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  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Harqen's AI platform analyses language to determine a candidate's suitability for a role, potentially making it less prone to bias than video-based recruitment technology. AI and 5G among the top 10 emerging technologies for 2020 Watch Now Artificial-intelligence-based hiring tools are already transforming the recruitment process by allowing businesses to vastly speed up the time it takes to identify top talent. With algorithms able to scour applications databases in the fraction of a time it would take a human hiring manager, AI-assisted hiring has the potential not only to give precious time back to businesses, but also draw in candidates from wider and more diverse talent pools. AI-assisted hiring is also posited as a potential solution for – reducing human bias whether subconscious or otherwise – in the hiring process. SEE: Robotic process automation: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) US company Harqen has been offering hiring technologies to some of the world's biggest companies for years, partnering with the likes of Walmart, FedEx and American Airlines to streamline and improve their hiring processes. Originating as an on-demand interviewing provider, the company has now expanded into AI with a new platform that it says offers a more dependable and bias-free means of matching employers with employees. The solution, simply called the Harqen Machine Learning Platform, analyses candidate's answers to interview questions and assesses the type of words and language used in their responses. According to Harqen, this allows it to put together a profile of psychological traits that can be used to help determine a candidate's suitability for a role. Combined with a resume analysis, which provides a more straightforward determiner of whether a candidate's professional and educational background fits with the requirements of the job, Harqen says its machine-learning platform is capable of making the same hiring decision as human recruiters 95% of the time. In one campaign that assessed approximately 3,500 job applications with "a very large US diagnostic firm" in early 2020, Harqen's machine-learning platform successfully predicted 2,193 of the candidate applications that were accepted, and 1,292 that were declined. Key to Harqen's offering is what the company's chief technology officer Mark Unak describes as the platform's linguistic analysis, which can identify word clusters that are specific to certain job types but also offers a personality analysis based on the so-called "big five" traits, also known as the OCEAN model (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), which can help hiring managers determine a candidate's enthusiasm for the position. "We have a dictionary of terms where most positive words are ranked as a +5 and most negative words are ranked as a -5, so we can determine how enthusiastic you are in the answers that you're giving," Unak tells TechRepublic. "We can also use a linguistic analysis to analyse the grammar," he adds, noting that about 60% of our vocabulary consists of just 80 words. Those are the pronouns, the propositions, the articles and the intransigent verbs. "The remaining 10,000 words in the English language fill in that 40%. By the analysis of how you use that, we can get a psychological trait analysis." According to Unak, using a machine-learning system that determines a candidate's suitability based on linguistic analysis is a more accurate and impartial method than those that rely on facial-scanning or vocal-inflection algorithms. Such machine-learning techniques within hiring are on the rise and are increasingly being adopted by major companies around the world. "That's kind of problematic," says Unak. "Not everybody expresses emotions in the same way, with the same facial expressions, and not everybody expresses the same emotion that's expected. Different cultures and different races might have different problems in expressing those facial expressions and having the computer recognise them." SEE: Diversity and Inclusion policy (TechRepublic Premium) By only analysing the linguistic content that has been transcribed from recorded interviews, Harqen's algorithm never factors in appearance, facial expressions, or other self-reported personality traits that could be unreliable. Unak says the company will also retrain its models on a regular basis as new data comes in, which will help ensure that algorithms don't get stuck in their old ways if candidates begin giving new answers to questions that are equally relevant. "If our customer evolves and they start to hire people who are either more diverse, or come up with different answers to the questions that are just as relevant, our models will pick that up," Unak adds. Diversity – whether based on gender, race, age or otherwise –has been show to play a significant role in the success or failure of workplace productivity and collaboration. Whether AI-based hiring tools can help here remains to be seen, and ultimately depends on whether they can be implemented in a fair and impartial way. Beyond diversity, Harqen is exploring how its machine-learning tool could help businesses get the best return on investment form their hiring choices. The magic word here is delayed gratification: the ability to accurately identify employees who can resist the temptation for immediate rewards and instead persevere for an even greater payoff in the future. "It's grit, it's persistence, it's the ability to imagine a future and it's the ability to develop and execute a plan to get there," says Unak. "Isn't that what hope and delayed gratification mean? I hope for a better future, I can imagine it, my hope is realistic and that there's a plan or a way to get there, and I'm going to work towards it." Data, Analytics and AI Newsletter Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. 