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438_0 | Facebook is finalising plans to launch its own crypto-currency next year. It is planning to set up a digital payments system in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020. The social media giant wants to start testing its crypto-currency, which has been referred to internally as GlobalCoin, by the end of this... | How will Facebook's crypto-currency work? | 867 | Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and re... | 0.817023 | 0.81918 | 0.818101 |
6458_2 | President Donald Trump says he plans to end "birthright citizenship" in the US by executive order. Can he do that? In an interview with Axios, President Trump claimed that he was working on an end to birthright citizenship, the 150-year-old principle that says anyone born on US soil is an American citizen. "It was alwa... | Can Trump end birthright citizenship by executive order? | 3,094 | Most legal scholars agree that President Trump cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. "He's doing something that's going to upset a lot of people, but ultimately this will be decided by the courts," says Saikrishna Prakash, a constitutional expert and University of Virginia Law School professor. "Th... | 0.816725 | 0.794364 | 0.805544 |
7116_3 | Seven months and nine days ago, 1.4 million people in Ireland voted to remove its anti-abortion laws. What (Taoiseach) Irish PM Leo Varadkar called a "quiet revolution", had culminated with a day when the Eighth Amendment was repealed. Irish Health Minister Simon Harris hailed the passing of the legislation as a "new e... | Can you access abortion services in all of Ireland's maternity units? | 1,453 | Not yet. Ireland has 19 maternity units, but only nine are currently providing abortion services. These are: - National Maternity Hospital in Dublin - Midland Regional Hospital in Westmeath - Rotunda Hospital in Dublin - Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Meath - University Hospital, Galway - Mayo University Hospital - Un... | 0.784241 | 0.82297 | 0.803605 |
5115_0 | The drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, was only discovered 10 years ago, but is now one of the world's most feared hospital microbes. There have been outbreaks across the world, and new research shows higher temperatures may have led to an increase in infections. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD... | What is Candida auris? | 462 | Candida auris (C. auris) is a yeast, a type of fungus, which can cause infections in humans. It is related to the very common Candida albicans, which causes thrush. It was first discovered in the ear canal of a Japanese patient in Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in 2009. Most of the time, Candida yeasts live on o... | 0.755406 | 0.848326 | 0.801866 |
8669_0 | The demand for on-demand TV has never been higher. Disney has announced its rival to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime - and they're calling it Disney+. In March, Apple announced its own streaming service: Apple TV+. But in a market that's getting more and more crowded, can they all survive? Disney has a big advant... | Why are Disney and Apple getting into streaming TV? | 297 | Disney has a big advantage because it has decades of filmmaking experience already, according to Shona Ghosh, senior tech reporter at Business Insider. "It costs a lot of money to make popular shows and Disney is an expert in offering really well-known film and TV franchises," she says. Disney can draw on its classic m... | 0.815088 | 0.787178 | 0.801133 |
4406_0 | Cheap steel from China has been blamed for distorting global markets and putting other countries' steelmakers under pressure. How have we got here and why does it all matter? Chinese steel production has expanded hugely. Over the past 25 years, output has grown more than 12-fold. By comparison, the EU's output fell by ... | China's steel industry - what's the problem? | 176 | Chinese steel production has expanded hugely. Over the past 25 years, output has grown more than 12-fold. By comparison, the EU's output fell by 12% while the US's remained largely flat. The drive behind that stellar increase has been China's double-digit economic growth over the past decades. That led to ever more dom... | 0.795909 | 0.80401 | 0.799959 |
2148_0 | The people charged with protecting the world's economy are meeting in Washington this week. The decisions made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) affect people around the world. But what is the IMF, why is it important, and what criticism does it face? The IMF is an international organisation with 189 member coun... | What is the IMF? | 259 | The IMF is an international organisation with 189 member countries. They work together to try to stabilise the global economy. Any country can apply to join, as long as it meets a few requirements. These include providing information about its economy and paying in a sum of money called a quota subscription. The richer... | 0.787098 | 0.811734 | 0.799416 |
4726_0 | The company behind infidelity dating website Ashley Madison has denied that hardly any women used the service. Its rebuttal followed an article by Gizmodo which suggested that only around 12,000 of the site's 36 million members were real women. Gizmodo had analysed the data stolen from Ashley Madison by hackers called ... | Did Ashley Madison use fake profiles? | 469 | There are suggestions from the leaked data, which included thousands of chief executive Noel Biderman's emails, that Ashley Madison did deploy fake profiles. One email written to Mr Biderman described a contractor building profiles, known as angels or engagers, "en masse". It even suggested staff were getting "writer's... | 0.74917 | 0.840667 | 0.794918 |
7952_0 | Russian state TV is working on its own version of Chernobyl, a series based on the worst nuclear accident in history. The NTV drama will deviate from the acclaimed HBO series - and from historical reality - by claiming that the CIA was involved in the disaster. Director Aleksey Muradov claims it will show "what really ... | What did Russia think of HBO's Chernobyl? | 1,288 | There has been plenty of praise in Russia for the authenticity of Chernobyl. Izvestia newspaper declared it a more 'realistic' portrayal of the era than most Russian films manage. There's also admiration of how the series conveys the heroism of ordinary people. But there's been a crescendo of criticism, too. One column... | 0.778854 | 0.799858 | 0.789356 |
7519_0 | President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming it treats his country unfairly. "If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Mr Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The WTO was established to provide rules for global trade and resolve dis... | What's Trump's issue with the WTO? | 1,413 | The US president has been sounding off about unfair trade since even before he became president. Mr Trump said on Thursday that the 1994 agreement to establish the WTO "was the single worst trade deal ever made". The US has been embroiled in a tit-for-tat trade battle on several fronts in recent months. The one creatin... | 0.795501 | 0.782593 | 0.789047 |
7567_0 | President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to block food importers' requests for foreign currency in a bid to boost local agriculture in Africa's most populous country. It is a continuation of a policy that the president began after coming to office in 2015, when he banned the use of foreign ex... | How much is Nigeria spending on importing food? | 688 | According to data from Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the amount of money the country has been spending on importing food and drink increased from 2015 to 2017, dipped in 2018 and if the trend from the first quarter of this year continues, the bill will go up again for this year. In 2015, Nigeria spent ... | 0.750523 | 0.826218 | 0.78837 |
3327_1 | The southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just a 13-hour period on Tuesday, officials say. The number is unusually high and the result of "extreme weather patterns", according to the state disaster management authority. Nine people, including a nine-year-old girl, have been killed... | How common are lightning deaths in India? | 1,631 | At least 2,000 people have died in lightning strikes in India every year since 2005, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In June 2016, 93 people were killed and more than 20 injured by lightning strikes in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. India's death toll from lightning st... | 0.787401 | 0.781011 | 0.784206 |
1097_0 | President Trump has told Americans to "get their shots" as measles cases spread across the country. "The vaccinations are so important," he told reporters outside the White House. Nearly 700 cases have been reported across 22 states amid a resurgence of the highly infectious disease, the US Centers for Disease Control ... | What has Trump said about vaccines? | 1,374 | Mr Trump's latest comments contrast markedly from his previous public statements about vaccinations. During a Republican primary debate in 2015, he suggested vaccines were responsible for what he called an "epidemic" of autism. He said he was in favour of vaccines, but wanted "smaller doses over a longer period of time... | 0.739858 | 0.82596 | 0.782909 |
