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world-asia-india-17455646

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-17455646

Who are the poor in India?

Who are the poor in India?

Soutik BiswasDelhi correspondent The fact is nobody quite knows. There are various estimates on the exact number of poor in India, and the counts have been mired in controversy. This week the Planning Commission said 29.8% of India's 1.21 billion people live below the poverty line, a sharp drop from 37.2% in 2004-2005. (This means means around 360 million people currently live in poverty.) But one estimate suggests this figure could be as high as 77%. The problem, believe many, is that the new count is based on fixing the poverty line for a person living on 28.65 rupees (56 cents/35p) a day in cities and 22.42 rupees (44 cents/33p) a day in villages. This was lower than last year's recommendation by the Planning Commission to set the poverty line at 32 rupees (65c/40p) a day which stirred up a major debate across the country. Last year activists dared the head of the country's planning body to live on half a dollar a day to test his claim that it represented an adequate sum to survive in a country with high inflation and leaky and shambolic social benefits. They concluded that the claim appeared to be grossly unfair and scandalous. In India, poverty counts are based on a large sample survey of household expenditures. In other words, they are based on the purchasing power needed to buy food with some margin for non-food consumption needs. The fresh decline in poverty - rural poverty has declined faster than urban poverty during the latest period under review - has been attributed to the government's increased spending on rural welfare programmes. If this is true, it is good news. But whatever the figure is, the number of poor in India remains staggeringly high. And, what is more worrisome, demographics and the social character of the poor do not appear to be changing. Labourers (farm workers in villages, casual workers in cities), tribespeople, Dalits (formerly called low caste untouchables) and Muslims remain the poorest Indians. Almost 60% of the poor continue to reside in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Significantly, 85% of India's tribespeople and Dalits live in these states. Most agree that India has reduced poverty - from 55% in 1973-74 to 29.8% in 2009-2010, if the recent figures are correct. But it is not happening fast enough, considering India's reasonably high rate of economic growth. "High growth, though essential," says the India Development Report, "is not sufficient for poverty reduction on a sustainable basis." If the demographics and social character of the poorest in India is not changing rapidly, what is wrong? Economists like Arvind Virmani believe that bad governance, misplaced priorities, unchecked corruption and a huge failure in improving the quality of public health and literacy are to blame. All of this is correct. More importantly, does all this happen because the Indian state is inherently anti-poor? PS: The government's flip-flop over poverty count continues. On Thursday, PM Manmohan Singh told reporters that a "fresh [technical] group has been set up to devise a new method to assess the number of poor". Minister for Planning Ashwani Kumar echoed the sentiment saying there was a need to "revisit" the methods of counting the poor which would be "consistent with current reality". So yes, we still don't know who are the poor in India.

business-55849898

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55849898

Stampede from fossil fuels 'would cost UK jobs'

Being green is not black and white.

Simon JackBusiness editor@BBCSimonJackon Twitter That's according to the man who runs the world's biggest money management firm. BlackRock manages nearly $9tn (£6.6tn) of pension and investments. This week the chief executive, Larry Fink, sent his annual letter to the bosses of the companies around the world in which that colossal sum is invested. He said the Covid-19 pandemic had focused minds on the fragility of the global economic system and made people think about a potentially bigger crisis. "I believe that the pandemic has presented such an existential crisis - such a stark reminder of our fragility - that it has driven us to confront the global threat of climate change more forcefully and to consider how, like the pandemic, it will alter our lives," he said. Job loss warning When the boss of the world's biggest investor speaks, those company bosses listen. He wants them to explain how they are going to get to net zero over the coming decades. But he also admitted that starving polluting companies of cash too quickly would mean dramatic job losses. "If we all ran away from the hydrocarbons and everything, and if you ran away with most of those companies in the FTSE [100], the job loss in the United Kingdom would be extraordinary. Is that the outcome that they want?" he told the BBC. The vast majority of his company's multi-trillion-dollar holdings are in so-called "passive" funds. They provide a way for investors to ride the ups and downs of stock markets without taking a view on individual companies by just taking a slice of all of those listed. As a result, BlackRock has trillions invested in stock-market trackers that include some of the worst polluting companies in the world. So will BlackRock dump shares in these companies? "No, we're not saying that," Mr Fink says. "First of all none of it's our money. The entire pool of money that we manage, which at the present time is approximately $8.7tn, every dollar is somebody else's money." Two-thirds of the investments are retirement money, he says. "What we are doing is asking companies to move forward… We can sell those shares," he says. "We're not going to sell assets in index funds… but we have the power of the vote on behalf of our investors… We can help companies move forward and that's what we try and do". He conceded that his firm - and industry - probably has more power than environmental protesters. "We are moving finance faster than any environmental group." 'Different route' Many investors expected that the onset of the pandemic would push any other investor priorities - beyond survival - to the sidelines When the pandemic hit, investors ran to the hills. They dumped their share holdings and turned them into cash. The Dow Jones index of the biggest companies in the US lost 10,000 points, or nearly a third, in a matter of days. The stock market has rebounded as investors look hopefully to a post-pandemic world - their moods enhanced by enormous amounts of emergency financial drugs such as money printing, and massive government borrowing and spending. But when the investors came out of the hills they came down a different route - investing in different companies from the ones they used to own. Larry Fink notes that investors pumped $288bn globally in sustainable assets, a 96% increase over the whole of 2019. It has proved irresistible for governments around the world to promise they will "build back better" - it may also prove hard to resist the yearning to return to what we had before - and if cheap oil, for example, helps us do that, then so be it. But when the man with the $9tn purse strings speaks directly to company chief executives, they tend to listen, and Larry Fink says the pandemic has kicked in a window that was already ajar.

world-europe-39585295

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39585295

Trumplomacy hits Russian wall

Did January happen on another planet?

By Barbara Plett UsherBBC State Department correspondent Reminder: that's when lawmakers questioned whether Rex Tillerson's history of doing business deals with Russia would make him too cosy with the Kremlin to represent US interests as America's top diplomat. Fast forward to Mr Tillerson's reception on Wednesday by his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Mr Lavrov levelled a litany of complaints about the "extremely ambiguous and contradictory" policy talk in Washington and "unlawful" US strikes in Syria. Then he twisted the knife a bit, pointedly noting that many key State Department posts have yet to be filled by the new administration and "hence it is not easy to quickly receive clarification on current and future issues". Read more: His brusque tone was triggered by harsh US rhetoric against Russia for its continued support of the Syrian regime after the chemical weapons attack last week, dished out in no small measure by the secretary of state. Mr Lavrov also turned his pique on members of the State Department press corps who shouted questions. "Who brought you up?" he asked one of my intrepid colleagues. "Who gave you your manners?" His spokeswoman Maria Zakharova followed up with a Facebook post that described American journalists "screaming 'Mr Lavrov Mr Lavrov' angrily from all sides". "The mansion shuddered, its century-old firmaments do not remember such a 'bazaar'," she wrote. That's not quite the press event I remember. But there are two issues behind this dramatic put-down. In the background is the disappointed retreat of Russia's euphoric reception of Donald Trump's election victory. It brought expectations of a relationship reset, perhaps a grand bargain that would lead to lifting the sanctions imposed over Moscow's intervention in Ukraine. Trump's top officials eventually burst that bubble, making clear the US would hold the line on Ukraine. Then the roiling controversy over alleged Russian interference in the presidential election turned Moscow into a toxic subject in Washington. Still, Mr Tillerson's trip was much anticipated, with Mr Lavrov joking he would teach his inexperienced counterpart how to dance on the diplomatic stage. In the foreground is the US military strike on a Syrian airbase in response to the chemical attack. That signalled a U-turn by Mr Trump, according to one TV show host, Dmitry Kiselyov: "He is clearly no longer the man whom so many people used to like." "The honeymoon between Moscow and Washington ended in Syria abruptly," opined another, Irada Zeynalova. "Trump has moved over to the dark side." The strike rattled the Russians, who wondered if this was the opening salvo in a Trump strategy to unseat their ally. No, it turns out. But the pivot to blaming Russia was also an unpleasant surprise. US officials ratcheted up pressure for Moscow to stop supporting a "murderous regime". And Mr Tillerson called them out for failing to guarantee the agreement to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, struck in 2013. He also twisted the knife a bit, suggesting they had been "incompetent" or even "outmanoeuvred" by the Syrians. Did he overplay his hand and trigger a backlash? - because President Vladimir Putin did dig in on support for the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Was he making the most of America's military leverage to put Moscow on notice? Or is he among friends? By the end of the day and after a meeting between Mr Tillerson and Mr Putin, Mr Lavrov was sounding less combative. "They have a working relationship," said a State Department Official. "When one calls the other, he gets a call back in a minute." But the two were as far apart on Syria and other contentious issues as when they started out. "This is the beginning of the beginning" of fixing the relationship, said the official. As for a possible meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump: "I don't think we're there yet." Which means I will hold on to my Trump matryoshka doll as a souvenir of this trip. There's no guarantee they'll still be on the shelves next time I return.

business-50515426

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50515426

Huawei: Trouble overseas but boom time in China

Jun Yu can't resist gadgets.

By Danny VincentBBC News, Hong Kong More than 20 smartphones, old tablets and other devices lurk in a corner of his Beijing home - an ever-growing tech junkyard. His apartment also boasts a Google Home smart assistant and an Amazon Echo. "I take three phones out with me every day. I use a phone for Chinese apps, I use my iPhone for Gmail and western apps, and I use my Google Pixel phone for work," says the 34-year-old tech entrepreneur. His obsession has paid off though. In 2009, he bought the first phone to use Android, the software that now runs more than 80% of smartphones. A year later, the physics graduate, founded his own company creating content for Chinese Android users. By 2016 he had sold the company for an undisclosed amount to Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. Now he is excited about the next generation of technology, known as 5G. It promises lightning fast internet connections for your mobile phone - fast enough to download movies in a matter of seconds, or to stream high definition TV. In October, Jun Yu pre-ordered a 5G-ready smartphone, made by China's Xiaomi. "4G has enabled many things like mobile video, more immersive gaming. I know 5G will too. But I don't exactly know how yet," he says. But in the US and UK the rollout of 5G networks has been hampered by an international row over one of the most important suppliers of 5G equipment, China's Huawei. Rivals is a season of in-depth coverage on BBC News about the contest for supremacy between the US and China across trade, tech, defence and soft power. Read more here. The US has banned the use of Huawei equipment in 5G networks over security fears, and has encouraged its allies to do the same. It also maintains a tight control over what US companies can sell to Huawei, which has disrupted sales of Huawei phones overseas. Industry analysts like Edison Lee, an analyst from financial services group Jefferies, see the US pressure on Huawei as an attempt to break China's potential dominance of the global 5G market. "The tech war is based on America's argument that China's technological advances have been built upon stolen intellectual property rights, and heavy government subsidies, and their belief that Chinese telecom equipment is not safe, and is a national security threat to the US and its allies," he says. "As Huawei and [fellow Chinese firm] ZTE increasingly dominate the global telecom equipment market, the western world will be more vulnerable to Chinese spying," Lee adds. Huawei has always strongly denied that its technology can be used for spying. While western nations worry about one of the key suppliers of 5G technology, China is racing ahead with its 5G rollout. On 31 October Chinese telecom companies launched 5G services in more than 50 Chinese cities, creating one of the world's largest 5G networks. Huawei has built an estimated 50% of the network. The Chinese Ministry of Information claims that in just 20 days the country registered more than 800,000 subscribers. Analysts predict China will have as many as 110 million 5G users by 2020. And China's tech sector is busy coming up with uses for the new tech. On a large plot of land in northern Hong Kong, researchers are developing 5G powered autonomous vehicles. Researchers at Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institution are working in partnership with China Mobile, the largest telecom company in China. They see 5G as being particularly useful for self-driving cars, allowing the cars to build an accurate picture of what's going on around them, by communicating with other vehicles, traffic signals and sensors in the road. "For consumers, 5G will possibly transform how we interact with other. For the government, 5G will transform roads and road infrastructure to enable new applications like enhanced assisted-driving and eventually autonomous driving," says Alex Mui, a researcher on the project. China is not the first country to roll out 5G. But it is building one of the world's biggest 5G markets very quickly. While Huawei and ZTE are doing well from that expansion, they would still like to break into lucrative overseas markets like the US. Speaking at a 5G convention in Beijing in November, China's minister for industry and information accused America of using cybersecurity as an excuse for protectionism. "No country should ban a company in its 5G network rollout by using the unproved allegations of cybersecurity risks," said Miao Wei. More Technology of Business Industry analysts are not confident that the row between China and the US will be sorted out anytime soon. "We see the current tensions as a technological Cold War, as tech nationalism intensifies," says Ben Wood, chief of research, at CCS Insight. "With the Chinese government firmly committed to establishing China as a world-leading 5G nation, the opportunity for Huawei in its home market is immense. "However, the rest of the world can't afford to get left behind, and without access to Huawei infrastructure US mobile network operators in particular will need to rely on alternative suppliers who may be more expensive and less advanced with 5G."

uk-northern-ireland-12606874

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-12606874

The secret life of Colin Howell

There were two sides to Colin Howell.

One was decent, friendly and popular. An upstanding and worthy member of society, as his barrister described him. That was the person people in Coleraine knew for 20 years. A committed Christian, successful dentist and family man. But there was another, darker side and a secret life of lies and adultery and ultimately murder. A monster and psychopath as he was described in court who planned the killings of his wife Lesley and the husband of his lover Hazel Stewart. A man who believed he was too clever to be caught and got away with his crime for 18 years until the day he walked into a police station and confessed. Colin Howell was born in Portadown in 1959. He qualified as a dentist at Queens University and met his wife-to-be Lesley when she was studying to be a nurse in Belfast. Lesley was originally from Plymouth and had one brother, Chris Clarke, an anaesthetist in Blackpool. Gassed The couple married on 16 July 1983 and moved to Coleraine where they lived in Knocklayde Park. To an outsider it looked like a successful marriage. They had four children and Howell's business appeared to be going well. So the events of 19 May 1991 looked like an awful tragedy. The bodies of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan were found in a car in a garage at the back of a terrace of cottages in Castlerock. Lesley was 31. Trevor Buchanan was 32. The subsequent inquest found that according to medical evidence both died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The coroner said Lesley was depressed on discovering her husband was having an affair and the depression worsened after the death of her father on 7 May - 12 days before she died. We now know that what looked like a tragic double suicide was in fact murder. Howell gassed his wife as she slept on the sofa at their home in Knocklayde Park. He put her body in their car and drove to his lover Hazel Stewart's home. She opened the garage door and made sure her husband was sleeping in the bedroom. Howell then gassed Trevor Buchanan. Howell believed he would never be caught. His arrogance was apparent in an interview at Coleraine police station on 30 January 2009. He told detectives: "I know I lived in a world of believing I could do anything, like a fantasy world where I could do anything and so I probably believed I could do it and get away with it." Those words struck a chord with journalist Deric Henderson, who has followed the case closely and is writing a book about the murders. "Colin Howell was in love with himself in many ways. He was narcissistic," he said. "Colin Howell lived in a world that was not familiar to you or me or anybody else. He was a fantasist in many ways." So what made him confess? There appear to have been two key factors. The first was the death of his eldest child, Matthew. The 22-year-old died after falling from a balcony in Moscow while he was an exchange student. Matthew was five-years-old when his father killed Lesley. It emerged in court that his mother called out Matthew's name as she gasped for breath as Howell held a hosepipe to her face to poison her with carbon monoxide. During his police interviews Howell said he saw this in a biblical context, that the sins of the father had been visited on the son and in his mind Matthew's death was God's way of punishing him. Monster The other factor was an investment of several hundred thousand pounds in a company in the Philippines that claimed it knew the location of millions of pounds worth of gold buried by the Japanese towards the end of the second world war. We are told that when Colin Howell travelled to the Philippines and was told he had lost everything, he realised the whole venture had been a fraud. Again, he saw the loss of his investment as pay-back for what he had done years earlier when he murdered his wife and Trevor Buchanan. He also admitted to police that he was a control freak who expected to get his way on all occasions, and expected the women in his life to do as he said. He was questioned about the controlling, manipulative side of his character at Coleraine police station on the 30 January 2009. When a detective asked him about the consequences of losing control in a relationship he replied: "The relationship ended ". The extent of his influence and control was demonstrated by the fact that he persuaded his first wife Lesley Howell to have three abortions before they were married, and Hazel Stewart to have one during their affair. Even after he confessed to the double killings, Colin Howell continued to attempt to control his relationships from inside his prison cell. In a letter to his second wife Kyle, written on the 30 June 2009, he told her: "You must either write to me to clean the slate or now acknowledge I have done everything possible to be truthful and honest and now set yourself free to forgive." During his cross-examination the defence put it to Howell that he was a monster. He replied: "Yes, I was a monster and I was a killer, but not any longer. "

world-africa-13433792

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13433792

Ghana profile

President: Nana Akufo-Addo

Veteran human-rights lawyer and presidential hopeful Nana Akufo-Addo won the presidency at the third attempt in December 2016, beating the incumbent John Mahama in a campaign dominated by Ghana's faltering economy. Mr Akufo-Addo comes from an eminent political family. His father Edward, a leading independence campaigner, became president in 1970-72, and one grandfather was a regional king who served on the British colonial authority's Executive Council.Mr Akufo-Addo was called to both the English and Ghanaian bars, but focused in the 1980s on opposing military rule, and later campaigned against the free-market reforms of President Jerry Rawlings. He served as attorney-general and then foreign minister during the civilian presidency of John Kufuor in the 2000s, and stood for the presidency himself in 2008 and 2012 as candidate of the New Patriotic Party. He challenged the result of the 2012 election, taking it as far as the Supreme Court, which ruled narrowly in favour of President John Mahama.In the 2016 election Mr Akufo-Addo campaigned on stabilising the currency and boosting employment through regional development schemes.

world-europe-17847930

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17847930

Slovakia profile - Leaders

President: Andrej Kiska

Philanthropist and former businessman Andrej Kiska was elected president in March 2014. He won a run-off election against the country's social democratic prime minister, Robert Fico, whose defeat was considered highly significant: if he had become head of state, his party would have controlled the presidency as well as the government. Mr Kiska campaigned on the need to have a healthy balance of power between the president and the Cabinet, and called for a strengthening of the independence of the judiciary where the president appoints important personnel. He made his fortune through consumer credit companies that he sold, setting up a charity to help families with ill children. The presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president has the power to pick the prime minister, appoint Constitutional Court judges and veto laws. A parliamentary majority can override vetoes. Prime minister: Robert Fico Mr Fico's leftist Smer party won a landslide victory in early general elections in March 2012 - the first time since independence that a party had gained an absolute majority in the Slovak parliament. The centre-right coalition of Iveta Radicova, which had governed since June 2010, was routed in a poll dominated by a corruption scandal that engulfed its main parties. Known as a straight-talking populist, Robert Fico was born to a working-class family in the provincial town of Topolcany in 1964 and trained as a lawyer in Communist Czechoslovakia. He became a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1987, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 joined its SDL successor before forming his own party, Direction-Social Democracy (Smer). He raised his public profile by sharply criticising the radical economic reform programme implemented by the centre-right governments of Mikulas Dzurinda (1998-2006), which although hailed by investors and international financial institutions was not popular with ordinary Slovaks. Mr Dzurinda's policies were seen as having stimulated growth - earning Slovakia the nickname of "the central European tiger" - but were associated with high levels of unemployment and were seen as having a disproportionately negative effect on low wage-earners and welfare recipients. After the 2006 election Smer formed a coalition government with various nationalist and populist parties, despite having campaigned on a social-democratic platform. Mr Fico led Slovakia into the eurozone during his first stint as prime minister in 2006-2010, but his government's record of deteriorating relations with the country's Hungarian minority also tarnished its reputation in the eyes of the EU. He made defending the eurozone and boosting social welfare two of the main planks of his 2012 election campaign, but his second government came to be dominated by his opposition to accepting European Union migrant quotas in the aftermath of the Syrian refugee crisis. Mr Fico made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2014, losing to political newcomer Andrej Kiska. He led Smer into the 2016 elections, emerging as the largest party but losing his majority.

uk-england-lincolnshire-55289285

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-55289285

Boston body find: Man's death treated as suspicious

A man has been found dead in Lincolnshire.

Police were called to the discovery of the man's body on a patch of common land behind Alcorn Green in Fishtoft, near Boston, at about 10.20 GMT. He has not yet been identified but he is believed to be in his 30s, a spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said. The man's death is being treated as suspicious and anyone with information is being urged to contact police or call 101.

world-asia-42664017

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42664017

Pakistan Zainab murder: Anger in Kasur as other parents speak out

Kasur is an angry city right now.

By Secunder KermaniBBC News, Kasur The murder and sexual assault of six-year-old Zainab Ansari, who disappeared on her way to a Koran class on 4 January, has sparked deadly riots. Zainab was last seen alive on CCTV footage walking hand in hand with an unknown man. Her body was found in a rubbish dump a few days later. And according to a police document obtained by the BBC there have been 10 similar cases in the city since January 2017. Investigators have recovered traces of the same DNA on six of the victims, including from Zainab's body. All six were young girls, all went missing extremely close to their homes, and all were left, unburied, in rubbish dumps or abandoned houses nearby. Their families all live within a 3km (two mile) radius. The first in the spate of the girls to be abducted was five-year-old Ayesha Bibi who disappeared from outside her home almost exactly a year before Zainab, on 7 January 2017. It was her father Asif Baba's birthday. He's kept the white teddy bear she gave him as a gift that day, along with her school uniforms and doll collection. "Anger is a very small word to describe how I feel," he told the BBC. "This is not a house - it's a graveyard. Since Zainab died it's like we lost our daughter again. It was the same when I found out about each of the other girls." He says his family and others in the city have been traumatised. "People in the town are scared. The kids are scared to even go to the bathroom - they say to their mothers to wait outside - we won't lock the door." "My other daughter didn't speak for four months. There was a family wedding, she said she's not coming because she might be kidnapped." Another girl, six-year-old Qainat, went missing in November after going to buy yoghurt from the shop down the road from her house. Her uncle Irfan Ali told the BBC her body was found in graveyard nearby. She was alive but only just. She is the only girl to have survived her ordeal - but is currently in hospital where relatives say she's completely paralysed from the head down, unable to talk. Her parents have spent the last two months at the hospital by her side but she seems unable to recognise anyone. She too it appears was attacked by the same suspect. Irfan Ali says he's convinced the killer lives locally. It's not clear why Zainab's murder in particular has triggered this level of outrage. One reason seems to be the way different opposition politicians have been using the case as a way of criticising the ruling PML-N party, whose base is in the province of Punjab where Kasur is situated. Qainat's uncle told the BBC: "Zainab's family are rich and have political connections. All of the rest of us are poor. No politician came to see us. No one cares." Zainab's extended family are said to have links to senior figures in the political opposition. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, likely to be the ruling PML-N's candidate for prime minister in this summer's general elections, visited Zainab's father, promising him he would get justice. Social media has also played an important role in building pressure on the authorities. Pictures of Zainab, one of her smiling as she looks at the camera, and another of her body lying in a rubbish dump, went viral online. But the reason for the current level of anger is also simply because of the accumulation of the murders, and the seeming inability of the police to find the killer. Mr Baba, a vegetable seller, believes the police were not really interested in solving the crime. "Two or three times they arrested people and brought them in front of us - saying these are the murderers. Even the men said: 'We had killed her.'" "But I didn't believe them. I said the DNA is part of your investigation. Until there's a match I won't believe it. When the DNA report came out it was clear they were not the culprits." Mr Baba says hundreds of people, including his friends and relatives were taken in by the police. One of his friends said the police appeared more concerned with extracting bribes from them than finding the culprit. A local police official told the BBC that there was now real urgency in finding the killer. It's a sentiment shared by Qainat's uncle. Standing amidst a crowd of children and worried locals he tells me: "We can't let this happen to another girl."

world-us-canada-15680178

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-15680178

Rick Perry: Oops and out

Oops indeed.

Mark MardellNorth America editor@BBCMarkMardellon Twitter Perry is surely dead in the water after his primetime humiliation, grasping for the name of a department he wanted to abolish, floundering a while and still failing to find the elusive word "energy". The energy has indeed gone out of his campaign. It was a moment that made me squirm, hide my face in the cushions. Anyone who has been in front of a TV camera has some sympathy. As one colleague once put it to a correspondent who'd just made a similar boo-boo: "Don't worry, we've all ALMOST done the same." Even those who've never been near a TV studio may know the quite inexplicable moment when you forget the name of someone you know well. Empathy is a fine quality, but don't overdo it. This is serious. For a start, this whole weird primary business is meant as a demolition derby. It is better for the Republicans that he does it now, than when debating with Obama. It is better for the US that he does it now than while meeting a foreign leader in front of the world's Press at the White House. To me it is even more substantial than that. He didn't just forget a word, a name. He forgot an idea. If he was serious about his proposal he would have thought long and hard about what the Department of Energy does, whether any of its functions had to be replicated elsewhere, what the implications would be for the oil and gas industry. Sure, you can forget a name. It is much harder to forget a concept you have been wrestling with. Perry is not loved or trusted by conservatives and was already on a downward curve. He may well stay in the race for months, but it is hard to see how he recovers. A few other quick thoughts. The sexual harassment allegations against Herman Cain are very serious, but unproved. Conservatives will like his strong performance in the debate, with its almost comic, self-mocking repetition of his 9-9-9 plan. He is not out, even if it is hard to see him getting the nomination while such allegations hang over him. Watch out for the brief rise of Newt Gingrich. He is the last credible anti-Mitt Romney candidate left and along with Ron Paul, does some thinking outside of the box. And, as I always seem to end these columns, in the end the one person who benefits: Romney.

uk-northern-ireland-55143718

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-55143718

Premier League: 'Social void' as NI fans miss spectators' return

"We have been mothballed this season."

By Ross McKeeBBC News NI As Premier League clubs welcome back limited numbers of fans, Northern Ireland-based supporters are still left wondering when they might get to go through the turnstiles again. Fans have been travelling to games in England for decades, but say they are now in limbo as to when they will get back due to the coronavirus pandemic. John White, branch secretary of Carryduff Manchester United Supporters' Club, said it had not attended a game since last March, leaving a "huge social void" in people's lives. "We used to meet every Tuesday night and would have had 450 members - we are the biggest official Manchester United Supporters' club in Northern Ireland," he said. "The last match we were at was the Manchester City game on 8 March - 60 of us were at that game. "We missed the last four games of last season - for those games Manchester United refunded us." The first Premier League fixture to welcome returning fans will be West Ham United v Manchester United on Saturday when 2,000 supporters will be allowed. However, the London club will not be opening its doors to any supporters living in tier three of England's coronavirus restrictions - under which Greater Manchester has been placed - or overseas. Liverpool Football Club, which is in tier two, has set out plans for 2,000 fans to watch its Premier League match against Wolves at Anfield on Sunday. Supporters will all be seated in the Main Stand and the ballot for tickets was only open to fans who live in the Liverpool City Region. Eamonn McBride, branch secretary of 1st Derry Official Liverpool Supporters' Club, said the situation was "frustrating". "We missed out attending the Chelsea game last season where Liverpool lifted the title - it was very disappointing," he said. "There was talk at one point of the league being cancelled so we were just thankful it wasn't - that was our first title in 30 years, so small mercies. "It is frustrating that it has carried into this season. "It was disappointing that we could not all go out to the game as a club and celebrate the title win." 'Goosebumps at a game' He said the pandemic had also stopped clubs gathering to watch Liverpool fixtures on television. "We haven't gone down the route of Zoom - we would rather be in a pub watching it or at the game, it is not the same watching it on a computer," he added. "You miss the camaraderie, the social aspect of going to the club premises, having a get-together and a sing-song. "Being at the game you get goosebumps on the back of your neck just seeing the pitch - seeing Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League last year was one of the best nights of my life. "I am missing it big time." John White said the Carryduff Manchester United Supporters' Club was due to mark its 30th anniversary next year and that celebration plans were on hold. "Sir Alex Ferguson sent Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville for our 20th anniversary in the Europa Hotel in Belfast," he added. "For our 30th anniversary, which is this season, Manchester United would present us on the pitch at Old Trafford. "In some cases we have three generations in our club. "That is on hold, but we would love it to happen in the actual year of the anniversary. "Manchester United will fulfil it - it is just when." As Greater Manchester is in England's tier three of restrictions, Old Trafford is not allowed to host fans. Mr White said at this stage he could not see his club "going on a coach trip this season" to watch Manchester United. Mr McBride said he would rather wait until football grounds were "back at full capacity" before returning to watch Liverpool. "I would love to be there at the business end of the season in March/April but to be honest I can't see it happening," he said. "I hope those who are there have loud voices to shout for the rest of us."

uk-northern-ireland-13323774

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-13323774

Assembly race produces dead heat

So at long last all the results are in.

Mark DevenportPolitical editor, Northern Ireland@markdevenporton Twitter Satisfaction for the DUP and Sinn Fein, who increase their mutual dominance. Soul searching for the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP, who both have to consider what future direction they can take to regain relevance. Tom Elliott's clash with Sinn Fein supporters in Omagh gives the impression he will position the UUP as TUV-lite. However a sizeable section of his Stormont team are closer to Alliance in their outlook. Sinn Fein's victory in East Antrim and Alliance's failure to secure a second seat in North Down have set up a fascinating mathematical dead heat for the final Executive department. Little did I think, when I started writing on the Devenport Diaries about it months ago, that the Mrs Wilson versus Mr Wilson's assistant battle would have such far reaching implications. Steven Agnew's last gasp victory for the Greens leaves Alliance on 8 seats - exactly half the Ulster Unionist total of 16. Under the D'Hondt system the UUP gets one department, but when its turn comes for a second pick, its seats have half the value. So it's 8 versus 8. At this point the tie breaker is how many first preference votes each party received, with the UUP vote tally also being halved. According to this method, Alliance is also ahead, so should take its first ministry before the UUP get a chance for a second. Done and dusted? So all done and dusted? Not so fast - could the UUP approach the East Londonderry MLA David McClarty, who stood as an independent after being deselected? If Mr McClarty is added to the UUP total they edge ahead. The former deputy speaker may exact a price from his former colleagues, but his difference was always with the activists in his area, not the UUP hierarchy. However, will the Assembly authorities accept that an independent can be counted towards the UUP total, even if he comes from the party "gene pool"? Equally if the UUP can court Mr McClarty might Alliance approach Steven Agnew (after all the Greens were part of the same United Community group in Stormont)? If Alliance gets the last department under D'Hondt, they will take this in addition to the Justice Ministry. That is almost certainly going to David Ford again under the cross-community compromise reached by the DUP and Sinn Fein during the Hillsborough negotiations. The compromise is due to expire in May 2012, but in the meantime it would mean a party with eight MLAs holding twice as many departments as a party with 16 MLAs. No doubt this will spark protests about a lack of democratic fairness. So expect plenty of machinations before the Stormont ministerial line up is finalised. Indeed I would not be surprised if this one ends up in the courts.

science-environment-42237092

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42237092

Why some people can hear this silent gif

Can you hear this gif?

Remember the white and gold dress that some internet users were certain was actually blue and black? Well, this time the dilemma being discussed online is whether you can hear anything in a silent animation of skipping pylons. Some people claim they can hear a thudding sound when the pylon hits the ground and the picture vibrates. The gif was created in 2008 by @IamHappyToast as part of a photoshop challenge on the boards of b3ta.com and has been circulating online since then - such as on Reddit's r/noisygifs subreddit in 2013. Many social media users have discussed the noisy-gif phenomenon, as on Imgur in 2011, for example, where it was titled an "optical illusion for the ears". It resurfaced again last weekend when Dr Lisa DeBruine from the Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology at the University of Glasgow posted it on Twitter, asking her followers to describe whether they experienced any auditory sensations while watching it. Dr DeBruine received more then 245,000 responses from people claiming to hear a sound accompanying the animation, with 70 per cent of respondents saying they could hear a thudding sound. One person who suffers from ringing ears replied: "I hear a vibrating thudding sound, and it also cuts out my tinnitus during the camera shake." Others offered explanations as to why. While another suggested it may have something to do with correlated neuronal activity: "The brain is 'expecting/predicting' what is coming visually and then fires a version of what it expects across the relevant senses. Also explains why some might 'feel' a physical shake." "My gut says the camera shake is responsible for the entire effect. Anything that shook the camera like that, would probably make the 'thud' sound," posted another Twitter user. Which is also the explanation which appeals to the gif's creator. You may also like: Dr DeBruine told the BBC: "I don't know why some people hear it very clearly, others only feel it, and others perceive nothing at all. Some deaf and hard of hearing people have reported all three perceptions, as have people with aphantasia," a lack of visual imagery. "I thought some of the vision scientists I follow would be able to explain it right away, but it seems like there are several plausible explanations and no clear consensus." The Twitter thread caught the attention of Chris Fassnidge, a doctoral candidate in psychology at London's City University. He has been carrying out research in this very field. He suggested a possible theory which his lab call the "visual ear." "I suspect the noisy gif phenomenon is closely related to what we call the Visually-Evoked Auditory Response, or vEAR for short," explained Fassnidge. "This is the ability of some people to hear moving objects even though they don't make a sound, which may be a subtle form of synaesthesia - the triggering of one sense by another. "We are constantly surrounded by movements that make a sound, whether they are footsteps as people walk, lip movements while they talk, a ball bouncing in the playground, or the crash as we drop a glass. There is some evidence to suggest that synaesthetic pairings are, to some extent, learnt during infancy. "I might assume I am hearing the footsteps of a person walking on the other side of the street, when really the sound exists only in my mind. "So this may be a common phenomenon because the sound makes sense, but for that exact reason we may not even know we have this unusual ability until the noisy gif suddenly came along in the last few years. "What determines who experiences vEAR and how intensely is probably individual differences in how our brain is wired." By Rozina Sini, BBC's UGC and Social News Team

world-asia-16426199

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16426199

Vanuatu profile - Leaders

President: Baldwin Lonsdale

Baldwin Lonsdale was chosen as president by Vanuatu's electoral college - comprising the 52 members of parliament and the heads of the six provincial governments - in September 2014. He succeeded Iolu Abil when his five-year term in office expired. Baldwin Lonsdale is a former senior civil servant and served as the secretary general of the Torba provincial government before becoming an Anglican priest. Father Lonsdale, who served on the island of Motalava in Torba Province, is the second Anglican priest to become head of state in Vanuatu.

business-34475609

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34475609

Why emerging economies are slowing down

Emerging economies are slowing down.

By Andrew WalkerBBC World Service economics correspondent China is by far the biggest of them, and its ups and downs have been covered extensively here. But they are as a group experiencing weaker growth that in the recent past. That's one of the major issues hanging over the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank being held in Lima. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF forecasts that, as a group, the emerging and developing economies will register slowing growth in 2015 for the fifth consecutive year. That forecast is 4%, the lowest since the financial crisis in 2008. In 2010 the figure was 7.5%. So what is going on? Chinese cause China is a very important element of the story. It is so large that its own slowdown inevitably drags down the performance of the group collectively. China accounts for 30% of the combined economic activity of the emerging and developing economies. Arithmetically, if China's performance changes, it is inevitably reflected in the numbers for this whole class of countries, even if there is no change anywhere else. But China matters for another reason. It's one of the key reasons why so many others have seen their growth rates decline. China is a leading buyer of the commodities that many other countries in this group produce - industrial raw materials such as oil, copper and iron ore, and food commodities as well. The slowdown means that China's demand for this stuff has been weaker than it would otherwise have been. The decline in prices reflects international markets adjusting to that changing outlook. That has affected many countries even if they have little by way of direct trade links, because the Chinese slowdown has driven down the prices of these commodities. It's not always the only factor, but copper is down by half since 2011, as is crude oil in the past 16 months. For oil exporters specifically there is also the abundant supply currently available to buyers. It is partly down to the shale oil revolution in the US, which has greatly reduced American dependence on imports. That has contributed to the decline in prices - along with the effect on demand coming from China's slowdown. While most emerging economies have experienced slower growth in recent years, the IMF says the declines tended to be larger in commodity exporters. To take some examples: Zambia, a copper producer, and Nigeria, an oil exporter, both had economic growth of about 10% in 2010. For this year the IMF forecast is more like 4% for both. Chile (also a copper miner) has slowed from 5.7% to 2.3%. Currency issues The slowdown is not just about China and commodities, however. There is a view that the potential for emerging economies to grow has taken something of a setback. This is not something you can see in hard data. But the IMF, for example, is convinced that something is going on. In many countries ageing populations are a factor. The IMF has also argued that the narrowing gap with the developed world means the potential for rapid gains from "catch-up" - both technological and in terms of worker's education and skills - is diminishing. There have been improvements in the rich countries' performance, with the eurozone, for example, showing a little more life. But their recovery from the financial crisis has been persistently lacklustre. They have not provided the "pull" in the shape of demand for emerging economies' goods that a return to pre-crisis growth would have. The financial situation also casts a shadow for the near future in the emerging economies. The IMF's latest Global Financial Stability Report said that "risks continue to rotate towards emerging markets". That doesn't mean a financial crisis is imminent, but emerging economies are an increasing cause for concern. There has been a credit boom. Private sector debt has risen especially strongly compared with past trends in China, Thailand and Turkey among others. There is also an issue in some countries about foreign currency borrowing. It's particularly high in Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico and Chile. It's a potential problem because if the dollar rises those debts become more expensive to repay. And there's good reason to suppose the dollar could rise. The US Federal Reserve will sooner or later raise its interest rates from their current all-time low, and that will make dollar investments more attractive. In those circumstances investors buying dollars could push up the value of the US currency. Indeed the mere anticipation of a US rate rise has already had the effect of strengthening the dollar as international investors have pulled funds out of emerging markets. To take two examples, the Brazilian real fell by 39% in the past year, and Turkey's lira by 25%. There is an upside to weaker currencies for emerging markets. It helps with competitiveness. But in addition to the effect on foreign currency debts it can boost inflation, which is already high in some. Scandals and conflicts Some of the countries concerned have their own internal problems. Political issues, domestic and international have infected economic performance. Brazil and Russia are two striking examples. In the case of Russia, the conflict with Ukraine and the western sanctions that followed have hit the economy. There are also issues about the business environment which, the IMF argued, was bad for investment. The IMF was forecasting a slowdown in Russia even before it was hit by falling oil prices and sanctions. In Brazil, there is the corruption scandal over contracts awarded by the majority state-owned oil company Petrobras. The affair has done further damage to an economy that was already vulnerable. Perhaps the most extreme case is Venezuela, where the economy is contracting sharply - by perhaps 10% this year - and inflation is in triple digits. The government's critics put much of that down to economic mismanagement. It's worth emphasising that the great majority of emerging economies are still growing, and by enough to ensure rising living standards. That is to say, economic activity is expanding faster than the population in most nations. For next year, the IMF is predicting that they will manage to put an end to the pattern of slowing growth and expand somewhat more rapidly. That said, it is the emerging economies that are displacing the developed nations as the most troubling cloud on the economic horizon. Follow Andrew Walker on Twitter: @andrewwalker167

uk-northern-ireland-47672003

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-47672003

Northern Lights could be visible in NI

Saturday is World Meteorological Day.

By Angie PhillipsBBC News NI Weather Presenter Each year the day has a different theme - this year is "the Sun, the Earth and the weather". By coincidence, the sun has been sending out a flow of solar storm particles. As a result we are expecting high levels of geomagnetic activity. That means there is a chance that we could catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Scotland is where the Aurora is most likely to be seen, since it is further north. But it could be spotted over Northern Ireland, especially around the north coast. Clear, dark skies favourable The level of geomagnetic storms are measured on a scale called the KP-index, which goes from 0 to 9. A value of 0 means that there is very little geomagnetic activity and 9 means extreme geomagnetic storming. The higher the KP, the further south the storm will reach. In Northern Ireland, there needs to be a KP minimum of 5 or 6 to see the Aurora. Those levels are predicted from later on Saturday afternoon through until Sunday morning. Clear, dark skies are most favourable, with little or no light pollution, so getting out of the towns and into the countryside is best for viewing - weather permitting, of course. The forecast is for a lot of dry weather and just the odd shower. Variable amounts of cloud will build through the day but should break up after dark so there should be good clearer spells developing. Winds are light but it will be chilly if you are heading out to have a look.

uk-politics-36741096

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36741096

Tory Leadership: May v Leadsom brings change

One vote sometimes changes many things.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter The extent of Theresa's May victory over the other two candidates makes her the clear favourite to move into Number 10 in September. It's important to remember though, the contest moves from Westminster now out to the country for Tory supporters to make their minds up. And the party membership is not in any way bound to follow the recommendation of its MPs. They are, like most British voters, a pretty determined bunch who are not necessarily well-disposed to being told what to do. Enthusiasts for the home secretary full of delight at the extent of her victory may have to tread carefully, to avoid irking their constituency members by giving them instruction, rather than friendly advice. The dramatic emergence of Andrea Leadsom as one of the final two marks her as a politician destined for a major job even if she doesn't win the contest. Notting Hill Tories A few weeks ago, before the referendum, she was not even particularly well known around Westminster, so for her to have reached this stage is a remarkable achievement in itself. Tory MPs' decisions today also guarantee that the next prime minister will be a woman. Maybe that shouldn't matter very much anymore, and it may not matter very much to that many people now, but it will only be the second time in our country's history that it will have happened - that alone makes it significant. And for the political nerds, myself included, one of the wider significances about today's ballot? It perhaps also marks a brutal end to the commanding influence of the group known as the Notting Hill Tories - who together pushed David Cameron to lead the party in 2005, then into Number Ten five years later. They have controlled the upper echelons of the Tory party for a decade, and they hoped, if not even assumed that they would control the succession. With Michael Gove's departure from the race, their power and control fade too, and along with them maybe a particular way of doing politics. Look carefully at some of faces smiling behind May and Leadsom. That shift in power away from David Cameron's "set" explains at least some of the grins.

world-middle-east-14647211

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14647211

Kuwait profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1600s - North-east portion of Arabian peninsula becomes part of the Ottoman Empire. 1700s - Settlers arrive at the site of present-day Kuwait City from the interior of the Arabian peninsula. The settlement grows into a bustling trading hub by the early 1800s. 1756 - Kuwait comes under the control of the Al-Sabah family, predecessors of Kuwait's present rulers. A degree of semi-autonomy from Ottoman Turkey prevails. 1899 - Fearing direct rule from Turkey, Sheikh Mubarak "the Great" strikes a deal with Britain and Kuwait becomes a protectorate. Britain provides naval protection in return for Kuwait allowing London to control its foreign affairs. 1937 - Large oil reserves discovered by the US-British Kuwait Oil Company. Exploitation is delayed by World War II, but thereafter fuels the country's development into a modern commercial centre. 1951 - Major public-works programme begins; Kuwait's infrastructure is transformed, residents enjoy a high standard of living. Independence 1961 June - Kuwait becomes independent with the end of the British protectorate; the sheikh becomes an emir. The country joins the Arab League. Iraq renews claims that Kuwait is part of its territory but backs down after British military intervention. 1963 - Elections held for National Assembly, under terms of newly-drafted constitution. 1976 - Emir suspends National Assembly, saying it is not acting in the country's interests. 1980 - Iran-Iraq war: Kuwait supports Iraq strategically and financially. 1981 - National Assembly recalled; dissolved again in 1986. 1985-86 - Domestic security concerns, particularly about Iran's perceived influence over the Shi'ite minority, prompt the deportations of thousands of expatriates, many of them Iranian. 1990 July - Iraq complains to Opec, accusing Kuwait of stealing its oil from a field near the border. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein threatens military action. Iraqi Invasion 1990 August - Iraq invades and then annexes Kuwait. The emir and cabinet flee to Saudi Arabia. 1991 January - Iraq fails to comply with a UN resolution ordering it to pull out. A US-led and UN-backed bombing aerial campaign begins in Kuwait and Iraq. By late February allied forces reach Kuwait City. Iraqi forces torch oil wells as they pull out. 1991 March - Emir returns, imposes three-month period of martial law. 1992 - Under domestic and international pressure, Emir gives green light to National Assembly elections. Opposition forces perform well in the vote. 1993 - UN demarcates new Kuwait-Iraq border, awarding a port and a number of oil wells to Kuwait. US troops despatched to Kuwait following Iraqi border incursions. 1994 - Iraq officially recognises Kuwait's independence and the UN-demarcated borders following UN pressure and Russian mediation. 1999 - Emir suspends National Assembly after bitter feud between MPs and cabinet about misprints in state-published edition of the Koran. Government supporters suffer shock setback in resulting elections; liberals and Islamists predominate in the new assembly. 2001 March - Kuwaiti court commutes to life imprisonment a death sentence handed down in 2000 to the country's pro-Iraqi puppet ruler during the 1990-91 invasion. Second Iraq War 2003 March - Tens of thousands of soldiers converge on the Kuwait-Iraq border for a US-led military campaign to disarm and oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. 2003 July - Islamist and pro-government candidates fare well in parliamentary elections. There are major losses for liberal candidates. Emir appoints Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah prime minister, separating post from role of heir to throne for first time since independence. 2005 January - Deadly gun battles erupt between suspected Islamist militants and police. 2005 May - Parliament approves a law allowing women to vote and run for parliament. In June the first woman cabinet minister, Massouma al-Mubarak, is appointed. 2006 January - The emir, Sheikh Jaber, dies. The crown prince, Sheikh Saad, succeeds him but is removed days later because of concerns about his ailing health. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad is sworn in as emir. 2006 February - Sheikh Sabah names his brother, Sheikh Nawaf, as crown prince and his nephew Sheikh Nasser as prime minister. 2006 April - Women cast their votes for the first time, in a municipal by-election. 2006 June - Women fail to win any seats in their first attempt to compete in parliamentary elections. The opposition - a loose alliance of reformists, liberals and Islamists - makes gains, winning nearly two-thirds of the seats. 2006 December - Information Minister Mohammad al-Sanousi resigns. He was to face questioning in parliament over allegations that he curbed media freedoms in the run-up to parliamentary elections in June. Assertive parliament 2007 March - The government resigns in a move aimed at thwarting a no-confidence motion against the health minister. The new cabinet includes two women. 2007 June - Oil Minister Sheikh Ali resigns amid a political standoff between the government and parliament. 2007 July - Kuwaitis are urged to conserve electricity as generators struggle to meet demands of economic growth fuelled by record oil exports. 2008 March - Emir dissolves opposition-dominated parliament and calls elections for 17 May after cabinet quits over alleged lack of cooperation from MPs. 2008 May - Radical Islamists make gains in parliamentary elections, winning more than half of the 50 seats. No women are elected. Emir re-appoints Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Ahmad as prime minister. 2009 January - Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah forms new government after parliamentary row over visit by a Shia cleric. 2009 February - Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad al-Sabah flies to Baghdad in highest-level visit since Iraq's armed forces invaded Kuwait in 1990. 2009 March - Emir dissolves parliament after it demands to question his nephew and PM, Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, about corruption allegations. 2009 May - Three women MPs - Kuwait's first - win seats in parliamentary elections. 2009 October - Constitutional court rules women can obtain passports without the consent of their husbands. In another ruling, it decides women MPs are not required to wear an Islamic head cover. 2009 December - Prime Minister survives an attempt by the opposition to remove him over corruption allegations. 2010 December - MPs injured as police clash with demonstrators protesting against alleged government plot to change constitution. 2011 March - Hundreds of young people demonstrate for reform, inspired by a wave of protests across the Arab world. 2011 December - Emir dissolves parliament and replaces his prime minister following protests and a showdown over allegations of high-level corruption. 2012 February - Islamist-led opposition wins majority in parliamentary elections. 2012 May - Emir blocks proposal by MPs to make all legislation comply with Islamic law. 2012 June - Constitutional Court ruling effectively dissolves Islamist-dominated parliament. 2012 September - Constitutional Court rejects government bill to redraw constituencies ahead of fresh elections. Opposition says the bill would have given official candidates an advantage. 2012 October - The Emir dissolves parliament, paving the way for snap elections. At least 5,000 protesters clash with security forces outside parliament over opposition fears that the government will try to redraw constituency boundaries. 2012 December - Elections boycotted by the opposition protesting against changes to electoral law. 2013 April - Opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrak is sentenced to five years in jail for insulting the emir. 2013 June - Constitutional court orders dissolution of parliament, effectively dismissing results of parliamentary polls. 2013 July - Parliamentary elections, with liberals and candidates from the smaller tribes making gains. 2014 June - Several TV channels banned from airing programmes about an alleged plot against the ruling system. 2015 March - Kuwait and four other Gulf states take part in Saudi-led air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. 2015 June - Sunni extremist carries out suicide attack on Shia mosque, killing 27 worshippers and injuring more than 200. Seven people are sentenced to death in connection with the attack. 2016 November - Opposition groups and their allies in Kuwait win nearly half the fifty seats in parliament. 2020 September - Sheikh Nawaf takes over as emir on the death of his half-brother Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah.

uk-politics-47862084

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47862084

Brexit: Significant obstacles for cross-party talks

"Are they serious?"

