North and South Korea: The petty side of diplomacy

Summary: North and South Korea are preparing for their first summit in just over a decade. After years of frosty relations and belligerent rhetoric, this is being hailed as a rare and hopeful moment by South Korean politicians.

By Yvette TanBBC News As a peace treaty was never signed after the end of the Korean War in 1953, the neighbours do not have formal relations. The "Sunshine Policy" of re-engagement with the North from the late 1990s earned one leader a Nobel Peace prize, but broke down within a decade as South Korean politics changed course and Pyongyang pursued its illegal nuclear ambitions. But over the years both North and South have also engaged in what some might see as miniscule acts of "petty" warfare designed to wind the other up but not cause lasting damage, almost reminiscent of some techniques used by the Soviet Union and the US during the Cold War. "These kinds of displays provide an important competitive outlet between the two sides outside of possible military conflict," analyst Ankit Panda told the BBC. "For both sides, I think what seems petty to us on the outside has important symbolic value and even operational effectiveness. The two countries are dramatically different in their ideologies and see value in exerting the primacy of their system of government." These are some of the small-time point-scoring both sides have attempted over the years: Loudspeakers Both countries have been fighting an aural battle for years. Before August 2015, the loudspeakers had been turned off for a couple of years, under a deal negotiated between both countries. But in 2015, after two South Korean soldiers were severely injured by North Korean-planted mines in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), the South turned its speakers back on. It was halted again in 2015 and re-started in 2016 in response to the North's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb. But what exactly does South Korea broadcast from its speakers? You can expect to hear anything from weather reports, dramas, news from both Koreas that otherwise would not be heard over the border and even K-pop songs. The loudspeakers are typically aimed at border guards, though they can also reach citizens that live near the DMZ border. "The loudspeakers are left on all night and day and it hurts morale for some North Korea soldiers because some of them can't go to sleep, some are exhausted from hearing it all day," said Dr Kim. "So what North Korea is concerned about is the psychological impact of these broadcasts." North Korea's broadcasts carry its characteristically strident condemnations of Seoul and its allies, but are said to be harder to hear - possibly the result of poor speakers. But South Korea has now turned off its loudspeakers, just days after North Korea announced that it was stopping all its nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The North appears to have stopped broadcasting propaganda too, residents on the southern side of the demarcation line say. The South has not said whether it plans to restart the broadcasts once the summits are over. Flagpole sizes During the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 321.5-foot (97m) tall flagpole in its border village of Daesong-dong. North Korea responded by building a 525-foot tall flagpole in its border town of Gijung-dong. "This is a good sign of one of them trying to one-up the other," Dr James Kim of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies told the BBC. "That being said, it might have been very important to the North to build a bigger flagpole but South Korea might not even have really cared." Balloon propaganda Both the North and South have had a long history of launching propaganda balloons at each other. In South Korea, defectors, conservatives and religious groups regularly launch these balloons, which can contain anything from leaflets to chocolate biscuits. The balloons can go on to reach thousands of miles, and have been proven to be "very effective", according to Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation (HRF) who runs Flash Drives for Freedom, an initiative which sends flash drives in to North Korea. HRF's flash drives contain anything from a selection of films, TV shows, documentaries and everyday footage of life in South Korea. But the North themselves have also sent their fair share of balloons over to the South. In 2016, hundreds of leaflets praising North Korea were found in Seoul, sent ahead of North Korea's 7th congress of its Workers Party, which was the first of its kind in 36 years. Speculation arose then that Pyongyang may have sent the leaflets as part of its anti-South Korea psychological warfare. But though the leaflets are unlikely to leave a great impact on South Korea, it could be more than just a matter of "pettiness" to North Korea. "I've been in downtown Seoul and seen the propaganda leaflets a few times. It's interesting and novel for [South Koreans] but it isn't construed as something that is threatening to their daily livelihood," Dr Kim told the BBC. "But for the North Koreans these pamphlets are very important. Ideology is very important to them, it's what keeps their regime together... so they might think that this is even more threatening to them than a small-scale military response." Secret agents In 2016, North Korea restarted its coded "numbers" broadcasting after a break of 16 years - a move which has angered South Korea. Numbers broadcasts, as the name implies, usually comprise a series of numbers read out on air which will only make sense to someone with the decryption key, usually secret agents in a foreign country. These apparent codes were observed in a late-night 12-minute section on Pyongyang Radio Station, a propaganda station aimed at South Korea. Why the sudden resumption after 16 years? The numbers broadcast comes almost immediately after the US and South Korea announced the deployment of a THAAD defensive missile battery in South Korea. It's not clear if the move is a direct act of retaliation, but it's definitely got under the skin of South Korea, who urged the North to "desist from such practices." The North and South's current relationship is arguably the closest the two neighbours have got in recent years. But if the thaw does not turn into a permanent detente, more imaginative point-scoring is little short of certain. BBC Monitoring contributed to this report

उत्तर और दक्षिण कोरिया एक दशक से भी कम समय में अपने पहले शिखर सम्मेलन की तैयारी कर रहे हैं। वर्षों के ठंडे संबंधों और जुझारू बयानबाजी के बाद, दक्षिण कोरियाई राजनेताओं द्वारा इसे एक दुर्लभ और आशाजनक क्षण के रूप में सराहा जा रहा है।


Why Australia probably doesn't need more koala mittens

Summary: Canadian volunteers are sending six airplanes full of handmade goods and medical supplies to help the animals injured in Australia's wildfires. But officials are worried that a deluge of good intentions could spark a "second disaster".

By Robin Levinson-KingBBC News, Toronto When Canadian Brianna MacDonald found herself confronted by the devastation of the bushfires over Christmas, she decided she had to do something to help the wildlife in her adopted home of Australia, where she has lived for seven years. Along with her mother and two sisters back in Canada, Ms MacDonald has become part of a cross-national effort by crafters to send soft goods like baskets, jackets and pouches for animals injured or orphaned in the wildfires. "There were so many people offering to help," Brianna's sister Carol MacDonald told the BBC. The whole family joined the Canadian Animal Rescue Craft Guild, a Facebook group that has united 11,000 people from across Canada to knit, sew or crochet for the cause. In eastern Ontario where she is based, Carol says they collected about 5,000 soft goods and another 2,000 medical supplies, weighing almost 500 kilograms. Meanwhile in Sydney, Brianna opened her home to donations of crafts, medical supplies and food for the Animal Rescue Cooperative, which helps support wildlife rescuers across the country. She also agreed to let the Canadian crafters ship supplies to her home, since, through her work with Animal Rescue Cooperative, she knew how to distribute the supplies and where they were needed. Soon, her house was full, and so she had to rent a warehouse in order to store all the goods. "The outpouring of not only the Australian community but the Canadian community has been absolutely jaw dropping," Brianna MacDonald says. The boxes from Canada arrived via the airline Air Canada, which is shipping them free of charge on board six of its commercial flights destined for Australia. The first flight left Halifax on 17 January, and the last left Vancouver on 27 January. Canada wasn't the only country to send handmade help. As images of the devastation flooded the media, knitters in the UK, Asia and the US have also rallied to help. The good intentions have sparked concern from officials in Australia, however. "Unfortunately, what usually happens is local communities become overwhelmed very quickly with donated goods," emergency official in New South Wales Jeremy Hillman told broadcaster ABC on 7 January. One Australian group has asked international supplies to stop being sent altogether. "We are continuing reaching out to as many rescues as we can (any and all of them) and helping them as we can, but the answer generally is, 'Thanks guys, we're good!'," wrote the Animal Rescue Collective Craft Guild, which also works with the Animal Rescue Cooperative. "THANK YOU for your support, solidarity, kind words & thoughts, and crafted items so far. We ask you, PLEASE do not send any more items to Australia." Too much stuff is an all too common problem during a disaster, says Juanita Rilling, the former director of the Center for International Disaster Information in the US. "Certainly in the last 50 years worldwide, the response to almost every major emergency has been affected by a flood of unsolicited donations that get in the way," she told the BBC. Donations of goods from abroad often compete with local rescue efforts for resources like airport runway space, staff and gasoline, if there are shortages. Warehouses holding goods that may or may not be needed might be better serves by housing other supplies. And heavy cargo planes flying overseas emit greenhouse gasses and pollution that could be avoided by more local shipments. Ms Rilling says that if you want to help when a disaster strikes, the best thing to do is send money to a reputable organisation working on the ground - even if all you can afford is a few dollars. "People are suspicious about sending cash," she says. "The trick is to identify who is actually working in the area and donate to them." Ultimately, people just want to help and everyone understands that these donations are given with love. "It's a beautiful thing," Ms Rilling says. "But there's an old proverb that says desire without knowledge is not good, and this is a case of desire without knowledge." As for the Canadian crafters, they are turning their attention - and knitting needles - to helping wildlife groups closer to home.

कनाडाई स्वयंसेवक ऑस्ट्रेलिया के जंगल की आग में घायल जानवरों की मदद के लिए हस्तनिर्मित सामान और चिकित्सा आपूर्ति से भरे छह हवाई जहाज भेज रहे हैं। लेकिन अधिकारियों को चिंता है कि अच्छे इरादों की बाढ़ "दूसरी आपदा" को जन्म दे सकती है।


Teenager charged with murder of Arthur Gumbley

Summary: A teenager has been charged with the murder of an 87-year-old man who died after a violent break-in at his home.

Arthur "Bob" Gumbley died in hospital three weeks after he was attacked during a burglary in Endwood Drive, Sutton Coldfield, on 21 November 2017. Police said Jason Wilsher, 19, of Barlestone Road, Bagworth, has been charged with Mr Gumbley's murder. Mr Wilsher is due to appear at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. In a statement after his death, Mr Gumbley's family said: "He truly was a person that, not only us as a family, but the people that knew him, looked up to and respected. "Words can't express the extent of our loss."

