Singapore domestic workers' day off

Summary: It is Sunday, and a chorus of Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia greets shoppers at the Lucky Plaza mall along Singapore's Orchard Road. Hundreds of foreign domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere come here every Sunday to catch up with friends and send money home via the many remittance shops. They make up the 200,000-plus workers employed in Singapore's households.

By Sharanjit LeylBBC News, Singapore Liza Padua is among them. She is here to meet friends and celebrate her 49th birthday. Her friends have brought cake and presents, and she is looking forward to a day of festivities. She has spent 20 years in Singapore as a domestic helper and has always enjoyed her day off. "It's so good to have Sunday off and be able to reconnect with your friends and keep in touch with the Philippine community," she said. "Many of us have families we left behind back home, so meeting with friends is a nice way to have a sense of having a family too here in Singapore." Basic right Having a day off from work is a basic right for workers around the world, but in Singapore a weekly rest day for domestic workers was only introduced at the start of this year. Previously, they were only allowed one day off a month. When the topic of a weekly day off was first broached, there was backlash from some quarters in Singapore who felt that the move would inconvenience many households. But nine months on since the new ruling came into effect, critics say it is not being enforced. John Gee, an activist and past president of advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too was one of the people behind a decade-long campaign lobbying the Singapore government to give domestic helpers a mandatory day off a week. He thinks the ruling is long overdue but estimates that in spite of it, as many as 50% of Singapore's domestic helpers still do not get a weekly day off. "Saying that there has to be a regular day off for domestic workers doesn't necessarily mean they get it. The problem is there are two get-out clauses if you're an employer who doesn't want to give a day off," he said. "The first is that if you're a domestic worker who signed a contract before 2013, when the law came into effect, you still have to serve out your two-year contract before you can have a day off. Then there's a clause that says a worker and employer can agree that they'll be paid to work the day off. Many employers are prepared to offer extra money but they aren't prepared to give workers a day off. " Mr Gee says Singapore will often compare itself with the best in the world when it comes to business practices, but when it comes to domestic workers they will often compare themselves with the worst, such as the Gulf countries. This he thinks is wrong and needs to change. Reports from international non-government organisations appear to back up his claims. Singapore's labour laws exclude domestic workers from the Employment Act, which regulates hours worked, safety guidelines, time off and retirement. Singapore also has no minimum wage system, but advice from employment agencies suggest domestic helpers are on average paid between S$400 ($320; £200) to S$600 a month, excluding a levy of S$265 that is paid to the government. The nation has abstained on several key votes on the issue at the International Labour Organization (ILO). It did not support the ILO convention on domestic workers that includes rules on working hours, minimum wages, and maternity protection. Worker abuse Domestic workers seeking to better their lives can look to a number of organisations in Singapore. One such is Aidha, a micro-business school, which started under the auspices of United Nations Women in 2006. At S$350 for a nine-month course, domestic workers are given financial training, entrepreneurship and computer skills. Ms Padua is a graduate from the school, which she says has enabled her to lease a farm in the Philippines and buy a water buffalo to work the land. It has helped her put her six nephews and nieces through college back in the Philippines. She undertook the cost of the lessons, but when she graduated her employers were so pleased they gave her a bonus. But for every contented domestic helper in Singapore, there are also ones who have suffered terrible ordeals at the hands of their employers. Jane - not her real name - arrived from the Philippines two years ago to take up a job as a domestic helper in a Singaporean household. But she ran away after being abused by her employers, who she said regularly hit her. She added that they would often punish her by forcing her hands down the toilet while it was filled with a combination of bleach and urine for 15 minutes at a time. Jane said she escaped by jumping out of their kitchen window and in the process, breaking one of her legs. She was rescued by another domestic worker in the building, who called a helpline for migrant workers. That happened last October, and the police are currently still investigating her case. Jane said she had no choice but to escape because her employers never let her out and she was not allowed to speak to anyone. The consequences of not having a day off in her case meant she could not get help through the usual channels. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower declined a BBC request for an interview, but issued a statement saying the weekly rest day policy would take time to implement. "As with any policy, we have had to give time for the various parties to adjust. The rest day requirement was designed to be phased in over two years, and will cover all employment relationships from 1 January 2015. The agreement to opt for compensation in-lieu should be based on mutual consent, as with any contractual agreement. It should not be concluded under duress." The ministry will impose stiff penalties of up to S$10,000 for employers who force their domestic helpers to go without a rest day or fail to compensate them for working on a rest day. Such employers could also face a jail term of up to 12 months. But for Jane, who now works at a shelter for migrant workers helping others who are still escaping abuse, these rules cannot come soon enough. "I don't want others to go through the same experience as me, so I want to share my story."