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter Labour and the Conservatives are separately pondering that same question tonight - wondering whether their political rivals really are genuine about finding common cause. Guess what, just for a change, the leaderships of both of the main Westminster parties are dealing with boiling tensions on their front and back benches. And they both have reasons to tiptoe towards each other in these cross-party talks, but both sides too have reasons to tread carefully. In truth, both sides are serious that they could possibly get serious about a deal, but the obstacles are significant. The Tories have still not, and may never feel able to offer a clear promise of pursuing a customs union. What sources familiar with the talks say the focus is right now, is trying to point out to Labour that the existing deal contains the possibility of shaping that kind of arrangement in the future. Irony upon irony, the backstop which the government has been protesting about for so long provides the ingredients for exactly that kind of relationship with the EU in the long term. That is precisely why Brexiteers hated it so much - because they feared (correctly perhaps) it might be used as the basis on which to build the kind of tight trading deal with the EU they seek to avoid. For the prime minister to overtly pursue such a deal is already provoking fury in parts of her party - although it's also striking now how frustrated some middle of the road Tory MPs are - fed up of what they see as both "extremes", hogging the oxygen and holding everything up. But unless and until Theresa May is ready to give a firmer commitment on customs, it is hard to see how Labour would be ready to sign on the dotted line. Although the two sides will meet again in the next 24 hours, Jeremy Corbyn again has expressed his view that the government hasn't shifted any of those red lines. And even if that were to happen, there are (at least!) two other big blocks to success. There is deep anxiety in the Labour Party about being able to trust anything that is agreed. The government's already promised that they could change the law to give guarantees in the Brexit implementation bill. But both sides admit privately even if they came up with some kind of "lock", it's just not feasible to rule out any future prime minister ever unpicking the deal. In a different era this might not be such a problem. But the prime minister has already said that she will quit, and quit once the deal is done. So of course, Labour MPs are very nervous about how the promises made in these talks could last. That's whether the next leader were to be Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab , Jeremy Hunt or frankly, the Queen of Sheba - it's about the permanence of any promise. And, as I understand it, the two groups, even with serious intention, have not as things stand been able to come up with a formula that guards against this. Second of all, officials and politicians in the discussions have talked about the possibility of another referendum on the EU - whether you call it a "confirmatory vote", a "ratificatory referendum", or a "people's vote" - another chance for all of us to have a say. This has not though yet been a big focus of the talks - it seems like an issue that has been danced around the edges. Here's the thing: a hefty chunk of the Labour Party is adamant that they will only back a deal if it comes with a promise of another referendum. And that opinion among Labour backbenchers has been hardening, not softening in recent weeks. So even if the talks can find away around the customs conundrum, and then find a "lock" to make Labour comfortable with any promises that are made, there is a third profound dilemma. Number 10 has always made it abundantly clear that the prime minister believes that's a nightmare not worth contemplating. The problem for these talks is that for a big chunk of the parliamentary Labour Party that's the dream they are pursuing. There are others who disagree, and disagree profoundly. But in terms of making this process work, the Labour Party's votes can't be delivered in one big chunk. With huge political imagination, invention, (whose mother after all they say is a necessity, and there's certainly a necessity right now), it is of course possible that this process could get there. In this long tangled process a lot of things that have seemed impossible can in the end come to pass. But just as both sides in these talks are serious, the problems are serious too.

technology-32285383

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32285383

Spoiler alert! Or how to avoid them

I still remember my first spoiler.

By Zoe KleinmanTechnology reporter, BBC News It was the movie Sixth Sense, a supernatural thriller from the late 1990s with a clever, brilliantly executed, plot-defining final twist - which I already knew by the time I saw the film because of two over-excited friends and one very loud chat in my local pub. I was unlucky - wrong place, wrong time - but now as the internet regularly erupts with spoiler chat, pictures and videos, it can be very difficult to hide if you don't want to know everything there is to know about the best films, games and TV shows before you have seen them. Especially, it seems, if you're a fan of Game of Thrones, the most pirated TV show on the net, with a leak from the new series already online a day before its official release. So, short of pulling the plug on your broadband connection and retreating to a dark cave here are a few suggestions... Google told the BBC it didn't have any "official" spoiler-blocker extensions for its web browser Chrome, but there are a few third-party ones on its Chrome Store that allow you to filter social media - with mixed reviews. Last week, the tech giant was granted a patent in the US for a "system and method for processing content spoilers", but a Google representative pointed out that not all patented ideas ended up as products. US-based Chrome extension Spoiler Shield, also available as a smartphone app, enables users to filter Facebook and Twitter feeds by selecting shows they wish to "mute", including American sporting fixtures such as the Super Bowl. Tumblr Savior enables you to set up a "blacklist" and a "whitelist" of key words, which, as the titles suggest, you either always or never want to see on the Tumblr micro-blogging site. Although the "mute button" offered by Twitter itself only enables you to tune out a particular user, not hashtags or keywords, social-media dashboard Tweetdeck, owned by Twitter, has mute settings that enable you to block specific words or phrases from your Twitter timeline. Pick your movie review sites carefully - Den of Geek, for example, clearly signposts its reviews as "spoiler-free" in the headline if that's what they are. Chat forums and message boards, however, do not tend to stick to this etiquette. Even the most careful of reviews can be spoiled by the comments section underneath. CommentBlocker works on both Firefox and Chrome and will block the comments from view on the sites you choose. For some film-lovers, however, the spoilers are all part of the fun. "If I love a show, I'll Google it, I'll want a little peek into what's coming up, and then I'll end up watching a clip on YouTube, then another, then another," said film-maker Reece de Ville. "Even if I'm 'spoiled', I want to keep up with everyone else. We'll always love spoilers - it's gossip and we all want to be part of that."

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Snatched from a beach to train North Korea's spies

15 November 1977, Niigata, Japan:

By Rebecca Seales and Hideharu TamuraBBC News, in Tokyo It was after sunset on a crisp November evening when Megumi Yokota left her last badminton practice. Sharp winds chilled the fishing port of Niigata, and the grey sea rumbled at its brink. The lights of home were seven minutes' walk away. Megumi, 13, with her book-bag and badminton racquet, said goodbye to two friends 800ft from her parents' front door. But she never reached it. As six o'clock became seven and the quiet street failed to produce her daughter, Sakie Yokota began to panic. She ran to the gym at Yorii Middle School, expecting to meet her en route. "They left a long time ago," the school's night watchman said. Police, tracker dogs, torches splitting the darkness. They scoured a nearby pine forest calling Megumi's name. Sakie sped down the road to the beach, frantically scanning every car parked nearby. It made sense to search the shoreline. But perhaps something stronger and more ineffable drove the mother to the water's edge that night. Out on the Sea of Japan, out of Sakie's sight, a boat manned by North Korean agents was speeding towards the Korean Peninsula with a terrified schoolgirl locked in the hold. They left no evidence, and not a single witness. The crime was so brazen and bizarre that few would even imagine it, let alone solve it. But over the years, it became clear that Megumi was not the only victim. The Japanese government says that from 1977 until at least 1983, North Korean agents abducted 17 Japanese citizens. Some analysts believe the true figure could be more than 100. In the year that followed Megumi's disappearance, police poured 3,000 staff days into the search. A kidnapping unit occupied the Yokota house. Patrol boats cross-hatched the sea. The investigation drew an agonising blank. Megumi's father Shigeru paced the sand every morning. At night, he cried in the bath. Sakie cried when she was alone, hoping Megumi's brothers, twins aged nine, wouldn't hear her. A dark sand-timer had turned over for the Yokota family. For years, they tried simply to endure the void. But missing Megumi was alive. A North Korean spy who defected to the South in 1993 told Seoul in detail about an abducted Japanese woman who matched her description. "I remember her very clearly," said Ahn Myong-jin. "I was young, and she was beautiful." He said one of her kidnappers - a senior spy-master - had told him her story in 1988: The abduction was an unplanned blunder, he said. No-one had meant to take a kid. Two agents finishing up a spy mission to Niigata had been waiting on the beach for a pick-up boat, when they realised they'd been spotted from the road. Fearing discovery, they grabbed the figure. Megumi was tall for her age, and in the darkness they couldn't tell she was a child. She arrived in North Korea after 40 hours locked in a pitch-black storage room, Ahn said, her fingernails torn and bloody from trying to claw her way out. The agents who took her were chastised for their poor judgement. She was too young; what use did they have for a little girl? Megumi cried for her mother and refused to eat, unnerving her state minders. To soothe her, they promised that if she worked hard and learned fluent Korean, she would be allowed to go home. It was a lie to fool a devastated child. Her captors had no such intention. Instead, North Korea would force Megumi to work as a spy trainer, teaching Japanese language and behaviour at an elite school for espionage. For this to happen once would be extraordinary. But the bungled abduction set a kind of precedent in North Korea. The country's future leader Kim Jong-il, then head of its intelligence services, wanted to expand his spy programme. Kidnapped foreigners weren't just useful as teachers. They could be spies themselves, or Pyongyang could steal their identities for false passports. They could marry other foreigners (something forbidden to North Koreans), and their children, too, could serve the regime. The beaches of Japan were full of ordinary people, ripe for abduction, who would stand no chance against highly-trained agents. "People think I don't remember much about my sister... but I do clearly remember her, even though I was third or fourth grade in elementary school." When Megumi's younger brother, Takuya Yokota, and his twin Tetsuya were nine, the police hunting for Megumi showed them martial arts videos, urging them - "don't get beaten - be strong." Every day for 43 years, he has tried to heed that advice. Now 52, he sits in a business suit holding a copy of a postcard his sister sent before her kidnapping. At the end she wrote, "I'll be home soon!! Please wait." "She was very chatty, very active and bright," he says. "She was like a sunflower for our family. "Without her at the dining table, conversation was limited. The atmosphere got very dark. "I was very worried, but somehow I went to bed and got up in the morning - every day, to find that she was missing. I got up, and I still couldn't find her." For the first two decades after Megumi disappeared, the Yokotas had nothing but a cold case and their own desperate need to understand what had happened. They tried to guess how she might be ageing. She had been tall at 13; was she still? Had she kept her childhood dimples? A shadow hung over every question. They had no clue if she had survived that last November night. In coastal towns in the late 1970s, rumours hovered like sea gulls. Locals spoke of strange radio signals and lights from unknown ships, or Korean cigarette packets discarded by the shore. In August 1978, a couple on a beach date in Toyama prefecture were gagged, hooded and handcuffed by four men who spoke oddly formal, accented Japanese. They were hastily abandoned when a dog-walker came by and the dog barked, spooking their attackers. Others were less lucky. On 7 January 1980, Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper ran a front-page story: "Three couples on dates evaporate mysteriously along the coasts of Fukui, Niigata, and Kagoshima - is a foreign intelligence agency involved?" But it took a convicted terrorist to finally firm up the link to North Korea. Kim Hyun-hui had killed 115 people by helping to smuggle a bomb onto a South Korean passenger plane in 1987. Staring down a death sentence in Seoul, she testified that she was a North Korean agent acting on state orders. She said she had learned Japanese language and behaviour so she could work undercover. Her teacher, she said, was an abducted Japanese woman whom she lived with for almost two years. The testimony was compelling. But Japan's government wouldn't officially acknowledge that North Korea was stealing people. The two countries had a hostile history and no diplomatic relations. It was easier to ignore the evidence. When Japanese negotiators tried to raise the issue privately, the North angrily denied any abductees existed and terminated talks. It was 1997 - 20 years after Megumi went missing - when Pyongyang finally agreed to investigate. 21 January 1997 "We have information that your daughter is alive in North Korea." Shigeru was stunned. A Japanese official named Tatsukichi Hyomoto, the personal secretary to an MP, had contacted the Yokotas out of the blue. He had been probing abductions by Pyongyang for a decade, and wanted to meet them as soon as possible. Along with deep shock, a mad hope sprang back into the family's hearts. The government believed Megumi was alive. So the question at once became: How do we get her back? The Yokotas went public with their kidnap story. They were terrified North Korea would kill Megumi to cover up what had happened, but her father argued the case would be treated as hearsay unless her name was revealed. They had to spread the news across Japan, and beg the country for help. The family appeared on primetime TV. Questions were raised in parliament. In May, the government publicly confirmed that Megumi was not an isolated case: There were more like the Yokotas, aching for stolen daughters, sons, sisters, brothers and mothers. Seven of these families formed a support group to demand the rescue of their loved ones: the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea. They talked at length, pooling what little they knew. The abductions appeared opportunistic, but patterns soon emerged. Most victims were young lovers in their twenties. Beaches across Japan had been recast as crime scenes. On 12 August 1978, nine months after Megumi disappeared, 24-year-old office clerk Rumiko Masumoto went to watch the sunset with her boyfriend, Shuichi Ishikawa, 23, at a beach in Kagoshima Prefecture. Just a day earlier, she had shyly told her family about their relationship over dinner. Their car was found locked at the scene, with Rumiko's wallet and sunglasses in the passenger seat. Her camera was there too - filled with pictures the couple took of each other the day they disappeared. Police picked up one of Shuichi's sandals not far from the water's edge. Every kidnapping was a private tragedy. A loved one who fell out of the world without notice. Some of those left bereft were driven to the edge of madness by their loss. The press and the public weren't always sympathetic. News reports referred to the abductions as "alleged". Several Japanese politicians believed the claims were South Korean disinformation spread to discredit the North. But as the families drew up petitions, filled the airwaves, and lobbied the government, the truth was gathering weight like a rolling snowball. Five years later, in North Korea, it would stop at the feet of Kim Jong-il himself. 17 September 2002 "As the host, I regret that we had to make the prime minister of Japan come to Pyongyang so early in the morning," said North Korea's leader. But his companion's anger had nothing to do with the time. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had flown in to discuss normalising Japan's relations with North Korea, hoping the step would boost his flagging opinion rating. Instead, he had walked into a diplomatic ambush. After a brutal 1990s famine believed to have killed more than two million North Koreans, Kim Jong-il wanted food aid and investment, and an apology for Japan's 35-year colonisation of Korea. Japan wanted - and had refused to proceed without - details of every citizen abducted by Pyongyang's spies. Half an hour before the historic meeting, the list of names appeared: North Korea admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens. But just five were said to be alive. The causes of death given for the other eight included drowning, choking on the fumes from a broken coal heater, a heart attack in a woman of 27, and two car accidents in a country where private citizens rarely own cars. Pyongyang claimed it could not provide their remains, as floods had washed away almost all their graves. Koizumi was aghast. "I was utterly distressed by the information that was provided," he told Kim Jong-il, "and as the prime minister, who is ultimately responsible for the interests and security of the Japanese people, I must strongly protest. I cannot bear to imagine how the remaining family members will take the news." Kim listened in silence, taking notes on a memo pad, then enquired: "Shall we take a break now?" Debating their predicament in an anteroom, deputy Cabinet spokesman Shinzo Abe - who would become Japan's longest-serving prime minister - urged Koizumi not to sign the declaration committing to normalisation talks unless Pyongyang formally apologised for the kidnappings. When the delegates reconvened, Kim picked up a memo and read: "We have thoroughly investigated this matter, including by examining our government's role in it. Decades of adversarial relations between our two countries provided the background of this incident. It was, nevertheless, an appalling incident. "It is my understanding that this incident was initiated by special mission organizations in the 1970s and 1980s, driven by blindly motivated patriotism and misguided heroism. "[…] As soon as their scheme and deeds were brought to my attention, those who were responsible were punished. This kind of thing will never be repeated." The dictator of Pyongyang said the abductions were designed to provide its spies with native-Japanese teachers, and false identities for missions in South Korea. Some victims were snatched from beaches, yes - and others lured from studies or travels in Europe. He spoke of Megumi, the youngest named abductee by many years, saying her kidnappers had been tried and found guilty in 1998. One was executed, and the other died during a 15-year sentence, he said. "I would like to take this opportunity to apologise straightforwardly for the regrettable conduct of those people. I will not allow that to happen again." Koizumi signed the Pyongyang Declaration. Five alive, eight declared dead. Back in Japan, at a Tokyo guesthouse owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the abductees' families were waiting anxiously for news. Megumi's parents sat down with the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Shigeo Uetake. He took a breath. "I regret to inform you..." North Korea says Megumi Yokota hanged herself in a pine forest on 13 April 1994, on the grounds of a Pyongyang mental hospital where she was being treated for depression. This is her second death date. The North initially claimed she had died on 13 March 1993, before declaring that an error. As evidence, Pyongyang produced what it said was a hospital "death registry". It was a form with the words "Registry of Patient Entering and Leaving the Hospital," on the back of it. But "Entering and Leaving the Hospital," had been crossed out several times and the word "Death," written instead. Japan told North Korea it found the document highly suspect. Another kidnapped Japanese woman, Fukie Chimura, later said that Megumi had moved in next-door to her and her husband in North Korea in June 1994, two months after Megumi's supposed death, and lived there for several months. The Yokota family don't believe Megumi killed herself. Still, Sakie finds the details of Pyongyang's story chilling. "In Niigata, we had pine forests," she told the Washington Post in 2002. "I'm sure she missed them. I'm sure she was very lonely. For a minute, I thought maybe she longed so much for us and she couldn't come back that, in an instant, she [took her own life.] "I cried. But in the next minute, I said no, that could not have happened. I do not want it to have happened. I don't want her to have gone through that." Two years after declaring Megumi dead, Pyongyang handed over what it said were her ashes. They arrived on the 27th anniversary of her kidnapping. Her parents had kept their daughter's umbilical cord when she was born - a Japanese tradition - and DNA tests were performed. The samples didn't match. The scientist who tested the ashes would later say they could have been contaminated, making the result inconclusive. But North Korea had form for providing dubious remains. It had already sent bones it claimed were those of abductee Kaoru Matsuki, a man it said had died aged 42. They included a jawbone fragment which a dental expert said belonged to a woman in her sixties. On 15 October 2002, the five abductees who North Korea said were alive landed at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. They stepped off the plane to Japanese flags and homemade "Welcome home" banners, and sobbed on the runway in the arms of their families. Pyongyang had agreed the five could visit Japan for a week to 10 days. They would never set foot in North Korea again. How do you rescue someone whose captor insists they are dead? Of course, the Yokotas weren't the only family facing this nightmarish question. Rumiko Masumoto, the young office clerk who disappeared with her new boyfriend, was also on the list of deceased. North Korea says Rumiko died of a heart attack in her twenties. Her family don't accept that. "There's no one in my family with heart failure," her brother says simply. Teruaki Masumoto was 22 and studying fishery in Hokkaido at the time of his sister's 1978 abduction. He is 65 now, retired from a job grading tuna at Tokyo's main fish market. He and Megumi Yokota share a birthday - 5 October - though they are nine years apart. Megumi would be 56 now, and his sister Rumiko 66. Rumiko doted on her brother, the youngest of four Masumoto siblings. "She was very kind to me," he says. "Since our family wasn't so affluent, we lived in one room with a family of six. Rumiko and I slept on the same futon until I was about 12 years old. She loved me so much. When I got scolded by my father, she cried and defended me." Teruaki has charted four decades of lost time on a precious gift from Rumiko: a watch she gave him when he got into university. In recent years, the war of missing seconds has grown to feel ever more urgent. Rumiko and Teruaki's father, Shoichi, died of lung cancer in 2002. Their mother Nobuko made it to 90 before passing away in 2017. For four decades she waited for her daughter to come home. But in her later years, she acknowledged that death might reach her first. The search for a stolen child, dead or hidden in a pariah state, is a brutal legacy to leave. But it's an issue many abductees' families have been forced to address. With the parents' generation now gone or in their twilight years, should they tell their present, living children to fight on with everything they have? Is it even a choice? There was no formal handover, but Teruaki tends the dark sand-timer now. "My father, when he was still alive back in around 2000, became unable to come to Tokyo," he says. "At the time he said to me - 'I'm sorry.' And I felt sort of puzzled and uncomfortable, because I was doing this not because of my father but because of my missing sister. "My mother sometimes told me that she wondered if Rumiko would ever come back to Japan. So I think my mother half doubted that she would see her alive. But they didn't say things like, 'this is your time' or 'I want you to keep doing this rescue mission.' No, they didn't say that to me." They didn't need to. "Yes." Megumi's brother, Takuya Yokota, was still in his thirties when he felt the mantle settling on his shoulders. "When I went to the United States to see President Bush in 2006, I found my ageing parents had trouble spending a long time on a plane," he says. "And in Japan too, if we went somewhere far from Tokyo, they would also have trouble travelling. At that time, I understood that my parents would not be able to go to far-away places any more." Only two of the victims' parents remain alive. Sakie, the youngest, will turn 85 in February. Megumi's father Shigeru, softly-spoken but steely, died on 5 June 2020. He went into hospital in April 2018, and fought every day that followed to stay alive a little longer, with his treasured daughter's picture by his bed. In Japan, where everyone knows about "The Abduction Issue", it's not possible to protect a child with personal ties for long. Both Teruaki Masumoto and Takuya Yokota are fathers: Teruaki to a young daughter, and Takuya to a son in his early twenties. Takuya believes his son was in infant school when they told him what had happened to Aunt Megumi. "Probably when he was six or seven years old. I'm sure I had talked to him at the age of nine, the age I was when my sister got abducted." Teruaki's daughter was younger still. "My daughter knows about Rumiko," he says. "My wife told her before she entered kindergarten. There's this festival in Japan in summer, in July, when we think a couple separated by the Milky Way meet once a year up in the sky. We write our wish on a short piece of paper and put it onto a tree. On that paper, my four-year-old daughter wrote, 'I want to see my aunt.' Not every abductee's family has the luxury of insulating children from the burdens of loss and duty, as Teruaki knows. Since 2004 he has campaigned alongside Koichiro Iizuka. The person stolen from Koichiro was his mother. He was 16 months old at the time. Aged 22, Yaeko Taguchi was a nightclub hostess, and single mother to a baby son and three-year-old daughter. When she disappeared with no explanation in June 1978, her children were left abandoned in their Tokyo nursery. Yaeko's baby son was adopted by her brother, Shigeo Iizuka, and raised as his fourth child. Her daughter was cared for by an aunt. Now 43, Koichiro Iizuka remembers nothing about his birth mother. He's notably polite, calling her "Yaeko-san" - "Ms Yaeko". "Mum" and "Dad" are Shigeo and his wife Eiko. And until he reached 22, he had no idea his life was more complex than that. "When I got a job I had the chance to go abroad for training, and I needed to apply for my passport," he explains. "In order to do that I needed to get a family registration paper. And I took it and looked at it, and found that I was adopted by Mr Iizuka. "First I couldn't imagine why they had kept this secret for so long; I just couldn't imagine, so I needed some time. It took me a week before I went to my parents. "When I came home, my mother was out of the house but my father was there. So I told him I had looked at the family registration paper and had found out I was adopted. And I asked him - what happened to me?" Shigeo took him to lunch and told him the truth. "He told me, as the paper says you're not my biological child. And I have this youngest sister - whose name is Yaeko - and you are a child of hers." He held back the darkest part until they were home. "He told me, there is this person Kim Hyun-hui - the North Korean agent, the bomber of the KAL plane in 1987, and she said she was taught by a Japanese teacher. Kim Hyun-hui was shown several pictures twice [by Japanese police] - and she picked Yaeko-san, saying 'this is my teacher.' From that it was clear that she was one of the abductees in North Korea." The claim was corroborated by Fukie Chimura, one of the abductees returned to Japan, who said she had shared accommodation with Yaeko. In 2004, two years after the five Japanese made it home from North Korea, Koichiro decided to reveal publicly that he was Yaeko Taguchi's son. He was frustrated by the diplomatic impasse on rescuing the others, keen to do all he could to push the issue. "This person Yaeko-san wasn't real in my memory - she was like someone in a story," he says. "But this woman in the story gave birth to me, so it was shocking to me that I wouldn't be able to see her. "My father was given a lecture by a foreign ministry official who said there was no proof to support North Korea saying that she was dead. And my father said he just couldn't believe it - he couldn't take the word of North Korea. "So we thought - I thought - that I wanted to rescue her, help her." The plane bomber Kim Hyun-hui had been sentenced to death for her crimes, but was ultimately pardoned by South Korea's then president. In 2009, Koichiro and Shigeo Iizuka travelled to Busan, South Korea to meet her, and learn what they could about her time with Yaeko. "She said, I feel that Yaeko-san is my sister, and I'm very happy to see my sister's son today," recalls Koichiro. "And I hope someday that the four of us can meet at one time." Officially, North Korea says Yaeko Taguchi died in a car accident in 1986. But Ms Kim disputes that, saying she spoke to a driver who reported seeing her alive the following year. She would now be 65. Koichiro knows he may ultimately be left searching for his mother, the missing stranger, without the backing of those who knew and loved her. "Of course I feel time is very important. Especially because Yaeko-san has two siblings who have already died. My father is ageing. I want him to see her again very much. Not only my family, but the other abductees' families… I can easily see they're getting older. People who used to be very active - some of them are gone already, and some are very frail." North Korea has never admitted it was behind the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858, and maintains there is no such person as Kim Hyun-hui. Yaeko Taguchi's family fear that after tutoring Kim and spending her days surrounded by spies, Yaeko may simply know too much ever to be released. All those caught up in this struggle share a common dread: That passing time will make a mockery of it, as the abductees age beyond reasonable hope of survival. Would they have died of old age in North Korea by now? At time of writing - no. But it will fall to the current generation to address the question. "Time passes equally for both sides," says Takuya Yokota. "Yes, they are getting older too. And I think spending a year or 20 years in Japan or in England or the US has a different meaning to spending the same amount of time in North Korea. In North Korea, it's very hard not only to stay alive until tomorrow, but to keep alive today." For Teruaki Masumoto, not even their loved ones' deaths would justify giving up. "If their deaths were proven then we would want their bones to be back with us. That's the Japanese mentality. We would also continue to hold the Japanese government accountable for not being able to rescue the abductees. Even though there are 17 abductees 'approved' by the government, I think many, many more are in North Korea - more than a hundred. If there are other abductees, we should be able to establish what happened to them. So we're not going to stop working any time soon." In 2014, North Korea agreed to open an investigation into the fates of the eight acknowledged abductees it has not returned, despite having declared them dead. It was dragged out until 2016, then cancelled in a spat over nuclear test sanctions. Megumi's father dreamed of walking her through the lights and liveliness of Roppongi, Tokyo's entertainment district. But in her mother's prayers, they go to a field together where they can lie down looking at the sky, without anybody around, and just quietly and peacefully spend time. Sakie writes open letters to her daughter, in the hope the words may somehow reach her. Part of one, published by JAPAN forward last year before the loss of her husband, reads as follows: "Dear Megumi, "I know it might seem a bit strange that I am just casually reaching out to you. Are you well? "[...] I have been trying my best to live a full life, but I feel my body weakening, and every day gets a little bit harder. When I see your father at the hospital desperately doing his rehabilitation exercises, I am overcome with an urgency to find a way for him to see you. "This is the reality of ageing. It's not just your father and me. We may be dealing with ageing, sickness, and weariness, but the families of all the victims in North Korea still go on yearning to see their loved ones back on native soil and hold them in their arms. "We don't have much time left. We've fought long and hard with our hearts and souls, but we cannot hold out much longer. "[...]I want to celebrate my next birthday with you. Only the nation of Japan - the government - can make that happen. But sometimes I'm overcome with a sense of unease and am concerned that our efforts are futile when I see what's going on in our government. I doubt they have the will to solve this problem and figure out a way to bring the victims home. "[…] Somehow, I have managed to survive this raging storm. I am thankful that you also have survived, supported by a greater power. We are not alone. And so I pray again today as I think of all of you. "It will take more effort than ever before to bring all the victims back to Japan. Of course, Japan must stand up for itself, but we also need courage, love, and righteousness from around the world. (Those of you who read my letter, please take a moment to remember in your heart the abductees still trapped in North Korea. Please speak out for them.) "Dearest Megumi, I will keep up the fight to bring you back home to me, your father, and your brothers Takuya and Tatsuya. My resolve remains unshaken, even at age 84. So please take care of yourself and never lose hope." All in-person interviews were conducted prior to the coronavirus pandemic

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Hillary Clinton's grandmother gambit

"Grandmothers know best."

By Anthony ZurcherEditor, Echo Chambers Hillary Clinton attached that line as a hashtag to a tweet about the importance of measles vaccinations earlier this month. Given that Mrs Clinton's tweets are read like messages from the Delphic oracle, it has rekindled speculation that the former secretary of state will be leaning on her new grandmatronly status in her all-but-announced upcoming presidential campaign. Since Chelsea Clinton gave birth to her daughter, Charlotte, last September, Hillary Clinton has frequently mentioned how being a grandmother has given her a renewed interest in ensuring the security of future generations - which, come to think of it, sounds like a pretty reliable campaign theme. Perhaps more importantly for Mrs Clinton, however, it's also a humanising theme. "I think it's a way to soften her image and make her seem very relatable," explains Jennifer Lawless, director of American University's Women & Politics Institute. Lawless says that US voters want two sets of traits in their leaders - competency and empathy. In 2008 then-Senator Clinton demonstrated that she was competent, but she often came across as cold and mechanical. One of the few times Mrs Clinton showed a more personal side was when she choked up while talking about why she was running for president - and it resulted in an overnight boost in her fortunes. "Some people think elections are a game, lot's of who's up or who's down," she said. "It's about our country, it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together." The following day she upset Barack Obama in the New Hampshire primary, giving her the momentum to wage a long, although ultimately losing, battle for the Democratic nomination. Mrs Clinton has yet to formally enter the 2016 race - and she appears to be in no rush to do so, since a credible opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination has yet to emerge. Given the tight-lipped nature of Mrs Clinton's operation up to this point, political analysts have been poring over even the smallest signs that could indicate how she will run this time around - and what lessons, if any, she has learned from her 2008 defeat. The grandmother-knows-best tweet, then, has been heralded as something of a revelation. According to the Atlantic's Peter Beinart, Mrs Clinton as "grandmother-in-chief" not only softens her occasionally hard edges, it fits nicely with her political worldview. Possible 2016 opponents No-one has formally declared but these are some of the names to watch: Meet the 2016 candidates. "In the popular imagination, grandmothers are both caring and conservative," he writes. "They dote on their grandchildren while also tut-tutting about a culture gone awry. They are pro-family in both the liberal and conservative senses of the word." Mrs Clinton has always said she's both a "trailblazer and a traditionalist", Beinart says. "Now, by running as a grandmother, she may finally make Americans believe her." The tactic is not without its risks, however. Mrs Clinton's political opponents have been quick to point out that she will be 69 on election day in 2016, the same age as the nation's oldest president, Ronald Reagan, when he was first elected in 1980. Some commentators, including Republican strategist Karl Rove, have gone so far as to question Mrs Clinton's health and fitness for the rigours of office. Could a campaign that touts the wisdom of a grandmother play into these lines of attack? "The image of a blue-haired granny is a tried-and-true American stereotype, and one that is antithetical to the image of the commander-in-chief with his finger on the button," writes Time magazine's Jay Newton-Small. According to Lawless, however, Mrs Clinton's age was going to be a factor one way or the other, so she might as well tackle the issue head-on and turn a possible weakness into a strength. "Better to be thought of as an old and empathetic person than just old," she says. Others on the right simply condemned Mrs Clinton's tweet as a calculated move from an always-calculating political family. "Clinton's flaunting of her grandchild is one of the most transparently cynical and sentimental acts of a major American politician that I can recall," Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon writes. "We have had presidents who have been parents, and we have had presidents who have been grandparents. But a campaign based on grandparental solidarity? A novelty." The line quickly gave rise to the quip that a Clinton presidency will advance the "granny state" - a haggard iteration of the liberal nanny state. "#GrandmothersKnowBest feels like a hashtag the GOP would have come up with for Hillary," tweets Jon Passantino, Buzzfeed's deputy news director. Although Mrs Clinton is treading new ground as the first woman with a realistic shot at the US presidency, it's familiar territory for other female world leaders - who have addressed the issue with varying levels of directness. One of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's public nicknames is "Mutti" - Mummy - but she largely has kept her personal life under tight wraps. In the most recent campaign, however, she did make appearances with her husband's grandchildren. On the other end of the spectrum is Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The 76-year-old grandmother of eight campaigned on the slogan that she wanted to bring "motherly sensitivity and emotion" to the office. The humanising effect of having youngsters in tow during a campaign appearance isn't limited to female candidates, of course. In 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney often brought some of his 18 grandchildren onto the public stage, and photographs of his entire brood were used in television adverts. Liberia isn't the US, however, and while Mr Romney assuredly needed a humanising touch as well, the downside of playing up his role as pater familias was minimal compared to the challenges facing Mrs Clinton. Still, says Lawless, the benefits of the strategy likely outweigh the risks. And if a single hashtag means Mrs Clinton will be placing new emphasis on the groundbreaking nature of her candidacy - which recent polls show could help broaden her appeal - the potential benefit is all the greater. "Her line about putting 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling was one of the most successful," Lawless says. Although Mrs Clinton didn't use it until she was conceding defeat to Mr Obama, this time could be different. "Grandmothers know best" may have been just one hashtag on one tweet, but there is almost certainly more to it than that.

uk-politics-38244953

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38244953

Brexit hard yards still to come

It sailed through.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter For the first time, MPs have agreed in a vote that we will begin the process of leaving the EU by the end of March. The government chief whip was seen with a massive grin after tonight's vote. Remember ministers' climbdown came with a clever kicker, persuading Labour to sign up to their timetable for triggering Article 50 without committing to very much in return - the vague promise of a plan that could be as detailed as the back of the proverbial fag packet. There's grumpiness on the Labour benches at how it was handled - angry conversations taking place, sources suggest - a sense among some that the front bench allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by the government's cunning plan. Compromise ahead Potential Tory rebels on the Remain side are deeply suspicious of the government's real intentions for giving more information about its ideas for Brexit. They backed off today, but will be back for more, no question. But beyond the immediate machinations and the chief whip's big grin, two realities are confirmed by the events of the last 24 hours. Yes - the numbers tonight suggest not very many MPs will actually try to block Brexit, or frustrate the process. They will certainly try to push the government for more details. They will certainly try to amend the proposals that eventually make it to the Commons, whenever that is. That could disrupt and delay things, but trying to stop it happening is not on the agenda of the vast majority. But what's equally clear is that Theresa May does not have a secure majority on the EU. As soon as her plans (eventually) hit the floor of the House, she's likely to have to compromise. That is precisely why the government is fighting so hard just across the road in the Supreme Court to try to avoid MPs having a say before the really hard work in Brussels even begins.

world-europe-17212376

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17212376

Bosnia-Herzegovina profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1908 - Bosnia-Herzegovina annexed to Austria-Hungary. 1914 - A Bosnian Serb student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinates the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. This precipitates World War I. 1918 - Austria-Hungary collapses at the end of the war. Bosnia-Herzegovina becomes part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. 1941 - Bosnia-Herzegovina annexed by pro-Hitler Croatian puppet state. Thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies are sent to the death camps. 1945 - Bosnia-Herzegovina liberated following campaign by partisans under Tito. 1945-1991- Bosnia is part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 1991 - Following collapse of communism, separatists win first multi-party elections and form coalition government despite having conflicting goals. War on many fronts 1992 - Croat and Muslim nationalists form tactical alliance and outvote Serbs at independence referendum. War breaks out and Serbs quickly assume control of over half the republic. Killings and deportations are rampant in the newly-proclaimed Serb Republic, but also widespread in Muslim and Croat-controlled areas. 1995 - Safe haven of Srebrenica is overrun by Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladic, who massacre over 8,000 Muslims 1995 December - Dayton peace accord creates two entities of roughly equal size, one for Bosnian Muslims and Croats, the other for Serbs. An international peacekeeping force is deployed. After Dayton 1996 - The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia begins work in the Hague. 2000 - Moderate parties do well in elections in the Muslim-Croat entity but nationalists gain the upper hand in the Serb entity. Results force main Serb nationalist party to form a coalition headed by moderate Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic. Krstic sentenced 2001 August - Hague war crimes tribunal finds Bosnian Serb Gen Radislav Krstic guilty of genocide for his role in the massacre of thousands of men and boys in Srebrenica. Krstic sentenced to 46 years. 2002 May - UK politician Paddy Ashdown becomes UN High Representative. 2002 October - Nationalists win back power in federation presidential, parliamentary and local elections. EU peacekeepers take over 2004 December - Nato hands over peacekeeping duties to a European Union-led force, Eufor. 2006 December - Bosnia joins Nato's Partnership for Peace pre-membership programme. 2007 February - The International Court of Justice rules that the 1995 Srebrenica massacre constituted genocide, but clears Serbia of direct responsibility. Karadzic and Mladic arrested 2008 July - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic arrested on war crimes charges in Belgrade after nearly 13 years on the run. 2011 May - Serbian authorities arrest former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic, one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects. 2011 December - Bosnia's Muslim, Croat and Serb political leaders reach agreement on formation of new central government, bringing to an end 14 months of deadlock since 2010 general election. 2013 May - A UN tribunal finds six former Bosnian Croat leaders guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Balkan wars. 2014 May - The worst flooding in modern times leaves quarter of the population without clean drinking water as half-a-million people are evacuated from their homes. Steps towards EU membership 2015 March - European Union and Bosnia sign Stabilisation and Association Agreement, raising possibility of Bosnia joining Union. Bosnia formally applies for membership in 2016. 2016 March - UN tribunal in The Hague finds former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic guilty of genocide and war crimes - including genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre - and sentences him to 40 years in jail. 2017 November - Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic is found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War. He is sentenced to life imprisonment. 2018 October - Veteran nationalist Milorad Dodik wins Serbian seat on three-member federal presidency. He has proposed that the Serb Republic should secede.

sinhala.050429_sivaram_no_more

https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2005/04/050429_sivaram_no_more

Siva is no more!

"Siva has been abducted!"

I was visiting friends with my family when the call came through. It was around 10pm in London. We had to cut short the visit and rush home. My 11 year old son was not happy to go home as he had to leave his playmates. "What is going on?" I gave him the unpalatable information. He was thoughtful on the way home. Before getting into bed he looked at the small pile of clothes kept in a side of the room. "I hope Siva Mama will come back soon." The clothes were of Siva's. Before leaving London a couple of months ago Siva left these at our place. "It is easy than carrying it around. I can wear them if I return to London in future." He talked about increasing death threats since the LTTE Eastern commander Karuna broke away from Tamil Tigers in March last year. Sivaram or Taraki as he was known to some readers did not support the Karuna faction espousing an "Eastern Eelam" although Siva was a man from Batticaloa. He saw the separation of the North and the East as the downfall of the whole Tamil Liberation struggle. The concept of a Tamil Homeland, the rallying call of Tamil militancy is based on a united North and East. Sinhala Nationalists have called for the de-merger of the North and East that was temporarily merged in 1987. Taraki was not prepared to go for the separation of Tamil Homeland. He was going ahead for a separate Tamil identity in a united North and East. The man who braved battle fields, the man who wrote from government held territory highlighting the Tamil Liberation Struggle in inimitable English and Tamil without losing life or limb at the height of the civil war, felt that his life was now in danger. Earlier, in 2000 a clandestine organisation issued a threatning statement calling four journalists including Sivaram "traiters" and "spies". Three of them fled the country and found refuge in developed countries. Sivaram opted to stay back. When the journalist A Nadesan was killed in Batticaloa last May, two other journalists from the East fled the country after receiving death threats. Sivaram helped them reach Europe and chose to stay back. Under the present regime his house was raided twice by government security forces in search of "weapons". Yet, Sivaram preferred staying back. But, the man who could quote from the Tamil epic Manimehalai as well as Art of War by Sun Tzu with equal ease and who was counted as an authority on military analysis felt threatened a couple of months ago. But, he wanted to carry on with the work at home. We urged him to stay in London and carry on with publishing his website. "How can I write the story properly if I am not in touch with the ground situation?" That is what made him a glowing beacon among military analysts. He knew the land; He knew the terrain; He knew why battles are won or lost. Therefore, when Siva said that he was threatened, it was serious. But, he was never concerned about his safety even while in hostile territory. It could well be a reason how he managed to command such a presence in a relatively short life span of 46 years. "They found the body!" My restless sleep was broken early in the morning. I called Siva's home. His daughter Vaishnavy answered the phone. She knew already and was taking it all with great courage that I have only seen in the likes of Dharmeratnam Sivaram. Justifying the slaying of Vijaya Kumaratunge, father of Vimukthi and Yasodara in Colombo, the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (Patriotic Peoples Movement) called him a traitor. After gunning down Sivaram, father of Vaishnavy, Vaitheky and Seralathan in Colombo, the same evil forces denounce him as a 'terrorist'. The Sinhala Vijaya and the Tamil Siva were both good friends who laid down their lives as unrelenting campaigners on the path to a harmonious land that dignifies the right of Tamils. My son was walking with me to school. "They won't kill Siva Mama, will they?" I had no courage to divulge the truth. But, I have to tell him. He should know what Vaishnavy knows.

sinhala.041108_post_bag

https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2004/11/041108_post_bag

