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Reality Check: Is Grenfell Tower council outspending the government? - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Will Kensington and Chelsea Council spend more on Grenfell victims than the government spends on housing?
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UK
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The Claim: Kensington and Chelsea Council says it will spend more on the rehousing and recovery operation for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire than the government has promised to spend on housing in one quarter (three months) in the whole of the UK.
Reality Check Verdict: The £235m that the council has set aside so far for Grenfell is less than the additional £250m allocated for affordable housing in England and Wales a quarter, so on these figures the council is wrong. The council predicts it will ultimately end up spending more on Grenfell but hasn't provided the figures. However the government is due to spend a total of £455m a quarter on affordable housing up to 2021.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea says it has set aside £235m so far on what it calls the Grenfell "recovery" operation.
There's no doubt that all of this is going to cost a fortune - not least because the borough is one of the most expensive areas of the UK. But even taking into account the sky-high prices of west London land, the council's claim doesn't stack up.
So why did it get it wrong? It's not hard to understand why the council got into a muddle.
It all comes down to one of the biggest problems faced by anyone trying to get their head around government spending: knowing for sure when the cash is going to be spent.
The council told BBC Reality Check that it was comparing its spending with the government's Affordable Homes Programme.
This is the key scheme overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government to funds new homes in the social sector.
The AHP was set up in 2010 and it runs until 2021. Up until the end of the summer, the Treasury had approved £7bn for the second five-year phase which we are now in. That works out at £350m a quarter. But that's not the figure to which the council is referring.
Grenfell Tower is situated amongst some of the most expensive housing in London.
Instead, it is referencing a new part of the affordable homes spending: an additional £2bn that the prime minister announced at October's Conservative Party Conference.
If that £2bn was spread over the five years to 2021, it would work out as £100m per quarter. That's lower than Kensington and Chelsea's Grenfell spending - so the council looks like it's right.
But in fact, that new money is an additional investment for only the final two years of the Affordable Homes Programme.
That works out at £250m per quarter. And that's more than the council has set aside so far for the Grenfell recovery bill. The council predicts it will ultimately end up spending more on Grenfell but hasn't provided the figures.
BBC Reality Check likes to challenge itself by discovering new and complicated ways to push figures further.
We lumped all £9bn of the government's current affordable homes spending together, without worrying too much about which particular year it applied to. When you spread that total over the five years of the programme, the projected quarterly average was £455m - still more than the council has set aside so far.
This article was amended on 24 October to reflect new information from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41724262
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Mosul: Culture and concerts where IS once reigned - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tahani Salih suffered under IS - now she's bringing pleasure back to where the group once ruled.
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Middle East
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A Peace Festival was held in Mosul weeks after IS was ousted
For almost three years, while her home city of Mosul was under occupation by so-called Islamic State (IS), Tahani Salih kept a daily diary documenting their crimes.
Tahani, now 27, filled almost 500 pages with her experiences and those of her family and friends, as well as her hopes and dreams for the time when IS would be defeated.
"Just before our neighbourhood was liberated, IS began to harass people and force their way into their homes to carry out searches. One day I took out those hand-written pages and started to reread them, and I was shocked," she said.
"I realised that the content could put my life and my family at risk, as well as people I had mentioned in my diary. So I had no choice but to destroy those papers.
"I sat down, and started to burn one page at a time. Later, I blamed myself for not hiding my diary or burying it in our garden."
Although the diary is gone, Tahani remembers every word of the plans she made. Now IS has been defeated, Tahani is throwing herself into putting them in place.
The young woman - who has been trained and supported by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) - is one of a new group of Mosulite activists who are determined to not only rebuild the city but also help rehabilitate fellow residents traumatised by the events of the last three years.
"There are about 40 of us - we're ambitious, educated, respectable young people who love their city and fellow human beings, and want to have a decent future," she said.
Tahani's own priority is to ensure that young women like herself can get involved.
"We live in a culture in which women think it's improper to speak up, or to work outside the home or lead a campaign, which is not true. I know girls who are very strong and motivated, but are scared of harassment or are being forced to stay at home by their families.
"People need to know that being a girl is not shameful," she continued, arguing that a culture of fear and repression was "the very condition that helped IS come in".
Tahani Salih (R) with Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai in Irbil in July
So when Tahani got involved with an ambitious scheme to restore Mosul university's library, which was destroyed by IS during the occupation, she delighted in encouraging other young women to defy gender stereotypes.
Herself one of the first to enter the bombed-out library, she remembers seeing "a boy approaching a girl carrying five or six heavy books.
"He said: 'No, you don't have to carry that much. It's too heavy for you, just carry what you can.' She said: 'Of course I can carry the books, I've come to do just that. Please do your work and carry books, and I'll carry mine.'"
Tahani also put together a football tournament for the library project's volunteers, initially forming one for men and one for women, before deciding this looked too much like gender segregation. To her colleagues' astonishment, she mixed the teams together - an unprecedented move that proved successful.
"The next day, they brought the ball, and said: 'Let's play again.' So we did."
Tahani said that it was not just Mosul's physical fabric that needed rebuilding; it was crucial to harness young people's enthusiasm for freedom in the first few months of liberation.
Art and other expressions of culture were banned under IS for three years
"So we started with cultural events - books, music, festivals, colours, painting, photography.
"We wanted to draw media attention to Mosul so that a young person could see his or her image on a global platform and admire themselves and realise their value."
Tahani organised the first concert in the city after IS' defeat, with live music played in front of the university campus.
The University of Mosul was heavily damaged in the fight against IS
"One of the girls took me by the hand and told me: 'Tahani, this is the first time I feel really alive,'" she recalled.
And together with some friends, Tahani set up a Facebook page called Women of Mosul, a place where they could air views and share ideas for projects.
The work by young Mosulites like Tahani seems to be gaining some traction. Last month, a day-long peace festival set up by other activists drew a crowd of 25,000 people to the city's main stadium.
But Tahani said there was much more to be done, arguing that true success would come when women felt totally free to walk on the street without wearing hijab, or when a bar selling alcohol could function freely in the centre of the city.
Tahani said people in Mosul "need to know that being a girl is not shameful"
"Only then will I be reassured that the city has begun to truly accept everyone, and accept the world."
That seems a long way away, given the conservative attitudes still dominant in the city.
Many fear that former IS supporters remain in the city, trying to blend into the civilian population.
Tahani acknowledges that she has received threats over her activism, but refuses to be intimidated.
"If I get scared, then I'll have to return to just sitting at home, which I won't accept. There's no way I will go back to that and forget all my hopes and dreams, no matter the price."
The Institute for War and Peace Reporting is a non-profit organisation which supports local reporters, citizen journalists and civil society activists in three dozen countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41693136
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Jihad: Toulouse boy's name leads to France dilemma - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The parents' chosen name is referred to France's state prosecutor for a ruling.
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Europe
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France used to have an official list of approved names for babies
Is it acceptable to name your baby "Jihad" in France, which has suffered Europe's worst Islamist terror attacks in recent years?
France's chief prosecutor now has to wrestle with that question after a couple's chosen name for their son was referred by authorities in Toulouse.
In turn, the French judge for family issues may have to rule on the case.
"Jihad" in Arabic means "effort" or "struggle", not specifically "holy war".
French law does not restrict parents' name choices for their children, provided a name does not harm the child's interests and is not opposed by other family members on reputational grounds.
The Toulouse boy called "Jihad" was born in August. Previously, other boys have been allowed to keep that name in France.
The term "jihadists" is commonly used to describe Islamist militants, such as those who carry out terror attacks in the name of so-called Islamic State (IS).
Since the start of 2015, Islamist militants have killed more than 230 people in France, where a state of emergency remains in force.
In 2013 a mother in the French city of Nimes was given a one-month suspended jail term and a €2,000 (£1,783; $2,353) fine after sending her three-year-old boy called Jihad to school in a T-shirt bearing the words "I am a bomb" and "Jihad, born on 11 September".
The sentence was for the "provocative" T-shirt, which referenced the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, but not for the name "Jihad".
In 2015 a French court prevented a couple from naming their baby girl Nutella after the hazelnut spread, ruling that it would make her a laughing stock. The judge ordered that the child be called Ella instead.
• None iWonder - could I name my child Adolf?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41734079
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Man in 100-balloons camping chair flight - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tom Morgan reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) while strapped to a camping chair.
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Bristol
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tom Morgan described the flight as "magical"
A British adventurer has flown 25km (15.5 miles) across South Africa suspended from 100 helium balloons.
Tom Morgan, from Bristol, reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) while strapped to a camping chair, in scenes reminiscent of the Pixar smash Up.
The 38-year-old spent two days inflating balloons ahead of the flight, which he described as "magical".
The challenge moved to South Africa on Friday after several failed attempts in Botswana.
"The problem was finding a good weather window and it was difficult to protect the balloons as they kept bursting," Mr Morgan said.
With just enough helium left for one more attempt, the adventurer and his team moved their base to just north of Johannesburg.
Mr Morgan took two days to blow up the balloons
Describing the experience as "unbelievably cool", Mr Morgan also admitted feeling "somewhere between terrified and elated" as he rose in the air.
As the balloons drifted towards the inversion layer of the atmosphere - where the temperature rises - he said the flight started to accelerate very quickly.
"I had to keep my cool and start gradually cutting the balloons."
The flight had originally been due to take place in Botswana
Mr Morgan, who has lived in Bristol for 15 years and runs an adventure company, wants to eventually set up a competitive helium balloon race in Africa.
"We will have to avoid areas with lots of spiky bushes though," Mr Morgan said.
Mr Morgan's feat is reminiscent of the film Up, in which helium balloons are used to lift a house
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41737642
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Netflix to raise another $1.6bn to finance new films and shows - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The streaming service expects to spend up to $8bn next year on new content.
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Business
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Netflix's Stranger Things has been one of the company's big hits
Netflix is raising another $1.6bn (£1.2bn) from investors to finance new shows and possibly make acquisitions.
The video streaming service plans to spend up to $8bn on content next year to compete with fast-growing rivals.
Netflix will issue bonds to investors, although the interest rate it will pay has yet to be decided, the company said in a statement.
Netflix plans to release 80 films next year, but some analysts are wary about its cash burn and debt interest costs.
The company's latest debt fundraising is its largest so far, and the fourth time in three years it has raised more than $1bn by issuing bonds.
Earlier this month, Netflix said it would raise prices in countries including the UK and US for the first time in two years.
The price rises come as Netflix faces growing competition from Amazon and other sites such as Hulu and Disney in the US.
Netflix has spent heavily on original programming such as The Crown, Stranger Things and House of Cards.
One movie, Mudbound, was described by Variety as "an epic about race and poverty in the 1940s Mississippi Delta", and stars Mary J. Blige and Carey Mulligan.
Some critics say it is a contender for the Academy Awards and would be the first Netflix feature to be in the Oscars race.
Netflix's share price has risen more than 50% this year on the back of subscriber growth that has beat expectations. The company now has more than 109 million subscribers globally, adding 15.5 million so far this year.
The move to take on more corporate debt comes amid expectations that borrowing costs may increase in coming months. The US Federal Reserve is weighing another rate hike by the end of 2017.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41729434
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Jeremy Corbyn to appear on Gogglebox - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader is expected to be paired with a mystery celebrity for a charity special.
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UK Politics
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is going to swap the despatch box for Gogglebox when he appears in a celebrity special.
Mr Corbyn will feature in the hit Channel 4 TV programme next week to help raise money for Stand up to Cancer.
He is expected to share a sofa with a mystery celebrity to chew over a selection of TV programmes.
It is not yet known which shows will be dissected by the Labour leader, who is not expected to be filmed at home.
However, he has previously expressed a fondness for EastEnders - and also revealed he watched Casualty on the eve of this year's Labour Party conference in Brighton.
The show is being filmed this weekend.
A Labour source added: "He's really looking forward to it - it's a great programme for a great cause."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41743859
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Tory MP under fire over 'sinister' Brexit demand to universities - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A Tory MP is under fire after writing to universities asking for names of staff who teach courses on Brexit.
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UK Politics
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Chris Heaton-Harris is facing calls to explain why he wanted the information
A Eurosceptic Tory MP has been accused of compiling a "hit list" of university professors who teach Brexit courses.
Downing Street has distanced itself from government whip Chris Heaton-Harris, who wrote to universities asking for the names of professors.
Lecturers reacted with fury to the letter, calling it a "sinister" attempt to censor them and accusing him of conducting a "McCarthyite" witch hunt.
Mr Heaton-Harris said he believed in "open" debate on Brexit.
The government whip tweeted: "To be absolutely clear, I believe in free speech in our universities and in having an open and vigorous debate on Brexit."
Mr Heaton-Harris is a member of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Conservative MPs.
Labour accused the MP of seeking to draw up "what looks like a register of Brexit heretics" and branded the government response to it a "shambles".
The Liberal Democrats said the letter was "chilling" and that Mr Heaton-Harris should stand down from the government, adding that ministers should reassure universities that they were not expected to comply with his demands.
The letter has been sent to universities across the UK
Downing Street said Mr Heaton-Harris had written to universities in his capacity as an MP and not as a representative of government.
The prime minister's official spokesman said Theresa May respected the freedom and independence of universities and the role they played in providing open and stimulating debate.
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom insisted Mr Heaton-Harris had not sent a "threatening letter" to universities, although she could not say why he had sought the information.
She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "It does seem to me to be a bit odd that universities should react in such a negative way to a fairly courteous request."
Sally Hunt, chairwoman of lecturers' union the University and College Union, said: "Our society will suffer if politicians seek to police what universities can and cannot teach.
"This attempt by Chris Heaton-Harris to compile a hit list of professors has the acrid whiff of McCarthyism about it and (universities minister) Jo Johnson must disown it in the strongest terms."
University lecturers took to twitter to mock Mr Heaton-Harris and the government over the letter.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by James Chalmers This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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Professor David Green, vice-chancellor at the University of Worcester, said: "When I read this extraordinary letter on Parliamentary paper from a serving MP, I felt a chill down my spine. Was this the beginnings of a very British McCarthyism?"
He said he feared he would be denounced in Parliament by Mr Heaton-Harris as an "enemy of the people" if he did not supply the list - something he said he had no intention of doing.
He added: "I realised that his letter just asking for information appears so innocent but is really so, so dangerous.
"Here is the first step to the thought police, the political censor and Newspeak, naturally justified as 'the will of the British people'."
The Guardian revealed that Mr Heaton-Harris wrote to university vice-chancellors at the start of this month asking for the names of professors "involved in the teaching of European affairs, with particular reference to Brexit".
The MP's letter also asks for a "copy of the syllabus" and online links to lectures on Brexit.
Lord Patten, the chancellor of Oxford University, and former chairman of the BBC Trust, described Mr Heaton-Harris's letter as an "extraordinary example of outrageous and foolish behaviour - offensive and idiotic Leninism".
Lord Patten is sworn in as Oxford University chancellor
The peer, a longstanding supporter of Britain's membership of the EU, told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "I couldn't believe that it had come from a Conservative MP.
"I think he must be an agent of Mr Corbyn intent on further increasing the number of young people who want to vote Labour."
He said he was sure most university vice-chancellors would drop the letter "in the waste-paper basket" and he accused Mr Heaton-Harris of an affront to free speech and of treating UK universities like "Chinese re-education camps".
McCarthyism refers to US Senator Joseph McCarthy who led attempts to purge alleged Communists in public life the 1950s.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41735839
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Newspaper headlines: Lords expenses 'scandal' and Brexit 'leaks' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Peers are accused of being "at it again", while Theresa May "shrugs off" claims she begged for help from Brussels.
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The Papers
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The Times reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is furious about the alleged leak from a dinner in Brussels, which claimed Theresa May begged for help with Brexit.
Mrs Merkel is said to be concerned that further hostility from Brussels could lead the talks to collapse, which could in turn bring about the fall of Mrs May's government.
The Daily Telegraph believes the leak amounted to a character assassination. The Sun comments that every time Theresa May extends the hand of friendship to Brussels, they pull her close, only to stab her in the back.
The Daily Mirror says that whatever the truth over who said what, the prime minister isn't an inspiring leader in the most important negotiations to engulf the country for nearly half a century.
In other news, the Times claims that Catalan separatists are threatening mass civil disobedience if Madrid carries out its threat to depose their leaders.
The paper says civil servants, fire-fighters, teachers and students are preparing to resist direct rule. It also highlights a warning from a senior Spanish cabinet minister, who says Catalan police would be used to quell protests.
The Guardian warns that the Catalan crisis is getting more volatile and dangerous. The paper calls for an honest broker to help the two sides back from the brink.
Buzzfeed News, meanwhile, says women are coming forward in increasing numbers to report sexual assaults on the London Underground.
It says data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that transport police recorded more than 1,700 reported assaults in the past two-and-a-half years. That's more than in the previous four years put together. Police still estimate that 90% of incidents go unreported.
New pension freedoms are funding some retired workers alcohol and gambling addictions, according to the Financial Times
The Financial Times reports that some retired workers have used new "pension freedoms" to fund alcohol and gambling binges, and are then falling back on benefits.
Rather than manage their pension pots wisely, the paper says some have frittered away substantial amounts.
A written submission to a Commons committee revealed that one man released £120,000 from his pension pot and spent every penny on drink, betting and a car.
The Daily Express uses its front page to launch a campaign for cuts in foreign aid, saying the money should go to help the health service and old people in the UK.
The paper says Whitehall sources believe International Development Secretary Priti Patel has worked hard to eliminate some of the more spurious schemes funded by taxpayers, but says critics believe the government should go further.
Humans are hardwired to fear spiders, according to the Times
Finally, scientists have found proof that humans are hardwired from birth to find spiders scary, according to the Times.
The researchers found that six-month-old babies who were shown pictures of spiders showed signs of stress by dilating their pupils. In contrast, other studies have suggested that fear of animals like rhinos and bears has to be learned, and babies don't associate images of them with fear.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41730090
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Xi Jinping: From Communist Party princeling to China's president - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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China's president is set to become the country's uncontested leader at a crucial party congress.
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China
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Xi Jinping is set to start a historic third term as China's president
Xi Jinping is set to embark on a historic third term at the 20th Communist Party congress later this month.
It paves the way for the party to reappoint him as president at the National People's Congress next year. China's leaders voted in 2018 to remove the two-term presidential limit that has been in place since the 1990s.
Under Mr Xi's rule since 2012, China has become more authoritarian at home, cracking down on dissent, critics and even influential billionaires and businesses. Some have described him as "the most authoritarian leader since Chairman Mao".
Under his rule, China has established "re-education" camps in Xinjiang that have been accused of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups. It has tightened its grip on Hong Kong and vowed to "reunite" with Taiwan, by force if necessary.
In a clear sign of his influence, the Communist Party voted in 2017 to write his philosophy - called "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era" - into its constitution. Only party founder Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the leader who introduced economic reforms in the 1980s, have made it into the all-important fundamental law of the land.
Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi Jinping is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party's founding fathers and a former vice-premier.
Because of his illustrious roots, Mr Xi is considered a "princeling" - a child of elite senior officials who has risen up the ranks.
But his family's fortunes took a dramatic turn when his father was imprisoned in 1962. A deeply suspicious Mao, fearing a rebellion in party ranks, ordered a purge of potential rivals. Then in 1966 came the so-called Cultural Revolution when millions were branded as enemies of Chinese culture, sparking violent attacks across the country.
Mr Xi's family suffered too. His half-sister - his father's first daughter through an earlier marriage - was persecuted to death, according to official accounts, though a historian familiar with the party elite said she had probably taken her own life under duress, according to a New York Times report.
A young Xi was pulled out of a school attended by children of the political elite. Eventually, at 15, he left Beijing and was sent to the countryside for "re-education" and hard labour in the remote and poor north-eastern village of Liangjiahe for seven years.
But far from turning against the Communist Party, Mr Xi embraced it. He tried to join several times, but was rebuffed because of his father's standing.
He was finally accepted in 1974, starting out in Hebei province, then occupying ever more senior roles as he slowly made his way to the top.
In 1989, at the age of 35, he was party chief in the city of Ningde in southern Fujian province when protests demanding greater political freedom began in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
The province was far from the capital but Mr Xi, along with other party officials, reportedly scrambled to contain local offshoots of the massive demonstrations under way in Beijing.
The protests - an echo of a rift within Communist Party ranks - and the bloody crackdown that ended them have effectively now been scrubbed from the country's history books and public record. China even lost the bid to host the 2000 Olympics because of the abuses in Tiananmen Square. Estimates of the number killed range from hundreds to many thousands.
Almost two decades later, however, Mr Xi was put in charge of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. China was keen to show it had moved on and was a worthy host - and it appeared to be working, with the Games symbolising China's rise as a growing power.
As for Mr Xi, his increasing profile in the party propelled him to its top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, and in 2012 he was picked as China's president.
Mr Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan (right), is a famous folk singer in China
Mr Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, a famous singer, have been heavily featured in state media as China's First Couple.
This is a contrast from previous presidential couples, where the first lady has traditionally kept a lower profile.
The couple have a daughter, Xi Mingze, but not much is known about her apart from the fact that she studied at Harvard University.
Other family members and their overseas business dealings have been a subject of scrutiny in the international press.
Mr Xi has vigorously pursued what he has called a "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" with his China Dream vision.
Under him, the world's second largest economy has enacted reform to combat slowing growth, such as cutting down bloated state-owned industries and reducing pollution, as well as the multi-billion dollar One Belt One Road infrastructure project aimed at expanding China's global trade links.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What China's One Belt, One Road really means
The country has become more assertive on the global stage, from its growing forcefulness in the South China Sea, to its exercise of soft power by pumping billions of dollars into Asian and African investments.
Some of this economic growth however, which in past decades has increased meteorically - has now slowed substantially, worsened by the Chinese leader's uncompromising "zero-Covid" strategy that has locked out the rest of the world since the pandemic.
The country's once-booming property market is in a deep slump and the outlook for the global economy has weakened sharply in recent months.
A bitter and damaging trade war with the US shows no sign of ending.
Since reaching top office, Mr Xi has overseen a wide-reaching corruption crackdown extending to the highest echelons of the party. Critics have portrayed it as a political purge.
Under his rule, China has also seen increasing clampdowns on freedoms.
In Xinjiang province, human rights groups believe the government has detained more than a million Muslim Uyghurs over the past few years in what the state defines as "re-education" camps. China denies accusations from the US and other that it is committing genocide there.
Beijing's grip over Hong Kong, too, has grown under Mr Xi.
Thousands turned out in Hong Kong to take part in protests against a planned extradition law
Mr Xi put an end to pro-democracy protests in 2020 by signing the National Security Law, a sweeping edict that gives Beijing powers to reshape life in the former British colony, criminalising what it calls secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, with the maximum sentence of life in prison.
The law has led to mass arrests of prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians, as well as the closure of prominent news outlets including Apple Daily and Stand News.
Under Mr Xi's leadership, China has also intensified its focus on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, vowing "reunification" and threatening to use military force to prevent any move towards formal independence there.
Given China's power and influence, the world will be watching Mr Xi as he embarks on his third term as president. With no heir apparent, the 69-year-old is arguably the most powerful leader China has had since the death of Mao Zedong in the 1970s.
• None BBC World Service - BBC Minute, BBC Minute- On who is Xi Jinping-
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399
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George Michael heading for posthumous number one - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The re-release of the late singer's Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 leads this week's album sales.
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Entertainment & Arts
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George Michael is on course to top the UK album chart this Friday, 10 months after his death.
Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 spent a week at number one when it was originally released in 1990.
It has now been reissued with a bonus disc including the singer's 1996 MTV Unplugged session.
It leads this week's album chart race, outselling Niall Horan's solo debut by almost 25,000 copies after three days, the Official Charts Company said.
The Listen Without Prejudice re-release coincides with the airing of a documentary about the ex-Wham! singer's career, which he had been working on before his death on Christmas Day last year.
George Michael: Freedom was shown on Channel 4 last week and focused on the period leading up to and following the original release of Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1.
The album, which includes hits like Freedom '90 and Praying For Time, is currently ahead of Niall Horan's debut album Flicker.
The One Direction singer announced his album release with a note about how "proud" he was of the record.
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The 24-year-old told fans on Twitter he was "really nervous", particularly because he had written some of the songs as long as 18 months ago.
Last week's number one, Beautiful Trauma by Pink, is currently ranked third.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41723491
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Terry Richardson: Photographer dropped by Conde Nast International - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Terry Richardson will no longer work for the magazine or any Conde Nast titles.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Terry Richardson has also directed music videos for stars including Beyonce and Miley Cyrus
Fashion photographer Terry Richardson will no longer work with top magazines including Vogue and Glamour after being dropped by Conde Nast International.
Staff at the media group were told the move takes place with immediate effect.
Richardson has previously faced accusations about the treatment of models but always denied any exploitation or misconduct.
Conde Nast International confirmed the content of the email, first reported by The Daily Telegraph.
In a statement on Tuesday, a representative for Richardson said the photographer was known for his "sexually explicit work", adding that "the subjects of his work participated consensually".
"Terry is disappointed to hear about this email especially because he has previously addressed these old stories," it adds.
Richardson, seen here with Kelly Osbourne, is often photographed with stars
The group's executive vice-president James Woolhouse sent the message instructing staff to drop Richardson on Monday.
He told "country presidents" of magazine titles that any photography shoots by Richardson that had already taken place, but not been published, should be replaced with other images.
He wrote: "I am writing to you on an important matter. Conde Nast would like to no longer work with the photographer Terry Richardson.
"Any shoots that have been commission(ed) or any shoots that have been completed but not yet published, should be killed and substituted with other material.
"Please could you confirm that this policy will be actioned in your market effective immediately. Thank you for your support in this matter."
Richardson is known for his sexually explicit photo shoots of stars including Kylie Jenner, who had a calendar shot by him.
He has also directed videos like Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball and Beyonce's XO.
In 2014, the 52-year-old wrote an article for The Huffington Post in response to the "internet gossip and false accusations" against him.
He wrote that sexual imagery formed a part of his photography, adding: "I have never used an offer of work or a threat of rebuke to coerce someone into something that they did not want to do."
Richardson also referred to a 2004 gallery show which "depicted sexual situations", saying he had "collaborated with consenting adult women who were fully aware of the nature of the work".
No new claims have been made about Richardson but previous allegations have resurfaced in a recent article in the Sunday Times.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41736395
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Emile Cilliers trial: Parachute sabotage accused 'caused gas leak at home' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Army sergeant Emile Cilliers denies attempting to kill his wife by trying to create gas leak at their home.
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Wiltshire
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The prosecution claims Emile Cilliers wanted to kill his wife and start a new life with his lover
An Army fitness instructor accused of attempting to murder his wife caused a gas leak at their home by loosening a nut on a valve, a court heard.
Emile Cilliers, 37, is accused of trying to kill Victoria Cilliers, 40, by sabotaging her parachute.
He also faces a second attempted murder charge and a third charge of tampering with a gas fitting at their home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on 30 March 2015.
Mr Cilliers has denied the charges at his trial at Winchester Crown Court.
Victoria Cilliers suffered multiple injuries in a 4,000ft fall at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire, in April 2015.
Prosecutors allege Mr Cilliers, a sergeant with the Aldershot-based Royal Army Physical Training Corps, twisted the lines of her main parachute and sabotaged a reserve chute the day before she jumped.
Police evidence showed the kitchen cupboard where the gas leak occurred (large arrow)
He is also accused of damaging a gas valve at their home a few days earlier.
The court heard Mrs Cilliers reported smelling gas after her husband had spent the previous night at his barracks because he said he wanted to avoid Monday morning traffic.
Jurors were told an engineer called to check the leak found a loose nut on a gas isolation valve in a cupboard next to the oven. Dried blood was also found on the pipe, which the court has heard matched that of Mr Cilliers.
They were shown a set of pliers which prosecutors claim were used to loosen the nut. Emile Cillers said he used the pliers to tighten it but had been unable to do so because it was too tight.
The jury was shown the pliers found in Mr Cilliers' home, allegedly used to tamper with the gas valve
Forensic scientist Mark Kearsley said the markings from the pliers had been used in a "loosening and not tightening motion".
He said: "The nut must have been in a tightened position to lead to the impression we had, if the nut was loose it would just have turned with the tool."
Gas engineer Michael Osborne said he was called to the Cilliers' home on 30 March to make the gas leak safe.
He said it was not unusual to find such a leak and explained that as well as a tool, the nut could have become loosened or "relaxed" by repeated changes in temperature or by being knocked by food tins being placed in the cupboard.
Mr Cilliers denies all three charges and the trial continues.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41737936
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Blackpool 'superpipe' bent at 90 degrees by Storm Brian - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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Gale-force winds that hit the Blackpool coast "almost snapped" a 250-metre section of the pipe.
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Lancashire
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Storm Ophelia and then Storm Brian broke the super pipe during the bad weather
A two-mile "superpipe" being installed to improve Blackpool's bathing waters has been broken by Storm Brian.
United Utilities confirmed that a 250-metre section of the pipe had been "bent at a 90-degree angle" after gale-force winds hit the UK coast on Monday.
The water company said a new section has been ordered from a factory in Norway.
The 20,000-tonne pipe is part of the firm's £200m plan to improve water quality in the Lancashire resort.
The pipe was first damaged by ex-Hurricane Ophelia last week that hit Ireland and the west coast.
A United Utilities spokesman said the pipe "almost snapped" as a result of the storm damage.
"We wanted to send out boats to repair the damage but we were advised it was not safe enough."
Adding: "It's been bent at a 90-degree angle and will need replacing.
"We have ordered a new section but the Norway factory is the only place in the world that makes a pipe this big."
The massive outfall pipe arrived at Anchorsholme near Blackpool on 9 August after being towed in six sections from Norway to Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland.
It was then assembled into one long pipe ready to be installed in a huge trench under the sea.
It will be used during periods of heavy rain to pump storm water away from the sewer network.
Storm Brian nearly snapped the last portion of the pipe miles out at sea
The aim is to prevent flooding and ensure the water mixes far out into the sea helping to protect bathing waters.
Work on the pipe is expected to finish in 2019.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-41737360
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Canadian man fined for loudly singing Everybody Dance Now - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Montreal's Taoufik Moalla says he is contesting the ticket for "screaming in a public place".
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US & Canada
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A screengrab from the 90s hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
A Canadian man is contesting a C$149 ($118; £90) ticket for "screaming in a public place" after being caught singing in his car.
The tune that got him grooving - and in trouble - was C+C Music Factory's 90s smash hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).
Taoufik Moalla, 38, was driving near his suburban Montreal home on 27 September when police pulled him over.
Police asked him for identification and whether he had been screaming.
"I said, 'No, I was singing,'" Mr Moalla told the Montreal Gazette. "I was singing the refrain 'Everybody Dance Now,' but it wasn't loud enough to disturb anyone."
The Montreal man had been on his way to the grocery store to buy a bottle of water when the 90s dance track started playing in his CD player.
Police checked the inside of his car along with his licence and registration. They handed back his documents along with the fine.
Mr Moalla told CTV News that he was shocked by the ticket. He did not think his singing merited a fine.
"I understand if they are doing their job, they are allowed to check if everything's okay, if I kidnapped someone or if there's danger inside, but I would never expect they would give me a ticket for that," he told CTV.
Montreal police said they do not comment on individual tickets handed out to the public.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41726495
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Feeling isolated as an asexual in a sexualised society - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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Readers share their experiences of what it is like to be asexual in a sexualised society.
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Magazine
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When Stacey wrote about her experience of not wanting to sleep with anyone, even her husband, dozens of readers sent emails saying that they too were asexual. Many described feeling isolated in a sexualised society. Here is a selection of their stories - and a response from an asexual activist about the importance of joining a community.
I am in my sixties and have had two failed marriages, but I have never initiated or enjoyed sex with another person. As a teenager it was easy to refuse sex, it was expected of a "good" girl, but family pressure meant that I was married at 21 and suddenly had no more excuses. I loved my husband and wanted to please him, but I felt no sexual desire and hated the experience of a physical relationship. I never initiated sex with him, and was almost glad when he eventually had affairs because the pressure was no longer on me to satisfy his needs. I felt overwhelming guilt for being so cold and took all the blame for my first marriage ending. I couldn't understand how I could love someone so much but dislike being touched by them... I married an older man 10 years ago who had led me to believe that he also was past sexual desire. Unfortunately this wasn't the case and he took my reluctance to have sex with him very badly. He forced me to perform sexual acts and I ended up hating him for it. We are going through an acrimonious divorce. In hindsight I should never have married again. Gill, London
I am a 35-year-old man, and have only just realised I am asexual. I have always been attracted to people, form romantic feelings very quickly and have always dated. I would fancy someone, enjoy the kissing and physical contact, but when it came to sex, my body would just switch off. I thought it could have been performance issues and I kept trying - it caused huge embarrassment and destroyed my confidence for years. I am desperate for a relationship and had completely resigned myself to being alone and childless forever. But recently I have seen a lot of articles about asexuality, and I can't begin to describe the relief that I am now able to label what it is about me that is different. I can even begin to dream about finding someone who could understand. Matt
I only discovered that I am asexual a few months ago when a therapist suggested it to me. Until then I had no idea what to call myself. I became sexually active when I was 17 and in college, I had a steady boyfriend and was in love with him, but I never felt sexually attracted to him. At first I thought it was due to lack of experience, but as time went on nothing changed. After we broke up I began questioning my sexuality a lot more, considering if I was a lesbian, and if that led me to feel this way. I noticed my body could become aroused, but it's like my mind isn't connected to it any more, it doesn't feel anything. Sex isn't painful for me, it doesn't repulse me, I just don't get pleasure from it. I discovered the Asexual ACES group and page on Facebook and am pleased to have found people who feel the same - or similar - ways as me. But I do worry that I'll never have a romantic partner. I am open to the idea of sex to please the other person, but the fact that I do not enjoy it seems to be a huge barrier for people. I feel very much like I will be alone for my whole life. Devi, Kent
Being asexual I feel irrelevant to a culture which is all about coupling: how much of daily life (fashion, recreation, entertainment) is about attracting or pleasing a partner? I'm not averse to having a partner, but feel excluded from the possibility, because who would invest time and effort into a relationship that isn't going to get them any sex? In a way, passing through the world as a sort of invisible extra is a privilege - you get more of an objective view of human relations when out of the throng yourself - but too much reflection and you start to see how you're surplus to requirements. Maybe someday I'll accept that, but I haven't got there yet. Sarah, Cambridge
It's possible to feel all alone, to feel like, "I'm too weird to get a partner," or "I'm not normal." But asexuality is just a sexual orientation, it's part of the normal spectrum of human sexuality, there's nothing pathological about it - and that goes a long way to helping people understand themselves as asexual.
People who think they identify as asexual who are feeling isolated or lonely should join an asexual community - whether online or offline (see examples at the bottom of the page). Having a label really helps and finding a community definitely helps.
The internet has really given asexuality its impetus as a movement. Of course, there were always asexual people around but it was very hard for them to find each other - it's not something that easily comes up in conversation and there was no obvious way for people to come together.
Asexuality still isn't really an option that's talked about. People think if you're not straight you're probably gay or you might be bi. So even though there has been more awareness of asexuality in recent years it is still a relatively young movement, and there is still a long way to go.