यह रविवार है, और सिंगापुर के ऑर्चर्ड रोड के साथ लकी प्लाजा मॉल में तागालोग और बहासा इंडोनेशिया का एक समूह खरीदारों का अभिवादन करता है। फिलीपींस, इंडोनेशिया और अन्य जगहों से सैकड़ों विदेशी घरेलू कर्मचारी हर रविवार को यहां दोस्तों से मिलने और कई प्रेषण दुकानों के माध्यम से घर पैसे भेजने के लिए आते हैं। वे सिंगापुर के घरों में काम करने वाले 200,000 से अधिक श्रमिकों को बनाते हैं।


Ren Zhengfei: Huawei's reclusive founder

Summary: When Huawei's founder and president Ren Zhengfei started his firm back in 1987 with just 21,000 yuan - the equivalent of about $6,600 today - little did he know his creation would grow to become a telecoms giant and make him one of the richest people in the world.

By Tim BowlerBusiness reporter, BBC News With his personal fortune estimated at about $1.7bn, his company currently employs 180,000 workers around the globe - and its annual revenue is forecast to be $125bn (£96bn) this year. Mr Ren is something of a recluse, but in the past few weeks he has been talking to journalists, defending his firm amid rising pressure from the US and other countries over security concerns about Huawei's role in building 5G networks across the world - and the nature of its links to China's government. "We would rather shut Huawei down than do anything that would damage the interests of our customers," he countered. "I support the Communist Party of China, but I will never do anything to harm any other nation. "Some people in the West believe that Huawei's equipment is stamped with some sort of ideology. That is as silly as people smashing textile machines back during the industrial revolution. We only provided equipment to telecom operators and that equipment does not have an ideology." Born in 1944, he went to Chongqing University and then joined a People's Liberation Army research institute at the height of the disruption caused by the country's 1960s Cultural Revolution. "There was chaos almost everywhere, including in agriculture and industry," he told reporters. "Every Chinese person was allotted only one-third of a metre of cloth. That amount could be used only for patching, so I never wore clothes without patches when I was young." As an engineer he was sent to help build a synthetic clothing factory in Liaoyang, northeast China. "Conditions were harsh," he said. "Our housing was very shabby so we constantly felt cold. The temperature could drop to -28C. The supply of meat and cooking oil was very limited - there was no supply of fresh vegetables at all." Yet Mr Ren says he was happy there: "If you read too many books in other parts of the country you could get criticised. The factory was probably one of the few places that people could read. "We had to, to understand how the equipment worked." In 1978, two years after Chinese leader Mao Zedong's death, he finally joined the Communist Party having invented a key tool used for testing advanced equipment at the clothing factory. Mr Ren said that he had not been allowed to do so before, because of his father's links with the losing nationalist side in China's civil war. During the 1960s, his father had been labelled a "capitalist roader" - a pejorative term for those considered to be trying to restore capitalism - and imprisoned. Mr Ren had hoped to become the equivalent of a lieutenant colonel in the army, but instead was demobbed in 1983 when China cut back its engineering corps. After moving to Shenzhen in southern China and working in the country's infant electronics sector, he was eventually able to collect enough money to found Huawei. He has two children from his first marriage - both working for Huawei - Meng Wanzhou and Meng Ping, who both took their mother's name to avoid "unnecessary attention". Annabel Yao, his daughter from his second marriage, is a Harvard computer science student, ballerina and keen Instagrammer. Mr Ren's third wife is Su Wei, who was reportedly formerly his secretary. In December, his eldest daughter - and Huawei's chief financial officer - Meng Wanzhou - was arrested in Canada at the request of the US amid fraud allegations over the company's ties to a telecoms firm that did business in Iran. Mr Ren said he trusted the Canadian and US legal systems would "reach a just conclusion", but that "as Meng Wanzhou's father, I miss her very much". Perhaps surprisingly, given the war of words over trade between Washington and Beijing, Mr Ren is an admirer of US President Donald Trump: "I still believe he was a great president in the sense that he was bold to slash taxes. I think that is conducive to the development of industries in the US." The firm is privately owned by thousands of employees, which he said means it could work "truly for our ideas and for the greater good of society". Despite the pressure from the US on countries not to use Huawei kit, Mr Ren said he is upbeat about the future. The company has more than 30 commercial 5G contracts and has already shipped 25,000 5G base stations. "As long as we develop very compelling products, there will be customers who will buy them." Follow Tim Bowler on Twitter @timbowlerbbc