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  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 The cohort will get help refining their investment pitches as well as access to the group's network of institutional investors. Image: elenabs, Getty Images/iStockphoto Three companies building artificial intelligence products and services have a fast track to funding as the newest members of the ELITE Group. This private business development program developed by the London Stock Exchange and Global Accelerated Ventures provides entrepreneurs with business coaching and access to institutional investors. ELITE announced Friday three new companies that will be in the organization's latest cohort: ModuleQ: An artificial intelligence (AI) platform that analyzes data from calendars, email, and Microsoft Teams to make business recommendations for individuals. Covex 2020: An AI company that combines and analyzes multiple data sets to support decision making. vElement: A service provider that specializes in robotic process automation, data science, and artificial intelligence. Thomas Tyler, global head of ELITE Americas and global head of business development, said that companies in the new cohort first will refine their core strategy and their pitch to investors. The next step is connecting the companies with ELITE's network of institutional investors. "The goal is to get bigger, get bought, or get listed," he said. SEE: Robotic process automation: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) ELITE has worked with companies in 45 countries and in all sectors that share a common factor of an ambition to grow and the willingness to learn. The focus for this cohort was fintech and healthtech. Companies applied for a spot and had to meet these criteria: Turnover greater than $5 million Operating earnings greater than 5% of turnover Positive net profit Demonstrate historic growth and future potential Convincing projections Credible management Motivation to deal with the cultural, organizational, managerial change required to access long-term financing opportunities Tyler said the ELITE program fills a gap for businesses that are beyond the accelerator phase and just starting to scale and grow. ELITE works with more than 200 partners including lawyers, brokers, and sales and marketing experts to support cohort companies. Tyler said that even in this climate of uncertainty there are opportunities to engage with investors, although entrepreneurs might have to accept slightly lower valuations. "Clearly COVID is going to change some portfolio strategies but our view is that the fundamentals of that process don't change," he said. Companies that are invited to join the organization can work with the coaches and use the funding network for as long as they need to. Tyler said members have been contacting ELITE for advice more frequently since the pandemic started. "COVID has highlighted where they were weaker than they thought and emphasized the need to have the right people on board and the right processes in place," he said. Polishing the investment pitch Tyler offered this advice for entrepreneurs looking for support from investors: Know how to tell your story Know your numbers Explain your governance processes Be able to explain clearly what your ambition is He said one common challenge for entrepreneurs is recognizing the moment when it's time to stop working on day-to-day operations and start working on the strategic plan. Having a comprehensive plan helps companies stand out to investors who hear hundreds of pitches a year. "A company that is unprepared may not necessarily have a tested investment story or a growth story that will withstand the scrutiny of an investment market," he said. Tyler said that ELITE helps companies refine their corporate governance and risk management plans because investors are looking for resilient business models. "Investors want to understand that there are good processes in place to protect the investment," he said. "Companies need a solid five-year strategic growth plan which can sometimes supersede whatever the business opportunity might be." "The process of building a business is one of constant learning and engagement and you have to have that mindset as you move through those processes," he said. Data, Analytics and AI Newsletter Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. Delivered Mondays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 22% of more than 500,000 business websites contain some form of racial and gender bias, according to UserWay. Getty Images/iStockphoto Website accessibility tech provider UserWay has released an AI-powered tool designed to help organizations ensure their websites are free from discriminatory, biased, and racially charged language. The tool, Content Moderator, flags content for review, and nothing is deleted or removed without approval from site administrators, according to UserWay. UserWay's customers are using its AI-powered accessibility widget, an advanced AI-based compliance-as-a-service (CaaS) technology that ensures brands provide an accessible digital experience that meets strict governmental and ADA regulations, the company said. "Focusing on digital