Autumn Statement: Feeling the pain of the forecasters

Summary: You have to feel the Office for Budget Responsibility's pain.

By Anthony ReubenBBC Reality Check By next Tuesday, the OBR has to come up with forecasts of what will happen to the UK economy and the government finances over the next five years. The Act of Parliament that created the OBR said that its forecasts had to be based on government policies and "may not consider what the effect of any alternative policies would be". And here you see the problem facing the OBR in predicting what would happen to the economy and the public finances over the next five years. Government policy is to trigger Article 50 in March 2017, meaning the UK will leave the European Union in March 2019. The OBR is going to have to predict what will happen to the economy in 2019-20 and 2020-21 without knowing what sort of deal will be done with the EU, so it won't know whether the UK will be part of the single market or the customs union. The UK government does not officially have a policy on what outcome it would like or what the basis will be for its negotiations, beyond the ambition to get the best possible deal for the UK. The OBR's charter says: "If necessary, where a long-term policy has not yet been set by the government, the OBR will set out the assumptions it makes in its projections regarding policy transparently." Keeping the rebate So, we know the OBR will show its workings, which is good, but how does it choose its assumptions? There are endless arguments about what would be the best possible deal for the UK. There are those who argue that we would be better off outside the single market or that we should try to stay within the customs union, but I have yet to see anyone argue that it does not make any difference. So when the chairman of the OBR, Robert Chote, went to the Treasury and asked what government policy was, and hence on what basis he should prepare his forecasts, I wonder what he was told. If he was given the official line, then we can expect the OBR forecast to be based on the government's view of best possible deal, which will presumably involve remaining part of the single market while ending freedom of movement, stopping contributing to the EU Budget but still getting a rebate. And that's not going to be a very realistic forecast. The first three years of the forecast shouldn't be too difficult - we already have the Bank of England's forecasts for this period. But the final two years could be controversial. Some commentators, such as Paul Johnson who heads up the Institute for Fiscal Studies, suggested that there might be two forecasts for the last two years, one based on staying in the single market and one based on leaving it, but that may fall foul of the rules against considering alternative policies. Could government disagree? Instead, there could be a single forecast that is the average of those two figures, but then the forecast would be unlikely to be accurate whichever way the negotiations went. So either the OBR's forecasts will give an insight into the government's aspirations for the coming negotiations that we have not yet seen, or the independent forecaster will have to come up with a forecast based on not knowing what government policy is, which would be odd. But there's another potential problem. Some members of the Cabinet, including the foreign secretary, have disputed the conclusion of the vast majority of economists (and the Treasury) that leaving the single market would be worse for the economy than staying in it. The charter of the OBR allows the government to disagree with the OBR's forecast as long as it explains why it has done so in Parliament. But that would be an extraordinary situation. So while there may be interesting details of the government's fiscal policy announced in the Autumn Statement, the most interesting part will be contained in what the OBR does or doesn't tell us about the government's plans for our future relationship with the EU.

आपको ऑफिस फॉर बजट रेस्पोंसिबिलिटी के दर्द को महसूस करना होगा।


Q&A: Fukushima leak problems

Summary: Workers at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power facility in Japan have to deal with huge volumes of contaminated water. The difficulties of handling this water, some of which has leaked from storage tanks, has prompted the authorities to consider measures such as an "ice wall" to better contain the area around the troublesome plant. What is the cause of the continuing leak problems at the plant?

The ongoing problem with water seems to be coming, in the main, from poorly constructed storage tanks. Tepco, the company that operates Fukushima, is using huge volumes of water every day to cool the reactors that once generated electricity at the plant. When the water comes in contact with fuel rods at the heart of the reactors, it becomes highly radioactive and has to be stored in large containers on the site where the water is then processed to remove some of the most dangerous elements. Every day, the company has an extra 400 tonnes of irradiated water to store. This is roughly a 10th of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The water is held in some of the 1,000 water tanks the company has erected on site. But there are problems with these tanks. There have been at least five leak events from the tanks, with the most recent, in August, being the largest. This saw contaminated water flood a walled concrete pad under the faulty tank, and then pass through a rainwater valve to soak the surrounding soil. Officials say the problem may have been related to the fact that the tank was moved after its original installation at the site and was not reassembled properly, and/or that its plastic seals became damaged in the process. Tepco workers have since been trying to clean up the spilled water and remove any contaminated soil. How dangerous are the levels of radioactivity? Having initially reported high levels of radiation - of about 100 milliSieverts per hour near the leaked water within the moat - officials had to concede later that the equipment used to take the readings had an inadequate scale. When newer equipment was brought in, it was established that the levels of beta radiation had actually been 18 times higher. Subsequent readings have been up to as much as 2,200mSv per hour. While still extremely high, experts say that, properly protected, workers can still operate in such an environment. "What is vital is whether this is beta or gamma radiation; the Japanese nuclear watchdog has said the radiation is beta," says Prof Paddy Regan, at the University of Surrey, UK. "Workers can get close to the source of beta radiation without a significant radiological hazard, because the beta particles lose their energy in the air (radioactivity lost after about 10cm) and assuming the source is not airborne. As long as the radioactive particles are not deposited on the skin, inhaled or ingested, the hazard is much smaller than if the radiation had been for a whole body gamma ray exposure of the same dose." And although the public understandably finds any talk of radioactivity alarming, the overall emissions at Fukushima need to be kept in some perspective. According to Dr Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US, the release of the radioactive element caesium from Fukushima, for example, is between a 10th and a third of what was released from the accident in Chernobyl, and perhaps one fortieth of what was released by the hundreds atmospheric nuclear bomb tests in the last century. How does Fukushima's location exacerbate the water problems? There are steep hills behind the Fukushima plant. Rainwater runs down from those hills, through the ground on which the plant is built and out into the ocean. Radioactivity readings offshore have not fallen in the way many experts say they should have, indicating that this groundwater is picking up radioactive elements on its journey. Tepco is working on a series of plans to stop more radioactive water getting into the ocean, including erecting steel barriers and injecting chemicals into the earth to create an impermeable layer. What is the ice wall that is being proposed? This is the latest solution being proposed. It involves running pipes through the affected ground, and pumping coolant through them. "This causes the local groundwater to freeze, forming a barrier to the movement of contaminated ground water," explains Prof Neil Hyatt from the University of Sheffield, UK. "A similar process is used in underground uranium mining, to prevent flooding of a working area at depth, so the basic engineering principles are quite well understood. However, this is a very energy intensive process to maintain, so there will need to be careful design and trial work to produce an effective barrier that minimises energy demand." What are the timescales involved? Some commentators say such a solution will take years to put in place properly, and even then may not be totally effective. There is uncertainty, also, about how a network of thin pipes will cope in the event of another big accident. And Dr Komei Hosokawa from Kyoto Seika University, Japan, warns that in some respects, the ice wall idea could make matters worse: "Underground ice walls surrounding the reactor basement may work as neutron reflectors, which might make an easier condition for the melted fuel debris to go back to criticality (i.e. chain reaction), [but] blocking influx of groundwater would lower the aquifers around the reactor basement, which would result in seepage of more, highly radioactive water out of the reactor buildings. So far, the groundwater influx has had a diluting effect, although the volume of tainted water has increased." What is the eventual solution to the stored water issue? Tepco has changed its inspection protocols for the storage tanks and claims this should pick up any future problems much earlier. But given the huge volumes of water being handled at the site, it is likely that Tepco will have to introduce bigger, more robust storage tanks at some point - similar in scale to the crude oil depot tanks for which there is good local technology in Japan. The water itself needs to be filtered, to take out the most radioactive elements. This "cleaned" water is likely then to go into the Pacific. Even before then, such is the volume of contaminated cooling water coming out of the reactors that Tepco may be forced simply to release some water unfiltered into the ocean.

जापान में क्षतिग्रस्त फुकुशिमा परमाणु ऊर्जा सुविधा में श्रमिकों को बड़ी मात्रा में दूषित पानी का सामना करना पड़ता है। इस पानी को संभालने में कठिनाइयों, जिनमें से कुछ भंडारण टैंकों से रिस गए हैं, ने अधिकारियों को समस्याग्रस्त संयंत्र के आसपास के क्षेत्र को बेहतर तरीके से नियंत्रित करने के लिए "बर्फ की दीवार" जैसे उपायों पर विचार करने के लिए प्रेरित किया है। संयंत्र में लगातार रिसाव की समस्याओं का कारण क्या है?


Scottish Mountain award winner announcement due

Summary: The latest recipient of the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture is due to be named ahead of the Fort William Mountain Festival.

Climber and inventor Hamish MacInnes was the first winner of the honour in 2008. Remote locations film-maker Richard Else won the award in 2009 and mountaineer Jimmy Marshall last year. The festival will run from 11 to 15 February and includes films and workshops on avalanche awareness. Climber and extreme sportsman Tim Emmett will be among the guest speakers.

पर्वतीय संस्कृति में उत्कृष्टता के लिए स्कॉटिश पुरस्कार के नवीनतम प्राप्तकर्ता का नाम फोर्ट विलियम माउंटेन फेस्टिवल से पहले रखा जाना है।


Aberdeen City Council brands racist graffiti 'abhorrent'

Summary: Racist graffiti daubed on bus shelters in Aberdeen has been branded "abhorrent" by the council.

The vandalism in the Lang Stracht/Lewis Road area was reported on Thursday morning. Police Scotland said officers were looking at CCTV. Inquiries are ongoing and police appealed for information. The council said the spray paint had been removed as well as possible. A statement said: "Aberdeen prides itself on being a tolerant city". Aberdeen City Council said: "The council condemns in the strongest possible way these abhorrent acts of vandalism and the disgusting views expressed which have no place in a civilised society".