एक किशोर पर एक 87 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की हत्या का आरोप लगाया गया है, जिसकी उसके घर में हिंसक तोड़फोड़ के बाद मौत हो गई थी।


Peter Robinson says he will support any future DUP leader

Summary: Peter Robinson has said he will give full support to whoever eventually succeeds him as DUP leader.

Mr Robinson, who is 66 next month, will address his party's annual conference on Saturday. Asked whether he plans to step down as DUP leader after next May's Westminster election, Mr Robinson reiterated that he has no particular timescale in mind. He told BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics any future leadership change would be a carefully managed process.

पीटर रॉबिन्सन ने कहा है कि जो भी अंततः डीयूपी नेता के रूप में उनका स्थान लेगा, वह उसे पूरा समर्थन देंगे।


Afghan Notebook: From Kabul to Calais

Summary: About 200 Afghans are among almost 1,000 migrants living in squalid conditions in the French port city of Calais, just across the English Channel from Britain. BBC Afghan's Bashir Bakhtyar met several of them when he went to report on their informal camps. Among them was the man who grabbed the headlines this month when he set sail on an improvised raft to try to get to the UK, only to be picked up by a French lifeboat.

Home for the Calais Afghans is a filthy camp of plastic bags and sheets on a disused railway line, without water, power or even enough food. Their illegal settlement lies just a few hundred metres from where the big ferries take hundreds of passengers back and forth between France and the UK. It's a desperate and frustrated group, subsisting on one meal a day, mainly pasta, provided by a local aid group. Every night they sneak out of their tents for what they call "the throw", a desperate attempt to climb on board one of the many trucks destined for Britain. Some of the men I met had Italian temporary residence permits. But still they were keen to come to Britain because they believed it was easy to find a job there. They told me that there was not enough work in Italy, and since their travel documents did not allow them to travel legally to the UK, they were opting for illegal ways. One man who epitomises the migrants' determination is Asif, the 33-year-old Afghan who shot to fame of sorts when he tried to cross the Channel on a self-made raft. Frustrated by his continued failure to sneak into Britain by boarding trucks, he made his raft using discarded bits of wood and plastic he picked up in the streets of Calais, using an old bedsheet for a sail. Asif took me across the dunes down to the beach where he set sail at dawn on a day in early May. He said he thought it was the point closest to Britain. "Water is as soft as cotton," he told me looking out over the Channel on a sunny day with ferries gliding past. "It's not as dangerous as boarding the moving trucks." He said that his craft had made good progress into what he called the dark waters, when the wind changed and pushed him back towards the shore. The lifeboat fished him out a little later. Inside his tiny makeshift tent, Asif told me about his dream of reaching London, which he describes as the "star of Europe". He's been chasing that dream for over a decade. A farmer's son from the Mosahi region, just south of Kabul, Asif left Afghanistan during the last years of Taliban rule in search of a better life, By his own account, his largely illegal voyage took him to Iran, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland. He says that in almost every country he stayed for about a year to save money for the next leg of his journey. His story, the many obstacles as well as the stubborn desire to reach the UK, is typical among the men here. But many get stuck in this small city and their presence is very visible and has made some locals angry, something I experienced first hand. As Asif and I made our way to the beach, there were openly hostile looks and one man made a cut-throat gesture towards us. Such sentiments are understandable, considering that the port has been the gateway for Afghans and other migrants attempting to reach Britain for years. Inside a garage, local staff did not hide their frustration, citing concerns over the city's image. One of the workers told me she could not see a solution: "It looks like a never-ending process. The more you take in, the more tend to come," she said. It's an observation born out by the determination of the men I met to try and try again. Asif was not deterred by his aborted crossing. He had no regrets, he told me, and would be making another attempt. When and how he kept to himself.

ब्रिटेन से इंग्लिश चैनल के ठीक पार फ्रांसीसी बंदरगाह शहर कैलाइस में खराब परिस्थितियों में रहने वाले लगभग 1,000 प्रवासियों में से लगभग 200 अफगान हैं। बीबीसी अफगान के बशीर बख्तियार जब उनके अनौपचारिक शिविरों में रिपोर्ट करने गए तो उनमें से कई से मिले। उनमें से वह व्यक्ति भी था जिसने इस महीने सुर्खियां बटोरी जब वह ब्रिटेन जाने की कोशिश में एक तात्कालिक बेड़ा पर सवार हुआ, जिसे केवल एक फ्रांसीसी जीवन रक्षक नौका द्वारा उठाया गया।


Demolition work after Shrewsbury explosion

Summary: Work is under way to demolish a Shrewsbury building which was badly damaged by a suspected gas explosion.

The blast at the corner of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road on 3 January injured 12 people and closed parts of the town centre for more than a month. Work by Bristol company Bensons will take about four weeks to complete and road closures have not been planned. The Health and Safety Executive is trying to find out the cause of the explosion. One woman was airlifted to hospital with burns to her head, neck and chest, and a man suffered spinal injuries in the explosion. Five people were trapped in a car beneath rubble but were pulled free by bystanders and emergency crews.

श्रूसबरी की एक इमारत को ध्वस्त करने का काम चल रहा है जो एक संदिग्ध गैस विस्फोट से बुरी तरह क्षतिग्रस्त हो गई थी।


Lost Royal Shrovetide Football ball found in hedge

Summary: A ball that disappeared in the middle of Royal Shrovetide Football, bringing the game to a confused end, has been discovered lodged in a hedge.

The annual game is played between Up'ards and Down'ards in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, over two days. This year, the Up'ards took the honours on Tuesday but Wednesday's game ended when the ball was lost in Mayfield. Some suspected foul play but organisers said it was an "ill-fated attempt" to launch the ball towards goal. Shrovetide committee member Mike Betteridge, who turned up the ball on Wednesday, said: "There was frantic searching for nearly an hour before a group of Up'ards found it. "It had lodged itself in the upper branches of the hedge, which was a leylandii, and no-one could see it." Because nobody goaled the ball, Mr Betteridge gets to keep it. Shrovetide glossary

एक गेंद जो रॉयल श्रोवेटाइड फुटबॉल के बीच में गायब हो गई थी, जिससे खेल का अंत भ्रमित हो गया था, एक बाड़ में रखी हुई पाई गई है।


Viewpoint: Pakistan seeks Afghan talks between government, Taliban and US

Summary: Pakistan's military has undergone a dramatic shift in policy in recent weeks, writes journalist and author Ahmed Rashid. After a decade spent allowing the Afghan Taliban sanctuary and freedom to sustain its insurgency in Afghanistan, it is now pushing for peace talks between the Taliban, the Afghan government and the Americans before Nato forces withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.

Pakistan's change of heart - if sustained - could open up several new tracks in the peace process, bring about a ceasefire with the Taliban, encourage a wider regional settlement and improve Islamabad's own fraught relations with Washington. Most significantly, a ceasefire and peace talks with the Taliban could dramatically improve the chances of survival for the weak Afghan government and army once Western forces leave. In a rare sign of the new relationship, recently not one but several senior Afghan officials in private conversations have praised the Pakistan army and its chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani, for taking visible actions to encourage reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan government. For years President Hamid Karzai and other officials have openly accused the army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of supporting the Afghan Taliban. "We believe now there is a change in Pakistan's policy and Gen Kiyani is absolutely genuine about helping bring peace to Afghanistan," said a senior Afghan adviser to President Karzai. In mid-November, Pakistan freed nine Taliban officials it had been holding, releasing them to the Afghan High Peace Council, which is tasked with opening talks with the Taliban. Pakistan said on 3 December it would soon free more Taliban prisoners. Officials said the ISI was holding at least 100 Taliban leaders and foot soldiers but was expected to free them all. Those Taliban being freed will have complete freedom of movement and association, say senior Pakistan military officials. Pakistan has also pledged not to interfere if the Taliban and the Afghan council want a third country as a venue for future talks. If these initial steps bear fruit, an even more decisive step may come later when the ISI asks hundreds of Taliban commanders and officials fighting Western and Afghan forces inside Afghanistan to support reconciliation talks with Kabul. Deal next year? According to senior Afghan, Pakistani and Western officials, Kabul and Islamabad have prepared roadmaps with timelines outlining how future reconciliation talks could take place. While the Afghans have shared their road map with the Pakistanis and the Americans, the Pakistanis will only do so when the Obama administration offers its own plan. Gen Kayani is now urging Afghan officials to strike a deal with the Taliban as early as next year rather than wait for 2014 as stipulated in its roadmap. However, the wounding of the Afghan intelligence chief on Thursday by a Taliban suicide bomber will be a setback to the process as it could trigger retribution killings. Meanwhile, a formerly slow moving tripartite commission made up of the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan has suddenly got teeth as it discusses issues such as safe passage for the Taliban, who will need to travel for talks, and how to take Taliban names off a UN Security Council list which labels them as terrorists. US-Pakistan relations were broken for the past two years, largely over Afghanistan, but relations are now on the mend. Gen Kayani has recently met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr Karzai. However, US officials are more sceptical about the military's intentions and will wait to see what else the military delivers. Meanwhile, the US government has reached internal agreement on a policy document that for the first time links reconciliation with the US military withdrawal in 2014. In 2011 the US began secret talks with the Taliban in Qatar, but the Taliban pulled out in March, accusing the Americans of continuously changing their positions. At the time the US military and the CIA were opposed to peace talks. The new US policy document signals that there is now much greater consensus in Washington for talks with the Taliban. So far the Pakistan military has been loath to call its moves a "change" or "shift" of policy, because that would imply that it supported the Taliban in the past. Military officials argue that Pakistan has been calling for Afghan reconciliation for years, but the facts are that in the past the military has not taken any positive steps to implement reconciliation - something it is now doing. The civilian government has little input in Pakistan's Afghanistan policy. Reluctance The motives for the army's change of thinking is largely due to the worsening security and economic crises as hundreds of people are killed every month. Pakistan faces an insurgency in the north with terrorist strikes being carried out by the Pakistani Taliban, a separatist movement in Balochistan province and ever increasing ethnic and sectarian violence in Karachi. The army, which has endured heavy casualties fighting the Pakistani Taliban, is deeply reluctant to get involved in more fighting. Gen Kayani is now banking on the hope that reconciliation among the Afghans will have a knock-on positive effect on the Pakistani Taliban also - depriving them of legitimacy and recruits. There are several balls now in play. The US insists that the Qatar process is not dead and will respond positively if the Taliban resume that dialogue. Pakistan is not part of the Qatar process and is anxious that its own peace process gets off the ground. Until now the Taliban have said they will not talk to the Kabul government, but Pakistan may get them to change their mind. Qatar's failure has also led to a fierce intra-Taliban debate about the usefulness of talks. Pakistan does not control the Taliban and nor can it force them to the table. However a signal from the military at the right time that Taliban safe havens, recruitment drives, fundraising and other activities will come to an end by a certain date will put enormous pressure on the Taliban. Yet Pakistan cannot afford to antagonise the Taliban so that another front is opened and they join up with Pakistani extremists to fight the government. Time is now of the essence, even for the Taliban as their own public support base would not relish the thought of war continuing beyond 2014. And although President Karzai is unpopular, he cannot be a candidate for presidential elections in 2014, which now offers the opportunity of a new and invigorated Afghan leadership. Pakistan has supported the Taliban for too long and has paid a bitter, bloody price. However if all players are now learning that there is no way forward except for reconciliation, that effort needs uninhibited international support. The Americans in particular need to appoint a heavyweight diplomat to take the peace process forward, and President Obama needs to personally get engaged - something he has declined to do so far. Nato needs to play less of a waiting game and be more proactive in pushing the US to speed up the talks process. Above all, the Afghans who have battled for 34 years need to show maturity and seek a peaceful resolution to their wars.

