBC Sound of 2021 list. After a year of being stuck at home, does any of this feel real? Not really, no. So far, my whole career feels like it has been over social media. I've never done a headline show or anything like that, so I'm really looking forward to being able to play live again in a few months. Just before lockdown, you supported Lewis Capaldi at Wembley. What was that like? I didn't expect to be doing Wembley. I was booked for the Europe leg of the tour - and I was terrified because I'd gone from playing to 200 people to 12,000 in the space of a month or two. Wembley happened when the American support act couldn't come over because of Covid. I was like, "Fine. If you're forcing me, I'll do it!" "But I'll need a bigger dressing room and 10 puppies." Yeah. And I want bottles of champagne and stuff like that! But it was so cool: Doing a tour like that made me realise just how badly I wanted that for myself. And then, of course, Covid struck... How did you spend the rest of 2020? It was really hard at first. There's nothing inspiring about being stuck inside. And I put a lot of pressure on myself, because everyone else was like, "Oh brilliant, loads of time to write, we're going to come out with so much stuff at the end of lockdown". But after a few weeks I was like, "Okay, I've just got to chill and use the time to my advantage". And I've actually had loads of fun writing on my own and not having too many people tell me what to do! You moved back in with your parents and sisters. How did that go - because when I was 20, going home was wonderful for about two weeks and then I'd be like, "would you all just leave me alone." Oh my gosh, definitely. At the start it was like that. I've got a big family, with lots of strong opinions - there's four girls and we're all really close in age and there's lots of stubbornness. But actually, because the world was in a state of crisis, it ended up being a really special family time - having my mum's home-cooked meals and sleeping in my own bed. It's pretty nice set-up! So, for people who only know of Grantham as the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher - what was it like growing up there? It's a really, really rural part of England. Quite old fashioned and feudal. But I had a really lovely childhood because we're in this really old, freezing cold, falling down house about 20 minutes out of town; and my parents always encouraged us to be creative. My dad's obsessed with poetry, and he used to put little poetry books in front of me - like Leonard Cohen or TS Eliot. I didn't understand anything they were talking about, but I used to make up little songs to them. Then I started off writing kind of crap songs [of my own], and parents were like, "Oh, this is great, she's doing something creative!" And somehow I ended up doing my hobby as a job. What were those early crap songs like? They were, like, seven-year-old me writing about boys I fancied at school. I'm always finding the notebooks around the house and they're so cringey. It's hilarious. Your first break came from BBC Introducing in Nottingham. What were your hopes when you submitted your songs? I guess I hoped that this would happen - but I never really thought it would! I went to an all-girls school and it was very focused on languages and science. People didn't think music was a real job - and fair enough, it's rural Lincolnshire, you know? But one of my friends' dads heard my music and he was like, "You should send this to BBC Introducing". I'd never heard of it before - but I uploaded some songs in summer 2017 and that same week, [BBC Introducing presenter] Dean Jackson in Nottingham was like, "Come in for a session!" I had this, like, big brick keyboard that we spent ages shoving into the lift for my first filmed session. And I've had so much support since then from BBC Introducing in the east Midlands and in Lincolnshire. I'm really grateful for all of it. That was 2017 - but you didn't put out your debut EP 'til last year. So what happened in between? It was a really long process. I knew I could write songs and sing but I didn't really know what my sound was, so I started doing co-writes. I think that process is pretty standard - you go and meet a load of people and a lot of the time they're, like, 40-year-old men. I found that process really hard because I find it difficult to be vulnerable with someone I don't have much in common with. And then I met this guy Rob Milton, who used to be in a band called Dog Is Dead, who I really loved when I was growing up. I remember writing Falling Asleep At The Wheel [with him] and being like, "Ah, this is the lightbulb moment". That lyric is such a perfect metaphor for sleepwalking through a relationship. Do you remember how it came to you? I had the first line - "You never smoked this much before we met" - and I'd taken it to a few sessions where people were like, "meh." But when I took it to Rob, he said, "That's so good. That's an opening line to something". I wanted to sing about this relationship I was going through that had lost its spark - and one of the notes I'd written on my phone said "falling asleep at the wheel". So that was a really fun time. I love that song. Why do you think so many people have fallen for your lyrics? Being exposed to poetry might have something to do with it - but also, I don't keep a diary, so my songs are my way of working through confusing feelings of growing up and being young. Writing a song clears my head and helps everything make sense. So I think that's maybe why people are connecting with it - because it's just universal stuff I'm going through. Deep End is another song that stands out. Am I right that it was written about one of your sisters, when she was going through a difficult time? Yeah, that's right. I find conversations about mental health really hard, so that song was sort of my way of speaking to my sister and telling her that I don't always understand what she's going through, but I'm always here. It was a bit of a hopeless feeling at the time but I think after writing it, it was a weight off my shoulders - and she really loved it, as well. And then your sisters got to spray you down with hoses in the video... That was so much fun to film because we did it just outside my house. But it was filmed in January and, if you look on YouTube, there's so many comments saying, "Her pupils are massive, she must be on pills". And honestly, it's just because I was freezing cold! I was literally at the end of my capacity! Your next single is called Haunted House... is that about your family home? Yeah! Is it really haunted? I think it must be. My best friend Scarlett, her mum has an antique shop and she's really superstitious - and when she came here, she said that there were ghosts around. It makes sense because it's such an old house and people have definitely died here. But they must be nice ghosts because this house is such a big part of my soul. What does a nice ghost do? Looks after you and watches over you, I guess. Do they reshelve all the books in alphabetical order? No. No, they didn't do that. This house is a tip. Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

world-latin-america-11567213

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-11567213

Chile miners who escaped rockfall feel abandoned

Sergio Malebran is worried.

By Vanessa BuschschluterBBC News, Copiapo, Chile The 52-year-old worked as a driver at the San Jose mine in northern Chile. Like so many in Chile and around the world, he followed the rescue of the 33 men who had been trapped in the mine since a rockfall on 5 August. Sergio, who was not on shift that day, is relieved he did not have to go through what they had to endure. But now that the 33 have been rescued, he thinks it is time people take notice of the uncertainty facing him and the remaining 265 workers and 200 subcontractors who were employed at the San Jose mine. 'Sick with worry' Thanks to the government's intervention, they have been paid up to 8 October. And over the last couple of weeks, Sergio was able to make some extra money driving journalists to and from the mine. That money, he says, will last him until the end of the month. But he has no idea what will happen then. The mine is closed and will remain so for the foreseeable future. And there are not many job opportunities in Copiapo, his home town, for a man in his fifties. "My wife is sick with worry, she has stomach cramps and can't sleep because of all the uncertainty," he says. Sergio tries to put on a brave face for her sake, but if no extra money comes in before November, they will have to sell her car, leaving her stranded in the remote part of the Atacama desert where they live. Sergio is even more concerned about his 11-year-old niece Anita, who they are responsible for. "You see, my wife understands, she's worried, but she knows we'll have to cut back," he says. But Anita, he explains, will not understand if her aunt and uncle do not come for their monthly visit to La Serena, a nearby town where she is going to school. "And at the moment, there's just no money for a trip down there," he says. 'Abandoned and cheated' Union representative Javier Castillo says almost all of the San Jose miners are facing money problems. "We all live hand to mouth here," he says. "We buy most things on credit, and when you say you work at San Jose, well, who's going to give you credit knowing that the mine has closed?" He says the union has been able to help some of those hardest hit after it received a generous donation from the Australian Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). This allowed Javier's union to pay one miner's electricity bill and the university fees for the children of another, he says. But the funds are now depleted and with so many of its members unemployed, there are no new contributions coming in. Under Chilean law, the miners are due a month's wages in severance pay for every year they have worked for the company. Mr Castillo says they were promised that money with their final paycheck on 8 October. But with the future of the firm that owns the San Jose still in the balance - an appraiser has been asked to report back to creditors on whether it should be declared bankrupt - the payment has been delayed until at least December. Mr Castillo is furious. "We need money to put bread on the table now", he says. "December is a long way off, and even if I were to find a new job straight away, you don't get paid until you've worked there for at least a fortnight. What are we supposed to live off in the meantime?" He says the miners feel abandoned, cheated even. He believes the government should step in, pay the severance money and recoup the funds from the owners of the mine. 'Interesting offers' But Undersecretary of Social Security Augusto Iglesias says it is not the government's place to pick up that bill. He says that while the authorities are working with the appraiser to make sure the workers get the severance payment due to them, they are not there to pressure or interfere. The process has to run its course. In the meantime, he says, the government is helping where it can. It organised a job fair for the miners last month, which many of the main employers in the region attended. And, Mr Iglesias says, the amount of job offers made at the fair "was very interesting", although when asked how many miners have since been hired, he says it is only between 10 and 12. Mr Iglesias says many of the miners were not willing to move to other towns for work. "This is not a critique. Of course everyone wants to work as close to home as possible, but it makes it more difficult to find work for them," he explains. Sergio Malebran says the employers were trying to take advantage of the unemployed miners, offering low wages and poor working conditions. "They wanted us to move far away but wouldn't pay for our accommodation or even the travel expenses," he says. "That just wasn't acceptable." He does give the government credit for offering free training courses to the San Jose miners, an opportunity he will take, he says, to polish up his CV. And, unlike Mr Castillo, he stops short of blaming the government for his situation. "In the end, it's a private company which ran the San Jose mine, so we can't expect the government to pick up the tab," he says. So what is he going to do, I ask him. "Have faith," he says, "just like the 33 had when they were underground." "There is not much else we can do."

world-35275033

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-35275033

Pope Francis: Why mercy is essential in faith and life

First the album, and now the book.

Caroline WyattReligious affairs correspondent@CarolineWyatton Twitter After the Vatican approved the release of a prog rock album which set to music some of Pope Francis' homilies and speeches, the Pope's new book features him in dialogue with a Vatican expert, Andrea Tornielli. Its title - The Name of God is Mercy - will be on the cover in a bold red, in the Pope's own handwriting, and will be published around the world on 12 January to coincide with the 2016 Jubilee Year of Mercy. The book focuses on the theme of mercy, an issue of central importance to this Pope's teaching and testimony, first signalled by the name he took as Pope, after St Francis of Assisi. In the book, the Pope speaks of his experiences of mercy, starting with his own confession to Father Carlos Duarte Ibarra in 1953 on the Feast of St Matthew the Apostle, when the then Jorge Bergoglio was 17. The Pope's own distinctive voice as a storyteller shines through; he tells of how he took the cross from the rosary of a priest dear to him and has worn it ever since, touching it when he "has a bad thought" about someone. More on Pope Francis In profile: Pope Francis' journey from Buenos Aires to the Vatican The Pope's calling: How many have received unexpected personal phone calls from the pontiff Reforms start to bite: Efforts to clean up the Vatican's finances begin to take hold His gaffes in 60 seconds: The dangers of Pope Francis' unscripted approach He also speaks of the need for priests to be good confessors, saying that many people these days go to soothsayers or fortune-tellers in the hope that someone will listen to them. Once in a while, Pope Francis says, he still takes confession, and speaks of the benefits for forgiveness - while warning priests of an "excess of curiosity" on sexual matters. He advises them to "listen with tenderness". The Pope describes himself as a sinner, and talks of his "special relationship" with people in prison, "deprived of their freedom". On his visit to the US last year, he made a point of visiting a jail, and was hugged by several prisoners. Pope Francis also writes strongly against the death penalty, and the need to help former prisoners reintegrate into society, so they are not left on the margins. In one chapter, he makes clear that the Church does not exist to condemn people but to bring them to God's mercy, and uses the image of a field hospital, a place for the "urgent care" which is needed "where there is combat". He also relates the story of a parishioner when he was a parish priest: of a mother with young children, who had to prostitute herself to provide for her children. She thanked him not for the food that a Catholic charity had sent her, but for continuing to show her respect by calling her senora. The Pope says he learned from that how important it was to not to wound people's dignity. On that subject, he is asked to expand on his comment to journalists that "if a person is gay and seeks out the Lord and is willing, who am I to judge that person?" The Pope says that he was paraphrasing by heart the catechism of the Catholic Church which says that people should be "treated with delicacy and not marginalised". Pope Francis continues that "before all else comes the individual person in his wholeness and dignity". And that he prefers "that homosexuals come to confession, that they stay close to the Lord, and that we pray all together. "You can advise them on how to pray, you can show goodwill, you can show them the way, and accompany them along it." Later, quoting Jesus, the Pope says that what mattered to Christ was reaching "stranded people and saving them, like the Good Shepherd who leaves the flock to save one lost sheep". Pope Francis also condemns the narrow-mindedness of some among the clergy and his flock who have preconceived notions of "ritual purity", and calls on them to overcome prejudice and rigidity. He speaks out strongly against corruption in a chapter entitled "Sinners yes, corrupt no", calling the path to corruption a slippery slope. Pope Francis ends with the message that Christianity is about "embracing the outcast, the marginalized and the sinner", a message that he is seeking to send out across the world in the Catholic Church's Holy Jubilee Year of Mercy.

education-27087942

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-27087942

What hours do teachers really work?

How many hours do teachers in England work?

Teachers' unions have warned about excessive workloads and complained about staff being put under too much pressure. The long working week has been one of the grievances prompting teachers to go on strike. But are these claims justified? Teaching is unusual in that there is an official record of the number of hours worked in term time. The Department for Education runs an annual survey, where a sample of teachers in different types of school keep a diary of their working lives. The last results, published in February, show the hours worked in 2013. So how long is the working week? For secondary head teachers, it stretches to an average of 63.3 hours per week - the longest of any of the teaching jobs. Primary classroom teachers worked longer hours - 59.3 hours - than their secondary school counterparts, who worked for 55.7 hours per week. The hours in a secondary academy were slightly less, at 55.2 hours. How much of this is in the classroom? Teaching hours are a minority of a teachers' workload, according to this survey. A primary school teacher will spend on average 19 hours a week of timetabled teaching. It's similar for secondary school classroom teachers, averaging 19.6 hours. Secondary school head teachers have much lower levels of classroom time, at 2.8 hours per week. Outside of this there will be time spent in school for lesson preparation, marking, supervising children away from the class and carrying out any other administration. How much of the work is at home? There is no quicker way to get into an argument with a teacher than to say how good it must be to finish work at 3.30pm every day. The workload survey confirms that teachers are putting in a lot of hours outside of the school day, before 8am, after 6pm and at weekends. For primary classroom teachers, 23.8% of their hours are worked out of school each week, with secondary head teachers working 21.5% and secondary classroom teachers 21.4%. Primary heads put in more than six hours work every weekend, according to this work diary. Too much paperwork and red tape? Classroom primary teachers spend an average of 4.3 hours each week on general administration. Not all of it is useful, the survey suggests. There are 45% of classroom teachers who think the amount of time spent on "unnecessary or bureaucratic" tasks has increased, with only 5% saying it has reduced. The biggest cause of unnecessary paperwork, the teachers reported, was preparing for an Ofsted inspection. Head teachers also identified changing government policies and guidelines as generating "unnecessary" bureaucracy. What about the holidays? These working hours are based on weeks during the school term. It does not include the school holidays - which can be 13 or more weeks each year - which might lower the annual average of working hours. Although there are arguments from teachers that their work can spill into half terms and holidays, but this remains outside the remit of the work diary.

world-europe-17300916

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17300916

Germany profile - Leaders

Chancellor: Angela Merkel

The Christian Democrat Angela Merkel, Germany's first female chancellor, has governed since 2005 in coalition with either the liberal Free Democrats or centre-left Social Democrats, but suffered a setback at the 2017 elections as the populist anti-immigrant Alliance for Germany (AfD) surged into third place. The AfD exploited social tensions over the arrival of more than a million people from the Middle East, West Asia and Africa after Mrs Merkel offered asylum to refugees fleeing turmoil in Syria in the autumn of 2015. With the heavily-wounded Social Democrats going into opposition, the chancellor faces the tricky task of assembling a coalition with the Free Democrats and anti-capitalist Greens. Angela Merkel became leader of the Christian Democratic Union in 2000 after a party funding scandal that tainted her long-time mentor, former Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She was born in Hamburg in 1954 but grew up in communist East Germany, where her father was a Protestant clergyman. The 2008 global economic crisis left Mrs Merkel having to tread a fine line between helping debt-laden eurozone countries in a bid to preserve the common currency, and provoking a potential popular backlash at home against Germany - as the eurozone's richest country - over having to make huge contributions to bailouts. President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected federal president in February 2017, succeeding Joachim Gauck. A Social Democrat, Mr Steinmeier enjoyed the support of Chancellor Angela Merkel's "grand coalition" of centre-right and centre-left parties. In his acceptance speech, he pledged to stand up to the rising trend of xenophobic populism, and promote inter-communal dialogue and democracy. This became all the more topical in September, when the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany broke through to become the first hard-right party to win seats in parliament since the Second World War.

entertainment-arts-41467671

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41467671

A strange encounter with St Vincent

"Are you ready for this?"

