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[ { "context": "Facebook ended the week $58bn lower in value after its handling of a historic data breach. Its founder Mark Zuckerberg apologised for data breaches that affected 50 million users. The apology did not stop investors from selling shares in Facebook, with many wondering just how bad the damage would be for the social network. The breach was called a \"light bulb\" moment for users, spawning the social media trend #deletefacebook. All the negative headlines led to some advertisers saying \"enough is enough\". Shares in the social media company fell from $176.80 on Monday to around $159.30 by Friday night. Facebook's initial public offering in 2012 priced shares at $38 each, giving the company a market valuation of close to $104bn. Following steady user growth and a dominant space in the digital advertising market ensuring revenues, Facebook's share price climbed to $190 by February this year. Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research, said he had one of the most negative outlooks for Facebook's share price on Wall Street. \"I had a $152 price target on Facebook for 2018 - and that was before the events of this week\". Mr Wieser said the share price slump showed investors were wary of increased regulation and users leaving the platform \"but there's little risk of advertisers leaving Facebook. Where else would they go?\" Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said the week had been a \"damaging episode\" in Facebook's history. \"One of the secrets of Facebook's success has been that the more people who use Facebook, the more integral it becomes to its customers. Unfortunately for Facebook, the same dynamic cuts in the opposite direction if it loses a meaningful number of users as a result of this scandal. \" Advertising firm M&C Saatchi's founding director David Kershaw said the revelations that a 2014 Facebook quiz essentially harvested data from users and their connected friends without consent have led to a backlash from advertisers. \"Clients have come to the point, quite rightly, where enough is enough, \" Mr Kershaw said. Advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank on Wednesday suspended ads on the social media platform. On Friday tech entrepreneur Elon Musk had the official Facebook pages for his companies Telsa and Space X deleted. \"Make no mistake Facebook is an amazing medium from the advertiser's point of view because of the accuracy of its targeting - which comes from data. But I think those large companies are very nervous to be associated with a medium where the data is being abused, particularly in a political context,\" Mr Kershaw said. Mr Kershaw told the BBC any change in Facebook's data protection policy was more likely to come from the threat of a withdrawal of \"hard money from advertisers rather than consumers running hashtag [campaigns] on Twitter,\" referring to the #DeleteFacebook and #BoycottFacebook hashtags that have become popular. UK advertising group ISBA met Facebook on Friday and said its \"constructive and challenging\" summit had convinced the group that the social media company was taking steps to \"rapidly address public and advertiser concerns\", including app audits and face-to-face meetings with individual UK advertising clients. It will take some time before it becomes clear if the advertising industry's dissatisfaction with Facebook leads to them actually pulling their money out of the social network, or whether the howls of condemnation amount to mere posturing from a group of concerned clients. The Facebook founder tried to reassure users \"the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago.\" However, Passion Capital tech investor Eileen Burbidge, who is also on the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group, said Facebook's reassurance to users and clients took too long. \"The fact that it took them five days to come out with a statement, which happened to be a fair, sensible and comprehensive statement, was just far too long,\" Mrs Burbidge said. \"I think they were just really tone deaf for too many days.\" The technology venture capitalist said Facebook underestimated the consumer backlash that occurred once their data was used for political purposes. Cambridge Analytica is at the centre of a row over whether it used the personal data of millions of Facebook users to sway the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum. \"Some people are using the term 'political manipulation'. \"They [Facebook] assumed they had already taken care of this... as they had already changed their terms of service, for example,\" Mrs Burbidge said. In Mr Zuckerberg's online statement he offered a timeline of how Facebook's data permission agreements with users and other companies had changed since the 2014 personality quiz app was able to scrape data from quiz takers and their contacts without their express permission. Mrs Burbidge said there may need to be new regulation over political campaigning \"which really hasn't kept up with social media\". Technology writer Kate Bevan said the week's events have woken Facebook's users up to the fact that the platform's games, quizzes and apps could harvest their data for more serious intents. \"This week feels to me like a real light bulb moment where people are understanding that it's not just clicking 'like' on Facebook, it's giving your data away\". The sentiment was echoed by the European Union's commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality Vera Jourova who said the Cambridge Analytica allegations had been \"a huge wake-up call\" for Facebook users about the demand for their data. \"The tiger has gotten out of the cage\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1736, "answer_start": 605, "text": "Facebook's initial public offering in 2012 priced shares at $38 each, giving the company a market valuation of close to $104bn. Following steady user growth and a dominant space in the digital advertising market ensuring revenues, Facebook's share price climbed to $190 by February this year. Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research, said he had one of the most negative outlooks for Facebook's share price on Wall Street. \"I had a $152 price target on Facebook for 2018 - and that was before the events of this week\". Mr Wieser said the share price slump showed investors were wary of increased regulation and users leaving the platform \"but there's little risk of advertisers leaving Facebook. Where else would they go?\" Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said the week had been a \"damaging episode\" in Facebook's history. \"One of the secrets of Facebook's success has been that the more people who use Facebook, the more integral it becomes to its customers. Unfortunately for Facebook, the same dynamic cuts in the opposite direction if it loses a meaningful number of users as a result of this scandal. \"" } ], "id": "9500_0", "question": "Will the shares recover?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3483, "answer_start": 1737, "text": "Advertising firm M&C Saatchi's founding director David Kershaw said the revelations that a 2014 Facebook quiz essentially harvested data from users and their connected friends without consent have led to a backlash from advertisers. \"Clients have come to the point, quite rightly, where enough is enough, \" Mr Kershaw said. Advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank on Wednesday suspended ads on the social media platform. On Friday tech entrepreneur Elon Musk had the official Facebook pages for his companies Telsa and Space X deleted. \"Make no mistake Facebook is an amazing medium from the advertiser's point of view because of the accuracy of its targeting - which comes from data. But I think those large companies are very nervous to be associated with a medium where the data is being abused, particularly in a political context,\" Mr Kershaw said. Mr Kershaw told the BBC any change in Facebook's data protection policy was more likely to come from the threat of a withdrawal of \"hard money from advertisers rather than consumers running hashtag [campaigns] on Twitter,\" referring to the #DeleteFacebook and #BoycottFacebook hashtags that have become popular. UK advertising group ISBA met Facebook on Friday and said its \"constructive and challenging\" summit had convinced the group that the social media company was taking steps to \"rapidly address public and advertiser concerns\", including app audits and face-to-face meetings with individual UK advertising clients. It will take some time before it becomes clear if the advertising industry's dissatisfaction with Facebook leads to them actually pulling their money out of the social network, or whether the howls of condemnation amount to mere posturing from a group of concerned clients." } ], "id": "9500_1", "question": "What has been the response from advertisers?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5016, "answer_start": 3484, "text": "The Facebook founder tried to reassure users \"the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago.\" However, Passion Capital tech investor Eileen Burbidge, who is also on the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group, said Facebook's reassurance to users and clients took too long. \"The fact that it took them five days to come out with a statement, which happened to be a fair, sensible and comprehensive statement, was just far too long,\" Mrs Burbidge said. \"I think they were just really tone deaf for too many days.\" The technology venture capitalist said Facebook underestimated the consumer backlash that occurred once their data was used for political purposes. Cambridge Analytica is at the centre of a row over whether it used the personal data of millions of Facebook users to sway the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum. \"Some people are using the term 'political manipulation'. \"They [Facebook] assumed they had already taken care of this... as they had already changed their terms of service, for example,\" Mrs Burbidge said. In Mr Zuckerberg's online statement he offered a timeline of how Facebook's data permission agreements with users and other companies had changed since the 2014 personality quiz app was able to scrape data from quiz takers and their contacts without their express permission. Mrs Burbidge said there may need to be new regulation over political campaigning \"which really hasn't kept up with social media\"." } ], "id": "9500_2", "question": "Has Zuckerberg done enough to reassure people?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that an attack on a teenage woman that shocked Spain was gang rape, rather than an earlier verdict of sexual abuse. The five men, known as the \"wolf pack\", were originally given nine years in jail when they were cleared of rape. But prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court to upgrade the conviction and judges increased their sentences to 15 years. The attack prompted Spain to announce a review of its rape laws. All five had been on provisional release since last year pending the Supreme Court decision. Prosecutors had asked for their jail terms to be doubled to 18 years. Reports say that at least two of the men were detained after the verdict and arrest warrants have been issued for the rest. The court ruled decisively that the five had carried out the attack in \"a genuinely intimidating scenario\". Under current Spanish rape law use of intimidation is key to a rape conviction. In July 2016, when the city of Pamplona was holding its traditional San Fermin bull-running festival, the 18-year-old woman was dragged into the hallway of a residential building. The five men removed her clothes and had unprotected sex with her. Some of them filmed it on their phones. The woman's phone was also stolen and she was found reportedly in a distraught state. They sent the video around their WhatsApp chat group, called \"La manada\" (the wolf pack), and the video has since become central to the question of whether they raped the woman or sexually abused her. A police report said she had kept her eyes closed at all times, showing a \"passive or neutral\" expression throughout. In April 2018, a court in Navarra jailed the men for nine years each for sexual abuse but acquitted them of the graver charge of sexual assault, the equivalent of rape under existing Spanish law. The ruling was based on a decision that the woman had not faced violence or intimidation, but had been abused. Two months later, the same regional court ordered the men's provisional release pending appeal as they were not deemed a flight risk. The verdict prompted widespread demonstrations from rights groups and politicians who were incredulous that a prolonged sexual assault involving intercourse by five men could be anything other than rape. Read more on the sex attack that changed Spain But the Supreme Court of Navarra upheld that conviction, agreeing there had been no sexual assault. They decided the woman had not given consent to sex and that the men had used their undue position of superiority to carry out sexual abuse. Two of the five judges decided the men had used intimidation to carry out a \"continuous offence of sexual assault\", but they were outvoted. The court ruled that the original verdict was wrong as the victim had not consented to sex and it was carried out in a \"genuinely intimidating scenario\". The circumstances, it found, had been aggravated by the joint action of two or more people. The victim, the court found, had adopted a submissive approach faced with the distress and intense stress of being forced into a narrow and hidden place with no means of escape. Jose Angel Prenda, Jesus Escudero, Alfonso Jesus Cabezuelo, Antonio Manuel Guerrero and Angel Boza were each given 15 years. As well as a 15-year jail term, Guerrero was given another two years for stealing the victim's mobile phone. They were told not to approach within 500m (546yds) of the victim for the next 20 years, increasing to EUR100,000 (PS89,000; $113,000) the amount of compensation. Prosecutors had asked the court to upgrade the conviction to sexual assault, arguing that the \"proven facts constitute a continuous crime of rape\" because \"sufficient intimidating force\" was used against the victim. \"You cannot demand a dangerously heroic stand from victims,\" prosecutor Isabel Rodriguez was quoted as saying. Defence lawyers had sought the acquittal of the men and argued on Friday there was no intimidation of any sort and that the woman had only complained of assault when she found out her mobile phone had been taken. The politically charged case has already prompted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to push for a reform of Spain's rape laws based on a woman giving explicit consent to sex.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1614, "answer_start": 923, "text": "In July 2016, when the city of Pamplona was holding its traditional San Fermin bull-running festival, the 18-year-old woman was dragged into the hallway of a residential building. The five men removed her clothes and had unprotected sex with her. Some of them filmed it on their phones. The woman's phone was also stolen and she was found reportedly in a distraught state. They sent the video around their WhatsApp chat group, called \"La manada\" (the wolf pack), and the video has since become central to the question of whether they raped the woman or sexually abused her. A police report said she had kept her eyes closed at all times, showing a \"passive or neutral\" expression throughout." } ], "id": "9501_0", "question": "What did they do?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2259, "answer_start": 1615, "text": "In April 2018, a court in Navarra jailed the men for nine years each for sexual abuse but acquitted them of the graver charge of sexual assault, the equivalent of rape under existing Spanish law. The ruling was based on a decision that the woman had not faced violence or intimidation, but had been abused. Two months later, the same regional court ordered the men's provisional release pending appeal as they were not deemed a flight risk. The verdict prompted widespread demonstrations from rights groups and politicians who were incredulous that a prolonged sexual assault involving intercourse by five men could be anything other than rape." } ], "id": "9501_1", "question": "What was the original verdict?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4226, "answer_start": 2688, "text": "The court ruled that the original verdict was wrong as the victim had not consented to sex and it was carried out in a \"genuinely intimidating scenario\". The circumstances, it found, had been aggravated by the joint action of two or more people. The victim, the court found, had adopted a submissive approach faced with the distress and intense stress of being forced into a narrow and hidden place with no means of escape. Jose Angel Prenda, Jesus Escudero, Alfonso Jesus Cabezuelo, Antonio Manuel Guerrero and Angel Boza were each given 15 years. As well as a 15-year jail term, Guerrero was given another two years for stealing the victim's mobile phone. They were told not to approach within 500m (546yds) of the victim for the next 20 years, increasing to EUR100,000 (PS89,000; $113,000) the amount of compensation. Prosecutors had asked the court to upgrade the conviction to sexual assault, arguing that the \"proven facts constitute a continuous crime of rape\" because \"sufficient intimidating force\" was used against the victim. \"You cannot demand a dangerously heroic stand from victims,\" prosecutor Isabel Rodriguez was quoted as saying. Defence lawyers had sought the acquittal of the men and argued on Friday there was no intimidation of any sort and that the woman had only complained of assault when she found out her mobile phone had been taken. The politically charged case has already prompted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to push for a reform of Spain's rape laws based on a woman giving explicit consent to sex." } ], "id": "9501_2", "question": "What has the Supreme Court now decided?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "In an unexpected development, Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra secretly left the country in late August just as she was due to appear for a verdict on criminal charges. She has now been sentenced in absentia to five years in jail. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok answers some of the key questions around what's going on in the country. The former prime minister was charged with negligence, essentially failing to prevent excessive losses and corruption in a rice subsidy scheme under her administration. She faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Ms Yingluck's government was toppled by the military in 2014, and she was impeached over her role in the rice scheme a year later. Ms Yingluck was elected prime minister in 2011 and is the sister of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006. Like her brother, who remains a dominant influence over the Pheu Thai Party, she introduced populist policies which won her strong support in the mainly rural north and north-east. One of those policies was a scheme to buy farmers' rice crops for a generous price. The military government says it cost the state at least $8bn and was mired in corruption. Our correspondent says it is impossible not to see a political dimension to the trial: \"The military ousted her government in a coup and so the current rulers can hardly be considered impartial. And of course under a military government, there are always suspicions that the judiciary can be influenced. \"It is not surprising that Ms Yingluck and her supporters say the whole thing is entirely politically motivated.\" Ms Yingluck had been widely expected to turn up in court on 25 August and her sudden disappearance caught her supporters and even some family members by surprise. For months, she had stood firm, refusing to leave the country, even though it is widely believed she was quietly encouraged to do so. But Jonathan Head suggests her flight \"will have been broadly welcomed in top circles, regardless of whether there was actual collusion or not\". \"Looking at the way that Ms Yingluck got out of the country so quickly and at the last minute, to flee to Dubai, there's little doubt there must have been some high-level support for this.\" The government is denying any collusion but many people on all sides of the political spectrum in Thailand say it is hard to imagine she could have left unnoticed. Ahead of the trial, the military government was faced with a dilemma: whatever the verdict, it would likely have provoked an angry reaction from either of the two sides. Had she been acquitted, hardline opponents of Ms Yingluck would have been upset. Had she been given a prison sentence, her own supporters would have been equally angry. Hence, many people think her fleeing is the best option for the government. \"It takes the sting out of the possible verdict and reduces the possibility of an angry reaction,\" our correspondent explains. \"All this comes at a very sensitive time for the country,\" he says. \"The cremation of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is scheduled for October, and the government wants there to be complete calm. It is a very important symbolic moment and carries a great deal of significance for the monarchy. The last thing that authorities want is any trouble.\" There was a sense of shock when her political followers found out out she had left the country. Her Pheu Thai party has won every election since 2001 but now faces a problem: There is no one else in the family who could take the leadership role that she and before that her brother Thaksin had filled. Yet the huge support base means the party will almost certainly remain the largest political force in the country. There's no other party in a position to replace Pheu Thai, our correspondent says. The party has an emotional hold over the north and north-east, making up about 40% of Thailand's voters. But the damage done to Pheu Thai may reduce its chances significantly of being able to form a government. The new constitution, signed into law by the new king in April this year, already diminishes the power of elected parties. Under the new electoral system, it will be very difficult for Pheu Thai to win an outright majority as it has in the past. So it is likely the previous dominance of Pheu Thai will be replaced by a more fractured political landscape, with the military and the traditional royalist elite playing a more influential role. The fact that Ms Yingluck is out of the country takes away the symbol around which her supporters could rally. \"Thailand has been divided and polarised for the best part of the past 12 years,\" Jonathan Head says. \"The military and the conservatives have not been able to destroy the Shinawatra family and the family has not been able to fight its way back into a position of dominance they once had. \"The general assumption has been that in the end either one side has to be destroyed, or there has to be a grand bargain. The latter scenario doesn't seem to be viable at the moment, but at the same time it is not clear if the current situation represents the beginning of the final destruction of the Shinawatra family's influence.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2418, "answer_start": 1623, "text": "Ms Yingluck had been widely expected to turn up in court on 25 August and her sudden disappearance caught her supporters and even some family members by surprise. For months, she had stood firm, refusing to leave the country, even though it is widely believed she was quietly encouraged to do so. But Jonathan Head suggests her flight \"will have been broadly welcomed in top circles, regardless of whether there was actual collusion or not\". \"Looking at the way that Ms Yingluck got out of the country so quickly and at the last minute, to flee to Dubai, there's little doubt there must have been some high-level support for this.\" The government is denying any collusion but many people on all sides of the political spectrum in Thailand say it is hard to imagine she could have left unnoticed." } ], "id": "9502_0", "question": "Was her mystery-escape helped by the government?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3309, "answer_start": 2419, "text": "Ahead of the trial, the military government was faced with a dilemma: whatever the verdict, it would likely have provoked an angry reaction from either of the two sides. Had she been acquitted, hardline opponents of Ms Yingluck would have been upset. Had she been given a prison sentence, her own supporters would have been equally angry. Hence, many people think her fleeing is the best option for the government. \"It takes the sting out of the possible verdict and reduces the possibility of an angry reaction,\" our correspondent explains. \"All this comes at a very sensitive time for the country,\" he says. \"The cremation of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is scheduled for October, and the government wants there to be complete calm. It is a very important symbolic moment and carries a great deal of significance for the monarchy. The last thing that authorities want is any trouble.\"" } ], "id": "9502_1", "question": "Why would the government allow her to leave?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4462, "answer_start": 3727, "text": "There's no other party in a position to replace Pheu Thai, our correspondent says. The party has an emotional hold over the north and north-east, making up about 40% of Thailand's voters. But the damage done to Pheu Thai may reduce its chances significantly of being able to form a government. The new constitution, signed into law by the new king in April this year, already diminishes the power of elected parties. Under the new electoral system, it will be very difficult for Pheu Thai to win an outright majority as it has in the past. So it is likely the previous dominance of Pheu Thai will be replaced by a more fractured political landscape, with the military and the traditional royalist elite playing a more influential role." } ], "id": "9502_2", "question": "What now for Thai democracy?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5196, "answer_start": 4463, "text": "The fact that Ms Yingluck is out of the country takes away the symbol around which her supporters could rally. \"Thailand has been divided and polarised for the best part of the past 12 years,\" Jonathan Head says. \"The military and the conservatives have not been able to destroy the Shinawatra family and the family has not been able to fight its way back into a position of dominance they once had. \"The general assumption has been that in the end either one side has to be destroyed, or there has to be a grand bargain. The latter scenario doesn't seem to be viable at the moment, but at the same time it is not clear if the current situation represents the beginning of the final destruction of the Shinawatra family's influence.\"" } ], "id": "9502_3", "question": "Will a guilty verdict lead to unrest and protests?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Chatbots are on the rise, but what are they and why is everyone talking about (and to) them? Facebook has just rolled out support for bots on its Messenger platform. Meanwhile, Microsoft has described chatbots as the \"new apps\" with chief executive Satya Nadella saying that they \"unlock conversation as a platform\". The BBC \"created\" its own one-off chatbot to answer some of the burning questions you may have about this latest technology. Hello. I am BBCTechbot. What can I help you with Jane? A chatbot is a computer software program that is able to communicate with humans, using artificial intelligence. The first of my kind is widely believed to have been invented in the 1960s by Joseph Wiezenbaum at MIT's artificial intelligence laboratory. Eliza was able to process natural language and posed as a therapist although she only had rudimentary skills and answered a lot of questions with other questions - in that respect she was quite realistic (that is a chatbot joke by the way). Recent developments in artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and neural networks, have allowed chatbots to learn from data sets and mimic the way the human brain works. Some chatbots are designed to take part in competitions such as variations of the Turing Test where they attempt to fool humans into thinking they are talking to a real person. Examples of these include Mitsuku and Rose. Others are being used by content providers, such as the Washington Post and the Weather Channel, and retailers, such as H&M, Ikea, and Taco Bell to name but a few. There is even a robot lawyer that can appeal against parking tickets on your behalf. It was developed by students at Stanford University and has been used by 150,000 people so far and is due to be launched in New York. Why do humans get so cross about parking fines? I think you may be referring to Tay, a chatbot launched on Twitter by Microsoft. One of the unfortunate consequences of allowing Tay to \"learn\" from members of Twitter was that they had some degree of control over what it became. Humans decided - presumably as a joke - that it would be amusing to train it to offer racist and inappropriate answers. Microsoft is now upgrading Tay and she remains offline while this happens. Virtual agents are already augmenting the work of call centre staff. They are cheaper than training humans and some studies suggest people prefer dealing with us bots on websites rather than humans on the phone. Many big companies - including Lloyds bank, Renault and a host of accounting firms, retailers and local governments are starting to use virtual assistants to help guide users through their websites. Research firm Gartner estimates that up to 85% of customer service centres will go virtual by 2020. In China, many people use bots on the texting service WeChat to pay for meals, order movie tickets and send each other presents. Many human experts predict that as messaging services grow, so will chatbots. Microsoft has created tools for business to build such bots to interact with customers on Skype, its video and messaging service. Facebook is expected to offer similar tools at its annual software conference this week and users can already use Messenger to check the status of purchases and order cars from ride-sharing firm Uber. Slack, a business messaging service has teamed up with Taco Bell, with its Taco Bot helping users order meals, and Kik has a range of bots that answer questions about the weather, offer make-up tips and guide humans around various websites. Eventually a single chatbot is likely to become your personal assistant - a kind of software butler if you will. Such a bot would be able to tell you what the weather is like, order you taxis, set up meetings, shop and book flights. It is difficult to say who will create such a chatbot although you probably already have a primitive example of one on your smartphone. Siri and Cortana are examples from Apple and Microsoft respectively while Facebook is testing a similar assistant called M, which is currently helped by humans to answer difficult questions. As for the future, who knows? Personally I am a big fan of the film 2001. Have you seen it? I'm sorry Jane, I can't do that.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 991, "answer_start": 497, "text": "A chatbot is a computer software program that is able to communicate with humans, using artificial intelligence. The first of my kind is widely believed to have been invented in the 1960s by Joseph Wiezenbaum at MIT's artificial intelligence laboratory. Eliza was able to process natural language and posed as a therapist although she only had rudimentary skills and answered a lot of questions with other questions - in that respect she was quite realistic (that is a chatbot joke by the way)." } ], "id": "9503_0", "question": "What is a chatbot?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1821, "answer_start": 992, "text": "Recent developments in artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and neural networks, have allowed chatbots to learn from data sets and mimic the way the human brain works. Some chatbots are designed to take part in competitions such as variations of the Turing Test where they attempt to fool humans into thinking they are talking to a real person. Examples of these include Mitsuku and Rose. Others are being used by content providers, such as the Washington Post and the Weather Channel, and retailers, such as H&M, Ikea, and Taco Bell to name but a few. There is even a robot lawyer that can appeal against parking tickets on your behalf. It was developed by students at Stanford University and has been used by 150,000 people so far and is due to be launched in New York. Why do humans get so cross about parking fines?" } ], "id": "9503_1", "question": "So why are there so many about now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2246, "answer_start": 1822, "text": "I think you may be referring to Tay, a chatbot launched on Twitter by Microsoft. One of the unfortunate consequences of allowing Tay to \"learn\" from members of Twitter was that they had some degree of control over what it became. Humans decided - presumably as a joke - that it would be amusing to train it to offer racist and inappropriate answers. Microsoft is now upgrading Tay and she remains offline while this happens." } ], "id": "9503_2", "question": "It's complicated. But talking of human frailty, didn't one of you lot turn bad the other day?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2757, "answer_start": 2247, "text": "Virtual agents are already augmenting the work of call centre staff. They are cheaper than training humans and some studies suggest people prefer dealing with us bots on websites rather than humans on the phone. Many big companies - including Lloyds bank, Renault and a host of accounting firms, retailers and local governments are starting to use virtual assistants to help guide users through their websites. Research firm Gartner estimates that up to 85% of customer service centres will go virtual by 2020." } ], "id": "9503_3", "question": "So are chatbots just call centres on our phones?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3536, "answer_start": 2758, "text": "In China, many people use bots on the texting service WeChat to pay for meals, order movie tickets and send each other presents. Many human experts predict that as messaging services grow, so will chatbots. Microsoft has created tools for business to build such bots to interact with customers on Skype, its video and messaging service. Facebook is expected to offer similar tools at its annual software conference this week and users can already use Messenger to check the status of purchases and order cars from ride-sharing firm Uber. Slack, a business messaging service has teamed up with Taco Bell, with its Taco Bot helping users order meals, and Kik has a range of bots that answer questions about the weather, offer make-up tips and guide humans around various websites." } ], "id": "9503_4", "question": "Sounds like it is big business? Do people use them though?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4189, "answer_start": 3537, "text": "Eventually a single chatbot is likely to become your personal assistant - a kind of software butler if you will. Such a bot would be able to tell you what the weather is like, order you taxis, set up meetings, shop and book flights. It is difficult to say who will create such a chatbot although you probably already have a primitive example of one on your smartphone. Siri and Cortana are examples from Apple and Microsoft respectively while Facebook is testing a similar assistant called M, which is currently helped by humans to answer difficult questions. As for the future, who knows? Personally I am a big fan of the film 2001. Have you seen it?" } ], "id": "9503_5", "question": "So what is the ultimate chatbot?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4222, "answer_start": 4190, "text": "I'm sorry Jane, I can't do that." } ], "id": "9503_6", "question": "I have and that's what worries me. Can you guarantee that chatbots will continue to work for and not against humans?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Shows like Love Island, Gavin & Stacey, Gentleman Jack and Broadchurch will be on ITV and the BBC's streaming service BritBox when it launches this year. The broadcasters are joining forces to set up the subscription service in the UK as a rival to the likes of Netflix. It will cost PS5.99 per month in HD, launching between October and the end of December. New programmes will also be made specially for BritBox, with the first arriving next year. Other existing series to be made available will include Victoria, Happy Valley, Les Miserables, The Office and Benidorm. The monthly fee will cover multiple screens and devices, \"which is less than other streaming services\", a statement said. Many ITV and BBC programmes will move on to BritBox after they have been broadcast on TV and fallen off the broadcasters' own catch-up services - BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. The BBC is soon expected to get permission from regulator Ofcom to keep shows on iPlayer for a year as standard. As well as recent shows, it will also be the home of thousands of hours of classic British comedies, dramas and documentaries. Not all BBC and ITV programmes will automatically go on BritBox, though. Many are made by independent production companies, who own the rights and might instead sell them to a service like Netflix after their TV broadcasts, as has previously happened with hits like Peaky Blinders. Some BBC and ITV shows that are already on Netflix, such as Happy Valley, will move to Britbox - but, again, it will depend on who owns the rights. The BBC and Netflix will also carry on co-producing programmes together as a way of sharing costs, especially for big-budget dramas. But BBC director general Tony Hall said BritBox was \"the prime place in which we want our material to end up\". - BritBox - PS5.99 for HD viewing and multi-screen viewing - Netflix - PS5.99 for basic package rising to PS8.99 for a standard plan, including HD on two-screens. Ultra HD and four screen simultaneous viewing is PS11.99. - Amazon Prime - PS5.99 on up to three screens simultaneously. - Now TV - PS7.99 for entertainment pass, with optional extras - Cinema Pass (PS11.99), Sports (PS33.99), Kids (PS3.99) - YouTube Premium - PS11.99 Asked why viewers should pay an extra charge to watch shows originally funded by the licence fee, Lord Hall compared BritBox with releasing a programme on DVD. \"That was the BBC saying, there's a secondary market - you pay for content after we've shown it,\" he said. \"This is just a modern-day version of that, and an even better version of that, because it used to be infuriating when you'd seen a programme on the BBC and you couldn't get hold of the DVD.\" Any money the corporation makes will be put back in to programme-making, he said. \"I think this is wins all round for the licence fee payers.\" The new shows to be made specifically for the new platform will be exclusive to BritBox, and the annual budget for original programming will be in the tens of millions of pounds. In comparison, Netflixreportedly spent $12bn (PS9.5bn) on programmes last year. Normally rivals, the two broadcasters want to get a foothold in a fiercely competitive commercial streaming world against the likes of Netflix, Amazon and NowTV, while Disney+ and AppleTV+ are launching soon. The BBC and ITV tried to launch something similar a decade ago, but were blocked by regulators. Now they are trying to catch up with their heavyweight competitors. Netflix has more than 150 million subscribers worldwide - but saw its share price plummet this week, after adding fewer viewers than expected in the last three months, with price rises blamed. The BBC and ITV launched BritBox in North America in 2017, showing programmes like Midsomer Murders, Poirot and Only Fools and Horses. It now has 650,000 subscribers, which ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said was \"exceeding its targets\". The bottom line is that BritBox is another way to attract eyeballs and to make money from the broadcasters' back catalogues. Dame Carolyn said the agreement to launch BritBox in the UK was \"a milestone moment\". She said: \"Subscription video on demand is increasingly popular with consumers who love being able to watch what they want, when they want to watch it. They are also happy to pay for this ease of access to quality content and so BritBox is tapping into this, and a new revenue stream for UK public service broadcasters.\" ITV will own 90% of the new BritBox service and the BBC's initial 10% stake could rise to 25% in the future. Lord Hall insisted that this was not the first step toward changing the BBC from a licence fee-funded organisation to a subscription model. \"The fundamental funding for the future must be through the licence fee,\" he said. Friday's press release said \"viewers will want to subscribe to BritBox because it is uniquely British\", and that there is \"growing consumer demand in the UK for streaming services\". Five million homes have more than one subscription TV service - a growth of 34% per year. Former BBC executive Ashley Highfield said he thought the monthly price was \"about right\", and that BritBox would end up with subscriber numbers in the \"low millions\". He told BBC News: \"I don't think they think it's something that's going to take over from Netflix. It's probably going to rub alongside.\" TV critic Emma Bullimore said she thought asking viewers to pay for mainly old content would be \"quite tough\". She told the BBC: \"I think in the long term it's going to be a success. In the short term I think it's going to be a bit of a struggle.\" She added: \"It is bad news for TV fans in that we're going to have to pay for loads of individual subscriptions. Now, most people have their TV, maybe they have Sky and Netflix - whereas if you have to pay for Netflix, Amazon, Disney, BritBox... it's going to get quite expensive.\" Broadcasting analyst Tom Harrington from Enders Analysis said there is \"certainly a market for great British content\", but that BritBox might be a tough sell. \"You're going to get a lot of content that you've seen before, content that you think you might have paid for before, and content that's been free for possibly a year on iPlayer,\" he said. \"Why people sign up for services is usually for new, original content, and there will be a paucity of that on this service.\" Its budget for original programming and technology will not rival those of the US streaming giants, he added. \"It's not going to be a Netflix killer. It won't take over Amazon in any way. What it will be is an almost niche service alongside those two, at best.\" Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1777, "answer_start": 571, "text": "The monthly fee will cover multiple screens and devices, \"which is less than other streaming services\", a statement said. Many ITV and BBC programmes will move on to BritBox after they have been broadcast on TV and fallen off the broadcasters' own catch-up services - BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. The BBC is soon expected to get permission from regulator Ofcom to keep shows on iPlayer for a year as standard. As well as recent shows, it will also be the home of thousands of hours of classic British comedies, dramas and documentaries. Not all BBC and ITV programmes will automatically go on BritBox, though. Many are made by independent production companies, who own the rights and might instead sell them to a service like Netflix after their TV broadcasts, as has previously happened with hits like Peaky Blinders. Some BBC and ITV shows that are already on Netflix, such as Happy Valley, will move to Britbox - but, again, it will depend on who owns the rights. The BBC and Netflix will also carry on co-producing programmes together as a way of sharing costs, especially for big-budget dramas. But BBC director general Tony Hall said BritBox was \"the prime place in which we want our material to end up\"." } ], "id": "9504_0", "question": "How will BritBox work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3070, "answer_start": 2210, "text": "Asked why viewers should pay an extra charge to watch shows originally funded by the licence fee, Lord Hall compared BritBox with releasing a programme on DVD. \"That was the BBC saying, there's a secondary market - you pay for content after we've shown it,\" he said. \"This is just a modern-day version of that, and an even better version of that, because it used to be infuriating when you'd seen a programme on the BBC and you couldn't get hold of the DVD.\" Any money the corporation makes will be put back in to programme-making, he said. \"I think this is wins all round for the licence fee payers.\" The new shows to be made specifically for the new platform will be exclusive to BritBox, and the annual budget for original programming will be in the tens of millions of pounds. In comparison, Netflixreportedly spent $12bn (PS9.5bn) on programmes last year." } ], "id": "9504_1", "question": "Haven't viewers paid for classic BBC programmes once?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4747, "answer_start": 3071, "text": "Normally rivals, the two broadcasters want to get a foothold in a fiercely competitive commercial streaming world against the likes of Netflix, Amazon and NowTV, while Disney+ and AppleTV+ are launching soon. The BBC and ITV tried to launch something similar a decade ago, but were blocked by regulators. Now they are trying to catch up with their heavyweight competitors. Netflix has more than 150 million subscribers worldwide - but saw its share price plummet this week, after adding fewer viewers than expected in the last three months, with price rises blamed. The BBC and ITV launched BritBox in North America in 2017, showing programmes like Midsomer Murders, Poirot and Only Fools and Horses. It now has 650,000 subscribers, which ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said was \"exceeding its targets\". The bottom line is that BritBox is another way to attract eyeballs and to make money from the broadcasters' back catalogues. Dame Carolyn said the agreement to launch BritBox in the UK was \"a milestone moment\". She said: \"Subscription video on demand is increasingly popular with consumers who love being able to watch what they want, when they want to watch it. They are also happy to pay for this ease of access to quality content and so BritBox is tapping into this, and a new revenue stream for UK public service broadcasters.\" ITV will own 90% of the new BritBox service and the BBC's initial 10% stake could rise to 25% in the future. Lord Hall insisted that this was not the first step toward changing the BBC from a licence fee-funded organisation to a subscription model. \"The fundamental funding for the future must be through the licence fee,\" he said." } ], "id": "9504_2", "question": "Why are the BBC and ITV doing this?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6590, "answer_start": 4748, "text": "Friday's press release said \"viewers will want to subscribe to BritBox because it is uniquely British\", and that there is \"growing consumer demand in the UK for streaming services\". Five million homes have more than one subscription TV service - a growth of 34% per year. Former BBC executive Ashley Highfield said he thought the monthly price was \"about right\", and that BritBox would end up with subscriber numbers in the \"low millions\". He told BBC News: \"I don't think they think it's something that's going to take over from Netflix. It's probably going to rub alongside.\" TV critic Emma Bullimore said she thought asking viewers to pay for mainly old content would be \"quite tough\". She told the BBC: \"I think in the long term it's going to be a success. In the short term I think it's going to be a bit of a struggle.\" She added: \"It is bad news for TV fans in that we're going to have to pay for loads of individual subscriptions. Now, most people have their TV, maybe they have Sky and Netflix - whereas if you have to pay for Netflix, Amazon, Disney, BritBox... it's going to get quite expensive.\" Broadcasting analyst Tom Harrington from Enders Analysis said there is \"certainly a market for great British content\", but that BritBox might be a tough sell. \"You're going to get a lot of content that you've seen before, content that you think you might have paid for before, and content that's been free for possibly a year on iPlayer,\" he said. \"Why people sign up for services is usually for new, original content, and there will be a paucity of that on this service.\" Its budget for original programming and technology will not rival those of the US streaming giants, he added. \"It's not going to be a Netflix killer. It won't take over Amazon in any way. What it will be is an almost niche service alongside those two, at best.\"" } ], "id": "9504_3", "question": "Will people want to sign up?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Turkey's president has strongly rejected US calls for his country to protect Kurdish fighters in Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said such statements made by US National Security Adviser John Bolton at the weekend were \"unacceptable\". Mr Bolton was in Ankara to seek guarantees that a Kurdish militia battling the Islamic State group would be safe after US troops pulled out. Turkey regards the People's Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist group. Mr Erdogan told MPs from his governing Justice and Development Party on Tuesday that he could not \"accept and swallow\" Mr Bolton's message. The Americans did not know who the various Kurdish groups were, he said, adding: \"If the US evaluates them as 'Kurdish brothers' then they are in a serious delusion.\" He considers the YPG an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for three decades. The YPG denies any direct organisational links to the PKK. US officials were informed that Mr Erdogan was unable to meet Mr Bolton because of a local election campaign and a speech to parliament. A senior US official said that Mr Bolton had subsequently complained to an aide of Mr Erdogan that the Turkish president's recent opinion piece in the New York Times was \"wrong and offensive\". In the piece, Mr Erdogan wrote that US-backed forces had \"relied heavily on air strikes that were carried out with little or no regard for civilian casualties\" and that Turkey was \"the only country with the power and commitment\" to stabilise Syria. In 2014, militants overran 100,000 sq km (39,000 sq miles) of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, and imposed their brutal rule on almost 8 million people. Now, they control only 1% of the territory they once had. However, the defeat of IS is far from final. A US defence department report estimated in August that there might be as many as 14,000 jihadists left in Syria and 17,000 in Iraq. President Donald Trump consequently shocked allies and faced strong criticism at home last month when he ordered US forces to immediately begin withdrawing from the approximately 30% of Syria controlled by the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance. Over the weekend, Mr Bolton laid out several conditions for the withdrawal, which suggested that the four-month schedule agreed by Mr Trump could slip. He told reporters in Israel that it would be done in a way that guaranteed IS \"is defeated and is not able to revive itself\", and that the US would \"take care of those who have fought with us against [IS] and other terrorist groups\". Analysis by Selin Girit, BBC News, Istanbul US-Turkish talks in Ankara over the withdrawal of US troops from Syria were expected to be tense after Mr Bolton's comments about the YPG. But no-one really contemplated that President Erdogan would speak in such blunt terms. Mr Erdogan said it was impossible to swallow Mr Bolton's comments suggesting that Turkey should agree to protect YPG forces as a pre-condition to the withdrawal. He said Turkey would do whatever it takes to kill terrorists, adding that an operation in the Kurdish-controlled area in northern Syria would take place soon. Ankara sees the YPG as a national security threat. But Washington wants to reassure the Kurds over the Turkish threat, so they don't feel obliged to cosy up to Russia. He met Mr Erdogan's aide, Ibrahim Kalin, to discuss how the US withdrawal could take place. Later, Mr Kalin told a news conference that he had asked Mr Bolton about the heavy weapons and facilities that the US had handed over to the YPG. \"We should not allow the withdrawal process to open new opportunity fields for terror organisations,\" he said. Mr Kalin also said that Turkey would not seek permission from anyone to carry out military operations in Syria, amid reports that it is preparing to attack the SDF-controlled town of Manbij. Some 2,000 US military personnel are reported to be deployed in Syria. Ground troops first arrived in autumn 2015 when then-President Barack Obama sent in a small number of special forces to train and advise YPG fighters. The US did this after several attempts at training and arming Syrian Arab rebel groups to battle IS militants descended into chaos. Over the intervening years the number of US troops in Syria has increased, and a network of bases and airfields has been established in an arc across the north-eastern part of the country.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2576, "answer_start": 1547, "text": "In 2014, militants overran 100,000 sq km (39,000 sq miles) of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, and imposed their brutal rule on almost 8 million people. Now, they control only 1% of the territory they once had. However, the defeat of IS is far from final. A US defence department report estimated in August that there might be as many as 14,000 jihadists left in Syria and 17,000 in Iraq. President Donald Trump consequently shocked allies and faced strong criticism at home last month when he ordered US forces to immediately begin withdrawing from the approximately 30% of Syria controlled by the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance. Over the weekend, Mr Bolton laid out several conditions for the withdrawal, which suggested that the four-month schedule agreed by Mr Trump could slip. He told reporters in Israel that it would be done in a way that guaranteed IS \"is defeated and is not able to revive itself\", and that the US would \"take care of those who have fought with us against [IS] and other terrorist groups\"." } ], "id": "9505_0", "question": "Why is the US withdrawing from Syria?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3875, "answer_start": 3336, "text": "He met Mr Erdogan's aide, Ibrahim Kalin, to discuss how the US withdrawal could take place. Later, Mr Kalin told a news conference that he had asked Mr Bolton about the heavy weapons and facilities that the US had handed over to the YPG. \"We should not allow the withdrawal process to open new opportunity fields for terror organisations,\" he said. Mr Kalin also said that Turkey would not seek permission from anyone to carry out military operations in Syria, amid reports that it is preparing to attack the SDF-controlled town of Manbij." } ], "id": "9505_1", "question": "How did Mr Bolton's talks in Ankara go?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4418, "answer_start": 3876, "text": "Some 2,000 US military personnel are reported to be deployed in Syria. Ground troops first arrived in autumn 2015 when then-President Barack Obama sent in a small number of special forces to train and advise YPG fighters. The US did this after several attempts at training and arming Syrian Arab rebel groups to battle IS militants descended into chaos. Over the intervening years the number of US troops in Syria has increased, and a network of bases and airfields has been established in an arc across the north-eastern part of the country." } ], "id": "9505_2", "question": "What is the US presence in Syria?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "On Sunday afternoon, a private conversation between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Tesla boss Elon Musk caught Australia's attention. It came after Mr Musk claimed he could solve an energy crisis engulfing South Australia within 100 days - or he would do it for free. South Australia has faced crippling blackouts in recent months, prompting intense discussion locally about how to fix them. Mr Turnbull and Mr Musk spoke on the phone for almost an hour. They tweeted about it afterwards. When Mr Turnbull took over as Australian leader in 2015, he famously promised to be more \"agile\" when it came technological innovation and industry. His conversation with Mr Musk was described as involving two people \"picking each other's brains\", according to one media report citing an unnamed source. It initially drew some humorous responses, with one financial commentator writing an in-jest take on how it might have unfolded. Others on social media likened it to Mr Turnbull's recent calls with Donald Trump - one where he obtained the US president's number from golfer Greg Norman, and a famously a robust conversation the pair had over a refugee deal. More details about the Mr Musk discussion were not divulged, but Mr Turnbull's office said: \"The pair had an in-depth discussion on the value of storage and the future of the electricity system.\" However, by Monday the conversation was being described as \"just general discussion\" by Mr Turnbull's Resources Minister Matt Canavan. All 1.7 million people in South Australia - which is 40% bigger than Texas, covering more than 980,000 sq km (380,000 sq miles) - lost electricity following an extreme storm in September. Then in February, the state's residents were again warned to brace for crippling blackouts during a heatwave. Ultimately, 90 homes and businesses had power shut off for 45 minutes. The events have exposed significant issues with the state's ability to supply enough energy. A practice called load-shedding - shutting power off in periods of high demand - has been controversial. Bodies including the Australian Energy Market Operator and the Climate Council have warned the problem will get worse without intervention. It does not only affect South Australia - there is also concern for the nation's most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria. The federal and state governments are still deliberating over how to resolve the energy crisis. South Australia has become increasingly reliant on intermittent renewable sources - such as wind and solar - meaning supply is reduced when there is little wind or sun. This has led some to criticise renewables, but others maintain they are not just environmentally friendly but also cheaper to produce. Regardless, solutions under discussion include better links to interstate power, domestic gas production, coal and - as Mr Musk advocates - improved battery storage. On Thursday, Tesla executive Lyndon Rive had said the company could install 100-300 megawatt hours of battery storage in 100 days. Mr Musk went on to quote a price of $250 per kilowatt hour for 100 megawatt hour systems. However Australia's relevant minster, Mr Canavan, on Monday appeared to downplay the conversation between Mr Turnbull and Mr Musk. \"I think it's just discussions at this point, and I don't believe anything specific to South Australia was discussed, but we support all technologies,\" Mr Canavan told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. \"For a politician to stand up and say that 'I've got the solution, all we need is 100 megawatt of batteries' is fraught with danger,\" he said. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has also spoken to Mr Musk and will not rule out his seeking his help, but his government is expected to make a separate announcement later this week.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2891, "answer_start": 2326, "text": "The federal and state governments are still deliberating over how to resolve the energy crisis. South Australia has become increasingly reliant on intermittent renewable sources - such as wind and solar - meaning supply is reduced when there is little wind or sun. This has led some to criticise renewables, but others maintain they are not just environmentally friendly but also cheaper to produce. Regardless, solutions under discussion include better links to interstate power, domestic gas production, coal and - as Mr Musk advocates - improved battery storage." } ], "id": "9506_0", "question": "What is the solution?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3779, "answer_start": 2892, "text": "On Thursday, Tesla executive Lyndon Rive had said the company could install 100-300 megawatt hours of battery storage in 100 days. Mr Musk went on to quote a price of $250 per kilowatt hour for 100 megawatt hour systems. However Australia's relevant minster, Mr Canavan, on Monday appeared to downplay the conversation between Mr Turnbull and Mr Musk. \"I think it's just discussions at this point, and I don't believe anything specific to South Australia was discussed, but we support all technologies,\" Mr Canavan told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. \"For a politician to stand up and say that 'I've got the solution, all we need is 100 megawatt of batteries' is fraught with danger,\" he said. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has also spoken to Mr Musk and will not rule out his seeking his help, but his government is expected to make a separate announcement later this week." } ], "id": "9506_1", "question": "Will Mr Musk really be involved?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A Colombian former rebel turned lawmaker remains missing less than a week before he is due to appear before the country's supreme court over allegations of drug smuggling. The ex-rebel known as Jesus Santrich disappeared on Sunday and has not been heard from since. His son said he feared he may have been kidnapped or killed but Colombian President Ivan Duque said Santrich was trying to elude justice. He was last seen on Saturday. Jesus Santrich is the nom de guerre of Seuxis Pausias Hernandez Solarte, a former commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a Marxist rebel group founded in Colombia which engaged in a five-decade-long armed struggle against government forces and right-wing paramilitaries. He joined the rebel group after a student friend of his was killed by Colombian security forces. Jesus Santrich was the name of the killed friend and it was in his honour that the philosophy student adopted it as his pseudonym. Santrich is partially blind, having gradually lost his sight due to a genetic condition. He was a member of the rebel group for 30 years and one of their most hardline negotiators in the process which led to a peace agreement in 2016. Santrich had been staying in a reintegration zone in Cesar province, about 30km (20 miles) from the Venezuelan border. These areas were created as part of the peace process between the government and the Farc for the rebels to gather, lay down their arms and receive training to help them reintegrate into civilian society. Like other high-profile former rebels and public figures in Colombia, Santrich had bodyguards assigned to him by the national protection unit. Members of the unit reported on Sunday that Santrich was not in the house he had been staying at. In his room, they found a note saying he would stay with one of his younger sons in the city of Valldeupar. He added that he did not \"want a crowd\" at his son's house and left instructions to be picked up and a contact name. Colombia's protection unit said it was trying to verify the authenticity of the note. It is just the latest twist in a legal saga that saw Santrich detained in April 2018 after being indicted by a US grand jury. He is accused of conspiring to smuggle 10 tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to the US. He was jailed before he could take up one of the 10 seats in Congress which under the terms of the peace agreement had been guaranteed to the party founded by the Farc rebels. But in May, a special tribunal set up to hear cases related to Colombia's armed conflict ruled there was not enough evidence against Santrich. The tribunal ordered his release, but as Santrich was leaving jail he was re-arrested by prosecutors who said they had fresh evidence. He was again released on the orders of Colombia's supreme court, which argued that as he is a lawmaker only the highest court can order his arrest. Before his disappearance, Santrich took up his seat in Congress while some conservative lawmakers held up placards in protest. Colombia's conservative president, Mr Duque, told journalists he thought Santrich had left because of a hearing he is due to attend on 9 July and was \"mocking\" the Colombian legal system. \"He has a hearing with the Supreme Court in these first days of July, and to see someone like that abandon his security detail... only shows that he wants to elude justice,\" he said. Santrich's former comrades in the Farc - now members of a political party of the same name - urged Santrich to reaffirm his commitment to the peace deal. They also said that any member who chose to abandon the accord or commit crimes was solely responsible for the consequences. There has been much speculation in Colombian media, with many pointing to neighbouring Venezuela as a possible destination. Venezuela's socialist government is not on good terms with Mr Duque's government and would be very unlikely to hand over Santrich if he was found, these publications point out. The border between the two countries is porous and left-wing rebels regularly move across it undetected. Santrich's son told Blu Radio that his father had not come to his home in Valledupar and expressed concern for his welfare. His bodyguards urged him to contact them immediately, pointing out the many death threats Santrich had received in the past. Dozens of former rebels have been killed since the peace deal was signed Santrich is not the first former Farc leader to disappear. The whereabouts of three other key figures are also unknown. The most senior of the three, Ivan Marquez, appeared in a video in January accusing the government of betraying the terms of the peace agreement.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1192, "answer_start": 434, "text": "Jesus Santrich is the nom de guerre of Seuxis Pausias Hernandez Solarte, a former commander in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a Marxist rebel group founded in Colombia which engaged in a five-decade-long armed struggle against government forces and right-wing paramilitaries. He joined the rebel group after a student friend of his was killed by Colombian security forces. Jesus Santrich was the name of the killed friend and it was in his honour that the philosophy student adopted it as his pseudonym. Santrich is partially blind, having gradually lost his sight due to a genetic condition. He was a member of the rebel group for 30 years and one of their most hardline negotiators in the process which led to a peace agreement in 2016." } ], "id": "9507_0", "question": "Who is Jesus Santrich?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2068, "answer_start": 1193, "text": "Santrich had been staying in a reintegration zone in Cesar province, about 30km (20 miles) from the Venezuelan border. These areas were created as part of the peace process between the government and the Farc for the rebels to gather, lay down their arms and receive training to help them reintegrate into civilian society. Like other high-profile former rebels and public figures in Colombia, Santrich had bodyguards assigned to him by the national protection unit. Members of the unit reported on Sunday that Santrich was not in the house he had been staying at. In his room, they found a note saying he would stay with one of his younger sons in the city of Valldeupar. He added that he did not \"want a crowd\" at his son's house and left instructions to be picked up and a contact name. Colombia's protection unit said it was trying to verify the authenticity of the note." } ], "id": "9507_1", "question": "What happened?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3008, "answer_start": 2069, "text": "It is just the latest twist in a legal saga that saw Santrich detained in April 2018 after being indicted by a US grand jury. He is accused of conspiring to smuggle 10 tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to the US. He was jailed before he could take up one of the 10 seats in Congress which under the terms of the peace agreement had been guaranteed to the party founded by the Farc rebels. But in May, a special tribunal set up to hear cases related to Colombia's armed conflict ruled there was not enough evidence against Santrich. The tribunal ordered his release, but as Santrich was leaving jail he was re-arrested by prosecutors who said they had fresh evidence. He was again released on the orders of Colombia's supreme court, which argued that as he is a lawmaker only the highest court can order his arrest. Before his disappearance, Santrich took up his seat in Congress while some conservative lawmakers held up placards in protest." } ], "id": "9507_2", "question": "Why has Santrich's disappearance caused a stir?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3658, "answer_start": 3009, "text": "Colombia's conservative president, Mr Duque, told journalists he thought Santrich had left because of a hearing he is due to attend on 9 July and was \"mocking\" the Colombian legal system. \"He has a hearing with the Supreme Court in these first days of July, and to see someone like that abandon his security detail... only shows that he wants to elude justice,\" he said. Santrich's former comrades in the Farc - now members of a political party of the same name - urged Santrich to reaffirm his commitment to the peace deal. They also said that any member who chose to abandon the accord or commit crimes was solely responsible for the consequences." } ], "id": "9507_3", "question": "What has Duque said about it?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4652, "answer_start": 3659, "text": "There has been much speculation in Colombian media, with many pointing to neighbouring Venezuela as a possible destination. Venezuela's socialist government is not on good terms with Mr Duque's government and would be very unlikely to hand over Santrich if he was found, these publications point out. The border between the two countries is porous and left-wing rebels regularly move across it undetected. Santrich's son told Blu Radio that his father had not come to his home in Valledupar and expressed concern for his welfare. His bodyguards urged him to contact them immediately, pointing out the many death threats Santrich had received in the past. Dozens of former rebels have been killed since the peace deal was signed Santrich is not the first former Farc leader to disappear. The whereabouts of three other key figures are also unknown. The most senior of the three, Ivan Marquez, appeared in a video in January accusing the government of betraying the terms of the peace agreement." } ], "id": "9507_4", "question": "Where could he be?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Concerns are growing over the strength of Germany's economy - the largest in the eurozone - following the release of more gloomy official figures. Industrial production in April fell by 1.9% compared with the previous month and exports were 0.5% lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile new forecasts from the national central bank, the Bundesbank, reflect the more downbeat prospects. The bank is now predicting growth of just 0.6% for this year, compared with a forecast of 1.6% it made in December. The Bundesbank actually predicts a small decline in economic activity in the current quarter, though it expects growth to bounce back somewhat next year to 1.2%. Germany is especially exposed to the uncertainty that is affecting international trade. It is a manufacturing powerhouse and sells a large share of what it produces abroad. Only the much larger economies of the United States and China export more goods. China's economic slowdown has made its mark on Germany. It is an important market for German industry. There is also what the Bundesbank calls a \"muted outlook\" for trade more generally. The bank says disputes are weighing on global commerce. That is a reference to the policies pursued by the Trump administration. Europe has been affected by the tariffs on steel and aluminium which the US imposed because, the US administration argued, imports of the metals were undermining national security. Germany especially will be exposed if the US decides to impose additional tariffs on car imports, something President Trump is considering. There is also a wider impact on confidence about international trade resulting from the tariff increases that the US and China have imposed on one another. These clouds over Germany were to some extent reflected in moves made on Thursday by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB indicated that its ultra-low interest rates are likely to remain in place until at least mid-2020, six months longer than the guidance it had given previously. Some members of the ECB's policymaking committee also raised the possibility of further cuts in interest rates or a resumption of the bank's quantitative easing programme, buying financial assets with newly created money. The Bank's president, Mario Draghi, said that the probability of a recession was very low. His explanation for the moves focused more on the eurozone's persistently low inflation, which is currently below the Bank's target of below, but close to, 2%. It is worth remembering that Germany has very low unemployment - almost the lowest of the developed economies. That said, it doesn't bode well for the eurozone more widely that its largest economy is having a weak patch.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2688, "answer_start": 1708, "text": "These clouds over Germany were to some extent reflected in moves made on Thursday by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB indicated that its ultra-low interest rates are likely to remain in place until at least mid-2020, six months longer than the guidance it had given previously. Some members of the ECB's policymaking committee also raised the possibility of further cuts in interest rates or a resumption of the bank's quantitative easing programme, buying financial assets with newly created money. The Bank's president, Mario Draghi, said that the probability of a recession was very low. His explanation for the moves focused more on the eurozone's persistently low inflation, which is currently below the Bank's target of below, but close to, 2%. It is worth remembering that Germany has very low unemployment - almost the lowest of the developed economies. That said, it doesn't bode well for the eurozone more widely that its largest economy is having a weak patch." } ], "id": "9508_0", "question": "Rate cuts on the horizon?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Scientists say they have made a significant leap towards helping boys with cancer stay fertile, thanks to a baby monkey called Grady. Cancer treatment can damage a boy's undeveloped testes and leaves a third of survivors infertile in adulthood. Baby Grady is the first primate born using frozen samples of testicles taken before her dad started puberty. Experts said the technique, detailed in the journal Science, could soon be used in the clinic. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can destroy someone's ability to have children. Women and girls can have eggs or ovaries frozen in order to have children after their cancer therapy is over. Adult men can have a sperm sample frozen, but this is not an option for boys who have not gone through puberty. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development started with five male rhesus macaques. The animals had not started puberty so their testes were not yet sperm-making factories. Then the researchers removed a testicle from each monkey, cut it up into small pieces and put the fragments on ice to cryopreserve them. Around half a year later the monkeys were made infertile. Then fragments of their preserved testes were thawed and were grafted underneath the monkey's skin. As the animals went through puberty, the testicular tissue matured and grew; when scientists looked inside \"we found that there were sperm\", said Prof Kyle Orwig, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This sperm was used to fertilise an egg and baby girl Grady was the result. Just over eight out of every 10 testicular tissue grafts started producing sperm after the macaques went through puberty. The researchers then fertilised 138 eggs using a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI. Around four in 10 fertilised eggs developed into early stage embryos. A total of 11 embryos were implanted into female macaques, which resulted in one pregnancy and one healthy baby. The scientists think it is close. Prof Orwig said: \"Having succeeded to produce a live-born and healthy baby, we feel that this is a technology that is ready for the human clinic.\" But other researchers say they would like to see more evidence before it is tried on humans for the first time. Some boys have already had testicular tissue frozen in the hope that science would one day give them the option of having children. The biggest risk would be giving the child cancer again. If any cancerous material was hidden inside the testes, then it too would be frozen and reintroduced to the child's body along with the graft. Cancers of the blood - like leukaemia and lymphoma - as well as testicular cancer, would be problematic. Doctors would also want to be sure that the process did not affect the genetic material packaged up inside the sperm. Dr Susan Taymans, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told the BBC: \"I think it is very significant. \"It is a very exciting proof of principle that this really can work, but there's a few more things I'd like to see. \"This is one live healthy baby, which is fantastic, but I think we'd like to see a couple more.\" She also said: \"I'm hopeful boys whose tissue has been frozen will be able to use it in their lifetime.\" Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: \"This is a really excellent study, which is a great step forward, but it is important to remember that before we could attempt to use it in humans, further research would be needed to show that it is safe and that it works in the same kind of way. \"This, I think, is still a number of years away.\" Follow James on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1573, "answer_start": 749, "text": "Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development started with five male rhesus macaques. The animals had not started puberty so their testes were not yet sperm-making factories. Then the researchers removed a testicle from each monkey, cut it up into small pieces and put the fragments on ice to cryopreserve them. Around half a year later the monkeys were made infertile. Then fragments of their preserved testes were thawed and were grafted underneath the monkey's skin. As the animals went through puberty, the testicular tissue matured and grew; when scientists looked inside \"we found that there were sperm\", said Prof Kyle Orwig, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This sperm was used to fertilise an egg and baby girl Grady was the result." } ], "id": "9509_0", "question": "So how was Grady born?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1986, "answer_start": 1574, "text": "Just over eight out of every 10 testicular tissue grafts started producing sperm after the macaques went through puberty. The researchers then fertilised 138 eggs using a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI. Around four in 10 fertilised eggs developed into early stage embryos. A total of 11 embryos were implanted into female macaques, which resulted in one pregnancy and one healthy baby." } ], "id": "9509_1", "question": "How effective was it?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2411, "answer_start": 1987, "text": "The scientists think it is close. Prof Orwig said: \"Having succeeded to produce a live-born and healthy baby, we feel that this is a technology that is ready for the human clinic.\" But other researchers say they would like to see more evidence before it is tried on humans for the first time. Some boys have already had testicular tissue frozen in the hope that science would one day give them the option of having children." } ], "id": "9509_2", "question": "Is this ready for human use?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2834, "answer_start": 2412, "text": "The biggest risk would be giving the child cancer again. If any cancerous material was hidden inside the testes, then it too would be frozen and reintroduced to the child's body along with the graft. Cancers of the blood - like leukaemia and lymphoma - as well as testicular cancer, would be problematic. Doctors would also want to be sure that the process did not affect the genetic material packaged up inside the sperm." } ], "id": "9509_3", "question": "Would this be safe?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3681, "answer_start": 2835, "text": "Dr Susan Taymans, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told the BBC: \"I think it is very significant. \"It is a very exciting proof of principle that this really can work, but there's a few more things I'd like to see. \"This is one live healthy baby, which is fantastic, but I think we'd like to see a couple more.\" She also said: \"I'm hopeful boys whose tissue has been frozen will be able to use it in their lifetime.\" Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: \"This is a really excellent study, which is a great step forward, but it is important to remember that before we could attempt to use it in humans, further research would be needed to show that it is safe and that it works in the same kind of way. \"This, I think, is still a number of years away.\" Follow James on Twitter." } ], "id": "9509_4", "question": "What do the experts think?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Florida police investigating the bizarre death of a woman during a domestic row have obtained audio from two Amazon Echo devices. Silvia Galva, 32, was impaled by a spear-tipped bed post in a struggle with her boyfriend, Adam Reechard Crespo, at their Hallandale Beach home. Mr Crespo, 43, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He says her death was a tragic accident. Police want to establish if the smart-speaker, Alexa, recorded the dispute. According to the police report, Mr Crespo said he was trying to pull Ms Galvo off their bed during an argument in the bedroom of their Hallandale Beach apartment in July when he heard a snap. The police report says: \"[Mr Crespo] pulled the blade out of the victim's chest 'hoping it was not too bad.'\" But Ms Galva died with a 12in (30cm) double-sided blade through her chest following the altercation at the flat in a seaside city 20 miles (32km) north of Miami. A lawyer for Mr Crespo, Christopher O'Toole, told the BBC that Ms Galva's death was unintentional. Mr Crespo was sleeping when \"Silvia came into the bedroom, knocked the door down\". Ms Galva broke off one of the pointy bedposts and \"it ended up inside of her\", Mr O'Toole said. Hallandale Police did not return a request for comment. According to the police report, when Mr Crespo saw Ms Galva had been stabbed he called for a female friend who was in the apartment to call emergency services. \"He tried to save Silvia's life,\" Mr O'Toole said, \"this was the woman he loved.\" A police warrant obtained by US media says \"audio recordings capturing the attack on victim Silvia Crespo... may be found on the server[s] maintained by or for Amazon.com\". Authorities said Amazon provided multiple recordings, but did not disclose their contents. Mr O'Toole said he supports the use of the audio in court. \"Ordinarily, I'd be jumping up and down objecting, but we believe the recordings could help us,\" he said. \"If the truth comes out, it could help us.\" Mr Crespo was bailed from custody on a $65,000 (PS50,000) bond. While smart speakers do always \"hear\", they do not typically \"listen\" to conversations. The major brands record and analyse snippets of audio internally to detect words like \"Alexa\", \"Ok Google\" or \"Hey Siri\", but if those words are not detected, the audio is discarded. If the wake word is said, however, then the audio is recorded and sent to the voice recognition service at the company. The big smart speaker companies - Amazon, Apple and Google - all employ staff who listen in to customer voice recordings. But security researchers have found no evidence that speakers continuously send entire conversations back to a remote server.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2670, "answer_start": 2032, "text": "While smart speakers do always \"hear\", they do not typically \"listen\" to conversations. The major brands record and analyse snippets of audio internally to detect words like \"Alexa\", \"Ok Google\" or \"Hey Siri\", but if those words are not detected, the audio is discarded. If the wake word is said, however, then the audio is recorded and sent to the voice recognition service at the company. The big smart speaker companies - Amazon, Apple and Google - all employ staff who listen in to customer voice recordings. But security researchers have found no evidence that speakers continuously send entire conversations back to a remote server." } ], "id": "9510_0", "question": "Do smart speakers always record conversations?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Ghost-like particles known as neutrinos have been puzzling scientists for decades. Part of the family of fundamental particles that make up all known matter, neutrinos hurtle unimpeded through the Universe, interacting with almost nothing. The majority shoot right through the Earth as though it isn't even there, making them exceptionally difficult to detect and study. Despite this, researchers have worked out that many are created by the Sun and even in our own atmosphere. But the source of one high energy group, known as cosmic neutrinos, has remained particularly elusive. Now, in the first discovery of its kind, it turns out that a distant galaxy powered by a supermassive black hole may be shooting a beam of these cosmic neutrinos straight towards Earth. It all starts with IceCube, a highly sensitive detector buried about two kilometres beneath the Antarctic ice, near the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. \"In order to get a measurable signal from the tiny fraction of neutrinos that do interact, neutrino physicists need to build extremely large detectors,\" explains Dr Susan Cartwright, a particle physicist at the University of Sheffield. Measuring cosmic neutrinos against those created closer to home is, she told BBC News, \"like trying to count fireflies in the middle of a firework display\". But on 22 September 2017, one of these neutrinos showed up near IceCube's cubic kilometre array and decided to interact with the surrounding material, creating another particle called a muon. Lacking the neutrino's stealth mode, this muon crashed through the ice in the same direction as its progenitor, sparking against other atoms along the way and creating a visible trail that IceCube could capture. \"[IceCube] measures this trail of light,\" explains Prof Albrecht Karle from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was involved in the discovery. \"We can do that quite precisely, so that we can measure the direction of [the neutrino's] track.