पत्रकार और लेखक अहमद राशिद लिखते हैं कि पाकिस्तानी सेना ने हाल के हफ्तों में नीति में नाटकीय बदलाव किया है। अफगान तालिबान को शरण देने और अफगानिस्तान में अपने विद्रोह को बनाए रखने के लिए स्वतंत्रता देने में एक दशक बिताने के बाद, अब वह 2014 में अफगानिस्तान से नाटो बलों की वापसी से पहले तालिबान, अफगान सरकार और अमेरिकियों के बीच शांति वार्ता पर जोर दे रही है।


European librarians visit Birmingham's £189m facility

Summary: More than 250 senior librarians from Europe are gathering in Birmingham to discuss the future of library services.

As well as meeting at the Town Hall, visitors will see progress on the £189m library being built in Centenary Square. The 10-storey development, which will have an outdoor amphitheatre, is due to open next year. The site will also include a theatre, recording studio and free access to the National Film Archive.

यूरोप के 250 से अधिक वरिष्ठ पुस्तकालयाध्यक्ष पुस्तकालय सेवाओं के भविष्य पर चर्चा करने के लिए बर्मिंघम में एकत्र हो रहे हैं।


Aberystwyth Town FC's flats plan approved

Summary: Plans to build 33 flats alongside Aberystwyth Town FC's stadium have been given the go-ahead.

The sale of land next to the ground at Park Avenue for social housing along with match funding from the Football Association of Wales will allow the club to install a 3G pitch. The club and housing association Tai Ceredigion originally wanted to build 80 flats and create a new 500-seater stand along with a new clubhouse. But Ceredigion council rejected it. A council statement said the plans had been approved subject to changes being made to an access road to the development.

एबेरेस्टविथ टाउन एफ. सी. के स्टेडियम के साथ 33 फ्लैट बनाने की योजना को मंजूरी दी गई है।


Q&A: France Roma expulsions

Summary: France is controversially deporting Romanian and Bulgarian Roma (Gypsies) as part of a crackdown on illegal camps in the country. The trigger was a clash in July between French Roma and police in the town of Saint Aignan. France's deportations have been widely criticised in the EU.

What prompted the latest government action? In July, dozens of French Roma armed with hatchets and iron bars attacked a police station, hacked down trees and burned cars in the small Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan. The riot erupted after a gendarme shot and killed a French Roma, 22-year-old Luigi Duquenet, who officials said had driven through a police checkpoint, knocking over a policeman. Media reports suggested he had been involved in a burglary earlier that day. Duquenet's family dispute the police version of events, saying he was scared of being stopped because he did not have a valid driver's licence. The night before, there were riots in Grenoble after police shot an alleged armed robber during a shootout. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called an emergency ministerial meeting, at which it was decided that some 300 illegal camps and squats would be dismantled within three months. A statement from the president's office said the camps were "sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime". Dozens of camps have since been shut down. Those found to be living illegally in France are being sent home. The move is part of a raft of new hardline security measures recently announced by the government, which has struggled with low approval ratings in the opinion polls. Has this happened before? In fact, France has closed down illegal Roma camps and sent their inhabitants home for years. Last year 10,000 Roma were sent back to Romania and Bulgaria, the government says. What is the EU doing about it? EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding described the deportations as a "disgrace" and the European Commission took a first step towards legal action against France. On 29 September the Commission told France that it had two weeks to start implementing a 2004 EU directive on freedom of movement. France was warned that it would face an official EU "infringement procedure" if it failed to do so. The directive sets out rules for deportation cases. On 19 October Ms Reding said she was satisfied that France had responded "positively" to the Commission's official request. The Commission decided not to pursue the infringement procedure. The Commission refrained from opening a case against France for alleged discrimination, instead demanding more proof to support France's claim that it was not deliberately targeting Roma. Wholesale action against an ethnic minority would violate EU anti-discrimination laws, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In a speech to the European Parliament in September Ms Reding deplored the fact that a leaked official memo had contradicted assurances given to her by France that the Roma were not being singled out. "This is a situation I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War," she said. Many MEPs also condemned France's deportations. The Commission has set up a task force to examine how EU funds earmarked for Roma are being spent. It is also checking to see whether any other member states are violating EU rules in their treatment of Roma. Has there been criticism elsewhere? Yes. The European Roma Rights Centre said Mr Sarkozy's plan "reinforces discriminatory perceptions about Roma and travellers and inflames public opinion against them". Romanian President Traian Basescu said he understood "the problems created by the Roma camps outside the French cities" but he insisted on the "right of every European citizen to move freely in the EU". The UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination sharply criticised France's crackdown and said racism and xenophobia were undergoing a "significant resurgence". The Vatican and other Church leaders have also voiced concern. Who are the Roma, and how many Roma are there in France? The Roma are a nomadic people whose ancestors are thought to have left north-west India at the beginning of the 11th Century and scattered across Europe. There are at least 400,000 Roma - or travelling people - living in France, who are part of long-established communities. In addition, there are about 12,000 Roma from Bulgaria and Romania, many of whom live in unauthorised camps in urban areas across the country, according the French Roma rights umbrella group FNASAT. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, don't their citizens have freedom of movement within the EU? They have the right to enter France without a visa, but under special rules they must have work or residency permits if they wish to stay longer than three months. These are hard to come by, and most Roma from the two countries are thought to be in France illegally. Nine other EU states also have restrictions in place, typically requiring work permits. From January 2014, or seven years after the two countries' accession, Romanians and Bulgarians will enjoy full freedom of movement anywhere in the EU. Is France united behind the deportations? French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said the new measures were "not meant to stigmatise any community, regardless of who they are, but to punish illegal behaviour". The government said the measures were in line with European rules. Opinion polls suggest that as many as 65% of French people back the government's tough line. Foreign-born Roma are often seen begging on the streets of France's cities, and many French people consider them a nuisance. French opposition parties have condemned the deportations and Mr Sarkozy has faced dissent in his cabinet, too. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was "shocked" by the government's focus on people of foreign origin, while Defence Minister Herve Morin said any programme based purely on police repression was doomed to fail. A member of Mr Sarkozy's own UMP party, Jean-Pierre Grand, a centre-right politician, compared police round-ups of the Roma in camps to the large-scale arrests, known in French as "rafles", of French Jews and Gypsies during World War II. What will happen to the Roma who have been sent home? Bulgarian and Romanian Roma face discrimination at home, and Roma communities in both countries have faced forced evictions. Generally, they have a low standard of living, high unemployment and low literacy levels. Some Roma threatened with deportation say that if they are sent home, they will simply come back.

फ्रांस देश में अवैध शिविरों पर कार्रवाई के हिस्से के रूप में रोमानियाई और बल्गेरियाई रोमा (जिप्सी) को विवादास्पद रूप से निर्वासित कर रहा है। जुलाई में सेंट ऐगनन शहर में फ्रांसीसी रोमा और पुलिस के बीच झड़प हुई थी। यूरोपीय संघ में फ्रांस के निर्वासन की व्यापक रूप से आलोचना की गई है।


Customer choice under threat at Britain's banks

Summary: Until this year, things were looking up for the new generation of banks trying to make their way in Britain's notoriously tough banking market. But the woes of TSB have raised a question mark over their future.

