The challenges facing the alcohol industry in catering for Generation Z

Summary: A new study, by marketers at a distilling giant, seeks to capture the fast-changing trends that define the modern consumer, particularly the young It focuses on identity, health awareness, values, and a search for unique or unusual experiences For the drinks industry, a downturn in youthful boozing is about "drinking less, but drinking better", trading up to premium products.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland We're into the season of young people dressing up to scare people. So Ofcom used youngsters to frighten the jeepers out of the BBC. The watchdog's report highlighted the decline in engagement by a generation too busy with Instagram and Netflix for the twists and turns of Brexit, or Eastenders. Hallowe'en, for a younger generation, has moved beyond tricking, treating and pumpkins to become something of a party season. So you'd think at least the one sector of the economy that can feel secure about millennials and Generation Z is the one that supplies them with vodka, gin, wine and beer, variations thereon and mixers therein. Not so. I spent a fascinating evening this week in the company of top types from Scotland's licensed on-trade, hosted by distillers William Grant & Sons. I found them profoundly challenged by the latest generation to get their ID cards and head for the pub. VUCA world Grant, the family firm that makes Glenfiddich single malt and Hendricks gin, invests each year in a marketing report intended to define what is trending, at the high (and sometimes gufftastic) level that helps them understand consumers' relationships with brands. What they have found is an "active-ist consumer, who is characterised by a desire for curated social experiences, greater control of personal data and purpose-driven brand engagement". Put more bluntly, that target and typically young consumer is drinking less, partly because she or he is more health conscious. They are searching for unique or unusual experiences, and want association with brands that carry environmental kudos, and a social message too. They embrace technology, but fear its reach into their privacy. They want choice, yet they also want that choice curated and simplified. In the VUCA world - volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous - they seek to make sense of it alongside commercial brands that "go the extra mile for them, and with them - they are more concerned than ever before about the world around them and their role in it". Gin genie For the beer, wine and spirits business, which rose in its UK value last year to £43bn, it needs to be heavily invested in adapting to such trends, and recruiting new drinkers, if it is to maintain its growth. While on-trade complains loudly about the advantages of off-trade, both are growing. Last year, on-trade was up to nearly £26bn, and off-trade slightly faster to £17bn. One aspect of the battle that they welcome is minimum unit pricing, which cuts the ability of retailers to discount, though has less impact at the premium end of the market. "Pre-loading" on cheaper off-sales booze remains the means by which high on-trade prices can be avoided. Within that total, the spirits sector is growing at twice the pace of the booze market, much of it thanks to the gin genie released from the bottle in the past decade. More than 400 new gin brands have launched in the UK since 2016, according to the Grant's report, Trending 2020. One question in the on-trade is when that will decline, and which of the new gin distillers will survive. One wholesaler complained that he's carrying 225 types of gin, and wants to cut that to 75. But for now, the signs are that demand is beginning to plateau, and rum is established as the next big thing. Dry generation The bigger question, though, is how much further consumer demand, social pressure and government policy is going to undermine demand for alcohol. More than four million people took on the "Dry January" challenge this year. The trend towards no or low-alcohol drinks has some momentum. The market data specialists at Kantar reckon that there was a drop in the number of people drinking in pubs, clubs and restaurants from 86% in 2014 to 81% last year. It is reckoned that as many as one in five young people aged 16 to 24 do not drink alcohol. William Grant & Sons recently got on board the move to both gin and low-alcohol, launching Atopia, an "ultra-low-alcohol spirit". It competes with Diageo's Seedlip. Both are audaciously trying the trick of setting a price point comparable with spirits, even though they don't carry the huge whack of tax on a standard bottle of spirits. So the £25 price of a bottle of no/low spirit is very largely made up of profit, distilled and then conjured by clever marketing mixology. Dinner parties In the on-trade, it makes people wonder if they're getting their mocktails right by pricing them only just south of strongly alcoholic ones. Drinkers ought to know the absence of duty makes them much cheaper to make. But an inflated price gets them respect in the clubs. What also gets respect in a lot of pubs and clubs is "instagrammability". A bright pink cafe that recently opened near my home claims to have been voted "the most instagrammable cafe in Glasgow". (The curmudgeon in me can't think of anything more likely to keep me from going there.) So the on-trade is having to ally taste with looks. Don't be surprised to find a rubber duck paddling in your cocktail, or some candy floss set adrift on it. The youngest cohort of consumers are reckoned to spend a total of five days a year looking at such pictures on Instagram. Food beats drink, of course, and so marketers are seeking ways to respond. Food and drink menus with pictures are appearing beyond the tourist traps where customers struggle to understand English. Meanwhile, those data people at Kantar reckon that between 2013 and 2018, there were 38 million more in-home dinner parties, many of them exploring the visual appeal of food as well as its taste. Adapting the culture of the pop-up event, they offer a one-off experience instead of an endlessly repeatable digital product. Run ragged Meanwhile, with heightened awareness of mental health, people - and not just the young, of course - realise that booze can be a particularly bad answer to the blues. Non-booze "mood management" is therefore big business. Non-alcoholic drinks offer mood enhancers, claiming in one example to regulate stress through adaptogens and brain-boosting nootropics. A low-calorie beer includes infusion with beer pollen to help muscle recovery post-workout. CBD, a cannabis derivative, has emerged in the US and Canada as a legal alternative to alcohol, and before long, marketers expect to see it gain legitimacy and market share in enhancing the UK's mood. The bit that can sometimes be forgotten is that Generation Z, born since 2000 plus some younger millennials who preceded them, may have old marketers run ragged by the rapid change in perception, expectation, the search for experience and a conscious search for values, but that doesn't mean that younger people understand what's going on either. Individuals look to media, and mainly new media, to tell them where they should fit in. They may have the marketing world at their feet, but that's not to say it isn't a VUCA world for them too.

एक नया अध्ययन, एक आसवन दिग्गज के विपणक द्वारा, तेजी से बदलते रुझानों को पकड़ने का प्रयास करता है जो आधुनिक उपभोक्ता को परिभाषित करते हैं, विशेष रूप से युवा यह पहचान, स्वास्थ्य जागरूकता, मूल्यों और अद्वितीय या असामान्य अनुभवों की खोज पर केंद्रित है पेय उद्योग के लिए, युवा शराब पीने में गिरावट "कम पीने, लेकिन बेहतर पीने" के बारे में है, जो प्रीमियम उत्पादों तक व्यापार करती है।


Sellafield workers in Cumbria walk out over job fears

Summary: More than one thousand workers have staged a walkout at Sellafield in Cumbria in a protest against redundancies, a union said.

The company Mitie - which recently won a new contract at the site - is considering job cuts. The 1,100 workers who walked out were from several different companies, which have been unavailable for comment. Unite union said they would be back at work on Monday, and safety and security at the site had not been compromised.

एक यूनियन ने कहा कि एक हजार से अधिक श्रमिकों ने कुम्ब्रिया के सेलाफील्ड में अतिरेक के विरोध में वॉकआउट किया है।


What happened to Tesco's mojo?

Summary: Has Tesco lost its mojo? Its results for the first quarter of the year are not strong, and yet the first few lines of its press release try to imply that they are, which is not the sign of a confident business.

Robert PestonEconomics editor For example, Tesco starts its press release by saying that "customer perceptions" have improved "on all key measures" - which may well be so, but is not the same thing as money in the till. It goes on to say that there were "positive and improving" like-for-like or underlying sales "in all food categories with the exception of frozen and chilled". For the leading retailer of frozen and chilled food, that is a bit like saying my team Arsenal is brilliant in midfield, and ignoring some conspicuous shortcomings in defence and attack The point is that, in the round, Tesco's like-for-like sales in the UK were down between 0.8% and 1.6% in the three months to May 26, depending on which of the four measures of underlying sales provided by Tesco you may think is relevant. For what it's worth. Tesco seems to think that the 1% drop, excluding VAT and petrol, is the one that is relevant. That compares with a 0.5% rise in the final quarter of the last financial year. So Tesco seems to have gone backwards again, in spite of the £1bn it spent in 2012/13 on recruiting 8,000 new store staff, relaunching thousands of own-label products and "refreshing" the look and feel of its stores. The chief executive of Tesco, Philip Clarke, gave two explanations on the Today Programme for what had gone wrong. Sales of consumer electronics were poor. Historically these have been important to Tesco but Mr Clarke has decided that Tesco will significantly reduce its presence in this market (you can probably hear Dixons breathing a huge sigh of relief). And although no new bits of horse have been found in Tesco's ready meals in the latest period, the memory of equine DNA in the mince seems still to be making some shoppers wary of its chilled and frozen foods. None of which is to say that Tesco is in serious difficulties, or that Mr Clarke will ultimately fail in stabilising Tesco. But it does rather imply that the recovery is taking longer than expected. And it raises the possibility that he won't succeed. What's more, even Tesco's operations in Asia and eastern Europe - which in recent years were the glittering jewels in its empire - have lost some of their lustre. Tesco's market leadership in a handful of developing markets overseas remains an enormous source of strength for the group but it is striking that in the latest quarter like-for-like sales fell quite sharply in China, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey (though the rate of decline in important South Korea has slowed). But back to Britain. Businesses, like all social organisms, rise and fall. Tesco's market share of a third of the grocery market and more than 10% of all retail sales, acquired under Mr Clarke's predecessor, Sir Terry Leahy, put the retailing group in a league of its own, in Britain. But possibly that supremacy was something of a historical anomaly, too far from the mean to be sustainable. Maybe, in an inclement climate for all retailers in the UK, and given that Tesco is so big, the very best that can be expected of Mr Clarke is that at some point he stops it going backwards.

क्या टेस्को ने अपना प्रभाव खो दिया है? वर्ष की पहली तिमाही के लिए इसके परिणाम मजबूत नहीं हैं, और फिर भी इसकी प्रेस विज्ञप्ति की पहली कुछ पंक्तियाँ यह संकेत देने की कोशिश करती हैं कि वे हैं, जो एक आत्मविश्वास वाले व्यवसाय का संकेत नहीं है।


Suspected arson at Blackpool seafront derelict hotel

Summary: A fire at a derelict hotel on a seafront which forced the closure of the promenade and tram network is being treated as a suspected arson by police.