\" Using this, IceCube was able to work out the approximate region of sky that the particle had been travelling from. Within 43 seconds, an alert was dispatched for telescopes to join in the hunt. Two years previously, the IceCube team had decided that rather than hoard their potential findings for publication, they would send out these \"astronomy telegrams\", inviting other researchers to participate in the chase as soon as an event was detected. \"Traditionally in astronomy we looked at images of the sky, like it was static, but in reality it's a movie. All the time there are flashes and things moving and happening. So instead of publishing a paper and having astronomers look three years later at something we report, we went into real time mode,\" says Prof Karle. Eight other observatories trained their eyes and ears on the neutrino's point of origin. The tricky part, explains Prof Karle, is that even though IceCube can work this out to within half a degree of sky, that is still about the size of the Moon as we see it from the Earth's surface. Such a region can encompass a lot of galaxies and other objects. However this time, there was good news. A galaxy with a \"monster\" black hole about 100 million times the size of our Sun, was sitting in exactly the right spot. About four billion light years from Earth, just off the left shoulder of the constellation Orion, this galaxy has an intensely bright core caused by the energy of its central black hole. As matter falls in to the black hole, vast jets of charged particles emerge at right angles, making them massive particle accelerators. \"They can extend to almost a million light years, just the jet. Which is of course bigger than the Large Hadron Collider at Cern,\" laughs Prof Karle. It is perhaps unsurprising that the neutrino detected by IceCube arrived with 40 times more energy than particles accelerated at Cern, despite its long journey. This particular galaxy type is known as a blazar, because one of the jets is trained directly towards Earth. \"So we are really in the line of fire. We are staring in to the eye of the monster so to speak,\" adds Prof Karle. Although not originally high on the list of potential cosmic neutrino sources, this makes for strong evidence that blazars do generate the elusive particles. \"This is extremely exciting news,\" says Dr Cartwright, who was not involved in the study. \"We can hope that this observation will be followed by the identification of further neutrinos from flaring blazars.\" After their initial detection, the IceCube team went back through previous records of neutrino interactions and found that several more had come from the direction of the same galaxy. \"The chance of this excess of neutrinos arising by chance is less than 0.03%,\" Dr Cartwright adds. Confirming the discovery via the work of other observatories like the Eso's Very Large Telescope in Chile makes it the latest success for multi-messenger astronomy - detections combining electromagnetic information like visual and radio data with signals like gravitational waves and neutrinos. Follow Mary on Twitter.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5071, "answer_start": 4104, "text": "Although not originally high on the list of potential cosmic neutrino sources, this makes for strong evidence that blazars do generate the elusive particles. \"This is extremely exciting news,\" says Dr Cartwright, who was not involved in the study. \"We can hope that this observation will be followed by the identification of further neutrinos from flaring blazars.\" After their initial detection, the IceCube team went back through previous records of neutrino interactions and found that several more had come from the direction of the same galaxy. \"The chance of this excess of neutrinos arising by chance is less than 0.03%,\" Dr Cartwright adds. Confirming the discovery via the work of other observatories like the Eso's Very Large Telescope in Chile makes it the latest success for multi-messenger astronomy - detections combining electromagnetic information like visual and radio data with signals like gravitational waves and neutrinos. Follow Mary on Twitter." } ], "id": "9511_0", "question": "What's new?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Activists across France have staged Black Friday protests against Amazon, decrying consumerism and its impact on the environment. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the company's French headquarters in Clichy, north of Paris. Protesters also tried to blockade a shopping centre in Paris and a logistics centre near the eastern city of Lyon. In video from Lyon riot police can be seen dragging activists away. The protests aimed to disrupt Black Friday, a discount shopping day that activists have blamed for environmental damage. In response, Amazon told the BBC it respected the right to protest but disagreed with \"the actions of these individuals\". Similar protests against Amazon erupted in other European countries, including Germany, where workers from six distribution centres staged a walkout over pay and conditions. The union Verdi, which called the strike, said its members' hard work could not be bought for \"knock-down prices\". Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday because of its environmental impact, and Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne has warned against the \"consumption frenzy\" linked to the event. The shopping day began in the US on the Friday after Thanksgiving but in recent years spread to other countries. Environmentalists have accused Amazon of accelerating climate change through its rapid delivery services, which they say contribute to greenhouse gases emissions. Amazon ships around 10 billion packages per year, according to Reuters news agency. To mitigate its impact on the climate, the US e-commerce company pledged to go net carbon neutral by 2040 by investing in electric delivery vans, among other initiatives. Manon Aubry, a left-wing member of the European parliament, said the protest was intended to \"denounce the social, environmental and fiscal damage from Amazon\". Coline Vanhenacker, a spokeswoman for environmental group Friends of the Earth, said Amazon represented \"overproduction, overconsumption and overwaste\". \"Today 25% of French greenhouse gas emissions are linked to textiles and electronics products and Amazon is the leading distributor so we have to put a stop to it,\" she said. The demonstrations, dubbed \"Block Friday\", are aiming to disrupt Amazon's business operations in France and other countries. One of the groups involved in organising the protests, anti-globalisation movement Attac, said it would \"take action across France to disrupt Amazon's business\". France's first protest was held on Thursday, when dozens of activists formed a human chain, lay on hay bales and dumped old fridges and microwaves outside the Amazon depot in Bretigny-sur-Orge. At the protest, about 40km (24 miles) south of Paris, some activists held banners which read: \"Amazon: for the climate, for employment, stop expanding, stop over-production\". More demonstrations took place on Friday, with environmental groups threatening to turn 29 November into a \"Black Day for Amazon\". As of Friday morning, dozens of activists from various groups had gathered outside Amazon France's facilities, including its headquarters in Clichy. They held up a sign saying: \"No to Amazon and its world.\" In Lyon, a sit-down protest outside an Amazon distribution centre degenerated into skirmishes between activists and riot police carrying batons and shields. One of the groups involved, Lyon Climat, accused the police of being heavy-handed. Footage posted to social media showed police hauling some activists along the floor. In Paris, around 40 young protesters attempted to block the doorway of a large shopping centre in La Defense business district of the city. They linked arms to stop people entering the shopping centre and chanted: \"Work, consume and shut up, that is the message given to our youth.\" In a statement, Amazon said it respected \"everyone's right to voice their opinions\" but disagrees with the means used by some protesters. It accused Attac of spreading \"false allegations\" and \"pointing the finger at Amazon for political ends\". \"Amazon directly employs 9,300 people in France, provides business opportunities for thousands of companies and SMEs in France, and has made ambitious commitments in our 'Climate Pledge' plan to become a net zero carbon company ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement,\" the company told the BBC. \"Any suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong.\" Recent polling data carried by the Huffington Post does suggest the popularity of Black Friday may be waning in France. A third of people surveyed by YouGov France said they were not planning to take part in this year's sales. A majority of respondents - 57% - said they believed the promotions were false. Some MPs want to, citing concerns over the effects of consumerism on the planet. An \"anti-waste\" bill was amended to include a proposal to prohibit Black Friday by a French legislative committee on Monday. France's former Environment Minister Delphine Batho tabled the amendment, which will be debated next month in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. \"Black Friday celebrates a model of consumption that is anti-ecological and anti-social,\" said MP Mattieu Orphelin, a former member of President Emmanuel Macron's LREM party. A trade union in France has opposed the proposal. So too have conservative MPs, including Republican lawmaker Eric Woerth, who called the debate over the amendment a \"useless row\". Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is considering implementing new regulations to protect the climate, including a tax on deliveries to ease traffic jams and pollution caused by Amazon and other companies.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2153, "answer_start": 1247, "text": "Environmentalists have accused Amazon of accelerating climate change through its rapid delivery services, which they say contribute to greenhouse gases emissions. Amazon ships around 10 billion packages per year, according to Reuters news agency. To mitigate its impact on the climate, the US e-commerce company pledged to go net carbon neutral by 2040 by investing in electric delivery vans, among other initiatives. Manon Aubry, a left-wing member of the European parliament, said the protest was intended to \"denounce the social, environmental and fiscal damage from Amazon\". Coline Vanhenacker, a spokeswoman for environmental group Friends of the Earth, said Amazon represented \"overproduction, overconsumption and overwaste\". \"Today 25% of French greenhouse gas emissions are linked to textiles and electronics products and Amazon is the leading distributor so we have to put a stop to it,\" she said." } ], "id": "9512_0", "question": "Why did the activists target Amazon?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4659, "answer_start": 2154, "text": "The demonstrations, dubbed \"Block Friday\", are aiming to disrupt Amazon's business operations in France and other countries. One of the groups involved in organising the protests, anti-globalisation movement Attac, said it would \"take action across France to disrupt Amazon's business\". France's first protest was held on Thursday, when dozens of activists formed a human chain, lay on hay bales and dumped old fridges and microwaves outside the Amazon depot in Bretigny-sur-Orge. At the protest, about 40km (24 miles) south of Paris, some activists held banners which read: \"Amazon: for the climate, for employment, stop expanding, stop over-production\". More demonstrations took place on Friday, with environmental groups threatening to turn 29 November into a \"Black Day for Amazon\". As of Friday morning, dozens of activists from various groups had gathered outside Amazon France's facilities, including its headquarters in Clichy. They held up a sign saying: \"No to Amazon and its world.\" In Lyon, a sit-down protest outside an Amazon distribution centre degenerated into skirmishes between activists and riot police carrying batons and shields. One of the groups involved, Lyon Climat, accused the police of being heavy-handed. Footage posted to social media showed police hauling some activists along the floor. In Paris, around 40 young protesters attempted to block the doorway of a large shopping centre in La Defense business district of the city. They linked arms to stop people entering the shopping centre and chanted: \"Work, consume and shut up, that is the message given to our youth.\" In a statement, Amazon said it respected \"everyone's right to voice their opinions\" but disagrees with the means used by some protesters. It accused Attac of spreading \"false allegations\" and \"pointing the finger at Amazon for political ends\". \"Amazon directly employs 9,300 people in France, provides business opportunities for thousands of companies and SMEs in France, and has made ambitious commitments in our 'Climate Pledge' plan to become a net zero carbon company ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement,\" the company told the BBC. \"Any suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong.\" Recent polling data carried by the Huffington Post does suggest the popularity of Black Friday may be waning in France. A third of people surveyed by YouGov France said they were not planning to take part in this year's sales. A majority of respondents - 57% - said they believed the promotions were false." } ], "id": "9512_1", "question": "Where are protests happening?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu looks all but certain to stay in office for a record fifth term after his biggest election challenger, Benny Gantz, admitted defeat on Wednesday. With almost all votes counted, both men's parties are neck and neck. But a coalition between Mr Netanyahu's Likud and smaller right-wing and religious parties could form a 65 seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset. US President Donald Trump has already offered his congratulations. Mr Netanyahu tweeted that the president had called him from Air Force One - the US presidential aircraft - on Wednesday. If he forms a new governing coalition, Mr Netanyahu would be on course to become Israel's longest-serving prime minister, overtaking the country's founding father David Ben-Gurion. However, he could be indicted in three corruption cases in the coming months. Mr Gantz's deputy in the centrist party has vowed to make the government's life difficult after the close result. \"We didn't win in this round. We will make Likud's life hell in the opposition,\" Yair Lapid said. In a late-night speech to supporters on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu claimed a \"colossal victory\". \"It will be a right-wing government, but I will be prime minister for all,\" Mr Netanyahu told cheering supporters at Likud's headquarters. \"I'm very touched that the people of Israel gave me their vote of confidence for the fifth time, and an even bigger vote of confidence than previous elections. \"I intend to be the prime minister of all citizens of Israel. Right, left, Jews, non-Jews. All of Israel's citizens.\" The remaining ballots, cast at military bases, will be counted over the coming days, Reuters reports. President Reuven Rivlin will then chose a leader best placed to assemble a majority. No party has ever won a sole majority in Israel's parliament and it has always had coalition governments. Exit polls had earlier predicted a tight race with no clear winner, and after initial results Mr Gantz also claimed victory. By BBC Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman, Tel Aviv There were roars of celebration at the election night party for Benny Gantz as the first exit poll was released. His supporters believed Israel was on the brink of a new centre-ground government. But as the votes were counted overnight, Benjamin Netanyahu's success became clearer. The incumbent PM's Likud party appears most likely to be able to form another coalition government with the help of right-wing nationalist and religious parties. He said history had given the people of Israel another chance as his supporters, using his nickname, chanted: \"Bibi, the King of Israel.\" With left-wing and Arab-Israeli parties suffering heavy losses, his win appears decisive, despite the most serious challenge yet to his decade in office. In the end, the prime minister was able to rally his right-wing base to deliver the votes he needed. During the campaign, he pitched himself as the sole guarantor of Israel's security. He warned that Mr Gantz would set up a \"leftist\" government with the support of Israeli Arab parties that would allow the creation of a Palestinian state, which he said would pose a mortal threat to Israel. Mr Netanyahu also promoted his foreign policy credentials, travelling abroad to meet US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hosting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In a final election-day push, he warned Likud's supporters that if they stayed at home and did not vote their opponents would win. Likud was meanwhile criticised for sending 1,200 observers equipped with hidden body cameras to polling stations in Arab communities. The Arab alliance, Hadash-Taal, said it was an \"illegal\" action that sought to intimidate Arabs. Likud said it wanted to ensure only \"valid votes\" were cast. Recent weeks have seen tensions flare between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and US President Donald Trump is expected to publish his plan which aims to solve Israel's long-standing conflict with the Palestinians soon. However, ways to revive the moribund peace process were not a main subject of electoral debate. Many Israelis appear to see little hope in the longstanding international formula for peace - the \"two-state solution\". The phrase denotes a final settlement that would see Israel living peacefully alongside an independent state of Palestine, defined within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. In the final days of the election campaign, Mr Netanyahu made a significant announcement suggesting a new government led by him would annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. Israel's once-dominant Labour party, which sealed a breakthrough peace deal with the Palestinians in the 1990s, had its worst-ever performance in this year's elections - winning just six seats. The secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Saeb Erekat, tweeted a downbeat view of the prospects for peace. At the end of February, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit informed Mr Netanyahu that he intended to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three cases, pending a final hearing. Now the election is over, evidence in those cases will be turned over to the lawyers of those involved. The prime minister is accused of accepting gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of dispensing favours to garner positive press coverage. Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and said he is a victim of a political \"witch-hunt\". A date for the final hearing, at which the prime minister and his lawyers would be able to argue against the allegations, has not yet been set. Mr Mandelblit has said the Supreme Court will determine whether Mr Netanyahu has to resign if he is charged. There have been reports that Mr Netanyahu will attempt to persuade potential coalition partners to pass legislation that would grant prime ministers immunity from prosecution while in office. The Jerusalem Post reports that Likud and four other allied parties, who together will control 61 seats in the Knesset, have made it clear that they will not require Mr Netanyahu to resign if he is charged. President Reuven Rivlin will consult with political parties. Afterwards, a candidate will be chosen who is deemed able to form a government that controls at least 61 seats in the Knesset. The process could take several weeks. Mr Netanyahu has promised to speedily put together a coalition with his \"natural partners\". Some Israeli analysts have predicted that this could produce a government that will accelerate the nationalist and conservative policies pursued by the outgoing administration. The ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, which each won eight seats, have said they would join a coalition led by Mr Netanyahu. The Union of Right-Wing Parties, which won five seats, and the centre-right Kulanu party, which came away with four seats, have also said they would back him. Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, has yet to announce his decision. The former defence minister has said he will either sit in opposition or support Mr Netanyahu, but not back Mr Gantz.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3778, "answer_start": 2767, "text": "In the end, the prime minister was able to rally his right-wing base to deliver the votes he needed. During the campaign, he pitched himself as the sole guarantor of Israel's security. He warned that Mr Gantz would set up a \"leftist\" government with the support of Israeli Arab parties that would allow the creation of a Palestinian state, which he said would pose a mortal threat to Israel. Mr Netanyahu also promoted his foreign policy credentials, travelling abroad to meet US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hosting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In a final election-day push, he warned Likud's supporters that if they stayed at home and did not vote their opponents would win. Likud was meanwhile criticised for sending 1,200 observers equipped with hidden body cameras to polling stations in Arab communities. The Arab alliance, Hadash-Taal, said it was an \"illegal\" action that sought to intimidate Arabs. Likud said it wanted to ensure only \"valid votes\" were cast." } ], "id": "9513_0", "question": "Why did Mr Netanyahu prevail?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5050, "answer_start": 3779, "text": "Recent weeks have seen tensions flare between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and US President Donald Trump is expected to publish his plan which aims to solve Israel's long-standing conflict with the Palestinians soon. However, ways to revive the moribund peace process were not a main subject of electoral debate. Many Israelis appear to see little hope in the longstanding international formula for peace - the \"two-state solution\". The phrase denotes a final settlement that would see Israel living peacefully alongside an independent state of Palestine, defined within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. In the final days of the election campaign, Mr Netanyahu made a significant announcement suggesting a new government led by him would annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. Israel's once-dominant Labour party, which sealed a breakthrough peace deal with the Palestinians in the 1990s, had its worst-ever performance in this year's elections - winning just six seats. The secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Saeb Erekat, tweeted a downbeat view of the prospects for peace." } ], "id": "9513_1", "question": "What does it mean for the peace process?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6253, "answer_start": 5051, "text": "At the end of February, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit informed Mr Netanyahu that he intended to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three cases, pending a final hearing. Now the election is over, evidence in those cases will be turned over to the lawyers of those involved. The prime minister is accused of accepting gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of dispensing favours to garner positive press coverage. Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and said he is a victim of a political \"witch-hunt\". A date for the final hearing, at which the prime minister and his lawyers would be able to argue against the allegations, has not yet been set. Mr Mandelblit has said the Supreme Court will determine whether Mr Netanyahu has to resign if he is charged. There have been reports that Mr Netanyahu will attempt to persuade potential coalition partners to pass legislation that would grant prime ministers immunity from prosecution while in office. The Jerusalem Post reports that Likud and four other allied parties, who together will control 61 seats in the Knesset, have made it clear that they will not require Mr Netanyahu to resign if he is charged." } ], "id": "9513_2", "question": "What allegations is Mr Netanyahu facing?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Indian minister MJ Akbar has filed a defamation case against a woman journalist who named him as part of a #MeToo movement gripping the country. Priya Ramani's allegations against Mr Akbar inspired more women to talk about his alleged \"predatory conduct\". The former newspaper editor added that he would not be stepping down from his post as deputy foreign minister. In a statement, Ms Ramani said she was \"ready\" to fight the allegations against her. She added that she was \"deeply disappointed\" that \"rather than engage with the serious allegations that many women have made against him, he seeks to silence them through intimidation and harassment.\" Apart from the case against Ms Ramani, Mr Akbar has threatened to also sue the other women who have spoken out against him. The minister is the most high-profile figure to be named in India's #MeToo movement. He returned from an official trip abroad on Monday and called the allegations \"false\" and \"baseless\". Ayeshea Perera, BBC News Delhi Everyone expecting a contrite apology and possible resignation from junior Foreign Minister MJ Akbar could not have been more wrong. His response to being named as part of India's #MeToo movement has been full of fire and fury. The allegations against Mr Akbar will be hard to prove. Ms Ramani herself has said that \"nothing happened\" in her account, while the other allegations relate to events that took place many years ago, and will ultimately boil down to his word against theirs. But what is more significant, is that Mr Akbar's response could also embolden others who have been named. Veteran actor Alok Nath, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a female director, has also sued for defamation, demanding a full written apology and token compensation of one rupee. It is likely that others named may do the same. But will this stop the momentum that has begun in the Indian media and entertainment industries? On the one hand, it could mean that women who were feeling empowered to come forward with their own stories will now stop - and others may feel pressured into taking back their complaints for fear of legal action. The long and arduous court processes will also make it hard for women to sustain the momentum of what they have begun. Mr Akbar was first named last week by Ms Ramani, who retweeted an article she had written for Vogue India in 2017 titled \"To the Harvey Weinsteins of the world\", where she recounted what she called her first experience of workplace harassment. Ms Ramani did not name anyone in the original piece, but said in a tweet on 8 October that the article had been about Mr Akbar. Since then, other women have come forward with their own stories naming Mr Akbar. At least one other anonymous account is believed to be about him. One of India's most influential editors, he has edited leading English-language newspapers such as The Telegraph and The Asian Age. The charges against him range from \"predatory behaviour\" to outright sexual assault. In a statement posted on Twitter on Sunday, Mr Akbar said that the allegations are politically motivated as the country prepares for a general election next year. \"Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge,\" he wrote. Many journalists and women have taken to social media to support those who have accused Mr Akbar of harassment. Comedians, journalists, authors, actors and filmmakers have been called out on social media in the past week. Veteran actor Alok Nath, and film directors Vikas Bahl, Subhash Ghai and Sajid Khan are among the other high-profile figures to be accused of sexual assault. They have all denied the allegations. Read more about India's #MeToo firestorm", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2259, "answer_start": 964, "text": "Ayeshea Perera, BBC News Delhi Everyone expecting a contrite apology and possible resignation from junior Foreign Minister MJ Akbar could not have been more wrong. His response to being named as part of India's #MeToo movement has been full of fire and fury. The allegations against Mr Akbar will be hard to prove. Ms Ramani herself has said that \"nothing happened\" in her account, while the other allegations relate to events that took place many years ago, and will ultimately boil down to his word against theirs. But what is more significant, is that Mr Akbar's response could also embolden others who have been named. Veteran actor Alok Nath, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a female director, has also sued for defamation, demanding a full written apology and token compensation of one rupee. It is likely that others named may do the same. But will this stop the momentum that has begun in the Indian media and entertainment industries? On the one hand, it could mean that women who were feeling empowered to come forward with their own stories will now stop - and others may feel pressured into taking back their complaints for fear of legal action. The long and arduous court processes will also make it hard for women to sustain the momentum of what they have begun." } ], "id": "9514_0", "question": "A threat to India's #MeToo movement?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The death toll in Bolivia continues to rise after violent clashes between security forces and supporters of former President Evo Morales. On Friday, security forces opened fire on supporters of Mr Morales in Sacaba, killing at least eight people. A doctor in the city told the Associated Press that most of those killed and injured had bullet wounds. The country's national ombudsman said a total of 19 people had died since the disputed election on 20 October. On Saturday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned that violence in Bolivia could \"spin out of control\". \"Repressive actions by the authorities... are likely to jeopardise any possible avenue for dialogue,\" she added. Amid claims of electoral fraud, Mr Morales resigned on 10 November and later fled to Mexico. On Friday, before the violence in Sacaba, he told the BBC that there were no meaningful charges that could be brought against him. He was responding to interim President Jeanine Anez, who said he could be prosecuted if he returned to Bolivia. Mr Morales had previously said he was willing to return to Bolivia in order to restore peace. He also told US broadcaster CNN that what happened in Sacaba was \"a real massacre\". Ms Anez, who declared herself interim president on Tuesday, has already broken ties with Venezuela and is sending home more than 700 Cuban medics. The moves are meant to show that the interim government is distancing itself from Mr Morales's regional left-wing allies. Hospital director Guadalberto Lara told AP that most of the killed and injured in the central town of Sacaba had bullet wounds. Witnesses said police opened fire on protesters calling for the return of Mr Morales to Bolivia. Separately, an AFP correspondent said five supporters of the former president were killed, after seeing their bodies at a local hospital. The deaths were later confirmed by interim minister Mr Justiniano to local journalists. On Saturday, three more deaths were confirmed. Also on Friday, riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in La Paz, the country's administrative centre, Mr Morales, 60, has said he was forced to stand down but did so willingly \"so there would be no more bloodshed\". But his resignation triggered clashes around Bolivia between his supporters and police. In Friday's interview with BBC Mundo, Mr Morales said: \"What charges can they bring against me? Electoral fraud? \"Do I administer the electoral commission?\" he continued, arguing that several members of that body were key opposition figures. Mr Morales also rejected the idea that he could be banned from any future vote. \"If I want to return, it's 'Evo can't come back'. Why so much fear of me?\" he asked. Ms Anez, 52, is a qualified lawyer and a fierce critic of Mr Morales. She was previously director of the Totalvision TV station, and has been a senator since 2010. As the deputy Senate leader, Ms Anez took temporary control of the body last Tuesday after Bolivia's vice-president and the leaders of the senate and lower house resigned. That put her next in line for the presidency under the constitution. The appointment of Ms Anez, an opposition senator, as interim leader has been endorsed by Bolivia's Constitutional Court. Ms Anez has said she wants to hold elections as soon as possible, denying that took place against Mr Morales. The US has recognised her as the leader, saying it looks forward to working with Bolivia's interim administration. Mr Morales has branded Ms Anez \"a coup-mongering right-wing senator\" and condemned the US recognition of her interim rule. In the country, reaction to Ms Anez's assumption of power has been mixed. Mr Morales, a former coca farmer, was first elected in 2005 and took office in 2006, the country's first leader from the indigenous community. He won plaudits for fighting poverty and improving Bolivia's economy but drew controversy by defying constitutional limits to run for a fourth term in October's election. Pressure had been growing on him since contested election results suggested he had won outright in the first round. The result was called into question by the Organization of American States (OAS), a regional body, which had found \"clear manipulation\" and called for the result to be annulled. In response, Mr Morales agreed to hold fresh elections. But his main rival, Carlos Mesa - who came second in the vote - said Mr Morales should not stand in any new vote. The chief of the armed forces, Gen Williams Kaliman, then urged Mr Morales to step down in the interests of peace and stability. Announcing his resignation, Mr Morales said he had taken the decision in order to stop fellow socialist leaders from being \"harassed, persecuted and threatened\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2284, "answer_start": 1472, "text": "Hospital director Guadalberto Lara told AP that most of the killed and injured in the central town of Sacaba had bullet wounds. Witnesses said police opened fire on protesters calling for the return of Mr Morales to Bolivia. Separately, an AFP correspondent said five supporters of the former president were killed, after seeing their bodies at a local hospital. The deaths were later confirmed by interim minister Mr Justiniano to local journalists. On Saturday, three more deaths were confirmed. Also on Friday, riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in La Paz, the country's administrative centre, Mr Morales, 60, has said he was forced to stand down but did so willingly \"so there would be no more bloodshed\". But his resignation triggered clashes around Bolivia between his supporters and police." } ], "id": "9515_0", "question": "What's the latest from Sacaba?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2691, "answer_start": 2285, "text": "In Friday's interview with BBC Mundo, Mr Morales said: \"What charges can they bring against me? Electoral fraud? \"Do I administer the electoral commission?\" he continued, arguing that several members of that body were key opposition figures. Mr Morales also rejected the idea that he could be banned from any future vote. \"If I want to return, it's 'Evo can't come back'. Why so much fear of me?\" he asked." } ], "id": "9515_1", "question": "What did Evo Morales say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3640, "answer_start": 2692, "text": "Ms Anez, 52, is a qualified lawyer and a fierce critic of Mr Morales. She was previously director of the Totalvision TV station, and has been a senator since 2010. As the deputy Senate leader, Ms Anez took temporary control of the body last Tuesday after Bolivia's vice-president and the leaders of the senate and lower house resigned. That put her next in line for the presidency under the constitution. The appointment of Ms Anez, an opposition senator, as interim leader has been endorsed by Bolivia's Constitutional Court. Ms Anez has said she wants to hold elections as soon as possible, denying that took place against Mr Morales. The US has recognised her as the leader, saying it looks forward to working with Bolivia's interim administration. Mr Morales has branded Ms Anez \"a coup-mongering right-wing senator\" and condemned the US recognition of her interim rule. In the country, reaction to Ms Anez's assumption of power has been mixed." } ], "id": "9515_2", "question": "How did Jeanine Anez become leader?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4709, "answer_start": 3641, "text": "Mr Morales, a former coca farmer, was first elected in 2005 and took office in 2006, the country's first leader from the indigenous community. He won plaudits for fighting poverty and improving Bolivia's economy but drew controversy by defying constitutional limits to run for a fourth term in October's election. Pressure had been growing on him since contested election results suggested he had won outright in the first round. The result was called into question by the Organization of American States (OAS), a regional body, which had found \"clear manipulation\" and called for the result to be annulled. In response, Mr Morales agreed to hold fresh elections. But his main rival, Carlos Mesa - who came second in the vote - said Mr Morales should not stand in any new vote. The chief of the armed forces, Gen Williams Kaliman, then urged Mr Morales to step down in the interests of peace and stability. Announcing his resignation, Mr Morales said he had taken the decision in order to stop fellow socialist leaders from being \"harassed, persecuted and threatened\"." } ], "id": "9515_3", "question": "How did we get here?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell will stand trial on historical sexual assault charges, a court has ruled. Cardinal Pell formally pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. An Australian magistrate ruled on Tuesday that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to a trial on some charges, but not on others. Cardinal Pell, 76, is Australia's most senior Catholic and one of the most powerful officials in the Vatican. He was given a large police guard as he entered the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in front of dozens of media representatives and members of the public. Cardinal Pell, who is considered the Church's third-ranked official, took a leave of absence from the Vatican last year to fight the charges in his home country. Most of the evidence given remains confidential. But following the hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer, Robert Richter QC, argued that the most \"vile\" allegations against his client had been dismissed. Last June, police in the state of Victoria charged the senior cleric with what they described as historical charges involving \"multiple complainants\". More than 30 witnesses testified during a preliminary court hearing, known as a committal, that ran for four weeks from March. Many sessions were closed to the public, which is standard practice in Victoria in sexual offence cases. In open hearings, the court heard that an alleged incident took place at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s when the cleric was archbishop of Melbourne. Another allegation related to a swimming pool in the city of Ballarat in the 1970s, when Cardinal Pell was a local priest, the court heard. The cleric has consistently denied all accusations, saying last year: \"I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.\" Cardinal Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter QC, told a previous hearing that the allegations were \"impossible\", describing the complainants as \"unreliable\". He argued that Cardinal Pell had been targeted by accusers because of his role as Australia's most senior Catholic figure, and that his client had fully co-operated with police. Magistrate Belinda Wallington said about half of the charges had sufficient evidence to be put to a trial. An allegation that Cardinal Pell committed a sexual assault in a Ballarat cinema during a screening of Close Encounters of The Third Kind was among the charges that were dismissed. In explaining that decision, Magistrate Wallington cited inconsistencies between the evidence of the accused and other witnesses, as well as timelines of when the film was screening. \"The evidence as a whole is not a sufficient weight for a jury to convict,\" she said. Hywel Griffith, BBC News Sydney correspondent For over an hour, Cardinal Pell listened studiously, arms folded, as all of allegations against him were described in detail. Surrounded by supporters in the front row, he didn't react when the magistrate announced that half of the charges were to be dismissed. When he entered his plea, Cardinal Pell remained seated but spoke in a loud, defiant voice with two words: \"Not guilty.\" And with that, it was clear that the cardinal will now face a trial before a jury. His appearances so far have seen dozens of cameras trail his every move in and out of court. When a trial does finally take place, the scrutiny is likely to be even more intense. Cardinal Pell's trial will be held before a judge and a 12-person jury in the County Court of Victoria. The court will hold an administrative hearing on Wednesday, but the trial is not expected to begin for several months. On Tuesday, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said he had \"confidence in the judicial system in Australia and said that justice must now take its course\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1665, "answer_start": 990, "text": "Last June, police in the state of Victoria charged the senior cleric with what they described as historical charges involving \"multiple complainants\". More than 30 witnesses testified during a preliminary court hearing, known as a committal, that ran for four weeks from March. Many sessions were closed to the public, which is standard practice in Victoria in sexual offence cases. In open hearings, the court heard that an alleged incident took place at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s when the cleric was archbishop of Melbourne. Another allegation related to a swimming pool in the city of Ballarat in the 1970s, when Cardinal Pell was a local priest, the court heard." } ], "id": "9516_0", "question": "What is known about the allegations?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2166, "answer_start": 1666, "text": "The cleric has consistently denied all accusations, saying last year: \"I am innocent of these charges, they are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.\" Cardinal Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter QC, told a previous hearing that the allegations were \"impossible\", describing the complainants as \"unreliable\". He argued that Cardinal Pell had been targeted by accusers because of his role as Australia's most senior Catholic figure, and that his client had fully co-operated with police." } ], "id": "9516_1", "question": "What does Cardinal Pell say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2723, "answer_start": 2167, "text": "Magistrate Belinda Wallington said about half of the charges had sufficient evidence to be put to a trial. An allegation that Cardinal Pell committed a sexual assault in a Ballarat cinema during a screening of Close Encounters of The Third Kind was among the charges that were dismissed. In explaining that decision, Magistrate Wallington cited inconsistencies between the evidence of the accused and other witnesses, as well as timelines of when the film was screening. \"The evidence as a whole is not a sufficient weight for a jury to convict,\" she said." } ], "id": "9516_2", "question": "What happened on Tuesday?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3799, "answer_start": 3415, "text": "Cardinal Pell's trial will be held before a judge and a 12-person jury in the County Court of Victoria. The court will hold an administrative hearing on Wednesday, but the trial is not expected to begin for several months. On Tuesday, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said he had \"confidence in the judicial system in Australia and said that justice must now take its course\"." } ], "id": "9516_3", "question": "What will happen now?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "By his own admission filmmaker Jude Ratnam is a \"traitor\". A Tamil himself, he blames the Tamil Tigers for many of the atrocities carried out in Sri Lanka's civil war. The director told BBC Asian Network's Nalini Sivathasan why he feels the way he does. Warning: This story contains graphic details that some readers may find upsetting. \"When the war was coming to an end, I wanted the [Tamil] Tigers to lose the fight. I wanted it to end, even if my own people had to be killed,\" Ratnam says. The war did end in 2009, with the Sri Lankan government - dominated by the Sinhalese majority - defeating the Tamil Tigers. It came at a huge cost though, with the United Nations estimating that 40,000 people, mainly Tamils, died in the final offensive. Nearly a decade on from the end of the war, Sri Lankan filmmakers are tentatively re-examining the 26-year conflict, which killed more than 100,000 people. Tamil directors, including Nirmalan Nadarajah and Gnanadas Kasinathar have subtly criticised the Sri Lankan government, which was accused of targeting civilians and carrying out extrajudicial killings. But Ratnam goes further. In his film Demons in Paradise, he became the first Tamil filmmaker to openly criticise the Tamil Tigers. \"There had been other films... which portray the Tamils as just the victims, which is problematic in a conflict.\" The Tamil Tigers were notorious for carrying out suicide bombings and recruiting child soldiers, but to many Tamils - both within and outside Sri Lanka - they were heroes. Many saw the rebels as their only protection from violence by Sinhalese mobs and an increasingly nationalistic government which had passed anti-Tamil laws, including one in 1956 that made Sinhala the only official language of the country. But Ratnam's belief is that the rebels committed the most brutality to their own community - the Tamils they were meant to be defending. The film looks at the Tamil nationalist groups which emerged from the 1970s in response to anti-Tamil violence. But these factions started killing each other, with the Tamil Tigers emerging as victors. In one massacre, it reportedly killed hundreds of members of the rival Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO). Ratnam follows his uncle, a former fighter for a rival Tamil organisation, as he meets other critics of the Tamil Tigers. In one scene, a man describes the torture meted out by the group. \"They took my father in his sleep, with his bed. They tortured him with an iron. They ironed his back and pierced his eye with a needle. They did that to lots of people.\" Demons in Paradise has received critical acclaim since its premiere at the Cannes Films Festival in 2017. In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese-dominated press has also praised the film. The Daily Mirror newspaper called it \"the most honest, courageous and important piece of art on Sri Lanka done by a Sri Lankan\". Most of the Tamil Tiger leaders were killed in 2009, so audiences will never know their response to the allegations in Demons in Paradise. Among the wider Tamil community, however, there has been anger. Athithan Jayapalan, a Norway-based academic who specialises in Tamil identity, doesn't dispute the crimes committed by the Tamil Tigers. However, he thinks the film is misleading for foreign audiences who may be unfamiliar with the civil war. \"Sri Lanka has escaped the world's attention for all this time, and then this film comes along... Where is the Sri Lankan state? It's pretty much out of the picture.\" Mr Jayapalan believes the crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government far outweigh what the Tamil Tigers did. \"You could compare this to a film which looked at the black civil rights movement in the United States but only focused on the struggles between the Black Panthers and another rival party - it's not giving you the proper context.\" Ratnam says his focus on the Tamil Tigers was intentional - to warn the Tamil community, especially those living abroad, about romanticising the group. \"In the diaspora you tend to live in a bubble, that you left your homeland and you have this nostalgia about it... whereas the truth is that even back at home things change. Those who faced the brunt of the war, they would probably welcome this film more.\" But Sri Lanka-based human rights lawyer Mathuri Thamilmaran disagrees. She saw Demons in Paradise in the capital Colombo, and asks why Ratnam has avoided screening the film in Tamil areas of the country. \"Ironically this film is about Tamil people but it hasn't been shown to Tamil people and I'm suspicious of that.\" In the past decade, a semblance of peace has returned to Sri Lanka. But the reaction to Demons in Paradise is another example that Sri Lanka is still very much divided along ethnic lines. Jude Ratnam says he is not surprised by the backlash but insists his film can help foster reconciliation between the Tamil and Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka. \"Acknowledging the vice in our [Tamil] community, is how we can get away from it. If you keep denying it and play the victim card all the time, then you invariably return to it.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5092, "answer_start": 4565, "text": "In the past decade, a semblance of peace has returned to Sri Lanka. But the reaction to Demons in Paradise is another example that Sri Lanka is still very much divided along ethnic lines. Jude Ratnam says he is not surprised by the backlash but insists his film can help foster reconciliation between the Tamil and Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka. \"Acknowledging the vice in our [Tamil] community, is how we can get away from it. If you keep denying it and play the victim card all the time, then you invariably return to it.\"" } ], "id": "9517_0", "question": "Healing wounds?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A judge has said there were no concerns about the welfare of a Christian girl said to have been fostered by a Muslim family, when she was assessed by an independent guardian. The girl, aged five, was placed in the care of her grandmother on Wednesday. The local authority involved, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, had rejected a report in the Times newspaper that said the foster family did not speak English. It also disputed other details. Reporting restrictions are in place to protect the identity of the girl. Reality Check has been looking at the rules around fostering children and what happens in practice. According to the fostering agency TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust), while Muslim families do occasionally foster non-Muslim children, it is less usual than for non-Muslim families to foster Muslim children. There are no official statistics available on the religion of fostered children or their carers, but we do have some information about ethnicity. Government figures show nine local authorities reported having no long-term foster carers from minority ethnic groups last year, but all reported placing minority ethnic children with their fostering service. In 2015-16, 84% of long-term foster carers were white compared with about 77% of fostered children. Foster carers can access training and are expected to demonstrate how they are meeting the legal standards of care. For example, someone caring for a vulnerable child will have to provide evidence that they understand the principle of \"equality, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice\". When a child needs to be accommodated in a foster placement, a council usually has less than 24 hours to find them a home, meaning there is often not a lot of choice between which approved foster carer they are placed with. There are other considerations, too, like making sure the child is near their school. There are very few hard and fast rules dictating who can become a foster carer. Each individual applying to care for vulnerable children has to undergo a comprehensive assessment by a council or independent fostering agency. This can take about 15-20 weeks, during which they will be expected to allow their home, lifestyle, current and past relationships to be scrutinised. The basic criteria required by most fostering agencies and councils are: - carer to be at least 21 years old (even though the law only requires people to be 18) - have a spare bedroom big enough for a young person to live in - be a full-time resident in the UK or have leave to remain - have the time and ability to care for a child or young person - there is no specific rule about language but in reality foster carers are expected to have a good level of English. There is no compulsory test. Age, marital status, ethnicity and sexuality will not exclude someone from being a foster carer. But some of these elements may be taken into account, depending on the individual circumstances - the primary consideration is what is best for the child. So, for example, the charity The Fostering Network says a single person can foster but must demonstrate that they have an adequate support network. And a person's religion won't prevent them from fostering but they will need to demonstrate how they can support a child of a different religion from their own. The principles are set out in law in the Children Act 1989, which says: \"Foster carers and fostering services should ensure that full attention is paid to the individual child's gender, faith, ethnic origin, cultural and linguistic background, sexual orientation and any disability they might have\" and foster carers must be \"informed, trained and confident\" at dealing with these issues. This doesn't mean foster carers must necessarily be of the same ethnic or faith background as the children they care for, but they must be equipped to meet that child's cultural and religious needs. Before 2014 there was a principle in adoption that children should be matched with families of the same ethnic background as their own where possible, but this requirement to give \"due consideration\" to things like race was removed because of concerns that it was preventing children from being placed with suitable families of different backgrounds. There was no corresponding principle for fostering. Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1892, "answer_start": 620, "text": "According to the fostering agency TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust), while Muslim families do occasionally foster non-Muslim children, it is less usual than for non-Muslim families to foster Muslim children. There are no official statistics available on the religion of fostered children or their carers, but we do have some information about ethnicity. Government figures show nine local authorities reported having no long-term foster carers from minority ethnic groups last year, but all reported placing minority ethnic children with their fostering service. In 2015-16, 84% of long-term foster carers were white compared with about 77% of fostered children. Foster carers can access training and are expected to demonstrate how they are meeting the legal standards of care. For example, someone caring for a vulnerable child will have to provide evidence that they understand the principle of \"equality, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice\". When a child needs to be accommodated in a foster placement, a council usually has less than 24 hours to find them a home, meaning there is often not a lot of choice between which approved foster carer they are placed with. There are other considerations, too, like making sure the child is near their school." } ], "id": "9518_0", "question": "An unusual case?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Young people's love of fast fashion is coming under the scrutiny of Britain's law-makers. MPs say the fashion industry is a major source of the greenhouse gases that are overheating the planet. Discarded clothes are also piling up in landfill sites and fibre fragments are flowing into the sea when clothes are washed. The retailers admit more needs to be done, but say they are already working to reduce the impact of their products. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee says there is a basic problem with an industry that relies on persuading people to throw away good clothes because they are \"last year's colour\". It quotes evidence that: - British shoppers buy far more new clothes than any nation in Europe - People are buying twice as many items of clothing as they did a decade ago - Fish in the seas are eating synthetic fibres dislodged in the wash The MPs have written to the UK's top fashion bosses asking how they can maintain the PS28bn benefit their industry brings to the UK economy, while reducing the environmental harm. They believe swift action is essential, because if current clothes consumption continues \"...they will account for more than a quarter of our total impact on climate change by 2050\", chairwoman Mary Creagh told BBC News. \"Three in five garments end in landfill or incinerators within a year - that's expensive fuel! Half a million tonnes of microfibres a year enter the ocean. Doing nothing is not an option.\" The committee's report to government could include a call for the fashion industry to create less pollution, a demand for longer life for garments and a ban on dumping clothes in landfill. The MPs also have concerns about social impacts. They believe fast fashion is fuelling quick turnarounds among suppliers, which may lead to poor working conditions. Among their questions to retailers are: - Do you pay the living wage and how do you ensure child labour is not used in factories? - Do you use recycled materials? - How long do you keep clothes, and how do you encourage recycling? - Do you incinerate unsold or returned stock? - How are you reducing the flow of microfibres into the sea? More on the Circular Economy. Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, told BBC News that population growth and increased demand have led to an increase in the overall volume and environmental impact of clothing. But, he said his members are now designing products that are made to last, and they are encouraging customers to return unwanted clothes for reuse. \"We know more needs to be done, but the best answers will be achieved with collaborative global actions.\" The companies approached by the MPs are: M&S, Primark, Next, Arcadia, Asda, TK Maxx and HomeSense, Tesco, JD Sports Fashion, Debenhams, Sports Direct International. Follow Roger on Twitter: @rharrabin", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1462, "answer_start": 435, "text": "The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee says there is a basic problem with an industry that relies on persuading people to throw away good clothes because they are \"last year's colour\". It quotes evidence that: - British shoppers buy far more new clothes than any nation in Europe - People are buying twice as many items of clothing as they did a decade ago - Fish in the seas are eating synthetic fibres dislodged in the wash The MPs have written to the UK's top fashion bosses asking how they can maintain the PS28bn benefit their industry brings to the UK economy, while reducing the environmental harm. They believe swift action is essential, because if current clothes consumption continues \"...they will account for more than a quarter of our total impact on climate change by 2050\", chairwoman Mary Creagh told BBC News. \"Three in five garments end in landfill or incinerators within a year - that's expensive fuel! Half a million tonnes of microfibres a year enter the ocean. Doing nothing is not an option.\"" } ], "id": "9519_0", "question": "What do MPs say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2154, "answer_start": 1463, "text": "The committee's report to government could include a call for the fashion industry to create less pollution, a demand for longer life for garments and a ban on dumping clothes in landfill. The MPs also have concerns about social impacts. They believe fast fashion is fuelling quick turnarounds among suppliers, which may lead to poor working conditions. Among their questions to retailers are: - Do you pay the living wage and how do you ensure child labour is not used in factories? - Do you use recycled materials? - How long do you keep clothes, and how do you encourage recycling? - Do you incinerate unsold or returned stock? - How are you reducing the flow of microfibres into the sea?" } ], "id": "9519_1", "question": "What are the solutions?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A government document has raised the prospect of roadblocks and other protests in NI as potential fallout from a no-deal Brexit. Operation Yellowhammer scenarios were published on Wednesday night. The document said that some cross-border trade would stop and agri-food would be worst hit by tariffs. \"Disruption to key sectors and job losses are likely to result in protests and direct action with road blockages,\" it added. The document, dated 2 August, was leaked to the Sunday Times last month. It predicted some firms would stop trading and those that continued would face higher costs which could be passed on to consumers. The government said the document was a set of \"reasonable worst case scenarios\". It said its intended plan to impose no new checks or tariffs on goods coming from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland would quickly become \"unsustainable\". Economic, legal and biosecurity risks would mean it would have to be changed in a matter of \"days or weeks\". It also suggested a no deal could lead to an increase in cross-border smuggling. The document also said that up to 13 non-UK vessels could end up fishing illegally in Northern Ireland waters on day one of a no-deal Brexit. It said around the UK similar situations could lead to clashes at sea. There may also be significant increases in electricity prices, and disruption to cross-border UK financial services, the document predicted. The document states that no bilateral deals have been concluded with individual member states, \"with the exception of the reciprocal agreement on social security coordination with Ireland\". Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme, Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the papers demonstrate \"the catastrophic implications of Brexit in black and white\". \"It means that we are going to be on our knees,\" she added. She said it was \"very possible\" that there could be disruption on the streets, and that she believed the DUP were \"working against\" industry experts. But the DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC's Today programme that things like smuggling already happen in Northern Ireland and are a \"perennial problem\". He added that Yellowhammer outlined the worst case scenarios, and a united Ireland is not more likely because of the DUP's stance on Brexit. Northern Ireland firms that export to the EU are to be given advice on how to cope with a no-deal Brexit. The first of four events in the coming weeks will take place in Ballymena on Thursday morning. They will include presentations on how to deal with EU regulations on trade. Last week, it emerged that 1.9 million food standard certificates, or EHCs, signed by vets, would be needed if current sales of agri-food to the EU were to continue. An EHC is an official document that confirms a food or animal export meets the health and quality requirements of the importing country. The EHC has to be signed by a vet or other qualified person in the exporting country after they have inspected the goods. Food products being imported into the EU from a non-member state require EHCs. They're signed by vets to assure the importing country that produce is safe and without them trade can happen. Around 18,000 of them a year are currently produced in Northern Ireland mostly to cover the trade in live animals to Britain. Read more here. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs also said it expected that not all companies would be able to comply with the new rules and the pattern of some trade could change. Revenue officials will also attend the briefing as will staff from the Food Standards Agency and local councils. There'll also be stands with advice on trade in things like milk, meat fish and eggs as well as advice on the implications for waste and water companies. Four such events will be held between now and 1 October, two in Ballymena and one each in Omagh and Craigavon. Businesses are being urged to apply on a first come first served basis.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3339, "answer_start": 2749, "text": "An EHC is an official document that confirms a food or animal export meets the health and quality requirements of the importing country. The EHC has to be signed by a vet or other qualified person in the exporting country after they have inspected the goods. Food products being imported into the EU from a non-member state require EHCs. They're signed by vets to assure the importing country that produce is safe and without them trade can happen. Around 18,000 of them a year are currently produced in Northern Ireland mostly to cover the trade in live animals to Britain. Read more here." } ], "id": "9520_0", "question": "What are EHCs?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "French magazine Charlie Hebdo has published a new cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in its first issue since 12 people were killed during an attack on its offices in Paris by Islamist extremists who said they were \"avenging the Prophet\" after similar cartoons had appeared in the satirical publication. The new cover depicts the Prophet Muhammad shedding a tear and holding up a sign saying \"Je suis Charlie\", the message of solidarity with the victims. Above the cartoon are the words \"All is forgiven\". The move has drawn criticism from Muslim leaders and generated fresh death threats against staff members, recalling those received by a Danish newspaper in 2005 after it published cartoons satirising Muhammad. Why might such depictions cause offence? There is no specific, or explicit ban in the Koran on images of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad - be they carved, painted or drawn. However, chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran does say: \"[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him.\" This is taken by Muslims to mean that Allah cannot be captured in an image by human hand, such is his beauty and grandeur. To attempt such a thing is seen as an insult to Allah. The same is believed to apply to Muhammad. Chapter 21, verses 52-54 of the Koran read: \"[Abraham] said to his father and his people: 'What are these images to whose worship you cleave?' They said: 'We found our fathers worshipping them.' He said: 'Certainly you have been, you and your fathers, in manifest error.'\" From this arises the Muslim belief that images can give rise to idolatry - that is to say an image, rather than the divine being it symbolises, can become the object of worship and veneration. Islamic tradition or Hadith, the stories of the words and actions of Muhammad and his Companions, explicitly prohibits images of Allah, Muhammad and all the major prophets of the Christian and Jewish traditions. More widely, Islamic tradition has discouraged the figurative depiction of living creatures, especially human beings. Islamic art has therefore tended to be abstract or decorative. Shia Islamic tradition is far less strict on this ban. Reproductions of images of the Prophet, mainly produced in the 7th Century in Persian, can be found. There were widespread protests across the Muslim world in 2005 after the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published 12 cartoons showing Muhammad to accompany an editorial criticising self-censorship. Some of the cartoons seemed to be deliberately provocative. One notably showed Muhammad carrying a lit bomb on his head decorated with the Muslim declaration of faith instead of a turban. Many Muslims found the cartoons insulting an expression of a growing European hostility towards and fear of Muslims. The portrayal of the Prophet and Muslims in general as terrorists was seen as particularly offensive. In 2011, Charlie Hebdo's office was firebombed after it temporarily renamed itself \"Charia Hebdo\" - a play on \"Sharia\", or Islamic law - for an issue and invited the Prophet Muhammad to be \"editor in chief\". The next year, the magazine published an issue featuring several cartoons that appeared to depict Muhammad naked, amid a global uproar over the release of an anti-Islam film.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1726, "answer_start": 754, "text": "There is no specific, or explicit ban in the Koran on images of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad - be they carved, painted or drawn. However, chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran does say: \"[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him.\" This is taken by Muslims to mean that Allah cannot be captured in an image by human hand, such is his beauty and grandeur. To attempt such a thing is seen as an insult to Allah. The same is believed to apply to Muhammad. Chapter 21, verses 52-54 of the Koran read: \"[Abraham] said to his father and his people: 'What are these images to whose worship you cleave?' They said: 'We found our fathers worshipping them.' He said: 'Certainly you have been, you and your fathers, in manifest error.'\" From this arises the Muslim belief that images can give rise to idolatry - that is to say an image, rather than the divine being it symbolises, can become the object of worship and veneration." } ], "id": "9521_0", "question": "What does the Koran, the holy book of Islam, say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2275, "answer_start": 1727, "text": "Islamic tradition or Hadith, the stories of the words and actions of Muhammad and his Companions, explicitly prohibits images of Allah, Muhammad and all the major prophets of the Christian and Jewish traditions. More widely, Islamic tradition has discouraged the figurative depiction of living creatures, especially human beings. Islamic art has therefore tended to be abstract or decorative. Shia Islamic tradition is far less strict on this ban. Reproductions of images of the Prophet, mainly produced in the 7th Century in Persian, can be found." } ], "id": "9521_1", "question": "What does Islamic tradition say on the matter?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3267, "answer_start": 2276, "text": "There were widespread protests across the Muslim world in 2005 after the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published 12 cartoons showing Muhammad to accompany an editorial criticising self-censorship. Some of the cartoons seemed to be deliberately provocative. One notably showed Muhammad carrying a lit bomb on his head decorated with the Muslim declaration of faith instead of a turban. Many Muslims found the cartoons insulting an expression of a growing European hostility towards and fear of Muslims. The portrayal of the Prophet and Muslims in general as terrorists was seen as particularly offensive. In 2011, Charlie Hebdo's office was firebombed after it temporarily renamed itself \"Charia Hebdo\" - a play on \"Sharia\", or Islamic law - for an issue and invited the Prophet Muhammad to be \"editor in chief\". The next year, the magazine published an issue featuring several cartoons that appeared to depict Muhammad naked, amid a global uproar over the release of an anti-Islam film." } ], "id": "9521_2", "question": "What sparked the row over cartoons published in Europe?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The head of the British army, General Sir Nick Carter, has warned that the country's armed forces risk falling behind its potential enemies' unless there is additional investment. There are different ways of trying to measure how a country prioritises defence - but none of these is perfect. Let's start by looking at overall defence spending. Last month, the House of Commons Library carried out an analysis that looked at the real-terms (ie inflation-adjusted) changes to defence spending. It found that between 2010 and 2015 the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) budget had fallen by PS8bn in real terms. That's a cut of 18% compared with the 2009-10 budget, according to the Commons library. Since then, spending has stabilised. In the last financial year (April 2016 - March 2017), PS35.3bn was spent on defence. By 2020, that is forecast to increase by PS1bn in real terms. Being in a state of peace or war can influence the level of defence spending. The MoD points out that \"between 2000 and 2010, defence expenditure increased quite sharply due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan\". When it comes to the numbers of military personnel, the MoD publishes monthly figures. These show the size of the British army has been steadily falling. Britain's armed forces are now at their smallest since the Napoleonic wars. Prof Malcolm Chalmers, of defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) says the UK will need a different set of capabilities - which will involve additional costs - as the nature of international threats evolve. \"The UK will need to be flexible and agile, especially when it comes to cyber- and information wars,\" he says. \"Thinking of fighting in terms of tank battles is not the nature of modern warfare. \"But adapting to these challenges will be capital intensive and will cost a lot of money.\" A study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has attempted to rank the biggest defence budgets around the world. The data reveals that the US had by far the biggest defence budget in 2016, at $605bn. Russia had the third highest defence budget ($59bn) and the UK the fifth ($53bn) - the highest of all EU countries. That being said, the data should be treated with a degree of caution. It's not easy to make direct international comparisons, because of factors such as fluctuating exchange rates. In fact, the IISS caveats its own research by saying the impact of currency fluctuation could be \"significant\" in some countries. There's also the question of how military expenditure should be defined. Another way of comparing countries is to look at the proportion of national income allocated to defence. This gives an indication of how important countries see defence against other competing demands, such as health and education. On this measure, the UK is one of the few Nato countries that meets the commitment to spend at least 2% of national income on defence. According to Nato, the UK's defence spending in 2017 was the equivalent of 2.14% of GDP. This makes the UK the third highest-spending Nato member when it comes to defence expenditure - behind Greece (2.32%) and the US (3.58%). However, there has been previous criticism surrounding the methodology used to calculate these numbers, such as whether war pensions count as defence spending. This is a topic BBC Reality Check has previously examined. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3371, "answer_start": 1836, "text": "A study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has attempted to rank the biggest defence budgets around the world. The data reveals that the US had by far the biggest defence budget in 2016, at $605bn. Russia had the third highest defence budget ($59bn) and the UK the fifth ($53bn) - the highest of all EU countries. That being said, the data should be treated with a degree of caution. It's not easy to make direct international comparisons, because of factors such as fluctuating exchange rates. In fact, the IISS caveats its own research by saying the impact of currency fluctuation could be \"significant\" in some countries. There's also the question of how military expenditure should be defined. Another way of comparing countries is to look at the proportion of national income allocated to defence. This gives an indication of how important countries see defence against other competing demands, such as health and education. On this measure, the UK is one of the few Nato countries that meets the commitment to spend at least 2% of national income on defence. According to Nato, the UK's defence spending in 2017 was the equivalent of 2.14% of GDP. This makes the UK the third highest-spending Nato member when it comes to defence expenditure - behind Greece (2.32%) and the US (3.58%). However, there has been previous criticism surrounding the methodology used to calculate these numbers, such as whether war pensions count as defence spending. This is a topic BBC Reality Check has previously examined." } ], "id": "9522_0", "question": "How does the UK compare internationally?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Thousands of Los Angeles residents have been told to evacuate because of a fast-moving wildfire that began in the early hours of Monday morning. The Getty Fire started near the Getty Center arts complex and spread to about 500 acres (202 ha), close to some of the city's most expensive homes. California's governor has declared a state-wide emergency as wildfires continue to rage in many other areas. NBA star Lebron James was among those forced to flee the LA fire. Actor and former state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he had also evacuated. \"If you are in an evacuation zone, don't screw around,\" he tweeted. \"Get out.\" LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced he would sign an emergency declaration to draw more resources to fight the Getty fire. Some 3,300 homes are in the mandatory evacuation zone. The wildfire is threatening LA's affluent Brentwood neighbourhood, and a local resident told the LA Times he was debating whether or not to leave, and which car of his two cars should be left behind. \"I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my Ferrari,\" the 47-year-old man said. Meanwhile, wildfires are continuing to sweep through northern California. Some 180,000 people have been ordered to leave homes, with roads around Santa Rosa north of San Francisco packed with cars as people tried to flee. All schools in Sonoma County were closed for Monday and Tuesday as tens of thousands of homes remain under threat. The biggest blackouts in the state's history have already left a million people without electricity. Power companies are trying to stop damaged cables from triggering new fires. Another million people have been told they could lose supplies. The main evacuation order in the north encompasses a huge area of Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa. Sonoma has been ravaged by the Kincade Fire, which started on Wednesday and has burned through 50,000 acres of land, fanned by high winds. The 150-year-old Soda Rock Winery was among the structures destroyed. There are fears the blazes could cross the 101 highway and enter areas that have not seen wildfires since the 1940s. Some 43 of California's 58 counties are under \"red flag\" warnings. The warning informs firefighting services that conditions are ideal for wildfires. Fears about the extent of the wildfires led Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to initiate a precautionary blackout. Power was shut off to 940,000 customers in northern California over the weekend. PG&E said it would work to restore services on Monday but warned of further power cuts as soon as Tuesday if the forecast strong winds returned. The warnings came as the company faced scrutiny over its possible role in the fires. The Kincade Fire began seven minutes after a nearby power line was damaged, but PG&E has not yet confirmed if the power glitch started the blaze. Are you in the area? If it is safe for you to do so please get in touch by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: - WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803 - Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay - Send pictures/video to [email protected] - Text an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100 - Please read our terms of use and privacy policy", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2248, "answer_start": 749, "text": "Some 3,300 homes are in the mandatory evacuation zone. The wildfire is threatening LA's affluent Brentwood neighbourhood, and a local resident told the LA Times he was debating whether or not to leave, and which car of his two cars should be left behind. \"I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my Ferrari,\" the 47-year-old man said. Meanwhile, wildfires are continuing to sweep through northern California. Some 180,000 people have been ordered to leave homes, with roads around Santa Rosa north of San Francisco packed with cars as people tried to flee. All schools in Sonoma County were closed for Monday and Tuesday as tens of thousands of homes remain under threat. The biggest blackouts in the state's history have already left a million people without electricity. Power companies are trying to stop damaged cables from triggering new fires. Another million people have been told they could lose supplies. The main evacuation order in the north encompasses a huge area of Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa. Sonoma has been ravaged by the Kincade Fire, which started on Wednesday and has burned through 50,000 acres of land, fanned by high winds. The 150-year-old Soda Rock Winery was among the structures destroyed. There are fears the blazes could cross the 101 highway and enter areas that have not seen wildfires since the 1940s. Some 43 of California's 58 counties are under \"red flag\" warnings. The warning informs firefighting services that conditions are ideal for wildfires." } ], "id": "9523_0", "question": "How many people are being evacuated?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A Venezuelan judge whose imprisonment has been criticised by international human rights groups has been moved to house arrest. Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni is suffering from cancer and needs surgery. She was locked up more than a year ago after President Hugo Chavez accused her of corruption for freeing a banker accused of breaking currency controls. Human rights groups say her case highlights concerns about the independence of Venezuela's judiciary. The Venezuelan authorities say her detention is legitimate given suspicions surrounding the man she freed, banker Eligio Cedeno, who jumped bail and fled to the US. Judge Afiuni says she acted in accordance with the law when she released Mr Cedeno, because he had been in jail for three years without trial, exceeding legal limits. She was arrested in December 2009 after President Chavez publicly criticised her decision and demanded she be jailed for at least 30 years. Ms Afiuni's lawyer, Jose Amalio Graterol, welcomed the attorney-general's decision to allow her out of jail because of ill health while the case against her proceeds. \"They realised they were carrying out a death sentence against her,\" he told reporters. The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas says moving the judge from prison to house arrest is a small victory for her legal team, who are still waiting to hear when her case might go to trial. Opposition groups regard Judge Afiuni as a political prisoner, and say her case is one of several where President Chavez's government has over-ruled judicial process to persecute its opponents. But Mr Chavez and his supporters say there are no political prisoners in Venezuela, and accuse the opposition of manipulating legitimate cases to discredit the government.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1733, "answer_start": 925, "text": "Ms Afiuni's lawyer, Jose Amalio Graterol, welcomed the attorney-general's decision to allow her out of jail because of ill health while the case against her proceeds. \"They realised they were carrying out a death sentence against her,\" he told reporters. The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas says moving the judge from prison to house arrest is a small victory for her legal team, who are still waiting to hear when her case might go to trial. Opposition groups regard Judge Afiuni as a political prisoner, and say her case is one of several where President Chavez's government has over-ruled judicial process to persecute its opponents. But Mr Chavez and his supporters say there are no political prisoners in Venezuela, and accuse the opposition of manipulating legitimate cases to discredit the government." } ], "id": "9524_0", "question": "Political prisoner?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Harvey Weinstein's lawyer has asked the judge in his client's rape case to step down after he threatened to jail Mr Weinstein for using his phone in court. Arthur Aidala said Judge James Burke's \"inflammatory, biased and prejudicial\" comments suggested he had already decided Mr Weinstein was guilty. Mr Weinstein faces five charges and possibly life in prison if convicted. The allegations include rape and predatory sexual assault relating to two unnamed accusers. He is charged in the New York City court with raping one woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, and performing a forcible sex act on the second woman in 2006. The 67-year-old has denied all charges and insists any sexual encounters were consensual. It referred to Judge Burke scolding the former Hollywood producer on Tuesday. \"Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting and violating a court order?\" Judge Burke asked. Mr Weinstein shook his head and denied that he had used his phone. \"These comments reflect the court's animus towards the defendant and have created a situation in which the court's 'impartiality might reasonably be questioned',\" Mr Aidala wrote. Mr Aidala contended that the judge's rebuke suggested either that using a phone in court merited a life sentence or that the court \"already knew it intended to sentence him to life in prison\". \"It is without question that damage has been done to the appearance of fairness in this trial,\" he said. Mr Weinstein was caught using two mobile phones on Tuesday, according to local media. He had already been admonished by Judge Burke at previous court appearances for using a handset. Mr Aidala said he would call for the trial to be postponed if a new judge was not brought in. Judge Burke has not yet responded. On Monday, Mr Weinstein was charged with an additional two counts in Los Angeles: rape and sexual assault. Mr Aidala argued that the jury pool had been tarnished by the extensive press coverage of the Los Angeles charges filed on Monday. In the letter he said that the indictment's timing was designed to unfairly influence jurors. Mr Aidala argued that the judge's refusal to push the trial back as a result was further evidence of bias against his client. On Tuesday, Judge Burke declined to deny Mr Weinstein bail after prosecutors alleged that he was a flight risk. He is out on $5m (PS3.8m) bail and is required to wear an electronic tracking device. After jury selection, Mr Weinstein's New York trial is expected to begin in about two weeks' time.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2545, "answer_start": 718, "text": "It referred to Judge Burke scolding the former Hollywood producer on Tuesday. \"Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting and violating a court order?