SB jailed for two years

SB imprisoned

The verdict given to him by court is totaly political avenge for his past action only. the contempt of court is punishable but not like to hard core criminals. The same time I think the freedom of speach is going to be under the dark curtain of Democracy.Mohammad Sarook,Dammam,Saudi Arabia It is a good decission. Other politecians who set bad examples to the public also should be braught to the coarts and punished. They become hearos and our uneducated people cheer the instead of kicking them out. UNP also has no right to protest againt the court desission.Channa Semage, Malmo, Sweden It's a court decision.Why should a court decision be politicised. We feel he got what he deserves.Karu, Auckland, New Zealand This could be a sweet political revenge by the President as some says. However I think SB deserves it. Any one says this is against democracy should remember how SB organized polls rigging first for PA and then for UNP(UNF). Ironically Victor Ivan's "Ravaya" published detailed article about SB's polls rigging in Hanguranketha 2 years ago. And this is also a powerful lesson to his unruly sons (incl. Mahinda Wijesekara's, Mervins Silva's etc) who I would like to see behind the bars.Ajith Dharmakeerthi, Enfield, UK Judgement against S.B. is wrong. He is a political prisnor and, It seems, that the court of law is now acting on behalf of the president and not on behalf of the law.Tikiri Herath, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka This is one of the best decisions taken by the sri lankan supreme court in the history. Not only SB many other currupted members like A.Ratwatte, Mahinda wijesekara, Ranil wickremasinghe etc has to be enforced the same law in front of the public.Para Wijewardena, Bremen, Germany This is a very unfortunate thing happened as it is very clear that the decision was given by chandrika to take the revenge. If two years rigorous imprisonment can be given for a speech criticizing the court, then what should be the punishment given for other people who is doing murders, drug trafficing and corruption.Saman, Melbourne, Australia There is no difference between a terrorist leader and so called ``Democratically elected leader``, in view of the way they go about silencing and carrying out act of revenge on political opponents, particularly those considered to be a direct threat to their leadership.Royston Fernando, Berlin, Germany This is a good lesson to all the politicians who have drainage mouths.(kaanu katawal)Not only S.B. there are few more in the both sides(government and the opposition)who deserves the same type of punishment.Kamal Yohan De Silva, Paris, France Almost all bad practises in politics like corruption,unlawful behavior, thuggery etc.,first introduced to Sri Lankan politics by SLFP/PA or their coallition members. I see this action as a revenge rather than safegaurding Judiciary.Buddhi Meegasdeniya,Toronto,Canada Any individual who breaks law should be punished. The reason that I have doubt with this judgement against SB how Anura already knew that SB was about to go to prison? the current Chandrika goverment is behaving as if it has always been a whiter than white.Anil Kumarasinghe, London, UK This is good thing to happen at both the ends. If this an independant decision made by the Supreme Court, it is good since it ensures the Sri Lankan Court system still has elements not corrupted by politics. If this decision has made under the influence of the Ruling Alliance, it is good because they have to expect the same once back in the opposition and therefore would avoid criticising the court. Finally, whatever the real reasons behind the scene is, this is good because SB is in jail. Anuradha Munasinghe, Melbourne, Australia Good lesson for all ill disciplined Sri Lankan politicians! Varuni Gunasekara, USA There is a no freedom for speech in Sri Lanka under Chandrika's goverment. Nimal Gangaera, Dammam, Saudi Arabia Good, good, we need this kind of desicions. Indika, Hiroshima, Japan Most of the comments are in favour of the supreme court desision.but i would like to ask one question from them are they thinking the remaining politicians are saints in front of courts? so now in srilanka there are two restricted catergories we cannot freely express our views.first is the executive president and others are judges.do this restrictions are in line with international human right conventions?please clarify if i am wrong.in near future all the ministers and mp's will get this immunity. Rohan Dalpadadu, Dubai, UAE The Supreme Courts decision on SB is a victory for Sri Lankan people. Hopefully the dignity of the Court will be restored. Dular Niyangoda,Colombo, Sri Lanka Its quite good decision but the problem is he was in the oposition party, and he is not the only one who deserves this, every one knows who are the others but unfortunately they have got the supernatural powers untill topple this government. Thushara Dassanayake, Enfield, UK There are few things in Sri Lanka still we can proudly talk about. One thing is the impartial court decisions like this regardless of politics. Jinna, Canada A statement or action by a king or a premier or politician at a so-called Vap Magula has never been taken seriouly so far as history would show. In 1977 PM JR Jayawardene's agriculture minister was seen pushing the plough wearing shoes and socks to avoid the mud. They were all rather unexpected occurances which the people simply forgot with a laugh. Only those residents in Habaraduwa had the ingenuity to make a big issue out of SB's funny statement. Ashoka Weerakkody, Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka SB is in jail and that's fine as he broke the law. How about other politicians who have done worse and enjoy roaming freely? This makes me sick of Sri Lankan politics and the so-called "LAW". This incident has given one more reason for the international community to laugh at us Sri Lankans. Treat offenders impartially! Priyanke Madawela, Kandy, Sri Lanka SB certainly deserves a punishment but not for attacking the Supreme Court but for Bribery and Corruption. M Rifai, Colombo SriLankan politics & the law makers are a joke today. SB was only 1 out of 100 who was given this judgement. What about the other politicians, top businessmen, law makers who have abused/miss used power? Have these people been brough to justice ? Yes, but then let lose. What happened to the cases where politicians, top businesmen involved for murder? Where is the Law? Do we have educated politicians today ? Its sad to see whats going on in SriLanka.Its time for UNP & SLFP to unite and make SriLanka a better place to live. Shennal Angunawela, UAE There should be no pardon for SB. The leaders should respect the law and order of the country. Thank to Supremme Court for using due powers. Kandayya Rasalingam, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka It is a good action. Good lesson to politicians of all parties. Always the politicians are the people set bad examples to the public. Suppreme Court should have a backbone to punnish anybody without looking at the status specially politicians, who are there to make the country better. The general public also should regect this type of third class politicians instead of chearing. My salute to the civilians who made the complain agaist SB. Janaka, Stockholm, Sweden Politicians like S B Dissanayaka must learn a lesson.Very impresive decision made by Supreme Court. Ravi Wijesinghe, Hounslow, UK SB Deserves more than that. I would give him more than 10 years of fun in jail. Indika Fernando, London, UK This is totally a political revange of the PA government. How did Anura come to know the verdict before he was sentanced ? Many previous PA MPs have critically spoken similally during UNP regime, specialy during the impeachment against President Premadasa in 1992. We know that lots of JVP members who are in the parliment are responsible for various criminal charges ( Vijaya Kumarathunga , Premakeerthi Alwis etc). Is Chandrika going to punih them also? Is JVP and others agianst the freedem of specch ? Saman Kalupahana, Stockholm, Sweden Among all corrupted politicians in Sri lanka I rate SB as No 1. Mazloom Mohamed, Male, Maldives Whether it is UNP or SLFP politicians think that people are fools. Person like Mahinda Wijesekara reject the Supreme Court judgement saying that it is SB's nature and shoul be pardoned. Nihal Jayasinghe, Muscat, Oman I am happy to say that the suppreme court of Sri Lanka has made a Good Judgment. Though S.B is a Member of the Law making body (legislator) he cant go above the law.If he does he should Punished. Shashimal Dissanayake, Hatfield, UK Don't look through a Blue, Green or Red glasses. This is civilised era and everyone must be obliged to the law where they are live. If someone try to challenge the law in front of a gallery to gain cheap popularity he must be paid for it. Law should be challenged at the proper place but not the public gallery. If parliment can differ Supreme Court's decisions I cant imagine future of that society. Sam Gunaratna, Auckland, New Zealand If this has been done by the president or government, i think this is the only good thing they they have ever done during their period of power. Gamini Goonewardena, Dubai, UAE Where is the common sense of the people Ranil W now says that jail sentence imposed on SBD is a threat to democracy. This so-called father of democracy, some time back insisted that [when SB was in the PA] SBD should be given the maximum punishment for contempt of court. True that self-centred corrupt politicians make such utterances for their own survival. What is difficult to comprehend is that the low level of common sense in the people who still worship this politico-cheats. Nagananda Kodituwakku, London These polititians eat the poor people's money & enjoy themselves. This was a good decision. What we lack in Sri Lanka is the descipline. Expecting to see more polititians in jail for corupption case. Susantha Kumara, Kuwait SB may have violated the law of the country by insulting the Supreme Court, but it doesnt mean what he said is not true. People have reasons to see this as an act of political revenge. Especially when considering the resent past of Sri Lankan judicial system and controversial appointments of key personnel in Supreme Court. The judicial system acted very fast regarding the case of SB. However it is very unfortunate that such haste is not shown regarding other more important cases. Janaka, Manchester, UK I hope it will be a very good lesson for all our politicians who don't have any respect for the Judiciary System,Supreme Court or Judges.They think the law is in their hands.Specially,SB might have been more carefull about his mouth ,being the National Organizer of the UNP.And the politicians must use their mouths really very carefully,being the role models for the people of the country.And I hope the Supreme Court will send the other corrupt politicians to jail,soon.And about the DEATH PENALTY, I think it would not have been stopped.It really would bring the crime rate in SL down. Uditha Dias, Tokyo, Japan Contempt of court is not a matter of joke. All civilized Sri Lankans must stand together to protect the law. If any legislator goes above the law he or she must be punished. How can you expect that normal citizen to obey the law, if our legislators go above the law? The killing of High Court judge Ambepitiya was the result of this type of behavior. Obeying the Supreme Court order and respecting the law can mobilize more voters than protesting against the Supreme Court verdict. Upali Sirimalwatta, Vienna, Austria I think while he deserves a jail term for corruption, along with a lot of politicians from all the parties, it is not a good thing when judges jail people just for criticizing them as is the case here. That distinction should be made by when discussing this. Suranga Fernando, Ekala, Sri Lanka People who speak in support of SB should be stonned to death if they are Sri Lankans. Varuni Wickramasinghe, Brisbane, Australia I am happy the suppreme court of Sri Lanka has taken a strong action agaist at least one strong joker. The problem of Sri Lanka is lack of law and order. We have to start by correcting the kings. While this much of problems are there in the country to our politecians will go behind this silly issue. People should make complains agaist other politecians who are curropted also and teach good lessons. Sarath Ranawake, Rome, Italy I think the sentance is not enough and it should be atleast life in order to prevent future corraption in the country. Laxman Ratnayake, UK Thank you very much for Supreme Court. this is totaly reasonable verdict. Not only SB there are other politicians involved in corupption and missusing the public money never mind whether in ruling sector or opposition.They also should be sent to jail. Janaka Rajapakse, Ishikawa, Japan A very good decision. What we lack in Sri Lanka is the descipline. Expecting to see more polititians in jail. Ranjith Balasuriya, Stratford, UK I am a Tamil from Tamil Nadu, but I was born in Lanka and lived up to 1985 in Nuwara Eliya. I laugh at your countrys present political leader namely Chandrika. I think SB is safe in the prison rest of the country is mad. Aravind, Madras, India If President pardoned SB then one day thugs may kill someone and if court funish them their other members may thretten President, like today, to release their mate. It is jungle law and can a country survive like that. My strong opinion is if SB is guilty then he should serve his prison term as others. Sam Gunaratna, Auckland, New Zealand This is a glaring example of revenge by the Government headed by Chandrika Kumaratunge. The contempt of Court issue was just an excuse. People who love to enjoy the democracy should protest to these type of things. This is a pure political revenge nothing elese. Jayantha Siriwardhana, Kobe, Japan This is totaly political revange.Very unreasonable.How can we believe Sri Lanka justice system.What about Member of parliament Mr. Mervin Silva? He is still free. No action against him. Chandra Andrahennadi, Auckland, Sri Lanka It is funny how our locals with foreign addresses justify the judgment against SB. We know who you people are. I cant imagine how those poor chaps drive on those roads with so many potholes. We are glad your fake comments are restricted to just what they are. Harsha De Silva, Colombo, Sri lanka If the Supreme Court's decision was an impartial one, then the imprisonment of SB is justified but if we analyse the conduct of most other ministers, we will find that they are doing much more illegal and sickening activities behind our backs but why doesnt the legal system even make an effort to do something about this? Why the double standards Supreme Court? Anthony Fonseka, Hounslow, UK Good. Both parties shoud keep on continuesly complaining and sending indeciplined colegues to jail. Then only good leaders will be there to rule the country. Anwar Mohmood, Copenhagen, Denmark It is best decission for Sri Lankan notorious polititions. We thank you very much to Sri Lankan judges.Ajith Dhammika Dekinda, Nawalapitiya, Sri Lanka It is a widely known fact that all politicians abuse their powers for their personel gains.SB Dissanayake was a classic example for that.Sentencing him and depriving of his civic rights is a deterance and a warning for all other politians. The politicians should not think that the law is in their hands when in power.Law must be above all.The politicians should learn to respect the law of the land.then the others below them would automatically follow their leaders. Sugath Senevirathne, Hounslow, UK In a way its good that at least one person was held accountable, but there are more serious crimes being commited in broad daylight and this "contempt of court" charge is petty in comparison.The president should focus on developing the country rather than to take political revenge. She should set an example to the parliment, the people and to the whole country....this is like the mother crab telling the children to walk straight, not sideways. this is nothing but for political gain. Shamil Ranasinghe, USA If the politicians who came to parliament by the help of thugs and money thinks that they are above the law of the country, this is the best response has been given by Supreme court. Well-done Supreme Court. I hope that now these politicians will behave little bit better. Chinthaka Hettitantri, USA Not only SB all the other politicians,departments heads doing corruption should be sent to the prison.Politicians please set examples for the people in Sri Lanka. Ranasinghe, UK Thanks to Supreme Court judges justice has been served. If any one who insult or defame the Supreme Court means he has no respect to the country's legal system and law and order. This is a good lesson to all others. Specially to politicians. Sarath Jayasiriwardena, Montreal,Canada This is totally a political revange of the PA government. How did Anura came to know the verdict before he was sentanced. Many previous PA MPs have critically spoken similally during UNP regime, specialy during the impeachment against President Premadasa in 1992. Lakmal Kahawela As Rajitha said, such judgements are not heard of in developed world due to the fact that all people in the developed world has respect for the judiciary. SB's total lack of regards for law in the country lead to this. I believe this is a good precedent to all the politicians to be within the law similar to that of policians in the developed world. As an example, the Australian PM was once charged by court for a traffic offence which is unheard of in Sri Lanka. The best thing that the opposition could do was to take the positive side of this and push for any govt. MPs conviction if any of them have committed similar offences. Dinesh, Blacktown, Australia Very unreasonable verdict, since there are creminal freely enjoying at large, and if you ask 10 people, 9 of them will find fault with formar PM Ranil for not taken proper action when the UNP won the election in 2001. Priyantha Perera, Wattala, Sri Lanka This not the time to through mud over others and use the temporary power to overpower others we need unity to build our beautiful land but still no any kind of silver lines over our skies. Saman, UK Well done! Sovoirnity of Judiciary prooved.Not only SB there are other politicians involved in corupption and missusing the public money never mind whether in ruling sector or opposition. They also should be sent to jail. Chandrasiri Wanasinghe, Abu Dhabi, UAE He should have sent to jail for corruption but not for defaming the court. It looks like Chandrika is following infamous tactics of her mother in 70s. Janak Abayakoon, Muscat, Oman We are verry satisfaied about SB's matter and also we hope hereafter Sri Lankan goverment will go verry honestly. Ahamed Irshad Mohamed Buhary, Seoul, South Korea It is good for such a judgements to teach other memebers in parliment, if you are going back to few years back how his act and behiver in front of TV Screen, this is not enough for SB, it had be more tough, how he criticised President few years back. Gamini Bandula Palliya Guruge, Doha, Quatar This is a glaring example of revenge by the Government headed by Chandrika Kumaratunge. The contempt of Court issue was just an excuse. Spencer Anthony, Hemel Hempstead, England This is President Kuaratunga's personal fury taken through fragile Sri Lankan Law. Mohan Edirisinghe Good decision taken by Sri Lankan courts. Its good lesson for other politicians. Priyan Jayawardena, Gampaha, Sri Lanka UPFA maiden budget We appreciate the salary hike for gavenment workers. But there are many workers in the private sector who faces problems due to high cost of living. These people also live in Sri Lanka and not another country. It is not reasonable to neglect them and we are strongly object the govenment for doing so. Amal Perera, Colombo, Sri Lanka Death penalty I can only laugh at the people who are against the death penalty. The root cause for raping and killing is known to everybody.We experienced Rita John's rape and murder, wiping out of an entire family at Hokandura,and numerous others. Always when there is talk about reinforcing of capital punishment as usual human rights movements and religious dignitories move against the implementation. Balasubramaniam M., USA Death penalty is not the solution- Law and order at its any intensity is capable of redressing only the direct violence. The undue concern on death penalty shows our ignorance on the structural and cultural violence at the base of direct violence. The peace we are going to achieve only by strengthening law and oder may restrain the release of tensions resulting from social conflict. So these efforts are probable causes of future violence of greater magnitude. Turning blind eye to the underline causes and giving disproportional emphasis to measurs on establishment of law and order would assure the society on the abilty of a well functioning law and order to establish peace but which is not the truth in reality. Shammika Liyange, Department of Peace & Confict studies, University of Troms, Norway. I think the death penalty will definitely lower the crime rate as most of the crimes are done by people as they know that the result of their crimes will be only 5-6 years in the prison. With death row as an option anyone will think twice, its common sense. Anthony Fonseka, Hounslow, UK Introduction of the death penalty is a very good decision. Lalith Prelis, Japan Introduction of the death penalty is even though late a very wise decision. This will defenitely reduce crime in our country. Bandhula Perera, Malabe, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan people take the law for granted, including the narrow minded politicians. NO wonder there should be a political arm behind the murder of the judge as well. Implementing capital punishment is one way to stop the rising crime scenes but this should be implemented in public so the criminals know that what they are expecting for. Geetha, Toronto, Canada Is Mr. Nimal Punchiheva of NHRC going to take responsiablity for increasing crimes in Sri Lanka? I'm saying death penalty is a must. Manoj, Colombo, Sri Lanka I do not agree with capital punishment for crimes. What I see in Canada and US about wrongful conviction urge me to oppose this law with corrupt police and government in Sri Lanka. Is a country calls itself Buddhist trying to bury Buddha's teaching? In the case of Tamil problem they may use this law to kill Tamils. Karuval Suntha, Toronto, Canada Death penalty should be re-implimented with immediate effect. Ranjan Gunawardana, Kesbewa, Sri Lanka Imposing of death penalty along with avoiding of delay in legal procedure will certainly reduce the crime rate. Prasad Fonseka, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka It is tragic that a so-called Sinhala (pure) Buddhist country is following the dictatorship of some Middle-East regimes. Yet if it can do magic, I favour for a limited period to see the effect. Jagath De Silva, Maharagama, Sri Lanka Capital punishment should have been imposed long long ago. We welcome this move. Hiran Kulatilaka, Cranebrook, NSW, Australia I feel ashamed to see all this inhuman incidents happening in Sri Lanka since last few days. First of all all judges has to take responsibility for all these barberic acts because our judicial system is already not functioning as per the written laws. In future more judges and security personal might get bad treatments because they are not honest and fair in most of the cases. Judges should not be political henchmen or their appointees. Rohan Dalpadadu,Dubai, UAE We should have implimented the death penalty 100 years ago. Ravi Peiris, Dubai, UAE I would like to describe Sri Lanka‘s police as a lisenced under world gang. I am totally ashamed by the lawlessnes in Sri Lanka. Mahesh Cooray, Dubai, UAE At a time when Sri Lanka is dealing with terrorism and under world corruption, it is a very good thing to introduce the death penalty. Along with terrorism it has become an open sesame for all those corrupted individuals who would do anything for money, to go along and kill. Introducing the death penalty is best solution in my view as USA has it too. Because of that they don't have so much of corruption. Malkanthi Munasinha, Ohio, USA Sri Lanka will definitely see a reduction in crime if death penalty is implemented. I have lived in Brunei, Singapore and UK in addition to Sri Lanka. But one main problem with Sri Lanka lies with the lawlesness. Brunei and Singapore have a well defined and proper legal system which might not be accepted by the world but suits their country. This is what we should think as well. If we know the introduction of death for hideous crimes is suited for our country we should go ahead with it without listening to Toms, Dicks and Harry's from all over the world. Asela Fonseka, London, UK I like to convey my deepest sympathy to Judge Ambepitiya's wife & family. Secondly my hat off to late Judge, of course of his exemplary punishments to wrong doors. If all Judges and legislators are committed to practice the legal system and be justice, crime can be eliminated. But why this debate on 'death penalty' only after killing a VIP? If politicians obey the law, then crime can be minimal. If some one speaks out the truth and justice then he is rewarded with 'murder'. That is the ‘civilised’ world we live in. Now Gerald Perera, who was due to give evidence in court, was murdered. How many killings happened and how many to continue? Please stop all these killings. Ashok Victoria, Doha, Qatar There is a drastic increase in crime rate in Sri Lanka in comparison to period prior to 1977. One main reason is the removal of death penalty. It had given incentive to murder particularly by organised criminal gangs which of course have the blessings of politicians-both in government and in opposition. The blessings and the patronage this type of killer groups receive range from politicians at its highest level. Therefore, its obvious that these politicos do not take any sincere attempt to punish the criminal. Thus it is questionable that the reimplemention of death penaly will give its desired purpose to punish the criminals. I do agree with Mr. Nimal Punchihewa that"effective measures to reduce crime instead of re-instating capital punishment".However,this type of measures take very longer time to take-off the ground in its reality. In my opinion, Mr. Nimal Punchihewa's other remarks against death penalty is baseless. Sidath Balachandra, Brong Ahafo, Ghana At a time where our country is trying very hard to push the peace process forward and recover from the years of war, implementing such an inhuman penalty on life is absurd. First of all the corruption within our political and legal system has to be dealt with. I see the introduction of the death penalty as a direct result of our corrupt Politics and Legal system. Renuke Wahalatantiri, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka Whoever interested about the human rights of convicted murderers should first think about the right to life of the law-abiding citizens. In Sri Lanka it has come to a stage where life of those engage in serious crimes investigations are at tremendous risk. Strictly speaking the political leadership who set a bad precedence by harbouring hardcore criminals should be held responsible for the lawlessness in the country. For instance President JRJ who pardoned and released convicted rapists Gonawala Sunil and current President Kumaratunga who provided a safe haven to the convicted criminal Baddagane Sanjeewa in the President’s Security Division. It is well known fact that these criminals were directly responsible for series of murders and other serious crimes but it is very unfortunate that self-centred politicians had provided them refuge. Nagananda Kodituwakku, Former head of the serious fraud investigations -Customs Administration of Sri Lanka The decision to impose the death penalty is welcome. The capital punishment is in vogue in USA and most countries. Chandana Sundarawadu, New York, USA Miscellaneous It is sad that the beautiful country of Sri Lanka in turmoil. It is also true this started not now but way back in 1936 with J R Jayewardene continued by SWRD who did not speak proper Sinhala but jumped the bandwagon to make it within 24 hours as Official Language. He inherited this legacy with Sirimavo and now their daughter. State sponsored Colonisation was initiated by the so called Father of the Nation fascist D S Senanayake who also disenfranchised the estate workers. Tamil dominated areas in Eastern Province and part of Northern Province was systematically colonised by successive Sinhalese Governments. Why talk about Palestinians look at your backyard. I am a Christian and look at this in Christian perspective. I do not have any Language barrier as I could speak all three languages flawlessly. Soundra Lawrence I have been listeining BBC Sinhala Service for a while. I highly value BBC Sinhala service document on the Democracy on November 4, 2004. I am of the view that democracy directly helps domestic elite in my language political ruling class to seek and consolidate the power. One could note this reality in Sri Lanka, where democrcatic elctoral system largely paved the way ethnic outbidding on the minority Tamils. It's my view that democarcy breeds instability in the non-Western countries. Dr. A.R.M. Imtiyaz, visiting scholarDepartment of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania Forbidden Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion.

uk-wales-politics-22597664

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-22597664

End of the three-country consensus on exam standards?

UPDATE

Betsan PowysFormer political editor, Wales A round of opposition party responses: Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies takes a straightforward view of Mr Gove's letter and the response to it. He has no problem with divergence, with a split, if that's the natural consequence of devolution. His problem is with what he called Labour's "abject failure" in Wales to deliver policies that improve education. Plaid Cymru's Rhodri Glyn Thomas argues the split could, in fact, raise standards in Wales but a warning from Kirsty Williams and the Liberal Democrats. Last Summer's row over qualifications and Leighton Andrews's part in it, she says, "has put a question mark over the currency of Welsh qualifications - that's what I hear out there amongst my constituents, some of whom have a choice in Powys where to send their children to school. Parents and employers must have confidence in Welsh qualifications". Mr Andrews would do better to stop warring on Twitter - "unbecoming" she says - "turn the other cheek, and get on with the job". What's Michael Gove's letter to the Education Ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland all about? In a sense, you could argue it's about - well, stating the obvious. As differences grow between the exam system and qualifications offered in Wales, Northern Ireland and England, then the argument grows too that you might as well say so out loud - acknowledge that change means things diverge, or as Mr Gove puts it in his letter, it is "a natural and legitimate consequence of devolution". It is time to go our separate ways. So far, so impeccably logical. But what about the politics? Ah, now that's where things get less logical, than interesting. Cast your mind back to Michael Gove's ill-fated "O-level" reforms - the new 'gold standard' Baccalaureate qualification for England only that in the end, ran into some serious difficulties. Mr Gove was accused of executing an embarrassing U-turn. #EBacctrack tweeted Labour. No, just "a tweak" said Mr Gove's office. In Wales, in the meantime, the Welsh Government's review of qualifications recommended Wales keep GCSEs, again with some tweaks. Mr Andrews sat back and watched the gold standard in England - that unions and parents had feared would leave Welsh pupils second best - unravel. But cast your mind back too to the ill-tempered spat between the two men over qualifications and how they should be regulated. Up until last summer, a system of "three country consensus" existed whereby regulators from England, Wales and Northern Ireland met to agree common standards across all three. What did that mean? Well, roughly speaking, that a 60 in English Language would be a C wherever you sat it. Individual papers from individual exam boards are closely moderated to ensure common standards between them. Come back to Mr Gove's letter and you'll see he says that he now believes that this "three country consensus" model is effectively dead, as a result of the diverging system. If the exams and structures are going to be so different, he reasons, then it's pointless to try and get some sort of consensus between them on standards. It's pretty important to remember that it was Leighton Andrews, acting as Welsh exams regulator, whose actions put the first breach in the three country consensus model - last summer, following a review by his regulatory officials, he ordered the re-grading of WJEC English exams papers which meant for the first time, a C in Wales was different from a C in England - thousands of pupils in Wales got better results due to this. A legal challenge by unions in England failed. Mr Andrews and those around him would argue that there were deeper changes going on under the bonnet of the standard-setting process last year that merited his intervention - but Mr Gove was furious. His response now seems to be - ok - if you want to override the consensus when it suits you, we won't bother having a consensus. Incidentally, asked by the Education Select Committee about the future of the consensus arrangements earlier this year, Mr Andrews declared the "jury was out" on it. Hardly a ringing endorsement from the Cardiff end either, to be fair. But without any consensus on common standards in the future, the slight divergence in standards for one grade threshold for one exam becomes - potentially - a yawning chasm across all grades and subject areas where there could be literally no way of telling whether a pupil has achieved a given standard in comparison with a counterpart in England - or vice versa. The letter comes in the wake of a meeting between the three education Ministers in London last week which was officially described as "frank but cordial". Judging by where we are a week or so later, it was a lot more of the former than the latter. And the politics of this are laid bare by the Whitehall source in the Guardian story which attacks the Welsh "dumbing down" of exams. It's in the Department for Education's interest to have a political narrative portraying the English system as far more rigorous than the Welsh one - ending the current consensus arrangements would be (for them) a palpable demonstration of this. Since the 2010 General Election Carwyn Jones and his ministers have sought to burnish their political credentials by contrasting their policies with those of Westminster - on austerity, on NHS reform, on Europe. But these days, barely a Prime Minister's Questions goes by without some disparaging reference by David Cameron to Labour's record on health in Wales. It's not just different is his message. It's worse. And it's spreading. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has also weighed in with some trenchant criticisms of the Welsh Government's performance in housing. As the bare-knuckle fight between the Tories and Labour in 2015 approaches, Michael Gove's letter opens up another front on Welsh Labour's record on education. The danger is that pupils on both sides of the border end up the casualties in a new grading free-for-all.

world-africa-24764316

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24764316

Sahara kidnappings: A massive money-making business

The rumours are hard to dismiss.

By Frank GardnerBBC Security correspondent "France paid al-Qaeda 25m euros for four hostages," read a headline in the Times newspaper this week. The French government has categorically denied that any public money was used to secure the release of the four French nationals kidnapped in 2010 at a uranium plant in Niger and held by jihadist bandits linked to the regional franchise of al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim). "We don't play that game," said the French foreign minister when asked if his government had paid for their release. Niger's President Mohamadou Issoufou was more evasive when asked the same question directly. He replied simply: "I think that what we must be rejoicing about is that the hostages who went through difficult ordeals, who were isolated for many months from their families, are free." But since there was no military assault involved in the hostages' release, it is almost inconceivable that their captors would simply give up their prisoners for no reward. Privately, some British officials are furious, as the concept of giving in to terrorist ransom demands runs directly contrary to the commitment undertaken by all the G8 leaders at the Loch Earn summit in Northern Ireland in June. Whether it was the French government, the Niger government, the hostages' employer Areva, or any other party that may or may not have paid a ransom, the indications are that a group of ruthless and dangerous men with guns is now roaming around the Sahara with a lot more money at their disposal. 'Strange nexus' So how much money is involved in Saharan kidnaps and where does it go? The Texas-based US strategic analysis company Stratfor estimates that with the latest payments, Aqim has earned itself about $116m (£72m) in ransoms since 2003. "We have seen ransom payments by the governments of Spain, Italy, France, Canada and Austria to see their citizens released from captivity," said Stratfor Vice President of Africa Analysis Mark Schroeder. This year a leaked Nigerian government report revealed that a ransom of $3.15m (£1.9m) was paid to the Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram by French and Cameroonian negotiators to secure the release of seven French hostages in April. Ransoms are usually hard to trace and often delivered secretly in cash by intermediaries, making it easy for governments and companies to deny any involvement. "There are bank accounts fixed up in Mauritania for exactly this purpose," says analyst Sajjan Gohel of the Asia-Pacific Foundation. "Hostage-taking in the Sahara is a massive business, where ideology comes secondary to money-making. "You have a strange nexus in this region between Islamist radicals, bandits, drug-runners and people-smugglers. Jihadists there are very financially motivated". Heavy price for Britain What happens to the money gathered through Saharan ransoms is no mystery. Much of it goes towards buying the means to carry out more kidnappings: Procuring four-wheel drive jeeps, fuel, weapons and GPS systems. It also pays bribes to border guards and other officials and "salaries" - inducements to young men with almost no employment prospects in one of the poorest areas of the world - to join a group with an extremist religious ideology that is not above making big money from crime. But while all the G8 governments have now theoretically signed up to a no-ransoms agreement on paper, in practice the will to comply is still somewhat short of universal. Kidnappers know only too well the embarrassment and discomfort caused to western governments by the pitiful sight of their nationals seen pleading on hostage videos posted online. They have become adept at hiding their captives in obscure, remote places, often separating them, so that military rescue missions by special forces have only a small chance of success. A British attempt last year to free a Briton and an Italian held by Nigerian militants resulted in both their deaths. European governments and their counter-terrorism officials will also have noted that Britain's hard line refusal to make substantive concessions to kidnappers comes at a heavy price. When Saharan jihadist bandits kidnapped a group of European tourists in Mali in 2009 and held them for ransom the only one to be murdered was the Briton, Edwin Dyer. All the others were released, reportedly for ransoms, which critics say have gone on to perpetuate the cycle of violent kidnappings in the Sahara.

uk-wales-38799216

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-38799216

National School Categorisation System: Yellow

Primary:

Bryn Bach Primary School Glanhowy Primary School Sofrydd Primary Cwm Primary School Willowtown Primary School Blaen-y-Cwm Primary School Glyncoed Primary Rhos Y Fedwen Ystruth Primary St. Illtyd's Primary School Coed Y Garn Primary School St. Mary's Church School All Saints R.C. Primary School Secondary: Brynmawr Foundation School Special: Pen-y-cwm Special School Primary: Blaengarw Primary Bryntirion Infants Cefn Cribwr Primary School Coety Primary School Ffaldau Primary School Nantymoel Primary School Nottage County Primary Pil Primary Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr Afon Y Felin Primary School Bryncethin Primary Ogmore Vale Primary School Caerau Primary School Secondary: Porthcawl Comprehensive School Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School Special: Heronsbridge Special School Primary: Coed-Y-Brain Primary Markham Primary Cwmaber Junior School Libanus Primary Pontllanfraith Primary School Deri Primary School Crumlin High Level Primary Pentwynmawr Primary School Derwendeg Primary School Tynewydd Primary School. Waunfawr Primary Fochriw Primary Hendre Junior School Hendre Infants School Hengoed Primary Llancaeach Junior School Llanfabon Infants School Rhydri Primary School Tiryberth Primary Ty Isaf Infants School Cwm Ifor Primary School Bryn Primary Ysgol Ifor Bach Abercarn Primary School Greenhill Primary Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod Ysgol Y Lawnt Bryn Awel Primary School Abertysswg Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Trelyn Phillipstown Primary School Maesycwmmer Primary School Machen Primary School Graig-Y-Rhacca Primary And Nursery Community Bedwas Infants Cwm Glas Infants School Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Allta Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Y Castell Cwrt Rawlin Primary School Blackwood Primary Glyn-Gaer Primary School Aberbargoed Primary School Trinant Primary Ty Sign Primary School Tyn-y-Wern Primary Twyn Primary White Rose Primary School Ysgol Bro Sannan Plasyfelin Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwm Derwen Ysgol Penalltau St Helen's RC Primary Secondary: Newbridge School Blackwood Comprehensive School Risca Community Comprehensive St Martin's School Lewis School Pengam Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni Primary: Albany Primary School Baden Powell Primary School Fairwater Primary School Gabalfa Primary Kitchener Primary School Lansdowne Primary School Roath Park Primary School Ton-yr-Ywen Primary School Peter Lea Primary School Pen-y-Bryn Primary School Lakeside Primary School Pentrebane Primary School Llanedeyrn Primary School Springwood Primary School Ninian Park Primary School Bryn Celyn Primary School Radyr Primary School Oakfield Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Coed Y Gof Ysgol Bro Eirwg Ysgol Treganna Willowbrook Primary School Thornhill Primary School Meadowlane Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch Gladstone Primary School Grangetown Primary School Ysgol Glan Morfa Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Caerau Windsor Clive Primary Hawthorn Primary Hywel Dda Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pen-Y-Groes Ysgol Glan Ceubal Pontprennau Primary Howardian Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Hamadryad St Cuthbert's Rc Primary St. Joseph's Rc School St Patrick's R C School St Cadoc's Catholic Primary St Monicas C/W Primary School Christ The King Primary School St John Lloyd Holy Family R.C. Primary St Fagans Church In Wales St Bernadettes Primary School St David's C/W Primary School Secondary: Willows High School Llanishen High School Cathays High School Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr St. Illtyd's Catholic High School Primary: Cefneithin C.P. Maesybont C.P. School Llechyfedach C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Y Tymbl Ysgol Gynradd Gorslas Cross Hands C.P. School Llangain C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Peniel Ysgol Gynradd Bancffosfelen Ysgol Gwynfryn Carway C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Ponthenri Bancyfelin C.P. School Betws C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Ty-croes Ysgol Gynradd Blaenau Cwrt Henri Primary School Llangadog C.P. School Ysgol Rhys Prichard Ysgol Llys Hywel Ysgol Gynradd Brynsaron Ysgol G. Mynyddygarreg Bryn C.P. School Ysgol Y Bynea Dafen Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Pum Heol Ysgol Gynradd Llannon Ysgol Gymraeg Brynsierfel Myrddin C.P. School Llangunnor C.P. School Trimsaran C.P. School Ysgol Beca Llandybie C.P. School Llanybydder C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Llandeilo Primary School Halfway C.P. School Pwll C.P. School Penygaer Primary School Ysgol Y Castell Y.G. Nantgaredig Ysgol Gymraeg Gwenllian Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant Ysgol Gynradd Pontyberem Bigyn C.P. School Stebonheath C.P. School Ysgol Y Ddwylan Richmond Park Primary School Ysgol Griffith Jones Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen Cae'r Felin Community School Abergwili Voluntary Controlled Primary School Laugharne V.C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Wirfoddol Llanddarog Ferryside V.C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Wirfoddol Llanllwni St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Llanelli) Ysgol Wirfoddol Penboyr Model Church In Wales School Secondary: Ysgol Dyffryn Aman Coedcae School Bryngwyn School Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth Dyffryn Taf Special: Heol Goffa Primary: Ysgol Gymunedol Gynradd Aberaeron Ysgol Gymunedol Cilcennin Ysgol Gymunedol Dihewyd Ysgol Gymunedol Llanarth Ysgol Gymunedol Talgarreg Ysgol Gymunedol Llanfarian Ysgol Gymunedol Llangwyryfon Ysgol Gymunedol Llwynyreos Ysgol Gymunedol Syr John Rhys Ysgol Gymunedol Rhydypennau Ysgol Gymunedol Talybont Ysgol Gymunedol Aberporth Ysgol Gymunedol Beulah Ysgol Gymunedol Penparc Ysgol Gymunedol Trewen Ysgol Gymunedol Pontrhydfendigaid Ysgol Gymunedol Craig Yr Wylfa Ysgol Gymunedol Penrhyncoch Ysgol Gymunedol Cenarth Ysgol Bro Sion Cwilt Ysgol Rhos Helyg Ysgol Wirfoddol Myfenydd Ysgol Gymorthedig Padarn Sant Ysgol Bro Pedr Secondary: Aberaeron Comprehensive School Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig Ysgol Bro Pedr Ysgol Bro Teifi Primary: Ysgol Dolgarrog Ysgol Betws Y Coed Ysgol Dolwyddelan Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn Ysgol Glanwydden Ysgol Tudno Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd Ysgol Talhaiarn Ysgol Babanod Mochdre Ysgol Tal-y-Bont Ysgol Maes Owen Ysgol Glan Morfa Ysgol Bod Alaw Ysgol Pant Y Rhedyn Ysgol Craig Y Don Ysgol Cerrigydrudion Ysgol Llannefydd Ysgol Gynradd Bro Cernyw Ysgol Sant Elfod Ysgol Capel Garmon Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn Ysgol Cystennin Ysgol Pentrefoelas Ysgol Awel Y Mynydd Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan Ysgol Pencae Ysgol Eglwysbach Ysgol Llanddulas Ysgol Betws yn Rhos Ysgol Bendigaid William Davies Ysgol San Sior Ysgol Sant Joseph Ysgol y Plas Secondary: Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Eirias High School Primary: Ysgol Hiraddug Ysgol Y Castell Ysgol Y Faenol Ysgol Melyd Ysgol Bodfari Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog Frongoch Juniors Ysgol Henllan Ysgol Twm o'r Nant Ysgol Bryn Clwyd Ysgol Gellifor Ysgol Betws Gwerful Goch Ysgol Carrog Ysgol Bro Elwern Ysgol Y Llys Ysgol Bryn Collen Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch Ysgol Bro Famau Ysgol Gymraeg Y Gwernant Bodnant Community Primary School Ysgol Pendref Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy Ysgol Carreg Emlyn Ysgol Llanbedr Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Ysgol Borthyn Ysgol Pant Pastynog Ysgol Dyffryn Ial Ysgol Esgob Morgan C.I.W. Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ysgol Trefnant St Brigid's School Secondary: Rhyl High School Ysgol Uwchradd Glan Clwyd Ysgol Brynhyfryd St Brigid's School Special: Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn Primary: Ysgol Glan Aber Ysgol Merllyn Westwood Primary School Bryn Garth CP School Ysgol Gwynedd Ysgol Maesglas Ysgol Estyn Community School Lixwm Primary School Ysgol Glanrafon Wood Memorial Primary School Ysgol Bryn Pennant Ysgol Terrig Ysgol Bryn Deva Mountain Lane Primary School Ysgol Y Foel, Cilcain Saltney Ferry CP School Ysgol Gwenffrwd Abermorddu Primary School Southdown Primary School Wepre Community School Drury Primary School Ysgol Derwenfa Penarlag CP School Ysgol Owen Jones Gronant Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Croes Atti Ysgol Parc Y Llan Ysgol Penyffordd Ysgol Maes y Felin Nannerch V.C.P. School Ysgol Yr Esgob C In W St David's Catholic Primary School St Anthony's Catholic Primary Venerable Edward Morgan School Trelawnyd Ysgol Y Llan Primary School St. Ethelwolds Secondary: Hawarden High School Connah's Quay High School Special: Pen Coch Primary: Ysgol Gwaun Gyfni Ysgol Gynradd Nefyn Ysgol Llanrug Ysgol Abersoch Ysgol Beddgelert Ysgol Gynradd Borth-Y-Gest Ysgol Y Gelli Ysgol Treferthyr Ysgol Cwm Y Glo Ysgol Gynradd Chwilog Ysgol Crud-Y-Werin Ysgol Dolbadarn Ysgol Gynradd Edern Ysgol Felinwnda Ysgol Bro Plenydd Ysgol Gynradd Garndolbenmaen Ysgol Gynradd Llanbedrog Ysgol Gynradd Llangybi Ysgol Gynradd Llanllyfni Ysgol Baladeulyn Ysgol Gynradd Nebo Ysgol Gymuned Penisarwaun Ysgol Gynradd Pentreuchaf Ysgol Rhiwlas Ysgol Gynradd Rhostryfan Ysgol Sarn Bach Ysgol Y Gorlan Ysgol Gynradd Tudweiliog Ysgol Waunfawr Ysgol Glancegin Ysgol Yr Hendre Ysgol Bontnewydd Ysgol Cymerau Ysgol Y Felinheli Ysgol Bro Tegid Ysgol y Traeth Ysgol Brithdir Ysgol Gynradd Dyffryn Dulas Ysgol Dinas Mawddwy Ysgol Ganllwyd Ysgol Edmwnd Prys Ysgol Llanelltyd Ysgol Y Garreg Ysgol Manod Ysgol Gynradd Pennal Ysgol Talsarnau Ysgol Gynradd Tanygrisiau Ysgol Gynradd Penybryn Ysgol Ieuan Gwynedd Ysgol Friog Ysgol Tanycastell Ysgol Hirael Ysgol Bro Llifon Ysgol Pont Y Gof Ysgol Gynradd Maesincla Ysgol Foel Gron Ysgol Llandygai Ysgol Gynradd Llandwrog Ysgol Gynradd Llanystumdwy Ysgol Gynradd Dolgellau Ysgol Beuno Sant Secondary: Ysgol Botwnnog Ysgol Brynrefail Ysgol Y Moelwyn Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn Ysgol Y Berwyn Ysgol Ardudwy Ysgol Friars Ysgol Tryfan Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen Ysgol Glan Y Mor Special: Ysgol Pendalar Primary: Ysgol Gynradd Amlwch Ysgol Gynradd Beaumaris Ysgol Gymuned Bodorgan Ysgol Cemaes Ysgol Gymuned Dwyran Ysgol Gymuned Y Ffridd Ysgol Y Parc Ysgol Gymuned Moelfre Ysgol Gymuned Llanfechell Ysgol Gynradd Llangoed Ysgol Gymuned Llannerch-Y-Medd Ysgol Cylch Y Garn Ysgol Pencarnisiog Ysgol Gymuned Pentraeth Ysgol Penysarn Ysgol Santes Gwenfaen Ysgol Gynradd Rhosneigr Ysgol Gynradd Rhosybol Ysgol Gynradd Talwrn Ysgol Gymuned y Fali Ysgol Llanfawr Ysgol Goronwy Owen Ysgol Gynradd Llaingoch Ysgol Gynradd Niwbwrch Ysgol Gynradd Y Tywyn Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan Ysgol Gynradd Y Borth Ysgol Gynradd Kingsland Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn Ysgol Parch. Thomas Ellis Ysgol Gynradd Parc Y Bont Ysgol Gynradd Llangaffo Ysgol Santes Fair Secondary: Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni Ysgol David Hughes Ysgol Uwchradd Bodedern Special: Canolfan Addysg Y Bont Primary: Abercanaid Community Caedraw Primary Gellifaelog Primary School Pantysgallog Primary School Gwaunfarren Primary Ysgol Santes Tudful Trelewis Primary School Ysgol-Y-Graig Coed Y Dderwen Primary School Twynyrodyn Community School Edwardsville Primary School Dowlais Primary School St.Mary's Catholic Primary St Aloysius RC Secondary: Afon Taf High School Pen-Y-Dre High School Cyfarthfa High School Primary: Undy Primary School Rogiet County Primary Pembroke Primary Thornwell Primary School Durand Primary School Llandogo Primary Cross Ash County Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni Kymin View Primary School Llanfoist Fawr Primary Dewstow Osbaston Church In Wales School St Mary's R.C.P.School Archbishop Rowan Williams VA Secondary: King Henry VIII Comprehensive Chepstow Comprehensive School Caldicot School Primary: Alltwen Primary School Blaendulais Primary School Blaenhonddan Primary School Brynhyfryd Primary School Baglan Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Cwmllynfell Creunant Primary School Crymlyn Primary School Godre'rgraig Primary School Gnoll Primary School Glyncorrwg Primary School Tywyn Primary School Tonnau Primary Community School Ynysfach Primary School Groes Primary School YG Y Wern Waunceirch Primary School Cilffriw Primary School YGG Tyle'r Ynn Coed Hirwaun Primary School Pen Afan Primary Awel Y Mor Primary School Crynallt Primary School Cwmafan Primary School Central Primary School Abbey Primary School Melin Primary St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Neath) St Josephs Catholic Infant School Bryncoch CIW Primary School Alderman Davies CIW Primary School St Therese's Catholic Primary School St Joseph's Catholic Junior School Secondary: Cymer Afan Comprehensive School Dyffryn School Ysgol Bae Baglan Special: Ysgol Maes Y Coed Primary: Malpas Court Primary Malpas Park Primary Llanmartin Junior & Infants Rogerstone Primary Duffryn Junior School Duffryn Infants School High Cross Primary School Alway Primary School Ringland Primary Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Teyrnon St Andrew's Primary School Gaer Primary School Malpas Church Infant School St Josephs R.C. Jnr. & Infts St Marys Primary School St Michael's Rc Primary School St Patrick's R.C. Primary Charles Williams Church in Wales Primary School Secondary: The John Frost School Lliswerry High School Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed Primary: Ysgol Gymunedol Eglwyswrw Orielton Community Primary School Hook Cp Maenclochog Cp Milford Haven Junior School Narberth Cp School Puncheston Cp St Dogmaels Cp Saundersfoot Cp Stepaside C. P. School Solva Community School The Meads Cp Infant And Nursery School Mount Airey Community Nursery And Infant Broad Haven Cp Roch C P Ysgol Glan Cleddau Coastlands Cp Gelli Aur/Golden Grove Pennar Community School Neyland Community School Hakin Community School Ysgol Hafan y Môr Angle Vc School Cilgerran Church In Wales Vc Cosheston Vc Spittal Church In Wales Voluntary Controlled School Stackpole V C St Florence Vc School Hubberston Church In Wales Vc Nursery And Primary School Ger Y Llan Tenby CiW VC Ysgol Bro Dewi Church In Wales Va Holy Name Rc School St Francis R C Primary School St.Aidan's V.A. St. Teilo's Catholic Primary School St. Mark's V. A. School Secondary: Ysgol Bro Gwaun Ysgol Dewi Sant Primary: Abermule Primary School Ysgol Gynradd Gymunedol Dyffryn Banw Berriew C.P. School Caersws C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Carno Carreghofa C.P. School Llandinam C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Llanfair Caereinion Meifod C.P. School Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon Ardwyn Nursery & Infant School Ladywell Green Nurs. & Inf. School Guilsfield C.P. School Llanidloes C.P. School Brynhafren C.P. School Hafren C.P. School Ysgol Gynradd Glantwymyn Maesyrhandir C.P. School Treowen C.P. School Franksbridge C.P. School Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School Presteigne C.P. School Mount Street C.P. Junior Mount Street C.P. Infants Sennybridge C.P. School Crickhowell C.P. School Talgarth C.P. School Irfon Valley C.P. School Bronllys C.P. School Ysgol y Bannau Ysgol Rhiw Bechan Llanrhaeadr Ym Mochnant C.P. School Ysgol Bro Cynllaith Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd Ysgol y Cribarth Llanfechain C.I.W. School Montgomery C.I.W. School Llandysilio C.I.W. School Newbridge-On-Wye Church In Wales School Knighton C.I.W. School Rhayader C.I.W. School Llangedwyn C In W Primary School St. Michael's C.I.W. School Llanbedr C.I.W. (Aided) St Mary`s R.C. (A) School Llangattock C.I.W. School Ysgol Gynradd Llanerfyl Secondary: Ysgol Maesydderwen Brecon High School Special: Ysgol Penmaes Primary: Penderyn Primary Oaklands Primary School Alaw Primary School Abernant County Primary Cilfynydd Primary Coedpenmaen County Primary Bodringallt Primary School. Coedylan Primary School Caegarw Primary School Cwmlai Primary Ffynnon Taf Primary School Hawthorn Primary School Llanilltud Faerdref Primary Gelli Primary School Llantrisant Primary School Hafod Primary School Parclewis Primary School Llwyncelyn Infants Llanharan Primary School Darrenlas Primary School Hirwaun Primary School Llwydcoed Primary School Trallwng Infants School Pengeulan Primary Trehopcyn Primary Trerobart Primary School Porth Infants Y.G.G.Pontsionnorton School Perthcelyn Community Primary School Llwyn-Crwn Primary School Tonypandy Primary School Y.G.G.Aberdar Trealaw County Primary School Glenboi Community Primary School Treorchy Primary Maesybryn Primary School Tylorstown Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Tonyrefail Ysgol Gymraeg Llwyncelyn Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Ynyswen Tonysguboriau Primary School Y. G. G. G. Llantrisant Ysgol Gymraeg Bodringallt Y.G.G. Castellau Y.G.G. Llyn-Y-Forwyn Ysgol Gymraeg Evan James Ysgol Gymraeg Abercynon Ygg Bronllwyn School Miskin Primary Penpych Community Primary Scho Hendreforgan Primary School Gwaunmeisgyn Primary School Gwauncelyn Primary School Penrhiwceibr Primary Ysgol Yr Eos Cwmclydach Community Primary School Aberdare Park Primary Maerdy Primary School Cwmbach Community Primary Ynysboeth Community Primary Abercynon Primary Cymmer Primary St Michaels Primary St. Margaret's Catholic Primary School Aberdare Town C In W Primary Cwmbach Church In Wales Secondary: Bryncelynnog Comprehensive School The Pontypridd High School Hawthorn High School Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg Tonyrefail School Treorchy Comprehensive School Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun Primary: Cadle Primary School Grange Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Lon Las Pentrechwyth Primary School Sketty Primary School Waun Wen School Clwyd Primary School Portmead Primary School Blaenymaes Primary School Whitestone Primary Y.G.G. Brynymor Bishopston Primary School Casllwchwr Primary School Cila Primary School Crwys Primary School Penclawdd Primary School Pontlliw Primary Y.G.G. Pontybrenin Pennard Primary Talycopa Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Y Login Fach Y.G.G. Gellionnen Y.G.G. Llwynderw Dunvant Primary School Gowerton Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Tan-y-lan Burlais Primary School Clydach Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg y Cwm Brynhyfryd Primary School St Illtyds Primary St Joseph's R.C. Primary Secondary: Morriston Comprehensive Pentrehafod School Penyrheol Comprehensive School Dylan Thomas Community School Primary: Victoria Primary Llantarnam Community Primary School Pontnewydd Primary & Nursery Greenmeadow Primary Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbran Primary Ysgol Bryn Onnen New Inn Primary School Griffithstown Primary School Blenheim Road Community Primary School Nant Celyn Primary School Ysgol Panteg Blaenavon Heritage Vc Primary School St. Davids Cwmbran R.C. School Padre Pio Rc Primary School Ponthir Church in Wales School Secondary: Croesyceiliog School St. Albans R.C. High School Primary: Fairfield Primary School Jenner Park Primary School Llanfair Primary School Rhws County Primary School Sully Primary School St Illtyd Primary School Llandough County Primary Y Bont Faen Primary School Ysgol Pen-y-Garth Ysgol Gymraeg Sant Baruc Oak Field Primary And Nursery School Ysgol Iolo Morganwg Ysgol Gymraeg Sant Curig Gwenfo C/W Primary School Wick And Marcross C/W Primary St Helen's Infant & Nursery School St Andrew's C/W Primary School Llansannor C/W Primary School Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg Secondary: Barry Comprehensive School St Cyres Comprehensive School St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg Primary: Garth Cp Llanarmon Dc School Pontfadog Ysgol Acrefair Ysgol Maes-Y-Llan Ysgol Min y Ddol Alexandra C P School Bwlchgwyn School Ysgol Tan-y-Fron Black Lane C P School Rhosddu County Primary Ysgol Deiniol C P Ysgol Bryn Tabor Ysgol Sant Dunawd Holt C.P. School Ysgol Bodhyfryd Ysgol I.D. Hooson Ysgol Plas Coch Penygelli C P School Ysgol Penrhyn New Broughton Cp Hafod Y Wern Community Primary School Park Community Primary School Llay Gwersyllt Community Primary School Penycae Community Primary School Acton Primary Victoria Community Primary Ysgol y Waun Ysgol Bro Alun Borras Park Community Primary School Pentre Ciw Voluntary Controlled Borderbrook School St Giles Controlled Primary School Bronington Church In Wales V.A Madras Va School St Chad's Church In Wales Aided School Minera All Saints Voluntary Aided Sch St Mary's Church In Wales St Paul's Voluntary Aided Secondary: Darland High School St Joseph's Catholic And Anglican High

uk-politics-parliaments-50111092

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-parliaments-50111092

Brexit: Another 'meaningful vote' next week?

So what next?

Mark D'ArcyParliamentary correspondent By the landslide standards of previous Brexit votes, this was a narrow defeat for the government. And they may calculate that they can reel in a few more ex-Tory rebels add a few Labour MPs from Leave seats, and muster a modest majority for Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, in a further vote next week, even without the support of the Northern Ireland DUP. In an ill-tempered series of points of order after today's votes, Jacob Rees-Mogg indicated that the government would now seek to hold a further "meaningful vote" to win Commons approval for the deal, paving the way for a Withdrawal Agreement Bill to put it into law. Ah, argued a number of opposition MPs, wouldn't that amount to putting the same issue to the vote twice? Remember that the Speaker prevented the government from staging a third vote on Theresa May's deal, on the principle that it was out of order for ministers to keep asking the same question again and again, until they got the answer they wanted. The Speaker, John Bercow, did not give a definitive ruling, saying that he would ponder the matter and take advice. Boris Johnson's Brexit deal LIVE: Latest reaction to Johnson's letter > ANALYSIS: Chances of agreement still strong, says Laura Kuenssberg > UPSUM: What happened on Saturday? > EXPLAINED: How another delay would work > If he allows the vote, Labour MPs in pro-Brexit seats will be under massive pressure. They would much rather go straight to a Withdrawal Agreement Bill, where they can tinker with the detail to their heart's content - possibly allying with dissident Tories to write a customs union into it. And for the government, putting down a bill without the support of the DUP would be fraught with danger. An early indicator will be whether the government can win the programme motion necessary to ensure the Bill gets through in quick time. Meanwhile, opposition MPs were keen to know whether the PM would follow the terms of the "Benn Act" and write to the EU, to request a further extension of UK membership. His enigmatic reply that he was not prepared to "negotiate" an extension did not, it seems to me, exclude the possibility of sending the required letter. There was a very interesting discussion of what might then happen in Lord Pannick's speech to Saturday's sitting of the House of Lords. He suggested that a flat refusal to send the required letter should provoke the resignation of the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General, but that the Benn Act did not preclude the prime minister from saying to EU leaders he didn't want an extension - there was a very thin line, and the result could be "a very interesting case in the Supreme Court". Meanwhile, the Parliamentary programme for next week, including that new "meaningful vote" and dicey-looking votes on the Queen's Speech, will have to be rejigged. With no government majority, and its DUP allies looking very disenchanted, the chances of an amendment being passed are high - spelling further trouble. Once, such a defeat would have automatically triggered the resignation of the government, but in the era of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act it is unclear what the implications would now be. One educated guess, from Sir Bernard Jenkin, the senior Conservative who chairs the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, is that the prime minister would be within his rights to demand a formal no-confidence vote in the terms set down in the Fixed-Term Parliament Act - and remain in office unless and until such a vote was passed. It's going to be an interesting week. I promised a blog on what's coming up in Parliament next week, and indeed, it is more than half written; the trouble is, as outlined above, the agenda for next week will have to be reshaped. So I will hold off publishing it until I know more. Apologies.

uk-scotland-53037172

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-53037172

Care homes: Questions and Answers

Who runs them?