About 60 firefighters tackled the blaze that broke out on the top floor of the former Ambassador Hotel in Blackpool at about 20:15 GMT on Wednesday. No-one was hurt in the fire at the six-storey building, the fire service said. The neighbouring Rutland Hotel was evacuated and guests were taken to temporary accommodation.

समुद्र तट पर एक परित्यक्त होटल में आग लगने से सैरगाह और ट्राम नेटवर्क को बंद करने के लिए मजबूर होना पड़ा, जिसे पुलिस द्वारा संदिग्ध आगजनी के रूप में माना जा रहा है।


The Indonesian fishermen whose bodies were thrown overboard

Summary: A video showing the body of a young man being callously thrown into the sea has sparked an international investigation, and shone a spotlight on the "slave-like" conditions allegedly suffered by Indonesian fishermen on board Chinese-owned vessels. This is the story of just two families, mourning sons and brothers who died trying to build a new life.

By Callistasia Wijaya and Rebecca HenschkeBBC News Indonesia Sepri had never been to sea before, when he heard through a friend about the chance to work on a Chinese-owned fishing boat. The promised money on offer was beyond anything the 25-year-old could dream of earning in his village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. "He was so enthusiastic about suddenly being able to earn such big money for us," his sister Rika Andri Pratama remembers. With the assurance of training and a $400 (£326) a month salary, he set sail with a group of 22 Indonesian men on the Long Xing 629 fishing vessel in February last year. "Before he left, he borrowed some money from me," says Rika. "He said it would be the last time because he would come home with loads more and we could finally afford to renovate the family home." But Sepri never came home. No money was sent. And Rika didn't speak to her brother again. In early January, she received a letter. He had died at sea, his body thrown overboard into the Pacific Ocean. "My heart was crushed when I heard he was thrown into the sea," she says holding back tears. She was filled with guilt. "Before our mum died, her last words were, 'you should take care of your little brother'." Two other Indonesian crew members died on the Long Xing 629. Sepri and another man died within days of each other in December, after just 10 months at sea. While Ari, who was from the same village as Sepri, died in March this year, shortly before the rest of the crew were rescued. Like Sepri, their bodies were wrapped in cloth and thrown over the side. Like Sepri's, their families would never get the chance to say goodbye either. A third desperately ill man, Efendi Pasaribu, would make it to shore alive - but only just. There was a chance this could have all gone unnoticed - simply a few more deaths at sea - had the unceremonious sea burial captured on a mobile not come to light, and caused a public outcry in Indonesia. Instead, the video sparked a renewed debate about the abuse of fishermen aboard foreign vessels in Southeast Asia. Shockingly, the stories of life aboard the Long Xing 629 are eerily familiar, and come just five years after about 4,000 foreign fishermen, mostly from Myanmar (Burma), were rescued and freed from remote islands in Indonesia; some had been exploited in slave-like conditions for years. At the time Indonesia vowed to fight to end unregulated fishing and the exploitation of fishermen on foreign vessels. As the Long Xing 629's survivors began to talk, it became clear little had changed. 'All we could do was wash them and pray' Fellow crew mates, who requested only to be identified by their initials, said they were often beaten and kicked. They couldn't understand what their Chinese bosses were saying and it led to confusion and frustration. One of the crew told BBC Indonesia his friends' bodies all swelled up before they died. Another said they were forced to work 18-hour days and only given fish bait to eat. "They [the Chinese crew] drank mineral water, while we were only given poorly distilled sea water," 20-year-old NA said. When it became clear how sick Sepri and the others had become, NA says they pleaded with the captain to bring them to land for treatment. After the three men died, the crew begged to keep the bodies in a cooler so their friends could be buried in line with their Islamic customs once they reached the shore. But the captain told them that no one would want them. "He argued that every country would reject their bodies anyway," NA says. "All we could do was wash their bodies according to the Islamic law, pray and then throw them in to the sea." The captain finally agreed to move the remaining Indonesian crew members to another Chinese vessel which landed in Busan, South Korea. Efendi Pasaribu was still critically ill, but he was alive. 'Leaving for a better future' His mother, Kelentina Silaban, was able to video call her son while he lay in a hospital bed in Busan. Efendi was almost unrecognisable from the healthy 21-year-old who had said goodbye to her just over a year ago. "I said please, please just come home, we will take care of you in the village." Instead, her son's body was returned to her. They were told he had died from kidney failure and pneumonia. Before he left his village he had posted a photo of himself on social media, proudly pulling a suitcase, with the caption: "I am leaving in order to carve out a better future." Efendi ended up being buried close to the family home in rural Sumatra. "We hope that our brother's death helps uncover the slavery on foreign fishing vessels. We are hoping that this will be fully investigated," said his brother Rohman. Answers - not money Migrant rights groups are calling on the government to do much more to protect their citizens from becoming "slaves". The Indonesian government says the Long Xing 269 survivors - none of whom received their full salaries - were part of a group of 49 fishermen, ranging from 19 to 24, who had been forced to work in poor conditions on at least four fishing boats owned by the same Chinese company, Dalian Ocean fishing Co Ltd. It declined to respond to the allegations when contacted by the BBC, saying it would issue a statement on its website. No response has been released. Both countries are promising the families answers. Jakarta described the sailors' treatment as "inhumane", while the Chinese embassy in Jakarta described it as an "unfortunate incident". It has said that they are now carrying out a "comprehensive investigation" in partnership with Indonesia. In Indonesia, three men have been arrested as part of the investigation into the recruitment firms that hired the young men. They could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty under human trafficking laws. "We will ensure that the company has to fulfil our crews' rights," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a video conference. "Based on the information from the crews, the company has violated human rights," she added. The Indonesian fisherman agency association (IFMA) told BBC Indonesia that there are numerous unregistered agencies hiring crews with no oversight from the government. "There are so many requests from foreign vessels, these agencies just make the needed documents and send the men on on their way. There is no filter from the Indonesia side," said the group's vice president Tikno. In response to public pressure, the government says they are now considering putting in place a six-month moratorium on Indonesian fishermen going to work on foreign vessels. "This would allow us to have time to improve our oversight, so we can put in place a one-channel system where we have all the data we need to be able to monitor and make sure the rights of our fishermen are protected," fisheries ministry official Zulficar Mochtar said. Meanwhile, the recruitment firm who hired Rika's brother, Sepri, has promised to pay her 250 million rupiah (£13,000) in compensation. But she wants answers, not just money. "We need to know what happened on that vessel," she said. "Let us be the last family which has to experience this." Additional reporting by BBC Indonesia's Affan Hedyer and Raja Eben Lumbanrau

एक युवक के शव को समुद्र में निर्दयता से फेंके जाने वाले एक वीडियो ने एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय जांच को जन्म दिया है, और चीनी स्वामित्व वाले जहाजों पर इंडोनेशियाई मछुआरों द्वारा कथित रूप से "गुलाम जैसी" स्थितियों का सामना करने पर प्रकाश डाला है। यह सिर्फ दो परिवारों की कहानी है, शोक संतप्त बेटे और भाई जो एक नया जीवन बनाने की कोशिश में मारे गए थे।


Bangor: Brandon Sillence denies murdering Dean Skillin outside hotel

Summary: A 24-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to murdering a man outside a hotel in Bangor.

Dean Skillin, 20, of Caernarfon, died in hospital following the incident near the Waverley Hotel, Station Road, in September. Brandon Sillence, of Toronnen, Bangor, denied his murder but admitted a charge of manslaughter at a hearing held via video link at Mold Crown Court. A provisional trial date has been set for 22 March at Caernarfon Crown Court.

एक 24 वर्षीय व्यक्ति ने बांगोर में एक होटल के बाहर एक व्यक्ति की हत्या के लिए खुद को दोषी नहीं माना है।


Gargrave pub fire: Man critical after roof rescue

Summary: A man is in a critical condition in hospital after being rescued by firefighters from a blazing pub roof in North Yorkshire.

Fire crews used hoses and an aerial ladder platform to put out the fire at the Old Swan Inn, Gargrave, near Skipton, on Tuesday. People were evacuated from nearby buildings and the A65 was also closed. Firefighters found the man in his 50s on the pub's roof and brought him down just after 18:30 BST. An investigation has begun to establish the full circumstances of the incident, said North Yorkshire Police. More stories from Yorkshire Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.

उत्तरी यॉर्कशायर में एक जलती हुई पब की छत से अग्निशामकों द्वारा बचाए जाने के बाद अस्पताल में एक व्यक्ति की हालत गंभीर है।


The next Harry Potter words to join the dictionary?

Summary: Quidditch - the game played by Harry Potter - is now magically appearing in the Oxford Dictionaries, joining that other Potter term "muggle". But what other words dreamed up by author JK Rowling are on the cusp of gaining official recognition?