एबरडीन में बस आश्रयों पर नस्लवादी भित्ति चित्रों को परिषद द्वारा "घृणित" करार दिया गया है।


Marine Le Pen: The battle to be France's president

Summary: Can Marine Le Pen do what her father, Jean-Marie, failed to do - and win France's 2017 presidential election?

Since she became leader of the National Front (FN) the party's share of the vote has increased in European and regional elections. But is this because she's not as far-right as her critics claim? TAP HERE to read more about the woman who would be president.

क्या मरीन ले पेन वह कर सकती हैं जो उनके पिता जीन-मैरी करने में विफल रहे-और फ्रांस का 2017 का राष्ट्रपति चुनाव जीत सकते हैं?


WW1 Wimblington soldier's return from the dead

Summary: It was a tale of deception, double lives, attempted murder and, ultimately, suicide, which finally unravelled after a cleaner exposed a lie. But why did English World War One soldier Percy Bush Cox want to live as Australian Ernest Durham?

By Katy PrickettBBC News Percy Cox was born in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire and was a farm worker until World War One, when he enlisted in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. By 1916, he was sending postcards to a friend after being pitched into battle on the Western Front. At some point during the conflict, the private hatched a plan with three other British soldiers to swap identities with Australians. He appears to have been motivated by money, because Australian soldiers took home eight times as much as the British Tommies' wage of one shilling a week. When he crawled past the body of Ernest Durham in 1918, he saw his opportunity, according to an historian. Amanda Carlin, chairwoman of March and District Museum, has studied Percy's life. She said: "He and the three British soldiers crawled across No Man's Land to four dead Australians and changed their uniforms, took their dog tags." Percy's earning potential had rocketed, because "while Australians earned 8 shillings a week, we know that Ernest Durham was earning 11 shillings a week", she added. It was not, though, an attempt to desert. After spending time in a field hospital with what is thought to have been an arm injury, Percy went on to see action in the Australian army. According to Mrs Carlin, he would not have stood out because of Australia's "Anglo-only immigration policy", which meant many of the Australians had British accents. He and his comrades were also fortunate enough to be sent to a different platoon. Meanwhile, the Cox family were told Percy was missing in action and in 1919 informed he was presumed dead. It was not long before Percy Cox's name was added to Wimblington's war memorial. It seemed Percy had got away with the deception, but leaving the army following the war was the first step towards his life starting to unravel. On being demobbed Percy emigrated to Australia, but in 1925 he returned to the UK, still calling himself Ernest Durham, and set up home in Sawston in south Cambridgeshire. It would be another 15 years before he decided to reveal to his family that he was actually still alive. The move led to a photograph being published in a newspaper in the 1940s, where Percy can be seen standing beside his brother Fred and pointing to his name on the Wimblington war memorial. Despite this, he continued to live as Ernest Durham in Sawston until 1952 when he employed a cleaner, Dorothy Piper. Mrs Carlin said: "Mrs Piper found the newspaper cutting where Percy was pointing out his name and she realised he was living out this double life, so she and her husband began to blackmail him." After he died, a letter written by Percy was found in which he said: "I can take no more of this blackmailing by the Pipers. "They have had to the tune of £400 out of me in the last nine months, a new bedroom suite, a TV, radio and washer." On 30 December 1952, when Mrs Piper turned up for work, he took up a gun and chased her out of the house, shooting at her. Mrs Carlin said: "She ran outside and he ran after her... she was screaming and screaming. "He shot her again and then turned the gun on himself." Dorothy survived and while she was never convicted of blackmail, Mrs Carlin said she believes the Pipers received about £2,000 from Percy. The full story of his deception finally went public, but it was not until 2005 that Percy Cox's name was removed from Wimblington's War Memorial. Brian Krill, the Cambridgeshire representative of the War Memorials Trust, advised the parish council to remove the name. He said: "Thinking of all the other names on there, I'm sorry, I have no sympathy at all for Percy." But for Mrs Carlin, having read the inquest into his death and hearing about his mood swings, Percy "was a victim of war". "It appears from accounts that he may have lost his mind, he might have been shell-shocked - we understand these things so much better now," she said.

यह छल, दोहरे जीवन, हत्या के प्रयास और अंततः आत्महत्या की कहानी थी, जिसका अंत में एक सफाईकर्मी द्वारा एक झूठ का खुलासा करने के बाद खुलासा हुआ। लेकिन अंग्रेजी प्रथम विश्व युद्ध के सैनिक पर्सी बुश कॉक्स ऑस्ट्रेलियाई अर्नेस्ट डरहम के रूप में क्यों जीना चाहते थे?


Drone used in search for missing hillwalker Eric Cyl

Summary: A small drone has been used in the search for a hillwalker who went missing in the north west Highlands at the end of May.

Eric Cyl, 62, from England, was last seen heading off into the Mamore mountain range near Fort William. Extensive searches by mountain rescue teams were made of the area, including Ring of Steall and Steall Falls. Police Scotland said the drone took aerial images which will be examined for signs of Mr Cyl. The drone can stream live video back to the ground and provide a detailed view of areas which are too inaccessible or dangerous for search and rescue personnel.

मई के अंत में उत्तर पश्चिम हाइलैंड्स में लापता हुए एक पहाड़ी पर चलने वाले की खोज में एक छोटे ड्रोन का उपयोग किया गया है।


Is Africa going backwards on democracy?

Summary: More and more elections are being held in Africa however analysts dismiss many as being "lawful but illegitimate". Although studies show that a majority of Africans still want to live in democracies, an increasing number are looking to alternative, autocratic models, reports the BBC's Dickens Olewe.

By Dickens OleweBBC News In the last three years African countries have registered an overall decline in the quality of political participation and rule of law, analysts say. "Today there are almost the same number of defective democracies (15) as there are hard-line autocracies (16), among the continent's 54 states," Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy at Birmingham University, concludes from his analysis of the last three years. Nigeria, which will hold its postponed election on Saturday, is among those listed as a "defective democracy". Despite the challenges, at least 68% of Africans prefer to live in open and freer societies, according to a recent poll conducted by Afrobarometer in 34 countries. That figure, however, is down slightly from 72% in 2012. "[Africans] just want more dividends from democracy. They want less corruption, more transparency, less impunity, more economic opportunity," Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, executive director and co-founder of Afrobarometer, says. "It is in the interest of external partners to push for and to support this quest - lest non-liberal democratic models of national development become more alluring," he adds. Malian music legend Salif Keita has, however, given up on democracy. He recently suggested that the continent needs a "benevolent dictator like China". "To have a democracy, people have to understand democracy, and how can people understand when 85% of the people in the country cannot read or write," he asks. 'I love Trump' The US, which has traditionally been a major influence in promoting democracy in Africa, has had a seemingly hands-off approach since President Donald Trump came to office in 2017. When his administration's long-delayed policy on Africa was finally unveiled at the close of 2018, many observers of the continent were quick to point out that it did not include the favoured American staples: promotion of democracy, free and fair elections, political and civil rights. These elements were key policy components of previous administrations. The policy instead focused on the war on terror, slashing spending on the United Nations missions on the continent, and lambasting the activities of Russia and China. "If [African leaders] see leaders like Trump. who seems very happy to shake hands with autocrats, it gives them the signal that they can manipulate elections and not face consequences," Mr Cheeseman says. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who plans to run for a sixth term in 2021, has been notably effusive in his praise of the American president, once declaring, "I love Trump," who he described as the best president the US has had. You may be interested in: In 1991, Benin and Zambia became the first former one-party states to hold multiparty elections in Africa - which were won by opposition parties - kicking off a decade of democratic gains on the continent after the end of the Cold War. Almost 30 years later, the West African country is rated as one of just nine "free" countries out of the 54 on the continent, while Zambia has regressed to being "partly free", according to the 2019 Freedom House report. The number of free countries remains the same as a decade ago. Seven countries - Senegal, Ghana, Benin, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mauritius - have maintained their positions. Tunisia has improved from "partly free", while Mali and Lesotho have moved in the opposite direction. Angola and Ethiopia, though listed as "not free", are noted to have made "surprising improvements" after new leaders came into office in the past year. Technology and elections Political transition through regular elections is among the criteria for judging whether a country is a democracy or not. Some countries have even adopted technology to make the polls credible and accountable but in most cases this has done little to dispel concerns. "Many African countries are trying to use technology to manufacture trust in elections and that's not going to work," Nanjala Nyabola, author of Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics, told the BBC. She gave the example of Kenya's 2017 elections which, despite the use of biometric technology to verify voters as way of eliminating ghost voters and ballot stuffing, and also using an electronic results transmission system, failed to win voters' confidence. "Another problem is that we have countries conducting elections that are legal but are illegitimate," Godwin Murunga from the University of Nairobi, told the BBC. "There's this notion that democracy in Africa should have different standards," he adds, pointing at the international community's acceptance of the recent elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Former DR Congo President Joseph Kabila oversaw one of the most controversial elections on the continent. An outright fraud, some have called it. Martin Fayulu, who came second in the presidential election, still disputes Felix Tshisekedi's victory. "It was a coup d'etat," he told the BBC. He says, with the backing of the influential Catholic Church - which said it had 40,000 electoral monitors - that he won the election. Mr Fayulu has since appealed to the African Union to set up a commission to recount the votes cast on 30 December or call for a repeat election in six months. "We have to respect the will of the Congolese. Democracy has to be the same everywhere," he told the BBC. Rwandan model? His call is backed by Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, and Alan Doss, president of the Kofi Annan Foundation, who in a joint article said that Mr Tshisekedi's election lacks genuine legitimacy and risks repeated challenges to its authority. They also accused the international community, including the US, of failing the Congolese people in the "name of stability" of the country and called on the publication of detailed results for both the presidential and parliamentary elections. This year, some 15 countries are set to hold elections at different levels, but the credibility of these polls is likely to again conjure up questions about whether democracy is working for Africa. The US policy on Africa is a significant influence but it is not a major factor in the decline of democracy on the continent, Jon Temin, Director of Africa at Freedom House, told the BBC. The organisation's latest report says democracy globally has been on the decline for the last 13 years. Some African countries have contributed to the negative slide. Democracy cynics like Salif Keita propose a benevolent autocracy as an alternative. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has been used as an example of a leader who is running an effective and efficient government that is unencumbered by democratic structures, which can be slow and rigid. However, extending the control of the governing party, as in Rwanda, over a country's economy is more likely to increase corruption and waste than to spur economic activity, Mr Cheeseman says. "What this means is that if other countries on the continent try to implement the Rwandan model, the chances are that they will experience all of its costs while realising few of its benefits," he adds. Ghanaian democracy activist Nansata Yakubu says that despite setbacks in countries like DR Congo, the work of defending democracy should not stop with elections. "We have to improve the voting system and continue engaging the public," she told the BBC. The focus should be on giving more and more people a say over more and more issues - instead of comparing how each country's governance structure measures against Western democracies, says Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies in University of Johannesburg. The good news is that support for democracy remains high, the worry is that this is not guaranteed unless Africans start enjoying the dividends of living in free and open societies, and participating in elections that are credible and accountable.