By Mark SavageBBC Music reporter St Vincent's press officer is making small talk ahead of our interview, on a scorching hot summer's day in London. "Sure," I reply. I've listened to her new album. I've made copious notes. I've jotted down about two dozen questions. "No, but are you ready for this?" he asks. "I'm not sure what you mean." "Oh, you'll see." Sounds ominous... A few minutes later, a cloaked woman appears and, without speaking, leads me by the hand into the street, through a fire escape and into a bare concrete room. She gestures to a billboard-sized poster of St Vincent, which has a non-disclosure agreement at the bottom. I sign it in pink felt tip, and am led to a prefabricated wooden cube. The monk woman unbolts a door, barely big enough for a medium-sized Labrador, and I stoop through. Inside, the walls are bright pink. There are two pink standard lamps, with pink light bulbs, placed in opposite corners. And there, sitting at a cheap wooden table, is St Vincent, playing ambient guitar music through her iPhone. Her hair is, I think, painted blue and cut in a close bob. She makes unwavering eye contact as we shake hands and the door is shut (locked?) behind me. "Wait til the paint fumes get to you," she deadpans. "It'll be really awesome." As she describes the room - "it's like a psychedelic womb" - the 34-year-old sips a drink through a bendy straw that's been moulded into the word "No". "That's in case there's a yes or no question. We can just save time." This, I suspect, will not be your average interview. St Vincent is here, ostensibly, to promote her new album MASSEDUCTION (that's "mass seduction", not "mass education"). It's the follow-up to 2014's St Vincent, an expectation-defying art-pop record that cemented Texas-born Annie Clark as one of her generation's greatest guitarists. If anything, the new record is even better - pitching wildly between jittery electronics and despondent ballads as Clark exposes her feelings on sex, drugs and sadness. "It's an incredibly sad album," she says. "Quite manic and painful. "I listen to it, and some points of the album are so sad it makes me laugh. It's just so tragic. But that's human life." The first single, New York, is a disarmingly simple ode to lost love. "New York isn't New York without you, love," she sings over lonely piano chords, with the pulsing heartbeat of the city submerged deep within the mix. "It's a kind of dance song that you listen to in your bed and cry," she says. New York is one of several break-up songs on the album. It's safe to assume they're about Cara Delevingne, the elaborately-eyebrowed supermodel she dated for 18 months until last September - but Clark isn't going into specifics. "Songs are Rorschach tests," she deflects, referring to the inkblot psychological tests. "The interpretation of the song, or the feeling of the song, has more to do with the listener than it does with my intention and I'm fine with that. "But that song's a love letter to New York, certainly, and to me it's a composite of so many people and so many experiences in New York." The album also continues the saga of Johnny, who first appeared on St Vincent's debut album, Marry Me. Back then, she pleaded to be his partner, singing, "Let's do what Mary and Joseph did / Without the kid". By her fourth record, though, they were distant and estranged, as he embraced New York's party scene. In the latest instalment, Johnny is dependent on drugs and living on the street. When Clark crosses his path, he accuses her of abandoning him. "What happened to blood. Our family?" he hisses. "Annie, how could you do this to me?" It's heartbreaking, and savagely self-critical - but Clark won't say whether it's based on a real person. "Everybody's real and everybody's a composite," she replies. It seems evasive. It is evasive. But the singer is a thoughtful, considerate interviewee. She seems to taste the questions, chewing them over before answering. Her responses are precise, but never abrupt. So why, then, are we talking inside a bright pink Tardis? The point, Clark explains, is to put both of us "in uncomfortable positions". "You've done a million interviews. I've done a million interviews. There's only so many times you can repeat your Wikipedia page to someone. "So what happens if we shake that up? Maybe you and I react differently, and that's interesting." What actually happens is that we spend 15 minutes talking about the process of being interviewed. She winces as she recalls a journalist quizzing her on the time she played New York while dressed as a toilet. "I had just made a horror movie," she says, referencing her short film Birthday Party, "and this was a costume from it". "Then I had an interviewer say to me, 'Was that some Freudian display, as if you feel you've been pissed upon?' "I was like, 'Wow, that says a whole lot more about you than it does about me.'" Principally, though, she's bored of being asked the same old questions. "I'll give you an example!" she says, grabbing her phone and scrolling through a series of about 30 voice memos. "I get asked to justify my existence as a woman in music all the time, so here is an example of something I might say." She clicks play and sits back in her chair, arms crossed. Her voice, in a bored monotone, emits from the speaker. "Being a woman in music means being asked about being a woman in music. And when you ask me a question about being a woman in music, what you're really doing is presenting me with two very tired narratives, and asking me to choose one of them. "The first one goes like this: I am a victim, and now is the time to list, in great detail, my many grievances in order to assert my place in the hierarchy of victimhood. "Or you're asking me to defend now, in words, as if my work wasn't enough, why I deserve a spot at the table. "I refuse to participate in either narrative." Her protest duly noted, we proceed to safer ground. Clark notes that her new album was finished exactly 10 years after her debut was released, and marvels that she's made it this far. "I've been happy every place that I've been - and every place that I've been, I felt like I had made it. Even when I was playing pizza parlours, or clubs in London for six people - three of whom were listening - I was like, 'I'm playing in London!' "So for me, it's been a constant, irrepressible desire to make things." Making this album with Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lorde), she employed the absurdist tactics of her idols David Bowie and David Byrne, placing "motivational phrases" on the music stand as she sang. One, shared on Instagram last year, simply read "dead meat." "Sometimes, when you're doing vocal takes you have a pad and pencil there so you can make notes, and I'd subconsciously written 'Dead Meat'. It just made me laugh that that was whatever was coming out of my brain at that time." Her Freudian scribbling had no impact on the song, though. "Self laceration is just another form of ego. It doesn't really help," she insists. "I've learned that the hard way. Trust me, it's not that usable. You really have to get out of your own way, especially when singing." And that, it transpires, is what really motivates her - the "meditative state" she achieves while making music. "I need it. And I realise I need it when I haven't done it for a while and I feel very agitated. "You know, it's like some people get really frustrated and angry and they're like, 'Oh, I need to have an orgasm!'. And then you do that and you feel so much better. It's just that easy." At that moment, the cloaked woman knocks at the door and our time is up. "Thank you very much, it was a pleasure to meet you," says Clark. "You too," I reply, expressing relief that I didn't trigger any of her "stock answers". "You've done well!" she laughs. "You passed! Bye!" St Vincent's album, MASSEDUCTION is released on 13 October. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

uk-politics-54752532

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54752532

The week ahead in Parliament

They're back!

Mark D'ArcyParliamentary correspondent I think it would be a rather foolhardy MP who used the half-term break in Commons action to top up their tan, or hit the ski slopes. I suspect most were putting themselves about in their constituencies, and that this will lead to a lot of pointed interventions in the chamber about what they did and what they saw while the House wasn't sitting. Expect the week to start with plenty of ministerial statements, updating MPs on the latest pandemic and Brexit developments - with the strong possibility that the regulations underpinning local moves to higher-tier restrictions will be put before them. This could mean some pretty uncomfortable debates for the government. Meanwhile, Brexit rumbles on, with peers tooling up to fillet out key parts of the UK Internal Market Bill, amidst an unusually high level of cross-party cooperation between the bill's many opponents. I don't expect hostile amendments to be passed this week, but, come 9 November, peers may take the unusual step of passing amendments at Committee Stage - signalling real problems for ministers in getting this measure through before the end of the Brexit transitional period, on 31 December. Unless, of course, a deal with the EU gets them off the hook. Elsewhere, here are five other things to keep an eye on: Monday 2 November MPs return to their Chamber (14:30 GMT) for Defence Questions, probably to be followed by ministerial statements updating the House on Brexit and the progress of the pandemic. That's followed by a general debate on Covid-19, which, depending on events, could be mundane or pretty spicy. And there's an interesting-looking adjournment debate from Labour's Yvette Cooper, on support for rugby league during the Covid-19 outbreak. In Westminster Hall (16:30), there's a debate on an online petition calling for a ban on selling fireworks to the public, which attracted 305,579 signatures. After that, (18:00) they turn to another petition, which urges no prosecution for parents that remove children from school during a pandemic. The petitioners want a law to allow parents to remove their children from school under such circumstances, without negative action by schools or local authorities, like the loss of the child's place in the school or even prosecution. This one attracted 100,649 signatures. On the committee corridor, Public Accounts (14:30) takes evidence on specialist skills in the civil service, with Alex Chisholm, the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and other top officials. And Housing, Communities and Local Government opens its new inquiry into supporting High Streets with evidence from the Retail Consortium and the Royal Town Planning Institute (16:00). In the Lords (13:00), ministers face questions about the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the publication date for the report of the government's investigation into bullying allegations against the home secretary, the 2042 target date for the restoring 75 per cent of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to a favourable condition, and a fairer settlement for developing countries who lose out from tax avoidance by multinational corporations. Then it's on to the main event, the third day of committee stage scrutiny of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. The focus this week will be details on the Competition and Markets Authority, the independence of the Office for the Internal Market and the financial assistance powers in the bill. Tuesday 3 November MPs open (11:30) with Justice Questions, followed by a ten-minute rule bill from former cabinet minister Chris Grayling on labelling food for environmental sustainability. The main legislative action is the report and third reading stages of the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, the measure to provide a "triple lock" against prosecutions of service personnel for human rights violations. Labour has a series of amendments down. There are also amendments proposed by Labour MP Harriet Harman, chair of the Human Rights Committee, which would remove the presumption against prosecution which is a key feature of the bill. Kevan Jones, a former Labour defence minister and now a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, has also proposed amendments to bring in judicial oversight of historic investigations of service personnel. In Westminster Hall (09:30), Jeremy Corbyn will make what could be his first appearance as an independent MP, following the withdrawal of the Labour whip, during a debate on the Rohingya refugee crisis and the impact of the pandemic. In the Lords (12:00), questions to ministers cover the government's integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy, as well as standards for qualifications. Quite an interesting internal debate follows, on the report from the Conduct Committee entitled "Valuing Everyone training; ICGS investigations - former MPs". This is about closing a loophole in the system which means that allegations, for example, of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, against peers, which date from their time as MPs, cannot be investigated by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. The plan is that such allegations should be investigated under Commons, not Lords procedures. Peers will then consider the Commons Reasons on the Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill - the main ping-pong issue has been the Parole Database - but no vote is expected, which suggests agreement or at least acquiescence by a Lords majority. Wednesday 4 November MPs open (11:30) with half an hour of Northern Ireland questions, followed at noon by Prime Minister's Question Time. The day's ten-minute rule bill, from the SNP's Gavin Newlands, is an attempt to outlaw "fire and re-hire" tactics by companies seeking to cut pay and conditions for staff. The next business is two sets of Lords amendments, first to the Agriculture Bill, where peers continue to insist that new trade agreements should require imported food to meet UK standards. They also want reports published on the impact of new trade agreements on agri-foods (they've dropped their call for the agreements to be policed by the Trade and Agriculture Commission). Next up are amendments to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, where the issues include the right to family reunion and the treatment of victims of modern slavery. In Westminster Hall, the Conservative Pauline Latham, a member of the International Development Committee, leads a debate (09:30) on sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by international peacekeepers and staff of non-governmental organisations. Attention to this issue really began after the Oxfam sexual misconduct scandal in 2018. On the committee corridor, Environmental Audit (14:00) takes evidence on the energy efficiency of homes. In the Lords (12:00), ministers face questions on the support to accompany the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth's deployment to the South China Sea in 2021 - that's from former admiral, Lord West of Spithead. Further questions cover the union between Scotland and the rest of the UK and ensuring changes to the planning system will deliver more accessible homes for people with disabilities. Then it's back to the committee stage of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. Thursday 5 November The Commons meets (09:30) for forty minutes of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Questions, followed by questions to the Attorney General, and the weekly Business Questions to the Leader of the House. The remainder of the day is devoted to two debates chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes, and on the UK's role in ensuring innovation and equitable access within the Covid-19 response. On the Committee Corridor, Public Accounts (10:00) quizzes the permanent secretary at the Treasury, Sir Tom Scholar, and others about the Covid-19 Bounce Back Loan Scheme for businesses. The Lords is not expected to sit - peers may not get a Commons-style week off, but they are having a long weekend. Friday 6 November MPs meet at 09:30 to debate private members' bills, starting with the second reading of Labour MP Paula Barker's National Minimum Wage Bill. This aims to tighten up enforcement of the national minimum wage by, for example, requiring employers to keep detailed records, and in particular to end what she calls the scandal of domiciliary - or homecare - workers being discriminated against and denied their full entitlement under the law. This often happens in the form of employees not being paid properly for so-called 'travel time' between individual home care visits. Next up is the Trade Agreements (Exclusion of National Health Services) Bill, from the SNP's Peter Grant, which aims to prevent trade agreements leading to more privatisation in the NHS. As ever, there are plenty more bills on the Order Paper - Peter Bone's Prime Minister (Temporary Replacement) Bill looks rather topical after Boris Johnson's incapacitation with Covid-19 earlier this year - but the likelihood is that there won't be time to discuss any of them. And there could be a great deal of filibustering. I have the distinct impression that new Conservative MPs are being encouraged to contribute to Friday debates which give them a rare opportunity to make a speech that is more than three minutes long.

entertainment-arts-51293945

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51293945

Break My Stride singer 'thrilled' by TikTok revival

Last night I had the strangest dream...

By Mark SavageBBC music reporter Break My Stride, a perky pop smash from 1983 is suddenly a big deal on TikTok, the social media app where users share short, quirky videos of themselves lip-syncing, cooking or just being silly. No-one's sure how the song, a one-hit-wonder from the era of Manic Miner and The A-Team, went viral. But it has. Thousands of users have shared the song, and compilations of the clips are racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Here's how it works: You text someone the lyrics to Break My Stride, one line at a time, until they figure out what's going on; then you film yourself dancing in front of the text chain. It sounds ridiculous - it is ridiculous - but the results are often hilarious. Teachers have been pranked by their pupils, and cheating boyfriends have met their comeuppance. One user sent the lyrics to a man who'd been lurking in her DMs. Other recipients simply recognise the song and join in the fun. Compilations of the clips have been watched more than 100,000 times on YouTube. This has all come as a surprise to Matthew Wilder, who wrote and recorded the song 37 years ago. "I'm astonished and I'm thrilled," he tells the BBC. "It's that simple." It was his brother who first alerted him to the trend, about two weeks ago. "He's got these Google alerts that pop up, so he forwarded one to me," says the musician. "I looked at it and shrugged and didn't really think much of it. But then the messages started flowing in more and more frequently and I began to realise a phenomenon was beginning to occur." The singer says Break My Stride has been played more than 62 million times on TikTok; and the influence is spreading. The track has recently popped up on Spotify's Viral 50 and Apple Music's Top 100 charts around the world, giving it a whole new lease of life. "It's very difficult for me to keep up," says the 67-year-old, who's been working with Sony Music's legacy team to "help me navigate" the song's sudden resurgence. That led to him setting up his own TikTok account to interact with fans, and posting his own version of the meme (while wrapped in a duvet). Meanwhile, a YouTube video depicting the song's lyrics as modern-day text messages has been hastily thrown together. Those lyrics are undoubtedly the key to the song's virality. "Last night I had the strangest dream," goes the opening verse, "I sailed away to China / In a little rowboat to find you / And you said you had to get your laundry cleaned". Wilder says the song was actually written in frustration with his record company at the time, Arista. "I'd been on the label for a couple of years without making any headway," he explains. "There was a lot of frustration in that time of my life and Break My Stride was reflective of that." The song's chorus, "Ain't nobody gonna break my stride / Nobody gonna slow me down," is widely believed to have been directed at Arista's boss, Clive Davis, who, when he heard it, sent Wilder a memo stating: "Interesting song, but not a hit". In turn, the singer asked to be released from his contract, and took the song to Epic Records, where it became a worldwide hit, reaching number four in the UK and five in the US. Did it feel like he'd proved Arista wrong? "It seems so," laughs the singer. "It seems to come back and prove them wrong over and over again." However, he's reluctant to explain the references to China and dirty laundry, saying: "To get deeper into the specifics would be a wrecking ball for people who've found a whole other way of interpreting the song." Instead, he says, the song connects because of its "spirit of defiance". "It speaks globally to the human condition of frustration. That, coupled with the quirkiness of the melody and the groove. Everything about it is just a little bit left of centre." In the end, Break My Stride turned out to be Wilder's only significant hit; but that's not the end of his story. He's won Grammy nominations for his work on the Disney animation Mulan, and as the producer of No Doubt's breakout album Tragic Kingdom. "That was a tough record to make," he recalls. "It took us a year-and-a-half." It's no secret that songs like Don't Speak and Happy Now were inspired by singer Gwen Stefani's painful break-up with the band's bassist Tony Kanal. Less well-known is the fact that her brother, Eric, who had been the chief songwriter, quit mid-way through the recording sessions to become an animator on The Simpsons, leaving Stefani to pick up the reins. "There was a lot of controversy," says Wilder. "The band I knew when I first met them and the band they became... they went through a sizeable evolution. "But half-way through the making of the record was when tunes like Don't Speak and Just A Girl started to reveal themselves, because Gwen was taking on more responsibility and having more of a voice. There was a real shift." 'Thrilled' By coincidence, all three of Wilder's most successful projects are back in the spotlight this year. As Break My Stride catches fire, Disney is gearing up to release a live-action version of Mulan, with Wilder's song Reflection due to "play a big role" in the movie. Meanwhile, No Doubt have hinted at plans for a 25th anniversary tour of Tragic Kingdom. The singer is watching all of this unfold from Europe where he's following his son, an operatic tenor, on tour with the Orfeo orchestra. And he couldn't be happier to see his work reach a new audience. "The fact that all these things have such a long life and are able to come back and be appreciated again and again, speaks to the depths of what we were capable of doing. "I'm thrilled. To go beyond that would be overstating or repeating myself, but I'm thrilled." Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