By Emma ThelwellBBC News Potterhead... Wrock... Bellatrix... three terms that muggles may not understand. And if you need to be told what a muggle is in the first place, then you can at least consult a dictionary on that one. The BBC has learned that another small list of words associated with the Harry Potter book series is on the Oxford University Press watchlist, which decides on the words likely to gain inclusion in its dictionaries. Potterhead refers to a fan of Harry Potter, while Wrock [short for Wizard Rock] is a genre of Harry Potter-related music. Bellatrix is the name of a character in the series, which Rowling named after a star in the Orion constellation. The Oxford University Press has a vast database of some three billion words ready for editors to consider for publication in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the website Oxford Dictionaries. The OED is a historical dictionary which records all the core words and meanings in English over more than 1,000 years, while the latter tracks "current" English and includes modern meanings of words. Most words have to be in circulation for 10 years before they will be considered for the OED, but in the meantime many enter the Oxford Dictionaries website after careful consideration. 'Beyond the book' Rowling's word "muggle" - which made its debut in 1997's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - was an exception to the rule. Muggle leapt into the Oxford English Dictionary in less than half the usual time, appearing in 2002 as "a person who lacks a particular skill or skills, or who is regarded as inferior in some way". Charlotte Buxton, an associate editor at Oxford Dictionaries, explained that some words are fast-tracked if they "cross into our world" quickly and are widely used. She said: "It's fairly unusual for a made-up word to get in. They have to move beyond the book - quidditch is now a real sport, not just a made-up game. "It is really significant as it shows that Harry Potter has had such a huge impact." Ms Buxton said she thought "Horcrux" - an object which contains a wizard's evil - might be next on Oxford Dictionaries' radar. She added: "Harry Potter could be ripe for a project." Previous Oxford University Press projects include last year's focus on Roald Dahl as a celebration of the centenary of his birth. Almost 8,000 real words - and invented ones - were included in a special Roald Dahl dictionary, which took five years to compile. Of these words, several do have a place in the OED, including golden ticket, oompa loompa and human bean. Ms Buxton said it has been children's authors, such as Dahl, who have tended to coin the most new words over the last century because they are the most playful and creative. "In particular, authors who create their own language - such as [Lord of the Rings author] JRR Tolkien. He created a complete world with its own language. "Writers who do that - like JK Rowling - really make their mark." she said. Really? 'Meh' Other realms which have crossed into ours are the fantasy fiction of Twilight, and the animated comedy show The Simpsons. The Simpsons lays claim to three words in Oxford Dictionaries: Jeebus, cromulent and embiggen. It is also credited for popularising the word "meh" - which has been added to the OED. "Children's books are read by children and by adults to their children, which leads to words being used within the family and beyond," Ms Buxton said. This gives the words better staying power. Meanwhile, realist authors, such as the Victorian author Charles Dickens, tend not to create as many new words as they are concerned with reflecting the real world, she said. It is William Shakespeare who is famously credited for having the biggest influence on the English language - providing the first evidence of more than 1,600 words, from "admired" to "watch-dog" and "night owl". But Ms Buxton says it is hard to know how many words Shakespeare invented and how many he simply recorded. What we do know is that not all of them stood the test of time: has anyone met a "flirt-gill" recently? 10 other words invented by authors Superman: A translation of the German Übermensch used by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to denote the concept of an "ideal superior man of the future". Blatant: Invented by Edmund Spenser in his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1596), where he wrote of a "blatant beast". Robot: Coined by the Czech author Karel Capek, robot made its first appearance in a 1920 sci-fi play called R.U.R, short for Rossum's Universal Robots. Cyberspace: Invented by William Gibson for a 1981 science fiction short story called Burning Chrome, which was published in Omni magazine in 1982. Serendipity: Coined by Horace Walpole in a letter he wrote to Horace Mann in 1754, after the title of the fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, the heroes of which 'were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of'. Eucatastrophe: Coined by JRR Tolkien in a 1944 letter to describe "a sudden and favourable resolution of events in a story; a happy ending". Doublethink: In George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four he created a language called Newspeak which included the word doublethink - which refers to the acceptance of contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time. Blurb: Coined in 1907 by the American humourist Gelett Burgess, "blurb" was first found on a comic book jacket embellished with a drawing of a young lady whom Burgess dubbed "Miss Belinda Blurb". Chortle: Introduced by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass, published in 1871, the word is probably a blend of chuckle and snort. Cloud cuckoo land: In his comedy Birds, the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes named the city built by the birds to separate the gods from mankind - it was translated into English in 1824 as "cloud cuckoo land". Source: Oxford Dictionaries

क्विडिच-हैरी पॉटर द्वारा खेला गया खेल-अब ऑक्सफोर्ड डिक्शनरी में जादूई रूप से दिखाई दे रहा है, जो उस अन्य पॉटर शब्द "मगल" में शामिल हो गया है। लेकिन लेखक जे. के. रोलिंग द्वारा देखे गए अन्य कौन से शब्द आधिकारिक मान्यता प्राप्त करने के कगार पर हैं?


Gritter lorry smashes into house in Helsby

Summary: A gritter lorry got wedged in a house after smashing into it in the early hours.

Police found the yellow lorry stuck in the semi-detached house on Chester Road in Helsby, Cheshire at about 01:00 GMT. None of the house's occupants were hurt, but have been temporarily rehoused with friends and family, Cheshire Police said. The lorry driver was taken to hospital but is not believed to have sustained any serious injuries. The A56 in Helsby is completely closed as a result of the smash and diversions are in place via the M56.

एक ग्रिटर लॉरी तड़के एक घर में घुसने के बाद उसमें घुस गई।


In quotes: Reaction to GCSE plans

Summary: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans to scrap GCSEs in secondary schools in England and return to O-level style exams. Proposals include a single exam board and a different "more straightforward" exam, like the old CSE, for less academic pupils. Here union leaders, teachers and parents give their views.

Brian Lightman, Association of School and College Leaders It's very difficult to respond to announcements that are made via hearsay and leaks rather than through properly detailed and published proposals. I completely agree that our qualifications system needs to stand up to the best in other countries, but I cannot see how this proposal squares with the international research that says other successful countries don't have two-tier qualifications systems. Without seeing the DfE [Department for Education] proposals, it is difficult to judge the impact. It seems that reintroducing a two-tier system, which was scrapped years ago because it ended up failing large numbers of young people, would be a hugely backward step. O-levels were introduced for a small proportion of the population and CSEs were seen as an inferior qualification for the less able. I can't see how telling young people at age 14 that they aren't smart enough to sit a higher level GCSE will help to address social mobility and raising aspirations. However, we need to see the actual proposals from the DfE before we can accurately predict what the consequences, intended and unintended, will be. Russell Hobby, National Association of Head Teachers I've seen it in the Daily Mail just like everyone else, and that's not a good way to introduce this to the profession. I think a single exam board will remove a lot of concerns with the competition for easier exams. It isn't working and it's lowered trust in the system, so that's sensible. But I think the idea of an obviously two-tier exam system, the CSE/O-level split, doesn't sound like a good step forward to me. I think it takes us back to a stage where we make choices about what a child is capable of very early in their school career. And that we're creating a qualification that potentially doesn't fulfil the need of employers in this day and age, where we need strong literacy, strong numeracy and science skills in almost every student. We do need to demand high academic standards from as many lessons as possible, and I think it's the kind of core academic skills in literacy and numeracy, which actually are the truly vocational qualifications. But yes, children have different career paths and plans and some will be more inspired and engaged by a technical study, but that doesn't mean the technical and vocational qualifications are a lower exam to the GCSEs. They run in parallel. I think this is clearly labelled as an exam for less clever children in the way it's been presented and I think that we will find that that switches people off in the way that CSEs switched people off very early on. John Bangs, former NUT head of education I think there is a case for reform. But I think that's to do with considered reform, setting up an independent review as the previous government did with the Tomlinson report, involving people in what we want from examinations. But not doing headline-grabbing stuff saying that he believes current examination is broken beyond repair, incidentally casting thousands of young people into a state of despair because they're doing the exams at the moment, but doing it in a considered long-term way. It may not get the headlines but it's the right thing for education. Lord Baker, former education secretary I think Michael Gove is absolutely right to reduce the competition between the exam boards for English, maths and science, which have undoubtedly been downgraded through competition. And that's going to be good. Now he's a very radical reformer and is very interesting and rigorous at the heart of all his changes. What is important is to ensure that other subjects that are taken don't become second-class. Engineering at 16 is just as demanding as maths and science. That's what we have to ensure, and I think that will happen under the system that Michael Gove is going to introduce. Geoff Barton, head teacher of King Edward VI school, Bury St Edmunds What this government constantly tell us about is how we should look up to the international big boys with their national curricula and their tests and so on, and that's where we thought the direction of travel was. Next thing we hear is that we're not going to have a national curriculum, which seems to me utterly bizarre, and a system, whereby we're going to start choosing children on ability for which papers they can sit when they're 13 or 14. What we know about intelligence is that people improve and they develop, and we're in the business of motivating youngsters not de-motivating them. Dr Wendy Piatt from The Russell Group I certainly think the current system needs improving. The main problem is that some GCSEs simply don't stretch the very brightest. In some ways it does make sense to have two types of exam - one for the very academic and one for people who are less academic who want to do something more applied, more vocational. But there is a real danger here... there is a worry that at a very early age you will be pigeonholed and then put on a course that is not really suitable for you and you won't be able to change to the more academic course, which will open up opportunities to go to leading universities. Exam board Cambridge Assessment We support evidence-based educational reform and refute claims that competition has resulted in a "dumbing down" of standards. Arbitrary changes to the exams systems and the multiple purposes that qualifications are now often expected to take on - accountability, driving up standards in schools, individual selection, and allowing greater access to education - have made it difficult to maintain standards over time. There are challenges associated with a single qualification designed to recognise the achievement of all students - the current tiered system seeks to do that. However, we welcome a commitment to ensure that the 40% who do not achieve A*-C grades at GCSE are catered for and receive positive recognition of their achievement rather than simply 'failing' a GCSE. Any reform requires measured and careful implementation and we will be engaging in the process when there is a consultation. Jenny Cooper, parent My concern is not that there would be a change, but that it might not be quick enough. Our oldest daughter takes her GCSEs next year. I have another daughter two years behind her and a son in the year before that. With our other two children starting their courses before 2014, I wonder whether their exams will be devalued by the change. If they really feel that we ought to be moving to the O-level style exams, then they really shouldn't be waiting two years to do it. All the children taking the exams in the meantime are going to be taking papers like the old model of a car - devalued the minute people know a new model is coming out. My daughters' school has already made a decision to only do the International Baccalaureate at sixth form because they know there is change coming to A-levels but they don't know what the change is yet and they don't want to risk the children's education. For my children O-level style exams would be ideal. My children are academic. They are children who can learn a body of information and then use it. But the O-level style exams won't suit everyone.

शिक्षा सचिव माइकल गोव ने इंग्लैंड के माध्यमिक विद्यालयों में जी. सी. एस. ई. को रद्द करने और ओ-स्तरीय शैली की परीक्षाओं में लौटने की योजना बनाई है। प्रस्तावों में कम शैक्षणिक छात्रों के लिए एक एकल परीक्षा बोर्ड और पुराने सी. एस. ई. की तरह एक अलग "अधिक सीधी" परीक्षा शामिल है। यहाँ संघ के नेता, शिक्षक और अभिभावक अपने विचार देते हैं।


Britain's 'blindingly cool' engineering innovation

Summary: Ted Humble-Smith is a conceptual still-life photographer. He's well known for his fashion work. Ted can take a lipstick or a watch and with his extraordinary vision and skill turn the beautiful into something even more gorgeous.