By Douglas FraserBusiness and economy editor, Scotland Care Scotland, representing the sector, suggests that around 30% of care homes are small Scots-based companies, often with one or two homes. These are typically set up by health professionals, such as a nurse or doctor, who sees a market opportunity or a need in their local community. Being small, they tend to lack the efficiency of larger chains in managing registration, complex regulation requirements, recruitment and staff training, buying equipment and food and raising capital. A further 30% are run by mid-sized Scots-based chains of care homes. It is reckoned that fewer than 20% of care homes are owned through private finance. It's claimed that share is falling, as Scotland is not seen as an attractive place to invest and make good returns. BUPA is down from 70 homes to only two. Four Seasons is down from 60 to 18. HC1, which gained some notoriety over the Portree care home which saw a deadly outbreak of Covid-19, is the biggest private equity-owned operator in Scotland, with around 60 homes. How profitable are they? Property speculation can make them look profitable. But running the service does not look that way. The CMA inquiry concluded UK care home profits are "positive, but not high". It said operators that cannot look to significant numbers of self-funded residents are financially vulnerable. At present, with the health crisis, they are seeing insurance premiums sharply up, the cost of personal protective equipment has risen even faster, and staff shortages mean that many are only able to operate using overtime. Scottish local authorities assume 4% profit when they calculate what they will pay for residential places. To cover other costs and increase profits, care homes have to rely more on self-funders, who pay significantly higher rates than councils. Paying for care The Scottish government funds personal care with £180 per month and nursing care with £81 monthly. If you have savings and assets above £18,000, you have to pay towards the cost of care. More than 70% of care home revenue comes from local councils. 5% of Scottish care home staff are from outside the UK, and higher in rural homes, where recruitment of EU nationals is important. What about care at home? Different funding and different operators, some are in-house council providers and many are from a patchwork of mainly small-scale private providers. Low pay and poor working conditions are a feature of the sector, and it is often criticised for the short time that care workers are funded or scheduled to remain in people's homes, when they are often coping with complex needs. Could there be a National Care Service, similar to the National Health Service? If the intention is for the public sector to run a new NCS, government would have to buy out private owners, in a lot of expensive real estate, and then spend on upgrading property. If care homes are run to the same specification or in the same way as local authorities, it is reckoned that costs per resident would rise by a third to a half. Much of that has to do with better employment conditions with councils. There is public pressure to improve the lot of care workers. However that is achieved, it will require a big lift in funding. Then there is demographic growth in the 'very old' age group, with the ageing of Baby Boomers and rising life expectancy. That will require more care provision, either at home or in residential homes. One challenge for a National Care Service would be choice. The NHS runs efficiently because it rations access through queues. And you have to take the treatment and doctor you're offered. Choosing a home for later life is usually seen as a more personal and long-term decision. So yes, there could be a National Care Service. But we would probably have less choice, and we'd better be ready to pay a lot for it, through more tax or national insurance.

world-europe-17753720

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17753720

Poland profile - Leaders

President: Andrzej Duda

Andrzej Duda of the conservative, Eurosceptic Law and Justice Party, scored a surprise win in the 2015 election, beating the incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski of the centrist Civic Platform in the closest presidential contest in Poland's history. Political observers attributed his victory to public dissatisfaction with Civic Platform's failure to boost employment and wages in line with continuing economic growth, and with a rise in the retirement age. This dissatisfaction also saw Law and Justice win parliamentary elections in October with the first single-party overall majority in Poland's history as a democracy. Born in 1972 and a law lecturer by profession, Mr Duda has been active in conservative politics since the early 2000s, rising to work in the Presidential Chancellery under Lech Kaczynski in 2008-2010. He served in parliament in 2011-2014, winning praise for his bipartisan approach in the often highly-charged world of Polish politics, and was later elected to the European Parliament. Prime Minister: Mateusz Morawiecki Finance Minister Morawiecki took over as head of the conservative Law and Justice party government in December 2017, replacing Beata Szydlo, who moved to the post of deputy prime minister. Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski dropped Mrs Szydlo in what Polish political analysts see as a move to repair the country's poor relations with the European Union, and prepare the party for a series of elections. The Western-educated economist Mr Morawiecki has a more polished manner than his predecessor, but shares her strong support for Mr Kaczynski's moves to limit the power of the judiciary, promote a conservative Catholic social agenda, and oppose European Union demands to accept Muslim refugees.

newsbeat-43211216

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43211216

Beast from the East: How the weather got a Hollywood makeover

Step outside if you dare.

By Duncan MiddletonNewsbeat reporter The Beast from the East is unleashing a snow bomb super cyclone polar vortex monster storm. Or "winter" as it used to be called. Our obsession with the weather is nothing new. But the language used to describe it seems to have had something of a Hollywood makeover in recent years. So what changed - how did the weather get a rebrand? "Going back in history, people talked about storms and clouds, likening them to animals and magical forces," says Peter Moore, author of The Weather Experiment - which looks at how the forecast was invented in the 1860s by Admiral Robert Fitzroy. The famous sailor was determined to provide accurate information described in the most simple, factual terms to prevent so many deaths at sea. All well and good. But he didn't live during a time of rolling news. "Nowadays, news is a 24-hour business and the weather if part of that," says Peter. "People can follow the progress and growth of these storms every 15 minutes or so, so you can make real stories out of them, infuse them with narrative. "Maybe we're rediscovering the poetry and storytelling power of the weather in the 24-hour news world." If you want a good story, you need good characters. That's why 2015 was a big moment in the weather plot. That's when the Met Office started giving names to UK storms. "Once you give something a name, you give it a personality, people become invested in it," explains Peter. For example "Beryl's smashing everything in her path" is far more emotive than "It's rather windy outside". "Beast from the East? It's absolutely brilliant," says Peter. "It's really infusing a weather event with very dramatic character traits. And that means people can have fun with it on social media." But what of the actual terms used to describe the weather? Have they been sexed-up? "There's certainly more of an appetite for weather and that means making it more accessible," says BBC Weather forecaster Chris Fawkes. Hence the relatively recent arrival of the "weather bomb". "It actually refers to a 'rapid cyclogenesis' and is something forecasters discuss amongst themselves all the time. But it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue," admits Chris. "Weather bomb grabs your attention far better." It certainly paints a picture. But if you want the actual definition it refers to a 24 millibar fall in pressure over a 24-hour period. You see, you're already glazing over - so here's a picture of some cute cows in the snow. Chris thinks as well as a tabloid trend to follow America's use of hyperbole - for example "Snowmageddon!" - there's another reason for the more colourful descriptions. "20 or 30 years ago, people were watching daily forecasts with a great deal of scepticism, wondering if they were going to be right or wrong," he says. "Five-day forecasts are much more accurate now - so there's much more time to talk about the weather. "This means we can bring much more language to describe the processes of what's going on in the atmosphere." Which brings things neatly back to the "Beast from the East" and Admiral Robert Fitzroy. What would he make of the weather being described in such a way? "I think he'd be rather disappointed," says Peter. "It doesn't really convey any useful information - other than there's a really good story and it's something to be scared of. "That's what Fitzroy was trying to get away from. He wanted to show things in clear, simple words while sticking to the facts. "Now, it's the opposite." Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.

world-middle-east-14703523

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703523

Saudi Arabia profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1902 - Ibn Saud takes control of Riyadh. 1912 - The Ikhwan (Brotherhood) is founded based on strict Wahhabi Sunni Islam, and provides key support for Ibn Saud. 1921-25 - After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Ibn Saud takes over Najd and Hijaz, the home to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. 1928-30 - Ibn Saud defeats an Ikhwan uprising against his efforts to modernisation the region. Saudi Arabia formed 1932 September - Ibn Saud unites his lands as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and takes the King Abdulaziz. 1938 - Oil is discovered and production begins under the US-controlled Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company). 1953 November - King Abdulaziz dies and is succeeded by Crown Prince Saud, whose reign is marked by rivalry with Arab nationalist Egypt in the region and a power struggle with his borther Faisal at home. 1960 - Saudi Arabia is a founding member of Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries). 1964 November - King Saud is deposed by his brother Faisal. 1972 - Saudi Arabia gains control of 20% of Aramco, lessening US control over Saudi oil. 1973 - Saudi Arabia leads an oil boycott against the Western countries that supported Israel in the October Yom Kippur War with Egypt and Syria. Oil prices quadruple. King Faisal assassinated 1975 March - King Faisal is assassinated by his nephew and succeeded by his brother Khalid. 1979 - Extremists seize the Grand Mosque of Mecca; the government regains control after 10 days and those captured are executed. 1980 - Saudi Arabia takes full control of Aramco from the US. 1981 May - Saudi Arabia is a founder member of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). King Khalid dies 1982 June - King Khalid dies of a heart attack and is succeeded by his brother, Crown Prince Fahd. 1986 November - King Fahd adds the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" to his name. 1987 - Saudi Arabia resumes diplomatic relations with Egypt, severed since 1979. 1990 - Saudi Arabia condemns Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and asks the US to intervene. Saudi attacks Iraq 1991 - Saudi Arabia is involved in both air attacks on Iraq and the land force that went on to liberate Kuwait. 1992 March - King Fahd announces the "Basic System of Government" emphasising the duties and responsibilities of a ruler. He proposes setting up a Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura). 1993 December - The Consultative Council is inaugurated. It is composed of a chairman and 60 members chosen by the king. 1994 - Islamic dissident Osama Bin Laden is stripped of his Saudi nationality. 1997 July - King Fahd increases the members of the Consultative Council from 60 to 90. 1999 October - Twenty Saudi women attend a session of the Consultative Council for the first time. Relations with US 2001 11 September - 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in attacks on New York and Washington are Saudi nationals. 2001 December - Government issues ID cards to women for the first time. 2002 May - Revised criminal code includes ban on torture and right of suspects to legal representation, but violations continue. Signs of dissent 2003 October - Police break up unprecedented rally in centre of Riyadh calling for political reform, a month after more than 300 Saudi intellectuals - women as well as men - sign a petition calling for change. 2003 November - King grants wider powers to Consultative Council, enabling it to propose legislation without his permission. 2004 February - Stampede at Hajj pilgrimage leaves 251 dead. Jihadist attacks 2004 - Sporadic attacks by the al-Qaeda jihadist group overthe previous two years acquire a systematic nature, including deadly assaults on the Yanbu petrochemical plant and the Khobar oil company, and the US consulate in Jeddah. 2005 February-April - First-ever nationwide municipal elections. Women do not take part in the poll. 2005 August - King Fahd dies, and is succeeded by Crown Prince Abdullah. 2005 November - World Trade Organization gives the green light to Saudi Arabia's membership following 12 years of talks. 2006 January - 363 Hajj pilgrims are killed in a crush during a stone-throwing ritual in Mecca. In a separate incident, more than 70 pilgrims are killed when a hostel in the city collapses. 2007 July - Religious police are banned from detaining suspects. The force has come under increasing criticism for overzealous behaviour after recent deaths in custody. 2008 July - British House of Lords reverses High Court decision and says their government acted lawfully in dropping investigation into the Al-Yamamah defence deal, as the Saudis had threatened to withdraw cooperation with London on security matters. 2008 December - Saudi Arabia and Qatar agree final delineation of border. 2009 February - King Abdullah sacks head of religious police, most senior judge and central bank head in rare government reshuffle. Also appoints country's first woman minister. Al-Qaeda trial 2009 July - A court issues verdicts in the first explicit terrorism trial for al-Qaeda militants in the country. Officials say 330 suspects were tried, but do not specify how many were found guilty. One is sentenced to death. 2010 October - US officials confirm plan to sell $60 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia - the most lucrative single arms deal in US history. 2011 February - King Abdullah announces increased welfare spending, as 'Arab Spring' unrest continues in the region. 2011 March - Saudi troops participate in crackdown on unrest in Bahrain. 2011 September - King Abdullah announces more rights for women, including the right to vote and run in municipal elections, and to be appointed to the consultative Shura Council. A woman is sentenced to 10 lashes after being found guilty of driving, in the first legal punishment for violating the ban on women drivers. King Abdullah overturns the sentence. 2012 June - Saudi Arabia agrees to allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time. 2013 February - King Abdullah swears in 30 women to the previously all-male Shura consultative council - the first time women have been able to hold any political office. 2014 September - Saudi Arabia and four other Arab states take part together with the United States in air strikes against Islamic State militant strongholds in Syria. King Salman 2015 January - King Salman ascends throne after King Abdullah dies. 2015 March - Saudi Arabia launches campaign of air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. 2015 May - Two suicide bomb attacks on Shia mosques in Eastern Province kill at least 25 people, claimed by the Saudi branch of Islamic Group Sunni extremist group. 2015 September - Hundreds die in stampede near Mecca during annual Hajj pilgrimage, days after 109 people perished when a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, raising further concerns about safety standards during these mass events. 2015 November - Women stand in municipal elections for the first time, 20 are elected. 2016 January - Crowds in Tehran set Saudi embassy alight in protest at execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which also prompted Shia demonstrations in Iraq and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran. 2016 April - Government approves a plan for far-reaching reforms to diversify the economy away from oil. 2016 June - A United Nations report accuses the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen of killing and injuring hundreds of children. 2017 February - The Saudi Stock Exchange and a major bank name women as their chief executives. Rise of Prime Mohammed 2017 June - Saudi Arabia sparks a diplomatic crisis by leading an air, land and sea blockade by Arab countries, in an attempt to get Qatar to cut its alleged connections with terrorism and distance itself from Iran. King Salman names his son Mohammed bin Salman first in line to the throne. 2017 September - Ban on women driving formally lifted. 2017 November - Purge of the kingdom's political and business leadership in move by Prince Mohammed to consolidate his power. 2018 April - Public cinema returns, almost 40 years after it was banned as un-Islamic. 2018 October - The killing of emigre reporter Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul causes an international outcry. 2019 September - Two major oil refineries damaged in air attacks, claimed by the Yemeni Houthi movement. Saudi Arabia, the US, Britain, France and Germany accuse Iran of responsibility. 2019 December - Five people are sentenced to death and three others jailed over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, in a trial condemned by the UN special rapporteur as a cover-up.

uk-politics-45410344

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45410344

Snatched pic gives insight into 'no deal' Brexit planning

It's good and sensible to plan.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter If they weren't taking it seriously, as the government was very regularly criticised for failing to do, careering into a 'no deal' scenario would be pretty irresponsible, and planning properly for no deal has also been prized by Brexiteers as evidence that the PM might actually walk away if the offer on the table is simply not good enough. A literal snapshot of some of that planning today has given a slice of insight into the kind of preparation that's taking place inside the Treasury, so called 'Operation Yellowhammer'. As an intellectual exercise, none of this brief excerpt is completely surprising. It demonstrates the political reality that in government there is concern about what might happen to the financial system, as well as transport, air and rail. But it is still a message to government departments they should try to find cash to spend on "no deal" preparations from existing budgets, rather than the big cash pot that's been allocated so far. That could give yet another reason for Brexiteers to get riled. But in this hot political climate, that's not hard to do. The Treasury officially won't comment on the leak. Here is the text of the snap, captured by the sharp-eyed Westminster photographer @politicalpics: HMT briefing - Operation Yellowhammer - 04 September 2018 Operation Yellowhammer: no deal contingency planning Summary of issue •This meeting will consider progress on the Government's plans for mitigating the immediate impacts of a No Deal Brexit. •The Civil Contingencies Secretariat held a two-day workshop last week to review departments' plans, assumptions, interdependencies and next steps. HMT objectives 1.Emphasise the importance of building XWH [cross Whitehall] communications architecture that can help maintain confidence in the event of contingency plans being triggered - particularly important for financial services. 2.Explain that departments should be raising Yellowhammer costs through the normal channels - through their spending teams for in-year pressures, and in their bids for 19/20 Brexit allocations for spending that year. Their first call should be internal prioritisation. 3.Reaffirm the need for consistent planning assumptions across plans […] aviation and rail access to the EU. 4.Remind departments of the need to consider the financial […] commercial firms that play a role in their contingency plans.

uk-northern-ireland-55765574

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-55765574

Oscar Wilde's grandson looks back on the case that ruined him

Did Edward Carson destroy Oscar Wilde?

By Damon QuinnWriter and producer In a new documentary set to screen on BBC NI, Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland asks if Carson deserves the reputation as the man who took down his grandfather. In 1895, Wilde fought a duel in court with a lawyer who he had once called an "old friend". The lawyer was Carson, a fellow Dubliner Wilde knew from Trinity College Dublin, and it was the most scandalous case of Victorian times. It ended in Wilde's ruin and led to his imprisonment for his homosexuality, which was a criminal offence in Britain until 1967. 2021 is the centenary of Northern Ireland and Carson's statue at Stormont is a Belfast landmark. But, like Wilde, Carson was a Dubliner. They were both born in the same year. They went to Trinity College where they knew each other well. Yet they were fated to meet in a cataclysmic clash years later in the most famous court in England, the Old Bailey. The film is a deeply personal journey by Merlin Holland. 'Just doing his job' The result of the trial was disastrous for the Wilde family. After Wilde's imprisonment, his wife Constance (Merlin's grandmother) left England with their children and changed their surname to Holland to try to protect them. Yet Merlin surprisingly bears no animosity towards Carson for his part in his grandfather's ruin. He maintains that "Carson was a lawyer who was just doing his job". In the film, Merlin, who lives in Burgundy, in France, travels to Belfast and visits Carson's tomb in St Anne's Cathedral. From there, he travels to Dublin, Oxford, and London. His epic voyage finishes in Paris where Wilde lived out his last days and died in poverty in 1900. The film unearths some surprising new revelations about Wilde's final days in the French capital. The written record of Wilde's conversion to Catholicism on his death bed is seen for the first time on camera. This came about by a remarkably fortunate set of circumstances. Director Jim Creagh's brother, Fr Kieron Creagh, is a priest of the Passionist Order and he revealed that they kept the record of conversions in Saint Joseph's Church in Paris. In the film, Merlin is shown the entry in the book which bears witness to Wilde being received into the Catholic Church and his death the following day. The Paris segment ends poignantly in Père Lachaise Cemetery where his tomb has become a shrine. Fans still come from all around the world to kiss his grave. The film features a star cast, which includes contributions from actors Simon Callow and Rupert Everett who played Oscar Wilde in his own film The Happy Prince. Other contributors include Gyles Brandreth, who is president of the Oscar Wilde Society, and Professor Alvin Jackson, an expert on the life of Edward Carson. The film is a Hole in the Wall Gang production and was directed and filmed by Jim Creagh. 'Worth the wait' For me, as producer, it has been a lifelong ambition to bring this to the screen - it took eight years to get commissioned and three years to make. However, I feel it was well worth the wait. It has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with Merlin Holland. The film is unique because it is the only documentary that is led by a direct descendant of Wilde. It is also ground breaking in telling the fascinating story on screen of Carson and Wilde. I think this film will appeal to fans of Wilde but also those who love history and who will be hooked by the story of these two famous Dubliners. I also hope it will also attract viewers who know very little about Wilde or Carson but who will be curious to find out more. Edward Carson And The Fall Of Oscar Wilde is available on BBC iPlayer from Friday, 22 January, as part of BBC Northern Ireland's Season Of Arts, and will also be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland, Monday 1 February at 22:45 GMT.

uk-politics-26534864

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26534864

Bob Crow: Public enemy number one or national treasure?

Defiant, belligerent, proud.

Nick RobinsonPolitical editor In life, Bob Crow embodied his team Millwall's famous song, "No-one likes us, we don't care". In death, those who once condemned him and who he regarded as his enemies - Tory cabinet ministers, the Mayor of London and, yes, the leader of the Labour Party - have lined up to praise him (though in the case of Ed Miliband not on camera) as a fighter for those he regarded as his people. Crow, in my experience, was simply unmoved by the views of the political and media establishment. This was something I discovered when I first met him many years ago at RMT HQ. Bob turned up before our feature-length interview casually dressed. In fact he was wearing a T-shirt and the skimpiest pair of shorts I've ever seen on a man. After we'd talked about the lovely weather and the focus of my interview I hinted that the time had come for him to get changed to appear on camera. This, he told me, is all I've got. Today, he explained, is the works outing and we're going to the seaside. Having taken off my jacket and tie and instructed the cameraman to film from the waist up the interview began - on Bob's terms. I had prepared by reading newspaper cuttings about a man whom Fleet Street invariably dubbed a "dinosaur" or "the most hated man in Britain". One particular article stood out. Perhaps not surprisingly it was in the Daily Mail. The article claimed that Crow - who had a bust of Lenin in his office - was an unapologetic admirer of the Soviet Union. I put it to Crow that he faced a hostile media and used the quote about the Soviet Union as an example. Oh no, he interrupted. He was an admirer of the Soviet Union - in particular its industrial policies. After listening for a while to this paean of praise for a system which conventional opinion regarded as a costly and bloody failure, I added: "Notwithstanding the millions who were killed for their political beliefs?" After barely a beat, Bob responded: "Yeah, notwithstanding that." It was attitudes like that which won Crow admirers and enemies. So too the fact he celebrated Margaret Thatcher's death, fought Labour leaders for their betrayal of the working class and was ready to threaten to disrupt the Olympics, a Royal Wedding and millions of people's daily lives. However, friend and foe alike know that Bob Crow did all this thanks both to deeply held beliefs and a determination to fight for his members. Few doubt that he was not just one of the best known but also one of the most effective trade union leaders in terms of doing the job he was paid to do: protecting the job security of his members, increasing their pay and improving their conditions. Behind the public displays of aggression was a man, it is widely said, who was willing and capable of striking a deal in private. No-one, of course, likes to speak ill of the dead but there are other reasons why Bob Crow may appear to have been transformed overnight from public enemy number one to a national treasure. This was a man who knew what he thought, knew whose side he was on and knew who the enemy were - in an era when that can be said of a shrinking number of people in public life.

world-us-canada-40560800

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40560800

Is this a smoking gun and other Trump Jr questions

Call it a journalistic triple punch.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter The New York Times on Friday revealed that Donald Trump Jr, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chair Paul Manafort had a previously undisclosed meeting with an influential Russian lawyer in Trump Tower during the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign. Then, on Sunday, the paper reported that during the meeting the group discussed information that was possibly damaging to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Trump Jr had previously said only that the meetings were "primarily" about a suspended Russian adoption programme. Finally, the Times on Monday evening landed the haymaker - that Trump Jr went into the meeting thinking it was the Russian government itself that had incriminating information on the Democratic candidate. Those stories, and subsequent reporting by the Washington Post, raise a bevy of questions. Here are a few of the big ones. Is this a smoking gun? What is a gun? What is smoke? Is anything real any more? The media could discover a metaphorical .357 Magnum on the floor, still warm to the touch, and it would probably be dismissed by many as just another bit of fake news. These latest revelations aren't going to cause such existential angst, but they're still enlightening - and could be bad news for Trump Jr. For the first time there's confirmation of a meeting between Mr Trump's inner circle and someone with ties to the Russian government where campaign issues were discussed. More than that, Trump Jr seems to have walked into the meeting with the impression that the Russian government wanted to help his father - and there's email evidence that supports this. As the Washington Post puts it: "The meeting suggests that some Trump aides were in the market to collect negative information that could be used against Clinton - at the same time that US government officials have concluded Russians were collecting such data." That may not be evidence of collusion, but it gets close to evidence of a willingness to collude. News of the hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers first surfaced a week later. Roughly a month after that, Wikileaks began releasing information from the hack, causing a political headache for the Democrats just before their national convention. Now throw in the fact that both Mr Kushner and Mr Manafort have been mired in their own Russia-related controversies, and the plot thickens. Doesn't every campaign look for dirt on opponents? "Everybody does it" is Trump Jr's current defence of the meeting, after his original explanation was undercut by subsequent revelations and his revised statement proved more incriminating than exculpatory. "Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent," he tweeted sarcastically. "Went nowhere but had to listen." "Opposition research", as it's called, is a standard part of any campaign. Usually a candidate has a team of researchers chasing down any and every possible bit of unflattering information on their opponents. Dirt-digging is a messy business, however, and these units usually have a fair amount of separation from a candidate's top team to insulate the campaign from embarrassing blowback. Such insulation was non-existent in this case. A Russian national, apparently at the behest of a British publicist working for a Russian music star who is the son of a billionaire real estate developer, was able to arrange a sit-down meeting with three top figures in the Trump campaign. As Republican campaign strategist Evan Siegried points out, even for a campaign as unconventional as Mr Trump's, letting those close to a candidate talk to sources of uncertain background is "not just dumb", it's a serious departure from basic standard operating procedure. Another Republican operative, Stuart Stevens, drew comparisons to an episode during the 2000 presidential race between Al Gore and George W Bush. "When Gore campaign was sent Bush debate brief book, they called FBI," he tweeted. "If foreign interests offer you info on former [secretary of state], you call the FBI." The Trump team didn't do that. Instead, they took the meeting. Why are Russia questions so hard for the Trump team? In June, Trump Jr took to Twitter to celebrate former FBI head James Comey's testimony that there was no evidence campaign aides had "repeated contacts" with Russians. Now, it turns out, he helped set up one such meeting - and reportedly thought that the Russian government was a willing partner. Mr Kushner wrote in his security clearance application that he never met with Russian nationals - and had to subsequently revise his answers when it was revealed he had multiple meetings. Close campaign aide turned White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said he never spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak about sanctions. He resigned in disgrace after government surveillance proved that assertion inaccurate. Mr Manafort had to acknowledge he received millions in payments from a pro-Russian Ukrainian party and retroactively register as a foreign agent, after insisting last year that he had no such ties. Jeff Sessions, a close political confidant of Mr Trump during the campaign and now US attorney general, had to recuse himself from his department's Russia investigation because he was not forthcoming about his own meetings with Mr Kislyak. Time and time again, those close to Mr Trump have had to backtrack on assurances they made that they did not have Russian contacts or connections. Taken individually, these episodes may be unremarkable. In their totality, however, they become a steady drumbeat of evasion and obfuscation whenever the topic of Russia comes up. What effect will this have on the Russia investigations? Several congressional committees and Independent Counsel Robert Mueller are looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Trump Tower meeting, while it may not be a smoking gun, will definitely pique their interest - and could result in legal exposure for Trump Jr. On Monday morning Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said that the Senate Intelligence Committee should interview Trump Jr and other participants about what took place in New York last June. Adam Schiff of California, ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, has made a similar call. Trump Jr's assertion that neither Mr Manafort nor Mr Kushner knew the details of the meeting ahead of time appears to insulate those two from possible political and legal fallout, as does Mr Trump's lawyer's statement that the president was not aware of the meeting. Trump Jr may not be so fortunate. "His statements put him potentially in legal crosshairs for violating federal criminal statutes prohibiting solicitation or acceptance of anything of value from a foreign national, as well as a conspiracy to defraud the United States," writes Darren Samuelsohn in Politico. For the past few weeks, some Trump supporters have been insisting that even if members of the campaign did co-ordinate with Russian operatives, it wouldn't have been illegal or even improper. At the time the assertions appeared unexpected and unnecessary. That's not so much the case anymore. What does this mean for Trump's political agenda? There are two schools of thought surrounding the impact this could have on Mr Trump's efforts to enact healthcare and tax reform, devise a federal budget, pass some sort of infrastructure spending bill and do all the other stuff that used to occupy the days of a pre-"modern" presidency. On one hand, the latest round of Russia stories are crowding out any efforts to promote the president's priorities on the public stage. The latest iteration of the Senate's Obamacare repeal bill is woefully unpopular, and there's been little opportunity for any of its advocates - whether in the administration or Congress - to make a high-profile pitch for why it should be made law. Other agenda items, like tax reform, are so far back on the burner they may have fallen completely off the stove. The counter to this is that, given the heat many politicians have taken over proposed elements of the healthcare bill, flying under the public's radar may afford the involved parties time and space to regroup. Two weeks ago, members of the Senate were being hounded by reporters for the latest details on the ongoing healthcare fight. This week, the media's lidless gaze is fixed elsewhere. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already sent two draft bills to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis. If he gets a result that's positive for his party, he may try to race to a vote before opposition mounts. Of course these theories may well co-exist. Congressional Republicans could have the space to quickly pass a new healthcare bill and get it on Mr Trump's desk for a short-term win. Without the ability to boost its approval ratings, however, the unpopular law ends up being a long-term drag on the party heading into next year's midterm election and undermines subsequent legislative efforts. With a little help from his eldest son, Mr Trump could end up losing by winning - or vice-versa. Follow Anthony Zurcher on Twitter.

entertainment-arts-45818204

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45818204

Will Gompertz on Banksy's shredded Love is in the Bin ★★★★★

I admit it, I was wrong.

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter When I said a couple of weeks ago that for the past century artists have failed to outwit and outdo Marcel Duchamp (the French conceptual artist who placed a urinal in a gallery in 1917), I hadn't realised that there was an artwork hanging on the walls of a London auction house which was about to do just that. That "moment" at Sotheby's the other day when Banksy's Girl with Balloon sold for £860,000 (just over £1m with add-ons) and promptly self-destructed in front of a gobsmacked auction room was a match for any of Duchamp's mischievously ironic artworks. Before our very eyes, the familiar Banksy image of the girl with a balloon, for which an unnamed lady paid an unfathomably large sum, was transformed into an entirely new piece, retrospectively titled by the artist, Love is in the Bin. "At first I was shocked," said the winning bidder and proud owner having decided to keep the work, "but I realised I would end up with my own piece of art history." And so she has. The idea of destroying one artwork to make another has turned into something of a genre post-Duchamp, who was the past master of the art stunt. In 1953, for example, Robert Rauschenberg famously rubbed out a drawing given to him by the revered Dutch artist Willem de Kooning. The American then spent two months obliterating the original image before mounting the now blank sheet of paper in a gilded frame, onto which his friend Jasper Johns inscribed with the words, Erased de Kooning Drawing. Robert Rauschenberg. In light of which, and for the sake of clarity, the subject of this review is not a 2006 Banksy canvas in a mock Victorian frame, but the new artwork made by the artist via a remote control device live in the auction room on 5th October 2018. The one with shredded canvas hanging from the bottom of the frame, which is on display at Sotheby's, London throughout the weekend. This is what I think about Love is in the Bin. It will come to be seen as one of the most significant artworks of the early 21st Century. It is not a great painting that can be compared to a late Rembrandt, or a sculpture to sit alongside Michelangelo's David, but in terms of conceptual art emanating from Duchamp's Dadaist sensibility, it is exceptional. It was brilliant in both conception and execution. Take its initial creation, which was a stunning piece of site-specific, mechanically-aided, performance art; an attention-grabbing spectacle taking place within an attention-grabbing spectacle, which highlighted through dark satire how art has become an investment commodity to be auctioned off to ultra-wealthy trophy-hunters. As an action, it was reminiscent of the K Foundation's spectacle of burning a million pounds on the Isle of Jura in 1994. The difference here was the one million pound object Banksy destroyed could quite possibly be worth more, which, when you think about it, tells you all you need to know about a cynical art world and its values. Imagine you'd saved up all your money to buy a painting you truly loved and then at the very moment you were about to take it home someone came along and shredded it. Would you want your money back? Would you be angry? Sure you would, you loved that piece. But contemporary art is not valued for its inherent aesthetic qualities (although that is how it is presented to us), it is valued pretty much solely on the basis of an artist's reputation. All that matters is the brand, that it is a Banksy, or a Koons, or a Kusama. For a lot of collectors art has become an asset class. Hence the talk after the event wasn't about art but the asset. Will the shredded work be worth more, or less? Surreptitious calls were made suggesting potential buyers were already lining up to purchase it, should it come back on the market. Speculation mounted. Maybe the whole thing was an elaborate prank by Banksy. He could have put the piece up for auction through an associate and then bought it for the staggering sum of £1m knowing full well the sale wouldn't go through because the work was about to be destroyed. You wouldn't put that past him, would you? And what about the shredder? How did that work? Were Sotheby's in on it? If not, just how bad is its security not to spot an inbuilt metal contraption with (I assume) a remote control device installed? Duchamp would have loved it all. The provocation, the mystery (he signed his urinal R Mutt to hide his identity), the creation through destruction (he drew a goatee onto a postcard of the Mona Lisa to create an original artwork), the challenging question about the nature of art. What is Love is in the Bin? Is it a painting? Or, is it now a piece of conceptual art? Or should it be classified as a sculpture? Or is it rubbish? Who decides? Who knows? Duchamp would say it is up to you to decide. My view? It is art. Made by an artist who many don't rate but I do. Why? Because he has something to say. You might not agree with him, but at least he is making art that penetrates the public consciousness; art that is in the world, not detached from it; art that raises questions that need an airing. Banksy makes art that, as Hamlet said, holds "…the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." And what artwork better captures the spirit of our times than Love is in the Bin? I can't think of one.

newsbeat-24954149

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-24954149

Chris Brown leaves rehab to continue as an outpatient

Chris Brown has left residential rehab.

A spokeswoman for the singer said he "is continuing his rehab program as an outpatient" and will work on a community service order in Los Angeles. Brown entered the facility on 30 October, having said he was seeking treatment "to gain focus and insight'' into his behaviour. He went into rehab a day after being released from jail after Brown and his bodyguard were accused of attacking a man outside the W Hotel. When the singer entered rehab, a representative said it would help him "continue the pursuit of his life and his career from a healthier vantage point". Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, said there was no direct link to the hotel arrest. "He just decided he wanted to take some time off and do some introspection," said Geragos. According to court documents, the man told police he'd tried to push his way into a picture Brown was taking with a woman and her friend. Parker Adams, 20, from Maryland, claimed he was punched by both Brown and his bodyguard before the singer boarded his tour bus. The star was released from jail after his charge for felony assault was reduced to a misdemeanour. At the time the singer's lawyer, Danny Onorato said: "Christopher Brown committed no crime. "We understand that his security staff acted to protect Mr Brown and Mr Brown's property as he was authorised to do under District of Columbia law." The singer is due back in court on 25 November. Brown is on probation for his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. The 24-year-old is still working to complete 1,000 hours of community service following the conviction. Publicist Nicole Perna said Brown appreciates his fans' encouragement and support. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter

business-20041370

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-20041370

Strikes keep pounding South Africa's economy

Jeanette Mwandla is annoyed.

By Matthew DaviesBBC News, Johannesburg, South Africa Since last week, her journey to and from work has become more expensive and more time-consuming. Usually, she catches the bus from Soweto to the centre of Johannesburg and then a minibus taxi out to the north east where she works in a suburban office park. But last week, drivers from the Rea Vaya bus company, which is run by the Johannesburg municipality, went on strike. Now Ms Mwandla has to take an additional taxi, which costs her an extra R50 ($5.80; £3.62) a day. "The problem is, in town - now that the buses are on strike - there's a very long queue," she says. "You can stand there for half an hour to 45 minutes waiting for transport." Ms Mwandla's story is just one of many involving the inconveniences that South Africans have had to put up with during this year's "strike season". Recent industrial action by lorry drivers meant petrol stations ran dry, supermarkets ran low on stock, and even hospitals had to make alternative arrangements for deliveries of heating coal. But when it comes to the economy, the real bruising comes from the point where the intense and violent strike season started, namely the mines. Back in August, when workers at a little known platinum mine called Marikana near the town of Rustenburg went on a wildcat strike, few economists were revising their GDP growth numbers for South Africa. Two-and-a-half months later, almost all of them are. "South Africa is likely to record GDP growth closer to 2.5% this year, compared to the 2.7% initially forecast, as the productivity of the mining sector is afflicted by the strikes," observes one of them, Investec economist Annabel Bishop of Investec 'Disruptive process' But it does not end there. Recent downgrades by credit ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's have added to the concerns foreign investors already had about the mining sector. Investec has calculated that since police shot 34 miners at Marikana, foreigners have sold R12bn ($1.39bn; £866m) worth of South African equities. Last month, President Jacob Zuma said the mining strike alone has cost R3.1bn. In a recent note to its clients, Morgan Stanley predicted the South African economy could shed as many as 85,000 jobs this year, in a country where the unemployment rate is at least 25%. Businesses connected to the mining sector are bearing much of the pain. While many of the supermarkets made alternative arrangements to get around the lorry drivers' strike, companies that count the mines among their customers do not have such flexibility. For the explosives and chemicals company AECI, the miners' strikes create a particular problem. With many mines shut completely, they are finding deliveries of their products turned away at the gates. That creates huge difficulties for the company. It cannot simply stop its production chains and it does not have the capacity to store explosives and chemicals safely. "It's a very disruptive process," says Graham Edwards, chief executive of AECI. "It causes the maximum financial harm to the suppliers." 'Too beautiful' Just when this year's strike season in South Africa will be over is, at the moment, a matter of guesswork. The truck drivers' strike is over and some mine labourers are returning to work, but a threatened mass walkout by some 200,000 municipal workers still hangs over the economy. The longer all this labour unrest goes on, the more damage the economy sustains. There are hard figures: For example, the world's third largest gold miner, AngloGold Ashanti, says it is losing 32,000oz of production every week, which equates to about $55m. There is also the image of South Africa as an investment destination, which, once lost, would be very difficult to rebuild. The downgrades by the ratings agencies have rattled many, not least President Zuma. Countering the wave of negative media comment that has been building up for the past few weeks, a statement released by the presidency last weekend said: "Despite the challenges, South Africa is getting many things right. On the economic front, the economy possesses the necessary dynamism to position the country as a competitive player in a difficult global economic environment." On Thursday, South Africa's finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, should give some indication about exactly what the country is getting right in his mini-budget speech to parliament. Meanwhile, many miners are returning to work and the gold mining companies look set to sign a deal with the unions to "normalise relations". So there is much light and shade in this year's strike season in South Africa. But for Ms Mwandla the worries remain. "What's happening in our beautiful country?" she asks. "This country's too beautiful to go to waste."

entertainment-arts-42736306

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-42736306

Oscars 2018: All about the best actor nominees

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET

Find out more about the nominees for the 90th Academy Awards, which will take place on 4 March 2018. Also starred in: Interstellar, Lady Bird Nominated for: Call Me By Your Name The character: Elio, a young man living in Italy in the 1980s who falls in love with Oliver (Armie Hammer), a university student who has come to stay with his family. Oscar record: This is the 22-year-old's first nomination. The critics said: "In a film in which every performance is terrific, Chalamet makes the rest look like they're acting. He alone would make the film worth watching, but he's just one of countless reasons." Olly Richards, Empire DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Also starred in: Gangs of New York, Last of the Mohicans, My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln Nominated for: The Phantom Thread The character: Reynolds Woodcock, a famous and eccentric British dressmaker in 1950s London. Oscar record: Day-Lewis has won three best actor Oscars, for My Left Foot (1990), There Will Be Blood (2008) and Lincoln (2013). He was also nominated for In the Name of the Father (1994) and Gangs of New York (2003). The critics said: "Day-Lewis gives a performance of an almost ridiculously charismatic outrageousness, the sort only he could get away with." Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian DANIEL KALUUYA Also starred in: Black Panther (to be released 2018), Sicario, Skins (TV series) Nominated for: Get Out The character: Chris is a black man who visits the family of his white girlfriend for the first time but things start to get uncomfortable pretty quickly. Oscar record: This is his first nomination. The critics said: "Kaluuya, a Brit, is a perfect hero for a movie like this. Chris registers on some level that he's a character in a horror movie - he can't believe how bizarre these people are behaving - but the dislocation is deeper and more disabling." David Edelstein, Vulture GARY OLDMAN Also starred in: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Dark Knight Rises, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Batman Begins, several Harry Potter films Nominated for: Darkest Hour The character: British prime minister Winston Churchill, during the early days of World War II Oscar record: Nominated in 2012 for best leading actor in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy The critics said: "Oldman brings a wicked wit and compassionate heart to the role, one for which he seems almost superhumanly suited — and that's really saying something, consider how many great actors have played Churchill." Peter Howell, Toronto Star DENZEL WASHINGTON Also starred in: Fences, The Manchurian Candidate, Training Day, Devil in a Blue Dress, Crimson Tide, The Pelican Brief, Malcolm X, Flight and Glory Nominated for: Roman J Israel, Esq The character: A Los Angeles-based lawyer who takes over his firm when his work partner dies, only to discover secrets about the business, most unpleasant, that his former colleague had hidden from him. Oscar record: Two wins - one for best actor in 2001 for Training Day plus a best supporting win for Glory in 1990. He's also had five other nominations - Fences (2017), Flight (2012), The Hurricane (2000), Malcolm X (1993) and Cry Freedom (1998). The critics said: "You may think you know Washington as an actor, but you've never seen him like this. He is riveting as Roman J. Israel, Esq." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 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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Solomon Islands profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1899 - Germany cedes the northern Solomon islands to the United Kingdom, which had declared a protectorate over the southern Solomon islands in 1893. 1942 - During World War II the islands are occupied by Japan. There is very heavy fighting, especially on and around Guadalcanal. The Japanese are forced from the islands by the Allies in 1945, and British rule is restored. 1946 - An independence movement, Marching Rule, is established. 1976 - The islands become fully self-governing. Independence 1978 - The islands achieve independence within the British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II remains head of state. 1988 - Solomon Islands join Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to form the Spearhead Group, which aims to preserve Melanesian cultural traditions. 1997 - Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, a Malaitan, is elected prime minister. 1998 - Ulufa'alu's government narrowly survives a motion of no confidence. The Isatubu Freedom Movement, which says it represents the native people of Guadalcanal, begins to forcibly evict Malaitans, whom they accuse of taking jobs and land. The Malaitan Eagle Force (MEF) is formed in response. At least 20,000 Malaitans are forced off Guadalcanal. Fighting breaks out between the two rival militias. 2000 June - The MEF stages an attempted coup. It takes Bartholomew Ulufa'alu hostage. He is subsequently forced to resign and replaced by Mannasseh Sogavare. Peace treaty 2000 October - A broad peace treaty between the two militias, brokered by Australia, is signed. Unarmed peacekeepers from Australia and New Zealand are deployed to supervise the handover of arms, many of which were bought after fighting on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea ended in 1998. 2001 February - Marau peace agreement is signed bringing together the two warring factions, Marau Eagle Force and Isatabu Freedom Movement. It is aimed at ending two years of conflict. 2001 September - Murder of prominent rebel leader Selwyn Sake of the Isatabul Freedom Movement threatens peace agreement. 2001 December - Sir Allan Kemakeza of the People's Alliance Party is elected prime minister. International donors, including Australia and New Zealand, urge him to make law and order his priority. Growing lawlessness 2002 - Economic, social problems worsen, with the government unable to pay wages and fund services. In March, international peace monitors withdraw from some posts amid growing lawlessness. In August, a government minister is shot dead on the orders of a tribal warlord. 2002 December - Cyclone Zoe devastates the remote island of Tikopia and its neighbour, Anuta. A relief vessel is despatched amid fears of a large-scale loss of life, but it emerges that nobody was killed. 2003 June - Prime Minister Kemakeza asks for military help from Australia, New Zealand as country threatens to spiral into anarchy. Pacific foreign ministers back a multinational force. Solomons government approves peacekeeping plan in July. Peacekeepers arrive 2003 July - Australian-led peacekeeping force deploys, aiming to restore order and disarm militant groups. 2003 August - Prominent rebel Harold Keke - leader of the Isatubu Freedom Movement - surrenders to Australian forces. He is charged with the 2002 murder of priest and MP Father Augustine Geve. 2003 October-November - Australia, New Zealand decide to scale back their military contributions, citing progress in restoring order. Peacekeepers declare the Weather Coast - an area badly hit by lawlessness - safe. 2005 March - Former rebel leader Harold Keke and two of his associates are jailed for life for the 2002 murder of MP Father Augustine Geve. 2006 May - Parliament elects Manasseh Sogavare as prime minister. His predecessor, Snyder Rini, resigned after eight days in office. Rioting in the capital followed his appointment. 2007 April - A tsunami hits the north-west Solomon Islands after a strong sea quake. The UN puts the death toll at 34. Thousands are left homeless. 2007 July - Controversy as lawyer Julian Moti - wanted in his native Australia on child sex charges - is appointed as attorney general. He is later extradited. 2007 December - Nine ministers defect to the opposition. Prime Minister Sogavare loses a vote of confidence and steps down; MPs pick Derek Sikua as premier. 2009 February - The Solomon Islands declare a national disaster after heavy rain and flooding claim lives on Guadalcanal island, and people are evacuated from there and nearby Savo island. 2009 April - A national truth and reconciliation commission is launched to investigate the conflict between rival ethnic militias in which more than 100 people died and 20,000 were displaced between 1997 and 2003 on Guadalcanal. 2010 January - About 1,000 people are left homeless by landslides and a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in the Solomon Islands. 2010 August - General elections. Danny Philip becomes prime minister. 2011 November - MPs elect Gordon Darcy Lilo as prime minister, days after he was sacked as finance minister. Former PM Danny Philip resigned after he lost his majority in parliament over the dismissal. 2011 December - Australian High Court dismisses prosecution on child sex charges of former Solomon Islands attorney-general Julian Moti, ruling that his 2007 deportation to Brisbane was illegal. 2013 February - A powerful earthquake sets off a tsunami that leaves at least nine people dead. 2013 July - The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) marks the 10th anniversary since its deployment on the island. It also ends its military phase. 2014 April - Heavy rains brought by tropical cyclone Ita cause some of the worst flash flooding in Solomon Islands history. At least 22 people are killed. 2014 October - A month before elections, MPs reaching the end of their terms receive huge payouts because of an irreversible error by finance officials. 2014 November - Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo unexpectedly loses his seat in the general election. Of the 50 elected MPs, 32 are independents. Under new legislation only registered parties can form coalitions. With only half of the 12 registered parties fielding successful candidates, MPs must build a governing coalition and choose a prime minister. 2014 December - Veteran politician Manasseh Sogavare is elected prime minister for a third time in a secret ballot by MPs. 2016 April - Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corportation (SIBC) announces plans to develop a national public television service. 2016 October - European Union signs visa waiver agreement with the Solomon Islands. 2017 June - The Australian-led regional peacekeeping force quits after 14 years. 2017 November - Prime Minister Sogavare is ousted in a vote of no-confidence. He is replaced by Rick Houenipwela.

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Sketch: Cameron's liaison committee debut

Confident, calm and loquacious.

By Ben WrightPolitical correspondent, BBC News David Cameron parried questions about scrapped aircraft carriers, higher tuition fees and spending cuts with a panache reminiscent of Tony Blair in more benign political times. There was a dash of self-deprecation and perhaps just a smidgen of self-satisfaction. David Cameron handled his first liaison committee well and he knew it. For two hours the committee skimmed across a huge number of subjects, from Trident to forestry policy and the PM had a firm grip on his facts. Social unrest Every MP wanted their say and much of their questioning was sharp. Margaret Hodge, the Labour chair of the Public Accounts Committee, has made a successful move from minister to inquisitor and needled the prime minister on whether the government can make the savings it claims and later on social housing. That provoked one of the spikiest exchanges of the afternoon, as she pressed the PM on whether social unrest was a price worth paying for housing benefit reform. David Cameron said social unrest would increase if taxpayers continued to fund housing benefit for people living in the fanciest parts of London. On the process of governing, David Cameron described himself as a chairman several times - perhaps a necessity of heading a coalition government. He also said that there should be better long-term thinking and policy planning in Whitehall - and said that parliament and the press needed to play their part. Defence probing The questions on defence were revealing. Mr Cameron described the Strategic Defence Review as the toughest part of the spending review. Asked about the leaked letter from the defence secretary Liam Fox to him, the prime minister said it didn't make much difference but showed the Ministry of Defence had a "worrying" leak habit. On occasion, the PM's insouciance irritated the MPs. Did No 10 have a hand in the letter written to the Times by military chiefs defending the government's spending decisions? The prime minister didn't know and didn't sound as if he cared. The MPs did and told him to put an answer in the post. As the clock ticked over the two hour mark many of the seats behind the prime minister had emptied. But David Cameron clattered along and finished by signalling his support for a bank holiday to mark the royal wedding, the only subject not raised by the MPs.

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What would make your flight more fun?

Ah, the glamour of air travel.