By Jamie RobertsonBusiness reporter, BBC News The financial crisis massively reduced the choices available to British customers, as weaker banks and building societies were forced to merge with stronger rivals. By 2011, the biggest four banks had more than three-quarters of all current accounts. The answer was to promote the growth of a new generation of smaller, more varied, more competitive institutions giving customers more options for handling their money - and to reduce the risk of too-big-to-fail banks that the government might one day have to rescue again. So the regulations changed and new names appeared on the High Street, online and, crucially, on mobile phone apps. They are a diverse bunch: some like TSB were spun off from bigger banks, deliberately marketing themselves as ready to take on the old industry "fat cats". Metro Bank opened its seven-day-a-week service in 2010 - the first new independent UK High Street bank in over 100 years. Others, like Wyelands, ClearBank, or Secure Trust Bank offered specialised banking services, while start-ups such as Atom, Tandem or Monzo offered pure digital platforms. Low interest rates, economic growth and a healthy property market were fertile ground for the newcomers. Last year, accountants PwC estimated that they employed 35,000 staff and served some 20 million customers. 'Broken bank' But the financial sands have been shifting. TSB managed to stand alone for a year before being taken over by Sabadell of Spain, and has since been struggling to contain the fallout from a botched attempt to move customers onto a new IT system. Nicky Morgan MP, chair of the Treasury Select Committee which cross-examined its chief executive Paul Pester, called TSB a "broken bank". There is a growing expectation that the sector is about to be hit by a wave of take-overs. Last year Shawbrook was bought out for around £870m by Pollen Street Capital and BC Partners, and Aldermore was bought by South Africa's FirstRand. Now Virgin Money is facing a £1.6bn bid from rival challenger CYBG, which owns the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank networks. John Lyons, partner at PwC and author of its 2017 report on challenger banks, believes they are ripe for consolidation - and that's no bad thing: "They have reached a new stage, when they have to gear up and merge if they want to compete at the next level." All the same, life for the challengers has become more challenging. Closing the tap Three months ago the Bank of England turned off a financial tap that the credit ratings agency Moody's estimates saves British banks some £800m a year in interest payments. The Term Funding Scheme (TFS) was set up to support bank lending immediately after the 2016 referendum. It offered cheap money - on the condition that the bank lent the money on to customers. According to the Bank of England £127bn has been lent to banks and building societies over the last two years with rock bottom interest rates, close to the base rate. More than 60 financial institutions took advantage of it. Virgin Money was one of the biggest borrowers among the challenger banks, receiving £6.4bn. Now the tap has been turned off, and funding is getting more expensive at a time when challengers are facing weaker economic growth and tough competition. To replace the TFS the banks are going to have to harvest depositors by putting up their savings rate - good for savers but tough for the banks. Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro Bank, says he has already seen an increase in deposit rates online but insists it won't affect Metro: "We win customers largely on service and convenience. If you want the best rate it will be somewhere online. But last year we grew our deposits by £3bn - we want our customers for the long term." However, as the banks change so do the customers. PwC and YouGov last year surveyed 2,000 UK consumers and found that over half (54%) would prefer to use a number of banks, having a mortgage here, a deposit account there, and a business account somewhere else. And for those people life is becoming easier. Fintechs arrive Since the beginning of the year open banking has arrived in the UK. This should allow customers to share their financial data securely with anyone they choose, allowing them to compare banks' products faster and more safely than ever before. Mr Lyons, explains how the new financial landscape will suit the digital banks: "These banks are still very small - typically having fewer than 150 employees and, for those that are active, fewer than 100,000 users. "They are positioning themselves to lead in the forthcoming era of open banking - which will require specific banks to share specific data securely through open [application programming interfaces] - the technological tools that will deliver this change." Some of the newcomers are already winning thousands of new customers a week without even being fully fledged banks, raising money from investors and offering cheap but limited financial services. Revolut, for instance, offers a current account service which allows you to make and receive payments, withdraw money from cash machines, and transfer money abroad. It can't call itself a bank, as it doesn't have a banking licence, though it is now applying for one. According to founder Nikolay Storonsky, it is adding 6-8,000 accounts every day: "As we are not a bank we cannot use clients' money. "At the moment with two million or so customers across Europe we are not real competition to the big banks, which have 20-30 million customers. But we offer free services and we provide better products." Revolut raised £179m from investors, valuing the company at £1.3bn, achieving the status of a tech "unicorn" - a private start-up valued at more than $1bn (£740m). So there's no shortage of funding for bright banking ideas which will continue to change the way we bank. Financial boost A big boost for the challengers is on its way from an unlikely source - RBS. In exchange for receiving state aid during the financial crisis it did a deal with the European Commission and the government, called the alternative remedies package (ARP). The ARP amounts to some £800m, to be earmarked for increasing competition in the banking sector. Some of this is for banks to invest in business banking services, while the rest will be for funding incentives for customers to switch banks. Mr Donaldson of Metro Bank thinks it could be a game changer. Metro is applying for £120m of the funds. "It could make a fundamental difference, and there is enormous responsibility on the committee deciding who will receive the funds. "At the moment we are opening 100 new business accounts a day. If we get this money we will spread it out across the UK. We will spend every penny on creating competition and jobs."

इस साल तक, चीजें नई पीढ़ी के बैंकों की ओर देख रही थीं जो ब्रिटेन के कुख्यात रूप से कठिन बैंकिंग बाजार में अपना रास्ता बनाने की कोशिश कर रहे थे। लेकिन टीएसबी की परेशानियों ने उनके भविष्य पर सवालिया निशान लगा दिया है।


UK economy: George Osborne's warnings explained

Summary: Chancellor George Osborne has warned that 2016 looks like serving up a "dangerous cocktail" that needs to be carefully avoided to ensure the UK economy is not left unsteady on its feet. What - according to the chancellor - are the key ingredients of this cocktail?

By John HandBBC News Danger! The slowing global economy If you listen to the welter of weighty analysis and surveys, you'll be fairly convinced by now that 2016 will see global economies stumble compared to more recent times. The World Bank said on Wednesday it had revised its forecast for the global economy to expand by 2.9% this year. Just last summer, it was predicting 3.3%. The OECD has forecast a similarly gloomy global outlook for 2016, citing "doubts about future potential growth". And legendary US billionaire investor George Soros has warned that 2016 could see a global financial crisis on a similar scale to that which triggered the dramatic global downturn eight years ago. And this is the man who warned that we should all sit up and take notice of what was going on in Greece. But that's the world as a whole. Wasn't the UK the second fastest growing western economy last year? Isn't it the place the Daily Telegraph proudly reported was on track to become the world's fourth largest economy, leaving France and Germany floundering in its wake? The BBC's economics editor Kamal Ahmed explains: "There is an issue of how much it is for Britain to work on its own economy and make its own economy successful, and how Britain is interconnected to the rest of the world. "There is some stuff here in Britain that is a problem but the chancellor is saying that the global economy - these big macro trends - are the ones that will affect how we perform." Danger! China It used to be said that, when America sneezes, the world catches a cold. But much of the global recovery from the financial crisis of 2008 has been built on China's booming economy. But Chinese economic failures were the very first element that Mr Osborne highlighted as one of the dangers that could influence the UK economy in 2016. The world's most populous country has been a catalyst for global economic growth, but the pace of that growth has slowed markedly. That intensified fears about China's waning need for the world's commodities, such as oil, fears that have sparked significant stock market volatility over the past few days - trading had to be suspended completely twice this week to avoid an epidemic of panic selling. These days, when China shakes, the world wobbles - just witness the reaction of Europe's leading markets this week. Danger! Oil prices Falling prices at UK petrol pumps - now below £1 a litre in many places - have put about £3 a week back in the pockets of the average driver and boosted the British economy's feelgood factor. That has been prompted by oil prices falling below $33 a dollar and has provided a fillip for the many businesses that rely on goods being driven around the UK and Europe. Kamal Ahmed explains that it is "great news for consumers here", but bad news for the many global economies that rely heavily on exporting oil. And, he says, that comes back to bite the UK because some of those nations are important buyers of British exports, exports they now struggle to afford. Danger! Rising interest rates? The UK interest rate - set independently by the Bank of England - has been held at 0.5% since 2009. Long gone are the monthly adjustments that affected how much it costs to borrow money and therefore determined the level of most mortgage repayments. But rates are set to rise sooner rather than later - with expectation heightened by an interest rate rise in the US last month. Kamal Ahmed explains that while the chancellor is hoping a UK increase will demonstrate a return to "normality", there is a concern about the impact on consumer confidence. "The concern in the Treasury is that there are a lot of mortgage holders that have never experienced an interest rate rise," says Kamal. But if the expected rise doesn't come and rates stay as they are, that would equally be a cause for concern for the Treasury. Our correspondent explains: "They fear that because money is so cheap, people could be encouraged to overextend themselves because they're feeling 'the economy is back on track, I might just take on a little bit more borrowing'. "There is a concern that we will take on too much personal debt. And that means there is a concern that when the interest rate rise eventually comes, the public reaction will be very negative - even though that rate rise will be a very small one." Danger! Complacency The chancellor himself points out that one of the biggest risks to the British economy recovery is "complacency". The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith suggests Mr Osborne is using language designed to shake up the British electorate, and adds: "It reads like the trailer for an apocalyptic American action movie. It's deliberately done like that because he fears we are suffering from 'austerity fatigue'. "His fear is that people are thinking 'things are pretty much ticking along OK, let's just take our foot off the gas and get back to the good old days'. "The political intent is pretty clear. One is we are going to have to carry on with very difficult spending curbs." Critics have pointed out that Mr Osborne himself would have encouraged that complacency by pushing such a positive line in his recent Autumn Statement, in which he used an unexpected £27bn windfall to rewrite his plans for spending and cuts. So the warning about complacency can be seen as a clear attempt to re-emphasise the difference the economic approach of the chancellor and that of Labour - and to highlight what he says are the dangers of Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity message.

