What is the key to a successful education system?

Summary: Education Secretary Michael Gove wants to change the primary and secondary school curriculums in England. He has said he wants pupils to be taught a "core knowledge" of facts and figures. He wants them to be able to recite their times tables, punctuate a sentence correctly and list capitals of the world. The education systems in Hong Kong, Finland, and South Korea are often lauded as among the best in the world, scoring highly in international league tables. Here academics suggest reasons why the state-run education system in these countries is top of the class.

By Caroline McClatcheyBBC News Hong Kong Prof Bob Adamson is head of department of international education and lifelong learning at the Hong Kong Institute of Education: Emphasis on diligence: It's not natural ability, it's hard work. Hong Kong was built on hard work, as a refugee society. There was no in-built class system and the way to achieve social mobility was through education. There was no social security blanket, so you were investing in your pension by educating your child. It's called the elderly parent tax. The term "tiger mum" is a little too strong but parents do take a very keen interest in their children's education. They emphasise diligence and will complain if schools don't provide enough homework. The shadow education system is booming in Hong Kong - some 70% of secondary school-age children have private tuition. Key exam subjects: There is a curriculum to be followed, a book to be covered and a scheme of work that teachers stick to. It's largely academic. Chinese, maths and English are the core subjects. English classes can amount to a quarter of all weekly classes. Art, music, drama and physical education are usually one or two lessons a week but they get chopped in the run-up to exams. Everything is strongly orientated towards examinations. There is still the equivalent of the 11-plus here and if you get a good assessment, you will go to a prestigious secondary school. Pupils are used to working under pressure and working towards examinations. To a large extent the style of teaching is traditional but it is not rote learning without understanding, it is memorisation with understanding. Pedagogy: There's a mix of academic rigour and structure. There's a theory of learning behind everything. They don't do a project just for the sake of doing it - there's a framework of learning. Other factors which impact on teaching: One of the big issues in Hong Kong is space. There are 42 kids in each classroom and the only way to organise them is in old-fashioned rows. Teachers often use microphones. They are the gurus and there is little group work or student participation. It is difficult with 42 kids to give them individual attention. Some school principals have the belief that a silent classroom is a good classroom. The idea that children can learn through discussion has not always permeated through. There have been some moves towards activity-based learning but success has been limited. Final word: I think the UK government has taken the rhetoric of Hong Kong but not the reality. The devolution of powers to schools is often seen as one of Hong Kong's achievements but the Education Bureau still makes a lot of the decisions. The context is important. You cannot transpose Hong Kong's style of learning somewhere else without changing the parents, teachers and classroom architecture. Finland Prof Kristiina Kumpulainen, Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki: Welfare society: There is an emphasis on supporting every individual, every child regardless of their economic or social background. This basic principle of equality applies to our education system but also healthcare and social care. It's an holistic approach. We pay for it through taxes and the government tries to support every family. Highly-qualified teachers: Our teaching profession is highly valued and respected. The programmes are highly competitive and many students do not get a place. We get highly motivated students and the five-year courses are to masters level. Even if you teach at a primary school, you need to have a masters qualification. This is not the same in other Nordic countries. The classroom is a very interactive space where pupils can challenge the teacher. The traditional teacher-directed style is not so typical in Finland. Local power: Municipalities and schools have a lot of power to localise the national core curriculum. We trust our teachers as they have been selected through a careful process. They are given a lot of freedom and responsibility to tailor learning according to the needs of every child. They are not just paying lip service or following a script. There are core subjects such as literacy, numeracy and science but we try to achieve a balance in the curriculum. A school day is a mix of core subjects and also art, physical education, woodwork and entrepreneurial education (at secondary level). The curriculum is being renewed and is due out in 2015. There will be an increase in 21st Century skills, such as collaboration, social interaction, problem solving and life-long learning, but they will not be separate from the core subjects, they will be integrated. Other factors which impact on teaching: Class sizes are between 15 to 25 across primary and secondary schools. There are no national examinations or rankings. We don't have that culture of comparing schools. If a school is not doing well, it is not closed down. It is given more resources. Final word: There are elements of the Finnish model which could be implemented elsewhere, such as the emphasis on high quality teachers. The teaching environment is also important. In relaxed and educationally-supportive environments children are granted authority and accountability in and for learning. We believe that learning and interacting in relaxed educational environments will teach children for life, not for school. South Korea Prof Paul Morris, from the Institute of Education, University of London, is a comparative educator who specialises on East Asian education systems: Connection between exams and the curriculum: The prevalence of testing and examinations has a long history and is embedded in the culture. The curriculum is effectively defined by what is examined. Places come to a standstill on days of public examinations such as the university entrance examination. Traffic is stopped and planes will be diverted to minimise noise. The curriculum is dominated by languages, maths and science. English has become a very important element of social mobility. The high scores on Pisa [held every three years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to measure pupils' skills in reading, numeracy and science] probably reflects a strong overlap between the test questions and the exam-driven curriculum that schools focus on, as well as the hard work by the pupils and the strong support/pressure from parents to succeed. Connection between social mobility and exams: South Korea, and other Far East countries, have a long history of using competitive public examinations as a vehicle for selection and social mobility. It only developed in the West in the 18th Century. Whether you get into a good school or university is wholly dependent on exam results. A child's future, status and social mobility are strongly connected to exam outcomes. It results in very strong parental support or pressure, depending on how you look at it. When children go home the parents are often on top of them to do their homework. They will also employ private tutors if they can afford it. Culture of diligence: Children are expected to put the time in. There's a belief that people have differing abilities but everyone can get there - it might just take some a lot longer. Although the classroom has become more interactive in the last 10 to 20 years, a South Korean lesson would be viewed by people in the UK as didactic, orderly and teacher-led. Other factors which affect the style of teaching: Education has been strongly harnessed to nation building and instilling a strong sense of national identity. During the '60s and '70s, many of the East Asian countries were driven by the idea that they were still part of an unfinished war - South Korea with North Korea, Taiwan with China - and they used economic growth as a way of competing and ensuring national cohesion and survival. Final word: The Pisa tests tell only one side of the story. Korean schools can be extremely stressful for children. Surveys tend to suggest that children don't like going to school - they are often stressed and not happy or they're bored. Schooling is seen to be a process of certification. Questions are being asked as to whether the system is producing the sorts of people the economy and society needs. The system does encourage hard work and diligence but the concerns are that it is unduly stressful, does not promote creativity and the ability to be critical.

शिक्षा सचिव माइकल गोव इंग्लैंड में प्राथमिक और माध्यमिक विद्यालय के पाठ्यक्रमों को बदलना चाहते हैं। उन्होंने कहा है कि वे चाहते हैं कि छात्रों को तथ्यों और आंकड़ों का "मूल ज्ञान" सिखाया जाए। वे चाहते हैं कि वे अपनी समय सारणी का पाठ कर सकें, एक वाक्य को सही ढंग से विराम चिह्न दे सकें और दुनिया की राजधानियों को सूचीबद्ध कर सकें। हांगकांग, फिनलैंड और दक्षिण कोरिया में शिक्षा प्रणालियों को अक्सर दुनिया में सर्वश्रेष्ठ के रूप में सराहा जाता है, जो अंतरराष्ट्रीय लीग तालिकाओं में उच्च अंक प्राप्त करते हैं। यहां शिक्षाविद बताते हैं कि इन देशों में राज्य द्वारा संचालित शिक्षा प्रणाली कक्षा में शीर्ष पर क्यों है।


Jackson removed from Celebrity Big Brother

Summary: Jeremy Jackson has been removed from the Celebrity Big Brother house.

The American actor played the part of David Hasselhoff's son in Baywatch in the 1990s. A statement on the CBB website says tonight's episode "features explosive drama between the housemates," and includes "an incident" that results in his removal. Channel 5 has moved the episode to 10pm - an hour later than it's usually broadcast. Earlier, the show's narrator Marcus Bentley tweeted: "Haven't even started to record for tonight's show because of dramatic events." In other tweets he described the incident as "explosive" and said: "Tonight's show is one of those shows that you will not want to miss. It's on at ten." In the diary room, housemates including the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton expressed concerns about Jeremy's erratic behaviour. Referring to the actor's past alcohol addiction, Perez said: "The fact that Jeremy is boozing a lot, and he's just coming off a bad break up, makes me think he's not in a very mentally stable state right now." "There's entertaining and then there's scary, and he's borderline scary," he said. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube

जेरेमी जैक्सन को सेलिब्रिटी बिग ब्रदर के घर से हटा दिया गया है।


'I took magic mushroom drug psilocybin in clinical trial'

Summary: Last summer, while filming for my new BBC4 series, The Brain - A Secret History, I took part in the UK's first scientific trial of psilocybin - the active component of magic mushrooms. It was one of the strangest experiences of my life.

