The Spanish link in cracking the Enigma code

Summary: A pair of rare Enigma machines used in the Spanish Civil War has been given to the head of GCHQ, Britain's communications intelligence agency. The machines - only recently discovered in Spain - fill in a missing chapter in the history of British code-breaking, paving the way for crucial successes in World War II.

By Gordon CoreraSecurity correspondent, BBC News A row of senior Spanish military and intelligence officers stand upright in a line in front of a long elegant table in the country's Army Museum in Toledo. In front of them are two modest, slightly battered wooden boxes that are the subject of the day's unusual and high-powered gathering. Inside they contain a key part of Britain's code-breaking history. With their lids open, the distinctive black and white keypad and rotors of an Enigma machine used to encrypt communications can be seen. Enigma machines, developed originally in Germany in the 1920s, were the first electromechanical encryption devices and would eventually carry the country's military communications during World War II. The cracking of that code at Bletchley Park would play a key role in shortening the war and saving countless lives. The story of how these machines on the table in Spain helped pave the way for Britain's historic wartime achievement is largely unknown. A non-commissioned officer found the machines almost by chance, only a few years ago, in a secret room at the Spanish Ministry of Defence in Madrid. "Nobody entered there because it was very secret," says Felix Sanz, the director of Spain's intelligence service. "And one day somebody said 'Well if it is so secret, perhaps there is something secret inside.' They entered and saw a small office where all the encryption was produced during not only the civil war but in the years right afterwards." Inside were around two dozen historic Enigma machines. When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, both Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy sent troops to help the nationalists under Franco. But with the conflict dispersed across the country, some means of secure communication was needed for the German Condor Legion, the Italians and the Spanish forces under Franco. As a result, a set of modified commercial Enigma machines were delivered by Germany. Britain had first obtained a commercial Enigma machine back in 1927, by simply purchasing one in the open in Germany. The machine was analysed and a diagnostic report written on how it worked. A key figure in trying to understand it was Dilly Knox, a classicist who had been working on breaking ciphers since World War I. He was fascinated by the machine and began studying ways in which an intercepted message might in theory be broken, even writing his own messages, encrypting them and then trying to break them himself. But there was no opportunity to actually intercept a real message since German military signals were inaudible in Britain. However, the signals produced by the machines sent to Spain in 1936 were audible enough to be intercepted and Knox began work. "Having real traffic was a godsend to him," explains Tony, the historian of GCHQ, who asks only his first name is used. Within six or seven months of having his first real code to crack, Knox had succeeded, producing the first decryption of an Enigma message in April 1937. He continued to decipher more. The machines used in Spain were modified versions of the commercial Enigma machine. The military machine that would be used by Germany during World War II was an order of magnitude more secure because a plugboard was attached to the front. This added a further layer of complexity and made it unreadable at first. While more complex military Enigma traffic had not been intercepted in Britain, the neighbouring Poles could hear it. They had worked on mathematical attempts to crack the code and just before World War II began, the French brokered meetings in which the Poles shared their knowledge with British code-breakers, including Dilly Knox. This would be a crucial step in the journey that led to the cracking of the military Enigma code at Bletchley Park during the war, and the flow of so-called "Ultra" intelligence it produced. The experience in Spain was a vital stepping stone. "It gave them the foundations and it gave them the confidence that however more complicated the German military Enigma was - and in particular the German Naval Enigma - it was a resolvable problem," explains Tony of GCHQ. "It was something that would not defeat them." When news of the discovery emerged a few years ago, Tony got in touch with Spanish counterparts asking if it would be possible to obtain some of the machines, and after a lengthy process the handover was completed of these two. One will be held at GCHQ, another at Bletchley Park, where it will be on public display. The traffic is not all one way. In return the UK handed over a number of items including a German four rotor Naval Enigma machine recovered from Flensburg in May 1945, an Enigma rotor box and related documents. The idea is that this could serve as the foundation of a display on code-making and code-breaking at the Spanish Army Museum, where the ceremony took place on Thursday morning. Spain's relatively new army museum is housed in the spectacular Alcazar in Toledo. Once a fortress, it was largely destroyed in a famous siege during the Spanish Civil War, before being rebuilt by Franco. In the entrance hall of the museum, the layers of history are evident with walls dating back to Roman times which were then built on in the 11th Century and after up to the present. The relationship between past and present was one theme emphasised by Iain Lobban of GCHQ. "Today shows there is something timeless about the practice of code-making and code-breaking," he says. The emergence of the Enigma machine had marked the start of the electromechanical era in encrypting communications. Previously manual ciphers could be cracked by pen and paper but with Enigma the first computers were required. That situation, Lobban argues, is analogous to the modern era with the advent of the internet and digital technology which is, as with the 1930s and 1940s, requiring a combination of partnerships, cutting-edge technology and human skills of the type Dilly Knox embodied. "The computer and the internet have combined to produce new challenges in intelligence and security which require transformational changes in our organisations if we are to continue to be as successful in the 21st Century as we were in the 20th. We must become deeply technological organisations," he told the Spanish audience on accepting the two machines. The emphasis on the importance of working with allies - as shown in British co-operation with Poland in 1939 - was also stressed by the Spanish. "In today's world it is impossible to work alone," says Mr Sanz. "You need friends and allies. I knock at the door of the British intelligence - all three agencies - as many occasions as I need it and I always get a response. And I hope on the occasion where the British services knock at my door, when they leave my house they leave with a sense they have been helped also."

स्पेन के गृह युद्ध में उपयोग की जाने वाली दुर्लभ एनिग्मा मशीनों की एक जोड़ी ब्रिटेन की संचार खुफिया एजेंसी जीसीएचक्यू के प्रमुख को दी गई है। ये मशीनें-जो हाल ही में स्पेन में खोजी गई हैं-ब्रिटिश कोड-ब्रेकिंग के इतिहास में एक लापता अध्याय को भरती हैं, जिससे द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध में महत्वपूर्ण सफलताओं का मार्ग प्रशस्त होता है।


Unauthorised Nuart wall feature in Aberdeen to be moved

Summary: An art installation which formed part of Aberdeen's popular Nuart street festival will be removed after it emerged organisers had failed to secure the building owner's consent.

Nuart was introduced to the Granite City for the first time in April last year and returned again this year. The tiled piece - Everyday Heroes - was put up on the wall of the Kenny's Music shop on The Green without permission. It will now be "carefully" relocated to another city centre location. Aberdeen Inspired - the organisation behind the festival - said it was an "internal error". Ross Grant, a senior project manager for Aberdeen Inspired, told BBC Scotland of the building owners: "They have been very understanding. This is just a very rare, genuine misunderstanding." Nuart has been held in Stavanger, Norway, since 2001.

एबरडीन के लोकप्रिय नुआर्ट स्ट्रीट फेस्टिवल का हिस्सा बनने वाली एक कला स्थापना को हटा दिया जाएगा क्योंकि यह सामने आया था कि आयोजक इमारत के मालिक की सहमति प्राप्त करने में विफल रहे थे।


Brecon's Y Gaer cultural centre costs rise by £2.6m

Summary: The cost of developing a new cultural centre in Brecon has increased by £2.6m to more than £13m, according to Powys council.

The town's Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery is being converted into the new facility, known as Y Gaer. It will include a library, cafe, community facilities and function rooms, and is due to open towards the end of the year. The project was estimated to cost £10.4m when work started in May 2016. But a council meeting on Thursday was told the authority had secured funding of more than £13m by last September to cover costs. Almost £4m has been secured from other organisations, including £3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

पॉव्स काउंसिल के अनुसार, ब्रेकन में एक नए सांस्कृतिक केंद्र को विकसित करने की लागत 26 लाख पाउंड से बढ़कर 13 लाख पाउंड से अधिक हो गई है।


Analysis: Why Kuril dispute will not end any time soon

Summary: Among Japan's territorial disputes, its claim on Russia's southern Kuril Islands is less widely reported that its frictions with China in the East China sea. But with the row reignited by Russian President Dimitry Medvedev's historic visit to the islands , Pacific affairs analyst Ralph Cossa, who heads the Pacific Forum think tank, explains here for BBC World Service that it is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

This dispute really goes back to the closing days of World War II when the Russians moved into the southern islands, which the Japanese had owned, and seized them as war spoils. Under the San Francisco Treaty, Japan had to cede the islands but it was not specified that they would be given to the Soviet Union. The US, in fact, supports Japan's claims to the islands but the Russians have made it clear they have no intention of handing them back. All the Japanese people who had lived on the islands were expelled by the Russians. Part of the dispute is history and national pride. The Japanese feel that this has traditionally been their territory. There are still some people who have property there that they want to reclaim. There are also some very rich fishing grounds and there are also some underwater resources that people want to exploit. From the Russian standpoint, the islands are also part of the access to the Sea of Okhotsk, which is the main reason they want to keep them in their hands. This dispute will not resolve itself. It is one of those rows that will last for a long time. Once or twice in recent decades, there were hints that the Russians might cut a deal with the Japanese, keeping the two northern islands and giving the Japanese the southern two, in return for a large sum of money. The Japanese refused to do that in those days. They would probably take the deal now but the Russians are no longer offering. These islands are no place you would want to go for a vacation. It is pretty cold and nasty up there and the people who live there are primarily fishermen and Russian border guards. I would not compare this at all with the spat with the Chinese. In fact it may be useful to watch the Japanese behaviour toward Russia and compare it with the Chinese behaviour toward Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. The Japanese are a little bit more mature, a little bit more diplomatic, a little bit more of a "normal" nation than the Chinese who have behaved rather badly over the Senkaku/Diaoyu issue.