world-asia-pacific-16568035

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16568035

Vietnam profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1858 - French colonial rule begins. 1930 - Ho Chi Minh founds the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP). 1941 - ICP organises a guerrilla force, Viet Minh, in response to invasion by Japan during World War II. 1945 - The Viet Minh seizes power. Ho Chi Minh announces Vietnam's independence. 1946 - French forces attack Viet Minh in Haiphong in November, sparking the war of resistance against the colonial power. 1950 - Democratic Republic of Vietnam is recognised by China and USSR. 1954 - Viet Minh forces attack an isolated French military outpost in the town of Dien Bien Phu. The attempt to take the outpost lasts two months, during which time the French government agrees to peace talks in Geneva. Vietnam is split into North and South at Geneva conference. 1956 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem begins campaign against political dissidents. 1957 - Beginning of Communist insurgency in the South. 1959 - Weapons and men from North Vietnam begin infiltrating the South. 1960 - American aid to Diem increased. 1962 - Number of US military advisors in South Vietnam rises to 12,000. 1963 - Viet Cong, the communist guerrillas operating in South Vietnam, defeat units of the ARVN, the South Vietnamese Army. President Diem is overthrown and then killed in a US-backed military coup. US enters the war 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin incident: the US says North Vietnamese patrol boats fire on two US Navy destroyers. US Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorising military action in region. 1965 - 200,000 American combat troops arrive in South Vietnam. 1966 - US troop numbers in Vietnam rise to 400,000, then to 500,000 the following year. 1968 - Tet Offensive - a combined assault by Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army on US positions - begins. More than 500 civilians die in the US massacre at My Lai. Thousands are killed by communist forces during their occupation of the city of Hue. 1969 - Ho Chi Minh dies. President Nixon begins to reduce US ground troops in Vietnam as domestic public opposition to the war grows. 1970 - Nixon's national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, and Le Duc Tho, for the Hanoi government, start talks in Paris. 1973 - Ceasefire agreement in Paris, US troop pull-out completed by March. 1975 - North Vietnamese troops invade South Vietnam and take control of the whole country after South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh surrenders. Reconstruction 1976 - Socialist Republic of Vietnam proclaimed. Saigon is re-named Ho Chi Minh City. Hundreds of thousands flee abroad, including many "boat people". 1979 - Vietnam invades Cambodia and ousts the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot. In response, Chinese troops cross Vietnam's northern border. They are pushed back by Vietnamese forces. The number of "boat people" trying to leave Vietnam causes international concern. 1986 - Nguyen Van Linh becomes party leader. He introduces a more liberal economic policy. 1989 - Vietnamese troops withdraw from Cambodia. 1992 - New constitution adopted allowing certain economic freedoms. The Communist Party remains the leading force in Vietnamese society. Reconciliation 1994 - US lifts its 30-year trade embargo. 1995 - Vietnam and US restore full diplomatic relations. Vietnam becomes full member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). 1997 - Le Kha Phieu becomes party leader. Tran Duc Luong chosen as president, Phan Van Khai becomes prime minister. 1998 - A senior party member, Pham The Duyet, faces charges of corruption. Economic growth slumps in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. 1999 - A former high-ranking party member, Tran Do, is expelled after calling for more democracy and freedom of expression. 2000 - US President Bill Clinton pays a three-day official visit. The US pledges more help to clear landmines left over from the Vietnam war. The Vietnamese government estimates nearly 40,000 people have been killed by unexploded munitions. 2001 - The Communist Party chooses Nong Duc Manh as its new leader. US, Vietnam implement a trade agreement which normalises the trade status between them. 2002 - Russia hands back the Cam Ranh Bay naval base, once the largest Soviet base outside the Warsaw Pact. President Tran Duc Luong reappointed for second term by National Assembly, which also reappoints Prime Minister Phan Van Khai for second five-year term. 2004 - First US commercial flight since the end of the Vietnam War touches down in Ho Chi Minh City. 2005 - Prime Minister Phan Van Khai makes the first visit to the US by a Vietnamese leader since the end of the Vietnam War. 2006 January onwards - Senior officials are investigated over the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars of state money in the transport ministry. 2006 June - As part of an anticipated political shake-up, the prime minister, president and National Assembly chairman are replaced by younger leaders. WTO membership 2007 January - After 12 years of talks, Vietnam becomes the 150th member of the World Trade Organization. 2007 February - Government approves a $33bn plan to build a high-speed rail link between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. 2007 February - US agrees for the first time to help fund a study into the removal of Agent Orange, the highly toxic defoliant used by US forces, from a former US base in Da Nang. 2007 June - President Nguyen Minh Triet makes first visit to the US by a Vietnamese head of state since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. 2007 July - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reappointed, promises to push through economic reforms. 2008 April - Vietnam launches first communications satellite from French Guiana. Media clampdown 2008 October - US and international media campaigners condemn the guilty verdicts on two Vietnamese journalists Nguyen Viet Chien and Nguyen Van Hai, who had helped to expose a major corruption scandal. Nguyen Van Hai pleads guilty and is spared imprisonment. 2008 November - Vietnam says it plans to enforce a two-child policy in an attempt to control population growth. 2008 December - China and Vietnam resolve border dispute 30 years after 1979 war which left tens of thousands dead. Government bans bloggers from raising "inappropriate" subjects. 2009 January - Jailed journalist Nguyen Viet Chien is among more than 15,000 prisoners freed early under a Lunar New Year amnesty - one of Vietnam's largest. Government dismisses Nguyen Cong Khe and Le Hoang, the editors of the two largest pro-reform newspapers, over their coverage of the October corruption scandal trial. 2009 June - Vietnam calls on China to stop preventing Vietnamese fishermen from working in what Hanoi says are its territorial waters amid growing tensions over fishing grounds. 2009 October - Six democracy activists sentenced to up to six years in prison for "spreading propaganda" against the government by hanging pro-democracy banners on a road bridge. 2009 December - Pro-democracy activist Tran Anh Kim receives five-and-a-half-year jail sentence for subversion after allegedly publishing pro-democracy articles on internet. 2010 January - Four activists, including prominent human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, are jailed on charges of trying to overthrow the government. Rights groups abroad say the case is a sign of an growing clampdown on freedom of expression. 2010 May - Human Rights Watch accuses Vietnam of intensifying its suppression of online dissent. 2010 July/August - The government arrests the chairman of shipbuilding corporation Vinashin, one of the country's largest state-owned companies, for allegedly nearly bankrupting the enterprise. 2011 January - Five-yearly congress of the Communist Party reappoints Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and elects the head of the national assembly, Nguyen Phu Trong, as party secretary-general. 2011 June - Vietnam begins joint operation with the United States to clean up contamination from the toxic Agent Orange defoliant widely used by the US military during the Vietnam war. 2011 October - China and Vietnam sign an agreement to manage the South China Sea dispute. It includes a hotline to deal with emergencies and a provision for twice-yearly bilateral meetings. 2012 June: Vietnam surpasses Brazil to become the world's largest coffee exporter. 2012 October: Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong acknowledges mistakes in preventing corruption in response to public anger over a recent spate of scandals at state-owned enterprises. 2012 November: The Communist-dominated parliament votes to require elected leaders, including the president and the prime minister, to face annual confidence votes. Observers say the votes may be little more than symbolic. 2013 February - Twenty two people sentenced for trying to overthrow the government, in what is seen as a renewed clampdown on freedom of expression. 2013 August - New decree bans internet users from discussing current affairs online. 2013 September - Economy grows by 5.14% in first three quarters of year, marking return to growth after years of stagnation. 2013 October - Leading dissident Le Quoc Quan sentenced to 30 months in jail for tax evasion, charges his supporters say are politically motivated. 2014 January - State media for first time marks anniversary of South Vietnam's 1974 clash with China over Paracel Islands, in sign of growing tension over Chinese intentions in the area. Court sentences former Vietinbank official Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu to life in prison in possibly country's largest fraud trial. Twenty-two others get jail terms of up to 20 years, but public voices discontent at clearing bank of any liability. 2014 March-April - Vietnam releases high-profile democracy campaigners Cu Huy Ha Vu, Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi amid Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks with the United States. At same time prominent bloggers Pham Viet Dao and Truong Duy Nhat jailed for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe interests of state". 2014 May - One Chinese worker killed and at least 90 other people injured when protesters attack Taiwanese-owned steel mill in Ha Tinh province. Crowds attack several other foreign-owned companies in protest at China's moving drilling rig into waters also claimed by Vietnam in South China Sea. 2014 August - The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, holds talks with Vietnamese leaders, in the highest level visit by an American military officer since the Vietnam war. 2014 October - The United States says it will partially lift its embargo on arms sales to Vietnam, which has been in place for three decades. Washington says the move applies to weapons for maritime purposes only. 2014 October - Prominent dissident blogger Nguyen Van Hai is released from prison and flies to the US after serving two years of a 12-year sentence for conducting "anti-state propaganda". 2015 February - The government revokes licence of outspoken newspaper Nguoi Cao Tuoi website - "Elderly" in Vietnamese - after it publishes articles which allegedly "abuse freedom and democratic rights". 2016 January - Communist Party re-elects conservative Nguyen Phu Trong as general secretary for second term, after relatively liberal Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung withdrew from contest after failing to garner enough support from delegates. 2016 May - US lifts long-standing ban on selling weapons to Vietnam. 2016 July - Government says its Vietnam says it will release 20,000 prisoners over the next two years to save money. Formosa Ha Tinh Steel is ordered to compensate local fishing communities after authorities establish toxic chemicals from its plant caused widespread fish deaths along the central coast. 2016 September - India announces half a billion dollars worth of credit for Vietnam for defence spending. Vietnam issues an international arrest warrant for oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh on fraud charges. 2016 November - Police arrest well-known blogger Ho Van Hai for posting articles critical of the government. His arrest is latest of an ongoing crackdown on writers and activists. 2017 January - Vietnam introduces draft law requiring all adult citizens to donate blood once a month due to a shortage at national blood banks.

business-25928323

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-25928323

The UK's traditional recovery

Hooray hooray hooray.

Robert PestonEconomics editor It is a recovery Jim, and precisely as we know it. In other words - as the governor of the Bank of England has pointed out - it has been driven by household consumption and activity related to the revival in the housing market. And although most would say that after the long years of contraction and stagnation since the crash, any recovery will do, we cannot yet bank on the durability of this one. What we don't yet have is what the coalition government insisted it wanted and it would deliver, namely a balanced recovery whose longevity is assured. Not out of the woods yet What's missing? Well, business investment remains low, though there is glimmer of recovery. And the deficit in trade and on the current account remain worryingly large. Fat chance of reducing the massive burden of debt bearing down on the UK economy - 500ish per cent of national income and rising - until we start to pay our way in the world, by selling more overseas than we buy. Looking on the brightside All that said, most will - understandably - want to seize on the positive from these latest statistics. And in these latest GDP or national output figures there are pegs on which to hang hope. We have now had four unbroken quarters of growth, the best performance since the third quarter of 2010. And a fifth quarter of growth is certainly in the bag, barring a calamity totally out of left field. In fact, more-or-less every forecaster on the planet believes that the UK economy in 2014 will grow somewhere between 2.4% (the view of the downbeat Office for Budget Responsibility) and 3.2% (the optimism of bullish US bank, Citigroup) - which would be an acceleration from 2013's 1.9% growth. And to put that into context, in the boom years, between 1992 and 2008, annual growth was around 3%. The UK's getting richer So the country is getting richer again, although at a slower rate than we used to regard as normal. And the size of the economy is still 1.3% below where it was six years ago. Also, although spending by consumers has driven the recovery, manufacturing is apparently on the up: it grew 0.9% in the last three months of the year. But manufacturing is a very small proportion - around a tenth - of the economy. So although there are signs of a serious manufacturing recovery, the enormous service sector - which provides more than three quarters of our national output or GDP - contributed six sevenths of the entire 0.7% increase in GDP. Unbalanced recovery And if you think balance means that the manufacturing sector should grow bigger than the service sector, that has not happened since the crash. Output from the service sector is now 1.3% greater than it was at the previous peak in the first three months of 2008, while production output is a significant 12% below where it was then (and that wasn't even the recent peak of production output). That said, lots of services are exported. We should not denigrate them. They are vital to our prospects. But historically the most successful exporter of services in the UK has been the City of London. And the recent carnage in the banking part of the City means its trading performance has been impaired relative to its main rivals, notably Wall Street. And what do all these numbers and blather actually mean for you and me? Well inflation is falling, and employers are beginning to talk about being more confident about the outlook and about a modest tightening in the labour market, or a greater challenge to find the right staff. So just maybe - whisper it very quietly indeed - come the end of the year a majority of us will begin to feel the benefits of the recovery in our pockets, in living standards that may start to rise again. Hooray hooray hooray.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37078244

Barbados at 50: Home of Rihanna, cricket and coucou

Happy birthday Barbados!

By Andree MassiahBBC News The Caribbean island is 50 years old on 30 November - more to the point, it's 50 years since it gained independence from the UK. There are a few things you may already know about this island of a little more than 280,000 people: it was a centre of sugar production, has produced numerous world class cricketers, and is the birthplace of iconic pop star Rihanna. So as Barbados celebrates its golden year of independence, here are some more facts that you may not know about the island. It's just like England, sort of Due to its past colonial ties with the UK, Barbados is often referred to as Little England. You'd be forgiven for thinking you were wandering around England too (hot climate aside), especially with place names such as Hastings, Worthing, and Dover. But it's not just place names that are left over from British colonial rule - Barbados has also kept the British judicial and education systems. The predominant faith is Anglican, and Bajans, as Barbadians are colloquially known, drive on the left side of the road. A political hero (and others who've done their bit in the US) Errol Barrow is the man who became Barbados' first prime minister in 1966 and is known as the Father of Independence. The date of his birth, 21 January, is a public holiday in Barbados and he is one of 10 Barbadian National Heroes. (Another little fact for you: he shares a birthday with the first African-American US Attorney General, Eric Holder, whose father was born in Barbados; Mr Holder also narrates a new documentary film about Mr Barrow's life.) Also, US politician Shirley Chisholm, who was of Barbadian descent, was the first black woman to run for president of the United States in 1972. Flying the flag Bridgetown and its Garrison is a Unesco World Heritage site, stemming back to the 17th Century. The garrison served as the Eastern Caribbean headquarters of the British Army and Navy. On Independence Day in 1966, the garrison was the site chosen for the ceremony of the lowering of the British flag and the raising of the new Barbados flag that has, at its centre, the Broken Trident that signifies the break from British rule. Good genes Barbados is an island of "long-livers" having a high number of people over 100 years old. Per capita, it has the second highest number of centenarians in the world behind Japan. Bajans pick a pot of pickled pork Sugar used to be the dominant industry in Barbados, producing over 200,000 tonnes a year, compared to today's figure of just 7,000 tonnes. So it makes sense that Barbados is the birthplace of rum (though some neighbouring islands may disagree), first producing the spirit in the 17th Century. There are more than 1,000 rum shops, similar to pubs or bars, all around the island. Bajans also enjoy pudding and souse, made of sweet potato and pickled pork, particularly on Saturdays. Ri-Ri (and that golden green-fingered touch) Popular sounds that can be heard on the island are calypso and soca. Some of the best-known artists paid tribute to their country in the 50th anniversary song Our Home Barbados (Legends to Legacy). The Crop Over festival is held every summer, traditionally heralding the end of the sugar cane harvest. Islanders and visitors watch carnival costume and song contests, and take part in parades and street parties. Writers from the island who have made their mark include George Lamming author of 'In the Castle of My Skin', Kamau Brathwaite and Karen Lord. And green-fingered Barbadians seem to have the knack when it comes to horticultural competitions - they are regular gold award winners at the annual Chelsea Flower Show in the UK. It's not just cricket Cricket is the national sport and Barbados has produced a host of legends, along with the late commentator Tony Cozier. The 3Ws of Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott, and Everton Weekes; the openers Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes; and the fast bowlers Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Joel Garner, and Malcolm Marshall, to name a few, all hail from Barbados. One of the most revered Barbadian cricketers is all-rounder Sir Garfield "Garry" Sobers, who is also the only living national hero, having celebrated his 80th birthday this year. Sprinter Obadele Thompson was the first Barbadian to win an individual Olympic medal having achieved bronze in the men's 100 metres at the 2000 Games. Oh, and if it wasn't enough for Barbados to have excelled in sport, it has invented one too - road tennis is a mixture of table tennis and lawn tennis. So da's all fuh now - I gawn yuh hear?! (I'm sure you can work out that it means: So that's all for now - I'm going OK?!)

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56577479

Oxford Street: Wooing shoppers back to Europe's busiest high street

"Let's change the way we shop."