By Dr Michael MosleyBBC TV Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic drug, so I was extremely apprehensive. It also has a dark past. As well as being used recreationally, psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs were used in the 1950s and 60s as part of brain-washing experiments by the US military. Since it is a class A drug, taking it would normally be illegal. But the former government drugs adviser, Professor David Nutt of Bristol University and a team from Imperial College believe that psilocybin is worth investigating as it may have a role to play in medicine, possibly as a treatment for severe depression. They want to study what psilocybin does to the brains of healthy volunteers. They have permission to administer the drug within the controlled environment of a clinical trial. Which is why, one rainy afternoon, I turned up at a brain scanning unit belonging to Cardiff University Existential experience "So am I going to enjoy this?" I asked Professor Nutt. "I think so. Most of our volunteers have. Most people get something positive from it," he reassured me. The team were expecting psilocybin to have a profound impact, so I was put through a battery of psychological tests to check my mental stability. Hallucinogens are very unpredictable. I would not have been allowed to take part if I had not passed the tests. But there was still the risk of a "bad trip" which is said to feel like being trapped in a nightmare. I asked Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, also running the trial, what I was likely to experience. "It can be quite dramatic", he told me. "The last volunteer said it was like an intense, spiritual experience, an existential experience, that his whole sense of self dissolved and he only existed as a concept." I think this was intended to be reassuring, but it wasn't. I was pretty sure that I didn't want to find out what it was like to exist as a concept. Alone in a tube After a thorough physical examination, I was placed in a brain scanner, so the team could map in detail how my brain reacted. Then the drug was injected. For an instant there was nothing. Then it was like that moment in a Star Trek film when the space ship goes into hyperdrive. The walls of the scanner dissolved and I took off to the stars. I saw intense colours and patterns. It was beautiful, but disturbing. It was also intensely frustrating because I wanted someone to share the experience with, and I was all alone in a metal and plastic tube. Prof Nutt and his team, who were monitoring the effects on my brain, told me later that my brain registered an intense response. After about ten minutes they had collected enough data, so they let me out of the scanner. Although I now felt as if the psilocybin was wearing off, I was still feeling most unusual and had an uncontrollable urge to talk. . . and talk . . . and talk. Therapeutic tool My results were then merged into the consolidated scans from the other participants in the trial, and Professor Nutt showed me what they had learnt. "Our aim was to identify the precise areas inside the brain where the drug is active. We thought when we started that psilocybin would activate different parts of the brain. But we haven't found any activation anywhere. All we have found are reductions in blood flow" A fall in blood flow suggests that brain activity has reduced. The areas affected were those parts of the brain that tell us who we are, where we are and what we are. When these areas were dampened down, I was no longer locked into my everyday constraints. This is also one of the reasons why magic mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs are so potentially dangerous. Without a sense of who and what they are, there are cases of people running into busy roads or trying to fly with fatal consequences. But David thinks that because psilocybin can dampen activity in critical areas of the brain it may, in future, also have a place in the treatment of mental disorders like depression. "In conditions like depression or obsessive compulsive disorder, where people get locked into a maladaptive mindsets, these regions can be overactive. So maybe dampening down these areas will help people move into another mindset which might be better and healthier". American researchers, using non-hallucinogenic versions, have already begun researching the use of former "psychedelics" for treating depression, obsessive compulsion disorder, alcoholism, and addiction. David is not suggesting that people who are depressed treat themselves with class A drugs. NHS advice warns that people with mental conditions are at particular risk from hallucinogens which can make existing conditions worse. But he does think that it is an area of research that could prove extremely fruitful. "It would be wonderful if we had a new way of treating depression, wouldn't it? Particularly if you could hold on to those effects and maintain them." So hallucinogenic drugs may have a part to play in the future as a therapeutic tool. It's a far cry from the military ambitions of would be brainwashers. As for me, well it was an interesting experience. But not one I will be repeating. Dr Michael Mosley presents The Brain: A Secret History, a three part series on BBC Four on Thursdays at 2100GMT from 6 January.

पिछली गर्मियों में, अपनी नई बीबीसी4 श्रृंखला, द ब्रेन-ए सीक्रेट हिस्ट्री के लिए फिल्मांकन करते समय, मैंने यूके के साइलोसाइबिन के पहले वैज्ञानिक परीक्षण में भाग लिया-जादू मशरूम का सक्रिय घटक। यह मेरे जीवन के सबसे अजीब अनुभवों में से एक था।


Is immigration policy killing the American Dream?

Summary: It's a story repeated throughout American culture, in theatre, film and novels: the penniless immigrant arrives on American shores seeking a new life and, through hard work and determination, prospers and thrives.

By Katie ConnollyBBC News, Washington Such tales are a quintessential part of the "American Dream", the idea that anyone willing to work hard and think big can come to the US and "make it". But, at a time when immigration is a divisive, hot-button political issue, is that dream still possible? The dream itself is alive and well, says Ben Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Council. "The spirit of the people who have the drive to uproot themselves and pursue this dream across the world is powerful. It continues to shine through," Mr Johnson told the BBC. But the spirit is not sufficient if the system won't allow it. And America's immigration system does not make it particularly easy to start a new life on its shores. Quotas reached American immigration policy is largely family based, meaning residency is most commonly granted to the immediate family of existing residents or citizens. For others, visas are granted mostly based on skill levels, with highly skilled immigrants having a much easier time getting work permits than unskilled labourers. So-called skilled workers - usually people with a university education or professional training - have a range of visa options. The most common visa, the H1B class, currently has a ceiling of 65,000 each year. That quota is easily filled every year. Before the recession, it was filled in the same month the visas were released. At the moment, Mr Johnson says, it gets filled in eight or nine months, meaning that for several months of the year, H1B visas simply are not available regardless of the demand for them. For unskilled labourers, the US grants just 5,000 work visas each year to people employed in fields other than agriculture. Yet, according to Maurice Belanger, a director at the National Immigration Forum, the US economy was absorbing about 300,000 such workers each year prior to the recession. These workers are illegal or undocumented. Although there are certainly examples of undocumented immigrants becoming prosperous, mostly they are concentrated in low-paying jobs and have essentially no power to bargain for improved conditions. The threat of deportation hangs over their American dreams. Those penniless immigrants are not thriving like their celebrated predecessors. The 'terrorism net' Clarissa Martinez, an immigration expert at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, says that America's immigration system is hindering the ability of foreign-born people to achieve the American Dream. "We're going through a period where we are seeing if immigrants can make it blindfolded and with both hands tied behind their back," Ms Martinez told the BBC. "We are experiencing a systemic failure. We have a system where legal immigration channels are clogged and that is fostering the growing undocumented population." Mr Johnson says that the failure of Congress to reform the immigration system in recent years is America's loss. The US, he says, is missing out by refusing to seize on the desire of foreigners to become part of the American labour force. He argues that America would be better off if it treated immigration policy as a recruitment tool rather than "a terrorism net that people have to try to swim through". In recent years in particular, American politicians have tended to view immigration through the lens of terrorism or national sovereignty rather than as an opportunity to add dynamism and flexibility to the labour market, Mr Johnson says. "There is a kind of arrogance in our immigration system that we believe that whatever hurdles we throw down, people will be desperate enough to come to the United States that they will find a way to put up with them," Mr Johnson told the BBC. Whose dream? Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, firmly disagrees that America is missing out by not opening its doors to immigrants. "Whose American Dream are we talking about?" he asks. "Immigration policy is a boon for the immigrants coming here. But what about the American dreams of Americans?" Mr Krikorian argues that low-skilled foreign workers are flooding the American market, competing with American workers. Even with low paying jobs, those workers and their families are often better off than in their home countries. But their willingness to work for pay and conditions that many Americans refuse to tolerate has had a depressive effect on wages at the low-skilled end of the labour scale, Mr Krikorian says. That disproportionately affects the economic mobility of African Americans and US-born Hispanics, who make up a large part of the low-skilled work force. "Anybody who needs a leg up in the labour market - young workers who don't have college, handicapped people, ex-cons, recovering drug addicts - sees his prospects sabotaged by [illegal workers]," Mr Krikorian says. Denying employers access to cheap illegal labour could force them to provide better wages and conditions to lure legal workers. Moreover, he argues, these cheap workers are holding America's economy back by reducing the motivation to invest in technologies that save money over the long term. For example, there is little incentive to develop advanced harvesting techniques when there is a ready supply of people to do the work without the capital investment. "Productivity increases are where long-term wage improvements have to come from. We are retarding that process by reducing the incentives for employers to invest," he says. "Low-skilled immigration isn't good for American competitiveness in the long run." In the end, Mr Krikorian says, the choice comes down to whose American Dream do you support: the dreams of Americans or of foreign born immigrants? "I choose Americans," he says.

यह एक ऐसी कहानी है जिसे पूरी अमेरिकी संस्कृति, रंगमंच, फिल्म और उपन्यासों में दोहराया गया हैः एक गरीब अप्रवासी एक नए जीवन की तलाश में अमेरिकी तटों पर आता है और कड़ी मेहनत और दृढ़ संकल्प के माध्यम से, समृद्ध होता है और पनपता है।


Introducing…Giggs

Summary: London rapper Giggs has an unwavering vision.

By Greg CochraneNewsbeat music reporter Those expecting a new Tinchy or Chipmunk are sorely mistaken. South London rapper Giggs wants to "smash the game like 50 Cent did" and change the streets - whilst juggling the school run. "I want to smash the game the way 50 Cent did," he says fixing us with a warm, meaningful stare. "This rap thing, it's just a stepping stone for where I want to take the game. I want to change the way the streets are, give people something to look forward to and hope." You see, 26-year-old Nathan Thomas is on a mission. And the music he makes is his message, armour and weapon. "On the streets no one's got anything to look forward to so they just do whatever they can do. My doing this music thing, that's not taken one person out the game, that's taken 10 people out the game. "Them people there with me might be some of the most serious criminals on the streets right now but they're doing something positive now and don't have time for that crap. This is something I'm trying to make happen all over the UK." He stops, aware of the magnitude of his undertaking. "You can only try, can't you?" 'Right direction' It's a personal crusade which began for the rapper after he left prison in 2004 after serving a sentence for gun charges. Since then, as a member of Peckham crew SN1, he's conducted his own rehabilitation. "It's just an experience innit? Just try and not go back there. I think I'm heading in the right direction - you've just got to live and learn," he admits. Freshly released, the first thing he did was to begin hitting any major rave, gig or party in his area and distributing his mix tape demos spreading his own word. "I gave them out until people started saying, 'I've got this already'. It was a lot of the money down the drain then, but I knew it would pay off." Pay off it did. Notoriety in the rap underground eventually landed him a deal with XL Recordings last year and a collaboration with The Streets' Mike Skinner on Slow Songs. It's culminated in the arrival of his debut album Let 'Em Have It - out in April. It took three weeks of concentrated overnight studio sessions in the closing days of 2009 to complete. "I've got to fit that in with getting my son from school, quickly grab him and look after him until whatever time, then see if I can fit in a few more meetings after that. I'll hit the studio after that. 12am 'til 6am everyday," he says. "I'm a workaholic when it comes to music - gather up the beats and smash it out." No wonder then the resulting cuts are dark, lamp-lit slabs of warts 'n' all street life. It is, as he says, the story of his life in chapters. "A messed up situation to where I am now," he says. "That journey." No Tinchy However, don't go expecting Giggs to do a 'Tinchy' or a 'Chipmunk' in 2010 though. Even though they're from the same patch, by his own admission he's not that kind of artist. "I rate them - they're playing hard and opening new doors with what they're doing. I've put myself in a different category to them. "We might work together but they still do their thing and I do my thing. It's a good look for young talent - showing everyone you can smash up the game." And that promise to smash 2010 like Curtis Jackson did back in the early 2000s - it might just happen.