चांसलर जॉर्ज ओसबोर्न ने चेतावनी दी है कि 2016 एक "खतरनाक कॉकटेल" की तरह लग रहा है जिससे सावधानीपूर्वक बचने की आवश्यकता है ताकि यह सुनिश्चित किया जा सके कि ब्रिटेन की अर्थव्यवस्था अपने पैरों पर अस्थिर न रह जाए। चांसलर के अनुसार-इस कॉकटेल के प्रमुख तत्व क्या हैं?


Everything Everything: The kings of bizarre DIY music videos

Summary: They say you should learn from your mistakes.

By Will ChalkNewsbeat reporter When that mistake was spending £15,000 building and blowing up a giant sand sculpture of a woolly mammoth, the lesson for Everything Everything was clear. "The dynamite went off and the head just slowly slid to the floor, it was the most anti-climactic thing," laughs singer Jonathan Higgs. "We were in a supermarket in Germany when the video came through and we were all just watching on our phones going, 'what the hell have we wasted all that money on?'" The footage, filmed over a decade ago, never saw the light of the day and their music videos since have mostly been directed by Jonathan himself, often for little or no money. So, ahead of the release of the band's fifth album Re-Animator, we've been picking his brains for any other big lessons he's learnt over the years. The first one is surprisingly simple. "I think people like to see violence or sex or death or humour, but not all of them are possible," Jonathan says. "We're never going to do a sexy video, because... well, look at us." He's got a point. Not about the attractiveness, or otherwise, of his band mates, but about the fact that - from dancing fatbergs to monkey puppets and angry cavemen - you'd be hard pressed to call any of Everything Everything's videos sexy. "I look at it as what kind of films do I like. My favourite bits of films are the spectacular bits - but also the most impassioned bits", Jonathan says. "I think people connect to a real emotion much more than they do a slick image or expensive looking thing - as long as your heart is in it, then that will come across. "We've made some really cheap videos, but you just have to put your passion into different areas rather than than trying to make it look great." Arguably their most ambitious video was, in fact, the cheapest. In Birdsong is a five minute journey through decaying 3D models of the band's friends and family - it's enough to make you need a lie down afterwards, and Jonathan made it completely with free software demos. "Just yesterday someone asked me to make a new model for something else and when I opened up the software my trial had expired - so I couldn't," he says. "It shows you what a wing and a prayer I made this thing on. "My free trial was counting down day after day, I had the deadline for finishing the video coming up and I didn't even really know how to use the programme. You might also like: "I'm sure if somebody professional looked at the finished video they'd find loads wrong with it - but it didn't matter because the images I was using were of people in my life, so I think the passion I put into it came across. "It's not perfect at all, but it's full of love." So, if you are starting out in the music industry and you want to make your own videos on the cheap, what should you do? "Get good at editing, because that's where videos live or die", Jonathan says. "It doesn't matter how good things are in front of your camera, if you can't edit them, it will never work. "See how it makes you feel if the picture changes when the snare hits or the kick drum pounds - it feels like you're watching moving music, and that's why people love music videos. "And keep forcing more and more stuff in because people's attention spans are tiny. You want to be seeing something new basically twice a second. "Keep it moving and keep it full of emotion. Those are my tips." Re-Animator is released on 11 September. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

वे कहते हैं कि आपको अपनी गलतियों से सीखना चाहिए।


Peterborough woman stuck up tree in botched cat rescue

Summary: A woman who attempted to retrieve a cat from a tree had to be rescued herself after getting stuck while climbing.

The unnamed woman was trying to reach a kitten called Bella from the garden of a house in Morland Court, Peterborough. Firefighters had to be called and rescued both cat and owner on Tuesday. Both were unharmed. A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said people should not "risk their own lives" to save a pet. Read more Cambridgeshire stories here A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We know that people love animals and would risk their own lives to save a family pet or other animal in distress. "Our advice would always be to avoid putting yourself in danger and to contact the RSPCA in the first instance."

एक महिला जिसने एक पेड़ से एक बिल्ली को निकालने का प्रयास किया, उसे चढ़ाई के दौरान फंसने के बाद खुद को बचाना पड़ा।


Citizen firefighters combat blazes in California's 'forgotten canyon'

Summary: For several consecutive years, fires have devastated the Californian coast, and the fire service is under increasing pressure with fewer resources. One former firefighter is setting up his own fire crew, but is that the right approach?

By Lucy SherriffBBC News Eric Beninger, who lives in Palo Colorado Canyon in Big Sur, saw many of his neighbours' homes destroyed by the 2016 Soberanes fire, one of the most expensive wildfires in US history. The 2017 wildfire season was one of the worst in the state's history, with more than 9,000 fires burning 1.2 million acres (500,000 hectares). Last year, the fire that hit Paradise alone killed 86 people. After witnessing the devastation of his own community, Mr Beninger decided to recruit his neighbours and train up an independent fire team to be on standby for future fires. "When the fire crews finally arrived, they had to decide which houses to just let burn," he says. "Everything was on fire." The Soberanes fire, which burnt for three months, destroyed 57 homes and cost around $260m (£200m) to suppress. Of the 27 homes along Mr Beninger's road, only eight survived. The US Forest Service's response was subsequently criticised for its handling of the fire. Even help from the region's volunteer service was not enough to stop the flames. "After the fire started, the neighbours mostly fled," Mr Beninger recalled. "A few of us stayed behind to protect our homes, because we knew we weren't going to get help. We risked our lives to be here, not knowing what the fire would do. "Where we live is difficult to reach, it's secluded. And we were forgotten about." The fire chief of the Mid Coast Fire Brigade, the volunteer fire service that tackled the blaze, said they worked hard to protect the residents and their homes in the days that the fire burned. "The brigade worked relentlessly with little food or sleep during the first seven days of the fire," says Cheryl Goetz. "These are not just people in a community - to us they are neighbours, friends, co-workers and family." There will never be enough resources to get out in front of and stop these types of fires as they are spreading at rapid rates, says Ms Goetz. "Despite our best efforts, even as we were advised of a person trapped by the fire, the intensity of the fire and the numerous trees falling forced us out of the area." Mr Beninger is a carpenter, but used to be a firefighter with the US Forest Service in one of the hotshot crews - teams known as America's "elite" firefighters due to the danger of their work. He says he and two friends helped save three homes from burning - by using water bottles from the Red Cross. "We had a shovel - no chainsaws though, mine had burnt in the fire. We were just this tiny makeshift fire brigade in a pick-up truck with some water bottles." That's where the idea began, said Mr Beninger, who soon after heard about a small fire truck for sale in nearby Carmel Valley. The owner gave it to him for half the price, and now it's up to him to restore it and build a team. The fire truck is built around a 1973 Dodge Power Wagon, and has a four wheel drive, meaning it can access the canyon's almost-impassable dirt roads. "At the moment we don't have a big crew, but we're speaking with another six neighbours and we're going to do what we can. We're going to give everybody basic fire training." Mr Beninger is planning barbecues, calendars - "men and women" he noted - and "whatever it takes" to drum up the $10,000 needed to get started. "The best part is making our community tighter. Having the truck is one thing, but knowing how to use it and bringing everybody closer is more important. I don't know if we're going to be able to save any homes, but we're going to try." Ms Goetz advises people should be careful about setting up their own firefighting teams as her volunteers are fully trained. It's better if householders take steps to protect their homes, she says: - Clearing vegetation around their homes - 100ft minimum - Ensure you have access to a water source that will not be compromised by loss of electricity - Clearly mark that water source for all incoming firefighting equipment - Clearly address your property so firefighting resources know and understand there's a home up that dirt road More on California wildfires An August 2018 assessment found the state could see a 77% increase in the average area burned by wildfires in 2100. A Cal Fire report, published in March 2019, noted as many as 15 million acres of California forests are in "poor health", needing work to boost fire resiliency. Experts have warned there is now no longer a "typical" California wildfire season, and that the risk may be year-round. "If the community doesn't do something to protect itself, who will?" added Mr Beninger. "I think it's going to be a great addition to the neighbourhood, it will bring people back together. We were devastated by that fire; families fled, there used to be lots of children here but now there aren't. "The fire could've been handled within days, but there just weren't the resources. We're going to take care of our own." The truck's already got a nickname - Scarlett - which Mr Beninger wants on the uniforms. "They won't be anything too fancy, but we might have some scarlet on there, maybe some redwoods , ocean and the mountains. But we'll have to change the writing on the side of the truck." After a few moments he added, with a chuckle: "Maybe we could call it the forgotten canyon fire department?" UPDATE: This story was first published on 9 April, then re-published on 24 April with statements from the Mid Coast Fire Brigade

लगातार कई वर्षों से, आग ने कैलिफोर्निया के तट को तबाह कर दिया है, और अग्निशमन सेवा कम संसाधनों के साथ बढ़ते दबाव में है। एक पूर्व अग्निशामक अपने स्वयं के अग्निशमन दल की स्थापना कर रहा है, लेकिन क्या यह सही तरीका है?


Isle of Man General Election 2016: Deadline for Keys candidates nears

Summary: Candidates intending to stand in the Isle of Man's general election have until Wednesday to register.

About 60 people are expected to contest the 24 available seats in the House of Keys - Tynwald's lower house. This year two MHKs will elected from each of the 12 constituencies following a reform of the Isle of Man's electoral boundaries. Those looking to win election to the world's oldest continuous parliament must register by 13:00 BST. The island's 2016 general election is due to take place on 22 September and the deadline to register to vote is 1 September.

