:00:00. > :00:19.Now on BBC News, it's time for Reporters.
:00:20. > :00:27.Welcome to Reporters. I'm Phillipa Thomas from the world newsroom, we
:00:28. > :00:31.sent out correspondence to bring the the best stories from across the
:00:32. > :00:37.globe. This week, could Libya become the next Bastian for IS? The new
:00:38. > :00:41.liberty union Government tells us that Islamic State could take over
:00:42. > :00:47.two thirds of the country. It is the major threat for the Libyan people.
:00:48. > :00:51.If we don't act today, we can't do anything tomorrow. We report from
:00:52. > :00:55.North Carolina on the new law against the gay and transgender
:00:56. > :00:58.community that has sparked anti-discrimination protests and
:00:59. > :01:07.boycotts from companies and rock stars. Do they never whisper? And
:01:08. > :01:13.Peter Bowes asks whether the works of Shakespeare could help to address
:01:14. > :01:17.the lack of diversity in Hollywood? This is Shakespeare with a diverse
:01:18. > :01:21.cast straight out of Compton, new faces in Hollywood, aspiring actors,
:01:22. > :01:28.and possibly the Oscar-nominated the future.
:01:29. > :01:31.After Syria and Iraq, could Libya become the next stronghold for the
:01:32. > :01:36.so-called Islamic State? After establishing control of the town of
:01:37. > :01:41.cert on the Mediterranean coast lasted, the militant group is now
:01:42. > :01:45.extending its reach. The new unity Government has warned that IS could
:01:46. > :01:48.take over two thirds of the country. Libya has been plagued by
:01:49. > :01:53.instability since the fall of Colonel Gaddafi five years ago, and,
:01:54. > :02:01.as all Guerin reports, keeping the extremists at bay is no easy task.
:02:02. > :02:07.Is Libya finally moving toward stability? Maybe. But many here are
:02:08. > :02:10.watching and waiting to see if the competing militias and warring
:02:11. > :02:18.factions can be brought under one roof. A small crowd gathers in
:02:19. > :02:29.Tripoli's Square, welcoming Libya's new unity government. It arrived a
:02:30. > :02:32.few weeks ago, backed by the UN. The problem is, there are two
:02:33. > :02:38.governments here already. And there is another cause for concern. The
:02:39. > :02:43.so-called Islamic State is now altering the equation here. The
:02:44. > :02:49.unity government warns the extremists could take over most of
:02:50. > :02:55.the country. TRANSLATION: Libya does not have the strong figure who could
:02:56. > :02:59.lead the army to fight this enemy. It will spread quickly, especially
:03:00. > :03:04.in the south. This area is weak and could be occupied in minutes. If so,
:03:05. > :03:08.they will control two thirds of the country. Five years after Nato
:03:09. > :03:13.intervened here against Colonel Gaddafi, this country is divided and
:03:14. > :03:16.unstable, and once again it is a growing concern for the
:03:17. > :03:21.international community. There is a great deal at stake, the success or
:03:22. > :03:25.failure of the new unity government has implications not just for Libya
:03:26. > :03:31.but also for its neighbours and for the West. The scars of war remain
:03:32. > :03:39.here, but many want to look beyond the prism of conflict. We visited
:03:40. > :03:46.Misrata during the revolution, with Gaddafi's snipers still in
:03:47. > :03:50.residence. Abdul refused to leave his home on the front lines. Two of
:03:51. > :03:56.his nephews are eyed for the new Libya. Today, he is still there,
:03:57. > :04:01.ready to forgive their killers and hoping the new Government can
:04:02. > :04:07.succeed -- two of his nephews tied. We have to look to the future,
:04:08. > :04:18.forget all about war, guns, violence, enemies. We have to live
:04:19. > :04:22.in peace. That means the fragile new government must secure streets where
:04:23. > :04:27.malicious call the shots. There is a growing sense that Libya needs help,
:04:28. > :04:36.but some in Britain may be gone shy about getting involved here again.
:04:37. > :04:41.There is a fierce debate going on in the US state of North Carolina over
:04:42. > :04:45.a new law that affects the gay, lesbian and transgender communities.
:04:46. > :04:49.It means transgender people can only use public toilets according to the
:04:50. > :04:52.sex on their birth certificate. It also restricts the protection of
:04:53. > :04:59.some gay and transgender employees' civil rights. Companies have
:05:00. > :05:02.threatened boycotts and rock stars, including Bruce Springsteen, have
:05:03. > :05:09.cancelled their shows in North Carolina in protest.