लंदन के रैपर गिग्स की एक अटूट दृष्टि है।


Isle of Man 2016 General Election Results

Summary: Here are the full results of the 2016 Isle of Man General Election.

BBC News App users: tap here to see results Isle of Man 2016 General Election results Boundary changes saw the number of constituencies reduced from 14 to 12 for this election. Each area now elects two members to the House of Keys. Constituency results

यहाँ 2016 के आइल ऑफ मैन आम चुनाव के पूर्ण परिणाम दिए गए हैं।


M4 relief road: Five things the planning inspector said

Summary: It was one of Britain's biggest road building projects.

By Daniel DaviesBBC Wales political correspondent Until First Minister Mark Drakeford cancelled it, despite the conclusions of a planning inspector. After months of studying the evidence in a public inquiry, Bill Wadrup said there was a "compelling case" to build the relief road. Here are five things we learnt from his report. Alternatives How about burying the relief road under a 10-mile tunnel at a cost of £10bn? Mr Wadrup didn't think it was a good idea. It was one of 28 proposals for alternatives to the Welsh Government's plan. Some of them proposed a version of the so-called blue route, which follows existing roads to the south of Newport. But the inspector was "firmly" against them, because they would have involved "building an elevated urban expressway close to where people live". Traffic The motorway around Newport is "plagued" by an "abnormally high number" of delays. Opponents to the relief road think if we could get people out of their cars, it would alleviate some of the problems. A major upgrade of public transport in the region is planned as part of the South Wales Metro. But even if that materialised overnight, it would only reduce traffic by 5.9%. And in the "real world", Mr Wadrup said those improvements are years away. In the meantime, use of the M4 increases. Traffic rose 12.3% between 2011 and 2016. Value for money The cabinet decided in April that it didn't have the money to build the road. The inspector couldn't have known that. But he did judge the project to be "at least sound value for money and, in all probability, good value for money". It would give the economy a shot in the arm, he said, meaning that for every pound spent building it, the nation would earn £1.56. The Gwent Levels Even if he had money to spend, the first minister says he wouldn't have built the road because of the impact on the Gwent Levels. It's a sensitive environment, but the inspector says building the motorway there might not be as damaging as some people think. He said only 2% of it would be affected, and thanks to the government's plans to limit the impact "in the medium term the Levels would be larger and ecologically in better condition than they are today". The environment On the day it privately decided it couldn't afford the new M4 - April 29 - the Welsh Government publicly declared we were living through a climate emergency. You might think that a new motorway would only add to the carbon emissions that are contributing to climate change. But Mr Wadrup was persuaded that a shorter, less congested, motorway would reduce carbon emissions. After weighing up the competing considerations, he said "it cannot be argued that the scheme does not have substantial environmental benefits or significant economic advantages across south Wales".

यह ब्रिटेन की सबसे बड़ी सड़क निर्माण परियोजनाओं में से एक थी।


Grenfell fraud: Man jailed after claiming he lived with victim

Summary: A man has been jailed after he claimed to be in a relationship with a woman who died in the Grenfell Tower fire so he could have free accommodation.

Koffi Kouakou, of Westfield Close, London, said he lived in a flat in the north Kensington block with the woman. He was put up in a hotel for about two months before being moved to a flat. At Isleworth Crown Court, the 53-year-old was sentenced to four years in prison having previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Kouakou was arrested on 7 June after detectives established he had not lived in the tower and was not in a relationship with the woman. According to the Met, accommodating Kouakou in the hotel and flat cost in excess of £30,000. The fire on 14 June 2017 in Kensington killed 72 people.

ग्रेनफेल टावर में आग लगने से मरने वाली एक महिला के साथ संबंध होने का दावा करने के बाद एक व्यक्ति को जेल भेज दिया गया है ताकि वह मुफ्त में रह सके।


Brexit is 'getting dramatic', says EU

Summary: So, here we are, poised to begin round six of Brexit talks, and it might move you to raise an eyebrow or two to hear that the two sides can't even agree what to call these meetings now: negotiating rounds, stock-taking exercises or an information exchange.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter These days I'd call them a dance around a standstill. UK negotiators have long been frustrated with the format of the (so far) monthly rounds of talks. They feel that sitting in Brussels for days at a stretch doesn't allow them the opportunity to consult London when an impasse is reached in order to - maybe - come up with a plan B and - hopefully - move forward. But EU negotiators ruled out a more flexible style of talks because, instead of consulting with one capital city, they've got 27 of them that would want to chip in, plus the European Parliament. Simply not practicable, they say. Perhaps then you won't fall off your chair in shock when I tell you expectations of round six of - whatever these talks should be labelled as - are low on the Brussels side of the Channel. Main divorce issues Yet that's not met here with a sea of EU shoulder shrugs. Quite the opposite. People I speak to are agitated. EU sources close to the negotiations have told me they believe the UK has only two weeks left to make progress on the Brexit divorce issues. Otherwise, I've been told, EU leaders are extremely unlikely to vote at their December summit to widen talks to include trade and transition deals - as the UK so dearly wants. Now there are three main divorce issues on the table: While the UK's chief negotiator David Davis insists a lot of progress has been made, his EU counterparts are less effusive. Imagine the three issues were traffic lights, citizens' rights would be green (although there are key issues still to be ironed out), Ireland would be amber and money would be a screaming, honking red. And frankly, money is what it boils down to. Some EU countries, such as Poland and Sweden, are keen to move on to talks of a future relationship with the UK - while others, like Germany and France, are more cautious. But there is unanimity amongst all 27 that the UK must pay. Brussels insists it doesn't need a precise figure right now. It does, however, want far more detail than what is perceived here as the vague promise Theresa May made in late September in her Florence speech that the UK is a country which honours its commitments. 'We want to leave and it's time to pay' And why are there only two weeks left for the UK to move on the money, according to the EU? Because that is when the 27 EU capitals start discussing the draft conclusions to the leaders' summit which takes place mid-December. They need those two weeks to more or less agree a position. "And there's no way they'll agree to talk trade or transition with the UK in December, if the money issue hasn't been put to bed beforehand. Forget it," a high-level contact told me. "Then the Brexit situation becomes dramatic." Because if the December summit comes and goes, the earliest talks of a future EU-UK relationship could start would be at the next EU leaders summit in March 2018. Far too late for businesses on both sides of the Channel which are desperate for some clarity. March 2018 would also be one year after the UK triggered Article 50 - the formal process to leave the EU. And it's six months from the time the EU wants to formally close Brexit negotiations in order to be able to vote on any agreement reached. "All I know," a source close to the negotiations told me, "is that I don't know the UK as I thought I did." "Are they so clouded by sex scandals and losing ministers in Westminster that they don't see: Brexit time is running out? "They want a deal. Fine. Then now's the time to rip off the Band Aid. To admit to the UK public and the Conservative Party: 'We want to leave and it's time to pay'." The EU wants a deal, too. Very much so. But the mantra "No deal is better than a bad deal" also rings true this side of the Channel.

इसलिए, यहाँ हम ब्रेक्सिट वार्ता के छठे दौर को शुरू करने के लिए तैयार हैं, और यह आपको यह सुनने के लिए एक या दो भौंहें उठाने के लिए प्रेरित कर सकता है कि दोनों पक्ष इस बात पर भी सहमत नहीं हो सकते हैं कि इन बैठकों को अब क्या कहा जाएः बातचीत के दौर, स्टॉक-लेने का अभ्यास या एक सूचना का आदान-प्रदान।


Next phase of Bristol's flood defence work to start

Summary: The third phase of an £11m project to replace Bristol Harbour's flood defences is expected to start on Monday.

This phase involves replacing the gates at Netham Lock, where boats from the River Avon can gain access to the floating harbour. Built in about 1809, the lock marks the end of the Feeder Canal. Back-up flood gates have already been installed at Junction Lock, and the swing bridge has been upgraded. BAM Nuttall, which was awarded all three phases of the project, will replace the four timber gates at Netham Lock, which have been in place since 1982, with new timber gates sympathetic to the historical nature of the location.

ब्रिस्टल हार्बर की बाढ़ सुरक्षा को बदलने के लिए 11 मिलियन पाउंड की परियोजना का तीसरा चरण सोमवार से शुरू होने की उम्मीद है।


Search for climber after 'man falls from cliffs' near Bullers of Buchan

Summary: Searches are taking place around the Aberdeenshire coast for a climber who is believed to have fallen from cliffs.