अफ्रीका में अधिक से अधिक चुनाव हो रहे हैं, हालांकि विश्लेषक कई लोगों को "वैध लेकिन अवैध" होने के रूप में खारिज करते हैं। हालांकि अध्ययनों से पता चलता है कि अधिकांश अफ्रीकी अभी भी लोकतंत्र में रहना चाहते हैं, लेकिन बढ़ती संख्या वैकल्पिक, निरंकुश मॉडल की ओर देख रही है, बीबीसी के डिकेंस ओलेव की रिपोर्ट।


Thousands hit as vandals cut BT phone cables

Summary: Thousands of people have been left with no phone service after what BT described as "malicious damage" to cables in west London.

The telecommunication company said 11 cables were vandalised in Ealing on Saturday affecting people in the capital and parts of the South East. BT said the vast majority of customers had been reconnected but engineers were still working on the problem. The issue has also affected some Plusnet and Talk Talk customers. BT said broadband, TV and mobile services were unaffected.

पश्चिम लंदन में बी. टी. द्वारा केबलों को "दुर्भावनापूर्ण क्षति" के रूप में वर्णित करने के बाद हजारों लोगों के पास कोई फोन सेवा नहीं रह गई है।


Can Nato survive US President Donald Trump?

Summary: This is a Nato summit like no other. The difference is in large part due to one man - Donald Trump. Under his watch, periodic tensions between the US and many of its allies have turned into fault-lines that could, if allowed to widen, place a question mark over the future of the alliance itself.

Jonathan MarcusDiplomatic correspondent@Diplo1on Twitter What is Nato for? From its inception, Nato was a defensive military alliance intended to deter any attack by the then Soviet Union. Once the Cold War was over, Nato set about what it saw as its new tasks: an attempt to spread stability across Europe by welcoming in new members, by establishing a wide range of partnerships with other countries but also by using force on occasion - notably in the Balkans - to prevent aggression and genocide. But the alliance has always been more than just a military organisation. It is one of the central institutions of "the West", part of a whole range of international bodies through which the US and its allies sought to regulate the world that emerged from the defeat of Nazism in 1945. But fundamentally, Nato is an alliance of shared values and transatlantic unity. And this is why Mr Trump's arrival in the White House is proving so disruptive. Is the transatlantic bond unravelling? Superficially, at least, the growing tensions between the US president and many of his Nato allies is about money. Burden-sharing, as it is called, has long been a headline issue at Nato summits. Mr Trump is not the first president to stress this issue. But in terms of both style and substance he represents something new. The debate focuses around the target agreed by all Nato members that defence spending should reach 2% of GDP (gross domestic product, the total value of goods produced and services provided) by 2024. Spending is certainly up in many countries. Mr Trump can take some credit for that. But many allies may still struggle to reach the benchmark target. For President Trump, Germany, one of the richest of Washington's partners, is the greatest offender. Earlier this month, in remarks directed at the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, he said: "I don't know how much protection we get from protecting you." Noting that Germany negotiated gas deals with Russia, he added: "They pay billions of dollars to Russia and we're the schmucks paying for the whole thing." Questioning the value of Nato to the US itself is something new and deeply worrying to many of Washington's partners. How serious is the Russian threat? The strategic challenges facing Nato are changing. They are, at one and the same time, more complex but less easily defined. They range from a resurgent Russia to information- and cyber-war, from terrorism to mass migration. Even the Russian threat has changed. This is not the Soviet Union of old. The threat is less huge Russian tank armies surging westwards but a whole range of strategies from hacking to cyber-attacks to information operations, all intended to throw Western democracies off-balance. Western governments clearly believe Russia is willing to resort to assassination too - witness the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 and the attempted murder of the former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, Wiltshire, earlier this year. Russia is a relatively weak country but it is willing to use its military muscle - especially close to home in Georgia and Ukraine - to secure its own strategic interests. Of course, Russia sees Nato's expanding boundaries as a threat to its security. Can Nato survive Trump? Mr Trump's bluntness is, at one level, refreshing. The US is a superpower with strategic interests all over the globe. The Russian threat is now different - to meet it does not require the mass forces of the past. Europe probably should be able to provide more of its own defences. Indeed, for all the Trump rhetoric, the reality is that the US is now more engaged militarily in Europe than it was just a few years ago. Key figures in this administration, not least Defence Secretary James Mattis, are keen supporters of the Atlantic alliance. But does Mr Trump himself share the values of Washington's European and Canadian partners? Many would say he does not. Does he recognise the value of an alliance such as Nato to the United States? Again, for many the answer would be no. Mr Trump goes on from this Nato summit to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. This encounter has many Nato allies spooked. What might the president give away? What message will Moscow take from Nato's difficulties? Nato diplomats were resigned to negotiating the ups and downs of one Trump presidency. Now, there are genuine fears that a second Trump term could leave Nato marginalised and its transatlantic spine deeply damaged.

यह किसी अन्य की तरह एक नाटो शिखर सम्मेलन है। अंतर काफी हद तक एक व्यक्ति-डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के कारण है। उनकी निगरानी में, अमेरिका और उसके कई सहयोगियों के बीच समय-समय पर तनाव दोष-रेखाओं में बदल गया है, जो अगर व्यापक होने दिया जाए, तो गठबंधन के भविष्य पर ही सवालिया निशान लगा सकता है।


Thanet District Council sends 11,500 polling cards with error

Summary: A council sent polling cards to 11,500 people that stated they were electing an MP for a neighbouring constituency, it has emerged.

The cards sent to residents in South Thanet said they were choosing a member of parliament for the North Thanet constituency on 8 June. Thanet District Council put the mistake down to a clerical error and confirmed it should have read South Thanet. New cards will be sent out on Monday with an explanation and an apology. "The mistake will not impact on anyone's ability to vote," it added. The villages affected are: Ash; Goodnestone; Preston; Sandwich North and South; Staple; Stourmouth; Wingham; Woodnesborough, and Worth.

एक परिषद ने 11,500 लोगों को मतदान पत्र भेजे जिसमें कहा गया था कि वे पड़ोसी निर्वाचन क्षेत्र के लिए एक सांसद का चुनाव कर रहे हैं, यह सामने आया है।


Milk 'poured on mum and daughter' in Sutton-in-Ashfield break-in

Summary: A mother and daughter were attacked with a metal stick and forced to sit on a kitchen floor as food, milk and water was poured on them during a burglary, police have said.

Officers were called to Vellus Court in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, at about 19:00 GMT on Monday. The victims told police five men knocked on the door and hit them with the weapon before forcing their way in. Nottinghamshire Police said high-value Asian jewellery was stolen. The force added the victims were treated at the scene for superficial injuries. Det Sgt Mark Shaw said: "This must have been a very frightening experience for those involved. "Officers will be providing ongoing support for the family as a team of detectives work tirelessly to trace those responsible. "Burglary is an extremely invasive crime and has huge impacts for those involved." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Related Internet Links Nottinghamshire Police

पुलिस ने कहा है कि एक माँ और बेटी पर धातु की छड़ी से हमला किया गया और उन्हें रसोई के फर्श पर बैठने के लिए मजबूर किया गया क्योंकि चोरी के दौरान उन पर भोजन, दूध और पानी डाला गया था।


Cyndi Lauper on how Kinky Boots stepped up to be a stage hit

Summary: The story of a struggling Northampton shoe factory perhaps isn't the most obvious idea for a hit stage show, but Kinky Boots has just celebrated five years on Broadway, is into its fourth year in the West End and is now going on a UK tour.