आइल ऑफ मैन के आम चुनाव में खड़े होने के इच्छुक उम्मीदवारों के पास पंजीकरण करने के लिए बुधवार तक का समय है।


New £34m revamp at Southampton City College

Summary: A £34m redevelopment of Southampton City College has been unveiled to students on the first day of the new academic year.

Two new buildings opened at the further education college, which caters for 16-to-18-year-olds and adult learners. The development includes a 240-seat theatre, a hair and beauty salon, restaurant and kitchens, a TV studio, lecture theatre and seminar rooms. The work is the final stage of eight years of redevelopment costing £48m. A spokeswoman for the college, in St Mary's, said about "80% of the campus is now new and purpose-built for the highly-vocational curriculum".

नए शैक्षणिक वर्ष के पहले दिन छात्रों के लिए साउथेम्प्टन सिटी कॉलेज के 34 मिलियन पाउंड के पुनर्विकास का अनावरण किया गया है।


The couples on the run for love in India

Summary: Most Indian families still prefer marriages arranged within their religion and caste. Marriages outside these rigid boundaries have often led to violent consequences, including "honour" killings. But some young Indians are still willing to defy their families and communities for love, reports the BBC's Divya Arya.

Ravindra Parmar knew that pursuing a relationship with an upper-caste woman would be dangerous. He is a Dalit (formerly known as "untouchable"), a caste that sits at the lowest rung of India's social ladder. The woman he fell in love with, Shilpaba Upendrasinh Vala, is a Rajput - a Hindu warrior caste near the apex of the system. The yawning gap between his position and hers is something rarely bridged in Indian society. "We are not even allowed to walk past their area and I had dared to marry into their family," he says. "Those who marry inter-caste are seen as aliens. The perception is that they are terrorists who revolt in society." Ravindra and Shilpaba were born and brought up in two villages separated by more than 100km (62 miles) in the western state of Gujarat. They met on Facebook and would spend hours taking digs at each other. But all that friendly banter had a deep impact on Shilpaba. "I was like any other village girl limited to home and college, but he broadened my horizon, made me realise that my life has more meaning," she says. Social media has opened a space that did not exist a few decades ago. Rigid caste and religious divides meant that the possibility of meeting, interacting and striking friendships in public places was neither possible nor encouraged. The caste system is hereditary, and the practice of marrying within the caste ensures that the hierarchy is perpetuated. Caste divisions have deep roots in history and Dalit men who have married women from upper castes have been killed. Marriages across caste or religion in India are uncommon. According to the India Human Development Survey, only about 5% of Indian marriages are inter-caste. The onus of upholding tradition, culture and "purity" falls on the woman and if she marries outside traditional boundaries, she is seen as besmirching the honour of the community and her family. The anger and backlash can lead to violent attacks and killings. Shilpaba had to flee from her village to marry Ravindra. But the threat of violence has continued to hang over them: they have moved between houses and cities a dozen times in the past three years. Ravindra is a trained engineer but had to leave his job and has had to do daily-wage labour wherever they have lived to make ends meet. Read more stories by Divya Arya Shilpaba says the stress became unbearable. They started blaming each other for their situation and she even contemplated taking her own life. "Ravindra convinced me out of it, as that was no solution," she says. "Now we are both studying law with a vision to take up human rights cases and make our parents proud through our work. "Maybe then they will see that we didn't take this decision to just have fun and they will accept us." 'Shocking' level of prejudice The latest data available from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that 77 murder cases in 2016 were reported with "honour killing" as the motive. Such violence is highly under-reported and these numbers do not accurately reflect social attitudes that may be growing more conservative. A 2016 survey, Social Attitudes Research for India (Sari), conducted across Delhi, Mumbai, and the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan found the majority of respondents opposed to inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. In fact they were in favour of a law banning such marriages. "It is quite shocking that despite rising levels of literacy and education, prejudicial beliefs do not reduce. In fact, they are worryingly high," says Professor Amit Thorat of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who worked on the Sari survey. "Religious and traditional values around hierarchies, around the notion of purity and pollution seem to be more sacrosanct and valuable than human rights, the right to live or the right to marry by choice." Feeling unsafe Bibi Ayisha and Aditya Verma were 17 years old when they fell in love. They too found each other on Facebook. That they were born into different religions - she is Muslim, he is Hindu - did not matter to them. But their families fiercely opposed the relationship. Aditya was born and grew up in Delhi. After finishing school, he enrolled in a college in the southern Indian city of Bangalore only because Ayisha lived there. But that sign of his dedication couldn't win her parents over: he was still a Hindu. Madly in love, and after waiting for two years, Ayisha ran away with Aditya. They moved to Delhi but, like Ravindra and Shilpaba, they still did not feel safe. "We were so scared that for five months we stayed in a room. Neither of us was working at that time. I thought if I stepped out, I would be killed, because I was Muslim and he was Hindu," says Ayisha. In February 2018, 23-year old Ankit Saxena was murdered in broad daylight in the capital Delhi for having a relationship with a Muslim woman. The woman's parents and two others were arrested and the trial is ongoing. Ayisha says that after that incident, the fear of a possible honour killing started feeling very real. "Even if we went out briefly, I was constantly looking around and if I saw anyone with a beard, I thought that they were members of my family coming to kill me." Spreading awareness Her fears have been set against the backdrop of an India where religious polarisation is increasing. A Hindu nationalist government has been in power since 2014 and is accused of normalising anti-Muslim sentiment. "I think the present environment is such that rather than bringing people and religions together, it is trying to fan the fires of division," says Prof Thorat. He is quick to point to the violent partition of India to underscore that such beliefs have existed for more than half a century, but believes that efforts to bridge divides are lacking. Ayisha's parents like Aditya but are not ready to accept him into their family unless he converts to Islam. Aditya's parents are equally unwilling for the marriage unless Ayisha adopts Hinduism. Both of them are opposed to adopting the other's religion - and losing their own. "When we fell in love, I knew she was a Muslim and she knew I was Hindu. We don't want that any of us should lose our identity," Aditya says. India passed a law in 1872 that enables legal registration of a marriage between a man and woman of different religions or caste without any conversion. Aditya found out about the Special Marriage Act through Asif Iqbal and Ranu Kulshreshtha, a couple who married inter-faith back in 2000. Soon after their marriage - in the aftermath of the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 - they witnessed targeting of couples like themselves and a lack of any support mechanisms. They set up an organisation called Dhanak, which spreads legal awareness and provides counselling as well as safe houses to couples who want to marry inter-faith or inter-caste. But awareness about the Special Marriage Act is very low. It also has a rule that requires a notice about the intended marriage to be displayed at a public place for a month, giving opportunity to anyone to place an objection. "This provision is often misused by fanatic Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Muslim organisations like Nizam-e-Mustafa, who would approach the families and pressure them to stop their daughters as daughters are easy targets," explains Asif Iqbal. According to him, the local police also do not encourage such marriages and instead play an active role in stopping them, especially in smaller towns. Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the government's advisory body, the National Commission for Women, agrees. "The government needs to do more in sensitising the police and legal officers about this, as the law helps in stopping conversion yet still enabling inter-faith marriage," she says. But she adds that lasting change cannot come only by enforcing laws, but by changing social mindsets. Acceptance is key for the survival of such couples as they deal with severe social and economic isolation. 'Trust and love' The Dhanak network has helped Ayisha feel safe. She has now met many couples like her and Aditya, and it gives her immense hope. "If you trust your partner and love them very much, then nothing else should matter. You should not waste time worrying about family and society. They will come around eventually," she says. After their marriage, Ravindra and Shilpaba decided to change their surname to Bharatiya, which means Indian. They decided to drop their original surname since it revealed their respective castes. Ravindra is an idealist - he believes that more inter-caste marriages will lead to a future in India where caste divisions will cease to be an issue.

अधिकांश भारतीय परिवार अभी भी अपने धर्म और जाति के भीतर व्यवस्थित विवाहों को पसंद करते हैं। इन कठोर सीमाओं के बाहर विवाह अक्सर हिंसक परिणामों का कारण बनते हैं, जिसमें "ऑनर किलिंग" भी शामिल है। लेकिन कुछ युवा भारतीय अभी भी प्यार के लिए अपने परिवारों और समुदायों की अवहेलना करने के लिए तैयार हैं, बीबीसी की दिव्या आर्य रिपोर्ट करती है।


Mark Drakeford: From Latin degree to Wales' leader

Summary: After years at the heart of government, Mark Drakeford today starts in the top job. BBC Wales' political correspondent Daniel Davies has spoken to friends, colleagues and opponents of the Welsh Labour leader about his politics, personality and the sort of first minister he will be.