By Jonathan AmosBBC Science Correspondent But speak to him for just a few minutes and it's clear he sees not just the colour and form of his subjects, but the engineering that underpins their design. In fact, it's obvious Ted has a passion for it. He points to the 4-inch stiletto heel. "Everyone laughs when I talk about it," he told me. "But you have this thing that's so elegant, so beautiful - and yet at the same time, there has to be some serious engineering and mathematics in there as well. "Eight stones at least is going through a square centimetre. These are big loads but you rarely see people snap their heels these days." Ted has just put his inquisitive eye to a project for the Royal Academy of Engineering. He's produced a series of images to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MacRobert Award, which honours examples of remarkable British innovation. From the aerodynamic design of the Severn Bridge to the composite wing of an Airbus jet. The photos are clearly conceptual in nature but the ideas that went into their creation are drawn directly from conversations with the engineers involved. Ted took their explanations, extracted the essence and then reimagined his subjects. His favourite photo - at the moment; the choice changes - is the EMI X-ray brain scanner, the world's first computed tomography (CT) machine to be used in a clinical setting (MacRobert winner: 1972). An illuminated, transparent skull is cut through by a rotating disc. The visual narrative describes the process through which X-rays are able to build a picture of the brain, slice by slice. "It's a hell of an invention," says Ted. "When you consider that if you wanted to look inside someone's brain previously, you basically had to take it out, slice it on a bacon slicer and then put it on a lightbox. The CT scanner is phenomenal." Ted builds many of the objects he photographs. At first glance, you might think he's done everything in a software package on his computer. You'd be wrong. Ted uses models that have been lit in interesting ways and captured under different exposures. For sure, some image frames have been stacked and any scaffolding, such as rods and wires, has been digitally erased. But you'd be able to hold his MacRobert models in your hands. Witness the picture he produced of Quantel Paintbox (MacRobert winner: 1988). Wholly apposite in this context. Paintbox revolutionised computer graphics on TV and film. It enabled the industry for the first time to properly digitise colour and really play with it on our screens (see the Dire Straits video Money for Nothing). In his image, Ted encodes this in his mind's-eye as paint flying around curved plastic sheets. "You can freeze liquids in photography now so well. I wanted it to look like paint was exploding on to the screen. So, you can do it in a very complicated way with robots and paint cannons, or you can do it in the slightly haphazard fashion that we did. Basically, you fling paint around." A wonderful mess in the studio made for a striking image. Ted's images for the MacRobert 50th anniversary are being showcased in an online exhibition the Royal Academy of Engineering has developed with the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. You can see it here. And for a taste of the sort of images Ted is best known for, take a look at the gallery on his website. The finalists for the 2020 MacRobert award have just been announced. There are three on the shortlist and they are all recognised for contributing innovation to a greener future. They are: Prof Sir Richard Friend is the chair of the judging panel. He's also himself a past winner for his work on "plastic electronics" - technology that has attained ubiquity in the touchscreens of our mobile phones. He told me: "The shortlisted companies this year are splendid examples of things you might have thought the UK wasn't the natural place for their innovations to emerge. We sometimes write ourselves out of being world players in quite a few technologies. There's no reason for it and the MacRobert award keeps presenting with cases that are very obviously world-beating." It's a theme emphasised by Ted Humble-Smith, who confesses to have gone on something of a conversion during his photographic projects. "I started out quite despondent about where Britain was in the world - that the UK never seems to do anything anymore," he recalled. "But then I started talking to the present-day people and it just gave me a whole new belief that actually there's some blindingly cool stuff happening in the UK. The UK does make and innovate some incredible things." Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

टेड हंबल-स्मिथ एक वैचारिक स्थिर-जीवन फोटोग्राफर हैं। वह अपने फैशन के काम के लिए जाने जाते हैं। टेड एक लिपस्टिक या घड़ी ले सकते हैं और अपनी असाधारण दृष्टि और कौशल के साथ सुंदर को और भी अधिक भव्य बना सकते हैं।


'No patient risk' at finance inquiry Wirral hospitals

Summary: A hospital's chief executive has denied patient safety was put at risk, after watchdog Monitor launched an inquiry into its "poor financial performance".

Monitor said it was concerned about the high costs and low income of Wirral University Teaching Hospital. The NHS watchdog said it would "determine whether there are problems with how the trust is run which may in turn have an impact on patients". Chief executive David Allison said care has not been compromised. He said the financial situation at the trust, which runs the Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge Hospitals, had improved since October. "I can assure people we will not compromise the level of patient care we provide, [despite the fact that] we've got rising demand for healthcare and less and less resources available." Monitor said hospital finances were now being closely examined following the Stafford Hospital scandal.

एक अस्पताल के मुख्य कार्यकारी ने इस बात से इनकार किया है कि रोगी की सुरक्षा को खतरे में डाला गया था, जब वॉचडॉग मॉनिटर ने इसके "खराब वित्तीय प्रदर्शन" की जांच शुरू की थी।


Two new schools for Tenby approved

Summary: Two new schools are to be opened in Tenby following the approval of an £8.73m investment by Pembrokeshire council.

A new English-medium primary school catering for 318 pupils will be built next to the site of the current Tenby Junior School. A 210-place Welsh-medium primary school will open in the vacated junior school. The schools, which will both offer nursery provision, will open in September 2016.

पेम्ब्रोकेशायर परिषद द्वारा £ 8.73m निवेश की मंजूरी के बाद टेनबी में दो नए स्कूल खोले जाने हैं।


The choices you have if your baby dies

Summary: Charlotte and Attila Szakacs only had four weeks with their daughter, Evelyn, before a rare chromosomal abnormality led to her death. Yet they were able to spend a further 16 days bonding with her before laying her to rest.

By Jennifer ScottBBC News "I know it might not be the best option for everyone," Charlotte told the Daily Mail. "But for us it was so important to be able to have that family time and just properly cuddle our little girl." For the Szakacs family, that option was a cuddle cot, enabling them to stay together for a longer period after Evelyn's death. The cots are refrigerated Moses baskets that create a cool environment for the child's body. By using it, Charlotte and Attila were able to stay in Martin House Children's Hospice, near Leeds, for 12 days, spending that time holding Evelyn, dressing her and even taking her for walks in a pram. The couple then made the choice to take their baby home for another four days, before holding a funeral. "I think having the time with her made such a difference," added Charlotte. "Being able to do so many of the things you imagine like taking her out in her pram, it really helped emotionally." Creating memories Although hospitals and hospices only began using them around five years ago, the cots have already made big impact on bereaved families. "It helps them to create memories," says Dr Michelle Hills, consultant in paediatric palliative medicine at Martin House. "Some families want to push their baby in the pram they have bought, take them home to the nursery they have prepared. For some, it helps them in the bereavement process." Medical staff also offer parents the option of taking pictures of their baby, footprints and handprints, and creating memory boxes. Getting these mementoes of their child can be important for some families to help them with the grieving process. And for some parents, taking their child home after they die is another method of helping them to cope with their grief. Where you can find help if you lose your baby But it is not one size fits all when it comes to something as traumatic as losing a child. Dr Hills says the 16 days Charlotte and Attila decided to have was one of the longer periods she had come across, but the decision was up to each individual family. "The important thing is there are choices available," she says. "Some people couldn't imagine taking their child home, some people want to stay in hospital, others want to use a hospice. "It is absolutely devastating losing a child. We are there to help them with everything, from creating those memories to organising a funeral." According to stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, 15 babies die every day either before, during or shortly after birth. "That is 15 families all affected by that every single day," says Erica Stewart, bereavement support and awareness specialist for the charity. "People don't realise it is that number and we need to address that." The charity echoes the words of Dr Hills, saying what is important is that each family gets to choose how they want to proceed when a child dies. "It is the approach staff take too," she says. "If they approach a family, tell them something like a cuddle cot has helped others through that time, then it normalises it." But in some cases, funding makes it more difficult. "There is an issue as you could find two babies who die on the same day, but there is only one cuddle cot and only one family has that option," says Ms Stewart. "We have seen a number of families who have used cuddle cots go out afterwards and fundraise to make sure more are available." But whatever families decide on in the immediate aftermath of the loss, the pain does not stop there. Ms Stewart says: "A lot of parents feel isolated when they have lost a child and people are too worried to talk to them about it. "They have not forgotten that child, it never goes away and we need to make sure we talk about it more. "If you know someone who has lost their baby, drop them a text, give them a call, offer to do something for them like walk the dog or take their other kids to school. They will appreciate it." How to help people who lose their baby... Source: BabyCentre.co.uk

शार्लट और एटिला सज्जाक्स के पास अपनी बेटी एवलिन के साथ केवल चार सप्ताह थे, इससे पहले कि एक दुर्लभ गुणसूत्र असामान्यता उसकी मृत्यु का कारण बनी। फिर भी वे उसे आराम करने से पहले उसके साथ और 16 दिन बिताने में सक्षम थे।


Coronavirus: Ever-stranger new normal leaves politicians on guard

Summary: The lecterns emptied, the lights were turned off, the union flags left hanging behind the grand double doors of the Downing Street room that's staged nearly a hundred briefings in the last few torrid months.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter The prime minister's announcements about how England will take a big step out of lockdown came pretty much as billed. It promised a new phase, and Boris Johnson and his team hope, a new political era, where they can lift their heads from the intense operational struggles of managing coronavirus, to make the next set of decisions about how the country will cope with the after effects, particularly the economic consequences, of three months of extraordinary lockdown. At that last outing in front of the cameras (at least for now) it was abundantly clear that this is not the moment to breathe a huge sigh of relief, not a moment when we can return to our lives carefree, and not a moment when the government can assume the dangers of the disease are going only in one direction. The tensions between the political desire to move on and the scientific judgements of what's best to protect life were extremely clear. The government's top scientists and medics used almost every opportunity to urge caution and restraint. The relaxation of the two metre rule, in particular, does not mean it's time for everyone to get close, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty warning of the dangers of a "distorted" message that lets the population move on without heeding the precautions. Remember Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are taking a slower approach to England. And so in the coming days we enter as a country, a strange half world where the intensity of the dangers from the virus have faded, but not disappeared - not normal life, as we know it, back with comforting familiarity, but a new, ever-stranger normal where the public and our politicians must remain on guard.