By Rebecca CafeBBC News This is the statement emblazoned in huge letters on the side of one of the most famous department stores in the world, in Europe's busiest shopping area - Selfridges on Oxford Street. Over the past year, as restrictions have been put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus, consumers have been forced to alter the way they shop, with many turning to online retailers. Now, as stores are allowed to reopen, what's left on London's most famous shopping street? Walk the entire street noting down all of the defunct stores and you will find that 28 out of 212 shops - over 13% - are either boarded up or their occupants have clearly left for the last time. Topshop, at the heart of Oxford Street, is probably the most famous casualty. If you peek through the windows you'll see a few undressed mannequins - a far cry from its heyday when supermodel Kate Moss drew huge crowds to the store. But it is not the only one: Debenhams and Evans are brands that have closed for good. Many other companies have consolidated their store portfolios on the street - gone are the days where brands would have multiple outlets along the 1.2-mile (2km) stretch of road. Next and Boots have one flagship store, whereas before the pandemic they had two or three. By comparison, the only shop boarded up on Regent Street is US fashion store J Crew, which closed before the pandemic. On Bond Street there are a few boarded-up stores but at the place where it connects with Oxford Street - the luxury end, full of fashion brands such as Chanel, Dior and Versace - it remains unscathed. It's a trend many have long seen coming, including James Daunt, the managing director of bookstore chain Waterstones, who closed its shop on the street to make way for the Next flagship in 2016. Then, he told me: "We're moving from a position where we have shops dotted all over, instead there'll be fewer bigger and distinctive ones." He added: "Stores need to be really good, otherwise why bother going in?" It's a question many, including Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, are trying to answer. "What's been really obvious in the last 10 years is we've really lost Londoners wanting to come to the West End and Oxford Street particularly," he said, adding that about 20-30% of shops in the area would change, partly because of closures that were happening across the country - for instance, Topshop and Debenhams - but some because of new developments. He said fashion - what Oxford Street is best known for - was changing: "If you look at Adidas, look at Selfridges, look at Primark, they've all got different business models so I think its [Oxford Street's] spiritual home will always be fashion, it'll just have to cater to different types of customers." The opening of the Westfield shopping centres in White City and Stratford, in 2008 and 2011 respectively, played a part in diverting Londoners away from the centre. Before Covid, the area New West End Company represents - Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street - turned over about £10bn a year, half of which was from tourism. With foreign tourists unable to return for the foreseeable future and 15 outlets on the street catering only to foreign exchange or souvenirs, retailers have to work harder to bring UK customers back. New West End Company hopes to see sales return to this figure by 2023, but how? "The West End is not just retail; we have theatres, restaurants, cultural institutions," said Mr Tyrrell. "Of course retail will be there, but we want to attract people to come to the city centre. "We want to have the very best sports facilities in the world on that street, we want to have Netflix open a studio - we've got to create a sense of prominence and showcase. It's not necessarily the full driver of why you would come to Oxford Street in the future, it's part of the mix." He said there was one store on the street that was getting things right: Selfridges. "We need to do a Selfridges on the whole street from Marble Arch to Centrepoint. They've absolutely smashed it in terms of customer first, sustainability approach. The 'experience' - everything we talk about is in that building - and we need to do that on the whole street end to end." Lindy Woodhead, a fashion industry expert who was the first female board member at Harvey Nichols, knows a lot about Selfridges, having written the book Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge, which was later turned into a popular drama series on ITV. She says the main reason people want to visit Selfridges is the building. "The first thing you have to have (to have a successful shop) is a beautiful building, because if you don't have somewhere where the public wants to go, no matter what you're selling, they're not going to go there," she said. But it's also the store's "DNA from way back when Harry Selfridge opened it," she added. "He had restaurants in that store, he had washrooms in that store, he had toys for the boys: men could learn to fly an aeroplane in that store - he had a flight simulator. He had golf pros giving golf lessons; you had famous footballers making personal appearances, he had a book department that when it had cookery books there were demonstrations. "He put on in-store fashion shows, cultural exhibitions, scientific exhibitions. They launched television there - John Logie Baird launched television for the first time in 1926. "He had the BBC on the roof broadcasting, he had a playlist and a DJ - you can't think that this entertainment wasn't a wow factor because it was. "So that wow factor has to happen today to engage different clans of consumers into a shop or store and a different strand of consumer is entirely based on their hobbies, their passions, what are they in love with and of course their income. "You have to have a mixture of desire and thrill and excitement and culture. And if you don't have those things, then people will be bored and if people are bored then they're not going to go in. And if there's nothing else for them to shop or buy in that area, then they're not going to go to that area. "What's happening in Regent Street and across over to Oxford Circus is absolutely wonderful but walk slowly and carefully as you did, up and down so much of it [Oxford Street], especially the western end, and it's very depressing. "It's not just about the merchandise and the desirability of what's going on sale in these shops - there is no café culture: where is the museum, where is the history of Oxford Street, where is a museum about the gallows that were at Marble Arch, where are the things that would attract tourists to the street? "What has happened to Oxford Street over the years is that because the street is so big and so dirty and so bland there's just pockets of excellence where it connects to a cross street that's interesting. "Because the traffic planning has been so bad - it's improved a lot over the last four to five years - but pre-Covid it was never somewhere you wanted to go unless you were going to your destination. "And mainly your destination, it has to be said, was Selfridges." Part of Westminster City Council's reimagination of the area is to increase the amount of greenery. As part of its £150m refurbishment of the area, more trees and plants are being planted and "pocket parks" are being built by consolidating bus bays to make space for play areas and lighting installations. In its Oxford Street framework, it wants to focus on four elements - "greener, smarter, future, together" - which it hopes will create the right environment for businesses and others to want to invest in. But these are for the most part just plans at the moment. The reality is that it has proved to be very difficult to attract new businesses over the past year; the former HMV and Forever 21 plots that were vacated in 2019 remain empty. For all the talk about Selfridges and its "successful DNA", it hasn't had an easy time of late either; the retailer announced its total workforce across its four stores in England would be cut by 14%, with 450 roles closed. It hopes to return strongly this year, and intends to offer floristry workshops, pampering sessions, out-of-hours children's parties in the toy department and private screenings at The Cinema at Selfridges. It's also bringing back DJs who will play live sets throughout the day; customers can text song requests while they shop. Music will also play a part in all of Oxford Street thanks to a partnership with Spotify which will allow shoppers to download playlists specifically curated for the shopping area by looking out for codes dotted throughout the street. The associated costs of having a business on the street is something many are looking for help with from the government and landlords. "The original Selfridge ethos was that it doesn't matter if you come in and you're just looking - we don't mind. But a lot of shops can't afford to do that today because their rates are so high that their prices are fixed," said Ms Woodhead. According to real estate advisory firm Altus Group's annual business rates review in 2019, Oxford Street had the country's highest rateable value at £7,549 per metre squared. New Bond Street was second at £5,675. To help with the costs of the pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak gave businesses a "holiday" from paying the property tax. This will continue until the end of June, with discounts in place until next year. Lord Wolfson, the boss of one of the country's most resilient brands, Next, has urged the government to cut business rates to reflect the changing marketplace. "In-store sales at Next have gone down 25% since 2015 but our rates on those properties have gone up 9%. They have become unfair because they no longer reflect the value property against which they're charged," he said, adding that the value of High Street retail properties had fallen dramatically in the crisis "but the business rates bill hasn't reflected that". Covid-19 forced those who normally work in an office to stay at home. Pre-Covid, about 155,000 people worked in offices above shops in Oxford Street. Retailers such as M&S and John Lewis are currently converting the top levels of their stores into office space. Mr Tyrrell doesn't see the area losing out post-Covid. "It'll be the same as retail, there'll be fewer offices left but the ones that are left will have everything and that'll be part of a reason to go into the office. "Where would you rather work - the centre of Oxford Street or way out in London?" While many people have become accustomed to buying online over the past year, there's one thing this mode of retail can never offer: human interaction. "I think there'll be a premium placed on human-to-human experience in the future and that's what Oxford Street needs to become relevant to," Mr Tyrrell added. "What's the future of office demand, what's happening in retail, what's happening to tourism - none of us fully know yet. The next six months really are the key to understand what's going to stick post-Covid." Related Internet Links New West End Company

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https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-32015766

James Corden translated for US TV audiences

What's James Corden talking about?

As he prepares to debut as host of The Late Late Show on CBS, it's reported he's been asked to clean up his language. Not because of swearing, but because Stateside audiences struggle to get their heads round UK slang. In case he deviates from Queen's English, here's a quick guide for viewers to some of the vocabulary that might slip out from time to time. On screen and in real life, James has talked about drinking and party life. He's a reformed character, but for the record... Bladdered means drunk. So does wasted. So does battered. Plastered has nothing to do with home improvements. It also means drunk. So does off your trolley, but confusingly can also be a reference to someone's state of mind. Drinking alone is rarely a good idea, so it's best done with a bestie, or best friend, of which James has many - Gary Barlow, David Beckham and Russell Tovey to name just some. Drinking isn't the only way to have fun. An evening can still be pukka - or good / genuine / of high quality - without it. Good news for lightweights - or individuals who either can't or don't want to go berserk on an evening out. These people are definitely not taking the Mick - in other words pushing their luck or, in Cockney rhyming slang, Mickey Bliss (think about it ... ) Although if the evening takes a turn for the worse, they may be tempted to leg it - or run away. The Late Late show sounds tiring. James runs the risk of feeling knackered - or very tired - the following morning. The US chat show circuit is notoriously competitive. Perhaps he's taken a butchers - a look - at the competition. That might help prevent him making a dog's dinner - or a mess - of the gig. Hopefully, it'll all turn out Hunky Dory - or .... good. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

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https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33093115

The Crystal Maze to return as a live theatre experience

"Will you start the fans please!"

By Steve HoldenNewsbeat Reporter Any 90's TV fan will remember Richard O'Brien's famous catchphrase from one of the decade's most popular shows - The Crystal Maze. Now, 25 years after it first aired on Channel 4, plans are under way to bring the show back as a live immersive theatrical experience. It means fans of the show may finally get the chance to take part in a fully-realised replica set in London. If you're over the age of 30 and you never saw it (and quite frankly... where were you?) the scale of The Crystal Maze was epic. Filmed at a huge air hangar in Essex, teams of six would complete a series of mental and physical challenges in different themed zones (Aztec, Industrial, Medieval, Futuristic and, later, Ocean). The aim was to collect crystals in order to determine how long they would spend within a crystal dome - inside which they would try and grab golden tickets - in the show's finale. It first aired in February 1990 and regularly attracted five to six million viewers per episode, running for six series. Bringing it back I was one of the lucky few to actually be a contestant on the show, appearing on a children's special in 1992. It was just as much fun as you'd expect. So, at a studio in east London, I meet the three producers hoping to make the new Crystal Maze a reality. To realise the dream of bringing back The Crystal Maze, they're turning to the public for help, via a crowdfunding project. There may be a long way to go, but they are boosted by the fact that ... yes... original host Richard O'Brien is involved. "He (Richard) took a bit of tracking down as he now lives in New Zealand," says Ben Hodges. "He took a bit of persuading. We had to pitch the idea and he had very high standards but eventually he came on board." Hodges, along with co-producers Tom Lionetti-Maguire and Dean Rodgers, make up Little Lion Entertainment - the team behind the project. O'Brien's exact role is being kept secret though it's unlikely he'll be taking recruits around any newly constructed maze, playing his harmonica or introducing contestants to his 'Mumsie'. He does, however, appear in the video to launch the project. "We've calculated we need a minimum of £500,000 to make something we're happy with," says Hodges. "The appetite to take part would be great." Wearing customised Crystal Maze bomber jackets, it's clear the Little Lion team are all massive fans of the show. "My biggest memory was just how incredibly extravagant it was. It was crazy, it was over the top," says Lionetti-Maguire. "The idea is simple. We're keeping the show as it was but opening it up to everyone to go and experience," says Hodges. "It's such a great show so there's no real need to change it." The producers point to the recent successes of Puzzle Rooms, where people pay to spend 60 minutes in a locked room attempting to find enough clues to escape, as proof audiences are hungry for the kind of immersive experience the Crystal Maze show will offer. "It taps into the right level of trend surrounding the puzzle room experiences currently out there," says Dean. "The people who watched The Crystal Maze when they were kids are the ones going to these puzzle rooms. "It's the best marrying of ideas and is about capturing the zeitgeist." The plan is to allow teams of six to take part in a series of games and finish inside a replica crystal dome, complete with working fans which are used to toughen the challenge of grabbing as many golden leaflets as possible. The producers say they've got a "bible of games" from the show's original creator Malcolm Hayworth, who is also on board. As well as raising the capital, they still have to find an exact location in London that's large enough to build the set - originally the size of two football pitches. A couple of sites are being earmarked, is all the producers will say. Fans can now register their interest to take part in the experience and, if everything goes to plan, the immersive Crystal Maze will launch in late 2015.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52944700

Brexit: Who will blink first in UK-EU stand-off?

"Plus ça change," you could say.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter Round four of EU-UK trade talks... cue yet another downbeat assessment from both sides' chief negotiators. "We can't go on like this," lamented the EU's Michel Barnier. "Progress remains limited," noted the UK's David Frost. But before you rush to join the "no-deal-is-now-the-most-likely-outcome" school of thought, consider this: while both sides continue to insist - loudly - that their position will not waver (on all issues linked to national sovereignty for the UK; on anything associated with the single market for the EU), those assurances could also be viewed as a message aimed at domestic audiences, while both sides consider - quietly - what compromises they might actually make. Back in February, the UK threatened to walk away from talks this month if there were no concrete signs of progress. And here we are, with ongoing gaping differences between the two sides - on fishing, competition regulations, the form of the deal as well as the content. Yet the expectation now is that Boris Johnson will use an EU summit in a couple of weeks to try to publicly "reset" negotiations. Inject some dynamism into them. Or at least be seen to be doing so. After this summit-by-video-conference with the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, negotiating rounds are likely to be stepped up. They'll also, depending on Covid-19 restrictions, become face-to-face talks rather than screen-to screen, in the hope that could help the EU and UK better understand one another's position. But frankly, after four rounds of negotiations, each side is already all too familiar with the attitude and intentions of the other. What's needed now is movement. Call it blinking. Call it compromise. Call it concessions or whatever you will. Without it, there will be no deal. That much is clear. The coronavirus turmoil has meant political leaders have rather overlooked these post-Brexit EU-UK negotiations. But they are fast reappearing on the UK's political horizon. The rest of Europe will probably sit up and take notice this autumn, with the clock ticking down to the end of the year - if the government stands firm on not extending talks beyond that date. Brussels is already beginning to show some ankle. Sift carefully through Michel Barnier's rhetoric on Friday. Amongst accusatory statements and words of disappointment aimed at the UK, you'll find hints of potential EU wiggle-room: a possible softening of its demands on state aid rules and fishing quotas. When I asked him, Mr Barnier also admitted that, if a deal were close this autumn, there would almost certainly be what he called a "dense" period of last-minute negotiations. In other words: pressure to find compromise. And what of Angela Merkel? Prominent UK politicians have often looked to her - and to German car manufacturers - to push for a favourable deal with the UK. Germany will shortly take over the EU's six-month rotating presidency. Will Mrs Merkel want to "preside" over a no-deal break-up with key partner UK - something which would also blot her legacy in her last term as German Chancellor? Perhaps more so than other EU leaders, Angela Merkel has always been focused on the bigger picture. A desire not just to keep the UK close in trade terms but also on the world stage, dominated these days by unpredictable leaders in China, Russia and the US. But in the end her priority (often misunderstood by the aforementioned prominent UK politicians) is not lucrative trade with the UK. She prefers to protect the vastly more lucrative - certainly from Germany's perspective - single market. Chancellor Merkel's focus now is on helping to rebuild that market after the devastation of Covid-19 - not on compromising its rules to have a favourable trade deal with an EU outsider, the UK. So: concessions, yes. But not at any price. For now, Brussels waits for a sign that the UK too is willing to make what it calls realistic compromises. The government recently floated the possibility of reducing its aim of 100% tariff-free trade, to 98% or 99% in order to allay EU fears of unfair competition. But Brussels dismissed the idea as not addressing its concerns. Ultimately, the sense in Brussels is: if there is to be a deal by the end of this year, that (political) decision will be made in Downing Street. Not round the EU table.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-17218739

Analysis: Malema expulsion clears the path for Zuma

He was never going to go quietly.

Andrew HardingAfrica correspondent@BBCAndrewHon Twitter Julius Malema - the swaggering, articulate, comic, bullying, Hugo Chavez of South African politics - had come to believe in his own hype. It is a neat irony that he has now been expelled from the party that created him for refusing to accept that the ANC had the right to suspend him. So what next? Nothing precipitous, I suspect. The police and tax inspectors who have been carefully investigating Mr Malema's affairs will no doubt be quietly asked to wait a decent interval before moving in - just to avoid the appearance that any of this might have been stage-managed. As for President Jacob Zuma - he must be purring with satisfaction at the way his most public enemy has been neutered. But perhaps he should be counting his blessings instead. It could have ended very differently. Mr Malema was a creature of his times - a man who articulated the rage and frustration of South Africa's poor, marginalised black community, while embodying some of the aspirational hopes of a country littered with shiny new shopping malls, and also representing the uglier post-Mandela realities of a corrupt, show-your-bling political culture that barely notices the contempt in which it is held. He was over- and under-estimated in equal measures - as bullies so often are. The last time I went to interview him at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg, I'd just come from one of the open-sewers-and-corrugated-shack townships outside the city. Most people I spoke to there seemed torn between sheer enjoyment of Julius's barbed wit and brazenly populist agenda - he had a genius for grabbing the headlines - and embarrassment at his divisive racial taunts and Mugabe-esque rhetoric. When I mentioned my impressions to him, he brushed them aside. He was a formidable debater, and no fool. And he had an agenda - built around nationalisation and the seizure of white-owned land. Premature celebrations? In a country led by a party that, by trying to hog almost every corner of the political spectrum, often seems to stand for nothing but the preservation of its own power, Mr Malema stuck to his ideological guns. No wonder President Zuma - a consensus politician who seems genuinely alarmed by the prospect of trying to end a policy debate - found Mr Malema so threatening. It is too early, of course, to know whether Mr Malema will be found guilty of abusing his position, cheating his taxes, or any of the other allegations which President Zuma's friends have been aggressively briefing the media about. But the battle is over. Mr Zuma is virtually assured of another term as president. And yet, Mr Zuma must surely wonder - what if Julius Malema had been less swayed by the lure of quick wealth? What if he had emerged as an unstoppable political force? And what will happen now if someone less absurd, less hypocritical, picks up that baton and runs, hard and fast, at the head of an angry crowd?

world-africa-37043845

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37043845

Countdown to the end of polio in Africa

It has been 28 years in the making.

By Anne SoyBBC Africa health correspondent When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was formed in 1988, about 350,000 children were getting infected with wild polio virus every year worldwide. The disease leaves many children paralysed for life. About one in every 10 paralysed children dies from breathing complications. The number of infections is now down 99%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Africa, the last case of wild polio diagnosis was in the Puntland region of Somalia, on 11 August 2014. But the continent must still stay a full year without new cases to be declared polio-free. Two years without a case is a significant milestone. It gives hope to millions of volunteers, community mobilisers, health workers, religious and community leaders who have helped deliver vaccines to some of the most remote villages that their effort has been worthwhile. In difficult to reach areas, volunteers have used donkeys, canoes or helicopters to deliver vaccines. It has been described as the largest public health campaign in history. In some countries, like northern Nigeria, volunteers were attacked during immunisation campaigns. What is polio? Source: World Health Organisation The history of polio Similar - if not worse - attacks have been witnessed outside the continent, in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Taliban issued a religious declaration - fatwa - against polio vaccination. The two countries are the last known places where wild polio virus transmission is still active. The virus is transmitted person-to-person through infected faecal matter. It has no cure, and mainly affects children under five. Wild polio virus cannot survive for long outside the human body. In the absence of unvaccinated hosts, the virus dies out. That's what experts hope will happen to the virus - to be driven into extinction. WHO will now review data from all over the continent to confirm if no cases of polio were identified on the continent. This process often takes two to three weeks. As the countdown to a polio-free Africa begins, Rotary International, one of the organisations that formed part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has called for renewed international effort to step up immunisation and improve surveillance. The organisation says that effort will need funding from governments and other donors. Only two diseases have ever been eradicated in the world: Smallpox and rinderpest. Campaigners hope polio will be the third.

world-africa-13890418

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13890418

Mozambique profile - Leaders

President: Filipe Nyusi

Former defence minister Filipe Nyusi won the presidential election in October 2014 and was inaugurated in January 2015. As candidate of the ruling Mozambican Liberation Front's (Frelimo) he took 57% of the vote, well ahead of his nearest rival Afonso Dhlakama, the leader of the main opposition Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) party, with 37%. Renamo - which fought Frelimo in a long civil war which ended in 1992 and resulted in an estimated one million deaths - disputed the result. It boycotted the first sitting of parliament since the elections and threatened to form a parallel government. Frelimo has dominated politics in Mozambique since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. But despite Mr Nyusi's win, the party saw a sharp decline in votes compared to the previous election in 2009 when predecessor Armando Guebuza scored a massive 75%. In contrast, Mr Dhlakama's 37% has seen Renamo more than double the 16% it achieved in 2009. Despite holding the high-profile position of defence minister for several years, Nyusi was seen as somewhat of an unknown entity before the elections. Born in 1959, he hails from the gas-rich far northern province of Cabo Delgado near Tanzania. Mechanical engineering His parents were veterans of the country's civil war and he was educated at a Frelimo party school set up for the children of fighters. He went on to study mechanical engineering at a Czech university before taking a post-graduate course in management at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. On his return to Mozambique in 1992, he worked for a number of years at the country's main rail and ports company, Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique (CFM), rising through the ranks to become the firm's executive director in the northern region. Although credited as a protege of predecessor Armando Guebuza, Mr Nyusi does not hold a senior position in Frelimo. During his election campaign, he promised to continue the work of his predecessors, describing himself as industrious and pledging to turn the country's fortunes around. Mozambique is one of Africa's fastest-growing economies with billions of dollars worth of natural resources. But it remains one of the world's poorest countries. On taking office, one of the toughest challenges said to be facing Mr Nyusi was turning the nation's new found prosperity into jobs, services and infrastructure and by doing so, potentially stemming the decline in Frelimo's popularity.