जापान के क्षेत्रीय विवादों के बीच, रूस के दक्षिणी कुरील द्वीप समूह पर उसका दावा कम व्यापक रूप से बताया गया है कि पूर्वी चीन सागर में चीन के साथ उसका टकराव है। लेकिन रूसी राष्ट्रपति दिमित्री मेदवेदेव की द्वीपों की ऐतिहासिक यात्रा से फिर से विवाद खड़ा हो गया है, प्रशांत मामलों के विश्लेषक राल्फ कोसा, जो प्रशांत मंच थिंक टैंक के प्रमुख हैं, बीबीसी वर्ल्ड सर्विस के लिए यहाँ बताते हैं कि इसे जल्द ही किसी भी समय हल करने की संभावना नहीं है।


Viewpoint: Japan's 'sorry' seems to be the hardest word to remember

Summary: On Friday, Japanese leader Shinzo Abe will make a speech marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two. Much attention will be on the words he uses, but if the term "sorry" is uttered, it will not be for the first time, reports Robert Dujarric.

Japanese leaders have apologised countless times for the exactions of Imperial Japan. Besides statements by former Prime Ministers Murayama and Koizumi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono, as well as expressions of regrets from the emperor, Japan has paid formal and informal reparations to numerous victims of Japanese aggression. Yet, the perceived wisdom in many quarters is that Japan has not shown any contrition for the deeds of its empire. These criticisms are always followed by: "Germany, however, has faced its Nazi past honestly, unlike Japan." There are several reasons for this state of affairs. Firstly, many Japanese apologies have looked like "one step forward, one step backward". Senior politicians, including prime ministers, visit the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are sanctified. Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (including Prime Minister Abe when he was in the opposition) claim that there was no sexual slavery or consort with individuals who refer to the "so-called Nanjing Massacre". Thus, official Japan lacks "message discipline," a critical skill in the internet age, where even second-rate politicians can get heard worldwide at the speed of light. Secondly, by world standards, Japan has done a lot of apologising. It is obviously way ahead of the Chinese Communist Party, whose policies sent tens of millions of Chinese to their deaths, and of Vladimir Putin, who calls the demise of the equally genocidal Soviet Union a tragedy. But, even compared to Western Europe, when it comes to colonial killings - or the American republics and Australia regarding slavery and the destruction of native societies - Japan is probably above average in the realm of apologies. But Imperial Japan will always be compared to Nazi Germany, its Axis ally. And, by German standards, Japanese atonement is clearly wanting, whether it be in the scope of statements regarding the past, the behaviour of the political establishment, textbooks, museums, and financial compensation. Whether he likes it or not, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is being judged by Willy Brant's standards, not by Xi Jinping's. Thirdly, the international politics of historical memory are complex. Japan, as the largest US ally in the region, is an enemy as far as Beijing is concerned. The Chinese Communist Party thus has an interest in Japan looking like an aggressive nation run by war criminal-lovers. The worse it looks, the better for the People's Republic. Anti-Japanese nationalist propaganda strengthens the legitimacy of the Party and stirs up patriotic fervour. Moreover, Beijing has an interest in undermining the US position in South Korea. Thus, fostering anti-Japanese feelings in Korea, by emphasising the evil that is Japan, helps China by preventing closer relations between these two American partners in north-east Asia (South Korea and Japan). Additionally, the political climate in South Korea makes it difficult for Japan to look sincere in its remorse. Many South Korean officials and politicians want stronger ties with Japan. But, for historical reasons, being labelled pro-Japanese is the kiss of death in Korean politics. Japan's underwhelming apologies - at least by German norms - make South Koreans who want to win elections very wary of looking soft on these issues. The Japanese claim on the Liancourt Rocks, two islets under South Korean control since the 1950s, also gives many Koreans the impression that Japan is out to attack Korea. Though nothing could be further from the truth, the inability of Tokyo's leaders to understand how Koreans feel has prevented them from reaching the only logical conclusion, which is to recognise that the Liancourt Rocks will remain Korean. In the end, Japan is the world's largest sheep in wolf's clothing. Its message mismanagement has convinced many that it is an aggressive polity even though, of the world's 200 countries, it is one of the most peace-loving and non-militaristic nations. Robert Dujarric is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan

शुक्रवार को जापानी नेता शिंजो आबे द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध की समाप्ति की 70वीं वर्षगांठ के अवसर पर एक भाषण देंगे। उनके द्वारा उपयोग किए जाने वाले शब्दों पर बहुत ध्यान दिया जाएगा, लेकिन अगर "सॉरी" शब्द का उच्चारण किया जाता है, तो यह पहली बार नहीं होगा, रॉबर्ट डुजारिक की रिपोर्ट है।


Guernsey house price increase 'slows down'

Summary: A slowdown in the steady increase of Guernsey property prices is good for those looking to buy, according to the States economist.

The average price for local market properties was £439,861 between April and June 2012, an increase of 3% or £12,635 on the same period in 2011. Dr Andy Sloan said it was important that sales volumes had remained "relatively robust" so far in 2012. He said rates close to retail inflation made properties more affordable. Dr Sloan said: "Over the last decade property has increased in value in real terms and price to earnings ratios have widened - a period of rates close to retail inflation would be positive for affordability." There were 232 local market transactions during the three-month period, down 20 on the same period in 2011.

स्टेट्स के अर्थशास्त्री के अनुसार, ग्वेर्नसे संपत्ति की कीमतों में लगातार वृद्धि में मंदी उन लोगों के लिए अच्छी है जो खरीदना चाहते हैं।


Ann Maguire stabbing: Second man charged over malicious message

Summary: A 42-year-old Port Talbot man is to appear in court charged with "malicious communications" after the murder of teacher Ann Maguire.

Robert Riley was charged on Sunday West Yorkshire Police said he would appear before magistrates in Leeds on Monday. Mr Riley is the second person to be charged with the offence in the wake of the death of Mrs Maguire. She was stabbed to death in her classroom at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds a week ago. Jake Newsome, 21, from the Harehills area of Leeds, was released on bail after being charged for the alleged abuse, officers said. He is due to appear before Leeds Magistrates Court on 14 May. A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been charged with Mrs Maguire's murder and is due to stand trial in November.

एक 42 वर्षीय पोर्ट टैलबोट व्यक्ति को शिक्षक एन मैग्वायर की हत्या के बाद "दुर्भावनापूर्ण संचार" के आरोप में अदालत में पेश होना है।


Guernsey coastal flooding 'expected'

Summary: Strong winds and a high tide are expected to cause coastal flooding in parts of Guernsey later, the island's met office has warned.

A 33ft (10m) high tide along with a south-westerly force five to six wind is expected to cause flooding in exposed low-lying coastal areas on the east and west coasts on Sunday evening. The Perelle Coast Road and the Biloterie in St Saviours will close. Storm boards will be used to protect coastal properties. The Guernsey Met Office has warned drivers and pedestrians using coastal roads to take extreme care as conditions are likely to be hazardous.

द्वीप के मौसम कार्यालय ने चेतावनी दी है कि बाद में ग्वर्नसे के कुछ हिस्सों में तेज हवाओं और उच्च ज्वार के कारण तटीय बाढ़ आने की संभावना है।


Flamstead murder inquiry: Man charged over Christine Ford death

Summary: A man has been charged with the murder of a woman in a Hertfordshire village.

The body of Christine Ford, 71, was found inside an almshouse in Flamstead near Hemel Hempstead, on 27 July. Brian Coote, 64, of High Street, Flamstead, has been charged with murder and will appear at Hatfield Remand Court on Saturday. A vigil was held earlier this week in memory of Mrs Ford, who was known in the area for tending the church garden.

हर्टफोर्डशायर गाँव में एक आदमी पर एक महिला की हत्या का आरोप लगाया गया है।


A childhood shoplifting offence 'stops me being British'

Summary: More than 500 children have been refused British citizenship due to their contact with the criminal justice system from the age of 10, campaigners' figures since 2006 suggest. One woman, born in the UK and who now works full time, explains how a series of shoplifting offences as a teenager means she could be at risk of deportation.

By Anna CollinsonReporter, Victoria Derbyshire programme "I still see myself as British but this process has done everything it can to make me feel like I don't belong here," Carla - not her real name - tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "I feel isolated and trapped - and anxious about my future." Carla, now in her 20s, was born in the UK and has never been abroad. But after she applied for British citizenship a few years ago so that she could acquire a passport, she was told her application had been denied - leaving her at risk of deportation. She says the Home Office informed her this was because she had failed the "good character" test, an assessment carried out on all citizenship applicants, in which they must be deemed to be "of good character on the balance of probabilities". There is no definition as to what makes a "good character" but any contact with the criminal justice system from the age of 10 can influence the decision. The policy has been heavily criticised by campaigners, who say it is unjust to treat a child by the same standards as an adult and in some cases people have been denied the right to live and work in the UK for petty theft, cautions or fights at school during childhood. In other cases, offences can be more serious, such as robbery. The Home Office has said that a review of the policy has been completed and "revised guidance would be published soon". 'Sad, depressed 13-year-old' Carla - who did not acquire citizenship at birth because her parents were not settled in the country - was arrested several times for shoplifting between the ages of 13 and 15. "The Home Office letter didn't go into much detail but it looks like my offences from years ago - and not including them in my application [in confusion over the term 'unspent convictions'] - are why [my case was rejected]," she says. The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old. When it is put to Carla that she was older than this at the time, she says she accepts full responsibility for the shoplifting and was given fines and community service. But she adds that she does not understand why it is considered relevant to her citizenship case. "[At the time] I didn't have a good relationship with my family, so when I was a teenager I used to roam about. I didn't have any money - so I got arrested several times for shoplifting. "But now I feel so completely removed from that lost, sad, depressed 13-year-old. I have a good job and I'm a good person," she says, having also been to university in the UK. 'Punishes children twice' It is an argument Zubaida Haque, from race equality think tank Runnymede Trust, agrees with. "Stripping children of entitled British citizenship because of often minor contact with the criminal justice system not only punishes children twice, it removes their sense of future, hope and belonging," she says. "This issue is not just about harshly and inappropriately applying good character requirements to children entitled to British citizenship, it's about children's rights and welfare." In 2017, a report by the chief inspector for borders and immigration assessed the good character requirement, highlighting concerns that it did not differentiate between criminal convictions committed by children and adults. The government accepted its recommendations and said it would publish new guidance in December 2017 - but a year later, this has not materialised. The Home Office said its revised guidance, to be "published soon", would "make clear that consideration of the child's best interests must be a primary consideration when making decisions that affect them". "It will also make it clear where discretion can be exercised," it added. Lawyer Solange Valdez-Symonds, from the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens, says she hopes this new guidance will be put in place soon, having advised on such cases for six years - all involving people from BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] communities. She says many of those affected have also spent time in care or have learning difficulties. "I see the policy as being a cruel one. There's so much injustice in it," she says. She says in one case an individual was denied citizenship because as an 11-year-old they had taken a credit card from their foster parents' home and bought something on the internet, for which they received a caution from police. 'Racist system' For Carla, the good character requirement represents a "racist system". She believes that had she been white, past offences as a child would have been overlooked. She talks openly about how she had always looked forward to becoming a British citizen, thinking it would be "the happiest moment of my life". But while she stills hopes it will happen, Carla says she can't help but feel resentment "for everything that has happened". Follow the Victoria Derbyshire programme on Facebook and Twitter - and see more of our stories here.