व्याख्यान कक्ष खाली हो गए, रोशनी बंद कर दी गई, संघ के झंडे डाउनिंग स्ट्रीट कमरे के भव्य दोहरे दरवाजों के पीछे लटके हुए थे जो पिछले कुछ कठिन महीनों में लगभग सौ ब्रीफिंग का मंचन कर चुके हैं।


Viewpoint: Agincourt, WWII and other great British 'myths'

Summary: Every nation has its favourite tales from the past, but how accurate are they? On the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, Simon Jenkins, author of A Short History of England, casts a critical eye over British legends.

Events in history like the Norman conquest, the "Glorious Revolution" and the American revolution have become rooted in national myth. At the Battle of Agincourt, English forces defeated the numerically superior French. It is a victory that lives on in the popular imagination thanks to the speech delivered on the eve of battle by the monarch in William Shakespeare play Henry V. Actually, the truth can be a little different. Norman Conquest, 1066 Myth: Good Saxons versus Bad Normans - with an arrow as the clincher To every English school child it evokes a Saxon hero, Harold, and a French villain, William, who met and fought at the Battle of Hastings. The outcome, we are told, was decided by an arrow in Harold's eye. But history is seldom as commonly related. Harold, son of Godwin, was an Anglo-Dane with no claim to the throne beyond Edward's deathbed blessing. William was no Frenchman, but descended from the Norse warrior Rollo and granted Normandy by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. He, too, had no claim beyond the late King Edward's apparent, but earlier, blessing. Both Harold and William were of Viking descent. To cap it all, Harold's death was even more gruesome. Post-eye injury, he was hacked to pieces and was so mutilated that his mistress, the charmingly named Edith Swan-Neck, had to be summoned to identify its parts. Myth: England's triumph "For England, Harry and St George" ranks with Trafalgar and Waterloo in the annals of English arms. It was the climax of English success in the French wars. Henry V was recognised by the Burgundians and most of Europe as King of France. Ironically, he was the first who was believed not to have spoken French. Henry returned to London to a hero's welcome, with city aldermen coming to meet him at Blackheath and escorting him for five hours to London Bridge. Marrying the French Queen Catherine supposedly ended the 100 years' war. But then it took five years for the French finally to capitulate at the treaty of Troyes (1420) and Henry to enter Paris in triumph. Worse, England was unable to hold in peace what it had won in war. Henry could not stay in Paris and keeping an army on mainland Europe was expensive. In 1422 he succumbed to the battlefield curse of dysentery and the glittering new empire fell upon the shoulders of his 10-month-old son. A mere seven years after Agincourt, war broke out. Inevitablement. Myth: The revolution was glorious The Catholic James II ("dismal Jimmy", as Nell Gwynne called him) came to power in 1685, but lasted a mere three years before fleeing to France in what came to be called the "Glorious Revolution". James's flight and his replacement by the Protestant William of Orange was viewed as an example of pragmatic, bloodless reform, in contrast to the current and future convulsions elsewhere in Europe. The truth is a little different. It was bloodless only because James capitulated. William's Dutchmen invaded illegally and with main force, from a land with which England had only recently been at war. He brought a huge fleet of 463 ships and some 40,000 men. Parliament had not requested such an invasion, the King clearly hadn't and the "invitation" from six peers and a bishop was constitutionally irrelevant. England was attacked by a foreign ruler to usurp a legitimate monarch. The invasion was clearly treasonable but, as the saying goes, "if treason prosper, none dare call it treason". Myth: The American colonists had nothing to lose but their chains The American War of Independence began as nothing of the sort. It was essentially an argument between loyalist and radical British subjects over trade and taxes, only gradually acquiring the rhetoric of civil rights and liberties. Even today that argument is mired in chauvinism. London protested that a derisory £1,400-a-year in revenue was being gathered from the 13 colonies to pay for having been rescued by Britain from French autocracy in the Seven Years War. To call this rescue "absolute despotism", as the Americans did, was absurd. The protested Stamp Acts were imposed throughout the empire, as were other trade restrictions, while the colonists enjoyed their own assemblies and were for the most part autonomous. As a colony with self-governing rights, America was far better treated than Ireland. Myth: Britain won World War II World War II devastated half the globe, killing an estimated 20 million soldiers and 40 million civilians. Instant histories of the war - not least Winston Churchill's own - depicted it as Britain isolated and alone against the might of Germany. This was true only for a period in 1940-1941, when little fighting was done. By the time of the Yalta Conference in February 1945, it was Roosevelt and Stalin who divided the world. Compared with the global total, British losses were comparatively modest. Some 375,000 service personnel were killed, just over half the number lost in World War I, and 60,000 civilians had died in air raids. Some 2% of the total war deaths were British, against 65% that were Soviet. The USSR and America won the war with Britain as something of an also-ran. Simon Jenkins is the author of A Short History of England.

प्रत्येक राष्ट्र की अतीत की अपनी पसंदीदा कहानियाँ होती हैं, लेकिन वे कितनी सटीक होती हैं? एगिनकोर्ट की लड़ाई की वर्षगांठ पर, ए शॉर्ट हिस्ट्री ऑफ इंग्लैंड के लेखक साइमन जेनकिंस ने ब्रिटिश किंवदंतियों पर आलोचनात्मक नज़र डाली।


A shark cull divides a nation

Summary: This year, for the first time, efforts have been made to catch sharks off the shore of Western Australia and to shoot the biggest of them. The state has applied for permission to continue the programme for another three years - but it's a divisive policy with many bitter critics.

By Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore Perth, Australia Elyse Frankcom was diving with dolphins in the vast waters of Western Australia when she felt the jaws of a great white shark clamp around her legs. "It just hit me," remembers the 22-year-old, who was violently pulled down from the surface by the 3.5m (11ft) shark in late 2010. "I tried to punch and push it. I reached down to my foot and switched on [my shark shield]. That is the last thing I remember doing." The shield, which emits an electrical field designed to repel sharks, may have forced the animal to retreat, but when it released its grip, she sank. A tourist dived down to retrieve her, hauling her, unconscious and bleeding, to the surface. It took Frankcom months of physiotherapy to learn to walk again. The shark's jaw cut through the bone on one leg and tore muscles on the other - its teeth were found embedded in both. For weeks every step felt like "hitting [my legs] with a baseball bat". Yet, despite the pain and the narrow escape, Frankcom is one of thousands of Australians protesting against Western Australia's controversial culling of sharks. An unusually high number of fatal attacks - seven in just over three years, from August 2010 to November 2013 - prompted Western Australia's premier, Colin Barnett, to order baited hooks to be strung from floating drums near swimming, surfing and diving areas. Any great white, tiger shark or bull shark caught on the hooks is shot, if it exceeds 3m in length. The lines went up on 25 January, and the first shark was killed the following day (Australia Day) with four bullets to the head. So far, more than 100 sharks have been snared. While some welcome the attempt to make the beaches safer, others see it as little more than a political stunt. Barnett, who was photographed at the start of the programme grinning and clutching a large shark hook has declared that he has an "overriding responsibility to protect the people of Western Australia". But opposition has been more intense than perhaps he anticipated. Protests have been unexpectedly large, and a swing of 6% towards the Green Party in a Senate by-election last weekend was widely attributed to the cull. Furthermore, the policy appears not to have halted shark attacks - the body of a diver who went missing, near Dawesville, south of Perth, on 29 March was later found with shark bites. And when a 4m-shark appeared 100m from the shore near Perth on Tuesday, critics were quick to claim it had been attracted by the smell of the bait on the hooks. Western Australia is not the first state to launch anti-shark policies that trouble environmentalists. Fixed nets were introduced around popular beaches in New South Wales as long ago as the 1930s, while Queensland uses a mixture of nets and hooks. Though neither state actively kills sharks, the measures often prove fatal anyway - of the 600-plus sharks caught in Queensland's nets in 2013, it's reported that only 32 made it out alive. And other animals, such as dugongs and dolphins, are at risk from the nets too. While Western Australia's hooks may kill less indiscriminately than nets, Natalie Banks, a scuba diving instructor who has organised protests in Perth attended by thousands, believes that attitudes have changed and that many more people are now uncomfortable with the idea of killing sharks. "There has been a huge shift in mentality with regards to conservation to our marine life," she says. The cull, she insists, is "a kneejerk reaction based purely on fear of the unknown". Banks is now working with the pressure group, Sea Shepherd, which maintains that many of the smaller sharks caught on the hooks and then released end up dying. Last week they posted a video on YouTube showing activists helping a 2.4m-long tiger shark recover, by holding its fins and propelling it through the water. This helped to re-oxygenate the shark's body, and after an hour-and-a-half it was strong enough to swim off. The group has also posted pictures of bleeding dying sharks, and of other by-catch - including two stingrays in the last week. The hooks are intended to snare only three species (bull sharks, tiger sharks and great whites) but the government of Western Australia acknowledged that in the first three weeks they caught, in addition to 63 tiger sharks, two mako sharks and one blacktip shark. More than three-quarters of the sharks snared (78%) were under the 3m length limit, and none were great whites. Cull opponents typically put forward policies such as tagging potentially dangerous sharks, shark spotting networks, phone apps to raise the alarm and barriers that keep sharks out without trapping them - plus the use of shields like the one that saved Frankcom. The state government already carries out some tagging (which allows the movement of sharks to be electronically monitored), has increased helicopter patrols, and is studying the effectiveness of shark deterrents. "The preservation of human life is our number one priority and these measures are designed to do that, with minimum impact to the surrounding environment," Fisheries Minister Troy Buswell said in December, when the hook policy was unveiled. On Perth's popular Cottesloe Beach, as tourists bake in the sun and school children attend swimming lessons in the ocean, reactions to the cull are mixed. "Kill them," urges one young male swimmer with salty blond hair. Others are against the hooks. "They are a kilometre off here," says British wind kite surfer Graham Price, clutching his wetsuit and pointing to the orange drumlines bobbing in the ocean. "They've got dead fish on the end of them. If they're culling sharks they're attracting other sharks." "It's just luring more in," agrees 27-year-old local, Jedda Greenwood. Other opponents point out that despite the apparent recent spike in the number of deaths from sharks, the chance of being attacked by a shark remains extremely low. Last year Australia saw 10 attacks, two of which were fatal. This year has already seen two suspected fatal attacks, including one last week in New South Wales. On average, however, there has been just one death a year over the last half century, according to the Australian Shark Attack File. Statistically, a person has more chance of dying from a vending machine accident. The numbers who die from drowning are many times higher. But unfortunately for the sharks, they trigger a potent mixture of fear and fascination. "We're not just afraid of predators," writes the biologist EO Wilson. "We're transfixed by them, prone to weave stories and fables and chatter endlessly about them, because fascination creates preparedness, and preparedness, survival. In a deeply tribal sense, we love our monsters." For the WA policy to go ahead the federal government had to grant an exemption from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which imposes an obligation to protect great white sharks - a vulnerable species which reach sexual maturity at just over 3m (the same length at which they are liable to be shot). Nicholas Ray of the UK's Nottingham Trent university fears that breeding populations of all three shark species on the hit list will be reduced. The fate of the grey nurse shark on Australia's east coast illustrates the potential problem - a bloody spate of shark hunting in the 1970s led to it becoming critically endangered, its fierce appearance apparently contributing to its undeserved reputation for being a "maneater". And while Western Australia spends millions of dollars on its catch-and-kill programme, scientists are now working on shoestring budgets to restore the grey nurse population. Rob Jones, the vet at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, last month celebrated the birth of the world's first ever shark to be born via a live semen sample transported from one facility to another. The cull, he says, is "directly opposite" to his research on methods to assist grey nurse reproduction and, in his view, is "completely ludicrous". The current cull is due to come to an end on 30 April, but on Tuesday Western Australia applied to the federal government to continue it for three more years in the summer months (November to April). Frankcom, who regained full use of her legs, says the state's politicians are "petrified that Western Australian has become the shark capital of the world". But she says Australians never expected the ocean to be 100% safe. "The surfers, the people that go out everyday - they accept the risk," she says. "There are lots of things in the ocean that are capable of harming us." Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