I've known that I wasn't like everybody else since I was 13. I tried to pretend and even went out with a few mates just to see I was just being a bit slow on the uptake. It wasn't until I was 15 that I came across the term asexual and knew then that was what I am. I would never tell my parents or family. They wouldn't understand. There is a huge generation gap of knowledge between us and none of them would have heard about it or understand it. These issues are not a new thing, they have been around for a very long time but many older people are saying that it's a new fad. They are just hearing about it for the first time because of the wonders of the internet. But the fact that you can now find a community of people online who feel like you, and who can help you come to terms with the fact that you are not a broken person, is so important. Tabitha, Bristol
I am a 52-year-old guy who has been repulsed by sex for as long as I can remember. In my younger days I was always sexually active, but I never got any satisfaction from it. Other than seeing my partner receiving pleasure, I pretty much hated it. I have been in a few strong, loving relationships through my life, and even happily married once, but they all failed as a result of one thing, my total disinterest in sex. While I was still in love, and very happy to be cuddled up in bed or on the sofa, I always found the thought of sex repulsive and this eventually ended the relationships. I've now been single for 11 years and, although I don't particularly enjoy being so, it is far easier than trying to find one of the other 1-3% of people who are the same as me. I just hope that more young people become aware of and open about their asexuality so they can find a similar person and enjoy a normal, loving, non-sexual relationship. Jon, Runcorn
At 28 years old, even having known about asexuality for about five years and knowing that is what I am, I am still struggling to come to terms with it. This is partly due to the overwhelmingly negative and dismissive attitude that people have demonstrated when I have tried to tell them that I am Ace. They always tell me, "Oh, you just haven't met the right person yet," or "You're a prude then." This has damaged my self-image, and undermined my confidence in being asexual in a modern world which revolves almost exclusively around sex. Living as part of a generation who has been constantly bombarded with sex from the media has left me feeling extremely isolated and backwards. I honestly live in fear of dying alone because I am unable to have sex. I am happy with what I am, but the world around me is not, and as such I am increasingly becoming a social hermit, because it easier than living with the disdain of an over sexualised world. Lucy, Cornwall
I'm a 42-year-old man, and it's only recently I've realised what asexuality is and how well I slot into the concept. I used to keep diaries as a teenager, full of the usual angst, but it was interesting that all my feelings and thoughts towards (exclusively) girls were almost entirely romantic, bordering on platonic, rather than the horny, sex-laden fantasies that teenage boys are stereotypically supposed to have. I never really enjoyed my first sexual encounters, though they were interesting as a kind of fact-finding mission. Pretty much every encounter since, regardless of my relationship with the person in question, has been unsatisfying to the point of unfulfilling. I tend to only get even slightly aroused in positions where I'm completely passive, where I'm not in control. I've tried most positions, largely to experiment, and most of them don't work for me, I don't enjoy them and consequently nor does the person I'm with at the time. I do have a long-term partner at the moment. I call her my partner because it doesn't really feel right describing her as a "lover" or "girlfriend" as we're not, by normal standards. Although we regularly share a bed we don't even kiss never mind do more intimate stuff. I don't think she's ever quite got to grips with my lack of sexuality and tends to assume I'm gay. Ian, Nottinghamshire
The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community as well as a large archive of resources on asexuality
My Umbrella is a volunteer-led support group for the lesser known LGBT+ identities
For more information on sex and relationships visit BBC Advice
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
• None Why don't I want to have sex with the man I love?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41569900
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Newspaper headlines: Brexit 'worst decision' and super rich hack - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The UK is branded "stupid" for quitting the EU, while there's worrying news for some of the world's wealthiest people.
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The Papers
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The Guardian leads on Wednesday with a scathing indictment of the Brexit vote by the former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.
He has launched a new headquarters for his eponymous financial media firm in London and described the decision as the "single stupidest thing any country has ever done" - one only "Trumped" by the US election result.
He adds that he may not have invested in his "two big, expensive buildings" had he known the British people would choose to "drop out" of the EU.
Huffpost UK, meanwhile, carries a warning from the Food and Drink Federation that a Brexit-induced labour shortage is affecting crisp production.
The trade body's chief executive, Ian Wright, tells the website that fewer EU migrants are travelling to the UK for work, and calls on the government to do more to reassure them that they're welcome.
The Washington Post reveals that Hillary Clinton's supporters and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a dossier that made allegations about Russian links to Trump's election campaign.
It says a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC retained the Washington firm, Fusion GPS, to conduct the research, which, in turn, hired the report's author, a former British intelligence officer. None of the parties involved has commented on the story.
Several papers feature a study which has concluded that blood thinners could cut the risk of developing dementia by almost half.
It's the lead in the Daily Express, which hails the finding as a "breakthrough" that "has given fresh hope that a disease-modifying therapy is now in sight".
Separately, the Times reports that brain changes linked to Alzheimer's disease have been found in dolphins, the first time the condition has been discovered in a wild animal. Researchers say the findings could have profound implications for the study of dementia in humans.
There's a heart-warming tale in the Daily Mirror of a surrogate mother who is having a second baby for a gay couple, and has refused to take any payment.
Becky Harris, who gave the men a daughter six years ago, tells the paper she is waiving the expenses she could legally claim because "they're such great dads". She says they joke that this is their buy-one-get-one-free baby.
Finally, revealing letters from the author Harper Lee, which are due to be auctioned, are uncovered by the Guardian.
In one communication, written on the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, she discloses that President Lyndon B Johnson hoped there would one day be a black, female leader of the free world. She recalls how he was asked by the actor Gregory Peck if they would see a black president in their lifetime.
"No," came the reply, "but I wish her well."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41743863
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Albert Einstein’s happiness note sold for $1.6m - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The note was written by the physicist when he didn't have enough money to tip a courier.
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Middle East
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The two notes sold for $1.56m and $240,000 - way higher than their estimates
A note written by Albert Einstein containing advice on happy living has sold at an auction house in Jerusalem for $1.56m (£1.19m).
Einstein gave the note to a courier in Tokyo in 1922 instead of a tip.
He had just heard that he had won the coveted Nobel prize for physics and told the messenger that, if he was lucky, the notes would become valuable.
Einstein suggested in the note that achieving a long-dreamt goal did not necessarily guarantee happiness.
The German-born physicist had won the Nobel and was in Japan on a lecture tour.
When the courier came to his room to make a delivery, he did not have any money to reward him.
Einstein (seen here in 1950) wrote the hotel notes shortly after winning the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
Instead, he handed the messenger a signed note - using stationery of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo - with one sentence, written in German: "A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it."
A second note written at the same time simply reads: "Where there's a will, there's a way." It sold for $240,000, Winner's auction house said.
The winning bids for both notes were far higher than the pre-auction estimated price, the auctioneers said.
It said the buyer of one of the notes was a European who wished to remain anonymous.
The seller is reported to be the nephew of the messenger.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination
We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41742785
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'Half of women' sexually harassed at work, says BBC survey - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A fifth of British men have also been victims at work or a place of study, figures suggest.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Emily Warburton-Adams (r) tells of being harassed and Zoe Strimpel on #MeToo
Half of British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or a place of study, a BBC survey says.
Of the women who said they had been harassed, 63% said they didn't report it to anyone, and 79% of the male victims kept it to themselves.
The ComRes poll for BBC Radio 5 live spoke to more than 2,000 people.
The survey was commissioned after sexual assault claims against Harvey Weinstein resulted in widespread sharing of sexual harassment stories.
Women and men who have been sexually harassed have been revealing their experiences on social media using the hashtag "me too" to show the magnitude of the problem worldwide.
That followed allegations, including rape and sexual assault, against Mr Weinstein from more than two dozen women - among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan.
The Hollywood producer insists sexual relations he had were consensual.
The Radio 5 live survey, of 2,031 British adults, found that 37% of all those asked - 53% of women and 20% of men - said they had experienced sexual harassment, ranging from inappropriate comments to actual sexual assaults, at work or a place of study.
More than a quarter of people surveyed had suffered harassment in the form of inappropriate jokes or "banter" and nearly one in seven had suffered inappropriate touching.
Of those who had been harassed, 5 live's survey suggests one in 10 women had been sexually assaulted.
More women than men were targeted by a boss or senior manager - 30% compared with 12% - and one in 10 women who had experienced harassment said it led to them leaving their job or place of study.
Sarah was assaulted by a teacher and a professor during her education
Sarah Killcoyne, from Cambridge, told BBC News she was sexually assaulted when she was still in education by two different men - a school teacher when she was a teenager and later by a college professor.
She said: "I would very much like to see the people around the predators - we know there's only a few of them - to stop enabling them."
One man, who did not want to be identified, said he had been harassed by his female boss.
He said: “She made constant comments about my appearance and how I dressed - comments asking about my hairy chest and what I liked in a woman.
"[It was] all laughed off by other mainly female office staff, but it left me feeling dirty and uncomfortable.
"I ended up with depression and confidence issues and had time off with anxiety as a result.”
Since the allegations about Mr Weinstein surfaced, many high profile names have used social media to highlight the problem of sexual assault, some also detailing the harassment they have endured.
Jess Phillips and Mary Creagh were among the MPs to reveal their accounts as they wanted to encourage victims of abuse to speak out.
Labour's Ms Phillips told the London Evening Standard how she had been left "paralysed by fear" when she woke up at a party to find her boss undoing her belt and trying to get into her trousers.
Fellow Labour MP Ms Creagh said she was just seven when she was sexually assaulted by about 12 boys during a school playground game of kiss-chase.
The results of the BBC survey follow research published last year by the TUC which also suggested more than half of women say they have been sexually harassed at work - and most had not reported it.
People often fail to report sexual harassment for a range of reasons, Manuela Barreto , the University of Exeter's professor of social and organisational psychology, told the BBC.
They might feel the harassment took place in a "subtle" way, or was couched in humour.
When one case is exposed in the media, however, those effects change. "It facilitates understanding, and therefore detection, of what qualifies as sexual harassment," she says.
"It gives the message that it's a serious matter and that there are many out there who support the perception that this is a problem."
Activist Tarana Burke is the founder of the original Me Too campaign - launched 10 years ago in the United States to provide "empowerment through empathy" to survivors of sexual abuse, assault, exploitation, and harassment in underprivileged communities.
She told 5 Live she feels there is now momentum behind a genuine change in the way sexual harassment is handled.
"From what I'm seeing and hearing, and from the groundswell of support for this, it doesn't feel like it's stopping," she said.
"My ultimate goal is to make sure this is not just a moment, that this is a movement, and we will continue to raise our voices, we will continue to disrupt, we will continue to tell our stories until we are heard and until we move the needle."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41741615
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MP Jared O'Mara quits equalities committee over homophobic remarks - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Sheffield Hallam Labour MP is "deeply ashamed" of remarks he made before entering Parliament.
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Sheffield & South Yorkshire
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Labour MP Jared O'Mara has quit the Commons equality committee over online homophobic comments he made before being elected to parliament.
Mr O'Mara also made misogynistic remarks, joked about having an orgy with members of Girls Aloud and posted degrading comments about fat people.
The Sheffield Hallam MP, 36, was elected in June, unseating ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
Mr O'Mara resigned from the Women and Equalities Committee after apologising.
In posts made on the Drowned in Sound music website in 2004, Mr O'Mara claimed singer Michelle McManus only won Pop Idol "because she was fat" and said it would be funny if jazz star Jamie Cullum was "sodomised with his own piano".
The posts were first reported by the Guido Fawkes website, which has since revealed that two years earlier Mr O'Mara made homophobic remarks on an internet forum.
The MP has also apologised for these comments and said he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions.
The Labour leadership described Mr O'Mara's online remarks as "horrendous" and "vile" but sources said he would not be suspended from the parliamentary party, BBC political correspondent Chris Mason reported.
Mr Mason said he understood Mr O'Mara addressed his colleagues at a meeting of Labour MPs and made "a full and very personal apology" for his remarks.
The @LGBTLabour group tweeted that it was "deeply concerned" by the MP's comments.
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Lib Dem peer Lord Scriven, former leader of Sheffield Council, said: "It seems like a nasty pattern of sexist language and misogyny is developing from the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam.
"He clearly isn't fit to sit on the Women and Equalities Committee. He must stand down from that committee immediately and if he doesn't, Jeremy Corbyn must take action to remove him."
Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, added she had asked for a meeting with Mr O'Mara to discuss his comments.
However Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, who was at the meeting earlier, said: "He offered what seemed to be a heartfelt and genuine apology and admitted that these are views he once held, which took guts.
"The battle for equality is a battle for hearts and minds and that must surely mean that people are allowed to change their views and therefore must also be offered a second chance.
"I hope I don't end up eating my words and that he demonstrates his commitment to equality as a new MP. I think we owe him that chance."
Girls Aloud were the subject of one of Mr O'Mara's online comments
In a statement, Mr O'Mara said he had been "wrong to make" the comments.
"I understand why they are offensive and deeply apologise for my use of such unacceptable language."
"I made the comments as a young man, at a particularly difficult time in my life, but that is no excuse."
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Before his resignation from the committee, LGBT Labour said: "Whilst we recognise that these comments were made some time ago, that doesn't excuse such ignorance and bigotry.
"We expect a full and public apology from Mr O'Mara and ask that he meets with members of the LGBT Labour committee in order to understand the inequality many LGBT people face."
• None The only MP who wears a T-shirt in Parliament
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-41724540
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'Bad Rabbit' ransomware strikes Ukraine and Russia - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The new strain of computer-locking malware has hit Russian media websites and an airport in Ukraine.
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Technology
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Two other ransomware outbreaks have made headlines this year - WannaCry and Petya
A new strain of ransomware nicknamed "Bad Rabbit" has been found spreading in Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere.
The malware has affected systems at three Russian websites, an airport in Ukraine and an underground railway in the capital city, Kiev.
The cyber-police chief in Ukraine confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Bad Rabbit was the ransomware in question.
It bears similarities to the WannaCry and Petya outbreaks earlier this year.
However, it is not yet known how far this new malware will be able to spread.
"In some of the companies, the work has been completely paralysed - servers and workstations are encrypted," head of Russian cyber-security firm Group-IB, Ilya Sachkov, told the TASS news agency.
Two of the affected sites are Interfax and Fontanka.ru.
Meanwhile, US officials said they had "received multiple reports of Bad Rabbit ransomware infections in many countries around the world".
The US computer emergency readiness team said it "discourages individuals and organisations from paying the ransom, as this does not guarantee that access will be restored".
Initial news reports mentioned Russian media websites, such as St Petersburg-based Fontanka.ru, as well as an airport in Ukraine's Odessa and a subway system in Kiev.
Privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax was hit particularly hard, to the extent that 24 hours later its website still displayed a message reading "our service is temporary unavailable".
On the morning of 25 October, it transpired that Russian banks had also been targeted but, luckily, were not compromised.
The Russian Central Bank said in a statement that it had recorded a BadRabbit attack on Russian financial institutions, but that none of them had been compromised, as reported by RNS news agency on 25 October.
Otkrytiye, formerly Russia's biggest privately-owned bank, was one of the Russian financial institutions that repelled the attack, according to RNS.
Prominent Russian IT security firm Group-IB reported that BadRabbit had targeted several of the top 20 Russian banks but failed to penetrate their networks.
"According to our data, most of the victims targeted by these attacks are located in Russia," said Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky at Kaspersky Lab.
"We have also seen similar but fewer attacks in Ukraine, Turkey and Germany."
Bad Rabbit encrypts the contents of a computer and asks for a payment - in this case 0.05 bitcoins, or about $280 (£213).
Cyber-security firms, including Russia-based Kaspersky, have said they are monitoring the attack.
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The malware is still undetected by the majority of anti-virus programs, according to analysis by virus checking site Virus Total.
One security firm, Eset, has said that the malware was distributed via a bogus Adobe Flash update.
Researcher Kevin Beaumont has posted a screenshot that shows Bad Rabbit creating tasks in Windows named after the dragons Drogon and Rhaegal in TV series Game of Thrones.
The outbreak bears similarities to the WannaCry and Petya ransomware outbreaks that spread around the world causing widespread disruption earlier this year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41740768
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Gina Miller named UK's most influential black person - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The list of 100 people of African and African Caribbean heritage in Britain puts a woman at the very top.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why has Gina Miller been named as the country’s most influential black person?
Businesswoman Gina Miller has been named as Britain's most influential black person.
The 52-year-old led the successful Brexit legal challenge which ruled parliament had to vote on whether Theresa May could trigger Article 50.
Ms Miller topped the 2018 Powerlist of 100 people, which recognises those of African and African Caribbean heritage.
British Vogue editor Edward Enninful and grime artist Stormzy have also been included in this year's list.
Those named were decided by an independent panel - including former High Court judge Dame Linda Dobbs and former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell. They rated nominees on their "ability to change lives and alter events".
Previous number ones in the Powerlist include former children's laureate Malorie Blackman, philanthropist Mo Ibrahim, architect David Adjaye and Baronesses Scotland and Amos.
Nearly half of the list for 2018 were women - headed by Ms Miller, the founder of wealth management company SCM.
She came to prominence in the past year when she argued that starting talks to leave the EU without a parliamentary vote was "undemocratic" because it involved a change in law.
Boxer Anthony Joshua, film director Amma Asante, TV presenter Ade Adepitan, and lawyer Grace Ononiwu (pictured clockwise from top left) are recognised in the list
In January, the Supreme Court upheld her challenge ruling Prime Minister Theresa May could not start the process of leaving the EU until MPs and peers gave their backing.
The UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019.
After the ruling, Ms Miller said she had received death threats and "offensive, racist and hateful" abuse.
On receiving her title, she said: "It's amazing to get an accolade when what I've done has solicited a huge amount of abuse.
"To have somebody acknowledge me is extraordinarily kind and counters a lot of what I still get on a daily basis."
Powerlist 2018 publisher Michael Eboda said he was "proud" about the number of women on this year's list.
He added: "Gina was a shoo-in this year for number one, Brexit is the most important political event to happen this century.
"Gina's role in ensuring a sovereignty of parliament was recognised by the courts has been monumental and has set a precedent that will last hundreds of years."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41734289
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BrightHouse rent-to-own firm pays £14.8m in redress - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The retailer will compensate 250,000 customers after regulator says it had not acted as a responsible lender.
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Business
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Rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse has been told to pay £14.8m to 249,000 customers by the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
BrightHouse will compensate customers who had cancelled agreements after one downpayment but had not been refunded.
It will also make payments to those who signed up to lending agreements that "may not have been affordable".
The FCA said BrightHouse had not acted as a "responsible lender".
The firm, which lets customers pay for household items such as washing machines and televisions on a weekly basis, has been criticised for its business model.
In 2016 a BBC investigation conducted by Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, highlighted the example of a £358 washing machine that ended up costing more than £1,000.
BrightHouse has apologised to customers about failing to refund them.
There is no need for customers affected to contact BrightHouse. It will write to 213,000 current and former customers by the end of the year, explaining what they are due.
Sasha Rhodes of Sheffield bought a king-size bed from BrightHouse on a two-year contract.
"I don't think they ran enough checks to ensure I was able to make the payments - all they were interested in was my money," she says.
"I did not realise how high interest payments were. I stopped payments after 16 months. I think I paid them around £800 in total for what must have been a £400 bed."
Customers whose deposits BrightHouse failed to refund signed up between April 2010 and April 2017. These customers will receive an average payment of £27.
The second group includes those who took out an agreement between April 2014 and September 2016. They will get an average of £147.
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In the case of customers who were not assessed properly at the start of the loan who may have had difficulty making payments, BrightHouse will pay back interest and fees along with compensatory interest of 8% - if they return the goods.
Those who kept the goods will have their balances written off.
FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey told Radio 5 Live the move set a "very important precedent... BrightHouse did not behave as responsible lenders and they failed to meet our expectations".
Lois Grant, from York, worked for BrightHouse from 2012 to 2016 as a branch manager in Yorkshire and London but left because of "unacceptable" high-pressure sales techniques.
"In the early days, we did not ask people about their expenditure at all. We just checked what their income was. They changed that policy because the FCA came to investigate, asking for more stringent checks.
"I can't remember ever giving any money back to any customer. This is despite one of their policies that said if you cancel within 14 days you would get a refund. I know from several experiences that rarely happened, if ever."
Citizens Advice said it had helped more than 13,000 people with rent-to-own issues over the past 12 months, many of whom were struggling to make payments on essential goods such as fridges and washing machines.
"We're pleased to see that the FCA are taking action against BrightHouse whose loose lending practices have pushed the very people who can least afford it further into financial difficulty," said its chief executive, Gillian Guy.
Charities and MPs said some people have struggled to keep up with BrightHouse repayments
The charity said it had found one in five rent-to-own customers spent 20% or more of their income on payments, and more than half had to take on other debts to cover the costs.
It is asking that the same conditions apply to all forms of high-cost credit as the payday loans cap - meaning that no one would pay more than what they borrowed in interest and charges.
Separate criticism came from the Financial Inclusion Centre, a think tank that compiled a report into the company last year.
Gareth Evans, a co-director of the think tank, said BrightHouse had made profits at a personal cost for some customers, with some having to prioritise repayments over food or heating.
BrightHouse chief executive Hamish Paton sincerely apologised to those affected: "We're absolutely determined that this doesn't happen again and have made significant improvements over the last 18 months."
The firm said it had overhauled its application process to ensure future loans were affordable and that customers were treated fairly during the collections process.
BrightHouse was founded in 1994 as Crazy George and rebranded as BrightHouse in 2002. It is owned by private equity firm Vision Capital and has about 280 stores.
• None Debtors to be given 'breathing space'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41732865
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Harvey Weinstein: Brit Marling latest to make claims against mogul - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The actress and co-creator of The OA says the movie mogul suggested they shower together.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Actress and writer Brit Marling has described an encounter with Harvey Weinstein in which she claims the movie mogul suggested they shower together.
The co-creator of paranormal Netflix drama The OA is the latest to accuse the producer of sexual harassment.
Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Many details of the 2014 incident she recounts, in an essay for The Atlantic, are similar to those alleged by other women.
She tweeted that she wanted the article, about gender politics and the issue of consent, to "give myself and others solace, strength and context".
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Marling, who also starred in and produced The OA, a television series first aired last year, wrote in the piece that she agreed to meet Weinstein and went to the hotel "thinking that perhaps my entire life was about to change for the better".
She said she, like others have claimed, was asked to meet him in a bar before a female assistant said the meeting had been moved to his suite.
Marling said her guard went up but she was reassured by the presence of another woman - then feeling "terror in the pit of my stomach" when she was left alone with him.
"I, too, was asked if I wanted a massage, champagne, strawberries," she wrote. "I, too, sat in that chair paralyzed by mounting fear when he suggested we shower together. What could I do? How not to offend this man, this gatekeeper, who could anoint or destroy me?
"It was clear that there was only one direction he wanted this encounter to go in, and that was sex or some version of an erotic exchange. I was able to gather myself together - a bundle of firing nerves, hands trembling, voice lost in my throat - and leave the room.
"I later sat in my hotel room alone and wept. I wept because I had gone up the elevator when I knew better. I wept because I had let him touch my shoulders. I wept because at other times in my life, under other circumstances, I had not been able to leave."
Allegations against Weinstein are subject to criminal investigations in three cities
She praised all of the "courageous" women who have come forward to speak out against Weinstein in recent weeks.
Marling said she believes it was the writer in her who left the room, adding: "The writer knew that even if this very powerful man never gave her a job in any of his films, even if he blacklisted her from other films, she could make her own work on her own terms and thus keep a roof over her head."
On the issue of consent, she said Weinstein could give actresses a career and fame, "which is one of few ways for women to gain some semblance of power and voice inside a patriarchal world".
She added: "Weinstein could also ensure that these women would never work again if they humiliated him. That's not just artistic or emotional exile—that's also economic exile."
Marling, who has co-written, co-produced and starred in films Another Earth and Sound of My Voice, wrote: "Consent is a function of power. You have to have a modicum of power to give it."
Allegations against 65-year-old Weinstein are subject to criminal investigations in London, Los Angeles and New York. He is also under civil rights investigation in New York state.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41735269
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Eddie Izzard to stand again for Labour executive - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The comedian and actor - a prominent Labour supporter - says he wants to "break down barriers".
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UK Politics
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Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard has said he will try for a second time to become a member of the Labour Party's national executive committee.
The LGBT rights campaigner, who failed to get an NEC seat in 2016, announced his candidacy in the Guardian.
He said he wanted to stand for the executive to "break down barriers" and make the party more welcoming to groups who feel "isolated or excluded".
The NEC governs Labour and helps steer its political direction.
It consists of the Labour leader, deputy leader, frontbenchers, trade union representatives, constituency party representatives, councillors and members of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Izzard's open letter of intent comes after it was announced there would be three new seats on the committee.
He said: "I've tried to give a voice to those who don't have one and to be an activist for the political party I believe has the best and strongest values, which will mean we can end poverty and move forward positively as a society and a country.
"Now I want to stand for Labour's national executive committee so that I can break down barriers."
Eddie Izzard has campaigned for Labour in the last four general elections
He added that he wanted to help represent the LGBT community, people from disabled and minority backgrounds, and those who have suffered from mental health issues.
The comedian is a prominent supporter of Labour, and has campaigned in 100 constituency seats for the party in the last four general elections.
In Izzard's article in the Guardian, he says he wants "to help Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party take the fight to the Tories", but adds that he is not standing for a particular section of the party.
It is expected that at least two of the three available seats will go to supporters of Mr Corbyn.
Before party elections in 2016, the Labour leader's relationship with the NEC was fractious, but then six members of Corbyn-supporting groups gained seats.
In 2016, Izzard came eighth in the ballot, gaining 71,000 votes. He said he was disappointed but was "in this for the long haul".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41730104
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Disabled 'losing out on jobs' over Access to Work cap - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Campaigners say a limit on the amount of support the Access to Work scheme can provide is damaging.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jenny Sealey says she will not be able to work full time when her grant is capped
Disabled people are "losing out" on jobs because of a government support scheme that is "no longer fit for purpose", campaigners say.
Access to Work - which gives workplace support to disabled people - is beset by errors, with many having support cut, charity Inclusion London said.
One deaf, leading artistic director said having her funds capped would mean she could no longer work full time.
The government said it was "committed to supporting disabled people" in work.
Access to Work is a government programme aimed at helping disabled people and those with physical and mental health conditions that make it difficult to work.
By providing grants - such as to help people with learning disabilities understand written information, or transport for those with physical impairments to attend meetings - it aims to enable people to find or stay in employment.
According to government figures, £103.9m was spent on the scheme in 2016-17, helping about 25,000 people across England, Scotland and Wales.
Jenny Sealey, chief executive at Graeae Theatre and co-artistic director of the London Paralympics opening ceremony, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme she had relied on the support - which enabled her to pay for sign language interpreters - to get to the top of her field.
"Because I've had Access to Work I've become professional, I've learnt my trade, I've learnt how to cope in big meetings," she said.
"It gave me the confidence to say, 'I want to be co-artistic director at the Paralympics opening ceremony'."
A 2004 government review suggested for every £1 of money spent on Access to Work, £1.48 was generated for the Treasury.
But since 2015, new claimants have had the money they can receive each year capped at 1.5 times the average salary - around £41,000.
From April 2018, this will affect existing claimants too.
The report estimates 90% of those affected by the cap will be deaf people.
Ms Sealey said having her support capped will mean no longer being able to work full time.
"[At] the thought of having to cut my hours, I can feel me - Jenny - shrinking, becoming this small person, feeling quite terrified of what my future is.
"I can't believe this is going to happen, it makes me feel quite sick."
The government says by capping the amount a claimant can receive, the scheme can reach as many people as possible.
Disability rights campaigner Ellen Clifford said deaf people were being particularly affected
Ellen Clifford, the author of a new report into the scheme for Inclusion London, said the scheme had enabled disabled people to "not only get jobs, but to have a choice of jobs - to go into the same range of professions as non-disabled people".
One sign language interpreter said it had allowed deaf and disabled people to "smash the glass ceiling".
But Ms Clifford said in recent years that they needed to reduce the amount of support they were getting.
"There was a noticeable increase in hostile attitudes from advisers - accusations that people were a burden on the taxpayer."
Ms Clifford said there was also a "disproportionate impact on deaf customers", with call centres "ill-equipped to deal with non-hearing customers".
She added that the level of administrative errors being made was "making the scheme unworkable for people".
One deaf woman who spoke to the programme, Geraldine O'Halloran, said her budget had been cut twice in 2017 because of administrative errors.
A spokeswoman from the Department for Work and Pensions said it was "committed to supporting disabled people to get into employment or keep their jobs.
"Last year 25,000 people had their request approved by Access to Work, an increase of 8% from 2015-16."
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41722225
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Anger over a 100-year-old tribal artist at a tattoo show - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The legendary Filipina tribal tattooist was pictured asleep at the show, sparking fears of exploitation.
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Asia
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Tribal tattoo master Whang-Od was in Manila to showcase her craft
Excitement and fervour at a colourful tattoo show in the Philippines turned into outrage after a celebrated tribal artist's appearance was criticised for being "blatantly exploitive". But is it all so simple?
Legendary tattoo master Whang-Od was transported from her tribal village of Buscalan to the capital for the Manila FAME trade show, with the help of the Philippine Army and Air Force.
The centenarian, believed to be the country's oldest traditional tattoo artist, performed her ancient craft of hand-tapped Filipino tattoos at the weekend event.
Whang-Od hails from a remote mountain tribe in the hills of northern Kalinga province.
Her artistry has seen her credited with "single-handedly keeping an ancient tradition alive". Using just a few simple tools (thorns from a pomelo tree, bamboo sticks and coal), she has spent the past eight decades inking not only headhunting warriors and women of her tribe but a new wave of "tattoo tourists" like Carlo Mangoba, 34.
"My tattoo (of a serpent eagle) is a sign of honour and the mark of someone willing to make the difficult trip up north to meet the great master Whang-Od," he shared with BBC News.
"After all, she is already widely regarded as a great Filipina artist and icon."
To many Filipinos, the elderly Whang-Od symbolises a dying ancient tradition
With a focus on "celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines", organising director Clayton Tugonon said that the institution wanted to support her uniquely traditional art.
"She symbolises the pure talent of Filipinos," he said in a statement to the BBC, adding that her invitation was "sought through proper channels", which included village elders and indigenous committees.
Bearing in mind her health and age, a "dedicated medical team" certified that she was fit to travel. Ambulances were also placed on standby throughout the two-day event, Mr Tugonon added.
But was flying this tattoo legend out to Manila more beneficial to her art or the organisers?
The issues at play are difficult. While organisers have insisted that all money will go to her tribe, many netizens felt having the famed tribal tattoo master work at the trade show was "a blatant act of exploitation".
In a photo that swiftly went viral on Facebook, Whang-Od was photographed sleeping at a panel conference at the event.
It drew tens of thousands of angry reactions from Filipinos on the site, who speculated that she was being ill treated and "exploited" for her craft.
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"Whang Od is 100, a national treasure. And you made her go to Manila to tattoo 200 people for profit? This is sick and inhumane," said one netizen.
Medical care organised by the show was on hand should she need it, but many are also accusing the event of degrading a complex art.
"I've always wanted to get a tattoo from Whang Od but there was a part of me that said no. I hope Filipinos understand that this act distorts certain cultural norms and traditions," student RJ Barrete said.
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To tattoo artist Richard Tat, traditional tattoos like the ones perfected by Whang-Od take "a huge amount of time" and could prove tiring during a trade show.
"Traditional tattoos are done with different tools and they take impressive skills to learn and master. It sounds like she was exploited, from inking a few people to 200 to 300 in one day."
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But photojournalist Miguel Guzman was at the event to capture the excitement around the celebrated centenarian and he says it was not her lack of energy that was a concern.
"It was her first time in Manila. There were a lot of people who were excited to see her and to get tattoos from her and she was definitely happy. But I wouldn't say she was exploited. Organisers did take good care of her to ensure she was in good health," Mr Guzman explained.
"I saw her myself and I wouldn't say she was tired. The problem I felt going on was the lack of translation and communication. A lot of people around her were speaking in English and Tagalog and where she's from, she can't understand that, she would only know her local dialect," he added.
Many might argue that such shows are one way of ensuring the tradition gets the attention it deserves to ensure its survival as a core part of the Philippine national heritage.
Many who saw her in Manila were charmed by her presence and her legendary tattoo skills
But for purists the value of the craft remains its exclusivity, a celebration of why it is just so hard to get. Carlos Mangoba had this to say:
"I feel sad for those in Manila who got tattooed by her during the event instead of making pilgrimage to see Apo Whang-od in her home village like I did. They clearly missed out on a full experience from such a master.
"After all, she is already widely regarded as a great artist and icon even before this trade show. In this sense, I think the Manila tattoo show needed her more than she needed them."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41717665
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Facebook's News Feed experiment panics publishers - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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An experiment prevents unsponsored publishers' posts appearing in the platform's main News Feed.
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Technology
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Facebook is experimenting with making its main news feed focus on posts from its users' friends and families
It used to be a tweak in the Google search algorithm that sent a shudder through newsrooms trying to adapt to the online era. Now it is any change in the design of Facebook.
So, an experiment under way in a few countries, where the social media giant appears to be making it harder for users to see news stories, has caused something akin to panic.
The new feature Facebook is trying out is called Explore. It offers all sorts of stories it thinks might interest you, a separate news feed encouraging you to look further afield than just at what your friends are sharing.
Meanwhile, for most people, the standard News Feed remains the usual mixture of baby photos and posts from companies or media organisations whose pages you have liked.
Sounds fine, doesn't it? Except that in six countries - Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala, and Cambodia - the experiment went further.
For users there, the main News Feed was cleared of everything but the usual stuff from your friends and sponsored posts - in other words, if you wanted to have your material seen in the place most users spend their time you had to pay for the privilege.
In a Medium post entitled "Biggest drop in organic reach we've ever seen", a Slovakian journalist Filip Struharik documented the impact. Publishers in his country were seeing just a quarter of the interactions they used to get before the change, he said. What had become a vital and vibrant platform for them was emptying out fast.
Other journalists around the world have looked into the future and hate what they see. Their organisations have become addicted to Facebook as the one true way of reaching audiences and going cold turkey would be very painful.
Facebook is of course a business - and a hugely successful one - that makes its money from advertising. So, why would it not want publishers to pay to reach its gigantic audience?
In six countries, publishers and businesses have had their posts restricted to the Explore Feed unless they pay a fee
But Peter Kafka, a journalist from Recode, tweeted an even more depressing thought: "Conspiracy angle: fb wants more $ from publishers! More accurate, and dispiriting angle (for publishers): fb doesn't care about publishers."
Facebook responded as it often does by saying calm down, dears, it was just a bit of fun.
As the wave of panic rolled around the news media world, the social network's head of newsfeed Adam Mosseri put up a post with the title Clarifying Recent Tests.
It explained that the experiment is aimed at understanding whether people prefer to have separate places for personal and public content.
"We currently have no plans to roll this test out further," he added.
This has not helped much - that word "currently" seems to stick out ominously.
But at least Facebook has done publishers big and small a service. They knew the risks involved in innovations such as Instant Articles - where their works live on the social network - or Facebook Live - where a broadcaster's brand might be less visible to many users.
Now they know that Facebook is at least thinking about a future where news plays a smaller role in the social media experience.
Given Facebook's role in last year's US elections, some may think that's a good thing. But for thousands of struggling media organisations that thought they had found a route forward, it is a chilling prospect.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41733119
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IS-fighting British man Jac Holmes killed in Syria - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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IT worker Jac Holmes, 24, was killed while clearing landmines in Raqqa, the BBC understands.