racism and bias is long past due, and our team is eager to contribute to the conversation positively," UserWay founder and CEO Allon Mason said in a statement. In June, Google announced that it would be reevaluating what it considers acceptable language, Mason noted. So far, Google has changed terms including "blacklist" to "blocked list," "whitelist" to "allowed list," and "master-slave" to "primary/secondary," among others, he said. "That was the spark that triggered us to build this tool. At the time, we were enhancing our AI-powered capabilities that supply [alternate] text descriptions of images for screen readers," Mason said. "We realized that if word choices can make our customers' digital content inaccessible even without intending to, UserWay should help." The goal of the Content Moderator isn't to censor or silence, he added, but to make web teams aware of problematic language in user-generated content or in content they may have overlooked. SEE: Robotic process automation: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) Discriminatory language on websites is pervasive Before launching Content Moderator, UserWay ran its rule engine across more than 500,000 websites. The findings were concerning, the company said. Some 22% of the sites scanned contained some form of biased, racially charged, or offensive language, UserWay said. Of those: 52% were sites with instances of racial bias 24% were sites with instances of gender bias 12% were sites with instances of age bias 5% were sites with racial slurs 3% were sites with disability bias Words that the tool most often flagged for gender bias included "chairman," "fireman," "mankind," "forefather," and "man-made," UserWay said. Many of these terms have only recently been understood to be divisive and prejudicial. It is an enormous task for most site owners to keep track of the latest consensus around culturally sensitive terms, the company noted. The tool aims to make this task simple, centralized, and scalable, UserWay said. SEE: Gender Decoder and blind resumes: How to remove bias in your hiring process (TechRepublic) How Content Moderator works Historically, content moderation software using AI to detect racial bias and divisive speech has been site-specific, expensive, and available only within large social media platforms, the company maintained. A website owner can drop in the UserWay widget and will be alerted to divisive or offensive language as it appears, in real time. The widget works in three steps: Scan: Content Moderator scans all the content on a website, both static and dynamic. Content Moderator scans all the content on a website, both static and dynamic. Flag: The tool then flags words and phrases that may inadvertently promote stereotypes or prejudice, including text that could be considered racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, xenophobic, violent, intolerant, or otherwise offensive. The tool then flags words and phrases that may inadvertently promote stereotypes or prejudice, including text that could be considered racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, xenophobic, violent, intolerant, or otherwise offensive. Review: Site administrators review the suggestions and choose the ones they would like to accept. They can also edit the suggestions to flow with the site's content or recommend alternative replacements that are then fed back into UserWay's AI. More inclusive speech is needed now In the past few weeks, many legacy brands such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's, and Eskimo Pie, among others have yielded to mounting pressure from consumers to rid products of racial and ethnic stereotypes. Technology companies have likewise been reevaluating the usage of racialized words like "blacklist" and "whitelist" in favor of more inclusive language But brand integrity isn't the sole issue. Civil rights advocates, led by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), have increased pressure to ensure websites are carefully moderated, and recent calls for repeal of Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act may expose online publishers to future legal action for defamation based on opinions or reviews created by platform users, according to UserWay. In tandem with UserWay's Accessibility Widget, Content Moderator helps organizations mitigate the legal risk of both ADA- and ADL-related violations, the company said "We all know a list of words that are mocking (to put it mildly) of a variety of racial groups, or a variety of religious groups, or other political or gender persuasions," UserWay quoted Israel W. Charny, Israeli psychologist, genocide scholar, and executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, as saying. "UserWay's … tool flags these words and allows you to change them, an act of voluntary editing with cultural sensitivity. Giving options for improvement reduces the onus of the coerciveness that some people are feeling." In the same way that HTML code is remediated, Content Moderator can help users pinpoint and update word choices on their site, Mason said. "While Google and Apple are approaching the issue as a simple search-and-replace, UserWay looks deeper into the problem of bias," he said. The tool looks to detect verbalization patterns that consistently and routinely marginalize and disempower specific cohorts, he said. Its dictionary is frequently updated to align with cultural and social changes. A content owner can choose to agree, modify, or ignore the Content Moderator's suggestions, Mason added. "We intend to empower users by