इस साल, पहली बार, पश्चिमी ऑस्ट्रेलिया के तट पर शार्क को पकड़ने और उनमें से सबसे बड़े को गोली मारने के प्रयास किए गए हैं। राज्य ने कार्यक्रम को और तीन साल तक जारी रखने की अनुमति के लिए आवेदन किया है-लेकिन कई कटु आलोचकों के साथ यह एक विभाजनकारी नीति है।


Chile forest fires spark health alert as smoke spreads

Summary: The Chilean government has declared a health alert in four of the country's 15 regions as smoke from dozens of forest fires spreads.

The fires - there are 70 separate ones - have destroyed 16,000 hectares of land, about eight times as much as was burned in forest fires last year. Thick smoke has engulfed the capital, Santiago, creating the worst air conditions in seven years. Strong winds and high temperatures have hampered the work of firefighters. Santiago city officials urged residents to avoid exercising outdoors. Health alerts have also been declared in the Valparaiso in the west and Araucania and Maule, both south of Santiago.

चिली सरकार ने देश के 15 क्षेत्रों में से चार में स्वास्थ्य चेतावनी की घोषणा की है क्योंकि दर्जनों जंगलों में लगी आग से धुआं फैल रहा है।


Air-conditioning: Why might women feel temperature differently from men?

Summary: There's been a great deal of coverage of a study this week that suggested that women feel temperature differently in workplaces from men. Is there an explanation for why men and women might feel comfortable at different room temperatures, asks Chris Stokel-Walker.

By Who, What, WhyThe Magazine answers the questions behind the news A study by two Dutch scientists has offered an answer to the longstanding question many office workers ask come summer - why when some men in the office are reaching for the air conditioning, are some women slipping on cardigans? According to the paper, women feel the cold more readily - one small sample test the researchers carried out suggests that women are comfortable at a temperature 2.5C warmer than men - between 24-25C. According to Prof Paul Thornalley, of Warwick Medical School, variation in average metabolic rate and body heat production between men and women "may explain why there is a difference in environmental temperature required for comfort between males and females". The body's metabolism is responsible for growth and the production of energy, including heat. Resting metabolic rate is the minimal rate of energy expenditure per unit of time while we are at rest, calculated through a standard set of equations. On average women have a lower metabolic rate than men. "A great determinant of resting metabolic rates is the fat free body mass in people's bodies," says Thornalley - accounting for around 60% of the individual difference in men and women's resting metabolic rates. Because men have more fat free body mass - all the components of the body like skin, bones and muscle, but excluding fat - than women, they have a higher resting metabolic rate. Major body organs, including the liver, brain, skeletal muscle, kidneys and heart are where most energy is consumed. Non-movement production of heat - where energy is expended outside of active exercise - occurs in the body in "brown fat", according to Thornalley. Humans have two types of fat - white fat, a store of excess calories, and brown fat, which generates heat. Brown fat produces heat involuntarily through a process called thermogenesis. It is regulated by the thyroid hormone and the nervous system, and may account for further variation of resting metabolic rate, particularly in men. (Babies have higher levels of brown fat than adults to stave off hypothermia while young.) This higher proportion of body mass which is able to produce heat involuntarily means that on average men don't feel the cold as easily as women - and, in sultry summer months, means they have a lower tolerance for hot weather because their bodies produce more heat at a resting metabolic rate, getting warmer quicker. But, as Thornalley is quick to point out, not every person is the same. Some men have lower metabolic rates than some women, and so in some cases it may be Dave on reception reaching for a jumper more readily than Ellie in the boardroom. Some people also have suggested less scientific reasons for the general gender divide over the air-con - while some women wear light dresses in August, some men are stuck in stuffy suits. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

क्रिस स्टोकेल-वॉकर पूछते हैं कि इस सप्ताह एक अध्ययन के बारे में बहुत अधिक जानकारी दी गई है जिसमें सुझाव दिया गया है कि महिलाएं पुरुषों की तुलना में कार्यस्थलों पर अलग-अलग तापमान महसूस करती हैं। क्या इस बात की कोई व्याख्या है कि पुरुष और महिलाएं अलग-अलग कमरे के तापमान पर सहज क्यों महसूस कर सकते हैं।


'I couldn't count how many times I went missing'

Summary: Is the local authority care system in England failing children who run away and what happens to those who go missing? The BBC has uncovered evidence of young people disappearing off the radar for weeks, months and, in some cases, years.

By Shelley PhelpsBBC News "I couldn't count how many times I went missing," says Elsie (not her real name), 24, from Yorkshire, who was sexually exploited while missing from care. "At one point, because I was such high risk, there were helicopters from the police looking for me because they were that worried about what was going on when I was running away." Latest government statistics show councils looked after just over 78,000 children in the year ending March 2019. While it is common for children to go missing from their placements, the vast majority will be found within 48 hours. 'Out of place' But Elsie's story highlights the risks of harm and danger they can be exposed to, especially if they're gone for longer periods. Between the ages of 11 and 18, she lived in a number of children's homes "from the top to the bottom of the country", with the longest placement lasting just 11 months. Struggling to feel at home, she ran away a lot. At first, she says, it was "boredom" and wanting to "get away". "I just felt so out of place, it wasn't a home, I didn't feel at home, it was just somewhere that I was placed because they needed to basically put me somewhere." Eventually, she says she met a "group of older males" who began to "pressure" her into running away. "They knew where I lived at the time and they were threatening to come and get me." 'Saved my life' Elsie stopped running away from care when she was able to access specialised and tailored support. "Sometimes I felt like nobody cared. For me, the turning point was having someone who cared and listened, and believed me," she says. "I've had a lot of social workers over the years and that did contribute to the deterioration of my behaviour, but in the whole, social services saved my life." Now studying at university, Elsie is training to be a social worker herself. The BBC has looked into the most serious cases of missing episodes among children in care. Four in 10 councils (56 out of 137 who responded or 41%) recently had a looked-after child missing from their care for more than a fortnight, according to figures provided to the BBC in Freedom of Information requests. Asylum-seeking child Most councils (81, or 59% of the sample) said they did not have any children missing for this length of time. Warwickshire County Council reported having a child missing for nearly three-and-a-half years. In Shropshire, an asylum-seeking child was reported missing for nearly three years, and Surrey County Council reported a child missing for two years and eight months. One council gave us details on a child who was missing for 462 days. "This relates to a young person who travelled to the UK as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child in the back of a lorry on his own without family," a council spokesman said. "The young person was found in a service area on a main road and placed in an emergency placement where he stayed for one night before leaving after saying he wanted to be in Middlesbrough and had been in touch with someone there believed to be of Kurdish origin. "He was found 24 hours later and placed in emergency accommodation in Hartlepool overnight while a foster placement was found the next day intended to be a permanent placement in West Yorkshire. "He was placed there the following day but, after one night in the placement, said he was going for a walk at 10:00, reported missing at 12:30, and has not been seen since." Charities say many of those who go missing for long periods are likely to be young asylum-seekers and child victims of human trafficking, some of whom may end up forced to work in places like cannabis farms and nail bars. Anti-trafficking and exploitation organisation ECPAT UK described the figures given to the BBC as "alarming". 'Fearful of detention' "Child victims of trafficking are likely to go missing from care for a range of reasons, including control of traffickers, not being properly identified as trafficking victims, breakdown of placements, lack of trust in adults to keep them safe," said chief executive Patricia Durr. "Unaccompanied children transitioning to adulthood are so fearful of detention and forced removal that this is a push factor for them in going missing," she added. Lockdown has made it harder to support looked-after children, according to England's Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield. She has previously criticised temporary coronavirus laws which she says relaxed duties on social workers visits. Ms Longfield is urging the government not to delay a promised care review. "We want to hold the government to their manifesto promise of a thorough review of children's social care to not only reform the whole system but tackle the reasons children are able to go missing from local authority care and how we reduce these numbers," she said. Councils say they work as quickly as possible to find missing children and address the issues that caused them to disappear. Judith Blake, children's service spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: "Councils are facing unprecedented demands within their children's services departments and want to work with government to ensure every child gets the best start in life and the care they deserve." The government says responsibilities for missing children remain unchanged during the pandemic and it is committed to undertaking a care review at the "earliest opportunity". A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The Care Review will be bold, broad and independently led, taking a fundamental look across children's social care, with the aim of better supporting, protecting and improving the outcomes of vulnerable children and young people."