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England
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jac Holmes told the BBC why he went to fight IS, in an interview recorded weeks before he was killed
A British man who has been fighting so-called Islamic State in Syria has been killed while clearing landmines in Raqqa, the BBC understands.
Jac Holmes had been fighting with Kurdish militia the YPG since 2015.
Kurdish representatives in the UK said they had been told by YPG officials the former IT worker from Bournemouth was killed while he was clearing an area to make it safe for civilians.
His mother, Angie Blannin, said the 24-year-old was a "hero in my eyes".
She told the BBC: "He loved what he was doing there, he loved being a soldier. He had the courage of his convictions.
"He was just a boy when he left the UK, a little bit lost. He told me he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. But by going out there, he found something that he was good at and that he loved."
Ms Blannin, from Dover, Kent, said she had not seen Jac for over a year, but that they regularly kept in touch online and had been making plans for him coming home.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Speaking in 2015, Jac Holmes' mother, Angie Blannin, said her son was a "grown man who makes his own decisions"
"He stuck by his convictions because he wanted to be there and he wanted to see the end of Raqqa and to see the end of the caliphate. That was a moment in history, and he wanted to be part of it."
"We thought with any luck he'd be home for Christmas. It had been so tough since he had been away but I was always 100% behind him."
"After all this, he had said he might go into politics, or perhaps into close protection security. He'd seen so much for a boy of his age."
Ozkan Ozdil, who also fought with Mr Holmes in Syria, told the BBC his friend had become well-known and respected among Kurdish fighting units.
He said: "Everybody knew Jac. By his third tour out there his Kurdish was fluent. We had a bit of a laugh that he was my Kurdish translator.
"He spoke so fondly about Rojava [the name given to the Kurdish region of north east Syria]. He was the reason that made me want to go."
During the battle for the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Mr Holmes became part of a four-man sniper unit
Mr Holmes also was known by his Kurdish nom de guerre Sores Amanos - "sores" meaning "revolution".
He was one of a number of British volunteers who travelled out to fight against IS with the Kurds during the Syrian conflict.
As a former IT worker, Mr Holmes had no prior military training, but he became one of the longest-serving foreign volunteers in the conflict.
Since 2015, he had travelled to fight with the Kurds three times, and spent more than a year there on his third trip.
"He loved being out there, he loved the people around him. He had a purpose and he was happy," said Mr Ozdil.
Mr Holmes (far left) had been sharing pictures and videos of his experiences in Syria on Facebook
Mr Holmes fought in operations to push IS out of key towns and villages including Tel Hamis, Manbij, Tabqa and Raqqa.
He always knew he could face arrest from UK authorities for fighting abroad, but had previously told the BBC "you just have to hope that our justice system works in the correct way".
During the battle for the IS stronghold of Raqqa, he became part of a four-man sniper unit made up of international fighters who, like him, had joined the conflict voluntarily.
In the "223 YPG Sniper Unit" Mr Holmes fought alongside three others from Spain, the US and Germany.
As the fighting for Raqqa intensified, the unit had some narrow escapes.
He described on Facebook how they had survived coming close to IS car bombs and being ambushed by jihadist fighters.
On Sunday, Mr Holmes posted video of himself on Facebook walking into Raqqa's central sports stadium for the first time since the battle for the city ended.
He wrote: "We spent weeks seeing this place from hundreds of metres away. It was strange walking the streets and finally going inside."
Mr Holmes was photographed guarding a post in north west Syria with the YPG
During his time in Syria, he conducted many interviews with various media outlets, even appearing on Kurdish television outlets giving interviews in Kurdish.
Through his media appearances and the amount of interest in the exploits of this young man from Bournemouth, Mr Holmes drew wider attention to the role the Kurds were playing in the conflict.
Another friend from London, Alan Sahin, told the BBC: "We could see how much he grew up while he was out there. He found his purpose there. He turned from a young lad into a man."
He described how a close circle had had the news of his death relayed to them from Syria just as they were attending Parliament on Monday evening for a Kurdish event.
"It's gut-wrenching, as Raqqa had just finished," said Mr Sahin. "Jac would have gone on to do good things."
The Home Office has warned against all travel to Syria.
Other former British YPG fighters, along with others who knew Mr Holmes, gathered at the Kurdish Community Centre on Monday evening to pay tribute to their friend and comrade.
Mr Sahin said "At his age, to go into a war zone with no experience, ask anyone else in Britain and they'd say you're insane. But there he was, he went out there and was doing it. Even though he knew the danger, you couldn't help but feel he was brave. I had respect for him, admiration even."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41730369
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Harvey Weinstein: British assistant 'paid £125k for silence' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Briton Zelda Perkins alleges she was sexually harassed by the American film producer.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. George Clooney and Matt Damon spoke out over the Harvey Weinstein accusations
A British former assistant of Harvey Weinstein says she was paid £125,000 ($165,200) to keep quiet after accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment.
Zelda Perkins told the Financial Times she signed a non-disclosure agreement in 1998 after making the accusations.
She said he asked her to give him massages and tried to pull her into bed, but she "was made to feel ashamed for disclosing his behaviour".
Weinstein has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex "unequivocally".
The former assistant said she reported her allegations after a female colleague told her she had also been sexually harassed by the film producer.
The two women subsequently sought damages and were awarded a sum of £250,000 ($330,500), split equally, but also signed a non-disclosure agreement, prohibiting them from discussing the allegations.
By breaking the agreement, Ms Perkins could be liable to repay the settlement, and potentially pay damages and other legal fees stipulated in the contract.
However, she told the Financial Times: "I want to publicly break my non-disclosure agreement.
"Unless somebody does this there won't be a debate about how egregious these agreements are and the amount of duress that victims are put under."
She claims that the film executive would ask her to massage him while he was in his underwear, when they were alone in hotel rooms.
Her testimony is similar to that of a number of Hollywood actresses - Lupita Nyong'o and Gwyneth Paltrow both claimed Weinstein suggested a massage in his bedroom and hotel room respectively.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "It was an open secret" a producer tells the BBC
Ms Perkins added that she often had to wake him up in the morning and "he would try to pull me into bed".
Weinstein has apologised for the way he has "behaved with colleagues in the past" and acknowledged that his actions have "caused a lot of pain".
However, he has said many of the accusations against him are "patently false", and in a statement to the FT, said he had "confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances".
Ms Perkins is one of scores of accusers who have come forward after a New York Times investigation into Weinstein's conduct.
Actress Rose McGowan claimed that she reached a $100,000 (£84,000) settlement with Weinstein in 1997 after an alleged incident in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival.
The New York Times said a legal document confirming the settlement stipulated it was "not to be construed as an admission", but intended to "avoid litigation and buy peace".
Allegations against the 65-year-old are subject to criminal investigations in London, Los Angeles and New York.
He is also under civil rights investigation in New York state.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41730109
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'One-off' £1.5m supercar damaged in crash at Tangmere - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Police believe the Pagani Zonda had been in a convoy of supercars when it hit a crash barrier.
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Sussex
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The blue Pagani Zonda crashed on the A27 at Tangmere
An extremely rare £1.5m supercar was badly damaged after it smashed into a crash barrier in West Sussex.
The Pagani Zonda, which has a top speed of more than 200mph (322kmph), crashed on the A27 at Tangmere on Saturday shortly after 07:30 BST.
Sussex Police said the driver was not injured but the "one-off" Italian-made car was left with "significant damage".
It is thought the car was travelling in a convoy of sports cars at the time and police have appealed for witnesses.
"We are hoping someone would remember as it is so distinctive," PC Peter De Silvo said.
Police believe it was travelling from Worthing to Chichester with several other sports cars
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-41725938
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Current account switching at new low - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Just 58,000 people moved account last month, despite big cash incentives on offer
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Business
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The number of people switching their current account to another provider has fallen to a new low, according to industry figures.
Just 57,779 used the seven day switching service to move accounts in September, the lowest number since the scheme was launched four years ago.
The drop came in spite of an advertising campaign during the month, designed to raise awareness.
Adverts were placed on TV, radio, in national newspapers and online.
The reluctance to move also comes in spite of the potential savings on offer, and financial incentives being offered by the banks.
The Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks are currently offering account holders £250, for example, while HSBC is offering £200 if people move and stay loyal for a year.
The number of people switching in September was half the number it was in March last year, when 120,774 moved account.
Advertising campaigns have consistently failed to persuade people to switch
BACS - which runs the Current Account Switching Service - already promised to improve the scheme in January this year.
It told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it would extend the period in which money is redirected from a customer's old account to the new one.
The idea was to give consumers extra confidence that their money would not go astray.
But account holders do not appear to have been convinced that switching is worthwhile.
That is despite the fact that, after a two-year inquiry, the CMA said consumers could save up to £92 a year if they moved their account.
The news will also be a blow to the Treasury, which originally said it would rely on the scheme to improve competition in the banking sector.
BACS said that over four million customers had moved their accounts since 2013.
The banks that are gaining the most account-holders are Nationwide, TSB and HSBC. The ones losing the most are Barclays, Clydesdale and NatWest.
• None The Current Account Switch Service - your guarantee to a successful switch The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41740616
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Ex-UKIP donor Arron Banks in Rochester by-election expenses row - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Expenditure at the Rochester by-election was not registered by UKIP, which could breach electoral law.
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UK
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Nigel Farage (right), then leader of UKIP, at a press conference with Arron Banks in October 2014
Ex-UKIP donor Arron Banks paid for 20 of his employees to ferry party voters to the polls at the Rochester 2014 by-election, BBC Newsnight understands.
The expenditure was not registered by UKIP, which could breach electoral law.
UKIP's victory in Rochester ensured the party received more coverage by the BBC and other broadcasters the following year, at the 2015 general election.
Mr Banks denies any wrongdoing and said all expenditure at the by-election was expensed in full and notified to UKIP.
Mr Banks is the bad boy of Brexit, a car insurance mogul and a failed sexual potency pill entrepreneur - but far from hiding his naughtiness, he flaunts it.
Hollywood is thinking about making a TV drama series about him.
One thing he hasn't flaunted though is paying for around 20 of his car insurance salespeople to help bring out the vote for UKIP in the Rochester by-election in 2014.
Conservative defector Mark Reckless won the by-election for UKIP, meaning that at the 2015 general election, broadcasters - including the BBC - gave UKIP a bigger platform than before.
Newsnight's evidence suggests that at least some of the political energy running up to Brexit appears to have been paid for unlawfully.
Mark Reckless campaigning in Rochester ahead of the 2014 by-election poll
In his ghost-written book, The Bad Boys of Brexit, Mr Banks tells how when the polls closed in Rochester "I put £7,000 behind the bar and soon the place was heaving".
But his book did not mention that about 20 car insurance salespeople employed by Mr Banks at Catbrain Lane, Bristol - the hub of his Eldon vehicle insurance empire - were paid to travel to Rochester, in Kent.
They then drove elderly UKIP voters to the polls, before staying the night at a Premier Inn and making the return journey the following day.
One ex-employee of Mr Banks' brokerage, Eldon, whose brands include Go Skippy car insurance and Footprint van insurance, told Newsnight: "I was paid to do my job."
He said: "I wasn't specifically paid for doing that [ferrying voters to the polls], but I wasn't deducted any pay for being out of the office.
"I got there early in the morning, whole day there, went out in the evening."
One estimate for taxi services by 15 drivers for a day in Rochester is £9,000 - a figure which would have put UKIP above the legal spending limit.
Any election expense should be registered by the candidate and his or her agent to the returning officer, but not a penny of these expenses was.
Mr Reckless told Newsnight: "Neither I nor my agent authorised spending except as was appropriately declared."
Mr Banks told us all expenditure incurred during the by-election was properly expensed in full and notified to UKIP at the time.
But the party's "record-keeping", he said, left something to be desired.
Newsnight asked Gavin Millar QC, an expert in election law, whether this was lawful.
He said: "It's only lawful if you stay within the regulated procedures for spending money for the purposes of the election of a candidate.
"If you go outside of them, it's unlawful."
But if Mr Banks did not have the authority to spend what he did - what does that mean for him?
Mr Millar said: "It was unlawful on the part of the third party who organised the concerted assistance; Mr Banks in this case.
"If they did it and incurred those costs without the authority of the agent, as it appears they may have done, that's called an illegal practice and it's a criminal offence."
What happened in Rochester appears to be similar to bigger troubles the Conservative Party has had with unregistered election expenses.
It is very unlikely that any action will be taken against UKIP, Mr Reckless, his agent or Mr Banks because a criminal investigation must start within a year of any possible offence.
And the story may yet have political ramifications.
A few months before the Rochester by-election in 2014, Mr Banks made one of the biggest political donations in British political history.
He donated £1m to UKIP in a press conference outside his Old Down mansion, near Bristol.
Handsome backdrop though it is, he does not live there - but in a smaller farmhouse down the lane, bought for £890,000 in 2013 and with £500,000 outstanding on the mortgage.
He hopes to float the Eldon group for £250m - a valuation that got him on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Mr Banks claims his Eldon group will make £24m profit this year, up from only £300,000 last year.
He says new AI - artificial intelligence - technology is giving Eldon a boost.
Arif Khurshed, professor of finance at Manchester Business School, said: "With a group turnover of £47m and an operating profit of £300,000, an IPO of this size looks highly ambitious."
There's been trouble with Eldon's numbers in the past.
In 2013, its auditors, Baker Tilly, resigned, stating "a breakdown in the relationship has occurred because, by failing to supply accurate information, management is imposing a limitation of scope on our work."
Mr Banks says the auditors resigned because of a conflict of interest.
Some of his other businesses have hit choppy waters.
Mr Banks was, until this month, managing director of African Compass Trading, which sold the Star 150 sexual enhancement pill, a kind of herbal Viagra.
Its slogan was "naturally, every man wants to be a superman in the bedroom."
The MHRA, the medicines regulator, said that in 2014, as part of a criminal investigation, it seized Star 150 pills worth around £50,000 from an address in Bristol.
They told us their investigation is closed and, to the best of Newsnight's knowledge, it has not resulted in any criminal charges.
Mr Banks told us he did invest £100,000 in the business but that operations were discontinued within a year due to "stiff competition".
Entirely in keeping with his image, Mr Banks provided a fiery response to Newsnight: "Since the referendum result and my support for Donald Trump, I have been the subject of politically-motivated attacks by the 'mainstream media' and Remain-supporting institutions.
"It comes as no surprise that Newsnight would join the party at this late stage with their own particular type of trashy 'News of the World' journalism."
He concluded that after allegations by some of him being a "Russian spy… part of a worldwide conspiracy to subvert democracy… the only surprise is how long it's taken Newsnight to have a pop at me!
"BBC Fake news is alive and well!"
The Bad Boy of Brexit airs on Newsnight at 22.30 on BBC Two.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41740237
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Russian radio presenter Felgengauer stabbed in neck - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A top Russian broadcaster is seriously ill in hospital after a man stabbed her in the neck at work.
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Europe
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Tatyana Felgengauer is seen here posing in a team photo of Ekho Moskvy presenters
One of Russia's top radio presenters has had surgery after being stabbed in the neck by a man who broke into her newsroom at broadcaster Ekho Moskvy.
Tatyana Felgengauer is in a medically-induced coma in a Moscow hospital but her life is not said to be in danger.
A male suspect is under arrest. His motive is not clear, though police say it appears to be a personal grudge.
Ekho Moskvy, an independent station, often broadcasts views critical of the Kremlin.
The knifeman reportedly sprayed a gas into the face of a security guard as he broke in.
According to Ekho Moskvy, the alleged attacker's name is Boris Grits. It describes the attacker as an Israeli, citing "informed sources".
Russian police described him as a 48-year-old foreigner. "Initial findings show that personal dislike was the motivation," police told Interfax news agency.
The Moscow police have released a video clip of the suspect under arrest, in which he claims that Felgengauer had "sexually harassed me through telepathy".
A blog apparently published by Boris Grits also contains posts vilifying Felgengauer.
Blood was spattered on the floor as police tackled the intruder
A Russian state TV channel recently accused Ekho Moskvy ("Moscow Echo" in English) of working with the West to produce anti-Russian propaganda, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Moscow.
Just last month, another of its journalists, Yulia Latynina, left the country after she was sprayed with faeces and her car was set on fire.
This photo of the suspect was published by Ekho Moskvy after the attack
Staff at the radio station say the man did not shout anything before he stabbed Tatyana Felgengauer on the building's 14th floor.
She is deputy chief editor at Ekho Moskvy and has worked there for more than 10 years. She is the daughter of Pavel Felgengauer, a prominent journalist with military expertise.
A photo of the suspect was published by the radio station's website editor, Vitaly Ruvinsky, on Facebook.
One of the broadcaster's security guards was injured as the knifeman was being overpowered.
Ekho Moskvy is a major broadcaster, respected for its independent stance
Most Russians rely on TV for their news and the main channels are either directly state-controlled or run by companies with close links to the Kremlin.
There have been many attacks on investigative reporters and other journalists who have challenged Russia's powerful vested interests.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41720828
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Hackers breach top plastic surgery clinic - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The clinic, based in London, is known to have had high-profile clients, including TV star Katie Price.
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Technology
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The London clinic says it is still determining what data was stolen
A high-profile plastic surgery clinic has said it is "horrified" after hackers allegedly stole data during a cyber-attack.
London Bridge Plastic Surgery (LBPS) said its IT experts and police found evidence of the breach.
A group claiming to be behind the breach said it had "terabytes" of data, the Daily Beast news site reported.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the attack.
The alleged hackers, using the pseudonym The Dark Overlord, said they had obtained photos showing various body parts of clients, including genitals.
Some of these images have been sent to the Daily Beast.
The hackers also claimed that the data contained information on "royal families" and added that they planned to distribute the patient list and corresponding photos online.
"We are still working to establish exactly what data has been compromised," LBPS said in a statement.
"We are horrified that they have now targeted our patients."
One of the clinic's recent clients is model and TV presenter Katie Price
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said it was notified of a suspected breach on 17 October.
She added that there had been no arrests and that enquiries by the Organised Crime Command were continuing.
LBPS is known to have high-profile clients, including model and TV presenter Katie Price, who recently used her Instagram account to thank the clinic for her facelift.
The Information Commissioner's Office said, "We are aware of this incident and are looking into the details.
"All organisations are required under data protection law to keep people's personal data safe and secure."
The Dark Overlord has claimed to be behind high-profile data breaches before, including one at US media firm Netflix earlier this year.
In April, 10 episodes of the new series of TV show Orange is the New Black were released online after Netflix refused to pay a ransom.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41735104
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Astrolabe: Shipwreck find 'earliest navigation tool' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Marine archaeologists say the object - discovered off the coast of Oman - is an astrolabe.
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Science & Environment
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The instrument was once used by mariners to measure the altitude of the Sun during their voyages
An artefact excavated from a shipwreck off the coast of Oman has been found to be the oldest known example of a type of navigational tool.
Marine archaeologists say the object is an astrolabe, an instrument once used by mariners to measure the altitude of the Sun during their voyages.
It is believed to date from between 1495 and 1500.
The item was recovered from a Portuguese explorer which sank during a storm in the Indian Ocean in 1503.
The boat was called the Esmeralda and was part of a fleet led by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.
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David Mearns, from Blue Water Recovery, who led the excavation and is the author of The Shipwreck Hunter, told the BBC: "It's a great privilege to find something so rare, something so historically important, something that will be studied by the archaeological community and fills in a gap."
The astrolabe was discovered by Mr Mearns in 2014, and was one of nearly 3,000 artefacts recovered during a series of dives.
The bronze disc measures 17.5cm in diameter and is less than 2mm thick.
"It was like nothing else we had seen and I immediately knew it was something very important because you could see it had these two emblems on it," said Mr Mearns.
"One I recognised immediately as a Portuguese coat of arms... and another which we later discovered was the personal emblem of Don Manuel I, the King of Portugal at the time."
The excavation team believed the object was an astrolabe, but they could not see any navigational markings on it.
However, a later analysis uncovered its hidden details.
Laser scanning work carried out by scientists at the University of Warwick revealed etches around the edge of the disc, each separated by five degrees.
The University of Warwick used laser scans to uncover etches on the astrolabe, which helped navigators work out the height of the sun
This would have allowed mariners to measure the height of the sun above the horizon at noon to determine their location so they could find their way on the high seas.
Mariners' astrolabes are relatively rare, and this is only the 108th to be confirmed catalogued. It is also the earliest known example by several decades.
Mr Mearns said: "We know it had to have been made before 1502, because that's when the ship left Lisbon and Dom Manuel didn't become King until 1495, and this astrolabe wouldn't have carried the emblem of the King unless he was King.
"I believe it's probably fair to say it dates roughly to between 1495 to 1500. Exactly what year we don't know - but it is in that narrow period."
He added: "It rolls back this history by at least 30 years - it adds to evolution, it adds to the history, and hopefully astrolabes from this period can be found."
• None Were medieval monks the old Weather Watchers?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41724022
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County Lines: The children forced to sell drugs - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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City gangs are exploiting children as young as 12 to traffic Class A drugs to smaller rural towns.
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UK
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Money and drugs found by police in a property which had been taken over by a dangerous drug network
About 4,000 teenagers from London are being exploited and trafficked every year to sell drugs in rural towns and cities, a leading youth charity says.
Known as "county lines", gangs use children as young as 12 to traffic drugs, using dedicated mobile phones or "lines".
Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland said the figures were "shocking" and the exploitation was only slowly being recognised.
It comes as the Home Office announced it was putting £300,000 into a new pilot project to help young victims.
File on 4 spoke to one teenager about what it is like to be involved in a county lines gang.
Michael* was 13 years old when a friend at his school approached him about selling drugs.
Lured in by the prospect of making money, he began selling in his local area, but things escalated quickly.
The gang was soon sending him on jobs out of London with the promise he could make around £500 a week.
He was sent to the house of a vulnerable drug user that the gang had taken over in the Midlands, a practice known as cuckooing.
Using this as his base, he was out on the street selling heroin and crack cocaine, day and night.
"I was a bit shaky, I was actually scared," he says.
"But from the time you see the money, you're just thinking, 'OK, I can just bear a bit more.'"
Michael describes having a normal upbringing and a close relationship with his family.
Frantic about his long absences, he says, they would try to stop him by taking away his mobile phone - but as soon as he left his house, the gang would start hassling him again.
They would take him to a house where they ran a kind of breakfast club.
"Before you go to school you have breakfast there. I'd probably have a quick ride to school and then after school they come and pick you up as well," he says.
Despite living with a group of drug users, Michael says he "didn't really recognise the risks" or see how easily he could be attacked.
He describes how he once ended up staying in a graveyard after being left stranded hundreds of miles from home with nowhere to stay.
"They [drug users] could have found another drug dealer and told him 'listen, this guy is in a graveyard and he's got drugs'... anything could have happened, that experience was crazy."
After being arrested for possession of drugs, Michael decided to stop selling, but says it was not easy to leave the gang behind.
"They were trying to get at me but I moved away from the area, so I think that helped me a lot.
"I started to gain different knowledge and actually make my life something else and not just be another number."
The charity Safer London has dealt with many teenagers like Michael, who are exploited to sell drugs for older gang members.
The charity's chief executive, Claire Hubberstey, said a frightening number of young people were at risk of being involved in county lines dealing.
"We have started recording when we've got concerns," she says.
Based on the number of young people they see, they estimate at least 4,000 young people are at risk every year.
She compares it to the way children are lured in to sexual grooming, saying initial promises soon turn into threats.
"Young people often talk about being physically locked in premises so they're not able to actually get out.
"Threats of coercion or violence mean they can be too scared to try to make their own way back - even if they have the means to do so."
She wants all of these young people placed on the National Referral Mechanism - meaning they would be treated as victims of trafficking and modern slavery, rather than being treated as criminals.
"They are exploited children, and they are being manipulated and exploited. Even if they don't see it, that doesn't mean that it's not happening", she says.
Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland said the extent of county lines exploitation was only slowly being recognised.
"We're waking up to it. Are we fully awake to it yet? Probably not, but we are starting to."
He says tackling it will require a change in the psyche of the police and other authorities to see young drugs traffickers as victims not criminals.
"It makes an enormous difference. You get it right, the whole process changes because you don't have that person in the dock, you start looking for someone else to put in the dock."
Sarah Newton, minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, said as well as new funding, the government had also taken measures including passing legislation to allow police to shut down the phone lines used to market drugs.
"It sends a very clear message that we will not tolerate this criminal activity."
*Michael's name has been changed to protect his identity.
Listen to more on this story on File on 4, on Tuesday 24th October at 20:00 BST on BBC Radio 4.
• None 'My son was groomed to sell drugs'
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41720980
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HIV hairdresser Daryll Rowe told victim 'I'm riddled' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A man accused of deliberately infecting men with HIV told one he was "riddled" with the virus.
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Sussex
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Daryll Rowe met his partners on dating app Grindr, jurors at Lewes Crown Court were told
A hairdresser accused of deliberately infecting other men with HIV told one victim he was "riddled" with the virus after they had sex, a court heard.
Daryll Rowe, 26, denies infecting five Brighton-based men, and attempting to infect a further five.
Giving evidence at Lewes Crown Court, a 22-year-old student said he met Mr Rowe via a dating app in January 2016.
He said he started "freaking out" when he found a broken condom in the bathroom after they had sex.
In a video recording of a police interview shown to the jury, the man said he was in pain after having sex with Mr Rowe and was later given anti-viral drugs to prevent him contracting HIV as well as treatment for genital herpes.
During the interview, the man said: "I remember not really enjoying it. There were moments when I was like, I want to get up and go.
"Afterwards I went to the toilet and the condom was on the sink and I noticed that it... was completely broken. Like the whole top of it was off."
A series of text messages read to the court, the university student repeatedly asked Mr Rowe whether he had HIV.
In response Mr Rowe is alleged to have said: "Yes, I'm riddled by the way".
Later, Mr Rowe branded the man a "paranoid, overdramatic fool", before saying he would be blocking the number, the court heard.
The student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, contacted police after seeing a witness appeal for information about a man he thought was Mr Rowe.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-41736027
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I met a homeless addict and recognised my childhood friend - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How a woman's commitment to her childhood friend inspired thousands in Kenya.
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Magazine
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A chance meeting between two childhood friends helped one begin a journey back from drug addiction after many years living on the street.
It was early October and Wanja Mwaura, 32, was on her way to the market in Lower Kabaete, not far from Nairobi, when she heard someone shout out her name.
She looked up and was surprised to see a tall man with bulging eyes, an emaciated frame, dirtied black overalls and an equally stained thick woollen hat, sitting on the side of the road. She did not recognise him.
But when Patrick "Hinga" Wanjiru, 34, introduced himself, Wanja says she found herself in shock. Standing before her was a friend she had known since she was seven years old.
"Patrick, or Hinga as we called him, and I had met at primary school in 1992," says Wanja, who is a nurse from Kiambu County, just outside the Kenyan capital.
"Hinga used to be a great soccer player all throughout school. We nicknamed him 'Pele'."
Hinga was estranged from his parents and lived with his grandmother in a squat. When she couldn't afford to pay his school fees, he was forced to skip classes. Eventually they were evicted even from the squat. But against all the odds, Hinga did well in his exams, until his grandmother died - then he dropped out of school and his life began to take a downward trajectory.
Hinga started abusing drugs, first marijuana and then heroin. He spent hours sifting through garbage to find things he could sell on the streets.
When they met again, more than 15 years later, Hinga had been homeless for more than a decade. He looked nothing like the childhood friend who had once been known as "Pele".
Sensing Wanja's dismay, Hinga reassured her that he had only wanted to say hello. She asked him if she could buy him lunch. At a local cafe, she ordered the dish she remembered had been his favourite years earlier - pork ribs and mashed potatoes. She said he appeared distracted, unable to finish sentences.
"I gave him my mobile telephone number and told him to call me if he needed anything," Wanja says.
Over the next couple of days, Hinga borrowed phones and would regularly call his childhood friend, often just to hear her voice for a chat. He told her that he was committed to getting clean from drugs.
"I decided then, that something needed to be done to help him," Wanja says.
Taking to social media, Wanja appealed to her friends to see if she could raise funds for drug rehabilitation.
"Rehab here is very expensive and I had no ways of raising funds on my own," she says.
"We set up a crowdfunding page, but we only managed to raise around 41,000 Kenyan shillings (£300) initially. However the cost of nine days rehabilitation at Chiromo Lane Medical Center in Nairobi was more than 100,000 KES.
"I wasn't sure how we would be able to cover this."
But Wanja had promised to help Hinga, so she took him to the centre anyway, unsure how they would cover the cost.
A spokesperson for the rehab programme says Hinga was a dedicated patient, who committed fully to the nine-day detox.
Within days Hinga had gained weight and his concentration improved. Wanja took to Facebook to speak about her pride at her friend's transformation in such a short period of time.
"A week ago Hinga and I couldn't hold a normal conversation without me trying to hold his head up with my hand in order for him to concentrate. Today we can have a normal conversation with him confidently looking at me," she wrote.
Mombasa businessman Fauz Khalid spotted Wanja's public post on Facebook and said he wanted to share the story on a wider platform. He posted the photos on Twitter and his post has now been shared more than 50,000 times.
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After that, the Kenyan media began to cover the story and Chiromo Lane Medical Center agreed to waive the entire fee for Hinga's treatment.
Wanja says this was "a blessing", but she was keen for her friend to undergo a more sustained recovery, and is now raising funds for him to follow a 90-day programme at The Retreat Rehabilitation Centre, where he is currently staying.
"Unfortunately, there is still great stigma around drug abuse in Kenya," Wanja says. This may be one reason why the government doesn't provide free drug rehab treatment.
"Rehabs are expensive and out of reach for many people, not only in Kenya but also the greater part of Africa. I am committed to crowdsourcing so I can support my friend at this time," says Wanja.
"Wanja is an angel sent from God. I owe her my life. She has stuck with me more closely than a brother or a sister," Hinga tells the BBC.
On Twitter several users echoed this sentiment. Abraham Wilbourne, a financial analyst from Nairobi, told Wanja "You have a seat in heaven!" Many called her a "mashujaa", which means "hero" in Swahili.
"People say I changed Hinga's life, but he changed mine too." says Wanja. "I realise now that a small act can change a person's life."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41715839
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Bob Corker says Trump 'utterly untruthful president' - BBC News
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2017-10-24
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Senator Bob Corker launches a scathing attack on Mr Trump ahead of his Capitol Hill visit.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lashing out: What Bob Corker really thinks of President Trump
Influential Republican Senator Bob Corker has unleashed a blistering attack on US President Donald Trump, calling him "utterly untruthful".
In a series of television interviews, Mr Corker accused the president of lying, adding that he debased the US and weakened its global standing.
Mr Trump fired back on Twitter, calling the Tennessee senator a "lightweight" who "couldn't get re-elected".
The pair met at a Senate lunch on Tuesday to discuss tax reform.
"He is purposely breaking down relationships we have around the world that had been useful to our nation," Mr Corker said on CNN after the Republican president criticised him on Twitter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Trump is treason!" shouted a protester who threw Russian flags at the president as he arrived at Capitol Hill
"I think the debasement of our nation is what he'll be remembered most for," he said.
The Foreign Relations Committee chairman, who was an early supporter of Mr Trump, added that the president has "great difficulty with truth".
The good news for Donald Trump is he's managed to push his feud with a grieving war widow out of the headlines. The bad news is he's done it by pushing a stake through Republican unity at a time when the party needs to come together to pass big-ticket tax reform through Congress.
The latest blistering exchange between Republican Senator Bob Corker and the president has all the hallmarks of one of Mr Trump's classic intra-party campaign spats.
There's the quick Twitter trigger finger, the derogatory nicknames ("liddle" Bob Corker), the over-the-top hyperbole ("he couldn't get elected dog catcher").
Republicans - including those who bore the brunt of Mr Trump's vitriolic attacks - largely shrugged off those earlier rows as primary-season posturing and unified behind their unlikely standard-bearer in the autumn general election.
Mr Corker, on the verge of Senate retirement, isn't backing down, however. And the president is once again raising the voltage.
The party is learning the hard way that there's only one Donald Trump - whether he's a real-estate mogul, a reality TV star, a candidate or a president.
If you question his leadership, his views or his attitude, he'll unleash the whirlwind, no matter the consequences.
When asked if he regretted supporting Mr Trump during the 2016 election, the senator said: "Let's just put it this way, I would not do that again."
His comments came after Mr Trump lashed out at the Republican in a series of tweets.
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Last month Mr Corker announced that he would not seek re-election at next year's mid-term elections.
Mr Corker had voted against the 2015 agreement to curb Iran's development of nuclear weapons, calling it "flawed", but later said Mr Trump should not "tear up" the pact.
Mr Trump's tweets on Tuesday appeared to be in response to Mr Corker's comments on ABC News' Good Morning America, in which he suggested the president should stop interfering in the debate on tax legislation.
The president went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an attempt to rally Senate Republicans around a White House-backed tax reform plan.
A protester was detained by police after he hurled Russian flags at Mr Trump as he walked through the building with top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell.
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"Trump is treason!" shouted the demonstrator, who identified himself as Ryan Clayton from Americans Take Action, a campaign group calling for Mr Trump's impeachment.
"This president conspired with agents of the Russian government to steal an election!" he cried. "We should be talking about treason in congress, not about tax cuts!"
Mr Corker's support for the tax plan could be crucial as Republicans seek to pass the legislation in the upper chamber.
The lawmaker also raised concern with the president's behaviour toward North Korea, saying Mr Trump "continues to kneecap his diplomatic representative, the secretary of state".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How one phone call has sparked uproar
He added that when it comes to diplomacy with Pyongyang, Mr Trump should "leave it to the professionals for a while".
The spat reignites an ongoing feud between the two men, which blew up earlier this month when Mr Corker responded to an attack from Mr Trump saying: "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center.
"Someone obviously missed their shift this morning."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41729586
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Donald Trump notes Xi Jinping's 'extraordinary' rise - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The US president also said in an interview that some might call Xi Jinping "king of China".
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China
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. China Editor Carrie Gracie takes a look at the country's new senior leadership committee
US President Donald Trump has congratulated Chinese leader Xi Jinping on his "extraordinary elevation" after this week's Communist Party congress.
Mr Trump also praised Mr Xi in a TV interview in the US, and said "some might call him king of China".
Mr Xi cemented his hold on China when he had a second five-year term confirmed, with no clear successor, at the congress.
His name and doctrine have been written into the party's constitution.
The two leaders are due to hold talks at a state visit to China next month, having met at the G20 summit in July.
The pair also discussed North Korea and trade, President Trump said in a tweet. Hours later North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also congratulated Mr Xi.
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In the phone call with Mr Trump, Mr Xi expressed a desire to work with the US president to "jointly blueprint future development of China-US ties", Chinese state media report.
Separately, Mr Trump praised Mr Xi as a "very good person" with whom he had "a very good relationship", in an interview with Fox Business Network.
Describing Mr Xi's elevation as something that "really virtually never happened in China", Mr Trump called the Chinese leader "a powerful man".
"People say we have the best relationship of any president-president, because he's called president also. Some people might call him the king of China, but he's called president."
China has the world's second-largest economy after the US, its biggest trading partner.
However, relations have been strained by Beijing's territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea with Washington's allies in East Asia.