Emergency services received a report of a man falling into the water near the Bullers of Buchan beauty spot on Friday evening. Police and coastguards using a drone and a helicopter have been leading the search. Aberdeen and Peterhead lifeboats have also been combing the coastline.

एबरडीनशायर तट के आसपास एक पर्वतारोही की तलाश की जा रही है, जिसके बारे में माना जाता है कि वह चट्टानों से गिर गया था।


Growing up a foreigner during Mao's Cultural Revolution

Summary: Paul Crook's Communist parents met in China in 1940 and brought up their three sons in Beijing. In the 1960s, Paul was caught up in the Cultural Revolution, a chaotic attempt to root out elements seen as hostile to Communist rule.

"We were encouraged to write posters criticising our teachers and the school leaders for anything seen as being 'Revisionist'. My classmates and I would get big sheets of paper, poster size, and write all sorts of things and put them up in the classrooms and hallways. If sometimes the teachers were not very nice to you, then this would be a chance to get back at them. At the beginning there wasn't really much violence in my school, on the whole it was civilised, supposedly fighting against wrong ideas, but no doubt very demeaning, even horrific for many teachers. I do remember one of the more unruly students picked on an art teacher who was said to come from quite a bourgeois background. He was one of the best teachers, I really liked him. We were in a room with him and one of the other students had a baseball bat and was about to hit him and one of my friends said, 'Hey you can't do this'. On that particular occasion we avoided any violence. But elsewhere, there was much violence, as the Cultural Revolution went on. 'Bourgeois authorities' Mobilised by Chairman Mao, millions of young people became Red Guards. They hounded anyone who they thought was sabotaging the Communist Revolution, many of them highly placed members of the Communist Party. If you were noticed, a celebrity of any sort, you were fair game. Academics, Party officials and others who were seen as being 'bourgeois authorities' were dragged off to meetings to be 'struggled against' in front of large crowds. Many people were locked up - sometimes even killed or driven to suicide. There was huge upheaval at the university where my parents, David and Isabel, worked. At that time school students from the cities were regularly sent to work in the countryside during harvest season, and upon graduation many were sent to settle in the country, to share the life of the farmers. In those days everyone in the countryside was a member of a 'People's Commune', working together, and sharing the proceeds. In the autumn of 1967, I joined a bunch of foreign kids and went to a commune just outside Beijing, where we harvested sweet potatoes and pears. It was a very happy time, but then when I came home three weeks later my brothers said, 'You'll never guess what has happened, they've arrested a spy at the university among the foreigners, can you guess who it is?' I thought of a few relatively dodgy characters. But it turned out to be my father. 'Spy' It was a bit of a joke because we thought, he believes in all this, supports the revolution, how could he be a spy? We thought my father would be released within a few days, in a few weeks. We had all been educated to think that things were getting better all the time, but sometimes there would be mistakes. One of the slogans at that time was: 'You should trust the Masses, and trust the Party!' As I recall, I don't think I seriously thought that my father would ever not be released and I did not think he would be abused physically, so we just went on living. We were constantly going to different government departments to find out where he was locked up, so we could deliver reading material to him or food that he liked. My mother was repeatedly summoned for questioning and eventually she too disappeared. By then the university was run by a Revolutionary Committee supervised by the Workers' Propaganda Team, and by army representatives sent to take control of universities by Mao. But my brothers and I continued to receive our parents' wages, and we were getting older, and were pretty well able to look after ourselves. After I left school, I worked in a farm implements factory, and later an automobile repair plant. We were anxious about what had happened to our parents, but we weren't eaten up by anger or worry, as we were brought up to believe that if you were innocent then this would be proved in due course. Meanwhile my parents' friends gave us care and encouragement, and the official position towards young people whose parents were in trouble was that they could still be educated 'to take the right path'. 'The right path' For a long time we thought it would just be a few months and we kept hearing things, rumours about the latest political twists and turns, and we thought - hoped - our parents would be coming out quite soon. In the end my mother was freed after just over three years of lock-up on the university campus. My father was released from prison after five years, much of it spent in solitary confinement. He and my mother were later exonerated of any wrongdoing, and received an official apology. My parents were never physically abused in all the time they were locked up, but it was a trying time, to say the least. They were sustained by their belief that all this upheaval was part of an attempt to create a better society. Although the time of my parents' incarceration was a period of turmoil in China, and we were concerned for our parents, it also was a time of independence for me and my brothers. We had opportunities to travel around the country, and there was plenty of time for teenage fun, going out hiking in the hills, and parties and dancing in the Friendship Hotel, where foreign residents in Beijing lived a somewhat sheltered life. Inevitably, what happened then shaped the way I saw the world. Like many of my friends I grew to be rather sceptical, to be critical of what people's stated intentions were, and what their grand visions entailed. My father said when he was locked up, he did think it was a mistake and wondered how he could clear his name. When he came out he found that many of his Chinese colleagues had gone through very similar experiences. And he was reconciled to the fact that the leadership was making an earnest effort to get rid of these abuses. He had lost five years of his life in prison but he didn't see why he should change his ideals. He and my mother continued to work at the university for many years before retiring, teaching and writing about what was going on in China. My father also worked on a Chinese-English dictionary, which is still in use today. That is what they wanted to do, to give meaning to their life. My father died in China, while my mother still lives there, leading an active life." Paul Crook left China and came to the UK, where he worked at the BBC World Service for nearly 30 years. He told his story to the BBC World Service history programme, Witness.

पॉल क्रूक के कम्युनिस्ट माता-पिता 1940 में चीन में मिले और बीजिंग में अपने तीन बेटों का पालन-पोषण किया। 1960 के दशक में, पॉल सांस्कृतिक क्रांति में फंस गए, जो कम्युनिस्ट शासन के प्रति शत्रुतापूर्ण तत्वों को जड़ से उखाड़ फेंकने का एक अराजक प्रयास था।


Tulip Limited jobs at risk in Lincolnshire Norfolk and Cornwall

Summary: Job losses have been announced at three meat processing factories.

Up to 150 staff at Tulip Limited have been told they are at risk of redundancy after the firm said it had failed to secure a new contract. Jobs will go next month at three sites in Boston, Lincolnshire, Kings Lynn in Norfolk and Bodmin in Cornwall. Tulip, which is the UK's largest producer of pork products, said affected staff would be offered alternative roles within the business. Kirsty Wilkins, Tulip's HR director, said: "We are currently operating in an extremely challenging economic environment which has led to the need to announce proposed changes at three of our sites as a result of a failing to secure a tender." She added that managers were "working closely" with affected staff to "lessen the impact of the announcement". The company has 17 manufacturing sites across the UK, employing about 8,000 people. The redundancies are expected to be made after a 30-day consultation period.

तीन मांस प्रसंस्करण कारखानों में नौकरी छूटने की घोषणा की गई है।


Coronavirus: 'Racist attack' on Chinese in Southampton

Summary: A group of Chinese people have been assaulted in Southampton in what police described as a racially-aggravated attack linked to coronavirus.

The three men and a woman, who were wearing medical face masks, were attacked by a group in St Vincents Walk on Tuesday, shortly after 20:00 GMT. Their injuries are not thought to be serious. A spokeswoman for Hampshire Police said: "It is reported the incident was linked to the coronavirus. "Any crime perpetuated through ignorance, prejudice or hate is unacceptable." The force did not have further details about the suspects but has asked anyone with information to come forward in a bid to identify the attackers.

साउथेम्प्टन में चीनी लोगों के एक समूह पर हमला किया गया है जिसे पुलिस ने कोरोनावायरस से जुड़े नस्लीय रूप से बढ़े हुए हमले के रूप में वर्णित किया है।


Northern Ireland hits record for wind energy in 2013

Summary: Northern Ireland hit record heights in terms of wind energy in 2013.

By Julian O'NeillBBC NI business correspondent Last December, power generated by turbines regularly contributed upwards of 40% of the local electricity demand, according to the Northern Ireland Renewables Industry Group (NIRIG). It said local wind farms now had the capacity to power 345,410 homes. The highest levels of wind energy ever recorded here were on 17 December at 18:30 GMT. "This is a significant milestone as it is the first time that wind has contributed more than 500MW to energy needs in Northern Ireland and represented 36% of total electricity needs at that moment," said Gary Connolly of NIRIG. The renewables industry is holding a conference in Belfast on Thursday. About 750 people are now employed in the sector In Northern Ireland.

उत्तरी आयरलैंड ने 2013 में पवन ऊर्जा के मामले में रिकॉर्ड ऊंचाई हासिल की।


Investigation into Condor ferry damage

Summary: Investigations have begun after three ferry crew members were injured and 25 cars damaged during a crossing between the UK and the Channel Islands.

Condor Ferries' Condor Express encountered high winds during the sailing from Poole to Jersey, via Guernsey, on Thursday. Winds of about 65 knots affected the ferry near Alderney. The company said it was undertaking the review, but believed it had taken the right decision not to cancel the crossing.

ब्रिटेन और चैनल द्वीप समूह के बीच एक क्रॉसिंग के दौरान नौका चालक दल के तीन सदस्यों के घायल होने और 25 कारों के क्षतिग्रस्त होने के बाद जांच शुरू हो गई है।


New beachside festival cancelled

Summary: A new beachside festival launched by promoters behind the Reading and Leeds festivals has been cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Playaway, launched in December 2009, and set to feature artists such as Calvin Harris, Scouting For Girls and Noisettes was due to take place at the Butlins holiday camp, Skegness between 16-18 April. Ticket holders have been told they can obtain a refund from the point of purchase. Playaway was conceived by Live Nation, the same promoters behind the Reading and Leeds, Wirleless and Latitude festivals.