\" Judge Burke asked. Mr Weinstein shook his head and denied that he had used his phone. \"These comments reflect the court's animus towards the defendant and have created a situation in which the court's 'impartiality might reasonably be questioned',\" Mr Aidala wrote. Mr Aidala contended that the judge's rebuke suggested either that using a phone in court merited a life sentence or that the court \"already knew it intended to sentence him to life in prison\". \"It is without question that damage has been done to the appearance of fairness in this trial,\" he said. Mr Weinstein was caught using two mobile phones on Tuesday, according to local media. He had already been admonished by Judge Burke at previous court appearances for using a handset. Mr Aidala said he would call for the trial to be postponed if a new judge was not brought in. Judge Burke has not yet responded. On Monday, Mr Weinstein was charged with an additional two counts in Los Angeles: rape and sexual assault. Mr Aidala argued that the jury pool had been tarnished by the extensive press coverage of the Los Angeles charges filed on Monday. In the letter he said that the indictment's timing was designed to unfairly influence jurors. Mr Aidala argued that the judge's refusal to push the trial back as a result was further evidence of bias against his client. On Tuesday, Judge Burke declined to deny Mr Weinstein bail after prosecutors alleged that he was a flight risk. He is out on $5m (PS3.8m) bail and is required to wear an electronic tracking device. After jury selection, Mr Weinstein's New York trial is expected to begin in about two weeks' time." } ], "id": "9525_0", "question": "What is in the lawyer's letter to the judge?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Swedish police have launched an investigation after a riot erupted in a predominantly immigrant suburb of the capital, Stockholm. One officer fired at rioters who threw rocks at police. The unrest in the Rinkeby suburb on Monday night came after police tried to arrest a suspect on drugs charges. It also comes after US President Donald Trump referred to Sweden in a speech on immigration problems, baffling Swedes about a non-existent incident. Rioters, some of them wearing masks, threw rocks, set vehicles on fire and looted shops from about 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Monday in Rinkeby, which has a history of unrest. Warning shots were fired, but police later said one officer had also fired at least one shot at stone-throwers, a rare occurrence in Sweden. No gunshot wounds were reported. A number of other injuries were reported, including a shopkeeper. A photographer from Dagens Nyheter said he was assaulted by a group of people when arriving to report on the unrest and spent the night in hospital. The unrest subsided at about midnight. Police spokesman Lars Bystrom said: \"This kind of situation doesn't happen that often but it is always regrettable when it happens.\" Sweden has seen urban unrest in some areas with large immigrant populations, where there have been job and integration issues. At a rally in Florida on Saturday, Mr Trump suggested Sweden could face the kind of terrorist attacks that have hit France, Belgium and Germany. He said: \"You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible.\" The statement about a particular incident on Friday night baffled Swedes, including former Prime Minister Carl Bildt, who tweeted: \"Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking?\" The hashtag #lastnightinSweden was soon trending on Twitter, and the Swedish embassy in Washington asked the state department for clarification. Mr Trump later tweeted that his statement \"was in reference to a story that was broadcast on FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden\". Some people suggest Mr Trump might have been referring to a clip aired on Fox News on Friday night of a documentary about alleged violence committed by refugees in Sweden. Mr Trump continued with a tweet on Monday, saying: \"The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large-scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!\" Sweden, with a population of about 9.5 million, saw a sharp increase in asylum seekers in 2015, with more than 162,000 people claiming asylum. Almost a third came from Syria. With the influx, tensions also rose with some isolated attacks on immigrants, as well as pro- and anti-migrant demonstrations. Sweden had been offering permanent residence to all Syrians but the high number of arrivals prompted a change in the rules. The number of asylum applications dropped to 29,000 in 2016 after Sweden introduced new border checks incurring longer processing times, as well as financial incentives for migrants who voluntarily returned to their country of origin. The killing of a 22-year-old woman in January 2016 by an asylum seeker based at the centre where she worked put further pressure on the government to reassess its approach. Sweden has generally low crime rates. Preliminary statistics from the Swedish Crime Survey (in Swedish) show only a marginal increase in 2016 from the year before. Fraud and crimes against individuals were up, but drugs crimes and theft had decreased. The number of reported rapes increased by 13%, although that is still lower than the number reported in 2014 (6,700), as Sweden's The Local reports. There have been no terror attacks in Sweden since the country's open-door policy on migration began in 2013. In 2010, two bombs detonated in central Stockholm, killing the attacker - an Iraq-born Swedish man - and injuring two others, in what police described as a terrorist attack. In October 2015, a masked man who was believed to have far-right sympathies killed a teacher and pupil in a sword attack. And in Malmo last October, a fire at a Muslim community centre was claimed by the Islamic State group - the incident was cited by the White House in the list of incidents it deemed \"under-reported\" by the media. Separately, Sweden is believed to have the highest number of Islamic State fighters per capita in Europe. About 140 of the 300 who went to Syria and Iraq have since returned, leaving the authorities to grapple with how best to reintegrate them into society. How Sweden became an exporter of jihad", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3311, "answer_start": 2478, "text": "Sweden, with a population of about 9.5 million, saw a sharp increase in asylum seekers in 2015, with more than 162,000 people claiming asylum. Almost a third came from Syria. With the influx, tensions also rose with some isolated attacks on immigrants, as well as pro- and anti-migrant demonstrations. Sweden had been offering permanent residence to all Syrians but the high number of arrivals prompted a change in the rules. The number of asylum applications dropped to 29,000 in 2016 after Sweden introduced new border checks incurring longer processing times, as well as financial incentives for migrants who voluntarily returned to their country of origin. The killing of a 22-year-old woman in January 2016 by an asylum seeker based at the centre where she worked put further pressure on the government to reassess its approach." } ], "id": "9526_0", "question": "What is Sweden's refugee policy?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3713, "answer_start": 3312, "text": "Sweden has generally low crime rates. Preliminary statistics from the Swedish Crime Survey (in Swedish) show only a marginal increase in 2016 from the year before. Fraud and crimes against individuals were up, but drugs crimes and theft had decreased. The number of reported rapes increased by 13%, although that is still lower than the number reported in 2014 (6,700), as Sweden's The Local reports." } ], "id": "9526_1", "question": "How safe is Sweden?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Appalling injuries caused by French police riot guns during the yellow-vest protests have triggered anger and calls for the weapon to be banned. The LBD launchers known by protesters as \"flash-balls\" have left 40 people severely wounded, reports say. One man emerged from a coma on Friday six days after being hit in the head. France's human rights chief has called for the weapon's use to be halted, but the government insists it is deployed only under very strict conditions. Since the \"gilets-jaunes\" protests began in November, 3,000 people have been injured or even maimed and thousands more arrested. Peaceful rallies have sometimes ended in violence and vandalism and 1,000 police are among those wounded. Ten deaths have been linked to the unrest. Nine involved traffic accidents and an 80-year-old woman died after being hit in the face by a tear gas grenade while closing the shutters at her home. The LBD40 is described as a non-lethal weapon which in fact replaced the old \"flash-ball\" in France. But the old name is still widely used. It shoots 40mm (1.6in) rubber or foam pellets at a speed of up to 100m per second and is not meant to break the skin. However, some of the accounts of people hit by flash-balls have been shocking. Volunteer firefighter Olivier Beziade, 47, was shot in the temple by a riot gun during a protest on 12 January in Bordeaux. Video at the time caught him running from police and then collapsing in the street, his face covered in blood. He was taken to hospital, treated for a brain haemorrhage and left in an artificial coma, from which he emerged on Friday. He was one of five seriously wounded on that day alone. Many of those wounded have been young. One teenager called Lilian Lepage was hit in the face in Strasbourg on Saturday and suffered a broken jaw. His mother said he had been shopping in the city centre when a policeman fired at him. Two schoolboys were badly wounded by flash-ball pellets in separate protests last month. Campaigners say a dozen people have lost an eye, although the details have not been corroborated. A lawyer for some of the victims, Etienne Noel, said many had been maimed. He said police did not have sufficient training in use of the riot guns and many victims had been hit in the head. Earlier this week police made clear the riot gun would be used only where security forces faced violence or if they had no other means of defence. Only the torso and upper or lower limbs could be targeted. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told the French Senate on Thursday that the use of force by police was always proportionate and under very strict and controlled conditions. \"If the police hadn't used these means of defence perhaps some of them would have been lynched,\" he said. The European Court of Human Rights rejected a temporary ban on flash-balls last month, in a case brought by several people who said they had been hit by flash-balls.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1244, "answer_start": 908, "text": "The LBD40 is described as a non-lethal weapon which in fact replaced the old \"flash-ball\" in France. But the old name is still widely used. It shoots 40mm (1.6in) rubber or foam pellets at a speed of up to 100m per second and is not meant to break the skin. However, some of the accounts of people hit by flash-balls have been shocking." } ], "id": "9527_0", "question": "What are flash-balls?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2268, "answer_start": 1245, "text": "Volunteer firefighter Olivier Beziade, 47, was shot in the temple by a riot gun during a protest on 12 January in Bordeaux. Video at the time caught him running from police and then collapsing in the street, his face covered in blood. He was taken to hospital, treated for a brain haemorrhage and left in an artificial coma, from which he emerged on Friday. He was one of five seriously wounded on that day alone. Many of those wounded have been young. One teenager called Lilian Lepage was hit in the face in Strasbourg on Saturday and suffered a broken jaw. His mother said he had been shopping in the city centre when a policeman fired at him. Two schoolboys were badly wounded by flash-ball pellets in separate protests last month. Campaigners say a dozen people have lost an eye, although the details have not been corroborated. A lawyer for some of the victims, Etienne Noel, said many had been maimed. He said police did not have sufficient training in use of the riot guns and many victims had been hit in the head." } ], "id": "9527_1", "question": "How serious are the injuries?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2919, "answer_start": 2269, "text": "Earlier this week police made clear the riot gun would be used only where security forces faced violence or if they had no other means of defence. Only the torso and upper or lower limbs could be targeted. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told the French Senate on Thursday that the use of force by police was always proportionate and under very strict and controlled conditions. \"If the police hadn't used these means of defence perhaps some of them would have been lynched,\" he said. The European Court of Human Rights rejected a temporary ban on flash-balls last month, in a case brought by several people who said they had been hit by flash-balls." } ], "id": "9527_2", "question": "What do French authorities say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Opposition parties have claimed the greatest number of votes in Kosovo's general election. Centre-left Vetevendosje and centre-right Democratic League (LDK) are each expected to win about 25% of the vote. The election was called in July when Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned to face questioning by a war crimes court in The Hague. It is the fourth election since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia does not recognise the country and with Russia has blocked it from becoming a member of the UN and other international bodies. In talks before the vote, Vetevendosje and the LDK failed to agree on forming a coalition. Both parties promise to tackle unemployment and fight crime and corruption. Vetevendosje's leader Albin Kurti said he would \"knock on the LDK door\" on Monday to start negotiations. By Guy De Launey, Balkans Correspondent The two parties celebrating the most are very different in character. Vetevendosje is an anti-establishment Albanian nationalist movement. Its MPs are notorious for disrupting sessions of the National Assembly by lobbing tear gas. The LDK is Kosovo's oldest party - and hopes to install lawyer Vjosa Osmani as the first female prime minister. The two parties failed to reach a coalition agreement before the election - and may take many weeks of negotiations to form a new government. Meanwhile, the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army are licking their electoral wounds. Voters held their parties largely responsible for endemic corruption and a lack of development. Mr Haradinaj's party meanwhile is set to win only 10% of the vote. The 51-year-old served as a rebel commander in the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict, which eventually led to Kosovo declaring independence. Mr Haradinaj stepped down so that he could attend court as an ordinary citizen - but was free to stand for re-election because no indictments have yet been announced. He denies war crimes and has been tried and acquitted twice before at the UN tribunal. Last November, he imposed a 100% tariff on imports from Serbia in retaliation for Belgrade blocking Kosovo's membership of international organisations. He has ignored pleas from Brussels to revoke the tariffs. Mr Kurti has said his party will abolish the tariffs but will introduce other retaliatory measures against Serbia. Meanwhile Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic says Belgrade will hold talks with the Kosovan government once the tariffs have been removed. On Thursday US President Donald Trump appointed the US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, as special envoy for peace negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo is recognised by most of the west but it needs Belgrade, Russia and China to accept its statehood to get a seat in the United Nations.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1543, "answer_start": 827, "text": "By Guy De Launey, Balkans Correspondent The two parties celebrating the most are very different in character. Vetevendosje is an anti-establishment Albanian nationalist movement. Its MPs are notorious for disrupting sessions of the National Assembly by lobbing tear gas. The LDK is Kosovo's oldest party - and hopes to install lawyer Vjosa Osmani as the first female prime minister. The two parties failed to reach a coalition agreement before the election - and may take many weeks of negotiations to form a new government. Meanwhile, the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army are licking their electoral wounds. Voters held their parties largely responsible for endemic corruption and a lack of development." } ], "id": "9528_0", "question": "Can the biggest parties work together?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Brexit. It's all about Britain, right? Well, not entirely. There is the rest of the club to consider - what has become known, rather inelegantly, as the EU-of-27. They are about to lose - depending on your point of view - a curmudgeonly whinger who was dragging the whole project down or one of their largest economies and the most powerful defence and security power in Europe. So what to do? There are those who think, genuinely, good riddance. \"General de Gaulle was right all along,\" they mutter. \"We should never have let them join in the first place. \"Freed from the shackles of British ministers objecting to integration here and integration there, we can get on with it.\" Closer co-operation on EU defence policy is high on their list; and it has been given an extra boost by the new president of the United States musing out loud about Nato and whether it is all worth it. Others are dismayed by the British decision to leave, but after getting over the initial shock - and it really was a shock - they too are determined to make the best of it. And when it comes to negotiating the UK divorce bill, make no mistake. For the people who matter, the unity of the remaining 27 is more important than trying not to upset the Brits as they wave goodbye. The bill will be big - up to 60 billion euros - and European diplomats are bracing themselves for what one called \"the very real possibility\" that the UK will walk out in a huff. But the likelihood is that after one too many late-night summits - and one too many outraged tabloid headlines - a deal of sorts will emerge from the rubble. The consequences of Brexit will rumble on for years; there are trade deals that will have to be done. But the EU is in no position to wait for the dust to settle. In many ways, it has already moved on. So long Britain, and thanks for the memories. Later this month, leaders of the 27 (the 28th has already sent her apologies) will meet in Rome to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the EU's founding treaty. I say celebrate, but there is no illusion about the challenges facing the union. Could the forces that prompted Brexit spread to other countries? Will anti-EU populists continue to rise in France, the Netherlands and parts of Central Europe? It is certainly not impossible, and EU leaders know it. The idea that the EU could fall apart - unthinkable a few years ago - is now the subject of serious discussion. Which is why they need a new plan to reinvigorate the project on its 60th birthday, and make it fit for future purpose. The European Commission has now produced a series of policy options for the best way forward, ranging from shrugging its shoulders to throwing up its hands in horror. But the most likely solution is to make more use of what is known as multi-speed Europe. That's the idea that \"coalitions of the willing\" can move forward on big projects even if others want to linger on the starting line. It is already happening with the euro, and with the passport-free Schengen area - not all EU countries are members of everything. An inner core may want to push ahead, if (and it's a big if) it can take public opinion along for the ride. The other Commission proposal that looks to have legs is the idea that Brussels would return some powers to member states, as long as the EU was given greater responsibilities in major policy areas such as trade, migration, security and defence. Variations on this theme have been around for some time. The EU needs to be big on the big things, they said, and smaller on smaller things. And the biggest of the big things - in a competitive field - is probably the need to fix the eurozone. The single currency remains half-formed, and - as a result - not yet secure. There is talk of a eurozone finance minister and a single eurozone budget. But if you centralise economic power, you have to make sure it is politically accountable. In an era of populist, anti-establishment rage, that is a difficult balancing act. Much will depend on who wins national elections this year in Germany and, in particular, France. Political leadership will be at a premium. But as the UK prepares to leave and enter a whole new world, the status quo is no longer an option for the countries that remain. The EU either needs to move forward towards closer integration, or transfer significant power back to nation states. It continues to be a bold experiment in Europe. But the halfway house has been built on sand.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3159, "answer_start": 2002, "text": "I say celebrate, but there is no illusion about the challenges facing the union. Could the forces that prompted Brexit spread to other countries? Will anti-EU populists continue to rise in France, the Netherlands and parts of Central Europe? It is certainly not impossible, and EU leaders know it. The idea that the EU could fall apart - unthinkable a few years ago - is now the subject of serious discussion. Which is why they need a new plan to reinvigorate the project on its 60th birthday, and make it fit for future purpose. The European Commission has now produced a series of policy options for the best way forward, ranging from shrugging its shoulders to throwing up its hands in horror. But the most likely solution is to make more use of what is known as multi-speed Europe. That's the idea that \"coalitions of the willing\" can move forward on big projects even if others want to linger on the starting line. It is already happening with the euro, and with the passport-free Schengen area - not all EU countries are members of everything. An inner core may want to push ahead, if (and it's a big if) it can take public opinion along for the ride." } ], "id": "9529_0", "question": "Multi-speed Europe?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Police in Dubai have closed the case into the death of Bollywood star Sridevi Kapoor after handing over her body to relatives. The actress, 54, died on Saturday \"due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness\", police said. She was found in a hotel bathtub. It had earlier been reported that she died of cardiac arrest while at a family wedding in Dubai. Her body has been embalmed and is being flown to India for her funeral. Crowds have gathered outside her home in Mumbai to pay their last respects ahead of the ceremony, which will take place in the city on Wednesday. Known simply as Sridevi, the actress was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box-office success without the support of a male hero. She appeared in nearly 300 films over five decades. Police had been holding the body pending the results of a post-mortem examination. Prosecutors say a \"comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of her death\" is now complete. The full post-mortem report has not yet been released to the public and will be expected to explain how the original report of cardiac arrest and the listing of \"accidental drowning\" are linked. The actress had been in the United Arab Emirates to attend the wedding of her nephew, Mohit Marwah. Meanwhile, fans have expressed anger on social media at the way her death has been covered in the media. Television channels have been criticised for suggesting theories about the possible cause of death, with some reports showing bathrooms and bathtubs. The star of such classics as Mr India, Chandni, ChaalBaaz and Sadma, Sridevi worked in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages. Her acting career began at the age of four and by 13 she was cast in the adult role of a woman avenging her lover's death. Sridevi debuted as a lead actress in a Bollywood film in 1978, soon becoming one of India's biggest film stars. She decided to take a break from the film industry after the release of Judaai in 1997. She made a comeback in 2012, starring in English Vinglish. In 2013, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri - the country's fourth-highest civilian honour.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2172, "answer_start": 1539, "text": "The star of such classics as Mr India, Chandni, ChaalBaaz and Sadma, Sridevi worked in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages. Her acting career began at the age of four and by 13 she was cast in the adult role of a woman avenging her lover's death. Sridevi debuted as a lead actress in a Bollywood film in 1978, soon becoming one of India's biggest film stars. She decided to take a break from the film industry after the release of Judaai in 1997. She made a comeback in 2012, starring in English Vinglish. In 2013, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri - the country's fourth-highest civilian honour." } ], "id": "9530_0", "question": "Why was she such a huge box-office draw?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has claimed Mr Trump wanted him to lie about a property deal in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. During Wednesday's testimony, Cohen said Mr Trump directed covert plans for a Trump hotel, even while he denied having any business in Russia. He also said Mr Trump knew about a leak of hacked Democratic emails, and called him a \"racist\", \"conman\" and \"cheat\". Mr Trump accused Cohen of \"lying in order to reduce his prison time\". And speaking after Thursday's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, the US president reiterated that Cohen \"lied a lot\" during his congressional testimony. But Mr Trump said his former lawyer provided no evidence about alleged collusion between the Trump campaign with Russia during the 2016 US presidential elections. \"He didn't lie about one thing. He said, no collusion with the Russian hoax. And I said, I wonder why he didn't lie about that, too, like everything else,\" Mr Trump said. Cohen, 52, will start a three-year prison term in May for the campaign finance violation of paying hush money to one of Mr Trump's alleged mistresses, tax evasion and lying to Congress. In his public testimony to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Wednesday, he said Mr Trump \"knew of and directed\" plans for a Trump Tower Moscow, while stating publicly that he had no dealings in Russia. \"At the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him,\" Cohen testified, \"he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie.\" \"He wanted me to lie,\" the witness added. However, Cohen has been convicted of lying to Congress when he testified in 2017 that attempts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had stopped by January 2016. He has since acknowledged negotiations actually continued until June 2016 in the midst of the election campaign, though the real estate project ultimately did not go ahead. Cohen apologised on Wednesday for his earlier false statements to Congress, which he claimed were \"reviewed and edited\" by Mr Trump's lawyers. Jay Sekulow, counsel to President Trump, said in a statement after the hearing: \"Today's testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the president edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false.\" Cohen also suggested federal prosecutors in New York are investigating some unspecified crime involving Trump. Cohen said he was in Mr Trump's office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser, called the then-Republican presidential candidate. The witness said Mr Stone rang Mr Trump to let him know he had been speaking to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a \"massive dump\" of emails within a couple of days that would politically embarrass Hillary Clinton's White House campaign. Cohen said Mr Trump responded along the lines of \"wouldn't that be great\". Mr Trump has denied having prior knowledge about Wikileaks' disclosure of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails during the election. The messages - which US authorities say were hacked by Russian intelligence - caused a damaging rift among Democrats by exposing how party officials preferred Mrs Clinton over her challenger for the presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders. Mr Stone, a self-proclaimed political dirty trickster, is currently facing charges of lying to Congress about his communications with Wikileaks and witness tampering. By Paul Wood, World Affairs Correspondent, BBC News Anyone who's met Michael Cohen recently will tell you that he's burning with anger at having to take the blame for crimes he says were instigated by Trump. It seems he's spent weeks being intensively prepped by his lawyers for this moment and intends to do the President fatal damage. The White House talking points - farmed out to surrogates such as Donald Trump Jr - are that he's a \"disgraced liar\" and \"convicted perjurer\". Cohen certainly knows he has - as he says in his testimony - a credibility problem. That's why he's attempting to wield a stiletto, not swing an axe, each charge backed up by what he calls \"documents that are irrefutable\" - hence the dramatic production of a cheque apparently signed by Trump (the alleged refund for paying off Stormy Daniels). He didn't talk much about whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. In fact, he said he had no direct knowledge of collusion. He did, though, say he witnessed Trump in a telephone conversation during the campaign that showed he knew in advance Wikileaks was about to publish emails hacked - by Russia - from the Democratic Party. That would be hugely significant, if true. Trump has always denied it. Cohen testified that, contrary to Mr Trump's repeated claims, he seemed to have advance knowledge of a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan between his campaign aides and a Russian lawyer promising \"dirt\" on Mrs Clinton. The June 2016 meeting has been investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is winding up a 21-month justice department inquiry into whether the Trump campaign colluded with an alleged Kremlin plot to influence the 2016 US presidential election. Cohen spoke about an incident when Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, walked behind his father's desk and told him in a low voice: \"The meeting is all set.\" Mr Trump, Cohen told the hearing, replied: \"OK good, let me know.\" Importantly, Cohen also said under oath that he has no direct evidence that Mr Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. \"I do not,\" he said. \"I want to be clear. But I have my suspicions.\" Cohen told lawmakers Mr Trump is a racist. He said: \"He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' \"This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. \"While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. \"And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him.\" Cohen provided what he said was evidence of reimbursements he received from the president for hush money the lawyer has admitted paying to a porn star who says she had an affair with Mr Trump. He submitted to the committee a copy of his $130,000 (PS97,000) wire transfer to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet - a payment which led to Cohen's conviction for campaign finance violations. Cohen also gave the panel a copy of a $35,000 cheque dated August 2017 - one of a series he said Mr Trump signed to pay him back in instalments. \"Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets,\" Cohen said. \"She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly - and she did not deserve that.\" During the hearing, the president's fellow Republicans pilloried committee Democrats for inviting a man convicted of lying to Congress. Jim Jordan of Ohio called Cohen - who lost his law licence on Tuesday - a \"fraudster\" and \"cheat\". But committee chairman Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, defended the decision to give Cohen a public platform, saying it was the panel's job to search out the truth. After the hearing, when asked whether the president committed a crime while in office, Chairman Cummings said: \"It appears that he did\". He did not offer any further detail on what crime he thought Mr Trump committed.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2576, "answer_start": 1185, "text": "In his public testimony to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Wednesday, he said Mr Trump \"knew of and directed\" plans for a Trump Tower Moscow, while stating publicly that he had no dealings in Russia. \"At the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him,\" Cohen testified, \"he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie.\" \"He wanted me to lie,\" the witness added. However, Cohen has been convicted of lying to Congress when he testified in 2017 that attempts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had stopped by January 2016. He has since acknowledged negotiations actually continued until June 2016 in the midst of the election campaign, though the real estate project ultimately did not go ahead. Cohen apologised on Wednesday for his earlier false statements to Congress, which he claimed were \"reviewed and edited\" by Mr Trump's lawyers. Jay Sekulow, counsel to President Trump, said in a statement after the hearing: \"Today's testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the president edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false.\" Cohen also suggested federal prosecutors in New York are investigating some unspecified crime involving Trump." } ], "id": "9531_0", "question": "What did Cohen say about the Moscow project?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3613, "answer_start": 2577, "text": "Cohen said he was in Mr Trump's office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser, called the then-Republican presidential candidate. The witness said Mr Stone rang Mr Trump to let him know he had been speaking to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a \"massive dump\" of emails within a couple of days that would politically embarrass Hillary Clinton's White House campaign. Cohen said Mr Trump responded along the lines of \"wouldn't that be great\". Mr Trump has denied having prior knowledge about Wikileaks' disclosure of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails during the election. The messages - which US authorities say were hacked by Russian intelligence - caused a damaging rift among Democrats by exposing how party officials preferred Mrs Clinton over her challenger for the presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders. Mr Stone, a self-proclaimed political dirty trickster, is currently facing charges of lying to Congress about his communications with Wikileaks and witness tampering." } ], "id": "9531_1", "question": "What did Cohen say about the email leak?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5727, "answer_start": 4847, "text": "Cohen testified that, contrary to Mr Trump's repeated claims, he seemed to have advance knowledge of a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan between his campaign aides and a Russian lawyer promising \"dirt\" on Mrs Clinton. The June 2016 meeting has been investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is winding up a 21-month justice department inquiry into whether the Trump campaign colluded with an alleged Kremlin plot to influence the 2016 US presidential election. Cohen spoke about an incident when Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, walked behind his father's desk and told him in a low voice: \"The meeting is all set.\" Mr Trump, Cohen told the hearing, replied: \"OK good, let me know.\" Importantly, Cohen also said under oath that he has no direct evidence that Mr Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. \"I do not,\" he said. \"I want to be clear. But I have my suspicions.\"" } ], "id": "9531_2", "question": "What else did he say about Russia?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6194, "answer_start": 5728, "text": "Cohen told lawmakers Mr Trump is a racist. He said: \"He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' \"This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. \"While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. \"And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him.\"" } ], "id": "9531_3", "question": "What about the racism allegation?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6875, "answer_start": 6195, "text": "Cohen provided what he said was evidence of reimbursements he received from the president for hush money the lawyer has admitted paying to a porn star who says she had an affair with Mr Trump. He submitted to the committee a copy of his $130,000 (PS97,000) wire transfer to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet - a payment which led to Cohen's conviction for campaign finance violations. Cohen also gave the panel a copy of a $35,000 cheque dated August 2017 - one of a series he said Mr Trump signed to pay him back in instalments. \"Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets,\" Cohen said. \"She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly - and she did not deserve that.\"" } ], "id": "9531_4", "question": "What did he say about hush money?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 7499, "answer_start": 6876, "text": "During the hearing, the president's fellow Republicans pilloried committee Democrats for inviting a man convicted of lying to Congress. Jim Jordan of Ohio called Cohen - who lost his law licence on Tuesday - a \"fraudster\" and \"cheat\". But committee chairman Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, defended the decision to give Cohen a public platform, saying it was the panel's job to search out the truth. After the hearing, when asked whether the president committed a crime while in office, Chairman Cummings said: \"It appears that he did\". He did not offer any further detail on what crime he thought Mr Trump committed." } ], "id": "9531_5", "question": "How did committee members respond?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "An Israeli F-16 fighter jet has crashed after being hit by Syrian air defences during an offensive in Syria, the Israeli military says. The two pilots parachuted to safety before the crash in northern Israel. It is believed to be the first time Israel has lost a jet in the Syrian conflict. The plane was hit during air strikes in response to an Iranian drone launch into Israeli territory, Israel says. The drone was shot down. Israel later launched further strikes in Syria. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they hit aerial defence batteries and Iranian military sites in the latest strikes. Israeli air strikes in Syria are not unusual, the BBC's Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman says, but the loss of an Israeli fighter jet marks a serious escalation. In other developments in the Syrian conflict on Saturday: - A Turkish helicopter was shot down as the country continued its offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. Two soldiers on board were killed, the Turkish military says - UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said the past week was one of the bloodiest in Syria since the conflict began in 2011 - with at least 277 civilian deaths reported The Israeli military says a \"combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] that was launched from Syria and infiltrated Israel\". It tweeted footage which it says shows the drone flying into Israeli territory before being hit. In a further response, the IDF \"targeted Iranian targets in Syria\", according to the military. The mission deep inside Syrian territory was successfully completed, it said. After coming under Syrian anti-aircraft fire, the F-16's two crew members ejected and were later taken to hospital. One of them was \"severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation\", the IDF said. It is the first time Israel has lost an aircraft in combat since 2006 when an Israeli helicopter was shot down over Lebanon by a Hezbollah rocket, the Jerusalem Post reports. All five crew on board - including a female flight mechanic - were killed in that incident. Alert sirens sounded in areas of northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights because of Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Residents reported hearing a number of explosions and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel's borders with Jordan and Syria. Syrian state media quoted a military source as saying that the country's air defences had opened fire in response to Israeli \"aggression\" against a military base on Saturday, hitting \"more than one plane\". Israel launched its second wave of strikes in Syria. Eight of the Syrian targets belonged to the fourth Syrian division near Damascus, IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. All the Israeli aircraft from this sortie returned safely. \"Syrians are playing with fire when they allow Iranians to attack Israel,\" the spokesman warned. He added that Israel was willing to exact a heavy price in response but was \"are not looking to escalate the situation\". Meanwhile Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon - which are allied with the Syrian government - dismissed reports that an Iranian drone had entered Israeli airspace as a \"lie\". Russia expressed \"serious concern\" over the Israeli air strikes and called for all sides to show restraint. Iran is Israel's arch-enemy, and Iranian troops have been fighting rebel groups since 2011. Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteer militias and, reportedly, hundreds of fighters from its Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It is also believed to have supplied thousands of tonnes of weaponry and munitions to help President Bashar al-Assad's forces and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which is fighting on Syria's side. Tehran has faced accusations that it is seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Analysis by BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus For years Israel has been striking at weapons stores and other facilities in Syria with a single goal - to disrupt and, as far as possible, to prevent advanced Iranian missiles being delivered to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Syria has often been the conduit for these shipments, but the changing balance of power there, with the Assad regime's survival bolstered by Iranian help, has introduced a powerful new element - a direct Iranian role in the crisis. A more confident Iran is alleged by Israel to be setting up bases in Syria (whether for its own or its proxy Shia Muslim militia forces is unclear). But it is also alleged to be developing missile factories, both there and in Lebanon, to make the supply lines to Hezbollah less vulnerable. Israel's campaign to disrupt missile supplies is becoming ever more complex. And Iran risks becoming a direct actor in this conflict, ever closer to Israel's own borders.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2560, "answer_start": 1187, "text": "The Israeli military says a \"combat helicopter successfully intercepted an Iranian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] that was launched from Syria and infiltrated Israel\". It tweeted footage which it says shows the drone flying into Israeli territory before being hit. In a further response, the IDF \"targeted Iranian targets in Syria\", according to the military. The mission deep inside Syrian territory was successfully completed, it said. After coming under Syrian anti-aircraft fire, the F-16's two crew members ejected and were later taken to hospital. One of them was \"severely injured as a result of an emergency evacuation\", the IDF said. It is the first time Israel has lost an aircraft in combat since 2006 when an Israeli helicopter was shot down over Lebanon by a Hezbollah rocket, the Jerusalem Post reports. All five crew on board - including a female flight mechanic - were killed in that incident. Alert sirens sounded in areas of northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights because of Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Residents reported hearing a number of explosions and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel's borders with Jordan and Syria. Syrian state media quoted a military source as saying that the country's air defences had opened fire in response to Israeli \"aggression\" against a military base on Saturday, hitting \"more than one plane\"." } ], "id": "9532_0", "question": "How did events unfold on Saturday morning?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3314, "answer_start": 2561, "text": "Israel launched its second wave of strikes in Syria. Eight of the Syrian targets belonged to the fourth Syrian division near Damascus, IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. All the Israeli aircraft from this sortie returned safely. \"Syrians are playing with fire when they allow Iranians to attack Israel,\" the spokesman warned. He added that Israel was willing to exact a heavy price in response but was \"are not looking to escalate the situation\". Meanwhile Iran and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon - which are allied with the Syrian government - dismissed reports that an Iranian drone had entered Israeli airspace as a \"lie\". Russia expressed \"serious concern\" over the Israeli air strikes and called for all sides to show restraint." } ], "id": "9532_1", "question": "What did Israel do next?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3945, "answer_start": 3315, "text": "Iran is Israel's arch-enemy, and Iranian troops have been fighting rebel groups since 2011. Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteer militias and, reportedly, hundreds of fighters from its Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It is also believed to have supplied thousands of tonnes of weaponry and munitions to help President Bashar al-Assad's forces and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which is fighting on Syria's side. Tehran has faced accusations that it is seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to Hezbollah in Lebanon." } ], "id": "9532_2", "question": "What is the Iranian presence in Syria?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "China's President Xi Jinping has met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the first Chinese state visit to Pyongyang in 14 years. The leaders were expected to discuss economic issues and the stalled talks over North Korea's nuclear programme. It was their fifth meeting in 15 months, but the first to have taken place in North Korea. Both leaders are currently in separate disputes with the US - China over trade and North Korea over nuclear weapons. Thursday's meeting was the first between the two leaders since a summit held by Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump ended in February without any agreement on denuclearisation. It also comes just a week before Mr Xi is set to meet the US president at the G20 summit in Japan. Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome the Chinese president to the country on Thursday morning, with video footage shared by Chinese state media showing crowds waving flowers and banners as his motorcade passed through Pyongyang. The leaders then held talks, in which Mr Xi praised Pyongyang's efforts towards denuclearisation and said he hoped that North Korea and the US could keep talking and make progress, according to Chinese media reports. Mr Xi's two-day visit is the first by any Chinese leader to North Korea in 14 years and his first since taking power in 2012. It is being seen as a boost for Mr Kim, who has been struggling to maintain momentum after a flurry of diplomatic activity over the past year. The two leaders will inevitably discuss the stalled nuclear negotiations and the collapse of the Hanoi summit. Analysts say Mr Xi will want to know what happened and whether any way can be found to move things forward, information he could then share with Mr Trump in Japan. Although the visit was confirmed only earlier this week, Jenny Town, managing editor of US-based analysis site 38 North, says it is not a huge surprise that it is happening now, with the 70th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic ties approaching. She says there might be some \"symbolic value\" in the visiting taking place just before the G20 summit, but that it's \"more of a bonus than a deciding factor\". China's main goal is stability in North Korea and economic co-operation, and ensuring that it remains a significant party in the negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme. The two communist-led states are old allies. But ties have been strained over the past decade, with Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions viewed critically by Beijing. The official China Daily newspaper said on Wednesday that the visit would allow the two leaders to \"agree on some concrete co-operation projects\". And in a rare front page editorial in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Wednesday, Mr Xi reiterated his support for nuclear talks, saying: \"China supports North Korea for maintaining the right direction in resolving the issue of the Korean peninsula politically.\" The visit will enable Mr Kim to show that he still has China's support, as other relationships are struggling. \"The North Koreans want to keep their friends close even if there isn't a lot of trust and a lot of goodwill between them,\" says Ms Town. North Korea's economy is struggling under the international sanctions regime, put in place because of its repeated nuclear and missile tests. China, its biggest trading partner, has backed those sanctions but has indicated it would be in favour of some sanctions relief as an incentive for North Korea to denuclearise. \"China has proved to be the main destination for most of North Korea's exports, including minerals, fish, textiles, and also workers,\" North Korea analyst Peter Ward told the BBC. Beijing traditionally is also the main importer of goods for North Korea's industry and households. Under current sanctions, a lot of this trade has come to a halt. \"China would prefer to relax UN sanctions in these areas,\" Mr Ward says. \"It wants to ensure that North Korea's economy grows at a fair pace and that the North does not feel the need to test ballistic missiles and/or nuclear weapons again.\" Given that sanctions are not likely to get lifted, there is little China can do. But Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told Reuters that Chinese economic support - possibly even China creating a \"hole\" in sanctions - would mean Mr Kim \"doesn't have to negotiate with the US from a position of weakness\". \"It can have both nuclear weapons and economic aid from China,\" he said.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2157, "answer_start": 1188, "text": "Mr Xi's two-day visit is the first by any Chinese leader to North Korea in 14 years and his first since taking power in 2012. It is being seen as a boost for Mr Kim, who has been struggling to maintain momentum after a flurry of diplomatic activity over the past year. The two leaders will inevitably discuss the stalled nuclear negotiations and the collapse of the Hanoi summit. Analysts say Mr Xi will want to know what happened and whether any way can be found to move things forward, information he could then share with Mr Trump in Japan. Although the visit was confirmed only earlier this week, Jenny Town, managing editor of US-based analysis site 38 North, says it is not a huge surprise that it is happening now, with the 70th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic ties approaching. She says there might be some \"symbolic value\" in the visiting taking place just before the G20 summit, but that it's \"more of a bonus than a deciding factor\"." } ], "id": "9533_0", "question": "Why is the visit happening now?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2915, "answer_start": 2158, "text": "China's main goal is stability in North Korea and economic co-operation, and ensuring that it remains a significant party in the negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme. The two communist-led states are old allies. But ties have been strained over the past decade, with Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions viewed critically by Beijing. The official China Daily newspaper said on Wednesday that the visit would allow the two leaders to \"agree on some concrete co-operation projects\". And in a rare front page editorial in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Wednesday, Mr Xi reiterated his support for nuclear talks, saying: \"China supports North Korea for maintaining the right direction in resolving the issue of the Korean peninsula politically.\"" } ], "id": "9533_1", "question": "What does China want?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4481, "answer_start": 2916, "text": "The visit will enable Mr Kim to show that he still has China's support, as other relationships are struggling. \"The North Koreans want to keep their friends close even if there isn't a lot of trust and a lot of goodwill between them,\" says Ms Town. North Korea's economy is struggling under the international sanctions regime, put in place because of its repeated nuclear and missile tests. China, its biggest trading partner, has backed those sanctions but has indicated it would be in favour of some sanctions relief as an incentive for North Korea to denuclearise. \"China has proved to be the main destination for most of North Korea's exports, including minerals, fish, textiles, and also workers,\" North Korea analyst Peter Ward told the BBC. Beijing traditionally is also the main importer of goods for North Korea's industry and households. Under current sanctions, a lot of this trade has come to a halt. \"China would prefer to relax UN sanctions in these areas,\" Mr Ward says. \"It wants to ensure that North Korea's economy grows at a fair pace and that the North does not feel the need to test ballistic missiles and/or nuclear weapons again.\" Given that sanctions are not likely to get lifted, there is little China can do. But Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, told Reuters that Chinese economic support - possibly even China creating a \"hole\" in sanctions - would mean Mr Kim \"doesn't have to negotiate with the US from a position of weakness\". \"It can have both nuclear weapons and economic aid from China,\" he said." } ], "id": "9533_2", "question": "What does North Korea want?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Top politicians in Indian-administered Kashmir have been put under house arrest, days after thousands of troops were deployed to the disputed region. Public meetings have been banned and reports say mobile networks and the internet have been restricted. Last week authorities also ordered tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave, citing a \"terror threat\" against an annual pilgrimage to a major shrine. It is unclear what is behind the latest moves, which have stoked tensions. No explanation for the government's actions has been given as yet but it comes amid speculation that Delhi might be poised to revoke some of Kashmir's special privileges - specifically Article 35A, a constitutional provision, which among other things, prevents people from outside the state buying land there. A cabinet meeting to discuss the situation has ended and home minister Amit Shah will address parliament. Kashmir has been under governor's rule since June 2018 when the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of a state government coalition with the regional People's Democratic Party (PDP). It was in the early hours of Monday that two former chief ministers of Indian-administered Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were placed under house arrest. The two leaders tweeted late on Sunday night about their impending house arrests and the situation there. The federal government has not made an official statement. But they have cited security concerns while deploying tens of thousands of troops to the Muslim-majority valley in the past week. The influx of troops, the terror warnings and the speculation about Kashmir's status have alarmed residents across the Indian-ruled region, many of whom queued for hours outside petrol stations, supermarkets and cash machines. If Article 35A is indeed revoked, it would spark anger across the valley, and escalate tensions with Pakistan. There have also been reports of skirmishes across the de facto border with Pakistan in recent days. Kashmir has been a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbours for decades. Both countries claim the entire valley, but control only parts of it. They have fought two wars and a limited conflict in the region. India accuses Pakistan of backing militant groups based in Kashmir, which Pakistan denies. Article 35A is a part of Article 370, which allows the state its own constitution, a separate flag and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defence and communications. This provision guarantees Kashmir a unique status within India. Article 35A itself allows the legislature of Indian-administered Kashmir to define who the state's \"permanent residents\" are, and what distinguishes them. It applies to all of Indian-administered Kashmir, including Jammu and Ladakh. All identified residents are issued a permanent resident certificate, which entitles them to special benefits related to employment, as well as scholarships and other privileges. But the biggest advantage for permanent residents is that only they have the right to own and, therefore, buy, property in the state. But Article 35A was introduced by a presidential order in 1954, without seeking the consent of parliament. Some constitutional experts believe this means it can be revoked in the same manner - through a presidential order - while others say such a move could still be challenged in court since it would be unprecedented. Read more about Article 35A here Article 35A is a sensitive law because its restrictions on who can buy or own property protect the state's distinct demographic character. Many Kashmiris have long suspected Hindu nationalist groups are encouraging Hindus to migrate to the state. They see revoking Article 35A as further proof of this. But the ruling BJP has long vowed to revoke the law. Its 2019 election manifesto said it was \"discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Kashmir\", adding: \"We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state.\" India has been fighting an armed insurgency in Kashmir since 1989. High unemployment and allegations of human rights abuses by Indian security forces have aggravated the problem. Kashmir's special status, experts say, is especially significant given this fraught relationship. Any attempt to dilute the status is seen by many as a violation of Kashmir's autonomy. Earlier, the detained politicians and other leaders issued a resolution warning Delhi of \"consequences\" if it \"changed the special status of Kashmir\". The BJP has a decisive majority - it won 300 of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament earlier this year. This will likely help the government weather the political storm that is likely to follow, as revoking the law is expected to lead to constitutional and legal challenges.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2291, "answer_start": 1360, "text": "The federal government has not made an official statement. But they have cited security concerns while deploying tens of thousands of troops to the Muslim-majority valley in the past week. The influx of troops, the terror warnings and the speculation about Kashmir's status have alarmed residents across the Indian-ruled region, many of whom queued for hours outside petrol stations, supermarkets and cash machines. If Article 35A is indeed revoked, it would spark anger across the valley, and escalate tensions with Pakistan. There have also been reports of skirmishes across the de facto border with Pakistan in recent days. Kashmir has been a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbours for decades. Both countries claim the entire valley, but control only parts of it. They have fought two wars and a limited conflict in the region. India accuses Pakistan of backing militant groups based in Kashmir, which Pakistan denies." } ], "id": "9534_0", "question": "Why have additional troops been deployed?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4793, "answer_start": 3441, "text": "Article 35A is a sensitive law because its restrictions on who can buy or own property protect the state's distinct demographic character. Many Kashmiris have long suspected Hindu nationalist groups are encouraging Hindus to migrate to the state. They see revoking Article 35A as further proof of this. But the ruling BJP has long vowed to revoke the law. Its 2019 election manifesto said it was \"discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Kashmir\", adding: \"We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state.\" India has been fighting an armed insurgency in Kashmir since 1989. High unemployment and allegations of human rights abuses by Indian security forces have aggravated the problem. Kashmir's special status, experts say, is especially significant given this fraught relationship. Any attempt to dilute the status is seen by many as a violation of Kashmir's autonomy. Earlier, the detained politicians and other leaders issued a resolution warning Delhi of \"consequences\" if it \"changed the special status of Kashmir\". The BJP has a decisive majority - it won 300 of the 543 seats in the lower house of parliament earlier this year. This will likely help the government weather the political storm that is likely to follow, as revoking the law is expected to lead to constitutional and legal challenges." } ], "id": "9534_1", "question": "Why is Kashmir's special status significant?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A US judge has given the Trump administration more time to reunite migrant children aged five or younger with their parents. The decision came after a government lawyer said more than half of the 102 young children may be back with parents by the original deadline of Tuesday. They are among more than 2,300 children separated from parents prosecuted for illegally crossing the border. The adults say they have fled poverty and gang violence in Central America. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that after viewing a list of the 102 children under the age of five in the government's care, \"it appears likely that less than half will be reunited\" by the 10 July deadline. However, during a hearing on Monday, Department of Justice lawyer Sarah Fabian said 54 of the children should be back with their parents by Tuesday. At the hearing in San Diego Judge Dana Sabraw agreed that some cases \"will necessitate additional time\" for reunification. Immigration authorities have offered little information about reunification or what comes next. Lawyers have described migrant toddlers clambering on court desks during hearings, forced to appear in court alone while their parents are detained. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Los Angeles has rejected the Trump administration's request to allow the long-term detention of illegal immigrant children. Under a 1997 agreement, child migrants can only be detained for 20 days. Judge Dolly Gee said the administration's request to extend that limit was \" a cynical attempt\" to shift immigration policymaking to the courts. Pamela Florian, a lawyer with The Florence Project, an Arizona non-profit providing legal and social services to detained immigrant families, told the BBC the family separation policy led to \"a huge increase in the number of younger children\" coming through the system. \"Now we're seeing toddlers, we're seeing babies,\" she says. Last week, the government offered the following information: - 16 children have not yet been matched to parents - 19 parents have already been released into the US - 46 parents are being held in custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Two parents have been judged unfit for release On Twitter, immigration lawyers have shared their experiences representing young children who cannot properly explain their situation, let alone navigate legal proceedings. Fellow Florence Project attorney Maite Garcia currently represents four- and six-year-old siblings from Mexico whose mother is in custody, awaiting her asylum hearing. The six-year-old is blind, but has been working with Ms Garcia since her younger brother is nonverbal - \"in part because he's traumatised\", according to Ms Garcia. \"She's finally understanding after many, many meetings that she risks deportation and so now she's more frightened than ever of returning. \"She's been able to confide to me that she's fleeing violence in her home country and doesn't want to return because she's afraid of, as she puts it, 'bad things happening'\". Oregon lawyer Lisa LeSage from the nonprofit Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) firm says the children often do not even know what a lawyer is. \"Often times with the young children, they might be crawling around or playing with a pen,\" Ms LeSage told the BBC of her in-court experiences. \"Even a five year old who wasn't traumatised can't always tell you their address or what their parents look like or their last names. How do you expect a child to do all that?\" ICS currently has around five children they have confirmed were separated from their parents at the border, but the numbers keep changing. \"This is not something that the kids or their parents will ever get over,\" Ms LeSage says. \"I can say across the country, we know of cases where parents have already been deported.\" \"It's a horrific situation right now, there's really no other word for it.\" Much of the confusion around reunification stems from the fact that adults and children go through two separate immigration systems controlled by two different agencies. Adults must go through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while children classified as unaccompanied minors are in the care of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), has volunteered with juvenile immigration cases in Los Angeles for years. She told the BBC the current migrant crisis has exacerbated the existing challenges of handling children's cases. \"It makes it even more difficult for the attorneys and for the court to ensure fundamental fairness because we need to ensure the proper adults are involved to fully protect the child's interests,\" she says. \"These are not unaccompanied children,\" Judge Tabaddor says. \"They are turned into an unaccompanied child when separated.\" She added that now, many parents are \"agreeing to whatever the government is asking for, to get their children back\". In June, President Trump called for deportation \"with no judges or court cases\". Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later echoed Mr Trump's comments. \"Just because you don't see a judge doesn't mean you aren't receiving due process,\" Ms Sanders said. Judge Tabaddor of the NAIJ said the organisation \"respectfully disagree[s]\". \"Due process and these situations require a person to present their case before an independent decision maker,\" she says. \"Once they're here and they express a fear of going back, they are entitled to come before an immigration judge.\" Ms Garcia called any rollback on due process protections \"a step in the wrong direction\". \"Reunification is absolutely important. We advocate for the release of these families together - not family detention,\" she says. \"However, all of that shouldn't be more important than returning them to their countries without due process and without access to counsel.\" Since immigration cases are civil cases, legal counsel is not automatically provided. For migrants, finding legal representation can be next to impossible without help from non-profit organisations. Judge Tabaddor says if immigration cases for children are pushed through before reunification, parents could unintentionally lose legal rights to their child. \"If the child ends up having to go through official foster care guardianship through the special immigrant juvenile visa, one of the things that has to be demonstrated is abandonment, abuse or neglect. If the court finds that, then the parent-child relationship is severed, at least for immigration purposes.\" But staff at the Florence Project told the BBC it's still too early to worry about court rulings. For now, ensuring migrant families have access to legal counsel and trauma care are the primary concerns. A brief legal timeline 6 April: Sessions issues \"zero tolerance\" policy at the US-Mexico border 15 June: DHS finally reveals number of separated children - around 2,000 from late April to 31 May 20 June: Trump signs executive order ending family separations 21 June: House lawmakers request an audit from immigration agencies on migrant children and families 26 June: A federal judge in California orders officials to stop detaining families separately and mandates the government reunify families with children under the age of five within 14 days 27 June: Seventeen states sue the Trump administration to force family reunification 29 June: Legal organisations file lawsuit accusing Department of Health of mistreating migrant children in shelters 30 June: Sessions files announcement saying detaining families together indefinitely no longer violates the 20-day limit on detaining children from Flores Settlement 2 July: Senators demand updates from Homeland Security and Health departments on reunification 10 July: Federal judge allows deadline for children under five to be reunited with families to be pushed back in some cases 26 July: Deadline for all migrant families to be reunited", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3883, "answer_start": 1574, "text": "Pamela Florian, a lawyer with The Florence Project, an Arizona non-profit providing legal and social services to detained immigrant families, told the BBC the family separation policy led to \"a huge increase in the number of younger children\" coming through the system. \"Now we're seeing toddlers, we're seeing babies,\" she says. Last week, the government offered the following information: - 16 children have not yet been matched to parents - 19 parents have already been released into the US - 46 parents are being held in custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Two parents have been judged unfit for release On Twitter, immigration lawyers have shared their experiences representing young children who cannot properly explain their situation, let alone navigate legal proceedings. Fellow Florence Project attorney Maite Garcia currently represents four- and six-year-old siblings from Mexico whose mother is in custody, awaiting her asylum hearing. The six-year-old is blind, but has been working with Ms Garcia since her younger brother is nonverbal - \"in part because he's traumatised\", according to Ms Garcia. \"She's finally understanding after many, many meetings that she risks deportation and so now she's more frightened than ever of returning. \"She's been able to confide to me that she's fleeing violence in her home country and doesn't want to return because she's afraid of, as she puts it, 'bad things happening'\". Oregon lawyer Lisa LeSage from the nonprofit Immigration Counseling Service (ICS) firm says the children often do not even know what a lawyer is. \"Often times with the young children, they might be crawling around or playing with a pen,\" Ms LeSage told the BBC of her in-court experiences. \"Even a five year old who wasn't traumatised can't always tell you their address or what their parents look like or their last names. How do you expect a child to do all that?\" ICS currently has around five children they have confirmed were separated from their parents at the border, but the numbers keep changing. \"This is not something that the kids or their parents will ever get over,\" Ms LeSage says. \"I can say across the country, we know of cases where parents have already been deported.\" \"It's a horrific situation right now, there's really no other word for it.\"" } ], "id": "9535_0", "question": "What's happening on the ground?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4980, "answer_start": 3884, "text": "Much of the confusion around reunification stems from the fact that adults and children go through two separate immigration systems controlled by two different agencies. Adults must go through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while children classified as unaccompanied minors are in the care of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), has volunteered with juvenile immigration cases in Los Angeles for years. She told the BBC the current migrant crisis has exacerbated the existing challenges of handling children's cases. \"It makes it even more difficult for the attorneys and for the court to ensure fundamental fairness because we need to ensure the proper adults are involved to fully protect the child's interests,\" she says. \"These are not unaccompanied children,\" Judge Tabaddor says. \"They are turned into an unaccompanied child when separated.\" She added that now, many parents are \"agreeing to whatever the government is asking for, to get their children back\"." } ], "id": "9535_1", "question": "What's the legal situation?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6099, "answer_start": 4981, "text": "In June, President Trump called for deportation \"with no judges or court cases\". Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later echoed Mr Trump's comments. \"Just because you don't see a judge doesn't mean you aren't receiving due process,\" Ms Sanders said. Judge Tabaddor of the NAIJ said the organisation \"respectfully disagree[s]\". \"Due process and these situations require a person to present their case before an independent decision maker,\" she says. \"Once they're here and they express a fear of going back, they are entitled to come before an immigration judge.\" Ms Garcia called any rollback on due process protections \"a step in the wrong direction\". \"Reunification is absolutely important. We advocate for the release of these families together - not family detention,\" she says. \"However, all of that shouldn't be more important than returning them to their countries without due process and without access to counsel.\" Since immigration cases are civil cases, legal counsel is not automatically provided. For migrants, finding legal representation can be next to impossible without help from non-profit organisations." } ], "id": "9535_2", "question": "What about due process?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6772, "answer_start": 6100, "text": "Judge Tabaddor says if immigration cases for children are pushed through before reunification, parents could unintentionally lose legal rights to their child. \"If the child ends up having to go through official foster care guardianship through the special immigrant juvenile visa, one of the things that has to be demonstrated is abandonment, abuse or neglect. If the court finds that, then the parent-child relationship is severed, at least for immigration purposes.\" But staff at the Florence Project told the BBC it's still too early to worry about court rulings. For now, ensuring migrant families have access to legal counsel and trauma care are the primary concerns." } ], "id": "9535_3", "question": "What might happen in the coming days?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder was \"premeditated\", Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has been quoted as saying by Saudi state media. The evidence for this came from a joint Saudi-Turkish task force, broadcaster al-Ekhbariya said. It also reported that prosecutors were questioning suspects as a result of the joint investigation. Saudi Arabia had initially denied all knowledge of the writer's whereabouts when he went missing on 2 October. The kingdom has since admitted he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, blaming a \"rogue operation\". The official Saudi Press Agency reported that Thursday saw Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chair the first meeting of a committee to reform the state's intelligence services, which was set up following Mr Khashoggi's death. Saudi Arabia also sacked two key advisers to the prince, and arrested 18 people. Prince Mohammed vowed to punish those responsible on Wednesday, but media reports have quoted Turkish security sources as saying the operation was run by a top aide to the crown prince. Saudi Arabia's latest announcement follows US media reports that CIA director Gina Haspel has heard audio recordings believed to capture the journalist's murder. Ms Haspel was allowed to listen to the audio during a visit to Turkey earlier this week, reports said. Soon after the murder on 2 October, Turkish media quoted officials as saying they had audio recordings of Khashoggi's interrogation and death, but gave no details about the contents or how the audio had been obtained. By Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent Turkey has played its biggest card yet in the aftermath of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, reportedly passing the recordings from inside the Saudi consulate, said to reveal how the journalist was killed, to CIA director Gina Haspel. She is due to brief President Donald Trump later on Thursday. Lurid details from the recordings have been steadily leaked to the Turkish media - screams, torture, dismemberment of the body: proof, Ankara says, of the meticulously planned operation. That has now been corroborated by the Saudi prosecutor, who says he believes - based on evidence provided by Turkey - that the murder was premeditated. The question remains if it can be directly traced to the highest levels of the Saudi state. And if so, Turkey would expect the US government to harden its line towards Riyadh to hold those who gave the orders accountable. There is still no sign of the body. The latest focus appears to be on a well in the garden of the Saudi consulate building. As with much of the investigation there have been conflicting reports. The Anadolu agency initially reported the Saudis had denied permission for it to be searched, only for broadcaster NTV to say later that permission had been given. On Tuesday there were similar conflicting reports over whether Khashoggi's belongings had been found in suitcases in a Saudi diplomatic car. First, Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi had left the building alive, then that he had been killed in a \"fist-fight\" inside the consulate. It then said that Khashoggi had been murdered in a \"rogue operation\" that the leadership had not been aware of. An unnamed Saudi official told Reuters news agency on Sunday that Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a rug and given to a local \"co-operator\" to dispose of, the official said. Now, the public prosecutor seems to have accepted the Turkish line - that this murder was pre-planned.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2923, "answer_start": 2424, "text": "There is still no sign of the body. The latest focus appears to be on a well in the garden of the Saudi consulate building. As with much of the investigation there have been conflicting reports. The Anadolu agency initially reported the Saudis had denied permission for it to be searched, only for broadcaster NTV to say later that permission had been given. On Tuesday there were similar conflicting reports over whether Khashoggi's belongings had been found in suitcases in a Saudi diplomatic car." } ], "id": "9536_0", "question": "What's the latest with the investigation?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3530, "answer_start": 2924, "text": "First, Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi had left the building alive, then that he had been killed in a \"fist-fight\" inside the consulate. It then said that Khashoggi had been murdered in a \"rogue operation\" that the leadership had not been aware of. An unnamed Saudi official told Reuters news agency on Sunday that Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a rug and given to a local \"co-operator\" to dispose of, the official said. Now, the public prosecutor seems to have accepted the Turkish line - that this murder was pre-planned." } ], "id": "9536_1", "question": "How has the Saudi story changed?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Three Tory MPs have resigned from the party to join an independent group, set up by former Labour MPs. Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen wrote a joint letter to Theresa May to confirm their departure. The three held a press conference, criticising the government for letting the \"hard-line anti-EU awkward squad\" take over the party. The PM said she was \"saddened\", but her party would \"always offer... decent, moderate and patriotic politics\". The pro-Remain trio will join the new Independent Group - made up of eight Labour MPs who resigned from their party over its handling of Brexit and anti-Semitism - saying it represented \"the centre ground of British politics\". At a press conference on Wednesday, Ms Soubry criticised Theresa May for being \"in the grip\" of the Democratic Unionist Party and the pro-Leave European Research Group, and allowing Brexit to \"define and shape\" the Conservative Party. She said: \"The battle is over, the other side has won. \"The right wing, the hard-line anti-EU awkward squad that have destroyed every leader for the last 40 years are now running the Conservative Party from top to toe. They are the Conservative Party.\" Ms Wollaston said she felt \"great sadness\" at quitting the party, but said Mrs May \"simply hasn't delivered on the pledge she made on the steps of Downing Street to tackle the burning injustices in our society\". And Ms Allen highlighted her concerns around poverty, as well as Brexit, saying: \"I can no longer represent a government and a party who can't open its eyes to the suffering endured by the most vulnerable in society - suffering which we have deepened whilst having the power to fix.\" The three MPs said they will support the government on areas such as the economy, security and improvements to public services, and Ms Soubry defended the record of the coalition government - including the \"necessary\" austerity measures taken by chancellor George Osborne. But they felt \"honour bound to put our constituents' and country's interests first\" over Brexit. Watched by the eight other members of The Independent Group on the front row at the press conference, Ms Allen said she was \"excited\" about the future, adding: \"I want to be part of something better, a party that people vote for because they want to, not because they feel they have to.\" The departure of the three MPs - who all support the People's Vote campaign for another EU referendum - has reduced the government's working majority to nine MPs, and Ms Allen claimed there were \"absolutely\" other colleagues \"keen\" to join the group. And the Independent Group now has more MPs in Parliament than the Democratic Unionist Party and equals the number of Liberal Democrats. Today's departures are evidence of how serious Conservative divisions have become. Right now, as with Labour, it's a splinter, not a split. But don't underestimate how hard a decision it is for any MP to abandon their tribe. These departures illustrate, therefore, a real problem for the governing party. Like Labour, the Tories have big questions they can't answer at the moment - profound quandaries that it's not clear their leaderships are ready, or perhaps even capable right now of meeting. Read more from Laura here. Mrs May said the UK's membership of the EU had been \"a source of disagreement both in our party and our country for a long time\", so \"ending that membership after four decades was never going to be easy\". But, she added: \"By delivering on our manifesto commitment and implementing the decision of the British people we are doing the right thing for our country.\" Former Prime Minister David Cameron said he respected the decision of the three MPs, but disagreed with them, calling for \"strong voices at every level of the party calling for modern, compassionate Conservatism.\" Mr Cameron added: \"Our party has long been able to contain different views on Europe. Everyone must ensure that can continue to be the case.\" A Labour spokesman criticised The Independent Group, saying they had formed \"what is effectively an establishment coalition based on the failed and rejected policies of the past\", such as austerity, corporate tax cuts and privatisation. But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said his party would \"hold out the hand of friendship\" to the group and said they already had \"a good working relationship\" with the MPs. The Conservative party's deputy chairman, Tory MP James Cleverly, told BBC Radio 5 Live that the resignations were \"very sad and disappointing\", which was echoed by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire. But he added that the focus \"has to remain on delivering Brexit\" and the Conservative party was \"a broad church and will remain so\". Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said it was a \"great shame to have lost the commitment and undeniable talent\" of the three MPs. Remain-backing Tory MP Nicky Morgan said the party \"should regret losing three such talented women from the Conservative Party\". Former Cabinet office minister, Damian Green, tweeted that he hoped the three MPs rejoined the party one day. Some Labour MPs have been criticising their former colleagues for joining forces with ex-Conservatives. Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said it was \"a new low\" to see the MP of her home town, Ann Coffey, welcoming an MP responsible for government cuts, adding: \"I'm utterly disgusted.\" Scottish Labour MP Danielle Rowley also questioned her former colleagues, tweeting: \"How people who once called themselves Labour can cosy up next to the likes of Soubry, smiling and laughing, is absolutely beyond me. \"I guess we now know how their policies and values differ from Labour.\" Others have been criticising the group for not holding by-elections to win back their seats as independent MPs. Douglas Carswell, who resigned from the Conservatives to join UKIP in 2014, tweeted: \"When I changed parties it didn't occur to me to not hold a by election. If my own electorate weren't supportive, what was the point?\" However, Ms Allen rejected calls for them to step down to contest by-elections, saying: \"This is what the big parties do. They want to crush the birth of democracy. They want to crush people like us trying to change things for this country. \"This is the game, of course, they will play but we are better than that, and we think our constituents and the country deserve better than that.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3235, "answer_start": 2712, "text": "Today's departures are evidence of how serious Conservative divisions have become. Right now, as with Labour, it's a splinter, not a split. But don't underestimate how hard a decision it is for any MP to abandon their tribe. These departures illustrate, therefore, a real problem for the governing party. Like Labour, the Tories have big questions they can't answer at the moment - profound quandaries that it's not clear their leaderships are ready, or perhaps even capable right now of meeting. Read more from Laura here." } ], "id": "9537_0", "question": "Could this new group reshape political tribes?