The stage musical, adapted from a 2005 film, which in turn was inspired by a true story, puts the spotlight on a man who saves his factory from collapse by producing erotic footwear inspired by an encounter with cross-dressing cabaret singer called Lola. The show was a good fit with audiences and critics, and won six Tony Awards on Broadway and three Olivier Awards in the West End. Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the music, still can't quite believe it. "I remember first seeing it in Chicago and watching the audience and they were up, and I kept saying to the producer, 'Is it a hit?' and he'd go 'I dunno, Cyn'," the singer tells BBC News. "Even when it won best musical [at the Tony Awards], then I said 'OK, is it a hit now?' and he was like, 'OK yeah, it's a hit'." The musical's 12-month UK tour will begin, fittingly, in its spiritual home of Northampton in September. The show explores themes such as friendship and self-acceptance - interspersed with some hummable tunes. "I just think it's an important message to get out, and it makes so many people so happy," says Cyndi. "In this day and age, it's good to stress acceptance, and changing the world when you change your mind." So how many times does Cyndi estimate she's seen the show now? "I have no idea, because I've been watching it since the beginning in Chicago. I do come back again and again because I check the sound," she laughs. "It's so different in every territory, and that's what makes it interesting. It's everyone's take on it. "In Germany it's different. In England it's important because the story is from England. I actually grew up next to two factories, so I really related to this story." Writing the book for a musical was a very different creative process to performing as a solo artist in the 1980s - but, Cyndi says, it was one she found fulfilling, mainly because it involved working with a team. "Well, it was different in the '80s for me," she explains. "I was very focused on taking care of my voice, I had to do this, I had to do that, the visual... there were days when I worked 24 hours. And I'd be like 'wait a minute, I didn't go to sleep today, I have to go to sleep'. "It's different... this is a collective, and it's the biggest band you'll ever have. Even when the actors come in you're changing things because you want it to sound like it's from them. It's like wearing a dress, not everybody's the same size, so you gotta tailor it. So that's what we were doing." She adds: "You work hard on something together with your team. It was a big team, you know, and I'm just like the famous guy here. I represent. "You don't know if it's gonna... you just lose track of standing back and watching people watch it. And when you see how happy they get - it's amazing." As the show enters its fourth year in London, Cyndi says she'd "like to see it do at least five years, maybe six". "[Long enough] for people to just come and think of it as having a good time, and feeling the love. Because there's a lot of different kinds of people in the show, not everybody's the same. "And it's about friendship. Not just acceptance and accepting yourself, but friendship and family, and saving people's jobs, because you grew up with them." Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

एक संघर्षरत नॉर्थम्प्टन जूता कारखाने की कहानी शायद एक हिट स्टेज शो के लिए सबसे स्पष्ट विचार नहीं है, लेकिन किंकी बूट्स ने अभी ब्रॉडवे पर पांच साल मनाए हैं, वेस्ट एंड में अपने चौथे वर्ष में है और अब यूके दौरे पर जा रहा है।


Windows boss shown the door

Summary: The technology world is abuzz today with news of the abrupt departure of a key executive at Microsoft . Steve Sinofsky is probably the second most important figure at the company after the chief executive Steve Ballmer. Now he is leaving with immediate effect.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter His exit, just weeks after the launch of Windows 8, raises questions about the future direction of the business, not least because he was seen as a credible successor to Ballmer. A 23 year veteran of the company, he was a familiar figure to anyone who attended a Microsoft launch, a polished performer explaining just why we should be excited about the latest innovations in the Windows operating system. The Windows 8 launch has been seen by the company as a great success, moving Microsoft into the new touchscreen mobile era, with Steve Ballmer celebrating the sales of four million copies in just three days. True, there have been some complaints from those who see the new operating system as an uneasy mix of the new mobile world and the old desktop environment, but Microsoft seems confident that all is going to plan. So why has the man who has been central to the launch gone? Microsoft's statement revealing the news has done nothing to dampen the rumours of a bust-up at the top. Although it features a quote from Steve Ballmer expressing gratitude for Sinofsky's years of work and another from the man himself talking of the professionalism and generosity of everyone at "this awesome company", there is no explanation of why he is leaving. That quote from the Windows president is also in an email he has written to Microsoft staff in which he says he is leaving to pursue new opportunities. He says that this is an ideal moment for him to move on, having launched Windows 8, and is keen to dispel any conspiracy theories: "This was a personal and private choice that in no way reflects any speculation or theories one might read - about me, opportunity, the company or its leadership." So if it is as simple as that he wants to go off and do something else, why did Microsoft not make that clear in its press release? I put that to the company and got no real response. Then I looked at a CNET profile of Steven Sinofsky. The article, which appears well sourced, talks of a brilliant but divisive figure, feuding with fellow executives and creating "a toxic work environment that has chased talented employees away from a maturing company that's in desperate need of innovative thinking." So perhaps Steve Ballmer was rather relieved when Mr Sinofsky talked of seeking out new opportunities. In any case, it is inevitable that there will be speculation because Mr Sinofsky's departure comes at a time of upheaval in some other big technology firms. The most obvious example is Apple, which last month got rid of Scott Forstall, boss of its iOS software division, and John Browett, who very briefly ran the retail operation. Both were apparently axed because of serious failings - notably in Forstall's case the disastrous Apple Maps launch which resulted in the millions who upgraded to iOS 6 getting a much worse product than they'd had before. What all of these giant companies are trying to do is foster a continued spirit of innovation and risk-taking in a fast-moving environment where any mistake can leave a business floundering to catch up. When I interviewed Steve Ballmer last month, my repeated suggestions that Microsoft had struggled to innovate in recent years were met with some impatience. But it seems likely that he decided that the completion of Windows 8 was a good time to review how the company was working. Now another company veteran, Julie Larson-Green, has been given the task of heading up Microsoft's most important division, running all of Windows software and hardware engineering. In my experience, Microsoft still employs some of the brightest and most capable people in the technology industry. But combining their efforts to produce a fast moving business turning out innovative products remains a challenge.

प्रौद्योगिकी की दुनिया आज माइक्रोसॉफ्ट में एक प्रमुख कार्यकारी के अचानक जाने की खबर से गुलजार है। स्टीव सिनोफ्स्की शायद मुख्य कार्यकारी स्टीव बाल्मर के बाद कंपनी में दूसरे सबसे महत्वपूर्ण व्यक्ति हैं। अब वे तत्काल प्रभाव से जा रहे हैं।


Tourism: Dream Now, Travel Later

Summary: Scottish tourism could be heading for a bonanza in the long-term, but the short and medium term looks very tough. It'll be helped by the Bounce Back Loans. It has set out a strategy to "respond, reset, restart and recover", while using marketing to keep the dream alive for future customers. The Scottish government is urging Whitehall to help tourist businesses in financial distress - which is strange, because the Scottish government has the powers it needs, and it's already using them.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland The good news is that there's a bonanza ahead for Scotland's tourism industry, when British travellers ignore the turnoff for the airport and head north for the hills. So said the Independent's travel editor, Simon Calder, on Radio Scotland's Drivetime. There is other good news: few-questions-asked, 24-hour-turnaround loans of up to £50,000, given 100% backing by the UK government, with no payments to be made in year one. The arsenal of financial artillery being fired off in the battle with the health crisis is growing every week. And for businesses in tourism and other sectors, the Federation of Small Businesses says this could be the difference between survival and extinction - though that's only if turnaround of applications is as speedy as promised. How much does this Bounce Bank Loan scheme cost, Chancellor Rishi Sunak was asked? He doesn't know. It'll cost whatever it takes. Strange times. Not such good news for tourism firms is the uncertainty about how long it takes to get to Mr Calder's bonanza in British staycationers. What happens in the short and medium term, and how much of the industry will be left standing when the time comes? Marc Crothall, of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said 70% of visitors already come from the UK, most of them Scottish. The downside is that they don't spend as much as foreign visitors. According to Boeing, it will take two to three years for air travel to return to 2019 levels. That's drawing on previous experience of sudden shocks to the aviation industry. I'm not seeing Boeing's data, but I've got a hunch this shock may result in very different patterns, a much longer delay before normal business is resumed, and the climate change agenda has to be considered when this is over. Much of tourism joins the wider hospitality sector, leisure, entertainment venues, festivals and spectator sport, as being towards the back of the queue for a return to normal activities. Some aspects of hospitality could work with social distancing - particularly for those visiting Scotland to socially-distance themselves in the great outdoors. These also happen to be in the more far-flung areas where tourism dominates the local economy and job prospects. In the meantime, the strategy set out by the industry is to "respond, reset, restart and recover". Others, including governments and across sectors, are struggling to figure out a plan to get out of the deep trough the economy's now in, and it's worth a look at how tourism is going about it. The respond phase is the one we're in - a package of measures to help businesses survive, while providing help for communities most in need. The reset is to encourage workplaces to plan for the re-start, preparing the ground for social distancing, and adapting the business model to a very different "new normal". The restart is getting customers back through the door, but doing so safely, and ensuring the supply chain is ready to support companies in doing so. You'd want your catering and laundry supplies to be ready. And recovery is, as you'd expect, building back up, but doing so with a realistic expectation that it's going to take time, it could be bumpy, and there is going to be a different economy with new business models, markets and behaviour, by customers and other firms. The advertising budget may have dried up, but within this, there's the intention to keep the destination in customers' minds. "Dream Now, Visit Later" is part of the strategy, which is shared with others in the worldwide travel industry. I'm getting several emails every day from travel firms that can't sell me anything now, but they want to keep me inspired and dreaming of places to which I might eventually be able to travel once more. Meantime, one of the issues being raised by tourism businesses, in common with others in leisure, retail and hospitality, is the grant system that should be delivering £25,000, at least for a single premises a firm uses. You'll recall that there was controversy about chains of firms - bars, shops or cafes, for instance - which get a full £25,000 grant in England for each subsequent outlet. In Scotland, after lobbying, that was raised from nothing to 75% of the grant. That issue is going before the Court of Session in a bid to get a judicial review. The claim is that, as UK citizens, the people running these businesses deserve parity with other parts of the UK. (I'm no lawyer, but I don't think that argument will get far.) They are also raising the point that the rateable value calculation in Scotland is different from that in England. Both countries use £51,000 rateable value as the upper limit for being entitled to these grants. Above that, they have to look to the loans schemes on offer. Meeting last week with Scottish minister Fergus Ewing, the Tourism Alliance was told that the Scottish government is lobbying the UK government over 2,500 firms that are unable to access grants because their property is above that threshold. The minister was true to his word. At the weekend, Mr Ewing made public his letter to his opposite number in Whitehall, asking that the effect of the £51,000 threshold should be considered The odd bit is that the Scottish government has all the power it needs to change that threshold. It may not have all the funds it needs, but it can alter the criteria for these grants any way it wishes - as, indeed, it has done with those firms that have chains of outlets. Mr Ewing went further, with an appeal to Whitehall to act for firms in marine tourism. They don't use buildings, they don't have rateable values, and they are therefore not eligible for grants. This, too, is a little odd, as the Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has set aside £100m for grants to self-employed people and businesses that don't qualify for other grants and schemes. So from whale-spotting to sea kayaking, such firms can already tap government funds. Maybe Mr Ewing was making the case for such businesses in other parts of the UK, though that too would be strange. Likewise, the case for bed and breakfast businesses, which don't qualify for grants because they pay council tax rather than business rates. What is the UK government going to do about them? We don't know, but they can apply for grants from the same Scottish fund as marine tourism operators. That £100m announcement from Kate Forbes was part of a £220m supplementary package earlier this month, the rest of it being used to extend the grants scheme for firms operating through multiple outlets. Of that, £180m was provided through the Treasury, as Scotland's share of announcements it was making for England. A further £40m was found from Holyrood's existing budgets. That's because the budget passed on 11 March is already for the birds. While some government costs have soared, others may well undershoot, while revenues are going to fall well short of expectations. A lot of the National Health Service, for instance, is not that busy at the moment because elective procedures have been cancelled, and we've been discouraged from visiting the doctor with our more minor ailments. A mid-year budget may well become necessary, to make sense of the changes, with big additional funds, and other elements being moved around.