By Karen HogganBusiness reporter The early morning wake-up call, the nightmare journey to the airport on public transport laden with unwieldy suitcases. Your eventual arrival at an overcrowded and chaotic check-in, short-tempered and perspiring. If that rings an all too familiar bell, then Transport Secretary Chris Grayling shares your pain. "Often it is the struggle to the airport with heavy bags that is the most challenging bit of the journey," he said on Friday, as he announced the government's consultation on a new aviation strategy. Mr Grayling said one of the things the government was interested in was how it could make the journey to the airport easier. 'Commercial failure' So did he have any ideas? Yes he did. "In Hong Kong, for example, they're looking at a solution we're looking at carefully where travellers can check their bags in up to two days before their flights, not at the airport but in the centre of town," he said. "They then pick up their bags only at their final destination when they finish the flight. It makes things easier for those passengers. It also increases space for passengers on trains on the way to the airport." Sounds good. The only fly in the ointment is it's been tried before in London and it was a commercial flop, according to the Independent's travel editor, Simon Calder. Some airline passengers travelling from Heathrow used to be able to drop off their bags at Victoria or Paddington stations in London. However, there simply wasn't the demand and the service was dropped. "Clearly it's practical and has been tried, but it's been a commercial failure," said Mr Calder. 'Fresh look' But it's not just the trip to the airport that's under scrutiny. As this graphic from the consultation document shows, the Department for Transport (DfT) wants to hear about the whole passenger experience - from booking a flight, to airport security, the flight itself and what happens at the other end. The DfT says its consultation on a new strategy "will take a fresh look at the aviation sector and its challenges and opportunities, as well as the role of government". So just what would make air travellers happier? What could be done to improve the experience? Talk to consumer groups and they focus on compensation for when things go wrong, such as delayed or cancelled flights. At the UK European Consumer Centre Wojtek Szezerba said that of the 500 customer complaints about airlines the group received last year, two thirds were about cancellations or delays "usually to do with the difficulty of obtaining compensation". Simon Calder puts it more bluntly and says some airlines are "lying through their teeth to avoid paying compensation". However, he argues, this could be remedied fairly simply. "That's a matter of the CAA enforcing the rules and having sanctions for airlines that misrepresents the rules and mislead passengers," he says. Big picture The DfT consultation document also said that, along with its "particular focus on consumers", the strategy would "look at where government could, and should, make a difference". However, rather than fiddling at the edges, Mr Calder thinks there are a couple of big fixes which would improve consumers' experiences. The big picture is that two airports in particular - Heathrow and Gatwick - are simply too busy. He has a couple of suggestions about what could be done about that. One is to increase airport capacity. The government has said its preferred option is to build a third runway at Heathrow, although it's not likely to see the light of day for many years. His second idea is to increase the tax - or Air Passenger Duty - for passengers using Heathrow or Gatwick to encourage people to fly from other airports. Either one of the solutions would relieve the pressure on the two airports, reckons Mr Calder. Back in the day, of course, it all seemed so much simpler. Between 1957 and 1974 British European Airways passengers flying from Heathrow could check-in and drop off their bags at the West London Air Terminal on the Cromwell Road in west London, now a branch of Sainsbury's. Then they were whisked off by bus down the M4 to the airport where they were deposited right next to the aircraft. Pie in the sky? Well, today security concerns would probably rule out dropping people off airside. However, there was another problem - even then traffic often held up the coach and delayed plane departures. So nothing's ever perfect. And indeed even Simon Calder, who's clocked up more air miles than most, reckons the UK has "the best range of options in Europe ... and the world, in terms of destinations and fares". But he adds "often the end to end journey is less than pleasurable". Some may regard that as an understatement - in which case the DfT wants to hear from them.

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Meghan Trainor cancels more US dates after vocal cord haemorrhage

Poor Meghan Trainor.

The singer has cancelled more US tour dates because of her vocal cord haemorrhage. She's posted an Instagram video of her doctor telling her, "You're going to need significant rest in order to get back into a tour situation, meaning cancel everything." So she's now postponed two gigs in Detroit and Chicago, and pulled out of the Common Ground festival in Michigan. Meghan posted this video of her with her doctor. Meghan had already called off two other shows in Atlantic City and Connecticut. But she now says she's "feeling much better" and has even announced rescheduled dates for the four cancelled concerts. Meghan first posted this message about her vocal cords last week. The star first revealed she had a vocal cord haemorrhage last Thursday. She said, "I have never missed a tour date before so this is killing me." She also apologised to her fans who had bought tickets to see her. Meghan posted this video of her saying she wants to cry last week. These lips aren't moving... Meghan isn't the first singing star to suffer from vocal cord problems. Sam Smith was forced to pull out halfway through his Australian tour in April because of a similar issue. He told Nick Grimshaw last month that he was Sam Smith 'relieved' to speak again after having successful surgery. Jess Glynne tweeted last month to say she was having vocal surgery. Jess Glynne had surgery on her vocal cords last month. She pulled out of the Isle of Wight festival with Ella Eyre replacing her at the last minute. Back in 2011, Adele had to cancel multiple tour dates because of ongoing problems with her vocal cords. She ended up having microsurgery to fix the issue. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram, Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat

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Timeline: World Trade Organization

A chronology of key events:

1947 October - 23 countries sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) in Geneva, Switzerland, to try to give an early boost to trade liberalisation. 1947 November - Delegates from 56 countries meet in Havana, Cuba, to start negotiating the charter of a proposed International Trade Organisation. 1948 1 January - Gatt agreement comes into force. 1948 March - Charter of International Trade Organisation signed but US Congress rejects it, leaving Gatt as the only international instrument governing world trade. 1949 - Second Gatt round of trade talks held at Annecy, France, where countries exchanged some 5,000 tariff concessions. 1950 - Third Gatt round held in Torquay, England, where countries exchanged some 8,700 tariff concessions, cutting the 1948 tariff levels by 25%. 1955-56 - The next trade round completed in May 1956, resulting in $2.5bn in tariff reductions. 1960-62 - Fifth Gatt round named in honour of US Under Secretary of State Douglas Dillon who proposed the negotiations. It yielded tariff concessions worth $4.9bn of world trade and involved negotiations related to the creation of the European Economic Community. 1964-67 - The Kennedy Round, named in honour of the late US president, achieves tariff cuts worth $40bn of world trade. 1973-79 - The seventh round, launched in Tokyo, Japan, sees Gatt reach agreement to start reducing not only tariffs but trade barriers as well, such as subsidies and import licensing. Tariff reductions worth more than $300bn dollars achieved. 1986-93 - Gatt trade ministers launch the Uruguay Round in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, embarking on the most ambitious and far-reaching trade round so far. The round extended the range of trade negotiations, leading to major reductions in agricultural subsidies, an agreement to allow full access for textiles and clothing from developing countries, and an extension of intellectual property rights. 1994 - Trade ministers meet for the final time under GATT auspices at Marrakesh, Morocco to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO) and complete the Uruguay Round. 1995 - The WTO is created in Geneva. 1996 - Information Technology Agreement on tariff-free trade in IT goods for some members. 1999 - At least 30,000 protesters disrupt WTO summit in Seattle, US; New Zealander Mike Moore becomes WTO director-general. 2001 November - WTO members meeting in Doha, Qatar, agree on the Doha Development Agenda, the ninth trade round which is intended to open negotiations on opening markets to agricultural, manufactured goods, and services. 2001 December - China formally joins the WTO. Taiwan is admitted weeks later. 2002 August - WTO rules in favour of the EU in its row with Washington over tax breaks for US exporters. The EU gets the go-ahead to impose $4bn in sanctions against the US, the highest damages ever awarded by the WTO. 2002 September - Former Thai deputy prime minister Supachai Panitchpakdi begins a three-year term as director-general. He is the first WTO head to come from a developing nation. 2003 September - WTO announces deal aimed at giving developing countries access to cheap medicines, hailing it as historic. Aid agencies express disappointment at the deal. 2003 September - World trade talks in Cancun, Mexico collapse after four days of wrangling over farm subsidies, access to markets. Rich countries abandon plans to include so-called "Singapore issues" of investment, competition policy and public procurement in trade talks. 2003 December - WTO rules that duties imposed by the US on imported steel are illegal. US President Bush repeals the tariffs to avoid a trade war with the EU. 2004 April - WTO rules that US subsidies to its cotton farmers are unfair. 2004 August - Geneva talks achieve framework agreement on opening up global trade. US and EU will reduce agricultural subsidies, while developing nations will cut tariffs on manufactured goods. 2005 March - Upholding a complaint from Brazil, WTO rules that US subsidies to its cotton farmers are illegal. 2005 May - WTO agrees to start membership talks with Iran. 2005 September - Frenchman Pascal Lamy takes over as WTO director general. He was formerly the EU's trade commissioner. 2005 October - US offers to make big cuts in agricultural subsidies if other countries, notably in the EU, do the same. EU responds, but France opposes more concessions. 2005 November - WTO approves membership for Saudi Arabia. 2005 December - World trade talks in Hong Kong begin amid widespread belief that they will not succeed in making a breakthrough. 2007 December - WTO clears way for Cape Verde's membership by approving a package of agreements which spell out the terms of it's accession. Cape Verde is expected to ratify the deal by June 2008. 2008 July - Ministerial talks aimed at resuscitating the Doha Round of talks break down on ninth day of meeting after the US and India fail to find a compromise on measures intended to help poor countries protect their farmers against import surges. 2008 November - G20 leaders meeting in Washington agree to "strive" for a major breakthrough in Doha talks by the end of the year. 2008 December - Pascal Lamy drops plans to hold a ministerial meeting to seek breakthrough on Doha citing the "unacceptably high" risk of failure. 2009 March - WTO says global trade flows are set to shrink by 9% during 2009. Hardest hit will be developed nations, where trade is set to fall 10%. Poorer countries will see exports fall by 2-3%. 2010 March - Pascal Lamy predicts that the worst of global trade recession is over and WTO economists foresee 2010 world economic growth of 9.5%. 2010 June - The WTO rules that the European Union paid illegal subsidies to aircraft giant Airbus after the US lodged a complaint in a long-running dispute between the EU and US. 2010 September - Leaks of WTO report say it will order more than $20bn of cuts in US government subsidies to the Boeing aircraft manufacturer. 2010 November - G20 meeting of major economic powers in Seoul sees 2011 "window of opportunity" for the conclusion of the WTO Doha Round. 2010 December - The European Union expresses support for Russia's bid to join the WTO after Moscow agreed to cut timber export tariffs and rail freight fees. Russia is the only major economy outside the WTO. China says it plans to appeal against a WTO ruling that the US was entitled to impose extra duties on Chinese tyre imports. 2011 - Both the US and Europe Union claim victory after the WTO partly overturned an earlier ruling that Airbus received billions of euros in illegal subsidies. 2011 July - WTO upholds complaints by the US, European Union and Mexico that China had broken global free trade rules by imposing quotas and taxes on exports of certain key materials, including minerals like bauxite, magnesium and zinc. China complains. 2011 August - WTO rules that a tax levied in the Philippines on imports of alcohol breaks global rules on free trade on the grounds that it grants domestic producers who use local cane and palm sugar an unfair advantage. The US has previously urged the Philippines to open its market to foreign alcoholic drinks. 2011 December - Russia joins the WTO after 18 years negotiating its membership. Switzerland brokered a deal to persuade Georgia to lift its veto, which it had imposed after the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. 2012 January - The WTO rejects China's appeal against a ruling that it broke free trade rules by imposing quotas and taxes on exports of key materials. 2013 December - Trade ministers meeting in Bali agree on first global WTO deal, on cross-border commerce, which could add almost $1tn a year to the global economy.

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Chile profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1535 - Indigenous Araucanian people successfully resist first Spanish invasion of Chile. 1541 - Pedro de Valdivia begins Spanish conquest and founds Santiago. 1553 - Araucanians capture and kill Valdivia. 1810 - Junta in Santiago proclaims autonomy for Chile following the overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon. 1814 - Spain regains control of Chile. 1817 - Spanish defeated by Army of the Andes led by Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins at the battles of Chacabuco and Maipu. 1818 - Chile becomes independent with O'Higgins as supreme leader. 1823-30 - O'Higgins forced to resign; civil war between liberal federalists and conservative centralists ends with conservative victory. 1851-61 - President Manuel Montt liberalises constitution and reduces privileges of landowners and church. 1879-84 - Chile increases its territory by one third after it defeats Peru and Bolivia in War of the Pacific. Late 19th century - Pacification of Araucanians paves way for European immigration; large-scale mining of nitrate and copper begins. 1891 - Civil war over constitutional dispute between president and congress ends in congressional victory, with president reduced to figurehead. 1925 - New constitution increases presidential powers and separates church and state. 1927 - General Carlos Ibanez del Campo seizes power and establishes dictatorship. 1938-46 - Communists, Socialists and Radicals form Popular Front coalition and introduce economic policies based on US New Deal. 1948-58 - Communist Party banned. 1952 - Gen Carlos Ibanez elected president with promise to strengthen law and order. 1964 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, Christian Democrat, elected president and introduces cautious social reforms, but fails to curb inflation. Pinochet dictatorship 1970 - Salvador Allende becomes world's first democratically elected Marxist president and embarks on an extensive programme of nationalisation and radical social reform. 1973 - Chief of Staff General Augusto Pinochet ousts Allende in coup and proceeds to establish a brutal dictatorship. 1988 - Gen Pinochet loses a referendum on whether he should remain in power. 1989-90 - Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin wins presidential election; Gen Pinochet steps down in 1990 as head of state but remains commander-in-chief of the army. 1994-95 - Eduardo Frei succeeds Aylwin as president and begins to reduce the military's influence in government. Pinochet's aftermath 1998 - Gen Pinochet retires from the army and is made senator for life but is arrested in the UK at the request of Spain on murder charges. 2000 March - British Home Secretary Jack Straw decides that Gen Pinochet is not fit to be extradited. Gen Pinochet returns to Chile. Socialist Ricardo Lagos is elected president. 2000 onwards - Chilean courts strip Gen Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution several times, but attempts to make him stand trial for alleged human rights offences fail, with judges usually citing concerns over the general's health. 2002 July - Gen Pinochet resigns from his post as a lifelong senator. 2004 May - President Lagos signs a law giving Chileans the right to divorce, despite opposition from the Roman Catholic Church. Manuel Contreras, former head of secret police, is jailed for 15 years over the disappearance and death of a journalist in 1974. 2005 May - 45 young soldiers perish in a blizzard, prompting calls for an end to compulsory military service. 2005 July - Senate approves changes to the Pinochet-era constitution, including one which restores the president's right to dismiss military commanders. 2005 December - Presidential elections. Socialist Michelle Bachelet gains the most votes but fails to win more than 50% support, forcing a second-round vote against conservative billionaire and former senator Sebastian Pinera. Bachelet 2006 January - Michelle Bachelet wins the second round of presidential elections to become Chile's first woman president and the fourth consecutive head of state from the centre-left Concertacion coalition. She takes office in March. 2006 August - Chile and China sign a free-trade deal, Beijing's first in South America. 2006 December - Pinochet dies. 2007 January - President Bachelet signs a decree allowing the morning-after contraceptive pill to be given to girls as young as 14 without their parents' consent. 2007 March - Ongoing protests in the capital Santiago over chaos following the introduction of a new transport system. 2007 June - Government agrees to pay compensation to the families of 12 victims of Pinochet. Tensions with Peru 2008 January - Peru files a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in a bid to settle a long-standing dispute over maritime territory with neighbouring Chile. 2008 May - Unexpected eruption of Chaiten volcano which has been dormant for 9,000 years. Authorities order complete evacuation of two towns in Patagonian region. 2008 September - Emergency declared in parts of southern Chile where eight people were killed in torrential rain and widespread flooding. 2008 October - Local elections signal that the political right, long out of office in Chile, may be gaining ground ahead of next year's presidential poll. 2009 February - President Bachelet makes the first visit to Cuba by a Chilean leader in almost four decades. 2009 October - Relations with Peru are strained further after Chile stages a military exercise in the north, close to the disputed border. 2009 November - A new diplomatic row erupts after a Peruvian air force officer is accused of spying for the Chilean military. 2010 January - Right-wing candidate Sebastián Piñera defeats former President Eduardo Frei in presidential election, ending 20 years of rule by the left-wing Concentracion coalition. Earthquake 2010 February - Hundreds die and widespread damage is caused as massive earthquake strikes central Chile. The 8.8 magnitude quake is the biggest to hit the country in 50 years. 2010 March - President Piñera is inaugurated, and pledges to tackle the consequences of the earthquake. 2010 October - Thirty-three miners trapped deep underground for 69 days are winched to safety, watched by TV audiences around the world. 2010 December - President Piñera promises penal reform after a fire at an overcrowded Santiago jail claims the lives of 81 prisoners. 2011 May - Trade unions organise demonstration in Valparaiso in protest at government's environmental, education and labour policies. 2011 July - Thousands of high school and university students take to the streets to demand a more equal education system. Copper miners strike over government plans to restructure the industry. 2012 January - Government sparks row by changing designation of Gen Pinochet's government from "dictatorship" to "regime" in school textbooks. 2012 April - Congress passes much-debated anti-discrimination law, which names discrimination because of sexual orientation as an offence. 2012 December - A judge orders the arrest of eight former army officers over 1973 murder of well-known left-wing singer Victor Jara, who was killed only days after the coup that brought Gen Pinochet to power. Bachelet returns 2013 April - Bolivia files a lawsuit against Chile at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to reclaim access to the Pacific Ocean. Bolivia lost access to the coastline in a 19th century war with Chile, leaving it landlocked ever since. 2013 May - Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru agree to scrap most of the tariffs on trade between their countries, hailing the move as an historic step towards regional integration. 2013 September - Body representing Chilean judges makes unprecedented apology for actions of its members under military rule in the 1970s and 1980s, saying judges failed to protect victims of state abuse. 2013 December - Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet wins second round of voting in presidential election. 2014 September - A blast in a packed Santiago metro station injures 14 people, in what the government terms an act of terrorism. 2014 October - Tens of thousands of parents march in protest against plans to phase out subsidised schools as part of President Michelle Bachelet's flagship education reform. 2014 November - Two retired Chilean colonels are sentenced to jail for torturing the father of President Michelle Bachelet in the months that followed the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973. A Chilean court orders the state to pay million of dollars of compensation to 30 former political prisoners who were held on a remote island in the extreme south of the country during the military rule of Augusto Pinochet. 2015 February - President Bachelet announces plans to end Chile's total ban on abortions. 2015 October - President Bachelet announces the creation of two new marine reserves in the South Pacific. One will be around Easter Island. Commercial fishing will be banned there. Piñera returns 2017 November-December - Presidential election won by conservative former president Sebastián Piñera. 2019 October-November - Chile is rocked by mass protests at economic inequality, prompted by a subsequently-reversed rise in Santiago metro fares. 2020 October - A referendum backs rewriting the constitution, which was adopted during the rule of August Pinochet.

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Reporting restrictions: When can you take notes in court?

When can you take notes in court?

By Joshua RozenbergLegal commentator As a reporter, I am used to getting out my notebook and writing down what's said by witnesses, lawyers and judges. These days, you are just as likely to see reporters making notes on portable devices such as laptops and iPads. Although some appeals may be televised live, photography and sound recordings are not generally allowed during a court hearing and courtroom artists must work from memory. However, media representatives and legal commentators in England and Wales are allowed to send written reports of the proceedings directly from the court, using email or services such as Twitter. Before this was first permitted at the end of 2010, reporters had to choose between delaying the news if they stayed in their seats and missing part of the story if they rushed out of court. Open justice However, members of the public who want to send written reports from the courtroom must ask court staff for permission from the judge. Until recently, it was believed that no permission was needed for people sitting in the public gallery merely to make written notes of the proceedings. Only last week, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, recalled that "the principle of open justice is fundamental to the rule of law and to democratic accountability". However, an internal document, the Crown Court Manual, distributed to staff by HM Courts and Tribunals Service and subsequently released in response to freedom-of-information requests, says there may be objections to note-taking for a "wrongful purpose". That might arise when the intent was to brief a witness who is about to give evidence in a criminal trial. Although it is normal practice for a witness to wait outside while others are giving evidence to the jury, and there may sometimes be security concerns, this seems a heavy-handed approach. Routine ban 'wrong' Evidence may normally be reported while a trial is proceeding and there would be nothing to stop a member of the public briefing a potential witness from memory. But it emerged from a recent case that judges in Cardiff were routinely banning members of the public from taking notes in court without permission. While stressing that the restriction did not apply to media representatives, the Crown Court described it as "a conventional rule and one which is designed to ensure that no prejudicial material leaves the Court through an inexperienced reporter". However, the High Court ruled last week that this was "mistaken". Granting a claim for judicial review, two senior judges said that an individual had been denied "the right to make notes of the proceedings in open court in breach of the common-law principle of open justice". Approval in advance Judges in other parts of the United Kingdom are more cautious about releasing court documents and allowing reporting of their proceedings. In Northern Ireland, members of the public seeking to take notes in court must obtain the approval of the judge in advance. According to a consultation paper issued by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland in December 2014, this requirement "may have developed as a response to risks to the defendant, witnesses, parties and their representatives or it may have been a precautionary measure to prevent notes being taken for a publication which could be in contempt of court". The paper says that members of the public may not be aware of reporting restrictions in individual cases. It suggests that decisions on allowing people to take notes in the courts of Northern Ireland should be made on a case-by-case basis, with a "strong presumption" in favour of granting permission. The consultation in Northern Ireland closed almost a year ago and a practice direction will be published shortly. It's expected that members of the public will be allowed to make notes on paper - unless the judge makes an order on an individual case - but the public will not be allowed to use electronic devices in court. Register of journalists Accredited journalists in Northern Ireland will be allowed to send tweets and emails without applying for permission. In Scotland, a report to the Lord President recently recommended that there should be a register of journalists permitted to use Twitter and other forms of written communication from court. The journalists - and others given permission to tweet on a case-by-case basis - would need to understand the restrictions in the Contempt of Court Act. There is a move towards greater openness in the courts, with reporters being granted access to hearings in family and mental-health cases that were previously private. But journalists are entitled to object if courts impose restrictions on open justice that cannot be justified.

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Budget 2017: The endless living squeeze

What is the point of capitalism?

Kamal AhmedEconomics editor@bbckamalon Twitter That might seem like a pretty big question, but one answer could be "to provide people the opportunity through work to become richer". What, though, if the economy fails in that endeavour? If the system leaves you - despite all your efforts - worse off in December than you were the previous January? Or worse off now than you were a decade ago? It was Lord Adair Turner, the former head of the Low Pay Commission, who put it succinctly. "The UK over the last 10 years has created a lot of jobs, but today real wages are below where they were in 2007," he told me earlier this year. "That is not the capitalist system delivering its promise that over a decade or so it will raise all boats, and it is a very fundamental issue." Fundamental indeed. Yesterday the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) announced an aggressive downgrade of both its growth and productivity forecasts. Those big, macro-economic announcements have a significant effect on all of us as well as on the state of the public finances. It means the economy is forecast to be weaker at producing wealth for every hour that we work. Which makes the chances of a pay rise for everyone recede. Today, two pieces of chunky analysis of the OBR's judgements reveal why those downgrades are so important. The social justice think tank, the Resolution Foundation, said that "lower productivity feeds directly through to pay, which is now forecast to be £1,000 a year lower on average than the OBR thought back in March". The Foundation says that the fall in real incomes people are experiencing could now become the longest since records began. And that wages will not recover to their pre-financial crisis levels until 2025 - that's 17 years during which people have been experiencing an incomes squeeze. The tax and economy think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, agrees. "Real earnings are falling this year as inflation has risen to 3%," Paul Johnson, the Institute's director, said. "The nascent recovery in earnings, which were growing through 2014 to the first half of 2016, has been choked off. "That they even might still be below their 2008 level in 2022 as the OBR forecasts is truly astonishing. Let's hope this forecast turns out to be too pessimistic." Government ministers will be similarly keeping their fingers crossed. And hoping that with strong employment levels and plans to boost investment in the type of infrastructure that boosts productivity - transport, scientific and technology research - the real incomes squeeze can be alleviated. Because if a system does not deliver increasing wealth - even if it is a modest increase - then people, quite naturally, begin to wonder what is the point.

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Metaphors abound as UK-EU talks get more urgent

A classic of the genre.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter After the talks between political leaders today, a rash of metaphors or mottoes unsurprisingly emerges, rather than any solid confessions of what was really discussed. It has been quite some time since the top brass of British and EU politics have been engaging with each other and the public on Brexit. But within half an hour of the video call between Boris Johnson and the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission finishing today, the boilerplate statements were out there. The prime minister called for "oomph", and his desire to put a "tiger in the tank". Confusingly, the President of the European Council then said he was willing to do just that, but wouldn't accept a "pig in a poke" - in other words, he won't sign up to any old deal without being very sure what it really entails. Then, not to be outdone, the President of the European Parliament got in on the act with a Latin saying, "pacta sunt servanda". If, like me, you had to look that one up, it means agreements must be kept. A sophisticated reminder that one of the EU's determinations is to make absolutely sure that the UK doesn't budge from anything that was agreed in the Political Declaration, part of the Brexit deal, last year. What there was not today was any sense of where the compromises required for a deal will emerge. There is certainly the possibility of a deal. But it's also certain that both sides will have to step back somehow from their 'maximalist' positions, to use the jargon that the talks began with. That doesn't mean, however, that today's talks didn't matter. After months of negotiations that have stuttered and stumbled, the public commitments from the top brass could inject a bit of political urgency, a bit of the alchemy that matters in these kind of negotiations. It's also significant that the EU confirmed publicly that they have "noted" that the UK won't ask for an extension. It's one thing the Tories saying repeatedly that they won't ask for it, despite plenty of political muttering on both sides of the Channel that it was inevitable. But it's quite another the government saying it officially, and the EU now accepting it. And it's also worth noting the prime minister didn't use the opportunity to repeat that he is willing to walk away if a deal isn't reached. That is the government's position, but today's encounter was less about that kind of sabre rattling and more about trying to smooth a swift path ahead after months of negotiations. There will now be a more intense programme of talks, but the prime minister's hope of an acceleration that could do a deal next month seems quite the stretch. Deadlines concentrate the mind but they don't make complicated questions disappear - and there are already plans for talks in August. And the coronavirus crisis has so dominated both sides' time and energy, that closing a deal has been far from the top of their list.

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Oscars 2017: Best actor nominees

CASEY AFFLECK

Find out about the best actor nominees for the 89th Academy Awards, which will take place on 26 February 2017. Age: 41 Nominated for: Manchester by the Sea The character: Lee Chandler, an odd job man near Boston, who has a painful past and who suddenly finds himself with extra responsibilities. Oscar record: A best supporting actor nomination for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in 2008. The critics said: "Barricaded inside the shell that's become of him, Lee peers at the world through guarded eyes, only just summoning the basic drive to get up every morning, shuffle out, and carry on his tasks. He's played by Casey Affleck, in a clenched and riveting performance which fulfils all the promise he's ever shown, and then some." [Daily Telegraph] ANDREW GARFIELD Age: 33 Nominated for: Hacksaw Ridge The character: Desmond Doss, a World War Two medic who became the first conscientious objector to win the prestigious US Medal of Honor. Oscar record: None. The critics said: "He's found a great fit for his talents in Hacksaw Ridge, which asks him to be a sweet Virginia boy courting a sweet nurse... and then a shell-shocked but determined man of valour in a lunar hellscape. Gosh, do we root for this kid." [Vanity Fair] RYAN GOSLING Age: 36 Nominated for: La La Land The character: Sebastian Wilder, a jazz pianist chasing his dreams in Hollywood. Oscar record: Best actor nomination for Half Nelson in 2007. The critics said: "Mr Gosling's performance is understated, with a tinge of touching earnestness, but it's also witty and commandingly smart. What's more, he does Seb's fluent piano playing without benefit of doubles on screen or on the sound track, an achievement I found astonishing." [The Wall Street Journal] VIGGO MORTENSEN Age: 58 Nominated for: Captain Fantastic The character: Ben Cash, a hippy father who has raised his children in a remote home, far from the pressures of modern life. Oscar record: One previous nomination for best actor, for Eastern Promises (2008). The critics said: "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben to be exasperating, arrogant and impatient but also warm, loving and caring. He's a tough but adoring father, a grieving widower and an angry defender of his wife's final wishes, and Mortensen plays all these notes and more with subtlety and grace." [The Wrap] DENZEL WASHINGTON Age: 62 Nominated for: Fences The character: Troy Maxson, a Pittsburgh sanitation worker and former professional baseball player. Oscar record: Two Oscar wins - best supporting actor for Glory (1990) and best actor for Training Day (2002). He also has a best supporting actor nomination for Cry Freedom (1988) and three best actor nominations for Malcolm X (1993), The Hurricane (2000) and Flight (2012). The critics said: "While Denzel Washington's direction might leave a little to be desired, his acting has never been more relentless and fierce." [Cinema Blend] 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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Labour's morale problem

So what is up with Labour?

James LandaleDeputy political editor@BBCJLandaleon Twitter Well, here at Westminster we have a technical term for it: the party is having a wobble. There seems to be no organised, well-supported plot to get rid of Ed Miliband. There seems to be no hard evidence that a letter is doing the rounds demanding his resignation. But there are many Labour MPs who are deeply worried about the state of their party and at least some who think Mr Miliband should stand down. And their gloom has deepened in recent weeks. They have seen Labour dipping in the opinion polls, one suggesting the party's support has dropped to 29% - exactly what it got at the last election, its second-worst result in history. Self-doubt They have seen other polls suggesting Labour could lose many MPs in its traditional powerbase in Scotland. They see in their own constituencies support seeping to UKIP and the Green Party and those in marginal seats are suddenly getting the jitters. They see their own leader perform badly at an uninspiring party conference and struggle to get a clear message across to the electorate. They appear depressed by Mr Miliband's minimalist reshuffle this week and grumble about the way his private office works. And they have no great confidence that anything is going to change. Six months out from a general election this is not the place they want to be. But note this: Labour MPs have been remarkably self-disciplined since losing the last election. It is perhaps surprising that it has taken this long for the wobbles to break out. And Labour does not have a monopoly on this kind of self-doubt. Many Conservative and Lib Dem MPs are equally unhappy with their leaders and the direction their parties are heading. Election footing But senior Labour figures close to Mr Miliband accept they have a problem. One told me there is "real concern" within the party. Some members of the Shadow Cabinet want Mr Miliband to share the burden of leadership with them, so the focus is on Labour as a team rather than Mr Miliband as an individual. Many MPs say they want more direction and vision. Some want an aspirational message they can sell in the south of England. Some want an anti-austerity message they can sell to traditional supporters. Others just want a change of gear so the party can get onto an election footing. Either way, Mr Miliband has what the military call a morale problem. And it is one he will want to fix fast.

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Will Elon Musk be forced to leave Tesla?

Elon Musk is in big trouble.

Dave LeeNorth America technology reporter Quite how big will depend on the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. It accuses Mr Musk of securities fraud after tweeting that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private, sending the stock price soaring. Mr Musk was lying about having that funding, the SEC said - although Mr Musk has called the lawsuit “unjustified”. The worst case scenario for Mr Musk is that he pays an enormous fine, and is banned from being a director at any public company in the US. That would mean his days as Tesla’s chief executive would be over - an almost unthinkable prospect for a company intrinsically linked to Mr Musk’s personality and vision for the future of clean mobility. "I think the important issue [for Tesla] will be to fashion a remedy that simultaneously disciplines Mr Musk, but without destroying his value to Tesla’s shareholders,” said Professor Joseph Grundfest from Stanford Law School, and a former SEC commissioner. Get a ‘Twitter nanny' "There’s a spectrum of potential solutions,” Prof Grundfest told the BBC. "You could imagine, in one extreme, he becomes chief product officer and someone takes over as CEO. "Or, he gets what I call a 'Twitter nanny', where he can’t communicate without first clearing it with a responsible adult.” A Tesla spokeswoman did not wish to comment on Mr Musk's future. Prof Grundfest likened the situation to that of American businesswoman Martha Stewart, who in 2004 was found guilty of insider trading. As well as serving jail time, she agreed to a five-year ban from serving as a director at her company. Instead, she took up a role as chief creative officer for that period. In Mr Musk’s case, the SEC is not pushing for jail time. Reflecting on the saga, Prof Grundfest added: "Let’s face it. America leads the world in stupid tweets.” Frustrated fans Another question is how the case affects Mr Musk’s reputation among his customers. Reacting to the news of the lawsuit, Tesla’s famously devoted fans have been left frustrated, angry and worried about the company’s future. As well as the SEC lawsuit, the Department of Justice is in the “early stages” of its own investigation. On top of that, Mr Musk is facing a defamation case after he continually, on Twitter and in emails, accused a British diving expert of being a paedophile. The Tesla community, which has typically leapt to the 47-year-old’s defence in the face of negative press, is showing growing concern about the distractions created by Mr Musk’s actions. "If only Elon Musk would not keep shooting off at the mouth like a stupid narcissist,” wrote user Avip, on the Tesla Motors Club forum. Another user, rolosrevenge, added: "This was a stupid, self inflicted wound by Elon." ________ Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC Do you have more information about this or any other technology story? You can reach Dave directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370

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Venezuela profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events :

1498-99 - Christopher Columbus and Alonso de Ojeda visit Venezuela, which is inhabited by Carib, Arawak and Chibcha peoples. 1521 - Spanish colonisation begins. 1749 - First rebellion against Spanish colonial rule. 1810 - Venezuelans take advantage of Napoleon's invasion of Spain to declare independence. 1829-30 - Venezuela secedes from Gran Colombia. 1870-88 - Ruler Antonio Guzman Blanco attracts foreign investment, modernises infrastructure and develops agriculture and education. 1908-35 - Under dictator Juan Vicente Gomez, Venezuela becomes world's largest oil exporter. 1945 - Coup establishes civilian government after decades of military rule. 1948 - President Romulo Gallegos, Venezuela's first democratically-elected leader, overthrown within eight months in military coup led by Marcos Perez Jimenez. Democratic rule 1958 - Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal ousts Marcos Perez Jimenez; leftist Romulo Betancourt of the Democratic Action Party (AD) wins presidential election. 1973 - Venezuela benefits from oil boom and its currency peaks against the US dollar; oil and steel industries nationalised. 1989 - Carlos Andres Perez (AD) elected president amid economic depression, launches austerity programme with IMF loan. Riots, martial law and general strike follow, with hundreds killed in street violence. 1992 - Colonel Hugo Chavez and supporters make two coup attempts. Some 120 people killed in suppression of coups, Col Chavez jailed for two years before being pardoned. 1993-95 - President Perez impeached on corruption charges. Rise of Chavez 1998 - Hugo Chavez elected president amid disenchantment with established parties, launches 'Bolivarian Revolution' that brings in new constitution, socialist and populist economic, and social policies funded by high oil prices, alongside increasingly anti-US foreign policy. 2001 - President Chavez uses enabling act to pass laws aimed at redistributing land and wealth. Concern grows in business and some labour circles that he is trying to concentrate economic and political power. 2002 April - Armed forces rebel over violent stand-off between government and state oil monopoly after appointment of new board. President Chavez taken into military custody, but interim government of business leader Pedro Carmona collapses and Hugo Chavez returns to office. 2005 January - President Chavez signs decree on land reform to eliminate Venezuela's large estates and benefit rural poor. Ranchers say move is attack on private property. 2005 March - New media regulations provide stiff fines and prison terms for slandering public figures. 2005 December - Parties loyal to President Chavez dominate parliament after opposition parties boycott election. Russian alliance 2006 July - President Chavez signs a $3bn (£1.6bn) arms deal with Russia, including an agreement to buy fighter jets and helicopters, marking a re-orientation away from US arms supplies. 2006 December - Hugo Chavez wins a third term in presidential elections with 63% of the vote, the largest margin since the 1947 election. 2007 January - President Chavez announces key energy and telecommunications companies will be nationalised under 18-month enabling act approved by parliament. 2007 June - Two leading US oil companies, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhilips, refuse to hand over majority control of their operations in the Orinoco Belt to the Venezuelan government, which then expropriates them. 2007 December - President Chavez suffers his first defeat at the ballot box, when a referendum narrowly rejects proposals to increase government control over the Central Bank and the power to expropriate property. 2008 September - Venezuela and Russia sign oil and gas cooperation accord. Russian warplanes visit Venezuela, with Russian warships heading there for November joint exercises - first return of Russian navy to Americas since Cold War. 2008 October - First Venezuelan telecommunications satellite launched from China. 2009 February - Voters in a referendum approve plans to abolish limits on the number of terms in office for elected officials. This allows President Chavez to stand again when his term expires in 2012. Economic problems 2010 January - President Chavez devalues the bolivar currency to boost revenue from oil exports after economy shrank 5.8% in last quarter of 2009. 2010 September - Parliamentary elections. Opposition makes significant gains. 2012 April - Government extends price controls on more basic goods in the battle against inflation. President Chavez threatens to expropriate companies that do not comply with the price controls. 2012 July -After a six-year wait, Venezuela becomes a full member of regional trading bloc Mercosur, and is given four years to comply with the bloc's trading regulations. 2012 October - President Chavez wins a fourth term in office. President Chavez dies 2013 April - President Hugo Chavez dies at age 58 in March after a battle with cancer. Nicolas Maduro, his chosen successor, is elected president by a narrow margin. The opposition contests the result. 2014 February-March - At least 28 people die in suppression of anti-government protests. 2014 November - Government announces cuts in public spending as oil prices reach a four-year low. 2015 December - Opposition Democratic Unity coalition wins two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections, ending 16 years of Socialist Party control. 2016 September - Hundreds of thousands of people take part in a protest in Caracas calling for the removal of President Maduro, accusing him of responsibility for the economic crisis. 2017 July - Controversial constituent assembly elected in the face of an opposition boycott and international condemnation. 2018 May - Opposition contests the official victory of President Maduro at presidential elections. 2018 August - UN says two million Venezuelans have fled abroad to neighbouring countries since 2014. 2019 January-February - Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declares himself interim president, appeals to military to oust President Maduro on the grounds that the 2018 election was rigged. European Union, United States, and most Latin American countries recognise Mr Guaidó. 2020 December - Opposition boycotts legislative elections, which are duly won by President Maduro's party and allies.

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Uganda profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1500 - Bito dynasties of Buganda, Bunyoro and Ankole founded by Nilotic-speaking immigrants from present-day southeastern Sudan. 1700 - Buganda begins to expand at the expense of Bunyoro. 1800 - Buganda controls territory bordering Lake Victoria from the Victoria Nile to the Kagera river. 1840s - Muslim traders from the Indian Ocean coast exchange firearms, cloth and beads for the ivory and slaves of Buganda. 1862 - British explorer John Hanning Speke becomes the first European to visit Buganda. 1875 - Bugandan King Mutesa I allows Christian missionaries to enter his realm. British influence 1877 - Members of the British Missionary Society arrive in Buganda. 1879 - Members of the French Roman Catholic White Fathers arrive. 1890 - Britain and Germany sign treaty giving Britain rights to what was to become Uganda. 1892 - Imperial British East Africa Company agent Frederick Lugard extends the company's control to southern Uganda and helps the Protestant missionaries to prevail over their Catholic counterparts in Buganda. 1894 - Uganda becomes a British protectorate. 1900 - Britain signs agreement with Buganda giving it autonomy and turning it into a constitutional monarchy controlled mainly by Protestant chiefs. 1902 - The Eastern province of Uganda transferred to the Kenya. 1904 - Commercial cultivation of cotton begins. 1921 - Uganda given a legislative council, but its first African member not admitted till 1945. 1958 - Uganda given internal self-government. 1962 - Uganda becomes independent with Milton Obote as prime minister and with Buganda enjoying considerable autonomy. 1963 - Uganda becomes a republic with Buganda's King Mutesa as president. 1966 - Milton Obote ends Buganda's autonomy and promotes himself to the presidency. 1967 - New constitution vests considerable power in the president. Idi Amin years 1971 - Milton Obote toppled in coup led by Army chief Idi Amin. 1972 - Amin orders Asians who were not Ugandan citizens - around 60,000 people - to leave the country. 1972-73 - Uganda engages in border clashes with Tanzania. 1976 - Idi Amin declares himself president for life and claims parts of Kenya. 1978 - Uganda invades Tanzania with a view to annexing Kagera region. 1979 - Tanzania invades Uganda, unifying the various anti-Amin forces under the Uganda National Liberation Front and forcing Amin to flee the country; Yusufu Lule installed as president, but is quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa. 1980 - Binaisa overthrown by the army. Milton Obote becomes president after elections. 1985 - Obote deposed in military coup and is replaced by Tito Okello. 1986 - National Resistance Army rebels take Kampala and install Yoweri Museveni as president. Beginnings of recovery 1993 - Museveni restores the traditional kings, including the king of Buganda, but without political power. 1995 - New constitution legalises political parties but maintains the ban on political activity. 1996 - Museveni returned to office in Uganda's first direct presidential election. 1997 - Ugandan troops help depose Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, who is replaced by Laurent Kabila. 1998 - Ugandan troops intervene in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the side of rebels seeking to overthrow Kabila. 2000 - Ugandans vote to reject multi-party politics in favour of continuing Museveni's "no-party" system. 2001 January - East African Community (EAC) inaugurated in Arusha, Tanzania, laying groundwork for common East African passport, flag, economic and monetary integration. Members are Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. 2001 March - Uganda classifies Rwanda, its former ally in the civil war in DR Congo, as a hostile nation because of fighting in 2000 between the two countries' armies in DR Congo. Museveni wins another term in office, beating his rival Kizza Besigye by 69% to 28%. Campaign against rebels 2002 March - Sudan, Uganda sign agreement aimed at containing Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), active along common border. 2002 October - Army evacuates more than 400,000 civilians caught up in fight against cult-like LRA which continues its brutal attacks on villages. 2002 December - Peace deal signed with Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF) rebels after more than five years of negotiations. 2003 May - Uganda pulls out last of its troops from eastern DR Congo. Tens of thousands of DR Congo civilians seek asylum in Uganda. 2004 February - LRA rebels slaughter more than 200 people at a camp for displaced people in the north. 2004 December - Government and LRA rebels hold their first face-to-face talks, but there is no breakthrough in ending the insurgency. 2005 April - Uganda rejects accusations made by DR Congo at the International Court in The Hague. DR Congo says Uganda invaded its territory in 1999, killing citizens and looting. Multi-party politics 2005 July - Parliament approves a constitutional amendment which scraps presidential term limits. Voters in a referendum overwhelmingly back a return to multi-party politics. 2005 October - International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for five LRA commanders, including leader Joseph Kony. 2005 November - Main opposition leader Kizza Besigye is imprisoned shortly after returning from exile after a trial in a military court on various charges including treason and illegal possession of firearms. Supporters say the trial was politically motivated, and take to the streets. Mr Besigye is released on bail in January 2006, just ahead of presidential elections. 2005 December - International Court in The Hague rules that Uganda must compensate DR Congo for rights abuses and the plundering of resources in the five years leading to 2003. 2006 February - President Museveni wins multi-party elections, taking 59% of the vote against the 37% share of his rival, Kizza Besigye. EU observers highlight intimidation of Mr Besigye and official media bias as problems. 2006 August - The government and the LRA sign a truce aimed at ending their long-running conflict. Subsequent peace talks are marred by regular walk-outs. 2006 November - Government rejects a United Nations report accusing the army of using indiscriminate and excessive force in its campaign to disarm tribal warriors in the lawless northeastern region of Karamoja. Somalia role 2007 March - Ugandan peacekeepers deploy in Somalia as part of an African Union mission to help stabilise the country. The UN World Food Programme says it will have to halve food handouts to more than 1 million people displaced by war in the north. 2007 April - Protests over a rain forest explode into racial violence in Kampala, forcing police to protect Asian businesses and a Hindu temple. An Asian man and two other people are killed. 2007 July - Lord's Resistance Army says lack of funds for foreign travel and to reach commanders in remote hideouts will delay peace talks. 2007 August - Uganda and DRCongo agree to try defuse a border dispute. 2007 September - State of emergency imposed after severe floods cause widespread devastation. 2008 February - Government and the Lord's Resistance Army sign what is meant to be a permanent ceasefire at talks in Juba, Sudan. 2008 November - The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, again fails to turn up for the signing of a peace agreement. Ugandan, South Sudanese and DR Congo armies launch offensive against LRA bases. 2009 January - Lord's Resistance Army appeals for ceasefire in face of continuing offensive by regional countries. The UK oil explorer Heritage Oil says it has made a major oil find in Uganda. 2009 March - Ugandan army begins to withdraw from DR Congo, where it had pursued Lord's Resistance Army rebels. 2009 October - Somali Islamists threaten to target Uganda and Burundi after action by African peacekeepers in Somalia kills several civilians. 2009 December - Parliament votes to ban female circumcision. Anyone convicted of the practice will face 10 years in jail or a life sentence if a victim dies. 2010 January - President Museveni distances himself from the anti-homosexuality Bill, saying the ruling party MP who proposed the bill did so as an individual. The European Union and United States had condemned the bill. The Ugandan army says it killed Bok Abudema, a senior commander of the Lord's Resistance Army armed group, in the Central African Republic. 2010 February - Heritage Oil sells its assets in Uganda to the UK firm Tullow Oil after Italian energy company Eni dropped out of the bidding. 2010 June - Public prosecutor opens corruption investigation against Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya, Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and several other ministers and officials over the alleged theft of $25m. 2010 June-August - Operation Rwenzori against ADF-NALU rebels striving for an Islamic state in Uganda prompts 90,000 to flee in North Kivu province of neighbouring DR Congo. Blasts 2010 July - Two bomb attacks on people watching World Cup final at a restaurant and a rugby club in Kampala kill at least 74 people. The Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab says it was behind the blasts. 2010 August - National Resistance Movement primary elections for parliamentary and local candidates suspended amid irregularities, violence. 2010 October - UN report into killing of Hutus in DR Congo between 1993 and 2003 says they may constitute "crimes of genocide". It implicates Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Angola. 2010 October - Constitutional Court quashes treason charges against opposition leader Kizza Besigye. 2011 February - Museveni wins his fourth presidential election. Challenger Kizza Besigye alleges vote-rigging and dismisses the result as a sham. 2011 April - Kizza Besigye arrested several times over ''walk-to-work'' protests against rising prices. 2011 July - US deploys special forces personnel to help Uganda combat LRA rebels. 2011 September - Court orders release of LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo, saying he should be given the amnesty on offer from the government. 2012 May - Ugandan Army captures senior LRA commander Caesar Achellam in a clash in the Central African Republic, one of the nearby states in which the remaining band of LRA troops operates. Uganda says this is a major breakthrough, billing Achellam as a top LRA strategist. Tens of thousands of refugees cross into Uganda, fleeing fighting in DR Congo. DR Congo allegations 2012 July - UN accuses Uganda of sending troops into DR Congo to fight alongside the M23 rebel movement, a charge Uganda denies. 2012 November - Uganda announces its intention to withdraw from UN-backed international peacekeeping missions in response to UN accusations that Uganda is arming Congolese rebels. Britain and other European countries halt aid channelled through the Ugandan government amid a scandal involving the alleged theft of donor funds. 2013 February - Eleven countries, including Uganda, sign a UN-mediated agreement pledging not to interfere in DR Congo. 2013 March - Uganda is grouped among the worst offenders in the illegal ivory trade at a meeting of CITES, the body regulating wildlife trade. 2013 May - Government temporarily shuts two newspapers after they published a letter suggesting President Museveni was grooming his son for power. 2013 November - Kampala Council ousts opposition Democratic Party Mayor Erias Lukwago over allegations of incompetence and abuse of office. The Democratic Party accuses the government of engineering the ouster of the opposition's most prominent elected representative. 2013 December - Parliament passes controversial anti-gay bill that increases the punishment for homosexual acts to include life imprisonment. 2014 February - President Museveni signs tough new anti-gay bill into law, drawing criticism from around the world. The World Bank postpones a $90m (£54m) loan to Uganda over the move, and the US imposes sanctions. 2014 July - Nearly 100 people die in clashes involving rival communities and the army in the western Rwenzori region. 2014 September - President Museveni sacks Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi. 2014 December - Renegade General David Sejusa, who fell out with President Museveni, unexpectedly returns from exile. More than 1000 former fighters of the DRCongo rebel group M23 seek asylum in Uganda after government tries to repatriate them. Two Muslim clerics killed by men on motorbikes. Police suspect the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces killed the two for discouraging people from joining the rebels. 2015 January - Dominic Ongwen becomes the first member of the Lord's Resistance Army to appear before the International Criminal Court. 2015 October - The head of Ugandan force in South Sudan says his troops will start withdrawing to make way for a regional force. 2016 February - President Museveni wins re-election against veteran candidate Kizza Besigye, amid opposition, Commonwealth, US and European Union concern about fairness and transparency. 2016 May - US delegation walks out of President Museveni's inauguration in protest at his disparaging comments about the International Criminal Court. 2016 July - Opposition leader Besigye is bailed after being held on treason charges for allegedly declaring himself president after elections. 2016 December - The first Lord's Resistance Army commander to appear before the International Criminal Court at The Hague goes on trial. Dominic Ongwen faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 2016 November - Clashes between tribal king Charles Mumbere of Rwenzururu in western Uganda and security forces results in dozens of dead. 2017 January - President Museveni appoints his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, as a presidential advisor. 2017 February - Four countries launch an intelligence centre in Uganda from which they will coordinate the fight against the rebel Allied Democratic Forces. The ADF started out with the aim of overthrowing President Museveni, but went on to absorb other rebel factions, and has carried out random massacres over two decades. 2017 April - Uganda withdraws its forces from the Central African Republic where it has been fighting the Lord's Resistance Army for the past five years. 2017 August - The UN says the number of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda has reached one million. 2017 December - Parliament votes to remove the age-limit for presidential candidates, clearing the way for President Museveni to run for another term.

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Klarna: The £1bn High Street giant you might not know

You may never have heard of Klarna.