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How updating Dolly Parton's Jolene helped Raye find her voice

Heartbreak is the foundation of pop music.

By Mark SavageBBC music reporter Whether it results in the bruised desperation of Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2U, or the righteous fury of Adele's Rolling In The Deep, nothing lights the spark of creativity faster than the flames of love flickering out. At this point, there aren't many fresh approaches to the topic - but Dolly Parton's Jolene takes a more unusual approach. Instead of shedding tears or vowing revenge, Parton's song is about two women: The mistress who holds the power, and the wife who is begging her to relinquish it. The song's been covered more than 30 times, including a fantastically messy version by The White Stripes, but the storyline has rarely been imitated... until now. Last year, pop singer Raye found herself in the same situation as Parton and the red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband in the 1960s. There was just one difference: The Queen of Country got her man back. Raye wasn't so lucky. "Somebody came along and whisked him away from my grasp," she tells the BBC. "My heart was broken for a hot little second." Heading into the studio, she tried to capture "that feeling of panic you have when you know you're losing someone" in a song. The result is Natalie Don't - a funky, modern successor to Parton's classic. Jolene even gets a namecheck in the bridge, while the music makes subtle nods to I Will Survive and Unbreak My Heart. Despite the subject matter, Raye is buzzing about the single. "This is the reason I love music - because every negative thing becomes something beautiful," she says. "Making the song I just remember jumping around the studio like a kangaroo on Red Bull. "It's really light and fluffy. A sad concept over a really funky bassline. I feel I've stumbled on a sound." That last statement is surprising, because Raye isn't exactly short on hits. The singer, born Rachel Keen in 1997, scored her first top five single in 2016 with You Don't Know Me, and has gone on to work with everyone from Stormzy and David Guetta to Beyoncé. Last year, she won a prestigious songwriting honour at the BMI Awards; and she's currently in the top 10 with the Regard collaboration Secrets. But the 22-year-old has been on a steep learning curve since her first EP came out six years ago. In an early interview, she told BBC 1Xtra that she "had to evolve and compromise in order to find an audience" - but that meant straying from the Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott albums that inspired her towards a more club-orientated sound. As a "young, vulnerable, inexperienced woman" in the music industry, she says, "you are guided by everyone around you, maybe unintentionally, to look at everything that is successful and be like it". "People are scared behind the scenes to do something different. Because it's a business, risk is negative. And I was swayed left and right trying to keep those people happy. "I went through a lot of different hairstyles, a lot of different clothes, a lot of different stylists going, 'I don't know what I am. Where do I fit in?' "My label said I needed to have a look, I needed to have something consistent. And then I found it. It's just me." You can not only hear the transformation in her music - which now combines her love of dance music with those classic soul influences - but you see it in her appearance. Over the last year, Raye has ditched the hoodies and bleached curls that characterised her early press shots, in favour of vintage dresses and short brown hair that's swept back into Hollywood waves. "I feel like I'm ready and the music's ready," she smiles. "It's been a long time coming." The singer's confidence comes from a position of power. After six years, she's written enough hits (for herself and others) to shun bad advice. She's also using her influence to change the dynamic in writing rooms and recording sessions - which, she says, are still predominantly "male-oriented". 'He tried to put his hand between my legs' Recently, she's teamed up with a recording engineer called Jenna Felsenthal, who she met while working on Beyoncé's Lion King album, and now accompanies her on every job. "Jenna's super-talented and we really clicked," enthuses the singer. "So I said, 'Would you be down to engineer for me when you have off days?' And she said, 'I'm down to do it full time'. "I just love getting women involved, especially in roles where they're not predominant - like the tech side and the engineering side. It's really important to be employing women in these positions as much as possible." Distressingly, she has first-hand experience of what can happen when young women are abandoned in studios with male collaborators. When she was just 17, Raye was flown to Los Angeles to work with an A-list producer who started acting "weird" and "erratic". "I'm thinking; 'What the hell have I walked into?'" she told the i Newspaper in 2018. "Next thing I know... he tries to put his hands in between my legs. "I called my manager and left straight away. Then I cried and cancelled my session the next day. But this happens to girls in studios all the time. All the time." Those experiences inspired another song, Ice Cream, which - aside from a few live performances - remains unreleased. "He should have been arrested, goddamn," sings Raye over simple piano chords. "Everything he did left me in a ruin." "Every time I perform that song, I cry my eyes out," says the singer. "Not only for me, but for the injustice. Almost every woman I know, every girl I know, has encountered some sort of sexual abuse, "I've seen people thriving, getting straight As, who go to being unable to turn up to school. It's so messed up." As with Natalie Don't, Raye used the song to turn an "ugly and horrible" situation into a positive. The chorus is defiant and resilient: "I'm a brave, strong woman - and I'll be damned if I let a man ruin how I walk, how I talk, how I do it". "It took me a long time to be able to be strong enough to write that," says Raye. "It's hard to talk about - but if we don't talk about it, then people aren't becoming aware. It's the same thing that's happening with Black Lives Matter." 'Light skin privilege' Indeed, the singer has been equally vocal about the resurgent civil rights movement in recent weeks, directing scathing messages towards people who utter the phrase "all lives matter", and discussing her experiences as a light-skinned woman of Ghanaian-Swiss-English heritage. The issue of "light skin privilege" isn't one that receives a lot of attention in the mainstream media - and Raye felt it was important to address how it affected her while growing up in Croydon in South London. "I used to have really thick, curly black hair at primary school, and I used to feel un-pretty because the boys would fancy the girls with blonde hair and blue eyes," she says. "I actually dyed my hair blonde because of that, which is kind of crazy. "But then I went to high school and they'd call us 'lighties'. I'd hear boys saying to my friends, 'You're pretty for a black girl,' but because I had lighter skin I would experience a privilege that my black friends did not. "So it would be easy for me to sit there and be like, 'Black Lives Matter and I'm black,' because I do identify with my black heritage. My grandma raised me, she's black African with a thick accent, speaks Twi around the house, cooks Jollof rice. I really identify with my black culture. "However, it would be unfair of me to not acknowledge that, although I've had a lot of unfortunate things happen to me because of the colour of my skin, it's nowhere near as bad as what I've seen my black family and my black friends experience." Prejudice towards lighter skin is still rife in the music industry, she adds. "There are only a very, very few dark-skinned women in positions of real influence like SZA and Nao and Normani," she says. "So when a black woman is rising, we have to do everything to support them and champion them and give them platforms to be huge." Such messages of feminism and empowerment have underpinned several of Raye's singles - "Time is money, so don't mess with mine," she sings on You Don't Know Me - but her next EP will be focusing solely on affairs of the heart. "It is basically a seven-track project about the seven stages of loss," she says. "It's called Her Heart Beats in 4/4 - and I am very excited about it." The EP opens with Love Again, a prototypical break-up song written about her ex-partner while she was on tour with US R&B star Khalid last year. "I was literally crying my eyes out once a week going, 'I wish he was here seeing this, I miss him so much!' It was so pathetic." The EP moves from that initial shock to denial, guilt and bargaining (Natalie Don't appears here), before entering the final stretch of depression, reconstruction and acceptance, on a song called Walk On By. "I've been heartbroken for two years and I'm finally out the other side and happy and single," beams the singer. "It feels amazing." Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].

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Satire: What is it exactly?

Exposing people's stupidity.

By Rick KelseyNewsbeat reporter That's the definition of satire in the Oxford Dictionary. Charlie Hebdo used it to mock political figures, religion and celebrities. It may have cost 12 people their lives in an attack on the magazine's Paris headquarters. In 2006 some Muslims were angered when Charlie Hebdo reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. They had originally appeared in a Danish paper. But the magazine hasn't just made jokes about Muslims - it recently poked fun at the Pope and the Catholic church as well as Jewish leaders. In the UK, there's no direct equivalent. The best known satirical magazine is Private Eye. It uses cartoons to mimic political issues. Even if you don't buy Private Eye, satire is something you probably see every day. There are thousands of channels dedicated to satire on YouTube. It is often seen as controversial because it challenges people's perceptions on reality. Many writers and comics hope this style of journalism can encourage the groups it highlights to change. Recent Sony film The Interview was pulled from most cinemas after the company received hacking threats. The movie depicted North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as a small, sheltered leader who cries when he hears Katy Perry songs. Comedy satire has been used in The Simpsons to joke about practically everything. Four years ago it poked fun at its host broadcaster calling Fox News "Not Racist, But No.1 With Racists". Television comedy has always liked using satire to taunt religion. In Monty Python's Life Of Brian, the lead character was born at the same time as Jesus and was proclaimed to be the messiah on the cross. But in the past the use of satire towards the Prophet Muhammed has been censored. The Koran does not explicitly forbid images of the Prophet but some Muslims believe that visual depictions of all the prophets of Islam should not be allowed. An episode of South Park was edited after the original depicted an image of the prophet in a programme to mark its 200th episode. Satire in comedy continues but its boundaries could move as people become more concerned about what may happen because of their work. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

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Brexit: 'More talks' pledge helps May in perception war

Did anything change? Not that much.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter But for Downing Street, this has not been a pointless stop-off in the almost never-ending Brexit adventure. Because, while there hasn't been a breakthrough, the EU has agreed to more talks, which at least opens up the possibility of discussing the changes to the troubled backstop that has caused such political difficulty. It might not sound like much, but "we can talk", is at least a different message to "this is over" . In the perception war, which is, of course, part of this whole battle, Theresa May didn't leave Brussels with nothing. And in these torrid times, given the last summit before Christmas, (remember, nebulous?) going home with a process, if not a promise, counts for something. That does not, for the avoidance of doubt, remotely make the prime minister's next steps easy. The EU's suggestion that a compromise with Labour might sound tempting and practical. It's also a step forward for some Tory MPs who are pushing for a softer compromise. But as we've discussed here so many times, moving to a softer Brexit could result in the downfall of the government, it could be that simple. David Lidington and Keir Starmer might sit down to talk within days, but there are evidently costs for both of the main Westminster parties if they work together to get this deal through. On the EU side, where so many governments are coalitions, the idea of cross-party working has an inevitable logic. But at this stage, straightforwardly, that is not the government's chosen way out. As things stand, the Opposition wants to find compromise and the European Union wants to talk. Sounds good? It doesn't work like that. Because the interpretation of the political reality in most of the government, is that Theresa May won't shift to meet Labour, not yet. And Brussels won't move yet to meet her. And as the clock runs down, the pressure on the prime minister goes up and up with no obvious way out. But making a big switch simply carries too many political risks, at this stage. Just keeping going doesn't sound like a cunning political strategy but perhaps, right now, it's the only and best plan.

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Cuba profile - Leaders

President: Raul Castro

Raul Castro, the world's longest-serving defence minister, took over as president in February 2008, succeeding his ailing brother Fidel, who had been in power for five decades. Raul Castro became acting president 18 months earlier when his brother was incapacitated, and was formally named as president by the National Assembly days after Fidel announced his retirement. After being re-elected by the single-party National Assembly in February 2013, Raul announced his intention to stand down at the end of his second term in 2018. He had earlier called for a two-term limit and age caps for political offices, including the presidency, and eased out a number of his brother's elderly appointees in July 2013. Fidel Castro brought revolution to Cuba in the 1950s and created the western hemisphere's first Communist state. His beard, long speeches, cigar, army fatigues and defiance of the United States earned him iconic status across the globe. Raul, 76 at the time of this appointment, has been his brother's trusted right-hand man and was once known as an iron-fisted ideologue who executed Fidel Castro's orders - and enemies - ruthlessly. Under his leadership, Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces became one of the most formidable fighting forces in the Third World with combat experience in Africa, where they defeated South Africa's army in Angola in 1987. A capable administrator, Raul Castro substantially cut the size of the army after the collapse of Soviet Communism threw Cuba into severe economic crisis. He introduced Western business practices to help make the armed forces self-sufficient. The military has a large stake in the most dynamic sectors of the Cuban economy, including tourism. Raul Castro has also eased some restrictions on personal freedoms by lifting bans on mobile phones and home computers, and abolished the need of citizens to buy expensive exit visas when travelling abroad as tourists. Following the election of US President Barack Obama, he said he was willing to respond to overtures from Washington and enter into dialogue with the US administration, but insisted that Cuba's Communist system remained non-negotiable. In a surprise development in December 2014, President Castro and US President Barack Obama announced moves to normalise diplomatic relations between their two countries, severed for more than 50 years. A first round of historic, high-level talks between the two sides took place in Havana in January 2015.

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Is this really a green revolution?

Is this the start of a green revolution?

Simon JackBusiness editor@BBCSimonJackon Twitter Revolutions are often born out of crises and the government's long awaited plan to start a green industrial revolution is a central part of its ambition to "build back better" after the economic shock of the coronavirus crisis. But does this plan deliver? The eye-catching and headline-grabbing abolition of new petrol and diesel cars a decade earlier than originally planned has been welcomed by environmental groups. It puts the UK toward the front of the pack in the electric vehicle race and was also widely expected in a year when the UK needed to demonstrate the kind of leadership required of the next hosts of the world's biggest environment summit COP 26. Investment in capturing carbon at the point it is burnt and burying it deep underground has also been seen as an essential part of the roadmap to net zero. There was also money for new nuclear - big and small - and a drive to make new homes more efficient by retro-fitting old ones with better insulation, or replacing old gas boilers with new electric pumps which convert and concentrate heat underground into central heating for our homes. A pilot to replace 600,000 home heating systems a year by 2028 sounds like a lot - but it's hard to exaggerate the scale and cost of the task involved in replacing 25 million gas boilers. If that happens, this will be a revolution that won't be about international summits, climate protests, or huge and distant infrastructure projects. It's a revolution that is coming to our front doors and inside our cupboards. A mini revolution? Heating is the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions, and the Committee on Climate Change says this will be the hardest nut to crack and on its own could cost up to £500bn. That's the problem for many. Today's commitment of £4bn in new money seems like a very small sum to be considered evidence that a "revolution" is under way. In its defence, the government will rightly point out that a little bit of government money and political will can generate a lot of private investment. It will also point to the fact that the Covid crisis has limited its ability to commit right now to future spending. Critics cry that if there is a bigger crisis than coronavirus, it is climate change and there are no vaccines for this one on the horizon. But in one way there is a mini-revolution here. In the past, and in the parsimonious eyes of treasury officials, green stuff = cost. There is now a new orthodoxy that green stuff = jobs. The government is very keen for these measures to be seen as not only steps towards hitting a climate target but a way of creating jobs in a post-Covid world. The bigger the project, the more jobs it creates, the more favourably the government will look at it. That's a new shade of green for a Conservative government.

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China corruption campaign: On Zhou Yongkang's trail

Where is Zhou Yongkang?