1405_0 | Shares in Spotify have started trading in the New York, valuing the music streaming service at about $26bn. In an unconventional move, the firm has not issued new shares, with those held by its private investors being sold. The flotation marks a turning point for Spotify, which is the global market leader but is yet to... | Why is Spotify listing its shares? | 958 | The firm made a commitment to investors who backed it as the company was growing, that they would be given the chance to cash in their investment. So Spotify had to list its shares sooner or later. But it could also herald a new phase for the firm. Being publicly traded will put pressure on the management, and could pr... | 0.760346 | 0.804665 | 0.782505 |
9799_0 | Outgoing German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen has been confirmed as the next president of the European Commission, replacing Jean-Claude Juncker. She will now form a new team of commissioners and they will start their new term on 1 November, a day after the UK is due to leave the EU. But what is the European Co... | What does the European Commission do? | 422 | Its job is to develop laws for member states and enforce them. Based in Brussels, it's the only EU body that can draft laws. It employs more than 32,000 staff in total and its running costs this year are EUR3.6bn. Once its proposals have the approval of the European Parliament and a council of 28 ministers from the EU ... | 0.787998 | 0.769404 | 0.778701 |
679_0 | North Korean state media had strong words for Joe Biden - the former US vice-president and current presidential candidate - on Wednesday. Mr Biden had "gone reckless and senseless, seized by ambition for power", a commentary on the news website KCNA said. He was "an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human bein... | Why is North Korea criticising Joe Biden? | 1,630 | Wednesday's KCNA report accused Mr Biden of "rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK" during a recent election campaign. This appeared to refer to Mr Biden's rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, where he criticised Mr Trump for working with "tyrants like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Kim Jong-un".... | 0.779563 | 0.774526 | 0.777044 |
4253_0 | Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupted at about noon local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday. It is one of Central America's most active volcanoes but Sunday's eruption caused more fatalities than any of those previously recorded at Fuego. At least 69 people are known to have died. Most of them lived in villages on the slopes of t... | What type of volcano is Fuego? | 424 | Fuego is a stratovolcano or composite volcano. Its steep, conical shape, which is typical of this type of volcano, can be seen from the capital, Guatemala City, 44km (27 miles) south-west of Fuego's summit. Fuego sits on the Ring of Fire, a horse-shoe-shaped string of volcanoes, earthquake sites and tectonic plates aro... | 0.752837 | 0.799834 | 0.776335 |
298_1 | The internal Labour row over anti-Semitism has dragged on for nearly three years. Here's a guide to what's been going on. Jewish people have faced prejudice and hostility for centuries. During World War II, six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis or their accomplices in what is known as the Holocaust. Modern-day an... | What is the Labour anti-Semitism row about? | 2,796 | Anti-Semitism was generally not regarded as a big problem in the Labour Party before Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader in September 2015. Since then, things have changed, with Mr Corbyn and other figures on the left setting a new political direction. There has been an influx of new members, many of whom are vocal crit... | 0.836887 | 0.71554 | 0.776214 |
390_0 | Heavy seasonal rains are a regular feature of life in Nigeria and towns close to the country's main rivers are particularly vulnerable. This year floods have killed almost 200 people with many thousands displaced. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) say these figures are likely to rise as the full impact be... | Are Nigeria's rains causing the floods? | 2,303 | Heavy rainfall has certainly increased the likelihood of rivers overflowing and flash floods. And there's evidence to suggest increasing rainfall over time. Data from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency from 1981-2017, analysing 13 affected locations, reveals a rising trend in annual rainfall, which it says is likely to... | 0.782008 | 0.769737 | 0.775873 |
8522_1 | Former FBI director James Comey's evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee has been keenly awaited by the US public. Mr Comey, who was sacked by Donald Trump on 9 May, gave some clues to the inner workings of the Trump administration and its relationship with the intelligence services. But despite the forensic exa... | Are there tapes of Mr Comey's conversations with Mr Trump? | 1,054 | Three days after Mr Comey was fired, the president tweeted that the former FBI director should hope there were no tapes of their conversations. Mr Comey has since expressed the hope that there are tapes and at the hearing he urged the president to release all their conversations if tapes exist. "I'm good with it," he s... | 0.742958 | 0.808493 | 0.775726 |
7584_0 | MPs have rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's attempt to hold an early general election on 12 December. But why does the PM want an election and what are his remaining options? The next general election is not due until 2022, but the PM wants an early election to try to restore the Conservative Party's majority. Whi... | Why does Boris Johnson want an early election? | 180 | The next general election is not due until 2022, but the PM wants an early election to try to restore the Conservative Party's majority. While an early election carries risks, Mr Johnson hopes to win more seats in the House of Commons, to make it easier to pass a Brexit deal. | 0.793617 | 0.755712 | 0.774664 |
4848_0 | Feeling a little lost on Brexit? Never really got your head around it in the first place? Let us walk you through it. Brexit is short for "British exit" - and is the word people use to talk about the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union (EU). The EU is a political and economic union of 28 countries tha... | What is Brexit? | 118 | Brexit is short for "British exit" - and is the word people use to talk about the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union (EU). | 0.735541 | 0.81249 | 0.774016 |
9319_0 | Saudi Arabia and Iran are at loggerheads. They have long been rivals, but it's all recently got a lot more tense. Here's why. Saudi Arabia and Iran - two powerful neighbours - are locked in a fierce struggle for regional dominance. The decades-old feud between them is exacerbated by religious differences. They each fol... | How is the Saudi-Iranian rivalry being played out? | 4,360 | This is in many ways a regional equivalent of the Cold War, which pitted the US against the Soviet Union in a tense military standoff for many years. Iran and Saudi Arabia are not directly fighting but they are engaged in a variety of proxy wars (conflicts where they support rival sides and militias) around the region.... | 0.802515 | 0.744455 | 0.773485 |
3220_0 | India is preparing to send a robotic spacecraft into orbit around Mars - a first for the country. Yogita Limaye from the BBC's India Business Report spoke to K Radhakrishnan, chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) - the country's space agency - about his hopes for the mission. A: Essentially in this Mar... | Q: What is the objective of India's Mars mission? | 294 | A: Essentially in this Mars mission, which we are planning, the prime objective is to demonstrate India's capability to capture the Martian orbit and then to conduct a few meaningful scientific experiments. | 0.684731 | 0.859782 | 0.772257 |
9369_0 | Brunei has introduced a tough Islamic penal code, known as Sharia law, sparking concern from the UN and the US. The BBC explains how the Sharia system works. Sharia law is Islam's legal system. It is derived from both the Koran, Islam's central text, and fatwas - the rulings of Islamic scholars. Sharia literally means ... | What is Sharia? | 158 | Sharia law is Islam's legal system. It is derived from both the Koran, Islam's central text, and fatwas - the rulings of Islamic scholars. Sharia literally means "the clear, well-trodden path to water". Sharia law acts as a code for living that all Muslims should adhere to, including prayers, fasting and donations to t... | 0.697411 | 0.845403 | 0.771407 |