जब हुआवेई के संस्थापक और अध्यक्ष रेन झेंगफेई ने 1987 में सिर्फ 21,000 युआन के साथ अपनी फर्म की शुरुआत की थी-जो आज लगभग 6,600 डॉलर के बराबर है-तो उन्हें पता नहीं था कि उनकी रचना एक दूरसंचार दिग्गज बन जाएगी और उन्हें दुनिया के सबसे अमीर लोगों में से एक बना देगी।


Afghanistan: Will America's 'moonshot' peace plan work?

Summary: US President Joe Biden's team calls it a "moonshot"; critics question if it's a "quick fix"; and millions of Afghans wonder if it's the blueprint to end an endless war, or just make it worse.

By Lyse Doucet & Mahfouz ZubaideBBC News, Kabul An apparent draft of a new peace agreement from the office of the US peace envoy in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been leaked after doing the rounds in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The eight tightly typed pages, which were obtained by the BBC along with a leaked three-page letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have kicked up a political storm over the past 48 hours. In his letter, Mr Blinken wrote that the US did "not intend to dictate terms" to the Afghan government and the Taliban, only enable both sides to "move urgently" towards peace. But the plain-speaking Afghan Vice-President, Amrullah Saleh, fired straight back, saying Afghanistan would "never accept a bossy and imposed peace". "They can make decisions on their troops, not the people of Afghanistan," Mr Saleh said. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, told the BBC they were "still studying" the draft agreement. But he also stressed that they expect the US to meet the terms of the deal they signed last year. In other words, pull out the remaining 10,000 US-led Nato forces by 1 May, or else. A moonshot is the kind of imagining which soars beyond "blue sky" brainstorming. It's the biggest of ideas to solve the very biggest of problems. In Afghanistan, it's nothing less than life and death: how, after two long decades, to withdraw without precipitating a spiral into greater violence. "Dignified" is another new buzzword in this dreadful war: a dignified US departure; a dignified peace for Afghans. "We do need to explore every avenue for a dignified peace to preserve rights and a fundamental set of values, including a democratic system of governance," said the Afghan government negotiator, Nader Nadery. Mr Khalilzad, the US envoy, landed in Kabul last week with a new sense of purpose. His presence and draft plan sparked political electricity behind the ugly high walls protecting the elegant drawing rooms of the capital. It is focusing minds in a precarious moment when Afghanistan teeters on a knife edge between war and peace. "There's an accelerating momentum and a greater sense of urgency," former President Hamid Karzai told the BBC in Kabul last week. There's even more toing and froing than usual in his heavily fortified bastion in the capital; his meeting room, with its traditional oblong arrangement of sofas and chairs, was packed on the day the BBC dropped by. Cobbling together the "unity and inclusivity" called for in Mr Blinken's letter is Mr Karzai's forte. Warlords of past battles shut out by President Ashraf Ghani are being brought to the top table again, for better or worse. Some, who had reached out to the Taliban to seal their own futures and fortunes, are said to have realised that the cost of disunity could be chaos and collapse. Mr Ghani, known to prefer an immersion in policy papers to the messy cut and thrust of politicking, is also being pushed back into the fray. In his book-lined office last month in the storied Haram Sarai, the former residence of King Zahir Shah, President Ghani hinted that this was crunch time: "Hard decisions and sacrifices lie ahead," he told us. But when asked about Mr Khalilzad's previous draft of a power-sharing government, he dismissed it as "somebody sitting behind the desk, dreaming". So will President Ghani, who still insists he'll only transfer power through elections, accede to this transition plan? One Afghan politician summed it up to us with an Afghan proverb: "If you don't go to school, you'll be taken to school." In other words, Mr Ghani might have no choice. And what about the country's warlords - will they put aside age-old animosities for peace? They may, but with "hearts full of blood" - another proverb, and a warning that old feuds may not lie dormant for long. The draft paper sets out a new arrangement in three parts: guiding principles for Afghanistan's constitution and the future of the Afghan state; agreed terms to govern the country during a transitional period and a roadmap to a "durable and just settlement"; and finally - and most urgently for Afghans - agreed terms for a "permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and its implementation". There are blank spaces and options as well. The length of a transitional government is marked "XX". Two possibilities for an executive administration are offered: one similar to the current arrangement led by a president and vice-presidents; another which includes a prime minister. In an effort to expedite the process, the US is pulling out all the stops and calling in all the favours. The UN, kept largely on the sidelines until now, is shifting to centre stage to confer greater international legitimacy on the process, and make it easier for neighbours who have long meddled in Afghanistan to sit around the same table. Mr Blinken's letter also proposed a high-level meeting in Turkey to bring warring sides together. And there is something for everyone in the eight-page draft peace agreement. The Taliban will note a suggestion for a High Council for Islamic Jurisprudence to provide "Islamic guidance and advice" - though it's likely to fall far short of what the Taliban herald as the return of a "pure Islamic government". Women's groups will see, on the very first page, that "the future constitution will guarantee the protection of women's rights". If anyone knows that words alone are never enough, it's the women and girls whose lives have changed, but remain heavily circumscribed, whether or not the conservative Taliban are in power. And millions of Afghans, hearts hollowed out by grief, will press for progress towards what this paper calls "a national policy of transitional justice" - even though they know that the arc of history in Afghanistan has never bent towards justice. "Bringing lasting peace primarily depends on the Afghan sides, but the international community led by the US was a stakeholder in this conflict, and their responsibility doesn't end with ensuring a safe exit for their troops," said Shaharzad Akbar, chairwoman of the Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission. "They still have leverage with both Afghan sides of the conflict and can utilise that to push for substantive discussions to end the suffering of Afghans through talks," she said. There are those who caution against too much hope: "The only attractive argument for this plan is [if] its success means a ceasefire," said Laurel Miller, the director of the Asia Programme at the International Crisis Group and a former US state department official. "But if the weak, fractious, transitional structure collapses - which is a high probability - then the ceasefire won't last." Peace is on the agenda as never before, but so is war. Both sides talk of plans for the worst of all summer offensives. "It will be a miracle if this works," one Afghan involved in the peace effort told us. But in a country that has lived through almost everything, aiming for moonshots and miracles may not seem far-fetched. The people are anxious for the endless war to end, and as soon as possible.

अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जो बाइडन की टीम इसे "मूनशॉट" कहती है; आलोचक सवाल करते हैं कि क्या यह एक "त्वरित सुधार" है; और लाखों अफगान आश्चर्य करते हैं कि क्या यह एक अंतहीन युद्ध को समाप्त करने का खाका है, या बस इसे बदतर बना देता है।


Newark by-election candidate names confirmed

Summary: The full list of confirmed candidates for the 5 June Newark parliamentary by-election has been released by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

Robert Jenrick is to represent the Conservatives, Michael Payne Labour, David Watts the Lib Dems, and Roger Helmer the UK Independence Party. In April, UKIP leader Nigel Farage ended speculation that he might stand. The by-election was triggered by former Conservative MP Patrick Mercer's resignation over a lobbying scandal. The full list of candidates, in alphabetical order by surname, is:

5 जून नेवार्क संसदीय उपचुनाव के लिए पुष्टि किए गए उम्मीदवारों की पूरी सूची नेवार्क और शेरवुड जिला परिषद द्वारा जारी की गई है।


Boston boa constrictor slithers home

Summary: A eight-foot long boa constrictor which sparked a police alert when it went missing 10 days ago has been found.

The snake slithered out of its owner's house in Boston on 28 November, prompting Lincolnshire Police to warn people to keep away from the animal. However, the force said the 8ft 6ins (2.6m) snake had now returned home after its mystery absence. A force spokesman said: "It was found at the address this morning with no apparent ill effects." The snake's owner took the reptile into Boston police station to show officers it had returned.

एक आठ फुट लंबा बोआ कन्स्ट्रिक्टर मिला है जिसने 10 दिन पहले लापता होने पर पुलिस को सतर्क कर दिया था।


Q&A: Rolf Heuer, director-general, Cern

Summary: The race to detect the "God Particle" is heating up. A US "atom smasher" called the Tevatron may have its life extended to continue searching for the Higgs boson. Rolf-Dieter Heuer is director-general of Cern (The European Organization for Nuclear Research), which operates the Large Hadron Collider - the major European rival to the Tevatron. In an interview with the BBC's Paul Rincon, Dr Heuer said he hoped that Europe would be first to detect the Higgs particle.

PR: You must be excited by the possible detection of the top quark - the most massive elementary particle - by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Does this bode well for the early discovery of new physics by the LHC? RH: Yes. I think it's amazing how well the experiments were prepared, and how well they were calibrated. Everything is running fantastically; the machine, the experiments and also the computing grid, which is very important to distribute and analyse data worldwide. So, it is going fantastically well after four months; now it's up to nature to give us new physics. PR: Do you think new physics - signs of supersymmetry perhaps, or signs of the Higgs boson - could be detected within the LHC's first science run? RH: With supersymmetry I think there is a chance because we can open a much larger window [the LHC can get up to much larger energies than any previous particle smasher] than our friendly competitor the Tevatron at Fermilab [the US national laboratory which operates the Tevatron]. If there are low-mass states, up to 800 gigaelectronvolts (GeV), we have discovery potential [for supersymmetry] at the LHC until the end of next year. With the Higgs, it might take more time because the Higgs is a very elusive particle, very difficult to find. I guess it will take longer. PR: Does the fact that the Tevatron may now work until 2014, through the time when the LHC is shut down [for maintenance at the end of 2011], give Fermilab a potential advantage for finding the Higgs first? RH: They would not run it [until then] if they did not see an advantage in that. We have to [investigate] and see what they could gain from running for three more years. It could give them an advantage, but I think we have to prepare the LHC in such a way that it safely runs at high energies and (achieve that) as early as is possible. As a physicist, I must say in principle it doesn't matter where the particle is found, the main thing is that it is found. As the D-G of Cern, I must say I would of course like to find it first, that's clear. But it's science that counts and we are now carefully looking into our plans. PR: What can we draw from the combined result of recent Higgs searches at the Tevatron and, if the Higgs is this elusive, what happens if we don't find it? What then? RH: The (combined Tevatron) results... exclude a mass region where the [Higgs] particle is, let's say, easiest to find. The closer you go to the lower limit... the more difficult it becomes. So it doesn't change the possibilities for Fermilab or for Cern. At the moment, I don't know how to define when we should say that we have not found it. With 95% probability of exclusion, we still have 5% probability we could find it. So that takes some time. I think we can define when we have not found it when we have found something else. If the Higgs boson is not there, there must be something else which is fulfilling the same tasks. Something must happen at the energy range of the LHC in order to give mass to particles. PR: The LHC could start the search for dark matter particles soon. Does this search have the potential to turn up something quite quickly, or do you see that as a longer-term endeavour? RH: Both. For example, with supersymmetric particles, we have discovery potential of more than a factor of two above the Tevatron in 2010/2011. If nature is kind to us, there could be dark matter candidates of reasonably low mass - below 800 GeV. If nature has decided to put dark matter candidates into the higher mass region, beyond 800 GeV, it will take more time - as for the Higgs boson. This is the nice thing: you don't know when you will find it, and you don't know what you will find - you just know what you are looking for. PR: The penultimate question. The Super LHC (a proposed upgrade to boost the luminosity - or beam intensity - of the LHC): what will that allow you to do and are you confident you will secure the funds to do that? RH: We have changed the way we are planning to do the high luminosity phase of the LHC so that we can afford it - even in the present circumstances. It will give us a higher chance of finding things which have an even lower probability of being produced. So we can dig even deeper into the haystack; that's one thing. Then, by increasing the amount of collisions, you will also go deeper into the tail of the energy distribution. You automatically get 10-15% higher energy reach than before. PR: With the next generation of particle colliders, such as the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC), is there any broad timescale and are you confident you will get the money? Also, how would these projects be governed? RH: They have to wait for the results from the LHC, because one technology is essentially ripe (the ILC) but it does not give as much energy as the other technology (CLIC) which is not as ripe. The governance of such projects needs to be global. We have to discuss how to involve everybody in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of such a facility. So discussions are going on over how to do that. I think it is affordable if the three regions of the world are working together. This is what they started to do at the LHC. Now they have to do it at a different scale for the ILC or CLIC. Rolf-Dieter Heuer was speaking to BBC News at the recent International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) in Paris