क्या इंग्लैंड में स्थानीय प्राधिकरण देखभाल प्रणाली भाग जाने वाले बच्चों को विफल कर रही है और जो लापता हो जाते हैं उनका क्या होता है? बीबीसी ने युवाओं के हफ्तों, महीनों और कुछ मामलों में, वर्षों तक रडार से गायब होने के सबूतों का खुलासा किया है।


Thermae Bath Spa customers evacuated by fire alarm

Summary: About 100 people had to wait in the street in their bathrobes when a fire alarm went off at a day spa.

Customers were evacuated from the Thermae Bath Spa for about 30 minutes when the alarm sounded on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters were called and the alarm was confirmed to be false and caused by a technical fault. The spa apologised and offered customers the chance to extend their visits.

लगभग 100 लोगों को अपने बाथरोब में सड़क पर इंतजार करना पड़ा जब एक दिन के स्पा में आग का अलार्म बज गया।


Offshore decommissioning 'a new beginning for North Sea industry'

Summary: As a growing number of North Sea oil and gas fields head towards the end of their production lives, industry leaders are waking up to the challenges - and opportunities - that lie ahead. Hundreds of business figures attended a conference in Aberdeen this week to learn more about where the decommissioning process is heading.

By Ken BanksBBC Scotland North East reporter There's a growing realisation that offshore decommissioning is now really happening. Over the next 25 years or so, the process of retiring North Sea oil and gas facilities could cost tens of billions of pounds, according to projections. But while that is a cost for the operators of the more than 600 oil and gas installations in the North Sea it is an opportunity for firms which can develop the safest and most cost-effective ways forward. It could also mean hundreds of new jobs requiring a new kind of expertise in the coming decades. A major industry event - Decom Offshore 2015 - has been running at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. The event is run by Decom North Sea (DNS), which was created in 2009, the representative body for the offshore decommissioning industry. DNS chairman Callum Falconer said: "We are cutting our teeth. There's a sudden realisation that decommissioning is upon us. "Decommissioning used to be seen as the beginning of the end. Now it's seen as the beginning." "One challenge is that we have to make sure the workforce comes together. "There's an opportunity for young graduates and engineers to carve out a career in decommissioning." 'Interconnected industry' Mr Falconer highlighted work that is under way on a new decommissioning learning portal for the industry, to share ideas, which he predicted would be a "game changer". One of the major decommissioning plans already in the pipeline is for the iconic Brent field, off Shetland, which operated by Royal Dutch Shell. The oil field lends its name to the benchmark for setting oil prices in the North Sea - Brent Crude. Shell has four platforms in the field but only one of them, Brent Charlie, still produces oil. DNS chief executive Nigel Jenkins outlined five key areas of decommissioning focus - driving collaboration, efficiency, getting the supply chain ready, innovation, and delivering benefits. Mr Jenkins said: "Collaboration is key due to the interconnected nature of the industry, and the need to share knowledge. "Decommissioning on this scale has not happened before. "Particularly for this region, for Aberdeen, we need to make this area is a centre of excellence, a place where the right sort of expertise is available." He explained there had been about 10 major decommissioning projects in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) over the past 20 years, and there was now set to be a "ramp up" in such activity. He said it was difficult to predict potential job numbers, but highlighted that Shell's Brent decommissioning project has hundreds of people working on it. Mr Jenkins said: "There are so many influences over when a project will happen, including age, oil left in a field, and the price of oil. "That equation is different for every operator." 'Seismic change' He said: "This conference has shown what a great pool of talent there is to address the challenges. There is a positive feeling. "We're at the beginning of the market. We are at a point of seismic change." Shell's current work is not the first decommissioning project from the Brent field. Twenty years ago, the Brent Spar got international coverage over Shell plans to dump the oil storage module in the deep waters of the North Atlantic. Protesters from Greenpeace occupied it for several days in 1995 and Shell was forced to alter its plans. Brent Spar was instead towed to Norway and moored in a fjord, before being broken up. Although the first stage of this fresh wave of plans - using a giant ship to remove the top of platforms in a single lift - is unlikely to prompt controversy on that scale, there is little doubt the second phase will be the subject of closer scrutiny. This involves contaminated concrete oil storage tanks, which sit on the seabed next to the platform's legs. This challenging new chapter in the North Sea story is well and truly under way. On Friday, BBC Scotland's Magnus Bennett reports on the technical aspects of decommissioning.

जैसे-जैसे उत्तरी सागर के तेल और गैस क्षेत्रों की बढ़ती संख्या अपने उत्पादन जीवन के अंत की ओर बढ़ रही है, उद्योग के नेता आगे आने वाली चुनौतियों-और अवसरों-के प्रति जाग रहे हैं। सैकड़ों व्यापारिक हस्तियों ने इस सप्ताह एबरडीन में एक सम्मेलन में भाग लिया ताकि इस बारे में अधिक जान सकें कि विघटन प्रक्रिया कहाँ जा रही है।


Mourning my friend Mohamed, the dry cleaner of Mogadishu

Summary: Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, has been described as the most dangerous city in the world. But some people there are trying to bring life back to the place. During her regular visits, BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper came to know one of them - an entrepreneur named Mohamed Mahamoud Sheikh. Then she received some bad news.

The last time I saw Mohamed, he gave me flowers. He chose one of the biggest and most colourful bunches from the display in his florist's shop. Next door, machines whirred at a dry cleaners - which also belonged to him. Stopping off to see Mohamed was always one of my favourite things to do when I visited Mogadishu. While the world's media spoke of famine, pirates and suicide bombs, he quietly and determinedly got on with his life, bringing what many would see as entirely normal, mundane services back to his country. He also encouraged others. He set up a community of people involved in start-ups, and became something of an inspirational figure - but always remained modest. Lots of brave new businesses have sprung up, from the young man with a motorbike who has started a food delivery business to the girl who has set herself up as a mechanic. Visiting Mohamed in Mogadishu was not entirely straightforward. As for all my other appointments in the city, I never fixed a precise time. Sometimes I would just show up outside the metal gates of the Somalia Premium Laundry on the busy Maka al-Mukarama road. I always travelled there with heavy security - at least six bodyguards in one vehicle, a couple more in the other. It is best to be unpredictable - people say phone calls are listened in on and that there are informants everywhere. But taking care with information and security is no guarantee of safety. Earlier this month, Mohamed was driving in his car in full daylight in a heavily guarded area, known as Kilometre Five. Two men appeared and shot him. This unassuming but influential young man died later in hospital. So far, his murderers have not been caught. Now Mohamed won't be able to realise the other dreams he told me about - of opening a gym, a playground for children, of growing all the flowers for his shop in the fertile fields of Afgoye, not far from Mogadishu. He dreamed of greening the city and had already brought in flowering trees to plant there. Somali social media was soon awash with comments from people whose lives he had touched. Many were accompanied by the hashtag #WeAreNotSafe. Three days after he died, a rare demonstration was held in Mogadishu. Young people wearing white headbands held up banners emblazoned with phrases like "Stop Killing Youth". They asked how and why people like Mohamed were being killed, and why nobody was being held accountable. Find out more On that very same day, a car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in the city, killing at least three people. I first heard about Mohamed when a friend called to tell me about someone who'd given up a safe, well-paid job in Dubai to return home and set up the first dry cleaners in Mogadishu for more than two decades. I thought this would make a great story - Somalis like Mohamed, who'd lived in peaceful countries abroad, coming home to rebuild their nation. The dry cleaning element also appealed. Every time I flew out of Mogadishu, politicians and businessmen would board the plane carrying vast piles of dirty suits to be cleaned in neighbouring countries. Once at a summit held in Ethiopia's most luxurious hotel, I was astonished to see Somalia's top politicians marching down the corridors with armloads of freshly dry-cleaned suits. Mohamed had spotted an excellent business opportunity. His murder has thrown up questions about the nature of violence in Somalia. About who is killing who. People often rush to blame the Islamist group al-Shabab which for more than a decade has spread terror in Somalia and beyond. But the jihadists are not the only killers. It could be a politician who doesn't like what you do or say, a business rival… or caused by a property dispute, or plain jealousy. People are quick to reach for their guns in Somalia. I have been stuck in traffic jams where the guard in my car has rolled down the window and fired live bullets into the air, just to get the other vehicles moving. Mohamed was not the only rising young star to have his life cruelly cut short. Abbas Abdullahi grew up in a refugee camp and was named a government minister last year. He was shot dead accidentally by the then-auditor general's bodyguards. Young journalists are murdered on a regular basis. It seems strange that, with all the billions spent on security in Somalia, the presence of tens of thousands of African Union troops, US drones and special forces, there is little protection for people like Mohamed. I keep catching myself thinking about him - about our friendship, his welcoming gap-toothed smile and his unswerving commitment to making life better. I wonder about his businesses. Are they standing empty now, the dry cleaning machines quiet and still, the flowers wilting? Is anybody watering the pots of plants he tended so carefully and sold to people trying to bring a bit of brightness into the homes and businesses they are rebuilding in Mogadishu? Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

सोमालिया की राजधानी मोगादिशु को दुनिया का सबसे खतरनाक शहर बताया गया है। लेकिन वहाँ के कुछ लोग उस जगह पर जीवन को वापस लाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। अपनी नियमित यात्राओं के दौरान, बीबीसी वर्ल्ड सर्विस अफ्रीका की संपादक मैरी हार्पर को उनमें से एक-मोहम्मद महमूद शेख नाम के एक उद्यमी के बारे में पता चला। फिर उन्हें कुछ बुरी खबर मिली।


Chan k'chang: 25 years of Nirvana's Nevermind

Summary: Many of us can hum the opening bars to Smells Like Teen Spirit, the opening track of Nirvana's second album Nevermind, but when did you first hear them? Fans of the band have been recalling the grunge explosion of the 1990s and weighing what it means a quarter of a century later.