रीडिंग और लीड्स त्योहारों के पीछे प्रमोटरों द्वारा शुरू किया गया एक नया समुद्र तट उत्सव "अप्रत्याशित परिस्थितियों" के कारण रद्द कर दिया गया है।


Q&A: Morocco elects new parliament

Summary: Moroccans elect a new lower house of parliament on 25 November, in the first national vote since the approval of constitutional reforms billed as laying the foundations for a fully-fledged constitutional monarchy.

King Mohammed VI presented the changes as a far-reaching concession to Arab Spring-style pro-democracy protests, but activists believe they will do little to change the actual power structure and have called for a boycott of the elections. Moderate Islamists are hoping to do well in the vote after a similar success in Tunisia's first democratic election a month ago. How significant are the elections? As a result of the constitutional changes approved by 98% of those voting in a 1 July referendum, the new parliament will have a greater share of power and - in theory - will play the leading role in a legislative process previously dominated by the king. The position of the prime minister, who must now be appointed from the largest party in parliament, has also been enhanced, gaining the authority to appoint government officials and dissolve parliament. The reforms were supported by all the main political parties, which called on their supporters to back the proposals in the referendum. What do the critics say? The 20 February movement, which spearheaded Morocco's pro-democracy protests earlier this year, has called for a boycott of the elections, dismissing them as a "piece of theatre". It says the constitutional changes approved in July are superficial, and perpetuate a "facade of democracy" that - it says - has disguised continuing royal rule for decades. Critics of the reforms point in particular to the fact that the king will still have wide-ranging executive powers, in particular control over foreign, defence and security policy. Activists also say the reforms will not end the behind-the-scenes dominance of the "makhzen" - a power apparatus of veteran politicians, powerful businesspeople, the security forces and royal officials controlled by the king through a system of patronage. What are Moroccans voting for? The vote is for the lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Representatives, which is elected for a five-year term. The upper house, the Chamber of Counsellors, which is elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations and trade unions for nine-year terms, is not involved in this election. How does the system work? Of the Chamber of Representatives' 395 members, 305 are elected in 92 multi-seat constituencies from electoral lists put together by the parties. Under the "closed-list" system, voters can only chose between the party lists, and cannot modify the order of candidates on them. Of the remaining 90 seats, 60 are reserved for a national list of women. A further 30 seats are newly earmarked for candidates under the age of 35, in a move widely seen as a concession to the largely youthful pro-democracy activists. About 13.6 million Moroccans have registered to vote. What is the voters' mood? In contrast to the excitement on display in Tunisia's first post-dictatorship elections in October, there are fears of a low turnout, which could be seen as potentially undermining the credibility of the king's reforms. At the last elections in 2007, only 37% of the electorate bothered to vote, amid a widespread sense of disillusionment with Morocco's established politicians. What are the main political groups? Founded in the 1940s as the main opposition to French rule over Morocco, the centre-right Istiqlal is one of the country's oldest parties. It has been a member of numerous government coalitions in the past few decades, having softened its traditionally critical stance towards the monarchy. Its leader, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, has headed a five-party coalition government since the party become the largest in parliament at the last elections with 52 seats. The PJD is Morocco's largest moderate Islamist force, and won 46 seats to become the second largest party in parliament at the last elections. Modelling itself on Turkey's Islamist-derived governing party of the same name, the PJD is widely tipped to make further gains this time around, following the victory of the similar Ennahda party in Tunisia's elections. PJD leader Abdelillah Benkirane has said his party is "ready for the responsibility of government". Traditionally seen as Morocco's main centre-left force, the USFP is currently a member of the government. Formed in the 1970s, it is, along with the rest of Morocco's left, widely seen as a fading force. The party won 38 seats in the last elections, down from 50 five years before. Its leader is veteran politician Abdelouahed Radi. In the run-up to the 25 November poll it has cooperated closely with two smaller centre-left parties - including another member of the governing coalition, the Party for Progress and Socialism (PSS - 17 seats) - in a bid to revive the left's fortunes. Alliance for Democracy The Alliance for Democracy, a loose eight-party pro-monarchy electoral bloc, was formed on 5 October in a move widely seen as aimed at countering the predicted rise of the PJD. It includes two of the current five governing parties - the centre-right liberal Popular Movement, which won 41 seats in the last parliamentary polls, and the royalist National Rally of Independents, which won 39. Also part of the alliance is the Party of Authenticity and Modernity, which was founded in 2008 - a year after the last elections - by one of the king's right-hand men, Fouad Ali al-Himma. It subsequently won 19% in local elections, prompting speculation that it might become a significant new force in Moroccan politics. Media observers believe the bloc is an attempt to form a "party of the king" capable of becoming the largest party in parliament, which would allow the monarch to pick one of its members as prime minister. The bloc itself says its aim is to prevent the "Balkanisation" of Morocco's already fractious political landscape. Will the elections be monitored? About 4,000 observers from 16 Moroccan and foreign bodies have been accredited by the electoral authorities.

मोरक्को के लोग 25 नवंबर को संसद के एक नए निचले सदन का चुनाव करते हैं, जो संवैधानिक सुधारों की मंजूरी के बाद पहले राष्ट्रीय मतदान में एक पूरी तरह से संवैधानिक राजशाही की नींव रखने के रूप में बिल किया गया था।


Pedestrians 'flee in panic' as car crashes near Truro Cathedral

Summary: A car crashed on a busy pedestrian area outside Truro Cathedral, leaving at least two people injured and an ancient cross flattened.

Officers were called to the collision on King Street at about 11:55 GMT. The driver of a 4x4 BMW was taken to hospital with "minor chest injuries", Devon and Cornwall Police said. A large ancient Celtic cross in the plaza near the cathedral was knocked down and parked vehicles suffered "minor impact damage", police added. The area has been closed to traffic. More Cornwall news and stories. Eye witness Sam Wellstead saw the crash. "You could see the bollards literally flapping - dust everywhere - and you could hear people screaming," he said. "I saw the car flip, not on its side, but the tail end basically swung around and then people were running, screaming, panicking."

ट्रुरो कैथेड्रल के बाहर एक व्यस्त पैदल यात्री क्षेत्र में एक कार दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गई, जिसमें कम से कम दो लोग घायल हो गए और एक प्राचीन क्रॉस चपटा हो गया।


Beyonce's Clock: How do some people achieve so much?

Summary: There is a meme doing the rounds challenging the use of your time, stating: "You have as many hours in a day as Beyonce". From doctors who are best-selling authors to Olympians studying astrophysics, is there anything we can learn from these over-achievers or are their brains wired differently?

By Beth RoseBBC News Visit any website about Beyonce Knowles and a list of occupations confronts you - singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, charity founder, businesswoman, wife and mother. She even, controversially, courted politics this year with her Superbowl performance referencing the civil rights movement. All that, and she is only 34. She may now reap the benefits of having a team to sort out the menial tasks of life, but she puts her success down to self-sacrifice and hard work. Someone else with determination is 30-year-old Stacie Powell. Originally from Bristol she now works for a finance firm in Boston, United States, but a few years ago she was "living a double life", juggling an Olympic diving career while studying astrophysics at Cambridge and Harvard Universities. She said it was her desire for a medal that propelled her though the diving ranks to make her international debut at 14. The "big time with all the cameras and spectators" came when she was 16 at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, but she missed out on the 2004 Olympics and instead "knuckled down" on her A levels securing a place at Harvard studying astrophysics. She believes another secret of her success is the ability to focus. "When I'm not focusing on one thing I'm focusing on the other," she said. "I try to see that as a good thing. The reason why I love astrophysics is because it's a whole different world to diving. "They're such a contrast I felt like one is relaxing from the other." The opportunity to study at Harvard came in 2008 - the same year as the Beijing Olympics. "I got back from Beijing on the Monday, unpacked, repacked and moved to Boston on the Wednesday. "I've found having short deadlines helped me. I knew I had to get something done by 15:00, and that helped me achieve the bigger picture. "When I didn't have that discreet cut off I would take more time doing things. I would have one day off a week where I wouldn't dive and one when I didn't study." Not only did she graduate with a PhD she also made it onto Team GB for the 2012 London Olympics. Average day while studying at Harvard and training 06:00-08:00: Weight training 08:00-15:00: Start the working day. "It would be so nice to sit down and do my work". 15:00-18:00: "When I started to get a bit restless I'd do another session in the pool." 18:00-21:00: Back to the office "You don't get to the top if you don't want to be there, but I think being able to compartmentalise is really important. "If you're going to be doing something do that and don't think about the million other tasks you've got to do that day." She had family on her side too and credits her "dedicated" parents for transporting her, admitting the lifestyle had an impact on her brother and sister - "they were in the car for an hour after school - not what they really wanted to be doing". There are many people in the public sphere who achieve more than, perhaps, we realise. Mayor of London Boris Johnson is coming to the end of his second term, but 2015, his penultimate year, was prolific. He was elected Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, released his 11th book The Churchill Factor and signed a deal for his 12th. He is also a husband and father. Can we all hope to replicate this prolificacy? According to Professor of Medicine at the University of Bristol, Stafford Lightman, some multi-taskers might actually have biology on their side. "Everybody has slightly different connectivity in their brain and different parts are more effective than others," he said. Someone with the ability to compartmentalise would "undoubtedly" achieve more. "You can train your brain, within limits. Politicians train themselves to remember names. I'm useless at it - but if I really applied myself then sure, I'd be able to remember." Part of improving compartmentalising, he said, is through the practice of recognising when you are veering off track and simply making yourself return to point. What has Beyonce actually done? Sources: biography.com/Wikipedia Another polymath who believes determination scoops ability is Jane Shemilt, from Bristol. She has always had people vying for her attention, first the sick as their GP and now book lovers, following the success of her debut novel Daughter and her second The Drowning Lesson. At first writing was a hobby, but then she took on a creative writing Masters and secured a publishing deal while also running a small family business, acting as her neurosurgeon husband's secretary and being a mother to her five adult children. "I think if you can switch between your tasks it's as though you're using different muscles and it can be refreshing," she said. "When working on Daughter it was the joy of putting my work bag away and going into another room to write... it was a little bit like going to heaven. "It's the burn of achievement; it's the process. It connects me back to when I was a child and I would spend my whole weekend writing in the attic. "You only really do things that you love." But there is some fierce structure to Dr Shemilt's day and absolute dedication. "At the end of The Drowning Lesson I was working 18 hours a day and getting into bed with my clothes on before rolling out again. It was like doing my medical exams all over again, although there's something quite joyous in that, but you couldn't keep going for ever." Even though writing may be "joyous" success comes with sacrifice. "At one stage I realised I was making a decision, I wouldn't have so much of a social life. "I have a group of very close friends and they can bear with me and if I want to see them they'll come for a dog walk or something that was happening anyway. As for dinner parties or lengthy lunches, that doesn't happen much anymore because there doesn't seem to be so much time. "Cooking is a constant negotiation with family members. We have online deliveries of food so that also saves a big chunk of time." This pre-occupation with maximising 1,440 minutes a day is not just a whim of our fast-paced society. In 1910 novelist Arnold Bennett released How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, instructing the Edwardians on how to extract an "extra" eight hours a week to pursue something "worthwhile". He blamed a culture of seeing the hours either side of work as the "margins" and claimed most people only really used 16 hours a day to work and sleep. "I will defy you to account... for the other eight hours," he challenged. He suggested ring-fencing 90 minutes every other evening and 30 minutes or more in the mornings to free-up time - easier said than done in the modern world, particularly if you are a commuter, shift-worker or parent. He assures his reader "you will still be left with three evenings for friends, bridge, tennis, domestic scenes, odd reading, pipes, gardening, pottering and prize competitions". He said sleep was a "matter of habit - and of slackness". Dr Shemilt said she was also known to steal from those dead hours. "I borrow time from my sleep to read and when I take the dog for a walk we run," she says. "You can make yourself do a lot more than you often think you can." But while some people may have the knack and desire to maximise their time, Mr Bennett concluded: "Genius is never rewarded by even an extra hour a day. And there is no punishment. "Waste your infinitely precious commodity as much as you will and the supply will never be withheld from you."