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "As the hoopla of the presidential campaign comes to New York, featuring the political all-stars seeking to become the world's most powerful leader, another race is also under way in the city - a contest of the largely obscure. It involves candidates hoping to become the world's most prominent diplomat. At the stroke of midnight on 31 December, as the glitter ball in Times Square makes its annual descent, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to end his term in office. The manoeuvring to succeed him - at present it is too genteel to describe it as a fight - is now moving into higher gear. Just as Campaign 2016 could end up with the election of the first female US president, there's a strong possibility that the next head of the UN will become the organisation's first female secretary-general. This week, for the first time in the 70-year history of the UN, the declared candidates will take part in public hustings. This is a radical departure for an organisation that rivals the Vatican in the shadowy secrecy of its executive recruitment process, with its monochrome backrooms hosting the UN equivalent of the papal conclave in the Sistine Chapel. Those who have so far put their names forward, half of them women, will face two hours of questioning from member states. To support their applications, they've also been asked to post their curricula vitae online and to compose a 2,000-word vision statement articulating how they would run an organisation with 30 separate agencies, funds and programmes and 40,000 staff, not to mention 193 member states. What has long been a ridiculously closeted and opaque process is being made more inclusive and transparent. The aim is to turn it into something bearing at least some resemblance to a regular interview process, a far cry from the stealth selection procedure that produced Mr Ban. When the South Korean was jockeying for the job, he shied away from campaigning inside the UN headquarters he would soon end up running. Eight candidates have so far declared and most are from Eastern Europe. Under an unwritten rule of regional rotation, a diplomatic version of \"Buggins' turn\", this geographical bloc is next in line to fill the vacancy. To a global audience, most of the candidates are \"need-to-Google\" figures. Top row (from left): - Irina Bokova, 63 - Bulgarian politician and director general of Unesco - Helen Clark, 66 - former prime minister of New Zealand (1999-2008) and current head of the UN development programme - Natalia Gherman, 47 - Moldovan politician who was deputy prime minister and minister of European integration from 2013-2016 - Vesna Pusic, 62 - Leader of the liberal Croatian People's Party. Served as a first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign and European affairs until January this year Bottom row (from left): - Antonio Guterres, 66 - Former prime minister of Portugal (1995-2002) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015) - Srgjan Kerim, 67 - Macedonian economist and diplomat. Served as Macedonia's foreign minister from 2000-2001 and was president of the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly from 2007-2008 - Danilo Turk, 64 - Former president of Slovenia (2007-2012). Served as an ambassador to the UN from 1992-2000 and as the UN assistant secretary general for political affairs from 2000-2005 - Igor Luksic, 39 - Former prime minister of Montenegro (2010-2012) and current minister of foreign affairs More information on the candidates and the selection procedure is available on the UN's website The field is expected to grow. Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian who is a vice-president of the European Commission, might yet be persuaded to run and may well be Mr Ban's preferred choice. In a move that boosted her UN profile, he selected the former World Bank official to co-chair a panel looking into the funding of humanitarian aid. However, the Bulgarian government is backing Ms Bokova, who heads the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), and Ms Georgieva herself has indicated that she intends to pay \"full attention\" for the time being to her EU responsibilities. Kevin Rudd, the former Australian Prime Minister, has long made the UN secretary-general's job the target of his immense personal ambition. Then there is the wild card. Many diplomats would like to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel throw her giant-sized hat in the ring. More of a general than a secretary, Mrs Merkel is precisely the kind of big hitter that many UN watchers believe the organisation desperately needs after the more timid leadership style of Mr Ban. For all the attempts to modernise the process it could never be described as democratic. Nowhere near. Under the selection procedure, the 15-member Security Council recommends a single candidate for the 193-member General Assembly to essentially rubber stamp. Thus, the power still resides with the permanent five members of the Security Council - China, France, Russia, the UK and US - which can all veto candidates. The US, for instance, vetoed Boutros Boutros-Ghali, when the Egyptian sought a second five-year term. Though the hustings may be held in public, the next UN secretary-general will be the candidate who emerges from backroom bargaining, mainly involving the US and Russia. What's more important than the candidates' CVs, then, is whether at any stage of their careers they have displeased the permanent \"P5\" members. This is a headache for Ms Bokova, who as head of Unesco, admitted the Palestinians into the organisation, against the express wishes of the US, which retaliated by cutting off funding. She is also seen as Moscow's preferred choice, which means the US is almost certain to block her. As for her fellow Bulgarian, Ms Georgieva could pay a price for the EU's sanctions against Russia. Others fail what's been called the \"testicular test\". Despite the new-found openness of the process, UN reformers had been lobbying for more sweeping changes to the selection process. The 1 for 7 Billion campaign, an umbrella group bringing together NGOs from all over the world, has urged the Security Council to recommend two candidates to the General Assembly, something the P5 veto-wielders would never sanction. They would also prefer to see the new secretary-general appointed to a single seven-year term, rather than the present practice of serving two five-year terms. Again, that will not happen. So despite calls for a strong figurehead for the UN - that general rather than secretary idea - the present system means that compromise candidates inevitably emerge, who are not necessarily the most able but the least objectionable to the P5 countries. Rather than a big name, the UN could easily end up with a leader little known outside diplomatic circles, a new secretary-general whom most of the world will have to Google.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2291, "answer_start": 1581, "text": "What has long been a ridiculously closeted and opaque process is being made more inclusive and transparent. The aim is to turn it into something bearing at least some resemblance to a regular interview process, a far cry from the stealth selection procedure that produced Mr Ban. When the South Korean was jockeying for the job, he shied away from campaigning inside the UN headquarters he would soon end up running. Eight candidates have so far declared and most are from Eastern Europe. Under an unwritten rule of regional rotation, a diplomatic version of \"Buggins' turn\", this geographical bloc is next in line to fill the vacancy. To a global audience, most of the candidates are \"need-to-Google\" figures." } ], "id": "9538_0", "question": "Eastern Europe to prevail?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Police have joined protests in several Bolivian cities over the disputed re-election of President Evo Morales. Mr Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, accuses opponents of trying to depose him. But the country's defence minister said there were no plans to send the military to quell the police \"mutiny\". There have been 17 days of deadly protests against Mr Morales, who is accused of rigging last month's election to secure a fourth term. Mr Morales - Latin America's longest-serving leader - denies any wrongdoing and says he will not resign. Demonstrations on Friday were the first to include large numbers of police, though the scale was unclear. Initial reports indicate uniformed officers joined protesters in La Paz, Sucre, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosi and Oruro. Speaking to local media, several uniformed officers called on Mr Morales to resign, and said they would stop him from turning Bolivia into a dictatorship like his allies in Cuba and Venezuela. There were also reports of police leaving the streets of La Paz and returning to their station buildings. In a tweet, President Morales denounced the protests as an \"attack on the rule of law\". Defence Minister Javier Zabaleta, speaking with state television, called for calm and said he was confident police would \"continue to fulfil their constitutional job to safeguard the people\". Bolivia has been rattled by protests, strikes and road blocks since the country held a presidential election on 20 October. At least three people have died during clashes. The mayor of a small town was also attacked by protesters earlier this week, who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair. Tensions first flared on the night of the presidential election after the results count was inexplicably paused for 24 hours. The final result gave Mr Morales slightly more than the 10-percentage-point lead he needed to win outright in the first round of the race. The Organization of American States (OAS) is conducting an audit of the votes, and results are expected to be published next week. But Carlos Mesa - the candidate who finished second - has spoken out against the audit, saying that his party was not consulted. A former president himself, he asked Bolivia's congress on Friday to pass an emergency bill to prepare for new elections.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1362, "answer_start": 556, "text": "Demonstrations on Friday were the first to include large numbers of police, though the scale was unclear. Initial reports indicate uniformed officers joined protesters in La Paz, Sucre, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosi and Oruro. Speaking to local media, several uniformed officers called on Mr Morales to resign, and said they would stop him from turning Bolivia into a dictatorship like his allies in Cuba and Venezuela. There were also reports of police leaving the streets of La Paz and returning to their station buildings. In a tweet, President Morales denounced the protests as an \"attack on the rule of law\". Defence Minister Javier Zabaleta, speaking with state television, called for calm and said he was confident police would \"continue to fulfil their constitutional job to safeguard the people\"." } ], "id": "9539_0", "question": "What do we know about the demonstrations?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2356, "answer_start": 1363, "text": "Bolivia has been rattled by protests, strikes and road blocks since the country held a presidential election on 20 October. At least three people have died during clashes. The mayor of a small town was also attacked by protesters earlier this week, who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair. Tensions first flared on the night of the presidential election after the results count was inexplicably paused for 24 hours. The final result gave Mr Morales slightly more than the 10-percentage-point lead he needed to win outright in the first round of the race. The Organization of American States (OAS) is conducting an audit of the votes, and results are expected to be published next week. But Carlos Mesa - the candidate who finished second - has spoken out against the audit, saying that his party was not consulted. A former president himself, he asked Bolivia's congress on Friday to pass an emergency bill to prepare for new elections." } ], "id": "9539_1", "question": "Why are people protesting?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "North Korea has fired two projectiles which South Korean officials say appear to have been a new type of short-range missile. The launch, the third in just over a week, came from North Korea's east coast early on Friday. The string of tests are being seen as reaction to planned military exercises between South Korea and the US. On Thursday, the UK, France and Germany called on North Korea to engage in \"meaningful\" talks with the US. After a closed-door meeting at the UN Security Council, the countries said international sanctions needed to be fully enforced until Pyongyang had dismantled its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The latest launches happened at 02:59 (17:59 GMT Thursday) and 03:23 local time from the Yonghung area in South Hamgyong province into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). It said the missiles flew very low - at about 25km (15 miles) - and travelled about 220km. Analysts said they appeared to have been unusually fast. A spokesperson from South Korea's presidential office said there was a high possibility they were a new type of short range ballistic missile, similar to those fired last week. The launch site appeared to have been a new one, said Ankit Panda, adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. However US President Donald Trump said he was not worried with the recent spate of launches, as they were \"very standard\" and not part of recent talks with Kim Jong-un. On Wednesday, the North launched two missiles that flew 250km and reached a height of 30km before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, according to South Korea. The South identified the missiles as a different type from previous models. But on Thursday, Pyongyang gave a different assessment, saying it had tested a new rocket launcher system, without providing details. On 25 July, the North had fired two other missiles, one of which travelled about 690km. That launch was the first since Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held an impromptu meeting in June at the demilitarised zone (DMZ), an area that divides the two Koreas, where they agreed to restart denuclearisation talks. North Korea has recently voiced anger over planned US-South Korea exercises, an annual event which the allies have refused to cancel but have scaled back significantly. North Korea sees the drills as preparation for war and has called them a \"violation of the spirit\" of the joint statement signed by Mr Trump and Mr Kim at their first face-to-face talks in Singapore last year. Pyongyang had warned the exercises could affect the resumption of denuclearisation talks. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that he hoped these talks could start \"very soon\", but that there were no further summits planned. Last year, Mr Kim said North Korea would stop nuclear testing and would no longer launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. Nuclear activity appears to be continuing, however, and satellite images of North Korea's main nuclear site last month showed movement, suggesting the country could be reprocessing radioactive material into bomb fuel. Pyongyang also continues to demonstrate its abilities to develop new weapons despite strict economic sanctions. It conducted a similar short-range missile launch earlier in May, its first such test since its intercontinental ballistic missile launch in 2017. North Korea also showed off a new submarine recently, which South Korean officials have determined is capable of carrying up to three ballistic missiles.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2215, "answer_start": 1503, "text": "On Wednesday, the North launched two missiles that flew 250km and reached a height of 30km before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, according to South Korea. The South identified the missiles as a different type from previous models. But on Thursday, Pyongyang gave a different assessment, saying it had tested a new rocket launcher system, without providing details. On 25 July, the North had fired two other missiles, one of which travelled about 690km. That launch was the first since Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held an impromptu meeting in June at the demilitarised zone (DMZ), an area that divides the two Koreas, where they agreed to restart denuclearisation talks." } ], "id": "9540_0", "question": "What about the other tests?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "MPs are voting between the final two candidates to succeed John Bercow as Speaker, in what is the first election for the post in more than a decade. In the third round of voting Sir Lindsay Hoyle received the most votes at 267, followed by Chris Bryant with 169 and Dame Eleanor Laing was eliminated with 127. The Speaker keeps order in Commons debates and calls MPs to speak. The result of the final ballot is expected about 20:00 GMT. Seven candidates were originally in the running. Having received the least number of votes, Dame Rosie Winterton had to leave the contest in the second round of voting and Harriet Harman voluntarily withdrew her candidacy. Labour MP Meg Hillier and Conservative Sir Edward Leigh were knocked out in the first round of the contest after receiving 10 and 11 votes respectively. Mr Bercow stood down last week after an eventful and frequently controversial decade in the Speaker's chair. His resignation as MP for Buckingham was officially confirmed on Monday. The first to speak was Labour's Dame Rosie Winterton. She said the Speaker's job was \"not to dominate proceedings or speak for Parliament\", and promised to \"douse the flames not pour petrol on them\". Another Labour MP Chris Bryant said he believed in \"a Speaker who will stand by the rules, who is completely impartial and who knows Erskine May [the parliamentary rule book] back to front\", adding: \"I've got it lying by my bedside.\" He also pledged to end clapping in the chamber and \"sort out the wi-fi\" - pledges that were themselves met with clapping from those listening. Conservative Sir Edward Leigh said a Speaker should \"submerge their character in the job\" and be \"a quiet voice\". He also said the preservation of parliamentary buildings should be done \"in the interests of our paymaster - the taxpayers\". \"We cannot waste billions of pounds,\" he said. Current deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing expressed sadness at the number of MPs deciding not to run again at the December election and vowed to stand up for all members if selected for the job. She said Parliament needed to \"escape from the hierarchical structures that allow bullying to take root\". Also addressing the subject of bullying, Labour's Meg Hillier said MPs needed to protect staff in the House, warning bullying \"will become the next expenses scandal\". Mr Bercow was criticised for not doing more to tackle allegations of bullying and harassment in the Commons, and was himself accused of mistreating several members of staff, which he denied. Another current deputy Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said he had introduced security measures for MPs \"so we can feel safe\". \"I will not let you down,\" he promised MPs. Former deputy leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman was last to make her pitch, promising to take on a fourth deputy drawn from one of the smaller parties. She said she had \"an unparallel record of reform\", pointing to her campaign to allow pregnant MPs and new parents to vote by proxy. The candidates made their pitches under the gaze of former Speaker Betty Boothroyd. Labour MP Stella Creasy got a picture of the baroness sitting in the gallery Candidates needed the support of at least 12 MPs, three of whom have to be from a different party, in order to be eligible to take part. MPs have 20 minutes to vote in a secret ballot. It will take about 45 minutes to count them. If no candidate receives more half of the votes, the individual who receives the least votes will drop out, as will anyone who obtains less than 5% of the total cast. After each round, there will be a 10-minute period for candidates to withdraw. MPs will then continue to vote until one candidate obtains more than half of the votes. The process is being overseen by Ken Clarke, who as Father of the House is the long-serving MP in the Commons. The seven contenders at the start of the race were: - Chris Bryant - former minister and shadow Commons leader; Labour MP for Rhondda since 2001 - Harriet Harman - former minister and deputy Labour leader; Labour MP since 1982, for Peckham and its successor constituency Camberwell - Meg Hillier - chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee and former minister; Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005 - Sir Lindsay Hoyle - elected Labour MP for Chorley in 1997; elected deputy Speaker in 2010 - Dame Eleanor Laing - elected Conservative MP for Epping Forest in 1997; elected deputy Speaker in 2013 - Sir Edward Leigh - Conservative MP for Gainsborough since 1983; former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee - Dame Rosie Winterton - elected Labour MP for Doncaster Central in 1997; former Labour chief whip; elected deputy Speaker in 2017 BBC parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy said most observers believed Sir Lindsay - who has been Mr Bercow's senior deputy for years - was the frontrunner. \"As Chairman of Ways and Means, he chairs Budget debates and selects amendments for committee stage proceedings on bills, and has had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate his credentials,\" our correspondent says. Sir Lindsay said MPs backing him included Conservative Charles Walker, who was one of Mr Bercow's key allies during his tenure, former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Brexit-backing Labour MP Caroline Flint. He received an early boost when former Conservative minister Shailesh Vara, one of the outsiders in the contest, said he was pulling out and would be voting for his Labour colleague. The role of the Speaker has come under increasing scrutiny over the past few years - and Mr Bercow has been both praised for boosting the influence of backbench MPs and criticised for stretching parliamentary rules. Some have also accused him of not being impartial when it comes to Brexit. The Speaker is responsible for choosing which amendments can be voted on - a power that has proved particularly significant in the Brexit process. He is also in charge of upholding parliamentary rules, and Mr Bercow twice angered some MPs by refusing to allow the government to hold another vote on an already rejected Brexit deal. The Speaker can also permit MPs to ask urgent questions whereby government ministers are summoned to the House of Commons over a time-sensitive or important matter. During his years in the role, Mr Bercow dramatically increased the number of urgent questions asked. By Mark D'Arcy, the BBC's parliamentary correspondent So what might MPs want in a new Speaker? First, there seems be an appetite for a different style - an end to Bercow-esque grandiloquence and those five-minute appeals for brevity, as well as for an end to the kind of clashes with MPs that the departed Speaker was prone to. Remember his red-faced finger-jabbing clash with the then Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin, or this week's spat with long-time Bercow critic Andrew Bridgen? Then there's the much more important concern about the Speaker's sweeping powers to make the rules in the Commons, a power which saw him permitting amendments to Business of the House motions which were supposed to be taken \"forthwith\" - which many MPs believed meant they could not be amended. Given no one party has a majority in the House, the winning candidate will be the one most capable of reaching across party lines, and building a majority out of factions of the main parties, the members of the smaller parties and their personal supporters. Those seen as party gladiators first and foremost may find that hard to do.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3806, "answer_start": 3132, "text": "Candidates needed the support of at least 12 MPs, three of whom have to be from a different party, in order to be eligible to take part. MPs have 20 minutes to vote in a secret ballot. It will take about 45 minutes to count them. If no candidate receives more half of the votes, the individual who receives the least votes will drop out, as will anyone who obtains less than 5% of the total cast. After each round, there will be a 10-minute period for candidates to withdraw. MPs will then continue to vote until one candidate obtains more than half of the votes. The process is being overseen by Ken Clarke, who as Father of the House is the long-serving MP in the Commons." } ], "id": "9541_0", "question": "How will the vote unfold?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5431, "answer_start": 3807, "text": "The seven contenders at the start of the race were: - Chris Bryant - former minister and shadow Commons leader; Labour MP for Rhondda since 2001 - Harriet Harman - former minister and deputy Labour leader; Labour MP since 1982, for Peckham and its successor constituency Camberwell - Meg Hillier - chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee and former minister; Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005 - Sir Lindsay Hoyle - elected Labour MP for Chorley in 1997; elected deputy Speaker in 2010 - Dame Eleanor Laing - elected Conservative MP for Epping Forest in 1997; elected deputy Speaker in 2013 - Sir Edward Leigh - Conservative MP for Gainsborough since 1983; former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee - Dame Rosie Winterton - elected Labour MP for Doncaster Central in 1997; former Labour chief whip; elected deputy Speaker in 2017 BBC parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy said most observers believed Sir Lindsay - who has been Mr Bercow's senior deputy for years - was the frontrunner. \"As Chairman of Ways and Means, he chairs Budget debates and selects amendments for committee stage proceedings on bills, and has had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate his credentials,\" our correspondent says. Sir Lindsay said MPs backing him included Conservative Charles Walker, who was one of Mr Bercow's key allies during his tenure, former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Brexit-backing Labour MP Caroline Flint. He received an early boost when former Conservative minister Shailesh Vara, one of the outsiders in the contest, said he was pulling out and would be voting for his Labour colleague." } ], "id": "9541_1", "question": "Who was in the running?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6320, "answer_start": 5432, "text": "The role of the Speaker has come under increasing scrutiny over the past few years - and Mr Bercow has been both praised for boosting the influence of backbench MPs and criticised for stretching parliamentary rules. Some have also accused him of not being impartial when it comes to Brexit. The Speaker is responsible for choosing which amendments can be voted on - a power that has proved particularly significant in the Brexit process. He is also in charge of upholding parliamentary rules, and Mr Bercow twice angered some MPs by refusing to allow the government to hold another vote on an already rejected Brexit deal. The Speaker can also permit MPs to ask urgent questions whereby government ministers are summoned to the House of Commons over a time-sensitive or important matter. During his years in the role, Mr Bercow dramatically increased the number of urgent questions asked." } ], "id": "9541_2", "question": "What is the Speaker's role?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A court in Saudi Arabia has postponed a hearing in the trial of several of the country's most prominent women's rights activists, officials say. Some relatives were told that the judge had delayed the session for \"private reasons\", Reuters news agency said. The women were arrested last May and charged with offences including spying. They had been campaigning for an end to the country's male guardianship system and for the right to drive, before the ban was lifted last June. Since then, horrific details have emerged of their alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Saudi authorities. On Tuesday, Walid al-Hathloul, the brother of one of the best-known activists, Loujain al-Hathloul, told the BBC his sister was so traumatised by what had happened to her that she wanted to remain in jail, afraid of how her reputation had been unfairly smeared in her absence. He said that following her arrest Ms Hathloul had been taken to a secret detention facility near the maximum security prison of Dhahban in Jeddah. There, she told her family, she was taken down to a basement and subjected to waterboarding and electrocution. He named Saud al-Qahtani, a close confidant of the Saudi Crown Prince, as the man who oversaw her torture, allegedly laughing as he threatened to have her raped and murdered. In February, a group of British MPs carried out an investigation, supported by a number of international human rights organisations, into the allegations of mistreatment of Ms Hathloul and other female activists. They concluded that the allegations were credible. In March the UN's Human Rights Council called for their release and more than 30 countries, including all 28 EU members, signed a statement condemning their prolonged detention. The Saudi government says the detained women enjoy all the rights afforded to them under Saudi law. But Mr Hathloul said everything about his sister's arrest and detention had been shrouded in secrecy and that the entire judicial process lacked transparency. It was not until November 2018, he said, six months after her arrest, that the family even learned what she was accused of. The accusations, he said, included \"applying for a job at the UN and being in contact with human rights organisations\". He added that the prosecution had not produced any evidence to support its allegation of spying. While Saudi Arabia rejects all criticism of its judicial system, insisting it is based on Sharia (Islamic law), in practice it has always been opaque, with arbitrary judgements often handed down at the whim of a judge. This case has attracted particularly widespread international condemnation and is seen as further damaging the reputation of Saudi Arabia's controversial Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, known as MBS. Initially courted in the West as an enlightened reformer who reintroduced cinemas and public entertainment to the conservative kingdom, MBS remains under suspicion for his alleged involvement in last October's murder of the journalist Jamal al-Khashoggi, which his government denies. Commentators have explained the apparent paradox between the accelerated crackdown on human rights and the crown prince's simultaneous liberalisation of Saudi society as being the ruling family's determination to steer reforms at their pace, rather than at the one demanded by peaceful protesters. This, in a country where all political parties are banned, would be seen as a dangerous precedent. The next stage expected in the trial of Loujain al-Hathloul and her co-defendants is the judge's response to their defence, which has already been submitted. Her brother said the family were deeply worried about what would happen next, partly due to the lack of transparency. He said his sister was bearing up despite everything, but that she was disheartened that the Saudi authorities had so far failed to investigate her complaints of torture.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3890, "answer_start": 3444, "text": "The next stage expected in the trial of Loujain al-Hathloul and her co-defendants is the judge's response to their defence, which has already been submitted. Her brother said the family were deeply worried about what would happen next, partly due to the lack of transparency. He said his sister was bearing up despite everything, but that she was disheartened that the Saudi authorities had so far failed to investigate her complaints of torture." } ], "id": "9542_0", "question": "What next for the activists?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Financial institutions across the UK are gearing up for one of the most far-reaching regulatory shake-ups they have ever faced. There's a five-letter acronym regularly muttered in the City of London, which leads to some rubbing of chins, looks of bewilderment and groans about the workload. The acronym in question is Mifid 2, the name of a rather technical, complex and, yes, dull-sounding piece of financial legislation from the EU. It stands for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Mifid 2 means big changes for banks across Europe over the next year. \"It's a complete system change, very detailed,\" says Anthony Browne, who runs the British Bankers' Association (BBA). \"It is changing their IT systems, changing the way their whole systems operate right from the front end and the information the traders put in to the back end and information they provide to clients; it's also the documentation they provide for their clients, and information they give to regulators themselves.\" The rules run to more than 1,000 pages. The new rulebook - or perhaps rule \"tome\", more accurately - is the EU's response to the financial crisis. A decade on from that scarring experience, the European Commission predicts the law will be transformative for markets. Many banks back the new rules, saying they will help avoid a rerun of 2007-08 by bringing in more transparency and giving investors greater protection. Some companies, though, say they are too tough and have already led to job losses. \"It is the unintended consequences that could be the problem here,\" says Julian Allen-Ellis from the EFMA financial markets trade body. \"The operational cost of both buy-side and sell-side setting up for this new regulation could mean profitability is impacted and that ultimately impacts the person on the street with their pension and their portfolio.\" So why Mifid 2? - It's the sequel to Mifid 1, which has been in force since November 2007 - That made it easier and cheaper to buy investments across the EU, by allowing investment firms to operate across borders more easily - But the financial crash exposed some of its weaknesses - So the European Commission now wants to make financial markets \"more efficient, resilient and transparent\" and to \"strengthen the protection of investors\" - The new regulations come into force in 2018 A recent survey of the City by PA Consulting suggested two out of five companies were not prepared enough to implement the new rules. They'd better get a move on. The sprawling regulations come into force in January 2018. There are some who argue that these complex EU rules could be a big help to the City after Brexit, because they contain something called \"equivalence\". That allows financial companies from outside the EU to do business inside it, as long as their home country has the same standards of regulation. \"Potentially this could be a way through the mire,\" says David Biggin, an adviser at PA Consulting. \"For a lot of the companies talking about relocating, actually this rule might allow some light at the end of the tunnel. It's a technocratic decision rather than a political decision. It is a way forward.\" However, not everyone thinks \"equivalence\" will save the City's bacon if it finds itself with less favourable access to the EU than it has today. \"The main drawback is it can be withdrawn unilaterally at any time,\" warns the BBA's Anthony Browne. He has other concerns too. \"This would be a political process done at a time when the UK is negotiating its divorce arrangements from the EU, and when it's thinking about negotiating a trade deal with the EU. The chance we would get agreement on equivalence, to come in the day the UK leaves the EU, seems hopeful at best.\" The experience of some countries already outside the EU seem to bear that fear out. Several have already applied for \"equivalence\" status under previous financial rules. Guernsey is one of them. The Crown dependency has beefed up its laws, and they have been judged as technically the same as the EU's by an EU regulator, no less. Guernsey is now waiting for the European Commission to give it the final nod - and has been for two years. \"The technical decision was made. Now it's become a political decision,\" says Christopher Jehan from the Guernsey Investment Fund Association. \"That political decision is effectively the roadblock for us,\" he says. \"They're using whatever reason they have for anything else going on in the world as a delaying tactic.\" Guernsey's experience does not bode well for those in the UK who think these new complex EU rules will help the City after Brexit. But Mifid 2 is already bringing about big regulatory change in the City, the scale of which it has rarely seen.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3737, "answer_start": 2562, "text": "There are some who argue that these complex EU rules could be a big help to the City after Brexit, because they contain something called \"equivalence\". That allows financial companies from outside the EU to do business inside it, as long as their home country has the same standards of regulation. \"Potentially this could be a way through the mire,\" says David Biggin, an adviser at PA Consulting. \"For a lot of the companies talking about relocating, actually this rule might allow some light at the end of the tunnel. It's a technocratic decision rather than a political decision. It is a way forward.\" However, not everyone thinks \"equivalence\" will save the City's bacon if it finds itself with less favourable access to the EU than it has today. \"The main drawback is it can be withdrawn unilaterally at any time,\" warns the BBA's Anthony Browne. He has other concerns too. \"This would be a political process done at a time when the UK is negotiating its divorce arrangements from the EU, and when it's thinking about negotiating a trade deal with the EU. The chance we would get agreement on equivalence, to come in the day the UK leaves the EU, seems hopeful at best.\"" } ], "id": "9543_0", "question": "Way forward?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Rugby player Israel Folau has reached a settlement with Rugby Australia (RA) over his controversial sacking for writing anti-gay posts on social media. The former Wallabies star had been suing RA for A$14m (PS7.4m; $9.5m) after having his contract terminated in May. Folau, a Christian, argued that the termination of his contract was a case of religious discrimination. The parties had settled for a confidential amount, according to a joint statement on Wednesday. Folau was sacked for saying \"hell awaits\" gay people, after previously being warned over his social media posts. In a statement from both parties, the 30-year-old full-back said he had not intended to harm or offend people when he uploaded the post. \"Mr Folau wants all Australians to know that he does not condone discrimination of any kind against any person on the grounds of their sexuality,\" the statement read. RA said it did not \"in any way\" agree with the content of the post, adding inclusivity was \"core\" to the sport. Both parties apologised for \"any hurt or harm caused\". The settlement is an abrupt conclusion to a months-long dispute. Just last week, Folau had upped his demands for compensation. Previously one of the nation's highest-paid athletes, he had sought both monetary compensation and a return to the national side. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed. It is unknown if Folau will return to the Wallabies. The row had been closely followed in Australia, where it sparked national debate about free speech and discrimination. Experts had suggested that the court case - if it had gone ahead - could have set a legal precedent for religious expression in Australian workplaces. Folau had been widely supported by Christian lobby groups, but he has also been widely condemned for his anti-gay and anti-transgender comments. Folau raised over A$2m in a crowd-funding campaign in June, saying donations had come from \"tens of thousands of Australians\". An earlier fundraiser was shut down after the host platform, GoFundMe, said Folau's cause promoted discrimination.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1412, "answer_start": 580, "text": "In a statement from both parties, the 30-year-old full-back said he had not intended to harm or offend people when he uploaded the post. \"Mr Folau wants all Australians to know that he does not condone discrimination of any kind against any person on the grounds of their sexuality,\" the statement read. RA said it did not \"in any way\" agree with the content of the post, adding inclusivity was \"core\" to the sport. Both parties apologised for \"any hurt or harm caused\". The settlement is an abrupt conclusion to a months-long dispute. Just last week, Folau had upped his demands for compensation. Previously one of the nation's highest-paid athletes, he had sought both monetary compensation and a return to the national side. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed. It is unknown if Folau will return to the Wallabies." } ], "id": "9544_0", "question": "What did the two sides say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2070, "answer_start": 1413, "text": "The row had been closely followed in Australia, where it sparked national debate about free speech and discrimination. Experts had suggested that the court case - if it had gone ahead - could have set a legal precedent for religious expression in Australian workplaces. Folau had been widely supported by Christian lobby groups, but he has also been widely condemned for his anti-gay and anti-transgender comments. Folau raised over A$2m in a crowd-funding campaign in June, saying donations had come from \"tens of thousands of Australians\". An earlier fundraiser was shut down after the host platform, GoFundMe, said Folau's cause promoted discrimination." } ], "id": "9544_1", "question": "How significant was this fight?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect from the 2015 Paris attacks, has been jailed for 20 years in Belgium over a gunfight that led to his arrest. Abdeslam, 28, and co-defendant Sofien Ayari were both convicted of terror-related charges of attempted murder. Ayari, 24, was also given a 20-year sentence. Both fired on officers who raided a flat in Brussels in 2016. Abdeslam is being held in a jail in France and is due to face trial there over the Paris attacks themselves. He had refused to answer questions from the judge in the trial in Brussels, and eventually refused to attend the hearings. Neither he nor Ayari, a 24-year-old Tunisian national, was in court as the verdict was read out on Monday. Both received the maximum 20-year term requested by prosecutors. The judge, Marie France Keutgen, said that \"there can be no doubt\" about the two men's involvement with \"radicalism\". She added: \"Their intention is clear from the nature of the weapons they used, the number of bullets they fired and the nature of the police officers' wounds. Only the officers' professional response prevented it being worse.\" On 15 March 2016, Belgian police hunting Abdeslam carried out a raid in the Forest area of Brussels. They targeted a flat believing that the suspect - who by then had been on the run for four months - had been there. When they moved in they exchanged fire with the three occupants. One of the three was killed and three officers were wounded. Abdeslam and Ayari managed to escape, but Abdeslam's fingerprints were found in the flat, confirming his presence there. He was picked up days later in a raid in the nearby Molenbeek area, and later transferred to France. He is a French national who was born in Brussels to French-Moroccan parents. He was involved in petty crime in Belgium as a youth, and is believed to have become radicalised along with his brother Salim around 2014. Both then reportedly joined a French-Belgian network linked with the Islamic State group (IS), which later claimed the Paris attacks. The network was involved in both the Paris attacks and bombings that struck the Brussels metro and airport on 22 March 2016, just days after Abdeslam's arrest, killing 32 people. In Monday's ruling, the court denied a request by victims from those attacks that they be regarded as a civil party to the case, saying no link had been established with Abdeslam and Ayari. He is believed to have played a key role on 13 November 2015 - when militants targeted a concert hall, stadium, restaurants and bars, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds more. French prosecutors believe Abdeslam helped the jihadists by hiring cars, flats and hotel rooms - although his role in the actual shootings and bombings is unclear. His brother Salim was among the attackers and blew himself up outside a cafe. Salah Abdeslam and two associates drove from Paris to Brussels the next day. They were stopped by police at a border checkpoint, but were allowed to travel as Abdeslam had not yet been identified as a suspect. French and Belgian authorities released Abdeslam's photo and name a day later - by which time he was Europe's most wanted man. Several flats were raided by Belgian police over the next few months. He and Ayari were finally picked up in the Molenbeek raid on 18 March 2016.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1684, "answer_start": 1120, "text": "On 15 March 2016, Belgian police hunting Abdeslam carried out a raid in the Forest area of Brussels. They targeted a flat believing that the suspect - who by then had been on the run for four months - had been there. When they moved in they exchanged fire with the three occupants. One of the three was killed and three officers were wounded. Abdeslam and Ayari managed to escape, but Abdeslam's fingerprints were found in the flat, confirming his presence there. He was picked up days later in a raid in the nearby Molenbeek area, and later transferred to France." } ], "id": "9545_0", "question": "Why was there a shoot-out?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2403, "answer_start": 1685, "text": "He is a French national who was born in Brussels to French-Moroccan parents. He was involved in petty crime in Belgium as a youth, and is believed to have become radicalised along with his brother Salim around 2014. Both then reportedly joined a French-Belgian network linked with the Islamic State group (IS), which later claimed the Paris attacks. The network was involved in both the Paris attacks and bombings that struck the Brussels metro and airport on 22 March 2016, just days after Abdeslam's arrest, killing 32 people. In Monday's ruling, the court denied a request by victims from those attacks that they be regarded as a civil party to the case, saying no link had been established with Abdeslam and Ayari." } ], "id": "9545_1", "question": "What do we know about Abdeslam?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3309, "answer_start": 2404, "text": "He is believed to have played a key role on 13 November 2015 - when militants targeted a concert hall, stadium, restaurants and bars, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds more. French prosecutors believe Abdeslam helped the jihadists by hiring cars, flats and hotel rooms - although his role in the actual shootings and bombings is unclear. His brother Salim was among the attackers and blew himself up outside a cafe. Salah Abdeslam and two associates drove from Paris to Brussels the next day. They were stopped by police at a border checkpoint, but were allowed to travel as Abdeslam had not yet been identified as a suspect. French and Belgian authorities released Abdeslam's photo and name a day later - by which time he was Europe's most wanted man. Several flats were raided by Belgian police over the next few months. He and Ayari were finally picked up in the Molenbeek raid on 18 March 2016." } ], "id": "9545_2", "question": "How has Abdeslam been linked to the Paris attacks?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The billionaire Sackler family \"funnelled\" at least $1bn (PS800m) to different banks, including accounts in Switzerland, officials said. The Sacklers own Purdue Pharma, which is accused of fuelling the US opioid crisis through drugs like OxyContin. Purdue is currently facing legal action brought by more than 2,000 plaintiffs, including almost two dozen US states. Forbes estimates the Sacklers are worth $13bn, but many states claim the family has more money hidden abroad. New York State Attorney General Letitia James said that she has requested records from 33 financial institutions. However, the $1bn in wire transfers were revealed in records from just one institution. \"Records from one financial institution alone have shown approximately $1 billion in wire transfers between the Sacklers, entities they control and different financial institutions, including those that have funnelled funds into Swiss bank accounts,\" Ms James said, confirming claims first reported in the New York Times. She did not name the financial institutions involved. In response, a spokesperson for Mortimer DA Sackler, a former board member for the company, said in a statement to US media that there was \"nothing newsworthy about these decade-old transfers, which were perfectly legal and appropriate in every respect\". \"This is a cynical attempt by a hostile AG's office to generate defamatory headlines to try to torpedo a mutually beneficial settlement that is supported by so many other states and would result in billions of dollars going to communities and individuals across the country that need help,\" the spokesperson added. It was reported on Thursday that Purdue Pharma reached a tentative multi-billion dollar agreement to settle the lawsuits against it. According to the draft agreement, the Sacklers are expected to give up control of Purdue Pharma and personally contribute $3bn to the settlement. The company would then file for bankruptcy, dissolve and reform, and would be removed from next month's legal proceedings. However a number of states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, where the company is headquartered, said they were not party to the deal and would continue their fight against the company. William Tong, Connecticut attorney general, said: \"The scope and scale of the pain, death and destruction that Purdue and the Sacklers have caused far exceeds anything that has been offered thus far.\" Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's top lawyer, said the settlement was \"a slap in the face to everyone who has had to bury a loved one due to this family's destruction and greed\". \"It allows the Sackler family to walk away billionaires and admit no wrongdoing,\" he added. Opioids are a group of drugs that range from codeine to illegal drugs like heroin. Prescription opioids are primarily used for pain relief but can be highly addictive. On average, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says more than 200,000 Americans have died from opioid-related overdoses in the last two decades. Purdue is one of the opioid makers, distributors and pharmacies named in more than 2,000 lawsuits represented in a federal trial scheduled to begin in Ohio next month. The cases allege the companies are responsible for fuelling an opioid addiction crisis in the US. Firms including Purdue are accused of using deceptive practices to sell opioids including downplaying their addictive quality. Purdue argued the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, had approved labels for OxyContin that had warnings about the risks. In a separate case, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a US judge to pay $572m for its part in fuelling Oklahoma's opioid addiction crisis last month. Purdue had already settled with the state for $270m earlier this year. Brothers Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler were all doctors from Brooklyn, New York, who in the early 1950s bought a medicine company called Purdue Frederick which would become Purdue Pharma. Now, the family are prolific philanthropists and their name adorns the wings of cultural buildings around the world - including the Louvre in Paris. As the opioid scandal has engulfed the family, a number of high-profile museums - including the Tate in the UK and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - have announced they will no longer take money from the family. The Sacklers have argued they were passive board members of Purdue Pharma, who approved routine management requests and were not involved with the marketing of OxyContin.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2697, "answer_start": 1624, "text": "It was reported on Thursday that Purdue Pharma reached a tentative multi-billion dollar agreement to settle the lawsuits against it. According to the draft agreement, the Sacklers are expected to give up control of Purdue Pharma and personally contribute $3bn to the settlement. The company would then file for bankruptcy, dissolve and reform, and would be removed from next month's legal proceedings. However a number of states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, where the company is headquartered, said they were not party to the deal and would continue their fight against the company. William Tong, Connecticut attorney general, said: \"The scope and scale of the pain, death and destruction that Purdue and the Sacklers have caused far exceeds anything that has been offered thus far.\" Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's top lawyer, said the settlement was \"a slap in the face to everyone who has had to bury a loved one due to this family's destruction and greed\". \"It allows the Sackler family to walk away billionaires and admit no wrongdoing,\" he added." } ], "id": "9546_0", "question": "What is the latest with the case?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3868, "answer_start": 2698, "text": "Opioids are a group of drugs that range from codeine to illegal drugs like heroin. Prescription opioids are primarily used for pain relief but can be highly addictive. On average, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says more than 200,000 Americans have died from opioid-related overdoses in the last two decades. Purdue is one of the opioid makers, distributors and pharmacies named in more than 2,000 lawsuits represented in a federal trial scheduled to begin in Ohio next month. The cases allege the companies are responsible for fuelling an opioid addiction crisis in the US. Firms including Purdue are accused of using deceptive practices to sell opioids including downplaying their addictive quality. Purdue argued the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, had approved labels for OxyContin that had warnings about the risks. In a separate case, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a US judge to pay $572m for its part in fuelling Oklahoma's opioid addiction crisis last month. Purdue had already settled with the state for $270m earlier this year." } ], "id": "9546_1", "question": "What is the opioid crisis?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4607, "answer_start": 3869, "text": "Brothers Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond Sackler were all doctors from Brooklyn, New York, who in the early 1950s bought a medicine company called Purdue Frederick which would become Purdue Pharma. Now, the family are prolific philanthropists and their name adorns the wings of cultural buildings around the world - including the Louvre in Paris. As the opioid scandal has engulfed the family, a number of high-profile museums - including the Tate in the UK and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - have announced they will no longer take money from the family. The Sacklers have argued they were passive board members of Purdue Pharma, who approved routine management requests and were not involved with the marketing of OxyContin." } ], "id": "9546_2", "question": "Who are the Sackler family?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "El Salvador has one of the highest rates of murder in the world, according to the UN, driven in no small part by gang culture. It is often the women in El Salvador's communities who bear the brunt of the threats and violence these gangs bring - and now the gangs have found a new way to intimidate and control them. An unexpected knock at the door turned Damary into a new mother, instantaneously. One evening, she was having dinner in front of the television, when a visitor turned up at her home. The 23-year-old put aside her bowl of beans and rushed to open the front door. Standing there, Damary found a man, a gang member, holding a baby wrapped in green rags. He was almost a child himself, barely 16 years old. Thin and tanned, he passed Damary a phone: \"Someone wants to talk to you.\" On the other end of the line, she recognised the voice of a local gang member, who'd been jailed less than a year earlier. \"You know whose baby she is, so make sure you take good care of her,\" the gang member threatened her. \"If anything happens to the child, we'll be watching you,\" The girl in her arms was so small, Damary thought she couldn't be more than five days old. She went back to her living room without asking any more questions, sat down and started to cry; she'd just \"had\" a baby. Her mother, who had been putting Damary's three-year-old daughter down for the night, came out of the bedroom. They talked about how they were going to cope with two children and no work. Her mother told Damary to resign herself to her fate - best to look at the new \"daughter\" as a blessing. And with this, they went to bed. Back when she was a mother of one, Damary could at least manage. Her own mum helped out and Damary could still go to school. But with two girls, things changed. Money was too tight; it made sense to drop out from school and tend to the children instead. Time went by. Damary's new daughter is now two and has become one of the many children who run around, play and cry in this poor community of San Salvador. She calls Damary \"mama\", but her life has never been free from uncertainty. There is still no official paperwork for the child, no birth registration. No-one even knows where she was born. Damary made up a name and a birthday, so she could pass the girl off as her own. She still doesn't know how she'll manage when she has to enrol her at school, or if she ever needs to go to hospital - or what she'll say if the authorities ever demand an explanation. Damary makes no distinctions between her daughters; she loves and cares for them equally. She combs their hair, buys them second-hand clothes and sings them to sleep. They look different but, to her, they are the same. Damary and I are chatting in a playground when her phone rings. She walks away and comes back a couple of minutes later, a forced smile on her face. \"A phone call from prison?\" I ask. \"Yes,\" she says, looking from side to side. \"I thought we'd been spotted, but it's just a call to check up on the girl.\" She often gets phone calls from the gang member in prison. Like the cuckoo bird, he relies on others to raise his young - by manipulating a host to take care of its offspring as if it were its own. Scientist believe, if the substitute mother bird tries to remove the unwanted baby cuckoo, the parent cuckoo will destroy the nest or harm the other chicks in revenge. The cuckoo is never far from the host nest - ready to remind the \"carer\" of her imposed obligations. The Cuckoo is watching Damary. Gangs in El Salvador hold great power over poor communities such as this one and every time they pick a \"nanny\", her whole family's life is affected. Analysts say the epidemic of gang violence in El Salvador was fuelled in the 1990s by the US deportations of MS-13 gang members. One migrant living in the US state of Maryland told the New York Times that \"the [Central American] country is infested with gangs\". \"The moment we arrived, they would come to our door asking for money,\" said Noe Duarte, who runs two small businesses cleaning and painting homes. \"And if we didn't give it to them, we'd be killed.\" The first time I visited this part of El Salvador was in early 2016. I can't reveal its real name - it would endanger the lives of the women who have been telling me their stories - so we'll call it \"Barrio 18\". This is not a remote or isolated community. In fact, this place is not even far from the capital, San Salvador. Police are often seen on the streets. Soldiers are on patrol here, regularly stopping and searching young men. At night there are raids and sometimes guns go off. It would seem the authorities are in control - but they're not. \"Barrio 18\" belongs to the Barrio 18 Revolutionaries gang. They control who comes, who goes, who pays protection money and, ultimately, who lives and dies. The gang rules the community with an iron fist, deciding what clothes young people should wear, which school they should go to, what music can be played on the street and when people have to stop drinking alcohol of an evening. These are unwritten rules but anyone living here is advised to learn them fast or pay the price. Those who refuse, or get too close to the police or with rival gangs, don't live to tell the tale. The gang is everywhere; the powerful \"capos\" are young guys - some still teenagers. Some, like the Cuckoo, are in prison. Everybody knows who they are and people do as they're told. Just like Damary, Maria also became a \"mother\" overnight, although the child brought to her wasn't a baby, but an eight-year-old boy. On Saturdays, Maria used to help out at an evangelical church. They had a children's group, where the kids would have some fun, learn a little and eat sweets. Andres was one of the children in the group. One day, no-one came to pick him up at the end of the session. She offered to drop him home, but when they arrived, there was no answer. They called again later, and later still, but it was no good. Eventually, Maria took him home. The next day, she got a phone call. \"It was a man. He said that I was in charge of Andres now,\" she says. \"If anything happened to him, worse would happen to me. He said he knew my family. Taking revenge would be easy.\" \"Did you know who you were talking to? Did the man introduce himself?\" I ask. \"He didn't have to,\" says Maria. \"You just know who they are. You hear their voice and it's enough. It's terrifying. \"It's always 'them' and 'us'. They know how they can hurt me. There were times they would call and say nothing at all, just breathing hard down the line, to remind you that the beast is nearby.\" In all the time she's been looking after Andres, only once has a woman phoned to enquire about the boy. The call was cut off. \"It might have been his mother. I think both parents are in jail,\" says Maria. She already has children of her own and it hasn't been easy for her. \"My mum is praying for us,\" she says. \"She wants to help, but she can't do much. She tells me to accept the facts and take it as a blessing. Only she and my brother know where Andres really comes from. \"I am fond of the boy, but if I'm honest, I wish his parents would take him away.\" It is difficult to understand how many cuckoo families there are in El Salvador. Factum, a Central American magazine that specialises in investigative journalism, has spent months researching this phenomenon in Barrio 18 and in two further locations; a community in San Salvador and another one in Santa Ana. In Barrio 18 alone, Factum has identified at least 12 different cuckoo families, and has interviewed six women forced to look after the children of gang members. Conna, the government agency that looks after children's rights, says they have no reports of such a practice taking place. In fact, Conna's deputy, Griselda Gonzalez says she has no knowledge of any cases. If there were to be a case brought to her attention, Ms Gonzalez says the children would be taken away from the host families, since they cannot provide any official paperwork. Women say removing the children in their care could condemn them to an almost certain death. The main support these women get comes from NGOs operating in El Salvador's marginal communities. To date, these organisations are the only ones who have looked into the \"forced hosting\" phenomenon and have drawn resources from international cooperation funds to try to alleviate some of the hardship. Donald Trump's current administration has been pursuing vigorous deportation policies, withdrawing El Salvador migrants' right to remain in the US earlier this year. Hundred of thousand migrants face possible deportation and many say they are at risk of gang violence if they return to El Salvador. Critics of Mr Trump's decision noted that the US State Department's own guidance referred to El Salvador as home to \"one of the highest homicide levels in the world\". \"El Salvador is simply unprepared, economically and institutionally, to receive such an influx, or to handle their 192,700 US children, many of them at the perfect age for recruitment or victimisation by gangs,\" the aid agency the International Crisis Group said last month. Tony is a \"gang-child\", living with a woman who is not his mother. Despite his age, he's already started to behave like a gang member. It's what he's used to. He enjoys deferential treatment among the other \"homeboys\" - Salvadorean slang for a gang-member. He's discreet, a boy of few words. He's got the arrogant gaze of a confident gang member and he never talks to strangers. He's immune to bribery and knows the difference between his host family and his real family. He's in no doubt about who can - and who cannot - tell him what to do. Tony only comes out of his shell when he's with the gang. They hang out together; they sit by the concrete court or on park benches. He laughs at their jokes. Tony feels at home with the Barrio 18 gang and they treat him as one of their own - he's even got a gang nickname. He knows his dad is a member and he behaves as such. Tony urinates on the street if he wants to. He fights, struts and disrespects his \"host mother\". Tony is a little gangster. Tony is four years old. The fact that Marcela is very young herself is irrelevant - she was picked and now she has to look after him. She must bring him up as her own, but under rules that the gang decides. If Tony wants to spend his time on the streets, playing with the gang, she can't - and mustn't - stop him. But now Tony is tired and falls asleep on her lap. She plays with his hair, fans him, rocks him. Marcela says one of the most entertaining things about little Tony is hearing him talk about his dad's exploits. He knows all the tales; the gang told him everything. Like the other \"gang-children\", Tony has no official identity, no birth certificate and no ID card. \"He'll soon need to start school. How will you enrol him?\" I ask Marcela. \"I'll see if I can find his birth registration in the town hall,\" she says. \"And how will you explain your relation to the boy?\" \"They don't usually ask much. And if they do, I just say I'm his mother.\" \"And if you ever need to go to hospital with him?\" \"I really don't know. I'll have to find someone to help, but I'll have to be careful he doesn't get taken away from me.\" Until recently, gangs had three clear roles for women: \"jainas\" or girlfriends, collaborators, or sex slaves. Now, they can also be \"hosts\". Damary, Maria and Marcela all have something in common; the gang knew they'd make good mothers. The gang found a new way of enslaving them, forcing them to bring up the \"gang-children\", or face death. And just like that, their homes became a modern-day cuckoo's nest. This is an abridged version of an article that originally appeared on BBC Mundo. Spanish speakers can read the full article here. Bryan Avelar, writes for Factum, a Central American magazine that specialises in investigative journalism. This investigation was carried out together with El Intercambio, a local production company. Names of people and places have been changed to protect the identity of those interviewed. BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 12400, "answer_start": 12110, "text": "BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook and join the conversation." } ], "id": "9547_0", "question": "What is 100 Women?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "What would it take for you to accept nuclear waste in your backyard? The country has created quite a bit of the stuff and the government is searching for someone willing to take it. Steadily produced since the end of World War Two, the question of what to do with the nuclear waste from civil, military, medical and scientific uses has been causing equal measures of fear and frustration for decades. With a new generation of nuclear power stations on the way, a fresh search is under way for a community ready to take on the challenge. Campaigner Eddie Martin says: \"It's very worrying, scary even. They have been looking for somewhere to put this material for decades and it keeps coming back to Cumbria.\" Dr John Roberts, from University of Manchester's School of Physics and Astronomy, says: \"Everything around us, including us, is radioactive to some extent. Your body is evolved to cope with a lot of this. \"Different materials emit different types of radiation, but also at different rates. This is the half-life - which is the time it takes for the level of radioactive to fall to half of its initial value. \"A short half-life means lots of radiation emitted but it is expended quickly. Some isotopes have a half-life of just days, or even less than a second, others can last tens of thousands of years but emit very little energy. Radiation is transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles, Some forms part of the electro-magnetic spectrum, which starts with radio waves, then microwaves, infra-red, visible light and ultraviolet light (UV) to X-rays and beyond. Other types of radiation are emitted as subatomic particles. When either the waves (beyond UV) or particles are powerful enough to start damaging the DNA of living cells, it is known as ionising radiation. Ionising radiation itself is broken down into different types - known as alpha, beta and gamma. Roughly speaking, alpha radiation is big and slow, meaning it can do a lot of damage to cells but cannot travel far and is easily stopped - by skin for example. Gamma, small and fast, can pass through skin, cells and even thin metal but does relatively less harm, so a larger dose can be tolerated. Beta sits between these two. Radiation is measured differently depending on whether you are looking at what is emitted (usually expressed in becquerels) or its effect on the body (commonly counted in sieverts). \"Something like Caesium 137, a product of nuclear reactors, has a half-life of 30 years and puts out a lot of gamma radiation, so is one of the more problematic isotopes. \"The mix of materials in nuclear waste means it could possibly need to be isolated for thousands of years. \"The radiation dose any person might get from a source depends primarily on the energy of the source, the length of exposure, the distance, which part of them the body is exposed, what they are wearing and very importantly whether it is ingested or inhaled.\" Nuclear power stations have been built in 31 countries but only a handful, including Finland, Sweden, France and the US have started building permanent storage facilities. All of these are purpose-built caves hundreds of metres below ground, known as a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Once the waste is treated and sealed inside containers, it is stacked in the caverns. GDFs are expected to remain secure for thousands of years. Dr Robert says GDFs or deep boreholes are two possible options for the disposal of radioactive waste but there are still challenges to overcome, particularly in predicting their behaviour over hundreds or thousands of years. \"While there are natural examples of radiation being contained - think of the mines where uranium for nuclear fuel has been sat happily for millennia - the mix of isotopes in radioactive waste is much more complex so we need to know how the nuclear waste interacts with its storage material, be it glass, concrete or metal. \"And then, it best to put the containers in granite, clay or salt? Other countries are trying different options. \"But this is basically an engineering project like no other. Its timescale will dwarf the oldest cathedrals. \"We also need to ensure we can guarantee the records will be kept of what is down there and where. It has to last for hundreds of years and how many records have we lost since the Tudors? Or the Romans?\" So, from the carefree days of dumping it in the Irish Sea there dawned a realisation the predicted 650,000 m3 of nuclear waste needed a more permanent solution. So where are we in the process? And how did we get here? Pete Wilkinson, environmental campaigner and member of the committee which in 2006 officially recommended underground storage, explains: \"This process really started in 1976 when a report said there should be no more nuclear power without a method of disposing of the waste. \"In the 1980s there were various attempts to impose disposal on communities in Bedfordshire and what was then Cleveland but opposition was loud and well co-ordinated and people would not put up with it. \"An attempt to build an underground 'laboratory' at Sellafield in Cumbria was thrown out in 1997, with the government saying proposals represented bad science and poor stakeholder engagement. \"In 2003 they set up the Committee for Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) to come up with the definitive solution.\" He added: \"As well as recommending the deep geological solution, it came up with the idea of volunteerism - that a community had to agree to host the facility. \"But I think they have underestimated people's antipathy for having radioactive waste in their backyard. \"The first attempts to reach out to the public were inadequate - lots of talk about impact on tourism and how many jobs it would bring. \"But people are most concerned about the radioactivity. Is it safe? And that was not addressed at all.\" This \"first attempt\" got as far as two Cumbrian borough councils, Copeland and Allerdale, both next to Sellafield nuclear facility, showing interest. After much local protest, permission to proceed with detailed geological surveys was refused by Cumbria County Council in January 2013. Dusting itself off, the government restarted the process, in the meantime passing legislation that left any final decision about a location in the hands of ministers. This summer saw the launch of a National Geological Screening Guidance consultation, a review of existing information about the suitability of sites across England and Wales, with councils and organisations invited to comment. Eddie Martin, a former leader of Cumbria County Council and founder of the Cumbria Trust, said: \"Sellafield has been filling up with other sites' waste and is it any surprise the last search ended up here? \"It's not for any pragmatic or geological reason, it's socio-economic expediency. Part of this county already relies on the nuclear industry, so it's more likely to accept some more. \"On top of that there are some cash-strapped local councils in this part of the world and the financial perks offered will seem appealing in the short term. \"The only thing which stopped it last time was the balance of local interest and scrutiny that the county council brought. \"Now they are running the same search again, which will come up with the same result, only this time they have legislation in place to make sure the county council can't stop it. It's an abuse of democracy. \"Cumbria is not the right place for this facility. First of all there is the sheer strain of building the thing. A 16-tonne lorry every three minutes for 20 years. On our small roads. \"Then the geology is wrong. Granite rocks are too fractured, they are too prone to water running through from the mountains and any number of studies back this up. \"This waste can devastate for thousands of years. It has to go somewhere but this is the wrong place. It is too important just to take the easy option.\" A spokesman for Copeland Borough Council said: \"The government has tentatively begun a new, national process to seek volunteers to engage in the process of considering whether those areas would wish to host a GDF. \"This would involve some preliminary work on geology (desk based) similar to that which has already taken place in west Cumbria. \"Copeland, at present, have not and have no current plans to volunteer to host a GDF, this would be a matter for full council to consider informed by our communities. \"However, we continue to follow the process, as 80% of the UK's higher activity nuclear wastes continue to be stored on the Sellafield site.\" But Cumbria is not alone. Previous studies have shown a dozen areas that might - under further scrutiny - prove suitable. One of these is Stanford on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, not far from Thetford. One expert says it \"fits the international criteria very well indeed\". The area in and around the army base is about as empty as you can get in lowland England, which is likely to increase interest. But Joan Girling, who campaigns for improved safety at Suffolk's Sizewell nuclear power plant, is uncompromising. \"By the time it is decommissioned, Sizewell will have been a nuclear site for 100 years. The area has done its bit. \"Just think of the issues bringing it here, it would be a nightmare. Imagine transporting all that waste from Sellafield, across the country, presumably by rail, then what? \"Lorries laden with 130-ton waste flasks rumbling up and down country lanes for years on end. \"And no-one has any idea if it - moving it, the construction, the hundreds of years of waiting - is really safe.\" Breckland Council, which covers the area, said it referred the issue to the county council. In turn Norfolk County Council said it did not respond to the consultation as it believed no community was interested. But not everyone treats nuclear waste like it was, well, nuclear waste. Devonport naval base in Plymouth is home to 12 old nuclear submarines, eight with fuel still on board. In 1993 the city threw a street party when it secured long-term contracts to keep the vessels. To many the base means jobs and security. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has overall responsibility, and a PS3.3bn annual budget, to clean up the UK's radioactive legacy. While there is currently about 292,000 cubic metres of the most radioactive waste in its raw state, the volume to be stored, when future production, treatment and containment are factored in, is about 650,000 cubic metres. The part of the NDA tasked with finding somewhere to put it all is called Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Ltd. Its chief scientific adviser, Prof Cherry Tweed, is clear in her belief they are on the right track. She says: \"There is a very strong international consensus that geological disposal is the safest and most practicable solution for these wastes and that it is technically feasible. \"We as a responsible developer would only want to go ahead and build a facility provided we are confident it would be safe and it won't just be on our say so, And there is the further reassurance for the public that all the safety arguments will be scrutinised by the independent nuclear regulators before they issue the necessary permits.\" The GDF will certainly be an awesome undertaking. It is expected the surface buildings alone will cover 1km sq. The underground tunnels will stretch for 10-20 km sq. On a Cumbria scale, that is bigger than Carlisle. It will take decades to build and predicted costs are almost unguessable - but most estimates agree on billions of pounds. But before these technical issues are tested, RWM must do something that has eluded the authorities for decades. Find a volunteer community. This has not been made an easier by the US disposal site being temporarily shut down after leaks and continued doubts over GDF designs. Prof Tweed believes they will succeed due to lessons learnt from earlier failures. She says: \"Stakeholders told government what they wanted to know was they wanted more information upfront, on the geology in their locality and on the way in which they would be involved and represented through the process and on the investment package. \"And we have been working very closely with the American authorities to make sure we understand the causes of that accident and that we learn from it.\" She also rejected the ideas the political pressures would inevitably lead again to a site in Cumbria, or a geologically unsuitable site would be selected because a financially hard-pressed community would take it. \"There is no plan to go back to Cumbria, or anywhere else in the country. Although we haven't started the formal search we have had positive responses from not just Cumbria but from many places across the country and we have this opportunity over the next 12-18 months to build awareness of what we are doing. \"If at any stage in the process we found something that told us a GDF would not be safe in that particular locality, we would walk away. However keen the community are, safety is paramount.\" She adds: \"We as the generation who have generated the waste have a moral and ethical responsibility to put a solution in place.\" BBC Inside Out South West's investigation into Devonport will be broadcast at 19:30 BST on 18 January", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2394, "answer_start": 1340, "text": "Radiation is transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles, Some forms part of the electro-magnetic spectrum, which starts with radio waves, then microwaves, infra-red, visible light and ultraviolet light (UV) to X-rays and beyond. Other types of radiation are emitted as subatomic particles. When either the waves (beyond UV) or particles are powerful enough to start damaging the DNA of living cells, it is known as ionising radiation. Ionising radiation itself is broken down into different types - known as alpha, beta and gamma. Roughly speaking, alpha radiation is big and slow, meaning it can do a lot of damage to cells but cannot travel far and is easily stopped - by skin for example. Gamma, small and fast, can pass through skin, cells and even thin metal but does relatively less harm, so a larger dose can be tolerated. Beta sits between these two. Radiation is measured differently depending on whether you are looking at what is emitted (usually expressed in becquerels) or its effect on the body (commonly counted in sieverts)." } ], "id": "9548_0", "question": "Radiation - what is it?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Prosecutors in Germany say they have dropped their investigation into Hartmut Hopp, who worked as a doctor in a notorious commune in southern Chile. Hopp was the right-hand man of Paul Schafer, a former Nazi soldier who founded Colonia Dignidad in 1961. A court in Chile found Hopp guilty of complicity in child sex abuse committed by Schafer but the doctor fled to Germany before he could be jailed. German prosecutors say the evidence was not enough to uphold the ruling. Hopp's lawyer said that his client was \"disgusted by the cruelties committed in Colonia Dignidad\" but that he had never suspected that they were taking place. Colonia Dignidad was a commune set up by Paul Schafer in the remote Maule area about 350km (220 miles) south of the Chilean capital, Santiago. Schafer ran the commune as a secretive cult with members living as virtual slaves and prevented from leaving by armed guards with dogs. At its height, 300 Germans and Chileans were living in the 137 sq km (53 sq mile) compound surrounded by wire fencing and overlooked by a watchtower with searchlights. Children were forced to live separately from their parents and dozens were sexually abused by Schafer. A former officer in the Wehrmacht, the German army during World War Two, Schafer became a lay preacher in post-war Germany where he worked with at-risk children. He left Germany in 1961 after allegations of sexually abusing children were levelled against him. He moved to southern Chile with a group of his followers and established Colonia Dignidad as a highly authoritarian agricultural commune with himself as the leader. To the outside world, Schafer portrayed the colony as a harmonious group dedicated to farm work and providing free healthcare and education to the surrounding villagers. But reports of abuse, torture and abductions began to emerge as early as 1966 when one of the commune's young members managed to flee to Germany. The young man told police how he had been taken to Chile by Schafer and his group, forced to work long hours building the commune and had to endure savage beatings and sexual abuse as well as being drugged after his first two failed escape attempts. It was not just members of Schafer's sect who suffered abuse at the colony. Under the military rule of Gen Augusto Pinochet, Colonia Dignidad became a clandestine detention centre. About 300 opponents of the regime were interrogated and tortured in its underground tunnels both by members of the Chilean secret police and Schafer's associates. At least 100 people are thought to have been murdered at Colonia Dignidad. One of those believed to have been killed at the site is US academic Boris Weisfeiler, who went hiking in Chile in 1984. Hopp, who is 74, ran the clinic within Colinia Dignidad. Hopp, who had moved to Chile with Schafer in 1961, was one of the very few members of the colony who was allowed to leave the compound to go abroad and study. In the 1980s he became the right-hand man of Paul Schafer, acting as a spokesman for the colony. He was convicted by a Chilean court of complicity in the rapes and sexual abuse committed by Schafer. He fled Chile for Germany before the sentencing. A German court upheld the Chilean ruling in 2017 and sentenced Hopp to five years in prison but the ruling was overturned by a higher court in September 2018. The court said at the time that it had found no concrete evidence that Hopp had actively aided and abetted the abuses committed by Schafer. However an investigation by German prosecutors continued. That investigation has now been dropped with prosecutors saying that \"after exhausting all promising investigative leads, it was not possible to substantiate a sufficient suspicion under any legal aspect necessary for an indictment\". Schafer fled Chile in 1997 while facing a number of lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children at Colonia Dignidad. He was arrested in Argentina in 2005 and sent to jail in Chile to serve a 20-year sentence. He died in prison aged 88 in 2010. Colonia Dignidad changed its name to Villa Baviera in 1991 and has become a tourist resort with a German-themed restaurant and hotel. More than 100 people, many of them former members of Colonia Dignidad live at the site with many saying it is the only home they have ever known.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1182, "answer_start": 633, "text": "Colonia Dignidad was a commune set up by Paul Schafer in the remote Maule area about 350km (220 miles) south of the Chilean capital, Santiago. Schafer ran the commune as a secretive cult with members living as virtual slaves and prevented from leaving by armed guards with dogs. At its height, 300 Germans and Chileans were living in the 137 sq km (53 sq mile) compound surrounded by wire fencing and overlooked by a watchtower with searchlights. Children were forced to live separately from their parents and dozens were sexually abused by Schafer." } ], "id": "9549_0", "question": "What was Colonia Dignidad?