Mark Drakeford's political awakening came early. Nationalist fervour swept his home town of Carmarthen when Gwynfor Evans was elected as Plaid Cymru's first MP in 1966. At grammar school, Mr Drakeford remembers groups of pupils marching around chanting political slogans. English-only road signs lay piled on the ground, torn down the night before. The political climate fired the imagination of the young Drakeford, a clarinet-playing cricket fan. Trashing road signs was, he thought, a "fantastic thing to be doing", he told me. But the teenager thought class was more important than nationality, so he became a socialist and joined the Labour Party. In the final year of his Latin degree at the University of Kent in Canterbury, he answered an advert in the Guardian to become a probation officer. Arriving for work in Cardiff in 1979, he found the offenders in Ely living in substandard council houses. But there wasn't much a probation officer could do about that. So he stood for and was elected to South Glamorgan council in 1985. Back then, Cardiff's highly factional Labour Party was a "viper's nest", says one of his contemporaries. In the late 80s, the council was led by Jack Brooks, for years the right-hand man of former Prime Minister Jim Callaghan. "Jack was very much in control, very much the baron, the person in charge," says Labour AM Julie Morgan, a long-time friend and ally of Mr Drakeford. Lord Brooks threw his weight behind one of the signal projects of the day - the Cardiff Bay Barrage. Some were deeply opposed, including Mrs Morgan's late husband Rhodri, the former Cardiff West MP and future first minister. Mark Drakeford was an opponent too, believing it would cause flooding in his Pontcanna ward. Together with another future AM - Jane Hutt, then the councillor for Riverside - he was suspended from South Glamorgan council's Labour group for voting against it. Instead of civil engineering spectacles, Mr Drakeford preferred the grass-roots approach of setting up charities and community centres. Mr Drakeford was part of a leftish circle of Cardiff politicians who later joined Rhodri Morgan's "kitchen cabinet" in the Welsh government of the 2000s. Among them were Ms Hutt, Jane Davidson and Sue Essex. All three become assembly members and ministers. "These were all political friendships but we had a lot in common as well politically," Ms Hutt says. "Alliances and friendships go together often." In 1993 Mr Drakeford stood down from the council. He went into academia, teaching at Swansea and later at Cardiff University, where he became a professor of social policy. One of his students was future leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood - like him, a probation officer who became an assembly member (AM). He got her an extension for her final assignment which was due while she was standing for Plaid Cymru at the 1997 general election. "He believed I would learn more running a general election campaign about how to help people than on the course for two months," she says. His bid to become the AM for Cardiff Central in the first assembly election in 1999 failed. Nevertheless, he came to wield huge influence over devolution - arguably more influence than most AMs. When Alun Michael was ousted as first secretary, Mr Drakeford became a special adviser on health and social care under Rhodri Morgan. They already knew each other well through the Cardiff West constituency. Mr Drakeford had been Mr Morgan's election agent. Jane Hutt, Mr Morgan's health minister, says it was a "huge bonus" having her old friend there at the start of devolution when things were "really tough". Soon, he went to work directly for the first minister, trying to stabilise the Welsh Government and give it a purpose. "We saw him as the main intellectual driving force of the left in Wales," says Darren Williams, a member of Labour's ruling executive from Cardiff. It was a frantic start for devolution. The institution lurched from one controversy to another. In the government's Cardiff Bay offices, a former minister says: "There was always this pool of calm where Mark was sitting on the fifth floor amid the chaos." Former Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Lord German, deputy first minister in a Labour-led coalition, calls Mr Drakeford the "Sherpa" who "stood at Rhodri's shoulder". In his biography, Mr Morgan, describes an encounter between his right-hand man and Tony Blair's entourage: "Mark was dressed down in his normal 1960s polytechnic sociology lecturer super-casual gear, tie-less, sloppy sweater and jeans." Another official present that day in 2002 remembers Mr Drakeford's mobile phone ringing during a speech by Mr Blair at Cardiff's old library. Off came the trademark sweater as Drakeford "faffed" to find the phone. "It was painful," the witness says. "Blair, fair play, carried on. It would have been better if he had made a joke." When he became a government minister himself, the lecturer's outfit gave way to a suit and tie. Supporters and opponents talk unflatteringly about how he wears it. The habitually undone neck button is now as much a trademark as the "sloppy sweater" once was. The project to define 'Morganism' culminated in the Clear Red Water speech of 2002 to illustrate the difference between Welsh Labour and New Labour. Although Mr Morgan departed from the script and never uttered the key sound bite when he delivered the speech in Swansea, it came to define his leadership. Free prescriptions, school breakfasts and bus passes were gimmicks and giveaways to critics. But to the Welsh Government they were part of a vision to make society more equal. They called it "progressive universalism" - the idea that everyone should enjoy the same access to services - and you can expect more of the same now Mr Drakeford is in charge. The Morgan-Drakeford partnership continued through to a coalition with Plaid Cymru. Helping bring the two sides together, there were meetings with Plaid's future leader, Adam Price, at Mr Drakeford's offices in Cardiff University in 2007. A source who worked in that coalition government says Mr Drakeford "created the narrative". "Rhodri's first 20 minutes in cabinet was about what he heard in the pub or in Riverside Market. It drove people bonkers. "Mark could articulate what the strategy was that Rhodri was trying to follow." When Mr Morgan retired in 2011, Mr Drakeford followed in his footsteps as the AM for Cardiff West. The then First Minister Carwyn Jones left him on the backbenches for two years, before giving him arguably the toughest job in the cabinet - health minister. His big idea for the service was called prudent healthcare, which involved patients taking more responsibility for their health. Siobahn McClelland, who held senior positions in the NHS under him, says: "Whether that actually made a difference to anything is actually a moot point." Mr Drakeford's department was bombarded by criticism about waiting times from the UK government and Conservative-supporting newspapers. He was determined to ban E-cigs from being used in public places. A former official recalls he "wouldn't budge" on the issue. The plan faltered when Plaid Cymru withdrew support, partly because another cabinet minister, Leighton Andrews, called the nationalists a "cheap date". Memories of the episode still annoy Mr Drakeford, but Prof McClelland says: "There are other things we should be doing that are going to make a bigger difference." After the 2016 election, he became finance secretary as the Welsh Government prepared for tax powers and the de-facto Brexit minister. Detecting a growing appetite to stop Brexit within Labour, his two leadership opponents this year tried to outflank him by demanding a further referendum. But he stuck to the line that his job was to prepare for Brexit, not fight it. Mr Drakeford says he wrestled with the idea of succeeding Carwyn Jones, not least because of the impact on his family - wife Clare and their three grown-up children. A friend says he was "conflicted". Was Wales ready for an atheist, republican, socialist first minister? Gossip intensified in the months after Carl Sargeant died days after being sacked as a minister - and when Mr Jones told Welsh Labour's conference in April that he was going, there was a clamour from his friends for Mr Drakeford to stand. "I think he would be a blessing to Wales," Ms Hutt said at the time. Whatever his doubts, Mr Drakeford says he became fully committed to the contest. And after the emotional toll of Carl Sargeant's death, Mr Drakeford's supporters think he is someone they can rally around. He is the right man for this time "because of what happened with Carl", says Julie Morgan. Admirers and former colleagues talk about how clever he is and how his experiences as a probation officer taught him how hard life can be. Will he thrive as leader? Leanne Wood, who followed the same career path, from the probation service to leading a party, says: "He's got the right value base, I would say, but you need discipline and doing the job is a lot harder than it looks. "What you see is only a fraction of what goes on. So much is behind the scenes." Mr Drakeford is used to working behind the scenes. Now we'll see whether he thrives in the limelight.

वर्षों तक सरकार के केंद्र में रहने के बाद, मार्क ड्रेकफोर्ड आज शीर्ष पद पर आ गए हैं। बीबीसी वेल्स के राजनीतिक संवाददाता डैनियल डेविस ने वेल्श लेबर नेता के दोस्तों, सहयोगियों और विरोधियों से उनकी राजनीति, व्यक्तित्व और वह किस तरह के पहले मंत्री होंगे, इस बारे में बात की है।


The commuter cats who became fur-mous

Summary: A cat called Benton has won carriage-loads of fans, thanks to his propensity for hanging around tram stops. But Benton is just one of a long line of cats who have rubbed shoulders with commuters, some prompting bestselling books and coming within a whisker of a film deal. BBC News meets the cats who don't have a ticket to ride (but they don't care).

By Gavin BevisBBC News A social media thread a few weeks ago about a cat called Benton - who likes hanging out at the Inham Road tram stop in Beeston, Nottinghamshire - sparked a huge response. His owner Ginny Hicks, who lives near the stop, wrote: "I'm increasingly aware that many of you have met (and I hope are fond of) my black and white kitty. "He's greeted his public there since the tram line was built. "I do hope he brings a little of affection to you when you see him." Miss Hicks says she rescued Benton when he was about four months old after she spotted him walking in the path of a bus. "He would have died if I hadn't seen him on the road that day," she said. "Now he brings love and affection to as many people as he can." In one of Benton's most recent exploits, Miss Hicks says he "cadged a ride" home from the tram stop with a boy in a wheelchair. "His mum got in touch to say it made her son's day," she said. Miss Hicks says she is not concerned about Benton's safety around the trams. "He's well aware when one is coming as you can hear the tracks humming when a tram is still a couple of hundred yards away," she said. "I'm actually more concerned about him getting on one and me getting a phone call to collect him from the other side of Nottingham." But Benton is far from the first feline to paw his way into the hearts of England's commuters. Here are just a few tales about the cats who love public trans-pawt - and the followings they have inspired. Casper, the puss in bus All eyes were on Plymouth a decade ago when a bus-loving cat named Casper rose to prominence. The black-and-white feline would trot on board the number three bus when it stopped outside his house each morning and then ride a full loop of the route before the driver carefully made sure he was dropped off back where he started. His antics prompted national media coverage, an avalanche of letters to owner Susan Finden - who died in 2017 - and even his own book. Susan's daughter, Kim Holland, said: "Mum wrote the book and it had a massive response. It was one of the first of its kind - I know there are lots now but this was one of the early ones. "From that people wrote to my mum for years. Some would address the letters to 'Casper's mum, Plymouth' and the postman would deliver them all." The family was even contacted by a producer who wanted to make a film, with Dawn French mooted to play the part of Susan. "He was super keen and kept in touch with mum for a long time and often discussed the film," said Ms Holland. "He didn't manage to get the funding so it sadly didn't get off the ground." Sadly Casper's travelling adventures came to an abrupt end in 2010 when he was hit by a car and killed. "Poor old Casper got hit by a taxi outside mum's house," Ms Holland added. "She got so many letters from bus drivers and the local community, all giving their condolences. "He was quite a character really. He touched all sort of people's hearts." Full steam ahead, Felix Next time you visit Huddersfield railway station, keep a beady eye out for two furry workers named Felix and Bolt. Sneakily brought in by station staff nine years ago while the manager was on leave, Felix has become a favourite with commuters and even has her own name badge. Last year she was given an "apprentice" - her younger brother Bolt - to further delight cat-loving passengers. As with Casper, Felix's popularity prompted a best-selling book and a follow-up about Bolt's arrival has just been released. Station manager Andy Croughan said: "Felix's rapid rise in popularity took us all by surprise - it just came from a couple of photos posted on Facebook. "That's when the whirlwind started. The national news came down and then the book deals came about so we could tell the whole story. "We'd had highs and lows as a group of people at the station - good times, but also the passing away of colleagues - and the first book told the whole story really well. "Felix and Bolt may just be cats, but they've contributed a huge amount to charity. With the two books and calendars, we could be looking at more than £200,000 in total." Batman aka tram cat "He's a bit of a tart." So speaks the owner of Batman, a cat that helps to brighten the morning for commuters waiting at Chorlton tram stop in Manchester. For more than two years the young rescue cat - named after his facial markings - has regularly trotted out of his front door, just down the road from the stop, to lap up strokes and adoration from strangers. "It's got to the point where he knows when the rush hours are," explained owner Nicci Cuff. Ms Cuff set up a Facebook page in her cat's honour and soon began to realise many people considered Batman a lucky charm. She said: "One person was going through a very hard time in their life and they said Batman saved their year. "Someone else said they'd had a job interview and felt nervous but as soon as they saw Batman they knew it was going to be OK. They got the job. "I said to a friend that I'd always wanted to make the world a better place but instead it's actually my cat that's doing it." Transport and cat facts Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

