Mitzi assiment

Gene-edited animal plan to relieve
poverty in Africa
A researcher in Edinburgh is leading efforts to develop gene-edited farm animals
for poor farmers in Africa.
Prof Appolinaire Djikeng is developing cows, pigs and chickens that are resistant to
diseases and more productive.
Among them are cattle that have been gene edited to be heat-resistant.
Details of the project were given at the American Association for the Advancement of
Science meeting in Washington DC.
Prof Djikeng is the director of the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health.
He believes that gene editing along with more targeted traditional cross-breeding will
lead to healthy, productive livestock that will transform the lives of some of the very
poorest people in the world.
"We can drive out poverty in some of the most vulnerable communities," he told BBC
News.
"We are talking about smallholders with just one, two or three animals.
"If the animals die or are not producing to their potential, it means no income for the
smallholder's family and the risk of falling into absolute poverty."
Image copyrightBBC NEWSImage captionAfrican cattle are less productive than western breeds
Prof Djikeng speaks from personal experience.
His father was just such a subsistence farmer who reared pigs on a small farm in
western Cameroon.
He told me how each August his father would have a pig ready to sell to pay the year's
school fees so he could go to class in September.
But one year in the mid-80s, there was an epidemic of African swine fever and Prof
Djikeng's father had no pigs to sell.

World Malaria Day: What is malaria and
why is it such a big problem?
25 April 2019 is World Malaria Day. The World Health Organisation day is
designed to raise awareness of the disease and try to help people prevent and
treat it.
Scientists around the world are trying to find a vaccine for malaria but what is the
disease and why is it such a big problem?
What is malaria?
It's a disease caused by a parasite spread by a particular kind of mosquito - the
Anopheles - which bites people at night-time.
It's a huge problem in countries across Asia, Africa and South America.
Most cases occur in Africa and the disease is particularly harmful to young children.
Why is it a big problem?
Malaria is one of the most deadly diseases on Earth. The World Health Organisation
estimates that more than 600,000 people die from it every year.
Despite this, most people survive malaria after a 10-20 day illness, but it is important to
spot the symptoms early.
Fever, headache and sickness are all symptoms of a possible infection.
GETTY IMAGES
Special netscan helpkeep mosquitoesaway
Fighting against the disease
Malaria is preventable and curable.

The best way to stop people getting the disease is to stop them being bitten by the
mosquitoes.
Special nets to cover beds, insect repellents and destroying mosquito breeding grounds
all help to stop people getting infected.
But a vaccine would be a more effective weapon against malaria.
Researchers are trying to develop a cheap vaccine, but so far none is available and
approved for general use.
The Greta effect? Meet the schoolgirl
climate warriors
Coleman, from Denver, Colorado, is risking her education to strike for climate change
action. She told the BBC her decision was down to one person: Greta Thunberg.
"Once we found Greta, we were like, 'Oh that's amazing, let me try, let me do something
similar'," Coleman said.
When Thunberg sat outside Sweden's parliament on 20 August, 2018, aged 15, she cut
a lonely figure. Carrying a "school strike for climate change" sign, she said she was
refusing to attend classes until Swedish politicians took action.
 Who is Greta Thunberg?
 What is a climate emergency?
 What does the Paris climate deal say?
Nine months on, Thunberg is no longer alone. Energised by her climate strike
movement, Fridays for Future (FFF), students are vowing to boycott school on Fridays
until their countries adhere to the 2015 Paris agreement, which aims to prevent global
temperatures from rising 1.5C (34.7F) above pre-industrial levels.
On 15 March, an estimated 1.6 million students from 125 countries walked out of school
to demand climate change action. The next co-ordinated international protest takes
place on Friday, before another global strike on 24 May.

Media captionEnvironmental activist Greta Thunberg says climate change is 'an existential crisis'
Coleman, the co-director of US Youth Climate Strike, is one of them. She founded the
organisation with Isra Hirsi, the 16-year-old daughter of Democratic congresswoman
Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Villaseñor, 13.
"It's really cool because it's driven by girls. I think that's amazing," she said.
Based on the "tonnes of people" she knows within the movement, she believes girls
outnumber boys. Learning about the effects of deforestation on sloths - her "favourite
animal" - was her gateway into climate activism.
But it was Thunberg's school walk-out, she said, that prompted her to start striking on
her own.

Image copyrightHAVEN COLEMANImage captionHaven has accused adults of being frozen by the
fear of change
So she began descending the steps of the Denver Capitol Building every Friday with her
"school for climate strike" placard. With the help of Hirsi, who's from Minneapolis, and
Villaseñor, who's from New York, she led a nationwide strike on 15 March across all 50
states.
Coleman takes a dim view of adults like Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who
believes she should be in school, not out protesting. Her assessment of world leaders
was damning - she accused them of patronising her and being frozen by the fear of
change.
Youth strikers were "turning this fear into action", she said. "We're trying to fix a mess
that adults can still fix."

Coleman's organisation, US Youth Climate Strike, is backing the New Green Deal
(NGD) - a policy proposal to reduce carbon emissions by transforming the US economy.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest congresswoman in history at 29, is an
enthusiastic supporter of the policy initiative, although convincing others of its merits
has proved more difficult.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThunberg stands on stage at a Fridays for Future
protest in Berlin
Ms Ocasio-Cortez's NGD resolution was roundly rejected by the Senate in March,
defeated by 57 votes to zero. Republican lawmakers, some of whom do not believe in
man-made climate change, have branded the NGD a "socialist manifesto".
Their resistance illustrates the political realities facing young climate activists. For all the
young strikers' passion, it is politicians who are navigating the economic and practical
complexities of shifting the global economy away from fossil fuels and towards a
carbon-free future.
 Graphics: Where we are now on climate change
 Extinction Rebellion: What do they want and is it realistic?

 Is Greta Thunberg right about UK carbon emissions?
There is overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is caused by human
behaviour, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), a UN
body. A 2016 study of peer-reviewed journals said the IPCC's position was shared by
97% of actively publishing climate scientists. Most leading scientific organisations,
including NASA, the American Meteorological Society and the UK Met Office, agree.
To minimise the risks, global carbon emissions must be cut by 50% within the next 11
years, a landmark UN report warned last year. If temperatures go beyond the 1.5C
threshold, experts fear climate change could become unstoppable by 2030 - by which
time Lilly Platt will be 22.
Platt, who is 11 and lives in the Netherlands, is impatient for change. "I'm in the
generation that has to suffer through this," she told the BBC.
Women of Africa: Ivorian baby food
pioneer fighting malnutrition
Marie Diongoye Konate founded a company in Ivory Coast that specialises in baby food made from
local products 21 years ago.
After training as an architect and engineer, and having lived in Brazil, she realised that back home
there was a tendency to "export what we produce and import what we consume".
She also found that in a country where malnutrition was a problem, soya was only used for animal
feed.
So she decided to start a firm that could offer highly nutritious baby food at an affordable price.
Now her firm, Protein Kissee-La (PKL), occupies second place in the baby food market in Ivory
Coast and it also sells products to Senegal, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Women of Africa is a BBC season recognising inspiring women across the continent. The first series,
Africa's Unsung Heroes, introduces eight women who are making a difference in their country - and
beyond.