आपके समय के उपयोग को चुनौती देने वाला एक मीम चल रहा है, जिसमें कहा गया हैः "आपके पास एक दिन में बियॉन्से के रूप में कई घंटे हैं।" जो डॉक्टर सबसे अधिक बिकने वाले लेखक हैं, उनसे लेकर खगोल भौतिकी का अध्ययन करने वाले ओलंपियन तक, क्या हम इन अति-प्राप्तकर्ताओं से कुछ सीख सकते हैं या क्या उनका दिमाग अलग तरह से जुड़ा हुआ है?


Nottinghamshire burning car body death 'not suspicious'

Summary: Police investigating the discovery of a man's body inside a burning car on a residential street are not treating the death as suspicious.

The car was found alight in Garden City, a no-through road in the Carlton area of Nottinghamshire, just before 02:00 BST on Wednesday. Fire crews found the body in the vehicle and notified police, who cordoned off the area. The man has not yet been formally identified. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

आवासीय सड़क पर एक जलती हुई कार के अंदर एक व्यक्ति का शव मिलने की जांच कर रही पुलिस मौत को संदिग्ध नहीं मान रही है।


'Man on fire' in Mitcham dies

Summary: A man was found dead by officers responding to reports he was on fire, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Officers were called to Commonside East in Mitcham, south London, just after 06:10 BST. The Met said it was treating the death as "unexplained" and murder detectives were investigating. Inquiries to establish the man's identity were ongoing and a post-mortem examination would occur "in due course", the force added. Related Internet Links Met Police

मेट्रोपॉलिटन पुलिस ने कहा है कि आग लगने की खबरों का जवाब देते हुए अधिकारियों ने एक व्यक्ति को मृत पाया।


Coronavirus: Henley Festival cancelled over virus concerns

Summary: Henley Festival has been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

The event was due to feature headliners James Blunt, Madness and Sophie Ellis-Bextor on its Floating Stage in Henley-on-Thames from 8 to 12 July. Organisers said it would instead take place between 7 and 11 July 2021 and the headliners would still appear. The postponement follows the cancellation earlier this week of the Henley Regatta, for the first time since World War Two. The two events usually share a festival site and building structures. 'Turbulent year' Organisers said they had taken the "difficult decision" to postpone after assessing factors such as government advice on travel restrictions and social distancing measures. They said they were working hard to move all artists over to the 2021 event "in order to stage the festival already planned, and much anticipated, in this now turbulent year". Its chief executive officer Nick Mattingley said: "We understand the immense disappointment after all the extraordinary work that has taken place to bring this much-loved festival to Henley for its 38th year. "We look forward to welcoming festival-goers and artists back to the festival in 2021 to help us celebrate... this spectacular festival." Tickets for this year's festival will be valid for next year.

कोरोना वायरस संकट के कारण हेनले महोत्सव को रद्द कर दिया गया है।


Why do England's high-rises keep failing fire tests?

Summary: Over the past week, the government has been testing high-rise tower blocks in England owned by councils and housing associations. All 95 of those tested so far have been discovered to be covered with an aluminium "rain-screen" exterior cladding that does not meet the required combustibility standards. You would be right to ask: how on earth can this have happened?

Chris CookPolicy editor, Newsnight The short answer is: the organisations responsible for maintaining standards in the building industry have been advising contractors not to take the regulations too literally. To understand this, it is worth starting with a document known as Approved Document B. This is the government's own set of fire safety guidance. It stipulates, at section 12.7, "in a building with a storey 18m or more above ground level any insulation product, filler material.... etc used in the external wall construction should be of limited combustibility". That loose-sounding term - "limited combustibility" - actually has a precise definition, set out later in that document. Broadly, though, all you need to know it basically won't catch alight. And material meeting this requirement in tests will get a combustibility grade of "A2" or better. That is the standard against which the government has been testing cladding. A government spokesperson said "a test failure means that the cladding does not meet the requirements for limited combustibility in current Building Regulations". That is to say, a failure means a breach of the official rulebook. Why, then, have builders installed so much sub-A2 cladding? Undermining the building regulations The first thing to know is that local officials no longer run all building inspections. England has a so-called "Approved Inspector" regime. Contractors must no longer wait for a local authority official to check their work. Instead, they may hire people to check their construction processes meet the required standards. There is no single regulator - or arm of government - directly upholding standards. Second, the most important requirement in the building regulations is to build a safe building. So long as you do that, the fine print of the rules does not much matter too much. That is why, when inspectors sign off sites, they do not feel the need to work directly from the government's own guidelines. And the guidelines set out by government are rather old, and cannot specify everything in all circumstances. That has left a gap into which esteemed sector bodies have stepped. Their umbrella organisation - the Building Control Alliance (BCA) - has issued advice about how to get a building signed off as compliant without using the type of materials specified in the government guidelines. And it is the case that, in the event of some prosecutions or a civil case, breaching the government's guidance would count as a serious strike against a builder. But it would also be the case that following widely accepted professional practise and BCA guidance may also constitute a defence in a suit for negligence and grounds for mitigation in a criminal prosecution. The problem is that this BCA guidance does not just suggest ways of making new technology fit the old rules. It introduces loopholes. The net effect of the sector bodies' guidance is to set weaker standards than the government's rulebook. Routes to compliance For example, the BCA's guidance in force when the Grenfell renovation took place was issued in July 2014, and it stated that there were several routes to getting a building ready for sign off by an inspector. "Option 1" was just to follow the simple Approved Document B route: just make sure everything you bolt to the outside of the building is of grade A2 or better. There were other routes, though, to allow the use of sub-A2 components. Option 2 is to hold a bespoke fire test. So you rig up a wall in a test centre with your proposed cladding design - which might include some sub-A2 components - and try to set it on fire. If it passes the test, you can get certified so that inspectors will sign off this system, even if component parts on their own would not pass. This route is actually referred to within the official guidance and has a clear performance standard attached. But there are issues with this. For example, we do not know how many attempts a product might take to pass a fire test. Option 3 is where bigger concerns creep in. It allows for so-called "desktop studies". If I have conducted tests of a cladding product in a few different scenarios, then I might not need to bother with a new fire test. I can convince inspectors to sign it off by hiring an expert who will say "based on these results, I am confident that this cladding is safe in this context" without doing any further trials. There are problems with all of this: it has allowed substandard material through. It is a deeply opaque process. We do not know when desktop studies get used. We do not know who writes these desktop studies. They are not lodged anywhere so that people living in these buildings can go and check on them. A long way below A2 Newsnight reported, however, on a troubling fourth route. The National House Building Council (NHBC) is a big player in building inspection. Last year, they issued guidance which states that you can use a variety of sub-A2 insulation boards with B-grade external cladding - and you can do all of that without even a desktop study. That effectively means that a sector body involved in signing off buildings unilaterally decided that largely using B-grade material is now sufficient, not A2. NHBC themselves state that "this is on the basis of NHBC having reviewed a significant quantity of data from a range of tests and desktop assessments." NHBC also added: "we are confident that since the guidance note was issued, the inappropriate use of [plastic-core panels] would have been identified. Indeed we have not encountered or approved any proposals for their use via this route since this guidance was issued in September 2016." But they have conceded there is at least one such polyethylene-core cladding product that meets the B-grade standard demanded in their guidance. And following Newsnight's reporting on this guidance, the body said that "in light of on-going discussions regarding the use of [plastic-core cladding] products in high-rise buildings, NHBC has withdrawn its guidance". Plastic-core panelling is not the only issue, however, with the now-suspended guidelines. NHBC also advised that materials could be used more widely than their own manufacturers did. Take one of the insulation materials that the NHBC mentioned by name: Celotex RS 5000, the insulation used at Grenfell Tower. According to documents issued by the manufacturer, this board was only tested for use with A2-grade external cladding. The NHBC said it could be used with B-grade cladding, We also identified one type of insulation that, NHBC said. could be used safely with B-grade cladding, which is actually grade C. All in all, the NHBC guidance was a long way from that official A2 standard. As the official cladding tests results keep showing, though, NHBC are hardly alone in having signed off sub-A2 cladding. These widespread test failures are a symptom of broader problems with standards across our building sector. There has been a lot of discussion about sprinklers. But the catastrophe at Grenfell Tower has showed up the weakness of the whole framework in which our building regulations sit. The basis on which we decide whether a tower block is fire-safe is a mess. Accepted professional practice has systematically reduced the fire resistance of our tall buildings.