बेंटन नामक एक बिल्ली ने ट्राम स्टॉप के आसपास लटकने की अपनी प्रवृत्ति के कारण प्रशंसकों की गाड़ी-भर जीत ली है। लेकिन बेंटन उन बिल्लियों की एक लंबी कतार में से एक है जिन्होंने यात्रियों के साथ कंधे से कंधा मिलाया है, कुछ किताबें सबसे अधिक बिकने के लिए प्रेरित करती हैं और एक फिल्म सौदे के बीच आती हैं। बीबीसी समाचार उन बिल्लियों से मिलता है जिनके पास सवारी करने के लिए टिकट नहीं है (लेकिन वे परवाह नहीं करते हैं)।


DVLA marks 25 years of personalised registration plates

Summary: The DVLA has raised more than £2bn for the Treasury in 25 years of selling personalised registration plates.

To mark the occasion, the Swansea-based agency is holding its 150th auction on Wednesday when several Welsh-themed registration plates will go under the hammer. Patriotic motorists can get their hands plates including WEL 55H, CY07 MRU and WA11 LES. Since 1989, the DVLA has sold more than 4.2 million registrations. Among the Welsh-themed registration plates which have sold for the highest price are W4 LES (£6,000), S10 NED (£7,600) and WEL 5H (£27,200).

डी. वी. एल. ए. ने व्यक्तिगत पंजीकरण प्लेट बेचने के 25 वर्षों में कोषागार के लिए 2 बिलियन पाउंड से अधिक जुटाए हैं।


Surrogate babies: Where can you have them, and is it legal?

Summary: The case of Gammy, a baby with Down's syndrome who was born to a Thai surrogate mother and allegedly left behind by the intended Australian parents, has caused international controversy. Where do people go to arrange for surrogate babies, and is it legal?

By Helier CheungBBC News What is surrogacy? Surrogacy is where a woman becomes pregnant with the intention of handing over the child to someone else after giving birth. Generally, she carries the baby for a couple or parent who cannot conceive a child themselves - they are known as "intended parents". There are two forms of surrogacy. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother's egg is used, making her the genetic mother. In gestational surrogacy, the egg is provided by the intended mother or a donor. The egg is fertilised through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and then placed inside the surrogate mother. Is surrogacy legal? It varies from country to country. Countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria prohibit all forms of surrogacy. In countries including the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Belgium, surrogacy is allowed where the surrogate mother is not paid, or only paid for reasonable expenses. Paying the mother a fee (known as commercial surrogacy) is prohibited. Commercial surrogacy is legal in some US states, and countries including India, Russia and Ukraine. People who want to be parents may go abroad if their home country does not allow surrogacy, or if they cannot find a surrogate. However, even here, the laws may vary. For example, some Australian states have criminalised going to another country for commercial surrogacy, while others permit it. Where do people go for surrogacy? Experts say that countries popular with parents for surrogacy arrangements are the US, India, Thailand, Ukraine and Russia. Mexico, Nepal, Poland and Georgia are also among the countries described as possibilities for surrogacy arrangements. Costs vary significantly from country to country, and also depend on the number of IVF cycles needed, and whether health insurance is required. Families Through Surrogacy, an international non-profit surrogacy organisation, has estimated the approximate average costs in different countries: There are few statistics on how many children are born through surrogacy arrangements, as many countries do not formally record this. Nicola Scott, a lawyer with UK family law firm Natalie Gamble Associates, says that about 25% of her firm's clients go to the US, often because they feel it is safer. "The US has a very long history of surrogacy. One reason is that the parents know there are established frameworks in many states, particularly California, so there is safety associated with going there," she says. Why do women become surrogate mothers? Sarah Wisniewski, Surrogacy UK We're aware of how, just taking a year out of our lives can drastically help someone else's life. The majority of us have our own children, although a couple of the surrogate mothers in our network are childless. We appreciate and are grateful for our own children too - the majority of us just see pregnancy as something we find very easy - something we can do while getting on with our everyday lives. "People who choose other destinations tend to do so because a surrogacy there typically costs a lot less than in the US." In many countries, "surrogacy isn't illegal, but there's no framework to support it," Ms Scott says. For example, Thailand does not have clear regulations surrounding surrogacy. However, legislation has been drafted to regulate surrogacy, and authorities now say the surrogates must be a blood relative of the intended parents. Similarly, India is considering legislation which could "massively restrict surrogacy", Ms Scott says, and will "shut the door to singles and gay couples". What are the complications? There are no internationally recognised laws for surrogacy, so many parents and children can be left vulnerable - or even stateless. It can take several months to bring a surrogate baby back to the parents' home country, as they may not be automatically recognised as the legal parents. "In Thailand, surrogates are seen as the legal mother, so if the parents leave the baby with the mother, she is legally responsible. This is one of the difficulties seen in the Gammy case," Ms Scott says. "In India, the intended parents are seen as the legal parents," whereas under UK law, the surrogate mother is recognised as the legal mother. "This means a surrogate baby born in India, for UK parents, is born stateless, and has to apply for British citizenship." Depending on the parents' legal status in their home country, things can also become difficult if the couple split up, Paul Beaumont, a Professor of EU and Private International Law at the University of Aberdeen, and author of the book International Surrogacy Arrangements, says. "There can be an unfair advantage in a custody dispute. The father will often have parental rights, as the one who supplied the sperm, whereas, more often than not, the egg has been provided by a third party donor... so the mother may not be regarded as the parent of the child," Prof Beaumont says. Many experts argue that an international agreement, similar to the Hague Adoption Convention, is needed so that rules are consistent across different countries. However, this could be difficult since countries are divided in their views of surrogacy. Are there risks for surrogate mothers? Prof Beaumont argues that regulation is also needed to ensure that "clinics are properly regulated and mothers are adequately compensated, given proper healthcare, and properly consenting". Regulation would also ensure that "the intending parents are considered suitable to be parents in their home country", he adds. Without regulation, one potential risk for many surrogate mothers is that "if the child is born with some kind of defect, the intending parents could abandon the child", as has been claimed in the Gammy case. Although it is difficult to get hard evidence of exploitation, it is also possible that, like any potentially lucrative industry, surrogacy could be open to abuse, with women forced to act as surrogate mothers for profiteers, Prof Beaumont says. My experience with surrogacy: Richard Westoby, author of Our Journey: One Couple's Guide to US Surrogacy We chose to go to the US because my partner is American, and there is a legal framework in place in a lot of states that protects the surrogates, the intended parents, and the child. All the parties involved had legal representation - our surrogate had her own lawyer represent her when we were negotiating the contract. We spoke about the whole situation - what we were expecting regarding the number of embryos, caesareans, abortion - everything was discussed up front, so everyone was fully informed. It's so important that people have the whole picture before it starts. So many things can and do go wrong if you're not properly counselled and guided through the process. Surrogates don't get a huge amount of money. I think surrogates are phenomenal women going through the process because they want to help other people enrich their lives with family. My partner was in the room when the twins were born. It's the same as when any parent meets their child for the first time - there were lots of tears. It was indescribable. There's nothing like when your children open their eyes for the first time. It was an incredible feeling. Our surrogate is part of our life now - we email regularly and she comes to the UK to see the children.

डाउन सिंड्रोम से पीड़ित एक बच्चे, गैमी का मामला, जो एक थाई सरोगेट माँ से पैदा हुआ था और कथित तौर पर ऑस्ट्रेलियाई माता-पिता द्वारा छोड़ दिया गया था, ने अंतर्राष्ट्रीय विवाद पैदा कर दिया है। लोग सरोगेट शिशुओं की व्यवस्था करने के लिए कहाँ जाते हैं, और क्या यह कानूनी है?