स्कॉटिश पर्यटन लंबी अवधि में एक लाभ की ओर बढ़ सकता है, लेकिन अल्पकालिक और मध्यम अवधि बहुत कठिन लगती है। इसे बाउंस बैक लोन से मदद मिलेगी। इसने भविष्य के ग्राहकों के लिए सपने को जीवित रखने के लिए विपणन का उपयोग करते हुए "प्रतिक्रिया, रीसेट, फिर से शुरू करने और पुनर्प्राप्त करने" के लिए एक रणनीति निर्धारित की है। स्कॉटिश सरकार व्हाइटहॉल से वित्तीय संकट में पर्यटक व्यवसायों की मदद करने का आग्रह कर रही है-जो अजीब है, क्योंकि स्कॉटिश सरकार के पास आवश्यक शक्तियां हैं, और वह पहले से ही उनका उपयोग कर रही है।


Czech mate? PM Petr Necas faces lurid claims after raids

Summary: Petr Necas is not having a good week.

By Rob CameronBBC News On Tuesday the 49-year-old prime minister announced his marriage was over. He and his wife of 25 years, he said, had agreed to an uncontested divorce. Late on Wednesday night, armed police from the anti-organised crime unit arrived at the offices of the government. They arrested several people, including one of his closest political - and personal - aides. On Thursday, the raids continued. Detectives searched more government buildings, private businesses and banks - seizing documents, money and even bars of gold. Now Czech newspapers are claiming the prime minister himself is accused of bribing former MPs in his party - allegations he categorically denies. It is certainly Mr Necas's biggest crisis in his three years in office. The question is: can he survive? 'Untenable' "The Czech Republic has never experienced anything like this," Jindrich Sidlo, chief commentator with the Czech financial daily Hospodarske Noviny told the BBC. "After years of political pressure on the police and prosecutors, what we are witnessing today is their emancipation - an emancipation which has spun out of control," he said. "It's an irony of fate that it was the Necas government itself which allowed this emancipation - and it is the Necas government which could now fall because of it. "The current situation is untenable." Several Czech newspapers claim to have seen copies of police files detailing the charges, which include bribery and abuse of office. Two major strands are emerging in this investigation. The first is the allegation that the prime minister offered posts in semi state-owned companies to three MPs in his Civic Democratic Party, in exchange for their resignations from parliament. The three were at the forefront of a rebellion against him over VAT increases. They later stood down. Bribery claims The deal was allegedly brokered by the head of Mr Necas's office Jana Nagyova - who was arrested on Thursday along with two of the former MPs. Prosecutors claim the deal constituted bribery. The second is the allegation that Ms Nagyova illegally ordered the country's military intelligence service to spy on three private individuals. It is now being widely reported - although not yet confirmed by police or prosecutors - that one of them was the prime minister's estranged wife. Ms Nagyova has been a close colleague of the prime minister for almost a decade; tabloid newspapers claim that they are romantically linked, and she plays a major role in his impending divorce. Mr Necas has responded angrily to the allegations and denied all wrongdoing. 'Theatrical' arrests Neither he nor his colleagues, including Ms Nagyova, had done anything wrong, he said. Speaking in parliament, he said the massive police operation - involving up to 400 officers - had damaged the country's reputation abroad. The "theatrical" arrests of Ms Nagyova and the current and former heads of military intelligence were particularly damaging, he said. So far the prime minister is refusing to budge, perhaps gambling that his coalition partners are not yet ready to bring down the government. The opposition is clamouring for early elections; a vote of no-confidence could be held in parliament next week. It will be a difficult weekend for the prime minister - and perhaps his last in the post.

पेट्र नेकास का सप्ताह अच्छा नहीं चल रहा है।


Manslaughter charge over Leicester woman's death

Summary: A person has been charged with the manslaughter of a woman who died several days after she is thought to have been assaulted.

Police believe Kelly Machin, 34, was assaulted on 23 August. She was treated at hospital but later discharged. However, the ambulance service found her dead from internal bleeding in her Leicester home on Monday. A woman, aged 28, from Leicester has been charged and will appear before the city's Magistrates' Court on Friday. A 45-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man remain in police custody on suspicion of murder. A post-mortem examination on Tuesday revealed Ms Machin died as a result of significant blood loss. A 31-year-old woman has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

एक व्यक्ति पर एक महिला की हत्या का आरोप लगाया गया है, जिसकी हमले के कई दिनों बाद मौत हो गई थी।


Stephen Crabb's coalition hope for 2016 Welsh assembly

Summary: A Conservative, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrats coalition could provide an "effective alternative" to Labour rule after the 2016 Assembly elections, Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb has said.

The parties came close to forming an administration in 2007, but a Plaid-Labour coalition was eventually set up. Mr Crabb said the continued presence of Labour in government is "unhealthy". Welsh Labour said the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Westminster coalition has been "terrible for Wales". Mr Crabb added: "The three pro-devolution parties in Wales; Welsh Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and Plaid Cymru, could, possibly could, provide a fresh, effective alternative to the monopolistic hold on the levers of government in Wales by the Labour Party." A Welsh Labour spokesman said: "If anything is unhealthy for Wales, it would be a Tory, Plaid and Lib Dem government slashing education funding by up to 20%, scrapping free prescriptions and bringing back the failed grammar school system."

वेल्श के सचिव स्टीफन क्रेब ने कहा है कि एक कंजर्वेटिव, प्लेड साइमरू और लिबरल डेमोक्रेट्स गठबंधन 2016 के विधानसभा चुनावों के बाद लेबर शासन के लिए एक "प्रभावी विकल्प" प्रदान कर सकता है।


Swansea assault: Man charged with causing grievous bodily harm

Summary: A man has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm after an attack which left a woman with life-threatening injuries.

Police were called to an address in Mayhill, Swansea, at about 17:00 GMT on Tuesday. The 37-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday and was due to appear at Swansea Magistrates' Court on Thursday. The 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

एक आदमी पर एक हमले के बाद गंभीर शारीरिक नुकसान पहुँचाने का आरोप लगाया गया है, जिसमें एक महिला को जानलेवा चोटें आई हैं।


Donald Trump's visit divides Buckingham Palace crowds

Summary: Donald Trump and the Queen may come from different worlds, but few would deny they at least share an appreciation of pageantry - and that was not in short supply when the US president arrived at Buckingham Palace.

By Hamish MackayBBC News Following the Changing the Guard, Mr Trump's helicopter - Marine One - whipped up dust from nearby Green Park as it flew overhead, eagerly followed by a Mexican wave of smartphones from the crowd below. America's leader is a man who inspires strong views on all sides - and that was evident in central London on the first day of his UK trip. "It's our first time in London," said Laura Curri, visiting the UK with her family from Florida. "We heard Trump was going to be at the palace and we're huge fans so we came down." Her husband, John Curri, hopes the visit will lead to "more unity" between the US and UK. "You're leaders over here and we're leaders in our part of the world - this visit should make us both stronger," he said. Asked if he thinks the president is misunderstood in the UK, Mr Curri told the BBC: "People want honesty and strong leadership. I think now it has arrived people are scared - but it's here to stay." And it is not just visitors to the UK who saw benefits in Mr Trump's visit. Husband and wife Tony and Jennifer Holdcroft, describing themselves as "proud Brexiteers", said they made the trip down from Stoke-on-Trent "to welcome the president and combat the protesters". "We think he's a brilliant man," said Mrs Holdcroft. "He's straight talking, he's firm and he looks after his own people. "This visit is about friendship, which we've had for years and years, and keeping up the alliance." Mr Holdcroft added: "At the end of the day, why shouldn't he come? All these people dissing him are dissing our Queen because she's the one who invited him. "He has been invited as the president of America, not as Donald Trump." While Mr Trump was being received by the Queen inside the palace, 100m away - in Green Park - the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery began putting on a show of their own. With the first deafening blast of the ceremonial guns, those waiting outside Buckingham Palace rushed over, phones outstretched ahead of them, attempting to capture the scenes. Not everyone, however, shared in the excitement. Dr Abdulkadar Alzuabi, who came from Manchester to protest against Mr Trump's visit, said: "I don't think the UK should listen to him, we're different to him in this country. "In this country, if you are British, if you are a refugee, if you are black or white, if you are European or an Arab, you are equal. "He's trying to use his influence to change how things are in the UK. We shouldn't listen to him." Auriel Granville - dressed as the Statue of Liberty - had made the slightly shorter trip from Wimbledon in south London, but felt just as strongly about the US president. "I don't think he should be received in this way," she said. "Climate change should be top of our agenda and Donald Trump is a climate change denier. "He's not listening to scientists, who are all saying it is a result of human activity." She added: "He is doing so much damage." If anyone had thought Mr Trump might tone down some of his more unusual styles of diplomacy for the three-day visit, they were set straight early on Monday morning. Moments before Air Force One landed at Stansted, Mr Trump posted two tweets criticising Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, calling him a "stone cold loser". While some around the palace supported Mr Trump, one Londoner was so angry she had decided to come out in protest. Jill Gillard, who emigrated to the UK from South Africa in 1979, said: "I had no intention of coming down today but then I saw his tweet about Sadiq Khan and thought: 'No, that's too much.' "It's people like Sadiq Khan that have made me feel very welcome in this country and I feel very strongly about the discourtesy of a man who has no insight into our way of life here, which I have been very proud to embrace."