making them aware of the content that exists on their site–especially legacy and user-generated text that may not reflect their brand values,'' he said. "More importantly, we hope that by removing blatantly and subtly offensive content, we can help these sites become barrier-free and inviting for all users." Tech News You Can Use Newsletter We deliver the top business tech news stories about the companies, the people, and the products revolutionizing the planet. Delivered Daily Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Artificial intelligence is now mission-critical in most large organizations. Creating a Center of Excellence helps centralize the process and keep the focus on the business. Image: ShadeON, Getty Images/iStockphoto A Center of Excellence is "a team, a shared facility or an entity that provides leadership, best practices, research, support, and training for a focus area," and they are commonly used in healthcare to focus on specific problems or disciplines. I advocate that they can be used in organizations for artificial intelligence (AI) as well. What makes AI a strong candidate for a dedicated Center of Excellence is its rapidly expanding role as mission-critical technology in enterprises. Companies are finding that people in many different business units—not just data science or IT—want to be or are already involved with AI. SEE: Natural language processing: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic) In some cases, people are bringing in their own AI tools and solutions, but there is a need to orchestrate this buying to avoid waste. In other cases, people are independently developing their own AI and AI budgets, so there is no assurance that accountability for total AI spend or deployment exists. Together, these factors make a strong argument for an AI Center of Excellence. Such a center would include people from multiple business units, as well as from data science and IT. The goal would be to combine efforts, ideas, and budgets for an integrated and well-orchestrated approach to AI. Here are six tips for building a strong AI Center of Excellence: 1. A multi-disciplinary staff Many enterprises have "citizen" scientists in end-user departments. They also have a separate data science or IT staff performing AI work. The Center of Excellence would bring all of these people together into a single, cooperative AI unit. SEE: Hiring Kit: Computer Research Scientist (TechRepublic Premium) 2. Standardized tools and methods One of the downsides that occurs when individual business units and IT go off on their own to purchased AI solutions and tools is that the solutions and tools don't interoperate well with each other. This creates AI silos with data that is very difficult to leverage throughout the company. A central mission of the AI Center of Excellence should be standard solutions and tools so that every project uses a uniform methodology. 3. An IT life cycle approach for AI AI and big data are now mainstream and mission-critical. The era of pure experimentation is over, and it's time to get AI projects into useful production. A good way to do this is to borrow a page from traditional IT by using a project life cycle methodology. The methodology could even be the standard: Define, develop, test, stage, and deploy-and-maintain methods for applications. SEE: Robotic process automation: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic) One problem with many of today's AI projects is that they get stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of develop-test-retest, so they never make it into production. There should be more pressure for AI apps to make it into production so the apps can pay off for the company. 4. A user and IT outreach strategy for the CoE Because of its focus, a Center of Excellence can quickly become cloistered from the rest of the company. This can create a "silo." To avoid this, analysts from the Center should be assigned as liaisons to end business units and to IT. Continuous communications between the Center and the rest of the company assure that the Center stays in everyone's minds, which enables it to become integral to the company. SEE: 85% of organizations are using AI in deployed applications (TechRepublic) 5. An RTB goal A Center of Excellence should include some experimentation, but the end goal is always getting a return back to the business (RTB). To accomplish this, AI applications must be deployed in production where they deliver measurable value to operations, revenues, product development, and strategy. SEE: How to govern AI in your organization: 6 tips (TechRepublic) 6. Operational reviews every six months When you set up a new function, there are bound to be things that go well and others that need to be further tuned. Initially, the Center of AI Excellence should be reviewed every six months in order to effect tuneups based upon what has been learned. Data, Analytics and AI Newsletter Learn the latest news and best practices about data science, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. Delivered Mondays Sign up today Also see 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Image copyright Reuters There is little evidence of coronavirus being transmitted in schools, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said. Mr Williamson said the government was being guided by the best science as it accelerated plans to reopen schools to all pupils in England next month. Government advisers have warned the nation may have reached the limit of what can be reopened in society safely. But Mr Williamson suggested an