2006 के बाद से अभियानकर्ताओं के आंकड़ों से पता चलता है कि 10 साल की उम्र से आपराधिक न्याय प्रणाली के साथ संपर्क के कारण 500 से अधिक बच्चों को ब्रिटिश नागरिकता से वंचित कर दिया गया है। एक महिला, जो यूके में पैदा हुई थी और जो अब पूर्णकालिक काम करती है, बताती है कि कैसे एक किशोर के रूप में दुकान से चोरी के अपराधों की एक श्रृंखला का मतलब है कि उसे निर्वासन का खतरा हो सकता है।


Taunton legal highs shop Hush closes after court order

Summary: A shop selling legal highs in Somerset has closed after police said it was responsible for serious nuisance and disorder in the town.

Taunton magistrates granted an application for police to close Hush in Bridge Street for three months under the new Anti-social Behaviour Act. Officers said legal highs caused "horrific problems" in Taunton. Taunton Deane councillors recently voted to ban the sale of the substances in premises rented from the authority.

समरसेट में कानूनी ऊंचाई बेचने वाली एक दुकान को पुलिस द्वारा शहर में गंभीर उपद्रव और अव्यवस्था के लिए जिम्मेदार बताए जाने के बाद बंद कर दिया गया है।


India election 2019: Meeting a 'foot soldier' of the Hindu far-right

Summary: Ever since Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014, India has seen a resurgence in right-wing Hindu nationalism. The Indian PM has made it the cornerstone of his ongoing re-election campaign. Soutik Biswas meets a self-proclaimed foot soldier of Hindu nationalism, and explores the forces driving the rise of the far-right in India.

Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent Sharad Sharma was 20 when right-wing Hindu mobs tore down a mosque in his city, triggering one of the worst bouts of religious riots in independent India. It happened in the fabled city of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on 6 December, 1992. The mob that razed the 16th Century Babri mosque claimed that it was built on the site of a temple destroyed by Muslim rulers. More importantly, they said it was standing on ground believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god, Rama. On that fateful Sunday evening, news about the fallen mosque swept the city. Young men carrying saffron flags stood on its broken dome. As dusk fell, a journalist at the site reported, a "red cloud of dust settled on the rubble" and all that remained was the "myth of Hindu tolerance". The riots that followed the demolition killed nearly 2,000 people across India. "I was not at the site. I remember people running through the town, returning from the site. They were jubilant, shouting Jai Sri Ram [hail lord Ram]," Mr Sharma told me when I met him in Ayodhya recently. He had grown up in the temple-studded city listening to stories of the internecine dispute. Hindus and Muslims have been at loggerheads over the shrine for more than a century. Earlier that year, he had joined the Bajrang Dal, a far-right Hindu supremacist group that was mobilising support to build a Hindu temple at the site of the destroyed Babri mosque. The group is part of the "Sangh Parivar" or family of Hindu nationalist groups. They are led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), widely regarded as the parent organisation of Narendra Modi's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Bajrang Dal is officially described as a "security ring of Hindu society". But the group has been accused of burning alive an Australian missionary and his two children and attacking churches, rioting and forcibly converting Muslims. American political scientist Paul Brass wrote that it resembled a "fighting protection squad for the other [Hindu nationalist] organisations, a somewhat pathetic, but nevertheless dangerous version of the Nazi SA". India votes 2019 "At Bajrang Dal, I would hold meetings with officials, and do some organising work. That's all," Mr Sharma says. Four years later - in 1996 - he joined the Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP), or the World Hindu Council, which was at the forefront of the demolition of the mosque. Political scientist Manjari Katju describes the group as a "clamorous and militant sibling" of the RSS. Two years later, Mr Sharma was given the responsibility of handling the media and appointed the local spokesperson of the organisation. With time, media interest in the temple appears to have waned. These days, he says, he mostly interacts with a handful of local journalists. "Agitating for the temple is not all we do. We run schools, dispensaries, work with tribespeople all over the country. There's a lot of other work." The evolution of the son of a lawyer and a school teacher into a member of a far-right supremacist group was perhaps foretold. In his early years, Mr Sharma spent a lot of his time travelling with his father, who practised as a criminal lawyer, and wrote articles in newspapers. His grandfather studied engineering in Lahore (now in Pakistan), and worked as a civil engineer in Ayodhya. When he was a student, Mr Sharma would often attend local shakhas or daily meetings held by the RSS. There they were taught lessons on "nationalism, social science, moral science and history". One recent evening, on the banks of Sarayu river which flows past Ayodhya, I saw a group of children holding hands, chanting poems and reciting lessons. "They are children of a shakha. That's how we learnt things here," Mr Sharma says. As a teenager, he lived in a city that was rapidly slipping into the politics of grievance, frustration and discrimination. In 1989, radical Hindu religionists unveiled plans to build a "grand Ram temple" where the Babri mosque stood. A coalition of Muslim groups responded with protest marches and rallies. A senior BJP leader launched a nationwide march to the temple. It was, as observers said - a "full blown campaign of hatred by communalists on both sides". The same year, Hindu groups raised an appeal to collect bricks embossed with the name Ram and small donations from tens of thousands of villages across India. The bricks would be consecrated and taken to Ayodhya. Firebrand religious leaders and kar sevaks (Hindu volunteers) streamed into Ayodhya to canvass support for the temple. Myths swirled around the disputed site. In VHP's telling of history, 176,000 Hindus were killed trying to defend the temple upon which India's first Mughal ruler Babur allegedly built the mosque. "The death figure is absurd and has no basis whatsoever, but to its credit VHP has turned puerile propaganda into popular history," says Valay Singh, author of Ayodhya: City of Faith, City of Discord. Mr Sharma remembers it all as a "very heady time". "I was, at once, both inspired and angry when I heard the speeches of the saints and the stories about the mosque. I felt that a historical wrong had to be corrected. We would be on the roads offering food and water to the volunteers who began arriving here from all over India." Things came to a head in 1990 when the police fired on kar sevaks near the city for defying a curfew and shoot-on-sight orders, killing several of them. "That was really the last straw for us," he says. "I was shocked that innocent believers had been killed. "Bringing down the mosque two years later was a reaction to the killing of our volunteers." In person, Mr Sharma, a masters graduate in Hindi, is unfailingly polite and low-key. His wife is a homemaker who also does social work, and his son is studying to become a lawyer in the bustling state capital of Lucknow, some 135km (83 miles) from Ayodhya. His brother runs a car rental firm. He says he has a few Muslims friends, who "also want the temple to be built". Mr Sharma is a self-professed news junkie, saying his favourite hobby is "discussing the news of the day with fellow workers and journalists". His Twitter feed is more forceful than the man himself: he rails against "anti-nationals" and says the election is a "fight between nationalists and anti-nationals", a signature riff of Mr Modi's campaign. In his WhatsApp profile picture, he smilingly poses with the powerful BJP president Amit Shah. The fact that Mr Sharma isn't a star of the resurgent Hindu right doesn't seem to bother him. He's happy to remain a "committed foot soldier" and wait patiently for the temple to be built. A few doors away from his workplace, some 350,000 donated bricks bearing the name Ram and carved sandstone pillars are heaped in a "workshop". All this will be used to build the temple. I ask him whether he feels frustrated that the temple hasn't yet been built. The dispute over the site has been fought in India's courts for more than half a century and a solution doesn't appear to be in sight yet. "India fought the British for nearly 100 years to become independent. The Babri mosque came down just 26 years ago. It marked the end of our religious slavery. The temple will be built. We will wait. The people are with us. "Who knows? Maybe another generation will build the temple." What about the lives lost in rioting and violence over the temple and the allegations that it was mostly provoked by VHP storm troopers? "If attacks have happened in the past, it is because historical wrongs had to be corrected. After correcting these wrongs, we can all live together." Mr Sharma denies that the VHP has been involved in stoking riots against minorities. "Hindus can never be rioters. There's no Hindu terror. We never start a confrontation. If our temples are attacked or cows slaughtered, we will react and resist. If we are heavy in number, we will punish the enemy," he says. "We are humans. Things happen." Read more from Soutik Biswas Follow Soutik on Twitter at @soutikBBC

2014 में नरेंद्र मोदी के सत्ता में आने के बाद से भारत ने दक्षिणपंथी हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद में पुनरुत्थान देखा है। भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री ने इसे अपने चल रहे पुनः चुनाव अभियान की आधारशिला बना दिया है। सौतिक बिस्वास हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद के एक स्व-घोषित पैदल सैनिक से मिलते हैं, और भारत में अति-दक्षिणपंथ के उदय को बढ़ावा देने वाली ताकतों की खोज करते हैं।


How Newcastle's arts venues survived cuts

Summary: There were howls of protest in 2012 when Newcastle City Council said it would be the first British city to scrap funding for theatres, galleries and other arts venues. A compromise was found, and venues are now finding new ways to survive.