9352_0 | Reality check verdict: The US president has the power to both dismiss and appoint the director of the FBI. US President Donald Trump sacked James Comey, director of the FBI, on 9 May, with immediate effect. Mr Trump said he had acted on the recommendation of senior figures at the Justice Department, criticising Mr Come... | How can a president simply fire the head of the FBI? | 683 | According to federal law, the president has authority to both appoint and dismiss the director of the FBI, as well as other senior officials in the Justice Department, but the nominee has to pass hearings and be confirmed by a simple majority vote in the Senate. Only one FBI director has been removed by the President i... | 0.779497 | 0.762989 | 0.771243 |
5084_0 | The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping route in the Gulf region, is at the centre of rising tensions. Two Royal Navy warships are now in the Gulf, to protect ships sailing under the British flag. So, what is the waterway and why does it matter? Despite its small size, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most im... | What is the Strait of Hormuz? | 246 | Despite its small size, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important shipping routes. It is about 96 miles long and only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, with shipping lanes in each direction just two miles wide. Bounded to the north by Iran and to the south by Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE),... | 0.756965 | 0.78268 | 0.769822 |
6053_0 | More than 1,000 firefighters are battling a forest fire in Portugal that has claimed the lives at least 64 people and injured more than 130 since Saturday. Many of the victims died after becoming trapped in cars as they tried to flee. Planes have been used to drop water over the Pedrogao Grande region. Civil protection... | Why are Portugal's wildfires so deadly? | 1,756 | Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, the European Environment Agency reported last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size. Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything ... | 0.758066 | 0.780607 | 0.769337 |
3082_0 | The US is cutting hundreds of troops in Africa as it focuses on countering threats from Russia and China. Around 700 counter-terrorism troops will be removed over the next few years, the Department of Defense said. About 7,200 US soldiers are currently based in dozens of African countries including Nigeria and Libya. T... | Why is the US cutting troops in Africa? | 1,479 | By Tomi Oladipo, BBC Africa Security Correspondent The announcement of cuts has been coming for some time. In January, the US Defence Secretary James Mattis unveiled a new strategy indicating a shift away from terrorism and towards America's standing when compared to Russia and China. While the cuts begin in Africa, th... | 0.769008 | 0.769 | 0.769004 |
3690_0 | Introducing the SNP's general election pledges in an independent Scotland could lead to more austerity, according to an economic research group. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the SNP's manifesto set out plans to increase spending while also setting out a list of tax-cutting measures. It said the SNP had n... | What does the IFS says about the SNP manifesto? | 1,047 | In his analysis of the SNP's manifesto, IFS associate director David Phillips said it differed from those of the other three major parties because it was not "a plan of action for five years of governing the UK". Writing in the Scotsman newspaper, Mr Phillips argued that the document was instead about "starting the pro... | 0.791757 | 0.745303 | 0.76853 |
5096_0 | Social issues like gay marriage and abortion have taken centre stage in the lead up to Canada's autumn election, as the Liberal Party tries to convince voters that the Conservatives want to backtrack on LGBTQ and abortion rights. Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party has fired an early salvo against Conservative party leader ... | What were Mr Scheer's views on same sex marriage? | 1,688 | In 2005, about a year after Mr Scheer was elected to parliament, he voted against same-sex marriage. He was one of 133 members, from all parties, who voted against the law, which passed with 158 votes. "There is nothing more important to society than the raising of children, for its very survival requires it. Homosexua... | 0.717919 | 0.81847 | 0.768195 |
449_0 | South Korea and the US have this week launched the world's first commercial 5G services, promising a new wave of capabilities for smartphone users. Samsung said its Galaxy S10 5G device will offer speeds up to 20 times faster than current phones as it began selling the handsets on Friday. Countries are racing to build ... | What will 5G enable? | 1,361 | Initially, 5G will bring higher-quality streaming and the ability to livestream to bigger audiences - a better experience for people watching live sports or cloud gaming. Ovum's Mr Barton said down the track it will enable more augmented reality capabilities, such as better mapping apps and shopping experiences. 5G wil... | 0.762505 | 0.773812 | 0.768158 |
9018_0 | Abortion is now legal across the UK for the first time, after a change in the law in Northern Ireland. So, what are the laws on abortion, how many are carried out and how do they compare with those of other countries? Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland at midnight on Monday 21 October. That's because MPs i... | What is happening to abortion laws in Northern Ireland? | 218 | Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland at midnight on Monday 21 October. That's because MPs in London voted for legislation requiring abortion laws to be changed - unless Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive had been restored by then. The Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled for the first time since it... | 0.756684 | 0.77839 | 0.767537 |
6791_0 | Why does the UK drive on the left? This was just one of the motoring mysteries our readers asked us about. Here are the answers. Gareth Edmunds, 59, from Bristol, said he was curious as his family hosts English language students from all over the world. "As I drive them around I hear them wince as they see an oncoming ... | Why does the UK drive on the left? | 129 | Gareth Edmunds, 59, from Bristol, said he was curious as his family hosts English language students from all over the world. "As I drive them around I hear them wince as they see an oncoming car to our right and think we're going to crash - it's a question that always crops up," he said. "My pet theory is that it's som... | 0.824529 | 0.710095 | 0.767312 |
8601_0 | A group of international steel producing countries has called for urgent action to curb overproduction. The call comes days after international talks to find measures to tackle the industry crisis failed. The joint statement comes from the US, Canada, the EU, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Record p... | China's steel industry - what's the problem? | 1,029 | Chinese steel production has expanded hugely. Over the past 25 years, output has grown to more than 12 times the size. By comparison, the EU's output fell by 12% while the US's remained largely flat. The drive behind that stellar increase has been China's double-digit growth over the past decades - but the current slow... | 0.733005 | 0.798337 | 0.765671 |
7553_1 | The number of drug-related deaths in Scotland soared to 1,187 last year, according to official statistics. The figure is 27% higher than the previous year, and the highest since records began in 1996. It means there were more drug-related deaths in Scotland last year than the 1,136 alcohol-specific deaths. And the coun... | Why does Scotland have so many drug deaths? | 1,709 | There are said to be about 60,000 problem drug users in Scotland, which has a population of 5.4 million people. Dr Saket Priyadarshi, of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde addiction services, told MPs last week that Scotland had a much higher drug death rate than the rest of the UK because it had far more problem users. He ... | 0.805805 | 0.723207 | 0.764506 |
4090_0 | The African Union has launched a new passport. A lot remains unclear about the document but here is what we do know: The idea behind the passport, which was launched this weekend, is for all African citizens to be able to travel throughout the continent without visas. There are two passports - one issued by the African... | What is the African passport? | 117 | The idea behind the passport, which was launched this weekend, is for all African citizens to be able to travel throughout the continent without visas. There are two passports - one issued by the African Union for officials and people who travel a lot on business, and the other by individual countries for everyone else... | 0.737169 | 0.791422 | 0.764295 |
8717_0 | Vociferous protests against a proposal to tax earnings on withdrawals from a popular college savings plan prompted a rapid U-turn by US President Barack Obama's administration. It was a potent demonstration of the power of the middle class lobby in the US, But who are the American middle classes, and why do they feel l... | Who is middle class in the US? | 353 | In the US, the "middle class" is an oft-used but poorly understood category that increasingly seems to be defined by who is not included, rather than who should be. The only people who clearly don't belong in the middle class are the very poor and the very rich. The US has never had a rigid class system. As a result, w... | 0.739344 | 0.789182 | 0.764263 |