Carrie GracieBBC China editor@BBCCarrieon Twitter A question all of China is asking but I didn't expect an elderly man to stop by the pond in Zhou's home village and press me for answers. Until recently one of China's most powerful politicians, Zhou Yongkang has simply disappeared, presumed victim of the Orwellian security apparatus he once controlled. In this picture-postcard scene complete with ducks on the pond and hens on the green, the whitewashed family compound was giving nothing away to the trickle of scandal-hunters loitering at the gate. And in faraway Beijing, Zhou's name has not been mentioned in the official media for seven months. Why should we care? After all, this is a man who retired 18 months ago and who even most Chinese wouldn't recognise. If he's come unstuck in the kind of palace politics he once played so well, his prison cell will be no worse than those he forced so many others into during his years running a brutal security system. But stand back from the hens and the ducks and listen to the deafening silence from Party high command. Zhou Yongkang's story goes to the heart of China's stability and reform momentum. The fight to bring him down is the politics to watch. Most feared Zhou Yongkang's career is a Chinese style rags-to-riches fairytale. His family were hard-pressed farmers who fished for eels to supplement their income. The parents encouraged their three sons to study and the eldest repaid them by going to university and becoming an oil engineer. He accelerated through Party ranks to run China's biggest oil company and then a province of 80 million, crowning his career with a seat at the Party's top table and control of the vast internal security apparatus. Beyond his home village, he could never have claimed to be the most loved man in China but until 18 months ago he could claim to be the most feared. At that point Zhou's luck changed. Xi Jinping took up the leadership of the Communist Party and announced a campaign against corruption. A war on "tigers as well as flies", he warned. Zhou Yongkang is his chosen tiger. But why go looking for a fight with a dangerous predator? Taking on the tiger "Three reasons," says political analyst Deng Yuwen. We were talking over a game of 'go', the board game of black and white stones that strategists have been playing for 2,000 years because it sharpens their wits for the real game of politics. "The first reason for taking on this tiger is to consolidate power and gain respect. "The second is to push forward reform. There are lots of powerful people in government whose wealth is not clean, and they all have a vested interest in the status quo. "If you want to reform the economy now, you have to find a place to break through their lines. Zhou Yongkang is that place. "The third reason is to improve the image of the Communist Party." This all makes sense to me. On consolidating power, China's one-party political cycle offers no electoral mandate to an incoming president. Taking out a rival with a corruption trial clears space for one's own people and policies. Reform also adds up. After a decade of delaying vital changes, China needs political direction. The incoming leadership seems resolved to restructure an economic model which has seen stunning growth for 30 years but which most agree is unsustainable. One of the most unsustainable things about it is the stranglehold of state behemoths in key sectors, many of them controlled by the Party elite. Remove them and Xi has room to reform. Witness the purge of Zhou Yongkang's placemen from the oil and gas industry over recent months. As for improving the image of the Communist Party, this, too, is urgent. It's hard to exaggerate the depth of public cynicism about the political class. We're not talking about a Westminster expenses scandal over the odd duck house or extra apartment. As the Chinese economy has surged, senior Party officials have used their monopoly on power to plunder billions from the public purse, many hiding their fortunes in offshore accounts and foreign assets. 'Plucking fur' In Zhou Yongkang's case, the respected financial journal Caixin has traced a web of business interests which it says made the Zhous spectacularly rich. Now assets have been seized. Family members, drivers, bodyguards, secretaries and proteges have all been detained. While Zhou Yongkang's name is unspoken in the media, there is an almost daily scandal feed about allies from his networks of influence, whether in the energy sector, in Sichuan province or in the security system. "Xi is plucking the fur from the tiger," says Deng Yuwen, sweeping one of my poorly-defended troop formations from the go board as if to demonstrate how it's done. But it's hard to judge whether the public will draw the conclusion Xi Jinping wants from all of this. How much Party scandal can they bear? Last year saw the trial of former Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai, a spectacle which lifted the lid on the crime, corruption and downright depravity that passed for politics in one of China's largest cities. But Bo Xilai was only on the Politburo, i.e. in the squad but not the first team. If Zhou faces trial on corruption charges, he will be the most senior leader to do so since the Communists took power in 1949. Serious brand damage for the Party. Xi Jinping has two other vital calculations. Cornered Since the beginning of the reform era, members of the Standing Committee have left each other's families and business interests alone. They all remember the purges and show trials of their parents' generation and know from experience that doing their dirty washing in public leads to bloodletting and chaos. Now Xi Jinping has broken that pact and the other top families will ask each other who is safe and who is next. Also, a cornered tiger is still a dangerous tiger. The former security chief knows all the innermost secrets of the elite, including plenty about Xi Jinping's family which might be damaging if made public. Zhou may be cornered but he still has claws that could do Xi Jinping a mortal injury. As Deng Yuwen puts it: "If he tries to fight Zhou to the death, Zhou will take him and the Party to the bottom. They will die together. "Xi has to leave Zhou a stake in keeping the Party afloat. That's what they're fighting over now." On the go board, I conceded defeat to Deng Yuwen and we poured the black and white stones back into their woven baskets. As the weeks and months go by without a clear outcome, the battle on the big board remains the one to watch. Everyone is waiting uneasily to see whether this president can tame his tiger.

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Leaked Clegg letter escalates childcare row

The row over childcare deepens.

James LandaleDeputy political editor@BBCJLandaleon Twitter I have obtained a copy of an exchange of letters between childcare minister Liz Truss and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, last December. It makes clear that Ms Truss flagged up the change in ratios of carers to children as "the most high profile of my proposals". Mr Clegg in his reply just before Christmas gives her the clearance to press ahead with the consultation as long as it proved affordable within the Education department's budgets. Some Tory sources ask why Mr Clegg did not raise his concerns about safety and impracticality at the time. They also claim that Mr Clegg agreed to the new childcare ratios and it was simply the new levels of qualifications that were up for consultation. But the Lib Dems insist that Mr Clegg signed up to a consultation, not a policy, and they are simply responding to the concerns many thousands of people have raised. It was never disputed, they say, that Mr Clegg backed the consultation. Who ever said policymaking in coalition was easy?

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Germany profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

800 - Emperor Charlemagne, Frankish ruler of France and Germany, crowned Roman emperor by Pope Leo III. 843 - Break-up of Frankish empire; Germany emerges as separate realm. 962 - German King Otto I crowned Roman emperor after gaining control of northern Italy; beginning of what became known as Holy Roman Empire centred on Germany. 1250 - Death of Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen marks virtual end of central authority and acceleration of empire's collapse into independent princely territories. 1438 - Election of Albert I marks beginning of Habsburg dynasty based in Austria. 1517 - Martin Luther proclaims Ninety-Five Theses against traditional church practices; start of Protestant split from Catholic Church. Early modern Germany 1618-1648 Thirty-Years' War: failure of Habsburg emperors' attempt to restore Catholic dominance and imperial authority against opposition of Protestant princes; 1648 Treaty of Westphalia confirms near total independence of territorial states. 1806 - Napoleon's armies impose French rule over much of Germany; Francis II declares abolition of Holy Roman Empire and adopts title of emperor of Austria. 1813 - Defeat of Napoleon at Battle of Leipzig. 1848 - Year of Revolutions; failure of liberals' attempt to unite Germany under democratic constitution; start of period of rapid industrialisation. 1871 - Otto von Bismarck achieves unification of Germany under leadership of Prussia; new German Empire's authoritarian constitution creates elected national parliament, but gives emperor extensive powers. 1888 - Start of William II's reign; start of trend towards colonial expansion and build-up of navy to compete with Britain's; rapid growth of economic power. 1890 - Growing workers' movement culminates in founding of Social Democratic Party of Germany. 1914-1918 - World War I 1918 - Germany defeated, signs armistice. Emperor William II abdicates and goes into exile. 1919 - Treaty of Versailles: Germany loses colonies and land to neighbours, pays large-scale reparations. Beginning of the Weimar Republic, based on a new constitution. Its early years are marked by high unemployment and rampant inflation. 1923 - Adolf Hitler, head of the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party, leads an abortive coup in a Munich beer hall. France, Belgium occupy the Ruhr over failed reparation payments. Hyperinflation leads to economic collapse. 1929 - Global depression, mass unemployment. Third Reich 1933 - Hitler becomes chancellor. Weimar Republic gives way to a one-party state. Systematic persecution of Germany's Jews escalates. Hitler proclaims the Third Reich in 1934. 1935 - Germany begins to re-arm. Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship. 1938 - Annexation of Austria and Sudetenland. Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) sees orchestrated attacks on Jews and their property as well as synagogues. 1939-1945 - Invasion of Poland triggers World War II. Millions of people of all ages, mostly Jews but also large numbers of Gypsies, Slavs and other races, the disabled, homosexuals and religious dissenters, die as the Nazis implement an extermination policy in the death camps of eastern Europe. 1945 - Germany defeated, Hitler commits suicide. Allies divide Germany into occupation zones. 1945-1946 - Nuremberg war crimes trials see major Nazi figures executed or imprisoned. Country splits 1949 - Germany is divided. The US, French and British zones in the west become the Federal Republic of Germany; the Soviet zone in the east becomes the communist German Democratic Republic. Konrad Adenauer, of the Christian Democrats is West Germany's first chancellor. East Germany is led by Walter Ulbricht. 1950s - Start of rapid economic growth in West Germany. 1955 - West Germany joins Nato; East Germany joins the Warsaw Pact. 1957 - West Germany joins the European Economic Community. 1961 - Construction of the Berlin Wall ends steady flight of people from East to West. 1969 - Social Democrat Willy Brandt becomes chancellor and seeks better ties with the Soviet Union and East Germany under Ostpolitik (eastern policy). 1971 - Walter Ulbricht is succeeded in East by Erich Honecker. 1973 - East and West Germany join the UN. 1974 - Brandt resigns after spy revelations surrounding one of his aides. New Chancellor Helmut Schmidt continues Ostpolitik. Wall tumbles 1982 - Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl becomes chancellor. 1987 - East German leader Erich Honecker pays first official visit to West. 1989 - Mass exodus of East Germans as neighbouring Soviet bloc countries relax travel restrictions. Protests across East Germany lead to rapid collapse of Communist rule. Germans from East and West tear down Berlin Wall. 1990 - East Germans elect pro-unification parliament, state merged into Federal Republic. 1994 - Russian and Allied troops finally leave Berlin. Schroeder years 1998 - General election victory for Social Democrat leader Gerhard Schroeder leads to coalition with Green Party. 2001 June - Government decides to phase out nuclear energy over next 20 years. 2001 November - Chancellor Schroeder survives parliamentary confidence vote over the government's decision to deploy 4,000 troops in the US-led campaign in Afghanistan, Germany's largest deployment outside Europe since World War II. 2002 January - Euro replaces Deutsche Mark. 2002 March - Government pushes controversial immigration bill through upper house of parliament. It allows a limited number of skilled non-EU workers into the country. Schroeder re-elected 2002 September - Schroeder coalition re-elected with sharply reduced majority. 2004 May - Opposition CDU-backed candidate Horst Koehler, former IMF head, elected president. 2004 August/September - Tens of thousands protest in streets, particularly in eastern regions, over government plans to cut unemployment benefit and other welfare and labour reforms. 2005 May - After his party suffers defeat in North Rhein-Westphalia regional election, Chancellor Schroeder announces that he will seek early general elections. Parliament ratifies EU constitution. First female chancellor 2005 November - Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel becomes chancellor in "grand coalition" with Social Democrats after inconclusive elections in September. 2006 November - Unemployment falls below 4 million for the first time in four years. Financial crisis 2008 October - Germany agrees a $68bn plan to save one of the country's largest banks, Hypo Real Estate, from collapse. Germany says it will make as much as 500bn euros available in loan guarantees and capital to bolster the European banking system. 2008 November - Germany is declared to be officially in recession. 2009 February - Parliament approves $63bn stimulus package aimed at shoring up recession-hit economy. 2009 August - Figures are released showing that economy grew by 0.3% in last quarter, bringing country out of recession. 2009 October - Mrs Merkel's CDU seals coalition deal with pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) after parties reach agreement on major tax cut proposals following September general election. 2010 - Official data shows the German economy shrank by 5% in 2009, hit by a slump in exports and investment. Eurozone woes 2010 May - Parliament votes to approve a 22.4bn euro contribution to bail out debt-ridden Greece, prompting widespread public anger. Chancellor Merkel's governing centre-right coalition suffers a defeat in regional elections in North-Rhine Westphalia, thereby losing its majority in the upper house of the federal parliament. 2010 September - Cabinet approves controversial plan to extend lifespan of Germany's nuclear reactors, reversing 2001 decision to phase out nuclear energy by 2021. 2011 January - Provisional figures show the economy grew by 3.6% in 2010, its fastest pace since reunification in 1990. Economists attributed the rate to a recovery in exports. 2011 March - Setback for Chancellor Merkel as her Christian Democrats lose the key state of Baden-Wuerttemberg for the first time in six decades. 2011 May - In further u-turn on nuclear power following crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant, German government says all nuclear power plants will be phased out by 2022. 2011 July - Chancellor Merkel defends her decision to back second huge bail-out for Greece, insisting that it is Germany's historic duty to protect the euro. Growth slows 2012 August - The Federal Constitutional Court partly reverses severe restrictions on military deployments enshrined in the constitution after World War Two, giving the military the right to use weapons in Germany in the event of an assault of "catastrophic proportions", but not to control demonstrations. 2013 May - Figures show that in 2012 Germany experienced its biggest surge in immigration in almost 20 years, with 400,000 "permanent migrants" - people who have the right to stay for more than a year - arriving. 2013 October - Germany withdraws most of its troops from Afghanistan, following a decade in which it was responsible for security in the northern province of Kunduz. 2013 December - Mrs Merkel begins a third term of office as chancellor at the head of a grand coalition with the other main party, the centre-left Social Democrats, after falling short of an overall majority in the September elections. 2014 April - Germany adopts a minimum wage for the first time, setting it at 8.50 euros an hour. Migrant crisis 2015 September - Chancellor Merkel offers temporary asylum to refugees, prompting mass movement of people through Balkans towards Germany in autumn and winter, and stretching European Union Schengen Agreement on abolition of border controls to breaking point in many countries. 2016 January - Sex attacks on hundreds of women in Cologne and other German cities during New Year celebrations by men largely of North African or Arab appearance prompts public backlash against Chancellor Merkel's welcome to migrants. Government takes steps to curb influx. 2016 March - Anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party makes strong showing in three state-level elections, beating Christian Democrats into third place in Chancellor Merkel's home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2016 July - Attacks by migrant Islamic State sympathisers in Wuerzburg and Ansbach leave 17 people injured. 2016 March - Alternative for Germany party makes strong showing in Berlin state elections. 2016 December - Tunisian migrant Anis Amri kills 12 people by driving a hijacked lorry into a crowded Berlin Christmas market. 2017 September - The Alternative for Germany exploits social tensions over migrants to surge into third place at parliamentary elections, behind the much-weakened Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. 2018 March - Chancellor Merkel reforms the "Grand Coalition" with the Social Democrats, after her failure to assemble a government with the pro-business liberal Free Democrats and left-leaning Greens. 2018 August - Violent anti-immigrant protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz after two migrants were detained over a fatal stabbing.

world-europe-55101801

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55101801

Stormont school portraits taking social media by storm

It started with a tweet.

By Laura McDaidBBC News NI When Education Minister Peter Weir visited a County Londonderry primary school on Thursday, the main item on the agenda was a bid for funding to improve the school grounds. St Brigid's in Mayogall is "in dire need of investment", according to principal Mary O'Kane, and so, in an effort to impress the minister ahead of his arrival, primary seven pupils set about painting a series of portraits of ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, which were proudly displayed in the school hallway. Whether or not their endeavours secured the school's future funding remains to be seen, but the eye-catching display, later posted by Mr Weir on social media, provoked great debate amongst Stormont politicians on Friday morning. "Suffice to say some of us come out better than others," he tweeted, with a smiling emoji. Justice Minister Naomi Long was among the first to respond, saying: "I need my eyebrows done." Health Minister Robin Swann replied: "Fantastic display and it looks as if I'm one of my all time heroes, with a beard!" The hero? Mr Benn, an icon of 1970s children's TV. Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill gave a special shout out to the "budding artist" who painted her portrait. "It's fantastic to see the children taking an interest in politics, and I can't wait to meet you all very soon." Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín was the most controversial of interpretations as many saw a resemblance to former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher. She took the comparison on the chin, replying: "Hate the thought of looking like Thatcher but absolutely love these paintings and the creativity of the kids. Well done." Principal Mary O'Kane said she was delighted the pictures had brought "a bit of colour to an otherwise grey morning", on which further Covid restrictions were introduced across Northern Ireland. "It's very obvious who some of them are, for example, Naomi long, but some of us here in the school thought Peter Weir looked more like the GAA pundit Joe Brolly. "It's a bit of fun and all I can say is that there was definitely no offence intended to anyone in the executive and we're glad they all seem to have taken it in good spirit," she said. Mrs O'Kane said the attention has "raised the children's spirits after such a difficult year". "There've been lots of worries and fears being expressed by the children this week - is Christmas going to be okay? Are we going to get our presents? Are we going to see our grandparents? So this has boosted morale for the whole school on what would otherwise have been a fairly bleak morning." She also confirmed that Sinn Féin's Sean McPeake had not been elevated to ministerial status, but was included in the poster because he is a local councillor and is on the school's board of governors. An invite to Stormont "He has always really encouraged the inclusion of politics in the school curriculum as he believes it will make the children politically astute as adults, so we thought he deserved a place on the poster." Mr McPeake welcomed the apparent promotion with a tweet that read simply: "Brilliant Lavey kids!" The portraits have won the class a tour of Stormont when it reopens. In his invitation, Finance Minister Conor Murphy thanked the students for "brightening my day" with a depiction which drew comparison to former US president Bill Clinton. He added: "I am particularly grateful as the painting of me is a serious improvement on the real thing." And although the paint has barely dried on the first installation, a second was being curated on Friday morning with a different theme - BBC presenters. "They heard it suggested on Good Morning Ulster and that was all the incentive they needed, so they're working away in there and Mr Stephen Nolan is already underway. And I have to say that the one everybody wanted to paint was the very handsome Barra Best - they were fighting over him." The results? Judging by the efforts seen by BBC News NI late on Friday, the school's budding Van Goghs have once again brushed up a storm. Judge for yourself below.

world-asia-china-31979584

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-31979584

China week: Hunting corrupt 'foxes'

I had a dream.