पिछले सप्ताह से, सरकार इंग्लैंड में परिषदों और आवास संघों के स्वामित्व वाले ऊंचे टावर ब्लॉकों का परीक्षण कर रही है। अब तक जिन 95 टावरों का परीक्षण किया गया है, उनमें से सभी एल्यूमीनियम "रेन-स्क्रीन" बाहरी आवरण से ढके हुए पाए गए हैं जो आवश्यक दहनशीलता मानकों को पूरा नहीं करते हैं। आपको यह पूछना सही होगाः पृथ्वी पर ऐसा कैसे हो सकता है?


Spending Review: London's Crossrail 2 funding stopped

Summary: The government has announced it has stopped developing Crossrail 2.

The £41bn rail line was scheduled to open in the 2030s and run under London from the north-east to the south-west. On Thursday the Treasury confirmed as part of its Spending Review it had agreed with Transport for London (TfL) not to fund the project However, the London mayor's office said it planned to safeguard the route in case work could begin in the future. The Treasury said ending the project would "free up investment" to raise the performance of public transport networks in other cities "towards London's gold standard". "Levelling up the rest of the UK does not mean levelling London down," a departmental spokesperson added. At the start of November, TfL agreed to end consultancy work on Crossrail 2 "as soon as possible", as a condition of the government's second £1.8bn bailout. TfL maintains the project is "still relevant and aligned to the Department for Transport's decarbonisation plan". The Treasury said it was "continuing to address capacity issues in the capital, by financing the completion of Crossrail". Crossrail - to be known as the Elizabeth Line - was initially due to open in December 2018 but has faced numerous delays. The line is due to connect Berkshire to Essex via central London. Bosses say the project will be "shut down" without an additional £1.1bn of funding.

सरकार ने घोषणा की है कि उसने क्रॉसरेल 2 का विकास बंद कर दिया है।


South Africa's Jacob Zuma on mines, land and leadership

Summary: President Jacob Zuma has for the first time in a long while spoken candidly about major policy issues facing South Africa, including the controversial calls to nationalise the mines in one of the world's major producers of precious minerals, such as gold and platinum.

By Milton NkosiBBC News, Johannesburg When I met President Jacob Zuma at his official Mahlamba Ndlopfu residence in the capital, Pretoria, he looked calm and confident after last week's policy conference storm. Before we could talk about the details of the most contentious policy deliberation by the more than 3,500 African National Congress delegates, we had to clear the air about what actually transpired in some of the closed sessions. There were newspaper reports saying the plenary descended into chaos with fist fights. I put it to the 70-year-old President Jacob Zuma that the conference was at some point characterized by chaos and physical fighting. His response couldn't have been more different: "This was one of the most disciplined conferences we've had," he said. Far from the truth he said - he explained that it was just one delegate who was overzealous and had tried to grab the microphone from a fellow provincial delegate. Mr Zuma said that the delegate was disciplined immediately and kicked out of the conference. Nationalisation or not? Before the bright television lights started to heat the tastefully decorated lounge, I sought clarification from the president of the 100-year-old ANC, nationalization of mines - did they adopt it as a policy or not? Again, Mr Zuma was emphatic - it was raised and discussed extensively but in the end it was not adopted and as far as he can tell, it will not happen even at the elective conference in Magaung later this year. Land reform On land reform - will South Africa expropriate land without compensation? With slight excitement in his eyes, the president sat up from the stately couch and said rather enthusiastically: "No, it will be with compensation. We must do this within the framework of the law and within the constitution." I then asked about the complex "willing-buyer willing-seller" principle - what are you going to replace it with? He said the government is planning to set up a land management commission to look into possible solutions. African Union leadership battle Mr Zuma reiterated his unwavering support for his ex-wife and former Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to head the African Union. He highlighted the point that colleagues in the continent know that the Southern Africa Development Community hasn't had the chance to occupy the most senior role in the AU's headquarters in Addis Ababa. Perhaps sensing a possible defeat, Mr Zuma wouldn't commit to give me an out-of-10 score about Ms Dlamini-Zuma's realistic chances of getting the top job. The Spear The president said he forgives the artist and the gallery owner who were at the centre of the controversial painting The Spear which depicted Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed. He said he harboured no ill-feelings toward them. "None at all" Second term When asked whether he would want to run for a second term, he said if the ANC decides to change him, he will be part of that decision and if they want him to continue he will heed their call. Clearly he is determined to continue at the helm. This means the stage is set for a showdown with his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe, who is the preferred candidate of the ANC Youth League, which helped propel Mr Zuma to power in 2009. Mr Zuma spent 10 years in prison with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island and sacrificed his own education fighting to end apartheid. The question is - can he lead South Africa for a second term or is he a one-term president?

राष्ट्रपति जैकब जुमा ने लंबे समय के बाद पहली बार दक्षिण अफ्रीका के सामने आने वाले प्रमुख नीतिगत मुद्दों के बारे में खुलकर बात की है, जिसमें सोना और प्लेटिनम जैसे कीमती खनिजों के दुनिया के प्रमुख उत्पादकों में से एक में खदानों का राष्ट्रीयकरण करने के विवादास्पद आह्वान शामिल हैं।


Aboriginal Australia's 'mind-blowing' struggle for a first treaty

Summary: Australia is the only Commonwealth country never to make a treaty with its indigenous peoples. Why has it proven so difficult? Kathy Marks looks at the vast challenges in Victoria alone - a state that is working towards a national first.

Every school holiday, the train would pick up Daria Atkinson and her four siblings, all aged under 10, and transport them - along with thousands of other Aboriginal children from the countryside - to Melbourne, where they would spend up to two months living with a white family. "We had to call the adults mum and dad," recalls Ms Atkinson, now 56. "We were told how to sit at the table, how to eat properly. We weren't allowed to get dirty. We had to forget we were Aboriginal. But at least we got to go home - the Stolen Generations didn't." Having experienced first-hand one of Australia's misguided assimilation programs, Ms Atkinson now works with members of the Stolen Generations in Victoria - people who were permanently separated from their families. Many of them are still trying to reconnect with their community, culture and traditional country. The quest has acquired a new urgency as Victoria paves the way for treaty discussions with the state's Aboriginal population - the first Australian jurisdiction to seek a formal agreement with its original inhabitants. What is a treaty in this context? Next year will see the creation of a statutory Aboriginal Representative Body intended to be the voice of indigenous Victoria, which will hammer out ground rules for treaty negotiations in conjunction with the state government. It has taken nearly three years of sometimes acrimonious consultations and more than $37m Australian dollars (£21m; $27m) of public funds just to get to this point. Now controversy surrounds the representative body, where - under an official model - 11 of the 28 seats would be reserved for officially acknowledged "language nations" which occupied particular regions before European settlement. There were, however, 38 such nations before colonisation. "So the other 27 will have to fight over the leftovers," says Gary Murray, an Aboriginal elder, referring to the remaining 17 seats, to be decided via an election of all Aboriginal residents. "And that's discriminatory." Also potentially problematic is that only "traditional owners" - proven descendants of a language nation or clan (extended family) - will be eligible to stand in the election, or participate in eventual treaty talks, or share in benefits flowing from a treaty. That means that some of the "stolen" people could be, in a significant way, excluded from the treaty process - a process that indigenous Australians have been demanding for decades, and which they hope will deliver them social justice and economic self-sufficiency while helping to heal the wounds of the past. Meanwhile, there is a more immediate issue: a state election this Saturday, which could lead to the process being junked, if the Labor government of Premier Daniel Andrews loses power. In South Australia, the conservative Liberal government abandoned treaty negotiations with three Aboriginal nations after winning an election in March. The Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, is opposed to a state-based treaty, arguing that "a national approach would be a much better way to go". Australia is the only Commonwealth country yet to conclude a treaty with its First Nations, although the subject has been debated on and off for years. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke promised a treaty in 1988. With progress stalled at the federal level, several states and territories have embarked on their own treaty process. First off the block, in February 2016, was Victoria - where Mr Andrews' government has discovered how protracted and tortuous the process can be, even for just one state. "It's mind-blowing, the amount of work that has gone into this to date," says Janine Coombs, one of the traditional owners on the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group, which advises the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner. That work has included four state-wide forums, dozens of regional community consultations and "roadshows", a six-day "community assembly" in Melbourne, and legislation enshrining the route to treaty talks, which the government hopes would discourage an incoming Liberal administration from jettisoning the process. The election for the representative body, to take place across six voting regions, has thrown up multiple challenges. Should, for instance, traditional owners from interstate, now living in Victoria, be able to stand? What about indigenous Victorians living elsewhere - in some cases just across the Murray River, which forms a boundary with New South Wales? And how will the vexed question of who is eligible to vote - who is, in fact, Aboriginal - be settled? In Tasmania, in the early 2000s, bitter legal battles were fought over this issue, with the dominant Aboriginal community challenging the right of more than 1,000 people to vote in elections for an Aboriginal statutory authority. The difficulties involved in setting up a representative body in Victoria - in unifying all the disparate Aboriginal voices - are a legacy of the state's colonial history, which saw indigenous groups pushed off their land and dispersed to distant missions and reserves. Policies which later created the Stolen Generations severed yet more links with family, community and territory, resulting in a small, fragmented population which today numbers about 50,000. As in other southern states which were swiftly and brutally settled, most Aboriginal Victorians have mixed ancestry. Model criticised as 'symbolic genocide' The proposed model for the representative body, Ms Coombs believes, is the "fairest and most inclusive possible", with additional seats to be made available as more language nations complete a formal recognition process. Mr Murray, though, says that not giving automatic representation to all 38 nations is "offensive, repugnant and symbolic genocide". And he warns that if the model is not amended, he and other vocal opponents will lodge complaints with state and national anti-discrimination authorities. Treaty negotiations could still be years off, but they promise to be extraordinarily complex, with up to 100 different clan groups seeking separate treaties and, in some cases, disputing each other's territorial boundaries and ancestry. Nonetheless, some hope the Victorian process could kick-start a momentum that will lead to a federal treaty. Ms Coombs says: "This isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. The here and now is about setting the foundations and structures right, so that my grandsons and the next seven generations will get the outcomes and benefits. "Because this opportunity may never come around again."