8045_0 | Shamima Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there is "no question" of her being allowed into the country, Bangladesh's ministry of foreign affairs has said. The UK has stripped the 19-year-old - who fled London to join the Islamic State group - of British citizenship. Such a move is only possible if an individual is... | Is Shamima Begum entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship? | 4,250 | By Clive Coleman, BBC legal correspondent Lawyers have told the BBC that under Bangladesh law, a UK national born to a Bangladeshi parent is automatically a Bangladeshi citizen - a dual national - but the Bangladeshi authorities assert that's not the case for Ms Begum. Under this "blood line" law, Bangladeshi nationali... | 0.772951 | 0.753574 | 0.763263 |
3908_0 | Bombardier's Northern Ireland operations have been sold to Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems, in a deal worth nearly PS1bn. It follows years of cuts and uncertainty among the firm's workforce in Northern Ireland. BBC News NI looks at the company's background, and what the news could mean. Bombardier, and its predecessors... | How important is Bombardier to the Northern Ireland economy? | 288 | Bombardier, and its predecessors Shorts, have been major employers in Northern Ireland for decades. In 2017, it was estimated that the wages of the company's employees put PS158m into the local economy annually. | 0.70422 | 0.821447 | 0.762833 |
3999_0 | An election campaign adviser to Donald Trump has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia. George Papadopoulos admitted the talks happened while he worked for Mr Trump, not before, court papers show. He said he had been told the Russians possessed "dirt" on Hil... | How does the Papadopoulos case affect Trump? | 642 | It has the potential to damage the US leader because it relates directly to his campaign, analysts say. Mr Papadopoulos - a Chicago-based international energy lawyer - was close enough to then-candidate Trump to be part of a photograph (third from left) of his national security team which Mr Trump tweeted on 1 April 20... | 0.732561 | 0.789992 | 0.761276 |
4757_0 | Pulling the US out of the world's biggest trade deal - the Trans Pacific Partnership - was always part of President Donald Trump's plans. And already, union chiefs are cheering his move. "The TPP and agreements like it would actually speed up China's growing dominance and give Beijing access to trade benefits without a... | Trumpisms on the TPP: How true are they? | 825 | Before he came to office, and since, President Trump has had plenty to say about the TPP. But how much fact is there in those comments? Let's take a look at a few of them 1)"A great thing for the American worker, we just did" So said President Trump in the Oval office as he signed the memorandum to pull the US out of t... | 0.733915 | 0.787869 | 0.760892 |
10135_0 | President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to be questioned under oath as part of an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. He said he was "looking forward" to it, subject to the advice of his lawyers. Investigators are assessing if the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence ... | How will Trump's questioning take place? | 1,166 | The president's lawyers have been talking to the investigation team led by justice department special counsel Robert Mueller about an interview, and the form it might take. The questioning could happen face-to-face, in writing, or it could be a combination of both. As to when it might happen, Mr Trump said: "Yesterday ... | 0.748918 | 0.770685 | 0.759802 |
3471_0 | The government has published guidance for healthcare professionals on abortion law in Northern Ireland. The new guidelines cover the period from 22 October to 31 March 2020. They set out what will happen following changes to the law after 21 October, if the NI Executive is not restored. The guidance states that no crim... | What are the current rules on abortion in Northern Ireland? | 4,405 | Northern Ireland's abortion legislation is very different from the law in Great Britain. The 1967 Abortion Act, which was introduced in England, Scotland and Wales, was never extended to Northern Ireland. Currently, a termination is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or if there is a risk o... | 0.746184 | 0.772991 | 0.759587 |
8871_1 | Shamima Begum - the teenager who fled London to join Islamic State - has said she only has "one citizenship" and it was wrong for the UK to revoke it without speaking to her first. It is only possible to strip someone of their UK nationality if they are eligible for citizenship elsewhere. It is thought Ms Begum has Ban... | Is Shamima Begum entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship? | 3,960 | By Clive Coleman, BBC legal correspondent Lawyers have told the BBC that under Bangladesh law, a UK national like Ms Begum who is born to a Bangladeshi parent is automatically a Bangladeshi citizen. That means that such a person would have dual nationality. The Bangladeshi authorities however assert Ms Begum is not a B... | 0.75352 | 0.760916 | 0.757218 |
5760_0 | Schools and workplaces in Venezuela have closed as an electricity blackout continues into a second day. The power cuts, which started on Thursday afternoon, have been caused by issues at a major hydroelectric plant. The government of President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the opposition, accusing them of sabotage. It come... | Why do blackouts happen in Venezuela? | 2,344 | Blackouts are nothing new in Venezuela. Critics say they have been getting worse since the nationalisation of the power grid in 2007. In 2016, the problem reached such a critical level that the government declared a 60-day nationwide state of emergency. In an attempt to stem the country's chronic power shortages, the g... | 0.735337 | 0.7779 | 0.756618 |
8180_0 | Reports that a firefighting plane crashed during an operation to tackle huge blazes in central Portugal have been denied by the country's civil protection authority. This contradicts earlier reports that a Canadair aircraft went down near the central Pedrogao Grande area. More than 1,000 firefighters on the ground and ... | Why are Portugal's wildfires so deadly? | 930 | Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, the European Environment Agency reported last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size. Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything ... | 0.730378 | 0.780607 | 0.755493 |
1710_0 | The artist Banksy has confirmed that a new graffiti piece that has appeared in south Wales is his. He used his verified Instagram account to announce: "Season's greetings" - with a video of the artwork in Port Talbot. The image appears on two sides of a garage depicting a child enjoying snow falling - the other side re... | Who is Banksy? | 727 | Banksy is a famous - but anonymous - British graffiti artist. He keeps his identity a secret He produces pieces of work which pop up in public places, such as on the walls of buildings. A lot of his art is done in a particular style which people can easily recognise. He began spray-painting trains and walls in his home... | 0.676268 | 0.834136 | 0.755202 |
4958_0 | There have been widely-shared reports on social media and some state-run services that healthcare services in Wuhan - one of China's largest cities - are under strain following the outbreak of coronavirus. Hu Xijin, the editor of state-run newspaper Global Times, said there had been a "failure" to contain the virus, an... | Can healthcare in Wuhan cope? | 677 | The city serves as the main economic hub for the wider province, Hubei, and has the most advanced healthcare facilities in the region. The metropolitan area has seven major hospitals - considered some of the best in China, with Tong Ji Hospital ranked third nationally - treating patients. It has seven more hospitals su... | 0.771308 | 0.738677 | 0.754992 |
7860_0 | India's Supreme Court has ruled that Aadhaar - the world's largest and most controversial biometrics-based identity database - has sufficient legal grounds to exist. But the sole dissenting opinion expressed by one of the five judges holds valuable lessons, argue Ronald Abraham and Elizabeth S Bennett. More than 1.2 bi... | So, is the Aadhaar Act legal? | 601 | India's parliament passed the Aadhaar Act in 2016, seven years after the programme's inception and after more than a billion people had enrolled by giving their fingerprints and retina scans. However, a clause in the Act retroactively legalised all previous executive actions of the government related to Aadhaar. It was... | 0.713856 | 0.794489 | 0.754172 |
2126_0 | Islamist militant group al-Shabab is battling the UN-backed government in Somalia, and has carried out a string of attacks across the region. The group, which is allied to al-Qaeda, has been pushed out of most of the main towns it once controlled, but it remains a potent threat. Al-Shabab means The Youth in Arabic. It ... | Who are al-Shabab? | 280 | Al-Shabab means The Youth in Arabic. It emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia's now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu in 2006, before being forced out by Ethiopian forces. There are numerous reports of foreign jihadists going to Somalia to help al-Shabab, from neighbouring countries, as... | 0.73806 | 0.769867 | 0.753963 |