By Ian YoungsArts reporter A "cultural wasteland" was the fate writer Lee Hall - who set stories like Billy Elliot and the Pitmen Painters in north-east England - predicted for his home city. "The tumbleweed will start blowing up the cultural streets here," he warned in 2013 after Newcastle City Council put forward a plan to axe its £1.2m annual arts budget. Opposition such as this led the council to search down the back of the sofa and eventually come up with £600,000 per year - half the previous amount - for a new cultural fund, which kicks in this week. After a bidding process, 15 organisations have been given three-year grants. Six of those had not previously received regular council funding. But the established theatres, museums, galleries and independent cinemas have received deep cuts. Two - the Globe gallery and the 178-year-old Theatre Royal - were cut out altogether. The Theatre Royal is the biggest loser. Three years ago, it received £630,000 per year from the city council. From 1 April, it will get nothing. But the tumbleweed is not blowing down Grey Street yet. The grand old venue has compensated for the lost grant by introducing booking fees, taking a bigger slice of box office takings from touring shows, changing its education activities and staging more crowd-pleasing shows. "We do tend to put on more musicals, we do tend to put on a bit less drama than we did," Theatre Royal chief executive Philip Bernays says. "The balance has shifted. "It's an inevitability of the government's policy coming through to the local authorities coming through to us. That slightly more challenging work that we did sometimes present, we're now simply not able to afford to." Audience numbers have increased, Mr Bernays says. "Ticket income has gone up and, actually, we have found that we've been able to make up the shortfall from the council funding." Meanwhile, down on the quayside, workers are busy erecting the steel frame of an office building that will overlook the River Tyne. It will be owned by the nearby Live Theatre. With 170 seats, Live Theatre is far smaller than the Theatre Royal and specialises in new plays. Lee Hall and Peter Straughan - who wrote the Wolf Hall TV script - cut their teeth there. "You have to think of us as an R&D [research and development] house for the rest of the theatre industry," Live Theatre chief executive Jim Beirne says. Live will never resort to mainstream musicals and would have to increase ticket prices by three or four times to become self-sufficient, Mr Beirne says. "Those options are not open to us in the same way that they are to Philip at the Theatre Royal. So we have had to think of doing different things." Ten-year plan This is where the office block comes in. Rents from the 14,400-sq-ft (1,337-sq-m) building, named Live Works, will be ploughed back into the theatre and a new youth writing centre that is also under construction. Although the theatre's annual council grant has effectively been cut by 70%, the authority has provided a £6m loan for Live Works at lower interest rates than a bank could offer. As well as Live Works, the theatre also owns a gastropub, a creative business hub and an online playwriting course. Those schemes together should earn the theatre £500,000 a year - double the amount of public funding it will have lost - Mr Beirne predicts. Live Theatre started thinking about new sources of income 10 years ago - and the rest of the arts world is now following its lead. "Everybody is now thinking about how they are going to do without local authority resource or Arts Council investment," Mr Beirne says. Elsewhere, the council has given a loan to the Tyneside Cinema to open a cafe and bar in a former building society on its ground floor, while Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books, says it has redoubled its fundraising efforts. The city's other major theatre, Northern Stage, is also exploring new ways to earn money. It now hires out its auditoriums for conferences, exploits the expertise of its set-building and wardrobe departments, and its artistic director, Lorne Campbell, runs workshops in creativity and presentation for entrepreneurs and students. He estimates he now spends at least 30% of his time on such commercial activities. "They generate income, but it's weeks of my time and my team's time," Mr Campbell says. "We can do it. But we're a theatre." Northern Stage has not cut back on plays or education work, he says. 'Invisible costs' "We're doing a huge amount more than we were doing five or six years ago for far, far less money in real terms while also spending a lot more of our time and our resource generating income from other means. "There comes a point where you hit the rocks with that." Newcastle - like the national arts scene - is highly resilient, he says. But there are "invisible costs" to the cuts, he adds. "As with all cuts, it hits the most vulnerable," he adds. "It hits diversity." "Getting artists from any sort of deprivation - be it economic, be it social - getting artists from any sort of minority, getting the cultural life into those areas where it does not exist becomes the hardest thing to do as the economic resources become tighter and tighter." For its part, the council insists it had little choice. It says it must save £90m over the next three years and is also making big cuts to areas such as youth services, social care and libraries. "There were not a lot of places to go," according to council assistant director Tony Durcan, whose responsibilities include culture. "It was incredibly difficult. At one stage we felt we would be left with no funding for culture, one library, one swimming pool, one customer service centre. It didn't turn out to be as bad as that. But we had to make some quite serious reductions." The new culture fund has come from "a cocktail" of sources, including public health grants and interest on a loan the council made to Newcastle Airport. With public health money in the mix, applicants have had to prove their contribution to the city's wellbeing. As such, the biggest winners from the fund were Twisting Ducks, a theatre company that works with people with learning disabilities, which will receive £118,000 over the next three years. 'Difficult' philanthropy The fund is being run by the Community Foundation, and the idea is that it will eventually be topped up by private donors. "We've had one or two people who've approached us for modest amounts," Mr Durcan says. "Philanthropy for the arts isn't at a high level for the north of England so we know that will be difficult." He praises "entrepreneurial" venues such as Live Theatre - but accepts that not every institution can go down a similar route. "It still feels a very buoyant scene in the city," he adds. "It still produces excellent art. But I'm not being overly optimistic. I am saying it's early days." 'Awful' outlook Newcastle is certainly not alone in seeing its local authority funding shrink. Most cities have cut their arts funding - along with other services. In keeping the tumbleweed at bay, Newcastle's arts scene has shown what a bit of high-profile campaigning and creative enterprise can achieve. As austerity rumbles on, they will need to keep drawing on those skills. "The future for local authorities is looking awful," Mr Durcan says. "The way we're looking, our budget over the next three years is particularly dire. "You talk to colleagues in other cities and in two or three years, if things do not improve, we do not know how we will deliver even some basic public services."

2012 में विरोध की आवाज़ें उठीं जब न्यूकैसल सिटी काउंसिल ने कहा कि यह थिएटरों, दीर्घाओं और अन्य कला स्थलों के लिए धन को खत्म करने वाला पहला ब्रिटिश शहर होगा। एक समझौता पाया गया था, और स्थल अब जीवित रहने के नए तरीके खोज रहे हैं।


Fast fashion: Inside the fight to end the silence on waste

Summary: At a time when our waste and our environmental impact is firmly under the spotlight, news in early July that fashion brand Burberry had burned almost £30m ($40m) of stock has caused outrage.

By Kelly-Leigh CooperBBC News The company admitted destroying the unsold clothes, accessories and perfume instead of selling it off cheaply, in order to protect the brand's exclusivity and value. It added that it had captured the energy from the burning to try and make the process more environmentally friendly. But how widespread is stock destruction at this level? Orsola de Castro is the co-founder and creative director of activist group Fashion Revolution, who lobby brands on production transparency. She describes landfilling and burning as fashion's "dirtiest open secret" and says she has been waiting decades for a story like Burberry's to emerge. The BBC contacted 35 high-end designers and high-street retailers to ask about their practice. Only six replied with breakdowns or further information, and the rest said they could not help or did not respond at all. The secretive nature of the industry makes it difficult to accurately quantify the scale of the problem - but with global production now exceeding 100 billion garments a year, groups are warning of "potentially catastrophic" environmental damage if current growth trends continue. After more than 1,100 people died in a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh five years ago, pressure has also mounted on western retailers to be transparent about their supply chain. Many now opt to publish end-of-year reports that detail progress on workers' rights and environmental sustainability. The information about Burberry's stock burning was released in one such report - and Orsola points out that the designer is in fact one of the most transparent. So why is stock destruction even a thing? Designer brands typically work on much lower stock levels than high-street retailers, so their waste stock should be lower. Retailer Inditex (who own brands like Zara and Bershka) work on a similar model - buying small batches at the start of the season and using customer popularity to gauge how much more to produce. Larger commercial producers have greater stock levels and tend to first reduce prices to shift their product, then recycle or resell what is left. In some cases, external companies that specialise in moving on unsold goods are used by some retailers. Others have adopted initiatives to donate unwanted clothes to NGOs and social enterprises. But environmental activists say fashion's waste problem is much bigger than just unsold stock. They blame 'fast fashion' - a term describing our high rate of fashion consumption fuelled by the quantity of new clothes that go on sale. Research collated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggests that global clothing production has doubled in the past 15 years, with garments on average being worn much less and discarded quicker than ever before. The majority of used clothes we donate to charity have traditionally been re-sold abroad, but now even that demand is in decline. Demand in developing markets is however on the increase, with nations such as Rwanda instead opting to generate textiles independently, in part because of the low quality of donated products from fast-fashion retailers. How is the industry changing? While our passion for fashion is at least part of the problem, experts say the industry itself needs to be smarter with production to lessen environmental damage. Initiatives for change are happening - the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment was adopted by dozens of brands at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May 2017. The conference was organised by a group called Global Fashion Agenda, who want brands to adopt initiatives like using monofibres instead of synthetic and mixed-fibre fabrics, which are hard to break down in the recycling process. Scientists have also warned that polyester-type materials are adding to the problem of ocean plastic pollution. It is estimated that only 1% of our clothing is ultimately recycled into new garments because of this complexity - instead becoming items like insulation and cloths, which in turn may end up in landfill. By May 2018, 12.5% of the global fashion market had signed up to the 2020 targets - including big global names like Nike, Asos and Gap. Certain brands are capitalising on the environmental wave to set ambitious targets for themselves: Adidas for example have committed to only using recycling plastic in their shoes by 2024 and H&M says it hopes to only use sustainable materials in its production by 2030. An end to fast fashion? The UK government recently announced it would look into the environmental impact of fast fashion with the European Parliament also setting ambitious targets on circularity for consumer and business textile waste. Jack Ostrowski, founder and CEO of the reGAIN app which helps people recycle unwanted clothing, believes fast fashion is not just an industry problem but a social one too. "People simply don't understand how big negative impact fashion industry is on the environment and how quickly that has to change," he says. "It just simply cannot continue in the way it is now." He has developed an app that encourages consumers to recycle their clothes by offering incentives such as retailer discounts. He believes retailers who profit from clothes have a responsibility to better inform, facilitate and incentivise recycling from customers. The sentiment is echoed by activists such as Greenpeace, who say fashion's circularity targets do not go far enough. They say the industry needs to stop marketing cheap fast-fashion altogether, advocating for a slowdown our current consumption level. Part of fashion retailers' advertising strategy to younger audiences is now through social media. Popular figures are brought on board for line collaborations and online influencers are sent goods for free to help promote them to their followers. "There's going to be a tipping point where consumers will start seeing this act of hoarding or hauling goods as negative," Orsola from Fashion Revolution says. "Which influencers right now will film themselves drinking from 50 different plastic straws because they're 50 different colours? That would look so wrong right now but two years ago would have been fine." She has worked in the fashion industry for years advocating for upcycling of products. This also has currency in the online world - with bloggers and social media accounts sharing advice on how to repair, reuse or repurpose our clothes in inventive ways. Asked for advice on how to resist the temptation to spend, she recommends people return to engaging emotionally with their clothing - learning to love the things they own and taking longer to consider future purchases. "Torture yourself a little bit! Because actually waiting for something, waiting to see if you really, really want it, waiting to see if it has a function in your life and then buying it is beautiful." You may also like:

ऐसे समय में जब हमारा कचरा और हमारा पर्यावरणीय प्रभाव दृढ़ता से सुर्खियों में है, जुलाई की शुरुआत में खबर आई कि फैशन ब्रांड बरबेरी ने लगभग 30 मिलियन पाउंड (40 मिलियन डॉलर) का स्टॉक जला दिया है।


Analysis: What Obama visit says about UK-US alliance

Summary: President Obama does a good line in luxuriant praise.