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प और महारानी अलग-अलग दुनियाओं से आ सकते हैं, लेकिन कुछ लोग इस बात से इनकार करेंगे कि वे कम से कम प्रदर्शन की सराहना करते हैं-और जब अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बकिंघम पैलेस पहुंचे तो इसकी कमी नहीं थी।


Oxford Stadium in Blackbird Leys to close

Summary: An Oxford greyhound stadium is to close after 73 years in operation.

Staff at The Oxford Stadium, on Sandy Lane in Blackbird Leys, were informed on Friday afternoon that the last race would be staged on 29 December. The venue recently stopped its Friday afternoon race meetings and hosted speedway until 2007. Gordon Roper, chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, called the timing of the decision "absolutely diabolical". He added: "I'm absolutely shocked that they've come out as quick as this that they're going to close it by the end of the year. "I feel for the people that are employed by the stadium [and] what kind of Christmas they're going to have when they know they're going to lose their jobs." Mr Roper said he welcomed the possibility of new housing in the parish but not at the cost of recreation facilities.

एक ऑक्सफोर्ड ग्रेहाउंड स्टेडियम 73 साल के संचालन के बाद बंद होने वाला है।


Manx motorbike enthusiasts on track for world record

Summary: A team of motorbike enthusiasts from the Isle of Man are half-way to setting a new land-speed record on a machine built in the island.

The team needs to average more than 176 mph over two runs at the Bonneville Speed Week in Utah to set a new world record in the modified 500cc class. The Lonan Gentlemen's Fellowship's first run was more than 10mph quicker than the 1970 record at 186.37 mph. Project Manager Suzy Starlite said: "Half-way there. We are so excited." The team will complete their second run on the salt flats of Utah on Monday. The team consists of the reigning British sprint champion Paul Hodgson, Bob Watson, Stu Harvey and Suzy Starlite, with rider Richard Barks. The project to build the bike has been going for nearly two years and has seen many local businesses come on board to help with manufacturing parts and sponsorship.

आइल ऑफ मैन के मोटरबाइक उत्साही लोगों की एक टीम द्वीप में निर्मित एक मशीन पर एक नया भूमि-गति रिकॉर्ड स्थापित करने के लिए आधे रास्ते पर है।


Man dies in Scapa Flow diving accident in Orkney

Summary: A man has died in a diving accident in Scapa Flow in Orkney.

Police Scotland said they were alerted to reports of a missing man just after midday. A body was recovered following a search involving the Stromness and Longhope lifeboats, and the coastguard. Inquiries to establish the full circumstances are ongoing. Scapa Flow is a popular diving site due to scuttled warships on the seabed.

ऑर्कनी में स्कापा फ्लो में गोताखोरी की दुर्घटना में एक व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


China's prestige projects around the world

Summary: China is investing $46bn in Pakistan, including an economic corridor linking its western Xinjiang province all the way to the south-west port of Gwadar on the Arabian sea. This is just the latest in a series of prestige projects that China has paid for or invested in around the world.

Here are some others that catch the eye. China has funded many projects throughout Africa, particularly sports stadiums and railway links, but none has been higher profile than the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia - a $200m (£127m) gift from China which dominates the Addis Ababa skyline and is testament to the growing economic ties between China and Africa. Trade between the two has increased more than six-fold during the past decade. China's largesse in South America is well documented - loans by China's state-owned banks to Latin American countries rose by 71% to $22bn (£14bn) in 2014, according to estimates published by the China-Latin America Finance Database, and it has a voracious appetite for Latin American commodities. Its major project in the area is "El Gran Canal", a 278km (173 mile-) canal route across Nicaragua. to rival that of Panama. But such high-profile projects are not without their hiccups. A Chinese-funded port project in Sri Lanka was recently suspended with Colombo citing a lack of government approvals. Analysts say the move has strained ties with Beijing, which maintains the project is in line with local laws. China has pumped millions of dollars into Sri Lanka's infrastructure since the end of a 26-year civil war in 2009, making the most of an investment void from Westerners squeamish over the country's human rights record. China, as the top consumer and producer of refined copper, has many investments in copper mines in South America. One of the highest profile is its $6bn purchase of Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. When it comes on line in 2015, it is forecast to produce 450,000 tonnes of copper per year.

चीन पाकिस्तान में 46 अरब डॉलर का निवेश कर रहा है, जिसमें अरब सागर पर ग्वादर के दक्षिण-पश्चिम बंदरगाह तक अपने पश्चिमी शिनजियांग प्रांत को जोड़ने वाला एक आर्थिक गलियारा भी शामिल है। यह उन प्रतिष्ठित परियोजनाओं की श्रृंखला में नवीनतम है जिनके लिए चीन ने दुनिया भर में भुगतान किया है या निवेश किया है।


South Yorkshire PC charged with assaulting teenage football fan

Summary: A police officer has been charged with assaulting a 16-year-old football fan after a local derby.

PC William Sampson, 26, is accused of unlawfully and maliciously wounding the teenager after Barnsley faced Sheffield Wednesday on 8 February. The South Yorkshire officer was charged after a police watchdog investigation into an altercation on Midland Street in Barnsley. PC Sampson is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 2 December. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.

एक पुलिस अधिकारी पर एक स्थानीय डर्बी के बाद एक 16 वर्षीय फुटबॉल प्रशंसक पर हमला करने का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Thames Valley police officer jailed for biting victim

Summary: A former Thames Valley police officer has been jailed for 22 months for assaulting a 29-year-old woman.

It follows an incident in Banbury on 10 June last year where the officer, who was off-duty, grabbed and bit the victim's nose. Rebecca Barnett, 33, of Wood End, Banbury, pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm without intent. Judge Smith said the victim suffered an "appalling" injury. Barnett, who has been dismissed from the force, assaulted former friend Leanne Rawlins outside Easington Football Club. Ms Rawlins needed surgery to repair her nose and was left with permanent scarring.

थेम्स घाटी के एक पूर्व पुलिस अधिकारी को 29 वर्षीय महिला पर हमला करने के आरोप में 22 महीने की जेल हुई है।


Why India needs a new debate on caste quotas

Summary: Caste-related violence involving an influential community in India's Gujarat state left eight people dead earlier this week. The Patel community is demanding quotas in educational institutions and government jobs. Politician and writer Shashi Tharoor explains why India needs a new debate on affirmative action.

India has been shaken, and its thriving state of Gujarat paralysed, by a massive agitation by its influential Patel community. Millions gathered in the state's major towns under the surprisingly belligerent leadership of a hitherto unknown 22-year-old called Hardik Patel, clamouring for their caste to be granted affirmative-action benefits known as "reservations". Violence erupted, property was damaged, eight lives were lost and the army was called in. Hardik Patel was briefly arrested and, when his arrest sparked fury and more violence, released. The agitation damaged not only property and people but also some of the fundamental assumptions of Indian politics. Discrimination India's constitution, adopted in 1950, inaugurated the world's oldest and farthest-reaching affirmative action programme, guaranteeing scheduled castes and tribes - the most disadvantaged groups in Hinduism's hierarchy - not only equality of opportunity but guaranteed outcomes, with reserved places in educational institutions, government jobs and even seats in parliament and the state assemblies. These "reservations" or quotas were granted to groups on the basis of their (presumably immutable) caste identities. The logic of reservations in India was simple: they were justified as a means of making up for millennia of discrimination based on birth. It was a small way of compensating the millions of unfortunates who suffered daily the inequities and humiliations of untouchability. Reservations became more political in 1989, when the VP Singh-led government of the day decided to extend their benefits to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), based on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. The OBCs hailed from the lower and intermediate castes who were deemed backward because they lacked "upper caste" status. Prominent and successful As more and more people sought fewer available government and university positions, we witnessed the unedifying (and unwittingly hilarious) spectacle of castes fighting with each other to be declared backward: the competitive zeal of the Meena and the Gujjar communities in Rajasthan, castes not originally listed as OBCs, to be deemed more backward than each other would be funny if both sides weren't so deadly serious. As an uncle of mine sagely observed, "In our country now, you can't go forward unless you're a backward." The Patels, however, are an unlikely caste to be seeking such recognition: they are in fact dominant in Gujarat, prominent, successful and wealthy beyond their share of 15% of the state's population. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel is from the community; several Patels occupy important portfolios in her cabinet. Hardik Patel says the majority of his fellow Patels are less well off. But to suggest that the caste as a whole deserves reservations strikes most people of Gujarat as absurd. The problem, as all too often in India, is politics. India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had hoped that caste consciousness would wither away after Independence, but the opposite has happened. Because caste was such a powerful source of self-identification, it proved to be a useful tool of political mobilisation in India's electoral democracy: when an Indian casts his vote, he too often votes his caste. Granting sops to various castes proved a major vote-catcher for India's politicians. The number benefiting from such sops varies from state to state, but has reached extreme proportions in a state like Tamil Nadu, where 69% of government jobs and educational positions are reserved for a range of deprived and disadvantaged castes - so much so that the state has a cottage industry of fake caste certificates for Brahmins seeking to pass themselves off as Dalits, formerly known as untouchables. Backlash Inevitably, a backlash has set in, with members of the forward castes decrying the unfairness of affirmative action in perpetuity, and asking whether it is reasonable, for instance, that the daughter of a senior government servant from a backward caste should benefit from reservations while the son of his upper-caste driver or clerk competes for limited unreserved seats. Some argue for reservations to no longer be caste-based but tied only to economic criteria, with the poorest of all castes benefiting from them rather than the better-off of some castes. (Many suspect that Hardik Patel and his fellow Patels aren't really looking for reservations: by demanding the impossible, they are actually seeking the abolition of the present system.) The current beneficiary castes, however, respond hotly that such a change overlooks the social discrimination that comes with, for example, the stigma of untouchability: however prosperous a Dalit family, many upper-caste Indians would not grant it respect unless its members enjoyed the status that comes with, for instance, a government position. Gujarat's Patel agitation has succeeded in starting a nationwide debate on reservations. It has an interesting partner in India's Supreme Court, which earlier this year struck down the government's notification including the powerful Jat caste in the list of OBCs. The judges' rationale was that the state should not go by the "perception of the self-proclaimed socially backward class or advanced classes" on whether they deserved to be categorised among the "less fortunates". Most significantly, the court held that caste, while acknowledged to be a prominent cause of injustice in the country historically, could not be the sole determinant of the backwardness of a class. While caste may be a prominent factor for "easy determination of backwardness", the top court discouraged "the identification of a group as backward solely on the basis of caste" and called for "new practices, methods and yardsticks" to be evolved. "The gates would be opened only to permit entry of the most distressed. Any other inclusions would be a serious abdication of the constitutional duty of the State," the court warned. This suggests that the Patel's demands to be classified as OBCs will not stand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. But it also suggests that India's entire range of affirmative action practices will need to be reviewed. The battle has truly been joined.