9844_0 | The man who led an inquiry into the future safety of Britain's banks has said Bank of England plans are not strong enough. Sir John Vickers, who headed up the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), said: "The Bank of England proposal is less strong than what the ICB recommended." In a BBC interview, he added: "I don'... | Sir John Vickers: How big a safety buffer should banks have? | 3,669 | The financial crash of 2008 exposed the Big Shortage - of bank capital. Some banks that had lent out, say, 40 times their shareholders' capital couldn't absorb their losses when loans went bad. Hence the taxpayer bailouts and further economic damage from bank lending seizing up. The clear lesson is that banks, especial... | 0.7106 | 0.794497 | 0.752549 |
300_0 | The bearded figure being dragged from his home, into a waiting police van, was a far cry from the man who had entered the building seven years previously. Julian Assange - who co-founded website Wikileaks - had sought sanctuary in Ecuador's embassy from extradition to Sweden and, he feared, to the US. Ecuador withdrew ... | Who is Julian Assange? | 485 | Julian Assange was born in Townsville, Australia, in 1971. His parents ran a touring theatre and his childhood was filled with upheaval. He became a father at 18, later becoming entangled in custody battles. He showed an aptitude for computers and was fined several thousand Australian dollars in 1995 after pleading gui... | 0.783929 | 0.721008 | 0.752468 |
748_1 | A pause by Russia in carrying out air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo has brought a brief respite for civilians and fighters under siege in the Syrian city. At least 250,000 people have been trapped there almost continuously since pro-government forces encircled the area in July. Conditions are said to be appallin... | Why haven't people fled east Aleppo? | 1,049 | The main reason why people have not left is that they have become trapped, they told us. "Some people left before the siege. Now no-one can leave," says Mohammed, a 31-year-old phonetics teacher at the university in Aleppo. People have to be careful not to use up their phone batteries because there are only a few hours... | 0.733081 | 0.770565 | 0.751823 |
770_0 | Nine more people have been injured in stabbings in London as the spate of violent crime in the capital continues. Seven people were stabbed in five incidents on Thursday. Two more were injured earlier - a male in his late teens or early 20s, and a 16-year-old boy who were found with stab injuries at the Whitgift Shoppi... | Is it unusual to have so many stabbings in London? | 2,331 | Analysis by Daniel Wainwright, BBC England Data Unit One of the most alarming aspects of the latest stabbings in London is the very short space of time between them. Six of the reported stabbings on Thursday happened within 95 minutes of each other. Over the past two years there have been between eight and 15 "knife cr... | 0.736926 | 0.76665 | 0.751788 |
6304_0 | A Congolese journalist who had been raising awareness about the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed at his home. The army said unidentified attackers raided Papy Mumbere Mahamba's home in Lwebma, in the north-eastern province of Ituri, killing him, wounding his wife and burning their house d... | What is the situation with Ebola in the DRC? | 1,440 | The DRC declared an Ebola epidemic in August 2018. More than 2,000 lives have been lost amid a total of 3,000 confirmed infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak is affecting the DRC's North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. In July, the WHO said the situation there was a "public he... | 0.689631 | 0.813712 | 0.751671 |
2899_7 | After Brexit, the UK wants to boost business trade with Africa, but as a major UK-Africa business summit starts in London, Matthew Davies asks if there really will be new opportunities for the continent. Trade is tricky. Trade agreements are trickier. Trade negotiations to get those agreements are exponentially more co... | Could Brexit effect other aspects of the African economy? | 5,697 | Of course, the Brexit effect goes beyond trade. This may be seen if the UK falls into a recession after Brexit. That would hit places like South Africa hard. The UN calculates that the UK is South Africa's eighth-largest import and export market in global terms. If the UK's economy gets a recessionary cold, South Afric... | 0.759791 | 0.743265 | 0.751528 |
10028_2 | Until late December, 2016 had been a decent year for Toshiba. Then a bombshell. The Japanese industrial giant warned of a big one-off hit at its US nuclear business. At the time we did not know quite how huge that loss would be. But by February it emerged it would be about $6.3bn (PS5.05bn). Toshiba's chairman resigned... | What are the prospects for Toshiba's nuclear business? | 3,709 | Toshiba's nuclear business has not made a profit since 2013. And while the firm has said the huge writedown will be a one-off, nuclear services globally are struggling. Since the Fukushima disaster in 2011, nuclear energy has been a much harder sell. Some governments have opted to scale back how much they planned to re... | 0.756776 | 0.745841 | 0.751309 |
724_0 | A diet of cassava, Irish potatoes and indigenous vegetables helped Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni shed 30kg (4 stone), he told the BBC. "I am always fit but the doctors pointed out the mistakes and then I decided to shed off," Mr Museveni said. The 75-year-old leader said he had not been watching his weight, which ... | How healthy is Museveni's diet? | 1,383 | Philippa Roxby, BBC News health reporter It is hard to assess President Museveni's diet without knowing the quantities involved. However, cutting down on sugar is certainly advised if weight loss is the aim. And going without lunch presumably means that, overall, he is eating less and if there are more locally-grown ve... | 0.736036 | 0.766564 | 0.7513 |
6760_3 | Japan plans to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume commercial hunting, media reports say. The government told its MPs of the decision, NHK reports. There has been no official confirmation of the move. Commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986 after some whales were driven almost to extinct... | Hasn't Japan been whaling all along? | 2,895 | Yes, Japan has been hunting whales for the past 30 years but under a scientific programme, granted as an exception under the IWC ban. Critics say the practice is a cover for what actually amounts to commercial whaling. It means that whales can be taken for scientific studies and the meat can later be sold for consumpti... | 0.701665 | 0.799829 | 0.750747 |
3642_1 | US President Donald Trump has urged Nato allies to commit 4% of their annual output (GDP) to military spending - double the current target. The White House confirmed he had made the remarks during the Western military alliance's summit in Brussels. The meeting also saw Mr Trump single out Germany for criticism over its... | Is Trump committed to Nato? | 2,957 | By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent So is this mission accomplished at Nato for Donald Trump? Has he achieved his goal of persuading his European allies to spend more on defence? He began the day by calling them "delinquents" and ended it with smiles. The Nato summit communique contained the us... | 0.726043 | 0.775383 | 0.750713 |
3254_0 | Pakistani troops have been using helicopter gunships to try to dislodge a group of bandits from their hideouts in Punjab province. The offensive comes after more than 20 police officers were taken hostage by the gang. They are a gang of bandits operating along a stretch of Indus river in the remote south of Punjab prov... | Who are the Chhotu gang? | 218 | They are a gang of bandits operating along a stretch of Indus river in the remote south of Punjab province. Led by Ghulam Rasool, nicknamed Chhotu, they have been active in the region for more than a decade. The gang's members run into hundreds - more than 300 according to one account. It is one of the more prominent g... | 0.655093 | 0.845289 | 0.750191 |
1856_0 | The Afghan Taliban say they have unleashed "special forces" in an increasingly bloody battle with fighters from the rival, so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The Taliban's dominance and monopoly on insurgency in a region home to numerous local and foreign militant groups is being challenged by IS, which has been gaini... | How many Taliban special forces are fighting Islamic State? | 377 | According to Taliban sources, the special task force, part of the Taliban's special forces command, was set up in early October and has more than 1,000 fighters - better equipped and trained than regular Taliban and with the sole aim of crushing IS. Special ops teams are handpicked for their fighting skills and experie... | 0.746672 | 0.753551 | 0.750112 |