By Ross HawkinsPolitical correspondent, BBC News The Magna Carta, Winston Churchill and "one of the oldest and strongest alliances the world has ever known" were all celebrated in his Westminster Hall speech. The President was determinedly upbeat. On Iraq, he said "our combat mission has ended". On Afghanistan, he declared: "We have broken the Taliban's momentum". He added: "We will not relent until the people of Libya are protected, and the shadow of tyranny is lifted." At the heart of his speech was the case for the US, the UK and their allies to play a leading role in global politics. Unlike President Roosevelt and Churchill they could not set right the world over a brandy, he said, but these countries remained the "greatest catalysts for global action". Members of Parliament who shared their excitement with the world on Twitter just waiting for the President to arrive made their appreciation obvious as he reminded them he was the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army. Barbecue images But even before the standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech was complete, they were picking through Barack Obama's state visit comments seeking support for their own political arguments, or evidence of splits with the prime minister. Earlier, at their joint press conference, David Cameron said: "The president and I agree that we should be turning up the heat in Libya." It was almost as if he foresaw reporters using folksy pictures of him and President Obama cooking burgers for veterans in the Downing Street garden to illustrate his point. The President, though, struck a different tone there. "I think there may be a false perception that there are a whole bunch of secret, super-effective air assets that are in a warehouse somewhere that could just be pulled out and that would immediately solve the situation in Libya," he said. "That's not the case." There would be a slow, steady process, he said, and patience was necessary. Libya limitations Even as the state visit began the US press corps were reminded by the White House that President Obama had told the UK that the US commitment in Libya would be "limited in scope and duration". The director of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, Professor Michael Clarke, said the strikes by US unmanned Predator drones taking place in Libya were the sort of intervention the military coalition opposing Colonel Gaddafi most wanted. But there were those in the Conservative Party who hoped for more from the President than comments about patience, slow progress and limitations. One senior Tory backbencher said: "How can he say all that and not help more in Libya?" The Conservative vice chairman of the party's backbench foreign affairs and defence committee, Mark Pritchard, said: "The United States military is doing much; but the reluctance of President Obama, for primarily domestic political reasons, not to fully commit the United States to the conflict in Libya could unhelpfully prolong the conflict." Rival British politicians were also listening carefully to the President's words on the economy. David Cameron sought common ground when he said debt ratios on both sides of the Atlantic would be falling by the second half of this decade - a target set for the UK by the Chancellor. The President acknowledged the "sequencing or pace" of the two countries' efforts to deal with their deficits could turn out to be different, but said that was down to differences in their economies and the pressures they faced. He also said both governments wanted to achieve the same ends without mortgaging their futures and leaving a mountain of debt to future generations. Unsurprisingly both the UK government and opposition drew from those quotes to claim the President's support for their arguments. Pivotal relationship Labour said David Cameron would be disappointed the President had refused to support his economic policy. Government sources suggested he had said everything they would have said about the need for countries to live within their means while protecting spending on infrastructure and technology. The inevitable arguments about what President Obama really meant, underlined a simple point. No one could emerge from this state visit doubting America's influence; certainly not David Cameron who hitched a lift in the famous Presidential limousine. The special relationship, described repeatedly as "essential" during the visit, retains its place at the centre of British foreign policy. The announcements about collaboration between the US and the UK made public during the press conference served, of course, to underline the point. As the pageantry and press conferences of the visit played out, the vast US aircraft carrier the USS George H.W. Bush was off the British coast taking part in a major international military training exercise. Some in David Cameron's party will watch the president leave for the G8 in France wishing the US had promised to commit a little more of that force to the fight to oust Colonel Gaddafi.

राष्ट्रपति ओबामा शानदार प्रशंसा में एक अच्छी पंक्ति करते हैं।


Girl, 6, hit by car and killed in Smethwick

Summary: A six-year-old girl who was run over and killed was crossing the road with her father when she was struck, police believe.

She was hit on Oldbury Road in Smethwick in the West Midlands at about 22:50 GMT on Saturday. A 27-year-old man and 26-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Police appealed for anyone who saw the collision or who may have CCTV that can help with inquiries to get in touch. Det Con Damian Gibson, from the collision investigation unit, said: "There may be motorists who've captured the incident on dashcams and if so I'd ask them to also get in touch as they could have important information. "The family are receiving support from family liaison officers, and our thoughts are them at this very sad time."

पुलिस का मानना है कि एक छह वर्षीय लड़की, जिसे कुचल कर मार दिया गया था, अपने पिता के साथ सड़क पार कर रही थी, जब उसे मारा गया।


Sir Alan Ayckbourn: Using ping pong balls to keep theatre alive

Summary: Theatre giant Sir Alan Ayckbourn will let audience members choose how the action unfolds in his next play by asking them to pick coloured ping pong balls out of a bag. At the age of 75, the playwright explains why he still wants to "scare myself".

By Ian YoungsArts reporter, BBC News "It's a bit like Lottery Live." Sir Alan is describing how balls will be picked at random to decide the running order of the five acts in his new play Roundelay. With some relish, the writer and director remarks: "It's nothing like I've ever done before." The nightly ritual will probably not be quite as flashy as the lottery draw, but the idea is Sir Alan's most daring experiment with story structure to date. Roundelay, which receives its premiere at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre in September, is the 78th play of his career. One of Britain's most popular and prolific playwrights, Sir Alan got the idea after buying Chris Ware's graphic novel Building Stories, which comprises booklets telling 14 connected stories, for his wife's birthday. "We sat down and opened the box and all the bits of paper fell out and thought, 'Well where do we start?'" He says. "So I started at one end and she started at the other, and I really enjoyed it." Roundelay's experiment means there are 120 possible different orders in which the play's five acts can be performed. "We get five coloured ping pong balls in a bag in the bar, and we ask one or two punters to pick the colours out. That's the order you're going to see them in tonight. "And then we ring downstairs to the green room and tell the stage management and the actors. I'm just interested to know, if that [thing] happens at that point in the evening, what does it do to the rest of the evening?" Each act has a different tone. "There's a rather dark gothic one, there's quite a nostalgic one and it goes right through to broad farce," Sir Alan says. 'Theatre is alive' Characters will come to the fore in some acts, be in the background in others and be absent for the rest. The stories interweave so that, by the end, the audience should have the complete picture. "It's another attempt by me to explore different areas, but also to scare myself slightly," Sir Alan says. "It's exciting. "I've always wanted to remind people that theatre is alive. The question we kept asking ourselves for the last two or three decades is: 'What can we provide that isn't on telly or film or video?' "The answer is a live experience, so my shows have tended to bend over backwards to explain how live they are, and this one's no exception." He also expresses reservations about cinema screenings of plays, describing them as a "second-hand" experience. Sir Alan will direct Roundelay, as well as The Boy Who Fell Into A Book, a new musical version of his 1998 children's play, which opens in Scarborough next month. The Boy Who Fell Into A Book, about a child who falls asleep and finds himself inside his bedtime story, has been adapted by Paul James, Cathy Shostak and Eric Angus - who previously created a musical of The Demon Headmaster. "I said, 'Who do you want to direct it?' And they looked vaguely in my direction. And I went, 'Oh God, not again.' So I said, 'Yeah, OK.'" There is an oft-quoted fact that Sir Alan Ayckbourn is second only to William Shakespeare in the league of the UK's most-performed playwrights. Before this summer's exertions in Scarborough, two of his classic plays are being staged elsewhere - 1987's A Small Family Business has been revived at the National Theatre in London, while 1997's Things We Do For Love, starring singer Natalie Imbruglia among others, is coming to the end of a UK tour. There have been a string of West End revivals in recent years after Sir Alan lifted a ban he imposed on London productions following a couple of bad experiences in 2002. 'Madly possessive' He still refuses to let his new plays transfer to the capital, however. "I just won't let them be done. It's all right when they're a few years old but I'm madly possessive about the new stuff." His refusal may also mask the fact that there is less demand for his most recent plays than the classics, most of which he is willing to let out of his grip. "They can pick and choose now," he says. "As long as they don't keep doing How The Other Half Loves. Please, please stop doing that. I'm sick to death of that play, I really am. But there are plenty of others." Sir Alan admits it has become harder to write at his time of life, but speaks about his desire to keep moving forward. Six years after suffering a stroke, though, his body is struggling to keep up. "I typed the last five plays with one finger, and the finger's absolutely wrecked as a result," he says. He is now trying out dictation software for his next script, although it "keeps writing rubbish", he says. His difficulties with typing signal wider mobility problems. At his home in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the town where he has lived since 1957, his walk is somewhere between a hobble and a shuffle. "My movement's rubbish," he says. "My knees are shot. I can walk distances but only on the flat, and this [left] arm is really not fully cooperative. "But I'm coping. As long as I can write." The Boy Who Fell Into A Book opens at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on 18 July. Roundelay opens on 4 September. Sir Alan's A Small Family Business is being screened by National Theatre Live on Thursday.