Carrie GracieChina editor@BBCCarrieon Twitter Not of the Martin Luther King variety, nor exactly a nightmare. No, it was a prosaic dream about the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC), the advisory body which sits alongside the National People's Congress and repeats what it is told. In my dream, I was in a hall with a BBC colleague from the Middle East, and suddenly I was called on to speak. I got up, rather flurried and my colleague asked what I was going to talk about. "The CPPCC," I said, at which point he burst out laughing. In my dream, I didn't see the funny side, but then in the layered way of dreams, I noticed that not seeing the funny side was actually the problem. What was wrong with me? And when I woke up and reflected on this dream, the same question was uppermost: Why would a sane person dream about the CPPCC? Is this a diagnosable syndrome? Will it follow a pattern of deterioration until I am dreaming about "the four comprehensives"? Is there a support group out there for me? Lianghui lockdown aftermath: grey skies and tiger traps I may not be alone in needing the support group. Every year Beijing goes into political lockdown for the liang hui, "the two meetings", annual sessions of the CPPCC and the National People's Congress. Three dramatic things happened on Sunday as soon as this lockdown was lifted: Beijing's air quality deteriorated, a disgraced PLA general was pronounced dead and a handful of top delegates were detained at their hotels before they had time to leave the capital. Among Beijingers, there was predictable cynicism about political control of the skies, and rumours circulated about when exactly the former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou had died, with some suggesting he'd actually passed away a week earlier. Both stories reinforced the popular conviction that Beijing will go to great lengths to ensure perfect harmony for the liang hui. And the most newsworthy story from the liang hui aftermath was the hotel detentions. I wish I'd seen that. I'd been inches from these tigers only hours earlier, standing on the steps of the Great Hall of the People on Sunday morning trying to gather political opinion as they were filing in for the NPC closing ceremony. If only I'd known, for example, that the vice-party secretary of Yunnan was going to turn into a tiger by lunchtime I would have made an effort to find him in the throng. Qiu He is an interesting case. With a public profile as an anti-corruption crusader and a market reformer, he had famously published officials' phone numbers to try to improve transparency, he'd privatised hospitals and schools, and avoided extravagant dining. So why did the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection come looking for him on Sunday in his Beijing hotel? The answer may very well be political, involving bigger tigers and a bigger fight. But when we hear the case against Mr Qiu, it will probably focus on a real estate rush to the head and a posse of carpetbagging developers from his native Jiangsu. With the property market slowing in Yunnan as elsewhere, Kunming has been left with a skyline of half-built high rises. Since news of Qiu He's downfall, the Jiangsu businessmen in Yunnan have become hard to reach, perhaps busy packing their bags, afraid that they'll be caught in the net. And perhaps more importantly, how many up-and-coming reformers who show personal initiative and energy can the party afford to lose? Qiu He is just the latest in what's becoming a striking list. 'Fox hunt' There are so many interesting corruption stories this week, but we don't have all day. So just a quick mention of the most intriguing: reports that Wang Qishan, right hand man to the president and head of the Communist Party's corruption watchdog, is planning to go "fox hunting" in the United States. Operation Fox Hunt is the codename for the attempt to track down and extradite corrupt officials who have fled abroad with their ill-gotten gains. If Wang Qishan goes to Washington DC it will be interesting to learn who he's after and to watch the US government response. Which reminds me, I heard this week from an authoritative source that the Chinese government has asked the British government for help extraditing about 50 foxes who've gone to ground in the UK. Other fox-hunting destinations are Australia, Canada and France, all places with good air quality and education for fox cubs. Just space for a couple of other stories that caught my eye. Third largest arms exporter China has overtaken Germany in arms sales, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But the same report says the US still accounts for 31% of sales volume and Russia 27%. China is a distant third with 5%. And as it moves up it will be keeping an eye on Japan, which has relaxed restrictions on arms exports and has much to sell. The pen is mightier than the sword After January's fulminations from the education minister against "erroneous Western values" in textbooks and classrooms, it's no surprise that universities have now received a notice from the Ministry of Education instructing them to intensify checks on textbooks from overseas. The notice refers particularly to books in social sciences. It requires local education departments to report back on problems, explaining that the response "should be objective and truthful… and include specific cases". Target subjects include journalism and communications, economics and sociology. When I discussed the textbook purge with a university teacher in Beijing, he said he was frustrated. "They tell us they want world-class universities and cutting-edge innovation, but how can we achieve that with this kind of nonsense going on?" Big number for the week? One that caught my eye: in the first two months of 2015, China's online retail sales amounted to 475 billion yuan, an increase of 44.6% year-on-year. Message: if you're in retail you need to be in online retail. Anyone want to buy a shopping mall in Kunming…?

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https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-10004404

Introducing…The Chapel Club

First, to set the record straight.

By Greg CochraneNewsbeat music reporter Their bass player's a homeless "exotic pet", they've only played four gigs and they were rumoured to be signed for big bucks. Meet the London eerie-rockers who aren't the new White Lies. In December east London-based fivesome The Chapel Club were rumoured to have been signed for, what some places were calling, "comedy sized sums of cash" after playing a series of just three shows at their local pub. "The truth is," says lead singer Lewis Bowman, "this whole thing about massive deals is really not true. "All this stuff about bags of cash is ridiculous. Our bass player hasn't even got a house. I think yesterday he has £18 in his bank. "I think it just created a fuss because there aren't that many A&R scrambles these days." Indeed, that clutch of gigs saw some people splitting hairs, but not the band. "Our manager was screwing, he was like, 'Why are all these industry (people) here?' He wanted to just see how we'd go. Suddenly everything was going mad." 'On tour' Rumours well and truly quashed, and a deal penned with Universal, today Bowman is rehearsing with his band mates Michael Hibbert (guitar), Liam Arklie (bass), Alex Parry (guitar) and Rich Mitchell (drums) in a practice space underneath a dingy railway arch. With second single O Maybe I now unleashed (debut Surfacing came at the end of last year) they're preparing for their first UK tour in February. "I'm really not a typical guy in a band I don't think," says Bowman. "What I mean is, the idea of touring and never washing is really not my thing. "The only thing which gets me through the idea of what's ahead is the fact that the guys make me laugh." Despite their austere appearance and eerie, ominous indie tales they boil up they're having the time of their lives. Especially looking after bassist Liam. "He's a law unto himself," laughs Bowman affectionately. "He operates on a whole different wave length to anyone I've ever met - he's amazing. "He hasn't got a house, he doesn't live anywhere. He's just itinerant; he just wanders across the city staying on people's sofas. You can't look after him because he's never in your orbit for long enough. "He's never got any money but he's always got a new tattoo - he lives his life his own way. He's like a pet in a way, like an exotic pet." When the fivesome can get in a room together they're quickly piecing together their debut album which they hope they'll complete in time for a 2010 release. 'Not accurate' In the meantime they're fending off all the tagging and chatter that surrounds being a fiercely touted new band. In their case, denying they're this year's White Lies. "I don't want to accuse anyone of being lazy but I also don't think it's accurate," he says. "We keep getting called doom-poppers or gloom-rockers or whatever people say. "One thing we thought was that it might not fit in with what's going on right now. London can be scenestery and trend led. We don't necessarily fit into any of the existing brackets." Truth is, you're more likely to find them listening to Sonic Youth, New Order and Simon & Garfunkel, even Mos Def and Jay-Z, than copying anything that's recently gone before them. "Maybe one day I'd be able to ghost write raps for real rappers," wonders Bowman. Indeed, that could be where he really strikes gold. If Chapel Club don't do it first.

world-africa-14112299

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14112299

Uganda profile - Leaders

President: Yoweri Museveni

Yoweri Museveni has been in office for more than a quarter of a century, having seized power at the head of a rebel army. He won fresh terms in office in presidential elections in February 2011 and 2016, having amended the constitution in 2006 to remove the previous limit on the number of terms a president could serve. The opposition, along with Commonwealth, US and European Union observers, complained about the fairness and transparency of these elections. Mr Museveni has been credited with restoring relative stability and economic growth to Uganda following years of civil war and repression under Milton Obote and Idi Amin before him. Mr Museveni co-founded one of the rebel groups which, with the help of Tanzanian troops, ousted Idi Amin in 1979. He then formed a new rebel army which eventually seized power in 1986. His National Resistance Movement (NRM) ran Uganda as a one-party state until a referendum brought back multi-party politics in 2005. He won presidential elections in 1996, and again in 2001, 2006 and 2011. He has faced UN criticism his role in the conflict in DR Congo between 1998 and 2003. More recently Uganda has been accused of aiding rebels there. The government has also faced growing criticism for failing to take action against senior officials implicated in corruption scandals. There is speculation that Mr Museveni is grooming his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba to succeed him. Born in western Uganda in 1944, Yoweri Museveni studied political science in Tanzania and fought with the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), where he picked up the techniques of guerrilla warfare. Related Internet Links Would Museveni recognise his old self?

business-10890544

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-10890544

Slow recovery at RBS

BBC business editor Robert Peston writes:

Assessing the health of Royal Bank of Scotland is always tricky, because of the complicated way it bought the rump of the Dutch bank ABN in 2007, its desire to shed certain low quality assets and the eccentricities of accounting rules. That said, the semi-nationalised bank does appear to be on the mend - although it's a long way from full strength. In the first half of this year, it went from more-or-less break-even to a profit of £1.1bn - thanks to a £2.4bn drop in the charge for loans and investments going bad, and a rise in the gap between what it charges for loans and what it pays to borrow. That said, the bad debt charge in the operations it wants to keep, its so-called core business, hardly fell at all, and remains at £2.1bn (compared with £2.2bn last year). As for the rise in the so-called interest margin at most of the banks, that may be the next front in politicians' and journalists' attacks on the banks - because it's ammunition for those who complain that banks are charging households and businesses too much for credit. In RBS's retail operations, for example, the interest margin widened from 3.57% to 3.77% (still a long way from the 2004 peak of 4.7%). What of the current pre-occupation of many bank critics, that they are not lending enough to small businesses? Well, RBS - like the other banks - insists that in the current climate it can't lend faster than its customers want to repay their existing debts. So although it provided £14.4bn of gross new loans to small business, net lending to that important part of the economy fell. Update 0744: On the widening of the interest margin, RBS would of course point out that regulators are forcing it to hold more capital relative to assets, which forces it to charge relatively more for loans to maintain its return on capital... You can keep up with the latest from business editor Robert Peston by visiting his blog on the BBC News website.

business-21183984

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-21183984

Healthy people create economic health

Davos is a picture of health.

By Jorn MadslienBBC News, Davos Across the road from the World Economic Forum, a group of children are braving the cold in the ice hockey rink. The scene is framed by a mountain range that is home to one of Switzerland's best and biggest ski resorts. As such, the town could be seen as a blueprint for a future where sickness and disease gives way to healthy, active and wealthy lives. But leave the snow-covered valley and enter the real world, and it soon becomes apparent that the present is very different. Healing the economy In the present, wealth is being squandered on a system that a chief executive of a European pharmaceutical company describes as "a sick system rather than a health system". In fact, treating the sick and the injured, the old and the infirm, is so expensive that it has become a massive barrier to politicians' and business leaders' efforts to nurse the economy back to health. "Disease is the most cost-ineffective thing we do today," says an American professor of medicine and engineering. The system is inefficient, adds a medical diagnostics investor, especially in the US where it accounts for some 18% of government spending - twice that in most Western European countries, and about 20 times more than in many developing countries. Health is the only big-ticket expense item in the US budget that is growing, so it is not only crippling for the economy, but on its way to become unaffordable too, he says. "Sort out the inefficiencies in US healthcare," the investor insists, "and we can repay half the $1tn (£637bn) deficit in a decade." Failure to do so, adds the pharma-chief, could threaten the very solvency of many a healthcare system, even in developed nations in Europe and the US. Technology is key "Healthcare must become more preventive, more affordable, and more personalised," says S D Shibulal, chief executive and managing director of the Indian technology company Infosys, in an interview with BBC News. And to achieve all this, technology is key, he insists. That might sound like the voice of vested interest, but during sessions at this year's World Economic Forum, the view is shared by government ministers and regulators, pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics companies, as well as healthcare operators and private investors. "Digital health is part of the solution," according to one European minister of health. "Some 20%-40% of healthcare spending is wasted due to lack of information." Engage and empower Investing in technology is a clever way to get more bang for each buck, the speakers agree. And the opportunities are almost limitless, ranging from the creation of apps that help people explore health issues on their electronic gadgets, to analysis software for biological data that helps improve the understanding of how the body responds to disease, to kit that makes diagnosis more accurate. "Medical diagnostics equipment accounts for just 1.5% of healthcare spending in the US, yet it forms the basis for 80% of decisions taken by doctors," says the chief executive of a medical diagnostics company. "That cannot be right." One academic from a leading US university says technology can engage and empower patients. For instance, someone with fever could use a disposable kit to test saliva to find out what is wrong with them. The data from the test would go to a national database for research purposes. It would also go to that person's electronic medical folder, where the computer works out what sort of drugs to subscribe based on medical history, other medications taken and so on. Less ambitious projects could be, say, online health education via Skype for villagers in rural India or Africa, perhaps by charitable volunteers in developed nations, or remote diagnostics aided by camera phones, Mr Shibulal suggests. As the spectrum of technologies applied to solve health issues broadens, it could combine to discover disease early when it is cheaper and easier to treat, reduce the use of expensive medication in cases where it has little effect, ensure patients get the right dosage of drugs, improve research into preventative medicine, vaccines and treatment. Much of the data gathering is happening already, according to the medical diagnostics chief. "In the last two years we've probably collected more data than we had in a lifetime before," he says. This, off course, raises questions about data protection, but this is a matter of mindsets rather than of technology, according to several speakers, who seem convinced that people will accept that the benefits outweigh the risks. Fit and healthy Technology without behavioural and cultural change will not be enough, the Davos delegates agree. "Society as a whole needs to stay more healthy, eat more healthy, take exercise, and get enough rest, including sleep," says the chief executive of an Asian pharmaceutical company. The Davos speakers do not agree on how people should be made to do what is best for them, however. Some, such as the investor, would like to see people pay directly for their healthcare because he believes this would make them realise that it would be cheaper for them to exercise than to pay for operations or insurance. Others, such as the European health minister, see it as a societal challenge that should be met with schemes that encourage people to cycle to work or walk to school, or by subsidising sports centres such as Davos's Tourism und Sportzentrum. "Everybody agrees on the destination, but they may not agree on which path to take to get there," laments Mr Shibulal. "It is a multi-stakeholder challenge, so it is going to take time." You can follow Jorn's coverage from Davos on Twitter @jornmadslien.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18815595

Global economy: Who can drive the recovery?

The global economy is faltering.

By Kimiko de Freytas-TamuraBusiness reporter, BBC News In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, countries like Germany, China and Brazil were the engines that kept the global economy expanding, but recent evidence suggests that they are losing steam. The World Bank expects a soft recovery, with global growth of 2.5%. But within that there appears to be a clear divide between developing economies, which are forecast to grow by 5.3%, and advanced economies by just 1.4%. Here is a round-up of the conditions and prospects for the key economies around the world. Who can be relied upon to drive the much-needed recovery? China China's second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure has pointed to a continued slowdown in the Asian powerhouse. Growth fell to 7.6% in April-June period, its worst pace since the depth of the financial crisis and below the 8% target that China aspires to. Considered to be the biggest export market for many companies from the likes of Burberry, Carrefour to BMW, a slow-down would hurt their earnings. Burberry, which banked on China's love of bling (it enjoyed a 30% revenue growth in the country) reported weaker-than-expected first quarter growth, disappointing investors. Cooling growth in China and neighbouring India means the wider Asian region is likely to follow suit (aside from an exception or two like Thailand and the Philippines, which benefit from cheaper labour costs that have lured foreign companies). Beijing in March downgraded its annual growth target to 7.5%, the first time that's dipped below 8% since 2004. The central bank recently slashed interest rates twice in less than a month in a bid to shore up growth. China had until recently been grappling with an overheating economy driven by a property bubble and by the central government's post-crisis spending binge - much of which went into local infrastructure projects. The economy is now burdened with excess capacity and rising debt as unsold goods pile up in warehouses. Caterpillar, the US construction giant, had a drubbing from investors in April when it said sales of construction equipment in China was expected to fall this year. But analysts are hopeful that this marks the bottom for the world's second-largest economy, and that growth will pick up in the third quarter as Beijing loosens monetary policy and deregulates the financial system. Eurozone The euro-sharing region has been a tale of two halves, between the relatively wealthier northerners (Germany, Netherlands, Finland and arguably, France) and struggling southerners (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) that are bogged down by a range of crises (debt, property, banking). It is also a tale of much wrangling, as each camp differs on how to solve the eurozone crisis. The euro has plunged to its lowest level in two years against the dollar as investors fret over weak data and recent rescue plans for the region, including bailing out Spain's banks directly and forming a fiscal and banking union. And the ECB slashed rates for the first time below 1% recently, in efforts to encourage corporate and household borrowing. In order to reassure investors, Spain announced a fresh round of austerity measures including tax hikes and spending cuts, which is squeezing an already squeezed out economy, but they remain unconvinced. But even Germany, which has enjoyed record low levels of unemployment thanks to its manufacturing prowess, has been unable to insulate itself from the sovereign debt crisis plaguing the region. Now, even the labour market is showing slower development. The jobless rate has risen for three consecutive months, reaching 6.8% in June. Meanwhile its double-digit exports to China have shrunk to a mere 6% (although automakers have bucked the trend, thanks to Chinese officials' love of BMWs and Mercedes-Benz cars). Commerzbank, Germany's second biggest lender, recently announced it was closing its real estate and ship finance units. Carsten Brzeski, senior European economist at ING Group said of Germany: "The most solid ship can capsize in a rough thunderstorm." United States The US economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, a sign of persistent weakness in the labour market and a critical issue which could make or break President Barack Obama's re-election chances later this year. The jobless rate has been stuck at 8.2%, although black workers suffer more, with a 14.4% figure. Like its European peers, the US is struggling under piles of debt, which makes up around 70% of GDP. It is also staring at a so-called fiscal cliff, which refers to a combination of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to start at the beginning of next year. The inevitable result would be an austerity-driven recession - a prospect that prompted the Senate's top tax legislator Max Baucus to warn that the economy was on a "dangerous path" that could lead to a European-style fiscal crisis. And, like much of the disagreements that have thwarted a coherent, concerted plan in Europe, both Republicans and Democrats have been unable to agree on a plan that would avoid that dismal outcome. Despite gloomy headline figures, the US economy is forecast to grow 2% this year, the best of the advanced economies - and even more than Brazil. The billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffett said the US was still doing better than "virtually any other big economy" around the world. The US has undertaken a series of unorthodox measures to shore up the economy, its latest being Operation Twist, a bond-buying programme designed to bring down mortgage and loan rates. Investors want more, but they might be disappointed, if recent noises from the US central bank are anything to go by. "There is not much to expect from economic data, there is not much to expect from earnings, so the only thing markets hope for is more quantitative easing, more stimulus from Europe - more stimulus from everywhere," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets. Brazil Government spending and exports of commodities like soy beans and metals to fast-growing countries in Asia, have propelled Brazil's economy to sixth place in the world. But red-hot growth when Latin America's largest economy clocked in a 7.5% growth rate in 2010 appears to have fizzled out. The economy stalled in May following an unexpected drop in retail sales. That heightened fears for what was one of the few bright spots of the world economy, making it the worst performer among Brics nations. Growth in Brazil is predicted to be less than 2% this year, the weakest annual performance since 2009. In response, the government unveiled the first phase of a major economic stimulus package designed to boost growth in the flagging economy. More than $60bn (£38bn) will be invested in the country's roads and railways over the next 25 years, with more than half in the next five years. This includes 8,000 kilometres of new roads and 8,000kms of railways and further investments in ports and airports are expected. The government's recent measures, such as the recent devaluation of the currency, the real, and the progressive reduction in interest rates, have so far failed to stimulate growth. Brazil's growth over the past few years has been based on the expansion of credit and on consumer spending, and is hoping for an economic boost from hosting the Olympic Games in 2016. India India's economy grew at an annual rate of 5.3% between January and March, its slowest pace in nine years. Rising consumer prices have been one of the biggest concerns for India's policymakers over the past two years. The central bank took various measures in a bid to control the rising prices, including raising interest rates 13 times since March 2010. While the inflation rate has come down slightly in recent months, it still remains higher than many of the other emerging economies. According to data released last week, India's wholesale price index, the key measure of consumer prices in the country, rose by 7.55% in May from a year earlier, among the highest of the Bric nations. Analysts say the combination of slowing growth and high inflation has made it difficult for the central bank to formulate its policies. Cutting rates would stimulate growth, but could end up making inflation worse. GDP is expected to grow by 6.5% this year, according to the Asian Development Bank. Its government has vowed to attract more foreign investment and speed up infrastructure and power projects. Japan Once the world's number two economy, Japan is still recovering from last year's devastating tsunami and nuclear crisis. Recent data have shown that Japan, one of the world's top exporters, was not exporting as much as it used to. In fact it has been massively importing - including energy, which has pushed the country's energy bills sky high after Tokyo stopped nuclear reactors. The strong yen has also hurt exporters, making their products more expensive to foreign buyers. However, sentiment is improving. The Tankan survey showed manufacturers were less pessimistic about business conditions. The Bank of Japan forecast the economy would grow 2.2% in the current fiscal year and 1.7% the following year. The rosy growth projections were enough for the central bank to hold off on further easing to boost the economy. "Japan's economic activity has started picking up moderately as domestic demand remains firm mainly supported by reconstruction-related demand" following last year's natural disasters, the Bank of Japan has said. "[But] there remains a high degree of uncertainty about the global economy, including the prospects for the European debt problem... [and] the momentum toward a recovery for the US economy."