By Dan WhitworthMoney Box reporter But after doing deals with the like of Asos, JD Sports and Topshop in the last 12 months, it's up there with the biggest names in the High Street. Last month it was reported that fashion retailer H&M spent $20m (£15.5m) buying slightly less than a 1% stake in the Swedish bank, making Klarna a unicorn: a private technology company valued at more than $1bn. However, since it started trading in the UK in 2015, concerns have been raised about the easy access credit it offers shoppers at the checkout. With many users in their teens or early 20s, critics are worried the firm encourages young shoppers to buy things they either don't really want or need - or ultimately can't afford. So how does it work? Klarna claims to offer online shoppers the ultimate "try before you buy" experience. If you want to try on £200 of shoes or clothing, it offers you a way of having the goods delivered to you in one go and not having to pay anything upfront. Instead, the shop or retailer gets paid by Klarna, which in turn takes on the debt. Shoppers buying through Klarna get up to 30 days to make up their mind about what they want to keep and Klarna gets a percentage of the purchase from the retailer. So long as the shopper sends back anything they don't want before 14 or 30 days have lapsed - depending on the retailer - then he or she simply pays for the purchases that are kept and there is no further charge or interest, and no fee. However, there are concerns about giving people such easy access to credit at the checkout. Critics say this type of payment service could encourage consumers, especially younger ones, to take on dangerous levels of debt. After the initial 30-day period, shoppers have an extra 120 days to pay their bill, after which it can then be passed to a debt collection agency. That's when a person can face increased charges and debts, which can ultimately affect his or her credit rating. 'Soft' credit check Klarna also only carries out what it calls a "soft" credit check for people wanting to use its service. It asks for personal details, such as an email address, postcode and date of birth. It then checks if the shopper's had any repayment problems with either itself or other retailers and, if not, instant credit is likely to be approved. In the UK, about 70% to 80% of applicants - mainly people in their teens and 20s - are accepted and so far this year more than one million people have used Klarna's "pay later" service. Jane Tully, director of external affairs at the Money Advice Trust - the charity that runs National Debtline - said that, while "buy now, pay later credit" offers some shoppers flexibility it can also cause financial problems. "This can be an expensive way to borrow if the customer is unable to pay and if they exceed any interest-free time limit as charges can soon mount up," she said. "For all customers, and particularly younger consumers, the check-out should never be a place for the hard-sell when it comes to credit." 'A good history' Luke Griffiths, the UK managing director of Klarna, said his company's business model was different from traditional credit services, such as credit cards. He said the firm has global ambitions. "Our 'pay later' solution does not charge the consumer any interest, any fees, or anything associated with not paying on time. "We encourage them to pay on time but if they're unable to pay at 30 days we do not charge them beyond that point." He added: "So, as opposed to a credit card, if you go over a period when you were intended to repay and you start incurring charges and interest this service is different because we're working with the customer." He also denied it encourages problem debt for people in their teens and 20s. "Should they have any difficulty with repaying we're providing flexibility about the way they ultimately return that repayment to Klarna. "Should they have any issues with repaying they won't be able to use our service in the future as well. "So we're not going back to customers who've been struggling to repay and encouraging them to use us again. "We're basing the access to our service on a good history of paying for our service and being able to repay." You can hear more on BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme on Saturday at 12:00 BST or listen again here. Follow Money Box and Dan on twitter.

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The reasons why tampons are taxed in the UK

Tampons are in the news again.

It's all to do with the fact that every time you buy a pack you're taxed - and a lot of people don't think that's fair. More than 250,000 people have signed a petition calling for an end to a 5% tax on sanitary products, and even the prime minister told Newsbeat he "wishes he could get rid of this". So why doesn't he? Well we've been wading through reams of EU legislation so you don't have to. Why is it here in the first place? For this, we have to go back a few years. To a decade when kids got round on Space Hoppers and a pack of Polos cost you 4p. The 1970s. It was then that the UK government signed up to something called the Common Market, which we now know as the European Union. It was set up to make movement and trade between countries easier. During its formation tax rates for a whole host of different products were thrashed out and it was decided tampons would incur a 17.5% tax. In the year 2000 that was reduced to 5%. Can't we just get rid of it? In short - no. You can't just change the tax rates in the EU, even if that's what every single person in the UK wanted (which it isn't). The make-up of the EU Commission means that all 28 countries involved must agree on any changes. In other areas of the EU there's something called qualified majority voting, which means it only takes a few core member states to agree on an idea to push it through. But this isn't true for taxation. And in fact the UK government doesn't want it to be either. They would prefer the voting process to stay as it is. So nothing's going to change then? I wouldn't be too hasty. There is a review planned on EU taxation policy for next year, where governments can bring up things they'd like to change. So theoretically, David Cameron and his ministers could say they want the tax on tampons scrapped. That will then have to be put to the other 27 members states to see if they agree. If they don't the UK can use its veto to force everyone back to the negotiation table. But the government hasn't committed to doing this and even if it did, there's no guarantee it would work. But the Irish don't pay do they? True. But that's because they already had a 0% tax rate on sanitary products when they joined the EU. They were the only country to have that in place and were allowed to keep it that way. And one more thing... Despite what you may have read, razor blades are taxed too. In fact they're taxed at 20%. 15% more than tampons. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram, Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat

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Eritrea profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

300-600 - What is now known as Eritrea forms part of the kingdom of Aksum. 600 - Arabs introduce Islam to coastal areas. 1500s - Ottoman Turks establish garrison at Massawa on the Red Sea coast. 1890 - Italy proclaims colony of Eritrea. 1941 - British forces occupy Eritrea. 1949 - Britain administers Eritrea as a United Nations trust territory. 1952 - UN General Assembly votes to make Eritrea a federal component of Ethiopia. 1958 - Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) is formed. Independence war 1962 - Ethiopia annexes Eritrea, turning it into a province and giving impetus to the independence struggle. 1967 - Full-scale guerrilla war is under way. 1970 - ELF splits and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) is formed, calling for a social revolution. 1974 - Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie is overthrown in a military coup. A military junta led by Mengistu Haile Mariam seizes power. 1977-78 - Soviet support helps Ethiopian forces reverse significant advances made by Eritrean guerrillas. 1982 - Ethiopia launches a massive military assault named the Red Star Campaign in an effort to crush the rebels but suffers heavy casualties. 1991 - Eritrean People's Liberation Front captures the Eritrean capital Asmara and forms a provisional government. The EPLF helps its allies in the Ethiopian rebel movement to topple Mengistu Haile Mariam. Independence 1993 - Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence. 1998-2000 - Eritrean-Ethiopian border clashes turn into a full-scale war which leaves some 70,000 people dead. 2007 - Eritrea pulls out of regional body IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) as IGAD member states back Ethiopian intervention in Somalia. 2008 June - Fighting breaks out between Djiboutian and Eritrean troops in the disputed Ras Doumeira border area. At least nine Djiboutian soldiers killed. US condemns Eritrea, but Eritrea denies launching an attack. 2009 December - UN imposes sanctions on Eritrea for its alleged support for Islamist insurgents in Somalia. 2010 June - Eritrea, Djibouti agree to resolve their border dispute peacefully. 2014 June - The UN Human Rights Council says about six per cent of the population has fled the country over repression and poverty 2016 July - The UN Human Rights Council calls on the African Union to investigate Eritrean leaders for alleged crimes against humanity. 2017 July - UNESCO adds Asmara to its list of World Heritage sites, describing it as a well-preserved example of a colonial planned city. Peace with Ethiopia 2018 July - Ethiopia and Eritrea end state of war after Ethiopian diplomatic overtures. 2018 November - UN Security Council ends nine years of sanctions on Eritrea, imposed over allegations of support for al-Shabab jihadists in Somalia.

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Are protesters right on South Africa farm murder rate?

"Genoeg is genoeg."

Enough is enough. That was the message on Monday, as (mostly white) activists carried crosses and blocked roads to demand better protection for South Africa's farms, after they were targeted in a spate of murders. The South African Police Service has argued that the majority of attackers are motivated purely by a desire to rob farmers, but the country's Institute of Race Relations has warned there may be a racial element to some of the attacks. There's a sense in some quarters that white farmers are being targeted in particular. Many have claimed in recent weeks that South Africa's farmers are more likely to be murdered than the average South African. Neither of the claims above is supported by reliable data. So what does the evidence say? More farm murders According to the best available statistics, farm murders are at their highest level since 2010-11. South Africa's Police Service says 74 people were murdered on farms between April 2016 and March 2017, up from 58 in the previous year. That's broadly in line with figures collected by the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU). They rely on media reports, social media posts and tip-offs from their members, which means they don't pick up every murder or attack that takes place. They counted 64 murders on farms in 2015, 71 in 2016, and 68 in the first nine months of 2017 alone. It is worth noting that both the police and the TAU are counting murdered farmers, farm workers and visitors to farms - irrespective of race. But a rise in the number of farm murders doesn't tell us anything about whether farmers are more at risk than average South African. To do that, we need to calculate the murder rate - the chance of being murdered. It's easy enough to tell you what the average is for South Africa. There were 19,016 murders in South Africa in 2016-17, according to the police. According to Statistics South Africa's mid-year estimate for 2016, there were 55,908,900 people in South Africa. That's 34 murders for every 100,000 people. Are farmers at greater risk than this national average? How many farmers? The truth is, we don't know. We can't calculate a meaningful murder rate for farmers, because we don't know how many there are. Do we include all 810,000 people employed in agriculture? That gives a farm murder rate of 9.1 per 100,000 - much lower than the South African average. Or, do we restrict ourselves to the 32,375 commercial farmers counted in the country's last agricultural census in 2007? That's what AfriForum, a group that campaigns for the interests of Afrikaners in South Africa, appears to have done. It has estimated a farm murder rate of 156 per 100,000 that has been widely quoted in recent days. It appears to be calculated as follows. First, take the 50 murdered farmers counted by the TAU in 2016 (which excludes murders of family members, employees and visitors). Then, divide by 32,000 - an estimate of the total number of farmers, based on the 2007 figure. There are problems with this approach. First, the data is very old, so the number of farmers may be different now. Second, to exclude murdered family members, employees, and visitors to the farm from such an analysis misses part of the picture of what is happening on South African farms - but we don't know how many of those people there are. Third, the 2007 census did not include small, non-commercial farms - but some of the murders counted in the figures did take place on smaller farms. By leaving them out, the murder rate comes out higher than it should. Can we talk about race? This also helps explain why it's impossible to say whether white farmers are more at risk than black farmers - or more at risk than the population at large. We simply don't know what proportion of people on South Africa's farms is white. The closest we get is the 2016 Community Survey of agricultural households. Of the nearly 200,000 households whose agricultural activity takes place on farmland, about 54,000 have a white person at the head of the household. The problem is, we don't know how many people are in each household or how many of the households are racially mixed. So we don't know how many white people there are on South Africa's farms. And that means we can't work out how likely those white people are to be murdered. Guesstimation We could try and guesstimate, by making various assumptions about how many farmers there are now, how many are white and how many people live on their farms. South Africa's Institute of Race Relations has attempted to do so here. But as they explain in their analysis, small changes to those assumptions can make huge differences to the estimated murder rate. On some sets of assumptions, the farm murder rate is no higher than the national average. Fellow fact-checkers Africa Check discuss further pitfalls here. In short - we have no clear idea about the murder rate on South African farms. And because of that, the claim being made by protesters about farmers being more likely to be murdered is not supported by reliable data. Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter

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Guyana profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1498 - Christopher Columbus sights Guyana. 1580 - Dutch establish trading posts upriver. 1620 - Dutch West India Company establishes a foothold in Guyana, including armed bases, and imports slaves from Africa to work on the sugar plantations. 1780-1813 - Guyana changes hands several times between the Dutch, French and British. British rule 1814 - Britain occupies Guyana during the Napoleonic Wars. 1831 - Guyana officially declared a British colony. 1834 - Slavery abolished; many slaves leave plantations to set up their own freeholdings and are replaced by indentured workers mainly from India. 1879 - Gold is discovered in Guyana and is followed by an economic boom. 1889 - Venezuela lays claim to a large portion of Guyana west of the Essequibo river. 1899 - International arbitration tribunal rules in favour of Guyana (then called British Guiana) in the territorial dispute with Venezuela. British intervention 1953 - Britain suspends Guyana's constitution, sends in troops and installs an interim administration after democratic elections for parliament produces a result not to its liking - a victory for the left-wing Indo-Guyanese Progressive People's Party (PPP). 1957 - Britain restores Guyanese constitution; PPP splits along racial lines, with Cheddi Jagan leading a mostly Indian party and Forbes Burnham leading a party of African descendants, the People's National Congress (PNC). 1961 - Guyana granted full autonomy, with Britain retaining control over internal and defence matters; Jagan of the PPP becomes prime minister. 1962 - Venezuela revives its territorial claims on Guyana; Cheddi Jagan introduces austerity programme, sparking off violent riots and a general strike; British troops sent in to restore order. 1963 - Racial violence between people of African origins and Indian supporters of Jagan. Independence 1966 - Guyana becomes independent with Forbed Burnham as prime minister. 1970 - Guyana becomes a republic within the British Commonwealth with Raymond Arthur Chung as titular president. 1978 - Nine hundred members of a religious sect commit mass suicide at Jonestown, a community established by sect leader Jim Jones. 1980 - Guyana gets a new constitution and Burnham becomes the country's first executive president. Economic decline, elections 1985 - Desmond Hoyte (PNC) becomes president following the death of Burnham; economy begins to deteriorate. 1992 - PPP wins first completely free parliamentary elections since independence; Cheddi Jagan becomes president. 1997 - Jagan dies and is replaced by his wife, Janet, after elections. 1998 - Government declares state of emergency in Georgetown in response to violent riots amid allegations of discrimination by PPP against Afro-Guyanese. 1999 - Bharrat Jagdeo becomes president after Janet Jagan resigned for health reasons. 2000 - Long-running dispute with Suriname over the offshore border comes to a head when Surinam gunboats evict an oil exploration rig from the area. Guyana had approved the exploration. 2002 July - TV presenter Mark Benschop charged with treason. Court says he encouraged protest in which presidential complex was stormed by demonstrators, who were complaining of discrimination against Afro-Guyanese. 2003 April - US embassy employee is kidnapped and released after a ransom is paid. The abduction is part of a wave of violent crime; the murder rate in 2002 quadrupled to more than 160. 2004 May - Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj steps down to allow an inquiry into allegations that he is linked to a death squad accused of executing hundreds of suspected criminals. 2004 June - UN sets up tribunal to try to resolve long-running maritime border dispute between Guyana and neighbouring Suriname. 2004 December - Jury at trial of TV presenter Mark Benschop, charged with treason in 2002, fails to deliver unanimous verdict, necessitating re-trial. 2005 January - Government declares the capital a disaster zone as severe flooding follows days of continuous rain. More than 30 people are killed. UN estimates loss to the economy to be $500m. 2005 April - Ronald Gajraj reappointed as interior minister after inquiry clears him of direct involvement in killings of known and suspected criminals. He resigns in May. 2006 April - Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh is shot dead. The murder is part of a string of gun crimes. The ruling party says the killing is intended to incite pre-election violence. 2006 August - President Bharrat Jagdeo wins another five-year term in general elections. 2007 June - Former Guyanese MP Abdul Kadir is arrested in Trinidad on suspicion of involvement in a plot of blow up New York's JFK airport. 2007 September - A UN tribunal rules in the Guyana-Suriname dispute over maritime territory, giving both a share of a potentially oil-rich offshore basin. 2008 July - President Bharrat Jagdeo accuses the EU of using its economic might to 'bully' developing nations into accepting its terms in negotiations with 16 Caribbean countries over a trade agreement. 2008 October - President Jagdeo signs trade agreement with EU. 2010 October - Parliament abolishes mandatory death penalty for murderers, unless they have killed members of security forces. 2011 November - Donald Ramotar is elected as president. Ruling People's Progressive Party loses majority at parliamentary elections, but remains largest party. 2012 July - Three die as police clash with demonstrators protesting against electricity price hikes. 2014 November - President Ramotar suspends opposition-dominated parliament just before it debates no-confidence motion in his government. Opposition accuses him of undermining democracy. 2015 May - Former senior army officer David Granger of the Afro-Guyanese Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change wins presidential election by slim margin, ending 23 years of rule by Indian-dominated People's Progressive Party. ExxonMobil announces "significant" oil discovery off Guyana in waters claimed by Venezuela, which repeats its claim. Guyana seeks UN mediation. 2018 December - Coalition government loses parliamentary majority, raising possiblity of early elections.

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Ecuador profile: Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1450s - Incas of Peru conquer the Caras people, whose kingdom had its capital in Quito. 1531 - Spanish troops led by Francisco Pizarro land on Ecuadoran coast en route to Peru, where they defeat the Incas. 1534 - Spaniards conquer Ecuador, which becomes part of the Spanish Vice-Royalty of Peru. 1809 - Ecuadoran middle class begins to push for independence. 1822 - Antonio Jose de Sucre, a follower of the independence leader Simon Bolivar, defeats Spanish royalists at the battle of Pichincha; Ecuador becomes part of independent Gran Colombia, which also encompasses Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. War, economic boom and instability 1830 - Ecuador leaves Gran Colombia and becomes fully independent. 1941 - Peru invades part of the Amazonian mineral-rich province of El Oro. 1942 - Ecuador cedes some 200,000 square kilometres of disputed territory to Peru under the terms of the Rio Protocol. 1948-60 - Growth in banana trade brings prosperity. 1963 - President Carlos Arosemena Monroy deposed by military junta, which implements agrarian reform. 1966 - Interim government takes over from military junta, which was forced to step down following violent demonstrations and harsh retaliation; newly elected constituent assembly chooses Otto Arosemena Gomez as head of state. 1968 - Former President Jose Maria Velasco elected president for the fifth time and, two years later, assumes dictatorial power in response to declining support. 1972 - Oil production starts and Ecuador emerges as a significant oil producer; General Guillermo Rodriguez Lara becomes president after overthrowing President Velasco. 1979 - New constitution heralds return to democracy. 1981 - Brief border war with Peru. Economic deterioration 1982 - A deterioration of the economy due to falling oil prices leads to strikes, demonstrations and a state of emergency. 1987 - President Leon Febres Cordero kidnapped and beaten up by the army in protest at policies of privatisation and public expenditure cuts. 1992 - Indigenous peoples granted title to 2.5 million acres in Amazonia; Ecuador leaves the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase its oil output. 1996 - Abdala Bucaram Ortiz elected president. 1997 - Fabian Alarcon becomes president after mr Bucaram is deposed by parliament on grounds of mental incapacity. 1998 - Jamil Mahuad elected president. 2000 - Vice-President Gustavo Noboa becomes president after Mr Mahuad is forced to leave office by the army and indigenous protesters; Ecuador adopts the US dollar as its national currency in an effort to beat inflation and stabilise the economy. 2002 - Protests by indigenous peoples bring oil production to a near standstill. The protesters demand that more of the oil revenues should be invested in their communities. Gutierrez elected 2002 November - Leftist and former coup leader Lucio Gutierrez wins presidential elections. He takes office in January 2003. 2005 April - Anti-government protests mushroom after a reformed, pro-government Supreme Court drops corruption charges against two former presidents. Congress votes to oust President Gutierrez. Alfredo Palacio replaces him. 2005 August - Protesters, demanding that oil revenues should be spent on infrastructure, bring oil production to a halt. A state of emergency is declared in two oil-producing provinces. The protest ends after oil companies agree to help mend roads and pay local taxes. 2006 June - Ecuador prompts US ire by cancelling the operating contract of the US oil firm Occidental Petroleum after it allegedly sold part of an oil block without government permission. Correa elected 2006 November - Socialist candidate Rafael Correa wins presidential election. 2007 October - President Correa's Alianza PAIS party wins 80 of the 130 seats in elections for a new constituent assembly, and a large majority in subsequent congressional elections in November. 2008 March - Diplomatic crisis after a Colombia cross-border strike into Ecuador kills senior Farc rebel Raul Reyes. Ecuador cuts ties with Colombia briefly. 2008 April - Defence Minister Wellington Sandoval and top military chiefs resign amid continuing row over Colombian raid on Farc rebels inside Ecuador. New constitution 2008 September - The new constitution backed by President is approved by 64% of voters in a referendum. 2008 December - President Correa says Ecuador will officially default on billions of dollars of "illegitimate" foreign debt. 2009 April - President Correa wins his first term under the 2008 constitution - his second overall. 2009 July - Government refuses to extend US military's use of Manta air base on Pacific coast for drug surveillance flights. 2010 July - New law further increasing state control over oil industry comes into effect. Under the new legislation, the Ecuadorean state will own 100% of oil and gas produced. Crisis of 2010 2010 September - President Correa declares a state of emergency after being taken hostage by mutinous policemen. He is later freed by elite army soldiers. 2011 February - US oil giant Chevron is fined £5.3 billion for polluting the Amazon. 2011 April - Ecuador expels US ambassador after Wikileaks publishes diplomatic cable alleging widespread corruption in the Ecuadorean police force. 2011 May - Voters approve a wide-ranging package of reforms proposed by President Correa in a referendum. Critics say the changes enhance the president's powers even further. 2011 July - The owners of opposition paper El Universo and a journalist are found guilty of libelling the president and sentenced to three years in jail and a $40 m fine. They are later pardoned. 2012 March - Thousands of indigenous people stage a two-week march from the Amazon to protest against mining projects. 2012 June - Founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange takes refuge in Ecuador's London embassy and appeals for political asylum, in order to escape extradition to Sweden on rape charges. Asylum granted the following month, causing a diplomatic row with Britain. Correa re-elected 2013 February - President Rafael Correa wins another four-year term - his second under the 2008 constitution, which limits him to two terms. 2013 June - Parliament approves a law which creates an official body with powers to sanction media and redistribute broadcasting frequencies. Opponents describe it as a gagging law. 2013 August - President Correa says he is authorising oil exploration in a pristine part of the Amazon rainforest because rich nations had failed to fund conservation. 2015 December - Parliament scraps presidential term limits. 2016 April - More than 400 people die and 2,500 are injured in 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Pacific coast. Billions of dollars worth of damage is caused. 2017 May - Lenin Morena takes office as president after winning election. 2017 July - Row erupts over a border wall which Ecuador has built along a canal in the city of Huaquillas as a flood defence. Peru says it could increase the risk of flooding. 2018 February - Ecuadoreans vote in a referendum to prevent presidents from holding more than two terms in office. 2019 October - Government restores fuel subsidies in a deal with indigenous leaders to end mass protests that brought the capital Quito to a standstill.

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Brexit: How British-Irish relations are coping

Everybody needs good neighbours.

By Leanna Byrne & Tori WatsonBBC News NI But any good relationship - even one established more than 100 years ago - needs to be nurtured. In 1919, the first sitting of Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament) and plans for partition brought about a lasting change to the British-Irish relationship. At the time, Ireland was still under British rule. Plans for an Irish Republic and the subsequent signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 have set the enduring thread of British-Irish relations since. But as the Republic of Ireland celebrates its parliament's centenary, experts have warned that British-Irish relations have been frayed by Brexit. Dan O'Brien, the chief economist at Ireland's foreign affairs think tank the Institute of International and European Affairs, said that "as soon as the (EU) referendum happened, everything in the Dublin-London relationship was affected". "Work on the relationship goes far beyond repair," he added. "It involves a very substantial rebuilding and new building given the context of the relationship for decades has been joint EU membership." Century of Dáil Éireann The first Dáil sitting was "dignified, solemn and it was about enunciating key messages and key priorities", according to historian Diarmaid Ferriter. "The response from Britain was pretty quiet as they didn't really know how to respond, except by insisting it wasn't going to recognise its legitimacy," he said. "Britain had its eyes on the much bigger picture of what the international order was going to be after the war." Indeed, 1919 was also the same year their plans for the partition for Ireland were drawn up. Having committed to self-government, or Home Rule, in Ireland, the British government faced opposition from Irish unionists, most of whom lived in the northeast of the island. The answer was to create two self-governing territories. "The year 1919 is really the beginning of the partition question, practical division of Ireland and almost 100 years later we are still dealing with its legacy," said Mr Ferriter. A new nation The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty established the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth. The treaty allowed Northern Ireland to opt out of the new state, creating divisions among republicans and a civil war in Ireland broke out. "The difficulty for Sinn Féin after partition was how they were going to play their hand and negotiate independence," said Mr Ferriter. Ireland became a fully independent state in 1937 but did not withdraw from the Commonwealth until 12 years later. Back in 1919 one of the most high profile politicians who participated in the first Dáil was Éamon de Valera. His grandson Eamon ó Cuív is a Fíanna Fáil TD in the 32nd Dáil. He is the only descendant of a first Dáil member to currently serve in the 100-year-old institution. While de Valera was opposed to the Dáil's oath of allegiance to the crown and used his seat and position as Irish prime minister to work towards an independent Ireland, Mr Ó Cuív said his grandfather always wanted a good relationship with Britain. "He had a good working relationship with Neville Chamberlain," he said. Mr Ó Cuív said there was "not an anti-British sentiment" in his grandfather, regardless of the view that is often portrayed. He added that while "he wouldn't have met the King or Queen" he happily met their close relative Lord Mountbatten in India in 1948. "He met him as an equal, as a representative of a free Ireland." Personality clashes But de Valera's relationship with Winston Churchill was not as cordial. One famous tête-à-tête between Churchill and de Valera played out publicly when, in his Victory in Europe Day speech broadcast to the world, Churchill was critical of the then taoiseach (Irish prime minister) and Ireland's policy of neutrality throughout the war. Three days later, de Valera, in a much anticipated reply, outlined Ireland's right as an independent state to remain neutral. "It is indeed hard for the strong to be just to the weak but acting justly always has its rewards," he wrote. In the years following their time in power, the perimeters of conversations between London and Dublin changed, said Mr Ferriter. "It becomes more about finding commonality - economics and joining the European Union. "What changes that is the outbreak of the Troubles in 1969. "It forced Dublin to look over the border for the first time since the 1920s and it hugely complicated the relationship - bringing it back to the question of: 'Whose responsibility is this?'," he said. For Etain Tannam, an associate professor of politics at Trinity College in Dublin, the effort that both the Irish and British governments put into forming the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement saw relations "reach their heyday". With the emergence of peace in Northern Ireland and austerity in the Irish Republic during the early 2000s, she believes there was "a period of backing off" between the governments. As Mr Ferriter puts it, Brexit and the issue of the backstop have forced the two sides to re-examine their relationship. "The Brexit vote was a reminder that there were legacy issues from 1920s that haven't been solved," he said. "The border had all but disappeared… but Brexit upended that approach." Dr Tannam believes the relationship between both governments has become one of "crisis management". "We've seen old stereotypes reoccurring," she said. "There hasn't been the same level of communication like during the 1990s." Economist Dan O'Brien said that during Brexit negotiations "there is no doubt that senior politicians have made statements that have aggravated the situation". Dr Tannam believes there has been an increase in communication, especially over the past 18 months. "I don't think it's that fragile right now but that's only because it was reined in." When it comes to the future, she said British-Irish relations will "stabilize once this uncertainty has ended".

the-reporters-30936565

https://www.bbc.com/news/the-reporters-30936565

Official reports: Like waiting for a bus

What is it about official inquiries?

Jawad IqbalAnalysis and insight editor@JIAnalysisBBCon Twitter In some respects it's a little like waiting for a bus. No matter what it says on the timetable, you know it's going to be a long wait and the only real question is how late will the bus be. And so it is with the Chilcot Report, which critics say is really making monkeys of us all, the political equivalent of a late bus with the queue at the bus stop getting longer and ever more irascible. Politicians love setting up inquiries, say the cynics, as a way out of a tight spot, usually a response to some political or media frenzy. The inquiries are set up in a hurry - sometimes the terms of reference can seem like an afterthought, leading to problems down the line. The web page of the National Archives tells you all you need to know about the various investigations launched over the years. That's if you have either the time or inclination. What is much harder to determine is which investigations were worth the money, time and effort. Anyone remember Leveson on the press, for example? Interestingly, the Institute for Government held a seminar back in 2013, looking at some of the lessons that can be learned from the way public inquiries are handled. Patience needed There are some other examples of important investigations that were of great public interest but involved exercising a degree of patience. The Saville Inquiry into the events on Bloody Sunday in 1972 lasted 12 years. It was the longest running inquiry in British legal history. When it was set up in 1998 it was expected to last a year. The final report ran to some 5,000 pages. The cost of the investigation is believed to have been around £195m. The Francis inquiry into the health scandal at Mid-Staffs hospital, published in 2013, made 290 recommendations, in a report stretching to 2,000 pages. The cost ran into the millions. The government accepted most of the recommendations. Does anyone remember what they were? There have been a series of reports into child abuse deaths over the last two decades. How successful they have been in bringing lasting change is debatable. There is a crumb of comfort, though, in the knowledge that it's not just here that investigations don't quite run to schedule. In India, it took 17 years and 48 extensions for the Liberhan Commission, investigating the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya, to submit its report. And in the Irish Republic, the Mahon Tribunal, launched to investigate allegations of corrupt payments to politicians, was set up in 1997 and published its final report in 2012. The tribunal held public hearings over 15 years, gathering evidence hundreds of witnesses and the final report runs to 3,270 pages. And in the context of waiting for reports, Chilcot isn't the only one. It is worth noting that the Dame Janet Smith review, into the Jimmy Savile scandal at the BBC, has still to publish its findings. It was set up in 2012 and has been subject to a number of delays. No official publication date has been given. I wouldn't hold your breath.

uk-politics-47807485

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47807485

Brexit: Cox says 'article of faith' to leave EU

It's worth it.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter That's the message from one of the most prominent Brexiteers to Tories frothing with rage at the government's offer to work with Jeremy Corbyn. Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, who has had a vital role in this crisis, and for many Eurosceptics was seen as one of their own, has been defending the cabinet's fraught decision in an interview with the BBC this afternoon. It's remarkable to hear from one of those who argued that Labour's plan for Brexit is a 'fantasy' for so long, that now it might be a price worth paying. The reason for him is clear, and it seems almost that he is willing to leave under any circumstances even adopting their political enemies' plans. Mr Cox told me it is an "article of faith" to get Brexit done, telling me "if we were not to leave because we were unprepared to in the situation we now face to move any of the red lines we have set we would effectively, never leave at all". In his trademark formal booming tones, the Attorney General essentially tells his Eurosceptic colleagues to get real, and they 'would have bitten the arm off the Prime Minister' to leave even with a customs union - "I hope that my colleagues will see the important thing is to leave". With fever high in Westminster this afternoon, the chances of some of them seeing that seem slim, at least today. What might please his Brexiteer colleagues is that he wouldn't be drawn on giving Labour any legal guarantees on a deal that might be brokered. Indeed, Mr Cox seems to suggest any compromise over the future relationship with the EU wouldn't bind a future government in any case; he says nothing could be a "political straitjacket" once we have actually left the EU. He says: "Once we have reached the open sea, we can charter our own course. But if we never leave, we may never leave at all and that is what is important." But for the Labour Party, that is one of the main problems with trying to do a deal at all. With another prime minister along sooner rather than later, would they, could they, be able to trust anything that Theresa May can offer?

uk-politics-51660728

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51660728

What's behind No 10's plan for new advisers?

No 10 is recruiting. Again.

By Jessica ParkerBBC political correspondent No, it's not being done via Boris Johnson's most senior aide's personal blog this time, but instead on a bespoke website. According to the advert, the Conservative Party is seeking "talented and experienced communications and digital professionals" to serve as special advisers. Universally known as "Spads", these are the men and women who, like a strong perfume, swirl and waft around ministers as they move through Whitehall. They provide advice to their bosses and, to varying degrees, talk to journalists. And Downing Street believes it's time to recruit from a greater variety of backgrounds. They want to "fish in a big pool". 'Vetted' If follows the now infamous appointment of Andrew Sabisky, which came after Dominic Cummings put out a call for "misfits and weridos" to come and work at the heart of government. Some will suspect No 10 is trying to professionalise things. All successful candidates will, apparently, be screened and vetted by the Conservative Party, even though their wages will be paid for by the taxpayer, in the usual way. The party has hired PR advisers Hanbury Strategy to handle the first stage of the process. Hanbury lists Paul Stephenson as one of its partners - the man who was the director of communications for Vote Leave. But the other suspicion will be that this is about control. Senior figures in Downing Street will get the final say before successful applicants are then distributed across various roles. Remember why Sajid Javid resigned as Chancellor? Because he was asked to ditch all his political advisers. While No 10 would previously have a say over appointments, this new method, as one former Spad put it to me, reminds people "what side their bread is buttered on". Spads have been known to go rogue before - giving their own spin on events to the media. This created an image of a cracked and divided government - something that became endemic as Theresa May's administration limped into 2019. So, this new recruitment plan will be seen as an attempt to prevent this happening in future. But the same ex-adviser says there's a genuine logic to opening up the process. "The question I often got asked is how I got into it, rather than what do I actually do," they add. Exert power Spads are seen as often coming from the same tight circle of think tanks, campaign groups, media organisations and party backrooms. But there's no doubt it fits into a broader disciplinary approach by a Downing Street that knows it's got a fresh electoral mandate. And that, now, more than ever, is the time to exert power and push its aims.

uk-wales-25104846

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-25104846

Education in Wales: Is it making the grade?

Wales has a proud history of education.

By Arwyn JonesBBC Wales education correspondent The idea of a "Gwerin", an educated working class who saw learning as a way out of poverty as well as self-improvement, has always played a large part in the national consciousness. The advent of the assembly in 1999 meant Wales could go its own way and create its own distinctive education system, rather than being an extension of the system in England. And that is exactly what successive education ministers decided to do. League tables in secondary schools were abolished in Wales early in the 2000s and the SATs tests for 11-year-olds were scrapped soon after. And when the UK government decided to introduce a new literacy and numeracy framework for teaching 11-14 year olds in England, Wales decided it was not for them. Perhaps the most tangible difference is in the early years. The three to seven-year-olds in Wales go through what is called the Foundation Phase. Borrowed from Scandinavian countries, the idea is that children learn through playing; that if you instil a love of education early on during their time in schools, it will stay with them for life; that if you give them a new way of developing their thinking, it is the best foundation as they grow older. But has it worked? The policy was only introduced on a statutory basis in 2008, so it is still early days, but the initial evaluation work carried out by Cardiff University was not the resounding pat-on-the-back many were hoping for. 'Waste of time' A "mixed picture" is how researchers put it. This flagship policy, hailed by former First Minister Rhodri Morgan as his finest achievement, was being "diluted" by "contradictory" policies coming from the Welsh government, according to the report. Another concrete difference in the education system in Wales is the Welsh Baccalaureate, rolled out in 2007. It is aimed at giving teenagers a broader post-16 education than more specialist A-level subjects. As well as a core of subjects, such as maths and languages, students also get a chance to do work experience and voluntary placements. But here again, the early signs are not hugely heartening. Many pupils say it is not challenging enough and therefore a waste of time. Recent research suggested university students who studied the Welsh Baccalaureate were less likely to get higher degrees than those who did not. Having said that, the report also said those who studied the bacc were more likely to get into a leading Russell Group university. So again, it is early days. Funding gap The Welsh government will change the bacc from 2015, making it more challenging, as well as grading the results. The funding of schools is another noticeable factor of education since devolution. Or, to put it bluntly, how much is spent on schools in Wales compared with England? According to some reports, in 1999-2000 spend per pupil was £58 higher in England than in Wales; by 2009-10 the gap had grown to £604. During his campaign to become leader of the Labour Party in Wales in 2009 (when the gap was around £496 per pupil), First Minister Carwyn Jones promised to increase spending on schools by an extra 1% a year until it matched the amount spent per pupil in England. But in a briefing with Welsh government statisticians earlier this year, disappointed education journalists like me were told we could no longer compare spending between the two countries; academies, free schools and a different funding arrangement on the other side of Offa's Dyke, we were told, meant it was too complicated. I'm not too sure where this leaves Mr Jones's pledge. Poverty link Teachers say the so-called "under-funding" of schools in Wales means they just cannot compete with a near-neighbour which spends so much more than we do. Many educational experts, however, will tell you it is not how much you spend, it is how you spend it that counts. And one way the Welsh government has decided to spend more money is to tackle that stubborn link between poverty and low education attainment. But again, it is not just how much money you throw at a problem which solves it. The current Education Minister Huw Lewis is looking at changing how we rate the performance of our schools. In future, it seems likely that how a school improves the lot of our poorest children will count towards where it is placed in the banding system. The potential benefit of such a move is twofold; not only could it mean that education once again is seen as a ladder out of poverty, but it could also raise overall standards in our schools. That would surely be the highlight of the story of devolved education in Wales.

business-46970877

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46970877

John Lewis to shut Knight & Lee store in Southsea

John Lewis is to close its first store since 2006.

The retailer said the 35,000 sq ft Knight & Lee outlet in Southsea in Hampshire was its smallest full-range department store and could not easily be modernised. John Lewis has previously acknowledged the "challenges" facing the High Street in the current retail climate. However, it insisted it was not planning any other closures at the moment. The store, which will close in July, is one of only two John Lewis shops in the UK to retain its original name. The retailer said the size and condition of the building "restricts the customer offer". Earlier this year, Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, outlined the challenges facing shopkeepers: "Two main factors are affecting the retail sector - oversupply of physical space and relatively weak consumer demand." He said full-year profits would be "substantially" lower this year and that staff, known as partners, might not be receiving an annual bonus this year, for the first time since 1953. Other retailers have been harder hit by the downturn on the nation's High Streets. Online giants such as Amazon have had a huge impact, as more consumers see online shopping as cheaper and easier than going to the shops. The trade body for shops, the British Retail Consortium, said 2018 saw the worst Christmas for retailers in 10 years. John Lewis actually saw a rise in Christmas sales year-on-year, but it has previously said that its profit margins are being squeezed by the need to match rivals' discounts. Despite this, it has dismissed the suggestion that it should abandon its "never knowingly undersold" price pledge. Well-loved asset The Knight & Lee store opened in Southsea in 1865 and was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership in 1933. It was closed on Wednesday for a staff meeting, when employees were told of the plans. A statement from the company said it would require "significant investment" to modernise. Dino Rocos, partner and operations director, said: "We have not taken this decision lightly and we considered every implication for our partners, customers and the community. "However, a unique combination of factors, including the significant investment required and the opportunity to sell the property freehold, makes this the right decision for the financial sustainability of our business." Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said the closure would "rip the heart out" of Southsea. In a letter to the company, Mr Morgan said the shop was a "well-loved asset" in the area. "John Lewis is much cherished and causes a significant footfall which has a beneficial impact on the surrounding businesses and our local economy," he said. The retailer said every effort would be made to find the 127 staff roles in nearby John Lewis and Waitrose stores.

world-africa-13349400

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13349400

Ethiopia profile - Leaders

Prime minister: Hailemariam Desalegn

Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in as prime minister of Ethiopia in September 2012, ending a period of uncertainty following the death of long-term leader Meles Zenawi. As a former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mr Hailemariam was considered a close ally of Meles Zenawi and following his swearing in, pledged to continue his "legacy without any change". Meles Zenawi, who led the country since overthrowing the previous regime in 1991, died of complications following a long illness. He was praised by many for his success in revitalising Ethiopia's economy but criticised for his human rights record and his failure to allow a full democracy to flourish in Ethiopia. He led the country to war against Eritrea in 1998, and also sent troops into Somalia. Mr Hailemariam is to stay in office until elections in 2015. An engineer by training he leads the ruling coalition Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Mr Hailemariam became acting prime minister on the death of Mr Meles in August, but faced a backroom struggle to gain the approval of the Front leadership before assuming the most powerful post in the country. A Protestant Christian from the small Welayta ethnic group in southern Ethiopia, Mr Hailemariam had worked in academia and regional government while many EPRDF luminaries came to the fore through fighting against the Communist government in the 1980s. He benefited from a scheme Mr Meles launched in 2009 to bring technocrats into central government, and earned a reputation as a loyal aide to the prime minister.

world-europe-17299605

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17299605

France profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1789 - French Revolution ends rule of monarchy going back to 9th century; followed by establishment of the First Republic. 1799 - Napoleon Bonaparte leads coup to overthrow government; consolidates position with new constitution. 1804-1814 - Napoleon crowns himself emperor of First French Empire; series of military successes brings most of continental Europe under his control. 1815 - Napoleon defeated in Battle of Waterloo; monarchy re-established. 1848 - Fall of King Louis-Philippe; Louis-Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, proclaimed president of Second Republic. 1852-1870 - Louis-Napoleon takes title of Napoleon III in Second Empire. 1870-71 - Franco-Prussian War, ending in French defeat, loss of Alsace-Lorraine and end of the Second Empire; Third Republic lasts until 1940. 1877 - Republicans win general elections, ending hopes of a monarchist revival. 1914-18 World War I - Massive casualties in trenches in north-east France; 1.3 million Frenchmen are killed and many more wounded by the end of the war. 1918 - Anglo-French offensive - backed by fresh American troops - forces Germany to an armistice on 11 November. 1919 - Peace Treaty of Versailles. France regains Alsace-Lorraine; Germany agrees to reparations. 1936-38 - Rise of the Popular Front, an alliance of left-wing forces. 1939-45 - World War II - Germany occupies much of France. Vichy regime in unoccupied south collaborates with Nazis. General de Gaulle, undersecretary of war, establishes government-in-exile in London and, later, Algiers. Rise of French Resistance. Liberation 1944 - Allied forces land at Normandy leading to liberation of France. De Gaulle sets up provisional government. Purge against former collaborators. 1946 - De Gaulle resigns as provisional president, replaced by Socialist Felix Gouin. 1946-58 - Fourth Republic is marked by economic reconstruction and the start of the process of independence for many of France's colonies. 1951 - France joins West Germany and other European nations in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - leading to the formation in 1957 of the European Economic Community (EEC). 1954 First Indochina War ends - French defeated at Battle of Dien Bien Phu in north-west Vietnam. Algerian War of Independence begins. 1956 - Colonial rule ends in Morocco and Tunisia. Fifth Republic 1958 - De Gaulle returns to power on back of Algerian crisis and founds the Fifth Republic, with a stronger presidency. 1962 - Algeria granted independence from French colonial rule. 1968 May - Student revolt against government policies and lack of social reform escalates into national strike. 1969 - De Gaulle leaves office. Georges Pompidou elected president. 1970 - De Gaulle dies of stroke. 1974 - Pompidou dies, succeeded by Valery Giscard d'Estaing. 1981 - Socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand is elected president. 1986 - Centre-right victory in legislative elections of 1986 leads to "co-habitation" - a left-wing president and a right-wing prime minister, Jacques Chirac. 1988 - Mitterrand re-elected. 1992 - France signs Maastricht Treaty on European union. 1995 - Jacques Chirac elected president, ending 14 years of Socialist presidency. France attracts international condemnation by conducting a series of nuclear tests in the Pacific. 1997 - Lionel Jospin becomes prime minister. 2000 September - President Chirac embroiled in corruption scandal. He dismisses newspaper allegations. 2001 June - Compulsory military service abolished. 2002 January - Euro replaces franc, first minted in 1360. 2002 May - Jacques Chirac re-elected president, beating National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round of voting. Jean-Marie strong Le Pen's showing in the first round sent shockwaves across France and Europe and prompted mass demonstrations. Lionel Jospin, the main left-wing presidential contender whom Le Pen knocked out in the first round, resigns the premiership and the Socialist Party leadership. 2002 June - Landslide victory in legislative elections for centre-right UMP. Jean-Pierre Raffarin's new centre-right government ends the "cohabitation" between President Chirac and Socialist Lionel Jospin. 2002 November - Widespread public sector strikes over government privatisation plans bring country to a standstill. 2003 March - Constitution changed to allow devolution to regions and departments of powers over economic development, transport, tourism, culture and further education. 2003 July - Corsica referendum, first to follow March constitutional amendments, narrowly votes against establishment of unified assembly with limited powers to raise and spend taxes. Paris had hoped that a yes vote would end separatist violence. Parliament approves controversial reforms to pension system. 2004 March - President Chirac's UMP routed in regional elections. 2004 November - Nicolas Sarkozy takes over as leader of UMP. 2005 January - Trade unions organise wave of public sector strikes against proposed labour, pension and welfare reforms. 2005 May - Referendum goes against proposed EU constitution. The result prompts a political shake-up, including the resignation of Prime Minister Raffarin. 2005 June - International project group says France is to host the world's first experimental nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache, near Marseille. Urban violence 2005 October-November - Largely immigrant communities in north-east Paris are hit by riots after two youths of North African origin are electrocuted in an electricity substation. The authorities deny they were being chased by police. Unrest spreads to other cities. Government introduces emergency measures. 2006 March-April - New youth employment laws spark mass demonstrations in Paris and other cities across France. As protests continue, the legislation is scrapped. Sarkozy becomes president 2007 May - Nicolas Sarkozy, the former interior minister and leader of the ruling conservative UMP, wins a decisive victory in the second round of the presidential election. 2007 June - The UMP wins parliamentary elections, but with a reduced majority. The party insists it still has a mandate to carry out its proposed reforms. 2007 November - Civil servants take to the streets, along with workers from the transport and energy sectors, to protest against Mr Sarkozy's planned cuts in pay and jobs, and reform of pension benefits. There is widespread disruption of public services. 2008 February - France formally ratifies Lisbon Treaty on reform of European Union. Financial crisis 2008 October - European governments pledge up to 1.8 trillion euros as part of co-ordinated plans to shore up their financial sectors, hit hard by the global financial crisis. France says it will inject 10.5bn euros into the country's six largest banks. 2010 March - Ruling UMP suffers heavy defeat in regional elections, losing control of all but one of the 22 regions in mainland France and Corsica. 2010 June - Government announces public spending cuts of 45bn euros in effort to reduce high level of public debt. 2010 July - Prosecutors launch inquiry into allegations that L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt made illegal donations to President Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign. 2010 August - France begins to dismantle illegal Roma (gypsy) camps and to deport their residents back to Romania and Bulgaria, as part of a package of new security measures. Pension protests 2010 September-October - Hundreds of thousands turn out in several waves of trade union-led protests against government plans to raise retirement age to 62. 2010 November - France concludes military and nuclear accord with UK. Under the terms of the new treaty, the two countries will cooperate in testing nuclear warheads. 2011 March - France plays prominent role in imposing and enforcing no-fly zone over Libya. 2011 April - Face veil ban comes into force. 2011 May - French political establishment is shaken by arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had been tipped as a strong Socialist candidate for the presidency, in New York on sexual assault charges that were later dropped. 2011 August - Government announces package of austerity measures aimed at reducing public deficit by 12bn euros over two years. In November it announces a further 7bn euros of cuts in 2012 and 11.6bn euros in 2013. 2011 September - Credit rating agency Moody's downgrades the two biggest French banks, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale, because of their exposure to Greek debt. 2012 January - France loses its top AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's. 2012 February - The Constitutional Council strikes down as violating freedom of expression a new law making it a crime to deny genocide was committed by Ottoman Turks against Armenians during World War I. 2012 March - French Islamist Mohamed Merah shoots dead seven people, including three Jewish schoolchildren, in Toulouse, before himself being shot dead in a police siege of his flat. France bans militant Islamist preachers from entering the country, beginning with the Qatari-based Egyptian Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Hollande presidency 2012 May - Socialist candidate Francois Hollande beats Nicolas Sarkozy in the run-off presidential election. He appoints close ally Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister. President Hollande announces the withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, a year earlier than scheduled. French police detain the last military leader of the Basque separatist group Eta, Oroitz Gurruchaga Gogorza, and his deputy Xabier Aramburu in a joint operation with Spain. 2012 June - Socialists win comfortable majority in parliamentary elections. 2012 August - France posts zero growth in the second quarter of 2012, as in the previous two. 2012 October - Anti-terror police carry out a series of raids nationwide, arresting 11 suspects, after police shoot dead a man in Strasbourg suspected of targeting a Paris Jewish shop. 2012 November - Moody's rating agency downgrades France's credit rating from the top triple-A billing to Aa1, citing weak growth and the eurozone crisis. Intervention in Mali 2013 January - French commando raid to rescue a hostage in Somalia fails. Al-Shabab Islamist rebels later say they executed the man. French forces intervene in Mali and help government recapture northern regions seized by Islamists. They begin to withdraw in April. 2013 March - Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac - a vocal crusader against overseas tax havens - resigns after belatedly admitting to owning a secret Swiss bank account, in an embarrassing scandal for President Hollande. 2013 May - France enters second recession in four years after the economy shrinks by 0.2% in the first quarter. 2013 June - The International Monetary Fund calls on France to lower its labour costs and halt tax hikes to boost both growth and its competitiveness, or else face a widening gap with its European neighbours. 2013 November - Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgrades France's credit rating further from AA+ to AA, citing high unemployment. 2013 December - France deploys 1,600 troops to the Central African Republic to try to restore order. National Front gains 2014 March - Interior minister Manuel Valls replaces Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister after the governing Socialists suffer a drubbing in municipal elections. The far-right National Front makes significant gains in the polls. 2014 May - The far-right Front National wins the European elections in France with about a quarter of the vote, pushing President Hollande's Socialists into third place. 2014 July - Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy is detained and placed under formal investigation over allegations he sought insider information about a probe into illegal campaign funding. He says the move is a plot to stop his return to politics. 2014 August - Manuel Valls forms a new cabinet after three ministers quit their posts in a bitter row over the government's austerity strategy. 2014 September - The National Front wins its first ever seats in the French senate, inflicting a third humiliating electoral defeat on the ruling Socialists and their leftwing allies, who lose their majority in the upper chamber. 2014 October - France publishes a budget for 2015 that includes 21bn euros (£17bn) worth of cuts in public spending, but which still envisages a budget deficit of 4.3% - way above the EU target figure of 3% of GDP. 2014 November - The number of people seeking work climbs to a record high of 3,488,300. President Hollande says he will not seek a second term in office if he fails to deliver on his pledge to bring down joblessness. Islamic State attacks 2015 January - Islamist gunmen shoot dead 17 people in Paris - most of them staff at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo - before being killed by security forces. The government announces a range of new security measures following the shootings in Paris. It says more than 2,500 new intelligence personnel will be recruited over the next three years to investigate Islamic extremism. 2015 September - France launches air strikes again Islamic State group targets in Syria. 2015 November - Islamic State group claims responsibility for terror attacks in Paris that kill 130 people - deadliest attacks in France since Second World War, and in European Union since 2004 Madrid railway bombings. France announces state of emergency, launches renewed bombing raids in Syria. 2016 February - Government begins dismantling notorious 'Jungle' migrant camp at Calais on the English Channel. 2016 May - Following weeks of street protests, government pushes through legislation making France's protective labour laws less restrictive, with the aim of encouraging firms to recruit. 2016 July - At least 84 people are killed in lorry attack on crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice. Islamic State claims responsibility. 2016 December - President Hollande announces that he will not stand for a second term in 2017. 2017 April - Islamist kills policeman in attack on Champs-Elysees in Paris. President Macron elected 2017 May - Centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron decisively beats the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen in the presidential election. Neither of the two main parties, the Socialists and Republicans, made it into the run-off round. 2017 June - Mr Macron's La Republique En Marche! movement wins an overall majority in parliamentary elections. 2017 September - Mr Macron signs into law sweeping changes to the labour code designed to make it easier for companies to hire and fire workers. 2018 April - Rail workers announce a three-month strike, as the first major challenge to the government's employment reforms. 2018 November-December - Major nationwide "yellow-vest" protests at attempts to curb fossil fuel use through price hikes turn violent, prompting a partial government climb-down. Protests continue into new year. 2020 July - President Macron appoints Jean Castex prime minister, after Edouard Philippe resigned in the wake of a poor showing for the governing La République En Marche! party in local elections.

world-asia-china-35994481

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35994481

Counting the cost of China’s left-behind children

It has been an industrial revolution on steroids.