भारत के गुजरात राज्य में एक प्रभावशाली समुदाय से जुड़ी जाति संबंधी हिंसा में इस सप्ताह की शुरुआत में आठ लोगों की मौत हो गई। पटेल समुदाय शैक्षणिक संस्थानों और सरकारी नौकरियों में आरक्षण की मांग कर रहा है। राजनेता और लेखक शशि थरूर बताते हैं कि भारत को सकारात्मक कार्रवाई पर एक नई बहस की आवश्यकता क्यों है।


Coronavirus: Centenarians recovering from the virus

Summary: Scientists have said coronavirus affects the elderly population more than any other age group. But amid the stories of suffering, there have also been rays of hope. BBC News hears from three centenarians who have survived Covid-19.

By Sandish ShokerBBC News, East Midlands Among the many patients who left hospital in Derby after having had Covid-19 was Jane Collins, aged 104. "She's survived two world wars, multiple recessions, and is still batting," said Ms Collins's great niece, Sarah Balmforth. "She still likes the odd sip of champagne, which is what we think has preserved her for so long." Ms Collins, who lives in the city, spent several weeks in hospital but has since returned to her care home to recover. Ms Collins said she remained tired and breathless at times, but said: "I'm doing very well after the virus. "The [care home] staff are looking after me very well." Staff at the Royal Derby believe she was the oldest of their patients to survive after contracting Covid-19. "When she was admitted, you do expect the worst because you hear so much about this virus," added Mrs Balmforth. "But day after day she kept improving and a lot of that was down to the superb care she got. "She's made of some stern stuff." 'The lucky one' When 105-year-old Pat Aldridge, from Somerset, went into hospital with breathing difficulties, her family feared she may not survive. But having been discharged from Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital after five days, she said she felt "not too bad". "In many ways, considering my age, I'm the lucky one," she said. Her daughter Mary-Jane Yates said her symptoms came on "quite suddenly". "There were times when we thought she wouldn't beat it at all," she said. "After she went into hospital, the following morning she insisted on going to the toilet without help. "That's what has got her through; she's an extremely determined lady." Her doctor, Benedict Morris, said he initially thought Ms Aldridge's age was "a typo" but added: "Discharging her was a real high point." Virus severity is 'a mystery' The oldest British patient thought to have overcome coronavirus is 106-year-old Connie Titchen from Birmingham. Charity Age UK said while the virus was "worrying" for over-70s with health conditions, some would only experience a mild illness and make a full recovery. "We do know that older people are more likely to have a more severe form of the virus which is why there is that all-important advice to be extra careful," said Ruthe Isden, head of health and care at the charity. "But there are a lot of examples of people, even in the older age groups, who are not seriously ill enough to need to go into hospital." The charity said it was "still learning" about why the virus affected some older people so severely, while others experienced only mild symptoms. "Why some are more affected than others is still a mystery," said Ms Isden. 'When are the pubs opening?' Vera Beeley, 102, has returned to her care home in Sheffield having been treated in hospital. And her first question was: "When are all the pubs opening again?" "Not that she'll be going," laughed her grandson Ian Whitehead. "With her age, [it seemed as if] everything was against her. We thought this was going to get her, but luckily it didn't. "We couldn't believe it - she's back to her normal self and she's back on form." The great-grandmother of seven said she felt "all right". "I don't feel poorly, it's just my body that is getting old," she said. Like some of the other centenarians, she was also given a line of honour upon her discharge from hospital. "They were all in a line - doctors and nurses - all clapping me as I came out in the wheelchair," she said. "It made me feel very proud." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

वैज्ञानिकों ने कहा है कि कोरोनावायरस किसी भी अन्य आयु वर्ग की तुलना में बुजुर्ग आबादी को अधिक प्रभावित करता है। लेकिन पीड़ा की कहानियों के बीच, आशा की किरणें भी हैं। बीबीसी न्यूज ने तीन शतायु लोगों से सुना है जो कोविड-19 से बच गए हैं।


Companies get serious about water use

Summary: Water is unlike any other commodity on Earth.

By Richard AndersonBusiness reporter, BBC News For a start, we can't live without it, for very obvious reasons. But it also underpins pretty much every activity we pursue in life - not just in our everyday lives, but in growing food, energy production and industry both large and small-scale. Water is also unique in that it's pretty much indestructible - unlike most resources, it doesn't break down when heated up, but evaporates, constantly changing form to be transported to another place at another time. As Betsy Otto, global director at the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Programme, says, "the water we drink today dropped off the nose of Tyrannosaurus rex". This may help explain why this most precious of resources is free. For despite being incomparably more precious than any amount of gold, platinum or diamond, in most places on Earth water holds practically no financial value whatsoever. But water can no longer be seen as an infinite resource as shortages become ever more commonplace across the world. Unprecedented population growth, allied with greater wealth leading to far more water-intensive meat consumption; climate change causing more erratic weather and extreme droughts; and pollution are all putting a huge strain on finite water reserves. So much so that more than a billion people currently live in water scarce regions, according to the WRI, a number that could grow to 3.5 billion by 2025. Indeed demand for water is projected to rise by 40% in the next 20 years. To make matters worse, food and clothing production has in recent years moved increasingly to areas of water shortages - typically developing countries that have welcomed the opportunity to establish industries, creating jobs and wealth. Indeed water and its delivery are often cheapest in the parts of the world where it is most scarce. As Richard Mattison, head of environmental research group Trucost, says: "If jeans were made in Denmark, fine. But they're not, they're produced in parts of the world that suffer from severe water stress." Clearly something has to give. "We are in a race to the bottom, as if there were no supply limitations," says Ms Otto. "That needs to change. We need to understand that we are out of balance and that there are very serious risks." 'Sea change' But the message is starting to get through. There has been a "sea change in the last five years, led by forward looking companies", says Ms Otto, particularly in the clothing, food and drink industries. SABMiller is just one such company. As Andre Fourie, its head of water security and environmental value, puts it, "no water, no beer!" Acutely aware of risks to the business of water stress in the countries in which it produces - including India, Nigeria, Peru and South Africa - the UK brewer decided eight years ago to calculate its water footprint, and claims to be the first consumer goods company to do so. It found that 90% of its water use came from growing the ingredients for its beer, such as barley and hops, rather than the actual water used to make the beer itself. It resolved to cut its own water use by 20% by 2015, a target that was met "a little early". It now uses on average 3.5 litres of water to produce a litre of beer, and the company has set a target of just three litres by 2020. But it also resolved to address the wider risks of water shortages in its supply chain, for example speaking to local mining companies and farmers outside of Lima, Peru, to reduce pollution and fertiliser run-off into local rivers. And addressing these risks is not cheap. Such are the scale of the long and short-term risks to the overall business, the company is prepared to spend serious amounts of money to secure not just its supply of water, but its quality as well. SAB typically spends $500,000 in each locality it operates, which may be home to just one brewery. US clothing giant Levi Strauss, best know for its jeans, is another leader in water conservation. Five years ago, understanding that water was a "critical" issue for its business, the company initiated a drive to reduce water use in its supply chain without compromising quality. It is now using 96% less water in making a pair of jeans - far less than the industry average of 11,000 litres. Actions like these will "reduce operational and reputational risk, [help] manage costs and generate growth through product innovation", says Michael Kobori, vice president of sustainability. This initiative has saved not only one billion litres of water, but also energy consumption, and it has translated into a costs saving of 4 cents (2.8p) per pair of jeans. Elsewhere, the consumer goods giant Unilever and the carmaker Volkswagen have spent several hundred thousand dollars on planting trees to secure their water supplies in Africa and South America. The coffee giant Starbucks has committed millions of dollars to protect the water supply to its coffee plantations in Mexico and Indonesia. Microsoft is even experimenting at vast expense with putting data centres under the ocean off the coast of California in a bid to reduce the water needed for cooling. Human right There are numerous, very real threats to water supplies for corporations the world over, primarily in agriculture, energy, utilities, IT and mining, but also in food and drink, clothing, consumer goods, retailing and beyond. The great unknown is whether, one day, water itself rather than the delivery of it will be priced to reflect its uniquely important role in the global economy and to the human race. Some argue that as a basic human right a price can never be put on accessing water; others that it is an unavoidable necessity. A precedent has already been set in California and in the Murray Darling Basin in Australia, where water trading systems have been used successfully to reduce water use dramatically in times of drought. If such schemes became widespread, the consequences for the corporate world would be dramatic. Indeed research by Trucost suggests that more than half of the profits of the world's biggest companies would be at risk if water was priced to reflect its value. Companies need to act now before it's too late.