Meanwhile North Korean state media agency KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong-un sent a congratulatory message to Mr Xi.
The message "expressed the conviction that the relations between the two parties and the two countries would develop in the interests" of the Chinese and North Koreans.
It also officially acknowledged Mr Xi's political doctrine, noting that China had "entered the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era".
Though relations have cooled in recent years, amid Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, China remains North Korea's closest ally.
On Wednesday, Mr Xi was formally handed a second term in office at the close of the Communist Party congress in Beijing.
He is now on a par with the founder of the state, Mao Zedong, and questions have been raised over whether the 64-year-old intends to rule beyond 2022.
Five new appointments were made to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, China's most powerful body.
The two presidents met in Hamburg this summer
There had been speculation Mr Xi would elevate his protégé Chen Miner and Guangdong party secretary Hu Chunhua, both of whom are in their 50s and young enough to be credible successors.
But the fact that the new appointees are all in their 60s, and likely to retire at the end of this five-year term, fuels speculation about Mr Xi's long-term intentions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram in which he said the re-election showed Mr Xi's "political authority" and the "broad support" his policy to develop China and strengthen its international position enjoyed.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in congratulated Mr Xi on his re-election in a letter, writing that he looked forward to creating a "practical strategic partnership".
Mr Xi has assumed an unprecedented number of positions since coming to power in 2012, including the title of "core" leader of China.
His first term has been marked by significant development, a push for modernisation and increasing assertiveness on the world stage.
It has also seen growing authoritarianism, censorship and a crackdown on human rights.
He has spearheaded a sweeping anti-corruption campaign which has seen more than a million officials disciplined. It has been seen by some as a massive internal purge of opponents.
Several major Western news organisations were barred from Wednesday's ceremony to reveal the new Politburo Standing Committee.
Officially no reason was given for barring the BBC, Financial Times, Economist, New York Times and Guardian, but unofficially journalists were told that their reporting was to blame - another sign of Xi's determination to control the message at home and abroad.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41756769
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Pakistan blogger Aasim Saeed says he was tortured - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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He says he was beaten at a secret detention facility by a state intelligence agency.
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Asia
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Aasim Saeed says he was taken to a secret detention facility and beaten
A Pakistani blogger who went missing earlier this year has applied for asylum in Britain after alleging he was tortured by a "state intelligence agency" during his disappearance.
Aasim Saeed was one of a group of five liberal social media activists who were abducted in Pakistan in January 2017 before being released after several weeks. The Pakistani military has repeatedly denied any involvement in the case.
Mr Saeed told the BBC that prior to his abduction he had been involved in running a Facebook page critical of Pakistan's military establishment, called Mochi, "because since the inception of Pakistan they've always been ruling us directly or indirectly".
Pakistan has been ruled by the military for nearly half of its 70 years.
Mr Saeed was working in Singapore but visiting Pakistan for his brother's wedding in January 2017 when he says a number of men in plain clothes arrived at his house and ordered him into a car.
"'Do you know why you've been picked up?' they asked. I said, 'I have no idea'. Then he started to slap me. They said, 'Let's talk about Mochi'."
Mr Saeed told the BBC he had been ordered to hand over the passwords to his email accounts and mobile phone before being taken to a secret detention facility where he was held alongside men he believed to be "religious terrorists."
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 728 people were forcibly "disappeared" in 2016. Pakistan's intelligence services have been accused of "disappearing" social and ethnic nationalist activists, as well as those accused of links to militant groups, instead of producing them in court.
Authorities in Pakistan have often said the security services are unfairly blamed for disappearances and that the number of missing people is inflated.
Few first-hand accounts have ever emerged of what happens to those in detention. Mr Saeed alleges he was beaten with a leather strap.
"I don't remember what happened, I fell down and someone was holding my neck in his feet, and the other guy kept beating and beating and beating."
He describes his arms and back being left "shades of purple, blue and back".
Pakistani rights activists wave pictures of missing bloggers during a January 2017 protest in Lahore
At another detention facility which he believes to be near the capital Islamabad, Mr Saeed says he was made to undergo polygraph tests whilst being repeatedly questioned about links to the Indian intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
"Have you ever been associated with RAW? Who is your handler? Have you ever received money from RAW?"
He denies any links to any foreign intelligence services and says interrogators also analysed his Facebook posts and questioned him about why he was "critical of the army".
In May 2017 Human Rights Watch raised concerns that the Pakistani government was "clamping down on internet dissent at the expense of fundamental rights".
Protests were held across cities in Pakistan by other liberal activists calling for the release of Mr Saeed and the other "missing bloggers", as they came to be known. Mr Saeed, though, says he believed while in detention that he would be killed, because normally "missing persons don't go home".
Whilst pressure was building on the Pakistani authorities to provide information about the whereabouts of the bloggers, a counter-campaign was begun by right-wing religious clerics and TV anchors accusing them of having committed blasphemy.
Religious students and activists have previously demanded the removal of all "blasphemous" content from social media
Blasphemy is legally punishable by death in Pakistan and a number of those accused of it have been murdered by lynch mobs.
Mr Saeed returned home after several weeks in detention. He told the BBC it was only then that he realised he had been accused of blasphemy. He denies any involvement in writing blasphemous material.
One of the other missing bloggers has alleged the blasphemy allegations were an attempt "to shut us down - to threaten our families - to build pressure on us".
Mr Saeed returned to Singapore shortly after being released and arrived in the UK in September to visit friends. He told the BBC he had then decided to apply for asylum as the terms of his employment visa in Singapore meant he had no guarantee he would be allowed to keep living there if he ever lost his job, and his life would be in danger if he returned to Pakistan.
Nonetheless, Mr Saeed told the BBC he did not regret his activism, as "people have to stand up".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41662595
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Russell Brand: Society is collapsing - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The comedian discusses addiction and how perceptions of mental health are changing.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Brand's latest book deals with his own addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex and fame
Addiction and mental health may not be the kinds of issues you'd normally expect to be addressed at a stand-up comedy gig.
But Russell Brand has never been your conventional comedian - and it's precisely these subjects that he's tackling in his new book and at one of his upcoming London shows.
"Society is collapsing," the comedian tells the BBC, "and people are starting to recognise that the reason they feel like they're mentally ill is that they're living in a system that's not designed to suit the human spirit.
"People are realising 'Hold on a minute, is it natural to work 12 hours a day? Is it natural that I live in an environment that is designed for human beings from one perspective but not from a holistic perspective?' Breathing dirty air, eating dirty food, thinking dirty thoughts. So really what this is, is a time of transition.
"Yes, the conversation is changing because the communication is becoming so much more expedient, but what's really changing is people are starting to notice that the system is not working for them."
The comedian says he prefers theatres to large arenas when it comes to performing comedy
The 42-year-old's latest book - Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions - is released this month, and sees him discussing his own addictions, namely drugs, alcohol, sex and fame.
But, he says, the book isn't just for people who have had chemical addictions, and argues that pretty much all of us have some kind of vice.
"Everyone's living their lives on addictions really," he says. "Everyone is living their life thinking they've got the answer to their own little problem. If there's something they get, something they do, they're going to feel a little bit better.
"Addicts are just a more pronounced version, and end up usually with a drug issue, but look at what people can do to themselves with food.
"People can destroy their lives with food, and so addiction really, we're all on the spectrum, we're all on the scale, it just depends how severe we are, and I think that unless you're happy in your life, there's room for a program.
He continues: "Unless you're like 'I'm really happy with my job, my diet, my relationship, my body', if that's how you feel, that's fine. You deserve to feel like that, people should feel like that.
Brand has turned to activism more recently and attended an austerity march in London in 2015
"I'm not talking about stupid simple pleasures like eating an ice lolly, that's only very temporary, we're looking at peak and contentedness which we can find our way to, if we're willing to change the way we think."
Brand clearly isn't going to be short of material when he discusses the topic at a special gig at the Hammersmith Apollo on 1 November.
In addition to his usual stand-up show, he's going to turn up early to do some readings from Recovery.
"It's the only time I'm ever going to do it," he explains. "So if people want to come at 6.30, I'll read from the book, and then do the show, Rebirth."
It's interesting that Brand is playing somewhat smaller venues than the arenas we've seen other A-list comics perform at in recent years.
Michael McIntyre and Chris Rock have both toured arenas in recent years
The recent generation of "rock star comedians" like Michael McIntyre, Chris Rock and Peter Kay are more likely to sell out the O2 than play an impromptu gig at the Comedy Store, but Brand says he prefers the intimacy of slightly smaller venues.
"People that have played both arenas and theatres, most people prefer theatres, and I'd say the same," he says.
"It's a great privilege to perform in front of 20,000 people at once like at the O2, it's lovely, but there's all sorts of reasons for not doing it... but I love doing stand-up comedy, so I'm happy to do two nights in Brixton and two nights in Hammersmith rather than one night at the O2, and it is a better experience for the audience and for the performer."
Speaking about his own live dates, Russell adds: "The stand-up is full of audience interaction. The thing that excites me most is what people create when they come together in groups."
Brand has become increasingly vocal as an activist and campaigner in recent years
Despite his recent activism, which has included charity work, austerity protests and endorsing Jeremy Corbyn, it's unlikely that Russell will be entering the world of politics anytime soon.
"If you think the political process doesn't work, why would you think, I'm going to get involved with it?" he asks.
"If you swap the word 'political process' for 'car', you wouldn't think 'I'm going to get in that car and try and drive it in a different direction. If you think people should be riding horses, start riding a horse.
"So just do what you think is the correct thing to do. If you think your school should be run differently, start running your school differently, and then when you find obstacles to that, confront the obstacles, but never alone, always in groups.
"The thing I've learned from recent conversations from people who are experts, like Prof David Harvey, is to start establishing systems you believe in, and operate within them. So the work I'm doing already is the work that I think should be done.
"So I think if people start communicating honestly and openly, they'll realise, 'Everyone is more similar to me than I imagined.'"
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41652617
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Brexit: May 'confident' MPs will get vote before exit - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Theresa May says MPs will get a say before the UK's EU exit - after David Davis cast doubt on it.
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UK Politics
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Theresa May has said she is confident there will be enough time for MPs to get a Brexit vote before the UK leaves.
During Prime Minister's Questions, she was pressed on comments by David Davis who earlier said a vote might not happen before the March 2019 deadline.
He said the vote's timing hinged on when a deal was done and this may be at the "59th minute of the 11th hour".
But Mrs May said she believed it would happen "in time for Parliament to have the vote we committed to".
The government agreed earlier this year to give Parliament a "meaningful" say on the outcome of the current negotiations but Downing Street has not said when it will be.
The Brexit secretary told a Commons committee it had always been the government's goal that the vote would take place before the European Parliament gave its own verdict, expected to be in late 2018 or early 2019.
But he said that "it can't come before we have the deal" and pressed on whether this might not happen before the end of March 2019, he replied "yes that's correct, in the event that we don't do the deal until then".
The comments have been seized on by Labour MPs one of whom - Stephen Kinnock - asked the PM how Parliament "could have a meaningful vote on something that has already taken place".
Mrs May said it was right that negotiations could continue right until the scheduled date of Brexit but suggested that it was in the interest of all parties to conclude them before then.
"It is not just this Parliament that wants to have a vote on that deal - there will be ratifications by other Parliaments," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Stephen Kinnock asks PM to explain how it is possible to have a "meaningful vote on something that has already taken place"
"I am confident, because it is in the interests of both sides, that we will be able to achieve that agreement and negotiation in time for this Parliament to have the vote we committed to."
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said ministers were making up policy "on the hoof on a daily basis" while Lib Dem spokesman Tom Brake said not to have a vote before Brexit would be "an insult to democracy".
Former Tory education secretary Nicky Morgan said it would be "completely pointless" to have a vote after the UK had left and was therefore pleased about the PM's reassurances.
"The danger of answering hypothetical questions as David Davis has done this morning is you end up in hotter water," she told the BBC's Daily Politics. "The sovereign Parliament has to have a final meaningful vote."
But former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke said he was not concerned about there being a vote before Brexit as the UK would leave anyway under the terms of the Article 50 process, which he voted against.
He told the BBC there was no way a trade deal would be agreed by March 2019 and until that happened - and Parliament approved it - the UK would remain signed up to whatever transition deal came into force.
The government, Mr Davis told MPs, was aiming to conclude all its negotiations - including a future trade deal - by the time of its withdrawal and while this was perfectly feasible, it could be a close-run thing.
"It is no secret that the way the union makes its decisions tends to be at the 11th minute... 59th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day and so on and that's precisely what I expect to happen here."
"It will be very high stress, very exciting for everyone watching, but that's what will happen. In technical terms, there is no reason why we can't do this in the time available... I am quite sure in my mind we can do this."
Mr Davis suggested the talks could go up to the wire
Under the terms of existing EU treaties, the UK would not be able to sign a trade deal with the EU until it becomes a "third party" and has left the EU.
Mr Davis said "technically" this was true, but that a deal could be signed almost immediately, or as he put it, "a nano second" afterwards.
The Department for Exiting the European Union released a statement afterwards clarifying Mr Davis's position, saying he had been asked about hypothetical scenarios and both the UK and EU hoped to finalise a deal by October 2018, giving time for Parliament to vote on it before the UK leaves.
On Monday, Mrs May suggested the two-year implementation period she was hoping for was dependent on details of the final "partnership" being clear at the time of exit.
This alarmed business groups, which warned earlier this week that the UK risks losing jobs and investment without an interim deal agreed much sooner.
Pressed on this during the hearing, Mr Davis said that by the first quarter of next year, it "should be pretty plain what we are trying to deliver" in terms of transition, which he said would look "much like" the status quo in terms of trade, migration and other arrangements.
However, he noted the EU had not yet drawn up their final negotiating guidelines on any transition and both sides needed to know what the UK's final destination would be before this was settled.
While the UK wanted a full trade deal, he said there was the possibility of what he described as a "bare bones" agreement where there were understandings in key areas but no over-arching agreement. An outcome where the two sides were unable to agree anything was "off the probability scale", he added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41747036
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Fats Domino: Rock'n'roll pioneer who became one of America's biggest stars - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Fats Domino was a pioneer of rock'n'roll whose hits brought him worldwide acclaim.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Fats Domino was one of the most influential rock and roll performers of the 1950s and 60s.
He was already a star on the R&B circuit in his native New Orleans in the 1950s, but the advent of rock and roll propelled him to global popularity.
He sold more than 65 million records, more than any other rock and roller - with the exception of Elvis Presley.
His style was a major influence on several important artists, including John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr was born in New Orleans on 26 February 1928, the son of a violinist. His parents were of Creole origin, and French Creole was spoken in the family. He was musically inclined from an early age and learned piano from his brother in law, the jazz banjo player, Harrison Verrett.
By the mid 50s he was one of America's biggest stars
He was given his nickname by bandleader Bill Diamond, for whom he was playing piano in honky-tonks as a teenager. He said the youngster's technique reminded him of two other great piano players, Fats Waller and Fats Pichon.
Domino left school at the age of 14 to work in a bedspring factory by day, and play in bars by night. He was soon accompanying such New Orleans luminaries as Professor Longhair and Amos Milburn.
In the mid-1940s, he joined trumpeter Dave Bartholomew's band, and the two co-wrote Domino's first hit The Fat Man. Suddenly, the New Orleans sound became popular nationwide.
Domino had further hits with Every Night About This Time in 1951, Goin' Home in 1952 and Going to the River in the following year.
Though Fats Domino never had the personal charisma of Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard or Chuck Berry, his R&B style lent itself ideally to the rhythm of rock, and many of these artists covered his material.
It was an era in which a new and exciting sound - born of black America - took over from the established white-dominated pop of Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como.
Along with Jerry Lee Lewis and James Brown, he was one of the first inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
But it was not until 1955 that Fats Domino finally broke into the mainstream pop world with Ain't That a Shame.
The following year, he had his biggest hit with Blueberry Hill, a slow, bluesy sing-along - originally a Louis Armstrong tune - which became Domino's theme song.
His popularity soon crossed the Atlantic - along with Bill Haley he was blamed for causing Teddy Boy riots in the UK in the 1950s.
By 1960 - the year he recorded Walkin' to New Orleans - he was rivalling Presley as one of the world's top-selling rock artists.
Between 1955 and 1963, Fats Domino had 35 Top 40 US singles, including Whole Lotta Loving, Blue Monday and I'm in Love Again.
In 1968, interest in his music was revived after he released a version of The Beatles' Lady Madonna.
The era of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, of guitar bands and outrageous stage performances, was light years away from Fats Domino's laid-back and assured style.
The father of eight children, whose first names all began with the letter A, Fats Domino continued to tour into old age - most notably with other rock'n'roll legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.
EMI released a definitive box-set of his recordings in 1991 and two years later came his first recorded album for 25 years, Christmas is a Special Day.
His New Orleans house was damaged during Hurricane Katrina
Fats Domino lived in style in New Orleans and in later years didn't like to travel far from his native city.
However, in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit, his house was ruined and most of his possessions, including his gold and platinum discs, were destroyed by the floods.
In 2007 he played a benefit concert in aid of the city he was so closely identified with and which remained his home.
Universally accepted as a rock and roll legend, an unassuming Fats Domino once said of himself: "I'm glad that people liked me and my music. I guess it was an interesting life. I didn't pay much attention, and I never thought I'd be here this long."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13411718
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Growth up: Now get set for the Budget - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Philip Hammond is in a more positive mood after better-than-expected economic data. He tells the BBC now is not the time to borrow more.
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Business
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They are not exactly hanging out the bunting at the Treasury, but today's better-than-expected economic growth figures have put a bit of a spring in the step of the chancellor.
And that is not just for economic reasons.
Philip Hammond is under increasing political pressure from cabinet colleagues to loosen the purse strings in his Budget on 22 November.
Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, has gone public, suggesting that the government should borrow more for housebuilding.
And another senior cabinet minister I spoke to, with excellent knowledge of the prime minister's thinking, also suggested to me that some fiscal largesse might be just what the country needs.
Philip Hammond is not of that view - and the better economic data will give him a little more headroom in the public finances without having to borrow more.
His hand has been strengthened.
In his interview with me, Mr Hammond made it clear that he remains a fiscal conservative, focused on "balancing the books" and bringing the deficit down to zero by the middle of the next decade.
I asked him whether he saw any merit in delay.
"Well, we've already moved the target for balancing the books out from 2020 to 2025, but continuing to drive down the deficit in a measured and sensible way over a period of years, so that we are living within our means, and reducing the debt we are passing on to our children, has to be the right way to go," Mr Hammond told me.
There is certainly a robust argument going on in government.
There are those who believe that Mrs May's administration needs some eye-catching initiatives.
And given that tax rises are difficult to push through Parliament (just remember what happened to those March plans to increase National Insurance contributions for the self-employed), borrowing more seems the easiest route to paying for popular policies.
Should we borrow to build?
Many economists believe that the present deficit of 2.6% is low enough to satisfy the markets that the government is fiscally competent and has public debts under a modicum of control.
And Mr Javid said that "taking advantage of record low interest rates can be the right thing if done sensibly".
That does not appear to be the view of Mr Hammond.
"The government's borrowing costs are not at record low levels, they've risen over the last six or eight months," he said.
That's because higher inflation has increased the cost of servicing the government's debt.
"But the most important point here is that we still have a very large deficit and we have a debt which is 90% of our national income. That leaves us very exposed to any future shocks to the economy.
"So we want to continue to get the deficit down in a measured and sensible way over the medium term, giving ourselves room to support the economy, support our public services, invest in Britain's future through productivity-stimulating investment, but still moving over time to get that deficit down and starting to see our debt shrinking as a share of our GDP, so we don't simply pass on an unsupportable debt to the next generation."
The government's approach to borrowing will be a vital to the tone and feel of the Budget.
As far as Mr Hammond is concerned, "living within our means" is still the key message he wants to emanate from the Treasury.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41754354
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China's Xi Jinping opens ‘New Era’ for country and the world - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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For better or for worse, all-powerful Chinese leader Xi Jinping's 'New Era' will affect you.
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China
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China's new leadership line-up was the last scene to play in the carefully scripted drama of the Communist Party Congress. Yet again Xi Jinping defied convention.
Halfway through one Party chief's decade in power, a leader-in-waiting would normally appear in a red carpet ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.
But the men beside Mr Xi were all in their 60s, too old to be an heir.
Breaking the mould on the succession, as with so much else, is part of the Chinese president's New Era, as he has termed it.
But don't imagine that now the Congress is over, you can forget about Mr Xi's New Era.
In the clash of political civilisations, he has put China on the offensive.
In his three-and-a-half hour speech to Congress, he set out a vision not just for the five years ahead but for 30, and talked of a socialist model which provides, "a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence".
At home China is already a surveillance state accelerating its ability to listen to every call and track every face, online posting, movement and purchase. Expect it now to export not just the governance model but the cyber weapons to make that work.
Mr Xi wants China's socialism to be a model for others to follow
Gone is the insistence that China must hide its light under a bushel and be a modest player abroad. Mr Xi told Congress that China must be a "great power" with a first class military "built to fight".
But the president's New Era doesn't rely solely on hard power.
Over the past four decades China has built a market economy under a one party state. Now Mr Xi hopes to correct its flaws to deliver his citizens a better quality of life.
He dreams of an innovative powerhouse driven by well educated citizens with unshakeable faith in the superiority of their system. His speech to Congress promised more control of the internet to "oppose and resist the whole range of erroneous viewpoints".
But he hopes to win the battle for hearts and minds even earlier and his education minister said schoolchildren would soon begin to study "'Xi Thought'".
The full slogan is "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era". Behind the rhetoric, this means an enormous centralisation of power for Xi and his Party over China's economy and society.
Official media have dwelled on the "lies" of western democracy and the failures of capitalism, a system "swamped by crisis and chaos". In the words of one commentary by state news agency Xinhua, "The wealth gap widens, the working class suffers, and the society remains divided".
In absolute GDP, the United States may still be the world's largest economy, but President Trump has withdrawn American leadership on free trade and climate change and Xi's China has neatly stepped into the gap.
Mr Xi talks about guiding the international community "towards a more just and rational new world order". The latest Pew opinion survey across 37 countries suggests more people now trust the Chinese leader to do the right thing than the American one.
On its current trajectory, the Chinese economy will overtake the US some time in the next decade to become the world's largest.
Critics dismiss the challenge of the China model, predicting that rigid politics will cramp innovation and growth will succumb to market distortions. Certainly most countries that make it to the world's rich club go democratic first.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What can and can't you say in China?
But China has always seen itself as exceptional by virtue of its scale, its history and its culture. Xi Jinping says China's road to a great nation will be "different from that of traditional great powers". He is no keener to adopt what he sees as American values than the US is to adopt Chinese ones.
Several things follow from this control mission. Firstly, the values of liberal democracy are by definition the enemy. The appeal of free media, independent judiciary and pluralistic civil society are discredited wherever possible. In fact, since Mr Xi came to power, public discussion of these values has become taboo in China.
By contrast, Mr Xi is expanding his formal and informal control network through Communist Party cells. They now operate not just in domestic companies but in more than two thirds of foreign invested ones on Chinese soil. All foreign economic engagement in China is increasingly on the Party's terms, permitted only in sectors and at a pace which is designed to meet China's interests rather than those of its trading partners.
And for those partners, the debate over how to respond is likely to become more polarised in this New Era.
Mr Xi's admirers will insist that China's ruling party deserves credit for pulling many millions of its citizens out of poverty and point out that at nearly 7% Chinese growth is one of the engines of the global economy.
Mr Xi wants China centre stage in a new world order
His detractors will argue that his Party deserves little credit for an economic miracle won by the hard work and ingenuity of the Chinese people despite its rulers rather than because of them. Some will even point to the rise of Hitler and Stalin as lessons in the cost of not confronting dictatorships.
Four trillion dollars in foreign reserves, and control over the fastest growing consumer market in the world, give Xi Jinping powerful weapons to influence this debate.
Even as the Communist Party unveiled its new leadership on Wednesday, it excluded several major western news organisations from the ceremony.
Officially no reason was given for barring the BBC, Financial Times, Economist, New York Times and Guardian, but unofficially journalists were told that their reporting was to blame. Another sign of Xi's determination to control the message at home and abroad.
As Mr Xi declares China ready "to move towards centre stage in the world", it's not clear whether his mission to control will help or hinder him.
For his public the slogan of the moment is not "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics For a New Era". It is the far simpler "awesome China" in red and gold on banners, bicycle wheels and social media posts.
Few would deny that China is awesome. But exactly how is in the eye of the beholder. For many Chinese patriots, "awesome China" signals pride. For many outsiders it means admiration. But for others there's an undercurrent of ambivalence and even fear.
The only certainty is that none will be untouched by China in Mr Xi's New Era.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41744675
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EU parliament members demand action on sexual harassment - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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A parliamentary assistant says she has a record of 50 cases involving herself and colleagues.
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Europe
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. An MEP's assistant catalogued three years of harassment in the parliament
Jeanne Ponté had only been in her job as an assistant to a French member of the European Parliament for two weeks when it happened for the first time.
"During a conference he was watching me with a lot of insistence," she says, recalling the behaviour of one German MEP back in 2014.
"After a while I was relieved because I didn't see him anymore… [but] he was waiting for me at the exit.
"He stopped me walking past and put his arms around my waist, asking me if I was new."
It was the first time Jeanne, now 27, would experience sexual harassment or sexist comments in her job at the European Parliament.
It prompted her to keep a diary of future incidents. Three years on, she has recorded nearly 50 cases involving her and her colleagues, ranging from sexist comments to physical touching and intimidation.
The parliament's existing anti-harassment committee deals with any allegations
Jeanne is one of several female staff members who have spoken out against sexual harassment in the European Parliament in the wake of the allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
She has been closely supported by her MEP, Edouard Martin, who has joined her in campaigning for change.
"I am horrified by what she has gone through," he said. "We need to find a way to better protect assistants, interns and other administrative staff."
During a debate about sexual harassment at the European Parliament on Wednesday, several MEPs held up 'Me Too' placards in the chamber in solidarity with victims and to demonstrate that they had also had negative experiences.
The 'me too' campaign went viral after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted about it amid widespread allegations in Hollywood
Among them was Terry Reintke, a Green MEP from Germany, who said she was shocked by the intensity of the harassment described in some of the women's stories.
She believes that victims in the parliament are still afraid to make official complaints.
"The stigma is still so high," she says.
"We need to do more to encourage women to come forward. It's a general problem that women who report these incidents are still not being trusted - their experiences of assault and harassment are not trusted."
Ms Reintke and her MEP colleagues at the European Parliament have written a letter calling for an external investigation into sexual harassment at the institution in response to the allegations.
The letter is addressed to the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and asks for a special dedicated committee on sexual harassment to be set up, and for legal and medical support to be provided to victims.
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The letter calls for mandatory training on gender awareness and harassment for all parliamentary staff. It also asks for male MEPs and staff in particular to "show solidarity with victims by disassociating themselves from, and denouncing such behaviour whenever it occurs".
Edouard Martin agrees it is everyone's responsibility to tackle the issue.
"I am not proud to say it now, but I have been part of conversations where sexist comments have been made,' he says.
"I should have taken a stand and said that those comments were unacceptable… we need to stop normalising this behaviour."
The French Socialist Party MEP was elected in 2014
The parliament's existing anti-harassment committee deals with all forms of harassment.
But it consists mostly of MEPs with no independent experts - a set-up that many believe does not go far enough in providing the right support to victims.
Catherine Bearder, head of the committee, says that assistants and other staff are represented, but that victims just do not want to come forward.
She says this is particularly a problem for assistants who worry about the impact of reporting sexual harassment on their careers.
"We must get better at encouraging the victims to come forward by providing guarantees they will not lose their job," she says.
Part of the problem is that MEPs personally choose their assistants - a situation which Ms Reintke believes makes it even more difficult for victims to report incidents of concern.
"There is such a direct relationship between MEP and assistants… there is a procedure in place for when an MEP wants to let a staff member go, but it's still the case that they can ask to terminate your contract if and when they so wish."
• None When does flirting become sexual harassment?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41754589
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EastEnders: Tamzin Outhwaite to return as Melanie Owen - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The actress is coming back to Albert Square after more than 15 years away from the soap.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Melanie Owen will be seen in Albert Square in the new year
Tamzin Outhwaite is returning to EastEnders after more than 15 years away from the show.
She's returning to Albert Square in her role as Melanie Owen, having made her first appearance in 1998.
An EastEnders spokeswoman confirmed she was coming back to the soap as a regular character.
Outhwaite, seen most recently in New Tricks, said: "EastEnders is in my DNA and I always knew deep down that someday I would revisit Mel."
Her first scenes will be broadcast in the new year.
EastEnders creative director John Yorke promised an "incredible storyline" that will "awaken a lot of old ghosts, some great memories, and a whole new series of adventures too".
One of Mel Owen's storylines focused on her relationship with Ian Beale, played by Adam Woodyatt
He added: "We're thrilled and flattered to have Tamzin back and we can't wait to reveal just where she's been, and just who Melanie Owen is now."
Outhwaite said it was an "honour" to be asked back by Yorke, saying he "created Mel's most memorable storylines".
She added that her character is "a strong independent woman with lots more stories to tell.
"To be stepping back into Mel's shoes nearly twenty years after I first started feels just perfect."
Viewers last saw Mel in April 2002 when she left Walford following the death of her husband Steve Owen - played by Martin Kemp. She faced a prison sentence but then fled the country after Phil Mitchell put up £30,000 bail money.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41740782
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Clinton team and Democrats 'bankrolled' Trump dirty dossier - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The president tweets he is the "victim" of a sordid opposition research file compiled about him.
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US & Canada
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US President Donald Trump has seized on reports that Hillary Clinton's team bankrolled a sleazy dossier of allegations linking him to Russia.
Claims that Mr Trump had been filmed with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel surfaced in the closing stretch of last year's White House race.
Mrs Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reportedly helped fund the research.
"The victim here is the President," Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
According to US media reports, Perkins Coie, a law firm representing the Clinton campaign and DNC, hired intelligence firm Fusion GPS in April 2016.
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Fusion GPS, based in Washington DC, was paid to dig up dirt on Mr Trump, who was then Mrs Clinton's rival for the presidency.
The intelligence firm subcontracted Christopher Steele, a former British spy who previously worked in Russia, to compile the research.
Attributed to unnamed sources, it claimed that Mr Trump had colluded with Russian officials during the election campaign.
The unsubstantiated dossier also alleged that Kremlin spies filmed Mr Trump with prostitutes at Moscow's Ritz-Carlton hotel in 2013.
Christopher Steele, a former British spy who worked in Russia, compiled the research
The opposition research was initially funded by an unknown Republican consulting firm, which pulled the plug once Mr Trump captured the party's nomination.
The Clinton campaign then picked up the tab, according to the reports.
As he headed off to Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, President Trump told reporters on the White House lawn: "It's very sad what they've done with this fake dossier."
He added: "Hillary Clinton always denied it, the Democrats always denied it.
"I think it's a disgrace, it's a very sad commentary on politics in this country."
In January shortly before he was sworn in as president, Mr Trump dismissed the dossier as "fake news".
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted on Tuesday: "The real Russia scandal? Clinton campaign paid for the fake Russia dossier, then lied about it & covered it up."
Political campaigns have been in the business of digging up dirt on their rivals since the dawn of democratic elections. A choice bit of "opposition research", deployed at an opportune moment, can be a decisive factor in a close election.
So it should come as little surprise that supporters of a Republican candidate went to work building a file on Donald Trump during the party primaries or that Democrats took the baton as the general election geared up.
What's unusual - and what will pique the interest of investigators and fuel the suspicions of conservatives - is that after the election, once Hillary Clinton was defeated, the FBI would pick up funding for this investigation.
A topic as sensitive as this - allegations of foreign influence on a presidential campaign - doesn't seem like something the US government should be outsourcing.
There have been plenty of accusations, on both sides of ideological divide, that the FBI has become politicised. Stories like this won't help diminish those concerns.
In fact, they will almost certainly be cited to undermine the results of ongoing inquiries into Mr Trump's possible Russia ties, whether or not the eventual findings have a connection to this now-infamous dossier.
The DNC said its new leadership had nothing to do with creation of the dossier.
A spokeswoman told the Washington Post, which broke the story: "But let's be clear, there is a serious federal investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, and the American public deserves to know what happened."
Earlier this week, a US judge gave Fusion GPS until Thursday to reach an agreement with congressional investigators who issued a subpoena to see the firm's bank records over the last two years.
Some of Mr Steele's allegations began circulating in Washington in the summer of 2016 as the FBI began looking into whether there were any links between Trump aides and the Kremlin.
Special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional panels are investigating the same alleged connections, but to date have revealed no conclusive evidence.
A few weeks ago Mr Mueller's team questioned Mr Steele about the assertions in the dossier.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41752908
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Guatemalan first to be sentenced in US Fifa scandal - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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An ex-head of Guatemala's football federation was sentenced to eight months in prison for fraud.
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Latin America & Caribbean
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Hector Trujillo was arrested in December 2015 in Florida, during a Disney cruise with his family.
A former Guatemalan judge who led his country's football federation has become the first person to be sentenced in a US investigation into corruption in Fifa.
Hector Trujillo was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy.
He admitted to accepting almost $200,000 in bribes from a sports marketing company.
The US has indicted around 40 football and marketing executives.
Mr Trujillo admitted offering media and marketing rights to Guatemala's World Cup qualifier matches in return for bribes.
The US investigation was first revealed in May 2015 and has seen federal prosecutors in New York indict around 40 sports and football executives linked to football in the Americas.
Many of the charges involve bribes paid around the organisation of regional tournaments and World Cup qualifying games.
Prosecutors in Switzerland have also been investigating and Fifa has conducted internal enquiries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41757309
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'Incredible' editing of life's building blocks - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The studies could lead to new treatments for inherited diseases.
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Health
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Scientists have demonstrated an "incredibly powerful" ability to manipulate the building blocks of life in two separate studies.
One altered the order of atoms in DNA to rewrite the human genetic code and the instructions for life.
The other edited RNA, which is a chemical cousin of DNA and unlocks the information in the genetic code.
The studies - which could eventually treat diseases - have been described as clever, important and exciting.
Cystic fibrosis, inherited blindness and other diseases caused by a single typo in the genetic code could ultimately be prevented or treated with such approaches.
Both studies were performed at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The first, published in the journal Nature, developed tools called base editors.
DNA is built out of the four bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). If a single one of them is in the wrong place, it can cause disease.
Base editors alter the molecular structure of one base to convert it into another. Researchers can now manipulate the four bases.
And the team used base editing to correct an inherited disease that leads to dangerously high levels of iron in the blood.
Prof David Liu of the Broad Institute said: "We are hard at work trying to translate base editing technology into human therapeutics."
However, he admits there are still issues around safety and implementation:
"Having a machine that can make the change you want to make is only the start. You still need to do all this other work, but having the machine really helps."
The second study, published in the journal Science, focused on RNA, another of the molecules essential for life.
DNA is the master copy of the genetic code, but in order for a cell to use the genetic instructions, it must first create an RNA copy.
It is like going to a library where you cannot read any of the books, but can only use photocopies.
The researchers used their RNA approach to correct an inherited form of anaemia in human cells.
Feng Zhang - also of the Broad Institute - said: "The ability to correct disease-causing mutations is one of the primary goals of genome editing.