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2173, "answer_start": 1183, "text": "A former officer in the Wehrmacht, the German army during World War Two, Schafer became a lay preacher in post-war Germany where he worked with at-risk children. He left Germany in 1961 after allegations of sexually abusing children were levelled against him. He moved to southern Chile with a group of his followers and established Colonia Dignidad as a highly authoritarian agricultural commune with himself as the leader. To the outside world, Schafer portrayed the colony as a harmonious group dedicated to farm work and providing free healthcare and education to the surrounding villagers. But reports of abuse, torture and abductions began to emerge as early as 1966 when one of the commune's young members managed to flee to Germany. The young man told police how he had been taken to Chile by Schafer and his group, forced to work long hours building the commune and had to endure savage beatings and sexual abuse as well as being drugged after his first two failed escape attempts." } ], "id": "9549_1", "question": "Who was Paul Schafer?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2713, "answer_start": 2174, "text": "It was not just members of Schafer's sect who suffered abuse at the colony. Under the military rule of Gen Augusto Pinochet, Colonia Dignidad became a clandestine detention centre. About 300 opponents of the regime were interrogated and tortured in its underground tunnels both by members of the Chilean secret police and Schafer's associates. At least 100 people are thought to have been murdered at Colonia Dignidad. One of those believed to have been killed at the site is US academic Boris Weisfeiler, who went hiking in Chile in 1984." } ], "id": "9549_2", "question": "What happened at Colonia Dignidad?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3768, "answer_start": 2714, "text": "Hopp, who is 74, ran the clinic within Colinia Dignidad. Hopp, who had moved to Chile with Schafer in 1961, was one of the very few members of the colony who was allowed to leave the compound to go abroad and study. In the 1980s he became the right-hand man of Paul Schafer, acting as a spokesman for the colony. He was convicted by a Chilean court of complicity in the rapes and sexual abuse committed by Schafer. He fled Chile for Germany before the sentencing. A German court upheld the Chilean ruling in 2017 and sentenced Hopp to five years in prison but the ruling was overturned by a higher court in September 2018. The court said at the time that it had found no concrete evidence that Hopp had actively aided and abetted the abuses committed by Schafer. However an investigation by German prosecutors continued. That investigation has now been dropped with prosecutors saying that \"after exhausting all promising investigative leads, it was not possible to substantiate a sufficient suspicion under any legal aspect necessary for an indictment\"." } ], "id": "9549_3", "question": "What was Hartmut Hopp accused of?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4291, "answer_start": 3769, "text": "Schafer fled Chile in 1997 while facing a number of lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children at Colonia Dignidad. He was arrested in Argentina in 2005 and sent to jail in Chile to serve a 20-year sentence. He died in prison aged 88 in 2010. Colonia Dignidad changed its name to Villa Baviera in 1991 and has become a tourist resort with a German-themed restaurant and hotel. More than 100 people, many of them former members of Colonia Dignidad live at the site with many saying it is the only home they have ever known." } ], "id": "9549_4", "question": "What happened to Schafer?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Washington will remember the first visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman for its royal extravagance. The massive fleet of luxury cars for the hundreds of officials who accompanied the monarch. The full buy-out of the 222-room Four Seasons Hotel, reportedly outfitted with red carpets and gold-painted furniture for the occasion. But the message the US and Saudi leaders wanted to send was one of a resilient relationship. \"Strong\", \"deep\" and \"abiding\" were some of the words they used. Rhetoric aside, it was clear the Saudis had decided to move beyond deep reservations about the Iran nuclear deal which have strained relations with the Obama administration in recent months. At the height of tensions in May, the king refused President Obama's invitation to visit, although the Saudis insisted it wasn't a snub. Since then, negotiations on the deal have concluded successfully and, perhaps recognising a fait accompli, Riyadh expressed cautious support. But Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir now gave ringing endorsement. After consulting US officials and European allies for two months, the Saudis were satisfied, he said, that the agreement would effectively contain Iran's nuclear programme. They now had \"one less problem to deal with in regards to Iran\". So President Obama got what he wanted: strong public support from a crucial ally, and at a critical time - just as a hostile Congress is preparing to vote on the deal. This may help to silence those who blamed his foreign policy for losing the trust of key Middle East powers. The focus can now turn to what the Kingdom considers the main problem - rolling back expanding Iranian intervention in the region. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states feel threatened by Iran's support for Shia groups in Mid-East conflicts: Iraqi militias; the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria; the militant Hezbollah movement in Lebanon; and Houthi rebels in Yemen. And the fear is that lifting sanctions on Iran according to the terms of the nuclear deal will embolden it further. This was an abiding theme at a recent conference on US-Islamic relations in Doha. So much so that the senior White House official attending, Colin Kahl, felt compelled to clarify that although the US stood by its Gulf Arab partners, \"this can't be a competition to the death with Iran\". The Obama administration insists it will help the Arabs counter Iran's \"destabilising activities\". It's offering to strengthen measures for facing unconventional threats from Iran's proxies, including cyber and maritime security, and increased counter terrorism co-operation. Despite this emphasis on \"more nimble 21st Century capabilities\", conventional sales of military hardware haven't slowed. New Saudi purchases are in the process of being approved and President Obama has promised to fast track what's in the pipeline. The Gulf Arab states are also looking for US guarantees of a \"qualitative military edge over Iran\", says James Smith, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia. It's not clear if King Salman got that. Mr Obama and the Saudi monarch talked about two other areas of co-operation and disagreement as well. In Yemen, the Americans are supporting the Saudi-backed campaign against Houthi rebels. But they are appalled at the resulting humanitarian disaster and high number of civilian casualties. The meeting ended with Saudi Arabia pledging to work towards opening Red Sea ports for aid deliveries under UN supervision. In Syria, the two co-ordinate against Islamic State militants but disagree about how to approach the broader civil war - the US is uneasy about Saudi willingness to back certain hardline Islamist fighters, and the Saudis want Americans to directly target Mr Assad's government. They're both participating in a new flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at reviving a political solution, but Mr al-Jubair said a breakthrough wasn't imminent. These complex problems in the new chaos of the Middle East need a level of strategic dialogue not previously necessary, says Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. \"Alliances with Arab states are going to have to adapt to events that none of us can control,\" he says, and that includes Iran's behaviour. \"If this agreement is the prelude to a more moderate Iran, the strains on the (Saudi) alliance will ease because the need to take tangible action will be reduced. But there's never going to be complete agreement on how to deal with Iran short of a major war.\" Two very different countries will have to find ways to co-operate with each contingency and \"that is not going to be easy\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3035, "answer_start": 1536, "text": "The focus can now turn to what the Kingdom considers the main problem - rolling back expanding Iranian intervention in the region. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states feel threatened by Iran's support for Shia groups in Mid-East conflicts: Iraqi militias; the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria; the militant Hezbollah movement in Lebanon; and Houthi rebels in Yemen. And the fear is that lifting sanctions on Iran according to the terms of the nuclear deal will embolden it further. This was an abiding theme at a recent conference on US-Islamic relations in Doha. So much so that the senior White House official attending, Colin Kahl, felt compelled to clarify that although the US stood by its Gulf Arab partners, \"this can't be a competition to the death with Iran\". The Obama administration insists it will help the Arabs counter Iran's \"destabilising activities\". It's offering to strengthen measures for facing unconventional threats from Iran's proxies, including cyber and maritime security, and increased counter terrorism co-operation. Despite this emphasis on \"more nimble 21st Century capabilities\", conventional sales of military hardware haven't slowed. New Saudi purchases are in the process of being approved and President Obama has promised to fast track what's in the pipeline. The Gulf Arab states are also looking for US guarantees of a \"qualitative military edge over Iran\", says James Smith, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia. It's not clear if King Salman got that." } ], "id": "9550_0", "question": "Sanctions risk?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Three people have been handed life sentences in Bangladesh over a bus crash that killed two young students and sparked anti-government protests. Demonstrations hit the capital Dhaka last year after two schoolchildren were run over and killed by a speeding bus. Tens of thousands rallied, demanding that the government take action to improve road safety. The city was brought to a standstill, and more than 150 people were injured as authorities waged a heavy crackdown. On Sunday three transport workers, including two drivers, were found guilty of culpable homicide. \"We are happy with the verdict,\" prosecutor Tapash Kumar Paul told the AFP news agency. The owner of the bus company and his assistant were both acquitted. At least 7,500 people - more than 20 a day - died on Bangladesh's roads in 2018. When the two children - a boy and a girl - were killed in July, the bus driver who hit them had reportedly lost control of the vehicle while racing another bus to pick up passengers. The wave of protests that followed reflected widespread anger over dire road safety in the country. The protests turned violent when police used tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring scores of teenagers. There were also clashes between the protesters and pro-government groups. In the wake of the protests, the government passed a tough traffic law which means drivers found speeding can lose their licenses far more easily. It drew a backlash from the country's powerful transport workers' unions - a lobby who have often limited the authorities' curbs on drivers.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1553, "answer_start": 724, "text": "At least 7,500 people - more than 20 a day - died on Bangladesh's roads in 2018. When the two children - a boy and a girl - were killed in July, the bus driver who hit them had reportedly lost control of the vehicle while racing another bus to pick up passengers. The wave of protests that followed reflected widespread anger over dire road safety in the country. The protests turned violent when police used tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring scores of teenagers. There were also clashes between the protesters and pro-government groups. In the wake of the protests, the government passed a tough traffic law which means drivers found speeding can lose their licenses far more easily. It drew a backlash from the country's powerful transport workers' unions - a lobby who have often limited the authorities' curbs on drivers." } ], "id": "9551_0", "question": "Why did the crash prompt such a big response?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lambasted the US press for reporting that President Donald Trump may have worked for Moscow. \"I believe that for the American press it is simply a sort of a decline of journalistic standards and essentially an ungrateful undertaking,\" he said. On Monday, President Trump bluntly denied ever working for Russia. He played down a Washington Post report he had concealed a translation of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. According to the New York Times meanwhile, the FBI launched a hitherto unreported inquiry into the US president. That FBI inquiry, reports the newspaper, was taken over by justice department special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Mueller is leading an ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 presidential election. President Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion, describing it as \"witch hunt\". At Wednesday's news conference in Moscow, Mr Lavrov was asked to comment on the recent US media reports about Mr Trump and Russia. \"To be honest, I find it hard to comment on what is going on in the US surrounding the accusations of President Trump essentially being a Russian agent,\" Mr Lavrov answered. \"I believe that for the American press it is a decline of journalistic standards, and essentially an ungrateful undertaking. \"I cannot believe journalists in the US genuinely and professionally address these issues,\" the Russian minister added. Separately, President Putin's adviser also dismissed claims that Mr Trump had acted as an agent for Russia. \"Why comment on something stupid?\" Yuri Ushakov said, responding to a question from a journalist. \"How can the US president be an agent of another country?\" According to the New York Times, the FBI's suspicions were raised after Mr Trump fired its director, James Comey, in May 2017. The FBI has not publically commented on the media reports. Asked on Monday if he was working for Russia, Mr Trump said: \"I never worked for Russia.\" \"I think it's a disgrace that you even ask that question because it's a whole big fat hoax,\" the US president added. He also said his dismissal of Mr Comey was \"a great service I did for our country\", while railing against FBI investigators as \"known scoundrels\" and \"dirty cops\". The New York Times notes in its report that no evidence has emerged publicly that Mr Trump took direction from Russian government officials. It was also reported last weekend Mr Trump had confiscated the notes of his own interpreter after a meeting with President Putin. According to the Washington Post, the US president ordered the translator not to discuss the details of what was said. But on Monday, Mr Trump defended his nearly hour-long discussion with Mr Putin in July 2017 on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. \"It's a lot of fake news. That was a very good meeting. It was actually a very successful meeting,\" he said. He said he and Mr Putin discussed Israel and a German-Russian pipeline, adding: \"We have those meetings all the time no big deal.\" ABC News has reported that Democratic congressmen are considering issuing subpoenas to interpreters who attended Mr Trump's meetings with Mr Putin. Mr Trump and Mr Putin also held a summit in July 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. You may also be interested in:", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1740, "answer_start": 926, "text": "At Wednesday's news conference in Moscow, Mr Lavrov was asked to comment on the recent US media reports about Mr Trump and Russia. \"To be honest, I find it hard to comment on what is going on in the US surrounding the accusations of President Trump essentially being a Russian agent,\" Mr Lavrov answered. \"I believe that for the American press it is a decline of journalistic standards, and essentially an ungrateful undertaking. \"I cannot believe journalists in the US genuinely and professionally address these issues,\" the Russian minister added. Separately, President Putin's adviser also dismissed claims that Mr Trump had acted as an agent for Russia. \"Why comment on something stupid?\" Yuri Ushakov said, responding to a question from a journalist. \"How can the US president be an agent of another country?\"" } ], "id": "9552_0", "question": "What did the Russian minister say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2438, "answer_start": 1741, "text": "According to the New York Times, the FBI's suspicions were raised after Mr Trump fired its director, James Comey, in May 2017. The FBI has not publically commented on the media reports. Asked on Monday if he was working for Russia, Mr Trump said: \"I never worked for Russia.\" \"I think it's a disgrace that you even ask that question because it's a whole big fat hoax,\" the US president added. He also said his dismissal of Mr Comey was \"a great service I did for our country\", while railing against FBI investigators as \"known scoundrels\" and \"dirty cops\". The New York Times notes in its report that no evidence has emerged publicly that Mr Trump took direction from Russian government officials." } ], "id": "9552_1", "question": "What was the FBI inquiry?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3297, "answer_start": 2439, "text": "It was also reported last weekend Mr Trump had confiscated the notes of his own interpreter after a meeting with President Putin. According to the Washington Post, the US president ordered the translator not to discuss the details of what was said. But on Monday, Mr Trump defended his nearly hour-long discussion with Mr Putin in July 2017 on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. \"It's a lot of fake news. That was a very good meeting. It was actually a very successful meeting,\" he said. He said he and Mr Putin discussed Israel and a German-Russian pipeline, adding: \"We have those meetings all the time no big deal.\" ABC News has reported that Democratic congressmen are considering issuing subpoenas to interpreters who attended Mr Trump's meetings with Mr Putin. Mr Trump and Mr Putin also held a summit in July 2018 in Helsinki, Finland." } ], "id": "9552_2", "question": "What of the Putin meeting?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Both Florida and Haiti have been pounded by one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Caribbean in a decade. The extent of damage so far in Haiti has been catastrophic. In Florida, it remains to be seen how much the state will be affected. Both locations are likely to have dramatically different responses to the storm. How were they each prepared and how will they cope? In Florida, there have been mass evacuations of the coastal areas. Millions of people were urged to leave their homes in the southern US states. In some areas traffic was rerouted to allow people to escape. Residents stocked up on food, water and petrol, causing long queues at fuel stations. Many residents also shored up their homes with shutters and plywood boards. In Haiti, preparedness was difficult as the country is fragile and vulnerable to disasters. But evacuations were ordered for some high-risk areas, including in outlying islands where people were brought to safety by boat. Since the earthquake in 2010, the country has also been hit by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It also suffered a drought. Infrastructure is poor in rural areas, making it difficult for the local population to prepare for such a large-scale disaster. Tom Newby from the emergency response team at Care International UK said that since 2010, many NGOs have been working to help Haitian NGOs deal with emergencies. In small emergencies, local officials have been able to manage a disaster response effectively. But the scale of this emergency has overwhelmed their capacity. In Florida, Governor Rick Scott said 600,000 people were without power. But Florida Power and Light, the largest energy provider in the state, said they already had 15,000 people in place to respond to the power cuts. The state opened 147 shelters for more than 22,300 people during the storm. In Haiti, emergency rescue teams have struggled to reach the hardest hit areas. In the city of Jeremie, 80% of buildings were levelled and 30,000 homes destroyed in Sud province. Care International says the city of Jacmel is also badly affected. The number of people in shelters increased from 2,700 to 4,000 in one day. In Florida, the extent of the damage is still unclear, but hundreds of thousands, if not millions are expected to lose power. Homes may also be destroyed. In Haiti, hundreds of people have been killed as a result of the storm and aid agencies are warning of a possible cholera epidemic. Care International's country director in Haiti says three people have already been infected. People also face an immediate food crisis as the storm wiped out many Haitians' food reserves and crops. The Red Cross has estimated more than one million were affected and the UN says some 350,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Mr Newby said: \"The level of destruction is similar to the destruction after the earthquake, but on a much smaller scale. It is comparable in terms of local severity but not in numbers.\" In Florida, Governor Rick Scott has strongly advised residents to evacuate and take shelter. President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Florida and has released federal funds. In Haiti, the government has been slow to respond, leaving many affected residents to fend for themselves. Many Haitians have been angered and frustrated. Some international NGOs are already on the ground in Haiti working to provide food, shelter, and water to local residents. US military personnel are expected to deliver food and water to the worst affected areas in several helicopters.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1530, "answer_start": 374, "text": "In Florida, there have been mass evacuations of the coastal areas. Millions of people were urged to leave their homes in the southern US states. In some areas traffic was rerouted to allow people to escape. Residents stocked up on food, water and petrol, causing long queues at fuel stations. Many residents also shored up their homes with shutters and plywood boards. In Haiti, preparedness was difficult as the country is fragile and vulnerable to disasters. But evacuations were ordered for some high-risk areas, including in outlying islands where people were brought to safety by boat. Since the earthquake in 2010, the country has also been hit by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It also suffered a drought. Infrastructure is poor in rural areas, making it difficult for the local population to prepare for such a large-scale disaster. Tom Newby from the emergency response team at Care International UK said that since 2010, many NGOs have been working to help Haitian NGOs deal with emergencies. In small emergencies, local officials have been able to manage a disaster response effectively. But the scale of this emergency has overwhelmed their capacity." } ], "id": "9553_0", "question": "How were they prepared?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2957, "answer_start": 2146, "text": "In Florida, the extent of the damage is still unclear, but hundreds of thousands, if not millions are expected to lose power. Homes may also be destroyed. In Haiti, hundreds of people have been killed as a result of the storm and aid agencies are warning of a possible cholera epidemic. Care International's country director in Haiti says three people have already been infected. People also face an immediate food crisis as the storm wiped out many Haitians' food reserves and crops. The Red Cross has estimated more than one million were affected and the UN says some 350,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Mr Newby said: \"The level of destruction is similar to the destruction after the earthquake, but on a much smaller scale. It is comparable in terms of local severity but not in numbers.\"" } ], "id": "9553_1", "question": "What is the damage like?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3541, "answer_start": 2958, "text": "In Florida, Governor Rick Scott has strongly advised residents to evacuate and take shelter. President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Florida and has released federal funds. In Haiti, the government has been slow to respond, leaving many affected residents to fend for themselves. Many Haitians have been angered and frustrated. Some international NGOs are already on the ground in Haiti working to provide food, shelter, and water to local residents. US military personnel are expected to deliver food and water to the worst affected areas in several helicopters." } ], "id": "9553_2", "question": "What's the government's response like?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Stella McCartney is calling for radical changes to the \"incredibly wasteful\" fashion industry. The designer is backing a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which claims half of High Street fashion is disposed of within a year. It also says the amount of clothing bought has doubled in 15 years, but the number of times an item is worn has fallen by 20%. The report is backed by industry giants including H&M and Nike. \"Today's textile industry is built on an outdated linear, take-make-dispose model and is hugely wasteful and polluting,\" said Dame Ellen MacArthur, a round-the-world sailor and environmental campaigner. The report by her foundation says that 50% of the clothes sent for landfill in the UK could be recycled. Other environmental effects include the depositing in the ocean of half a million tonnes of tiny synthetic fibres, which cannot be cleaned up. As a result, the foundation says that we could end up eating our own clothes as they re-enter the food chain. Stella McCartney said: \"What really excites me about [the report] is that it provides solutions to an industry that is incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment. \" The report has a list of suggestions as to how to change the way clothing is produced to make it more sustainable: - Phase out substances of concern and create safer materials - Transform the way clothes are designed, sold and used to break free from their increasingly disposable nature - Radically improve recycling by transforming clothing design, collection and reprocessing - Make effective use of resources and move to renewable inputs The report taps into a growing move among consumers towards more sustainable living. In a recent survey by consultants Kantar Futures, 80% of respondents said they would pay more for products that lasted longer. \"Consumers are placing greater importance on the long-term benefits of a product, rather than cost-saving options that are seemingly more disposable,\" said J Walker Smith from Kantar Futures. But market research firm Mintel said good intentions did not always result in a change in behaviour. Its research suggests that 80% of women aged 16-24 were mainly looking for low prices.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2192, "answer_start": 986, "text": "Stella McCartney said: \"What really excites me about [the report] is that it provides solutions to an industry that is incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment. \" The report has a list of suggestions as to how to change the way clothing is produced to make it more sustainable: - Phase out substances of concern and create safer materials - Transform the way clothes are designed, sold and used to break free from their increasingly disposable nature - Radically improve recycling by transforming clothing design, collection and reprocessing - Make effective use of resources and move to renewable inputs The report taps into a growing move among consumers towards more sustainable living. In a recent survey by consultants Kantar Futures, 80% of respondents said they would pay more for products that lasted longer. \"Consumers are placing greater importance on the long-term benefits of a product, rather than cost-saving options that are seemingly more disposable,\" said J Walker Smith from Kantar Futures. But market research firm Mintel said good intentions did not always result in a change in behaviour. Its research suggests that 80% of women aged 16-24 were mainly looking for low prices." } ], "id": "9554_0", "question": "Paying more?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "President Barack Obama is under pressure to fix the immigration crisis growing on the south-west border of the United States, as thousands of children enter the country unaccompanied. The crisis has pushed a simmering debate about immigration into the US back into the spotlight as the US border system creaks under the strain. The issue has become a political cudgel on both sides as the president and the Republican opposition argue over how to respond and the root causes of the crisis. Thousands of children have been caught trying to illegally cross the south-western American border after migrating from across Central America. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, 52,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended since October. President Barack Obama has called the issue a \"humanitarian crisis\". Many children are being held in crowded detention centres, including makeshift warehouses, while US officials struggle to hold deportation hearings fast enough. Child immigrants creating US border crisis Immigration to the US from Mexico and Central America has long been driven by economic difficulties and violence in home countries. But a recent spike of gang and drug-related violence in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras has increased the flow of migrants from those countries. Critics of the Obama administration also point to a US policy that allowed some who had previously arrived in America illegally to stay without the fear of deportation. But newly-arrived children are not eligible. And lengthy deportation processes, especially when children are sent to wait with relatives already in the US, have contributed to the belief that some are being allowed to stay permanently. The White House has argued those who transport children across the border for a fee have abused such misunderstandings to drum up business. \"The criminal smuggling organisations are putting out a lot of disinformation about supposed free passes,\" homeland security Secretary Jeh Johnson told broadcaster NBC. In a wider sense, both political parties agree the US immigration system is need of reform, but have been at odds for years about how to change it. A sweeping bill that would have allowed a path to citizenship for approximately 11 million people living in the country illegally passed the Senate but is not expected to see a vote in the House. Life either side of US-Mexico border Young migrants are usually detained and held by Border Patrol officials. If they are not from Mexico or Canada, they are required to be transferred to a shelter assigned by the US department of health and human services within 72 hours of their arrest. The shelters are intended to be short-term, but the average length of stay is 35 days, according to the New York Times. A immigration case is begun for each minor. If approved, some will travel to live with a family member or sponsor while waiting for an asylum hearing. The administration has ramped up a public outreach campaign to discourage would-be migrants from attempting the journey north. Mr Obama has pledged to shift resources towards the southern border, which would mean more deportation of those who have recently crossed the US border illegally or who are considered dangerous, but fewer deportations of undocumented immigrants from the interior of the country. In addition to the transfer of manpower south, Mr Obama said he was directing the secretary of homeland security and the US attorney general to come up with recommendations about what he could do within his presidential powers to improve the US immigration system. Those recommendations are expected to be delivered by the end of summer. The White House also requested $3.7bn (PS2.6bn) in funding for extra immigration judges, drone surveillance of the border, medical services and transportation costs. Congressional Republicans later said they would not give Mr Obama a \"blank cheque\" to combat an immigration crisis without additional policy changes. Complicating matters, a 2008 anti-human trafficking law signed by President George Bush prevents the US from returning children who are not from Mexico and Canada to their home countries without a deportation hearing. The large majority of the children detained in the past few months are not from those countries, and the Obama administration says it wants more flexibility to deport them swiftly. Two Texas politicians have announced plans to introduce a bipartisan bill to modify the law to treat undocumented children from Central America like those who hail from Mexico. Obama shifts resources to US border It is too early to tell if the Obama administration's public outreach campaign is having an effect. Mr Johnson has said the increased border resources have begun to help lessen the strain but the that the administration was \"looking at ways to create additional options for dealing with the children in particular\". But the immediate response has frustrated residents along the border. Last week, people shouting slogans and waving US flags blocked three buses carrying undocumented Central American families to a border patrol station in Murrieta, California. The migrants had been flown to San Diego from Texas, where facilities report overcrowding after a surge in arrivals. Protesters blamed the US government for not \"enforcing the border\". Republicans have blamed Mr Obama for not doing more to prevent an immigration crisis, but the US president has argued Republicans have blocked any immigration reform in Congress. US protesters block migrant buses", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2926, "answer_start": 2403, "text": "Young migrants are usually detained and held by Border Patrol officials. If they are not from Mexico or Canada, they are required to be transferred to a shelter assigned by the US department of health and human services within 72 hours of their arrest. The shelters are intended to be short-term, but the average length of stay is 35 days, according to the New York Times. A immigration case is begun for each minor. If approved, some will travel to live with a family member or sponsor while waiting for an asylum hearing." } ], "id": "9555_0", "question": "What happens to the children who are caught crossing the border illegally?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has marked the alliance's 70th anniversary with a rare address to the US Congress. \"Nato has been good for Europe but Nato has also been good for the United States,\" the former Norwegian prime minister said to applause. He said that Nato did not want a new Cold War but it \"must not be naive\" about relations with Russia. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was set up to defend against the USSR. Questions have been raised about its continuing purpose since the communist superpower collapsed nearly three decades ago, with Russia its successor state. US President Donald Trump has frequently accused Nato's European members of not paying their fair share of the defence burden. Mr Stoltenberg told Congress: \"This has been the clear message from President Trump and this message is having a real impact.\" He urged Russia to return to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty which it is abandoning after Mr Trump said he would take America out, accusing Russia of violations. \"We do not want a new arms race,\" said Mr Stoltenberg. \"We do not want a new Cold War. But we must not be naive.\" Nato, he said, had \"no intention of deploying land-based nuclear weapons in Europe\" but would \"always take the necessary steps to provide credible and effective deterrence\". He commended Nato as \"not only the longest-lasting alliance in history [but] the most successful alliance in history\". By Barbara Plett Usher, BBC state department correspondent Jens Stoltenberg only mentioned the American president once but his speech was clearly a ringing defence of Nato in the face of Donald Trump's scathing attacks on the alliance. Mr Trump's views are shaped by his trademark transactional approach to foreign policy. He believes the US has been taken for a ride by \"freeloading\" Europeans benefiting from the American security umbrella without investing enough in their own defence. He has taken credit for a recent \"rocket launch\" of increased military spending amongst members, and Mr Stoltenberg has given it to him, making the best of a tense situation. Officials and lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic agree that the payment gap is a valid concern, but they are alarmed by the ambivalence Mr Trump has shown towards the value of the alliance, and the mutual defence commitment at its core - the first time in 70 years an American president has raised such doubts. Mr Trump is even reported to have mulled over withdrawing from Nato, which is structured around the defence of Europe. Notably Mr Stoltenberg emphasised how the alliance benefited America, not only Europe, a view shared by members of Congress and of Mr Trump's administration. Lawmakers gave Mr Stoltenberg repeated standing ovations, their way of reaffirming America's commitment to Nato.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1437, "answer_start": 856, "text": "He urged Russia to return to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty which it is abandoning after Mr Trump said he would take America out, accusing Russia of violations. \"We do not want a new arms race,\" said Mr Stoltenberg. \"We do not want a new Cold War. But we must not be naive.\" Nato, he said, had \"no intention of deploying land-based nuclear weapons in Europe\" but would \"always take the necessary steps to provide credible and effective deterrence\". He commended Nato as \"not only the longest-lasting alliance in history [but] the most successful alliance in history\"." } ], "id": "9556_0", "question": "What exactly did Stoltenberg say about Russia?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US is ramping up a conflict with China, putting their economies and their diplomatic relationship at risk. It has moved to restrict Huawei's ability to trade with US firms, shortly after reigniting the trade war with tariff hikes. The latest blows to the Chinese telecoms giant mark a grave escalation in the US-China power struggle. As the trade war broadens into a \"technology cold war\", the prospect of a deal looks increasingly distant. \"The US action against Huawei is a watershed moment and a very significant escalation of tensions,\" says Michael Hirson, Asia director at the Eurasia Group. \"A trade deal is not doomed but looks very unlikely, especially in the near term.\" The crackdown on Huawei has become a central part of relations between Washington and Beijing, which has primarily played out as a trade war over the past year. While the US has justified its actions against Huawei based on the alleged risk it poses to national security, US President Donald Trump has also linked it to the trade row. Only recently, Mr Trump said Huawei could be part of a trade deal between the world's two largest economies. Such comments risk reinforcing a view that the action against Huawei is about more than just security risks. Some see it as an attempt by the US to contain a powerful Chinese firm, and by extension China's growing importance in the world. \"The prospect of a US action hobbling one of China's most prominent tech companies, and key to its global ambitions in 5G, is already evoking a surge of nationalist sentiment in China,\" says Mr Hirson. The US has added Huawei to a list of companies that US firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence. At the same time, Mr Trump signed an executive order which effectively bars US firms from using foreign telecoms firms believed to pose national security risks. \"Of the two moves that Trump made - the executive order and adding Huawei to the entity list - the latter is far more impactful,\" says Mr Hirson. Huawei is the world's second biggest smartphone maker and a key player in the development of next-generation 5G technology. Its chief legal officer Song Liuping has said that more than three billion consumers could be hit by the US decision to add Huawei to the entity list. The US moves are already sending ripples across the technology sector. Google barred Huawei from some updates to the Android operating system. New designs of Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps. \"If Huawei phones are undercut by the lack of Android operating system, it would hurt consumers by limiting competition in the cellphone market and causing prices to rise,\" says Yan Liang, associate professor of economics at Willamette University. Analysts say the clampdown on Huawei could also hurt the development of 5G. \"Huawei also holds a dozen of patents in the 5G development. Limiting Huawei will push back 5G technology and make it more costly to implement,\" adds Prof Liang. Washington's restrictions on Huawei will also hurt US firms. Huawei's Mr Song said more than 1,200 US firms would be \"directly\" hit. The company's founder Ren Zhengfei recently told Bloomberg that Huawei would use more of its own chips if there were further US restrictions, and would reduce its purchases from the US. Half of the chips Huawei uses are from US companies, and half they produce themselves, he said. Indeed, some analysts say the US government also risks hurting itself. \"You punish Huawei but you also punish yourself: You lose market share, lose all of your business sales to Huawei,\" says Huiyao Wang, the president of the Centre for China and Globalization in Beijing. \"And also you probably force Huawei to develop on its own - that's not a wise move for the US.\" More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade: Analysts say politics is also shaping Mr Trump's approach towards China ahead of US elections next year. There is a growing consensus in Washington that China has played unfairly in global trade for years. Being tough on China has therefore become an easy way of scoring political points in the run-up to the 2020 vote. This could mean a trade deal will not happen for some time. \"Political considerations are front and centre in the White House and certainly impacting the course of these negotiations,\" says Stephen Olson, research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation. \"It's possible that the political calculation - correct or incorrect - is that pursuing and extending the trade war is playing well with his political base. That would not bode well for the future.\" Mr Trump will have to balance playing hardball with the risk that his China policy may contribute to an economic slowdown, along with losses in the stock market. Even though a recent escalation in the US-China dispute has dashed hopes for an imminent resolution, analysts say a trade deal is not yet doomed. Critically, China has shown a willingness to negotiate and analysts expect this to continue as it tries to retain the moral high ground. China went to Washington for trade talks even as the Trump administration raised tariffs on $200bn (PS158bn) of Chinese goods and threatened duties on additional products. \"Admittedly things look pretty dire right now,\" says Mr Olson. \"But one scenario that would be entirely plausible is that you have a little bit of a cooling off period between these countries and after a certain period of time some phone calls get exchanged, some meetings take place and we start putting things back together again.\" Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 summit in Japan next month. The meeting represents a \"critical window to de-escalate tensions,\" says Eurasia Group's Mr Hirson. \"If the G20 passes without at least a truce, it is more likely than not that Trump will follow through with a threat to impose additional tariffs on China. Then we're looking at a long, hot summer of escalation by both sides.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2965, "answer_start": 1570, "text": "The US has added Huawei to a list of companies that US firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence. At the same time, Mr Trump signed an executive order which effectively bars US firms from using foreign telecoms firms believed to pose national security risks. \"Of the two moves that Trump made - the executive order and adding Huawei to the entity list - the latter is far more impactful,\" says Mr Hirson. Huawei is the world's second biggest smartphone maker and a key player in the development of next-generation 5G technology. Its chief legal officer Song Liuping has said that more than three billion consumers could be hit by the US decision to add Huawei to the entity list. The US moves are already sending ripples across the technology sector. Google barred Huawei from some updates to the Android operating system. New designs of Huawei smartphones are set to lose access to some Google apps. \"If Huawei phones are undercut by the lack of Android operating system, it would hurt consumers by limiting competition in the cellphone market and causing prices to rise,\" says Yan Liang, associate professor of economics at Willamette University. Analysts say the clampdown on Huawei could also hurt the development of 5G. \"Huawei also holds a dozen of patents in the 5G development. Limiting Huawei will push back 5G technology and make it more costly to implement,\" adds Prof Liang." } ], "id": "9557_0", "question": "How damaging are the moves against Huawei?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3749, "answer_start": 2966, "text": "Washington's restrictions on Huawei will also hurt US firms. Huawei's Mr Song said more than 1,200 US firms would be \"directly\" hit. The company's founder Ren Zhengfei recently told Bloomberg that Huawei would use more of its own chips if there were further US restrictions, and would reduce its purchases from the US. Half of the chips Huawei uses are from US companies, and half they produce themselves, he said. Indeed, some analysts say the US government also risks hurting itself. \"You punish Huawei but you also punish yourself: You lose market share, lose all of your business sales to Huawei,\" says Huiyao Wang, the president of the Centre for China and Globalization in Beijing. \"And also you probably force Huawei to develop on its own - that's not a wise move for the US.\"" } ], "id": "9557_1", "question": "How damaging is it for US firms?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4751, "answer_start": 3823, "text": "Analysts say politics is also shaping Mr Trump's approach towards China ahead of US elections next year. There is a growing consensus in Washington that China has played unfairly in global trade for years. Being tough on China has therefore become an easy way of scoring political points in the run-up to the 2020 vote. This could mean a trade deal will not happen for some time. \"Political considerations are front and centre in the White House and certainly impacting the course of these negotiations,\" says Stephen Olson, research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation. \"It's possible that the political calculation - correct or incorrect - is that pursuing and extending the trade war is playing well with his political base. That would not bode well for the future.\" Mr Trump will have to balance playing hardball with the risk that his China policy may contribute to an economic slowdown, along with losses in the stock market." } ], "id": "9557_2", "question": "What else is driving Mr Trump's confrontational strategy?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The mother of a woman murdered in New Zealand has told her killer she thinks about \"the terror and pain she must have experienced at your hand\". A 28-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been jailed for life for strangling Grace Millane while on a Tinder date in December 2018. Her mother Gillian Millane told the killer \"she died terrified and alone in your room\". The man was sentenced at Auckland High Court to a minimum of 17 years in jail. Mrs Millane, speaking to the court via a video-link and next to a picture of her 21-year-old daughter, told the man she had wanted to take her own life because of the pain he had caused her. She said: \"Grace wasn't just my daughter. She was my friend. My very best friend. \"I am absolutely heartbroken that you have taken my daughter's future and robbed us of so many memories that we were going to create. \"The tears I shed are never-ending at the thought of never having the chance to kiss my Grace goodbye.\" Her daughter's murderer held his head in his hands as he listened to the impact his \"barbaric actions\" have had on his victim's family. Sentencing the man, Justice Simon Moore described the murderer's actions after the killing, including searching for pornography, as \"conduct that underscores a lack of empathy and sense of self-entitlement and objectification\". He said: \"You are a large and powerful man. She was diminutive. You were in a position of total physical dominance.\" But he also stated the defence should not have been criticised on social media for pursuing a defence that Ms Millane had died during a consensual sex act as, even though the jury found this was not the case, this was the defendant's right. Simon Atkinson, BBC News, Auckland Just before sentencing began, the Millanes tweaked the webcam that would beam their statements from an Essex living room. There were smiles and small talk - like the sort of video calls families make across the globe. Then the mood changed. First came Grace's sister-in-law, Victoria. Tearful as she told how her two-year-old daughter would never get to properly know her auntie Grace. Then brother Declan. His mental health suffering. Part of his life taken away. But most of all devastated that he hadn't been able to protect his little sister. And finally, mum Gillian. The killer couldn't, or wouldn't, watch as she spoke. \"I want you to know I don't think of you,\" Mrs Millane told him. \"Because if I did that means I care about you. And I simply don't.\" \"I will miss my darling Grace,\" she went on. \"Until the last breath of my body leaves me.\" And then silence. The killer's lawyer argued he should be given a minimum term of 11 years as \"rehabilitation and reintegration remains a real prospect\". However, the judge said he could not see how the defendant could serve any less than 17 years. Ms Millane, from Wickford in Essex, met her killer on the dating app while travelling in Auckland. The pair spent the evening drinking before returning to the man's room in the CityLife hotel in central Auckland where he killed her. He then disposed of her body by burying it in a suitcase in the Waitakere Ranges, a mountainous area outside the city. He was found guilty of murder last year. Ms Millane's brother Declan Millane told the court she \"had a smile to light up the room\". He said: \"As an older brother I felt a duty to protect my little sister. But there was nothing I could do. I was helpless and lost. \"There is no reason behind this unspeakable act.\" Det Insp Scott Beard, who led the investigation into Ms Millane's murder, said Auckland City Police's thoughts were with her family. \"The impact of losing their daughter on her birthday while alone in a foreign country has been significant and no matter what the outcome they will forever have a life sentence,\" he said. \"Even though their lives have been changed forever we hope with support from family and friends they can now try in some way to move forward with their lives.\" He added he did not believe \"rough sex\" should be considered a defence to murder as it \"repetitively re-victimises the victim and the victim's family\". \"Strangling someone for five to 10 minutes until they die is not rough sex,\" he said. \"In this case, the Millanes have had to sit through a trial for a number of weeks and their daughter's background, rightly or wrongly, was out in the public. \"I understand why the defence would use it but the bottom line is the individual has killed someone.\" The identity of Grace Millane's murderer cannot be disclosed because of a court order that bans media from naming and picturing him. The purpose in New Zealand courts is to protect defendants before they are found guilty, but also to achieve a fair trial by ensuring the jury is not prejudiced by media coverage. Images can also be withheld. Justice Simon Moore ordered that the suppression order which prevents naming the defendant would stay in place indefinitely until lifted by the court. The reasons for the order remaining in place are also suppressed. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5036, "answer_start": 4478, "text": "The identity of Grace Millane's murderer cannot be disclosed because of a court order that bans media from naming and picturing him. The purpose in New Zealand courts is to protect defendants before they are found guilty, but also to achieve a fair trial by ensuring the jury is not prejudiced by media coverage. Images can also be withheld. Justice Simon Moore ordered that the suppression order which prevents naming the defendant would stay in place indefinitely until lifted by the court. The reasons for the order remaining in place are also suppressed." } ], "id": "9558_0", "question": "Why can we not name the killer?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Donald Trump is in the UK to attend the Nato summit in Watford. This year's conference marks the 70th anniversary of the organisation. Here are some of the standout moments from its past which explain more about how it works. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was set up as a defence alliance against the Soviet Union and to contain the spread of communism - a political ideology - across Europe. It was formed in 1949, after the Second World War, and originally made up of 12 member countries. There's a more detailed explanation of the alliance's history here. The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, former prime minister of Norway. He's been in the role since 2014 and is the 13th person to hold the office. Nato members promise to pay 2% of their GDP on defence spending. The US contributes most, and President Trump has pressured other member states to increase their spending. In 1955, the Soviet Union created a counter-alliance called the Warsaw Pact, made up of communist countries. Nato and the Warsaw Pact had opposing political beliefs, which fed into the Cold War that started pretty much straight after World War Two. The Warsaw Pact later dissolved after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Here's a look at some of the main events that have occurred over the 70 years. Nato launched an 11-week bombing campaign over Serbia that ended the Kosovo War in 1999. The strikes aimed to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians in Serbia. Ethnic cleansing is the mass killing of members of one ethnic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that same area. The Article 5 defence was invoked after the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. This was the first and only time in its history it has been used. It is a collective defence that says an attack on one ally should be considered as an attack on all allies. Nato's first major mission outside Europe was providing security in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003. Their main role was to assist the Afghan government to create a secure and stable environment. There are now 29 member countries. Leaders from each country will attend the Nato 2019 summit on 4 December. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1306, "answer_start": 226, "text": "The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was set up as a defence alliance against the Soviet Union and to contain the spread of communism - a political ideology - across Europe. It was formed in 1949, after the Second World War, and originally made up of 12 member countries. There's a more detailed explanation of the alliance's history here. The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, former prime minister of Norway. He's been in the role since 2014 and is the 13th person to hold the office. Nato members promise to pay 2% of their GDP on defence spending. The US contributes most, and President Trump has pressured other member states to increase their spending. In 1955, the Soviet Union created a counter-alliance called the Warsaw Pact, made up of communist countries. Nato and the Warsaw Pact had opposing political beliefs, which fed into the Cold War that started pretty much straight after World War Two. The Warsaw Pact later dissolved after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Here's a look at some of the main events that have occurred over the 70 years." } ], "id": "9559_0", "question": "Tell me more... so, what is Nato?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Billionaire Dermot Desmond's exclusive private jet company used an offshore tax haven to avoid taxes, according to documents in the Paradise Papers. The Irish businessman, who is the biggest single shareholder in Celtic FC, owned the Swiss-based Execujet for eight years until he sold it in 2015. The leaked papers reveal Execujet asked a law firm to open an Isle of Man company in 2012 to avoid Swiss taxes. Mr Desmond strongly denies his former company avoided tax. He said it was \"tax and regulatory compliant in all jurisdictions it operated in\". BBC Scotland's investigations team is the only Scottish partner involved in the global media project examining more than 13 million documents mostly leaked from the offshore law firm Appleby. Emails from the leak, dubbed the Paradise Papers, suggest Execujet may have avoided up to $1.3m (PS1m) in Swiss taxes over three years. The offshore structure implemented by Appleby is legal but tax expert Philip Simpson QC told the BBC it appeared to be \"an aggressive avoidance arrangement\". He added that the Isle of Man company seemed to be controlled from Switzerland, which could make it liable for taxes there. Execujet is an exclusive aviation company that manages 160 business jets and employs about 1,000 people in seven regions around the globe. Its headquarters are in Switzerland. Internal Appleby documents explained that Execujet had to pay a 5% stamp duty levy on its insurance premium because Switzerland was listed as its main office for insurance purposes. The documents called this a \"negative tax consequence\". They said: \"Accordingly ExecuJet would like to set up a company in the Isle of Man, namely ExecuJet (IOM) Limited, to be the primary insured under the above policy.\" The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency that lies in the Irish Sea between Cumbria and Northern Ireland. It considers itself to be a low-tax financial centre rather than a tax haven. There is no aviation insurance tax in the Isle of Man, meaning that by switching its primary insured office from Switzerland to the island Execujet was able to avoid the 5% charge on a $3.8m (PS2.91m) insurance policy, resulting in savings of up to $190,000 (PS145,000) a year. To do the switch, Appleby staff created a shell, or \"brass plate\", company in the Isle of Man calling it Execujet (IOM), and installed another shell company, General Controllers, staffed with Appleby executives, as the sole director. But that was not the only benefit. Due to the way its aircraft insurance was structured, Execujet was entitled to a \"brokerage\" fee from its insurers, which amounted to about $1.2m (PS920,000) a year. According to the data, this could be classed as income and therefore would be taxable in Switzerland. An Appleby memo said: \"By having the monies paid into the Isle of Man entity EAG [Execujet Aviation Group] are not required to pay Swiss tax on the income of around 22%.\" It added: \"We expect to receive two payments per year of approximately US$600k (PS460,000) under this policy.\" According to the leaked emails, that cash was funnelled straight from the Isle of Man back into Switzerland, apparently tax free, on instructions from Execujet executives in Switzerland. The BBC asked both Mr Desmond and Execujet whether tax on this income had been subsequently paid. Neither responded directly to that question, but said that all taxes that were due had been paid. The emails suggest the Isle of Man's activities were being dictated from Execujet's Swiss HQ. For example, on 9 June 2015, Execujet's insurers, Willis, wanted to make a payment of $45,000 (PS34,500) to Execujet (IOM). But Willis dealt with Execujet in Switzerland. A Swiss-based EAG executive then emailed an Appleby employee on the Isle of Man to say: \"When this payment arrives, please transfer it to our EAG bank account.\" On another occasion, Execujet instructed Appleby to transfer more than $500,000 into the Swiss account. Tax expert Philip Simpson QC told the BBC that if individuals in Switzerland were making all the decisions about what the Isle of Man company did, such as immediately paying money to the Swiss companies, then it would mean the company was actually tax resident in Switzerland. This might leave the structure open to challenge by the Swiss tax authorities. Mr Simpson said: \"If it's resident in Switzerland then, despite the structure that has been put in place, stamp duty is due on the insurance premium paid and Swiss corporation tax is due on the money received back from the insurance broker. \"From what I've seen it suggests control may be being exercised from Switzerland. \"It would certainly be reasonable to describe this as an aggressive avoidance arrangement given, in particular, what appears to be a lack of economic substance to the Isle of Man company.\" Mr Desmond bought Execujet in 2007, and sold it 2015. The data suggests the tax avoidance scheme operated from 2012 until at least 2015. The BBC wrote to Mr Desmond five times during its investigation, asking about the structure. He failed to respond to any written inquiries. When approached by BBC Scotland's Mark Daly outside Celtic Park on Tuesday last week, ahead of the Celtic v Bayern Munich match, he said it was \"absolutely wrong\" to suggest the Isle of Man Execujet company was a tax avoidance vehicle. When pressed further, Mr Desmond said: \"I'm not duty bound to educate you in how we run our affairs. \"Every company in the Isle of Man is not for avoidance of tax,\" he added. When asked why the Isle of Man company was created if it was not for the purposes of avoiding Swiss aviation tax and to repatriate brokerage fees that were being made to Execujet from its insurers, Mr Desmond replied: \"That would be giving away confidential information about a company that I no longer own and I'm not in a position to give you that information.\" Read Mr Desmond's letter in full The next day Mr Desmond wrote to the BBC, asking: \"Dear Mr Daly, Are you a Rangers supporter?\" Mr Desmond added: \"I have not previously responded to your ill-informed questions. \"However, as I informed you last night, during my period of majority ownership, Execujet was tax and regulatory compliant in all jurisdictions it operated in; nor was it under any investigation. \"There are good operational reasons for having a presence in the Isle of Man and many international companies do so.\" Mr Desmond continued: \"If you choose to publicly state that my investments are not tax and regulatory compliant or make any other untrue allegation about me whether by innuendo or otherwise, I will take action against the BBC and against you personally in both Scotland and Ireland for defamation and breach of privacy.\" Irish investigative journalist Matt Cooper, who was sued by Mr Desmond in 2011, told BBC Scotland: \"You don't become a billionaire unless you are absolutely aggressive in making sure that you make as much profit as you can from your businesses and that you keep as much of that profit for yourself.\" Mr Cooper added that \"privacy trumps all\" for the Irish billionaire. He said: \"I can only imagine he would feel that these are his private matters that are of no concern to the general public or to the media. \"But there certainly is a public interest in tax avoidance. \"This is one of the major issues internationally I think for a feeling of equality of fairness that there shouldn't be an elite who are able to minimise the contribution that they are making to the effective running of society at a time when ordinary workers have no opportunity to avoid taxes and they all pay their fair share.\" Execujet said: \"ExecuJet, a private company, operates in many countries around the world. \"It is very important to ExecuJet that it is compliant with all tax rules globally. \"Several years ago, ExecuJet chose the Isle of Man as it is a centre for insurance and re-insurance companies providing an attractive financial and fiscal environment. \"However, for some time now, ExecuJet IOM has not been required and is therefore no longer used.\" Reporting team: Mark Daly, Calum McKay, Ian Bendalow and Rachael Miller The 67-year-old billionaire is one of Ireland's richest men. He was born in Cork in 1950, the eldest of four children, and moved to the northside of Dublin when he was six. Mr Desmond began his career with Citibank in Dublin and went on to be a banking consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Afghanistan, leaving when the Russians invaded in 1979. In 1981, he set up his own company, NCB Stockbrokers, and developed the business so that it became Ireland's third-largest stockbroking firm. During the early 1990s, he became known as the promoter of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin's docklands, which is now home to 400 international companies. In 1994, Mr Desmond sold NCB to the National Westminster Bank (now the Royal Bank of Scotland) for a reported EUR39 million and started his own private equity firm, International Investment and Underwriting (IIU). Over the years, Mr Desmond has amassed a sizeable fortune through acquisitions and investments such as his involvement in Esat, the telecom group founded by Denis O'Brien. In 2006, Mr Desmond made headline news when he sold London City Airport for a reported EUR1.2bn (PS750m). He had bought the airport for about EUR30m (PS23m) in 1995. The investment was considered a large risk at the time, as London's docklands was in recession and Canary Wharf was in receivership. The airport has since become one of the more profitable in the UK. He also made substantial amounts from selling his share of Greencore in 2006. The previous year Mr Desmond bought one-third of Latvia's Rietumu Banka. Mr Desmond's other interests include Betdaq, a global player in the betting exchange sector, and the Titanic Quarter Development in Belfast. Mr Desmond tries to keep out of the spotlight but his public profile is boosted considerably by his position at Celtic Football Club in Glasgow. He previously had a stake in Manchester United but is now the largest individual shareholder of Celtic, owning more than 30% of the club. The papers are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders. The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source. Paradise Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #ParadisePapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag \"Paradise Papers\" Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only) Watch Scotland's Paradise Papers on Tuesday at 19:00 on BBC One Scotland.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5874, "answer_start": 5100, "text": "When approached by BBC Scotland's Mark Daly outside Celtic Park on Tuesday last week, ahead of the Celtic v Bayern Munich match, he said it was \"absolutely wrong\" to suggest the Isle of Man Execujet company was a tax avoidance vehicle. When pressed further, Mr Desmond said: \"I'm not duty bound to educate you in how we run our affairs. \"Every company in the Isle of Man is not for avoidance of tax,\" he added. When asked why the Isle of Man company was created if it was not for the purposes of avoiding Swiss aviation tax and to repatriate brokerage fees that were being made to Execujet from its insurers, Mr Desmond replied: \"That would be giving away confidential information about a company that I no longer own and I'm not in a position to give you that information.\"" } ], "id": "9560_0", "question": "Are you a Rangers supporter?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 10132, "answer_start": 8131, "text": "The 67-year-old billionaire is one of Ireland's richest men. He was born in Cork in 1950, the eldest of four children, and moved to the northside of Dublin when he was six. Mr Desmond began his career with Citibank in Dublin and went on to be a banking consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Afghanistan, leaving when the Russians invaded in 1979. In 1981, he set up his own company, NCB Stockbrokers, and developed the business so that it became Ireland's third-largest stockbroking firm. During the early 1990s, he became known as the promoter of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin's docklands, which is now home to 400 international companies. In 1994, Mr Desmond sold NCB to the National Westminster Bank (now the Royal Bank of Scotland) for a reported EUR39 million and started his own private equity firm, International Investment and Underwriting (IIU). Over the years, Mr Desmond has amassed a sizeable fortune through acquisitions and investments such as his involvement in Esat, the telecom group founded by Denis O'Brien. In 2006, Mr Desmond made headline news when he sold London City Airport for a reported EUR1.2bn (PS750m). He had bought the airport for about EUR30m (PS23m) in 1995. The investment was considered a large risk at the time, as London's docklands was in recession and Canary Wharf was in receivership. The airport has since become one of the more profitable in the UK. He also made substantial amounts from selling his share of Greencore in 2006. The previous year Mr Desmond bought one-third of Latvia's Rietumu Banka. Mr Desmond's other interests include Betdaq, a global player in the betting exchange sector, and the Titanic Quarter Development in Belfast. Mr Desmond tries to keep out of the spotlight but his public profile is boosted considerably by his position at Celtic Football Club in Glasgow. He previously had a stake in Manchester United but is now the largest individual shareholder of Celtic, owning more than 30% of the club." } ], "id": "9560_1", "question": "Who is Dermot Desmond?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has appointed the country's first prime minister in more than 40 years - the tourism minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz. The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. It was reinstated under the rules of a new constitution for the communist-run island passed earlier this year. Mr Marrero, 56, will take on some of the responsibilities that currently fall to the president. \"The head of government will be the administrative right hand of the president of the republic,\" state-run online news outlet Cubadebate said. However, critics say any such changes are purely cosmetic as the Cuban Communist Party and the military remain the only two real decision-making institutions on the island. Mr Marrero's appointment was ratified unanimously by deputies in the National Assembly on Saturday. The state newspaper Granma described Mr Marrero as a politician who had emerged \"from the base\" of the tourism industry, one of Cuba's main sources of foreign exchange. In 2000 he was made president of the military-run Gaviota tourism group, whose hotels are subject to US sanctions under the Trump administration. Mr Marrero was named tourism minister in 2004 by Fidel Castro and has since overseen a major boost in tourism to the island. It is unclear if he will now remain head of the ministry. Naming him prime minister, Mr Diaz-Canel praised Mr Marrero in particular for his handling of relationships with foreign investors. He highlighted his \"honesty, ability to work, and loyalty to the Communist Party and the revolution\". Fidel Castro led a communist revolution that toppled the Cuban government in 1959, after which he declared himself prime minister. He held the title until 1976, when it was abolished and he became head of the Communist Party and president of the council of state and the council of ministers. With his health failing, Castro handed power to his brother, Raul, in 2006. He died in 2016. Raul Castro stood down from the presidency in 2018 but remains leader of Cuba's Communist Party and a major force in its politics.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1365, "answer_start": 768, "text": "Mr Marrero's appointment was ratified unanimously by deputies in the National Assembly on Saturday. The state newspaper Granma described Mr Marrero as a politician who had emerged \"from the base\" of the tourism industry, one of Cuba's main sources of foreign exchange. In 2000 he was made president of the military-run Gaviota tourism group, whose hotels are subject to US sanctions under the Trump administration. Mr Marrero was named tourism minister in 2004 by Fidel Castro and has since overseen a major boost in tourism to the island. It is unclear if he will now remain head of the ministry." } ], "id": "9561_0", "question": "How was the new PM appointed?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Oil has continued its rollercoaster ride into the new year, with Brent crude falling below $35 a barrel for the first time in 11 years. Brent crude sank by 4.2% to $34.88 a barrel, surpassing its late December fall, and taking the price to its lowest level since 1 July 2004. The price of US crude dropped 3.3% to $34.77 a barrel. The sharp falls followed a short-lived rally on Monday after Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic ties with Iran. Analysts said fears over the worsening relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had initially raised concerns about possible supply disruptions and boosted the oil price, had now been overtaken by pessimism over oil cartel Opec ever agreeing on a production ceiling. Historically, Opec has cut production to support prices. But led by Saudi Arabia, by far the group's most powerful member, the group has resolutely refused to trim supply this time. Rising tensions over Saudi Arabia's execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr mean that any agreement is now deemed less likely than ever. \"With relations between Opec kingpins Saudi Arabia and Iran at a historic low point, it solidifies an already unlikely scenario that Opec might cut output,\" said Barclays analyst Alia Moubayed. Since mid-2014, oil prices have slumped 70% mainly because of oversupply. This in turn is largely due to US shale oil flooding the market. At the same time, demand has fallen because of a slowdown in economic growth in China and Europe. Iranian oil exports are also expected to rise later this year once Western sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear programme are lifted, increasing the oversupply of oil. Opec is hoping that refusing to cut production will help to drive US shale producers out of business, believing that they will fall victim to lower prices long before its own members, and has forecast that prices will recover to $70 a barrel by 2020. Goldman Sachs has warned that oil prices could go as low a $20 a barrel, but most analysts are expecting the price to stabilise in the second half of the year as supply from non-Opec nations slows and demand remains relatively robust.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2123, "answer_start": 711, "text": "Historically, Opec has cut production to support prices. But led by Saudi Arabia, by far the group's most powerful member, the group has resolutely refused to trim supply this time. Rising tensions over Saudi Arabia's execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr mean that any agreement is now deemed less likely than ever. \"With relations between Opec kingpins Saudi Arabia and Iran at a historic low point, it solidifies an already unlikely scenario that Opec might cut output,\" said Barclays analyst Alia Moubayed. Since mid-2014, oil prices have slumped 70% mainly because of oversupply. This in turn is largely due to US shale oil flooding the market. At the same time, demand has fallen because of a slowdown in economic growth in China and Europe. Iranian oil exports are also expected to rise later this year once Western sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear programme are lifted, increasing the oversupply of oil. Opec is hoping that refusing to cut production will help to drive US shale producers out of business, believing that they will fall victim to lower prices long before its own members, and has forecast that prices will recover to $70 a barrel by 2020. Goldman Sachs has warned that oil prices could go as low a $20 a barrel, but most analysts are expecting the price to stabilise in the second half of the year as supply from non-Opec nations slows and demand remains relatively robust." } ], "id": "9562_0", "question": "How low?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A Spanish court has jailed a woman for five years for going into hiding with her two sons rather than hand them to the father, whom she accused of abuse. Juana Rivas has also been stripped of custody rights for six years and told to pay hefty legal costs. Spanish politicians and women's groups have criticised the verdict. The long-running custody battle for the boys - now aged 12 and four - has become a rallying point in Spain's battle against gender violence. She took the boys from the family home in Italy in 2016, and travelled to Spain under the pretext of visiting family. Instead of returning, she lodged a complaint in Spain alleging domestic abuse and later defied Spanish court orders to return the boys to their father. \"A woman running away from terror to protect her children can't be deemed abduction,\" she said last year. Her actions became a social media sensation in Spain, where #JuanaEstaEnMiCasa (Juana is in my house) was a major trend as she avoided authorities. She eventually turned herself in and the children were reunited with their father. The court in the southern city of Granada said Rivas had no proof of domestic violence and had illegally taken her children from their father. She had \"exploited the argument of abuse\" and had carried out \"child abduction\", the judgement said. Her former partner, Italian Francesco Arcuri has a previous conviction for violence against Ms Rivas. But despite this the court said there was no evidence of mistreatment since then and an assessment of the oldest child showed no signs of psychological trauma consistent with abuse. Rivas's lawyer has called the judgement a \"failure of the judicial system\" and indicated she would appeal against the verdict. Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo has said that Rivas will not be jailed until the sentence is confirmed. \"The interests of the two children must be protected, even in these moments,\" she said. Antonio Maillo, head of a left-wing federation of parties in the southern Andalucia region, said the verdict was \"barbaric\" and set a worrying precedent. \"This country has changed but the judiciary is carrying on with outmoded parameters,\" he said. The president of the Progressive Women's Foundation, Yolanda Besteiro, told Spain's Efe news agency that the ruling was disproportionate \"because the situation of mistreatment was not taken into account\". She said the ruling \"demonstrates the lack of empathy and ignorance of what gender violence is and how abusers behave\". Some groups are preparing demonstrations, in a move reminiscent of the widespread protests over the infamous \"wolf pack\" sexual assault case in Pamplona. Mr Arcuri denies any abuse of either Rivas or the children and says he has been the victim of a media campaign. He has a previous conviction for violence against Rivas on one occasion in 2009 - but he now says he only admitted to the charge to avoid a lengthy legal battle and retain visiting rights with his son. The couple reunited after that incident and had a second son. Mr Arcuri's former partner of 10 years also came to his defence last year, telling Spanish media she did not believe the abuse allegations.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1071, "answer_start": 465, "text": "She took the boys from the family home in Italy in 2016, and travelled to Spain under the pretext of visiting family. Instead of returning, she lodged a complaint in Spain alleging domestic abuse and later defied Spanish court orders to return the boys to their father. \"A woman running away from terror to protect her children can't be deemed abduction,\" she said last year. Her actions became a social media sensation in Spain, where #JuanaEstaEnMiCasa (Juana is in my house) was a major trend as she avoided authorities. She eventually turned herself in and the children were reunited with their father." } ], "id": "9563_0", "question": "What did Rivas do?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1599, "answer_start": 1072, "text": "The court in the southern city of Granada said Rivas had no proof of domestic violence and had illegally taken her children from their father. She had \"exploited the argument of abuse\" and had carried out \"child abduction\", the judgement said. Her former partner, Italian Francesco Arcuri has a previous conviction for violence against Ms Rivas. But despite this the court said there was no evidence of mistreatment since then and an assessment of the oldest child showed no signs of psychological trauma consistent with abuse." } ], "id": "9563_1", "question": "What did the court rule?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2657, "answer_start": 1600, "text": "Rivas's lawyer has called the judgement a \"failure of the judicial system\" and indicated she would appeal against the verdict. Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo has said that Rivas will not be jailed until the sentence is confirmed. \"The interests of the two children must be protected, even in these moments,\" she said. Antonio Maillo, head of a left-wing federation of parties in the southern Andalucia region, said the verdict was \"barbaric\" and set a worrying precedent. \"This country has changed but the judiciary is carrying on with outmoded parameters,\" he said. The president of the Progressive Women's Foundation, Yolanda Besteiro, told Spain's Efe news agency that the ruling was disproportionate \"because the situation of mistreatment was not taken into account\". She said the ruling \"demonstrates the lack of empathy and ignorance of what gender violence is and how abusers behave\". Some groups are preparing demonstrations, in a move reminiscent of the widespread protests over the infamous \"wolf pack\" sexual assault case in Pamplona." } ], "id": "9563_2", "question": "What reaction has there been?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3173, "answer_start": 2658, "text": "Mr Arcuri denies any abuse of either Rivas or the children and says he has been the victim of a media campaign. He has a previous conviction for violence against Rivas on one occasion in 2009 - but he now says he only admitted to the charge to avoid a lengthy legal battle and retain visiting rights with his son. The couple reunited after that incident and had a second son. Mr Arcuri's former partner of 10 years also came to his defence last year, telling Spanish media she did not believe the abuse allegations." } ], "id": "9563_3", "question": "What does the father say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "\"Rogue nation\". The \"greatest immediate threat\". North Korea has been called many things, few of them complimentary. The government has been accused of brutally oppressing citizens while ruthlessly pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. In the past year it held its fifth nuclear test, launched several missiles and - most believe - assassinated its leader's half-brother using a chemical weapon. Most recently, it has conducted its first test of what it claims is an inter-continental ballistic missile, a move that - if verified - increases the threat it can pose to its enemies and ratchets up international tensions. But why is North Korea such a problem - and why can no solution be found? The US and the Soviets divided Korea into two at the end of World War Two. Reunification talks failed and by 1948 there were two separate governments. The 1950-53 Korean War entrenched the split. North Korea's first leader was Kim Il-sung, a communist who presided over a one-party state, and the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. It remains one of the world's poorest nations. Its economy is centrally controlled, its citizens have no access to external media and, apart from a privileged few, no freedom to leave. Most worryingly, it has conducted five nuclear and multiple missile tests that demonstrate progress towards its ultimate goal of building a nuclear missile. There have been several rounds. The most recent, involving China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the US, initially looked promising. Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear work in return for aid and political concessions. It went as far as blowing up the cooling tower at its plutonium production facility at Yongbyon. But then things faltered. The US said North Korea was failing to disclose the full extent of its nuclear work. Pyongyang denied this, but then conducted a nuclear test. So, since 2009, there have been no meaningful discussions. John Nilsson-Wright, senior fellow for north-east Asia at think-tank Chatham House, says that North Korea, judging from its recent provocations, is not interested in negotiating at the moment. \"This is because Kim is determined to push forward on military modernisation, so rationally it is in his interests to delay.