रंगमंच के दिग्गज सर एलन ऐकबॉर्न दर्शकों को यह चुनने देंगे कि उनके अगले नाटक में एक्शन कैसे सामने आता है, उन्हें एक थैले से रंगीन पिंग पोंग गेंदें लेने के लिए कहेंगे। 75 साल की उम्र में, नाटककार बताते हैं कि वह अभी भी "खुद को डराना" क्यों चाहते हैं।


'Cashgate' - Malawi's murky tale of shooting and corruption

Summary: It is the biggest financial scandal in Malawi's history. Known as "cashgate", it has affected the country's relations with donors and caused outrage among Malawians. And with elections in May this year, the scandal could cost President Joyce Banda and her People's Party votes, writes the BBC's Chakuchanya Harawa.

At the centre of the scandal is a computer-based financial information storage system. Some government officials have allegedly been exploiting a loophole in the system to divert millions from government coffers. It is estimated that up to $250m (£150m) may have been lost through allegedly fraudulent payments to businessmen for services that were not rendered. According to a report in the local media, an audit by managers of the financial system has established that records of some transactions carried out between July and September 2013 were deleted. Allegations of the massive looting of government money became public following the shooting of the finance ministry's then budget director Paul Mphwiyo in September 2013. Just days before, a junior civil servant was allegedly found with bales of cash totalling more than $300,000 in the boot of his car. More cash was confiscated from some civil servants' homes and car boots. 'Crisis of confidence' The country's main donors were infuriated. They have withheld $150m pending further investigation into the scandal. Up to 40% of Malawi's annual budget is donor-funded. The EU ambassador to Malawi, Alexander Baum, told the BBC: "It is a crisis of confidence, and unless there is transparency and everybody has the feeling and trust that the crisis has been addressed with full determination, confidence will not return." But it is not all doom and gloom for the government. The IMF, which had been withholding funding for the same reason, has just decided to give nearly $20m to the country. A government preliminary report looking into the alleged fraud, carried in conjunction with British experts, has now been completed although it has not been made public. Police have since impounded vehicles, houses, apartments and office buildings belonging to those suspected of involvement with "cashgate". The Director of Public Prosecutions, Bruno Kalemba, told the BBC: "People have to be afraid of government money. In a country like ours, the needs are enormous and to imagine that just a few people were able to get their hands on this much money is quite discomforting and unpatriotic." With the start of the trial this week of two of the 70 people charged so far, many will be hoping that more revelations will come into the open. But while the legal battles are being fought in the courts, on the political front cashgate could become a major issue in the forthcoming elections. 'Scandalous' It is already dominating campaign rhetoric. The opposition has criticised the government's handling of the scandal, portraying the current administration as corrupt. President Banda argues that she initiated appropriate steps, including investigating, apprehending and prosecuting suspects as soon as she became aware of the allegations. Some have linked the scandal to the president, saying her party was trying to raise funds for the May election campaign. Her office described the allegations as "scandalous and baseless". Some of the top names facing charges were until recently senior officials of the ruling party. Sacked Justice Minister Ralph Kasambala, who has been charged with the attempted murder of the former budget director, has told a magistrate he wants President Banda, her sister and two other senior officials to be his witnesses when his trial starts. Another former ruling party executive committee member and businessman has been charged with theft and money-laundering. It is alleged that his company pocketed $6.5m for services not rendered. Both deny the charges. The financial management system was adopted in 2005 by the late Bingu wa Mutharika administration. President Banda has suggested that the looting may have started as far back as 2010 following a directive by the former president that banks should honour all government cheques without asking questions. Ms Banda became president in 2012 following the sudden death of Mr Mutharika; she had been vice-president although she had been fired from the then ruling party and had formed her own party. For the moment, the political effects of the trial are not not clear - the scandal could well hurt both Ms Banda's People's Party and Mr Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), possibly allowing another party to gain ground.

यह मलावी के इतिहास में सबसे बड़ा वित्तीय घोटाला है। जिसे "कैशगेट" के रूप में जाना जाता है, इसने दानदाताओं के साथ देश के संबंधों को प्रभावित किया है और मलावी लोगों के बीच आक्रोश पैदा किया है। और इस साल मई में चुनावों के साथ, इस घोटाले को राष्ट्रपति जॉयस बांदा और उनकी पीपुल्स पार्टी के वोटों की कीमत चुकानी पड़ सकती है, बीबीसी की चाकुचन्या हरावा लिखती हैं।


Ministers pressure watchdog over 'buxom barmaids' video

Summary: Pressure has grown on an assembly watchdog to explain why he thought a video featuring a barmaid wearing a low-cut top with a Labour AM's head superimposed on it was not sexist.

Three ministers in the Welsh Government have joined criticism of Sir Roderick Evans' decision. The video by UKIP AM Gareth Bennett made derogatory comments about Joyce Watson's appearance. The standards commissioner's office was approached for comment. Eluned Morgan, Alun Davies and Vaughan Gething's comments come after BBC Wales revealed that the assembly-appointed commissioner did not think the video, which has since been deleted, was sexist or misogynistic. It followed a complaint by Ms Watson. Mr Gething and Ms Morgan are both candidates in the Welsh Labour leadership election. In the video, which has since been taken down, Mr Bennett said Ms Watson used to run a pub but "you wouldn't guess that from looking at her". The South Wales Central AM added: "She doesn't look like the life and soul of the party. I'm not sure I would fancy popping in for a quick one at the local if I saw her pulling pints at the bar." Ms Watson said the allusion to 'buxom barmaids' was "inherently sexist". Vaughan Gething, health secretary, said on Twitter: "The standards commissioner really does need to explain his position. "I would like to see him have an attack of common sense and reconsider the issue. His decision runs wholly against the assembly's own dignity and respect policy." He earlier tweeted: "If a sexist video like this is not acted upon what confidence can we have over handling future complaints?" Alun Davies, local government secretary, wrote: "There's agreement across the chamber that this video was wrong and the decision needs to be reviewed," Eluned Morgan, Welsh language minister, told BBC Wales: "If that video was not sexist, I'm not sure what is. "I am very interested to hear his justification for such a decision in particular in the light of the new dignity and respect agenda currently being promoted by the assembly." Mr Gething has since written to the commissioner, calling for him to reconsider. Sources said the matter is due to be discussed at a meeting of the Labour group on Tuesday. A spokesman for Gareth Bennett declined to comment.

एक असेंबली वॉचडॉग पर यह समझाने के लिए दबाव बढ़ गया है कि उसने क्यों सोचा कि एक बारमेड को लो-कट टॉप पहने हुए एक वीडियो जिस पर लेबर एएम का सिर लगाया गया था, वह सेक्सिस्ट नहीं था।


Man denies fatal stabbing and assaulting a woman in Glasgow

Summary: A man has denied stabbing a man to death and assaulting a woman on the same day in Glasgow.

Thomas Reilly, 43, is accused of murdering Andrew Linton in Easterhouse on 3 December 2019. Prosecutors claim he initially attempted to hit the 43 year-old before striking him on the body with a knife. He is separately accused of assaulting a woman on the same day. Reilly denied the charges at a short hearing at the High Court in Glasgow. No trial was set. A further hearing was fixed for September.

एक आदमी ने ग्लासगो में उसी दिन एक आदमी की चाकू मारकर हत्या करने और एक महिला पर हमला करने से इनकार किया है।


E3: What video games to expect for the new-gen consoles

Summary: Prepare for an onslaught of high-definition hack-and-slash, shoot-em-up, treasure hunting, sci-fi, role-playing, super-heroic, time-bending, social-racing mayhem.