"This new ability to edit RNA opens up more potential opportunities to... treat many diseases, in almost any kind of cell."
All of the experiments were on human cells growing in the laboratory.
Dr Helen O'Neill, from UCL, said: "This is an exciting week for genetic research.
"These papers highlight the fast pace of the field and the continuous improvements being made in genome editing, bringing it closer and closer to the clinic."
Scientific advances in genetic engineering are taking place at an incredible pace.
And the same technologies work on plants, animals and micro-organisms too, posing questions for areas like agriculture.
Dr Sarah Chan, a bioethicist at the University of Edinburgh, said we can no longer pretend the technology is too dangerous to contemplate.
She told the BBC: "We can't hide any more.
"The science is moving fast in the sense it is becoming less risky, more certain, more precise and more effective.
"It is absolutely past time for us to engage more widely with publics on the issue of gene editing."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41724994
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Newspaper headlines: 'NHS Airbnb' and 'remainer universities' - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Many papers lead with proposals to send recuperating NHS patients to Airbnb-style accommodation.
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The Papers
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The suggestion that the NHS could start paying people £50 a night to look after hospital patients who are recovering from surgery is the lead story for The Guardian, The Times and The Daily Mirror. Writing in the Mirror, the shadow minister for social care, Barbara Keeley, thinks the proposal is "terrifying" as there are "clear safety risks" if patients are forced to accept this "cut-price" care.
The paper agrees, arguing that the initiative is a "sticking plaster" for an NHS close to collapse, when what is needed is a national care service to operate alongside the health service.
Labour's suspension of the MP for Sheffield Hallam, Jared O'Mara following the emergence of racist, sexist and homophobic comments he made online more than a decade ago is widely welcomed, but several papers are critical of the time taken to reach the decision.
The Times suggests parliament "should not miss him too much" as he is the only MP elected in June not to have spoken in the Commons. While the Sun argues it is "a disgrace" that Labour bosses knew about his antics more than a month ago "but chose to do nothing".
The Reaction website questions how such a "clearly unsuitable candidate" could be selected by Labour in the first place. It says supporters of Jeremy Corbyn seized the opportunity to back him when the initial candidate was forced to rule himself out after just starting a new job.
Arguing that Mr O'Mara "is just the tip of the Corbynista iceberg", it says Labour "has become cultish, and now values loyalty to the hard left more than suitability and capability".
The lead story in the Daily Mail highlights what it describes as a "string of examples" of senior figures at universities speaking out in favour of the European Union. It believes it's a "troubling insight" into the extent of anti-Brexit bias at universities, following the row about a Conservative MP who asked professors for details of their courses on the UK's departure from the EU.
The Daily Telegraph agrees, using its editorial to urge lecturers to turn their minds to mapping out Britain's post-EU future, instead of telling their students how they think the decision is wrong.
The political editor of the Spectator, James Forsyth, believes that political meddling is putting the independence of universities at risk. He claims the political class is "remarkably unappreciative" of the fact that Britain's universities are some of the best in the world, and says "too many" MPs want to interfere in ways that would undermine the institutions.
He argues that if universities want to safeguard themselves against meddling politicians, "then the way to do that is to go fully private".
A number of papers highlight a study which claims red squirrels infected with leprosy may have brought the disease to medieval England along Viking trading routes.
The lead researcher has told the Daily Mail this would explain why leprosy was endemic in coastal areas of East Anglia earlier than it was in other parts of Britain. The Daily Telegraph isn't convinced, noting that we are happy to blame rats for plague, "but red squirrels have such a good press that even now it is hard to see them as bringers of zoonotic disease".
The Scottish government is expected to announce that it will allow women to take the abortion pill at home, according to the Buzzfeed website.
Current rules dictate that the drug misoprostol must be administered and taken in a registered clinical setting. A leading gynaecologist has told the website that Holyrood is set to announce a revision of the licensing of misoprostol in Scotland, describing the move as a "huge step forward".
Buzzfeed says a spokesperson for NHS Health Scotland has confirmed that an announcement on the licensing of misoprostol is "imminent".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41757057
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The man keeping the world's lighthouses shining - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How an Australian is preserving the legacy of Black Country glassworks.
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Birmingham & Black Country
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Tim Nguyen's team restores lighthouses all over the world
For more than 150 years, glassmakers in one of England's landlocked regions gave light to the seafarers all over the world. It has fallen to one man on the other side of the planet to preserve their legacy.
Shining a fresh light on the forgotten past of the Midlands-based Chance Brothers is Tim Nguyen, who has dedicated himself to restoring their work in 2,000 lighthouses across the globe.
The Australian's quest to restore their optics using original parts and methods is unmatched by anyone.
He has spent 20 years honing his craft and hopes he will soon find a skilled glassblower to complete the team in Melbourne and recreate the traditional techniques used by the original Black Country firm.
Chance Brothers Glassworks in Smethwick manufactured glass used in everything from glazing the Houses of Parliament and Crystal Palace to the production of novelty ashtrays.
"If it was made in glass then Chance Brothers made it," said Ray Drury, the firm's final chief engineer, on its 150th anniversary.
When the company was founded in 1824, the world was changing rapidly. The booming shipping industry meant wrecks became a regular occurrence as more ships had to navigate treacherous coastlines, according to historian Malcolm Dick.
In response to this, Chance Brothers created optic lenses for lighthouses that were sent around the world, illuminating coasts and saving thousands of lives.
But since shutting its doors in 1981, the number of their lighthouses has dwindled and with it, the traditional skills needed to produce their hallmark glass.
Workers at the glass firm made prisms for the lighthouses
The Chance Brothers factory in Smethwick closed its doors in 1981
Mr Nguyen has no attachment to the original company, which employed 3,500 people at its height.
But his team, which adopted the name Chance Brothers Lighthouse Engineers, has dedicated itself to restoring and repairing lighthouses using traditional methods and original parts and has done so at more than 100 sites.
Travelling the world, they gather broken parts and repair them and now have enough to be able to fix any lighthouse without replacing anything with modern technology.
Tim Nguyen says his team are the only people taking on the preservation work of lighthouses
Although he repairs lighthouses around the world, including this one in the US, Mr Nguyen said the work made him feel closer to the West Midlands
Mr Nguyen said: "We travel the world to assist in restoration and salvage parts.
"Basically, we're like a car-wrecker. That's how we work until one day when we team up with a glassblower who can make crown glass - then we can make anything."
Crown glass is the original type of glass used in Chance Brothers' optics.
But new production methods mean that the colour and composition of modern glass would not match the original glass if it was added now.
Lighthouses made in the Midlands saved thousands from shipwrecks as the shipping industry boomed
Mr Nguyen has so far not been able to find anyone with the glassblowing skills in Australia to replicate the Chance Brothers' methods.
"We've looked everywhere and can't find anyone that can cast crown glass," he said.
"I believe some people in England can probably do it. If we have a chance of finding someone who can do it, it'll be there."
This lighthouse in south Wales also has an original foghorn made in Smethwick
Mr Nguyen said with a crown glassblower on the team, they would be able to recreate the Chance Brothers' original workshop and even return it to Smethwick.
"One day, when we have this operational workshop we would like to move it back to the Black Country," he said.
"We're trying to do this project on our own, which isn't easy - but I believe it will be done in my lifetime.
"The community over there, their jaws would drop if we brought it back."
There are about 2,300 lighthouses around the world with lenses that were made in the Black Country
Regional heritage projects and plans to redevelop the factory site go some way to ensuring the past is not forgotten, but Mr Nguyen wants to go further.
"Archives preserve the documents, the restoration will preserve the buildings, but nobody is trying to preserve the techniques," he said.
"We are here to preserve and carry on the engineering side, because if we don't it'll be lost. After doing this work for 20 years, that knowledge is too valuable to be lost.
"Basically, we're the only ones doing this work."
But is Mr Nguyen vainly fighting the tide of modernisation?
Nash Point lighthouse switched to a more modern bulb in 1998
Like many others, Nash Point lighthouse, near Marcross in south Wales, made the change to a new automated lens several years ago.
Attendant Chris Williams said the new 150 watt lens has a "much smaller bulb" but is "more reliable and stays brighter for longer".
The original Chance Glass optic, which typically contained a 1,500 watt bulb, was left on display but out of use.
The original optics at Nash Point are no longer in use, but remain on display
"Generally speaking, traditional optics are being phased out because new technology is so much more efficient," according to David Taylor from the Association of Lighthouse Keepers.
"Restoring a glass optic is hugely expensive. Within 15-20 years there probably won't be any left."
Regardless, Mr Nguyen persists, so keen is he to preserve this slice of history. But he's not the only one with an interest in keeping the tradition alive.
The small team based in Melbourne travel the world preserving lighthouse optics
Mark Davies founded Chance Glass Works Heritage Trust after stumbling across a Chance Brothers lighthouse, purely by happenstance, in Australia.
The group plans to regenerate the original factory site in Smethwick and build a 30m tall lighthouse to teach people about the area's industrial legacy, which Mr Davies says is "our best-kept secret".
"The story started at the top of a lighthouse in Australia. I saw the manufacturer's plate and it said 'Made in Smethwick' and it stunned me.
"I was born four miles away and I didn't know about it myself. Outside Sandwell, there aren't many people that know about Chance Brothers."
The Black Country's history of light, it seems, needs a spotlight itself.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-40887830
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Thousands share their invisible disabilities on Twitter - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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People with hidden disabilities are raising awareness of their conditions on social media.
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Disability
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Abby Sams tweeted the difference between days in and out of her wheelchair
Using the hashtag #InvisiblyDisabledLooksLike, Twitter users across the world with hidden disabilities have been sharing pictures and stories to challenge society's perceptions.
Many people live with hidden disabilities - a physical, mental, sensory or neurological condition which don't have physical signs but are painful, exhausting and isolating.
They must also deal with the frustration, misunderstandings and false perceptions arising from the unseen nature of their conditions.
A billion people around the world live with some kind of disability according to the World Health Organization, and one US survey found 74% of those with disabilities do not use a wheelchair or anything which might visually signal their disability.
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The hashtag, started on Monday by Florida-based activist Annie Segarra, is part of Invisible Disabilities Week, which took place last week, to raise the awareness of hidden conditions.
So far, the term has been tweeted more than 3,000 times, peaking on Wednesday morning and used by deaf actor and model Nyle DiMarco.
The hashtag prompted many people to share their selfies and experiences.
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Dani Barley, from Sydney, Australia, told the BBC she "can walk around a bit," but uses a wheelchair to help others be "comfortable with the idea of me as a younger person being disabled.
Dani says her wheelchair helps others feel comfortable with the idea of her disability
"If I tried to self identify as disabled due to mental health and chronic pain issues, people would minimise it, saying, 'Oh, I don't see you as disabled,' as if it were some kind of self-slur rather than a valid identity.
"Now, as a mum and university student, people assume the only access issues I have are stairs, not course content, weather, timing of classes, etc., related to PTSD and chronic pain.
"And the reason I love these hashtags, and have started to participate in them, is they are so educational for those of us inside and outside of the disability rights community."
Meanwhile, Mark Falconer shared his story of having an invisible disability and his experience of how others have seen him.
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Danielle, studying in Cambridge, UK, has a combination of myalgic encephalopathy (ME), fibromyalgia, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and tweeted she was "terrified of using a walking aid, asking for priority seats," and being "judged."
Danielle tweeted she was terrified of being 'judged'
"My disabilities mean that some days I can attend lectures, and be functional," she told the BBC. "Others, I am bed bound, unable to shower, make meals, and am consistently being physically sick from pain.
"The only support I've had is cognitive behavioural therapy, which obviously is not helpful for pain, just for learning to live with the disabilities. It is frustrating, because I know that there is incredible research going on in private medicine and treatments that could possibly change my life, but I can't access them. All I am offered is more and more painkillers; tramadol and codeine, gabapentin - at my worst, I was on upwards of 20 tablets a day.
"I decided to be open on twitter because I have a moderately large following. ME is such a stigmatised and misunderstood illness - even with professionals.
"I want to use my platform to the best of my abilities, especially as I am very aware many have it much worse than me."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-41733769
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Harvey Weinstein faces losing CBE amid sexual assault allegations - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Honours Forfeiture Committee is actively considering the move, the BBC understands.
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UK
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Harvey Weinstein could be stripped of his CBE following allegations of sexual assault made against the Hollywood producer, the BBC understands.
The removal of the honour is believed to be being "actively considered" by the government's Honours Forfeiture Committee for the first time.
He was awarded an honorary CBE for outstanding contribution to the British film industry in 2004.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said forfeiture action "is confidential" and he could not comment on whether a specific case was being considered by the committee.
More than two dozen women - among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan - have made accusations against him including rape and sexual assault.
Weinstein insists sexual relations he had were consensual.
The latest claim against him came from actress and writer Brit Marling, who described an encounter in 2014 in which she claimed the movie mogul suggested they shower together.
A number of organisations have distanced themselves from the American.
The Oscars board voted to expel the 65-year-old, whose films have won 81 Oscars.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) suspended him and said it hoped the announcement would send "a clear message".
A group of Labour MPs, including Jess Phillips and Chi Onwurah, have written to the prime minister calling for his CBE to be removed.
CBE stands for Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a rank in the UK's honours system - one step below a knighthood.
Taking honours away, called "forfeiture", is done when someone is judged to have brought the honours system into disrepute.
The Honours Forfeiture Committee considers cases and the prime minister then sends recommendations to the Queen.
Previous recipients of honours to have had them removed include banker Fred Goodwin.
The former boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland was heavily criticised over his role in the bank's near-collapse in 2008.
Other high-profile cases include jockey Lester Piggott, who was stripped of an OBE after he was jailed in 1987 for tax fraud.
The former spy Anthony Blunt was stripped of his knighthood in 1979 for supplying hundreds of secret documents to the Soviets while a wartime agent for MI5.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41757037
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Southend hospital set to pilot Airbnb-style scheme - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A healthcare firm aims to recruit people with spare rooms in a bid to tackle hospital "bed blocking".
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Essex
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It is hoped the Essex trial will see around 30 patients waiting for discharge from hospital care stay
Airbnb-style accommodation may be used to free-up NHS hospital beds as part of a pilot scheme under consideration.
It is hoped the Essex trial will see around 30 patients waiting for discharge from hospital care stay with local residents who have a spare room.
Healthcare start-up firm CareRooms is recruiting "hosts" to take in people recuperating from a hospital stay.
Eligible patients may be recruited from Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
But the hospital has said final approval for the pilot has not yet been given.
CareRooms said it will transform spare rooms and annexes with a private bathroom into "secure care spaces for patients who are waiting to be discharged".
Eligible patients will be recruited from Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Prospective hosts, who can earn up to £1,000 a month, need to pass security checks before they are approved for the scheme.
They would be required to heat up three microwave meals each day and supply drinks for patients and are offered "host protection" as well as a helpline and training.
The company's website said it aims to "provide patients with a practical alternative to hospitals and care homes to recuperate in".
The news comes amid the crisis of delayed discharges in hospitals.
Last week, Age UK warned that increasing numbers of elderly and frail patients are being "marooned" in hospital beds, despite being medically fit.
NHS figures show that last year, 2.2 million hospital "bed days" in England were lost due to delayed transfers of care.
The proposed trial will take place in Essex, it was first revealed by the Health Service Journal (HSJ).
CareRooms said the "micro pilot" would involve just five to 10 hosts over a three-month period.
The trial will not start until all parties are assured that the process is "safe or safer than standard practice", it said.
Yvonne Blücher, managing director of Southend University Hospital, said: "We would like to make it clear that only preliminary discussions have been held. Clearly if a decision to pilot such a proposal was made we would expect all safety, quality and regulatory arrangements to be satisfied."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-41752083
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Reality Check: Is Grenfell Tower council outspending the government? - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Will Kensington and Chelsea Council spend more on Grenfell victims than the government spends on housing?
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UK
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The Claim: Kensington and Chelsea Council says it will spend more on the rehousing and recovery operation for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire than the government has promised to spend on housing in one quarter (three months) in the whole of the UK.
Reality Check Verdict: The £235m that the council has set aside so far for Grenfell is less than the additional £250m allocated for affordable housing in England and Wales a quarter, so on these figures the council is wrong. The council predicts it will ultimately end up spending more on Grenfell but hasn't provided the figures. However the government is due to spend a total of £455m a quarter on affordable housing up to 2021.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea says it has set aside £235m so far on what it calls the Grenfell "recovery" operation.
There's no doubt that all of this is going to cost a fortune - not least because the borough is one of the most expensive areas of the UK. But even taking into account the sky-high prices of west London land, the council's claim doesn't stack up.
So why did it get it wrong? It's not hard to understand why the council got into a muddle.
It all comes down to one of the biggest problems faced by anyone trying to get their head around government spending: knowing for sure when the cash is going to be spent.
The council told BBC Reality Check that it was comparing its spending with the government's Affordable Homes Programme.
This is the key scheme overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government to funds new homes in the social sector.
The AHP was set up in 2010 and it runs until 2021. Up until the end of the summer, the Treasury had approved £7bn for the second five-year phase which we are now in. That works out at £350m a quarter. But that's not the figure to which the council is referring.
Grenfell Tower is situated amongst some of the most expensive housing in London.
Instead, it is referencing a new part of the affordable homes spending: an additional £2bn that the prime minister announced at October's Conservative Party Conference.
If that £2bn was spread over the five years to 2021, it would work out as £100m per quarter. That's lower than Kensington and Chelsea's Grenfell spending - so the council looks like it's right.
But in fact, that new money is an additional investment for only the final two years of the Affordable Homes Programme.
That works out at £250m per quarter. And that's more than the council has set aside so far for the Grenfell recovery bill. The council predicts it will ultimately end up spending more on Grenfell but hasn't provided the figures.
BBC Reality Check likes to challenge itself by discovering new and complicated ways to push figures further.
We lumped all £9bn of the government's current affordable homes spending together, without worrying too much about which particular year it applied to. When you spread that total over the five years of the programme, the projected quarterly average was £455m - still more than the council has set aside so far.
This article was amended on 24 October to reflect new information from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41724262
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Japanese police arrest 74-year-old ninja thief suspect - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The suspect reportedly told police "if I were younger, I wouldn't have been caught".
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Asia
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The suspect carried out break-ins dressed as a ninja (file photo)
Japanese police say they have finally caught a prolific thief who dressed as a ninja to carry out raids - and were surprised to find he was 74.
After his usually covered face was caught on a security camera this year, he was put under surveillance which led to his arrest in July.
Police now believe he is the so-called "Ninja of Heisei", thought to have carried out more than 250 break-ins.
He has been charged with thefts worth 30m yen ($260,000; £200,000).
Police had been baffled by a series of burglaries over eight years carried out by a suspect wearing black, assuming they had been carried out by someone younger.
Investigators observed the suspect, whom they say seemed little different from most elderly men, during the day.
But they say he then went into an abandoned building and changed clothes before waiting until it got dark to steal.
"He was dressed all in black just like a ninja," a senior official in the western Japanese city of Osaka said.
Police said the thief displayed great physical ability, running effortlessly on top of walls instead of taking the streets.
After his arrest, the man was quoted as saying: "If I were younger, I wouldn't have been caught. I'll quit now as I'm 74 and old enough."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41750080
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Fats Domino: Rock and roll legend dies aged 89 - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Fats Domino, one of the most influential rock and roll performers of the 1950s and 60s, dies aged 89.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Fats was the father of eight children, whose first names all began with the letter A
Fats Domino, one of the most influential rock and roll performers of the 1950s and 60s, has died aged 89.
The American rock and roll artist was best known for his songs Ain't That A Shame and Blueberry Hill.
The New Orleans singer sold more than 65 million records, outselling every 1950s rock and roll act except Elvis Presley.
His million-selling debut single, The Fat Man, is credited by some as the first ever rock and roll record.
An official from New Orleans coroner's office confirmed the death, which was earlier announced by Domino's daughter to a local television station.
Fats Domino had more than 30 hit singles
Fats Domino - whose real name was Antoine Domino Jr - was one of the first rhythm and blues artists to gain popularity with a white audience and his music was most prolific in the 1950s.
Domino had 11 US top 10 hits and his music is credited as a key influence on artists during the 1960s and 70s.
Elvis Presley referred to Fats Domino as "the real king of rock n roll" and Paul McCartney reportedly wrote the Beatles song Lady Madonna in emulation of his style.
In 1986 he was among the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but by his later life Domino would no longer leave his Louisiana hometown - not even to accept the award.
New Orleans-born musician and actor Harry Connick Jr is among those who have paid tribute to Domino on Twitter, saying he had "helped pave the way for New Orleans piano players".
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Rapper LL Cool J paid tribute to Domino for being an inspiration to so many:
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And Samuel L Jackson cited the lyrics of one of Domino's best loved songs:
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Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr was born in New Orleans on 26 Feb 1928, the son of a violinist. His parents were of Creole origin, and French Creole was spoken in the family.
He was musically inclined from an early age and learned piano from his brother in law, the jazz banjo player, Harrison Verrett.
He was given his nickname by bandleader Bill Diamond for whom he was playing piano in honky-tonks as a teenager. He said the youngster's technique reminded him of two other great piano players, Fats Waller and Fats Pichon.
Domino left school at the age of 14 to work in a bedspring factory by day, and play in bars by night. He was soon accompanying such New Orleans luminaries as Professor Longhair and Amos Milburn.
In the mid-1940s, he joined trumpeter Dave Bartholomew's band, and the two co-wrote Domino's first hit The Fat Man. Suddenly, the New Orleans sound became popular nationwide.
"Clean living keeps me in shape. Righteous thoughts are my secret...And New Orleans home cooking"
In an interview with the BBC in 1973, Domino spoke about his early life.
He said: "I was 17 when I made my first record in 1949. I never thought about being professional. I used to work in a lumberyard and that's where I first heard a number on a jukebox and I liked it. It was a piano number. It was called 'Swanee River Boogie' by Albert Ammonds."
Despite both musical heavyweights coming from New Orleans, Fats Domino said he only met Louis Armstrong twice in his life.
He told the BBC in a later interview: "I liked the way he was singing 'Blueberry Hill'. See, a lot of people think I wrote 'Blueberry Hill' but I didn't.
"That number was wrote in 1927 and I recorded that song in 1957. We just put a different background and I just sing it the way it would fit me and it came out great for me."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None Five things about Fats Domino. Video, 00:00:12Five things about Fats Domino
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41753839
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Tory rebels 'deadly serious' over Brexit vote - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Conservative MP Nicky Morgan tells Brexit Secretary David Davis that Tory MPs backing a move to give Parliament a decisive vote on the Brexit deal are "deadly serious".
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Parliaments
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Conservative MP Nicky Morgan has told Brexit Secretary David Davis that Tory MPs who support an amendment requiring a final Brexit deal to be approved by Parliament are "deadly serious".
She says the government should accept amendment 7 to the EU Withdrawal Bill, which is in the name of the former attorney general Dominic Grieve.
David Davis told MPs he won't pre-empt the discussion on the bill but those reports [that the rebel Tory MPs are not being taken seriously] are not true.
Mr Davis was answering an urgent question in the Commons about when Parliament might vote on a deal with the EU.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-41723576
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Mosul: Culture and concerts where IS once reigned - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Tahani Salih suffered under IS - now she's bringing pleasure back to where the group once ruled.
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Middle East
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A Peace Festival was held in Mosul weeks after IS was ousted
For almost three years, while her home city of Mosul was under occupation by so-called Islamic State (IS), Tahani Salih kept a daily diary documenting their crimes.
Tahani, now 27, filled almost 500 pages with her experiences and those of her family and friends, as well as her hopes and dreams for the time when IS would be defeated.
"Just before our neighbourhood was liberated, IS began to harass people and force their way into their homes to carry out searches. One day I took out those hand-written pages and started to reread them, and I was shocked," she said.
"I realised that the content could put my life and my family at risk, as well as people I had mentioned in my diary. So I had no choice but to destroy those papers.
"I sat down, and started to burn one page at a time. Later, I blamed myself for not hiding my diary or burying it in our garden."
Although the diary is gone, Tahani remembers every word of the plans she made. Now IS has been defeated, Tahani is throwing herself into putting them in place.
The young woman - who has been trained and supported by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) - is one of a new group of Mosulite activists who are determined to not only rebuild the city but also help rehabilitate fellow residents traumatised by the events of the last three years.
"There are about 40 of us - we're ambitious, educated, respectable young people who love their city and fellow human beings, and want to have a decent future," she said.
Tahani's own priority is to ensure that young women like herself can get involved.
"We live in a culture in which women think it's improper to speak up, or to work outside the home or lead a campaign, which is not true. I know girls who are very strong and motivated, but are scared of harassment or are being forced to stay at home by their families.
"People need to know that being a girl is not shameful," she continued, arguing that a culture of fear and repression was "the very condition that helped IS come in".
Tahani Salih (R) with Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai in Irbil in July
So when Tahani got involved with an ambitious scheme to restore Mosul university's library, which was destroyed by IS during the occupation, she delighted in encouraging other young women to defy gender stereotypes.
Herself one of the first to enter the bombed-out library, she remembers seeing "a boy approaching a girl carrying five or six heavy books.
"He said: 'No, you don't have to carry that much. It's too heavy for you, just carry what you can.' She said: 'Of course I can carry the books, I've come to do just that. Please do your work and carry books, and I'll carry mine.'"
Tahani also put together a football tournament for the library project's volunteers, initially forming one for men and one for women, before deciding this looked too much like gender segregation. To her colleagues' astonishment, she mixed the teams together - an unprecedented move that proved successful.
"The next day, they brought the ball, and said: 'Let's play again.' So we did."
Tahani said that it was not just Mosul's physical fabric that needed rebuilding; it was crucial to harness young people's enthusiasm for freedom in the first few months of liberation.
Art and other expressions of culture were banned under IS for three years
"So we started with cultural events - books, music, festivals, colours, painting, photography.
"We wanted to draw media attention to Mosul so that a young person could see his or her image on a global platform and admire themselves and realise their value."
Tahani organised the first concert in the city after IS' defeat, with live music played in front of the university campus.
The University of Mosul was heavily damaged in the fight against IS
"One of the girls took me by the hand and told me: 'Tahani, this is the first time I feel really alive,'" she recalled.
And together with some friends, Tahani set up a Facebook page called Women of Mosul, a place where they could air views and share ideas for projects.
The work by young Mosulites like Tahani seems to be gaining some traction. Last month, a day-long peace festival set up by other activists drew a crowd of 25,000 people to the city's main stadium.
But Tahani said there was much more to be done, arguing that true success would come when women felt totally free to walk on the street without wearing hijab, or when a bar selling alcohol could function freely in the centre of the city.
Tahani said people in Mosul "need to know that being a girl is not shameful"
"Only then will I be reassured that the city has begun to truly accept everyone, and accept the world."
That seems a long way away, given the conservative attitudes still dominant in the city.
Many fear that former IS supporters remain in the city, trying to blend into the civilian population.
Tahani acknowledges that she has received threats over her activism, but refuses to be intimidated.
"If I get scared, then I'll have to return to just sitting at home, which I won't accept. There's no way I will go back to that and forget all my hopes and dreams, no matter the price."
The Institute for War and Peace Reporting is a non-profit organisation which supports local reporters, citizen journalists and civil society activists in three dozen countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41693136
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Labour suspends MP Jared O'Mara over abusive comments - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Sheffield Hallam MP Jared O'Mara is alleged to have made misogynistic and homophobic comments.
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UK Politics
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MP Jared O'Mara has been suspended by Labour while it investigates misogynistic and homophobic comments he is alleged to have made.
The Sheffield Hallam MP has apologised for online remarks from 2002 and 2004 but denies some more recent claims.
Labour initially said it would not be suspending the MP while these allegations were investigated.
But Jeremy Corbyn had decided to act when yet more comments emerged on Wednesday, a spokesman said.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC: "There will be a full investigation by the Labour Party and then, as a result of that, a final decision will be made about his future."
Asked about Labour colleagues who had defended Mr O'Mara in recent days, Mr McDonnell said: "They were basing that judgement on the information they had before them and the information that was provided to them by Jared himself and others.
"New information has come to light, so quite rightly the Labour Party has acted swiftly. He's been suspended, the whip has been withdrawn."
Asked about the case at Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May said: "All of us in this House should have due care and attention to the way in which we refer to other people and should show women in public life the respect they deserve."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May says MPs should "should show women in public life the respect they deserve"
On Monday, Mr O'Mara resigned from the women and equalities committee after political website Guido Fawkes unearthed offensive comments made by the 35-year-old MP online as a younger man.
Then on Tuesday, Sophie Evans told the BBC's Daily Politics she had met Mr O'Mara on a dating app and there had been "no hard feelings" when things did not work out between them.
But in an incident in March, Mr O'Mara, who was DJing in a nightclub, made comments to her that "aren't broadcastable" and called her an "ugly bitch", she said.
A spokesman for Mr O'Mara said the MP "categorically denies" the allegation.
The Guido Fawkes site has also found another post made by Mr O'Mara in his mid-20s, a review of an Arctic Monkeys gig, in which he calls women "sexy little slags".
And it has published details of a post to a music forum, allegedly made by Mr O'Mara in 2009, which includes offensive remarks about women.
Labour launched an investigation into Mr O'Mara's conduct on Tuesday, saying it was specifically looking at "comments and behaviour which have been reported from earlier this year".
But it has now said it is also looking at his online remarks from 2002 to 2004 and the newer alleged comments.
Labour's shadow education minister Tracy Brabin said Mr O'Mara's suspension was "probably a wise move".
Before the news broke, she had described his actions as "unpleasant and unacceptable", adding that the episode "doesn't look fantastic".
Conservative MP Mims Davies, chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group for women in Parliament, said it was "right" that Mr O'Mara had been suspended over his "vile" comments.
But she added: "Why on earth has it taken so long?"
Pressed on why the party had waited until Wednesday to suspend Mr O'Mara, a Labour spokesman said the MP had gone to the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday night and made "a very thorough-going apology and talked about the journey that he'd been on. That was welcomed."
But "new information about things that he'd allegedly written more recently" had emerged, prompting Mr Corbyn to take action.
The Labour leader had made clear "this kind of abusive, misogynistic, sexist language is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the Labour Party," he added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41750136
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Cromer disorder: Police 'misread' traveller threat - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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A Norfolk Police review of the "lawless lockdown" in Cromer finds senior officers misread events.
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Norfolk
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Mobile phone footage showed police in Cromer dealing with trouble on the streets
Police failed to properly deal with disorder in a seaside town because senior officers "misread the significance of events", a report says.
A Norfolk Police review into why Cromer went into "lawless lockdown" after 100 travellers visited was instigated by the chief constable.
Pubs, shops and restaurants closed over the weekend of 19 August following reports of rape, theft and assault.
Poor "information flow" was blamed for the failure to deploy extra officers.
In a statement, the force outlined the recommendations of its review, identifying four areas of concern over leadership, the sharing of intelligence, not scanning social media correctly and officers failing to utilise powers to deal with unauthorised traveller encampments.
The findings said officers were notified by Suffolk Police a group of travellers had left Lowestoft after being involved in a disturbance there, and was heading for the county.
However, "the information and actions were not recorded on official systems" which meant it was not shared with key senior staff across the Norfolk force.
Public information on social media about the level of threat was ignored, with commanders not realising the effect the travellers' presence and behaviour was having on the community and "as a result insufficient additional resources were deployed".
Officers at the scene were therefore outnumbered and "unable to take positive action" to deal with 37 reported offences over the weekend, the report found.
The review found senior officers also put out "an ill-judged statement on social media referring to the disorder as 'low-level'".
Chief Constable Simon Bailey said "We've truly come to understand the power of social media."
Cromer Pier said its Theatre Bar was closed because of the disorder
The travellers arrived in Cromer at the end of the town's festival week.
According to the Chief Constable the group are not popular among the wider travelling community.
Restaurants and pubs including the Theatre bar on Cromer Pier closed early following reports on social media of thefts and anti-social behaviour.
The findings said "These decisions combined meant that the travellers were not moved on quickly enough."
Chief Constable Simon Bailey held a meeting to discuss the police response to the disorder
Chief Constable Simon Bailey said: "We got this wrong and I feel terribly sorry that the people of Cromer feel let down by our response.
"If we'd drawn together the intelligence that was available and was known at the time and in different pockets of the organisation... we'd be in a very different position," he said.
The chief constable also said resources were stretched that weekend as the force was "in the middle of investigating" the killing of dog walker Peter Wrighton, in East Harling, "which left us exposed".
The review was welcomed by Laurie Scott, of Breakers cafe, who applauded the chief constable's "openness and honesty" in admitting they made mistakes.
"If a similar incident were to happen in Cromer tomorrow, I'm confident the police would be all over it like a rash," he said.
Aryun Nessa Uddin said officers in three cars watched while she and her family tried to remove aggressive people from their restaurant, the Masala Twist
Nashim Uddin, of the Masala Twist restaurant, said he hoped "police stick to what they've recommended and don't brush this under the carpet".
A further independent review of the decisions made by individual commanders is still being carried out by Cumbria Police.
"Any specific recommendations regarding leadership actions and decisions will be implemented once the independent review by Cumbria has been completed," the statement said.
Norfolk Police said a number of crimes committed over the weekend are still being investigated.
Two men have arrested and bailed in connection with a rape.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41742282
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Man in 100-balloons camping chair flight - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Tom Morgan reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) while strapped to a camping chair.
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Bristol
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tom Morgan described the flight as "magical"
A British adventurer has flown 25km (15.5 miles) across South Africa suspended from 100 helium balloons.
Tom Morgan, from Bristol, reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) while strapped to a camping chair, in scenes reminiscent of the Pixar smash Up.
The 38-year-old spent two days inflating balloons ahead of the flight, which he described as "magical".
The challenge moved to South Africa on Friday after several failed attempts in Botswana.
"The problem was finding a good weather window and it was difficult to protect the balloons as they kept bursting," Mr Morgan said.
With just enough helium left for one more attempt, the adventurer and his team moved their base to just north of Johannesburg.
Mr Morgan took two days to blow up the balloons
Describing the experience as "unbelievably cool", Mr Morgan also admitted feeling "somewhere between terrified and elated" as he rose in the air.
As the balloons drifted towards the inversion layer of the atmosphere - where the temperature rises - he said the flight started to accelerate very quickly.
"I had to keep my cool and start gradually cutting the balloons."
The flight had originally been due to take place in Botswana
Mr Morgan, who has lived in Bristol for 15 years and runs an adventure company, wants to eventually set up a competitive helium balloon race in Africa.
"We will have to avoid areas with lots of spiky bushes though," Mr Morgan said.
Mr Morgan's feat is reminiscent of the film Up, in which helium balloons are used to lift a house
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41737642
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Jeremy Corbyn to appear on Gogglebox - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The Labour leader is expected to be paired with a mystery celebrity for a charity special.
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UK Politics
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is going to swap the despatch box for Gogglebox when he appears in a celebrity special.
Mr Corbyn will feature in the hit Channel 4 TV programme next week to help raise money for Stand up to Cancer.
He is expected to share a sofa with a mystery celebrity to chew over a selection of TV programmes.
It is not yet known which shows will be dissected by the Labour leader, who is not expected to be filmed at home.
However, he has previously expressed a fondness for EastEnders - and also revealed he watched Casualty on the eve of this year's Labour Party conference in Brighton.
The show is being filmed this weekend.