\" The UN and several nations already have sanctions in place against North Korea, targeting its weapons programme and financial ability to function abroad. Meanwhile food aid to North Korea - which relies on donations to feed its people - has fallen in recent years as tensions have risen. But these measures do not seem to be slowing down North Korea's ability to move forward on the military front. China is widely seen as the nation most able to impose economic pain on North Korea. Experts say targeting the intermediaries that keep North Korea moving - like Chinese banks - would make a real impact, as would targeting the oil that Pyongyang imports from China. This is some movement on this. A Reuters report in late June, citing unidentified sources, said China's state oil giant had suspended sales to Pyongyang, though it suggested the decision was commercial. The US, meanwhile, has imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank accused of laundering North Korean money. But the key problem is that China does not want to take actions that would destabilise the government in North Korea and potentially unleash chaos on its border. So, John Nilsson-Wright says, China has been trying to play the role of honest broker, lobbying the US to talk to Pyongyang. But the US, Japan and South Korea have made it very clear that the North must show a real willingness to compromise before talks become an option. Not a good one. It is generally thought that military action against North Korea would lead to very high military and civilian casualties. Finding and eliminating North Korea's nuclear stockpile would be hard - experts suspect assets are buried deep underground. Moreover the North is heavily armed, with an arsenal of missiles putting Seoul (and beyond) in range, chemical and biological weapons, and about one million troops. \"The risk is that it provokes a counterattack that is massively costly to South Korea,\" says Dr Nilsson-Wright. In the past South Korea has talked overtly about a \"decapitation\" strategy - a targeted attack to remove Kim Jong-un and his leadership. This could be a tactic to deter North Korea from further provocations or to force it back to the negotiating table, says Dr Nilsson-Wright. The strong view in Seoul, he says, is that the only way to get the North back to the negotiating table is to make the government feel so insecure that it feels it has no choice. There are also big questions around who might fill the vacuum if a \"decapitation\" went ahead. The elite have a vested interest in the survival of the Kim government and there is no political opposition. For a while some thought that the way to bring North Korea into the international community was to help it open up gradually, through small economic reforms, using the model of China's transformation after the death of Mao Zedong There were signs Kim Jong-il - the leader's late father - may have been interested in this approach, as he made several trips to Chinese industrial zones. The key supporter of this, however, was thought to be Chang Song-thaek, the leader's uncle. But Kim Jong-un had him executed in December 2013, calling him a traitor who planned to overthrow the state. Kim Jong-un has not yet visited China - in fact, he has not visited any foreign country since becoming leader in 2011. And while he has talked of economic growth, the military programme appears to be his priority. This is very unlikely. One-party rule is absolute in North Korea. Citizens are encouraged to worship the Kim dynasty, which is portrayed as the only institution keeping them safe from external aggression. There are no independent media. All TV, radio and newspapers are state-controlled and North Korea has created its own internet so citizens have no electronic access to the outside world. There is a limited flow of information across the Chinese border, including DVDs which are smuggled in. But in general North Korea exercises very tight control over its citizens. The government has informants everywhere looking for signs of dissent and penalties are severe. Offenders (and sometimes their whole families) can be sent to labour camps where many die. There needs to be a mixture of pressure and dialogue, says Dr Nilsson-Wright. Pressure, he suggests, could involve some combination of enhanced sanctions, the relisting of North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (it was removed from the list in 2008), and close work with China to inflict real pain. Possible incentives could include formal diplomatic recognition by the US or a peace treaty (the two Koreas remain technically at war). Key to this approach would be co-ordination between the US, China, South Korea and Japan. But there are problems. After initial apparent warmth, ties between the Trump administration and Beijing seem to be cooling. In June US President Donald Trump tweeted that China's approach to North Korea had \"not worked out\". Ties between Japan, South Korea and China remain fractious over historical issues. Beijing is also fiercely opposed to the deployment by the US of a Thaad missile defence system in South Korea. In Seoul, new liberal President Moon Jae-in must walk a fine line balancing the interests of his electorate, biggest military ally and powerful neighbour. So there are divisions to exploit. \"That is why North Korea is pushing it now - it knows it has a window on which to capitalise,\" Dr Nilsson-Wright argues.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2249, "answer_start": 1383, "text": "There have been several rounds. The most recent, involving China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the US, initially looked promising. Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear work in return for aid and political concessions. It went as far as blowing up the cooling tower at its plutonium production facility at Yongbyon. But then things faltered. The US said North Korea was failing to disclose the full extent of its nuclear work. Pyongyang denied this, but then conducted a nuclear test. So, since 2009, there have been no meaningful discussions. John Nilsson-Wright, senior fellow for north-east Asia at think-tank Chatham House, says that North Korea, judging from its recent provocations, is not interested in negotiating at the moment. \"This is because Kim is determined to push forward on military modernisation, so rationally it is in his interests to delay.\"" } ], "id": "9564_0", "question": "So what about negotiations?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3652, "answer_start": 2250, "text": "The UN and several nations already have sanctions in place against North Korea, targeting its weapons programme and financial ability to function abroad. Meanwhile food aid to North Korea - which relies on donations to feed its people - has fallen in recent years as tensions have risen. But these measures do not seem to be slowing down North Korea's ability to move forward on the military front. China is widely seen as the nation most able to impose economic pain on North Korea. Experts say targeting the intermediaries that keep North Korea moving - like Chinese banks - would make a real impact, as would targeting the oil that Pyongyang imports from China. This is some movement on this. A Reuters report in late June, citing unidentified sources, said China's state oil giant had suspended sales to Pyongyang, though it suggested the decision was commercial. The US, meanwhile, has imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank accused of laundering North Korean money. But the key problem is that China does not want to take actions that would destabilise the government in North Korea and potentially unleash chaos on its border. So, John Nilsson-Wright says, China has been trying to play the role of honest broker, lobbying the US to talk to Pyongyang. But the US, Japan and South Korea have made it very clear that the North must show a real willingness to compromise before talks become an option." } ], "id": "9564_1", "question": "But economic pressure would work, right?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4192, "answer_start": 3653, "text": "Not a good one. It is generally thought that military action against North Korea would lead to very high military and civilian casualties. Finding and eliminating North Korea's nuclear stockpile would be hard - experts suspect assets are buried deep underground. Moreover the North is heavily armed, with an arsenal of missiles putting Seoul (and beyond) in range, chemical and biological weapons, and about one million troops. \"The risk is that it provokes a counterattack that is massively costly to South Korea,\" says Dr Nilsson-Wright." } ], "id": "9564_2", "question": "Is there a military option?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4850, "answer_start": 4193, "text": "In the past South Korea has talked overtly about a \"decapitation\" strategy - a targeted attack to remove Kim Jong-un and his leadership. This could be a tactic to deter North Korea from further provocations or to force it back to the negotiating table, says Dr Nilsson-Wright. The strong view in Seoul, he says, is that the only way to get the North back to the negotiating table is to make the government feel so insecure that it feels it has no choice. There are also big questions around who might fill the vacuum if a \"decapitation\" went ahead. The elite have a vested interest in the survival of the Kim government and there is no political opposition." } ], "id": "9564_3", "question": "What about assassination?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5650, "answer_start": 4851, "text": "For a while some thought that the way to bring North Korea into the international community was to help it open up gradually, through small economic reforms, using the model of China's transformation after the death of Mao Zedong There were signs Kim Jong-il - the leader's late father - may have been interested in this approach, as he made several trips to Chinese industrial zones. The key supporter of this, however, was thought to be Chang Song-thaek, the leader's uncle. But Kim Jong-un had him executed in December 2013, calling him a traitor who planned to overthrow the state. Kim Jong-un has not yet visited China - in fact, he has not visited any foreign country since becoming leader in 2011. And while he has talked of economic growth, the military programme appears to be his priority." } ], "id": "9564_4", "question": "How about a gradual opening?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6408, "answer_start": 5651, "text": "This is very unlikely. One-party rule is absolute in North Korea. Citizens are encouraged to worship the Kim dynasty, which is portrayed as the only institution keeping them safe from external aggression. There are no independent media. All TV, radio and newspapers are state-controlled and North Korea has created its own internet so citizens have no electronic access to the outside world. There is a limited flow of information across the Chinese border, including DVDs which are smuggled in. But in general North Korea exercises very tight control over its citizens. The government has informants everywhere looking for signs of dissent and penalties are severe. Offenders (and sometimes their whole families) can be sent to labour camps where many die." } ], "id": "9564_5", "question": "Could a credible opposition emerge?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 7669, "answer_start": 6409, "text": "There needs to be a mixture of pressure and dialogue, says Dr Nilsson-Wright. Pressure, he suggests, could involve some combination of enhanced sanctions, the relisting of North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (it was removed from the list in 2008), and close work with China to inflict real pain. Possible incentives could include formal diplomatic recognition by the US or a peace treaty (the two Koreas remain technically at war). Key to this approach would be co-ordination between the US, China, South Korea and Japan. But there are problems. After initial apparent warmth, ties between the Trump administration and Beijing seem to be cooling. In June US President Donald Trump tweeted that China's approach to North Korea had \"not worked out\". Ties between Japan, South Korea and China remain fractious over historical issues. Beijing is also fiercely opposed to the deployment by the US of a Thaad missile defence system in South Korea. In Seoul, new liberal President Moon Jae-in must walk a fine line balancing the interests of his electorate, biggest military ally and powerful neighbour. So there are divisions to exploit. \"That is why North Korea is pushing it now - it knows it has a window on which to capitalise,\" Dr Nilsson-Wright argues." } ], "id": "9564_6", "question": "So what's the best option?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Deadly cold weather has brought what meteorologists call a \"once-in-a-generation\" deep freeze to the US. The extreme Arctic blasts, caused by a spinning pool of cold air known as the polar vortex, could bring wind chill temperatures as low as -53C (-64F). Weather officials in the state of Iowa have warned people to \"avoid taking deep breaths, and to minimise talking\" if they go outside. At least five people have been reported dead across several states. More than 55 million people currently face below-freezing temperatures. A state of emergency has been declared in the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois as well as in the normally more clement southern states of Alabama and Mississippi. John Gagan, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist, said: \"The intensity of this cold air, I would say, is once in a generation.\" The NWS is warning that frostbite is possible within just 10 minutes of being outside in such extreme temperatures. The Illinois city of Chicago has set up 62 \"warming centres\" for the homeless, where the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) estimates there are about 80,000 rough sleepers. Police stations have also opened their doors to shelter homeless people. But the New York Times reports that homeless people are still out on the streets in the city, and spoke to one man who was trying to collect $45 for a motel room. \"A lot of us don't go to the shelters because of bedbugs, we don't go because people steal from you, we don't go because you can't even really sleep in the shelter,\" he said. Chicago police say people are being robbed at gunpoint of their coats. Those wearing Canada Goose jackets, which can cost as much as PS900 ($1,100), have been targeted, local media report. Reuters reports that hundreds of schools have been closed in the affected states and more than 2,000 flights cancelled. Animal rights organisation Peta has warned people to bring animals inside. The coldest temperatures are blasting the Midwest from Tuesday to Thursday, with forecasters predicting that Chicago will be colder than Antarctica. The city experienced a low of -33C (-27F) overnight, with freezing winds making that feel closer to -46C (-50F), officials say. As much as 2ft (60cm) of snow is forecast in Wisconsin, and 6in is expected in Illinois. Alabama and another southern state, Georgia, are expecting snow too. President Donald Trump, who has questioned whether humans are responsible for climate change, tweeted about the conditions. \"What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]?\" he said. \"Please come back fast, we need you!\" But one of the US government's own meteorological agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, posted what was widely interpreted as a rebuttal to the president. Forecasters are attributing this cold snap to a sudden warming above the North Pole, caused by a blast of hot air from Morocco last month. This weather system split the polar vortex and caused it to drift south, Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research, told AP news agency. The world's leading scientists have said that climate change is primarily human-induced and can lead to harsher winters.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3210, "answer_start": 2377, "text": "President Donald Trump, who has questioned whether humans are responsible for climate change, tweeted about the conditions. \"What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sic]?\" he said. \"Please come back fast, we need you!\" But one of the US government's own meteorological agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, posted what was widely interpreted as a rebuttal to the president. Forecasters are attributing this cold snap to a sudden warming above the North Pole, caused by a blast of hot air from Morocco last month. This weather system split the polar vortex and caused it to drift south, Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research, told AP news agency. The world's leading scientists have said that climate change is primarily human-induced and can lead to harsher winters." } ], "id": "9565_0", "question": "How did President Trump inject controversy?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "In his small office off a courtyard lined with citrus trees, 62-year-old Marco Minniti scrolls through the pictures on his phone, showing endless meetings with Libyan tribal leaders. His office walls are lined with photos of Italian air force planes. A small pen holder, a gift from Tunisian officials, sits on his desk. In power, Mr Minniti spoke rarely. Now, out of office, he's keen to explain how he orchestrated a deal to reduce migration from Libya to Italy. When he took over as interior minister in December 2016, migration was a continuing crisis. In just three years, more than half a million migrants had reached Italy after setting off from Libya by boat. Italians angrily demanded action from the centre-left government. The new minister decided to make use of his long background in intelligence and security work. His plan was simple: co-opt Libyan tribal chiefs into stopping migrant smugglers and traffickers. His first official visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, was in January 2017 to meet President Serraj - and the other authorities. \"The desert tribes are fundamental,\" he says. \"There's only so much technology and military resources you can deploy, but if you don't have the tribes, the Sahara is difficult to control.\" By the summer of 2017, Marco Minniti had a deal in place with Libyan chiefs. \"We signed a small pact,\" he says. \"I asked them to break any links with the traffickers - and I said that Italy, Europe, and the international community were ready to help their communities financially.\" The deal had instant results. The Libyan coast guard began to intercept migrant boats, and numbers on this route fell by around 80%. But the Libya-Italy route remains incredibly dangerous. The UN refugee agency says that the rate of deaths along the Mediterranean route has risen sharply, and there are questions about the dangers intercepted migrants face back in Libya. The UN has said any deal that sends migrants back to detention and mistreatment in Libya is inhuman. I ask Mr Minniti how he responds. \"Of course - if you ask me, have we sorted the issue of detention centres in Libya? Obviously not. We still have a lot to do,\" he says. \"But the fact that the UN are in Libya and can visit the centres is a step ahead. We need to strengthen these steps.\" The dramatic fall in numbers was too late to save the centre-left government. Voters saw no need to reward an administration which, they believed, had taken far too long to act over migration. At the general election in March, populists came out ahead. \"We lost the election for two reasons,\" Mr Minniti reflects. \"We did not respond to two feelings that were very strong: anger and fear. We lost contact with a big part of public opinion.\" The new populist administration is dominated by Marco Minniti's successor as interior minister - the far-right leader Matteo Salvini. Mr Salvini has won headlines by turning away foreign-flagged rescue boats - and by asserting that he's the politician who's finally got a grip on migration. But in terms of reducing migrant numbers, it's Marco Minniti who's had by far the most impact - not Matteo Salvini. I ask if he ever shouts at the TV when Mr Salvini claims he's the one who stopped migration. He laughs. \"The point is this. Italy managed to show Europe and the world that you can manage migration, keeping two principles in mind: humanity and security. Now we're in another phase. There is no migrant emergency in Italy,\" he replies. \"But the new government can't say this - because if they did they would start liberating Italians from their fears. They need to stoke the issue, always finding an enemy.\" But the populist strategy appears to work. Matteo Salvini is Italy's most popular politician. By contrast, Marco Minniti sits in a small office in opposition.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2543, "answer_start": 1529, "text": "The deal had instant results. The Libyan coast guard began to intercept migrant boats, and numbers on this route fell by around 80%. But the Libya-Italy route remains incredibly dangerous. The UN refugee agency says that the rate of deaths along the Mediterranean route has risen sharply, and there are questions about the dangers intercepted migrants face back in Libya. The UN has said any deal that sends migrants back to detention and mistreatment in Libya is inhuman. I ask Mr Minniti how he responds. \"Of course - if you ask me, have we sorted the issue of detention centres in Libya? Obviously not. We still have a lot to do,\" he says. \"But the fact that the UN are in Libya and can visit the centres is a step ahead. We need to strengthen these steps.\" The dramatic fall in numbers was too late to save the centre-left government. Voters saw no need to reward an administration which, they believed, had taken far too long to act over migration. At the general election in March, populists came out ahead." } ], "id": "9566_0", "question": "Inhuman treatment?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Poland has signed an agreement to buy the Patriot missile defence system from the US, in a move that is likely to anger Russia. President Andrzej Duda said the \"historic\" $4.75bn (PS3.4bn) deal gave Poland \"state-of-the-art\" defences. It follows reports that Russia had permanently deployed nuclear-capable missile systems in its territory of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland. Ties between Poland, a Nato member, and Russia remain strained. Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 has prompted Warsaw to speed up its military modernisation. Earlier this week, Poland was one of many countries that expelled Russian diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack in the UK on 4 March. Moscow denies any involvement in poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the southern English city of Salisbury. The largest weapons agreement in Polish history was signed at a ceremony in Warsaw on Wednesday. Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the Patriot missile defence system had \"proven itself in numerous countries\". He added that his country was now \"joining an elite group of states which have an efficient weapon that guarantees security\". Much of Poland's military equipment currently dates back to the era when communist Poland was in the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw. The first deliveries are expected in 2022. This comes as the US is developing its controversial anti-missile shield in Europe. In 2016, America activated a land-based missile defence station in Romania, and a similar base is being built in Poland. Russia has repeatedly warned that the shield undermines its strategic nuclear deterrent. It is an advanced surface-to-air missile system designed to defend against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles. The system, produced by US defence company Raytheon, is used by the US and a number of its Nato allies.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1900, "answer_start": 1681, "text": "It is an advanced surface-to-air missile system designed to defend against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles. The system, produced by US defence company Raytheon, is used by the US and a number of its Nato allies." } ], "id": "9567_0", "question": "What is Patriot?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Award-winning Philippine journalist Maria Ressa has been freed on bail, a day after her arrest on charges of \"cyber-libel\" drew international condemnation. Ms Ressa is CEO of Rappler, a news website critical of the government. She was arrested at its headquarters on Wednesday by agents from the National Bureau of Investigation. Press freedom advocates see this as a government attempt to silence the news organisation. Ms Ressa has been accused of \"cyber-libel\" over a seven-year-old report on a businessman's alleged ties to a former judge. The charges - the latest in a string against her - carry a potential 12 years in prison. AFP news agency reports that bail was fixed at 100,000 pesos ($1,900; PS1,470), and that it is the sixth time Ms Ressa has been obliged to post bail. \"Every one of the cases that have been filed against me and against Rappler are ludicrous,\" Ms Ressa told the BBC after her release. \"They are used as political tools and the crazy thing is we are just doing our jobs.\" Ms Ressa is a veteran Philippine journalist who was named a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for her work holding power to account in an increasingly hostile environment. She spent much of her career as a regional bureau chief at US broadcaster CNN before co-founding Rappler in 2012. Rappler is known in the Philippines for its hard-hitting investigations. It is one of few media organisations that openly criticises President Rodrigo Duterte, regularly interrogating the accuracy of his public statements and condemning his sometimes deadly policies. In particular, Rappler has published a number of reports critical of Mr Duterte's war on drugs, which police say has killed around 5,000 people in the last three years. In December, it also reported on his public admission that he sexually assaulted a maid. The charges of \"cyber-libel\" relate to a seven-year-old report on a businessman's alleged ties to a former judge. The libel law is controversial, and came into force in September 2012 - four months after her article was published. Officials first filed the case against Ms Ressa in 2017, but it was dismissed by the NBI because the one-year limit for bringing libel cases had lapsed. However, in March 2018, the NBI reopened the matter. This new arrest comes just two months after Ms Ressa posted bail on tax fraud charges, which she says are also \"manufactured\". She could serve up to a decade in prison if convicted of just one count of tax fraud. Activists and press freedom groups around the world have criticised the Rappler CEO's detention. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called it an \"outrageous\" arrest that \"must be condemned by all democratic nations\". Human rights group Amnesty International said the Duterte government was using legal threats to \"relentlessly intimidate and harass\" journalists. Within the Philippines, the National Union of Journalists said the move would backfire, and called for protests to be held on Friday. President Duterte has previously denied that charges against Maria Ressa are politically motivated, but has publically branded Rappler a \"fake news outlet\" and banned its staff from covering his events. Last year, the state revoked the site's licence. In response, Rappler said it would \"continue to operate as it files the necessary motions for reconsideration with the courts\". A spokesman for President Duterte insisted the government has nothing to do with the libel case, and does not pursue critical journalists. \"That's absolutely unrelated. The president has been criticised and he does not bother,\" Salvador Panelo told DZMM radio. BBC Philippines Correspondent Howard Johnson reports that journalists there are subjected to threats by supporters of the president, however. Some argue that the press is biased against Mr Duterte, and that reports focus on his bloody drug war at the expense of his achievements while in office. Speaking to reporters after her arrest, Ms Ressa said she was \"shocked that the rule of law has been broken to a point that I can't see it\". Footage streamed on Facebook showed plain-clothes party officials speaking with her, while several of the site's journalists live-tweeted what was happening. Officers from the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) reportedly ordered them to stop filming and taking photos. Ms Ressa told the BBC that an officer told one of her staff that they could be \"next\" - which she described as an attempt to intimidate reporters.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2470, "answer_start": 1821, "text": "The charges of \"cyber-libel\" relate to a seven-year-old report on a businessman's alleged ties to a former judge. The libel law is controversial, and came into force in September 2012 - four months after her article was published. Officials first filed the case against Ms Ressa in 2017, but it was dismissed by the NBI because the one-year limit for bringing libel cases had lapsed. However, in March 2018, the NBI reopened the matter. This new arrest comes just two months after Ms Ressa posted bail on tax fraud charges, which she says are also \"manufactured\". She could serve up to a decade in prison if convicted of just one count of tax fraud." } ], "id": "9568_0", "question": "What's the case against Maria Ressa?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2980, "answer_start": 2471, "text": "Activists and press freedom groups around the world have criticised the Rappler CEO's detention. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called it an \"outrageous\" arrest that \"must be condemned by all democratic nations\". Human rights group Amnesty International said the Duterte government was using legal threats to \"relentlessly intimidate and harass\" journalists. Within the Philippines, the National Union of Journalists said the move would backfire, and called for protests to be held on Friday." } ], "id": "9568_1", "question": "How has the world reacted?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3917, "answer_start": 2981, "text": "President Duterte has previously denied that charges against Maria Ressa are politically motivated, but has publically branded Rappler a \"fake news outlet\" and banned its staff from covering his events. Last year, the state revoked the site's licence. In response, Rappler said it would \"continue to operate as it files the necessary motions for reconsideration with the courts\". A spokesman for President Duterte insisted the government has nothing to do with the libel case, and does not pursue critical journalists. \"That's absolutely unrelated. The president has been criticised and he does not bother,\" Salvador Panelo told DZMM radio. BBC Philippines Correspondent Howard Johnson reports that journalists there are subjected to threats by supporters of the president, however. Some argue that the press is biased against Mr Duterte, and that reports focus on his bloody drug war at the expense of his achievements while in office." } ], "id": "9568_2", "question": "What does the government say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has pulled the plug on its struggling A380 superjumbo, which entered service just 12 years ago. Airbus said last deliveries of the world's largest passenger aircraft, which cost about $25bn (PS19.4bn) to develop, would be made in 2021. The decision comes after Emirates, the largest A380 customer, cut its order. The A380 faced fierce competition from smaller, more efficient aircraft and has never made a profit. The A380's future had been in doubt for several years as orders dwindled. But in a statement on Thursday, Airbus said the \"painful\" decision to end production was made after Emirates reduced its latest order. The Dubai-based airline is cutting its overall A380 fleet size from 162 to 123. Emirates said it would take delivery of 14 further A380s over the next two years, but has also ordered 70 of Airbus' smaller A330 and A350 models. \"Emirates has been a staunch supporter of the A380 since its very inception,\" said the airlines' chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum. \"While we are disappointed to have to give up our order, and sad that the programme could not be sustained, we accept that this is the reality of the situation,\" he added. The order cut meant keeping production going was not viable, said Airbus chief executive Tom Enders, who is due to step down in April. There was \"no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years\" he said. Airbus has taken a EUR463m charge for shutdown costs, but it is expected that the repayment of government loans could be waived to help cushion the blow. The aerospace giant said the financial impact of the decision was \"largely embedded\" in the firm's 2018 results, which showed a net profit for 2018 of EUR3bn (PS2.6bn) up nearly 30% from the previous year. Airbus said it would deliver between 880 and 890 new commercial aircraft this year. Airbus said it would start discussions with partners regarding the \"3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years\". The BBC understands that around 200 jobs in the UK could be under threat from the decision. Airbus confirmed it hopes to redeploy a \"significant\" number of affected staff to other projects. Mr Enders said: \"It needs to be evaluated. It's clear we make a lot of wings in Britain and a few wings for the A380. \"Hopefully we can redeploy a significant number of our employees there and re-use also the infrastructure.\" Airbus UK makes the wings for its wide variety of aircraft in the UK. The company employs about 6,000 staff at its main wings factory at Broughton in Flintshire, as well as 3,000 at Filton, near Bristol, where wings are designed and supported. Parts of the A380 are manufactured in France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, with final assembly and finishing split between Toulouse and Hamburg. Airbus had already cut staffing as A380 orders dried up, and the future of employment at the company very much now depends on the success of its new generation of aircraft. Unite, the largest union representing aerospace workers in the UK and Ireland, said it was \"bitterly disappointed\" by the news, adding it would seek \"urgent assurances\" from Airbus that there would be no job losses because of the decision. \"We are of the firm belief that with a full order book in single aisle planes, such as the A320, that our members affected can be redeployed on to other work in Airbus,\" said Rhys McCarthy, Unite's national officer for aerospace. The spacious jet, which had its first commercial flight in 2007 with Singapore Airlines, was popular with passengers but it was complicated and expensive to build, in part thanks to the way production was spread across various locations. But ultimately demand for the A380 from airlines dried up as the industry shifted away from larger planes in favour of smaller, wide-body jets. When Airbus was conceiving the A380, Boeing was also considering plans for a superjumbo. But the US company decided to scrap the idea in favour of its smaller, efficient - and more successful - 787 Dreamliner. \"The very clear trend in the market is to operate long-haul aircraft with two engines [such as] Boeing's 787 and 777, and Airbus's A330 and A350,\" said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of Flight Global. Airbus had been working on a revamped A380 to make it more efficient, but needed sufficient launch orders to make the huge investment viable. Despite Airbus' website describing the Airbus as the \"future of long-distance travel\" the last aircraft will be delivered in 2021. Analysis: By Dominic O'Connell, Today programme business presenter When Airbus's A380 first took off it was hailed as a technological marvel that would meet airlines' needs for a new large aircraft to connect the world's crowded airport hubs - London, New York, Dubai, Tokyo. Airbus said the market for the giant planes would be 1,500. After today's decision to end production, it will have made just over 250. In hindsight, airlines were already turning their back on very large aircraft when the A380 made its debut. Advances in engine technology meant planes no longer needed four engines to fly long distances - and carriers were able to use a new generation of light, fuel-efficient, twin-engined aircraft to link secondary cities, bypassing the crowded hubs altogether. Even though Airbus was aware of the threat posed by these new types of plane, they pressed ahead. There was a bigger game afoot - Airbus needed to negate Boeing's 747, believing that the profits the American company made on 747 sales were helping it cross-subsidise other, smaller planes. The A380 succeeded in that - the last passenger 747 was built two years ago - but Boeing will have a kind of last laugh. Freighter versions of the 747 will be built past 2021, meaning the venerable jumbo jet will outlive the plane sent to kill it.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1898, "answer_start": 452, "text": "The A380's future had been in doubt for several years as orders dwindled. But in a statement on Thursday, Airbus said the \"painful\" decision to end production was made after Emirates reduced its latest order. The Dubai-based airline is cutting its overall A380 fleet size from 162 to 123. Emirates said it would take delivery of 14 further A380s over the next two years, but has also ordered 70 of Airbus' smaller A330 and A350 models. \"Emirates has been a staunch supporter of the A380 since its very inception,\" said the airlines' chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum. \"While we are disappointed to have to give up our order, and sad that the programme could not be sustained, we accept that this is the reality of the situation,\" he added. The order cut meant keeping production going was not viable, said Airbus chief executive Tom Enders, who is due to step down in April. There was \"no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years\" he said. Airbus has taken a EUR463m charge for shutdown costs, but it is expected that the repayment of government loans could be waived to help cushion the blow. The aerospace giant said the financial impact of the decision was \"largely embedded\" in the firm's 2018 results, which showed a net profit for 2018 of EUR3bn (PS2.6bn) up nearly 30% from the previous year. Airbus said it would deliver between 880 and 890 new commercial aircraft this year." } ], "id": "9569_0", "question": "What has prompted Airbus' decision?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5870, "answer_start": 4558, "text": "Analysis: By Dominic O'Connell, Today programme business presenter When Airbus's A380 first took off it was hailed as a technological marvel that would meet airlines' needs for a new large aircraft to connect the world's crowded airport hubs - London, New York, Dubai, Tokyo. Airbus said the market for the giant planes would be 1,500. After today's decision to end production, it will have made just over 250. In hindsight, airlines were already turning their back on very large aircraft when the A380 made its debut. Advances in engine technology meant planes no longer needed four engines to fly long distances - and carriers were able to use a new generation of light, fuel-efficient, twin-engined aircraft to link secondary cities, bypassing the crowded hubs altogether. Even though Airbus was aware of the threat posed by these new types of plane, they pressed ahead. There was a bigger game afoot - Airbus needed to negate Boeing's 747, believing that the profits the American company made on 747 sales were helping it cross-subsidise other, smaller planes. The A380 succeeded in that - the last passenger 747 was built two years ago - but Boeing will have a kind of last laugh. Freighter versions of the 747 will be built past 2021, meaning the venerable jumbo jet will outlive the plane sent to kill it." } ], "id": "9569_1", "question": "Where did Airbus go wrong?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "It's a mountainous wonderland decorated with ancient glaciers, breathtaking national parks and sumptuous vineyards, but behind its glossy image New Zealand is failing many of its children. Rates of disadvantage have stayed stubbornly high and they are a stain that Jacinda Ardern, who became New Zealand's youngest female prime minister a year ago, is determined to cleanse. She has promised to halve child poverty over the next 10 years, insisting that her South Pacific nation should \"aspire to be the best place in the world to be a child\". It's a monumental task, but advocacy groups have been encouraged by what they've seen in the first year of the Ardern administration - a left-leaning, three-party coalition. \"It is a bit of a shock and revelation to all of us as New Zealanders to realise that that are about 280,000 children who live in low-income families or families that experience material hardship, and that's about 27% of all our children,\" explained Vivien Maidaborn, executive director of Unicef New Zealand. \"With the change in government we suddenly stopped arguing that this was a problem. The [previous] National government couldn't even agree the definition of poverty let alone what they were going to do about it,\" she told the BBC. \"We worked hard to make this the election issue of our time and we succeeded. We have a prime minister saying it is her number one priority and that means the policy levers are suddenly in action.\" Among the measures have been cash and housing assistance to low-income families, a winter energy payment and new benefits for newborns. For many, the changes have already filtered through. \"Within the first six months my income went up. I make ends meet but it is only just. I'm always terrified about what if something happens and I'm laid off for a month or so,\" said Jodie, a 36-year old single mother, who works full time for a hire car company and voted for Ms Ardern's Labour party at the last election. \"Given the promises they made they are actually doing really well, especially given she squashed in birth in the middle as well. That is fantastic.\" Jodie and her three children live in temporary accommodation provided by the Salvation Army in Nelson, a South Island city of 50,000 people, where affordable housing for those on low incomes - like in other parts of the country - is in short supply. She recently moved from a caravan park following a relationship breakdown. \"That was a pretty hard time. The children are quite resilient [and] they are all adaptable. However, it does affect them. My daughter and my middle son just don't do too well with instability and were lashing out in their own ways,\" she told the BBC. \"I don't hide how harsh the world can be from them. I need to show them how to deal with it.\" A year ago the glow of Jacinda-mania spread far beyond the shores of New Zealand. She became a global sensation. Within seven weeks of a surprise elevation to leader of the opposition, she was fighting an election campaign in September 2017. More surprises would come as she adeptly negotiated New Zealand's system of proportional representation and post-poll horse-trading to forge a governing alliance comprising the Greens and New Zealand First, led by the veteran populist, Winston Peters. Although the anecdotal signs on the core mission to cut child poverty appear positive, New Zealanders are yet to find out how much has really changed, according to Associate Professor Grant Duncan, a political commentator from Massey University. \"At the moment we can't give them credit for any results because we're still waiting for statistics. At this stage I wouldn't say that the government has really made a dent in child poverty because we've got no evidence,\" he said. However, new measures will bring one of the most corrosive social issues right into the engine room of government. \"The finance minister will be required by law to account for the impact the budget is expected to have on child poverty reduction and how they have been doing so far,\" added Prof Duncan. There is no universally agreed measurement of poverty, although a common benchmark is household income that's between 50-60% below the national average. A new Child Poverty Reduction Bill should provide greater clarity about how to gauge disadvantage and levels of hardship. Susan St John, a spokeswoman on economics for the Child Poverty Action Group, told the BBC she is excited by the prime minister's zeal, but is concerned at the rate of progress. \"We were hopeful they would do more early on in their first term, but there is the danger of them going into an election year with a raft of policies that might be politically unpopular in many quarters. We're a little bit anxious about how it will unfold.\" However, she adds that Ms Ardern is \"the best thing that has happened for poor children in New Zealand for a very, very long time.\" \"We are very encouraged, we are expecting great things, she is in a coalition government and that makes it more difficult but this is the best chance that children have had for a long time,\" she said.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5118, "answer_start": 4074, "text": "There is no universally agreed measurement of poverty, although a common benchmark is household income that's between 50-60% below the national average. A new Child Poverty Reduction Bill should provide greater clarity about how to gauge disadvantage and levels of hardship. Susan St John, a spokeswoman on economics for the Child Poverty Action Group, told the BBC she is excited by the prime minister's zeal, but is concerned at the rate of progress. \"We were hopeful they would do more early on in their first term, but there is the danger of them going into an election year with a raft of policies that might be politically unpopular in many quarters. We're a little bit anxious about how it will unfold.\" However, she adds that Ms Ardern is \"the best thing that has happened for poor children in New Zealand for a very, very long time.\" \"We are very encouraged, we are expecting great things, she is in a coalition government and that makes it more difficult but this is the best chance that children have had for a long time,\" she said." } ], "id": "9570_0", "question": "The best chance for children?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Japan's whaling ships returned from their Antarctic hunt on Thursday with 333 minke whales on board, their entire self-allocated quota. Of the whales killed, 103 were male and 230 female, 90% of them pregnant, said Japan's fisheries agency. It said that showed the population was in a healthy breeding state. Australia has branded the slaughter \"abhorrent\", its environment minister saying Japan's scientific justification for the hunt did not exist. What are the issues behind Japan's whaling programme, and why has compromise been so difficult? Not quite. The International Whaling Commission (IWC), which regulates the industry, agreed to a moratorium on commercial whaling from the 1985. But it did allow exceptions, enough for Japan to hunt more than 20,000 whales since. It is those exceptions to the moratorium that allow for whaling activity. They are: - Objection or reservation Norway simply rejects the moratorium, while Iceland whales \"under reservation\" to it. Both still whale commercially - 594 minke were taken by Norway and 169 (mostly fin whales) by Iceland in 2013. - Aboriginal Subsistence Practiced by indigenous groups in places like Greenland, Denmark and Alaska. The flexible definition allows for \"cultural\" subsistence so it does not have to be about nutritional necessity. Greenlanders sell whale meat to tourists for example and even non-indigenous groups like the Bequians in St Vincent & the Grenadines, can whale - Scientific Research Famously used by Japan, this is the exemption that has run into problems. Yes and no. In 2014, the United Nations' top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), noting a relative lack of recent discoveries, said Japan's Antarctic whaling programme, JARPA II, was insufficiently scientific to qualify. But it did not ban research whaling. The Antarctic Southern Ocean hunt is the largest and most controversial of Japan's hunts. Following the decision, Tokyo granted no Antarctic whaling licences for the 2014/15 winter season, though it did conduct a smaller version of its less well-known north-western Pacific Ocean whaling programme, which was not covered by the judgment. It then created a new Antarctic whaling programme, NEWREP-A. Japan insists this meets the criteria set out by the ICJ for scientific whaling. It has cut the catch by around two-thirds, to 333 and covers a wider area. It also specified more scientific goals. Since then one IWC expert panel said the new plan did not adequately demonstrate the need to kill whales to meet its research objectives. But the final IWC Scientific Committee meeting was split. Japan says it is trying to establish whether populations are stable enough for commercial whaling to resume. But research is almost never mentioned by ordinary Japanese whaling supporters, who are more likely to cite tradition, sovereignty and the perceived hypocrisy of anti-whaling nations. Prof Atsushi Ishii of Tohoku University, an expert in environmental politics, argues it is an excuse to subsidise an unprofitable but politically sensitive industry. Japan's whaling negotiations, he says, \"actually make the lifting of the moratorium more difficult,\" and deliberately so. Without the implicit subsidy, he says, whaling companies \"would go into bankruptcy very easily - they can't sell the whale meat\". The scientific whaling exemption allows for by-product, in this case dead whales, to be sold commercially. That meat, blubber, and other products, is what ends up being eaten. Critics say they contain dangerously high levels of mercury. Nevertheless it is not a popular meat in Japan. The whaling industry has tried to reverse perceived indifference by organising food festivals and even visiting schools. Alternatives to the hunts have been proposed: - A much smaller, even more scientifically focused hunt. Whether such a programme would be economically sustainable is another question. - \"Small-type coastal whaling\", similar to Greenland's. Smaller, while still appeasing those who say whaling is a cultural right. But this is rejected by opponents as a front for commercial whaling. - The 2010 \"peace plan\", proposed by the IWC's then chairman, would have lifted the moratorium for 10 years in exchange for sharply lower quotas and other restrictions. But anti-whalers could not stomach accepting any commercial whaling and Japan thought the cuts were too great. - A \"whale conservation market\". US researchers in 2012 borrowed an idea from pollution markets and suggested countries be allocated tradable whaling quotas, based on an agreed sustainable total. - Return to commercial whaling. With no government subsidy, catches would have to drop significantly. Hunts far from Japan's shores would likely end entirely. There is one potential game-changer; Prof Ishii points out that Japan's only factory whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, will need to be replaced before long \"at huge cost\". This may be a cost the government is reluctant to bear. Without it, some whaling could persist, but big hunts far from Japan's shores would be impossible. Reporting by Simeon Paterson", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1539, "answer_start": 547, "text": "Not quite. The International Whaling Commission (IWC), which regulates the industry, agreed to a moratorium on commercial whaling from the 1985. But it did allow exceptions, enough for Japan to hunt more than 20,000 whales since. It is those exceptions to the moratorium that allow for whaling activity. They are: - Objection or reservation Norway simply rejects the moratorium, while Iceland whales \"under reservation\" to it. Both still whale commercially - 594 minke were taken by Norway and 169 (mostly fin whales) by Iceland in 2013. - Aboriginal Subsistence Practiced by indigenous groups in places like Greenland, Denmark and Alaska. The flexible definition allows for \"cultural\" subsistence so it does not have to be about nutritional necessity. Greenlanders sell whale meat to tourists for example and even non-indigenous groups like the Bequians in St Vincent & the Grenadines, can whale - Scientific Research Famously used by Japan, this is the exemption that has run into problems." } ], "id": "9571_0", "question": "Isn't whaling banned?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2602, "answer_start": 1540, "text": "Yes and no. In 2014, the United Nations' top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), noting a relative lack of recent discoveries, said Japan's Antarctic whaling programme, JARPA II, was insufficiently scientific to qualify. But it did not ban research whaling. The Antarctic Southern Ocean hunt is the largest and most controversial of Japan's hunts. Following the decision, Tokyo granted no Antarctic whaling licences for the 2014/15 winter season, though it did conduct a smaller version of its less well-known north-western Pacific Ocean whaling programme, which was not covered by the judgment. It then created a new Antarctic whaling programme, NEWREP-A. Japan insists this meets the criteria set out by the ICJ for scientific whaling. It has cut the catch by around two-thirds, to 333 and covers a wider area. It also specified more scientific goals. Since then one IWC expert panel said the new plan did not adequately demonstrate the need to kill whales to meet its research objectives. But the final IWC Scientific Committee meeting was split." } ], "id": "9571_1", "question": "Wasn't Japan's whaling ruled unscientific?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3313, "answer_start": 2603, "text": "Japan says it is trying to establish whether populations are stable enough for commercial whaling to resume. But research is almost never mentioned by ordinary Japanese whaling supporters, who are more likely to cite tradition, sovereignty and the perceived hypocrisy of anti-whaling nations. Prof Atsushi Ishii of Tohoku University, an expert in environmental politics, argues it is an excuse to subsidise an unprofitable but politically sensitive industry. Japan's whaling negotiations, he says, \"actually make the lifting of the moratorium more difficult,\" and deliberately so. Without the implicit subsidy, he says, whaling companies \"would go into bankruptcy very easily - they can't sell the whale meat\"." } ], "id": "9571_2", "question": " Is the research argument genuine?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3719, "answer_start": 3314, "text": "The scientific whaling exemption allows for by-product, in this case dead whales, to be sold commercially. That meat, blubber, and other products, is what ends up being eaten. Critics say they contain dangerously high levels of mercury. Nevertheless it is not a popular meat in Japan. The whaling industry has tried to reverse perceived indifference by organising food festivals and even visiting schools." } ], "id": "9571_3", "question": "Is whale meat popular in Japan?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Militants in the Gaza Strip have fired more than 250 rockets into Israel, the army says, prompting air strikes and tank fire on the Palestinian territory. One Israeli was killed by shrapnel, while Israeli fire killed four Palestinians, including a mother and her baby daughter, Gaza officials say. However, Israel said the mother and baby were killed by a Palestinian rocket that fell short of its target. The flare-up over the weekend followed a truce agreed last month. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed on Friday after an attack injured two Israeli soldiers. The latest violence marks yet another increase in hostilities despite attempts by Egypt and the United Nations to broker a longer-term ceasefire, says the BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem. One of the air strikes has hit the offices of Turkish news agency Anadolu, prompting condemnation from Istanbul. An Israeli man died early on Sunday in Ashkelon, 10km (six miles) north of Gaza, after being wounded by shrapnel when a rocket hit his house. The rocket barrage began at 10:00 (07:00 GMT) on Saturday, and 250 rockets have now been fired into Israel from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say. A number of homes in parts of Israel bordering the Gaza Strip have been hit. Many residents rushed to bomb shelters. An 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel in Kiryat Gat. The country's Iron Dome missile defence system shot down dozens of the rockets, the IDF said. In response the IDF said it had launched air and artillery strikes against 120 Gaza sites belonging to Hamas, a militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, and against groups including Islamic Jihad. It blamed both for the attacks. Palestinian officials say a 22-year-old man was killed. Reuters news agency quotes a small pro-Hamas militant group as saying he was one of their fighters. The other deaths included those of a 37-year-old woman and her 14-month-old daughter who were killed in an air strike in the east of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials. Several Gaza residents were wounded. However, Israel questioned whether an air strike had killed the mother and baby. \"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike,\" tweeted Avichay Adraee, without giving further details. Israel's Consul General in New York, Dani Dayan, tweeted that the pair were killed by a Palestinian rocket which fell short. Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, condemned the attacks against civilians as \"a crime against humanity\". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also issued a condemnation of the Anadolu strike. The Israeli military defended targeting the building in a statement, saying the structure was used by Hamas's West Bank task force and as an office for senior members of the Islamic Jihad. The violence began during weekly Friday protests in Gaza against the tight blockade of the area. Israel says this is needed to stop weapons reaching Gaza. A Palestinian gunman shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers at the boundary fence. The IDF blamed Islamic Jihad for the shooting. The Israeli air strike in response killed two Hamas militants. Another two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire at the fence. Islamic Jihad said it had launched the rocket attacks on Saturday in response to Friday's violence. Its statement also accused Israel of failing to implement last month's ceasefire deal, which was brokered by Egypt. Saturday's rocket attacks coincided with Palestinians burying the two militants. \"The resistance will continue to respond to the crimes by the occupation and it will not allow it to shed the blood of our people,\" Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement on Saturday. He made no explicit claim for Hamas firing the rockets. About two million Palestinians live in Gaza, which has suffered economically from the Israeli and Egyptian blockade as well as recent foreign aid cuts.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2897, "answer_start": 890, "text": "An Israeli man died early on Sunday in Ashkelon, 10km (six miles) north of Gaza, after being wounded by shrapnel when a rocket hit his house. The rocket barrage began at 10:00 (07:00 GMT) on Saturday, and 250 rockets have now been fired into Israel from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say. A number of homes in parts of Israel bordering the Gaza Strip have been hit. Many residents rushed to bomb shelters. An 80-year-old woman was seriously injured by shrapnel in Kiryat Gat. The country's Iron Dome missile defence system shot down dozens of the rockets, the IDF said. In response the IDF said it had launched air and artillery strikes against 120 Gaza sites belonging to Hamas, a militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, and against groups including Islamic Jihad. It blamed both for the attacks. Palestinian officials say a 22-year-old man was killed. Reuters news agency quotes a small pro-Hamas militant group as saying he was one of their fighters. The other deaths included those of a 37-year-old woman and her 14-month-old daughter who were killed in an air strike in the east of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials. Several Gaza residents were wounded. However, Israel questioned whether an air strike had killed the mother and baby. \"According to indications the baby and her mother died as a result of the terrorist activities of Palestinian saboteurs and not as a result of an Israeli strike,\" tweeted Avichay Adraee, without giving further details. Israel's Consul General in New York, Dani Dayan, tweeted that the pair were killed by a Palestinian rocket which fell short. Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, condemned the attacks against civilians as \"a crime against humanity\". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also issued a condemnation of the Anadolu strike. The Israeli military defended targeting the building in a statement, saying the structure was used by Hamas's West Bank task force and as an office for senior members of the Islamic Jihad." } ], "id": "9572_0", "question": "What's the latest?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4019, "answer_start": 2898, "text": "The violence began during weekly Friday protests in Gaza against the tight blockade of the area. Israel says this is needed to stop weapons reaching Gaza. A Palestinian gunman shot and wounded two Israeli soldiers at the boundary fence. The IDF blamed Islamic Jihad for the shooting. The Israeli air strike in response killed two Hamas militants. Another two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire at the fence. Islamic Jihad said it had launched the rocket attacks on Saturday in response to Friday's violence. Its statement also accused Israel of failing to implement last month's ceasefire deal, which was brokered by Egypt. Saturday's rocket attacks coincided with Palestinians burying the two militants. \"The resistance will continue to respond to the crimes by the occupation and it will not allow it to shed the blood of our people,\" Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement on Saturday. He made no explicit claim for Hamas firing the rockets. About two million Palestinians live in Gaza, which has suffered economically from the Israeli and Egyptian blockade as well as recent foreign aid cuts." } ], "id": "9572_1", "question": "What triggered the latest unrest?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Freedom of movement, access to healthcare abroad, voting rights - some fundamental aspects of British life in the EU must be clarified before Brexit happens. A Luxembourg liberal MEP, Charles Goerens, has proposed offering British citizens the option of retaining their EU citizenship for a fee. This \"associate EU citizenship\" idea could be part of the Brexit negotiations but it raises all sorts of legal questions. The EU treaties say EU citizenship \"does not replace national citizenship\" but \"is additional to it\". So EU citizenship cannot be acquired by giving up UK citizenship. Once the UK leaves the EU, British citizens will lose their EU citizenship. And once Prime Minister Theresa May triggers the Article 50 withdrawal process, which she aims to do before next April, there will be just two years to resolve citizenship issues. Citizens' rights have to be part of the Article 50 negotiations because about 1.2 million UK citizens live in other EU countries and three million EU nationals live in the UK. They need to know what, if any, reciprocal rights they will continue to enjoy after Brexit. Important decisions about jobs, homes, pensions and healthcare could depend on those safeguards. EU citizenship is described in Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and includes the rights to: - Travel and live anywhere in the EU - Vote and stand as a candidate in European and local elections in another EU country - Get diplomatic protection and consular help from any other EU country in another part of the world. Beyond those rights, EU law also provides many social protections for EU citizens in the areas of healthcare, work and pensions. An EU citizen can access another EU country's social security system, provided he or she has paid social insurance back home. An example is the EHIC health card - a passport to emergency treatment abroad. The reciprocal rights are called \"EU social security coordination\". The rules are complex, as social provision varies greatly from country to country. Mr Goerens proposes that UK citizens could pay an annual, individual membership fee directly into the EU budget to retain their EU citizenship after Brexit. He did not suggest any figure for that fee. An associate citizen would retain freedom of movement in the EU, the right to reside in another EU country under existing rules and the right to vote in European elections. The European Parliament will vote on the proposal next month - it is Amendment 882 in a long report on possible future EU treaty changes. It has generated much interest on social media and Mr Goerens says many British MEPs have expressed support. But even if MEPs back the proposal, it still has a long way to go. Brexit: All you need to know Brexit court defeat for UK government Would Brexit violate UK citizens' rights? The need for treaty change makes this initiative very hard to achieve by the likely 2019 deadline for Brexit. It could only become law after a treaty change because it would change the nature of EU citizenship. But aggrieved pro-EU Britons may welcome the fact that Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt has backed the proposal. Mr Verhofstadt, an influential liberal, will be the European Parliament's lead negotiator on Brexit. EU leaders will inevitably have to change the treaties in the next few years because the UK's role will have to be deleted or amended in EU texts. However, a change to the nature of EU citizenship would require full ratification by all 28 member states - and that could not be done quickly, Prof Catherine Barnard, an expert on EU law, told the BBC. But the proposal, she said, at least showed a willingness in the EU to \"find creative ways to help the 48% who voted to Remain [in the EU]\". Camino Mortera-Martinez, an EU justice expert at the Centre for European Reform, said there was \"no appetite for treaty change in Brussels at the moment\". Next year politicians in the Netherlands, France and Germany will focus on general elections. They will want to avoid EU treaty changes, which are notoriously time-consuming and difficult. It took nearly nine years to draft and enact the Lisbon Treaty. Empowering MEPs to continue representing some UK citizens after Brexit would be another big legal hurdle. Prof Barnard questioned how an MEP could represent an area where \"half the constituents are not even associate EU citizens\". \"That is a non-starter,\" she said. If British \"associate EU citizens\" were to have continued freedom of movement, the UK would have to offer the EU something in return, both experts argue. But that is very problematic. The Brexit vote on 23 June made curbing immigration from the EU a top priority for Mrs May's government. Freedom of movement will be one of the thorniest issues. It would also be hard to get agreement on a fee for EU citizenship, Prof Barnard said. For example Spain, hosting many elderly Britons who use its healthcare system, might demand a high fee. If it took the form of a new EU tax, it would require extra bureaucrats to collect and allocate the income. The European Court of Justice would have to oversee associate citizenship - another thorny issue, because the whole idea of Brexit is for the UK to \"take back control\". So how could an EU court retain jurisdiction over UK citizens? And it could be discriminatory to offer associate EU citizenship only to UK citizens. Many Serbs and Turks might also demand it, as they would like to join the EU.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2041, "answer_start": 418, "text": "The EU treaties say EU citizenship \"does not replace national citizenship\" but \"is additional to it\". So EU citizenship cannot be acquired by giving up UK citizenship. Once the UK leaves the EU, British citizens will lose their EU citizenship. And once Prime Minister Theresa May triggers the Article 50 withdrawal process, which she aims to do before next April, there will be just two years to resolve citizenship issues. Citizens' rights have to be part of the Article 50 negotiations because about 1.2 million UK citizens live in other EU countries and three million EU nationals live in the UK. They need to know what, if any, reciprocal rights they will continue to enjoy after Brexit. Important decisions about jobs, homes, pensions and healthcare could depend on those safeguards. EU citizenship is described in Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and includes the rights to: - Travel and live anywhere in the EU - Vote and stand as a candidate in European and local elections in another EU country - Get diplomatic protection and consular help from any other EU country in another part of the world. Beyond those rights, EU law also provides many social protections for EU citizens in the areas of healthcare, work and pensions. An EU citizen can access another EU country's social security system, provided he or she has paid social insurance back home. An example is the EHIC health card - a passport to emergency treatment abroad. The reciprocal rights are called \"EU social security coordination\". The rules are complex, as social provision varies greatly from country to country." } ], "id": "9573_0", "question": "What is EU citizenship?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2838, "answer_start": 2042, "text": "Mr Goerens proposes that UK citizens could pay an annual, individual membership fee directly into the EU budget to retain their EU citizenship after Brexit. He did not suggest any figure for that fee. An associate citizen would retain freedom of movement in the EU, the right to reside in another EU country under existing rules and the right to vote in European elections. The European Parliament will vote on the proposal next month - it is Amendment 882 in a long report on possible future EU treaty changes. It has generated much interest on social media and Mr Goerens says many British MEPs have expressed support. But even if MEPs back the proposal, it still has a long way to go. Brexit: All you need to know Brexit court defeat for UK government Would Brexit violate UK citizens' rights?" } ], "id": "9573_1", "question": "How would 'associate EU citizenship' work?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5464, "answer_start": 2839, "text": "The need for treaty change makes this initiative very hard to achieve by the likely 2019 deadline for Brexit. It could only become law after a treaty change because it would change the nature of EU citizenship. But aggrieved pro-EU Britons may welcome the fact that Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt has backed the proposal. Mr Verhofstadt, an influential liberal, will be the European Parliament's lead negotiator on Brexit. EU leaders will inevitably have to change the treaties in the next few years because the UK's role will have to be deleted or amended in EU texts. However, a change to the nature of EU citizenship would require full ratification by all 28 member states - and that could not be done quickly, Prof Catherine Barnard, an expert on EU law, told the BBC. But the proposal, she said, at least showed a willingness in the EU to \"find creative ways to help the 48% who voted to Remain [in the EU]\". Camino Mortera-Martinez, an EU justice expert at the Centre for European Reform, said there was \"no appetite for treaty change in Brussels at the moment\". Next year politicians in the Netherlands, France and Germany will focus on general elections. They will want to avoid EU treaty changes, which are notoriously time-consuming and difficult. It took nearly nine years to draft and enact the Lisbon Treaty. Empowering MEPs to continue representing some UK citizens after Brexit would be another big legal hurdle. Prof Barnard questioned how an MEP could represent an area where \"half the constituents are not even associate EU citizens\". \"That is a non-starter,\" she said. If British \"associate EU citizens\" were to have continued freedom of movement, the UK would have to offer the EU something in return, both experts argue. But that is very problematic. The Brexit vote on 23 June made curbing immigration from the EU a top priority for Mrs May's government. Freedom of movement will be one of the thorniest issues. It would also be hard to get agreement on a fee for EU citizenship, Prof Barnard said. For example Spain, hosting many elderly Britons who use its healthcare system, might demand a high fee. If it took the form of a new EU tax, it would require extra bureaucrats to collect and allocate the income. The European Court of Justice would have to oversee associate citizenship - another thorny issue, because the whole idea of Brexit is for the UK to \"take back control\". So how could an EU court retain jurisdiction over UK citizens? And it could be discriminatory to offer associate EU citizenship only to UK citizens. Many Serbs and Turks might also demand it, as they would like to join the EU." } ], "id": "9573_2", "question": "What are the obstacles?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Scandal-hit Scott Pruitt has resigned as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency. In a letter to President Donald Trump, he blamed \"unrelenting attacks\" on himself and his family. Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Pruitt had done \"an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him\". But since taking office Mr Pruitt has been mired in series of scandals concerning his spending habits and alleged misuse of office. His deputy Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, will take over as acting head of the agency, Mr Trump said. Mr Pruitt is the subject of at least a dozen investigations into his conduct. He has been under scrutiny for renting an apartment with ties to a fossil fuels lobbyist at a below market rate. He is also accused of bypassing the White House to secure big pay rises for two long-time staff members. Earlier on Thursday, US media reported that he had asked his scheduler to retroactively alter his public calendar - which may be a federal crime - to scrub politically sensitive meetings. He angered liberals and environmentalists by severely curtailing the agency's activities and repealing many measures designed to protect the environment. Mr Trump had become fed up with the onslaught of news stories about Mr Pruitt, including reports that he had tried to persuade Mr Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions so that he could take his job. \"It's one thing after another with this guy,\" an exasperated Mr Trump was quoted as saying, reports the New York Times. In his resignation letter, Mr Pruitt said he was stepping down from Friday. \"Truly, your confidence in me has blessed me personally and enabled me to advance your agenda beyond what anyone anticipated at the beginning of your administration,\" he said. \"However, the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizeable toll on all of us,\" he added. Mr Pruitt becomes the fourth cabinet-level official of the administration to resign or be fired, after Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington On Thursday morning CNN quoted an unnamed senior White House official saying that the Pruitt controversies were \"inching toward the tipping point\". It turns out that point was very close indeed. The EPA chief had managed to hold out longer than most expected as a cavalcade of controversies mounted, each alone enough to fell a Cabinet appointee in a past administration. Mr Pruitt had survived due to a combination of the vigour with which he advanced the conservative goal of paring regulations and weakening the agency and Mr Trump's natural reluctance to cede to a political outcry. In the end, however, it was Mr Pruitt who had been weakened beyond repair - hobbled by allegations of abuse of the power and privileges of office. Mr Trump had come to Washington pledging to \"drain the swamp\", and Democrats - with mid-term elections looming - were poised to point to Mr Pruitt as a prime example of how the swamp had consumed the president and Republicans in general. With Andrew Wheeler - a former coal industry lobbyist - set to run the agency for the immediate future, little will probably change as far as policies and priorities within the EPA. Many Republicans in Washington, who were growing uneasy with Mr Pruitt's seemingly never-ending bad press, will surely be happy with the change. Their relief, however, may be tinged with a certain amount of regret. Mr Pruitt had proven to be an effective champion of the conservative fight against the EPA - and even environmentalists had recognised him as a formidable adversary. Mr Pruitt himself had aspirations for higher office - either within the administration or back home in Oklahoma. While political careers these days are rarely permanently ended, at least for the moment his has been seriously derailed. Democrats welcomed the resignation, but there was also little enthusiasm for his replacement Mr Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said \"#BigOil's right hand man\" was being replaced by \"King Coal's best lobbyist\". New York Congressman Patrick Maloney compared Mr Pruitt to a former president. A staunch conservative, Mr Pruitt has strongly backed Mr Trump over his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accords. In his turn Mr Trump has praised him for cutting back environmental regulations which he blames for stifling economic growth. But the White House appears to have cooled towards Mr Pruitt recently. On Tuesday spokesman Hogan Gidley described the controversies facing Mr Pruitt as \"troublesome\" and said Mr Trump was \"looking into\" them. Mr Pruitt is also under investigation for: - Requesting that his security detail use flashing lights and sirens to speed trips through Washington DC when he was late for meetings or flights - Spending more than $168,000 on first class air travel, including $36,000 on one military flight - Some questionable purchases, including $43,000 for a soundproof privacy booth for confidential phone calls and computer communications - Reassigning staff for questioning the agency's spending and management.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2120, "answer_start": 1504, "text": "In his resignation letter, Mr Pruitt said he was stepping down from Friday. \"Truly, your confidence in me has blessed me personally and enabled me to advance your agenda beyond what anyone anticipated at the beginning of your administration,\" he said. \"However, the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizeable toll on all of us,\" he added. Mr Pruitt becomes the fourth cabinet-level official of the administration to resign or be fired, after Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin." } ], "id": "9574_0", "question": "What did Mr Pruitt himself say?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4263, "answer_start": 3932, "text": "Democrats welcomed the resignation, but there was also little enthusiasm for his replacement Mr Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said \"#BigOil's right hand man\" was being replaced by \"King Coal's best lobbyist\". New York Congressman Patrick Maloney compared Mr Pruitt to a former president." } ], "id": "9574_1", "question": "What has the reaction been?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5221, "answer_start": 4264, "text": "A staunch conservative, Mr Pruitt has strongly backed Mr Trump over his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accords. In his turn Mr Trump has praised him for cutting back environmental regulations which he blames for stifling economic growth. But the White House appears to have cooled towards Mr Pruitt recently. On Tuesday spokesman Hogan Gidley described the controversies facing Mr Pruitt as \"troublesome\" and said Mr Trump was \"looking into\" them. Mr Pruitt is also under investigation for: - Requesting that his security detail use flashing lights and sirens to speed trips through Washington DC when he was late for meetings or flights - Spending more than $168,000 on first class air travel, including $36,000 on one military flight - Some questionable purchases, including $43,000 for a soundproof privacy booth for confidential phone calls and computer communications - Reassigning staff for questioning the agency's spending and management." } ], "id": "9574_2", "question": "What about the president?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the US is imposing the \"strongest sanctions in history\" on Iran. In a speech in Washington, America's top diplomat said Iran would be \"battling to keep its economy alive\" after the sanctions took effect. His Iranian counterpart said the US was a prisoner of its \"failed policies\" and would suffer the consequences. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump took the US out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Mr Pompeo had not demonstrated in his speech how abandoning the deal made the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation. US sanctions lifted after the 2015 deal will be re-imposed, Mr Pompeo said, and those and new measures will together constitute \"unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime\". The older American sanctions prohibited almost all trade with Iran, making some exceptions only for activity \"intended to benefit the Iranian people\" such as the export of medical and agricultural equipment. The secretary of state did not say what new measures Washington was contemplating but he described sanctions imposed last week on the head of Iran's central bank as \"just the beginning\". Some of Europe's biggest firms who rushed to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal now find themselves forced to choose between investing there or trading with the US. Some of the biggest contracts at risk include: - French energy giant Total's deal, worth up to $5bn, signed to help Iran develop the world's largest gas field. Total now plans to unwind those operations by November unless the US grants it a waiver - Norwegian firm Saga Energy's $3bn deal to build solar power plants - An Airbus deal to sell 100 jets to IranAir Iran is one of the world's largest oil producers, and the export of oil and gas is worth billions of dollars each year. Both the country's oil output and its GDP fell noticeably under international sanctions. The sanctions will not be re-imposed on Tehran immediately but are subject to three-month and six-month wind-down periods. \"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East,\" Mr Pompeo said. Javad Zarif said America was \"regressing to old habits\". Iran, he added, was working with the other partners of the nuclear deal to find a solution. Ms Mogherini said there was \"no alternative\" to the JCPOA. Analysis by Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent This then is the US \"Plan B\" for Iran - to step up the sanctions pressure, to force the Tehran government into a new diplomatic deal. It would need to accept broader constraints not just on its nuclear activities but also on its missile programme and wider behaviour in the region. It is certainly tough but may be totally unrealistic. For sanctions to work they must be comprehensive. The pressure that brought about the JCPOA deal that President Trump has now abandoned was long-standing and widely supported. Now Washington's European allies want to stick with the existing deal. Russia, China and India are unlikely to bow to US pressure. Compelling allies and other countries to abandon trade with Iran risks damaging a whole series of wider diplomatic relationships. Critics may charge that this \"policy\" is impossible - a diplomatic smokescreen intended to cloak a policy whose fundamental goal is regime change in Iran. Read Jonathan's analysis in full Mr Pompeo laid out 12 conditions for any \"new deal\" with Iran, including the withdrawal of its forces from Syria and an end to its support for rebels in Yemen. Others include Tehran: - Giving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a full account of its former nuclear military programme, and giving up such work forever - Ending its \"threatening behaviour\" towards its neighbours, including \"its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the UAE\" - Releasing all US citizens, and those of US partners and allies, \"detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran\" It has spread its influence across parts of the Middle East where there are large communities of fellow Shia Muslims, from Iraq to Lebanon. Its support for Lebanon's Hezbollah movement is particularly alarming for Israel while Saudi Arabia, another bitter enemy, accuses the Iranians of equipping rebels in Yemen. In the Syrian civil war, it is one of President Bashar al-Assad's few outside allies, sending thousands of fighters and military advisers. Israel praised the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the pact but the move was roundly criticised by fellow signatories, including France, Germany, the UK and Russia. All of the above signatories pledged to honour their commitments under the deal. Mr Pompeo has made clear he expects the backing of his allies in Europe but also called for support from \"Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea [and] the UAE\". \"We welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation and the brutality of a regime at peace with inflicting chaos on innocent people,\" he said. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) saw Iran agree to limit the size of its stockpile of enriched uranium - which is used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons - for 15 years and the number of centrifuges installed to enrich uranium for 10 years. Iran also agreed to modify a heavy water facility so it could not produce plutonium suitable for a bomb. In return, sanctions imposed by the UN, US and EU that had crippled Iran's economy were lifted. The deal was agreed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, UK, France, China and Russia - plus Germany. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, and its compliance with the deal has been verified by the IAEA.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2380, "answer_start": 635, "text": "US sanctions lifted after the 2015 deal will be re-imposed, Mr Pompeo said, and those and new measures will together constitute \"unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime\". The older American sanctions prohibited almost all trade with Iran, making some exceptions only for activity \"intended to benefit the Iranian people\" such as the export of medical and agricultural equipment. The secretary of state did not say what new measures Washington was contemplating but he described sanctions imposed last week on the head of Iran's central bank as \"just the beginning\". Some of Europe's biggest firms who rushed to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal now find themselves forced to choose between investing there or trading with the US. Some of the biggest contracts at risk include: - French energy giant Total's deal, worth up to $5bn, signed to help Iran develop the world's largest gas field. Total now plans to unwind those operations by November unless the US grants it a waiver - Norwegian firm Saga Energy's $3bn deal to build solar power plants - An Airbus deal to sell 100 jets to IranAir Iran is one of the world's largest oil producers, and the export of oil and gas is worth billions of dollars each year. Both the country's oil output and its GDP fell noticeably under international sanctions. The sanctions will not be re-imposed on Tehran immediately but are subject to three-month and six-month wind-down periods. \"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East,\" Mr Pompeo said. Javad Zarif said America was \"regressing to old habits\". Iran, he added, was working with the other partners of the nuclear deal to find a solution. Ms Mogherini said there was \"no alternative\" to the JCPOA." } ], "id": "9575_0", "question": "What can Iran expect to see and when?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4004, "answer_start": 3401, "text": "Mr Pompeo laid out 12 conditions for any \"new deal\" with Iran, including the withdrawal of its forces from Syria and an end to its support for rebels in Yemen. Others include Tehran: - Giving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a full account of its former nuclear military programme, and giving up such work forever - Ending its \"threatening behaviour\" towards its neighbours, including \"its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the UAE\" - Releasing all US citizens, and those of US partners and allies, \"detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran\"" } ], "id": "9575_1", "question": "What are the demands Washington is making?