world-middle-east-14649284

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14649284

Lebanon profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1516-1918 - Lebanon part of the Ottoman Empire. 1920 September - The League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France, which creates the State of Greater Lebanon out of the provinces of Mount Lebanon, north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Bekaa. 1926 May - Lebanese Representative Council approves a constitution and the unified Lebanese Republic under the French mandate is declared. 1943 March - The foundations of the state are set out in an unwritten National Covenant which uses the 1932 census to distribute seats in parliament on a ratio of six-to-five in favour of Christians. This is later extended to other public offices. The president is to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shia Muslim. Independence 1944 - France agrees to transfer power to the Lebanese government on 1 January. 1958 - Faced with increasing opposition which develops into a civil war, President Camille Chamoune asks the US to send troops to preserve Lebanon's independence. The US sends marines. 1967 June - Lebanon plays no active role in the Arab-Israeli war but is to be affected by its aftermath when Palestinians use Lebanon as a base for attacks on Israel. Civil War 1975 April - Phalangist gunmen ambush a bus in the Ayn-al-Rummanah district of Beirut, killing 27 of its mainly Palestinian passengers. The Phalangists claim that guerrillas had previously attacked a church in the same district. These clashes start the civil war. 1976 June - Syrian troops enter Lebanon to restore peace but also to curb the Palestinians, thousands of whom are killed in a siege of the Tel al-Zaatar camp by Syrian-allied Christian militias in Beirut. Arab states approve of the Syrian presence as an Arab Deterrent Force in October. 1978 - In reprisal for a Palestinian attack, Israel launches a major invasion of southern Lebanon. It withdraws from all but a narrow border strip, which it hands over not to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) but to its proxy South Lebanon Army mainly Christian militia. Israel invades 1982 June - Following the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to Britain by a Palestinian splinter group, Israel launches a full-scale invasion of Lebanon. 1982 September - Pro-Israeli president-elect Bachir Gemayel is assassinated. Israel occupies West Beirut, where the Phalangist militia kills thousands of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps. Bachir's elder brother Amine is elected president. Mainly US, French and Italian peacekeeping force arrives in Beirut. 1983 - Suicide attack on US embassy kills 63 people in April, and another in October on the headquarters of the peacekeepers kills 241 US and 58 French troops. US troops withdraw in 1984. 1985 - Most Israeli troops withdraw apart from the SLA "security zone" in the south. Two governments, one country 1988 - Outgoing President Amine Gemayel appoints an interim military government under Maronite Commander-in-Chief Michel Aoun in East Beirut when presidential elections fail to produce a successor. Prime Minister Selim el-Hoss forms a mainly Muslim rival administration in West Beirut. 1989 - Parliament meets in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to endorse a Charter of National Reconciliation transferring much of the authority of the president to the cabinet and boosting the number of Muslim MPs. Civil war ends 1990 October - The Syrian air force attacks the Presidential Palace at Baabda and Aoun flees. This formally ends the civil war. 1991 - The National Assembly orders the dissolution of all militias, except for the powerful Shia group Hezbollah. The South Lebanon Army (SLA) refuses to disband. The Lebanese army defeats the PLO and takes over the southern port of Sidon. 1992 - After elections in August and September, the first since 1972, wealthy businessman Rafik Hariri becomes prime minister. 1996 April - "Operation Grapes of Wrath", in which the Israelis bomb Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon, southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. UN base at Qana is hit, killing over 100 displaced civilians. Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, with members from US, France, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, set up to monitor truce. Israeli withdrawal 2000 May - After the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israel withdraws its troops from southern Lebanon more than six weeks ahead of its July deadline. 2004 - UN Security Council resolution aimed at Syria demands that foreign troops leave Lebanon. Syria dismisses the move. Parliament extends President Emile Lahoud's term by three years. Weeks of political deadlock end with the unexpected departure of Rafik Hariri - who had at first opposed the extension - as prime minister. Hariri assassinated 2005 February - Rafik Hariri is killed by a car bomb in Beirut. The attack sparks anti-Syrian rallies and the resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karami's cabinet. Calls for Syria to withdraw its troops intensify until its forces leave in April. Assassinations of anti-Syrian figures become a feature of political life. 2005 June - Anti-Syrian alliance led by Saad Hariri wins control of parliament at elections. Hariri ally Fouad Siniora becomes prime minister. 2005 September - Four pro-Syrian generals are charged over the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah and Hariri 2006 July-August - Israel attacks after Hezbollah kidnaps two Israeli soldiers. Civilian casualties are high and the damage to civilian infrastructure wide-ranging in 34-day war. UN peacekeeping force deploys along the southern border, followed by Lebanese army troops for first time in decades. 2006 November - Ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal movement resign shortly before the cabinet approves draft UN plans for a tribunal to try suspects in the killing of the former prime minister Hariri. 2007 May-September - Siege of the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr al-Bared following clashes between Islamist militants and the military. More than 300 people die and 40,000 residents flee before the army gains control of the camp. 2007 May - UN Security Council votes to set up a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of ex-premier Hariri. Syrian detente 2008 May - Parliament elects army chief Michel Suleiman as president, ending six-month-long political deadlock. Gen Suleiman re-reappoints Fouad Siniora as prime minister of national unity government. 2008 October - Lebanon establishes diplomatic relations with Syria for first time since both countries gained independence in 1940s. 2009 March-April - International court to try suspected killers of former Prime Minister Hariri opens in Hague. Former Syrian intelligence officer Mohammed Zuhair al-Siddiq arrested in connection with killing, and four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals held since 2005 freed after court rules there is not enough evidence to convict them. Unity government 2009 June - The pro-Western March 14 alliance wins parliamentary elections and Saad Hariri forms unity government. 2010 October - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah calls on Lebanon to boycott UN Hariri tribunal, saying it is "in league with Israel". 2011 January - Government collapses after Hezbollah and allied ministers resign. 2011 June - Najib Mikati forms cabinet dominated by Hezbollah. The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon issues four arrest warrants over the murder of Rafik Hariri. The accused are members of Hezbollah, which says it won't allow their arrest. 2012 Summer - The Syrian conflict that began in March 2011 spills over into Lebanon in deadly clashes between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in Tripoli and Beirut. 2012 October - Security chief Wissam al-Hassan is killed in car bombing. Opposition blames Syria. 2012 December - Several days of deadly fighting between supporters and opponents of the Syrian president in Tripoli. UN praises Lebanese families for having taken in more than a third of the 160,000 Syrian refugees who have streamed into the country. Border tensions 2013 March - Syrian warplanes and helicopters fire rockets into northern Lebanon, days after Damascus warns Beirut to stop militants crossing the border to fight Syrian government forces. Najib Mikati's government resigns amid tensions over upcoming elections. 2013 April - Sunni Muslim politician Tammam Salam is tasked with forming a new government. 2013 May - At least 10 people die in further sectarian clashes in Tripoli between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vows victory in Syria. Parliament votes to put off elections due in June until November 2014 because of security concerns over the conflict in Syria. 2013 June - A number of people are killed in clashes between Hezbollah gunmen and Syrian rebels within Lebanon. At least 17 Lebanese soldiers are killed in clashes with Sunni militants in the port city of Sidon. 2013 July - European Union lists the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. This makes it illegal for Hezbollah sympathisers in Europe to send the group money, and enables the freezing of the group's assets there. 2013 August - Dozens of people are killed in bomb attacks at two mosques in Tripoli. The twin attacks, which are linked to tensions over the Syrian conflict, are the deadliest in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990. Refugee crisis 2013 September - The United Nations refugee agency says there are at least 700,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon. 2013 November - Double suicide bombing outside Iranian embassy in Beirut kills at least 22 people. It is one of the worst attacks in Shia southern Beirut since the conflict in Syria began. 2013 December - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the Saudi intelligence services were behind the bombings outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Senior Hezbollah commander Hassan Lakkis is shot dead near Beirut. Hezbollah accuses Israel of assassinating him. Israel denies any involvement. Former Lebanese minister and opposition figure Mohamad Chatah - a Sunni Muslim who was also a staunch critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - is killed by a car bomb in central Beirut. 2014 February - Sunni Muslim politician Tammam Salam finally assembles new power-sharing cabinet following 10 months of talks. 2014 April - UN announces that number of Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon has surpassed one million. The accelerating influx means that one in every four people living in Lebanon is now a refugee from the Syrian conflict. 2014 May - President Suleiman ends his term of office, leaving a power vacuum. Several attempts are made in parliament over subsequent months to choose a successor. 2014 August - Syrian rebels overrun border town of Arsal. They withdraw after being challenged by the military but take 30 soldiers and police captive. 2014 September - Prime Minister Salam appeals to world leaders at the UN to help Lebanon face a ''terrorist onslaught'' and the flood of refugees from Syria. 2014 October - Clashes in Tripoli between the army and Islamist gunmen, in a spill-over of violence from the Syrian conflict. 2014 November - Parliament extends own term to 2017, citing Syria-related security concerns. 2015 January - Israel launches air strikes on Syrian side of the Golan, killing Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general. Several clashes ensue across Israeli-Lebanese border. 2015 January - New restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon come into effect, further slowing the flow of people trying to escape the war. 2016 June - Suicide bombings in Al-Qaa, allegedly by Syrian nationals, aggravate already strained relations between Lebanese and more than 1 million Syrian refugees in the country. 2017 June - New electoral law approved by Parliament after much delay. Mass protests 2020 January - Mass protests against economic stagnation and corruption bring down the government of Saad Hariri, who is succeeded by the academic Hassan Diab. 2020 August - Diab government quits after months of protests over falls in the value of the currency and the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown culminate in rioting after a massive chemical explosion in the Beirut port.

entertainment-arts-27587421

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27587421

Looking back at Friends - 10 years later

How you doin'?

Well, maybe you're feeling a little nostalgic, because it's exactly 10 years since the final episode of the most successful sitcom in history aired in Britain. After 10 seasons of watching New York's favourite twenty-somethings fall in love, split up, get hired, get fired, get stranded, get pregnant, we waved farewell to Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe. Because WE WERE ON A BREAK. And those recent rumours of a reunion episode have been scotched because, as Matt LeBlanc, who played the loveable but clueless Joey Tribbiani, observed: "That show was about a finite period of time in life, after college and before your relationship and family starts and where your friends are your support system. "That's what the magic of the show was - everyone goes through that and can relate to that." Things have changed in the decade since. For one, the final episode was actually broadcast in the UK three weeks after it aired in the US - without pirate copies and spoilers flooding the internet. For aficionados, many aspects of the show have passed into legend - but here are 10 things you might not know: 1) The original theme tune was to be REM's Shiny Happy People. It was used in the pilot, when the show was called Friends Like Us, but was replaced by I'll Be There For You, which was co-written by the show's creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and performed by The Rembrandts. It was originally only a minute long, but when a radio DJ made a three-minute loop, the group knew they had to make a full-length rewrite. "Our record label said we had to finish the song and record it. There was no way to get out of it," said lead singer Phil Solem. It reached number one in the US and number three in the UK - where it sold more than 600,000 copies - but it would remain the band's only hit. Their follow-up, This House Is Not A Home, limped into the UK charts at number 58. 2) David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry were such unknown quantities in 1994 that US newspapers tried to promote Courteney Cox as the "star" of the cast - based on her recurring role in the sitcom Family Ties and a fleeting appearance in a Bruce Springsteen video. In fact, Joey and Monica were even supposed to be the main couple. The show's creator Marta Kauffman explained: "They just seemed the most sexual of the characters." 3) Matt LeBlanc was down to his last $11 when he auditioned. He had a cut on his nose from falling over drunk and hitting his face on a toilet seat the night before. When they received their first pay cheques, Courteney Cox, who played Monica, celebrated by buying a Porsche. LeBlanc bought a hot meal. "Friends, when it came my way, was my fourth TV series - and the other three had failed," he said. "I had exactly $11 in my pocket the day I was hired. I had to go back and read for the part of Joey a total of six times. It was far from certain I would get the role." 4) The character of Gunther was meant to be a non-speaking part and he didn't even have a name until the second season. The actor, James Michael Tyler, got the role because he worked in a coffee shop and knew how to operate an espresso machine. He even kept his day job during the first four seasons of Friends. "I had several different types of jobs, but at the time that Friends started, I was working in a coffee shop in Los Angeles called the Bourgeois Pig," said Tyler. "I was a barista there but had been doing extra work off and on for someone who had become the second assistant director on Friends. "He called me up and said: 'Hey, I know you're working at that coffee shop, and we have a coffee shop set in this new show that's gonna go six episodes, at least, called Friends. Would you be interested in coming in one day a week?' and I think at that time extra pay was $45 a day." 5) Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston had the same lunch on set every day for 10 years - a Cobb salad. "I'm so tired of that salad, but it is easier just to say, 'Oh, I'll take what she's having!'" Cox told Oprah Winfrey as the show drew to a close in 2004. But she later admitted to the Los Angeles Times it hadn't been a Cobb salad at all... "It was a salad Jennifer doctored up with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans and I don't know what. She just has a way with food, which really helps. Because if you're going to eat the same salad every day for 10 years, it'd better be a good salad, right?" 6) The famous framed peephole in Monica's front door was originally a mirror but a member of the crew accidentally smashed it. Set designer Greg Grande decided he liked the look and left the frame in place. Grande was responsible for the show's innovative decor - the first time a TV sitcom was based in an apartment that genuinely felt "lived-in". "These were young, struggling Generation X-type characters who had to struggle to make a dime," he said. "Their furnishings came from swap meets, thrift stores. "The ironic thing is that when people watch the show, their first response is: 'How can they afford a space like that?' But if you look at each piece, you truly could've gone and found each one of those pieces at an [affordable] place. That's how Monica's came about." 7) Bruce Willis guest-starred free in two episodes after losing a bet with Matthew Perry on the film set of The Whole Nine Yards. Perry bet him that The Whole Nine Yards would top the US box office, and he won. All future payments for his appearance were donated to charity. 8) TV Network NBC made $70m (£42.5m) from the final night of Friends, thanks to advertisers who paid $2m (£1.2m) for every 30-second slot. It was a record haul for an entertainment show, with the price tag per advert only slightly below that for the Super Bowl. The profits had to be offset against the cast's stellar wages, though. Having grouped together to negotiate their salaries, they were earning $1m (£600,000) per episode for the last few seasons. That inflated the cost of the show to $10m (£6m) per episode, almost 20 times the normal price of a studio sitcom. At times, the network made a loss on the show, according to the Los Angeles Times - which may have influenced its decision to replace the sitcom with the much cheaper reality series The Apprentice. 9) Marcel the Monkey - actually a female named Katie - got a Hollywood movie deal before any of the cast. She starred in Outbreak. 10) The cast were just as sad about the show ending as the audience were. "This is gutting us," said Jennifer Aniston during the last week of filming. "We're like very delicate china. We're speeding towards a brick wall. Inevitable pain." "And we're going to smash into a million pieces," added Lisa Kudrow. "It's a deeper loss than I was expecting." Matt LeBlanc was less sentimental, noting that Joey Tribbiani had taken up "a third of my life". The show's heartwarming farewell, filmed in January 2004, allowed the six characters to move out of New York, and on to the next stages of their lives. "What we hope is that people feel good about saying goodbye to them, and that they're all going to be OK," Kauffman said. The final scene was shot on Stage 24 at Warner Bros Studios, where Friends had been filmed since its second season. After the show wrapped up, the stage was renamed The Friends Stage.