upcoming study would support the government's position on reopening schools. His comments come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening of schools - after months without in-person education - was the "national priority" of the government. The prime minister, who visited a school in East London on Monday, is understood to have made it clear that schools should shut last in any future local lockdowns - after businesses including shops and pubs. The current plan is for most children across the country to be back in class by next month. Guidance on reopening schools has been published for England. There are also separate plans for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, where schools are scheduled to return from Tuesday. Schools across the UK closed on 20 March, except to children of key workers or vulnerable children. On 1 June, they began a limited reopening for early years pupils, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6. 'Growing confidence' The Association of School and College Leaders said guidance from the government was not clear, and schools were having to make their own contingency plans for any possible resurgence of coronavirus. It said teachers might teach students on a week-on, week-off basis in that situation. But care minister Helen Whately told BBC Breakfast: "Our priority is to make sure that children are fully back in school come the autumn." She said the government wanted to keep schools open in the event of local lockdowns, adding that staff and pupils would "immediately have access to testing" if they showed symptoms. Prof Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said "rota systems appear to make very little difference" to the level of risk. In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said opening up schools was "one of the least risky things we can do" when it comes to easing lockdown. Analysis By Rachel Schraer, health reporter The evidence is clear that children are much less likely to become very ill from coronavirus than adults. What role they play in spreading the virus to others, though, is less clear. A review of 18 studies suggested children might be half as likely as adults to pass on the virus. But schools do not just bring children together - teachers, parents at school gates and other knock-on effects like more people on public transport or in offices could also influence the spread of the virus. While we have not fully solved the question of whether children are biologically less capable of passing on the virus, the safety of re-opening schools depends on other factors, too. The strength of the contact-tracing system and how well social distancing can be managed will be crucial in whether re-opening schools will cause cases to spike. The education secretary said the "latest research, which is expected to be published later this year - one of the largest studies on the coronavirus in schools in the world", would make it "clear there is little evidence that the virus is transmitted at school". He is believed to be referring to a forthcoming report to be released by Public Health England. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Gavin Williamson said a coronavirus study supported the government's decision to reopen schools In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Mr Williamson also said there was "growing confidence among parents about their children returning" to the classroom. "This is down to the hard work of school staff across the country who are putting in place a range of protective measures to prepare to welcome back all pupils at the start of term," he said. 'Too many questions' But some parents have told the BBC of their concerns at the plans. Jo, a mother of two who works as a support staff member at a secondary school in south-east England, said: "I'm terrified of sending my children back to school. I'm frightened that [those in] schools are not wearing masks, not facing desks forward." She questioned whether head teachers would "have the courage to send home unwell children on arrival". "At my school, we have been given a brief outline of the plans for when the school reopens, but things are changing all the time," she added. "There are too many questions and not enough answers." Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk 'Rapid reform' Meanwhile, Labour called for a "rapid reform" of the test and trace system, suggesting local health protection teams were more effective than national call centres. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Labour's Andy Burnham, told BBC Breakfast that England's contact tracing system "isn't yet good enough" for pupils to return to school in September. He said the government must give local authorities resources to carry out some of the contract tracing and "give all employers in the country the ability [to support employees] to self-isolate on full pay". Figures released last week by the Department of Health and Social Care showed that local teams continued to be more successful than call centre workers when it came to reaching close contacts of people who tested positive for coronavirus. In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth and shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves raised concerns that the current model was "not fit for purpose". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Can children catch and spread coronavirus? On Sunday, the UK reported a further eight people had died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 46,574. A further 1,062 people tested positive for Covid-19. In another development, gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres and children's play centres are being allowed to reopen in Wales on Monday, in a further easing of the lockdown restrictions. 