Increase in number of GPs in Northern
Ireland
he number of GPs per head of population in NI is rising despite falling elsewhere
in the UK, the BBC can reveal.
The Nuffield Trust analysis looked at GPs working in the NHS, both full and part-time,
per 100,000 people.
While there are more doctors, fewer of them are choosing to work full time, said the
Royal College of GPs.
Recognising issues linked to an ageing population, the Department of Health said it
needed to train more GPs.
Currently, there are 67 per 100,000 people in Northern Ireland, meaning there are
almost six more doctors per 100,000 people than there were a decade ago - in England
they are down by six.
County Fermanagh, Omagh and Mid Ulster have the lowest number of doctors per head
of population, with a number of practices being forced to merge in order to stay open.
GPs per 100,000 population
Council GPs
Antrim and Newtownabbey 59.8
Ards and North Down 71.6
Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon 67
Belfast 72.2
Causeway Coast and Glens 69.3
Derry City and Strabane 65.3

Council GPs
Fermanagh and Omagh 58.3
Lisburn and Castlereagh 70.6
Mid and East Antrim 72.1
Mid Ulster 57.5
Newry, Mourne and Down 63.8
Northern Ireland 67
Source: Nuffield Trust
Northern Ireland's Royal College of GPs said it required more doctors to work full time in
general practice - particularly in rural areas - but acknowledged that years of lobbying
for additional funding had paid off.
Image captionGrainne Doran says more GPs are choosing not to work full time
"We have had an increase in the total number of GPs but unfortunately they are not all
choosing to work full time in GP practices," said the college's chairwoman, Dr Grainne
Doran.
"Instead, they are expanding their portfolios in other areas - which is great but doesn't
mean we have enough GPs working in surgeries to meet the needs of a growing
population.
"For instance, they are working in emergency departments perhaps one night a week,
and they are also involved in hospice care, even involved in training."
 GP numbers in first sustained drop for 50 years
 Rise in patients waiting more than a year
 GP practices: New services to be offered
 Concerns over future of GP services
The nature of general practice is changing. Gone are the days when a GP worked full
time from one practice.
Dr Mark Cromie, who has been qualified for almost three years, works in both a rural
practice in Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, and in the local hospital, as well as being involved in
teaching.

"GPs want to work differently now," he said. "We don't want to work on our own and
isolated but instead as part of a wider team where we can bounce ideas off one
another.
"We are involved in a team of physiotherapists, social workers, dermatologists, often
under the one roof and that provides better care for patients."
Image captionDr Mark Cromie enjoys the variety of work available to a rural GP
Northern Ireland is struggling to get more people like Dr Cromie. Despite lobbying for
additional GP training places, and securing 111, only 86 were filled this year.
The Royal College of GPs admits it must now adopt a more positive tone about the
profession.

Ageing demographictransition
Imagine having no one to speak to for days or even weeks. No one to rely on if you were taken ill or
coping with a disability. No one to ask for advice if you didn’t have enough money to heat your home
in winter.
Today, 2.5 million older people say they have no one to turn to when they need help most, and 1.4
million older people are chronically lonely.
No one should have no one to turn to, especially as they get older, and we can change this. It’s why
Age UK is here.
We’re the UK’s leading charity for older people. We tackle the big issues – like loneliness, health
care and pensions – and we challenge Government to do more to help. We’re a voice you can trust
for advice. From spotting a scam to coping with a bereavement, our free advice line is only a phone
call away – vital for older people not online, though we offer web advice too. And through our
network of local Age UKs we’re close by to give support – like help getting to a hospital appointment
or a regular visit from a friendly volunteer.
We’re here day in, day out, because every older person needs to know that someone cares and will
be there for them. Our ageing population means more people need us than ever before and we need
your support to reach them.
Will you help make sure we are there when an older person needs us most?
Website
Facebook
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Len Goodman
I’m honoured to be supporting this appeal for Age UK, the UK’s leading charity for older people.
Let’s face it, none of us is getting any younger. And we all want to know that there’ll be someone
there for us when we need a little help.
But sadly, there are millions of older people in the UK who don’t have anyone to turn to when they
need support. That’s why the work Age UK does is so important.

Age UK gives advice, support and friendship to older people, helping them face the challenges
getting older can bring. For many, it’s a lifeline – a reminder that there are people who care at a time
in life when many feel forgotten.
I’ve seen the difference Age UK makes to people’s lives. By making a donation today, you can help
give more older people someone to turn to.
Prevention of AIDS/HIV
For the first time, Bangladesh is going to send female police officers to a foreign
UN peacekeeping mission.
Demand for Bangladeshi police officers by the UN for its peacekeeping missions is increasing
because they are renowned for their professionalism.
Bangladesh police first sent officers to the UN peacekeeping mission in in Namibia in 1989.
Presently there are 1,608 police personnel working in Congo, East Timor, Ivory Coast,
Liberia and Sudan.
Many operate in hostile environments - the female officers will be deployed in Haiti.
'Breakthrough'
"According to the UN mandate, our activities in quake-ravaged Haiti will be providing
humanitarian activities besides community policing," said Rokfar Sultana, who will command
the women's contingent.
"We will also provide primary education, primary healthcare, protection on violence against
women, prevention of HIV, Aids training and so on," she said.
Bangladesh currently has 10 police units in different countries.
"But this is the first time that a women's unit is being sent to the UN peacekeeping mission.
We think that it is a breakthrough for our country," said Bangladesh police chief Nur
Mohammad.
Besides this female contingent, another male contingent will also be sent in Haiti. Each has
160 police officers.
Since 1989, Bangladesh has sent 6,369 officers to the UN peacekeeping mission.
"I am thrilled to bits that I am going to Haiti for peacekeeping activities in the UN mission,"
said Ms Sultana.
"This step of the government and Bangladesh police in upholding the women's development
is commendable and timely," she said.
Quick-fix slimming pills 'potentially
dangerous', says medicines body

Slimming pills bought online are "potentially dangerous" and can cause serious
health problems, says the UK's medicines watchdog.
Side-effects can include heart problems, blurred vision and diarrhoea, and some contain
banned ingredients.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said people should
go to their GP for advice first.
A survey of 1,800 slimmers found one in three had bought pills online, with two-thirds
experiencing side-effects.
Most of those questioned by the MHRA and Slimming World had bought online because
they had wanted to lose weight quickly. About 40% said they had not wanted to speak
to a GP or pharmacist.
'Desperate'
Sarah-Jayne Walker, 30, saw diet pills as "a quick fix", but they gave her palpitations
and made her feel faint.