A Labour source added: "He's really looking forward to it - it's a great programme for a great cause."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41743859
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Are these 00s singers still relevant? - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Kate Nash took to Twitter to criticise the music industry for how they "dispose" of artists.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Earlier this week, Kate Nash took to Twitter to criticise BuzzFeed for their article about noughties singers who are no longer in the charts.
The listicle features 33 artists who "only exist in the memories of British millennials", but Nash was quick to argue that a lack of recent chart success doesn't stop them from being active or credible musicians.
"I have huge problems with how the industry disposes of artists," she tweeted, "it's a difficult career to maintain."
BuzzFeed told the BBC: "We love Kate Nash and really did want to be her! Many of our posts reference nostalgia for things we love and this list is one of those, definitely not intended to be taken literally."
But Nash's comments raised questions about the wider issue of how much high chart positions and record deals equate to success in the music industry.
The 30-year-old's last top 40 hit may have been in 2010, but she has recently written for Willow Smith and Rita Ora, and will release a new album next year.
Nash also has several film and TV credits and is currently filming the second series of hit Netflix show Glow.
Rebekka Johnson, Sydelle Noel, Kate Nash and Kia Stevens all star in Netflix's GLOW
Peter Robinson, music writer and creator of Popjustice, told the BBC: "Hit records have a magical ability to take us to a specific time or place in our lives so it's fair to say Kate Nash's hits will have a special significance for a certain age group.
"But several entries in the article might have benefitted from a brief visit to Wikipedia."
The musicians on the list included Ms Dynamite, Blazin' Squad, Diana Vickers, Mis-Teeq, La Roux, 5ive, Rachel Stevens, The 411, and So Solid Crew.
"If you're a fan, it's natural to be excited when your favourite artist does well commercially, and disappointed if their latest release looks like a failure, particularly because labels tend to drop acts when sales take a dip," Robinson said.
"But if you're ignoring new music because it's not selling, and if you're allowing your tastes to be dictated by whose records are selling well, then, well, enjoy your Bradley Walsh album."
The BuzzFeed piece refers to millennials - people that grew up in the 00s.
But according to singer Sandi Thom, who is also one of the 33 artists on the list, they are not as fickle as some may think.
Sandi Thom performing at her album launch in 2008
"Some of my biggest fans are kids under 10, and with the new era of Spotify anyone is discoverable or re-discoverable," she told the BBC.
"I couldn't care less what a journalist writes about me and my career.
"Making music is a privilege and if you can continue to do so throughout your career like all of the artists have been doing that were mentioned in the article, you're one lucky person!"
Robinson also addressed Nash's tweets about the mental health impact of being an artist who is trying to make it in the industry.
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"Being dropped is like being made redundant, which is gutting in any line of work, except to make matters worse, for an artist it happens in public," he said.
"And whereas most of us could bounce back and look for other work in the same area, in the music industry people are often seen as damaged goods: they had their chance, they blew it.
"The irony of course is that many of the planet's biggest artists, from Lady Gaga and Beyonce to Katy Perry and Bruno Mars, were all dropped before they became huge."
Peter Robinson says Beyonce was dropped by her record label before she became famous
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Being dropped is something Nash discusses in her tweets, saying its unfair to make fun of "artists that got dropped or aren't in the charts anymore.
"Most artists I know are struggling to be able to continue and may have to give up."
The BuzzFeed article describes Nash as "the cute vintage-dress-wearing girl we all wanted to be back in 2007.
"Presumably these days she's wearing baggy jumpers and DMs [Doc Martens] but who knows?"
Nash references these comments in her tweets, saying "the media have talked about me this way my entire career, since I was 20 years old".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 4 by Kate Nash This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Sandi Thom agreed: "It doesn't matter what anyone writes in the press because me and Kate and whoever certainly aren't sitting crying into our cornflakes about it, we're out there keeping on keeping on!
"Doing what we love, being discovered and rediscovered every day thanks to the advent of streaming and playlists."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41749636
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Eminem wins damages in New Zealand copyright case - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The National Party must pay the US rapper nearly $0.5m after using his song in a campaign ad.
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Asia
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The track Lose Yourself is one of Eminem's biggest hits
A New Zealand political party has been ordered to pay NZ$600,000 ($412,000) in compensation in a breach of copyright suit filed by US rapper Eminem.
The National Party used a track with a similar melody and rhythm to Eminem's Lose Yourself in an election advert.
The song, entitled Eminem-esque, bore only minimal differences to the original, according to a court ruling.
The case, which began in May, is the latest to test the legality of so-called sound-alike music.
Eminem's music publisher, Eight Mile Style, filed proceedings after the National Party used an unlicensed version of the Oscar-winning song in a 2014 campaign advert.
The party's lawyers had argued that the track used was not actually Lose Yourself, but a song called Eminem-esque, which they bought from a stock music library.
However the court ruled on Wednesday that the track was "sufficiently similar" to Eminem's "highly original work", adding that it did indeed infringe copyright laws.
The judgment considered the drum patterns, background chords and violin tones of each version, all of which it said bore "close similarities".
"The nature of the use is not what Eminem or Eight Mile Style would endorse," the judgment added.
Eminem's Lose Yourself, which appeared in the rapper's 2002 film 8 Mile, is one of his biggest hits.
The backing track used in the National Party's advert, which appeared more than 100 times on TV during the 2014 campaign, had been taken from a library made by production music company Beatbox.
Songs which sound similar to famous tracks - but different enough to avoid breaching copyright - routinely feature in free-to-use commercial music libraries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41744547
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Kenya poll: A key moment for African democracy - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The presidential re-run in Kenya has massive implications both for the country and for Africa
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Africa
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This week's presidential election re-run in Kenya has implications not only for the country but also for much of the continent, says the BBC's new Africa editor, Fergal Keane.
The last days have passed in a swirl of chanting crowds, arguments in the courts, and meetings between powerful politicians and election commissioners. The tension ahead of the polls crackles like static on the streets of Nairobi.
At the Githurai junction on the city's outskirts, several thousand people gathered to cheer President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Passing cars were surrounded and plastered with party stickers. Briefly enmity flared. A man leaned out of a passing coach and drew his finger across his throat, shouting abuse at the President's supporters. They surged forward but bus and man were quickly gone.
The days tremble with rumours. The election may happen. Or it may not. The Independent Election Boundaries Commission has warned it can't guarantee a credible poll in the prevailing circumstances.
Old friends I have spoken with express alarm at the rise in ethnic antagonism. International diplomats seem in a quandary - fearful of election day violence while acknowledging that the fresh poll was ordered by the country's highest court.
A billboard urges Kenyans to support President Uhuru Kenyatta in the forthcoming election
When I first reported from Africa, back in the Cold War days of the 1980s, there were only very occasional elections, usually resulting in the return of the incumbent with 90% or more of the vote.
So when Kenya had its first democratic election in 1992, it was easy to be carried along by enthusiasm for the new age. After all, President Daniel arap Moi had been in power for 14 years, during which time there had been a long spree of looting of state assets, worth billions, by an entrenched elite connected to the ruling party.
Political enemies were locked up and worse. But Moi was elected - twice. He knew how to manipulate tribal rivalries to his advantage - and his party machine had very deep pockets. Still there was now at least the possibility of democratic change.
Across Africa it seemed as if a new order of accountability was coming. The great kleptocrat Mobutu Sese Seko had been swept from power in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The apartheid state in South Africa was transformed into a multi-racial democracy.
I had met Mobutu and Moi and the leaders of the apartheid regime in South Africa and witnessed the brutality and bribery through which power was maintained in much of the continent. I had also listened to diplomats, among them representatives of Her Majesty's government, tell me that President Moi at least guaranteed stability in Kenya. He kept the tribes from tearing each other asunder.
The French would have told you the same thing about any of the despots they supported in Francophone Africa. It was an attitude of mind rooted in deeply patronising attitudes towards Africans, and it ignored the role of foreign interests in creating much of the mess.
But Africans were hungry for change. The Cold War had ended and with it the sorry history of support for despotic regimes by both the West and the Soviet bloc. Some of the new leaders came to power through war, but in those heady days of the late 1990s all the talk was of democratising.
The most remarkable movement in the continent's post-colonial history was not led by warlords or tribal chiefs but by a generation of Africans who believed their destiny would be shaped by their own actions. From Accra to Johannesburg to Nairobi, and thousands of points in-between, civil society began to mobilise.
I watched the Kenyan campaigner John Githongo forensically detail the corruption of the ruling elite and publish his results. In the remote Congolese village of Kachanga I met a women's association treating victims of mass rape and gathering evidence against the perpetrators.
The idealistic and energetic also mobilised around issues like the environment, economy, health and free media. The pace and dynamics of change were dictated by the internal realities of each state. But an overarching theme became apparent - the one-party state was becoming the exception.
The essential change was psychological. Young Africans saw themselves becoming agents of change much as their forebears had done in the years around, and just after, the end of colonialism. Two decades ago I could not have imagined the recent peaceful elections in Liberia, a state written off as irredeemably "failed".
But in a large swathe of the continent - central, eastern and much of southern Africa - I underestimated how efficiently the elites would take control of the machinery of modern democracy.
In different places they used different tactics - some buying up media outlets to promote their cause, others bribing enemies so that they became friends or manipulating ethnic antagonism into a weapon to be used on the campaign trail, and still more changing the law to extend presidential terms or silence outspoken opponents.
Some members of the new governments merely continued the corrupt practices of the old, siphoning off millions as the moribund economies of one-party states made the transition to a free market.
In South Africa it gave rise to a new class - the so called "tenderpreneurs" - whose connections to the powerful guaranteed lucrative government contracts.
Across much of this region - from the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Uganda, Rwanda, Eritrea and others - authoritarianism is on the rise. Elections are postponed, independent media are silenced, presidential term limits are expanded and opposition figures locked up.
It is in this regional context that Kenya's Chief Justice, David Maraga, emerges for many - if not for President Kenyatta's supporters - as a man of great courage.
The Supreme Court's decision to annul the elections because of irregularities in the electoral process, told the world that this Kenyan court would not accept a second-class democracy. Across Africa there was a sense of pride in this singular decision. Maraga was seen as speaking for the many who still stand for and demand accountable rulers and an independent civil service.
Since the Supreme Court decision tension has steadily risen. Elections are set for Thursday, but the opposition leader Raila Odinga refuses to take part.
It is possible to simultaneously take heart from the courage of the chief justice and the changed Africa he represents, and to be deeply worried about the escalating tension gripping the country in the wake of the court's decision.
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is refusing to take part in the election
For Kenyans know that political violence often goes unpunished, particularly when the instigators are powerful people. So, often, does brazen corruption. The long struggle is not between political elites at the polling booth. It is a fight waged by a still resourceful civil society, independent judges and honest political campaigners to demand accountability.
The conduct of these elections and what happens in their aftermath matters hugely to Kenyans, millions of other Africans and the broader international community. An unstable Kenya has serious implications for the fight against terrorism in Somalia and, potentially, for the aid operations in South Sudan.
A peaceful resolution to this democratic crisis would be an example to the continent. Mr Githongo told me that "democracy is entering a dark tunnel but there might just be light at the other side".
The struggle to protect the gains made by honest men and women across this region is entering a critical phase.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41722084
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Xi Jinping: From Communist Party princeling to China's president - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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China's president is set to become the country's uncontested leader at a crucial party congress.
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China
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Xi Jinping is set to start a historic third term as China's president
Xi Jinping is set to embark on a historic third term at the 20th Communist Party congress later this month.
It paves the way for the party to reappoint him as president at the National People's Congress next year. China's leaders voted in 2018 to remove the two-term presidential limit that has been in place since the 1990s.
Under Mr Xi's rule since 2012, China has become more authoritarian at home, cracking down on dissent, critics and even influential billionaires and businesses. Some have described him as "the most authoritarian leader since Chairman Mao".
Under his rule, China has established "re-education" camps in Xinjiang that have been accused of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups. It has tightened its grip on Hong Kong and vowed to "reunite" with Taiwan, by force if necessary.
In a clear sign of his influence, the Communist Party voted in 2017 to write his philosophy - called "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era" - into its constitution. Only party founder Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the leader who introduced economic reforms in the 1980s, have made it into the all-important fundamental law of the land.
Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi Jinping is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party's founding fathers and a former vice-premier.
Because of his illustrious roots, Mr Xi is considered a "princeling" - a child of elite senior officials who has risen up the ranks.
But his family's fortunes took a dramatic turn when his father was imprisoned in 1962. A deeply suspicious Mao, fearing a rebellion in party ranks, ordered a purge of potential rivals. Then in 1966 came the so-called Cultural Revolution when millions were branded as enemies of Chinese culture, sparking violent attacks across the country.
Mr Xi's family suffered too. His half-sister - his father's first daughter through an earlier marriage - was persecuted to death, according to official accounts, though a historian familiar with the party elite said she had probably taken her own life under duress, according to a New York Times report.
A young Xi was pulled out of a school attended by children of the political elite. Eventually, at 15, he left Beijing and was sent to the countryside for "re-education" and hard labour in the remote and poor north-eastern village of Liangjiahe for seven years.
But far from turning against the Communist Party, Mr Xi embraced it. He tried to join several times, but was rebuffed because of his father's standing.
He was finally accepted in 1974, starting out in Hebei province, then occupying ever more senior roles as he slowly made his way to the top.
In 1989, at the age of 35, he was party chief in the city of Ningde in southern Fujian province when protests demanding greater political freedom began in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
The province was far from the capital but Mr Xi, along with other party officials, reportedly scrambled to contain local offshoots of the massive demonstrations under way in Beijing.
The protests - an echo of a rift within Communist Party ranks - and the bloody crackdown that ended them have effectively now been scrubbed from the country's history books and public record. China even lost the bid to host the 2000 Olympics because of the abuses in Tiananmen Square. Estimates of the number killed range from hundreds to many thousands.
Almost two decades later, however, Mr Xi was put in charge of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. China was keen to show it had moved on and was a worthy host - and it appeared to be working, with the Games symbolising China's rise as a growing power.
As for Mr Xi, his increasing profile in the party propelled him to its top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, and in 2012 he was picked as China's president.
Mr Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan (right), is a famous folk singer in China
Mr Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, a famous singer, have been heavily featured in state media as China's First Couple.
This is a contrast from previous presidential couples, where the first lady has traditionally kept a lower profile.
The couple have a daughter, Xi Mingze, but not much is known about her apart from the fact that she studied at Harvard University.
Other family members and their overseas business dealings have been a subject of scrutiny in the international press.
Mr Xi has vigorously pursued what he has called a "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" with his China Dream vision.
Under him, the world's second largest economy has enacted reform to combat slowing growth, such as cutting down bloated state-owned industries and reducing pollution, as well as the multi-billion dollar One Belt One Road infrastructure project aimed at expanding China's global trade links.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What China's One Belt, One Road really means
The country has become more assertive on the global stage, from its growing forcefulness in the South China Sea, to its exercise of soft power by pumping billions of dollars into Asian and African investments.
Some of this economic growth however, which in past decades has increased meteorically - has now slowed substantially, worsened by the Chinese leader's uncompromising "zero-Covid" strategy that has locked out the rest of the world since the pandemic.
The country's once-booming property market is in a deep slump and the outlook for the global economy has weakened sharply in recent months.
A bitter and damaging trade war with the US shows no sign of ending.
Since reaching top office, Mr Xi has overseen a wide-reaching corruption crackdown extending to the highest echelons of the party. Critics have portrayed it as a political purge.
Under his rule, China has also seen increasing clampdowns on freedoms.
In Xinjiang province, human rights groups believe the government has detained more than a million Muslim Uyghurs over the past few years in what the state defines as "re-education" camps. China denies accusations from the US and other that it is committing genocide there.
Beijing's grip over Hong Kong, too, has grown under Mr Xi.
Thousands turned out in Hong Kong to take part in protests against a planned extradition law
Mr Xi put an end to pro-democracy protests in 2020 by signing the National Security Law, a sweeping edict that gives Beijing powers to reshape life in the former British colony, criminalising what it calls secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, with the maximum sentence of life in prison.
The law has led to mass arrests of prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians, as well as the closure of prominent news outlets including Apple Daily and Stand News.
Under Mr Xi's leadership, China has also intensified its focus on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, vowing "reunification" and threatening to use military force to prevent any move towards formal independence there.
Given China's power and influence, the world will be watching Mr Xi as he embarks on his third term as president. With no heir apparent, the 69-year-old is arguably the most powerful leader China has had since the death of Mao Zedong in the 1970s.
• None BBC World Service - BBC Minute, BBC Minute- On who is Xi Jinping-
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11551399
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Canvey Island: Residents on why they want independence - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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There are calls for Canvey Island to declare independence from the council. What do locals say?
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UK
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Occupying seven square miles off the coast of Essex, Canvey Island is home to more than 40,000 people
They are two battles for independence taking place 700 miles apart: one fighting for the future of Catalonia, the other for the reclaimed land of Canvey Island.
While Catalonia's Carles Puigdemont wants to separate from Spain, the aim of the Canvey Island Independence Party is to wrestle back control of the Thames estuary island from the mainland's Castle Point Borough Council.
The movements may differ in size and scope, but both share a view that they are different and a resentment that their affairs are being run from elsewhere.
So who are Canvey's islanders and what has inspired their fierce sense of pride and tangible community spirit?
Councillor Dave Blackwell says others are "jealous" of Canvey's community
Councillor Dave Blackwell is the leader of the Canvey Island Independence Party (CIIP).
Over a pot of tea in the Labworth cafe, just off the seafront, he says Canvey people have always been different.
It is partly because Canvey is an island, he says, and partly because of the way they are seen by outsiders.
His party currently has 15 of 17 councillors on the island itself. Yet there are 24 other councillors on Castle Point Borough Council from the mainland.
This has led to Canvey's councillors being consistently outvoted, Councillor Blackwell says, resulting in the island becoming the "poor relations" of the mainland.
He claims that following the party's recent election successes, one opposing activist posted a comment online saying they did not mind losing seats in Canvey as it was "a wart on the landscape".
Councillor Blackwell says people on the mainland like to make Canvey the butt of their jokes. They are, he says, "jealous" of the pride locals take in the area.
He beams when asked about the work put in to rejuvenate the beaches and facilities through "Canvey Bay Watch".
"All we want is to be treated equally," he says.
Gary Tivey, moved to Canvey 28 years ago and still jokes he is a newcomer.
He says the high number of islanders who originated from London's East End brought their morals and values to Canvey.
He tells a story about when he was having a house built and the sale of his own property fell through.
The builder said "don't worry about it, I know how much you want this house" and waited for him to remarket his house.
"That wouldn't happen anywhere else," he says.
For Canvey's population there is "no next town" to go to, he adds, "so you can't fall out with people".
Danielle Low says going to the pub can feel like a therapy session
Gary's daughter Danielle Low is a 34-year-old mum of two who has lived on Canvey since she was six.
Whenever her 11-year-old son is out and about, she says her "little spies" are keeping an eye on him.
But she admits living in such a close community does have its downside.
"If I go into to my local pub it can be like a soap opera," she says.
"If anyone is in trouble or having an affair everyone knows about it. Going for a drink can be like a therapy session."
If fans of US reality TV really wanted a shock, Danielle says, they should film a series of "Real Housewives of Canvey Island".
She says her proudest moment was helping to raise more than £50,000 with 25 friends on a 70-mile walk.
They were greeted by the "whole island" on their return, she says, adding: "That is what Canvey is all about."
Prefab sprout: Canvey has more than 2000 "park homes" for over 55s
Joel Friedman (right) and colleagues looking at JCoCI's latest house purchase
Despite the deep roots of many residents, Canvey's population is changing.
In the last 15 months, the Jewish Congregation of Canvey Island (JCoCI) has been established to find homes for people from north London's strictly orthodox Haredi community.
Spiralling property prices have prompted some to look beyond the confines of London.
JCoCI trustee Joel Friedman says he could not have received a warmer welcome.
"Other councils didn't want us, but the attitude has been very different [in Canvey], both from the islanders and Castle Point."
Mr Friedman acknowledges there could be challenges ahead.
"We are moving from one of the top Remain areas in the country to one of the top Brexit areas," he shrugs.
"We need homes that are available and affordable and the perception of Canvey has perhaps helped in that respect."
His was one of six original families that move to the island in the summer of 2016.
There are now 28 families and about 200 people. Mr Friedman estimates eventually there will be 70 to 80 Haredi families, making a community of more than 450.
Chris Fenwick has managed the band, Dr Feelgood, for 43 years
One of those helping the new community settle down is a man with a complicated CV.
Chris Fenwick is probably best known as the manager for the last 43 years of Dr Feelgood, Canvey's best known band.
He also owns the Oysterfleet, the largest pub and hotel on the island.
He is heavily involved in helping the JCoCI become established and is keen to explain how the island will benefit from their arrival.
He laughs at comparisons between Canvey and Catalonia, but says the way the island is seen by people a few miles away is a problem.
He talks about going to a business lunch where one speaker described Canvey as the "biggest open prison in England".
Canvey's sea wall has several murals portraying the 1953 flood
"They despise us," he says. "They look down on us, but they never come here. Canvey has more multi-millionaires per head than anywhere else around."
He says you can't begin to understand why Canvey is different without talking about a flood that hit the island in 1953, killing 59 people and leading to 13,000 more being evacuated.
Chris claims to be the product of the flood. "The storm hit on 31 January and I was born early November. I was a flood baby," he says.
He says Canvey is now booming because people are making the same calculation that some in the Jewish communities have made.
"House prices mean London has turned into another country," he says. "Canvey is benefitting."
John Huet says in many ways time has stood still in Canvey
Seventy-year-old John "The Professor" Huet is a former electrical engineer and lecturer.
He moved to Canvey from east London 61 years ago to what he thought was "a beautiful playground".
"Canvey isn't part of the mainland and isn't part of the Thames, we're something other," he says.
He says the island has moved with the times in many ways. But in a lot of other ways it has stayed the same.
"Time has stood still, but 40 years ago my house was in the middle of field, now it's surrounded."
He backs the demands for an "independent" Canvey.
"It was taken away by political chicanery," he says. "We need to get it back."
• None Voters look again at referendum choice
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41691003
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Nives Meroi and Romano Benet: A life in the death zone - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Husband-and-wife mountaineering team Romano Benet and Nives Meroi were attempting a winter ascent of the world's fifth-highest peak when things went badly wrong.
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Magazine
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Husband-and-wife mountaineering team Romano Benet and Nives Meroi were attempting a winter ascent of the world's fifth-highest mountain, Makalu, when things went badly wrong. It was the first of two serious challenges that could have brought their climbing careers, and even their lives, to an end.
The biggest problem on Makalu was the freezing wind.
Considered one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb, in early 2008 a relentless gale was making it almost impossible.
Two years before, French mountaineer Jean-Christophe Lafaillle had died trying to make a winter ascent. But Benet and Meroi, and their fellow Italian Luca Vuerich, had not yet given up hope of success.
"For a month the gusts knocked us from here to there, and we couldn't even sleep at night," Meroi remembers.
Despite everything, the trio reached 7,000m (22,966 ft) - about 1,500m below the summit - and decided to hang on, hoping that the wind would die down.
"Instead, the jet stream exploded in a furious crescendo," Meroi says.
"We were running for our lives, when a gust of wind picked me up.
"My feet lost their grip on the gravel, I slipped between two big boulders and I fell, with my body twisting on my trapped foot.
"The wind continued to howl while I heard the sharp sound of my bone snapping."
With a broken leg, she could not move unaided.
Luca Vuerich carrying Nives Meroi - he died in an avalanche in the Alps two years later
So for two days Benet and Vuerich took turns to carry her on their shoulders. They walked through fog and along a glacier to reach Camp Hillary at 4,860m (16,000ft) where a rescue helicopter was able to pick them up and fly them to Kathmandu.
"Despite 40 years of climbing we still fear the mountains," Meroi says.
Meroi and Benet first met at high school in Italy, and started hiking and climbing together after discovering their shared passion for the outdoors.
"Romano likes to say it was a matter of convenience," Meroi says. "It was easier to have a girlfriend who could also climb, so he didn't have to struggle to find a climbing partner every weekend."
The couple's marriage, in 1989, was actually triggered by their desire to go climbing in the Peruvian Andes, on the Cordillera Blanca range.
"It was a dream we had, but we had no money or leave days," Meroi says. "So we decided to get married because our employers would give us two weeks off, and we asked our friends and family to pay for the trip."
The first successful winter ascent of Makalu was made in 2009 - the year after Meroi, Benet and Vuerich's attempt
Listen to Nives Meroi and Romano Benet talking about their extraordinary mountaineering success on Outlook on the BBC World Service.
The year after the ill-fated Makalu trip, once Meroi's leg had healed, the couple to set out to climb Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, which straddles India and Nepal. They were closing in on the 8,586m summit when Benet felt unwell.
"I was tired and slower than usual so I decided to stop, but I told Nives to continue," he says.
If Meroi had climbed the remaining few hundred metres to the summit, she would have stood a good chance of becoming the first woman to climb all of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000m (26,247ft). But she didn't think twice about turning round.
"When I realised there was something wrong with Romano I decided to descend as fast as we could," she says.
"I thought, 'What's the point of me going up there alone?' If Romano had waited in the tent at 7,600m while I was trying to climb to the top I might not have found him alive when I came back."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nives and Romano talk about their self-sufficient approach to tackling the world's eight-thousanders
Benet was eventually diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a very rare and potentially life-threatening condition in which your bone marrow fails to produce enough new blood cells.
The couple refer to this as their 15th eight-thousander, and the most difficult one.
"If it wasn't for the difficult situations that we had experienced in the mountains, I don't think I would be able to bear all this," Benet used to tell Meroi during the months of his illness.
He was to undergo nearly two years of treatment, including dozens of blood transfusions.
"Mountaineering is about facing one problem at a time, and about knowing that every step forward is a step we'll have to take coming back down," Meroi says.
"We like to think that climbing mountains gave us the skills to face the disease. It taught us to place one step after the other, to be patient, and to never give up."
But every therapy that the doctors tried on Benet failed. Their last hope was to give him a bone marrow transplant. Finally a matching donor was found and the transplant was carried out. But it didn't work.
"The doctors had run out of ideas," Meroi says. "But then they decided to experiment with something new - in mountaineering terms, to open a new route."
They thought a second bone marrow transplant from the same donor might just work, even though the first had failed.
"The person who had donated the bone marrow in the first place was asked to go through the entire process for a second time," Meroi says. "And, bless him, he agreed to do that."
"That's what brought Romano back to life. To this day we don't know who this person is, but his silent and generous act really gives us hope in humanity."
It wasn't only the anonymous donor, Benet says, who helped him to overcome his illness.
"For two years Nives was the best partner I could imagine," he says. "She never left my side. We approached it as we always do, as a team, roped together."
A few years later, Benet and Meroi put on their backpacks again and returned to Kangchenjunga for another attempt.
"I was so thrilled to be back on the mountains - it was like unleashing a chained dog," Benet remembers.
But in their excitement to be back in the mountains the pair accidentally climbed up the wrong gorge.
"I think we are the first mountaineers in the history of the Himalayan ascents to get the wrong peak," Benet says. "But for me being there and knowing that I could still make it was enough."
In 2014 they returned to Kangchenjunga for a third time.
"That time we got the right mountain," Meroi says. "We were the first climbers of the season, so we had to open the route. It was just the two of us, but when we got to the top we realised we weren't alone - the anonymous donor was up there with us, the young man without a name who had chosen to give a stranger a chance of life. We wouldn't have made it without him."
Although Meroi missed out on being the first woman to climb all of the eight-thousanders, in May this year she and Benet became the first couple to climb all 14 - an achievement all the more notable for their method of climbing without Sherpas or bottled oxygen.
This brings with it real dangers.
Beyond 2,400m, the human body becomes susceptible to altitude sickness, which can progress to life-threatening conditions including high-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral oedema (HACE), when blood vessels begin leaking fluid into the lungs or brain.
By the time you reach 8,000m you have entered the "death zone", where the air is so thin it is insufficient to sustain human life.
"The human body is not designed to live at those altitudes - even a tiny problem can escalate very quickly," Meroi says. "And it's not just a physical challenge - even thinking about your next move is tiring."
The couple often climb during the night so that they can arrive at a mountain's summit just after dawn, meaning they can make their descent - which technically can be more difficult and dangerous than the ascent - in daylight.
"When you climb at night you're guided by the light of the stars and sometimes it feels like you're actually above them," Meroi says.
"And when you get to the top the first thing you experience is a sense of elation," says Benet.
"The view from the top of an eight-thousander is something you'll never forget because from up there you can actually see the Earth curving at the horizon."
For Meroi, reaching the summit of one of the world's highest mountains gives her a different perspective on life.
"You really get a sense of how fragile human life is and how small it is compared to the power of nature, and you realise that the ambitions that drive us mad at sea level are completely irrelevant up there," she says.
"I feel like I am at peace with nature and that's probably what makes me want to keep climbing, to find that feeling again."
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BBC wrong to not challenge climate sceptic Lord Lawson - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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An interview with Lord Lawson should have been challenged, the corporation's complaints unit says.
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UK
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Former Chancellor Lord Lawson's claims on climate change were made on BBC Radio 4's Today programme
The BBC should have challenged the views of climate sceptic Lord Lawson in an interview in August, the complaints unit for the corporation has ruled.
The ex-chancellor claimed in an interview with the Today programme that "official figures" showed average world temperatures had "slightly declined".
This view, shown to be false by the Met Office, was not challenged on air.
The BBC admitted it had breached its "guidelines on accuracy and impartiality".
Conservative peer Lord Lawson's appearance on Radio 4's flagship Today programme sparked a number of complaints from listeners.
He had been invited on to discuss the latest film on climate change by former US Vice President Al Gore.
During the interview, Lord Lawson said "official figures" showed that "during this past 10 years, if anything... average world temperature has slightly declined".
He also claimed the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had confirmed there had not been an increase in extreme weather events for the last 10 years.
Dr Peter Stott, of the Met Office, came on the programme the following day to confirm that Lord Lawson's statistics, which he did not cite at the time, were incorrect.
Dr Stott also said the IPCC has clearly indicated an increase in extreme weather events across the globe were linked to human use of fossil fuels.
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, a campaign group chaired by Lord Lawson, later confirmed his statistics were "erroneous".
The BBC's media editor Amol Rajan said the Today programme had a remit to offer dissenting opinions, aimed at challenging lazy thinking and consensus views.
But he said the BBC's complaints department ruled that a lack of scrutiny of Lord Lawson's claims meant the interview fell short of editorial standards.
It ruled that the peer's statements "were, at the least, contestable and should have been challenged".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lord Lawson's claims about climate change are "simply not true", says the Met Office's Peter Stott
A paper by Skeptical Science claims that 97% of scientists across the globe believe climate change is caused by humans.
In 2014 the BBC Trust stated the corporation has "a duty to reflect the weight of scientific agreement but it should also reflect the existence of critical views appropriately".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41744344
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County Lines: The children forced to sell drugs - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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City gangs are exploiting children as young as 12 to traffic Class A drugs to smaller rural towns.
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UK
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Money and drugs found by police in a property which had been taken over by a dangerous drug network
About 4,000 teenagers from London are being exploited and trafficked every year to sell drugs in rural towns and cities, a leading youth charity says.
Known as "county lines", gangs use children as young as 12 to traffic drugs, using dedicated mobile phones or "lines".
Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland said the figures were "shocking" and the exploitation was only slowly being recognised.
It comes as the Home Office announced it was putting £300,000 into a new pilot project to help young victims.
File on 4 spoke to one teenager about what it is like to be involved in a county lines gang.
Michael* was 13 years old when a friend at his school approached him about selling drugs.
Lured in by the prospect of making money, he began selling in his local area, but things escalated quickly.
The gang was soon sending him on jobs out of London with the promise he could make around £500 a week.
He was sent to the house of a vulnerable drug user that the gang had taken over in the Midlands, a practice known as cuckooing.
Using this as his base, he was out on the street selling heroin and crack cocaine, day and night.
"I was a bit shaky, I was actually scared," he says.
"But from the time you see the money, you're just thinking, 'OK, I can just bear a bit more.'"
Michael describes having a normal upbringing and a close relationship with his family.
Frantic about his long absences, he says, they would try to stop him by taking away his mobile phone - but as soon as he left his house, the gang would start hassling him again.
They would take him to a house where they ran a kind of breakfast club.
"Before you go to school you have breakfast there. I'd probably have a quick ride to school and then after school they come and pick you up as well," he says.
Despite living with a group of drug users, Michael says he "didn't really recognise the risks" or see how easily he could be attacked.
He describes how he once ended up staying in a graveyard after being left stranded hundreds of miles from home with nowhere to stay.
"They [drug users] could have found another drug dealer and told him 'listen, this guy is in a graveyard and he's got drugs'... anything could have happened, that experience was crazy."
After being arrested for possession of drugs, Michael decided to stop selling, but says it was not easy to leave the gang behind.
"They were trying to get at me but I moved away from the area, so I think that helped me a lot.
"I started to gain different knowledge and actually make my life something else and not just be another number."
The charity Safer London has dealt with many teenagers like Michael, who are exploited to sell drugs for older gang members.
The charity's chief executive, Claire Hubberstey, said a frightening number of young people were at risk of being involved in county lines dealing.
"We have started recording when we've got concerns," she says.
Based on the number of young people they see, they estimate at least 4,000 young people are at risk every year.
She compares it to the way children are lured in to sexual grooming, saying initial promises soon turn into threats.
"Young people often talk about being physically locked in premises so they're not able to actually get out.
"Threats of coercion or violence mean they can be too scared to try to make their own way back - even if they have the means to do so."
She wants all of these young people placed on the National Referral Mechanism - meaning they would be treated as victims of trafficking and modern slavery, rather than being treated as criminals.
"They are exploited children, and they are being manipulated and exploited. Even if they don't see it, that doesn't mean that it's not happening", she says.
Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland said the extent of county lines exploitation was only slowly being recognised.
"We're waking up to it. Are we fully awake to it yet? Probably not, but we are starting to."
He says tackling it will require a change in the psyche of the police and other authorities to see young drugs traffickers as victims not criminals.
"It makes an enormous difference. You get it right, the whole process changes because you don't have that person in the dock, you start looking for someone else to put in the dock."
Sarah Newton, minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, said as well as new funding, the government had also taken measures including passing legislation to allow police to shut down the phone lines used to market drugs.
"It sends a very clear message that we will not tolerate this criminal activity."
*Michael's name has been changed to protect his identity.
Listen to more on this story on File on 4, on Tuesday 24th October at 20:00 BST on BBC Radio 4.
• None 'My son was groomed to sell drugs'
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Apple hires ex-BBC and Channel 4 executive Jay Hunt - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Jay Hunt is expected to help the US tech firm take on digital rivals Netflix and Amazon.
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Technology
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Jay Hunt will begin work at Apple at the start of 2018
Apple has hired Jay Hunt - the former controller of BBC One and chief creative officer of Channel Four - to join its video team.
Ms Hunt was responsible for TV shows including Sherlock and Luther at the BBC before helping Channel 4 sign up the Great British Bake Off.
Her title at Apple will be creative director, Europe, worldwide video.
Apple has not specified what it involves, but she is expected to commission programmes on its behalf.
Until now, Apple's own programming has served as an adjunct to its Music subscription service and included Planet of the Apps - a business reality TV competition - and Carpool Karaoke - a spin-off from James Corden's Late Late Show.