:05:10. > :05:14.Luke is 17, he plays in his school band, loves his dog, and have a
:05:15. > :05:18.supportive family. He was also born female. He never identified as a
:05:19. > :05:22.girl and is now going through the medical process of gender
:05:23. > :05:27.transition. But his state has just passed a law that says that he and
:05:28. > :05:31.others who are transgender have to use public bathrooms for the sex
:05:32. > :05:35.they were born with, not what they identify as. Dressed like this, I
:05:36. > :05:39.don't want to go to the girls' bathroom because I will be shunned
:05:40. > :05:45.by my peers, it'll be like, what are you doing? If I go to guys' bathroom
:05:46. > :05:50.and somebody knows I am transgender and doesn't like me, they could out
:05:51. > :05:54.of me very easily and I could get suspension from school temporarily
:05:55. > :05:57.for having to go to the bathroom. There have been demonstrations
:05:58. > :06:01.against the new measures, and not just on the streets here. Bruce
:06:02. > :06:05.Springsteen and Ringo Starr are among those who have cancelled
:06:06. > :06:09.performances in North Carolina in protest. PayPal and Deutscher by
:06:10. > :06:13.said they are pulling investment out of the state unless the laws are
:06:14. > :06:18.returned -- Deutscher. A lot of the focus has been on the
:06:19. > :06:21.issue of what bathroom can be used by members of the transgender
:06:22. > :06:26.community but this is about much more than that. The people across
:06:27. > :06:29.North Carolina, this law takes away protection against discrimination on
:06:30. > :06:35.the basis of sexual orientation, which had been provided by other
:06:36. > :06:40.local laws. That affects the many employees here, from LGBT
:06:41. > :06:44.communities, as we heard quite frankly from one of the politicians
:06:45. > :06:53.who pushed through the new law. I think that an employer has the right
:06:54. > :06:58.to choose who the employer wants to work, unless it is a matter of race,
:06:59. > :07:03.colour, national origin, biological sex, or religion. You think it is OK
:07:04. > :07:11.for an employer to say, I don't want to hire a gay employee? Yes. There
:07:12. > :07:15.is no national law in America that explicitly forbids that, but here,
:07:16. > :07:19.as senior elected officials openly saying discrimination is OK is
:07:20. > :07:22.something members of the gay community told us that like a huge
:07:23. > :07:27.step back. It surprised with that people still feel like that. I mean,
:07:28. > :07:31.being gay is nothing to do with your job. Things have been progressing
:07:32. > :07:35.for decades now in the right direction. This just goes and shows
:07:36. > :07:41.us how much more work has to be done. The free court said we could
:07:42. > :07:48.get married, it seems like this is all retaliation to that. Pressure is
:07:49. > :07:54.building to repeal the law, with rules on bathrooms and taking away
:07:55. > :08:02.LGBT writes, politicians here are insisted it is here to stay.
:08:03. > :08:06.This year's Oscars heralded a call for more diversity in the
:08:07. > :08:10.entertainment industry, but could a 400-year-old tale of murder,
:08:11. > :08:15.jealousy and racial bigotry help address that perception of racism in
:08:16. > :08:20.Hollywood? William Shakespeare's fellow has grabbed the interest of a
:08:21. > :08:25.teenage inner-city theatre group in downtown Los Angeles. As the world
:08:26. > :08:29.marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Peter Bowes has
:08:30. > :08:33.been asking whether the Bard's work could help Hollywood make films that
:08:34. > :08:41.are more racially inclusive. The star-studded world of Hollywood,
:08:42. > :08:43.home of the Oscars and Mecca the tourism, and the epicentre of the
:08:44. > :08:48.row over diversity. Drive for half an hour and the scenery changes. The
:08:49. > :08:54.gritty streets of South Los Angeles are a far cry from Tinseltown. This
:08:55. > :09:01.is Compton, one of the most notorious, most dangerous cities in
:09:02. > :09:05.America. It was gangster rap music that came straight out of Compton,
:09:06. > :09:19.but this is an unlikely setting for a performance of Shakespeare. Let me
:09:20. > :09:24.see your eyes... Look in my face! Doctor Andrews runs the group. A
:09:25. > :09:28.teacher and actress, she grew up in Compton and knows this troubled
:09:29. > :09:32.community inside out. Her father was murdered here when she was a
:09:33. > :09:36.teenager. She started the Shakespeare ensemble 60 years ago.
:09:37. > :09:42.It is an after-school programme for students and aspiring professional
:09:43. > :09:47.actors. There is a lot of races that runs through America, it is very
:09:48. > :09:50.strong and we bend it a little and break it a little but what we are
:09:51. > :09:57.doing now with Shakespeare, we do our own thing. We are going to kick
:09:58. > :10:07.your door down. They never whisper? Never, my lord. Nor send you out of
:10:08. > :10:11.the way? This year's production is a fellow, a play which resonates with
:10:12. > :10:15.the cast with its themes of racism and jealousy. People back then just
:10:16. > :10:21.like us, they had the same problems regardless of financial situation.
:10:22. > :10:24.Class, they all had similar problems, it is just things around
:10:25. > :10:30.us are slightly different. There have been a lot of issues with the
:10:31. > :10:35.Oscars, Oscar so white and everything, and other low open
:10:36. > :10:40.thighs to people. This is Shakespeare with a diverse cast
:10:41. > :10:45.straight out of Compton and South Central. New faces for Hollywood,
:10:46. > :10:50.aspiring actors, and possibly the Oscar-nominated of the future.
:10:51. > :10:58.And that is all from Reporters for this week. From me, and the Thomas,
:10:59. > :11:01.goodbye for now. -- Phillipa Thomas.