Image copyrightSARAH-JAYNE WALKERImage captionSarah-Jayne became obsessed with
slimming pills before stopping her habit
She bought the pills online and took them for four months, before realising she had no
idea what was in them.
"The pills came in a little white bottle with no leaflet and no instructions," she says.
"Looking back, I think, 'What was I doing?'
"I was in a desperate place - my weight had fluctuated for years - and I fell for the
promises online."
Sarah-Jayne suffered from light-headedness, sickness and irritable bowel syndrome.
"I knew the pills were affecting my body and I had become dependent on them," she
says.

The MHRA said people should take medicines only after a consultation with their GP.
The agency's #FakeMeds campaign warns buying from websites also increases the risk
of being ripped off or having your identity stolen.
Top tips to avoid fake medicines online
 Before buying, check if the seller is licensed to sell medicines online, through this checking system
 "Herbal" or "all-natural" products can still contain chemical ingredients that may have side-effects
 Contact the MHRA if you have experienced side-effects from a suspected fake product
 Don't self-diagnose - a doctor can work out the right treatment for you
More tips are available here
MHRA senior policy manager Lynda Scammell said: "Quick fixes for losing weight may
have serious health consequences in the short or long term, including organ failure and
death.
"It's essential you know what you're buying online and what the risks are.
"If you don't, your weight could end up being the least of your worries."

Why South Africa is like a Mexican soap
opera
With the African National Congress party's figurehead Nelson Mandela in fragile
health and the country facing a series of difficult problems, this is a critical period
for South Africa.

It was late afternoon, and they were still cheering. Every few seconds another name
was read out, and the families - some overflowing into the lobby outside the hall -
jumped up from their chairs with delight.
It was graduation day at Johannesburg's grand, elegant Wits University this week.
I sat on the steps outside the hall, soaking up the noisy waves of optimism that kept
rushing past.
Inside, Ahmed Kathrada seemed to be doing much the same. He is 83 years old now,
and a little frail but still very much the same rigorous intellectual heavyweight who spent
quarter of a century in prison with Nelson Mandela.
Mr Kathrada was at Wits to receive his own honorary doctorate. Afterwards, away from
the well-dressed crowds streaming out of the hall, he sat down carefully, smiled, and
said: "A day like this makes you feel good about this country."
Of course, we then started talking about everything that was going wrong - about the
prevailing sense of gloom, even crisis, that has settled on South Africa.
"I just wish we could unite," he said solemnly, "as we used to in prison, to fight a
common enemy".
It is striking how many people seem genuinely worried about what will happen when Mandela
is gone
It has been a rough few months here: The killing of 34 workers at the Marikana mine;
the corruption and chaos exposed almost daily within the ruling ANC; the downgrading
of South Africa's economic prospects by ratings agencies.
Grim stuff. But it is worth remembering that crisis is something of a speciality here.
Nonsense
If South Africa were a television show, it would probably be a Mexican soap opera -
raucous, full of absurd, repetitive plots, with the promise of imminent disaster and
salvation around every corner.
It is as if the nation cannot quite let go of its genuinely miraculous, dramatic past and
accept the fact that it has become just another messy, complicated country.
Of course, this week we have all been reminded of that past with the news that Nelson
Mandela, now 94 years old, is back in hospital.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThis
week, Nelson Mandela was being treated for a lung infection at a hospital in Pretoria
Over time most South Africans have quietly come to accept the fact that he will not be
here forever.
But it is striking how many people seem genuinely worried about what will happen when
he is gone.
It used to be a few shrill, nervous white people who talked about how it was only Mr
Mandela - with his moral authority - who was preventing the black majority from
throwing them out of the country or worse. But now you hear black people worrying
about what will happen too.
I spent an hour recently, arguing with a bright student who was convinced that civil war
was inevitable.
Such fears are, I am sure, nonsense. In political terms South Africa has already been
living in a post-Mandela era for longer than it would like to admit.
But the ruling party - the ANC - still leans heavily on its liberation history, and on Mr
Mandela in particular, and it does have a lot to lose.
Fractious nation
This weekend the ANC is gathering, as it does every five years, to decide who should
lead the party and which policies it should champion.
The run-up has been quite a spectacle. You could argue that the furious power battles
are a sign of healthy internal democracy, or you could look at the political murders, and
the greedy factionalism as proof that yet another African liberation movement has
pressed the self-destruct button.
It is worth mentioning that the ANC, for all its flaws, has plenty of good people - and
achievements - under its belt.

And it can adapt. After the disastrous HIV/Aids denial of the past, President Jacob
Zuma's government has rolled out the right drugs, and life expectancy for South
Africans has jumped from 54 to 60 in five years. A spectacular leap.
From Our Own Correspondent
 Insight and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
 Broadcast on Radio 4 and BBC World Service
Listen to the programme
Download the programme
Over the course of the ANC's weeklong conference there will be plenty of talk about
President Zuma's alleged corruption, and attempts to unseat him.
There will be angry calls to nationalise South Africa's mines, and seize all white-owned
farms. And there will be more sober, sensible debates about how to make this a less
unequal society.
It will all matter hugely - and at the same time - make little practical difference.
The ANC has been noisily pondering these questions for years but its leadership is now
safely ensconced within South Africa's growing, aspirational middle class, and it seems
to have little appetite for revolution.
And so a fractious nation will rumble on.
For me, the most troubling thing today is not the messy politics, or the inequality, or the
unemployment - which, when you include the informal sector, is not as high as often
claimed.
The really shocking thing is this:
When it comes to primary school education - this country ranks among the very worst in
the world. Below Bangladesh. Below Nigeria.
A generation is being forsaken, which makes the smiles of those graduating university
students and their cheering families this week, all the more moving - and bitter-sweet.