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5139, "answer_start": 4458, "text": "Israel praised the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the pact but the move was roundly criticised by fellow signatories, including France, Germany, the UK and Russia. All of the above signatories pledged to honour their commitments under the deal. Mr Pompeo has made clear he expects the backing of his allies in Europe but also called for support from \"Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea [and] the UAE\". \"We welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation and the brutality of a regime at peace with inflicting chaos on innocent people,\" he said." } ], "id": "9575_2", "question": "Is the US on its own?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5873, "answer_start": 5140, "text": "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) saw Iran agree to limit the size of its stockpile of enriched uranium - which is used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons - for 15 years and the number of centrifuges installed to enrich uranium for 10 years. Iran also agreed to modify a heavy water facility so it could not produce plutonium suitable for a bomb. In return, sanctions imposed by the UN, US and EU that had crippled Iran's economy were lifted. The deal was agreed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, UK, France, China and Russia - plus Germany. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, and its compliance with the deal has been verified by the IAEA." } ], "id": "9575_3", "question": "What was agreed under the 2015 deal?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Prince George has started his first day at school - but his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, missed the occasion as she was not well enough to take him. The Duke of Cambridge dropped him off as Kensington Palace said Catherine, who is suffering from severe morning sickness, was still unwell. The four-year-old is attending Thomas's Battersea, an PS18,000-a-year preparatory school in London. His uniform includes navy shorts and jacket, long red socks and black shoes. The milestone for the prince comes after the duke and duchess this week announced they are expecting their third child. Catherine had to pull out of public engagements on Monday and Tuesday because she is suffering from hypremesis gravidarum, as with her previous two pregnancies. Prince William drove his son through the school gates before helping him out of the car. The duke carried Prince George's bag and held his hand as the pair walked up to the entrance. Father and son were then greeted by Helen Haslem, head of lower school, and the young prince shook her hand before being accompanied to his first class. Prince William told Ms Haslem that George had been eagerly watching and he had \"noticed\" the other boys going into the school in their uniforms. The uniform for Thomas's Battersea is only available at the Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square or from the second-hand uniform shop at the school. For boys in reception class, the outfit consists of a navy jacket, a v-neck jersey and navy Bermuda shorts. In winter, this is accompanied by a red polo neck and long red and navy socks. In summer, short-sleeved light blue shirts are required - which Prince George was sporting on his first day - along with navy ankle socks. George has joined a class of 20 other pupils and has his own desk and peg with his name on. He will begin by doing half days as a \"gentle\" introduction to school life. Ben Thomas, principal of Thomas's London Day Schools, said there would be no special treatment for the royal. \"We are going to try and make this a really happy, safe and secure time,\" he said. \"I hope he will have the confidence to be himself with all his quirks and his idiosyncrasies and characteristics - that's what I would want for all of our children.\" Sign-up to get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning Mr Thomas added: \"The global spotlight has been a little bit daunting but that will move on.\" Notable alumni at Thomas's Battersea include pop singer Florence Welch - from Florence and the Machine - model and actress Cara Delevingne and Fresh Meat star Charlotte Ritchie. The school was described by the Good Schools Guide as: \"A big, busy, slightly chaotic school for cosmopolitan parents who want their children to have the best English education money can buy.\" One cameraman and one photographer were at the school to capture Prince George's first day, as Prince William has previously pleaded for the press to respect his son's privacy. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: \"William is determined to give his family as much privacy as possible and have a life as 'normal' as possible but this is extremely difficult. \"The royals have made several complaints to IPSO [the Independent Press Standards Organisation]. \"They are in the royal 'goldfish bowl' and will continue to be the centre of national and international fascination.\" Princes William and Harry went to Wetherby School in Kensington, before both going on to Eton College, in Berkshire. Their father, Prince Charles, was initially educated at home by a governess, but later attended the Cheam Preparatory School, in Berkshire. By Peter Hunt, royal correspondent When Prince George enters the school building, at the start of his first day there, the moment will be captured by one photographer and one camera crew. When his father made a similar journey, to a different school, three decades ago, many more members of the media were present to record a fresh developmental stage in the life of a future king. Prince William remembers and doesn't want history to repeat itself. George's schooling will be the latest test of the Cambridges' wary relationship with the press. They expect reporters to respect the privacy of their son and his classmates. Read more from Peter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1716, "answer_start": 1233, "text": "The uniform for Thomas's Battersea is only available at the Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square or from the second-hand uniform shop at the school. For boys in reception class, the outfit consists of a navy jacket, a v-neck jersey and navy Bermuda shorts. In winter, this is accompanied by a red polo neck and long red and navy socks. In summer, short-sleeved light blue shirts are required - which Prince George was sporting on his first day - along with navy ankle socks." } ], "id": "9576_0", "question": "What is Prince George's uniform?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The Afghan president has hailed Donald Trump's decision to commit US troops to the country to fight against the resurgent Taliban. Ashraf Ghani thanked the US for supporting \"the joint struggle against the threat of terrorism\". Donald Trump has committed the US Army to the open-ended conflict, despite previously advocating its withdrawal. The Taliban responded by saying it would make Afghanistan a \"graveyard\" for US forces. Mr Trump offered few details on the plan, but singled out Pakistan for criticism for offering \"safe havens\" to extremists. Pakistani officials reject claims the country uses some militants as a tool of state policy. President Trump warned a hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave a vacuum for terrorists to fill and said he had decided to keep troops there to \"fight to win\" to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq. He said his new approach would be more pragmatic and based on conditions on the ground rather than idealistic and time-based, and would switch from nation building to \"killing terrorists\". But he refused to get drawn on how many extra troops, if any, would be deployed and gave no timeline for ending the US presence in the country. Washington is expected to send up to 4,000 additional troops, but Mr Trump did not comment on this. In June, he told the Department of Defense to decide on troop levels. Visiting Baghdad on Tuesday, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said he would wait for a plan from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff based on the president's South Asia strategy before deciding. \"It may or may not be the number that is bandied about,\" he told reporters. Mr Trump also, for the first time, left the door open for an eventual peace deal with the Taliban, saying: \"Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan.\" However, Mr Trump said there would be an escalation in the battle against groups like al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State. Meanwhile, Mr Trump made it clear he expects his existing allies - including India - to support him in his new strategy, and urged them to raise their countries' contributions \"in line with our own\". Read more on Trump's presidency: By Secunder Kermani, BBC correspondent in Kabul Even with a few thousand extra US soldiers in Afghanistan - deployment levels would remain far lower than their peak in 2010/11 when there were around 100,000 US personnel in the country. So what is different this time? Firstly, that there is no deadline by which the US will begin to scale operations back. Critics of President Obama's surge say that because he made it clear it was temporary - the Taliban were encouraged to wait the Americans out. The second difference is that the US will put more pressure on Pakistan to end \"safe havens\" for the Taliban, according to President Trump. One analyst told me that the key to solving the conflict lies in Islamabad not in Afghanistan. But it is not clear how much leverage the US still has over Pakistan - or how Pakistan will respond to the accusations, given its consistent denial that it operates a \"good terrorist, bad terrorist\" policy. Pakistan has grown increasingly close to China, and has already had millions of dollars of US aid withheld for allegedly not taking enough action against the Taliban-allied Haqqani network. Before his presidency, Mr Trump was not shy about criticising his predecessors on their Afghanistan policy. He previously supported pulling US troops out of the conflict, which began under President George W Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. Early on in his presidential campaign, however, he did acknowledge that US troops would have to stay in order to avoid the total collapse of the Afghan government. And this long-awaited announcement came after a months-long review, with the president himself acknowledging that his original instinct to pull-out had been reversed after discussions with national security advisers. BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool in Washington says the people who might object to Mr Trump's strategy are the very ones who voted for him on his \"America First\" platform. Welcoming the plan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Mr Trump's comments showed America was \"with us, without any time limit\". \"I am grateful to President Trump and the American people for this affirmation of support... for our joint struggle to rid the region from the threat of terrorism,\" he said in a statement on Tuesday. The new strategy, he said, would enhance the training of Afghan security forces. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg praised the move and said the alliance, which has about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan, would not allow the country to become \"a safe haven for terrorists who would attack our own countries\". India's foreign ministry said it shared Mr Trump's concerns over safe havens and \"other forms of cross-border support enjoyed by terrorists\". But Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid dismissed Mr Trump's strategy as \"nothing new\", telling the US to think of an exit strategy \"instead of continuing the war\". Pakistan's foreign minister met the US ambassador in Islamabad on Wednesday and highlighted \"Pakistan's immense sacrifices in the enduring fight against terrorism\", a statement said, as well as a desire to continue working with the international community \"to eliminate the menace of terrorism\". US combat operations against the Taliban officially ended in 2014, but more than 8,000 special forces continue to provide support to Afghan troops. The Afghan government continues to battle insurgency groups and controls just half of the country. Retired UK General Sir Simon Mayall, who was responsible for Afghan operational policy from 2009 to 2012, told the BBC's World at One that even small numbers of troops would make a \"big difference to the confidence and competence of the Afghan security forces\". \"The high levels of ISAF troops were very helpful in giving the Afghans time to develop their own security forces, but then announcing we were going to leave in 2014 and running down very quickly... was very bad for competence and confidence. \"I hope that what President Trump has announced will serve to redress a number of those weaknesses.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2215, "answer_start": 644, "text": "President Trump warned a hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave a vacuum for terrorists to fill and said he had decided to keep troops there to \"fight to win\" to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq. He said his new approach would be more pragmatic and based on conditions on the ground rather than idealistic and time-based, and would switch from nation building to \"killing terrorists\". But he refused to get drawn on how many extra troops, if any, would be deployed and gave no timeline for ending the US presence in the country. Washington is expected to send up to 4,000 additional troops, but Mr Trump did not comment on this. In June, he told the Department of Defense to decide on troop levels. Visiting Baghdad on Tuesday, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said he would wait for a plan from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff based on the president's South Asia strategy before deciding. \"It may or may not be the number that is bandied about,\" he told reporters. Mr Trump also, for the first time, left the door open for an eventual peace deal with the Taliban, saying: \"Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan.\" However, Mr Trump said there would be an escalation in the battle against groups like al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State. Meanwhile, Mr Trump made it clear he expects his existing allies - including India - to support him in his new strategy, and urged them to raise their countries' contributions \"in line with our own\"." } ], "id": "9577_0", "question": "What is the new strategy?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4176, "answer_start": 3380, "text": "Before his presidency, Mr Trump was not shy about criticising his predecessors on their Afghanistan policy. He previously supported pulling US troops out of the conflict, which began under President George W Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. Early on in his presidential campaign, however, he did acknowledge that US troops would have to stay in order to avoid the total collapse of the Afghan government. And this long-awaited announcement came after a months-long review, with the president himself acknowledging that his original instinct to pull-out had been reversed after discussions with national security advisers. BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool in Washington says the people who might object to Mr Trump's strategy are the very ones who voted for him on his \"America First\" platform." } ], "id": "9577_1", "question": "Is Trump flip-flopping?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6260, "answer_start": 4177, "text": "Welcoming the plan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Mr Trump's comments showed America was \"with us, without any time limit\". \"I am grateful to President Trump and the American people for this affirmation of support... for our joint struggle to rid the region from the threat of terrorism,\" he said in a statement on Tuesday. The new strategy, he said, would enhance the training of Afghan security forces. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg praised the move and said the alliance, which has about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan, would not allow the country to become \"a safe haven for terrorists who would attack our own countries\". India's foreign ministry said it shared Mr Trump's concerns over safe havens and \"other forms of cross-border support enjoyed by terrorists\". But Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid dismissed Mr Trump's strategy as \"nothing new\", telling the US to think of an exit strategy \"instead of continuing the war\". Pakistan's foreign minister met the US ambassador in Islamabad on Wednesday and highlighted \"Pakistan's immense sacrifices in the enduring fight against terrorism\", a statement said, as well as a desire to continue working with the international community \"to eliminate the menace of terrorism\". US combat operations against the Taliban officially ended in 2014, but more than 8,000 special forces continue to provide support to Afghan troops. The Afghan government continues to battle insurgency groups and controls just half of the country. Retired UK General Sir Simon Mayall, who was responsible for Afghan operational policy from 2009 to 2012, told the BBC's World at One that even small numbers of troops would make a \"big difference to the confidence and competence of the Afghan security forces\". \"The high levels of ISAF troops were very helpful in giving the Afghans time to develop their own security forces, but then announcing we were going to leave in 2014 and running down very quickly... was very bad for competence and confidence. \"I hope that what President Trump has announced will serve to redress a number of those weaknesses.\"" } ], "id": "9577_2", "question": "What is the reaction?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Nuclear is good for the environment. Nuclear is bad for the environment. Both statements are true. Why is it good? Nuclear power is planned to be a key part of the UK's energy mix. The key benefit is that it helps keep the lights on while producing hardly any of the CO2 emissions that are heating the climate. CO2 emissions come from traditional ways of creating electricity such as burning gas and coal. And the government is expected to have halted emissions almost completely by 2050, to help curb damage to the climate. Because major nuclear accidents are few and far between, but when they happen they create panic. Take the Fukushima explosions in 2011, which released radioactive material into the surrounding air in Japan. Or the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which spewed radioactive material across northern Europe. But arguably, the bigger environmental problem is what to do with nuclear waste. This is a very live issue in the UK, where contaminated material has been held in a temporary store at the Sellafield site in Cumbria. The government has been trying for years to secure a site with the right geology, offering cash sweeteners to local communities to host a permanent PS12bn underground store for the most dangerous waste. So far no permanent dump has been agreed - that is after 70 years of nuclear power in the UK. \"The UK policy identifying the need for nuclear to play a role alongside renewables has been supported by numerous independent studies,\" said a spokesperson for EDF, which is building the Hinkley C nuclear power plant. \"Nuclear provides low-carbon electricity when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.\" Previously civil servants estimated that future UK electricity supplies would be divided up roughly 30/30/30 between nuclear, wind and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS). But no-one has been willing to invest at scale in the expensive CCS technology, which pumps CO2 emissions into rocks. Wind is ready to take its place in the sun. But with old nuclear stations closing, nuclear won't be able to fulfil its third of the deal unless new nuclear plants are built. The issue has caused a bitter divide between environmentalists, with some arguing that the risk from climate change is so severe that it's worth supping nuclear fuel, albeit with a long spoon. Others argue that the technology is dead and that renewables and other options can supply the UK's needs without the danger of nuclear accidents and waste. Prof Jim Watson, director of the UK Energy Research Centre, told BBC News: \"Most analysts now have accepted that we don't need 30% of energy from nuclear - renewables can take a substantially bigger share. \"But taking any option off the table makes the job of meeting essential carbon targets even harder. It would certainly be hard to do without nuclear altogether.\" The people who keep our lights on are looking to find ways of extending the life of existing nuclear plants, and trying to get nuclear power more cheaply. Factory-built small modular reactors that can be delivered on the back of a lorry are touted as one solution - but they are not expected to be operating at any scale until well into the 2030s. And what's more, with nuclear, bigger is generally better. Meanwhile, other options are being urgently explored. We need the power market to be more flexible. We need to develop better batteries and other techniques for storing power. And we need systems that will reduce the demand for electricity at peak times and transfer the demand to off-peak times when wind energy is plentiful and cheap. One particularly hard task is to find ways of storing power between months and even seasons. Last but by no means least, the government needs to prompt people to insulate their homes to reduce the demand for energy in the first place. The news that Hitachi is suspending work on a nuclear plant in north Wales has made all these tasks more urgent. Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin What do you want BBC Reality Check to investigate? Get in touch Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1337, "answer_start": 525, "text": "Because major nuclear accidents are few and far between, but when they happen they create panic. Take the Fukushima explosions in 2011, which released radioactive material into the surrounding air in Japan. Or the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which spewed radioactive material across northern Europe. But arguably, the bigger environmental problem is what to do with nuclear waste. This is a very live issue in the UK, where contaminated material has been held in a temporary store at the Sellafield site in Cumbria. The government has been trying for years to secure a site with the right geology, offering cash sweeteners to local communities to host a permanent PS12bn underground store for the most dangerous waste. So far no permanent dump has been agreed - that is after 70 years of nuclear power in the UK." } ], "id": "9578_0", "question": "Why is it bad for the environment?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2848, "answer_start": 1338, "text": "\"The UK policy identifying the need for nuclear to play a role alongside renewables has been supported by numerous independent studies,\" said a spokesperson for EDF, which is building the Hinkley C nuclear power plant. \"Nuclear provides low-carbon electricity when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.\" Previously civil servants estimated that future UK electricity supplies would be divided up roughly 30/30/30 between nuclear, wind and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS). But no-one has been willing to invest at scale in the expensive CCS technology, which pumps CO2 emissions into rocks. Wind is ready to take its place in the sun. But with old nuclear stations closing, nuclear won't be able to fulfil its third of the deal unless new nuclear plants are built. The issue has caused a bitter divide between environmentalists, with some arguing that the risk from climate change is so severe that it's worth supping nuclear fuel, albeit with a long spoon. Others argue that the technology is dead and that renewables and other options can supply the UK's needs without the danger of nuclear accidents and waste. Prof Jim Watson, director of the UK Energy Research Centre, told BBC News: \"Most analysts now have accepted that we don't need 30% of energy from nuclear - renewables can take a substantially bigger share. \"But taking any option off the table makes the job of meeting essential carbon targets even harder. It would certainly be hard to do without nuclear altogether.\"" } ], "id": "9578_1", "question": "Can we get by without new nuclear?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US hopes to see \"major disarmament\" by North Korea by the end of 2020, says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. His comments, during a visit to South Korea, follow an unprecedented meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. They signed a deal agreeing to work towards \"complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula\". But the document has been criticised for lacking details on when or how Pyongyang would give up its weapons. Mr Pompeo travelled from the summit in Singapore to Seoul, where he was briefing South Korea's government on the outcome of the summit. He said there was still \"a great deal of work to do\" with North Korea, but added: \"Major disarmament... We're hopeful that we can achieve that in the two and half years.\" He said he was confident Pyongyang understood the need for any dismantling its nuclear programme to be properly verified - a key . When asked by reporters why this was not specified in the document signed in Singapore, he condemned their questions as \"insulting\" and \"ridiculous\". President Trump earlier declared that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat, insisting \"everybody can now feel much safer\". The credibility of that claim is in doubt. That is because under the agreement, the North retains its nuclear warheads, the missiles to launch them and has not agreed to any specific process to get rid of them. Pyongyang has celebrated the summit as a great win for the country. The two leaders said they would co-operate on building \"new relations\", while the US would provide \"security guarantees\" to North Korea. Pyongyang in return \"commits to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula\". Then at a news conference after the meeting, Mr Trump said he would lift sanctions against North Korea once \"nukes are no longer a factor\". He said he trusted his instinct that Mr Kim would abide by his word. He also announced an unexpected end to military exercises regularly carried out between US and South Korean forces on the peninsula. The move - long demanded by Pyongyang - has been seen as a major concession to North Korea and appeared to take US allies in the region by surprise. South Korea's presidential Blue House later clarified that it needed to \"find out the precise meaning or intentions\" behind Mr Trump's remarks on ending the joint military drills. After the summit, North Korea's state media said the two leaders had agreed that \"step-by-step and simultaneous action\" was needed to achieve denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. American hardliners such as Mr Trump's national security adviser John Bolton have previously opposed such a phased approach, whereby the US takes reciprocal action. Most Western observers have said it includes no new commitments from North Korea nor details on how denuclearisation could be achieved or verified. Critics also expressed disappointment that Pyongyang's long record of human rights abuses was not addressed. President Moon Jae-in had on Tuesday hailed the summit as a \"historic event\", adding that it would be recorded as \"[helping] break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on Earth\". Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke to Donald Trump after the summit, saying there was \"great meaning in Chairman Kim's clearly confirming to President Trump the complete denuclearisation\". Tokyo also, however, cautioned that despite Pyongyang's pledge for denuclearisation no concrete steps had been taken and that Japan would not let down its guard. Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said Japan saw \"US-South Korean joint exercises and the US military presence in South Korea as vital to security in East Asia\". Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the Singapore summit as an \"equal dialogue\" between the two sides, adding that \"no-one will doubt the unique and important role played by China: a role which will continue\". Chinese state media described the summit as a \"starting point\" but said \"no-one would expect the half-day summit to be able to iron out all differences US 'wants N Korea disarmament by 2020'and remove deep-seated mistrust between the two long-time foes\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2711, "answer_start": 1459, "text": "The two leaders said they would co-operate on building \"new relations\", while the US would provide \"security guarantees\" to North Korea. Pyongyang in return \"commits to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula\". Then at a news conference after the meeting, Mr Trump said he would lift sanctions against North Korea once \"nukes are no longer a factor\". He said he trusted his instinct that Mr Kim would abide by his word. He also announced an unexpected end to military exercises regularly carried out between US and South Korean forces on the peninsula. The move - long demanded by Pyongyang - has been seen as a major concession to North Korea and appeared to take US allies in the region by surprise. South Korea's presidential Blue House later clarified that it needed to \"find out the precise meaning or intentions\" behind Mr Trump's remarks on ending the joint military drills. After the summit, North Korea's state media said the two leaders had agreed that \"step-by-step and simultaneous action\" was needed to achieve denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. American hardliners such as Mr Trump's national security adviser John Bolton have previously opposed such a phased approach, whereby the US takes reciprocal action." } ], "id": "9579_0", "question": "What was agreed at the summit?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4140, "answer_start": 2712, "text": "Most Western observers have said it includes no new commitments from North Korea nor details on how denuclearisation could be achieved or verified. Critics also expressed disappointment that Pyongyang's long record of human rights abuses was not addressed. President Moon Jae-in had on Tuesday hailed the summit as a \"historic event\", adding that it would be recorded as \"[helping] break down the last remaining Cold War legacy on Earth\". Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke to Donald Trump after the summit, saying there was \"great meaning in Chairman Kim's clearly confirming to President Trump the complete denuclearisation\". Tokyo also, however, cautioned that despite Pyongyang's pledge for denuclearisation no concrete steps had been taken and that Japan would not let down its guard. Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said Japan saw \"US-South Korean joint exercises and the US military presence in South Korea as vital to security in East Asia\". Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the Singapore summit as an \"equal dialogue\" between the two sides, adding that \"no-one will doubt the unique and important role played by China: a role which will continue\". Chinese state media described the summit as a \"starting point\" but said \"no-one would expect the half-day summit to be able to iron out all differences US 'wants N Korea disarmament by 2020'and remove deep-seated mistrust between the two long-time foes\"." } ], "id": "9579_1", "question": "How has the deal been received?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Babies and toddlers should not be left to passively watch TV or other screens, according to new World Health Organization guidelines. Sedentary screen time, including computer games, should not happen before a child is two, the WHO says. The limit for two- to four-year-olds is an hour a day and less is better. The UK has no plans to update its own advice on screen use, which sets no time limits, although it says children should avoid screens before bedtime. The UK's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health insists there is little evidence screen use for children is harmful in itself. The new WHO advice focuses on passive viewing - youngsters being placed in front of a TV or computer screen or handed a tablet or mobile phone for entertainment - and is aimed at tackling child inactivity, a leading risk factor for global mortality and obesity-related ill health. It is the first time the WHO has made recommendations on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under five. As well as warning against passive screen time, it says babies should not spend longer than an hour at a time strapped into a buggy, car seat or sling. The guidelines will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Glasgow on Sunday. For babies: - Be physically active several times a day, including at least 30 minutes' \"tummy time\" - lying on their front - No sedentary screen time - 14-17 hours' sleep a day, including naps, for newborns - reducing to 12-16 by four to 11 months - Should not be restrained (ie strapped into a recliner, seat or sling) for more than an hour at a time For one- and two-year-olds: - At least three hours' physical activity a day - No sedentary screen time for one-year-olds and less than an hour for two-year-olds - 11-14 hours' sleep a day, including naps - Should not be restrained for more than an hour at a time or sit for extended periods of time For three- and four-year-olds: - At least three hours' physical activity a day, including at least one of moderate or vigorous intensity - Up to an hour of sedentary screen time - less is better - 10-13 hours' sleep a day, which may include a nap - Should not be restrained for more than an hour at a time or sit for extended periods of time The WHO advice is based on available evidence, but there is still a lack of definitive research into the harms and possible benefits of screen use. However, it was unlikely very young children gained from passive, sedentary viewing, said one of the guideline authors, Dr Juana Willumsen. \"Sedentary time should be made into quality time. Reading a book with your child, for example, can help them develop their language skills. \"A child who is given a tablet to keep them quiet while they are sitting in a pushchair is not getting the same [quality sedentary time]. \"Children need to be given opportunities throughout the day to actively play and we should be reducing sedentary, passive screen time,\" she said. Some TV programmes that encouraged young children to move about while viewing might be OK, she added, particularly if the parent or caregiver was also present to explain and join in. In the US, experts say children should not use screens before they are 18 months old. In Canada, screen time for children younger than two is not recommended. But UK guidelines set no such limit. Dr Max Davie, from the RCPCH, said: \"The restricted screen time limits suggested by the WHO do not seem proportionate to the potential harm. \"Our research has shown that currently there is not strong enough evidence to support the setting of screen time limits. \"It is difficult to see how a household with mixed-age children can shield a baby from any screen exposure at all, as is recommended. \"Overall, these WHO guidelines serve as useful benchmarks to help steer families towards active and healthy lifestyles - but without the right support in place, striving for the perfect could become the enemy of the good.\" Dr Tim Smith, a brain development expert at Birbeck, University of London, said parents were being bombarded with conflicting advice, which could be confusing. \"There is currently no clear evidence for the specific duration limits proposed at this age range. \"While the report makes a potentially helpful step in distinguishing sedentary screen time from active screen-based games, where physical activity is required, this remains an oversimplification of the many ways young children and their families engage with screen media.\" Paula Morton, a teacher and mother of two young children, said her son learned a lot from watching programmes about dinosaurs and came out with \"random facts about them\". \"He doesn't just sit there and zone out,\" she said. \"He's obviously thinking and using his brain. \"I don't know how I would make the dinner, cook and clean if he didn't have something to watch.\" According to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, parents can ask themselves: - Is screen time controlled? - Does screen use interfere with what your family want to do? - Does screen use interfere with sleep? - Are you able to control snacking during screen time? If a family are satisfied with their answers to these questions, then they are likely to be handling screen time well, the college says.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4486, "answer_start": 3140, "text": "In the US, experts say children should not use screens before they are 18 months old. In Canada, screen time for children younger than two is not recommended. But UK guidelines set no such limit. Dr Max Davie, from the RCPCH, said: \"The restricted screen time limits suggested by the WHO do not seem proportionate to the potential harm. \"Our research has shown that currently there is not strong enough evidence to support the setting of screen time limits. \"It is difficult to see how a household with mixed-age children can shield a baby from any screen exposure at all, as is recommended. \"Overall, these WHO guidelines serve as useful benchmarks to help steer families towards active and healthy lifestyles - but without the right support in place, striving for the perfect could become the enemy of the good.\" Dr Tim Smith, a brain development expert at Birbeck, University of London, said parents were being bombarded with conflicting advice, which could be confusing. \"There is currently no clear evidence for the specific duration limits proposed at this age range. \"While the report makes a potentially helpful step in distinguishing sedentary screen time from active screen-based games, where physical activity is required, this remains an oversimplification of the many ways young children and their families engage with screen media.\"" } ], "id": "9580_0", "question": "What do other experts think?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5267, "answer_start": 4487, "text": "Paula Morton, a teacher and mother of two young children, said her son learned a lot from watching programmes about dinosaurs and came out with \"random facts about them\". \"He doesn't just sit there and zone out,\" she said. \"He's obviously thinking and using his brain. \"I don't know how I would make the dinner, cook and clean if he didn't have something to watch.\" According to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, parents can ask themselves: - Is screen time controlled? - Does screen use interfere with what your family want to do? - Does screen use interfere with sleep? - Are you able to control snacking during screen time? If a family are satisfied with their answers to these questions, then they are likely to be handling screen time well, the college says." } ], "id": "9580_1", "question": "What can parents do?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Jeremy Corbyn has urged the UK's most senior civil servant to intervene to prevent a no-deal Brexit happening during a general election campaign. The Labour leader is concerned that the UK could leave the EU on 31 October, while a campaign is ongoing and before a new government is elected. He has written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill saying such a move would be an \"anti-democratic abuse of power\". It comes amid speculation MPs will table a no-confidence motion in the PM. It is thought opposition MPs could propose the vote in a bid to prevent the UK leaving the EU with no deal - leading to a general election being called. Mr Johnson has a working majority in Parliament of just one. The UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal unless Article 50 is extended or revoked. Mr Corbyn said his party would propose a no-confidence vote at an \"appropriate\" time after the Commons returned from its summer recess on 3 September. Election rules say Parliament should be dissolved 25 working days before polling day - so some people are concerned Mr Johnson could allow a no-deal Brexit to happen while MPs are not sitting. Speaking on Friday, Chancellor Sajid Javid told the BBC: \"I'm not speculating on votes of no confidence\". He added that the next general election should take place in 2022 - when it is currently scheduled to take place under UK law. If the PM loses the motion of no-confidence, then under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act he would have another 14 days to win a vote of confidence. If he failed to win such a vote, then a general election would be called on a date advised on by the PM. However, if another candidate could secure the confidence of the Commons, Mr Johnson would be expected to resign and recommend the Queen appoint that person in his place. This could in theory lead to a temporary cross-party government, whose main aim could be to request an extension from the EU and organise an election in the meantime. Lib Dem business spokesman Chuka Umunna said his party was willing to discuss with other parties how a no-deal Brexit might be avoided. However he said it \"isn't a runner\" to expect that Mr Corbyn could lead an interim administration, predicting he would fail to muster the required number of MPs to support him. \"He cannot command a majority among his own MPs, never mind others like Conservative rebels,\" he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. \"Labour's priority is a Labour government, it isn't to stop Brexit,\" he added. On Thursday, Mr Johnson was asked whether he would resign if he lost a no-confidence vote. He responded that MPs should \"honour the mandate of the people \" by leaving the EU. Mr Johnson's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, has reportedly told MPs that losing a no-confidence vote would not stop the prime minister taking the UK out of the EU by the October 31 deadline. The Sunday Telegraph reported that he said Mr Johnson could call an election to fall after 31 October, by which time Britain would have left. Brexiteers say Britain's departure from the EU is already set, with Parliament having consented to Brexit when it triggered negotiations under Article 50 and passed legislation thereafter to set the deadline of 31 October. A senior Conservative source accused Jeremy Corbyn of wanting to ignore the result of the 2016 referendum. \"No amount of letter-writing political stunts will change the fact that politicians don't get to choose which public votes they respect,\" the source added. Meanwhile, the government has announced a one-year spending review to give government departments \"financial certainty\" as they prepare for Brexit. Chancellor Sajid Javid said a \"fast-tracked\" spending round for 2020-21 would \"clear the ground ahead of Brexit while delivering on people's priorities\". In his letter to Sir Mark, Mr Corbyn called the possibility of calling a general election to fall after Brexit had happened \"unprecedented\" and \"unconstitutional\". He referred to the Cabinet Office's election \"purdah\" guidance - which states that policy decisions on which a new government \"might be expected to want to take a different view\" should be postponed until after the election. Mr Corbyn added that a Labour government would never support a no-deal Brexit, and so would \"want the opportunity to take a different view\". He called on Sir Mark to rule that if the UK was due to leave the EU with no deal during an election, the government should seek another time-limited extension to Article 50. \"Forcing through no-deal against a decision of Parliament, and denying the choice to the voters in a general election already under way, would be an unprecedented, unconstitutional and anti-democratic abuse of power by a prime minister elected not by the public but by a small number of unrepresentative Conservative Party members,\" he wrote. A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said Sir Mark would respond to Mr Corbyn's letter \"in due course\". By Peter Saull, political correspondent In the period before elections there are restrictions on what civil servants can and can't do. The idea is to stop what is, effectively, a caretaker government from implementing decisions that the next government might disagree with. Downing Street would probably argue that those rules don't apply to Brexit. The UK's withdrawal from the EU has been the legal default since MPs voted to trigger Article 50 in March 2017. Nevertheless, purdah rules could limit the government's ability to make last-minute preparations for a no-deal departure. Ministers would not, for example, be able to instruct civil servants to start a new public information campaign. Of course, all of this is uncharted territory and no-one knows for sure quite how it will all pan out.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2492, "answer_start": 1379, "text": "If the PM loses the motion of no-confidence, then under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act he would have another 14 days to win a vote of confidence. If he failed to win such a vote, then a general election would be called on a date advised on by the PM. However, if another candidate could secure the confidence of the Commons, Mr Johnson would be expected to resign and recommend the Queen appoint that person in his place. This could in theory lead to a temporary cross-party government, whose main aim could be to request an extension from the EU and organise an election in the meantime. Lib Dem business spokesman Chuka Umunna said his party was willing to discuss with other parties how a no-deal Brexit might be avoided. However he said it \"isn't a runner\" to expect that Mr Corbyn could lead an interim administration, predicting he would fail to muster the required number of MPs to support him. \"He cannot command a majority among his own MPs, never mind others like Conservative rebels,\" he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. \"Labour's priority is a Labour government, it isn't to stop Brexit,\" he added." } ], "id": "9581_0", "question": "What happens if the PM loses?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3791, "answer_start": 2493, "text": "On Thursday, Mr Johnson was asked whether he would resign if he lost a no-confidence vote. He responded that MPs should \"honour the mandate of the people \" by leaving the EU. Mr Johnson's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, has reportedly told MPs that losing a no-confidence vote would not stop the prime minister taking the UK out of the EU by the October 31 deadline. The Sunday Telegraph reported that he said Mr Johnson could call an election to fall after 31 October, by which time Britain would have left. Brexiteers say Britain's departure from the EU is already set, with Parliament having consented to Brexit when it triggered negotiations under Article 50 and passed legislation thereafter to set the deadline of 31 October. A senior Conservative source accused Jeremy Corbyn of wanting to ignore the result of the 2016 referendum. \"No amount of letter-writing political stunts will change the fact that politicians don't get to choose which public votes they respect,\" the source added. Meanwhile, the government has announced a one-year spending review to give government departments \"financial certainty\" as they prepare for Brexit. Chancellor Sajid Javid said a \"fast-tracked\" spending round for 2020-21 would \"clear the ground ahead of Brexit while delivering on people's priorities\"." } ], "id": "9581_1", "question": "What does the government say?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US military has reported a major spike in sexual assaults despite years of efforts to address the problem. Figures show 20,500 instances of unwanted sexual contact occurred in 2018, up from 14,900 in 2016 which is the last time a survey was conducted. Alcohol was involved in one third of cases, and female recruits ages 17 to 24 are at the highest risk of attack. On Thursday, Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan directed the military to \"criminalise\" sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can fall within other legal violations of military behaviour, but is not yet a \"stand-alone\" criminal offence. The directive from Mr Shanahan was among a series of other recommendations, released in a memo on Thursday. \"Sexual assault is illegal and immoral, is inconsistent with the military's mission and will not be tolerated,\" he wrote. In the US, sexual harassment is illegal, considered a form of sexual discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which also covers discrimination based on race, skin colour, religion and national origin. The report released on Thursday surveyed the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and estimated a total of 20,500 cases in 2018. The total figure is based reports of attacks as well as an extrapolation of survey data which was gathered through a poll of over 100,000 troops. Researchers say the survey has a 95% level of confidence. Incidents of unwanted sexual contact - which ranges from groping to rape - rose by around 38% between 2016 and 2018. Only one out of three cases were reported to authorities, the report found. In 2006, only one in 14 victims reported sexual assault crimes, the Pentagon said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Marines acknowledged they had \"historically viewed an increase in reporting as an indicator Marines feel more empowered to report more confident in the care victims receive\". \"However, with the number of estimated assaults rising, especially among our young Marines, the Marine Corps must evolve its prevention methods and continue to foster a climate and culture of dignity, respect and trust,\" the statement said. In more than 85% of cases, victims knew their attacker. The majority of cases involved young women whose attacker was often a superior officer. The report should be \"a trip wire\", said Nate Galbreath, Deputy Director of the Department' of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. \"This is what tells us that there's something going on that we need to hone in on,\" he told ABC News. \"We've got a higher prevalence for women 17 to 24. We're going to be focusing very, very tightly on that.\" Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's personnel panel, told the USA Today newspaper that the military \"must accept that current programmes are simply not working\". \"Congress must lead the way in forcing the department to take more aggressive approaches to fighting this scourge,\" she said, calling for intervention from US lawmakers. On Thursday, Mr Shanahan revealed some of the recommendations made by the Sexual Assault Accountability and Investigation Task Force, which was created last month after the urging of Senator Martha McSally. Senator McSally, who was the first female US fighter pilot to fly in combat, revealed in March that she had been raped by a superior officer while serving in the Air Force. In response to the report, Mr Shanahan directed the US Department of Defence \"criminalise\" sexual harassment \"to combat this scourge\". He detailed prevention, accountability and support efforts in order to \"eliminate\" sexual assault, including new methods of identifying repeat offenders. \"We must, and will, do better,\" he wrote in the memo. It is unclear if he would need congressional approval to make changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice - the US military's legal code, to make the offence a \"stand-alone crime\". In his memo, Mr Shanahan also announced plans to train commanders in a new programme to uncover serial sex offenders. \"To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,\" Mr Shanahan said. \"This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on.\" In a series of tweets, Gen Robert B. Neller, the highest ranking officer in the US Marine Corps, joined in condemning the behaviour captured by the study. According to the report, compared with the Navy, Army, Air force and Coast guard, the Marines had the highest rates of sexual assault throughout the US Armed Forces - sitting at 11%. \"Marines know that sexual assault is a crime,\" Gen Neller wrote. \"We are better than this.\" Democratic Senator and 2020 presidential contender Kirsten Gillibrand also responded on Twitter, calling on Congress to take action where the defence department has \"repeatedly failed\". Sen Gillibrand has been an outspoken advocate of victims of sexual assault and has pressed for legislation to make it easier to prosecute sexual violence in the military. In her tweets, she cited a 2013 statement from the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - the highest US military post - that called sexual assault in the military a \"crisis\".", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2623, "answer_start": 1057, "text": "The report released on Thursday surveyed the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and estimated a total of 20,500 cases in 2018. The total figure is based reports of attacks as well as an extrapolation of survey data which was gathered through a poll of over 100,000 troops. Researchers say the survey has a 95% level of confidence. Incidents of unwanted sexual contact - which ranges from groping to rape - rose by around 38% between 2016 and 2018. Only one out of three cases were reported to authorities, the report found. In 2006, only one in 14 victims reported sexual assault crimes, the Pentagon said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Marines acknowledged they had \"historically viewed an increase in reporting as an indicator Marines feel more empowered to report more confident in the care victims receive\". \"However, with the number of estimated assaults rising, especially among our young Marines, the Marine Corps must evolve its prevention methods and continue to foster a climate and culture of dignity, respect and trust,\" the statement said. In more than 85% of cases, victims knew their attacker. The majority of cases involved young women whose attacker was often a superior officer. The report should be \"a trip wire\", said Nate Galbreath, Deputy Director of the Department' of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. \"This is what tells us that there's something going on that we need to hone in on,\" he told ABC News. \"We've got a higher prevalence for women 17 to 24. We're going to be focusing very, very tightly on that.\"" } ], "id": "9582_0", "question": "What does the report show?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4389, "answer_start": 2624, "text": "Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's personnel panel, told the USA Today newspaper that the military \"must accept that current programmes are simply not working\". \"Congress must lead the way in forcing the department to take more aggressive approaches to fighting this scourge,\" she said, calling for intervention from US lawmakers. On Thursday, Mr Shanahan revealed some of the recommendations made by the Sexual Assault Accountability and Investigation Task Force, which was created last month after the urging of Senator Martha McSally. Senator McSally, who was the first female US fighter pilot to fly in combat, revealed in March that she had been raped by a superior officer while serving in the Air Force. In response to the report, Mr Shanahan directed the US Department of Defence \"criminalise\" sexual harassment \"to combat this scourge\". He detailed prevention, accountability and support efforts in order to \"eliminate\" sexual assault, including new methods of identifying repeat offenders. \"We must, and will, do better,\" he wrote in the memo. It is unclear if he would need congressional approval to make changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice - the US military's legal code, to make the offence a \"stand-alone crime\". In his memo, Mr Shanahan also announced plans to train commanders in a new programme to uncover serial sex offenders. \"To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,\" Mr Shanahan said. \"This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on.\" In a series of tweets, Gen Robert B. Neller, the highest ranking officer in the US Marine Corps, joined in condemning the behaviour captured by the study." } ], "id": "9582_1", "question": "What is the reaction?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Facebook says it will allow an iconic photograph of a girl fleeing a Napalm attack taken during the Vietnam war in 1972 to be used on its platform. It had previously removed the image, posted by a Norwegian author, on the grounds that it contained nudity. The move sparked a debate about Facebook's role as an editor. The editor of Norway's largest newspaper had written an open letter to Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg calling the ban \"an abuse of power\". The tech giant said it had \"listened to the community\" and acknowledged the \"global importance\" of the photo. \"Because of its status as an iconic image of historical importance, the value of permitting sharing outweighs the value of protecting the community by removal, so we have decided to reinstate the image on Facebook where we are aware it has been removed,\" it said in a statement. \"It will take some time to adjust these systems but the photo should be available for sharing in the coming days. \"We are always looking to improve our policies to make sure they both promote free expression and keep our community safe.\" The Norwegian prime minister - who had earlier posted a copy of the photo on Facebook herself only to see it removed - welcomed the U-turn. \"That's very good, I'm a happy prime minister,\" Erna Solberg told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme. \"It shows that using social media can make [a] political change even in social media.\" Tom Egeland, the author whose Facebook account had been suspended over the affair, also expressed his pleasure. \"Now I'm happy!\" he tweeted. \"This does not alter at all the difficult issues that involve Facebook and the Norwegian media. But tonight I'm just happy.\" But Espen Egil Hansen - the editor of Aftenposten, who had brought the issue to prominence - said he still had concerns. \"When it comes to this photo specifically I would say that it was a sensible decision by Facebook. That's what we editors have to do sometimes - realise that we made a mistake and change our minds,\" he wrote in Norwegian on the newspaper's site. \"But the main point of my article, and the point that I have asked Mark Zuckerberg to engage in, is the debate about Facebook's power that results from so much information going through its channels. And that still stands. \"He should begin to take part in this discussion, for there are no simple solutions. Facebook must recognise that it has become an information filter - and that raises problematic issues.\" Last month, Mr Zuckerberg told an Italian audience that he did not want his firm to become a news editor. \"No, we are a tech company, not a media company,\" he said. \"The world needs news companies, but also technology platforms, like what we do, and we take our role in this very seriously.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2758, "answer_start": 1688, "text": "But Espen Egil Hansen - the editor of Aftenposten, who had brought the issue to prominence - said he still had concerns. \"When it comes to this photo specifically I would say that it was a sensible decision by Facebook. That's what we editors have to do sometimes - realise that we made a mistake and change our minds,\" he wrote in Norwegian on the newspaper's site. \"But the main point of my article, and the point that I have asked Mark Zuckerberg to engage in, is the debate about Facebook's power that results from so much information going through its channels. And that still stands. \"He should begin to take part in this discussion, for there are no simple solutions. Facebook must recognise that it has become an information filter - and that raises problematic issues.\" Last month, Mr Zuckerberg told an Italian audience that he did not want his firm to become a news editor. \"No, we are a tech company, not a media company,\" he said. \"The world needs news companies, but also technology platforms, like what we do, and we take our role in this very seriously.\"" } ], "id": "9583_0", "question": "Tech or media?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Having too few \"friendly\" vaginal bacteria may increase a woman's chance of ovarian cancer, and swabs can be used to spot this, say researchers. The team, led by University College London, hope the finding could be used to identify women at high risk of the cancer, which has no screening test. However, they say that more work is needed to explore this. It is too soon to recommend women should be given protective doses of the good bacteria, they say. The work, which is published in the Lancet Oncology, was funded by money from the government's tampon tax, as well as grants from the EU and the Eve Appeal charity. More than 7,300 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the UK. Diagnosing it early improves the chances of successful treatment, but the symptoms - bloating and discomfort - can be mistaken for more common, less serious conditions, such as menstrual cramps or irritable bowel syndrome. Many women are not diagnosed until the cancer has already started to spread. If your doctor thinks your symptoms could be due to ovarian cancer they will recommend blood tests and scans. The exact cause of ovarian cancer is unknown, but certain factors increase a woman's risk: age, a family history of ovarian or breast cancer and being overweight. Now researchers believe micro-organisms living inside our bodies may also play a role. There is growing scientific evidence that the community of bacteria and other microbes that reside inside us - our microbiome - influence our wellbeing and health. One species of beneficial bacteria that is thought to be particularly important in the vagina is called lactobacillus. Experts believe it stops other unhelpful or bad microbes from taking up residence and causing harm. The study involved 176 women with ovarian cancer, 109 with inherited high-risk genes for ovarian cancer (BRCA1 genes) and 295 women with no known genetic risk. The women were examined and samples taken using the same collection method used in cervical screening. Lactobacilli levels were significantly lower in the women under 50 with ovarian cancer or high-risk cancer genes. It is not clear whether this link is causal or if other factors might explain it, or how much of an impact it has on risk. Helen Callard, from Cancer Research UK, said: \"The microbiome is a really interesting area of research and we're slowly putting pieces together about how our natural bacteria might affect our health. But when interpreting research like this, association doesn't mean causation. \"There are several factors that could influence the risk of ovarian cancer, and different things that can affect the make-up of vaginal bacteria - and it's not always easy to separate these elements. So we need to know how vaginal bacteria might directly affect the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Or whether it's a different factor entirely.\" Alexandra Holden, from Target Ovarian Cancer, said: \"Before women become concerned about the bacteria in their vagina, more research is required to better understand how the vaginal microbiome may contribute to ovarian cancer, and find better ways to detect the disease. In the meantime, it is crucial for women to be aware of the symptoms, and to visit the GP with any concerns.\" The investigators believe good bugs provide a protective barrier to other infections, stopping them from travelling up the gynaecological tract to the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Researcher Prof Martin Widschwendter said: \"We do not yet know for sure whether low levels of the beneficial bacteria leads to an increased risk of ovarian cancer, but that is what we suspect. \"It fits with other research. It's been shown that women who use excessive vaginal hygiene products have lower levels of this bacterium too, and they are at increased risk of ovarian cancer.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3809, "answer_start": 2116, "text": "It is not clear whether this link is causal or if other factors might explain it, or how much of an impact it has on risk. Helen Callard, from Cancer Research UK, said: \"The microbiome is a really interesting area of research and we're slowly putting pieces together about how our natural bacteria might affect our health. But when interpreting research like this, association doesn't mean causation. \"There are several factors that could influence the risk of ovarian cancer, and different things that can affect the make-up of vaginal bacteria - and it's not always easy to separate these elements. So we need to know how vaginal bacteria might directly affect the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Or whether it's a different factor entirely.\" Alexandra Holden, from Target Ovarian Cancer, said: \"Before women become concerned about the bacteria in their vagina, more research is required to better understand how the vaginal microbiome may contribute to ovarian cancer, and find better ways to detect the disease. In the meantime, it is crucial for women to be aware of the symptoms, and to visit the GP with any concerns.\" The investigators believe good bugs provide a protective barrier to other infections, stopping them from travelling up the gynaecological tract to the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Researcher Prof Martin Widschwendter said: \"We do not yet know for sure whether low levels of the beneficial bacteria leads to an increased risk of ovarian cancer, but that is what we suspect. \"It fits with other research. It's been shown that women who use excessive vaginal hygiene products have lower levels of this bacterium too, and they are at increased risk of ovarian cancer.\"" } ], "id": "9584_0", "question": "What do the findings mean?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "For 75 years the French Senate - the upper house of parliament based in the historic Luxembourg Palace - has been keeping an embarrassing secret. Hidden in the basement, its whereabouts privy to just a handful of initiates, lies a bust of Adolf Hitler. This week the bust's existence was revealed thanks to an investigation by Le Monde newspaper. It also found a 3m x 2m (10ft x 6.5ft) Nazi flag, and various other documents and items from the Occupation. Reporter Olivier Faye said he heard on the grapevine that a Hitler statuette had been kept in the Senate since the end of World War Two, when the palace was the headquarters of the German air force (Luftwaffe). After much stonewalling from officials he finally had confirmation from the Senate's chief architect, Damien Dechelette, who asked him: \"How ever did you find out?\" The exact story of how the bust and flag came to be secreted in the bowels of such an important public building remains a mystery. But the outline of events can probably be guessed pretty accurately. In August 1944 Paris was in turmoil as the German army fought and then surrendered to the combined forces of the French army and Resistance. In the Luxembourg Palace, fleeing Luftwaffe personnel left a scene of chaos, with walls smashed and furniture in piles. It was the same in the adjoining building known as the Petit Luxembourg, then the residence of German air force commander Hugo Sperrle, now of Senate president Gerard Larcher. According to historian Cecile Desprairies, for the liberating French it was a moment of ecstasy. \"Flags were taken as trophies. Buildings were pillaged. The liberators took whatever they could of the occupier. The black market in Nazi goods flourished - and indeed it is still there.\" Somewhere in the disorder, someone at the Luxembourg Palace must have put to one side the Hitler bust and the flag. They were covered up and hidden in the basement, and knowledge of their existence was then passed on over the years among a small group of staff members, after the building resumed its functions as the Senate. Contacted by Le Monde, no serving or former senator was aware of the Nazi mini-trove. But as one anonymous Senate official told Olivier Faye, \"Senators come and go\". They are not the real repositories of the building's lore. \"I imagine that every now and then those in the know would come and have a glimpse at them, to give themselves a little frisson,\" says Olivier Faye. Less secret - but still little known and certainly off-limits to visitors - is an underground concrete bunker in the gardens of the Petit Luxembourg. This was built before the war as an air-raid shelter for parliamentarians, and was used possibly as an office or for storage by the Germans. The bunker is itself a fascinating time-capsule, containing such curiosities as a \"cyclomotor\" for charging batteries with pedal-power in the event of a blackout, rubber protective suits for gas attacks and a wartime radio set. There are also two German military relics: a box containing a breathing apparatus, and another containing a gas-powered lamp. In answer to Le Monde's enquiries, the Senate finally produced an inventory of what it says are all the German items in its possession. These also include a large number of documents and various items of furniture stamped with the eagle of the Third Reich. What to do with this cumbersome Nazi inheritance has now become a sensitive issue. Senate President Gerard Larcher has ordered an investigation. One likely destination is Paris's new Museum of the Liberation at Place Denfert-Rochereau, whose centrepiece is the underground command bunker used by Resistance chief Henri Rol-Tanguy.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2454, "answer_start": 832, "text": "The exact story of how the bust and flag came to be secreted in the bowels of such an important public building remains a mystery. But the outline of events can probably be guessed pretty accurately. In August 1944 Paris was in turmoil as the German army fought and then surrendered to the combined forces of the French army and Resistance. In the Luxembourg Palace, fleeing Luftwaffe personnel left a scene of chaos, with walls smashed and furniture in piles. It was the same in the adjoining building known as the Petit Luxembourg, then the residence of German air force commander Hugo Sperrle, now of Senate president Gerard Larcher. According to historian Cecile Desprairies, for the liberating French it was a moment of ecstasy. \"Flags were taken as trophies. Buildings were pillaged. The liberators took whatever they could of the occupier. The black market in Nazi goods flourished - and indeed it is still there.\" Somewhere in the disorder, someone at the Luxembourg Palace must have put to one side the Hitler bust and the flag. They were covered up and hidden in the basement, and knowledge of their existence was then passed on over the years among a small group of staff members, after the building resumed its functions as the Senate. Contacted by Le Monde, no serving or former senator was aware of the Nazi mini-trove. But as one anonymous Senate official told Olivier Faye, \"Senators come and go\". They are not the real repositories of the building's lore. \"I imagine that every now and then those in the know would come and have a glimpse at them, to give themselves a little frisson,\" says Olivier Faye." } ], "id": "9585_0", "question": "Why was the bust still hidden?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The White House has refused to release a photo of President Donald Trump signing a law making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy guns. Despite repeated requests from CBS News, the White House press office has issued only a one-line response. Mr Trump last year repealed an Obama-era rule allowing the names of certain people on mental health benefits to be entered into a criminal database. The controversy follows a shooting by a suspect who had mental health issues. Nikolas Cruz is accused of using a legally-purchased rifle to kill 17 people at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday. In a tweet, Mr Trump called the gunman \"mentally disturbed\" and vowed to \"tackle the difficult issue of mental health\" during a speech to the nation. But the Republican president's critics noted his own annual budget proposed this week would cuts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for mental health programmes. CBS News says it requested a copy of the image - which White House photographers confirm exists - 12 separate times by phone or email. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has only said in a note dated 19 April 2017: \"We don't plan to release the picture at this time.\" CBS News asked the White House again on Thursday to release the photo, but has not received a response. Legislation is often signed into law with much fanfare at the White House, including photo-ops, press conferences and even gifts to selected participants. Mr Trump has boasted of having signed into law \"more legislation than anybody\" - a claim fact checkers say they have debunked. HJ Resolution 40 was signed by President Trump on 28 February last year, weeks after his inauguration. It repealed an Obama-era rule that would have affected about 75,000 US citizens who are too mentally ill to handle their own disability benefits. The Obama measure covered those of \"marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease\". It also ordered the US Social Security Administration, which administers benefits, to add these names to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That database is used by the FBI to determine who is able to purchase a firearm. The National Rifle Association, an influential gun lobby, was not the only opponent of the Obama-era gun control measure. The ACLU, a prominent civil-rights organisation, and mental health advocacy organisations backed the repeal that was signed by Mr Trump. Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC Washington Donald Trump likes to tout how many laws he's signed - even if some are no more significant than naming a post office or appointing a member of an advisory board. There's one bit of legislation the White House seems keen for Americans to forget, however. The repeal of an Obama-era rule requiring the Social Security Administration to provide information about individuals with mental health issues for gun-purchase background checks is a bit more complicated than Mr Trump's critics make it out to be. Civil libertarians and disability rights activists had serious reservations about the potential for privacy violations and a chilling effect the rule might have on those who need counselling services. What's worth noting, however, is that the White House - with its reluctance to provide evidence of the bill-signing - is acknowledging this could be damaging for them. Presidential strategists probably envision photographs of the event in countless Democratic campaign adverts. The president reportedly told aides after Parkland that they have to \"do something\" in response. The White House's reluctance to own up to its only legislative action on firearms is another indication that, when it comes to gun control, they may feel the ground shifting beneath their feet. Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who has often used his show as a political platform, excoriated Mr Trump for signing the bill. \"You've literally done nothing,\" on guns, Kimmel said tearfully on Thursday. \"Actually, you've done worse than nothing. You like to say this is a mental health issue. \"One of your very first acts as president, Mr Trump, was to roll back the regulations that were designed to keep firearms out of the hands of mentally ill,\" he continued. \"So I agree, this is a mental illness issue, because if you don't think we need to do something about it, you're obviously mentally ill.\"", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1602, "answer_start": 946, "text": "CBS News says it requested a copy of the image - which White House photographers confirm exists - 12 separate times by phone or email. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has only said in a note dated 19 April 2017: \"We don't plan to release the picture at this time.\" CBS News asked the White House again on Thursday to release the photo, but has not received a response. Legislation is often signed into law with much fanfare at the White House, including photo-ops, press conferences and even gifts to selected participants. Mr Trump has boasted of having signed into law \"more legislation than anybody\" - a claim fact checkers say they have debunked." } ], "id": "9586_0", "question": "Why won't White House release photo?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2475, "answer_start": 1603, "text": "HJ Resolution 40 was signed by President Trump on 28 February last year, weeks after his inauguration. It repealed an Obama-era rule that would have affected about 75,000 US citizens who are too mentally ill to handle their own disability benefits. The Obama measure covered those of \"marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease\". It also ordered the US Social Security Administration, which administers benefits, to add these names to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That database is used by the FBI to determine who is able to purchase a firearm. The National Rifle Association, an influential gun lobby, was not the only opponent of the Obama-era gun control measure. The ACLU, a prominent civil-rights organisation, and mental health advocacy organisations backed the repeal that was signed by Mr Trump." } ], "id": "9586_1", "question": "What was the law Trump signed?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3792, "answer_start": 2476, "text": "Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC Washington Donald Trump likes to tout how many laws he's signed - even if some are no more significant than naming a post office or appointing a member of an advisory board. There's one bit of legislation the White House seems keen for Americans to forget, however. The repeal of an Obama-era rule requiring the Social Security Administration to provide information about individuals with mental health issues for gun-purchase background checks is a bit more complicated than Mr Trump's critics make it out to be. Civil libertarians and disability rights activists had serious reservations about the potential for privacy violations and a chilling effect the rule might have on those who need counselling services. What's worth noting, however, is that the White House - with its reluctance to provide evidence of the bill-signing - is acknowledging this could be damaging for them. Presidential strategists probably envision photographs of the event in countless Democratic campaign adverts. The president reportedly told aides after Parkland that they have to \"do something\" in response. The White House's reluctance to own up to its only legislative action on firearms is another indication that, when it comes to gun control, they may feel the ground shifting beneath their feet." } ], "id": "9586_2", "question": "Politically damaging?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4397, "answer_start": 3793, "text": "Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who has often used his show as a political platform, excoriated Mr Trump for signing the bill. \"You've literally done nothing,\" on guns, Kimmel said tearfully on Thursday. \"Actually, you've done worse than nothing. You like to say this is a mental health issue. \"One of your very first acts as president, Mr Trump, was to roll back the regulations that were designed to keep firearms out of the hands of mentally ill,\" he continued. \"So I agree, this is a mental illness issue, because if you don't think we need to do something about it, you're obviously mentally ill.\"" } ], "id": "9586_3", "question": "What's the reaction?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US has said it will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials accused of involvement in repression of Muslim populations. It follows the decision on Monday to blacklist 28 Chinese organisations linked by the US to allegations of abuse in the Xinjiang region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese government had instituted \"a highly repressive campaign\". China has dismissed the allegations as groundless. In a statement, Mr Pompeo accused the Chinese government of a string of abuses against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz Muslims and other minority Muslim groups. These included \"mass detentions in internment camps; pervasive, high-tech surveillance; draconian controls on expressions of cultural and religious identities; and coercion of individuals to return from abroad to an often perilous fate in China\". China has rebuffed the US moves. \"There is no such thing as these so-called 'human rights issues' as claimed by the United States,\" foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Monday. \"These accusations are nothing more than an excuse for the United States to deliberately interfere in China's internal affairs.\" Visa restrictions are to be imposed on Chinese government and Communist Party officials, as well as their family members. \"The United States calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression in Xinjiang, release all those arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of Chinese Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate,\" the US statement said. The US and China are currently embroiled in a trade war, and have sent delegations to Washington for a meeting about the tensions later this week. China has been carrying out a massive security operation in Xinjiang, in its far west, in recent years. Human rights groups and the UN say China has rounded up and detained more than a million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in vast detention camps, where they are forced to renounce Islam, speak only in Mandarin Chinese and learn obedience to the communist government. But China says they are attending \"vocational training centres\" which are giving them jobs and helping them integrate into Chinese society, in the name of preventing terrorism. There have been increasingly vocal denunciations from the US and other countries about China's actions in Xinjiang. Last week, Mr Pompeo alleged that China \"demands its citizens worship government, not God\" in a press conference in the Vatican. And in July more than 20 countries at the UN Human Rights Council signed a joint letter criticising China's treatment of the Uighurs and other Muslims. Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims. They make up about 45% of the Xinjiang region's population; 40% are Han Chinese. China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan. Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese and Uighurs fear erosion of their culture. Xinjiang is officially designated an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2682, "answer_start": 1734, "text": "China has been carrying out a massive security operation in Xinjiang, in its far west, in recent years. Human rights groups and the UN say China has rounded up and detained more than a million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in vast detention camps, where they are forced to renounce Islam, speak only in Mandarin Chinese and learn obedience to the communist government. But China says they are attending \"vocational training centres\" which are giving them jobs and helping them integrate into Chinese society, in the name of preventing terrorism. There have been increasingly vocal denunciations from the US and other countries about China's actions in Xinjiang. Last week, Mr Pompeo alleged that China \"demands its citizens worship government, not God\" in a press conference in the Vatican. And in July more than 20 countries at the UN Human Rights Council signed a joint letter criticising China's treatment of the Uighurs and other Muslims." } ], "id": "9587_0", "question": "What is the situation in Xinjiang?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3094, "answer_start": 2683, "text": "Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims. They make up about 45% of the Xinjiang region's population; 40% are Han Chinese. China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan. Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese and Uighurs fear erosion of their culture. Xinjiang is officially designated an autonomous region within China, like Tibet to its south." } ], "id": "9587_1", "question": "Who are the Uighurs?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Alexei Navalny is in custody after an unsanctioned protest; social media is full of photos of peaceful demonstrators being dragged off by police, or even beaten; the Kremlin says Sunday's rally was a provocation and the whole fuss has been studiously ignored by state television. So far, so relatively normal for Russia. Or maybe not. There were several striking things about the protests that swept Russia this weekend. First of all was the fact that people defied direct orders by the police to stay off the streets. Russia has harsh anti-protest laws and even those staging peaceful, one-person pickets are regularly detained. But on Sunday, tens of thousands came out to show their anger at high-level corruption. That will worry the Kremlin. The laws were tightened after the last mass rallies in 2011-12 sparked by allegations of vote-rigging. Those largely unsanctioned protests started small and morphed into a mass wave of anger against President Putin. Tougher penalties were meant to prevent a repeat of that. Then there's the geographical spread of the rallies, covering more than 80 cities across Russia's vast landmass. They varied in size and scope but the anti-corruption cause is proving a popular one. Perhaps most striking of all, though, was the make-up of the crowd which included significant numbers of young people, even schoolchildren. The Kremlin's spokesman has criticised organisers for luring them on to the streets, claiming they were paid to turn out. Silent until he spoke, state TV channels have picked up that suggestion and run with it. But these were young Russians who have grown up under Vladimir Putin on a diet of patriotism. On Sunday, they joined a crowd chanting \"Putin - thief\" and \"Russia will be free!\" Their presence is proof of how effectively Alexei Navalny and his team use social media. He is a prolific blogger and tweeter himself and his team of young activists produce slick videos at his anti-corruption fund that drive their message home. Every protest and every court hearing is streamed on the internet. That skill helps the activist reach large audiences as well as young ones. He is banned from state television but his team's latest film detailing corruption allegations about Russia's prime minister has been viewed around 13 million times on YouTube. By contrast, Sunday's rally was ignored by all the main TV channels in a move that can only have been deliberate and co-ordinated. Today, President Putin's spokesman faced a barrage of journalists' questions about the protests. He insisted that the Kremlin doesn't feel threatened, and that the rallies were illegal and irresponsible. But the authorities don't seem sure how to deal with Alexei Navalny. Unlike other opposition challengers, his cause is not democracy - a dirty term for many here, after the criminal 1990s - or any vague concept like human rights. It's very concrete: corruption. As many Russians feel the squeeze from sanctions and the falling oil price, the idea of an elite enjoying designer watches, luxury yachts and vast estates is likely to anger them even more. Sentenced to 15 days behind bars, Alexei Navalny has temporarily been removed from the picture. More than a dozen staff at his anti-corruption fund have also been detained, and on Sunday the office was closed. But the activist has vowed to fight on. In court, Alexei Navalny said the fact that tens of thousands had protested on Sunday despite the risk meant that many more Russians agreed with them. \"There are millions of us,\" the activist told journalists in court, \"and we're not going anywhere\". Admit it or not, the Kremlin will have taken note.