However, the US firm has committed $1bn (£754m) to acquire and produce further content over the coming months, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Ms Hunt helped Channel 4 take Bake Off from the BBC
Earlier in the year, Apple revealed it had hired two Sony Pictures TV executives.
Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg had overseen Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Rescue Me among other US shows.
These developments have fuelled speculation that the company is preparing to launch a video subscription service to rival Netflix and Amazon Video, with original content, after failing to convince the US networks to let it sell bundles of their programming.
"It seems like Apple is going for a worldwide push already, even though it hasn't yet made much headway in the US," said Tom Harrington, an analyst at research firm Enders Analysis.
"Jay Hunt is exceptional in the commissioning space. She's exceptional at finding programmes that fit the outlet she's working at.
"She could have worked anywhere she wanted."
Apple is not the only US tech giant investing in the TV industry.
Facebook launched its Watch service in the US in August, offering cookery, fitness and travel-themed programmes among other content.
Twitter is developing news programming in conjunction with Bloomberg and Buzzfeed, and has also acquired streaming rights to several sports events.
Google continues to invest in its YouTube Red service, which produces ad-free films and shows for subscribers.
Sherlock was one of Ms Hunt's most successful commissions at the BBC
When Jay Hunt missed out on the job of chief executive at Channel 4, where as chief creative officer she had overseen a series of big hits and bought Great British Bake Off from the BBC, everyone in the industry asked the same question. What jobs in British TV might she actually now want? Answer: not many.
As television is reinvented - from linear, scheduled programmes watched by families around a single television set, to on-demand shows watched largely on mobile phones and tablets, or sometimes through multiple screens - it is the big American technology companies that are driving innovation.
Last week, Netflix showed impressive quarterly growth in subscribers. Many senior figures in the industry say Amazon is changing the rules of the game, by offering massive budgets for drama and documentaries. And there is talk aplenty about social media giants buying up live sports rights.
In hiring Ms Hunt, Apple has reinforced the message that it is taking television and original content very seriously. At her leaving party in Channel 4's London headquarters recently, the universal feeling was that it would be to one of these big technology companies that she moved. That has now come to pass.
Jay Hunt poached Bake Off from the BBC in a move that was met with widespread scepticism, and plenty of derision. Yet with six million viewers per episode, its switch has been a success.
What show might she poach from another broadcaster next - perhaps even her former employers?
Given Apple's market capitalisation of more than $800bn (£603bn), I suspect money won't be an issue. Ms Hunt is going to enjoy her new budget.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41751463
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Brazilian toilet paper brand apologises for using black empowerment slogan - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A Brazilian toilet paper brand has dropped a black empowerment slogan after criticism on social media.
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BBC Trending
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The advert featured the words 'Black Is Beautiful' which have since been removed.
A toilet paper manufacturer in Brazil has dropped the slogan "Black Is Beautiful" from its black-coloured brand.
It is not so much the colour of the toilet roll, but the advert for it, which has attracted the most criticism.
Personal VIP Black toilet paper was launched on Monday by Sao Paulo manufacturers Santher.
It showed white actress Marina Ruy Barbosa draped in the black paper alongside the words 'Black Is Beautiful.'
The words have been removed following criticism by racial equality campaigners for the misappropriation of a slogan synonymous with a historic cultural movement intended to empower black communities.
Paulino Cardoso, a professor at Universidade de Estado de Santa Catarina and an organiser of black Latin American academics, railed against what he called a "band of damned racists."
He posted: "It is good to boycott and denounce all this propaganda".
Campaigner Steve Biko used the term 'Black Is Beautiful' as part of the Black Consciousness Movement
The term "Black Is Beautiful" emerged in the 1960s from African-American communities fighting for civil rights. It later become more prominent in the writings of the Black Conciousness Movement of Steve Biko during the anti-apartheid era.
The term was intended to promote black features such as skin colour and hair textures as equal to white beauty standards.
Rio de Janeiro-based writer Anderson Franca articulated why the term was offensive in a Facebook post.
"If you search 'Black Is Beautiful' anywhere in the world you'll find references to Angela Davis, Malcolm X, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, Fela Kuti, James Baldwin, and Nina Simone, but not in Brazil," he posted.
"People died for this expression to be revered to this day. People are still dying and this expression is more important and vital than ever before.
"But in Brazil, if you type #blackisbeautiful you will find toilet paper."
Franca's post has been shared almost 3,000 times since being published on Monday evening with the discussion spreading across social media.
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"In Brazil #blackisbeautiful is not a cause, it is toilet paper. Where do black lives matter?" agreed one Twitter user.
Others were less critical, suggesting the campaign was more ill-judged than racist.
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While another Twitter user said he was not offended by the advert at all: "Mate, I'm black and I wasn't offended by this. Black is the colour of the paper, it doesn't refer to race. Crazy people need to stop trying to make a problem out of everything".
Manufacturer Santher withdrew the slogan and issued a statement on its website and the Facebook page of its Familia Personal brand.
"We would like to clarify that we have never had any intention of provoking a racial discussion through the launch of our Personal VIP Black Toilet Paper," read the statement.
The company also apologised for "the possible mistaken association of the phrase adopted by the black movement, which we respect and admire so much," and added "it's always time to learn."
Barbosa, who featured in the advert, has also apologised on her Twitter page for any offence caused.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41748245
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In pictures: Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Photographer Salman Saeed met some of the 600,000 Rohingya fleeing Myanmar for camps in Bangladesh.
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Asia
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Confused and scared, two-year-old Hazera holds on to her mother after reaching Bangladesh from Myanmar
Myanmar's military has brutally evicted more than half a million Muslim Rohingya people from the country's northern Rakhine state. The UN human rights office says their homes and villages have been burned down, and their crops and livestock destroyed to stop them coming back.
Rohingya who fled to neighbouring Bangladesh say that the security services' "clearance operations" involved mass civilian killings, torture, and child rape.
The military denies committing genocide, insisting it has only targeted Rohingya militants. But for those who fear being homeless or worse, the semantics are immaterial.
Bangladesh's UN ambassador says more than 600,000 people have crossed the border since late August, joining the 300,000 or so who fled earlier outbreaks of violence.
They are starving and exhausted. Many are traumatised, and most have children with them. BBC photographer Salman Saeed took these pictures near the refugee camps in Palongkhali, Kutupalong and Balukhali, in the Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh.
These Rohingya families have been walking for more than a week without food, but have finally arrived in Bangladesh after witnessing atrocities in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
They carry their few belongings and blankets on sticks over their shoulders.
UN experts believe it is "highly likely" that Myanmar's security forces planted landmines along the border in recent weeks, making an arduous journey yet more fraught with danger.
The owner of these weary legs waded through mud to reach a refugee camp.
International observers say some Rohingya people have walked for up to three weeks before arriving at government-run settlements like Kutupalong. The children have welts on the soles of their feet.
Rohingya people are using any available transport to escape Rakhine. Some are trekking to the Naf River, which forms the border, while others are sailing up the coast.
Dozens have already died trying to cross into Bangladesh in small, rickety fishing boats.
The Dhaka Tribune reports that 28 boats have capsized since 24 August, killing 184 people - mostly women and children.
The boats are often overcrowded, and the risk of disaster considerable. Some of those on board are unable to swim.
This man, Abu Tabel, arrived in Bangladesh with his few salvaged belongings gathered in sacks and a basket.
The caged chicken below was his only companion on the long journey to find a new home.
When they reach the camps, the displaced people find - and build - makeshift accommodation along the roads and hillsides around the border town of Cox's Bazaar.
The settlements are muddy, wet and overcrowded, with a shortage of clean water and poor sanitation. There are very few toilets. Torrential rain has increased the hardships - and the risk of diseases like cholera.
Many of those crossing the border already have relatives in Cox's Bazar, whom they are desperate to find.
On 16 October, the Red Cross opened a 60-bed field hospital in Cox's Bazar the size of two football fields.
It has three wards, an operating theatre, a maternity ward, and a psychosocial support unit.
This young Rohingya boy is comparatively lucky - he has received some medical treatment.
Bangladesh has announced plans to build a refugee camp that could ultimately accommodate about 800,000 Rohingya.
It would be the largest such settlement in the world.
This family was photographed resting and having their first meal in several days.
Survivors say starvation had helped drive them from their villages, as food markets in Rakhine state have been shut and aid restricted.
Rasida, who is nine months pregnant, is one of thousands of mothers-to-be who have fled - knowing they could give birth any day.
The United Nations Population Fund estimates that of the nearly 150,000 Rohingya women of reproductive age (15-49 years), some 24,000 are pregnant and lactating.
Some have had no choice but to give birth by the roadside.
On 17 October, the United Nations warned that thousands of Rohingya were still stranded near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.
It urged Bangladesh to speed up the vetting of up to 15,000 affected people, and move them inland to safety.
Andrej Mahecic, a UN refugee agency spokesman, said it wanted Bangladesh to "urgently admit these refugees fleeing violence and increasingly difficult conditions back home".
He added: "Every minute counts, given the fragile conditions they're arriving in."
For now, the influx continues. Thousands on thousands, caught in the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis.
All pictures were shot by Salman Saeed in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41585864
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Fire chiefs call for sprinklers in all UK schools - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Fire chiefs say the move is vital to protect pupils - the government insists safety is its priority.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Should all schools be fitted with sprinklers?
All new and refurbished schools in the UK should be fitted with sprinklers, fire chiefs say.
Currently, sprinklers are mandatory in new school buildings in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland - and the National Fire Chiefs Council says that must change.
London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton accused the government of "playing with children's lives".
The Department for Education said the safety of children was their priority.
Fire safety in public buildings like schools has come under close scrutiny since the Grenfell Tower fire in west London in June.
There are about 700 school fires a year in England.
Rift House in Hartlepool had no sprinkler system
Last year, the DfE in England began a consultation on new draft guidance which said building regulations no longer required "the installation of fire sprinkler suppression systems in school buildings for life safety".
"Therefore," it added, "[guidelines] no longer include an expectation that most new school buildings will be fitted with them."
Ms Cotton told BBC Breakfast she was appalled when she saw that draft guidance.
"I think it was outrageous," she said. "I thought, 'How can we play with children's lives like that?'
"I just do not understand why it wouldn't be made compulsory and wouldn't be made a requirement to fit sprinklers in schools at new-build stage.
"And what I don't want to see is a very large school fire to be the thing that brings about that change."
The consultation was dropped after Grenfell so the guidance was never changed.
It continues to state that it is the DfE's "expectation that all new schools will have sprinklers fitted", unless a school is "low risk" and installation "would not be good value for money".
Despite this, less than a third of the 260 schools built since 2014 under the Schools Building Programme have sprinklers.
Ms Cotton said the London Fire Brigade recommended sprinklers in 184 new or refurbished schools last year, and yet advice was taken in only four of these cases. Other fire services have given BBC Breakfast equivalent figures, following a similar pattern.
The National Fire Chiefs Council said the proportion of new schools built with sprinklers had dropped from about 70% a decade ago to a third last year - and overall, in England and Wales, just 5% of schools have sprinklers.
London fire chief Dany Cotton said sprinklers should be compulsory in all schools
The construction industry says schools can be designed to be low fire risk with exit routes, fire doors and reinforced walls.
Andrew Alsbury, from construction firm Willmott Dixon, told the BBC: "I think if there were more money involved in school buildings I'd be looking at the need for new school places around the country - the bits of the school estate which are in really poor condition - rather than say that sprinklers was the first call.
"Because intrinsically, pupils are safe in their schools today."
The DfE says all schools must have a Fire Risk Assessment and new schools undergo an additional safety check while being designed.
"It has always been the case that where the risk assessment recommends sprinklers in a school building, they must be installed," a spokesman added.
The Local Government Association said it "fully supports the installation of sprinklers in new school buildings as a cost-effective measure which can help save lives, protect property and improve firefighter safety".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41744582
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Newspaper headlines: Brexit 'worst decision' and super rich hack - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The UK is branded "stupid" for quitting the EU, while there's worrying news for some of the world's wealthiest people.
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The Papers
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The Guardian leads on Wednesday with a scathing indictment of the Brexit vote by the former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.
He has launched a new headquarters for his eponymous financial media firm in London and described the decision as the "single stupidest thing any country has ever done" - one only "Trumped" by the US election result.
He adds that he may not have invested in his "two big, expensive buildings" had he known the British people would choose to "drop out" of the EU.
Huffpost UK, meanwhile, carries a warning from the Food and Drink Federation that a Brexit-induced labour shortage is affecting crisp production.
The trade body's chief executive, Ian Wright, tells the website that fewer EU migrants are travelling to the UK for work, and calls on the government to do more to reassure them that they're welcome.
The Washington Post reveals that Hillary Clinton's supporters and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a dossier that made allegations about Russian links to Trump's election campaign.
It says a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC retained the Washington firm, Fusion GPS, to conduct the research, which, in turn, hired the report's author, a former British intelligence officer. None of the parties involved has commented on the story.
Several papers feature a study which has concluded that blood thinners could cut the risk of developing dementia by almost half.
It's the lead in the Daily Express, which hails the finding as a "breakthrough" that "has given fresh hope that a disease-modifying therapy is now in sight".
Separately, the Times reports that brain changes linked to Alzheimer's disease have been found in dolphins, the first time the condition has been discovered in a wild animal. Researchers say the findings could have profound implications for the study of dementia in humans.
There's a heart-warming tale in the Daily Mirror of a surrogate mother who is having a second baby for a gay couple, and has refused to take any payment.
Becky Harris, who gave the men a daughter six years ago, tells the paper she is waiving the expenses she could legally claim because "they're such great dads". She says they joke that this is their buy-one-get-one-free baby.
Finally, revealing letters from the author Harper Lee, which are due to be auctioned, are uncovered by the Guardian.
In one communication, written on the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, she discloses that President Lyndon B Johnson hoped there would one day be a black, female leader of the free world. She recalls how he was asked by the actor Gregory Peck if they would see a black president in their lifetime.
"No," came the reply, "but I wish her well."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-41743863
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Albert Einstein’s happiness note sold for $1.6m - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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The note was written by the physicist when he didn't have enough money to tip a courier.
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Middle East
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The two notes sold for $1.56m and $240,000 - way higher than their estimates
A note written by Albert Einstein containing advice on happy living has sold at an auction house in Jerusalem for $1.56m (£1.19m).
Einstein gave the note to a courier in Tokyo in 1922 instead of a tip.
He had just heard that he had won the coveted Nobel prize for physics and told the messenger that, if he was lucky, the notes would become valuable.
Einstein suggested in the note that achieving a long-dreamt goal did not necessarily guarantee happiness.
The German-born physicist had won the Nobel and was in Japan on a lecture tour.
When the courier came to his room to make a delivery, he did not have any money to reward him.
Einstein (seen here in 1950) wrote the hotel notes shortly after winning the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
Instead, he handed the messenger a signed note - using stationery of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo - with one sentence, written in German: "A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it."
A second note written at the same time simply reads: "Where there's a will, there's a way." It sold for $240,000, Winner's auction house said.
The winning bids for both notes were far higher than the pre-auction estimated price, the auctioneers said.
It said the buyer of one of the notes was a European who wished to remain anonymous.
The seller is reported to be the nephew of the messenger.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination
We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41742785
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Tillerson in Afghanistan: Photo of meeting apparently doctored - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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A photo of a US-Afghan meeting is seemingly doctored to suggest it took place in Kabul.
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Asia
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Both the US and Afghanistan released photos of the meeting, with a crucial difference - a clock above the TVs
A photo of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Afghanistan appears to have been altered to suggest he was in Kabul, not a US air base miles away.
Images show him meeting President Ashraf Ghani in a windowless room at Bagram Airfield, under a US military clock and a red fire alarm.
But an Afghan press release with a similar photo minus the clock or alarm says Mr Ghani "received" Mr Tillerson.
Both sides initially said that the meeting took place in Kabul.
The US State Department later issued a correction, saying it had taken place at Bagram, the biggest American military base in Afghanistan.
A press release from the US embassy in Afghanistan includes a photo with the wall above the two men's heads cropped out.
However, another photo tweeted by the embassy clearly shows the clock and alarm, "in what would be a giveaway that it was an American military facility", the New York Times notes.
The digital clock shows "Zulu" time (the military term for GMT), local time and Eastern Time.
But in the Afghan government's photo, there is no clock or alarm, with one expert telling the Times there was "no question" it had been manipulated. Neither side has explained the discrepancy.
This was the photo released by the Afghan president's office, with no clock on the wall
A photo of the meeting from the US embassy cropped out the upper wall
But another US embassy image showed the clock and alarm
Mr Tillerson's visit, said by the New York Times to have lasted just two hours, was kept secret until the trip ended amid increasing security concerns in the country.
Several weeks ago, rockets targeted Kabul airport during US Defence Secretary James Mattis's visit.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41734559
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'Half of women' sexually harassed at work, says BBC survey - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A fifth of British men have also been victims at work or a place of study, figures suggest.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Emily Warburton-Adams (r) tells of being harassed and Zoe Strimpel on #MeToo
Half of British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or a place of study, a BBC survey says.
Of the women who said they had been harassed, 63% said they didn't report it to anyone, and 79% of the male victims kept it to themselves.
The ComRes poll for BBC Radio 5 live spoke to more than 2,000 people.
The survey was commissioned after sexual assault claims against Harvey Weinstein resulted in widespread sharing of sexual harassment stories.
Women and men who have been sexually harassed have been revealing their experiences on social media using the hashtag "me too" to show the magnitude of the problem worldwide.
That followed allegations, including rape and sexual assault, against Mr Weinstein from more than two dozen women - among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan.
The Hollywood producer insists sexual relations he had were consensual.
The Radio 5 live survey, of 2,031 British adults, found that 37% of all those asked - 53% of women and 20% of men - said they had experienced sexual harassment, ranging from inappropriate comments to actual sexual assaults, at work or a place of study.
More than a quarter of people surveyed had suffered harassment in the form of inappropriate jokes or "banter" and nearly one in seven had suffered inappropriate touching.
Of those who had been harassed, 5 live's survey suggests one in 10 women had been sexually assaulted.
More women than men were targeted by a boss or senior manager - 30% compared with 12% - and one in 10 women who had experienced harassment said it led to them leaving their job or place of study.
Sarah was assaulted by a teacher and a professor during her education
Sarah Killcoyne, from Cambridge, told BBC News she was sexually assaulted when she was still in education by two different men - a school teacher when she was a teenager and later by a college professor.
She said: "I would very much like to see the people around the predators - we know there's only a few of them - to stop enabling them."
One man, who did not want to be identified, said he had been harassed by his female boss.
He said: “She made constant comments about my appearance and how I dressed - comments asking about my hairy chest and what I liked in a woman.
"[It was] all laughed off by other mainly female office staff, but it left me feeling dirty and uncomfortable.
"I ended up with depression and confidence issues and had time off with anxiety as a result.”
Since the allegations about Mr Weinstein surfaced, many high profile names have used social media to highlight the problem of sexual assault, some also detailing the harassment they have endured.
Jess Phillips and Mary Creagh were among the MPs to reveal their accounts as they wanted to encourage victims of abuse to speak out.
Labour's Ms Phillips told the London Evening Standard how she had been left "paralysed by fear" when she woke up at a party to find her boss undoing her belt and trying to get into her trousers.
Fellow Labour MP Ms Creagh said she was just seven when she was sexually assaulted by about 12 boys during a school playground game of kiss-chase.
The results of the BBC survey follow research published last year by the TUC which also suggested more than half of women say they have been sexually harassed at work - and most had not reported it.
People often fail to report sexual harassment for a range of reasons, Manuela Barreto , the University of Exeter's professor of social and organisational psychology, told the BBC.
They might feel the harassment took place in a "subtle" way, or was couched in humour.
When one case is exposed in the media, however, those effects change. "It facilitates understanding, and therefore detection, of what qualifies as sexual harassment," she says.
"It gives the message that it's a serious matter and that there are many out there who support the perception that this is a problem."
Activist Tarana Burke is the founder of the original Me Too campaign - launched 10 years ago in the United States to provide "empowerment through empathy" to survivors of sexual abuse, assault, exploitation, and harassment in underprivileged communities.
She told 5 Live she feels there is now momentum behind a genuine change in the way sexual harassment is handled.
"From what I'm seeing and hearing, and from the groundswell of support for this, it doesn't feel like it's stopping," she said.
"My ultimate goal is to make sure this is not just a moment, that this is a movement, and we will continue to raise our voices, we will continue to disrupt, we will continue to tell our stories until we are heard and until we move the needle."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41741615
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You draw the chart: How has life changed in 60 years? - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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Test your knowledge of UK demographics in 1957 compared with now with our interactive graphs.
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UK
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In October 1957, BBC Radio 4's Today programme went on the air for the first time. A lot has changed in the last 60 years: we are living much longer; attitudes to sex and marriage have become more relaxed; house prices have risen and the demographics of the UK have changed. But do you know by how much?
Test your knowledge by drawing in the missing information on the charts below. The charts give you the latest figure, all you have to do is hold and drag the orange dot on each graph and draw the rest of the chart back to 1957, then use the "Show me the answer" button to see how you did.
All the charts have been produced in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics.
You draw the chart: How low were house prices in 1957?
House prices have rocketed over the last few decades. But how modern is this phenomenon - hold and drag the orange dot to trace the trend line back to 1957?
The 2017 figure is an average of the monthly figures from January to August. Sources: HM Land Registry and ONS.
If you can't see the charts, click this link to open the same story outside of Google AMP or the Twitter app.
You draw the chart: How long could you expect to live in 1957?
Improvements in medical care and fewer people smoking mean that we are now living longer than ever. A baby boy born in the UK in 2014 could expect, on average, to live to 79; for baby girls born that year it was 83. But what do you think the average life expectancy was for a boy born in 1957? Can you draw the trend line back 60 years?
Figures for 1957 to 1980 relate to England and Wales and figures for 1981 to 2014 are for the UK. Source: ONS
You draw the chart: Did many people divorce?
Marriage has dropped in popularity since 1957. That year 52 out of every 1,000 unmarried women tied the knot. In 2014 it was only 21 women out of every 1,000 unmarried women. But what about divorce, how has it changed and what was the divorce rate in 1957? We've given you the latest figure for the number of women divorcing for every 1,000 married women. Tap on the orange marker and draw the trend line back.
You draw the chart: How many children were born outside of marriage?
Today there are nearly as many children born to unmarried parents, as those whose parents are married. Not so in 1957. But do you know what the percentage was back then? The orange marker is the latest number. Hold and drag to draw the trend line back.
Since 2009, data also include those born outside of civil partnerships. Source: ONS
You draw the chart: What percentage of people living in the UK were born abroad?
This measure does not always mean what people think it means: it's not a count of foreigners living in the UK. For example, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the actress Emma Watson were both born abroad but would not be seen as foreigners by most people. The figures also include people born in Germany who are often children of British service people who were based out there.
Caveats aside though, this number has grown over the time the Today Programme has been on the air. The orange marker shows today's figure. But what was the trend and what was this number in the 1950s? Hold and drag to draw your line.
Chart drawn from census data from 1951-2011. Census data is collected every ten years. Estimates between these years are not official statistics. Sources: ONS, National Records of Scotland, Census Office for Northern Ireland
You draw the chart: What was the average age of a first-time mum in 1957?
The average age of a first-time mum today is 29. This is higher than it was 60 years ago. Can you draw the line back to 1957? Hold and drag the orange marker to make your guess.
Produced by Wesley Stephenson in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics - Callum Thomson, Zoe Hartland, Sophie Warnes, John Nixon and Robert Fry. Design by Zoe Bartholemew (BBC).
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41685693
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Brexit: Is a last-minute deal possible? - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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David Davis says Parliament's vote on a deal may come after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. David Davis tells MPs Parliament's vote on a Brexit deal may come after March 2019.
The Brexit Secretary, David Davis, has suggested that Parliament might not get a vote on a Brexit deal until after March 2019.
It's prompted criticism from some MPs, who are worried their votes will be meaningless because by that point, the UK will have already left the EU.
Also significant is Mr Davis' claim that the European Parliament might have to wait to have its say too.
According to Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which the UK triggered seven months ago, the withdrawal agreement must be passed by a majority of members of the European Parliament.
Even if a deal was done at "the 11th hour" as Mr Davis suggested when giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee, it would be too late for MEPs to debate it and vote it through.
So the upshot of a last-minute deal could be no deal at all.
The Brexit department later clarified that Mr Davis was talking about "hypothetical scenarios" and ministers are working to reach an agreement in "good time" before March 2019.
It's not entirely clear what "deal" Mr Davis was referring to.
The European Union has broken down the negotiations into two parts.
The first focuses on the issues associated with withdrawal, such as the rights of EU citizens, the Northern Irish border and the UK's financial obligations.
The second covers what our future relationship might look like, including areas such as trade, scientific research and consumer rights.
The British government says it's not possible to separate the two parts, because in many respects, they're intrinsically linked.
If the "deal" that Mr Davis was talking about this morning encompasses both, it must be ratified on or before 29 March 2019, which means an agreement would need to be reached in time for that.
The future relationship part could be ratified after the deadline, but only if part one is rubber-stamped before the deadline.
The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is hopeful of reaching a withdrawal agreement by autumn 2018 and the Brexit department said that was their aim as well.
Technically it is possible to extend the Article 50 period, currently fixed at two years, if there's unanimous agreement from the 27 remaining member states.
But that option would be a hard sell.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41754514
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E-cigarettes: Cross-party group of MPs launches inquiry - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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They worry there are "significant gaps" in what we know about them and how they are regulated.
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Health
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MPs are to carry out an inquiry into e-cigarettes amid concerns there are "significant gaps" in what is known about them and how they are regulated.
The science and technology committee will look at their effectiveness as a stop-smoking tool and the impact of their growing use on health.
Nearly three million people in the UK now "vape" regularly - four times more than in 2012.
But committee chair Norman Lamb said there was mixed messaging on vaping.
The Liberal Democrat MP said: "They are seen by some as valuable tools that will reduce the number of people smoking 'conventional' cigarettes, and seen by others as 're-normalising' smoking for the younger generation.
"We want to understand where the gaps are in the evidence base, the impact of the regulations, and the implications of this growing industry on NHS costs and the UK's public finances."
The announcement comes after e-cigarettes were included in this year's Stoptober campaign - aimed at helping people stop smoking - for the first time.
The government-backed campaign, which has been running during October, now features vaping in its TV adverts.
It came after the smoking devices proved to be the most popular tool for quitting during the 2016 campaign.
But despite this, e-cigarettes are not yet officially prescribed on the NHS.
New draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not list e-cigarettes as a recommendation to help people quit either.
But it does say patients should be told some smokers have found them helpful when they want to give up.
NICE advises that patients should be told that there "is currently little evidence on the long-term benefits or harms of these products".
The cross-party group of MPs has asked for written evidence to be submitted by 8 December.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41740516
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George Bush Senior apology to Heather Lind after sex assault claim - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The 93 year old apologises for any distress caused after an accusation by actress Heather Lind.
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US & Canada
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Ms Lind said the alleged incident took place in 2014
Former US President George Bush Senior has apologised for any distress caused after an actress accused him of sexual assault.
Heather Lind said the 93-year-old former president had "touched me from behind from his wheelchair" and told a "dirty joke" while posing for a photo.
Ms Lind made the allegation on social network Instagram, in a post which has since been deleted.
A spokesman for Mr Bush said the incident was an attempt at humour.
"President Bush would never - under any circumstance - intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour offended Ms Lind," a statement supplied to outlets including the Daily Mail and People magazine said.
Both websites preserved the contents of Ms Lind's post before it was deleted.
Mr Bush served one term as US president from 1989 to 1993, and is the father of George W Bush, who served two terms in the office between 2001 and 2009.
He suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease.
Ms Lind said a photo of Barack Obama shaking Mr Bush's hand had disturbed her
The incident allegedly took place during an event for the television show Turn: Washington's Spies, in which Ms Lind is one of the main cast members.
In her Instagram post, Ms Lind said she was spurred to make the claim after seeing a photo of Barack Obama shaking Mr Bush Senior's hand at a recent fundraiser for hurricane victims, which she said had "disturbed" her.
"He sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo. He didn't shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side," she wrote, according to the Daily Mail's transcript of the deleted post.
"He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again," she added.
Ms Lind finished her post with the hashtag #metoo, which has seen widespread use by victims of sexual assault to share their experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.
"What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn't so different from a president really," she said.
"I am grateful for the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41752488
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Emile Cilliers trial: Parachute sabotage accused 'despised by wife' - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Victoria Cilliers tells her husband's trial she wanted to "get her own back" over his lies.
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Wiltshire
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Victoria Cilliers was giving evidence for the first time at the trial of her former husband
The wife of an Army fitness instructor accused of tampering with her parachute "despised" him over suspicions he was having an affair, a court heard.
Victoria Cilliers, 40, suffered multiple injuries in a 4,000ft fall at Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire in 2015.
Emile Cilliers, 37, denies attempting to murder his former Army officer wife.
Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, Mrs Cilliers said she wanted to "get her own back" on him, and changed her will to cut her husband out of it.
Mr Cilliers also denies a second attempted murder charge and a third charge of tampering with a gas fitting at their home in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on 30 March 2015.
Mrs Cilliers told the court their marriage began to fail in November 2014.
"Cracks were starting to show, I was aware around that time, I had suspicions before that he was having an affair," she said
Mrs Cilliers said she also knew her husband was in financial difficulty as he was "bad with money".
Being also pregnant at the time, she was "starting to feel insecure in the marriage".
Mrs Cilliers told the court she changed the terms of the will to leave the house to their children.
In a letter to her husband to accompany the new document, she wrote: "I do hope Emile you understand my reasons.
"I love you and you are an amazing father to the children, I just want to ensure that they have the access to education I had."
Walking unaided into the wood-panelled courtroom, Victoria Cilliers was largely composed as she spent just over an hour giving evidence standing in the witness box.
At times Mrs Cilliers lingered before answering questions from the prosecution but the former Army physiotherapist addressed the jury clearly and articulately, showing little sign of emotion.
However, there were moments when the witness prickled in response to certain statements. As the prosecution prepared her for "sensitive questions", she retorted: "My life's been public for the last few years."
Prosecutors allege Mr Cilliers, a sergeant with the Aldershot-based Royal Army Physical Training Corps, twisted the lines of her main parachute and sabotaged a reserve chute the day before her jump.
Mrs Cilliers, who suffered broken vertebrae, ribs and pelvis in the fall, admitted in court she gave differing accounts to police about the amount of time her husband was alone with her parachute.
When asked if she had always told the truth over that, she replied: "Not always. The extent of his lies and deceit had been disclosed to me and I just wanted to get my own back to a certain extent."
The Army fitness instructor denies attempting to murder Victoria Cilliers in April 2015
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41747522
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MP's Brexit letter to universities 'was research for book' - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The universities minister says the letter asking for details of Brexit teaching "shouldn't have been sent".
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jo Johnson is quizzed on Radio 4's Today whether Chris Heaton-Harris should have sent Brexit letter
Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris "should probably not have sent" a letter to universities asking for details of Brexit courses, a minister has said.
Universities minister Jo Johnson said his colleague, a government whip, was "regretting very much" his decision,
He said the MP was "pursuing inquiries of his own" which may lead to a book on "the evolution of attitudes" to Europe rather than acting for the government.
Universities enjoyed "24 carat academic freedom" in the UK, he insisted.
Lecturers reacted with anger to the letter, calling it a "sinister" attempt to censor them and accusing Mr Heaton-Harris of conducting a "McCarthyite" witch hunt.
Downing Street distanced itself from the letter by Mr Heaton-Harris, a member of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MP, after he wrote to universities asking for the names of professors teaching Brexit-related courses and details of their syllabuses.
Mr Heaton-Harris has not said himself what his intentions were, but said he believed in "open" debate about the UK's departure from the EU.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Mr Johnson, who said he had spoken to Mr Heaton-Harris, said: "Chris was acting in an individual capacity as an MP rather than as a government minister… Chris has a very longstanding interest in European affairs and the history of European thought.
"He was pursuing inquiries of his own which may, in time, lead to a book on these questions. It was more of an academic inquiry rather than an attempt to constrain the freedom that academics rightly have."
Asked if the letter should have been sent, he said Mr Heaton-Harris "probably didn't appreciate the degree to which this would be misinterpreted".
He said: "I am sure Chris is regretting this very much. The critical thing is that the government is absolutely committed to academic freedom and to freedom of speech in our universities.
"A letter which could have been misinterpreted should probably not have been sent."
The letter was sent to universities across the UK
Opposition parties have suggested that Mr Heaton-Harris was seeking to compile a list of "Brexit heretics" and called for him to be stripped of his role as a whip.
Former Conservative chairman Lord Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University, said the letter should be chucked in the bin, describing it as an act of "offensive and idiotic Leninism".
Mr Johnson suggested this was something of an "over-exaggeration" given the independence of universities was protected under the law and the government had extended the statutory duty to secure free speech earlier this year so that it will apply to all providers of higher education.
Chris Heaton-Harris is facing calls to explain why he wanted the information
"There is 24 carat academic freedom in this country. We have entrenched it in statute, only as recently as April.
"Academic staff are free to test and challenge received wisdom and free to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions. That is the law and we support it."
A number of Tory MPs have backed Mr Heaton-Harris, Philip Davies condemning what he said was the "false outrage" from academics and suggesting universities had been "rumbled".
He told the Daily Telegraph that universities were full of "left wing lecturers forcing their opinions on their students" and they should be "more balanced in their teaching"
And tweeting a picture of a flyer for a stop-Brexit rally, Paul Scully said: "This is what a lecturer was handing out to my daughter who spends £9k per annum for him to be teaching engineering, not politics."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41747035
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Current account switching at new low - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Just 58,000 people moved account last month, despite big cash incentives on offer
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Business
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The number of people switching their current account to another provider has fallen to a new low, according to industry figures.
Just 57,779 used the seven day switching service to move accounts in September, the lowest number since the scheme was launched four years ago.
The drop came in spite of an advertising campaign during the month, designed to raise awareness.
Adverts were placed on TV, radio, in national newspapers and online.
The reluctance to move also comes in spite of the potential savings on offer, and financial incentives being offered by the banks.
The Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks are currently offering account holders £250, for example, while HSBC is offering £200 if people move and stay loyal for a year.
The number of people switching in September was half the number it was in March last year, when 120,774 moved account.
Advertising campaigns have consistently failed to persuade people to switch
BACS - which runs the Current Account Switching Service - already promised to improve the scheme in January this year.
It told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it would extend the period in which money is redirected from a customer's old account to the new one.
The idea was to give consumers extra confidence that their money would not go astray.
But account holders do not appear to have been convinced that switching is worthwhile.
That is despite the fact that, after a two-year inquiry, the CMA said consumers could save up to £92 a year if they moved their account.
The news will also be a blow to the Treasury, which originally said it would rely on the scheme to improve competition in the banking sector.
BACS said that over four million customers had moved their accounts since 2013.
The banks that are gaining the most account-holders are Nationwide, TSB and HSBC. The ones losing the most are Barclays, Clydesdale and NatWest.
• None The Current Account Switch Service - your guarantee to a successful switch The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41740616
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Jared O'Mara: Labour MP Lucy Powell calls for suspension - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Lucy Powell calls for action over offensive remarks allegedly made by her colleague Jared O'Mara.