IAEA demands Iran nuclear access to
Parchin site
The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has called for access to Iran's
Parchin military site "without further delay" and without waiting for negotiations
to make progress.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long suspected nuclear weapons
research is taking place at the site, just outside Tehran.
It has not had access to the military complex since 2005.
Tehran says it is refining uranium only for peaceful energy purposes.
Suspicions
Director general Yukiya Amano made the comments in a speech to the IAEA's
governing board.
"Providing access to the Parchin site would be a positive step which would help to
demonstrate Iran's willingness to engage with the agency on the substance of our
concerns," he said.
Access should be granted without waiting for further talks, Mr Amano added.
The IAEA suspects Iran could have carried out experiments with explosives capable of
triggering a nuclear weapon at Parchin.
The UN agency has been trying to encourage Iran to cooperate with its investigations
into suspected nuclear weapons research for more than a year, but Mr Amano admitted
he was "unable to report any progress".
Last month he sent a delegation to Tehran in the latest of a series of talks to negotiate a
possible resumption of site visits, but the head of Iran's atomic energy programme
Fereydun Abbasi-Davani said visits to Parchin or any other site were "not on the
agenda".
Little progress

Image captionYukiya Amano said he was "unable
to report any progress" on talks with Iran
Mr Amano said he remained committed to negotiations, but warned they must proceed
with "a sense of urgency and a focus on achieving concrete results".
Iran is also continuing separate talks with the five members of the UN Security Council -
the UK, US, France, Russia and China - as well as Germany.
The last round was held in Kazakhstan last week. They were described as "useful" by a
Western diplomat, but there appears to have been little progress on the central issue of
Iran's uranium enrichment programme.
Earlier in February Iran also said it was installing upgraded uranium enrichment
centrifuges at a separate research site - a move the US described as "an escalation".
Iran denies that it is trying to develop nuclear weapons, arguing that it is entitled to
develop a civilian nuclear energy generation programme under the international nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which it is a signatory.
Last week it announced it had found large new uranium deposits, trebling the size of its
uranium supply, and was planning to expand its nuclear power programme.

Worsening child poverty harms learning,
say teachers
Poverty is harming children's capacity to learn and it's getting worse, suggests a
survey of teachers.
Pupils who go to school hungry from cramped, noisy homes where they can't sleep
properly, struggle to learn says the National Education Union (NEU).
"I try to teach my phonics group as I am giving others cereal to eat," one teacher told
NEU researchers.
Ministers say employment is at a record high, wages outstrip inflation and fewer people
are in "absolute" poverty.
But the NEU says anecdotal evidence from its members suggests more families are
falling into poverty.
"Government does not want to hear these stories from the frontline of teaching, but they
must," said NEU Joint General Secretary, Dr Mary Bousted.
"A decade of austerity has only served to place more children in poverty while at the
same time destroying the support structures for poor families," she added.
 Pupil poverty pressure on school cash
 One million children face 'Dickensian poverty'
 Poverty causing 'misery' in UK, says UN official
In-work poverty
More than 8,600 NEU members from across the UK responded to an online survey
between March 20 and April 3.
Of these, an overwhelming 91% said poverty was a factor in limiting children's capacity
to learn, with almost half (49%) deeming it a major factor.
Among state school teachers, the figures rose to 97% and 52%.
Overall, half the teachers who responded said pupil poverty was worse than in 2016.
"The poverty gap has clearly got bigger," one teacher told the researchers.

"A number of my pupils live in overcrowded housing where they are sharing rooms with
small children or babies, and have disrupted sleep.
"One child has been referred to the school wellbeing team due to anxiety about their
family's financial situation," said another.
Another reported that poverty was not necessarily confined to families where no one
works but also affects homes with "parents working hard in jobs but still not able to get
the basics".
One commented: "The ones who are in crisis are not only the children whose parents
do not work, but the ones who do."
'Bullied for being poor'
About three-quarters blamed poverty for children falling asleep in lessons, being unable
to concentrate and behaving badly.
About half said their students had experienced hunger or ill health as a result of poverty,
and more than a third said pupils were sometimes bullied for being poor.
"Most of my class arrive at school hungry and thirsty," said one teacher.
Some teachers told the researchers that mufti days and dress-up days can be a source
of shame for the poorest pupils, with some reluctant to come in because of negative
comments or stares.
A teacher commented: "The rich children show off and those struggling with finances
are really noticed by the other children."

Image captionWith school budgets under pressure, some can no longer afford breakfast clubs
Older pupils are sometimes unable to afford course text books or calculators, and
providing electronic copies doesn't help pupils from homes without access to computers
or the internet, the survey found.
Some teachers reported using their own money to buy snacks or new underwear for
pupils, and sometimes schools help out by washing clothes or providing free breakfasts.
But budgets are increasingly stretched and one teacher reported that their school had
recently had to axe its breakfast club.
England's children's minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said tackling disadvantage was a
government priority, acknowledging "some families need extra help".
"While all infant children can benefit from our universal free school meals programme,
we are making sure that more than a million of the most disadvantaged children are
also accessing free school meals throughout their education, saving families around
£400 per year.
"We are also investing £9m to give more access to holiday clubs, where they can
benefit from activities and a nutritious meal during the school break."

Should We Rethink the Ban on Child
Labour?
Most countries in the world have signed up to the idea that no child should work at all under a certain
age – but is this the best approach? This week Nicolle, a 17 year old from Peru, has been part of a
delegation of child labourers visiting the UN to ask them to rethink their ban on child labour. She’s
been working since she was 8 years old, and says not only did her family need the money she
earned, but working brought her status and respect. Some charities and experts working with child
labourers agree that there are safe forms of child work. They say non-hazardous work can allow
children to help their families, gain life skills, and even pay for the school uniforms and equipment
they need to stay in education. But the UN and other former child labourers disagree, saying an
outright ban is the only way to protect children from exploitation. We ask whether it’s time to rethink
the ban on child labour.
Contributors include:
Benjamin Smith – Senior Officer for Child Labour, International Labour Organization
Jo Boyden – Professor of International Development, Oxford University
Zulema Lopez – former child labourer
Kavita Ratna - Director of Advocacy and Fundraising, Concerned for Working Children
Presenter: Helena Merriman
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
This edition of The Inquiry was first broadcast in October 2018 on the BBC World Service.
Rotherham child sex abuse: Forty
people investigated
Forty people are being investigated over child sex abuse dating back 20 years in
Rotherham.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said 38 men and two women had been arrested or
interviewed by appointment over the past two months.
The inquiry relates to child sex abuse and exploitation offences on 13 victims, between
1997 to 2015 when they were aged 11 to 26.
All have been bailed or released under investigation as inquiries continue.
The NCA said the individuals were aged between 29 and 53 and were from Sheffield,
Rotherham, Leeds, Dewsbury and Maidstone.
Image copyrightNCAImage captionOperation Stovewood is being conducted at the request of South
Yorkshire Police
The inquiry is part of Operation Stovewood, which is the largest law enforcement
investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation in the UK.