जल पृथ्वी पर किसी भी अन्य वस्तु से अलग है।


Tech 2017: BBC News Online's biggest technology stories

Summary: For many, 2017 will be defined by fake news and the fight-back against it.

By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor Others will point to the blog that uncovered sexism and sexual harassment at Uber, helping force the resignation of the ride-hailing firm's founder and paving the way for other controversies to be uncovered. Gamers may prefer instead to celebrate Nintendo's revival thanks to its Switch console, and motorists to highlight Elon Musk's desire to electrify the trucking industry. But you, BBC Tech's readers, focused your attention elsewhere - at least as far as our figures on what you clicked on suggest. Below are the stories you made most popular for each month of the year. January: Undesired dimension The quiet death of 3D TV was the first of the year's big stories. When Sony and LG unveiled their new television ranges at the CES Las Vegas tech expo, it soon became apparent none of the models supported the format. Samsung and Philips had already ditched the technology the previous year. Strictly speaking, 3D-on-the-home-screen wasn't totally extinct - Panasonic came out with a new set in February - but a combination of consumer apathy, frumpy glasses and uninterested streaming services had clearly doomed the extra dimension. With CES 2018 just around the corner, the question is whether we'll soon be able to call time on curved screens too. February: Nokia's retro relaunch HMD Global pulled off a marketing coup when it unveiled a new Nokia-branded 2G phone with the same name as one of the most iconic models of yesteryear. The "reimagined" 3310 featured the classic game Snake, offered extended battery life and kind of resembled the original design. But it lacked access to Snapchat, WhatsApp and countless other apps. Moreover, once owners got over the nostalgia factor, they discovered the photos it took were both pixelated and hard to get off the device. Even so, there was enough demand to justify a follow-up 3G model in September, and the phones appear to have helped raise the profile of other higher-end Nokia handsets. March: Watching the watchers Allegations that the CIA and MI5 had teamed up to hack Samsung TVs were made even juicier by the fact the project had apparently been given a Doctor Who-related codename. According to Wikileaks, the Weeping Angel attack caused compromised TVs to record audio when apparently switched off, before later uploading it to the cyberspies' computer servers. Effectively, it allowed a room to be bugged without producing giveaway radio signals. One theory for the project's name was that just like the malevolent sci-fi statues, the TVs were still "alive" even when they appeared to be inactive. Later in the year, Wikileaks published further details, including how the spyware could be uninstalled, as well as claims about other CIA-related hacking tools. April: Facebook and Google get scammed Although $100m (£76m) might seem like pocket change to Google and Facebook, the two companies missed the funds after they - and a third business, Quanta Computer - were allegedly conned by an email fraudster. The accused is said to have faked messages from an Asian-based manufacturer and convinced his victims to wire payments to his account over a three-year period. The Lithuanian suspect, Evaldas Rimasauskas, was extradited from his home country to New York later in the year where he now faces charges for wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. He denies the allegations. May: WannaCry wreaks havoc A common refrain with cyber-security alerts is that, despite there being a hullabaloo of expert opinions, there's typically little real impact to the public. WannaCry was the exception. The ransomware attack swept across the world locking out users from tens of thousands of Windows PCs. The assault - later blamed on North Korea - forced NHS trusts in England and Scotland to cancel operations and other appointments. It was subsequently revealed that they had ignored earlier government warnings to update their systems, which could have mitigated the problem. The one upside was that a British cyber-security researcher, Marcus Hutchins, managed to trigger a "kill switch", halting the attack prematurely. More on him in a bit... June: Ukraine attack Just a month after WannaCry, another hack attack caused chaos - and this time the damage proved to be longer-lasting. An infected tax software update sent to businesses in Ukraine spread worldwide, disrupting the operations of some of the world's biggest companies. They included shipping firm Maersk, delivery giant FedEx, advertising conglomerate WPP and the consumer goods-maker Reckitt Benckiser. In some cases it took months before operations returned to normal, and related losses totalling more than $1bn were declared. Ukraine accused Russia of being responsible, but the Kremlin denied involvement. A complicating factor in reporting the cyber-strike was that the security industry struggled to settle on a name for it - with Petya, NotPetya, Pneytna, Petrwrap, SortaPetya and Goldeneye among the variants suggested. July: Bitcoin's big moment Bitcoin's future seemed in doubt when there were rival plans mid-year to tackle a slowdown in the amount of time taken to process transactions in the virtual currency. Without delving too deeply into the proposals - you can read up on Bip 91, Bitcoin Unlimited and Segwit2x if you dare - a compromise deal was eventually struck to make the underlying technology, the blockchain, more efficient. But the plan fell apart before it had a chance to be fully enacted in November. That failure didn't prevent Bitcoin's value from bubbling higher. When the article in question was published, it was worth about $2,400 per coin. By December, it was close to $20,000. Slow processing times, however, remain a headache. Earlier this month, the average time taken to confirm a Bitcoin transaction was close to 24 hours. August: From hero to hounded Marcus Hutchins never wanted to be exposed as the "Wannacry hack hero" and his name only became public after British newspapers revealed him to be cyber-security blogger Malware Tech against his will. That act carried a vicious sting in its tail when the 23 year old was arrested by the FBI after a trip to Las Vegas. The US accused him of having developed banking malware several years ago and of selling it on dark web forums - charges Mr Hutchins denies. The accusations caused fury among other cyber-security professionals, with some vowing to restrict the support they offered the authorities. Mr Hutchins is currently released on bail in Los Angeles where he is awaiting trial. In the meantime, the Trump administration recently acknowledged that it was "lucky" Mr Hutchins had thwarted Wannacry, although it avoided mentioning him by name. September: iPhone X exposed Curiously, a major leak about Apple's iPhone X ahead of its official launch managed to attract more eyeballs to BBC Tech than the actual unveiling of the device itself. Details included the phone's name, the set-up process for its facial recognition technology and the inclusion of its animated emoji characters. An extra element of schadenfreude was provided for company critics by the fact that an earlier leak had disclosed that Apple had hired ex-FBI and NSA workers to thwart such spoilers. It's questionable whether the reveal actually dampened demand for the £1,000 handset. The US firm has forecast record sales for its current quarter. However, in recent days some analysts have begun to question how robust demand will be later in 2018. October: Amazon thieves busted When a company gets to be Amazon's size it has to rely on automated systems to deal with items reported as damaged or missing by their intended recipients. A US couple thought that presented them with an opportunity. They used hundreds of fake identities to order gadgets from the online retailer, reported problems that triggered replacement deliveries, and then sold on all the goods for a profit. The $1.2m scale of their crime, however, meant their activity had in fact been detected and they eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering after being arrested. Erin Joseph Finan and his wife Leah Jeannette Finan were supposed to have been sentenced in November. But that has been delayed after they were accused of defrauding another internet retailer in the months after the original charges were filed. November: Rough start "The future is here," Navya's self-driving shuttle bus had emblazoned on its side as it launched its Las Vegas pick-up service. Unfortunately, less than an hour later, that future involved a delivery lorry backing into its front. As one passenger later recounted, the "crash" seemed to occur in slow-motion and only caused superficial damage. But the story sped across the world. Although the human driver was ultimately held responsible, the police report - made public earlier this month - told a more nuanced story. The trucker said they had turned on their hazard lights and sounded a back-up alarm to warn surrounding motorists that they were straightening up the cab. It had never occurred to them that an automated vehicle would respond by remaining stationary in their path without doing more to prevent the accident. December: Slowing down Apple may have had the best of intentions, but its love of secrecy left even some of its biggest fans shaking their heads this time round. It was only after a blog by the makers of the Geekbench app went viral that the US firm publicly confirmed it had been deliberately slowing down ageing iPhones to help manage performance issues caused by their batteries wearing out. It subsequently emerged that the firm had apparently privately briefed some analysts on the decision a year ago, but had not shared the details with its consumers. Whether those customers would really have preferred thicker handsets with bigger or swappable batteries is open to debate. But the risk it faces is that shoppers suspect it is untrustworthy. At time of writing, Apple is being sued in eight separate cases in the US over the matter, as well as facing legal action in Israel.

कई लोगों के लिए, 2017 को फेक न्यूज और इसके खिलाफ लड़ाई से परिभाषित किया जाएगा।


Luxury goods group Richemont beats sales expectations

Summary: Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, owner of the Cartier and Montblanc brands, has announced a better-than-expected increase in sales, driven by greater consumer demand from Asia.

Richemont said its third-quarter sales had grown by one third to 2.1bn euros ($2.8bn; £1.8bn). While Europe is still the group's biggest market, sales in Asia were up 57% from the same period last year. However, the firm warned that that the fourth quarter would be tougher. Chief executive Johann Rupert warned that it would be "more challenging" for the firm to meet such expectations at the end of the financial year, with concerns over the effect of the strong Swiss franc. Richemont is the world's second largest luxury goods group, behind French rival LVMH group.

कार्टियर और मोंटब्लैंक ब्रांडों के मालिक स्विस लक्जरी सामान समूह रिचमॉन्ट ने एशिया से अधिक उपभोक्ता मांग के कारण बिक्री में उम्मीद से बेहतर वृद्धि की घोषणा की है।