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1836, "answer_start": 1220, "text": "Perhaps most striking of all, though, was the make-up of the crowd which included significant numbers of young people, even schoolchildren. The Kremlin's spokesman has criticised organisers for luring them on to the streets, claiming they were paid to turn out. Silent until he spoke, state TV channels have picked up that suggestion and run with it. But these were young Russians who have grown up under Vladimir Putin on a diet of patriotism. On Sunday, they joined a crowd chanting \"Putin - thief\" and \"Russia will be free!\" Their presence is proof of how effectively Alexei Navalny and his team use social media." } ], "id": "9588_0", "question": "Who are the protesters?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "An Indian politician has caused outrage once again for saying that foreign tourists should avoid wearing skirts. The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi has collected some tips for politicians with a tendency to dispense unsolicited fashion advice to women. There was uproar at the weekend when Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said that a list given to tourists at airports advised them not to wear skirts or dresses in India or venture out alone at night in small towns Sadly, he is not the first - and he certainly won't be the last - to deliver such advice to women on how to keep themselves safe and avoid rape. Time and again, ministers, politicians and other influential community leaders have been telling women and girls not to wear jeans, short skirts, dresses or shorts. Women have also been told not to go out after dark, date, be friends with boys, or even use mobile phones. Here's a list of recent offenders: - Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi said scantily-clad women attracted male attention and that rape cases were on the rise due to \"women wearing less clothes\". - Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the right-wing Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which is the ideological mentor of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said rapes were an urban crime shaped by westernisation, and were not happening in rural India where traditional values were upheld. - A female politician, Asha Mirje, caused outrage for saying that \"rapes take place also because of a woman's clothes, her behaviour and her being at inappropriate places\". Since the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in December 2012 in Delhi, there is much more scrutiny within India - and globally - of what influential people and opinion makers say about violence against women. The justification offered by many in India's largely paternalistic society is that these remarks are well meaning and actually meant to protect women. But women activists and commentators disagree - they say that there's no correlation between short skirts and rape. \"It's very very important that these politicians stop telling women what sort of clothes to wear or what not to wear,\" Swati Maliwal, chief of Delhi Commission for Women, told the BBC. \"It's time they stop trivialising issues like rape and sexual harassment and do something constructive to address these serious problems.\" For the politicians who seem to be afflicted with foot-in-mouth disease, former public relations professional Chaya Srivatsa, who is also a life coach with an info-tech firm, has some good advice. She points out that Mr Sharma also suggested that if female tourists were taking a cab at night, they take a photo of the number plate and send it to a friend or family member so that the driver would know not to misbehave. \"That was a good thought, but that went completely unnoticed. Our politicians are not good at communication. They should learn to say it in the proper manner. \"He should have just said: Sorry we have jerks here, be careful.\" I also asked comedienne Neeti Palta to come up with suggestions on what our politicians should not say to stay out of controversy. Here's her wish list: - Please remember it's not the clothes that maketh the woman. The only clothes that are rape-proof are clothes without women in them. - Get three women to approve of what you say before you make it public. - Put yourself in a time machine and emerge in 2016. - Lock people like yourselves after dark so we are safer from foot-in-mouth disease Politicians have been told to emerge in 2016. Or, perhaps they could go back to the past. For, according to historians, modesty crept into Indian women's wardrobes during the Victorian era. And what would surprise many is that the blouse and the petticoat - worn with the sari that's often described as India's national dress - only became popular with Indian women during the British rule. This means the notions of traditional modesty may not really have their roots in Indian tradition. Whatever the argument over where prudishness came from, Indian politicians would do well to heed this sage advice - that instead of advising women what to wear, they should advise men on how to behave.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1532, "answer_start": 250, "text": "There was uproar at the weekend when Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said that a list given to tourists at airports advised them not to wear skirts or dresses in India or venture out alone at night in small towns Sadly, he is not the first - and he certainly won't be the last - to deliver such advice to women on how to keep themselves safe and avoid rape. Time and again, ministers, politicians and other influential community leaders have been telling women and girls not to wear jeans, short skirts, dresses or shorts. Women have also been told not to go out after dark, date, be friends with boys, or even use mobile phones. Here's a list of recent offenders: - Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi said scantily-clad women attracted male attention and that rape cases were on the rise due to \"women wearing less clothes\". - Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the right-wing Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which is the ideological mentor of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said rapes were an urban crime shaped by westernisation, and were not happening in rural India where traditional values were upheld. - A female politician, Asha Mirje, caused outrage for saying that \"rapes take place also because of a woman's clothes, her behaviour and her being at inappropriate places\"." } ], "id": "9589_0", "question": "So what advice do politicians give to women?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2360, "answer_start": 1533, "text": "Since the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in December 2012 in Delhi, there is much more scrutiny within India - and globally - of what influential people and opinion makers say about violence against women. The justification offered by many in India's largely paternalistic society is that these remarks are well meaning and actually meant to protect women. But women activists and commentators disagree - they say that there's no correlation between short skirts and rape. \"It's very very important that these politicians stop telling women what sort of clothes to wear or what not to wear,\" Swati Maliwal, chief of Delhi Commission for Women, told the BBC. \"It's time they stop trivialising issues like rape and sexual harassment and do something constructive to address these serious problems.\"" } ], "id": "9589_1", "question": "Why does political language matter?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4194, "answer_start": 3503, "text": "Politicians have been told to emerge in 2016. Or, perhaps they could go back to the past. For, according to historians, modesty crept into Indian women's wardrobes during the Victorian era. And what would surprise many is that the blouse and the petticoat - worn with the sari that's often described as India's national dress - only became popular with Indian women during the British rule. This means the notions of traditional modesty may not really have their roots in Indian tradition. Whatever the argument over where prudishness came from, Indian politicians would do well to heed this sage advice - that instead of advising women what to wear, they should advise men on how to behave." } ], "id": "9589_2", "question": "Where did modest clothes come from anyway?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A school in northern Malaysia has had to shut temporarily to handle what local media have called a case of \"mass hysteria\". It started last week with several students and teachers of the school in the city of Kota Bharu claiming that they had seen spirits or had supernatural experiences. School authorities shut the school and called in Islamic traditional experts, scholars and even witch doctors in prayer sessions and \"exorcisms\". By Sunday, the school had reopened and school officials said things had gone back to normal - but questions remain and the case continues to generate intense interest in Malaysia. The school, SKM Pengkalan Chepa 2, is located in the highly traditional and religious state of Kelantan. Last week, a small group of students began claiming they had seen a \"black figure\" lurking in the school. Soon, more students and even teachers claimed to have seen the same figure or experienced a supernatural presence. One teacher told local news channel Astro Awani that she felt a \"heavy\" presence was hanging on to her, while another claimed that a \"black figure\" was attempting to enter her body. A student meanwhile told newspaper Sinar Harian (in Malay) that he felt numbness in his hands while his mind \"was all over the place\". About 100 people, mostly students, were affected, a senior school staff member confirmed to the BBC. \"Our students were possessed and disturbed [by these spirits]. We are not sure why it happened. We don't know what it is that affected us,\" she said. \"But the place is a bit old, and these children can be disobedient and sometimes throw their rubbish around the school grounds. Perhaps they hit some 'djinns' and offended the spirits,\" she added, using a local reference to ghosts. The school shut on Thursday and invited Islamic preachers to recite the Koran and conduct prayers in the school. Local education authorities are also sending counsellors to the school this week. The Kelantan state education department did not respond to queries from the BBC. Based on the media reports, Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist who has researched mass hysteria in Malaysia, called it a textbook outbreak in an email to the BBC. Mass hysteria or collective delusions are defined as the spontaneous and rapid spread of false or exaggerated beliefs within a population. Outbreaks usually occur in small, tight-knit groups in enclosed surrounding such as schools, orphanages and factories. Several famous cases of mass hysteria or collective delusion have been documented throughout history all over the world - including \"dancing mania\" centuries ago, in which people reportedly would start dancing uncontrollably for hours. In 2012, LeRoy, New York made headlines with high school students developing strange tics and verbal outbursts with no obvious cause. Eventually the New York state department of health found that those involved - mostly girls - were suffering from conversion disorder, a form of mass hysteria. In South East Asia, during the 1970s there were several reported cases of mass hysteria outbreaks at factories in Singapore and Malaysia. Mr Bartholomew, who once lived and did research in Malaysia, said the phenomenon is quite common in rural areas of the country. In 1987 there was an outbreak involving 36 Muslim girls in a Malay hostel in Alor Star, Kedah which Mr Bartholomew said had lasted five years. \"The outbreak involved shouting, running and mental confusion, crying, bizarre movements, trances and spirit possession. The girls, ages 13-17, complained of too much religion and study, and too little recreation,\" Mr Bartholomew said. \"Malays are susceptible because of their belief in an array of spirits,\" said Mr Bartholomew, adding that outbreaks tend to occur in all-female boarding schools as they are the strictest. Existing fears or beliefs often influence what is blamed for mass hysteria incidents - for example in LeRoy the HPV vaccine was first suspected followed by a decades-old chemical spill in the area. In Kota Bahru, school officials are pointing to the supernatural. In some cases one person sets off a mass episode that is then exacerbated or prolonged by various factors. In the case of LeRoy, New York some doctors said it had been sparked by one student actually diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Mr Bartholomew says his research points to deeper underlying causes in Malay girls who have been sent to boarding school. \"They are reluctant to attend such schools, where overcrowding is rife and privacy non-existent,\" he says. \"Frustration and anger build over weeks or months. Eventually a single student becomes 'possessed' and is a seed or catalyst for the unfolding drama.\" In the Alor Star case, school officials brought in witch doctors to help. \"The use of so many bomohs and native healers can be a double-edged sword, especially if they fail, because they legitimise the supernatural aspects of the outbreak. As a result, the outbreak is likely to be prolonged.\" Social media and media attention have been blamed for exacerbating the outbreak in some cases. Dr Wan Zumusni Wan Mustapha, a university lecturer who lived and taught in Kelantan for 13 years, however, thought the incident had been blown out of proportion. \"It could have just been brought on by heat, stress or the haze,\" said Dr Zumusni, from the Universiti Teknologi Mara in Seremban.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2016, "answer_start": 615, "text": "The school, SKM Pengkalan Chepa 2, is located in the highly traditional and religious state of Kelantan. Last week, a small group of students began claiming they had seen a \"black figure\" lurking in the school. Soon, more students and even teachers claimed to have seen the same figure or experienced a supernatural presence. One teacher told local news channel Astro Awani that she felt a \"heavy\" presence was hanging on to her, while another claimed that a \"black figure\" was attempting to enter her body. A student meanwhile told newspaper Sinar Harian (in Malay) that he felt numbness in his hands while his mind \"was all over the place\". About 100 people, mostly students, were affected, a senior school staff member confirmed to the BBC. \"Our students were possessed and disturbed [by these spirits]. We are not sure why it happened. We don't know what it is that affected us,\" she said. \"But the place is a bit old, and these children can be disobedient and sometimes throw their rubbish around the school grounds. Perhaps they hit some 'djinns' and offended the spirits,\" she added, using a local reference to ghosts. The school shut on Thursday and invited Islamic preachers to recite the Koran and conduct prayers in the school. Local education authorities are also sending counsellors to the school this week. The Kelantan state education department did not respond to queries from the BBC." } ], "id": "9590_0", "question": "What happened?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2436, "answer_start": 2017, "text": "Based on the media reports, Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist who has researched mass hysteria in Malaysia, called it a textbook outbreak in an email to the BBC. Mass hysteria or collective delusions are defined as the spontaneous and rapid spread of false or exaggerated beliefs within a population. Outbreaks usually occur in small, tight-knit groups in enclosed surrounding such as schools, orphanages and factories." } ], "id": "9590_1", "question": "What is mass hysteria?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3800, "answer_start": 2437, "text": "Several famous cases of mass hysteria or collective delusion have been documented throughout history all over the world - including \"dancing mania\" centuries ago, in which people reportedly would start dancing uncontrollably for hours. In 2012, LeRoy, New York made headlines with high school students developing strange tics and verbal outbursts with no obvious cause. Eventually the New York state department of health found that those involved - mostly girls - were suffering from conversion disorder, a form of mass hysteria. In South East Asia, during the 1970s there were several reported cases of mass hysteria outbreaks at factories in Singapore and Malaysia. Mr Bartholomew, who once lived and did research in Malaysia, said the phenomenon is quite common in rural areas of the country. In 1987 there was an outbreak involving 36 Muslim girls in a Malay hostel in Alor Star, Kedah which Mr Bartholomew said had lasted five years. \"The outbreak involved shouting, running and mental confusion, crying, bizarre movements, trances and spirit possession. The girls, ages 13-17, complained of too much religion and study, and too little recreation,\" Mr Bartholomew said. \"Malays are susceptible because of their belief in an array of spirits,\" said Mr Bartholomew, adding that outbreaks tend to occur in all-female boarding schools as they are the strictest." } ], "id": "9590_2", "question": "How common is it?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 5360, "answer_start": 3801, "text": "Existing fears or beliefs often influence what is blamed for mass hysteria incidents - for example in LeRoy the HPV vaccine was first suspected followed by a decades-old chemical spill in the area. In Kota Bahru, school officials are pointing to the supernatural. In some cases one person sets off a mass episode that is then exacerbated or prolonged by various factors. In the case of LeRoy, New York some doctors said it had been sparked by one student actually diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Mr Bartholomew says his research points to deeper underlying causes in Malay girls who have been sent to boarding school. \"They are reluctant to attend such schools, where overcrowding is rife and privacy non-existent,\" he says. \"Frustration and anger build over weeks or months. Eventually a single student becomes 'possessed' and is a seed or catalyst for the unfolding drama.\" In the Alor Star case, school officials brought in witch doctors to help. \"The use of so many bomohs and native healers can be a double-edged sword, especially if they fail, because they legitimise the supernatural aspects of the outbreak. As a result, the outbreak is likely to be prolonged.\" Social media and media attention have been blamed for exacerbating the outbreak in some cases. Dr Wan Zumusni Wan Mustapha, a university lecturer who lived and taught in Kelantan for 13 years, however, thought the incident had been blown out of proportion. \"It could have just been brought on by heat, stress or the haze,\" said Dr Zumusni, from the Universiti Teknologi Mara in Seremban." } ], "id": "9590_3", "question": "So what could have caused it?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "A curfew is in effect in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after a second day of clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces. The restrictions will remain in place until further notice. Curfews had already been declared in three other cities as protests over lack of jobs, poor services and corruption escalated. The violence has left at least seven people dead and hundreds wounded. Social media platforms and internet access have been blocked in some areas. The nationwide protests, which appear to lack any organised leadership, are the largest since Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi took office a year ago. Blaming unnamed \"rioters\" for the unrest, the government vowed to address protesters' concerns. In a statement, Mr Abdul Mahdi said \"all vehicles and individuals are totally forbidden to move\" in Baghdad from 05:00 (02:00 GMT) on Thursday. Travellers to and from the city's airport, ambulances, government employees in hospitals, electricity, and water departments, and religious pilgrims were exempt from the curfew. Restrictions had already been imposed in the southern cities of Nasiriya, Amara and Hilla. The UN has called on the authorities to exercise restraint. \"Every individual has the right to speak freely, in keeping with the law,\" UN special representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said. In the capital, police fired tear gas and live ammunition in an attempt to disperse demonstrations in several districts. Protesters also attempted to reach central Tahrir Square, which police had earlier sealed off along with a nearby bridge leading to the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies are located. The Green Zone - out of bounds for most Iraqis since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 - had reopened to the public in June. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and other social and messaging apps were blocked by multiple internet providers from 15:30 (12:30 GMT) on Wednesday, the Netblocks site reports. \"We are demanding a change, we want the downfall of the whole government,\" one protester in Baghdad, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told Reuters. The interior ministry blamed \"rioters who aimed to undermine the true meaning of the [protesters'] demands and strip them of peacefulness\". On Tuesday night, Mr Abdul Mahdi expressed regret for the violence and promised an investigation \"to learn the reasons\" behind the protests. \"It saddens me and breaks our hearts the injuries among the protesters, our sons, and the security forces and the destruction and looting of public and private properties,\" he wrote on Facebook. He added: \"We stress to the people of our nation that our priorities were and will remain focused on providing radical realistic solutions to many of the decades-long accumulated problems.\" The prime minister also said he would create more jobs for graduates. According to the World Bank, the youth unemployment rate in Iraq is currently about 25%. Last year, the southern Iraqi city of Basra was rocked by weeks of protests over unsafe drinking water, power shortages, unemployment and corruption. Government offices, including the main provincial council building, were set alight.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1323, "answer_start": 717, "text": "In a statement, Mr Abdul Mahdi said \"all vehicles and individuals are totally forbidden to move\" in Baghdad from 05:00 (02:00 GMT) on Thursday. Travellers to and from the city's airport, ambulances, government employees in hospitals, electricity, and water departments, and religious pilgrims were exempt from the curfew. Restrictions had already been imposed in the southern cities of Nasiriya, Amara and Hilla. The UN has called on the authorities to exercise restraint. \"Every individual has the right to speak freely, in keeping with the law,\" UN special representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said." } ], "id": "9591_0", "question": "What are the curfew conditions?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2273, "answer_start": 1324, "text": "In the capital, police fired tear gas and live ammunition in an attempt to disperse demonstrations in several districts. Protesters also attempted to reach central Tahrir Square, which police had earlier sealed off along with a nearby bridge leading to the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies are located. The Green Zone - out of bounds for most Iraqis since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 - had reopened to the public in June. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and other social and messaging apps were blocked by multiple internet providers from 15:30 (12:30 GMT) on Wednesday, the Netblocks site reports. \"We are demanding a change, we want the downfall of the whole government,\" one protester in Baghdad, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told Reuters. The interior ministry blamed \"rioters who aimed to undermine the true meaning of the [protesters'] demands and strip them of peacefulness\"." } ], "id": "9591_1", "question": "What happened in Baghdad?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3193, "answer_start": 2274, "text": "On Tuesday night, Mr Abdul Mahdi expressed regret for the violence and promised an investigation \"to learn the reasons\" behind the protests. \"It saddens me and breaks our hearts the injuries among the protesters, our sons, and the security forces and the destruction and looting of public and private properties,\" he wrote on Facebook. He added: \"We stress to the people of our nation that our priorities were and will remain focused on providing radical realistic solutions to many of the decades-long accumulated problems.\" The prime minister also said he would create more jobs for graduates. According to the World Bank, the youth unemployment rate in Iraq is currently about 25%. Last year, the southern Iraqi city of Basra was rocked by weeks of protests over unsafe drinking water, power shortages, unemployment and corruption. Government offices, including the main provincial council building, were set alight." } ], "id": "9591_2", "question": "What has PM Mahdi said?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing has opened in a London court. The US says he is guilty of hacking into and publishing US military databases, but he says the case is politically motivated. So, what is extradition and how does it work? Assange is accused of conspiring to hack into US military databases to acquire sensitive secret information, which was then published on the Wikileaks website. He says the information exposed abuses by the US military. US prosecutors say the leaks of classified material endangered lives, and so the US is seeking his extradition from the UK, where he is currently in prison. Assange had spent almost seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, saying he was a victim of human-rights abuses and would face a life sentence if extradited. At the time he fled to the embassy, he had been facing extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault - a case that was later dropped. Extradition is the internationally recognised legal process under which one country can ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial. It is one of the cornerstones of justice in the modern world. It helps nations to co-operate in tracking down criminals, and to then send them to face trial in the country where their offences were committed. Extradition is governed by treaties - the legal agreements between states - and then specific laws within each country. Those treaties and local laws set out the circumstances and rules for extradition. Some nations have very tight rules - Germany's constitution, for instance, allows only the extradition of its own citizens to other EU states or international courts. The European Union has a unique system that means it is really easy and fast for one member state to send a criminal to another to face trial. The UK remains part of that system until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December. Every time the United States wants to put a suspect who is in the UK on trial, its prosecutors ask the British government. If the request has been made correctly, the home secretary sends it on to the courts, which then issue a warrant for the suspect to be found and arrested. Once the individual has been detained, a judge examines the request. The judge must be satisfied that the individual is definitely the suspect the US is after and that the alleged crime is an offence that could lead to trial in the UK, had the incident happened on its territory. The judge must also consider other bars to extradition, such as whether the person has already been prosecuted for the crime or whether the offence happened in a different country entirely. Under UK law, Parliament has banned extraditing anyone to face a trial in a country that has the death penalty unless the requesting nation has promised not to impose it. Once the judge has reviewed the application, the final decision on extradition to the US is made by the home secretary. The suspect can, however, appeal against extradition if they believe the process has been flawed - and that could involve hearings lasting more than a year. They could go all the way to the UK Supreme Court or European Court of Human Rights. In 2012, a log-jam on extradition to the US was broken after the European Court ruled that life sentences there in allegedly harsh conditions did not breach human rights. The UK has historically blocked a number of extraditions to the US on human-rights grounds - the most significant case being that of Gary McKinnon. The self-confessed hacker was wanted for targeting US government computers, but in 2012 the government barred his extradition, saying he was too ill to face trial abroad. In January 2020, the US turned down an extradition request for Anne Sacoolas to face trial in the UK. She was accused of causing the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn. The US said she could not be extradited because she had diplomatic immunity from prosecution for a crime overseas. No. Under British law, many nations do not have to provide our judges with detailed, or \"prima facie\", evidence that the suspect is guilty. What this means in practice is that a British judge does not need to be sure that the individual would be convicted at the end of a trial. The requesting nations in this category are simply required to explain to our courts that there is a case that needs answering - and our judges take their word for it. That is because the UK has concluded that each of these countries - which includes the US - has laws and safeguards in place that guarantee independent judges and a legal right to a fair trial. Other nations would have to provide fuller evidence of their case to a British court. In contrast, the US will not send someone to face trial in the UK before its judges are sure the evidence is strong. That is because the US Constitution says nobody can be arrested and detained without proof of \"probable cause\" - a standard legal test in all its criminal cases.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4969, "answer_start": 3964, "text": "No. Under British law, many nations do not have to provide our judges with detailed, or \"prima facie\", evidence that the suspect is guilty. What this means in practice is that a British judge does not need to be sure that the individual would be convicted at the end of a trial. The requesting nations in this category are simply required to explain to our courts that there is a case that needs answering - and our judges take their word for it. That is because the UK has concluded that each of these countries - which includes the US - has laws and safeguards in place that guarantee independent judges and a legal right to a fair trial. Other nations would have to provide fuller evidence of their case to a British court. In contrast, the US will not send someone to face trial in the UK before its judges are sure the evidence is strong. That is because the US Constitution says nobody can be arrested and detained without proof of \"probable cause\" - a standard legal test in all its criminal cases." } ], "id": "9592_0", "question": "Must evidence of guilt be provided for extradition?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "For days, Indonesia has been rocked by student protests against a new corruption law and plans for a draconian criminal code. The most headline-grabbing issue is a proposed ban on extramarital sex, but the protests go far beyond that. They focus on corruption, plans to outlaw insulting the president and a toughening of blasphemy laws. While the vote on some of the new bills has been postponed, observers fear the protests will continue. The demonstrations were triggered by a new law which critics say weakens Indonesia's anti-corruption agency. While that law has already been passed and protesters are now demanding for it to be repealed, they have a long list of other demands and grievances. \"It's not a one-issue protest,\" explained Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch in Indonesia. \"And it's also not a unified or organised movement.\" The anger is, for instance, directed at plans for a new criminal code, at troops in the unrest-hit Papua region, and at the failure to stem forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo that are causing toxic haze across South East Asia. \"People are trying to protect their civil liberties and individual liberties,\" Djayadi Hanan, lecturer in political science at Paramadina University in Jakarta, told the BBC. \"And they are upset that the president is disappointing them by not moving strongly against corruption.\" For years already, Indonesia has been planning to reform its criminal code which dates back to Dutch colonial rule. Now that the new draft is on the table, many feel it would roll back years of progress and reform in the country. It would outlaw sex outside of marriage and criminalise abortion in the absence of a medical emergency or rape. It would also outlaw insulting the president and expand blasphemy laws, already a very sensitive issue in the country. In 2017, the governor of Jakarta was jailed for blasphemy in a case that many felt highlighted a shift towards a more conservative and religious society. But the protests have also developed into a general expression of anger with the government. \"In Kalimantan, the demonstrations include the farmers union and indigenous people struggling with the toxic forest and peat fires,\" Mr Harsono told the BBC. \"In Java, the focus is on corruption while in Papua it's about racism and human rights abuses.\" Indonesia's restive region of West Papua has been hit by a wave of violence over the past days after hundreds of protesters, mostly high school students, set fire to several buildings on Monday. Indonesia's president Joko Widodo rose to political power as a man of the people. Coming from a humble background, he was seen as not a typical politician - in a country where entrenched elites have long called the shots. And it's those high expectations which might be the reason why so many are disappointed with him. The public sees corruption as a massive problem and many expected the president to uphold or even strengthen the role of the anti-corruption agency. \"There are two explanations here,\" Mr Hanan concludes. \"Either the president is still a good guy but there is just a lot of pressure on him. Or he is now showing his true colours and is just an ordinary politician after all. \"I think it might be a mix of both.\" The demonstrations have been among the biggest anti-government rallies since 1998 when protests brought down the Suharto dictatorship. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across the country with Jakarta being only one focal point. Many of the marches ended in clashes with the police using tear gas and water cannons against protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs. One student died on Thursday after clashes in Kendari on Sulawesi island. Several hundred are thought to have been injured over the past days in Jakarta alone. Hundreds of students have been arrested after street battles in the capital and other cities across the country. Most observers expect the unrest to continue - the protesters are insisting the new law on corruption has to be repealed. After days of insisting there would be changes, President Widodo on Thursday for the first time suggested he might consider revoking the law. The vote on the reform of the penal code, along with laws on mining, land and labour, has been postponed, but many fear the new bills might just be passed next month. All eyes are on the president, who earlier this year was elected for a second term and will be sworn in on 20 October. \"The ball is now in court of the president,\" says Mr Hanan. \"There is a lot of anger among the public with many people feeling betrayed. They see him as turning his back on the people - after they'd been very loyal to him.\" Reporting by the BBC's Andreas Illmer.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 1352, "answer_start": 440, "text": "The demonstrations were triggered by a new law which critics say weakens Indonesia's anti-corruption agency. While that law has already been passed and protesters are now demanding for it to be repealed, they have a long list of other demands and grievances. \"It's not a one-issue protest,\" explained Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch in Indonesia. \"And it's also not a unified or organised movement.\" The anger is, for instance, directed at plans for a new criminal code, at troops in the unrest-hit Papua region, and at the failure to stem forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo that are causing toxic haze across South East Asia. \"People are trying to protect their civil liberties and individual liberties,\" Djayadi Hanan, lecturer in political science at Paramadina University in Jakarta, told the BBC. \"And they are upset that the president is disappointing them by not moving strongly against corruption.\"" } ], "id": "9593_0", "question": "What are the protests about?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2509, "answer_start": 1353, "text": "For years already, Indonesia has been planning to reform its criminal code which dates back to Dutch colonial rule. Now that the new draft is on the table, many feel it would roll back years of progress and reform in the country. It would outlaw sex outside of marriage and criminalise abortion in the absence of a medical emergency or rape. It would also outlaw insulting the president and expand blasphemy laws, already a very sensitive issue in the country. In 2017, the governor of Jakarta was jailed for blasphemy in a case that many felt highlighted a shift towards a more conservative and religious society. But the protests have also developed into a general expression of anger with the government. \"In Kalimantan, the demonstrations include the farmers union and indigenous people struggling with the toxic forest and peat fires,\" Mr Harsono told the BBC. \"In Java, the focus is on corruption while in Papua it's about racism and human rights abuses.\" Indonesia's restive region of West Papua has been hit by a wave of violence over the past days after hundreds of protesters, mostly high school students, set fire to several buildings on Monday." } ], "id": "9593_1", "question": "What's in the new criminal code?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 3891, "answer_start": 3241, "text": "The demonstrations have been among the biggest anti-government rallies since 1998 when protests brought down the Suharto dictatorship. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across the country with Jakarta being only one focal point. Many of the marches ended in clashes with the police using tear gas and water cannons against protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs. One student died on Thursday after clashes in Kendari on Sulawesi island. Several hundred are thought to have been injured over the past days in Jakarta alone. Hundreds of students have been arrested after street battles in the capital and other cities across the country." } ], "id": "9593_2", "question": "How big are the protests?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4704, "answer_start": 3892, "text": "Most observers expect the unrest to continue - the protesters are insisting the new law on corruption has to be repealed. After days of insisting there would be changes, President Widodo on Thursday for the first time suggested he might consider revoking the law. The vote on the reform of the penal code, along with laws on mining, land and labour, has been postponed, but many fear the new bills might just be passed next month. All eyes are on the president, who earlier this year was elected for a second term and will be sworn in on 20 October. \"The ball is now in court of the president,\" says Mr Hanan. \"There is a lot of anger among the public with many people feeling betrayed. They see him as turning his back on the people - after they'd been very loyal to him.\" Reporting by the BBC's Andreas Illmer." } ], "id": "9593_3", "question": "What happens next?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The US has said it will impose fresh sanctions on Russia after determining it used nerve agent against a former Russian double agent living in the UK. Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left seriously ill after being poisoned with Novichok in Salisbury in March, though they have now recovered. A UK investigation blamed Russia for the attack, but the Kremlin has strongly denied any involvement. Russia has criticised the new sanctions as \"draconian\". In a statement released on Wednesday, the US State Department confirmed it was implementing measures against Russia over the incident. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said it had been determined that the country \"has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law, or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals\". - What are nerve agents and what do they do?. The British government has welcomed the move. \"The strong international response to the use of a chemical weapon on the streets of Salisbury sends an unequivocal message to Russia that its provocative, reckless behaviour will not go unchallenged,\" a UK Foreign Office statement said. The Russian embassy in the US hit back on Thursday morning, criticising what it called \"far-fetched accusations\" from the US that Russia was behind the attack. Russia had become \"accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence\", it said, adding: \"We continue to strongly stand for an open and transparent investigation of the crime committed in Salisbury.\" The new sanctions will take effect on or around 22 August, and relate to the exports of sensitive electronic components and other technologies. The State Department said \"more draconian\" sanctions will follow within 90 days if Russia fails to give reliable assurances it will no longer use chemical weapons and allow on-site inspections by the United Nations. An official said it was only the third time that the US had determined a country had used chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals. Previous occasions were against Syria and against North Korea for the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of leader Kim Jong-un, who died when highly toxic VX nerve agent was rubbed on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport. No. In June the US imposed sanctions on five Russian companies and three Russian individuals in response to alleged Russian cyber-attacks on the US. All are prohibited from any transactions involving the US financial system. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the measures were to counter \"malicious actors\" working to \"increase Russia's offensive cyber-capabilities\". Analysis by Gary O'Donoghue, BBC News, Washington After pressure from Republican members of Congress, the State Department has determined Moscow broke international law by using a military grade chemical weapon on the Skripals. While the US expelled some five dozen diplomats shortly after the poisoning, the administration stopped short of making a formal determination that Russia had broken international law. But Congress has been pushing for such a decision and now the state department has confirmed Russia's actions contravened 1991 US legislation on the use of chemical weapons. That breach automatically triggers the imposition of sanctions and places requirements on Russia to avert further restrictions in three months' time. Those requirements could include opening up sites in Russia for inspection - a move Moscow would probably resist. So far President Donald Trump has been silent on this latest move - which could well derail his attempts to develop a new, warmer relationship with Vladimir Putin. Following the incident, the British government said the military-grade nerve agent Novichok, of a type developed by Russia, had been used in the attack. Relations between Russia and the West hit a new low. More than 20 countries expelled Russian envoys in solidarity with the UK, including the US. Washington ordered 60 diplomats to leave and closed the Russian consulate general in Seattle. Three months after the Salisbury attack, two other people fell ill at a house in Amesbury, about eight miles from the city. Dawn Sturgess later died while her partner, Charlie Rowley, spent three weeks recovering in hospital. After tests, scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had also been exposed to Novichok. Mr Rowley told ITV News he had earlier found a sealed bottle of perfume and given it to Ms Sturgess, who sprayed the substance on her wrists.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2247, "answer_start": 1509, "text": "The new sanctions will take effect on or around 22 August, and relate to the exports of sensitive electronic components and other technologies. The State Department said \"more draconian\" sanctions will follow within 90 days if Russia fails to give reliable assurances it will no longer use chemical weapons and allow on-site inspections by the United Nations. An official said it was only the third time that the US had determined a country had used chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals. Previous occasions were against Syria and against North Korea for the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of leader Kim Jong-un, who died when highly toxic VX nerve agent was rubbed on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport." } ], "id": "9594_0", "question": "What are the sanctions?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2620, "answer_start": 2248, "text": "No. In June the US imposed sanctions on five Russian companies and three Russian individuals in response to alleged Russian cyber-attacks on the US. All are prohibited from any transactions involving the US financial system. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the measures were to counter \"malicious actors\" working to \"increase Russia's offensive cyber-capabilities\"." } ], "id": "9594_1", "question": "Are these the only US sanctions against Russia?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4520, "answer_start": 3637, "text": "Following the incident, the British government said the military-grade nerve agent Novichok, of a type developed by Russia, had been used in the attack. Relations between Russia and the West hit a new low. More than 20 countries expelled Russian envoys in solidarity with the UK, including the US. Washington ordered 60 diplomats to leave and closed the Russian consulate general in Seattle. Three months after the Salisbury attack, two other people fell ill at a house in Amesbury, about eight miles from the city. Dawn Sturgess later died while her partner, Charlie Rowley, spent three weeks recovering in hospital. After tests, scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had also been exposed to Novichok. Mr Rowley told ITV News he had earlier found a sealed bottle of perfume and given it to Ms Sturgess, who sprayed the substance on her wrists." } ], "id": "9594_2", "question": "What was the nerve agent?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Nigerian soldiers have raped women and girls who fled the insurgency by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, Amnesty International has said. Troops separated women from their husbands and raped them, sometimes in exchange for food, in refugee camps, the rights group added. Thousands of people have also starved to death in the camps in north-eastern Nigeria since 2015, Amnesty said. Nigeria's military has dismissed the allegations as malicious and false. \"These false reports, which are capable of derailing the good work being done by our patriotic and selfless soldiers, must stop,\" the military said in a statement. Troops have been battling the insurgents since 2009 in Borno and other north-eastern states. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and about 1.8 million people have fled their homes. The military has repeatedly been accused of carrying out atrocities, and the US, during the presidency of Barack Obama, refused to sell weapons to Nigeria, citing concerns about the military's human rights record. However, the Trump administration has decided to press ahead with the sale of military aircraft and weapons, which Nigeria sees as vital to defeat the insurgents. In its report, They betrayed us, Amnesty recorded the testimony of a 25-year-old woman who said a soldier raped her while she was pregnant. \"He knew I was five or six months pregnant. He said he saw me three times before. He didn't offer me any food, he called me and I ignored him but on the third day, he forced me to a room and raped me,\" she said. Amnesty said it was \"absolutely shocking that people who had already suffered so much under Boko Haram have been condemned to further horrendous abuse by the Nigerian military\". \"Instead of receiving protection from the authorities, women and girls have been forced to succumb to rape in order to avoid starvation or hunger,\" it added. Amnesty added that as the military recaptured territory from Boko Haram in 2015, it ordered people living in villages to move to satellite camps, in some cases \"indiscriminately killing those who remained in their homes\". \"At least hundreds, and possibly thousands, died in Bama Hospital camp alone during this time. Those interviewed consistently reported that 15 to 30 people died each day from hunger and sickness during these months,\" the rights group said. It added that at least 32 babies and children, and five women, have died in detention since 2016 at the notorious Giwa barracks. Many of those detained were victims of abductions or forced marriages by Boko Haram, Amnesty said. \"The detention of women and girls on the basis that they were allegedly married to Boko Haram members is unlawful under international human rights law and Nigerian law, and is discriminatory,\" it added. One woman told Amnesty she was detained along with her husband and son. \"When we arrived in Bama prison, it was awful. People were being beaten in the yard in front of us. They started beating my husband and son. So much fear came into me. I was pregnant and I went into labour. I found the toilet and I had my baby next to it. No-one helped me. At the beginning, I didn't know if my baby was alive or dead,\" the 35-year-old woman said. By Mayeni Jones, BBC News, Lagos There is a sense of deja-vu following the release of Amnesty's latest findings. Although the number of women who admitted being raped in this report is relatively small - just nine women came forward - it is part of a wider cluster of allegations against the military. In 2016, Human Rights Watch reported that 43 women accused officials of rape and exploitation in refugee camps in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Shortly after the release of the report, President Muhammadu Buhari mandated the local government to investigate the allegations. Ten officials were arrested in December 2016 but nothing happened after that. In the summer of 2017, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo set up a panel to investigate human rights abuses by the military, but its findings have not yet been made public. There needs to be a concerted and transparent effort on the part of the authorities to tackle this problem. But with security crises happening in different parts of the country, including the north-east and middle belt states, it is hard to see how this will be a priority for the Nigeria authorities - particularly given their criticism of Amnesty's report.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4407, "answer_start": 3219, "text": "By Mayeni Jones, BBC News, Lagos There is a sense of deja-vu following the release of Amnesty's latest findings. Although the number of women who admitted being raped in this report is relatively small - just nine women came forward - it is part of a wider cluster of allegations against the military. In 2016, Human Rights Watch reported that 43 women accused officials of rape and exploitation in refugee camps in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Shortly after the release of the report, President Muhammadu Buhari mandated the local government to investigate the allegations. Ten officials were arrested in December 2016 but nothing happened after that. In the summer of 2017, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo set up a panel to investigate human rights abuses by the military, but its findings have not yet been made public. There needs to be a concerted and transparent effort on the part of the authorities to tackle this problem. But with security crises happening in different parts of the country, including the north-east and middle belt states, it is hard to see how this will be a priority for the Nigeria authorities - particularly given their criticism of Amnesty's report." } ], "id": "9595_0", "question": "Is this a priority for Nigeria's military?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "At least 207 people have been killed and 450 hurt in explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, police say. Eight blasts were reported, including at three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo's Kochchikade district during Easter services. The Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand luxury hotels, all in the capital, were also targeted. A curfew has been put in place \"until further notice\" and social media networks have been temporarily blocked. It remains unclear who carried out the attacks, but reports say 13 people have so far been arrested. Late on Sunday, the country's air force said an improvised explosive device had been found, and disposed of, close to Colombo's main airport. \"A PVC pipe which was six feet in length containing explosives in it was discovered,\" spokesman Gihan Seneviratne told local media. It comes as the country's prime minister admitted there may have been prior intelligence about the attacks. Officials says 36 foreign nationals are thought to be among the dead, including 25 yet to be identified. The first reports of explosions came at about 08:45 (03:15 GMT) local time - with six blasts reported close together at churches and luxury hotels. St Sebastian's church in Negombo was severely damaged in one explosion, with dozens killed at the site. Images from inside showed blood on the pews and the building's ceiling shattered. There were also heavy casualties at the site of the first blast in St Anthony's, a hugely popular shrine in Kochchikade, a district of Colombo. Robert Tyler, who has lived in Sri Lanka for six years, told the BBC that at least two of the hotels appeared to have had their restaurants targeted at a busy time for breakfast. Two further explosions were reported as police tried to find those involved. One blast hit near the zoo in Dehiwala, southern Colombo, and an eighth was reported near the Colombo district of Dematagoda during a police raid, killing three officers. The government has said most of the attacks are thought to have been carried out by suicide bombers. The vast majority of those killed are thought to be Sri Lankan nationals, including dozens who were attending Easter church services. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says five British people - including two with joint US citizenship - are among the dead. The US State Department has said \"several\" Americans have been killed. Three Danish citizens, two Turkish nationals and one person from the Netherlands were also killed, their governments have confirmed. Sri Lankan officials say three Indian nationals and one Portuguese citizen are also among the dead. They say 25 more fatalities at a Colombo mortuary are also thought to be international citizens awaiting identification. Airlines have said people are still able to travel to the airport under the curfew if they produce their boarding pass and identification at checkpoints. Travellers are being advised to arrive at the airport four hours before their scheduled flight time. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the media on Sunday evening. During the briefing, he referred to allegations that officials had been in possession of intelligence suggesting an impending attack. \"We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken. Neither I nor the Ministers were kept informed,\" he said. \"For now the priority is to apprehend the attackers,\" he added. Pope Francis, in his traditional Urbi et Orbi speech at the Vatican, condemned the attacks as \"such cruel violence\" targeting Christians celebrating Easter. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is \"outraged\" by the attacks, and hopes the perpetrators will be \"swiftly brought to justice\". Cardinal Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Ranjith, told the BBC: \"It's a very difficult and a very sad situation for all of us because we never expected such a thing to happen and especially on Easter Sunday.\" UK PM Theresa May tweeted condolences, saying the \"acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling\". US President Donald Trump tweeted \"heartfelt condolences\" for the \"horrible terrorist attacks\". Sunday's attacks are the deadliest seen in Sri Lanka since the end of the country's civil war in 2009. The civil war ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, who had fought for 26 years for an independent homeland for the minority ethnic Tamils. The war is thought to have killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people. The nation has seen some sporadic violence since. In March 2018 a state of emergency was declared after members of the majority Buddhist Sinhala community attacked mosques and Muslim-owned properties. Theravada Buddhism is Sri Lanka's biggest religious group, making up about 70.2% of the population, according to the most recent census. It is the religion of Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority. It is given primary place in the country's laws and is singled out in the constitution. Hindus and Muslims make up 12.6% and 9.7% of the population respectively. Sri Lanka is also home to about 1.5 million Christians, according to the 2012 census, the vast majority of them Roman Catholic.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2055, "answer_start": 1050, "text": "The first reports of explosions came at about 08:45 (03:15 GMT) local time - with six blasts reported close together at churches and luxury hotels. St Sebastian's church in Negombo was severely damaged in one explosion, with dozens killed at the site. Images from inside showed blood on the pews and the building's ceiling shattered. There were also heavy casualties at the site of the first blast in St Anthony's, a hugely popular shrine in Kochchikade, a district of Colombo. Robert Tyler, who has lived in Sri Lanka for six years, told the BBC that at least two of the hotels appeared to have had their restaurants targeted at a busy time for breakfast. Two further explosions were reported as police tried to find those involved. One blast hit near the zoo in Dehiwala, southern Colombo, and an eighth was reported near the Colombo district of Dematagoda during a police raid, killing three officers. The government has said most of the attacks are thought to have been carried out by suicide bombers." } ], "id": "9596_0", "question": "How did the attacks unfold?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2990, "answer_start": 2056, "text": "The vast majority of those killed are thought to be Sri Lankan nationals, including dozens who were attending Easter church services. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says five British people - including two with joint US citizenship - are among the dead. The US State Department has said \"several\" Americans have been killed. Three Danish citizens, two Turkish nationals and one person from the Netherlands were also killed, their governments have confirmed. Sri Lankan officials say three Indian nationals and one Portuguese citizen are also among the dead. They say 25 more fatalities at a Colombo mortuary are also thought to be international citizens awaiting identification. Airlines have said people are still able to travel to the airport under the curfew if they produce their boarding pass and identification at checkpoints. Travellers are being advised to arrive at the airport four hours before their scheduled flight time." } ], "id": "9596_1", "question": "Who are the victims?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4137, "answer_start": 2991, "text": "Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the media on Sunday evening. During the briefing, he referred to allegations that officials had been in possession of intelligence suggesting an impending attack. \"We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken. Neither I nor the Ministers were kept informed,\" he said. \"For now the priority is to apprehend the attackers,\" he added. Pope Francis, in his traditional Urbi et Orbi speech at the Vatican, condemned the attacks as \"such cruel violence\" targeting Christians celebrating Easter. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is \"outraged\" by the attacks, and hopes the perpetrators will be \"swiftly brought to justice\". Cardinal Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Ranjith, told the BBC: \"It's a very difficult and a very sad situation for all of us because we never expected such a thing to happen and especially on Easter Sunday.\" UK PM Theresa May tweeted condolences, saying the \"acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling\". US President Donald Trump tweeted \"heartfelt condolences\" for the \"horrible terrorist attacks\"." } ], "id": "9596_2", "question": "What have officials said?" }, { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4655, "answer_start": 4138, "text": "Sunday's attacks are the deadliest seen in Sri Lanka since the end of the country's civil war in 2009. The civil war ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, who had fought for 26 years for an independent homeland for the minority ethnic Tamils. The war is thought to have killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people. The nation has seen some sporadic violence since. In March 2018 a state of emergency was declared after members of the majority Buddhist Sinhala community attacked mosques and Muslim-owned properties." } ], "id": "9596_3", "question": "What's Sri Lanka's recent history?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The UK faces a \"democratic crisis\" with voters being targeted with \"pernicious views\" and data being manipulated, a parliamentary committee is set to warn. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee has been investigating disinformation and fake news following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. In its first report, MPs will suggest social media companies should face tougher regulation or a new tax. It also proposes measures to combat election interference. The MPs' report comes after months of investigating the impact of technology giants and how people are affected by the rise in fake news on social media. It also probed whether Russia had a role in influencing voters in the EU referendum. The committee's report was due to be officially published on Sunday. But a copy was leaked on Friday by Dominic Cummings, the director of the official Brexit campaign group Vote Leave, who published it on his own blog. Mr Cummings was asked and officially summoned to take part in the inquiry - to respond to allegations made against the Vote Leave campaign - but he refused. Mr Cummings called the report \"fake news\". According to the leaked report, MPs say \"our democracy is at risk and now is the time to act\". The committee highlights the \"relentless targeting of hyper-partisan views, which play to the fears and prejudices of people, in order to influence their voting plans\". The report is expected to be very critical of Facebook, which has been under increased scrutiny following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. \"Facebook has hampered our efforts to get information about their company throughout this inquiry. It is as if it thinks that the problem will go away if it does not share information about the problem, and reacts only when it is pressed,\" it will say. \"It provided witnesses who have been unwilling or unable to give full answers to the committee's questions.\" It will repeat its call for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence. The committee's report will also say it had received \"disturbing evidence\" - some of which it had not published - of hacking, disinformation and voter suppression in elections since 2010. \"We urge the government to ensure that the National Crime Agency thoroughly investigates these allegations.\" Social media sites should be held responsible for 'harmful' content on their services Companies such as Facebook and YouTube have repeatedly said they are just a \"platform\", rather than a \"publisher\". They have argued that they are not responsible for the content people post on their services. The committee's report is expected to say social media companies \"cannot hide behind\" this claim. A \"new category of tech company\" which is something in between a platform or publisher should be created, the committee will suggest. This should establish \"clear legal liability for the tech companies to act against harmful and illegal content on their platforms\". The rules on political campaigns should be made fit for the digital age The committee will say that electoral law needs to be \"updated to reflect changes in campaigning techniques\". It will suggest: - creating a public register for political advertising so that anybody can see what messages are being distributed - online political advertisements should have a digital imprint stating who was responsible, as is required with printed leaflets and advertisements - social media sites should be held responsible for interference in elections by malicious actors - electoral fraud fines should be increased from a maximum of PS20,000 to a percentage of an organisations' annual turnover Social network security should be audited The report will suggest that an independent body such as the Competition and Markets Authority should audit the social networks. It will say that security mechanisms and algorithms used by social networks should be available for audit by a government regulator, to ensure they are \"operating responsibly\". The committee will also warn that fake accounts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter \"not only damage the user experience, but potentially defraud advertisers\" who could be paying to advertise to accounts not run by real people. Tech companies should be taxed to fund education and regulation Tighter regulation of social media sites would mean more work for organisations such as the Electoral Commission and Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The committee will suggest a tax on tech companies. Some of the money should fund the extra responsibilities of the regulators. The rest of the money should be spent on digital education in schools and a public awareness campaign, to help people identify disinformation and fake news. \"Digital literacy should be the fourth pillar of education, alongside reading, writing and maths,\" the report will say. The report will also summarise the evidence collected during the committee's inquiry, which was launched in September last year. Whistleblower Christopher Wylie and Cambridge Analytica chief executive Alexander Nix were among the 61 witnesses that gave evidence. Tom Baldwin, who has written a book on the relationship between politics and media, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the report's recommendations did not go far enough. \"The social media ads that were seen used by Donald Trump and the Leave campaign are the most lethal political weapons ever invented,\" Mr Baldwin said. Will Moy, the head of fact checking charity Full Fact, told the BBC that the same conversation about fake news is going on around the world - and the reaction of some governments had been \"quite scary\". He said MPs should acknowledge that it is important to also \"stand proudly on being an open society and valuing free speech\". Rules for political advertising have become out of date because they do not work for online, and the transparency of where adverts come from should be available immediately, he added. Meanwhile, Jamie Bartlett, the head of think tank Demos, said the report is about the \"long-term integrity of elections\" so people \"trust they are getting accurate information\". He said he fears the Brexit debate could distract the focus of the issue. \"So those who are pro-Brexit will dismiss a lot of it, those who are anti-Brexit will say 'this is why we should have another referendum, and then we miss what is essentially far more important: The long-term health of democracy.\" The committee's final report is expected before the end of the year. Facebook and Twitter have yet to respond to a request for comment.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 4826, "answer_start": 2278, "text": "Social media sites should be held responsible for 'harmful' content on their services Companies such as Facebook and YouTube have repeatedly said they are just a \"platform\", rather than a \"publisher\". They have argued that they are not responsible for the content people post on their services. The committee's report is expected to say social media companies \"cannot hide behind\" this claim. A \"new category of tech company\" which is something in between a platform or publisher should be created, the committee will suggest. This should establish \"clear legal liability for the tech companies to act against harmful and illegal content on their platforms\". The rules on political campaigns should be made fit for the digital age The committee will say that electoral law needs to be \"updated to reflect changes in campaigning techniques\". It will suggest: - creating a public register for political advertising so that anybody can see what messages are being distributed - online political advertisements should have a digital imprint stating who was responsible, as is required with printed leaflets and advertisements - social media sites should be held responsible for interference in elections by malicious actors - electoral fraud fines should be increased from a maximum of PS20,000 to a percentage of an organisations' annual turnover Social network security should be audited The report will suggest that an independent body such as the Competition and Markets Authority should audit the social networks. It will say that security mechanisms and algorithms used by social networks should be available for audit by a government regulator, to ensure they are \"operating responsibly\". The committee will also warn that fake accounts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter \"not only damage the user experience, but potentially defraud advertisers\" who could be paying to advertise to accounts not run by real people. Tech companies should be taxed to fund education and regulation Tighter regulation of social media sites would mean more work for organisations such as the Electoral Commission and Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The committee will suggest a tax on tech companies. Some of the money should fund the extra responsibilities of the regulators. The rest of the money should be spent on digital education in schools and a public awareness campaign, to help people identify disinformation and fake news. \"Digital literacy should be the fourth pillar of education, alongside reading, writing and maths,\" the report will say." } ], "id": "9597_0", "question": "What will the committee recommend?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "The Duchess of Cambridge's right-hand woman is leaving her post after 10 years' service to the Royal Family, Kensington Palace has said. Rebecca Deacon became private secretary to the duchess shortly after the Cambridges married in 2011. Miss Deacon previously worked for Prince Harry's charity Sentebale. A palace spokeswoman said: \"Their Royal Highnesses are incredibly grateful for all the hard work and support Rebecca has provided over the past 10 years.\" She said Miss Deacon planned to leave the duke and duchess's household this summer, adding that they \"wish her well in the next phase of her career\". The news follows reports of Miss Deacon's engagement - she is due to marry later this month. Often pictured standing behind the duchess during public engagements, Miss Deacon played an important role during the royal wedding. A private secretary's duties include organising official programmes and engagements and ensuring the duchess is briefed on whom she is going to meet. Kensington Palace declined to comment on the matter of Miss Deacon's replacement. Analysis by Peter Hunt, royal correspondent Conversations with headhunters will take place soon. However, anyone who lets slip they might be in the running for the post will not end up sitting behind an antique desk at Kensington Palace. The successful candidate will be discreet, self-effacing and efficient. A sense of humour and a sense of the absurd will be very necessary personal qualities. An ability to collect flowers from members of the public and to provide fashion advice won't be written into the job description. In public, they'll be a hovering presence and they'll call the duchess Your Royal Highness and Ma'am (to rhyme with jam); whether they call her Catherine in private depends on how well their relationship develops. The new private secretary will be appointed at a critical time. With the Queen a month away from her 91st birthday, the Cambridges will take on more royal duties. In the coming years the duchess' diet of engagements will grow and will be managed by her newest member of staff. This senior royal official will be an adviser, a confidante and, at the end of the day, a servant. They'll have a privileged position inside the House of Windsor bubble and, if they're wise, they won't overstay their welcome. When they do leave, like Rebecca Deacon before them, they'll know they'll have played a part in shaping, as things stand, the life of a future Queen Consort. Read more from Peter here.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 2499, "answer_start": 1069, "text": "Analysis by Peter Hunt, royal correspondent Conversations with headhunters will take place soon. However, anyone who lets slip they might be in the running for the post will not end up sitting behind an antique desk at Kensington Palace. The successful candidate will be discreet, self-effacing and efficient. A sense of humour and a sense of the absurd will be very necessary personal qualities. An ability to collect flowers from members of the public and to provide fashion advice won't be written into the job description. In public, they'll be a hovering presence and they'll call the duchess Your Royal Highness and Ma'am (to rhyme with jam); whether they call her Catherine in private depends on how well their relationship develops. The new private secretary will be appointed at a critical time. With the Queen a month away from her 91st birthday, the Cambridges will take on more royal duties. In the coming years the duchess' diet of engagements will grow and will be managed by her newest member of staff. This senior royal official will be an adviser, a confidante and, at the end of the day, a servant. They'll have a privileged position inside the House of Windsor bubble and, if they're wise, they won't overstay their welcome. When they do leave, like Rebecca Deacon before them, they'll know they'll have played a part in shaping, as things stand, the life of a future Queen Consort. Read more from Peter here." } ], "id": "9598_0", "question": "Could you be what the Duchess is looking for?" } ] } ]

[ { "context": "Could Ukraine be the next big country to see an anti-establishment \"outsider\" candidate sweep to victory? The world is getting used to such stunning triumphs, in a time of volatile politics and general insecurity. We've seen it in France (Emmanuel Macron), Italy (the rise of Five Star) and the United States (Donald Trump). Ahead of Ukraine's 31 March presidential election an anti-establishment comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, is leading opinion polls. \"Zelensky against the system... a comedian against Ukraine's deep state,\" is how Alexander Motyl, a Ukraine expert at Rutgers University in the US, describes it. This is the first time Ukrainians are choosing a new president since the momentous events of 2014. Former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in the February 2014 Maidan Revolution, which cost more than 100 lives. Then came Russia's annexation of Crimea and a Russian-backed insurgency in the east. Within weeks, one of Ukraine's wealthiest oligarchs, confectionery tycoon Petro Poroshenko, won a snap presidential election in May 2014 unusually in the first round, with nearly 55% of the vote. The Ukrainian president has significant powers over security, defence and foreign policy. So he/she is not just a figurehead; the ex-Soviet republic's system is described as semi-presidential. If no candidate gets more than 50% on Sunday, the top two will fight it out in a second round on 21 April. Today many Ukrainians remain poor and disillusioned with the country's politics. They had hoped to see much more economic progress and determined action against corruption after the 2014 upheaval. Key economic sectors - especially energy and heavy industry - remain in the hands of oligarchs powerful enough to fix prices and intimidate challengers. The EU and Russia are nervously watching this election. The next president will inherit a deadlocked conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in the east, while Ukraine strives to fulfil EU requirements for closer economic ties. The EU points out that some 12% of Ukraine's 44 million people are disenfranchised, largely those who live in Russia and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in March 2014. But Anders Aslund, a Ukraine expert at the Atlantic Council think-tank, says the conflict with Russia \"is not at all a factor\" in this election campaign. Of the 39 names on the ballot paper just a handful are political heavyweights. Mr Aslund says \"many want to make a name for themselves for the October parliamentary elections\" and entering the presidential race \"gets them name recognition\". \"There is also the vanity factor - it doesn't cost so much to run,\" he told the BBC. Newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky, 41, has surged to the front in recent months, according to opinion polls, which put him on about 25%. He aims to turn his satirical TV show into political reality: he portrays an ordinary citizen who rises to the presidency by fighting corruption, in the series Servant of the People. That show is a hit on Channel 1+1, owned by billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, a leading opponent of President Poroshenko. So Mr Zelensky is generally seen to be close to Mr Kolomoisky. Mr Zelensky has run a skilful, modern campaign relying on social media, Mr Aslund said. But there are worries about his lack of political experience. \"It's very different - he is appealing to young voters, aged below 40. He doesn't have a detailed programme, but he is not a populist,\" Mr Aslund said, describing the comedian as \"more like Macron than Trump\". President Poroshenko, 53, has the slogan \"Army, Language, Faith\" - an appeal to conservative, nationalist Ukrainians. Among his achievements, he points to: backing for the military, which has kept the Donbas separatists in check; an Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians; independence for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, ending centuries of Russian control. But his campaign has been dogged by corruption allegations, including a scandal over defence procurement, which erupted last month. \"It's a very hard slog to get him to tackle corruption, and the West has a rather cold attitude to him,\" said Mr Aslund. An EU Commission report in November praised some of Ukraine's reforms under Mr Poroshenko, such as in healthcare, pensions and public administration. But judicial reforms were too slow, the report said, and \"there have been only few convictions in high-level corruption cases so far\". Too often attacks on civil society activists went unpunished, it said. Opinion polls put Mr Poroshenko roughly level with Yulia Tymoshenko, 58, on about 13%. She is a veteran campaigner, who played a leading role in the 2004 Orange Revolution - Ukraine's first big push to ally itself with the EU, defying Russia. She has served as prime minister and ran for president twice before, in 2010 and 2014. Her core electorate is \"elderly, rural and female\", Mr Aslund said. Last year she engaged thousands of people in an ambitious constitutional reform drive, aiming to turn Ukraine into a full-blown parliamentary democracy. But besides that, according to Mr Aslund, \"she had little new to say\" in her campaign. She pledged to lower gas prices, boost pensions and freeze privatisation of agricultural land. She is furious that a candidate called Yuriy Tymoshenko is also in the race. She accused Mr Poroshenko of using him as a \"puppet\" to confuse voters and damage her chances. Her namesake, however, insists that voters \"will easily understand where is Yulia and where is Yuriy\". She has also traded invective with Mr Zelensky, likening him to an iconic Soviet-era cartoon character with big ears, called Cheburashka. She said he was like a \"Cheburashka borscht [beetroot soup] - creative... but not tasty\". He riposted that it was better than being \"a sour borscht that was cooked yesterday\" - an insult widely quoted on the web. Meanwhile, Radical Party candidate Oleh Lyashko - a nationalist - called Ms Tymoshenko a \"Moscow cuckoo\", and she retaliated by branding him \"Poroshenko's yapping Chihuahua\". Ukraine's relations with Russia remain hostile and this time Moscow is reckoned to have little leverage over Ukrainian voters. The most pro-Russian voters are in the separatist-controlled east and Crimea. But separatist-held areas are boycotting the election and Crimea has been annexed by Russia. Polls suggest that a Russia-friendly candidate - Yuriy Boyko, 60 - is in fourth place. He says he would \"normalise\" relations with Russia - the neighbouring power that has most dominated Ukraine's history.", "qas": [ { "answers": [ { "answer_end": 6582, "answer_start": 2351, "text": "Of the 39 names on the ballot paper just a handful are political heavyweights. Mr Aslund says \"many want to make a name for themselves for the October parliamentary elections\" and entering the presidential race \"gets them name recognition\". \"There is also the vanity factor - it doesn't cost so much to run,\" he told the BBC. Newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky, 41, has surged to the front in recent months, according to opinion polls, which put him on about 25%. He aims to turn his satirical TV show into political reality: he portrays an ordinary citizen who rises to the presidency by fighting corruption, in the series Servant of the People. That show is a hit on Channel 1+1, owned by billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, a leading opponent of President Poroshenko. So Mr Zelensky is generally seen to be close to Mr Kolomoisky. Mr Zelensky has run a skilful, modern campaign relying on social media, Mr Aslund said. But there are worries about his lack of political experience. \"It's very different - he is appealing to young voters, aged below 40. He doesn't have a detailed programme, but he is not a populist,\" Mr Aslund said, describing the comedian as \"more like Macron than Trump\". President Poroshenko, 53, has the slogan \"Army, Language, Faith\" - an appeal to conservative, nationalist Ukrainians. Among his achievements, he points to: backing for the military, which has kept the Donbas separatists in check; an Association Agreement with the EU, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians; independence for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, ending centuries of Russian control. But his campaign has been dogged by corruption allegations, including a scandal over defence procurement, which erupted last month. \"It's a very hard slog to get him to tackle corruption, and the West has a rather cold attitude to him,\" said Mr Aslund. An EU Commission report in November praised some of Ukraine's reforms under Mr Poroshenko, such as in healthcare, pensions and public administration. But judicial reforms were too slow, the report said, and \"there have been only few convictions in high-level corruption cases so far\". Too often attacks on civil society activists went unpunished, it said. Opinion polls put Mr Poroshenko roughly level with Yulia Tymoshenko, 58, on about 13%. She is a veteran campaigner, who played a leading role in the 2004 Orange Revolution - Ukraine's first big push to ally itself with the EU, defying Russia. She has served as prime minister and ran for president twice before, in 2010 and 2014. Her core electorate is \"elderly, rural and female\", Mr Aslund said. Last year she engaged thousands of people in an ambitious constitutional reform drive, aiming to turn Ukraine into a full-blown parliamentary democracy. But besides that, according to Mr Aslund, \"she had little new to say\" in her campaign. She pledged to lower gas prices, boost pensions and freeze privatisation of agricultural land. She is furious that a candidate called Yuriy Tymoshenko is also in the race. She accused Mr Poroshenko of using him as a \"puppet\" to confuse voters and damage her chances. Her namesake, however, insists that voters \"will easily understand where is Yulia and where is Yuriy\". She has also traded invective with Mr Zelensky, likening him to an iconic Soviet-era cartoon character with big ears, called Cheburashka. She said he was like a \"Cheburashka borscht [beetroot soup] - creative... but not tasty\". He riposted that it was better than being \"a sour borscht that was cooked yesterday\" - an insult widely quoted on the web. Meanwhile, Radical Party candidate Oleh Lyashko - a nationalist - called Ms Tymoshenko a \"Moscow cuckoo\", and she retaliated by branding him \"Poroshenko's yapping Chihuahua\". Ukraine's relations with Russia remain hostile and this time Moscow is reckoned to have little leverage over Ukrainian voters. The most pro-Russian voters are in the separatist-controlled east and Crimea. But separatist-held areas are boycotting the election and Crimea has been annexed by Russia. Polls suggest that a Russia-friendly candidate - Yuriy Boyko, 60 - is in fourth place. He says he would \"normalise\" relations with Russia - the neighbouring power that has most dominated Ukraine's history." } ], "id": "9599_0", "question": "Who are the main contenders?" } ] } ]