It is run by the National Crime Agency and has so far identified more than 1,500
potential victims in Rotherham.
To date, 14 people have been convicted and 13 more are awaiting trial.
Birthweightand Health
Winifred Robinson follows the fortunes of some of the thousands of babies being tracked by the
Bradford Institute for Health Research in an effort to find out why genetic disorders and cases of
infant and child mortality are so high in the city of Bradford.
Eventually, 10,000 families will be recruited in what will be the most ambitious study of children's
health ever undertaken in the world.
This is the first of three programmes to be broadcast over 18 months that will follow the progress of
the study.
Extremism is global education fight,
says Blair
Extremism should be treated as a global problem like climate change, says Tony
Blair, speaking about the role of education in the wake of the Christchurch
mosque shootings.
The former UK prime minister said there should be an international agreement to put
teaching against extremism into education systems around the world.
Mr Blair said it could be in the style of the Kyoto Protocol, where countries committed to
an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As signatories to Kyoto have to answer for environmental pollution, Mr Blair wants
governments to be accountable for "spiritual or mental pollution" if they allow young
people to be taught a "closed-minded view of the world".

Beyond borders
Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai this week, Mr Blair
discussed how education should respond to last month's attacks on mosques in New
Zealand, in which 50 people died.
Mr Blair told the international education conference that extremism had to be tackled
from an international perspective, rather than in terms of individual countries.
"What happens within a country's borders is not just that country's business," said Mr
Blair.
He called for education systems to actively promote a "tolerant view of the world".
"All countries have to do this because everyone has got problems - there is Islamist
extremism, right-wing hate speech, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia."
Challenging prejudice needed to begin at an early age, he argued.
"It's often when children are at their youngest that they need to be given this awareness
of the way the world is - and helped to think in a way that is open minded from that
young age."
Counter-terror spending
Mr Blair said many education systems needed "vital reform" because "literally millions"
of children were being taught in a way that was narrow and closed.
He said ducation should be seen as a "security issue" and urged governments to use a
greater share of counter-extremism expenditure to "invest in the future of our education
systems and our young people".
 New Zealand PM orders inquiry after mosque attacks
 Christchurch: The people killed as they prayed
 Education rankings to test tolerance
According to the US-based think tank, the Stimson Centre, the US has spent at least
$2.8trn (£2.1trn) on counter-terrorism efforts since the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001.
But programmes to prevent violent extremism, including through education, make up
only 0.1% of global spending on counter-terrorism, according to the Centre for Strategic
and International Studies, also based in the US.
Mr Blair emphasised that investing in education to prevent extremism should be a
priority.

"You've got to deal with the ideology of extremism and not just the consequences," he
said.
'Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable'
600 scientists are calling on the EU to make sustainability the cornerstone of its
trade negotiations with Brazil.
The researchers argue in a letter to the journal Science that the country's forests and
grasslands are crucial for nature and the climate.
They say measures to safeguard one of the last great forests should be built into new
trade rules.
The EU is currently in negotiations with the South American trading bloc that includes
Brazil.
In 2011 alone, the EU imported beef and livestock feed associated with Brazilian
deforestation equivalent to more than 300 football fields per day, say the scientists.
 Tropical tree loss persists at high levels
 Amazon deforestation 'worst in 10 years'

Image copyrightTHIAGO FORESTIImage captionFire in Brazil's Cerrado near croplands
"The EU thus urgently needs to strengthen efforts on sustainable trade and uphold its
commitments on human rights, environmental protection, and climate change
mitigation," say the signatories, led by Laura Kehoe of the University of Oxford.
They want the EU to make trade negotiations conditional on the Brazilian government
upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples; improving procedures to trace commodities
associated with deforestation and conflicts over Indigenous rights; and consulting with
local communities on traded goods.
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil hit its highest rate in a decade last year,
according to official data.
About 7,900 sq km (3,050 sq miles) of the world's largest rainforest was destroyed
between August 2017 and July 2018 - an area roughly five times the size of London.

Greenpeace hits back at Trump tweet on
climate change denial
Greenpeace has hit back against President Donald Trump for tweeting a climate
change denial from a former member of the environmental group.
Mr Trump quoted Patrick Moore, who he claimed was a founder of Greenpeace, as
saying: "The whole climate crisis is not only Fake News, it's Fake Science."
Greenpeace said Mr Moore was not a founder, but a nuclear lobbyist who does not
represent the group.
The Republican president has frequently cast doubt on climate change science.
What was the claim?
Mr Trump tweeted about an interview Mr Moore gave on the Fox News programme Fox
& Friends, where he denied that climate change was a threat.
He was identified by the programme as being a co-founder of Greenpeace.
Mr Moore also lashed out at freshman Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez's Green New Deal, which is a resolution that aims to reduce carbon emissions
and mitigate the impact of climate change in the US.
 Can the Green New Deal really work?
 Trump's environmental rollback rolls on
Mr Moore called the congresswoman a "twit" and suggested global warming might be
beneficial as carbon dioxide is a "building block of life".
Mr Trump's tweet did not reference the Green New Deal, but quoted Mr Moore's denial
of climate change science, adding: "Wow!"
The president also labelled Mr Moore as a co-founder of Greenpeace.

MPs bicker over IPCC report on causes
of climate change
MPs have endorsed the findings of a UN climate panel that says humans are the
dominant cause of global warming.
Members of the Energy and Climate Change Committee said there was "no reason to
doubt the credibility of the science" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
But two MPs, known for their sceptical views, voted against this conclusion.
They said the committee report was more like cheer leading than objective analysis.
The IPCC issued its latest assessment of the causes, impacts and solutions to climate
science, in three parts, starting in September last year.
No reason for doubt
The panel's key conclusion was that the scientists were 95% certain that humans were
the "dominant cause" of warming since the 1950s.

But the IPCC has faced criticism about its relevance and methods after a number of small
errors were highlighted in its 2007 report.
What is starkly clear from the evidence we heard however is that there is no reason to doubt
the credibility of the scienceTim Yeo MP, Chair, Energy and Climate Change Committee
The cross-party commons body heard from a range of experts and concluded that the
panel had tightened its processes and the recent report was the most exhaustive and
heavily scrutinised to date.
The panel was sound, the MPs held, and so were its conclusions.
"What is starkly clear from the evidence we heard however is that there is no reason to
doubt the credibility of the science or the integrity of the scientists involved," said Tim
Yeo, MP chair of Energy and Climate Change Committee.
"Policymakers in the UK and around the world must now act on the IPCC's warning and
work to agree a binding global climate deal in 2015 to ensure temperature rises do not
exceed a point that could dangerously destabilise the climate."
Scientists involved with the IPCC were delighted with the endorsement.
Image copyrightGETTY
IMAGESImage captionThe third part of the IPCC report was published in Berlin in April
"I welcome the publication of this report which confirms unambiguously the robustness
of the IPCC process and the science of climate change," said Prof Rowan Sutton from
the University of Reading, and a lead author on Working Group 1.
"The atmosphere and oceans are getting warmer; Arctic ice is melting and sea levels
are rising. CO2 levels are at their highest for almost a million years, and it's clear that
man is to blame for these record levels."
Uncertainties ignored