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UK Politics
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Former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell, right, said Labour MP Jared O'Mara should be suspended while being investigated for misogynistic and homophobic language by the Labour Party
A prominent Labour MP says Jared O'Mara should be suspended from the party while claims he made misogynistic and homophobic remarks are investigated.
Former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell made the comments on ITV after Mr O'Mara was accused of making offensive comments in March 2017.
Labour has launched an investigation into his behaviour.
The Sheffield Hallam MP apologised for remarks made online in 2002 and 2004, but denies the more recent allegations.
On Monday Mr O'Mara resigned from the women and equalities committee after political website Guido Fawkes unearthed offensive comments made by the 35-year-old MP.
Then on Tuesday, Sophie Evans told the BBC's Daily Politics she had met Mr O'Mara on a dating app and there had been "no hard feelings" when things didn't work out between them.
But in an incident in March 2017 Mr O'Mara, who was DJing in a nightclub, made comments to her that "aren't broadcastable" and called her an "ugly bitch", she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Sophie Evans on Jared O'Mara comments: "I just thought wow, he is not a very nice man"
Mr O'Mara said this was "categorically untrue".
Ms Powell, MP for Manchester Central, told ITV's After The News: "One of the key questions you're asked when you become a candidate for the Labour Party - and you have to sign a contract to say this - is there anything in your past that would bring the party into disrepute?
"And I don't understand, in all honesty, how Jared could have signed that paper. That's why I think he should be suspended while that investigation is taking place."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has also called for Mr O'Mara to have the Labour whip removed.
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "He has apologised for what we knew yesterday. He issued a profuse apology.
"Any language like that we know is unacceptable and I'm hoping he will apologise for that."
The offensive comments published by Guido Fawkes included messages where he claimed singer Michelle McManus only won Pop Idol "because she was fat" and it would be funny if jazz star Jamie Cullum was "sodomised with his own piano".
More comments, involving homophobic language, then emerged dating back to 2002.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41744339
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Arthur Collins acid trial: Ferne McCann's family 'told of baby news' - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Acid attack accused Arthur Collins tells a jury he and his then girlfriend Ferne McCann were "really happy".
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London
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Arthur Collins says he was trying to prevent a date rape drug being used to spike clubbers' drinks
The ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann told her family she was pregnant hours before he sprayed a crowd of nightclub revellers with acid, a court has heard.
Arthur Collins, 25, the father of Ms McCann's unborn child, said they broke the news at a barbecue on 16 April.
In the early hours of 17 April, more than a dozen people were injured at the Mangle E8 club in Dalston, east London.
Mr Collins admits throwing the liquid but says he did not know it was acid.
Mr Collins and his co-accused, 21-year-old Andre Phoenix, deny causing grievous bodily harm with intent and actual bodily harm in relation to the incident, in which several people were disfigured.
Jurors at Wood Green Crown Court heard that Mr Collins had been in a serious relationship with The Only Way Is Essex star Ms McCann for about a year at the time, and had found out she was pregnant just weeks earlier.
"It was the happiest I have ever felt. We were both really happy," said Mr Collins, who was living with his parents in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
The court heard how after breaking the news, Mr Collins left the barbecue to attend a LoveJuice event at Mangle.
Sixteen people were injured in the incident at Mangle
Mr Collins - who had entered the club wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Candy Killer" - told the jury he had been drinking at the venue but was not drunk.
CCTV footage of the alleged attack showed victims clutching their faces after Mr Collins was seen dousing revellers from a bottle with a substance later found to have contained a liquid with a rating of pH1 - indicating a strong acid.
Mr Collins told the jury he had thought the bottle actually contained a date rape drug.
He said he had snatched it after hearing two men planning to spike a woman's drink.
Mr Collins said: "I wanted to show them the drugs was gone so they wouldn't spike any girl's drink and show them there was nothing left in the bottle."
He said the men were "really aggressive" as they came towards him in a bid to get the bottle back.
"I remember undoing the bottle and I threw it at the males," he told the jury.
Before Mr Collins gave evidence on Wednesday, jurors were told a number of the charges against him and Mr Phoenix had been dropped following legal argument.
Mr Collins denies five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and nine counts of causing actual bodily harm against 14 people.
Mr Phoenix, of Clyde Road, Tottenham, north London, denies four counts of GBH and two counts of ABH.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41738216
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Woman is only passenger on holiday jet - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Karon Grieve was amazed when she boarded the plane to Crete and found she was the only passenger.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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Karon Grieve was given the VIP treatment during her flight on Sunday
A woman who paid just £46 for a flight to Crete has spoken of her amazement at being the only passenger on board.
Karon Grieve, from Dunlop in Ayrshire, described her Jet2 flight from Glasgow to the Greek island - which normally carries 189 passengers - as "surreal".
She was given the VIP treatment after two other passengers booked on the flight failed to turn up.
Jet2 said it was "not unusual" for the final flight of the season to have fewer bookings than normal.
Ms Grieve, who was travelling to Crete to write a crime novel, said it was immediately obvious there were very few passengers when she turned up at the airport for her 16:30 flight on Sunday.
She told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I turned up at the check-in desk and was joking with the staff, saying 'how many people are on this flight?'
"The guy was laughing at me and he said 'oh come on, guess'.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Karon Grieve said she behaved like a five-year-old
"We got it down from 10 to four and he said 'you'll never guess it, there's only three of you'.
"But when I got to the actual gate, the other two people hadn't turned up."
Ms Grieve said that, because she was the only passenger, all of the flight crew knew her name.
She said: "We were all on best friend terms before we'd even got on the plane.
"The captain was fantastic. She came and sat beside me while the first officer did all the flight checks and we were chatting away about the flight."
Karon is intending to spend the next month in Crete writing a crime novel
While the plane was in the air, Ms Grieve said that the captain addressed her by name from the cockpit.
She said: "Every time she made an announcement she said, 'Hi there Karon, you'll see Croatia on your left-hand side', and then we flew through this amazing lightning storm and she suddenly came on and said, 'Hi Karon and the girls, quickly run to the other side of the plane and look at this, it's amazing'.
Ms Grieve said she intended to spend the next month in Crete writing her book before returning to Scotland. However, she acknowledged the chances of experiencing a similar return journey were remote.
A spokeswoman for Jet2 said: "This was our last flight to Crete from Glasgow Airport this year, marking the end of a very busy and successful season.
"We're delighted that Karon got to experience our VIP customer service in style onboard our award-winning airline.
"It is not unusual for the final outbound flight of the season to have fewer bookings than normal, and the return flight back to Glasgow was completely full with customers returning from a lovely holiday. We hope Karon has a fantastic time in Crete and that we got her trip off to a great start."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-41748305
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I met a homeless addict and recognised my childhood friend - BBC News
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2017-10-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How a woman's commitment to her childhood friend inspired thousands in Kenya.
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Magazine
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A chance meeting between two childhood friends helped one begin a journey back from drug addiction after many years living on the street.
It was early October and Wanja Mwaura, 32, was on her way to the market in Lower Kabaete, not far from Nairobi, when she heard someone shout out her name.
She looked up and was surprised to see a tall man with bulging eyes, an emaciated frame, dirtied black overalls and an equally stained thick woollen hat, sitting on the side of the road. She did not recognise him.
But when Patrick "Hinga" Wanjiru, 34, introduced himself, Wanja says she found herself in shock. Standing before her was a friend she had known since she was seven years old.
"Patrick, or Hinga as we called him, and I had met at primary school in 1992," says Wanja, who is a nurse from Kiambu County, just outside the Kenyan capital.
"Hinga used to be a great soccer player all throughout school. We nicknamed him 'Pele'."
Hinga was estranged from his parents and lived with his grandmother in a squat. When she couldn't afford to pay his school fees, he was forced to skip classes. Eventually they were evicted even from the squat. But against all the odds, Hinga did well in his exams, until his grandmother died - then he dropped out of school and his life began to take a downward trajectory.
Hinga started abusing drugs, first marijuana and then heroin. He spent hours sifting through garbage to find things he could sell on the streets.
When they met again, more than 15 years later, Hinga had been homeless for more than a decade. He looked nothing like the childhood friend who had once been known as "Pele".
Sensing Wanja's dismay, Hinga reassured her that he had only wanted to say hello. She asked him if she could buy him lunch. At a local cafe, she ordered the dish she remembered had been his favourite years earlier - pork ribs and mashed potatoes. She said he appeared distracted, unable to finish sentences.
"I gave him my mobile telephone number and told him to call me if he needed anything," Wanja says.
Over the next couple of days, Hinga borrowed phones and would regularly call his childhood friend, often just to hear her voice for a chat. He told her that he was committed to getting clean from drugs.
"I decided then, that something needed to be done to help him," Wanja says.
Taking to social media, Wanja appealed to her friends to see if she could raise funds for drug rehabilitation.
"Rehab here is very expensive and I had no ways of raising funds on my own," she says.
"We set up a crowdfunding page, but we only managed to raise around 41,000 Kenyan shillings (£300) initially. However the cost of nine days rehabilitation at Chiromo Lane Medical Center in Nairobi was more than 100,000 KES.
"I wasn't sure how we would be able to cover this."
But Wanja had promised to help Hinga, so she took him to the centre anyway, unsure how they would cover the cost.
A spokesperson for the rehab programme says Hinga was a dedicated patient, who committed fully to the nine-day detox.
Within days Hinga had gained weight and his concentration improved. Wanja took to Facebook to speak about her pride at her friend's transformation in such a short period of time.
"A week ago Hinga and I couldn't hold a normal conversation without me trying to hold his head up with my hand in order for him to concentrate. Today we can have a normal conversation with him confidently looking at me," she wrote.
Mombasa businessman Fauz Khalid spotted Wanja's public post on Facebook and said he wanted to share the story on a wider platform. He posted the photos on Twitter and his post has now been shared more than 50,000 times.
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After that, the Kenyan media began to cover the story and Chiromo Lane Medical Center agreed to waive the entire fee for Hinga's treatment.
Wanja says this was "a blessing", but she was keen for her friend to undergo a more sustained recovery, and is now raising funds for him to follow a 90-day programme at The Retreat Rehabilitation Centre, where he is currently staying.
"Unfortunately, there is still great stigma around drug abuse in Kenya," Wanja says. This may be one reason why the government doesn't provide free drug rehab treatment.
"Rehabs are expensive and out of reach for many people, not only in Kenya but also the greater part of Africa. I am committed to crowdsourcing so I can support my friend at this time," says Wanja.
"Wanja is an angel sent from God. I owe her my life. She has stuck with me more closely than a brother or a sister," Hinga tells the BBC.
On Twitter several users echoed this sentiment. Abraham Wilbourne, a financial analyst from Nairobi, told Wanja "You have a seat in heaven!" Many called her a "mashujaa", which means "hero" in Swahili.
"People say I changed Hinga's life, but he changed mine too." says Wanja. "I realise now that a small act can change a person's life."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41715839
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Tube strike called off after 'progress' made during talks - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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London Underground drivers were due to walkout for 24 hours from midnight on Thursday.
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London
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Drivers from the Aslef union had been due to walkout for 24 hours from midnight on Thursday
A 24-hour strike by London Underground (LU) drivers which was due to take place on Thursday has been called off.
Aslef union members were due to walkout at midnight in a dispute over working conditions.
Union representative Finn Brennan said "sufficient progress" had been made during talks for the planned industrial action to be suspended.
Transport bosses had warned the strike would cause "significant disruption" with no service on most routes.
A separate rail strike by RMT union members at Southern, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and Greater Anglia on Thursday over the scrapping of guards is still set to cause disruption for commuters.
Railway stations have become very busy during previous Tube strikes
Mr Brennan said he was "pleased" the strike could be called off, following a meeting chaired by the conciliation service Acas.
But he also warned: "Our ballot remains live and we will not hesitate to call action in the future if needed to ensure all the commitments made are fully delivered."
Aslef had accused bosses of failing on a commitment to give its members the opportunity to work a four-day week and reduce the number of weekend shifts.
But LU's director of network operations Nigel Holness said it had "delivered on all our commitments to provide the best possible work-life balance for our staff".
He added that Transport for London (TfL) would continue "to explore options that will further improve work-life balance for our staff".
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was "pleased" the strike had been suspended and that "discussions can continue without disruption".
The Tube strike had been due to coincide with England's football match against Slovenia at Wembley Stadium.
Additional National Express services and parking - which had been arranged in preparation for the strike - will remain in place, TfL has previously said.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41491123
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Tech giants sorry for false news about Las Vegas gunman - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Google and Facebook struggled to prevent libellous information from being circulated online.
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Technology
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Google and Facebook promoted inaccurate reports about the Las Vegas shooting
Google and Facebook have apologised after their algorithms led to the promotion of inaccurate information about the Las Vegas shooting.
Posts from a 4chan messaging board that falsely identified the gunman as an individual who was not involved were circulated online.
Google says the posts only appeared in its Top Stories section if users searched for the erroneous name.
Facebook said it took down the posts within minutes.
The problem occurred when users began speculating about the identity of the gunman on 4chan, a controversial anonymous messaging board.
The users named an individual on the Politically Incorrect message board, claiming that the person was a "far left loon" and a "social democrat".
The comments were picked up by several blogs and news sites, including an article by the right-wing political website, the Gateway Pundit.
Many users then searched for the erroneous name on Google. The internet giant's algorithms traced the original source of the story back to the 4chan message board and posted a link to it in the Top Stories section.
"Unfortunately, early this morning we were briefly surfacing an inaccurate 4chan website in our search results for a small number of queries," a Google spokesperson told the BBC.
"Within hours, the 4chan story was algorithmically replaced by relevant results. This should not have appeared for any queries, and we'll continue to make algorithmic improvements to prevent this from happening in the future."
However, Google said only a small number of search queries were made for the name, which suggests that not many people would have seen the 4chan link.
As for Facebook, the social network told the Associated Press that it began removing results relating to the Gateway Pundit and 4chan within minutes.
The Gateway Pundit's White House correspondent Lucian Wintrich told far-right conspiracy website Infowars that the article was only online for 10 minutes before it was taken down.
Despite Facebook's efforts to remove hyperlinks to the story, users had made screenshots of the incorrect story and continued to circulate these images online, which were harder to detect and take down.
"We are working to fix the issue that allowed this to happen in the first place and deeply regret the confusion this caused," a Facebook spokesman said.
Google and Facebook have been criticised several times in the last 12 months for promoting content later found to be false, particularly relating to breaking news events.
Both tech giants have announced measures to fight inaccurate news in the last few months.
"Google and Facebook are much bigger than any media company now, but they insist that they are not publishers, that they are merely platforms, and as platforms, they don't need to take responsibility for their content," Prof Tim Luckhurst, head of Kent University's Centre for Journalism told the BBC.
"Governments create laws that allow broadcasters and newspapers to be sued, so it's up to the government to stand up to these websites and say that if anything relating to terrorism or false information is published, they can be sued."
Prof Luckhurst pointed out that in the past, Google and Facebook had been quick to tweak their algorithms when requested to do so by the Chinese government.
"Algorithms are not organic creations - they are the product of very clever software writers.
"They can tweak them when the Chinese government asks them to, they can tweak them to do target advertising, but if you ask them to tweak their algorithms in relation to terrorism or untruths, they say, 'We're not publishers.'
"But they've demonstrated that they clearly can do it, and so they should do it."
Individuals who shared the content online could face legal action.
"It's for individuals to take responsibility for what they post on social media, this person could make a lot of money from suing all these people who shared the screenshot online," said Dominic Ponsford, editor of the Press Gazette.
"Google should be only indexing bona fide news sources - it should be straightforward to check what is a bona fide news source and what isn't.
"It's kind of astonishing that Google's not doing that, given the huge concern in America about fake news."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41484393
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MH370's enduring mystery 'almost inconceivable', report says - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Australian investigators deliver their final report into the plane's 2014 disappearance.
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Australia
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MH370 was carrying 239 people when it disappeared in 2014
Australian investigators have delivered their final report into missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370, saying it is "almost inconceivable" the aircraft has not been found.
MH370 disappeared in 2014 while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board.
The search for the jet, also involving Malaysia and China, was called off in January after 1,046 days.
Australian searchers said they "deeply regretted" it had not been found.
"It is almost inconceivable and certainly societally unacceptable in the modern aviation era with 10 million passengers boarding commercial aircraft every day, for a large commercial aircraft to be missing and for the world not to know with certainty what became of the aircraft and those on board," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on Tuesday.
"Despite the extraordinary efforts of hundreds of people involved in the search from around the world, the aircraft has not been located."
Their final report reiterated estimates from December and April that the Boeing 777 was most likely located in a 25,000 sq-km (9,700 sq-miles) area to the north of the earlier search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.
Relatives of those missing have called for the search to be resumed
The hunt formed one of the largest surface and underwater searches in aviation history.
After the initial 52-day surface search failed, investigators trawled the sea floor and ultimately ruled out an area of more than 120,000 sq km.
In 2015 and 2016, suspected debris from MH370 washed up on islands in the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa.
Investigators came up with its current likely location after analysing drift modelling of debris and satellite data.
In the report, investigators said their understanding of MH370's location was "better now than it has ever been".
The Australian government has said only "credible" new evidence will prompt it to resume the search.
The Malaysian government is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
• None More evidence on MH370's 'likely' location
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-41479910
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Theresa May vows to act on race review findings - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The study will "hold a mirror up to society", the PM says, showing how ethnic minorities are treated.
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UK Politics
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Theresa May will promise to confront "uncomfortable truths" exposed by a review into the way people from ethnic minorities are treated in Britain.
The prime minister said the audit, due to be published next week, would "hold a mirror up to society".
Its findings include that white Britons are far more likely to have a job than black and ethnic minority people.
Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson are due to speak at the Tory conference.
Mr Johnson has been accused of undermining Mrs May and positioning himself for a leadership bid with his interventions on Brexit strategy.
Some Conservative MPs have called for him to be fired. Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Monday that he operates on the basis "everyone is sackable".
But asked whether he would be "loyal" in his speech on Tuesday, the foreign secretary told Newsnight: "Contrary to some of the stuff that I notice has been knocking around in the media, you have a cabinet that is totally united behind every comma, every full stop, every syllable of the prime minister's excellent Florence speech.
"That's the agenda that we're going to deliver and we're going to deliver a great Brexit for this country."
When she became PM, Theresa May pledged to tackle "burning injustices" arising from people's race and background
BBC political correspondent Ben Wright said Mrs May was keen to demonstrate priorities beyond leaving the EU and was returning to a theme she had first highlighted on taking office last year.
She ordered the audit, which the government said was "the most extensive review of its kind ever undertaken", when she became prime minister.
Government departments were told to identify and publish details of the varying experiences and outcomes of different groups when using public services.
The audit is aimed at highlighting racial and socio-economic disparities and showing how outcomes differ due to background, class, gender and income.
Schools, hospitals, employers and courts are all covered.
"Britain has come a long way in my lifetime in spreading equality and opportunity, but this audit will be definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone," Mrs May said.
According to a selection of the findings released by the government ahead of the 10 October publication, two in three white adults own their home, compared with only two in five householders from any other ethnic group.
It has also found that white pupils from state schools had the lowest university entry rate in 2016.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41477821
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Earn as you learn – will it deliver more trained nurses? - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Free tuition has gone, but Mr Hunt says there is an alternative way to get more qualified nurses.
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Health
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Party conference rhetoric is not noted for understatement and the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's claim to be unveiling the "biggest expansion of nurse training in the history of the NHS" should be seen in that light.
It became clear after his conference speech that there was some repackaging of previous announcements, but nevertheless it did offer an insight into the direction of policy.
In essence, Mr Hunt wants to create a pathway towards qualification as a nurse in England which does not require three years as a student and the consequent loans for tuition fees.
The slogan "earn and learn" has emerged to describe this route for would-be nurses.
Starting perhaps as healthcare assistants, members of NHS staff would continue in employment while being trained as nursing associates and then becoming nursing apprentices. Subject to reaching the required standard, they would then qualify as registered nurses.
The plan involves an expansion of training of nursing associates (support staff working alongside fully qualified nurses). There are currently 2,000 such trainees in England - this will increase to 7,500 doing the required two-year course by 2019. Should they wish to progress further, a nursing associate could then start a nursing apprenticeship over two years which should lead to full qualification as a nurse over a total of four years rather three for degree students.
Mr Hunt said he wanted to "jump-start" nurse training and the aim was to make sure that "many of the additional places go to healthcare assistants training on hospital sites, allowing us to expand our nurse workforce with some highly experienced people already working on the NHS frontline."
Mr Hunt said more transparency in the NHS was saving lives as well as money
The Health Secretary also announced an increase of 15,500 in the number of places for student nurse training in England by 2020, more than anticipated in August when a 10,000 plan was set out. The source of the funding for the whole package is not entirely clear - sources indicated some would come from the training scheme funded by the apprenticeship levy with the rest to be confirmed in the Budget.
There was a cautious welcome from the Royal College of Nursing, though a spokesperson said there was a concern that students would plug gaps in the current workforce at the expense of quality patient care. Ministers will have to work hard to reassure NHS staff that the "earn and learn" route is not cutting corners and allowing a less rigorous training.
Mr Hunt's announcement begs a big question - why is the Government flagging up a route to nurse qualification with no tuition costs at the same time as scrapping free tuition for student nurses? Could the Health Secretary have realised that making nurse trainees pay for their tuition might deter future applicants?
Whitehall sources deny that the scrapping of nurse bursaries will reduce trainee numbers. They argue universities will be incentivised to create places if they know they can recoup fees from extra students. But the number of nurses starting training in England this autumn is down slightly on last year.
Staff shortages are among the biggest challenges for the NHS. Filling nursing vacancies is as problematic as ever for hospital managers. NHS Digital figures showed 11,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies advertised in England in the first three months of this year, up 17% on the same period a year earlier.
Professor David Green, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Worcester, believes that reversing the trend of recent years will be difficult: "We campaigned actively and publicly against the big cuts announced way back in 2011 to nurse education places. Universities warned then that the cuts would lead to major problems. Very sadly, we have been proved right."
Training more nurses will take time. Patient demand keeps increasing year on year. Time to tackle the staffing problem is something the Government and the NHS does not have much of.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41489986
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Catalonia beset by divided loyalties in protest aftermath - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The sight of Spanish police beating voters in Catalonia will not be forgotten, says the BBC's Patrick Jackson.
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Europe
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The protesters say the violent reaction of the Spanish authorities to their independence demands has strengthened their cause
She cried when she saw the news, he could hardly believe what he was watching.
Here in 21st Century Spain, police were beating people for trying to hold a vote.
Never mind that Ana didn't turn out herself for a ballot she believes was illegal in her beloved Spain.
Never mind that Xavier had already made up his mind to break away from the very same Spain.
Like many others, both are deeply upset about the violence at the polling stations.
At least, though, they have the comfort of being head over heels in love with each other.
On Laietana Street, there's no love lost for the police among the protesters.
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"Spanish murderers!" they chant at the building marked with a furled Spanish flag that looks lonely against the Catalan flags on nearby walls.
The building is protected by a line of Catalan riot police and vans.
One man all but shoves an "anti-fascist" flag into the face of a policeman, like a red rag to a bull.
The bull doesn't react, though the two sides are so close, you can imagine they smell each other's breath, as well as the heady fumes of whatever it is people are smoking in the crowd.
Many in Catalonia are especially angry with Spanish police officers
There is shock that police were used against people for trying to hold a vote
It's 24 hours after the referendum and hundreds of hyper-young protesters are jubilantly occupying the street outside the Barcelona headquarters of Spain's National Police.
They're on a roll wrapped in their lone-star Catalan rebel flags, yelling up at the windows, demanding Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy takes his 10,000-odd extra police officers out of Catalonia.
"When they're gone, we'll turn the building into a library!" one young man tells me with a grin.
Events on Sunday have left many people traumatised
Through the balaclavas, it's hard to tell how the Catalan riot police are taking all this, protecting their Spanish comrades from a hostile crowd, but their helmets hang unused from their belts along with the truncheons and pistols.
The only things being thrown this evening are paper planes which come down like volleys of toy darts on the police and their vans, to gales of triumphant laughter from the crowd.
On Sunday, in one Catalan town (Carles de la Rapita), there was a particularly bloody clash outside a polling station, and stones were hurled at Spanish police cars.
"If you'd asked me three or four years ago, I would probably have said independence was not the right way - it doesn't matter to me what's on the flag," says one of those at the Barcelona protest, 23-year-old Yes voter Jo, who doesn't want to give his full name.
"But every day now, basic rights are being violated. When we ask for more self-government, they only send police to beat old people and kids.
"In the past two weeks, Spain did more for Catalan independence than the Catalans in the past 10 years because if you point a gun at people they feel under attack, and if they feel under attack, it's logical that they won't want to stay with you.
"If we become independent tomorrow, I will congratulate Mariano Rajoy because he has done more than most to bring it about."
In a cafe across town, Xavier Querol, 25, wants to make something very clear.
Xavier and Ana speak both Catalan and Spanish
"It's not a fight," he says. "We don't have a good side and a bad side - both sides are right. People are angry and disgusted but we are not fighting each other - that is all politics.
"Sunday was a disgrace and a shock. I know Spanish people who say they feel ashamed to be Spanish, but we still talk. It's the politicians who won't talk."
But his girlfriend Ana Jorques, 20, has noticed how the mood among some groups of Spanish and Catalan friends in Barcelona has soured.
"I am Spanish and there are Catalans who think that I am bad person after what happened on Sunday," she says.
There does tend to be more arguing, Xavier agrees. "When they see the pictures of police fighting old people and children, people get stressed and blame those who feel Spanish."
"I like and respect the police," says Ana. "They were doing their job. They have a boss and they have to do what the boss says, but they didn't behave correctly."
When Xavier saw the pictures on TV he says it felt like he was looking at a report from another country, not Spain.
"I would rather stay in Spain than see this happen again," he says.
He didn't vote because he couldn't download the referendum app (banned by a court order) and by the time he found his polling station, the huge queue meant he had missed his chance.
Fire fighters in Barcelona took part in Monday's protests
"I don't trust politicians but I am Spanish and want to stay in Spain," says Ana.
So what does she think of Catalans?
"Well, this is a good Catalan," she says with a smile, gesturing towards Xavier, who is tickled pink.
But it's not easy for her, she adds, to hear Catalans call Spain a "country full of corruption".
So Spaniards never say mean things about Catalans? They sure do. A common view is that they are moaners who don't know how well off they are, she says.
"And there's corruption in Catalonia too," Ana points out.
But independence would mean a fresh start, Xavier believes. "I'm not angry with the Spanish people, but I want to choose my own future."
In his view, Spain is ruled by the same small group of people who were in power under the Franco dictatorship.
It's true Mr Rajoy's Popular Party has its roots in the Franco establishment but, 40 years on, can a democratically elected Spanish government really behave like Franco?
Huge numbers of people took part in protests against police violence on Monday
Ballot boxes used in Sunday's vote were put on display in various parts of Barcelona
"Totally!" says Josep, 86, a Catalan who grew up under the old regime before migrating to Germany for work.
Back living in Barcelona again, he has found his evening stroll with his daughter Maria (they also don't want to give their full names) interrupted by the demo at the police headquarters.
"Both sides are crazy," he says.
The father and daughter may be proud Catalans, but they see their future inside Spain - "only not with Rajoy", Josep adds. Perhaps Spain could adopt a federal structure like in Germany? he suggests.
Maria says she feels both Catalan and Spanish and "it's always better together", and she is worried about Catalan radicalism.
She tried to vote No on Sunday but her designated polling station had been shut down.
The police's use of force will have swayed more people towards independence, she thinks, leaving the future even more uncertain.
"Following orders is one thing, but using violence where there is no violence is excessive," Maria says. "People were only demonstrating that they wanted to vote."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41486358
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Theresa May: Boris Johnson isn't undermining me - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The PM insists she has the authority to lead as Boris Johnson praises her in his conference speech.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May is asked if Boris Johnson has undermined her
Theresa May says she has not been undermined by Boris Johnson's recent interventions on Brexit, saying she does not want a cabinet of "yes men".
The prime minister said the foreign secretary's vision of Brexit reflected the government's approach.
"This isn't about an individual personality, it's about how we can deliver for people," she added.
Mr Johnson has delivered his party conference speech, saying it is time to "let the British lion roar".
But his recent comments on Brexit - including setting out "red lines" in a newspaper article - have triggered calls for him to be sacked.
Asked what it would take for him to be fired, Mrs May told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that strong leadership involved "having a range of voices sitting around the table".
Responding to some Tory figures' concerns she was being undermined by the foreign secretary, she said: "It doesn't undermine what I'm doing at all."
She was speaking on day three of the Tory conference in Manchester, as:
Mr Johnson set out his Brexit "red lines" at the weekend, triggering anger from some colleagues and accusations that he was targeting Mrs May's job.
But the PM played down any differences with the government's position.
"If you look at the issues Boris has been talking about they reflect the position we've taken in the Florence speech, setting out a vision of what this country can be doing in terms of its partnership with Europe in the future," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Boris Johnson: "It is up to us now... to let that lion roar."
Asked whether his interventions made her "cross", she replied: "Crucially, there's a lot of talk about Boris's job or this job or that job inside the cabinet.
"Actually what people are concerned about - they don't want us to be thinking about our jobs they want us to be thinking about their jobs and their futures.
"What government is for is about delivering for the public. That's where our focus must be."
In his much-anticipated speech in Manchester, Mr Johnson called for Brexit to be a moment of national renewal.
The foreign secretary told Tory activists the UK "can win the future" and should stop treating the referendum result as if it were "plague of boils".
He also praised Theresa May's "steadfast" leadership over Europe and insisted the whole cabinet was united behind her aim of getting a "great Brexit deal".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. In full: Theresa May speaks to Laura Kuenssberg
Mrs May has faced repeated questions about her leadership during the conference, having seen the Conservatives lose their Commons majority in June's general election.
She insisted she had the authority and ideas to improve the Tories' standing - and that her party was still setting the political agenda, adding that she had "listened" to voters' concerns on tuition fees and home ownership.
And she repeatedly stressed her "mission" in government, as set out when she took office, "to ensure that we no longer see people in this country that feel left behind".
Earlier during a round of media interviews the PM was asked by BBC Breakfast whether there were any "red lines" which Mr Johnson himself should not cross.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The prime minister Theresa May rejects accusations of weak leadership on Radio 4's Today
"I don't set red lines. Everybody uses this phrase 'red lines'. I don't set those sort of red lines," she told BBC Breakfast.
"All I would say is actually I think leadership is about ensuring you have a team of people who aren't yes men, but a team of people of different voices around the table, so you can discuss matters, come to an agreement and then put that government view forward, and that's exactly what we've done."
On BBC Radio 4's Today, Mrs May said the foreign secretary and the rest of the cabinet were united behind her Brexit strategy, insisting that European leaders knew what the UK wanted and that her Florence speech had "changed the dial".
"What I am very clear about is of course the prime minister is in charge," she said.
She acknowledged that her message "did not come across in the general election" as she would have wanted and it was apparent the concerns of the British people were "more keenly felt" than people had thought.
Mrs May said the election had shown that many people felt "left behind and ignored" but she insisted that change would not happen overnight and no "great phrase" would transform things.
In the run-up to Mr Johnson's speech, pro-Remain Tory MP and former business minister Anna Soubry told Channel 4 News that she had asked the foreign secretary to resign over the weekend, describing him a "troublemaker".
Speaking ahead of his own conference speech, in which he called for greater optimism about Brexit, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "I think it's easier if we are all on a very strict script, it's very clear that the prime minister is in charge of this process."
Also on the third day of the Conservative conference in Manchester, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt promised 5,000 new training places for nurses while International Development Secretary Priti Patel announced new conditions on foreign aid spending to prevent "fat cats" from monopolising contracts.
And a proposed ban on the sale of acids to under-18s was outlined by Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41475579
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Tory members vent about the mismanaged election campaign - BBC News
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2017-10-03
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Many worry that unless changes from Eric Pickles' new report are implemented, the party will disappear
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UK Politics
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"Why would anybody, let alone a normal person, want to become a member of the Conservative Party?"
"I'm beginning to lose the will to live."
This was some distance from the slick choreography you can become inured to at party conferences.
This was a public post-mortem in a marquee.
A brutally honest dissection of humiliating failure at the general election.
The Conservative Home website hosted a discussion for party members to say it as they saw it - and the room festered with irritation, anger and a forest of raised hands.
For more than an hour, the criticisms came.
The outspoken John Strafford, from the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, predicted Armageddon for the Tories.
Party membership, he said, had been allowed to decline below 100,000 nationally and 300 constituency associations had no more than 100 members - and no more than 10 of them were up for doing stuff or were activists.
It was Mr Strafford who said this was "an utter, total disgrace".
"Eventually there will be no members left, and that will be the end, goodbye," he claimed.
A visibly angry Sir Eric Pickles, who has written a report on the party's failure at the election, sarcastically congratulated him on "getting tomorrow's headlines".
The room by now crackled with irritation - as members set out what they saw as a range of structural, organisational and practical reasons that contributed to the party's failure to win an overall majority.
The party's losing candidate in Halifax in West Yorkshire, the marginal seat where the party published its now widely derided manifesto, was highly critical of the national party.
Labour's Holly Lynch increased her majority in Halifax following June's general election
Chris Pearson said his team had been threatened with disciplinary action if they didn't follow central dictat about the areas of the constituency they targeted, despite what he saw as their superior local knowledge.
"Everything does seem to be quite predominantly London," he added, about the party's organisation and staffing.
It was a party member from Cambridge who questioned why anyone would want to sign up to join the party right now.
Sir Eric Pickles said: "We can't have the manifesto being written quietly in a corner," and insisted "someone should be unambiguously in charge of the election".
His report, complete with 126 recommendations, suggested there was "a clear campaigning deficiency" and a need for more young people and members of ethnic minorities to join and support the Conservatives.
Paul Goodman, the editor of Conservative Home, fretted that unless someone was charged with ensuring Sir Eric's ideas were implemented over the next 10 years, many could fall by the wayside.
"We will be in such a mess if we don't push this through," Sir Eric said.
Two contributors from the floor said the Tories could learn from Momentum, the grassroots movement inspired by the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The Tory MP Nusrat Ghani agreed: "One of the ways it recruits is pinpointing local campaigns. A local school, a local hospital, to nudge people along to get involved. A bottom-up approach is absolutely key."
Graham Brady says the Tories must work harder to ensure more public sector workers would vote for party
The former minister Edwina Currie, reflecting on everything she had heard, said the meeting left her "losing the will to live".
But she was furious that "blithering idiots" from party headquarters had sent her and fellow canvassers to addresses in Derbyshire which had been picked out to target because the occupiers earned relatively high salaries.
What Central Office hadn't realised, she said, was that in her patch many of the best paid were public sector workers with Labour posters in the windows.
Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs, said it was time the party "tried to convince primary school teachers of the benefit of the free market" and work harder to ensure more public sector workers would consider voting Tory.
But when Mrs Currie complained about the number of white men in senior roles within the party, Mr Brady joked: "There is nothing I can do about being white or being a man. Nothing I'd wish to do anyway!"
As this public inquest rolled into its second hour, hands were still popping up: passionate activists with questions, observations and irritations about an election that went badly wrong.
• None May: We 'listened' on student fees
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41461057
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