4324_0 | Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced an independent review into why 450,000 women in England failed to receive invitations for a final routine breast cancer screening between the ages of 68 and 71. So what went wrong with the NHS's screening programme? Breast screening aims to find cancer early by using an X-ray ... | How does breast cancer screening work in England? | 259 | Breast screening aims to find cancer early by using an X-ray called a mammogram that can spot tumours when they're too small to see or feel. Around one-in-eight women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, and if it's detected early treatment is more likely to be successful. As the likelihood... | 0.70347 | 0.793453 | 0.748462 |
9938_0 | Ed Miliband has vowed that a Labour government would give employees on "exploitative" zero-hours contracts the legal right to a regular contract after they have worked 12 weeks of regular hours. A: Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work. They mean employees wo... | Q: What are zero-hours contracts? | 195 | A: Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work. They mean employees work only when they are needed by employers, often at short notice. Their pay depends on how many hours they work. Some zero-hours contracts require workers to take the shifts they are offered, whi... | 0.672982 | 0.823877 | 0.74843 |
9162_3 | For a business that now sees itself as being all about wellness and not just shedding pounds, the company formerly known as Weight Watchers looks like it has been on a crash diet. In the second half of its financial year, it dropped 600,000 subscribers. And at the beginning of its peak season - when Christmas overindul... | How should have Weight Watchers changed its brand? | 4,998 | Prof Zhao says: "Although rebranding was necessary for them, they probably shouldn't have acted so fast to change their brand name. "They should have started with a revised brand strategy and updated brand offerings, and then started to made small changes to their brand identity, such as brand logo and tagline. "Corpor... | 0.783486 | 0.713248 | 0.748367 |
2455_0 | Opposition leaders in Sudan say its military rulers are being exploited by foreign powers, eager to take advantage of the country's natural resources and strategic location. A power-sharing deal has recently been reached between the military and opposition groups - but Sudan's political future remains uncertain. So whi... | Who's buying Sudan's resources? | 391 | The United Arab Emirates is Sudan's biggest destination for exports. It buys most of the country's lucrative money-earner, gold. Second is China, which imports significant amounts of crude oil. Sudan's oil industry was once a much larger proportion of its economy - but when South Sudan broke away in 2011, most of its o... | 0.760215 | 0.734191 | 0.747203 |
7930_0 | China has hit back at President Donald Trump by announcing new trade tariffs on $60bn of US goods. It comes after the US slapped duties on $200bn of Chinese imports to take effect from next Monday, escalating its trade war with Beijing. China will target goods such as liquefied natural gas, produced in states loyal to ... | Hasn't the US already imposed tariffs on China? | 1,817 | Yes. In fact, the latest round of US duties marks the third set of tariffs put into motion so far this year. In July, the White House increased charges on $34bn worth of Chinese products. Then last month, the escalating trade war moved up a gear when the US brought in a 25% tax on a second wave of goods worth $16bn. Th... | 0.745441 | 0.748377 | 0.746909 |
2433_2 | Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said when it comes to trade with the EU after Brexit: "We want a comprehensive free trade agreement, similar to Canada's". The EU's agreement with Canada is called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or Ceta for short. The EU began negotiating with Canada in 2009, and Ceta p... | Is the UK's trade with the EU like Canada's? | 2,154 | Countries that are closer to each other tend to trade more, especially in goods, and this is the case with the UK and the EU. The UK exported PS291bn of goods and services to other EU countries in 2018, which was 45% of all UK exports. It imported PS357bn of goods and services from the EU, which was 53% of all UK impor... | 0.731947 | 0.761382 | 0.746665 |
6790_0 | We all do it - we don't quite understand something, so we reach for our phones and Google it. And Brexit is no different. Here we answer the five most-googled questions to do with Brexit over the past 24 hours. Don't worry, we promise to keep it simple. Brexit - short for "British exit" - is the process of the UK leavi... | What does Brexit mean? | 254 | Brexit - short for "British exit" - is the process of the UK leaving the EU (European Union). The EU is a group of 28 countries which trade with each other and allow anyone to easily move between the countries to live and work. The UK had a referendum in June 2016 where it voted to leave the EU, which it's been part of... | 0.749149 | 0.743767 | 0.746458 |
8420_0 | Iran says it seized a "foreign tanker" and its 12 crew on Sunday for smuggling fuel in the Gulf. Iran's state media published footage of Iranian speedboats circling around the Panamanian-flagged Riah tanker. In a separate development, US President Donald Trump said the US Navy downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of H... | What did Iran say about the tanker? | 647 | The Revolutionary Guards' Sepah News site said on Thursday that the alleged fuel-smuggling ship was seized on Sunday during naval patrols aimed at "discovering and confronting organised smuggling". The ship had a two-million-litre capacity, but was carrying one million litres of fuel when it was seized south of Iran's ... | 0.76117 | 0.731109 | 0.74614 |
9000_0 | Fortnite, the video game whose sudden rise has grabbed the imagination of gamers, is "not addictive", a Scottish university researcher has claimed. Andrew Reid, a doctoral researcher of serious games at Glasgow Caledonian University, said people found the game hard to stop playing. But he warned against using the term ... | What is Fortnite? | 455 | After six years in development Epic games released Fortnite in July 2017. It is a co-operative survival shooting game that lets players build structures out of materials they scavenge from the game world. Its most popular format is the Battle Royale mode which pits 100 players against each other, some of whom are in sm... | 0.72643 | 0.765646 | 0.746038 |
6590_2 | When Hong Kong was handed back to China on 1 July 1997, following more than 150 years of British control, the "one country, two systems" principle was established as the foundation of the relationship. While Hong Kong is part of China, the policy has given the Special Administrative Region (SAR) a high degree of autono... | How do Hong Kong's district councils work? | 2,326 | Each of Hong Kong's 18 districts has its own local council. The district councils have very little actual power. They're primarily advisory, acting as the eyes and ears of the government at a local level, passing on information about public facilities and services and how funds should be used. They also have access to ... | 0.665444 | 0.826046 | 0.745745 |
4583_0 | Asylum seekers who refused to leave a former Australian-run detention centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been moved to new housing after a three-week stand-off, Canberra has confirmed. The group had resisted leaving the Manus Island camp after it shut on 31 October, fearing attacks by locals. Buses carrying about 30... | Why are the asylum seekers on Manus Island? | 655 | Under a controversial policy, Australia has detained asylum seekers arriving by boat in centres on Manus Island and Nauru, a small Pacific nation. The government has said the detainees will never settle in Australia, arguing such a move would encourage human trafficking and prompt deaths at sea. The Manus Island centre... | 0.714216 | 0.777249 | 0.745732 |
5199_0 | In August 2011, Myanmar's President Thein Sein invited 15 of the country's ethnic armies and militias to talks. It was rightly seen as a historic move to try and bring an end to conflicts that have blighted Myanmar - also known as Burma -since independence. Now four years on, that process has reached its first mileston... | What's in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement? | 606 | The agreement is neither truly nationwide nor strictly speaking a ceasefire. In order to take part in this collective agreement the armed groups had to have previously signed a bilateral ceasefire with the government. So it is not actually halting any conflicts. This at times tortuous process has been about trying to g... | 0.706864 | 0.783783 | 0.745323 |