But two members of the committee, Peter Lilley (Conservative) and Graham Stringer
(Labour), disagreed with the other nine.
They accused their fellow MPs of not holding the IPCC critically to account.
"As scientists by training, we do not dispute the science of the greenhouse effect - nor
did any of our witnesses," they said in a statement.
"However, there remain great uncertainties about how much warming a given increase
in greenhouse gases will cause, how much damage any temperature increase will
cause and the best balance between adaptation to versus prevention of global
warming."
The two MPs say that the underlying technical report of the IPCC acknowledges many
uncertainties, but these have been omitted from the critical Summary for Policymakers,
presented to politicians.
Among a number of issues they highlight the so-called "pause" in global warming since
1997.
"About one third of all the CO2 omitted by mankind since the industrial revolution has
been put into the atmosphere since 1997; yet there has been no statistically significant
increase in the mean global temperature since then.
"By definition, a period with record emissions but no warming cannot provide evidence
that emissions are the dominant cause of warming!"
The Energy and Climate Change Committee, in their report, took a different view. They
said that periods of hiatus are consistent with earlier assessments and forced climate
change takes place against a background of natural variability.
"The current period of hiatus does not undermine the core conclusions of the WGI
(working group 1) contribution to the fifth assessment report when put in the context of
the overall, long-term global energy budget.
"Despite the hiatus, the first decade of the 2000s was the warmest in the instrumental
record and overall warming is expected to continue in the coming decades."
A Different Day Out
Ellie is in Derbyshire to explote some of the things people can do on a different day out. Her first
stop is Carsington Water, where she learns how to build a makeshift raft before taking to the water
and racing it. Back on dry land, she takes in an arts trail that features chainsaw sculptures, including

a giant frame in which the landscape becomes the art. She heads to a limestone quarry to do some
daytime moth-spotting and finds out that this unusual habitat is the ideal home for some of the
country's rarest moths. And she takes part in the world-famous Bonsall Hen Racing Championships.
She meets the current world champion, eight-year-old Jack Alsop Smith, and gets some hen-racing
tips before going head to head to see who will be crowned 2018 champion. Ellie also looks back
through the Countryfile archives to come up with other ideas for a different day out.
Show less
DRC Election: Felix Tshisekedi Declared
President
Congo’s constitutional court confirmed Felix Tshisekedi’s presidential election win, dismissing a
challenge from opposition leader Martin Fayulu who rejected the court’s decision and declared
himself president. Mr Fayulu tells Newshour he wants his supporters to begin non-violent protests to
challenge to the results.
Also in the programme: A reporter on the ground in Zimbabwe tells us she's spoken to mothers of
children who've been beaten, and we speak to the director of a new film about a psychological
experiment called the 'Sex Raft'.
Image: Democratic Republic of Congo's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Union pour la
Democratie et le Progres Social - UDPS) party leader and presidential candidate Felix Tshisekedi.
Credit: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images.
Zimbabwe Food Riots
Three days of rioting in the Zimbabwe capital sparked by a rise in the cost of maize. The army
patrolled the streets of Harare as the police rounded up looters.
Also on the programme, sanctions on UNITA enforced by Angolan government and breaking the
wall of silence on SWAPO.

Eating insects: Would you be up for
trying something like this?
Insects are on the menu at a restaurant in New York City.
Brooklyn Bugs chef Joseph Yoon says his biggest challenge was turning something that
'people don't think of as food into something delicious'.
Bugs are easier to farm than cows and sheep, taking up less land and using less water.
That makes insects more environmentally friendly to eat.
And, this isn't as unusual as it might sound ... recently a major UK supermarket started
selling packets of edible bugs too.
Sainsbury's says it is the first British supermarket to stock packets of Eat Grub's smoky
BBQ crunchy roasted crickets, which will be sold in 250 stores across the country.
While it might sound strange to us, around the world eating bugs isn't that weird, More
than two billion people already eat them, and scientists say eating bugs could be the
key to saving our environment.
They believe insects could help fight world hunger and malnutrition because there are
so many of them, they are healthy, and have less of a carbon footprint.
Why are insects so good for us?
Crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms contain more copper, zinc, magnesium and calcium than
beef!
But remember not all bugs and insects are edible! You should always check
before you bite!
Maternal mental health: 'I just broke
down'

Northern Ireland political parties have signed a consensus statement pledging their support for more
funds for perinatal mental health.
This refers to the period during pregnancy and following birth.
Lindsey Hall, from County Down, suffered from perinatal anxiety, which was triggered when she
became pregnant when her son was just three months old.
She has welcomed the commitment from political parties, but is calling for a dedicated Mother and
Baby Unit (MBUs) in NI.
MBUs provide inpatient psychiatric care for mothers and their infants up to a year after childbirth.
The Department of Health said a number of models are being considered, including an MBU, but no
decision has yet been taken.
Mexico's Amlo riding high 10 months
after election
When Mexico's populist presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador
was elected by a landslide in July, some analysts warned that he could quickly
lose support once in office, especially if he failed to deliver on his ambitious
promise of delivering a "radical transformation" of his country.
Five months after his swearing-in, his approval ratings range between 60% and 86%
and are the envy of many other leaders in the hemisphere.
But how has the 65 year old commonly referred to as Amlo fared so far and what
problems has he been able to tackle?

Caster Semenya to hear verdict on
appeal against IAAF testosterone rule on
Wednesday
The result of Caster Semenya's landmark case against athletics' governing body
will be published on Wednesday.
The double Olympic 800m champion is challenging the IAAF over its regulation
restricting testosterone levels in female runners.
The rule will apply to women in track events from 400m up to the mile.
Semenya would either have to take medication to be eligible to compete in the 800m,
change events or move to compete against men.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it will publish its ruling at midday on Wednesday.
Semenya won 5,000m gold at the South African Athletics Championships on Friday - a
new distance for her that would not be affected by the IAAF rule change.
She has described the IAAF's new rules as "unfair" and said she wanted to "run
naturally, the way I was born".
What are the proposed changes?
The rules would require athletes to keep their testosterone levels below a prescribed
amount "for at least six months prior to competing".
The IAAF said in April 2018 that the new measures would stop women with high
testosterone levels gaining a competitive advantage.
Testosterone is a hormone that increases muscle mass, strength and haemoglobin,
which affects endurance.
The rules were intended to be brought in on 1 November 2018, but the legal challenge
from Semenya and Athletics South Africa caused that to be delayed until 26 March.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has called the plans "unnecessary, harmful
and humiliating" and South Africa's sports minister called them a "human rights
violation".