The album, Nirvana's first since signing to major label DGC Records, came out 25 years ago, on 24 September 1991. Together with the singles Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom and Come As You Are, the band and frontman Kurt Cobain set a tone for rock music in, and since, the 1990s, and heralded the sound of Seattle's alternative music scene going global. While earlier grunge bands like Tad or Mudhoney were overtaken by the Teen Spirit phenomenon, acts such as Soundgarden and Pearl Jam benefitted alongside Nirvana, but the attention on Cobain as an icon of youthful angst saw him withdraw into heroin use and suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. Tim Tucker, Nova Scotia, Canada As a Canadian, I remember watching Much Music [music video channel on cable TV} one day when I was about 13 or 14, they had a Intergalactic Video Premiere from a band called Nirvana for the Single Smells Like Teen Spirit. It was an instant impact. It was just so different from everything else I was listening to at the time, mainly, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Poison and other bands along these lines. After hearing the song, I purchased Nevermind on cassette tape and my interest in the band only expanded. Same with my interest in "grunge". Teens were looking for an identity apart from the '80s hair bands and new wave pop of their older siblings and grunge defined the Gen X mood perfectly. Apathy, disinterest in anything that would be considered fitting in. My music preference changed almost instantly. I ditched hair bands and started listening to Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine and others. A pivotal moment in my music-listening hobby. It also, for me, fuelled a specific interest in lyrics that still exists today and sparked an interest in bands like Tool, A Perfect Circle, Queens of the Stone Age... Looking back, I still have each of the Nirvana albums and listen to them on occasion. Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably the song I listen to the least. It has been vastly overplayed throughout the years and it just doesn't have the same impact on me as it used to. Love it or hate it, Nevermind is definitely the album that defined the '90s and, perhaps, the mindset of Gen X as a whole. It was filled with anger, but not directed at any one thing. General anger and angst at expectations from society. Adam Sah, California, United States I'm part of the generation that remembers where I was the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit. It was driving in heavy traffic on the Long Island Expressway commuting to an uninspiring summer office internship. The DJ mentioned something about a new track by this punk band from Seattle, it's a little different but we think you'll like it. I swear I saw people head-banging in their cars. For me, Smells Like Teen Spirit, the movie Singles, Tom's Diner, they were the final nails in the 1980s' coffin. The 1980s never felt right: the silliness, excessive everything, it all seemed pointless, and when Smells Like Teen Spirit came out, I was done with it. College graduation was on the horizon, it was a recession, nobody had jobs, and I was in no mood for George Michael. It was the antidote and ushered in a new decade, precisely as I entered adulthood and started really questioning things about my life. I'd angrily given up my dream of becoming a stone sculptor but hadn't found a replacement. Cobain was this genius who said it's OK to question everything and accept a little anarchy in your life. I moved to California and grunge gave way to early electronic dance music like Orbital. Then the internet swept me up and not even the crash stopped me. The music didn't stop until 9/11, when we faced real anarchy. I wish Kurt had lived: he'd have had a lot to say about the past 20 years, and I can't even imagine the clever words he'd use to describe the presidential election.

हम में से कई लोग निर्वाण के दूसरे एल्बम नेवरमाइंड के शुरुआती ट्रैक स्मेल्स लाइक टीन स्पिरिट के लिए शुरुआती बार गुनगुना सकते हैं, लेकिन आपने उन्हें पहली बार कब सुना? बैंड के प्रशंसक 1990 के दशक के ग्रंज विस्फोट को याद कर रहे हैं और इसका वजन कर रहे हैं कि इसका एक चौथाई सदी बाद क्या मतलब है।


Cwmcarn High School, Caerphilly, shut after asbestos find

Summary: A Caerphilly comprehensive school has been closed until further notice after a structural report revealed the building contains asbestos.

Further investigations are to be carried at Cwmcarn High School in the Ebbw Valley. Caerphilly council does not yet have a plan for accommodating more than 900 pupils from the school elsewhere. It said they are working on alternatives and will update parents next week. The local authority said the decision to shut the premises was taken for the safety of staff and pupils. It said updates would also be posted on the council's website.

एक संरचनात्मक रिपोर्ट से पता चला है कि इमारत में एस्बेस्टस है, जिसके बाद एक कैर्फिली व्यापक स्कूल को अगली सूचना तक बंद कर दिया गया है।


Coronavirus: France's boom city Toulouse shaken by pandemic

Summary: As you head up the motorway from the Mediterranean to Toulouse, there is a big sign outside the city that shows an aircraft and orbiting satellites and the words in bold letters: "Toulouse, capital of the aerospace industry."

By Chris BockmanToulouse Until Covid-19 struck, most of the sector was booming. Now it's reeling as airlines have no idea when they can resume flights or when they will require new planes. France's fourth city has seen relatively few cases of coronavirus and yet suddenly it is looking vulnerable to the fallout of the pandemic. The sign outside Toulouse is no exaggeration: Include all the supply chain manufacturers and around 90,000 people are employed in the region's aerospace sector. Unprecedented crisis for aerospace industry Such is the concern for the future that local reports have warned that Toulouse's fate may resemble that of Detroit, the US city once synonymous with the car industry. Alain Brault, an aerospace engineer here since 1991, now works from home and is unsure about his long-term future. The industry has faced crises in the past but nothing like this, he says. Hundreds of British expats are based in Toulouse working for Airbus. Roger, an engineer in his mid-50s, says he will probably scrape through to retirement, but he is relieved his son hasn't chosen the same career path. Prof Marc Ivaldi from the highly regarded Toulouse School of Economics rejects the comparison with Detroit. US car manufacturers uprooted factories to build more cheaply and efficiently elsewhere, he says, whereas in Toulouse a virus, not economics, has brought the aviation industry to a temporary halt. However, he accepts the industry will have to adapt as fewer people fly for business in the future. Is this the end of the Toulouse boom years? Toulouse is nicknamed the pink city because of the colour of the local brick used to build the historic city centre. On summer evenings the view is achingly beautiful when the sun bounces off the buildings creating a rose glow. For the past decade it has also been France's fastest-growing city. Its population of around 900,000, including the suburbs, has been expanding by between 1% and 2% a year - with newcomers attracted by the quality of life and job opportunities. According to government statistics, skilled people from Paris aged 30 and younger make up the biggest number of new arrivals. It's too early to say whether that trend has come to a sudden halt. How is Toulouse coping? Toulouse has also long been synonymous with rugby and rich food, from foie gras to cassoulet and sausage. In the famous Victor Hugo food market during normal times you would find evidence of both. Toulouse are current reigning French rugby champions but didn't get a chance to defend their title as the season was cancelled just over half-way through. Before games, supporters would huddle at the various wine bars in the market, with trombone bands known as bandas whipping everyone into a frenzy. Since March those bars have been closed. One of the best-known meat stalls in the market belongs to the Garcias. Three generations of the same family have been raising their own black pigs fed on acorns. The youngest, Loïc, told me they had lost 60% of their business. Restaurants have closed and the virus has made business owners and shoppers jumpy. Nevertheless, he says, his customers in the city centre and well-to-do suburbs are returning because they want to eat good, locally produced quality food and have the income to do so. Not so confident is Marc Péré, mayor of L'Union, one of the prosperous suburban towns that ring Toulouse. Around 500 of his 11,000 constituents work in the aerospace sector - just like him. Most are well-paid and 80% own their own home. His fear is whether or not they can hold on to their jobs. Then there is the possible ripple effect on local shops and restaurants, as well as on business tax revenues that are collected locally. A city of both rich and poor While Toulouse has lived well from the aerospace industry, a few kilometres from the centre are some of the poorest housing estates in southern France. Tens of thousands of people from mainly North African immigrant backgrounds live in tower blocks with high double-digit youth unemployment. Until now, the aerospace sector has provided a ticket out of poverty for many residents here, including youths who dropped out of school too early. One charity called Envoi has provided hundreds of jobs with long-term training and placement programmes on the aircraft factory lines. Its president, Jean-Marc Thomas, a former head of Airbus France, says there is no doubt that second chances for young people will become much harder. Looking to the future Before the current crisis Toulouse was going through a facelift to attract new business and tourism. A key arterial route in the city was turned into an avenue inspired by La Rambla in Barcelona. A vast, business and residential neighbourhood around the main train station is also emerging, including a transformed new skyline. The mayor chose an American architect, involved in the new World Trade Center design, to build a sleek futuristic tower as a symbol of the city's new look. Not everyone is convinced it will ever be built or even should be. Meanwhile, a public-private incubator called Aerospace Valley is bringing together 850 aviation and high-tech businesses in an attempt to branch out. Its president, Yann Barbaux, accepts Toulouse has become too dependent on one industry and says they are now looking at autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and new energy sources. The irony is that Toulouse and the south-west of France in general was one of the regions least impacted by coronavirus. Patients were flown down from eastern France as its hospitals had hundreds of beds free. And yet the repercussions of the pandemic could hit the city hard. Chris Bockman is the author of Are you the foie gras correspondent? Another slow news day in south-west France.

जैसे ही आप भूमध्यसागरीय से टूलूज़ तक मोटरवे की ओर बढ़ते हैं, शहर के बाहर एक बड़ा संकेत है जो एक विमान और परिक्रमा करने वाले उपग्रहों को दिखाता है और मोटे अक्षरों में शब्द हैंः "टूलूज़, एयरोस्पेस उद्योग की राजधानी"।


Nine killed by floods in north

Summary: The authorities in northern Sri Lanka say the flooding which has displaced around three-hundred-thousand people has now started to recede.

At least nine people have died as a result of the floods, minister in charge of disaster relief Amir Ali told BBC Sandeshaya. Around eight thousand homes have been destroyed in the Jaffna peninsula and the Kilinochchi and Mulaitivu districts which have seen heavy fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels. The Sri Lankan army said it was providing assistance to those affected and the transport authority was repairing roads that had been damaged by the floods. The meteorology department said the rainfall in the region was the heaviest since 1918.

उत्तरी श्रीलंका के अधिकारियों का कहना है कि लगभग तीन सौ हजार लोगों को विस्थापित करने वाली बाढ़ अब कम होने लगी है।