5222_4 | The UK government is facing a rebellion over its plans to work with the Chinese phone-maker Huawei on the UK's 5G network. Ministers approved Huawei's involvement in January, but some senior Tories want to prevent that because of concerns over security. Huawei was founded in 1987 in Shenzhen, southern China, by Ren Zhe... | Is Huawei spying on us? | 3,533 | The US argues China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, which says organisations must "support, co-operate with and collaborate in national intelligence work", means Beijing could force Huawei to do its bidding. Huawei says it's never been asked to spy and "would categorically refuse to comply". It adds: "We would never ... | 0.691885 | 0.798447 | 0.745166 |
6966_0 | The French government has said it will not recognise Catalonia if it declares independence from Spain and such a move will mean expulsion from the EU. European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau said the crisis following the banned 1 October referendum had to be resolved through dialogue within Spain. Catalan President ... | Could the EU throw out an independent Catalonia? | 2,321 | By Damian Grammaticas, BBC News Europe correspondent It Catalonia were to split from Spain, the region would immediately cease to be part of the European Union, the EU has made clear. While EU's treaties don't specify what happens if part of a member state declares independence, EU sources say what's called the "Prodi ... | 0.675996 | 0.814182 | 0.745089 |
5338_2 | US President Donald Trump has called for drug traffickers to face the death penalty as part of his plan to combat the US painkiller-addiction epidemic. He outlined the proposal during a speech in New Hampshire, a state badly affected by the opioid crisis. Mr Trump said his administration was attempting to change the la... | What else does Trump's opioid plan involve? | 3,262 | The Republican president said his administration would amend government healthcare programmes in order to cut opioid prescriptions by a third over the next three years. He opened the way for a crackdown on negligent physicians and pharmacies, adding that implicated pharmaceutical companies could face litigation. The pr... | 0.692781 | 0.797121 | 0.744951 |
6525_0 | Rocky Johnson, a former professional wrestler and father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, has died aged 75. His death was confirmed on Wednesday in a statement released by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). No cause of death was given. Johnson, whose real name was Wayde Douglas Bowles, rose to fame with WWE in the 1980s... | Who was Rocky 'Soul Man' Johnson? | 986 | Born on 24 August 1944, Johnson grew up in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada before moving to Toronto in his teens, when he began wrestling. In his teenage years, Johnson trained to be a boxer, sparring with the likes of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. But he would choose wrestling as his profession, entering the industry ... | 0.74179 | 0.747961 | 0.744875 |
8760_0 | The Ebola virus has claimed around 7,000 lives during the current epidemic in West Africa, the largest outbreak since the virus was discovered nearly 40 years ago. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 18,000 people have been infected during the outbreak. Ebola is a serious infectious illness whic... | What is Ebola? | 278 | Ebola is a serious infectious illness which often proves fatal. The virus, which is thought to have originated in fruit bats, was first detected in 1976 in an outbreak near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. | 0.710238 | 0.779235 | 0.744736 |
4981_4 | As firefighters work endlessly to control California's raging fires, experts warn of long-term damage from wildfire smoke that could affect millions - and potentially even those on the east coast. The fires have burned through over 200,000 acres, blanketing parts of California with clouds of thick smoke. So what are th... | Why are California fires so devastating? | 5,408 | According to Prof Peterson, fires in the region have not necessarily increased in frequency in the last 100 years - but the area affected has. "The area burned annually has been higher during the past 30 years or so," he told the BBC. "It should be noted that 2% of fires burn 98% of the area." In California, recent yea... | 0.728347 | 0.760621 | 0.744484 |
2228_0 | The BBC has made its international news website available via the Tor network, in a bid to thwart censorship attempts. The Tor browser is privacy-focused software used to access the dark web. The browser can obscure who is using it and what data is being accessed, which can help people avoid government surveillance and... | What is Tor? | 959 | Tor is a way to access the internet that requires software, known as the Tor browser, to use it. The name is an acronym for The Onion Router. Just as there are many layers to the vegetable, there are many layers of encryption on the network. It was originally designed by the US Naval Research Laboratory, and continues ... | 0.664412 | 0.823963 | 0.744187 |
8965_0 | Everyone is talking about FaceApp - the app that can edit photos of people's faces to show younger or older versions of themselves. Thousands of people are sharing the results of their own experiments with the app on social media. But since the face-editing tool went viral in the last few days, some have raised concern... | What is FaceApp? | 643 | FaceApp is not new. It first hit the headlines two years ago with its "ethnicity filters". These purported to transform faces of one ethnicity into another - a feature that sparked a backlash and was quickly dropped. The app can, however, turn blank or grumpy expressions into smiling ones. And it can tweak make-up styl... | 0.715424 | 0.772695 | 0.744059 |
2005_3 | If you want to know why India has courted international controversy by awarding a medal to an army officer who tied a civilian to the front of a jeep, you need to understand what is really happening in Indian-administered Kashmir. On 9 April, a Kashmiri man called Farooq Ahmed Dar was trussed to the spare tyre at the f... | What does the decision to award the medal tell us about the situation in Kashmir? | 1,872 | This incident shows just how difficult India is finding it to keep a lid on unrest in Kashmir. Indian army sources have told the BBC that morale among soldiers stationed in the valley is very low. Many soldiers are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with their role in Kashmir, saying they fear they are effectively bec... | 0.767188 | 0.720193 | 0.743691 |
6050_1 | Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort has had his bail revoked by a Washington DC judge and has been ordered to jail pending trial. Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian election interference, accuses him of trying to tamper with potential witnesses before the trial. Mr Manafort was accuse... | What is Manafort charged with? | 2,414 | Mr Manafort's trial on charges of money laundering and illegal lobbying is due to begin in September. He is accused of laundering more than $30m (PS22m) and failing to disclose his lobbying efforts to the Department of Justice. His other trial - on tax fraud charges - is due to start next month. The indictments are not... | 0.705752 | 0.78063 | 0.743191 |
10035_2 | US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on a report by his own government warning of devastating effects from climate change. Asked outside the White House about the findings that unchecked global warming would wreak havoc on the US economy, he said: "I don't believe it." The report found that climate change will cost... | What has President Trump previously said on climate change? | 2,314 | In October, President Trump accused climate change scientists of having a "political agenda", telling Fox News he was unconvinced that humans were responsible for the earth's rising temperatures. After taking office he announced the US would withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, which commits another 187 ot... | 0.697964 | 0.787668 | 0.742816 |
1109_0 | "Storm of a lifetime" hurricane Florence is predicted to bring deadly disaster to large parts of the eastern US coast when it makes landfall on Thursday. But as millions are under order to flee, some are being told they have to stay put. On Monday, South Carolina officials announced they would not remove inmates from a... | What did happen to inmates in Katrina? | 1,228 | Hurricane Katrina was the third deadliest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in the US, causing more than 2,000 deaths and catastrophic flooding and wind damage. New Orleans was particularly badly hit but prisoners locked in cells in the city's jail were not moved to another facility. A third of the inmates ha... | 0.684898 | 0.800226 | 0.742562 |
6002_1 | Did President Donald Trump withhold military aid from ally Ukraine for his own political reasons? That is the big question at the heart of the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry. Ukraine is not in Nato and it has struggled with years of corruption. But its future direction is of geopolitical importance. For much of its 2... | How important is US military aid and support to Ukraine? | 1,552 | It is important on both a military and symbolic level. Where once the Ukrainian military knew that the US had their backs, this can no longer be taken for granted. The wavering over assistance, and President Trump's frequent derogatory words about Ukraine, will almost certainly have strengthened Moscow's hand in peace ... | 0.701533 | 0.783116 | 0.742325 |