Libya ‘war crimes’ videos shared on
social media
An investigation by BBC Arabic has found evidence of alleged war crimes in Libya being widely
shared on Facebook and YouTube.
The BBC found images and videos on social media of the bodies of fighters and civilians being
desecrated by fighters from the self-styled Libyan National Army.
The force, led by strongman General Khalifa Haftar, controls a swathe of territory in the east of Libya
and is trying to seize the capital, Tripoli.
Under international law the desecration of bodies and posting the images online for propaganda is a
war crime.
The Foreign Office says it takes the allegations extremely seriously and is concerned about the
impact the recent violence is having on the civilian population.
Funding boost to tackle marine plastic
pollution
The funding is being aimed at schemes which "capture, collect, recover and reprocess
marine plastic waste".
Projects which prevent plastics entering the marine environment could also receive
financial backing.
The government had earmarked £500,000 for the project before announcing that figure
would be doubled.
There are a number of areas on the west coast of Scotland where plastics are a
particular problem.
These include Arrochar, where the tides and wind direction result in large accumulations
on the beach at the head of Loch Long.
'Throwaway habits'
Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the funding package showed the
government's "absolute commitment to tackle the scourge of marine plastic pollution".

Ms Cunningham added: "I believe that investment of this nature has the potential to
benefit our environment, economy and our coastlines which suffer from the unintended
consequences of modern-day lifestyle choices."
The move has been welcomed by government-funded agency Zero Waste Scotland.
Its chief executive, Iain Gulland, said: "Scotland's marine environment is increasingly
suffering from our throwaway habits, and very visibly when it comes to the proliferation
of single-use plastics.
"We know this is an issue people across Scotland are keen to see action on."
North Korea: Kim Jong-un oversees
'strike drill' missile component test
North Korea has confirmed via state media that leader Kim Jong-un has overseen
a "strike drill" testing various missile components.
"A number of short-range projectiles" were also fired from the Hodo peninsula into the
Sea of Japan on Saturday.
North Korea's leader gave the order of firing to "increase the combat ability" of the
country, the announcement said.
US President Donald Trump tweeted he believed Mr Kim would not jeopardise the path
towards better relations.
He added that the North Korean leader "knows that I am with him & does not want to
break his promise to me. Deal will happen!
"I believe that Kim Jong-Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea
and will do nothing to interfere or end it," Mr Trump posted on social media on Saturday.

Image Copyright
@realDonaldTrump@REALDONALDTRUMP
Report
President Trump walked away from what he described as a bad deal offered by Kim
Jong-un at a summit meeting in Hanoi in February.
In its report on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr Kim had
stressed the need to "defend the political sovereignty and economic self-sustenance" of
the country in the face of threat and invasion.
The aim of the drill, which was testing "large-calibre long-range multiple rocket
launchers", was to "inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty
performance," the report said.
The North Korean leader told troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace
and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength".

Image copyrightAFP/KCNA VIA KNSImage captionKim Jong-un oversaw the test launches on
Saturday
What's the background?
It is believed that Saturday's test is intended to increase pressure on Washington to
move nuclear talks forward.
Last month, North Korea said it had tested what it described as a new "tactical guided
weapon".
That was the first test since the Hanoi summit.

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe second summit between President Trump and Mr Kim
in Hanoi, Vietnam
Analysts say a short-range solid fuel ballistic missile was fired on Saturday, making this
the most serious test since North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in
November 2017.
However, it does not violate North Korea's promise not to test long-range or nuclear
missiles.
 North Korea's missile and nuclear programme
 Nine charts which tell you all you need to knowabout North Korea
 North Korea crisis in 300 words
But Pyongyang appears to be growing impatient with Washington's insistence that full
economic sanctions remain until Mr Kim takes serious steps to dismantle his nuclear
weapons programme, says the BBC's Laura Bicker.
What's the reaction been?

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea "fired a number
of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to
the north-eastern direction from 09:06 (00:06 GMT) to 09:27" on Saturday.
The missiles flew for between 70km and 200km (45-125 miles) before landing in the
Sea of Japan, they added.
Seoul has previously called on Pyongyang to "stop acts that escalate military tension on
the Korean peninsula".
Avengers - Should we reversethe snap?
More or Less
At the end of the Avengers: Infinity War film, the villain - Thanos - snapped his fingers in the magical
infinity gauntlet and disintegrated half of all life across the universe. The Avengers want to reverse
the snap but would it be better for mankind to live in a world with a population of less than four
billion? Tim Harford investigates the economics of Thanos with anthropologist professor Sharon
DeWitte and fictionomics blogger Zachary Feinstein PHD.
Cyclone Kenneth: Mozambique braces
for another destructive storm
Mozambique is braced for another cyclone following the devastation of Cyclone
Idai last month, which killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless.
Cyclone Kenneth is also predicted to hit Tanzania, bringing winds of up to 200km/h (124
mph) and torrential rain.
Authorities in Tanzania have advised people in southern coastal regions to move to
safer ground.
Residents have been told to expect damage to their houses and farms.
Cyclone Idai made landfall near the Mozambican port city of Beira on 14 March, packing
winds of up to 177 km/h and bringing torrential rain which caused extensive flooding.
 Africa Live: More on this and other stories
 Cyclone Idai: What the aftermath looks like

More than 700 people were killed in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and at least
three million were left in need of humanitarian assistance.
Tanzania's Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma regions have been listed as the most prone to
the weather, which is predicted to hit the country on Thursday.
Authorities have urged people who live in mud houses to seek shelter where they would
be safe.
The storm is forecast to also affect Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province.
Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers have been put on alert in Tanzania and
Mozambique. And the organisation has alerted communities in northern Mozambique
most likely to suffer from flooding and landslides.
Authorities in the island nation of Comoros have closed airports for at least 24 hours as
a precautionary measure against the cyclone expected there on Wednesday, reports
privately-owned Comores Infos news website.
Schools have also also been closed, it adds.
Cyclone Kenneth could be the strongest cyclone ever recorded to make landfall in this
region, BBC Weather reports.
'Our water pollution is a cancer'
Iraq is facing a water crisis.
Last summer the city of Basra fell sick. More than 100,000 people were rushed to hospital after being poisoned
by the city’s water supply.
Around the same time, the country’s marshes – believed to be the original Garden of Eden – shrunk to a
quarter of their original size.
In northern Iraq "waterkeeper" Nabil Musa is fighting to protect the environment.
He showed BBC News's Martin Patience why the country was facing what he called its gravest threat yet.