By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor If last year's E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo was all about new hardware, this year's event is focused on the games themselves. It's a chance for developers to show off what they can do now they've had more time with the "new-gen" consoles, and to stimulate chatter about their often huge-budget releases. "E3 is much more than a convention, it's a celebration of all things gaming - a place where the industry comes together to really show its stuff", Peter Moore, chief operating officer of EA - one of the biggest publishers - tells the BBC. "The biggest games, the biggest stage, an opportunity to talk about what's coming now and in the future, and more so than ever to put the games in the hands of players." The Los Angeles event isn't open to the public, but it does give the media the opportunity to get hands-on with forthcoming titles and to quiz their developers. Consumers can, however, take part by watching live streams of the various announcements via the companies' own websites and the gaming service Twitch. Games creator's picks: One of the big surprises of the early new-gen games has been Wolfenstein: The New Order. In particular, the Nazi-shooter's alternate-history storyline has been praised for helping revitalise the brand. The BBC asked the man responsible, Sweden-based narrative designer Tommy Tordsson Bjork, for the games he most anticipates at E3: 1. Mirror's Edge 2 "The idea of playing [female protagonist] Faith again, and leaping from building to building is just really exciting. I know the lead designer on this project and he's a very talented and smart guy, so I'm sure this will be nothing short of excellent." 2. The Evil Within "What I've played feels sort of like a great mix of the best of Silent Hill and Resident Evil. It feels like we've been starved of triple-A horror titles recently, so I think this is very timely." 3. Quantum Break "I don't know that much about it beyond the fact that you can use time-manipulation powers. But I've always liked Remedy Entertainment studio ever since playing the first Max Payne game." 4. Alien: Isolation "Not only do we get a game that invokes the horror of the first Aliens movie - my favourite of the series - but also I really like the analogue tech 1970's-vision-of-the-future atmosphere that they are going for." 5. Mad Max "I remember watching Mad Max as a kid, which I probably wasn't supposed to do. It was a precursor for my fascination with science-fiction and dystopian visions, so I'm excited to see what they've done with it." 6. Elegy for a Dead World "It's an indie game where the player-explorer observes a dead world and has to write down what he observes in a journal and send it back to his home world. It's inspired by British romantic poets like Shelley and Byron, and that's something that makes it appealing to me." Microsoft's makeover Sony was the undisputed victor at the last E3 - its PlayStation 4 beating the Xbox One on both price and positive buzz as Microsoft struggled with criticism about its desire to restrict second-hand sales, a position it later abandoned. Microsoft aims to head off another backlash by announcing it will start selling the XBox One without its Kinect voice/vision sensor. In addition, it promises a software update will unlock extra grunt for its graphics chip when the Kinect is not in use, addressing the fact that several Xbox One games have had lower frame rates and resolutions than their PS4 equivalents. "Microsoft's decision to aggressively reposition Xbox One as a gamers' machine and to remove the need to buy Kinect at this early stage will have undoubtedly taken Sony by surprise and is likely to have resulted in some change in emphasis for Sony's E3 press event," says Piers Harding-Rolls, a games industry analyst at the IHS Technology consultancy. "Now that the price differential is less of an issue, games exclusives and value-added services are expected to be the key strategic battle between the two consoles." We already know some, but not all, of the exclusives to be showcased. Microsoft is promising more details about Halo 5 - the latest in its epic alien-battling series - at the show, although it's not clear if it will show anything more than a pre-rendered tease. It should, however, allow attendees to try out Sunset Overdrive -a brightly coloured title in which players slide along rails blowing up mutants - and Quantum Break - a game in which the characters control time. Sony will offer up its multiplayer racing title Driveclub, and Victorian London-set monster hunting shooter The Order: 1886. It is also expected to disclose details about a new game in its hit Uncharted third-person action series, and to show off its forthcoming Project Morpheus virtual reality headset. However, hopes that the firm would reveal what Britain's Media Molecule studio has been working on as a follow-up to its quirky Little Big Planet games appear to have been dashed by a tweet from the developer. And don't forget Nintendo. The Wii U may have been abandoned by some third-party publishers, but Nintendo has long developed many of its platforms' most desired games. At E3 it will stage a tournament to promote a title likely to boost sales of the struggling console: Super Smash Bros 4. As well allowing attendees to try the game - which pits characters from various other games against each other - it should also explain how special add-on toys will unlock extra content, in its attempt to match Activision's success with its Skylanders characters. "Super Smash Bros won't turn around Nintendo's fortunes, but it will get the Wii U up off the mat and encourage people who enjoyed previous versions of the game to buy the console," says Lewis Ward a games analyst at research firm IDC. Nintendo also promises to reveals details about a Wii U Legends of Zelda game. Bungie's ambition Of the cross-platform titles, Destiny is arguably the most anticipated. Publisher Activision has already boasted that it expects the post-apocalyptic game, set 700 years in the future, to become the "best-selling new video game IP [intellectual property] in history". But developer Bungie has still to prove Destiny will be an evolutionary leap forward in the same manner the studio's original Halo game influenced others. It does, however, have the advantage of going on sale in September to what at this point appears to be pretty barren release schedule. Many other big budget games - known in the in the industry as triple-A titles - have been delayed after their developers realised they needed more time than expected to build the super-detailed worlds that new-gen consoles allow. Rocksteady Studio's third Batman game, Arkham Knight; Ubisoft's open-world Tom Clancy's The Division; Avalanche Studio's car-combat-themed Mad Max; and CD Projekt Red's role-player Witcher 3 are just some of the games postponed from 2014 to 2015. That does, however, present the "indies" an opportunity. "For these smaller teams who can make things faster and develop things cheaper, there's loads of little gaps in the market that they can quickly jump into," explains Christopher Dring, editor of the trade magazine MCV. "This summer there's loads of opportunities. There will be loads of gamers with little to play once they've finished Watch Dogs, who'll want something different." Sony devoted a sizeable section of its press conference last year to indie games, and Microsoft is already signalling its interest this time round by staging an indie showcase ahead of its presentation on Monday. Bigger, better Most console gamers are still on last-gen hardware. E3 offers the firms involved a chance to convince them that the new kit, and its more expensive games, are worth the investment. And if you're still not impressed by the time E3 ends on Thursday? "The one thing I'd say to the players out there: we're just getting started," says EA's Peter Moore. "We're just scratching the surface of what's possible with the new consoles - the systems, and the games we deliver, will only get better as we unlock new capabilities."

हाई-डेफिनिशन हैक-एंड-स्लैश, शूट-एम-अप, ट्रेजर हंट, साइंस-फाई, रोल-प्लेइंग, सुपर-हीरो, टाइम-बेन्डिंग, सोशल-रेसिंग हाथापाई के हमले के लिए तैयार रहें।


Two people injured in three-vehicle crash near Aviemore

Summary: Two people have been receiving treatment in hospital for serious injuries following a three-vehicle crash on the A9 in the Highlands.

The man, 96, and a woman, 94, were the driver and passenger of a blue Ford Fiesta involved in Sunday afternoon's collision south of Aviemore. A black Volkswagen Transporter and a black Citroen DS3 were also involved in the crash near the A9's B9152 junction. No-one else was injured and police have appealed for witnesses. Emergency services were alerted to the crash at about 15:55 on Sunday. The man and the woman were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment.

हाइलैंड्स में ए9 पर तीन वाहनों की दुर्घटना के बाद गंभीर चोटों के लिए दो लोगों का अस्पताल में इलाज चल रहा है।


JCB used in cash machine raid at Kettering Budgens

Summary: A stolen JCB and 4x4 have been used by thieves who drove into a shop in Kettering to steal a cash machine, police have said.

The Budgens store, on St Stephens Road, Ise Lodge, was targeted at about 04:00 GMT. Northamptonshire Police said the incident had left the shop "severely structurally damaged". Det Sgt Nick Cobley said: "We are not letting anybody into the building at the moment and are guarding the scene." Police believe the thieves managed to take the cash machine before they dumped the JCB. "We would encourage anyone who saw what happened in St Stephens Road in the early hours of this morning, or who knows anything about the two stolen vehicles, to contact us as soon as possible," Mr Cobley said.

पुलिस ने कहा है कि चोरी की गई जे. सी. बी. और 4x4 का उपयोग चोरों द्वारा किया गया है जो केटरिंग में एक नकदी मशीन चुराने के लिए एक दुकान में घुसे थे।


Portugal wildfires: Why are they so deadly?

Summary: "A level of human tragedy that we have never seen before."

That's how Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa described a huge forest fire that has swept through the centre of the country, leaving at least 64 people dead since Saturday. Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, reported the European Environment Agency last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size. Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything more to save lives and minimise the damage? Just what makes Portugal such a tinderbox? Climate and terrain Portugal, on Europe's south-western edge, is a warm country fanned by strong winds off the Atlantic. Scientists say climate change has had an impact, extending the "wildfire season" from two to five months. This year, the summer has got off to a hot start, with temperatures already exceeding 40C in areas, and this comes after a dry, warm spring. History of forest ownership and management Portugal is one of the most heavily forested countries in Europe, but the vast majority of woodland - 85%, according to the World Forest Institute - is privately owned. Forest ownership is highly fragmented, with privately owned plots averaging only five hectares (12.7 acres). Lack of management of the forest is a key part of Portugal's problem. As rural populations have dwindled, many of these privately owned plots have been neglected, with brush and detritus accumulating - which become fuel for the flames when a fire breaks out. Monocultural forests Much of the area in flames is dominated by eucalyptus, an Australian species introduced to Europe in the 18th Century but which really boomed in Portugal with the rise of paper industries in the mid-20th Century. It is one of the most profitable trees, but ecologists say eucalyptus sucks up rare groundwater and is bad for native plant and animal life. The sap-rich tree that now covers large parts of central and northern Portugal is also highly flammable. Eucalyptus lined route N-236, where 47 people died in their cars while trying to flee. Ineffective fire prevention strategy The government's forest fire strategy - or lack of one - has come in for particular criticism in the local media. "What failed on Saturday? Everything, as it has done for decades" was the headline on one analysis on the Publico news site. It says the three prongs of the strategy - prevention, surveillance and detection, and response - are parcelled out among unco-ordinated agencies which blame each other when things go wrong. This it traces back to the government's failure to implement fully a forest fire protection plan proposed more than 10 years ago. That may have been compounded by Portugal's debt crisis, which precipitated a €78bn (then £68bn; $110bn) international bailout contingent on a programme of cuts and privatisation. The current emphasis is on the emergency response to outbreaks of fire, experts told the paper, rather than the longer-term territorial management that would lower risk and minimise the spread of the flames. The newspaper points to the lack of "safety lanes" creating a break between dwellings and forest that would enable firefighters to focus on fighting fires rather than evacuating people. Houses could be built with safe rooms where people could take shelter if forest fires drew near. Other observers have also criticised the latitude given to the forestry companies. "The plantations are allowed to plant up to the edge of the road, which is a crime, because if a tree falls over over it blocks the road and that's the end for everyone," Caleb Cluff, an Australian journalist who witnessed the fire, told the BBC's 5 live radio station. The emergency response The government has vowed to examine communication and planning problems which could have contributed to the scale of the disaster. Critics say the lack of a modernised warning system - for instance, an SMS text alert system or mobile phone alert apps - meant local people were not fully informed and began acting on instinct. Communication problems even extended to the emergency services, which found themselves unable to communicate after the emergency network phone masts burned down. Some firefighters also spoke of a lack of equipment. "We've been forgotten here. We didn't have a single piece of aerial equipment," volunteer firefighter manager Baltazar Lopes told Euronews. "Corpses have been on the ground for too long before being removed. After this catastrophe we must think seriously about and change the civil protection authorities."

"मानव त्रासदी का एक स्तर जो हमने पहले कभी नहीं देखा है।"


Sherlock instruments to be played for first time

Summary: Four stringed instruments made from the wood of a tree at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's childhood home are to be played in public for the first time.

As a child, the writer of Sherlock Holmes climbed a sycamore tree in the garden of his family home in the Liberton area of Edinburgh. The tree was felled two years ago, after becoming diseased. Instrument maker Steve Burnett was commissioned to use some of the wood to produce the "Sherlock violin". Conan Doyle's literary detective creation often played the violin, a talent he shared with his creator. Now Steve Burnett has made four more instruments, another two violins, a viola and a cello. They were being played in public for the first time at a Concert for trees in Edinburgh's Usher Hall on Saturday night.