By John SudworthBBC News, Beijing China has done in a few short decades what it took other countries the best part of a century to complete. And if the pace is extraordinary, then so too is the scale. Britain had a population of around 10 million when its industrial revolution began - China's today, is more than a hundred times that size. In the five years to 2013, China's construction industry poured as much cement and its banks lent as much money as the US did in the whole of the 20th Century. So it should come as no surprise that the social dislocation accompanying this economic upheaval is of a degree that Charles Dickens couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams. And nothing highlights the human cost quite like the issue of China's left behind children. One-fifth of all children in China Tang Yuwen's story in the animation above is just one among many, many such stories. His parents work in the textile mills in the city of Chengdu, dragged away from the village by the same forces that took their latter day British counterparts to Manchester a century ago. The best current estimate suggests that more than 60 million children are growing up in the Chinese countryside while their parents live and work elsewhere, manning the assembly lines and operating the construction machinery at the heart of China's economic miracle. That's one fifth of all the children in China and, in recent years, the country's state-run media appears to have been given license to discuss the tragic consequences. In June 2015, four siblings - the youngest just five-years-old - whose parents had left home to work elsewhere killed themselves by consuming pesticide. The China Daily report makes clear it is not an isolated case. 'I miss them so much' Tang Yuwen lives in the county of Sixian in Sichuan province with his grandmother, his younger brother and his two cousins. During the week, they spend the time in a one-room apartment a short walk from school. They're poor. They bathe in a metal tub placed on the floor in the centre of the room and they share a toilet with their neighbours. All four boys are "left behind children" and over the decades, as millions of workers have streamed out of remote, rural Sichuan, theirs is a common experience. In Sixian's primary school up to 80% of the pupils are live without their mums or dads. Modern day China may have been built on the hard graft of its internal migrant labourers, but it has taken a heavy toll from their children too. The bereavement is all too plain to hear in Tang Yuwen's interview. "I know it is hard for mum and dad to earn money," he tells me, "but I miss them so much, it is very painful." Read more on the transformation of China In Guizhou province, not far from where the 2015 pesticide poisoning took place, we find 14-year-old Tao Lan, living with her 11-year-old brother, Tao Jinkun. They are among perhaps China's most shocking child welfare statistic: more than two million left behind children are thought to be living alone, without the support of a close relative. In a two-room home, with the wind blowing through the gaps in the wooden boards, Tao Lan helps her younger brother with his homework, she grows their own vegetables on a small patch outside and she cooks their meals. The two take it in turns to wash the dishes. Their parents live and work more than a thousand miles away, and come back just once a year. "If you've had a bad day at school it must be very hard not to be able to talk to your mum and dad about it," I suggest to Tao Lan. "I can't tell them," she replies, and then, wiping tears from her eyes: "Mum and Dad live a hard life, I don't want them to worry about me." There is, of course, a now accepted view in the West that deprivation and childhood neglect can increase the likelihood of anti-social and criminal behaviour later in life. But what strikes me when talking to the children we meet in Sichuan and Guizhou is not anger or resentment. It is instead their readiness to accept with extraordinary maturity that their parents have had to make difficult choices out of economic necessity. Even so they can't always hide the emotional cost, a tension most visible perhaps in our interview with nine-year-old Zhan Jiayue, a school-mate of Tang Yuwen's. Spurred on no doubt by the mounting public concern, the government has decided that it needs to be seen to be acting. It recently issued a new directive, reiterating existing laws against child abandonment and reminding local authorities of their duty to protect vulnerable children. And now the authorities have announced that they will conduct a nationwide census, the first of its kind, in an attempt to gain a proper account of the number of left behind children. But the truth is the efforts to enhance enforcement and to gather better data will not do much to address the root causes of the problem. 'I worry about his safety' The textile factories in the city of Chengdu are just a few hours drive from Tang Yuwen's home village. But the long hours and the need to save money mean his parents are able to travel home only two or three times a year at best. And yet the obvious solution, taking their children, with them is not an option. Despite years on the production lines it is almost impossible for them to lose their official migrant status. China's household registration system means that although they can work wherever they choose, they and their children can only exercise their welfare rights, including access to health care and education, in their home village. It is a strict system that has allowed China to manage its population flows and, arguably, prevent a common scourge of other industrial revolutions elsewhere; slum developments as whole families flood into the cities in search of a better life. In a restaurant close to their factories, we show Tang Yuwen's parents the interview we recorded with their son. It feels an uncomfortable and somewhat cruel device, the kind beloved of TV news reporters in search of dramatic effect, but both parents are keen to see the video. After all, they haven't seen Tang Yuwen for five months. Tang Yujun laughs when he sees his 12-year-old boy dressed in formal attire, something I'd taken to be a small, personal flourish of eccentricity amid the drabness of village life. It turns out he's been rifling through Dad's wardrobe. "That's my tie!" Mr Tang exclaims. But again, the emotion is just below the surface and we soon glimpse the pain of the enforced separation, this time from the parents perspective, a pain multiplied tens of millions of times across this vast country. "I'm so worried, because I'm not with him," his mother Liu Ting tells me through her tears. "I worry about his safety. If there were no legal barriers, we would bring him with us." There is talk about reforming the household registration system, but it will be slow and selective and it is likely to keep the megacities of Beijing, Shanghai and even Chengdu where Tang Yuwen's parent work, out of the reach of many rural families. The government admits the problem of left behind children is urgent. But for everyone who buys a made-in-China product, or who invests in this still-growing economy, there is a question worth asking. If this super-sized industrial revolution had taken place within more democratic constraints, might the migrant workers at the centre of it all have been able to demand something fundamental, and so often taken for granted elsewhere? And might they by now have won that right to a family life?

newsbeat-39230008

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-39230008

Wanted: PA to the Duchess

Fancy a new job?

Because the Duchess of Cambridge is looking for a new private secretary. Her current assistant, 34-year-old Rebecca Deacon, is stepping down from the role in the Summer after 10 years of service to the Royal family. So what skills does it take to look after Kate's affairs? Newsbeat has put together a job spec for anyone looking to submit their CV. Very organised The successful candidate will be expected to manage Kate's diary. And as one of the most popular women in the world, she goes to hundreds of events. So, be prepared to have a lot on the go and be able to juggle it all. Time management So, you'll get to sit on some of the most sought-after seats (think Wimbledon, the Baftas, Six Nations, international fashion shows etc). But it's not just a jolly. Expect to have book limousines, first class flights abroad and liaise with posh accommodation. You must make sure Kate always gets to the ball. She must not be early, but never late. Good memory and communication skills Kate needs to be impeccably briefed on who she will meet at her various engagements. Everyone knows her, but the chances are she won't know everyone else. I mean, there are lots of people in the Royal Family. She simply cannot make any faux pas. Leave that to the father-in-law. Dress code This is important. You must complement the Duchess but never, ever upstage her. You will need to enjoy smart attire including the classic court shoe, designer sunglasses and a selection of scarves. Royals don't often do casual, but when they do, a hair mustn't be out of place. You are the PA to the Duchess after all. It's time to dress the part. Working well under pressure You'll need to carry the gifts Kate is showered with. But you won't be able to dump them in a plastic carrier bag, so get used to getting a grip on cuddly toys and bouquets. Be fast, discreet and prepared to deal with a lot of distraction. You might even have to regulate the volume of selfie requests. Positive attitude The happiest part of the job? Prepare to deal with an overload of cuteness every day when organising the diaries of the mini Royals, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Imagine shopping for matching snowsuits, vintage waistcoats and charming knitwear. And be ready to colour co-ordinate those play dates with cousins. Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

technology-30793608

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30793608

Centcom - a PR disaster, not cyberwar

The timing was exquisite.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter Just as President Obama was outlining plans to strengthen cyber-security in the US, the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the US military command for the Middle East and Asia were both being used as platforms for IS propaganda. But let's not get too hysterical about this incident - the hacking was a PR disaster, but not a major breach of America's cyber defences. The accounts, as Centcom was swift to stress, were hosted not on the military's own servers but by an outside commercial organisation. And it seems the information posted on Twitter by the so-called "Cyber Caliphate" was already widely available online. Not an audacious raid on the Pentagon's computers then, but graffiti scrawled on on its virtual walls. A 2011 cartoon from the excellent XKCD webcomic was circulating widely on Twitter last night. It contrasts the horrified public reaction to the "hacking "of the CIA's website with that of security experts who say "someone tore down a poster hung up by the CIA". Which isn't to say that the social media and PR teams at Central Command won't be looking for new jobs today. Like many public sector organisations, the US military first had a very cautious attitude to the use of social media, then plunged in, apparently convinced that it could not be absent from this vital arena of public debate. But did Centcom think clearly enough about the risks? Every day thousands of people and organisations have their Twitter or YouTube accounts taken over and used for malicious or criminal ends. Sources at Twitter and YouTube's owner Google told me that in most cases this didn't involve genuine hacking but what they described as "poor password hygiene" - passwords were either so weak as to be easily guessed or were shared too widely. Some people are tricked into handing over their credentials after clicking on links in direct messages on Twitter or downloading attachments in emails. One notable aspect of Centcom's Twitter account was that it did not have the blue tick which shows it has been verified by the social networking firm. This doesn't guarantee better security but means Twitter acts faster if there's a problem - and its absence seems to show that Centcom wasn't thinking too clearly about security. Both Twitter and Google recommend the use of two-factor authentication, which means anyone logging on to their account from a new computer has also to enter a code sent to their mobile phone. We don't know whether the Centcom staff took advantage of this extra layer of security. Social networks have become a vital weapon in the information war, but as a number of news organisations have already learned to their cost, they can be turned against you if you let intruders through the doors. Still, in these nervous times, it is worth retaining a sense of proportion. This act of "cybervandalism", as it was described by US Central Command, may have been deeply embarrassing. But nobody died.

uk-46976751

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46976751

Driving test: Here are the hardest and easiest places to pass in Britain

Not everyone is good at driving tests.

By Francesca GillettBBC News About 45% of drivers pass first time, while some others need more than 30 attempts. But does it matter where in Britain you take your test? It would seem so. Every three months, data is published on the pass rates at all driving test centres in England, Scotland and Wales. The rate varies hugely - from below 30% to more than 80%. That means in some places the average driver has a four in five chance of passing. In others, it's less than one in three. According to the latest stats - for April to December 2018 - Britain's highest pass rate is at the driving test centre in Inveraray, in Argyll and Bute, where 84.9% of learners dropped their L-plates. The lowest, meanwhile, is the Pavilion test centre in north Birmingham, at 29.6%. At first glance, it appears pass rates are generally higher in rural areas and lower in busy cities. This might sound obvious: less traffic and fewer hazards. But driving instructors say it may be more complex than this. In Pitlochry, Perthshire, the pass rate there is 78.5%. It is one of the highest in the country, although the test centre is small with an average of 11 learners sitting the exam each month. Is the high pass rate because of the rural setting? "Definitely through the winter it's an easier place to pass," said Pitlochry instructor Karen Aycan. "It's very quiet. But in the summer, it's worse than driving in the centre of London - which I've done. "Because we are a tourist town, the place is heaving. And driving through the main street is like running the gauntlet. People are not really engaging their brains, they are on holiday. People go out in the middle of the road taking pictures. There are lots of tourists who are driving. They don't know where they are going. It can be incredibly hazardous." She says in more rural test centres, the hazards are "different" - for example bad parking, narrower roads, tractors and cyclists. "Interestingly, a couple of people who I have taught say driving in Pitlochry is 10 times harder than in Glasgow," she said. "In Glasgow they are following the person in front, whereas in Pitlochry there are not as many traffic lights, so at the junction the pupil has to make the decision themselves." Almost 400 miles away, Belvedere test centre in south-east London is near the other end of the scale. It has a pass rate of just 33.8%. August last year was particularly bad, when only 28.5% of the 403 candidates managed to ditch the L-plates. Instructor Monika D'Agate, from Belvedere, believes "people simply go to the test too soon". "We have a very large mix of many nationalities and some people's beliefs of standards are not the same," she said. "You have to make sure you're at a good enough standard of driving to pass the test." Meanwhile, one instructor from Birmingham - where pass rates are below average at all test centres and as low as 29% at one - said he did not think "the standard of instruction in Birmingham is very good". He blamed the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's checks - instructors are required to deliver a lesson under observation every four years - for being not rigorous enough. And the instructor - who did not want to be named - said he believed "50% of the instructors in the area should not be teaching". Many do not care about getting students through the test, he said, but "are doing it purely for the money". DVSA-approved driving instructor registrar Jacqui Turland said it monitors "the performance and standard of instruction". "Where instructors are bringing candidates to test at an unsatisfactory level, our enforcement managers will investigate and help educate them, in order to achieve best practice." According to the AA Driving School, although the highest pass rates tend to be in rural areas and the lowest in urban areas, the difference should not be solely attributed to the type of traffic. There are "probably other social factors that may be playing a part in the pass-rate disparity", it said. So are learner drivers flocking to rural Scottish areas, in an effort to boost their chances? The DVSA doesn't believe so. "All candidates are assessed to the same level and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day," said chief driving examiner Mark Winn said. "It's essential that all drivers demonstrate they have the right skills, knowledge and attitude to drive safely. "The driver testing and training regime tests candidates' ability to drive safely and responsibly as well as making sure they know the theory behind safe driving."

world-us-canada-45345518

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45345518

Cuomo-Nixon debate: Can a room temperature really be sexist?

Can a room temperature be sexist?

The question may sound bizarre, but it's taken off on social media ahead of a debate between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is seeking a third term, and Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon - his challenger for the Democratic nomination. Ms Nixon has one chance to go head-to-head with Mr Cuomo, and her team fear she could be disadvantaged by freezing temperatures at the venue. So is it just a diva demand, or part of a wider problem where women are left chilly in the workplace? Here's how the heated discussion got started... 'Notoriously sexist temperature' Governor Cuomo supposedly favours Arctic conditions when making public appearances. It's sufficiently bad that the New York Times once headlined an article, "Going to an Event Featuring Cuomo? Take a Coat, or Maybe a Blanket". Keen to avoid the Big Freeze, Ms Nixon's team emailed organisers to ask that the room be heated to 76F (24C) on Wednesday night. Strategist Rebecca Katz wrote that working conditions are "notoriously sexist when it comes to room temperature, so we just want to make sure we're all on the same page here". When news of the request emerged, thermostat warriors lined up on both sides of the argument, with many agreeing that public spaces are "too cold" by women's standards. "I'm sitting here in my work Snuggie wondering if this is actually the opening salvo of the revolution," wrote Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse. "At one place where I worked, I would get ready in the morning, put on a presentable outfit, and then wonder why I bothered after I got to the office and threw on my pilly old fleece zip-up to keep warm," agreed Lauren Sieben. Iowa University Professor Kerry Howley tweeted (tongue-in-cheek) that she had "**never** felt more invested in a political debate", adding: "49% of Americans control 100% of the office thermostats. Don't engage me unless you're willing to argue at 79 degrees." Some women disagreed, of course. Or as tweeter Katie Kearns put it: "Every woman in menopause just sweated all over you." Politico reporter Dan Goldberg argued that there isn't a male conspiracy when it comes to temperature control, writing: "Why can't we say that men and women by and large dress differently and have different preferences??? NOT everything is sexist." As the New York Times pointed out, however, there is some scientific basis for saying temperatures are rigged to keep men comfortable. A 2015 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that most office buildings still set their temperatures based on men's metabolic rates. It concluded that the average comfortable level for men is about 72F, but women prefer a balmier 77. Though Mr Cuomo's campaign declared that "unlike Cynthia Nixon, the governor has more important things to focus on than the temperature of a room", his senior aide Melissa DeRosa still weighed in online with a picture of the governor's dog lying in a pool of ice. L. Joy Williams, an adviser to Ms Nixon, hinted that her side had deliberately gone in with a higher number than they wanted, tweeting: "Maybe you say 76 degrees and get 65 degrees instead of freezing at 50." So will the governor be feeling the heat on Wednesday, or will his challenger be left out in the cold? Only time (and Twitter) will tell...

health-26560277

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-26560277

NHS pay: A Catch-22 situation

It was the classic Catch-22.

Nick TriggleHealth correspondent Ministers felt on the one hand they couldn't afford to give staff a pay rise, while on the other realising they couldn't afford not to. The result? A pay rise for some, and (arguably) none for others. But the risk is that this turns out to be a fudge that makes no-one happy. Despite the special protection the NHS enjoys - it is getting a 0.1% increase in its budget each year this Parliament - it is still in the middle of its tightest ever settlement. To help cope with rising demands, it has been asked to save the equivalent of 4% a year (£4bn to £5bn in cash terms). The easiest way to achieve this is by freezing pay, which accounts for 40% of the overall budget. And so this is what has been done - for the past three years. NHS Employers had argued this should have continued into 2014-15, saying in its submission on pay that salaries in the health service remained "competitive". It pointed out that average pay last year was just over £30,000 for nurses and around £36,000 for paramedics and £110,000 for consultants. Impact on care But the decision announced by the government on Thursday concedes a pay rise of sorts is needed. All NHS staff will get at least a 1% pay rise. Just over half receive incremental pay rises each year - determined by their length of service and performance. Those whose incremental increase is less will have their pay rise made up to 1%, but many will get more. Last year, the average incremental pay rise was 3.5%. The same mechanism will be applied in 2015-16, when the minimum rise will also be 1%. That will cost well over £1bn each year. The bean counters in the health service will be warning this will be hard to afford But equally it has left the unions disappointed. Unison is pointing out that since 2010, pay has fallen by 10% once inflation is taken into account and that incremental pay is meant to reward the growing competence and skills that come with experience. Hence Unison head of health Christina McAnea's accusation that the government is showing "complete contempt" for staff. But, of course, what matters to patients is how this affects care. Part of the Department of Health's justification for the move was that it needs to be able to afford the right number of staff to meet the requirements of the public inquiry into Stafford Hospital for more compassionate care. However, if the pay award demoralises staff that ambition could be at risk. A report published earlier this year by the Point of Care Foundation looked at the importance of having an engaged and happy workforce. One of the key conclusions was that this was essential to providing good quality care.

uk-politics-55240130

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55240130

Brexit: Will Brussels dinner prove to be the last supper?

Could it be the last supper?

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels for the first time in months on Wednesday night to sit and break bread with the EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. It is more than a standard diplomatic dinner. It is possible that the encounter could be the moment at which the UK and the EU conclude that there cannot be a trade deal now, and that after decades of political and economic ties, efforts to say a polite political farewell have failed, with all the consequences that might entail. The purpose of the dinner however is not to call a halt. But nor is the purpose to proclaim that a deal's been done. The reason for the meeting is to see if both sides are willing in principle to tolerate the notion of budging, after the negotiations, and frankly negotiators, have been exhausted. If the prime minister and Mrs von der Leyen can look each other in the eye and agree that there are still compromises to be had, then a deal is still possible. If they are willing to make that kind of pact - to say privately to each other, I'm willing to budge if you are too - then that would in theory allow technical talks to get going again. This wouldn't be any kind of changes to the formal mandates - the boundaries the negotiators have been set. But it could reset the dial, sending Lord Frost and Michel Barnier back to the table in the understanding that their political bosses might just be a touch more wiling to be flexible after all. In turn, that doesn't mean that a deal is going to be achieved. But it could tip the balance back towards the overall political imperatives of making this happen, and away from both sides' commitment to stick so closely to their principles. Here, the government's actions on the Northern Ireland protocol on Tuesday are a hint that they just might be willing to bend a little further. Equally however, settling the joint protocol makes it easier for the government to minimise disruption if it walks away. So beware wise sages claiming it's definitive proof either way! Don't forget too, it's only this time last week that there was a sense we were moving towards a conclusion on both sides. 'You first' But that was before some member states, with France as the hard man, toughened their approach, surprising the UK and setting the process back - although any change is still denied officially by the EU side. What we just can't know, however, is whether the leaders will be able to find common cause when they meet on Wednesday. There has been a real sense of "you first" in the last 24 hours, with both sides waiting to see what the other's next move would be. If there is a chance that a deal can be done, tomorrow night's dinner needs to produce at the very least a metaphorical statement of intent. But if the two leaders just aren't prepared to make a leap, it could yet be the last supper after all. P.S. It's interesting to note that when Theresa May was trying to manage these processes, she sometimes dashed off to see the individual leaders of the member states, or held phone calls with them, as did Boris Johnson sometimes. There was one notable explosion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a call last year, which now seems a century ago. It's understood that this time Boris Johnson's team was interested in the possibility of talking to Mrs Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in these vital few days themselves. But I'm told the EU wanted to keep everything channelled through one point of contact. Downing Street has denied the suggestion this afternoon that he wanted them to be on the call when he rang Mrs von der Leyen on Monday. But it seems there have been discussions about whether to have those separate discussions that have then not (so far) taken place.

uk-politics-34126758

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-34126758

Jeremy Corbyn elected Labour leader: How did he win?

1. The resurgence of the left

Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the Labour Party. How did he do it? Here are some of the factors behind his against-the-odds victory. The Labour Party undoubtedly moved to the left under Ed Miliband's leadership, perhaps to a greater extent than the Westminster media and political establishment realised at the time. Labour's new intake of MPs in 2015 is regarded as the most left-leaning in 20 years while the party's position on a range of issues - from welfare to Europe - is unrecognisable from its New Labour heyday, a fact acknowledged by Tony Blair. An estimated 70% of those who voted in the contest have joined Labour since 2010. But it was a surge in popularity of grassroots campaigns outside the Labour Party that may have proved more decisive in the rise of Jeremy Corbyn. The People's Assembly Against Austerity, which was launched in 2013, backed by trade unions, CND, the Communist Party and Mr Corbyn himself, drew large crowds at meetings and marches across the UK. High profile speakers such as comedian Russell Brand and columnist Owen Jones caught the imagination of young, social-media savvy activists hungry for social change. Mr Corbyn also benefitted from the formidable organisational skills of his trade union backers - something the other candidates could not, or in the case of Andy Burnham who distanced himself from the unions - would not emulate. 2. Anyone could vote for £3 The rise of the anti-austerity movement would have had a minimal impact on the Labour leadership contest but for one crucial factor. The change in Labour's leadership contest rules in 2014 was heralded as a way of reducing the influence of the trade unions but it also allowed anyone to take part in ballots for a £3 fee. It received little attention at the time but nearly 200,000 people have taken advantage of it. This appears to have caught Jeremy Corbyn's leadership rivals, who focused their message on the existing Labour membership, by surprise. Only Mr Corbyn had a link to the £3 affiliate scheme on his campaign website. Panic spread through the party when mischievous Conservative supporters started claiming they had signed up for a vote to sabotage the contest. A different kind of panic took hold when it emerged that supporters of other parties, most notably the Greens but also far left groups, were attempting to sign up. There was much talk of "entryism" and a purge by party officials, which saw more than 3,000 people banned from casting a ballot because they were deemed not to support Labour's "aims and values". Only Mr Corbyn, of the three candidates fully embraced the new arrivals (apart from the Conservatives of course), promising them a role in setting Labour's policy agenda. 3. Those 'moron' MPs Jeremy Corbyn surprised many people when he entered the race weeks after his rivals, in a low-key announcement to the Islington Tribune. At the time it was generally assumed he could not possibly win, with commentators describing him variously as a "maverick", "Caracas Corbyn" and a member of the "loony left", suggesting that he was trying to make a point rather than get elected. He would not even have been a candidate in the first place if it hadn't been for the generosity of some of his fellow MPs. Under the contest's rules, he needed the support of 35 MPs - 20% of the parliamentary party - to be nominated and to get onto the ballot paper. This looked unlikely as he hovered around the 30 mark close to the deadline in mid-June. Yet, he managed to get over the threshold with minutes to spare. The reason he did so was that a number of MPs - including some with diametrically opposed views - "lent" him their votes. At the time, they argued Labour needed the widest possible debate after its election defeat and it would be wrong if the left of the party was excluded. Those MPs who helped Mr Corbyn over the line were memorably derided by John McTernan, ex-adviser to Tony Blair, as "morons who need to have their heads felt". One of them, former acting party leader Margaret Beckett, ruefully owned up to being a "moron". 4. Missing opponents Jeremy Corbyn's task was undoubtedly made easier by the absence of heavy-hitting rivals. The pool of potential opponents had already been reduced by Labour's election losses while senior figures within the party - including deputy leader Harriet Harman and former home secretary Alan Johnson - quickly ruled themselves out of the contest. The party's "next generation" - those elected in 2010 and since - also largely decided to sit out the fight with Chuka Umunna's decision to quit the race after only a couple of days symptomatic of their tentativeness. Dan Jarvis, a former soldier who was much touted as a future leader, also declined to take part. With two of Mr Corbyn's opponents - Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper - having served in the Cabinet under Gordon Brown and also having been close allies of Ed Miliband and the third, Liz Kendall, tagged as the "Blairite" candidate, Mr Corbyn was able to associate his rivals with the erosion of Labour support during the past decade and argue effectively that only he offered a true break from the recent past. 5. Popular enthusiasm There may have been a record number of campaign hustings but few of them captured the public imagination. In contrast, Jeremy Corbyn's public appearances drew crowds that few politicians can dare to dream of. Thousands flocked to events up and down the country to hear him speak. First, it was standing room only, then people found themselves being turned away - with the candidate at one point addressing hundreds of people in a London street while standing on top of a fire engine. This was more than an inkling of how Corbynmania had energised the previously lacklustre campaign. Although 20 years older than his rivals, his ability to appeal to idealistic young people, excited by his anti-austerity message and rejection of decades-long orthodoxies, also took the Westminster establishment by surprise and marked him out from his opponents. 6. Campaign style In an era of sharp suits and sharper haircuts, Jeremy Corbyn immediately stood out from the crowd. His slightly ruffled trademark vest and shirt combination - he was rarely seen wearing a jacket or tie during the campaign - may have been mocked by Private Eye but it gave him an authenticity and distinctiveness rare in modern politics. Jeremy Corbyn, whose small but select group of advisers is led by former Ken Livingstone aide Simon Fletcher, also remained unruffled on the campaign trail, eschewing soundbites and refraining from personal attacks while his opponents' briefed against each other. He avoided stunts and - apart from a few testy exchanges, most memorably on Channel 4 News and BBC Radio 4's The World at One - he handled the unaccustomed media scrutiny well. There will be plenty more to come no doubt.

health-32958504

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-32958504

Have we cured cancer?

Have we cured cancer?

By James GallagherHealth editor, BBC News website If you walked past a newspaper stand, or flicked through a news app, this morning then you would have been left with that impression. Well the short answer, if you're in a hurry, is no. But something truly exciting is happening - the field of immunotherapy is coming of age. It will not be a universal "cure" but immunotherapy is fast becoming a powerful new weapon alongside chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Defender Your immune system is your body's internal guardian and protector as it purges anything that is not "you". It has a series of checks and brakes that prevent the immune system turning on healthy tissue (this is what goes wrong in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis). But cancer is a corrupted version of healthy tissue and can masquerade as normal to dodge our immune defences. It performs the chemical equivalent of shouting "move along, nothing to see here". And it does this by producing proteins on its surface that perform a chemical handshake with immune system cells to switch them off. The immunotherapy drugs that have got people excited are like an oven-mitt that covers one of the hands, preventing the handshake. The field has been developing for some time, but the explosion of front page newspaper headlines was triggered by data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). UK-led research showed that 60% of advanced melanoma skin cancers shrank when two immunotherapies were given in combination. The dual treatment stopped some of these deadliest cancers progressing for nearly a year. Significant advance The ASCO announcement came two days after another immunotherapy trial showed some lung cancer patients had their life expectancy doubled by immunotherapy drugs. Smaller trials in a wide range of other cancers have also been presented - suggesting immunotherapy will have a role in many tumour-types. Exciting? Certainly. A cure? No. As Prof Karol Sikora, the dean of the University of Buckingham's medical school, told the BBC: "You would think cancer was being cured tomorrow. "It's not the case, we've got a lot to learn." So what are the words of caution? For starters, these drugs do not work equally in everyone. Some people do spectacularly well, some do ok, and some do not respond at all. The reason why is still unclear. Are cancers susceptible during just a short window in their development? Is it down to the type or quantity of proteins the tumours produce on their surface? We don't yet know. Also, the therapies are likely to be very expensive, which means targeting the drugs on those who will respond will be key. Long-term side effects are another a big uncertainty. Will the change to the immune system increase the risk of autoimmune diseases? So far the side effects seem to appear only during treatment, but long-term follow of patients who do respond has not taken place. The research outside of melanoma and lung cancer is also still at a very early stage. This is not a sudden breakthrough, or even the first set of really promising immunotherapy data. The melanoma trial used a combination of two drugs - ipilimumab and nivolumab. Ipilimumab is already recommended as the primary treatment for advanced melanoma in the UK. So what we are seeing is a series of advances in a field that holds huge promise for the future. And that's exciting without throwing in the "cure" word.

business-45134768

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Tesla's Elon Musk in the hot seat, again

Will Elon Musk lose his magic touch?

That was the question on Wall Street this week after the Tesla chief startled investors with a tweet saying he had secured funding and was considering taking his electric car company private. The firm's shares spiked after his statements, which called for purchasing shares for $420 a piece - about 20% above their value at the time. But shares retreated later in the week as doubts set in about the likelihood of the plan and his ability to back up his claims. Experts in securities law say if Mr Musk's tweets are found to be misleading, he may be in trouble. But Mr Musk is no stranger to the hot seat. Since he burst on the Silicon Valley scene in the 1990s, he has faced down financial risk at his companies, confronted questions from regulators and feuded with investors, colleagues and the media. All the while, he has won billions of dollars from investors and the government and attracted a passionate fan base, which credits him with pushing the car industry to adopt electric vehicles and reigniting interest in exploring outer space. Mr Musk's ability to emerge from the clashes largely unscathed has drawn repeated comparisons to Teflon. Here's a look back at some of the earlier controversies. Founding feuds Mr Musk, who was born in South Africa, made his name at Silicon Valley start-ups in the 1990s: Zip2, a kind of online directory and X.com, a finance start-up that eventually became PayPal. His time at the companies involved turmoil, as he contended with other leaders for control, Ashlee Vance recounted in his 2015 biography, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the quest for a fantastic future. At the banking start-up, executives eventually forced Mr Musk from the role of chief executive, in part due to concerns that Mr Musk wasn't being transparent with the board about the firm's challenges. But the eventual sales of the companies - Zip2 to Compaq in 1999 and PayPal to eBay in 2002 for $1.5bn - meant Mr Musk came out ahead - taking home more than $150m after taxes. Tesla and SpaceX Mr Musk poured his fortune into a rocket company, SpaceX, and Tesla, which he led as chairman of the board, taking on the role of chief executive in 2008. Those ventures would also face problems, repeatedly failing to hit their own deadlines. The most desperate moments came in 2008, when SpaceX suffered a third rocket crash and Tesla's rising costs threatened to ruin the firm. SpaceX scraped through thanks to a new government contract. It now does routine business with the government; this year, it successfully launched its most powerful rocket yet. As for Tesla, a last-minute financing round, as well as backing from Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler and Toyota, plus a $465m loan from the Department of Energy, helped it survive. In 2010, the firm listed its shares, raising more than $200m. The firm's market value now exceeds Ford and General Motors. "SpaceX is alive by the skin of its teeth, and so is Tesla - if things had just gone a little differently, both companies would be dead," Mr Musk said at the South by South West conference this year. SolarCity scrap Intrigues involving Mr Musk, however, were far from over. In 2016, Tesla proposed to purchase SolarCity, a money-losing solar power company that was backed by Mr Musk and other board members and run by his cousins. The deal won shareholder backing, despite the concerns about conflict of interest. But some investors sued, accusing Tesla of bailing out the firm in a breach of fiduciary duty, in order to salvage their own reputation and fortunes. That case is still active. At the time of the acquisition, Mr Musk said SolarCity would contribute $1bn in revenue in 2017 and over $500m in cash over three years. Tesla does not detail finances for SolarCity, which has undergone significant changes since the merger. The solar business had "slightly positive cash flow" in 2017, it told investors this year. Tesla troubles Tesla's financial pressures have mounted this year, as the company spends heavily to increase production of its next car, the Model 3. The situation resembles the scenario Tesla faced in 2012 and 2013, as it ramped up delivery of its Model S sedan. That time, the firm surprised investors when a surge of sales produced a surprising quarterly profit. Mr Musk appears to be aiming for a repeat performance. On 1 August, as Tesla reported another record loss, he said he expected the company to be profitable in the second half of 2018 - and every quarter going forward. It's not entirely clear how committed Mr Musk is to that position. On the call, he said focus on the bottom line would not force the firm to make trade-offs, but just a few days later, he appeared to reverse his view. "Being public ... subjects us to the quarterly earnings cycle that puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right for the long-term," he wrote in a memo to employees that explained his rationale for considering de-listing Tesla from the stock exchange. If successful, the buyout would mean heavy losses for the investors that have staked billions betting that the firm's shares will fall. So far, few have changed their positions, says Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of S3 Partners, a financial analytics company. So will Mr Musk pull off the plan, refuting the naysayers as he has before? For him and many others, billions ride on the answer.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46229155

Brexit: Theresa May at the mercy of events

She fights on.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter More than two years since the vote to leave the European Union we do know the kind of relationship that the country could build with the rest of the continent after Brexit. We do know the prime minister has every intention of staying on to push it through. But we don't know whether it's politically possible, whether it could get through Parliament. We don't know who the person in charge of the process will be - the Brexit secretary. And, most glaringly, we actually don't know if the prime minister will still be in place to try to push her deal through. The government, for today at least, is at the mercy of events not in control. Her vow to stay on tonight does not make her deep, deep problems disappear. With her party in revolt, her colleagues departing - some determined to usher her out of office - we can't, and don't know yet, if Brexit can happen as planned, perhaps, if at all. This could be a gale that's weathered in a few days, or a serious storm that sweeps the government away. But while the prime minister's future is so uncertain, so is all of ours.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-10005160

Hot Chip say their new album One Life Stand is 'homely'

Hot Chip are 10 years old this year.

By Greg CochraneNewsbeat music reporter Lead singer Alexis Taylor chats about not "spoon feeding" their fans whilst being influenced by Susan Boyle and UK Garage on fourth LP One Life Stand. However, the London fivesome didn't congratulate themselves with a card or flowers but, rather, with a year off from touring and a studio upgrade. We say upgrade; their three previous albums (Coming On Strong, The Warning and Made In The Dark) have all been recorded amongst the dirty washing and tea-stained keyboards of their bedrooms. "It makes the record seem more coherent than previous ones," contemplates lead singer Alexis Taylor. "It's not made in short bursts, it's made with time. "Maybe before things sounded a bit disjointed at times. It's a less cluttered, less busy sounding record than ever before." Continuity change Continuity, or lack thereof, was the main criticism levelled at their last outing 2008's disparate pop opus Made In The Dark. "I really like the last record we made - really proud of it," Taylor insists. "It was meant to be a double album and sprawling and full of different ideas from one song to the next. "Maybe people wanted something easier to consume. I don't think it's fruitful to try and spoon feed people something they find easier to consume. "That can lead to very bland music, which obviously there is a lot of in British pop music. We're not tailoring for any reason like that." 'Garage' influence One Life Stand is undeniably more cohesive - a far more knitted, compact album. But it doesn't prevent them from exploring new territory. For example, the heavy influence of UK garage on album track We Have Love. "I guess it feels similar in a way to I Feel Love - the Donna Summer song, in terms of the euphoria of the chorus. It's reminiscent of that," the singer says. Slightly more unexpectedly, Joe Goddard - the group's principle beatmaker alongside Al Doyle, Owen Clarke and Felix Martin - has spoken about the inspiration of Susan Boyle on the album's sound. "He [Joe] enjoyed her performance of the piece from Les Miserables," explains Taylor. "He was thinking about the string melody. He took an influence from that - it wasn't so much from Susan Boyle's singing. "I do think she's got a nice voice myself - I liked her version of [The Rolling Stones's] Wild Horses. "I haven't really followed her story but obviously I see her in the paper every now and again. I like the fact that she's clearly talented and is doing well from that." For the moment Hot Chip appear to have crafted the tightest album of their decade-long journey together. "It's the most warm and soulful sounding record we've made. It's quite a homely-sounding record," says Taylor rounding off. "In songs like I feel better it's trying to reach a kind of positive conclusion and positive state of mind whilst also trying to think about the terrible state the world is in." One Life Stand is released on 1 February.

newsbeat-35159164

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-35159164

Lads' Mags extinct? The only 'Zoo' you'll be seeing from now on...

This is a story about extinction.

By Felicity MorseNewsbeat social media producer The death of lads' mags. Sadly for Zoo, there's no institution (like a zoo ironically) to save their species. On Tuesday the final issue of Zoo magazine was published. They tweeted their cover with the line: "Ashes to ashes, bust to bust: the final issue of @ZOO is out now! Do not miss this very special collector's edition." Its front cover features the slogan "breast in peace" and features photos of women in underwear lowering a coffin covered in bras into the ground. This is the only kind of zoo you will see from now on. Lads' magazines FHM and Loaded are to join Zoo, a species of mag that may never again be glimpsed in the wild. Their dusty spines will be relegated to basement archives, to be pored over by media professors. Nuts became "extinct" in April 2014. Some people feel like this about their disappearance. "Sad sad day the final issue looks brilliant #ripzoo you will be sadly missed by many loyal readers." "Put the last issue of ZOO magazine out on the shelf at work this morning. Thanks @ZOO for the memories going to miss that mag #ZooMagazine" These kind of magazines used to sell millions. Before broadband, mobile data, free news sites and free online porn. Has everything Zoo and Nuts embodied been killed off with the end of the magazines? Martin Daubney, who used to be the editor of Loaded, told Newsbeat: "Anybody who believes an entire state of mind or culture will vanish because the magazines have died, is deluded. "Lad culture hasn't been eradicated by technology, it's merely been replaced by a new way of getting it. If you look at Lad Bible, Lad Bible has millions of followers. The sheer volume of young men who go to that shows us that lad culture has never been stronger. " Bauer Media, which owns these magazines, said when it announced the closure: "Over time young men's media habits have continually moved towards mobile and social." Some would say the closure of these magazines is a feminist victory. Pressure group Lose The Lad Mags campaigned to get lads' mags off the shelves, arguing they "fuel attitudes and behaviours that underpin violence against women". They said that stocking lads' mags "can constitute sexual harassment or sex discrimination under the Equality Act 2010". In 2013 the Bishop of Derby, Rt Rev Alastair Redfern attacked Tesco for "degrading women" by selling lads' mags and called for them to be displayed away from everyday goods. The Co-operative pulled copies of Nuts, Zoo and Front from their shelves in 2013 because they wouldn't deliver their magazines in sealed "modesty bags". The following year, Loaded took the decision to ditch scantily clad women from its front cover. Those who said the magazines should be banned because they feature topless women have been accused of double standards. They argue the sexualisation of men in magazines continues and other publications promote unobtainable body shapes for men, especially women's lifestyle mags. Some have said discussions like these miss the point. Young people are now just a couple of clicks away from nudity and sex, and for free. They just aren't willing to pay for it any more. Daubney says: "Some of the media is far more dangerous [than lads' mags] as far as the extremities of pornography and misogyny online are concerned. They outstrip anything we saw in lads' mags in the UK. "Even the harshest critics of the men's magazines will look back fondly upon them as a more innocent time." For more stories like this one you can now download the BBC Newsbeat app straight to your device. For iPhone go here. For Android go here.

world-europe-17292092

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17292092

Finland profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1100s - Swedish crusades subjugate Finns and convert them to Christianity. 1323 - Territory of present-day Finland becomes part of the Swedish realm 1808 - Russian invasion of Sweden supported by Napoleon. 1809 - Finland is ceded to Russia by the Swedes. The Finns retain a considerable amount of autonomy. They keep their own legal system, religion, and are exempt from Russian military service. 1899 onwards - Russian Tsar Nicholas II inaugurates policy of Russification of Finland, to include conscription of Finnish men into the Russian army and the imposition of Russian as the official language. Protests and a campaign of civil disobedience begin. 1906 - Finland passes the Parliament Act, which establishes universal suffrage, including the right for women to stand for elected office, for the first time in Europe. Living with the Soviet Union 1917 - The Russian Revolution allows Finland to declare its independence. 1918 - Bitter civil war, which leads to some 30,000 deaths. A rebellion by left-wing Red Guards is put down by General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. 1919 - Finland becomes a republic. Kaarlo Stahlberg becomes first president. 1939 - Outbreak of Second World War. Finland declares its neutrality. In November the Soviet Union invades in the Winter War. 1940 - Despite fierce resistance, the Finns are forced to concede. The Treaty of Moscow gives around 10% of Finnish territory to the Soviet Union. 1941 - Germany attacks USSR in June. Finland launches military campaign to retake territory. 1944 - The Soviet Army invades. An armistice is signed in September. Finland concedes more land to the Soviet Union and agrees to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in war reparations. 1950 - Urho Kekkonen becomes prime minister and is subsequently elected as president in 1956. He pursues a policy of friendly neutrality with the Soviet Union. 1955 - Finland joins United Nations and Nordic Council. 1973 - Trade agreements signed with the European Economic Community and Comecon. Leaning towards Europe 1990 - Economic difficulties as former Soviet and eastern European markets collapse. 1995 - Finland becomes member of the European Union. 1999 - Paavo Lipponen's social democrats are returned to power. Social Democrat Kalevi Sorsa was prime minister four times between 1972-87 2000 February - Tarja Halonen elected as Finland's first female president. 2002 January - Euro replaces the Finnish mark. 2002 May - Parliament narrowly approves construction of a fifth nuclear reactor, the first in Western Europe since 1991 and the first in the country for 30 years. Green Party decides to withdraw from government coalition in protest. 2008 June - Parliament approves EU's Lisbon Treaty. 2008 September - A 22-year-old gunman kills 11 people - including himself - in a shooting spree at a vocational college, prompting the government to impose stricter rules for handgun ownership. 2008 December - Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari receives 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. 2009 May - May start-up date for OL3 nuclear reactor postponed until 2012. The project is also about $2.4bn dollars (1.7bn euros) over budget. 2010 July - Finland becomes world's first country to give its citizens a legal right to broadband internet. 2014 December - Parliament approves plans by a Finnish-Russian consortium to build a nuclear power station, prompting the Greens to leave the government of Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. 2016 October - Finland signs an agreement on closer defence collaboration with the United States amid growing concern over Russian military activities in the Baltic Sea region. 2016 December - Finland emerges from a downturn lasting nearly a decade, according to central bank growth forecasts. 2017 August - Finland suffers what police treat as its first terrorist attack when a young Moroccan man stabs several people in the southwestern city of Turku. 2019 August - The Social Democrats return to power at the head of a centre-left coalition led by Antti Rinne. 2019 December - Antti Rinne resigns over handling of postal strike, and is succeeded by fellow Social Democrat Sanna Marin.

world-europe-51103689

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51103689

Strongman Putin stokes patriotism in small-town Russia

Kolomna has many stunning sights.

By Steve RosenbergBBC News, Kolomna, Russia This ancient Russian town has its own Kremlin and a myriad of onion domes from monasteries and churches. But what catches my eye is an ordinary nine-storey apartment block by the railway station. I say ordinary. But that was before someone painted a giant mural of Vladimir Putin on the side of the building. On Apartment Block 25 on Polyanskaya Street, President Putin is half naked, wearing only a towel, and sporting bulging muscles. He is depicted holding up the world, rather like Atlas the Titan from Greek mythology who held the celestial heavens. Atlas was famed for his endurance. So is Mr Putin: he's been in power in Russia for 20 years. The residents of Apartment Block 25 appear in no hurry to see him go. "Putin has made Russia's position in the world stronger," Vladimir tells me. "Let him have another 10 years in office." "I was 10 when Putin came to power," says Ilya. "Now I'm 30. I can't really imagine any another leader." "We live badly," admits Tatyana, "but at least the world takes notice of Putin." 'There will be war anyway' At the Patriotic Youth Centre across town, high school students are being shown a film about a local hero. Vasily Zaitsev was an ace fighter pilot in World War Two, twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. President Putin has made the Soviet victory in World War Two a key element of Russia's national idea. But as I'm about to discover, there is a fine line between patriotism and nationalism. Vyacheslav Burilov, the former head of the Kolomna Flying Club (Helicopter Section) gets up to make a speech. "Unfortunately, our country, the USSR, was destroyed," he tells the young audience. "And much of Russia's land went to other countries, which is not right. Like Ukraine, Belarus, parts of the Baltic states and part of Kazakhstan. You must make sure this land is returned to Greater Russia. And don't be scared if you hear people say, 'There mustn't be war.' There will be war anyway." The students respond with applause. I follow the group as they walk through the slushy streets of Kolomna to Vasily Zaitsev's monument and lay red carnations. Mr Burilov from the Flying Club is there. Astonished by his call to arms, I approach him. "What you're calling for," I tell him, "means a major war." "It won't be a big war," he assures me. "We have nuclear weapons. If our authorities are decisive and strong, our opponents won't want to fight." A man called Alexander joins our conversation and starts to criticise the authorities. "The only time they think of us is when they need our taxes, our votes, or cannon fodder for their wars. There are so many negative things." Hearing my accented Russian, he suddenly goes quiet. "Just a minute, are you a citizen of Russia?" he asks. "No, I'm British." "In that case, there's no point in me spouting on," concludes Alexander. "Just so you know, we love Russia, we love our country. We are patriots!" For some in Kolomna the more important battles are closer to home. Local activist Vyacheslav Yegorov takes me to a landfill on the edge of Kolomna. Concerned by its overuse and the noxious smell, campaigners fought hard to get the dump shut. Its closure is a victory for people power. But only partially. In connection with the protests Vyacheslav is facing criminal charges. Russia's leading human rights group, Memorial, has concluded that the case against him is politically motivated. Vyacheslav claims that Russia's FSB intelligence service had tried to weaken the protests by attempting to discredit him. "They claimed I was working for the US State Department and that I had billions stashed away in Swiss bank accounts," he tells me. Back in town I head to the Church of St John the Apostle, where a priest is reciting prayers in the soup kitchen. For the two dozen pensioners queuing up here, the only battle they are waging - in difficult economic circumstances - is for their own survival. "My gas and electricity have been cut off," Olga tells me. "I have no money to pay the bills. My pension doesn't cover it. And as for prices in the shops, everything is so expensive." Olga tells me it's not just the free meals that bring her to church. She comes here to pray. For in Kolomna the power of prayer is legendary. According to one story, when the town was attacked by foreign invaders, hundreds of years ago, the townsfolk took refuge in a church. When they prayed for help, the ground opened and the church and parishioners were hidden underground, while the church bells inspired the local soldiers to keep fighting. In today's Russia, part of the population are counting on their president to make life better. Others have decided they can only rely on themselves. And some Russians are still hoping for a miracle.

uk-45953062

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45953062

Brexit: Back to the backstop

"The backstop."