Women's Equal Rights Amendment sees
first hearing in 36 years
The Equal Rights Amendment is back on Capitol Hill - 36 years since its last
hearing and nearly a century since the amendment to guarantee equal rights to
women was first introduced in Congress.
On Tuesday lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the
Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties heard from witnesses - including actor and
women's rights advocate Patricia Arquette - about why, years on, the amendment is still
worth considering.
Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York in January again sponsored
a resolution to restart the ratification process needed to add the amendment to the US
constitution.
The provision would not change any laws, but seeks to formally give women the same
citizenship status as men.
While 76% of constitutions around the world in some way guarantee women's equality, the
US constitution, technically, does not.
Last June, the state of Illinois voted in favour of the amendment, becoming the 37th
state to do so.
In theory, only one more state must ratify the amendment to obtain the majority needed
to amend America's founding charter.
"With issues of equality at the forefront of today's conversations; with the #MeToo and
Time's Up movements, with the Women's Marches and more women than ever before
running for and being elected to office - we have an extraordinary responsibility and
opportunity to seize this moment," Ms Maloney said when the hearing was announced
earlier this month.
It's easy to see why the ERA is back on legislators' agenda in this political climate, but
why has it taken so long?

Image copyrightALAMYImage captionWomen supporting the ERA carry a banner down
Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC on 26 August 1977
What is the Equal Rights Amendment?
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) states: "Equality of rights under the law shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
Congress first introduced the ERA in 1923, but the campaign for ratification took off in
the 1960s during the civil rights movement.
In 1972, Congress passed the amendment and sent it to the states for approval. Thirty-
eight states must ratify an amendment before it is added to the Constitution.

According to Gallup Polls from 1975-81, the majority of Americans - men and women -
were in favour of the amendment. In the 1970s, only an average of 27% of those polled
opposed it.
Senators who opposed the ERA persuaded Congress to set a seven-year deadline for
states to pass the amendment. Congress even extended that deadline an additional
three years in 1978.
By 1977, 35 states had ratified the ERA - and then the movement stalled until 2017.
Image copyrightBETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGESImage captionIn 1976, Phyllis Schlafly led
anti-ERA protesters in Washington DC
So why did it fail?
Many historians attribute the failure to one conservative woman: Phyllis Schlafly.

Mrs Schlafly was a lawyer and housewife from Illinois who founded the Stop ERA
group.
Her campaigning became one of the first grassroots conservative movements in the US.
"Women's libbers are promoting free sex instead of the 'slavery of marriage'," Mrs
Schlafly wrote in a 1974 issue of Society Magazine.
"They are promoting Federal 'day-care centres' for babies instead of homes... abortions
instead of families.
"Let's not permit this tiny minority to degrade the role that most women prefer."
Mrs Schlafly capitalised on many of the same fears that plagued the suffrage
movement: that the ERA would promote abortions and homosexuality, send women into
military combat and deny a woman's right to be supported by her husband.
"Those fears at the time were greatly exaggerated or untrue," Jane Mansbridge, political
science professor at Harvard University, told the BBC.
"The controversies were all spurred by what I and many lawyers believe to be
misinterpretations of the ERA."
Mrs Schlafly motivated conservative women across the country to rally behind "the
rights of the wife".
Marjorie Spruill, professor emerita of history at the University of South Carolina, said
Mrs Schlafly's campaign used religion to form "an effective coalition" against the ERA.
"Traditionally Catholics, evangelical and fundamentalist Protestants, and Mormons
distrusted and were hostile to one another, but they shared a mutual fear and disdain
regarding feminism," Prof Spruill told the BBC.
"Conservatives pointed to the many successes of the feminist movement to say that
women can achieve equal rights without a questionable, potentially dangerous
constitutional amendment."
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionWomen march in Washington DC after Trump's
inauguration
Why are we talking about it now?
The ERA has been before every session of Congress since 1982, but the 2016
presidential election and the #MeToo movement has moved the ERA back into the
public eye.

After Illinois' vote, the National Organization for Women president, Toni Van Pelt, told
NPR: "The #MeToo movement has underscored the importance of strong legal
protections for women's rights."
And #MeToo advocate Alyssa Milano is also present at Tuesday's hearing, highlighting
the movement's impact.
Image Copyright
@Alyssa_Milano@ALYSSA_MILANO
Report
Image copyrightBILL CLARK/CQ ROLL CALL VIA GETTY IMAGESImage captionAlyssa Milano
speaks with ERA activists outside the hearing room on 30 April
Did Illinois' ratification last year actually mean
anything?
"Given that Illinois was Schlafly's home state, it is a big symbolic victory," Prof Spruill
said.
It was also the only non-Southern, non-Mormon state not to ratify in the first round.
Only 13 states have not ratified the ERA as of April 2019 - and only one more must do
so to approve the measure, in theory.
But the 1982 deadline from Congress has long since passed.

So could the ERA make it on to the constitution?
Susan Bloch, professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University, said it will all
come down to timing.
"That'll be the question - when they added the time limit, was that legitimate? If it was,
then these are clearly too late," she told the BBC.
Those opposing the ERA maintain that the deadline has passed, so the entire
ratification process will need to start over for the amendment to be legitimately added.
Supporters of the amendment point to the fact that the 27th amendment - which
governs Congress members' salaries - passed after more than 100 years, so time
should not be an issue.

They also say that since the constitution does not mandate time limits for amendments,
the ERA is still valid.
"When the constitution was written, they didn't contemplate these [amendment
proposals] dragging on for hundreds of years," Prof Bloch said.
"I don't think anyone contemplated this crazy scenario. The fact that this amendment
has been hanging around so long, and some of the ratifications are new and some are
old and some are rescinded or modified weakens the argument that this is a
contemporaneous expression of what the people want the constitution to say."
The states who rescinded their ratifications pose another problem. The legality of the
recessions has yet to be debated in court.
Image copyrightBETTMANN ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGESImage captionPro-ERA protesters marched
through downtown St Louis in 1970
But do we still need an ERA?
To Prof Spruill, the answer is a resounding yes.
"Having the ERA would make it far more difficult for conservatives to roll back the gains
of the women's rights movement," she said.
"It would give women's rights more protection [and] raise the level of scrutiny to gender
issues to the level of racial and religious issues."
Prof Spruill acknowledged that much of what conservatives in the 1970s feared has
already come to pass, including women joining the military in combat roles, gender
neutral bathrooms, the legalisation of gay marriage and abortion protections.
Constitutional lawyer Prof Bloch told the BBC she didn't feel the amendment was
entirely necessary given current legal protections for equality.
"It wouldn't hurt if it were legitimately ratified," Prof Bloch added. "If it gets ratified, it is
just another arrow in the quiver of legal arguments."
For Prof Mansbridge, the US constitution needs the ERA - not to alter laws, but to
maintain principles.
"A good analogy is the first amendment to the US constitution.
"The framers did not have in mind a specific way that this amendment would change the
existing law.
"They just thought it was a good idea to have that principle in the constitution.

The equality of women, she argued, is just as important.

Mitzi assiment

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