सर आर्थर कॉनन डॉयल के बचपन के घर में एक पेड़ की लकड़ी से बने चार तार वाले वाद्ययंत्र पहली बार सार्वजनिक रूप से बजाए जाने हैं।


Unsigned band The Side to support Bon Jovi

Summary: An unsigned band from the Highlands has won a competition to be a support act for US rockers Bon Jovi.

The Side recently recorded an unofficial Scottish Cup final song for Dingwall-based Ross County FC. They will appear on stage at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday. They were selected from a shortlist of entries to the Open For Bon Jovi contest held by the band and its management. The Side are vocalist and guitarist Hugh Winton, drummer John Ross, keyboards player George Campbell and bass guitarist Ryan Golder. The band's members come from Alness, Invergordon, Dingwall and Kirkhill.

हाइलैंड्स के एक अहस्ताक्षरित बैंड ने अमेरिकी रॉकर्स बॉन जोवी के लिए एक समर्थन कार्य होने के लिए एक प्रतियोगिता जीती है।


Is China-Pakistan 'silk road' a game-changer?

Summary: China has announced a $46bn investment plan which will largely centre on an economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan looks at the significance of the plans.

Why has this got people talking? The money China is planning to pour into Pakistan is more than twice the amount of all foreign direct investment (FDI) Pakistan has received since 2008, and considerably more than the entire assistance from the United States, Pakistan's largest donor until now, since 2002. Pakistani officials say most projects will reach completion in between one and three years, although some infrastructure projects could take from 10 to 15 years. So the investment is not going to be spread too thin over a longer period of time, as happened with the US assistance. Also, this investment will be heavily concentrated in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a combination of transport and energy projects and the development of a major deep-sea port offering direct access to the Indian Ocean and beyond. Experts say this will create jobs and spark economic activity in Pakistan which over the last three decades has become a cranky, rent-seeking military power torn by armed insurgencies and a failing system of service delivery. But as defence analyst Professor Hasan Askari Rizvi warns, the real game changer is not the signing of deals, but their timely execution. But what will happen to all that money? Officials admit that some deals already signed by China and Pakistan in 2010 might not reach completion. If that turns out to be the case, they admit it will mostly have been due to incompetence, corruption and lack of transparency. So if anything is to come out of the present deals, the Pakistanis will need to work harder to fulfil their part of institutional, legal, financial and logistical commitments. Some level of corruption is expected at both ends, and neither country is known for encouraging transparency. So we may not know until much later how much of this money is coming in the form of loans, how much in grants and how much in the shape of public or private investment. There is also a political dispute brewing in Pakistan, with some politicians threatening to oppose the corridor if its route is not planned along some specific areas. Economic expert Dr Kaisar Bengali says that while Pakistan has many problems to overcome, its move to end militant sanctuaries in the north-west has created an air of expectancy, and the arrival of Chinese investment at this time suggests Pakistan has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make an economic turnaround. "This is Pakistan's first opportunity since the 1960 Indus Water Treaty to change its economic geography," he says. And what about militants? The economic corridor starts at Gwadar and ends at Kashgar. Gwadar is located on the Arabian Sea coast of Balochistan, a province in south-west Pakistan which is wracked by a decade-old separatist insurgency. Kashgar is located at the centre of China's only Muslim-majority, Turkic-speaking Xinjiang region. It is populated mainly by ethnic Uighur Muslims, and has been home to a separatist movement since the mid-1990s. There has been a recent upsurge in violence which China blames on separatist "terrorists". Between Gwadar and Kashgar, the corridor passes through areas that are within striking range of Pakistan's Taliban insurgents. Until recently they controlled territory along Pakistan's north-western border with Afghanistan, and hosted the largest concentration of Uighur militants outside China. They still have a presence in the border region, though their sanctuaries have been disrupted by a Pakistani military operation that began last June. Both Uighur and Pakistani Taliban militants have been targeting Chinese nationals in Pakistan. The Baloch insurgents have their roots in socialist ideology, but they too dismiss the Chinese as allies of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province which they accuse of "robbing" Balochistan's resources. A former diplomat, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, said in a TV debate that the Pakistani army has decided to raise a special force to safeguard this 3,000km corridor. Many are sceptical because the army previously failed to ensure a trouble-free supply to Nato troops in Afghanistan. But some believe the military is likely to treat the Chinese corridor differently because the economic benefits accruing from it could help isolate Baloch insurgents. Why is China doing this? Pakistanis have long described their "friendship" with China as higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, and as information minister Pervez Rashid put it more recently, sweeter than honey. But behind these lofty words lie some hard-core interests. China has been a more reliable and less meddlesome supplier of military hardware to Pakistan than the US, and is therefore seen by Pakistanis as a silent ally against arch-rival India. Friendly exchanges with China also help Pakistan show to its "more volatile" allies in the west, notably the US, that it has other powerful friends as well. For the Chinese, the relationship has a geo-strategic significance. The corridor through Gwadar gives them their shortest access to the Middle East and Africa, where thousands of Chinese firms, employing tens of thousands of Chinese workers, are involved in development work. The corridor also promises to open up remote, landlocked Xinjiang, and create incentives for both state and private enterprises to expand economic activity and create jobs in this under-developed region. China could also be trying to find alternative trade routes to by-pass the Malacca straits, presently the only maritime route China can use to access the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Apart from being long, it can be blockaded in times of war. This may be the reason China is also pursuing an eastern corridor to the Bay of Bengal, expected to pass through parts of Myanmar, Bangladesh and possibly India. Experts say much of Chinese activity is geared towards boosting domestic income and consumption as its previous policy of encouraging cheap exports is no longer enough to sustain growth. On the external front, it is investing in a number of ports in Asia in an apparent attempt to access sources of energy and increase its influence over maritime routes. What do the US and India think? There are indications the Americans have been encouraging China to play a stabilising role in Afghanistan. And few in Pakistan believe that American influence is likely to significantly recede from this region in the short run. In the long run, though, the Americans will definitely be working on strategies to cope with the rise of Russia and China, and what that means for the resource-rich regions of Central Asia and the Middle East. Likewise, while the Indians have China as one of their largest trading partners, they may have long-term security concerns about Chinese control of the Pakistani port of Gwadar.

चीन ने 46 अरब डॉलर की निवेश योजना की घोषणा की है जो काफी हद तक पाकिस्तान के ग्वादर से शिनजियांग के चीनी क्षेत्र में काशगर तक एक आर्थिक गलियारे पर केंद्रित होगी। बीबीसी के एम इलियास खान योजनाओं के महत्व को देखते हैं।


What would a SABMiller takeover mean for drinkers?

Summary: A £70bn brewing giant making 30% of the world's beer looks likely after SABMiller agreed to a takeover offer from its rival Anheuser-Busch InBev, but what does the merger mean for ordinary drinkers?

By Alex TherrienBBC News Online Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Corona are just a few of the household names made by AB InBev, while SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch. Between them the companies produce more than 400 brands. 'Very genuine competition' Even before a merger AB InBev is the largest brewer in the world. One suggestion is that without the competition of SABMiller AB InBev would be more inclined to increase the prices of its drinks. But Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at consultancy Conlumino, said that while the company might like to increase its prices it would be a risky business decision. That risk is in part due to the growing popularity of craft and independent brewers which have contributed to an increasingly competitive drinks market. "I think they will hope to put prices up but the thing that makes it very difficult for them is there's very genuine competition from the niche brewers, western Europe and America. "If they put prices up it could lead consumers away," Mr Saunders said. While prices may not go up, Mr Saunders thinks it is likely that some drinks will be discontinued. "The biggest brands won't disappear because they are profitable but certainly some of the smaller brands could be phased out if they're not economically viable or if they're duplications of brands that are performing better," he said. AB InBev would not comment on whether it planned to discontinue certain brands but described the portfolio of products as "complementary". 'Pushed off shelves' The majority of the drinks produced by SABMiller and AB InBev are sold internationally and are not the kind championed by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) group, which promotes real ale, real cider and the British pub. For that reason it says the deal will have a limited effect on the kind of beer-drinking it promotes. But the group's spokesman, Tom Stainer, said there was concern independent beers may find it harder to get space in pubs and supermarkets because of the increased market presence of AB InBev. In recent years thousands of small breweries have sprung up across Europe and North America, collectively eating into the sales of companies like AB InBev. The growth of the sector led in May to SABMiller buying the London-based craft brewery Mean Time Brewing Company. Mr Stainer said AB InBev will be able to offer deals that will leave less room for smaller brewers in both pubs and supermarkets. He said: "Some drinkers may find it difficult to avoid these [chain] brands and they may find beers being provided by small independent brewers being pushed off the shelves in pubs and supermarkets by these companies." This is a possibility, Mr Saunders said, but he also thinks supermarkets will be reluctant to reduce choice. "There's the opportunity for the company to exert more pressure, but the drinks market isn't just about low prices and offers - a lot of it is about taste and preference. "Supermarkets will be careful about allowing one company to dominate." Anheuser-Busch InBev 21% global market share $47bn annual revenues in 2014 $11.3bn in 2014 profits 155,000 global workers But while some drinks may disappear from pubs or supermarket shelves, Mr Saunders believes it is likely new drinks will be brought forwards as well. "What they mustn't forget is a big part of this market is innovation. They need to look at how they will bring new products to the market." A spokesman for AB InBev said consumers will "have more opportunities to taste a wide range of beers, ranging from specialty and craft beers to local champions and global flagship brands".

एस. ए. बी. मिलर द्वारा अपने प्रतिद्वंद्वी एनहेउसर-बुश इनबेव से अधिग्रहण प्रस्ताव पर सहमत होने के बाद दुनिया की बीयर का 30 प्रतिशत बनाने वाली एक 70 अरब पाउंड की शराब बनाने वाली दिग्गज कंपनी की संभावना है, लेकिन आम पीने वालों के लिए विलय का क्या मतलब है?