3011_0 | Italy has declared a state of emergency in Venice after the Italian city was engulfed by 1.87m (6ft) high water levels, flooding its historic basilica and cutting power to homes. More than 80% of the city, a Unesco world heritage site, was under water when tides were at their highest. Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Co... | Is climate change behind Venice flooding? | 3,543 | By BBC meteorologist Nikki Berry This latest Acqua Alta (high water) occurrence in Venice is the second highest tide the city has experienced in recorded history. However, if we look at the top 10 tides, five have occurred in the past 20 years and the most recent was only last year. While we should try to avoid attribu... | 0.667606 | 0.815628 | 0.741617 |
8019_0 | Financial markets in Turkey have been volatile in the run-up to local elections on Sunday. The currency, the lira, dropped 5% in the course of a single day, while the stock market lost 10% of its value in just over a week. The economy is going through a very difficult patch, with a recession accompanied by high inflati... | How bad is Turkey's economic situation? | 422 | It has certainly taken a marked turn for the worse, after a long period of mostly strong growth under President Erdogan. He took office in 2003 (as prime minister in the first instance, then later as president) in the aftermath of a major financial crisis that led to a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The ... | 0.759766 | 0.723364 | 0.741565 |
5000_0 | Ethiopia has banned the adoption of children by foreigners amid concerns they face abuse and neglect abroad. Ethiopia is one of the biggest source countries for international adoptions by US citizens, accounting for about 20% of the total. Celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among those who have adopted childr... | What next for Ethiopia's orphans? | 1,180 | Emmanuel Igunza, BBC Africa, Addis Ababa Debate over foreign adoptions in Ethiopia has been rife since the 2013, so the country's ban didn't come as a major surprise. The question now is what will happen to the thousands of orphans and vulnerable children who can no longer be adopted? Parliament says the country's soci... | 0.709471 | 0.773492 | 0.741482 |
1953_2 | As New Zealand mourns the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings, traditional Maori haka dances are reverberating around the country. It's a type of ceremonial dance many might associate with the famous New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. But what does a haka actually signify, and why have so many been performed a... | Why are haka performed for the Christchurch victims? | 1,461 | There have been countless spontaneous instances where New Zealanders have performed a haka in recent days. "I am not all surprised to see this," says Donna Hall, a fellow member of the Maori council. "It's a spiritual response to what has happened and it really is intended to tap the spiritual depth of people." She poi... | 0.755314 | 0.726182 | 0.740748 |
2907_2 | Several protesters have been arrested while trying to run from a Hong Kong university campus surrounded by police. Around 100 people tried to leave the Polytechnic University, but were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. In the past week, the campus has turned into a battleground as long-running anti-government prote... | Why are there protests in Hong Kong? | 4,390 | Hong Kong - a British colony until 1997 - is part of China under a model known as "one country, two systems". Under this model, it has a high degree of autonomy and people have freedoms unseen in mainland China. The protests started in June after the government planned to pass a bill that would allow suspects to be ext... | 0.701859 | 0.779374 | 0.740617 |
6891_1 | Thousands of migrants determined to reach the UK live in camps near the port of Calais. In 2015, UK Prime Minister David Cameron described the sight of hundreds trying to board lorries approaching the port as "unacceptable". He said Britain and France were working together to tackle the issue - but what security is in ... | How strong is security at Calais port? | 1,365 | The port is protected by 16ft (5m) fences topped with coils of razor wire and CCTV, with the gates and exterior guarded by heavily armed French riot police. Inside, there is a "comprehensive network of surveillance cameras", according to the port's website, and security guards patrol with dogs. In 2014, Britain committ... | 0.742936 | 0.738176 | 0.740556 |
7304_1 | Voters in Switzerland have backed a tightening of gun laws to conform with European Union regulations. Almost 64% of voters in Sunday's referendum supported tougher restrictions on semi-automatic and automatic weapons, final results show. Switzerland is not an EU member, but risked removal from the open-border Schengen... | Why is the EU concerned about Swiss gun laws? | 1,556 | After the 2015 Paris attacks, the EU issued Schengen members with new restrictions on automatic and semi-automatic weapons. The rules called for: - A ban on weapons capable of rapidly firing multiple rounds - Automatic and semi-automatic weapons to either be banned or heavily restricted - Each owner of such a weapon, a... | 0.786492 | 0.691945 | 0.739219 |
108_3 | The chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee has vowed to investigate allegations that top FBI and justice department officials discussed ways to remove President Trump from office. Senator Lindsey Graham said the claims were an "attempted bureaucratic coup". Ex-acting FBI chief Andrew McCabe said Deputy Attorney ... | What did McCabe say about the Russia inquiry? | 4,928 | Mr McCabe said the FBI was right to investigate Mr Trump's ties to Russia. When Mr Trump had told journalists and Russian diplomats that the Russia inquiry was among the reasons he had fired Mr Comey, his comments indicated that "a crime may have been committed", he said. Mr McCabe said he was "very concerned" about th... | 0.667662 | 0.810488 | 0.739075 |
8888_2 | Unchecked climate change will cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars and damage human health and quality of life, a US government report warns. "Future risks from climate change depend... on decisions made today," the 4th National Climate Assessment says. The report says climate change is "presenting growing chall... | What does President Trump say about climate change? | 4,160 | In October, President Trump accused climate change scientists of having a "political agenda", telling Fox News he was unconvinced that humans were responsible for the earth's rising temperatures. After taking office he announced the US would withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, which commits another 187 ot... | 0.675603 | 0.802306 | 0.738954 |
2862_0 | Facebook has delayed the launch of its new dating feature in Europe, after a last-minute visit by officers from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). The DPC said it had been told about the feature just 10 days ahead of the planned launch and "no information or documentation was provided to us". "We were very con... | What is Facebook Dating? | 1,140 | Facebook Dating launched in the US in September as part of the existing Facebook phone app. The feature, a potential competitor to dating giant Tinder, uses Facebook's data on a person to show common friends and interests on their dating profile. It can also pull in posts from Instagram - a Facebook-owned company. Othe... | 0.6818 | 0.795258 | 0.738529 |
6978_0 | The UK government has published a "future partnership paper" as it works towards ending the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the United Kingdom after Brexit. So what does the ECJ do, and why is it so important to the Brexit process? The Court of Justice of the European Union - to give it its full... | What is the European Court of Justice? | 256 | The Court of Justice of the European Union - to give it its full name - is the EU's highest legal authority. It is based in Luxembourg. It is actually composed of two separate courts - the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2004 to 2016 there was a third court, the Civil Service Tribunal, but its work is now ... | 0.675274 | 0.801728 | 0.738501 |
8937_1 | Every 75 minutes, someone in London is admitted to hospital with traumatic injuries, according to the capital's ambulance service. In a week-long diary for the BBC, the London Trauma System's clinical director describes the moment he held a stabbed man's heart in his hands and how rising knife crime is "taking its toll... | What is the London Trauma System? | 4,733 | The system encompasses four networks, each led by a major trauma centre at St Mary's, St George's, King's College, and Royal London hospitals. Between them they provide major trauma care to some 30 hospitals and health units across London and their resources are combined to ensure they provide care 24 hours a day. Sinc... | 0.680131 | 0.79641 | 0.738271 |
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