By Chris MorrisReality Check correspondent, BBC News That was Theresa May's succinct reply when she was asked in the House of Commons on Monday what was in the 5% of remaining issues, standing in the way of a deal on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. Yes, we're still stuck on the guarantee that both the UK and the EU have signed up to as a principle: that no hard border - in other words, no new checks or delays - should emerge at the land border in Ireland after Brexit, under all circumstances. At issue: what exactly the backstop should say, and what legal guarantees can be given to reinforce it. Why is it proving to be such a problem? Because for both sides it has become an issue of the basic sovereignty of their Union. Once both sides had pledged to abide by a guarantee to avoid a hard border, and to write it into the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement (the terms on which the UK is due to leave the EU), it was the European side that came up with a draft legal text in March this year. That text basically said that if no other solutions were found, Northern Ireland would have to stay in the EU customs union and most parts of the single market, unless and until a long-term trade deal emerged that kept the border as open as it is now. The UK's response was emphatic: it could not accept that because it would mean treating Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom, and it would create a customs border in the Irish Sea. The subsequent seven months have been largely devoted to the search for a compromise. It appears that the UK government is prepared to accept backstop proposals that would mean goods which move between Great Britain and Northern Ireland would be subject to some regulatory checks - especially on food and animals. But there would be no checks on goods moving in the other direction (from Northern Ireland to Great Britain), to ensure that Northern Ireland businesses retain unimpeded access to the whole of the UK. Customs, though, has proved to be a more difficult issue to resolve. The UK's preferred backstop solution was a temporary customs arrangement that would tie the whole of the United Kingdom (not just Northern Ireland) to EU customs rules for a limited period, if a future trade deal that avoided a hard border was not ready in time. But the EU was reluctant to address issues linked to the future relationship before Brexit had actually happened, and it argued that there was insufficient time left before 29 March 2019 to agree the details of such a customs arrangement anyway. So where have we got to now? The UK, as Theresa May emphasised in the House of Commons on Monday, now wants a legally binding commitment in the Withdrawal Agreement that a temporary customs arrangement will be negotiated during the proposed 21-month transition period after Brexit. Or, if that proves problematic, then the transition (the government calls it an implementation period) could be extended if necessary. It's not entirely clear how you make such a "commitment" to negotiate a customs arrangement legally binding, because you can't guarantee in advance the precise outcome of separate treaty negotiations. Nevertheless, the EU has been willing to discuss this proposal. And trying to find language that satisfies both sides is a focus of technical discussions that are still going on behind the scenes. The trouble is that the EU has a problem with the UK position (also set out by the prime minister in parliament) that any such arrangement cannot last indefinitely. So EU negotiators continue to insist that no matter what language is agreed on a temporary customs arrangement, its original backstop proposal - for Northern Ireland only - must remain in the Withdrawal Agreement as a legally binding guarantee of last resort. So that's where the stalemate lies? Yes. The UK says the EU's proposals would create unacceptable barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and undermine the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. And the government insists that any backstop proposal must have some sense of finality - either through a time-limit or a "mechanism" that enables the UK to leave. Again, what that mechanism might say is the focus of intense debate behind the scenes. As for the EU, it says it cannot allow any wiggle room which could lead to different rules and regulations operating in the future on opposite sides of an open Irish border. That, it argues, would undermine the sovereignty of its economic area, the single market. Both sides are trying to fudge the language in order to try to get an agreement, but both also have lines they will not cross. As things stand, the EU can't see a way to avoid having its version of the backstop (an all-weather version, as it calls it) enshrined in the Withdrawal Agreement in some form. All this really matters because both sides say they are absolutely determined to protect the Good Friday Agreement which lies at the heart of the Northern Ireland peace process. The development of the all-Ireland economy, with an open and almost invisible border, is an integral part of that process. And, obviously, the clock is ticking? Yes, with only five months to go until the UK is due to leave, this is the core issue which needs to be resolved. It may seem almost inexplicable that the entire Brexit process appears to hang on a technical dispute about the Irish border. But both sides are treating Ireland as a special case. Nowhere else around Europe is the external border of the EU single market as open as they want the Irish border to be after Brexit. The EU argues that - even in the long term - the only way to guarantee an open border is to keep either Northern Ireland or the whole of the UK tied to the customs union, and following many of the rules of the single market. A clean-break Brexit, and a Canada-style free trade agreement favoured by many Tory backbenchers, would not achieve that. So there is a fundamental difference of opinion. Which takes us back to where we started: "The backstop." What do you want BBC Reality Check to investigate? Get in touch Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter

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Mark Zuckerberg's dreaded homework assignments

Over two days, almost 10 hours.

Dave LeeNorth America technology reporter If you watched every moment of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of Congress this week, you’ll know he rolled out one phrase an awful lot: “I’ll have my team get back to you.” Now some of these were bits of data Mr Zuckerberg simply didn’t have to hand - such as why a specific advertisement for a political candidate in Michigan didn’t get approved. Other follow ups, though, will require some hard graft from his team. What they produce could provide even more negative headlines for the company, as it is forced to divulge more of its inner workings than it has ever felt comfortable with. Looking through the transcripts, I’ve counted more than 20 instances where Mr Zuckerberg promised to get back to representatives with more information. But these are the assignments I think could cause the company the most headaches - and provide some revealing answers. 1) Data on non-users Set by: Congressman Ben Lujan (Democrat, New Mexico) "You’ve said everyone controls their data, but you’re collecting data on people who are not even Facebook users who have never signed a consent, a privacy agreement.” Dubbed “shadow” profiles, details of exactly what Facebook gathers on people who haven’t even signed up to the service has been always been a bit of mystery. Even, apparently, to Mr Zuckerberg himself. He testified that he didn’t know the term, but acknowledged the firm did monitor non-users for “security” purposes. Mr Zuckerberg promised to share more details on what data is gathered on people who don’t sign up for Facebook, as well as a full breakdown of how many data points it has on those who do. In a related request, Mr Zuckerberg will provide details on how users are tracked (on all their devices) when they are logged out of Facebook. 2) Moving to opt-in, not opt-out Set by: Congressman Frank Pallone (Democrat, New Jersey) "I think you should make that commitment.” Creating new regulation will be an arduous, flawed process. But one thing Facebook could do right now? Move to an opt-in model, one which requires users to decide to make something public, as is the default (and most popular) option for posting content now. In a similar vein, Mr Zuckerberg was asked to get back to Congressman Frank Pallone on how the company might consider collecting less information on its users. 3) Repercussions for censorship mistakes Set by: Congressman Steve Scalise (Republican, Louisiana) "Was there a directive to put a bias in [the algorithms]? And, first, are you aware of this bias that many people have looked at and analysed and seen?” One surprising admission made by Mr Zuckerberg before these hearings was that despite acknowledging the company made big mistakes, nobody has been fired over the Cambridge Analytica affair. Representative Steve Scalise wants to take questions on accountability a step further. In cases where Facebook reverses a decision to remove content - i.e. admitting it over-moderated - what kind of repercussions did those responsible face? If someone created an algorithm that unfairly filtered certain political views, was there any kind of punishment? 4) Specific rules for minors Set by: Senator Ed Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts) "We're leaving these children to the most rapacious commercial predators in the country who will exploit these children unless we absolutely have a law on the books.” On Facebook the minimum age of users is 13, not counting the company’s Messenger for Kids app (which doesn’t collect the type of data Facebook’s main app does). But for those aged 13-18, or maybe 21, what happens in those oh-so-delicate years should be protected by tighter rules, Senator Ed Markey suggested. Mr Zuckerberg said the idea “deserved a lot of discussion”, but maybe not a new law. He promised to get his team to “flesh out the details”. 5) How many ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons are out there? Set by: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (Democrat, Michigan) “It doesn't matter whether you have a Facebook account. Through those tools, Facebook is able to collect information from all of us." It seems like everywhere you look there is a button prompting you to “like” or share things on Facebook - indeed, there’s one on the page you’re reading right now. A request to at least estimate how many of Facebook’s buttons are out there might at first seem like an abstract demand - but the response could be quite something. The “like" buttons enable Facebook to track users on pages that are not part of Facebook itself, providing more data for advertisers. If it’s even possible to tot up how many buttons are out there on the web, expect a number in the hundreds of millions - that’s hundreds of millions of pages with which Facebook is tracking your activity beyond its own borders.

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How easy is it to hack a home network?

My home is under attack.

By Mark WardTechnology correspondent, BBC News Right now, skilled adversaries are probing its defences seeking a way in. They are swift, relentless and smart. No weakness will escape their notice. But I am not without defences. I've tried to harden the most vulnerable devices to stop them being compromised and I've set up warning systems that should alert me if the attackers get inside. In the end, all that effort was for nothing because the attackers found so many ways to get at me and my home network. And, they said, even if the technology had defeated them, the weakest link of all - me - would probably have let them in. Swiss cheese I found out just how severely compromised my home network was in a very creepy fashion. I was on the phone when the web-connected camera sitting on the window sill next to me started moving. The lens crept round until it pointed right at me. I knew that the attackers were on the other end watching what I was doing, and potentially, listening to the conversation. It is a gadget my children and I have used to see if any wildlife passes through our garden and one which many people have for home security or as an alternative baby monitor. I was lucky that I knew my attackers who, at that moment, were sitting in my living room waiting to show me how straightforward it was to subvert these domestic devices. The picture they took of me via the camera was evidence enough. The attackers were Dan Turner and Kyprianos Vasilopoulos from security firm Trustwave who test network defences for a living. There were several different devices on my network that looked hackable, said Mr Turner. My router had known, unpatched security issues and the USB-connected back-up drive was also tempting but for him the web-capable camera was "the big red flag". A few hours' work uncovered a previously unknown bug in the camera's core software that Mr Turner was able to exploit. "It meant we were able to do things with it that we really should not be able to do," he said. "At that point it was pretty much game over." The attack the pair developed revealed the internal passwords for the network the camera sat on. Knowing that allowed attackers to join the network with the same privileges as all the members of my family. Maybe that's why my network security system did not spot the intrusion. It's a vulnerability that exposes more than me to potential trouble. The Shodan search engine that logs net devices lists about 1.5 million that use the same core software. That's not to say that all are vulnerable but a good percentage are probably unwitting gateways to the networks they sit on. Calling out It's these often unregarded devices that are a big security issue, said Greg Day, European security chief at Palo Alto Networks. Most people overlook them because they seem so mundane, he said. Even though most will be, in effect, a small computer running a cut-down version of the Linux operating system. "You should look at the pings going out from your home network," he said. "There might be a lot more outgoing traffic than you think." Using a network sniffing tool, I had a look and I was amazed at how much data was flowing across my home network. Desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones were all checking in online, many constantly, to get updates or to feed ads and other content to apps. I also found two mystery devices - one of which was revealed to be a printer and the other a digital radio I had forgotten I had hooked up to the wi-fi when I got it years ago. Increasingly, said Mr Day, it will be the smaller, supposedly smarter devices that will expose people to security risks. There are industry efforts to find and fix bugs in gadgets that make up the Internet of Things but not all manufacturers are reacting to reports of problems. The maker of the web-capable camera I use has been informed about the bug but it has no plans to close the loophole. Home network security tips Use anti-virus software and a firewall. Keep both updated. Update the firmware on your router. Change the default admin names and passwords. Log out when you have finished configuring it. Turn off WPS. Make sure the operating systems on PCs, laptops, phones and tablets are kept up to date. Be suspicious of emails bearing attachments, even from people you know. Check the security of net-connected devices such as IP cameras, network drives and other "smart" devices. If possible, turn off their web interfaces. Thankfully, said Mr Vasilopoulos from Trustwave, attacks on those home networks are relatively rare. Instead, cyber-thieves tended to rely on spear phishing campaigns. "Everything starts with email," he said. "That's always the easy route." These campaigns use carefully targeted emails that look like they have been sent by people a target knows or is likely to respond to. Names for these emails are often grabbed from social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn. To demonstrate how this worked the Trustwave team faked a message to me from an attractive young woman who works at the BBC. My middle-aged vanity was all too likely to make me open the message, click on the attachment and fall victim. If I had opened it, I would have seen an error message that asked me to OK a macro to help display the contents of the attachment. If I had, that would also have meant game over. Anti-virus software would not have spotted the dodgy macro, said Mr Vasilopoulos. Once running it searches for saleable data and steals it. "We created a script that can get as much information automatically as it can," he said. Lock down Suitably chastened by both these experiences, I looked into ways to harden my home network. First off was to turn off the web access to the camera. Then I unhooked the digital radio from the wi-fi. I could go further, said Craig Young from security firm Tripwire, who has spent a lot of time studying the security shortcomings of home routers. About 80% of the top-selling routers on Amazon have security bugs, he has found. His advice was to update the core software or firmware on a router to the latest version. Alternatively, he said, people could replace the firmware with an open source version. Digital rights group the EFF runs the Open Wireless project that creates such software. "You should also disable WPS," he said. WPS, or Wi-fi Protected Setup, was supposed to be an easy way to get devices connected to a router. But the push-a-button-to-connect system came with flaws. "It's a technology where the complexity of the wi-fi pass phrase gets reduced to an eight-digit pin," he said. In some cases, he added, the size of the pin is reduced further and some routers use the same default digits. "It's a disaster," he said. He also advised changing the default admin password and disabling the web interface for the router to make it harder to get at and take over. "Most of the attacks on routers that we see target that HTTP service," he said. And it did not end there. After I had followed that advice I made sure I updated all the family PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. I used the security software I had installed to scan as many machines as I could. I regularly check online accounts to make sure I'm the only one logging in. Now I'm not sure if I am more secure, or just more paranoid. Read more cybersecurity stories in our special index

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The women who rule India

Is India now living on woman power?

Soutik BiswasDelhi correspondent The most powerful Indian is a woman - Sonia Gandhi, chief of the ruling Congress party. India's President is a woman. The speaker of the parliament and the leader of the opposition are women. Mayawati, a Dalit (untouchable) woman rules India's most populous and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The urbane Sheila Dikshit rules the capital, Delhi. And last week, Mamata Banerjee created history by overthrowing a over three-decade long Communist government in Bengal to take charge of the state. Together, these three formidable women rule directly over a third of India's people. Most of these women are influential politicians in their own right, and Ms Banerjee and Mayawati belong to the fast vanishing tribe of mass leaders. Certainly, many of these women are beneficiaries of family patronage and male mentors. Ms Gandhi took over the party as a privileged dynast. Mayawati and Jayalalitha were anointed successors by their mentors, one a leader of the untouchables, and the other a film-star. Ms Dikshit belongs to a well-connected political family. Only Ms Banerjee has earned her spurs as a rebel who emerged victorious after a decade of gritty street-fighting politics. However, most of these leaders have carved out their own identities and styles of functioning, however controversial they may be. Mayawati, with her penchant for diamonds, flashy birthday celebrations and statues, has managed to steer her Bahujan Samaj Party to become a formidable political force, seeking to give dignity of millions of untouchables. Jayalalitha led much-acclaimed rehabilitation work after the 2005 tsunami hit Tamil Nadu. Ms Dixit has won three consecutive terms in Delhi, thanks to her development work. But Indira Gandhi, the subcontinent's most powerful woman politician ever, was once described as a "dumb-doll" by a group of male Congress figures who thrust her to the political centre-stage, confident that they could control her. Ms Banerjee has been physically attacked by Communist party workers in the past, and described as "that woman" by its leaders. Last month, a Communist MP was forced to apologise after he publicly called her a "loose woman" who was interested in "bigger clients like the USA". Most parties are deeply chauvinist - for all the glib talk of gender equality, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has no female leader of any standing. India also doesn't have a single Muslim female leader, and the matriarchal states of the north-east are all ruled by rather unremarkable men. Women comprise nearly half of India's population, but their lot needs to improve. India's sex ratio remains scandalously skewed. Sex selective abortions, female infanticide and foeticide are rife in northern states. Men remain major beneficiaries of government schemes, a lot of women still die during childbirth - though the record is improving, and more girls drop out of school than boys. The political empowerment of women is a remarkable achievement in this context. Many believe that the presence of so many women in powerful positions in politics is a quirk. I don't agree. Indira Gandhi's ascendancy through the Congress party to become India's most powerful and controversial leader was an an exception in South Asia those days, but things have changed. Female literacy is improving, triggering aspirations in a booming economy. Reservation of seats in village councils and municipalities has been seen as a fillip for women. In many unprogressive northern states like Haryana, spouses and male relatives still keep their female leaders indoors and run proxies, but in large parts of India, the political empowerment of women has been genuine. How much of a real change will Ms Banerjee and her sorority bring for the people of India? It has not been a very inspiring record till now - Ms Mayawati seems to have belied a lot of expectations in the way she runs Uttar Pradesh, and Ms Dixit's record has been marred by shoddy infrastructure work for last year's Commonwealth Games. There is still no evidence that women politicians are less corrupt than their male counterparts. "To suggest that women in power will be less corrupt is fatuous, and contrary to all prevalent evidence," says journalist-writer MJ Akbar. Historian Ramachandra Guha says the rise of women in powerful political roles does not mark a "new age" of gender equality. The reasons for their rise, he says, may be personal (their courage and drive) or historical (the impact of a generations of reformers) or political (universal adult franchise). Whatever the reason is and whatever its consequences, he says, the phenomenon is noteworthy. PS: On second thoughts, is India's neighbour Bangladesh also in a grip of women power? The two most powerful politicians in the country are women and one, Hasina Wazed, is in power. Five of her top ministers are women too!

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Brexit: No meeting of minds in Belfast or Brussels over backstop

How many times have we been here before?

By Jayne McCormackBBC News NI Political Reporter That's the question journalists and politicians asked themselves on a cold February morning at Stormont. The prime minister was back in town. The purpose of her visit: talks with the main political parties about Brexit and the sticky wicket issue of the backstop. But such is the news agenda these days, that even as the prime minister's motorcade drove up to Stormont House, joggers and dog-walkers continued on with their morning, unfazed by her arrival. Maybe it's Brexit fatigue. Or maybe it might be because her visit to Northern Ireland this week, while bringing with it the usual media attention, revealed very little that was new or of substance. She came seeking to reassure people, but the only consensus she seemingly managed to achieve was that the majority of Stormont's parties are none the wiser about the government's Brexit strategy. The pro-remain parties in NI left their meetings with the PM with no more clarity than they had going into it. Their sound bites of "protect the backstop" and "the time for assurances is over" could have been heard months ago (and they were). The stances haven't changed and they were quick to accuse the prime minister of wasting time and running down the Brexit clock. It's fitting that Theresa May chose to spend a good chunk of her week in Northern Ireland, given that the Irish border is the issue upon which Brexit almost entirely rests. But she left having made little more of an impact than when she arrived. And by the time her motorcade drove off again, attention had already shifted almost entirely to Brussels. EU Council President Donald Tusk caused political temperatures to rise by saying there is a "special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it safely". The NI Secretary Karen Bradley attempted to calm flaring tempers by urging people to choose their words carefully at what is obviously a febrile time in politics. But not everyone was listening to that message. DUP Brexit spokesperson Sammy Wilson upped the ante by calling President Tusk "devilish", while Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald described the remark as an accurate reflection of the "absolute outrage" some people in NI have towards those responsible for handling the Brexit negotiations. EU not for turning Thursday sees the prime minister in Brussels, where she will attempt to discuss potential changes to the backstop in the withdrawal agreement. It comes just a day after Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar was welcomed with open arms and received support from top-level EU officials. Again the same message came loud and clear: We are not for turning. The British government remains publicly optimistic about its chances of getting the EU to consider some kind of legal changes to it - but Mrs May doesn't just have to persuade officials in Brussels to compromise. The Irish government holds a key role in the Brexit soap opera. On Friday, all eyes will be back on Belfast when the taoiseach meets the Stormont parties, before heading back to Dublin where he'll have dinner with Mrs May. He is under little pressure from his political rivals in Dublin to soften his stance, all of them having urged support for the backstop and he will no doubt reject any arguments the UK government makes about changes. Earlier this week the DUP said it wanted direct Brexit talks with the Irish government, but an Irish government spokesperson said any talks about the UK's withdrawal from the EU needed to go through EU channels. I'd bet on Mr Varadkar sitting down with the DUP at some point on Friday, as both sides have said they want to keep lines of communications open. But while the battle over the Brexit backstop persists, don't expect a meeting of minds in Belfast, Dublin or Brussels.

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Cameron to make unashamed pitch to Indian business

So one country down, another to go.

By Laura KuenssbergChief political correspondent, BBC News channel, Bangalore But David Cameron's second week in a row out of the country is not just evidence of a new found taste for travel. He will say on Wednesday this is a mission for jobs. And to make the point, accompanying him to India is what Downing Street describes as the biggest trade delegation in recent memory. Business bosses like the chief executive of Barclays, John Varley, and the boss of the London Stock Exchange are here - along with more unexpected faces like the sportswoman Dame Kelly Holmes and vice chancellor of the Open University. Also along for the ride, councillors from two of David Cameron's "big society" test grounds - eager we are told to learn from examples of what works well in communities in India. The prime minister's enthusiasm for drawing India closer is evident. But a shared love of cricket or curry, he acknowledges, is not enough. So he and cabinet ministers will be banging the drum from British universities, science, retail, and culture too. And trying to persuade India to make it easier for UK firms to take a slice of the vast and burgeoning Indian market. But while arguing that the UK and Indian economies must be as open as possible, he may run into a little difficulty over how open the UK should be to newcomers. Immigration issue Indian ministers have already dropped heavy hints at their unhappiness with the UK attempts to limit immigration. And the Business Secretary Vince Cable made it pretty clear that he, among others, is concerned that the new Home Office plan to cap the numbers allowed into the country could be too restrictive. Ministers have placed a temporary limit on immigration and are consulting now about how to set the cap in future. So expect David Cameron to be pressed on the potential contradiction, between arguing for the UK to attract more talented Indian professionals but restricting immigration at the same time. And on this trip, being squeezed in before the Westminster summer holiday, David Cameron has already raised an eyebrow or two. Making a similar case for trade ties in the Turkish capital, Ankara, he described Gaza as a "prison camp". The remark may have been well received in Turkey, where anger is fresh over the deaths of Turkish activists during the Israeli raid on a flotilla attempting to reach Gaza in May. But it is likely to have jangled a few nerves in Israel. And a small cluster of Conservative MPs are less than impressed. Yet, Downing Street officials point to previous similar comments the prime minister made in the Commons a few weeks ago, when he described Gaza as "effectively a giant, open prison". Travelling zeal With several cabinet ministers accompanying him, and the enormous delegation, it is impossible to rule out the chance of other comments going slightly astray. But No 10 is determined to concentrate on all things economic - believing this could be a moment that alters the relationship between India and the UK. Downing Street has played down suggestions of flying home, brandishing contracts with a promise of British jobs, although don't be surprised if there are a couple. But that, ultimately, is the purpose of this trip - and an explanation of the zeal with which the prime minister has been pursuing foreign travels this week. He and his fledgling coalition have made a priority of balancing the UK's books within five years at the same time of squeezing public spending. That means many thousands of public sector jobs are certain to disappear. So to plug the gaps, and prevent lengthening dole queues, ministers have to find ways of getting the private sector going. David Cameron believes reaching out to foreign lands could be part of the answer.

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Pressure sores: Weekend strain on NI emergency departments

It is the morning after the weekend before.

By Marie-Louise ConnollyBBC News NI Health Correspondent Another Tuesday in Northern Ireland's health service when the emergency departments are in recovery mode. Many local healthcare staff say that turning recovery areas into wards, battling breaches of the 12-hour waiting time target and calling in extra staff is becoming the norm rather than the exception at weekends, On Monday, the Belfast Health Trust narrowly missed declaring another major incident at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital. Or did they simply call it by another name? On Wednesday 8 January, senior managers called in extra staff and opened more beds to deal with a spike in patients. This was declared a major incident. Less than two months later on Monday 24 February, once again senior managers took the decision to call in extra staff and additional beds were opened. The latter, however, was called an "escalation plan". What is the difference? The build-up began last Friday. Again almost all of the health trusts were reporting that emergency departments were extremely busy. Perhaps, we should expect nothing different. Critically, it appears that lessons were not learned from the previous times when there were too few staff, not enough beds and people were attending when they should not have been. While we are told to refer to these areas now as emergency departments, it is difficult not to refer to them as A&Es, in other words, for anything and everything. On Saturday and Sunday the pressure began to build. Beds could not be found and some staff members in the Belfast, Northern and Western health trusts said some patients were discharged prematurely because there were no beds. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it had taken 98 patients to the Royal Victoria Hospital on Sunday. That was more than on the two previous Sundays. As the BBC revealed, on Monday, at about 17:00 GMT, 30 people had been waiting on trolleys some since 22:00 GMT on Sunday night. There were also more than 100 people in the waiting area. By 21:00 GMT on Monday, that number had fallen to 15 patients waiting on trolleys. In the Northern Trust, Antrim Area Hospital was under similar pressure. One source told the BBC that nursing staff were transferred from Holywell Hospital which deals with patients who have mental health problems. Nurses were left to cope there as best they could. Extra beds were opened in what was once the old A&E area, now a GP assessment area. This forms part of the winter planning system. According to staff, the GP assessment unit is working well and has helped remove some of the pressure from the emergency department. In the Western Health Trust, the South West Acute Hospital experienced similar difficulties. On Monday morning about 20 patients were waiting to be allocated a bed, of those, five had breached the 12-hour waiting time. Northern Ireland's waiting times are dire. Last year, the College of Emergency Medicine said they were the worst in the UK. In January, 71% of those who arrived at accident and emergency were seen within four hours. A total of 159 people waited more than 12 hours. While the hospitals may be located in different areas, the problems are similar. Despite all the promises from Transforming Your Care (the road map for change in Northern Ireland's health care), very little has been delivered on the ground. Rightly or wrongly, the public are still attending their emergency departments, partly because the service is not available in many of their local communities. Added problems include the lack of a seven-day working culture in the health service and the fact that not enough day procedures are being performed in the community. While statistics are used to illustrate what is happening, we should not forget that statistics, as boring as they are, represent people.

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Teachers donate 100 sick days to colleague with cancer

Robert Goodman had run out of options.

When the Florida history teacher was diagnosed with colon cancer in May 2018, he used up the last of his annual sick leave to receive treatment. By July, with his leave now all finished, Mr Goodman realised he was due to return to school within two weeks or take unpaid leave. But he could not face working - not while receiving a debilitating course of chemotherapy that was due to continue until October - or afford to have no income. "It truly frightened me," he told the BBC. "Chemo really messes with you. I was wondering how I could handle getting up at 5am every day. "How could I handle all the different side-effects around the kids? How could I handle kids bringing the flu and colds to school?" Mr Goodman's salvation came through a quirk of the Florida school system - teachers are able to exchange sick leave with one another, or in this case, donate it. "I asked for help. I just didn't expect to get the help in four days," he said. Urgent Help Now: Battling Cancer Chemo : I work at Pal Beach Gardens High School -I’m looking into catastrophic leave of... Four days after his Facebook post was made, Mr Goodman found out that teachers had donated enough leave to last him the entirety of his chemotherapy. In fact, from his most recent conversation with the school he discovered that his education colleagues had donated "around 100 days". "It surprised me how fast it happened," he said. "But it didn't surprise me that teachers gave. "Teachers always give - it's a profession of giving. "But it was extraordinary that so many people were willing to donate those days to me. "They could have cashed those days in when they retired if they didn't use them. They were in a sense giving me their retirement money to help me heal. "When hundreds of people shower you with their love it's a life-changing experience." It is amazing to me that OUR story, of Teachers and District Employees giving their sick days to me has become a needed... Mr Goodman will not have to return to school until January 2019. In this time, he will be able to complete his course of chemotherapy and rest, and he is grateful to everyone who gave their sick leave to make this possible. "It's not just teachers who donated," he said. "Staff members, principals, cafeteria workers - I don't know half these people, but we know each other because we're in schools. "We have each other's backs. We're a family. "Ever since going on Facebook, I have been messaged by people who had cancer, who survived cancer. "It's been a really wonderful experience. It's not just teachers who made me feel part of a family. It's these people as well who helped." Sick leave in US Sick leave, along with nearly all aspects of public education, is a state-led responsibility in the US. As such, there are no policies at the federal level determining how and when teachers can take sick days. Schools across the US vary in their rules on teacher benefits and sick leave and exact policies are determined district-to-district. In Palm Beach County, Florida, full-time teachers start each year with four sick days - they then accumulate one day of sick leave each month. As a precaution for times of severe illness, teachers can also opt in to a sick leave bank - a collective system meant to distribute extra sick time to members who need it. School employees can put in one day of leave to join the bank. When they run out of sick leave because of a serious illness, they can ask the bank for more. At least two physicians must sign off the leave request. If a teacher does not qualify for extended sick leave of any kind, they must take the time off without pay. As long as the teacher can show a physician's verification of their illness, they will retain insurance benefits. By Tom Gerken, UGC & Social News How is US healthcare system working for you?

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Australian Muslim Party's tough road to representation

Australia is not short of political parties.

Jon DonnisonSydney correspondent There are more than 60 officially registered. From today you can add another to the list: the Australian Muslim Party. The party has been set up by Diaa Mohamed, a 34-year-old businessman from Sydney, who says he will initially target a seat in the Australian senate in federal elections next year. Mr Mohamed said he was establishing the party to address the under-representation of Muslims in Australian political life. And that is undoubtedly an issue, especially at a national level. One Muslim MP Australia has a long-established Muslim community numbering about a half-a-million people, roughly 2% of the national population. But remarkably out of 250 MPs and senators in the federal parliament there is only one member who follows the Islamic faith, Labor's Ed Husic, who is of Bosnian heritage. Indeed Mr Husic is the only Muslim ever to have been a member of a sitting government's front bench. By comparison, in Britain Muslims make up roughly 5% of the population. There are 13 Muslim MPs out of a total of 650 - still an under-representation, but considerably better than Australia. Questions raised The timing of the announcement, just days after the attacks in Paris, is likely to draw criticism. But saying he had given it some thought, Mr Mohamed defended the decision. "There are going to be a lot of questions raised in the coming days of the events recently, and this is the whole reason we created this party," Mr Mohamed told ABC Radio. "It's as good a time as any to launch it." Australia's Muslim community has sometimes been criticised for not speaking out loudly enough in the debate about Islamic extremism. "Maybe it is because we didn't know how, or we were a bit too fragmented, so hopefully this will at least give us that opportunity," he said. He also said he established the party in response to the emergence of anti-Islamic parties. This includes the recently registered Love Australia or Leave Party set up by Kim Vuga, a former star of the reality TV show Go Back to Where You Came From. Mr Mohamed said he had consulted widely with religious community leaders of all faiths and stressed that the party would be open to non-Muslims. Likelihood of success? But his chances of winning a senate seat are slim. Even in the parliamentary constituency with the highest proportion of Muslims, just over 20% of people follow the Islamic faith. Senators in Australia are elected at a state or territory level. Approximately half of all senate seats, 40 in total, are contested at each federal election. "Anyone can set up a political party," ABC's political analyst Antony Green told me. "It doesn't mean you're going to get elected and it's far from clear how much community support he (Mr Mohammed) has." That said, Australia's convoluted electoral system, where political wheeler-dealing is often more important than the number of votes registered, means it is possible to be elected with very limited support. Ricky Muir of the Motoring Enthusiast Party, a political entity with a pretty limited agenda, won a senate seat in 2013 despite only receiving 0.51% of first preference votes.

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Why Costa Ricans are being paid to marry Chinese migrants

"Who wants to earn some money?"

By Tamara Gil BBC Mundo, San José It was just a simple question, but it was enough to convince María (not her real name) to enter into what seemed like a simple deal. A young woman offered the 46-year-old Costa Rican woman 100,000 colones ($175; £130) to get married to a Chinese man so that he could get residency in the Central American country. At the time, María lived in one of the poorest areas of the Costa Rican capital, San José, and was desperate for help to feed her family. "We did not have anything to eat," María says of her decision to say yes. 'They look for prey' María's neighbourhood is not known for its safety. "Around here, the less you know, the longer you live," a resident warns. What happened to María is not uncommon here. A lawyer or middleman arrives looking for the most desperate and convinces them to marry a foreigner they have not even met. "They look for prey... People here are in dire need. However little they offer, people accept without giving it a second thought," another resident explains. María got married without even leaving her neighbourhood. She just got into a car, where she signed a marriage certificate and received her 100,000 colones in exchange on the understanding that she would get divorced as soon as possible. She says that was all the explanation she was given. "They just showed me a photo of the Chinese guy and told me: 'Miss María, you are getting married to this Chinese man'," she explains. In María's case, the middleman kept up his side of the bargain and came back with the divorce papers some time later. A few years later, she married another Chinese citizen for money, as did some of her daughters, and her partner, too. Black market The government says María's case is part of a serious problem, the extent of which is hard to measure. Deputy state prosecutor Guillermo Fernández says his office is currently investigating more than 1,000 cases of suspected sham marriages. Mr Fernández says he fears that this number is "just the tip of the iceberg". The director of Costa Rica's office for migration, Gisela Yockchen, speaks of a "black market" for sham marriages run by Costa Rican criminal networks. She says that these "mafias" operate in different ways, with some going as far as stealing people's identities to marry them off to foreigners looking for legal residency or even nationality through marriage. The first the victims of this particular scam know about it is when they find out to their shock that their civil status has changed from "single" to "married" without their knowledge or consent. In other cases, those who entered knowingly into a sham marriage in exchange for money find that the divorce promised to them never comes through, leaving them married to a partner they have never met and do not even know how to track down. Ms Yockchen says that the foreigners are often also unwitting victims. An official document seen by the BBC suggests that a Chinese national - who did not speak any Spanish - signed a document that he thought was an application for residency when it was in fact a marriage certificate. Stricter rules Ms Yockchen says that a stricter immigration law introduced in 2010 has gone some way towards tackling the problem. Under that law, notaries and others involved in arranging fake marriages can be sentenced to up to five years in prison. Since then, permanent residency has no longer automatically been granted to foreigners just for being married to a Costa Rican citizen. Foreign citizens can still apply for residency permits after marrying a Costa Rican partner and having had their marriage certificate registered at the Civil Registry, but the permit they are given is restricted to a year. It can be renewed annually if the couple provides evidence that they are cohabiting as husband and wife. After three years, the foreign partner can apply for permanent residency. 'Gateway to the US' Most of the Chinese who have migrated to Costa Rica come from the southern province of Guangdong, Uned researcher Alonso Rodríguez says. Many choose Costa Rica because of its immigration-friendly policies and its reputation for being a relatively safe country. There is also a long history of immigration to Costa Rica, with the first Chinese arriving in 1855 to work as field hands. But the final destination of today's Chinese migrants is not necessarily Costa Rica. "For many, it is a gateway to the US," Mr Rodríguez explains. If they stay in Costa Rica, they often open and run small businesses. "They adapt very well to the way of life here," he says. Li Zhong is one of those who has settled in Costa Rica. She runs a convenience store in San José. Asked about how she came to Costa Rica she says that she "bought her way into Panama". After having "problems" with the authorities in Panama, she moved to Costa Rica. Her son has since joined her and has opened his own store. When the subject of sham marriages comes up, Li is evasive but confirms that she knows of many Chinese-Costa Ricans couples. She jokes that marriages between Chinese men and Costa Rican women have proven easier than marriages between Costa Rica men and Chinese women. "Ticos mean trouble, with ticas it's better," she says referring to the colloquial term used for Costa Ricans. Like many Chinese, Li already has a Costa Rican in her family. Just that in her case, it is not a husband she married to be able to get residency but her grandson, who was born in the Central American country. Watching him run around the shop, Li says proudly: "He is a tico!"

uk-wales-31856642

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-31856642

How well do you know Pinewood Studios?

PINEWOOD'S GOLDEN HISTORY

Pinewood has been a name synonymous with cinema for nearly 80 years. As the studio marks a year since plans for its Cardiff off-shoot were unveiled - we take a look back at some of the films made there over the years. Try taking our picture quiz. Answers (or if you want to cheat) at the bottom. Answers: 1: Shirley Eaton was the actress in Goldfinger 2: Gregory Peck; 3: Alec Guinness and Kenneth More; 4: Patrick McGoohan in All Night Long; 5: Trevor Howard was in Sons and Lovers; 6: 31; 7: Charlie Chaplin, who was directing his final film A Countess From Hong Kong; 8: Joanna Lumley (Purdey), Patrick MacNee (John Steed) and Gareth Hunt (Mike Gambit). 9: Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, the spy created by Len Deighton. 10: SPECTRE - SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion

uk-54296015

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54296015

Can space diplomacy bring order to the final frontier?

Space matters.

James LandaleDiplomatic correspondent@BBCJLandaleon Twitter It might seem there are enough problems down here on earth to be getting on with. But what happens up there, where the atmosphere thins and the vacuum of space begins, affects you and me. That's because the thousands of satellites that orbit the earth shape our lives. Any disruption to those satellites - through conflict or misunderstanding - could have a devastating impact on millions of people. And that's why British diplomats are trying to see if new international rules can be agreed to keep the peace in the heavens above. You might not realise but you have probably used space today. When you made a mobile phone call, a satellite may well have been used to route your call. When you went to an ATM and withdrew some cash, the time of the transaction was recorded using a satellite-based clock. And when you ordered a delivery online, the courier found your home using a satellite map. Maybe you get your internet or television via by satellite. The list goes on. There's also all of our essential services. Weather forecasters depend on data collected by satellites. air traffic controllers need satellites to manage crowded air spaces. The emergency services need satellites to know where to go. The military forces are highly dependent on satellites, for reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence, targeting, communication, early warning, command and control. But if all this was disrupted by conflict in space, much of the international system and economy could grind to a halt. And there are fears this could become a reality because of growing congestion and tension in space. There are more satellites and debris floating round than ever before. Only last week the International Space Station had to carry out an urgent manoeuvre to avoid the remnants of an old Japanese rocket. And while commercial rockets are being used as taxis to deliver astronauts to space stations, there are also plans for rich tourists to slip the surly bonds of earth. "Space is becoming increasingly congested," says Victoria Samson, Washington director of the Secure World Foundation that promotes the sustainable use of space. "Right now there are about 3,000 active satellites, but if you look at how many satellites are planned to be launched over the next 10 years, there could be an additional 107,000. So it's busy and it's just getting busier." At the same time as space is becoming more commercial, there are also fears it's becoming more militarised. In July, Russia was accused of testing an anti-satellite weapon in space. Donald Trump has declared "space is the world's new war-fighting domain" and set up a Space Force to defend US interests. So, amid all this uncertainty, Britain has begun a diplomatic campaign to draw up new rules for responsible behaviour in space. UK ambassador Aidan Liddle has drafted a resolution for the UN General Assembly that aims to broker a new international consensus. "As space becomes more congested, the likelihood of accidents and miscalculation or misunderstanding increases," he told me. "It's really in everybody's interest that we have some sort of framework governing how states and militaries behave in space. "We may disagree on exactly what those rules should be or what they should cover but really it's in everybody's interest that we fill the gaps that exist in the law governing space and that we work out together a way of managing those threats so that we don't we don't exacerbate tensions between states on Earth." The problem is much international law as it relates to space is limited and out of date: Cold War rules ban nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles but not much more. These days satellites can also be threatened by electronic jamming, cyber-attacks and lasers. The difficulty the UK has is that talks about space rules have been gridlocked for years. There is a divide between countries who want treaty-guaranteed laws that ban specific weapons and those who prefer generalised rules and norms that guide behaviour. The question now is how to be more transparent, how to make activity more predictable, how to avoid retaliation and how to ensure peaceful satellites are not used for hostile acts - even to define what is and what is not a hostile act. But Victoria Samson says the UK's diplomatic initiative might gain support because countries are beginning to realise how much of their vital national infrastructure depends on space. But not everyone is so confident. Gabriel Elefteriu, who heads the Space Policy Unit at the think tank Policy Exchange, says the best outcome is probably coalitions of the willing coming together around codes of conduct. But he believes Britain is right to be in there, shaping the rules as space technology prepares for revolutionary advances in the final frontier. "The question that should bother all of us very much is - are were really thinking seriously about the next 30 years in space?" he says. "Are we prepared as a country to be seriously in the game in 2050 because one day the future will come knocking - so we'd better be ready."

world-europe-17529542

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17529542

Latvia profile - Timeline

A chronology of key events:

1918 November - Latvian National Council proclaims independence. 1918-20 - Civil war ends in peace treaty with Soviet Russia. 1934 - Prime minister Karlis Ulmanis seizes power following succession of unstable governments. 1940 - Soviet Union annexes Latvia, along with neighbouring Estonia and Latvia. Mass deportations to Siberia and Central Asia. 1941 - Nazi Germany invades. Some 70,000 Latvian Jews are killed by Nazi death squads and Latvian paramilitary units. 1944 - Soviet Army returns, heralding further waves of deportations and repression of resistance to Soviet rule. Protests 1986 - First major anti-Soviet demonstrations held by nationalist and environmental activists. 1991 March - Referendum produces large majority in favour of independence. Independence 1991 August - During the attempted anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow, Omon forces again strike in Riga, causing another six deaths. Parliament declares the full restoration of independence. 1991 November - Citizenship law passed, giving citizenship to those who held it before Soviet occupation of 1940 and their descendants. 1993 July - Guntis Ulmanis elected president. 1994 August - Last Russian troops leave. 1999 - Vaira Vike-Freiberga is elected president - the first woman president in eastern Europe. 2002 May - Parliament votes to change election law in a bid to boost Nato membership chances, omitting clause requiring parliamentary candidates to be able to speak Latvian. Nato, European Union membership 2003 September - Latvian referendum vote gives strong backing to EU membership. 2004 March - Latvia admitted to Nato. 2004 1 May - Latvia is one of 10 new states to join the European Union. 2006 August - New citizenship law requires applicants to pass Latvian language test. Financial crisis 2008 December - International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves 1.68bn euro rescue package to help Latvia ride out severe economic slump. 2009 January - Hundreds of demonstrators clash with police in Riga as anti-government protests over the terms of the IMF rescue package turn violent. 2010 January - Unemployment soars to 20%, giving Latvia the highest jobless rate in the EU. 2011 September - Pro-Russian Harmony Centre emerges as largest party in snap elections, but coalition government excludes it. 2012 February - Referendum on giving Russian joint official language status rejected by a large margin. 2014 January - Latvia joins the eurozone. Russian influence 2014 September - US President Barack Obama visits Estonia to reassure the Baltic states that they can count on Nato protection, amid tensions following Russia's seizure of Crimea. 2014 October - Centre-right coalition wins a clear majority in parliamentary elections dominated by concern about Russia's intervention in Ukraine and its influence in the Baltic region. 2015 March - NATO reinforces its presence in the Baltic states and its forces conduct major military drills in the region. 2019 January - Arturs Krisjanis Karins became prime minister of a centre-right coalition, excluding the pro-Russia Harmony party that had emerged as the largest bloc after October 2018 parliamentary elections.

blogs-china-blog-36466485

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-36466485

The Chinese lawyer who had his clothes ripped off in court

What a difference an image makes.

By Stephen McDonellBBC News, Beijing Plenty of Chinese lawyers have been harassed, detained, even jailed in China but the photograph of one with his clothes reportedly torn off him by police has drawn plenty of attention in China. Wu Liangshu stood in the Qingxiu District Court wearing the remnants of his suit with his bare leg and underpants showing. He and other lawyers were telling court officials that he had been assaulted by three officers inside a courtroom in front of two judges who also happened to reject his request to file a case in the district court of Nanning in Guangxi Province. Mr Wu was offered a new set of clothes but he knew the power of what he was about to do. "No thanks," he said. The lawyer then walked out the front door of the court complex carrying his court materials, with a pen still stuck in the top pocket of his ripped open shirt. He was then photographed outside the building. It was a simple act of defiance. If his goal was to draw attention to what happened to him and what Chinese lawyers face every day then it worked. Wu Liangshu told the BBC: "I wasn't shocked. I have heard plenty of weird and violent stories of things happening to lawyers in China but I didn't expect it to happen to me". The officers, on the other hand, say that he refused to hand over his mobile phone when they asked for it. They had accused him of making illegal recordings of court officials. According to a preliminary official investigation the court police did not "beat" the lawyer but were found to have adopted "abusive coercive means" when forcing him to hand over his phone. Around a thousand Chinese lawyers have reportedly signed a statement condemning the attack and calling for the CCTV footage from inside the hearing to be released to establish what really happened. The head of the All China Lawyers' Association has described Wu Liangshu's case as "really distressing". Meanwhile, talk of this clash on Chinese social media has been too much for the authorities. Much of the discussion on Chinese micro-site Weibo seems to have been censored, with only negative comments against Mr Wu now visible. Before comments started being blocked, the sentiments appearing seemed to be of a different kind: "In China, lawyers can't even defend their own rights, how can they defend their clients" and "You can tell just how Chinese human rights are from this picture".

world-middle-east-15446663

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15446663

Palau profile - timeline

A chronology of key events

circa 2500 BC - Palau's first inhabitants - thought to have come from present-day eastern Indonesia - settle in the islands. The early Palauans develop complex social systems, practice fishing and farming. 1783 - English captain Henry Wilson is shipwrecked on a reef and becomes the first Westerner to visit. Wilson and his crew stay for three months and rebuild their vessel with local help. European contacts grow and Britain becomes Palau's main trading partner. 1885 - Spain asserts its claim to the islands. 1899 - Spain sells Palau to Germany, which begins to exploit the islands' resources using native labour. Phosphate is mined and coconut plantations are developed. 1914 - After Germany's defeat in World War I, Japan seizes Palau. The main town, Koror, is developed and becomes the administrative centre for Japan's regional possessions. The Japanese civilian population in Palau peaks at 26,000. Second World War 1940-45 - Japan's military fortifications and naval facilities in Palau are targeted in allied attacks during World War II. Some Palauan islands witness fierce fighting between US and Japanese forces. 1947 - Palau becomes a United Nations Trust Territory under US administration. 1979 - Palau - and the Marshall Islands - opt not to become part of a single, federal Micronesian state. 1981 - Republic of Palau comes into being, following the territory's adoption of a constitution in July 1980. President Haruo Remeliik takes office. 1983-90 - Successive referendums on a proposed Compact of Free Association with the US fail to approve the arrangement, under which Palau would manage its own affairs and the US would retain responsibility for defence. 1985 - President Haruo Remeliik is assassinated in June. Lazarus Salii is elected president in September 1985. 1988 - President Salii dies in an apparent suicide. He is succeeded by President Ngiratkel Etpison. 1992 - President Kuniwo Nakamura is elected, and re-elected in 1996. 1993 - After investigations by US authorities a Palau minister of state and his wife are found guilty of the 1985 murder of President Remeliik. 1993 - Proposed Compact of Free Association with the US gets the green light in a referendum. Requirements for the mandate were changed in a 1992 vote; only a simple majority vote was needed to approve the compact. Independence 1994 - Palau becomes independent under the Contract of Free Association with the US. Palau receives financial and other aid from Washington, and the US retains responsibility for defence and the right to operate military bases. Palau joins the UN. 2000 November - Former vice president Tommy Remengesau wins presidential elections. 2003 August - Palau signs the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. 2004 November - Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau is re-elected. Referendum backs constitutional changes allowing dual citizenship, limiting terms in congress to three and allowing president and vice-president to stand for election as a team. 2006 October - Government institutions begin the move to a new capital, Melekeok. 2008 November - Former ambassador to Taiwan Johnson Toribiong wins presidential election, beating outgoing Vice-President Elias Camsek Chin. 2009 January - President Toribiong inaugurated. 2009 September - Palau creates world's first "shark sanctuary", banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters. 2009 October - Six Chinese ethnic Uighurs are freed from US military prison at Guantanamo Bay and sent to Palau for resettlement. 2010 January - US agrees to give Palau additional aid of $250 million, after Palau had rejected an earlier offer of $156 million. President Toribiong denies any linkage to Palau's agreement to host the Guantanamo Uighurs. 2012 November - Parliamentary and presidential elections. Tommy Remengesau is elected president for the third time, having previously served two terms from 2001-9. 2013 November - Typhoon Haiyan causes damage to a number of islands in Palau, including Kayangel and Babeldaob. 2014 February - President Remengesau announces that Palau plans to ban all commercial fishing from its waters. He says the country's economic potential lies in tourism rather than fishing. 2015 February - The governor of Palau's Peleliu State pledges to cooperate in efforts to recover the wartime remains of Japanese soldiers ahead of a visit in April by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.