the conservatives say they want to update equality laws to define sex as someone s biological sex. they say current confusion over definitions cannot be allowed to continue, and updating the law would make biological sex a protected characteristic. that means it would be easier to create protected spaces for women and girls. labour say they wouldn t amend the law, and accuse the conservatives of stoking a culture war. here s alex forsyth. flanked by young footballers, the prime minister claimed today he was tackling an issue to improve the safety of women and girls. the conservatives want to change the equality act so sex would mean biological sex. they say that would make it clearer that single sex spaces, from public toilets to refuges, can be for biological women and girls only, not those born male, even they have legally changed their sex on their birth certificate. the equalities minister claims this is necessary because there has been confusion and legal challenges over
in silk road legacy. it s like something from a 60s spy movie or something. it s incredible. ..where soviet influences. horns sound ..meet ancient traditions. this is amazing. i can t believe this. this is where arches would have stood. ..and vast landscapes. ..hide impressive relics. it s pretty astonishing that i m able to still walk around here. for the best part of a century, this country has been off limits to many outsiders. but in recent years, that s been changing, and i m on a journey to see what we ve been missing out on. this is uzbekistan. 0nce part of the enormous soviet union, uzbekistan is a country of arid deserts, lush mountains and ancient cities. in its long history, it s been home to many civilisations, remnants of which can still be seen today. and now its more recent past is as much of a draw. i m starting myjourney here in tashkent, the biggest city in the whole of central asia. it s dynamic, full of young people with almost half under the age of 30
once part of the enormous soviet union, uzbekistan is a country of arid deserts, lush mountains and ancient cities. in its long history, it s been home to many civilisations, remnants of which can still be seen today. and now its more recent past is as much of a draw. i m starting myjourney here in tashkent, the biggest city in the whole of central asia. it s dynamic, full of young people with almost half under the age of 30 and it s booming. though wherever you look, you are reminded of its soviet past. so what s this impressive building? incredible. this is our circus. munis nur has been studying the unique blend of soviet and islamic architecture that tashkent is known for. after a massive earthquake in the 60s, the soviets rebuilt the whole city. at that time, as you know, many different architects came from the soviet union, and all the architects tried to build the ideal city here. the circus is one of the many examples of the era s modernist architecture. but back
documents. that was part of a deal to end his iii year legal battle over the leaking of vast amounts of secret us military information on the internet. the 52 year old is now on his way home to australia following the hearing. and from where a southeast asia correspondent jonathan had sent this report. the last stage of a very long journey. julian assange walked into the courtroom on this remote pacific island to hear whether the agreement he d struck with us prosecutors would stick. after two hours of very careful consideration by the judge, it did. he pleaded guilty, and she agreed to a sentence equal to the time he d already served in britain. but his lawyers still insist his prosecution for breaking an espionage law was unjust. we firmly believed that mr assange never should have been charged under the espionage act, and engaged in exercise thatjournalists engage in every day. and we re thankful that they do. it is appropriate, though, for this fight to end and it is appr
glastonbury looks dry this year. here in kew gardens, lots of sunshine. i will have the weather for you later. it s wednesday the 26th june. with just over a week to go until polling day, the prime minister rishi sunak and labour s sir keir starmer are preparing to go head to head in their final leaders debate of the election later. it comes as members of both main parties continue to face difficult questions about betting allegations. our political correspondent iain watson reports. the second and final head to head clash between rishi sunak and the man who wants hisjob keir starmer takes place tonight on the bbc. and it s worth a bet that one of the topics might just involve gambling. the conservative campaign has been buffeted by allegations that two candidates, two party officials, and now a member of the welsh senedd had bet on a date of the general election, and were facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. it s an independent process with the gambling commissio