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Victoria has recorded over 100 deaths in the past week Australia has recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic amid a second wave of infections in Melbourne. Victoria state - of which Melbourne is the capital - reported 19 deaths on Monday. Victoria has now seen about two-thirds of Australia's total 314 deaths and approximately 21,400 cases. But the number of daily infections - though still in the hundreds - has dropped in recent days, prompting hope that a strict lockdown is working. Melbourne's second lockdown began over a month ago, but residents have been subject to a night-time curfew and stricter requirements since 3 August. Workers must carry a permit to leave home, and all non-essential businesses have been shut. Mask-wearing in public is also compulsory. Victoria reported 322 new cases on Monday, down from a high of 725 recorded five days ago. Other states reported few or no cases. More than 100 deaths have been recorded in Victoria in just the past week as hospital admission rates also rise. Victoria's daily cases Stage 4 lockdown began 3 Aug Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to tell if the state was at a turning point, but "we're certainly seeing some greater stability" following the stricter measures. "It's always better to be lower than the previous day, but it is only one day's data," he said. Most deaths have been linked to outbreaks in nearly 100 aged care homes in the state. But a man in his 30s was among last week's victims - prompting authorities to urge young people to take greater care. In neighbouring New South Wales (NSW), which has seen small virus clusters in Sydney, the state government urged young people to restrict their social activities. Queensland, which has closed its border to NSW and Victoria, said on Monday it appeared to have avoided an outbreak, two weeks after travellers brought the virus back from Melbourne. What happened to Australia's early success? Australia has still fared better than many countries overall due to effective suppression measures early in the pandemic. But since June - when most Australians emerged from a first lockdown - the outbreak in Melbourne has spiralled. Infections there make up more than 70% of Australia's total cases since the pandemic began. The outbreak is suspected to have begun with breaches in hotel quarantine of infected travellers returning from overseas. In recent days, medical groups have raised alarm over the growing number of healthcare workers falling sick with the virus. There are now over 700 such cases. A survey of physicians showed 20% of doctors in hospitals were having to source their own protective gear. 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Image caption The migrants were filmed by the BBC bailing out their boat with a plastic container on Monday Using Royal Navy ships to help stop migrants crossing the English Channel is "dangerous" and "won't change anything", a Calais politician says. On Saturday the Home Office asked defence chiefs for help to make crossings in small boats "unviable". More migrants in a boat were picked up by Border Force on Monday morning, the BBC's Simon Jones reported. More than 4,000 people have successfully crossed the Channel from France in small boats so far this year. Pierre-Henri Dumont, the National Assembly member for Calais, told the BBC: "What is the British navy going to do if it sees a small boat? Is it going to shoot the boat? Is it going to enter French waters? "It's a political measure to show some kind of muscle but technically speaking it won't change anything." He said the French authorities needed to monitor about 300 miles of coastline if they were to stop migrants launching small boats from French shores. "We are already trying to whatever we can. We can't have a camera and police officer every 10 metres." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Migrants setting out to sea 20 miles east of Calais were filmed by a BBC team on Saturday More than 700 people were intercepted crossing the English Channel last week, including 235 - the record for a single day - on Thursday. The Ministry of Defence says it has sent an RAF Atlas surveillance aircraft to help Border Force operations in the English Channel. UK immigration minister Chris Philp is due to go to Paris this week to demand stronger measures from French authorities. He said he wanted to make the route "completely unviable" so migrants "will have no incentive to come to northern France or attempt the crossing in the first place". Mr Philp added he also wanted to "return as many migrants who have arrived as possible", adding there were "returns flights planned in the coming days". Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Image copyright PA Media Image caption Dawn Butler said she was pulled over by police while travelling through Hackney An MP has called for a "system change" after she was stopped while travelling in a car in east London. Former shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler accused police of racial profiling after the stop on Sunday. Labour MP Ms Butler told BBC Breakfast she had agreed to meet local police commanders to discuss "taking the bias out of the system". The Met said the stop was a mistake caused by an officer incorrectly entering the car's registration number. Ms Butler said it had been 20 years since the Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which described the Met Police as "institutionally racist". "It's about time we changed the system so it works for everyone and it's effective," she said. The MP also said stop and search needed to be revised to a system with "better outcomes", but "it's going to take an intense amount of work". Police have the power to stop and search anyone, including stopping vehicles, if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone has been involved in a crime, or think they have possession of a prohibited item. The BMW which was stopped on Sunday was being driven by a male friend, who is also black, and it was pulled over by two police cars, Ms Butler said. She said officers said the car was registered in North Yorkshire and took the keys while checking the registration. They then admitted there had been a mistake, that it was registered to the driver, and apologised, she said. Ms Butler told the BBC: "I still don't know why they punched the number plate into the system. "I don't know what raised their suspicion. All I know is I'm black, my friend was black and he has a fairly decent car." In a statement the Met said "one of the occupants" had been contacted by a senior officer and they had discussed "subsequent interaction as well as feedback regarding the stop". It added: "We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further with the occupants if they wish to do so." The force's statement did not explain why the car registration was entered in the first place. 'Listening to concerns' Ms Butler said she had already spoken to her local borough commander and further meetings were planned. She said: "We haven't worked out a date yet or who will attend the meeting. "But we are setting up a meeting. There will probably be several meetings." Ch Supt Roy Smith tweeted on Sunday to say he had spoken to Ms Butler and she had "given me a very balanced account of the incident". The officer said the force "are listening" to concerns she had about the stop and the officers involved, and Ms Butler was "quite entitled to raise them". 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Image copyright Crown Copyright Image caption Items believed to be pieces of the Bronze Age harness were also found A metal detectorist was left "shaking with happiness" after discovering a hoard of Bronze Age artefacts in the Scottish Borders. A complete horse harness and sword was uncovered by Mariusz Stepien at the site near Peebles in June. Experts said the discovery was of "national significance". The soil had preserved the leather and wood, allowing experts to trace the straps that connected the rings and buckles. This allowed the experts to see for the first time how Bronze Age horse harnesses were assembled. Image copyright Dariusz Gucwa Image caption Mariusz Stepien discovered the hoard near Peebles in June Mr Stepien was searching the field with friends when he found a bronze object buried half a metre underground. He said: "I thought 'I've never seen anything like this before' and felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I've just discovered a big part of Scottish history. "I was over the moon, actually shaking with happiness." Mr Stepien and his friends camped in the field as archaeologists spent 22 days investigating the site. He said: "Every day there were new objects coming out which changed the context of the find, every day we learned something new. "I'm so pleased that the earth revealed to me something that was hidden for more than 3,000 years. I still can't believe it happened." Image copyright Crown Copyright Image caption Archaeologists found a sword still in its scabbard during their excavation Archaeologists found a sword still in its scabbard, decorated straps, buckles, rings, ornaments and chariot wheel axle caps. There is also evidence of a decorative "rattle pendant" that would have hung from the harness, the first to be found in Scotland, and only the third in the UK. Emily Freeman, head of the Crown Office's Treasure Trove Unit, said it was "a nationally-significant find." She said: "So few Bronze Age hoards have been excavated in Scotland, it was an amazing opportunity for us to not only recover bronze artefacts, but organic material as well. "There is still a lot of work to be done to assess the artefacts and understand why they were deposited." The beginning of the Bronze Age in Britain can be put at about 2,000 BC. 

  Published Date: 2020-08-10 

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hong Kong arrests media tycoon Jimmy Lai Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested and his newspaper offices raided by police over allegations of collusion with foreign forces. His case is the most high-profile arrest so far under the controversial security law imposed by China in June. Mr Lai has been a prominent pro-democracy voice and a supporter of protests that erupted last year. In February the 71-year-old, who also holds UK citizenship, was charged with illegal assembly and intimidation. He was granted police bail. Chinese state media Global Times on Monday described Mr Lai as "riot supporter" and his publications as having been "instigating hatred, spreading rumours and smearing Hong Kong authorities and the mainland for years". The Global Times also reported that two of his sons as well as two senior executives of Next Digital had also been arrested. Skip Twitter post by @ezracheungtoto Jimmy Lai, who is a UK citizen, is handcuffed and and escorted to a van. Arrested for alleged foreign collusion, he is so far the highest-profile arrested after national security law was inserted by Beijing. Police says he is also arrested for committing fraud. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/Vi4okmLhUv — Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) August 10, 2020 Report Scores of police were also seen entering the building of his newspaper Apple Daily, searching the offices. At one point Mr Lai was led through the offices in handcuffs. Police confirmed on Facebook that seven men aged 39-72 had been arrested on "suspicion of collusion with foreign forces" and other offences, but did not name Mr Lai. Uncertain future for media network By Grace Tsoi, BBC World Service, Hong Kong The sight of nearly 200 police officers raiding the newsroom of Apple Daily, the biggest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, is a shocking one for many here and a sign that things are changing rapidly. One Apple Daily employee told me that his colleagues were calm and had seen this coming when the National Security Law was passed. Mr Lai has been a very vocal critic of both the Hong Kong government and of Beijing's increasingly assertive presence in the territory. For that, China's official news media have often branded him the leader of the "Gang of Four" which incites unrest in the city. Beijing was also infuriated when he met US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last year. But while Next Media has often been criticised for its sensationalism, it remains one of the very few media outlets with an owner who has no business interest in mainland China. The newspaper, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is already under financial strain. The paper has said it will get today's issue out on time but if its flamboyant owner is silenced it is unclear whether it will survive. Who is Jimmy Lai? The businessman is estimated to be worth more than $1bn (£766m). Having made his initial fortune in the clothing industry, he later ventured into media and founded the newspaper Apple Daily, which is frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership. In 2019 the daily was the most-read paid newspaper in the territory, both in print and online, according to the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mr Lai has also been an activist against Beijing's increasingly tight grip on Hong Kong. In 2019 he supported the reform protests and participated in the demonstrations. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jimmy Lai: China's security law 'spells the death knell for Hong Kong' On 30 June, when the security law was passed, Mr Lai told the BBC that this "spells the death knell for Hong Kong". He warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as mainland China because "without the rule of law, people who do business here will have no protection". In a separate interview with the AFP news agency, Mr Lai said: "I'm prepared for prison. If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive." What has the reaction been? Unnamed sources within Apple Daily are cited as saying the company was "arranging lawyers", seeing the situation as "straight harassment". Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hong Kong police have raided the building of Next Digital and Apple Daily Steven Butler, Asia programme co-ordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the arrest "bears out the worst fears that Hong Kong's national security law would be used to suppress critical pro-democracy opinion and restrict press freedom". "Jimmy Lai should be released at once and any charges dropped," he said. Prominent pro-democracy activist Nathan Law tweeted that the "worst fears" were being realised. "Crazy arrests," he said. "The end of freedom of press in Hong Kong. The national security law is quashing the freedom of our society, spreading politics of fear." Wang Dan, dissident and exiled student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, said on social media that the arrest "was expected" but "very outrageous because his two sons were also arrested, which was obviously an attempt by the authorities to destroy Lai's will through family ties". "I call on the international community to take immediate action." What is the new security law? Hong Kong has had a high degree of autonomy since it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and its residents have had a far higher level of freedom of speech and media than people on the mainland. But the law's key provisions include that crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. It makes it easier to punish protesters, and reduces Hong Kong's autonomy. Image copyright AFP Image caption In 2019, there were waves of anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong The law also gives Beijing powers to shape life in the former British colony in a way it has never had before. Critics say it effectively curtails protest and freedom of speech. China has said the new law will return stability to the territory after a year of unrest. Arrests and exiles There have been two previous waves of arrests since the law was passed by Beijing on 30 June. The first one saw several protesters arrested the next day, as they staged a demonstration. On 30 July, four students and former pro-independence activists were arrested under the law. Other activists, like Mr Law, fled the city before the security law came into force. Mr Law is currently in the UK but media reports are suggesting that Chinese authorities are seeking the arrest of him and other activists in exile.