ऑस्ट्रेलिया एकमात्र राष्ट्रमंडल देश है जिसने कभी भी अपने मूल निवासियों के साथ कोई संधि नहीं की। यह इतना कठिन क्यों साबित हुआ है? कैथी मार्क्स अकेले विक्टोरिया में विशाल चुनौतियों को देखते हैं-एक ऐसा राज्य जो पहले राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर काम कर रहा है।


Guinea elections: The 82-year-old seeking six more years

Summary: Alpha Condé, Guinea's 82-year-old head of state, will this Sunday ask his country's 5.4 million voters for a third term, opening what promises to be a tense, high-stakes electoral season for West Africa, with contests soon following in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Niger.

By Paul MellyWest Africa analyst If he fails to clinch outright victory with more than 50% of the vote, the president will probably have to face off against his leading opponent, Cellou Dalein Diallo, in a run-off that on past form will probably spark violent confrontation on the streets of Conakry, the crowded capital city, crammed into a narrow peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic. Mr Condé's accession to power in December 2010 was the first genuinely democratic handover in his country's 52-year independent history - a saga of authoritarian and military rule pockmarked with episodes of severe repression and spectacular brutality, the most recent of which had been the 28 September 2009 massacre, when troops killed at least 160 opposition supporters, and raped 110 women, attending a rally at the national stadium. He had himself served jail time for challenging General Lansana Conté, who had ruled from 1984 to his death in 2008, and he faced a huge task to gradually reform the security forces and construct a democratically accountable state with a basic respect for human rights and transparent public finances. Achievements The past 10 years have brought significant progress. Early fears of a comeback coup by army hardliners gradually faded, and the military has been at least partly reformed, with many officers sent into retirement. A team of capable technocratic ministers has got the economy back on track, rebuilding a solid cooperative partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the donor community. Guinea has huge mineral wealth and regulation of the extractives sector has been overhauled. Confidence among investors has recovered, opening up the prospect that Simandou, one of the world's largest untapped iron-ore deposits, might finally be exploited - creating thousands of new livelihoods and the construction of a new rail line to link the landlocked southern interior to the coast. As one of the three countries severely affected by West Africa's 2014-16 Ebola outbreak - alongside neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia - Guinea developed experience in tackling infectious disease that it has been able to bring to bear in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the grand old men of sub-Saharan politics, Mr Condé re-established Guinea's profile on the African diplomatic stage. Disappointments But serious problems persist, particularly in human rights. Opposition figures such as Mr Diallo have suffered sporadic harassment, while political life is still scarred by periodic outbreaks of street violence between frustrated youthful demonstrators and security forces that, despite retraining, still frequently resort to lethal force to curb unrest. Moreover, the long-promised trial of the military figures indicted for the 28 September massacre has still not taken place, despite a sustained campaign by the families of victims, foreign diplomatic pressure and hints that the International Criminal Court (ICC) will step in if the Guinean authorities fail to act. At least one of the soldiers formally indicted has actually held government office under Mr Condé, while Moussa Dadis Camara - the military ruler whose troops carried out the massacre - has been questioned but, ultimately, left untroubled in exile in Burkina Faso. Capt Camara remains hugely popular in his home region, Guinée Forestière, and senior politicians seem reluctant to sanction any move that could threaten hopes of attracting support there. In the 2015 election Mr Diallo even formed a bizarre electoral alliance with his camp, while a key ally of Capt Camara is a senior minister in Mr Condé's government. Third-term controversy That is the unsettled background contest for this year's election, which has been rendered hugely contentious by Mr Condé's determination to seek a third term - a move that has meant changing the constitution, through a referendum in March. Guinea and Ebola: The new constitution does not scrap two term limits, but resets the counter, so previous terms served do not count. Early this year, the regional body Ecowas (the Economic Community of West African States) identified 2.5 million names of apparently fictional electors on the voters' register. The opposition decided to boycott the referendum, giving Mr Condé an easy mandate. In recent days, he has argued that this was a constitutional overhaul that he had long wished to carry out but felt that he could not prioritise during the early years of his administration. But pressed over whether he has ambitions to be head of state for life, he has been evasive. Although Mr Condé did not formally confirm that he would stand again, even early last year his ambition to do so was already common talk in Conakry - and a source of worry among other West African leaders, and European diplomats, fearing a renewed bout of instability in a country with such a long history of confrontational urban political violence. There were hopes that the president could be persuaded to opt for a graceful elder statesman retirement. But his determination has been evident for many months. Toxic climate This has presented a tough dilemma for opponents, under few illusions about the public profile, incumbent's spending power and state muscle that Mr Condé brings to the race. Five things about Guinea: A brief guide to Guinea Moreover, in previous contests some members of his camp have played the ethnic card, stirring up the wariness of voters from Malinké and Soussou ethnic backgrounds against Mr Diallo, a member of the Peul, or Fulani, Guinea's largest ethnic group. In such a toxic climate, for months it seemed that the opposition, mainly gathered under the banner of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) alliance, would simply opt to boycott a contest which they felt could never be fair, despite serious efforts to clean up the electoral register, which has now been approved by Ecowas. But in early September Mr Diallo broke with the FNDC consensus, announcing that he would in fact run, thus facing Mr Condé for a third presidential race in succession. Divided opposition He is not the only challenger, but he is the heavyweight in the field. He insists he really has a chance of winning. But he faces huge obstacles. Memories of his stint as an economic reforming technocratic prime minister back in 2004-6 are fading. And with opposition opinion divided over whether or not to boycott the poll, he cannot be sure of maximising its support, even in a final run-off. His campaign has faced obstruction and local harassment, particularly where it ventures into strongholds of support for Mr Condé, such as Kankan, in the north-east. But he seems to have calculated this is a political gamble worth taking, perhaps in the hope of mobilising urban youth voters to pull off a surprise victory, particularly if a cleaned up electoral roll and the presence of international observers limit the scope for manipulation. Even so, with an organised national machine and a high profile as head of state, Mr Condé appears confident of a comfortable victory. Paul Melly is a francophone Africa specialist with UK think tank Chatham House.

गिनी के 82 वर्षीय राज्य प्रमुख अल्फा कोंडे इस रविवार को अपने देश के 54 लाख मतदाताओं से तीसरे कार्यकाल के लिए पूछेंगे, जिससे पश्चिम अफ्रीका के लिए एक तनावपूर्ण, उच्च दांव वाला चुनावी मौसम शुरू होगा, जिसके बाद जल्द ही आइवरी कोस्ट, घाना और नाइजर में प्रतिस्पर्धा होगी।


UK mobile networks face problems

Summary: The UK's mobile networks have experienced problems with their services.

EE told the BBC it was something "affecting all operators and we are working closely to fix it". The problem has been blamed on "interconnect issues" between the operators. "We don't believe it is connected to the rise in home working [due to the coronavirus]," added EE. O2 had posted on its website that some customers were experiencing issues with its voice service but added that a full service was being restored. The alert has since been removed. In a statement to the BBC, O2 said the problem meant that O2, Vodafone and Three customers were unable to connect to EE – and EE customers were unable to connect to O2, Vodafone and Three. It added that the issues were limited to making and receiving calls on its 2G, 3G and 4G networks, while data and messaging services were not affected. O2 also denied that the problem stemmed from its network, which had initially been blamed, saying it was a "cross-industry issue". "At a time when the country needs connectivity most, it is important we work together rather than pointing fingers before facts have been determined," it said. The firm added that a conference call had been scheduled with the communications regulator Ofcom to help determine the exact cause and "ensure this doesn't happen again". Vodafone said that it was a "short-lived problem" only affecting around 9% of voice calls on 3G networks. "All operators are working together on the matter," a spokesman told the BBC. Downdetector, a website which monitors network problems, had shown issues for all four operators in a range of locations, including Birmingham, London, Manchester and Glasgow. Are you working from home? Have you encountered problems with your mobile network? You can get in touch by email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

ब्रिटेन के मोबाइल नेटवर्क ने अपनी सेवाओं के साथ समस्याओं का अनुभव किया है।