"भगवान कण" का पता लगाने की दौड़ गर्म हो रही है। टेवाट्रॉन नामक एक अमेरिकी "परमाणु स्मेशर" का जीवनकाल हिग्स बोसॉन की खोज जारी रखने के लिए बढ़ाया जा सकता है। रॉल्फ-डायटर ह्यूयर सेर्न (द यूरोपियन ऑर्गनाइजेशन फॉर न्यूक्लियर रिसर्च) के महानिदेशक हैं, जो टेवाट्रॉन के प्रमुख यूरोपीय प्रतिद्वंद्वी लार्ज हैड्रॉन कोलाइडर का संचालन करता है। बीबीसी के पॉल रिंकॉन के साथ एक साक्षात्कार में, डॉ. ह्यूयर ने कहा कि उन्हें उम्मीद है कि यूरोप सबसे पहले हिग्स कण का पता लगाएगा।


Brighton brawl: Man seriously injured in 20-person fight

Summary: A mass brawl erupted in Brighton on the eve of lockdown involving a group of about 20 people.

Sussex Police were called to Montpelier Place at 22:15 GMT on Wednesday. One man suffered serious injuries and was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital for treatment, where he remains in a serious condition. Four men have been arrested and remain in custody. The force is appealing for witnesses. Det Insp Owen Radley said: "The incident happened in what would have been a busy area and we are sure someone would know what happened."

लॉकडाउन की पूर्व संध्या पर ब्राइटन में एक बड़े पैमाने पर झगड़ा हुआ जिसमें लगभग 20 लोगों का एक समूह शामिल था।


What do we know about North Korea's new missile?

Summary: North Korea has said that the rocket it fired early on Sunday, was a new ballistic missile called the Hwasong-12. Defence expert Melissa Hanham explains what it tells us about Pyongyang's military strides.

Sunday's missile launch was a successful one and it demonstrated North Korea's longest-range nuclear-capable weapon yet. Accompanying photographs showed it to be the same missile on parade last month at a massive military parade to mark the birth anniversary of North Korea's founding father Kim Il-sung. Current leader Kim Jong-un was on-site according to photos released from North Korean state media KCNA and Rodong Sinmun. In the hours afterwards, the statistics of the launch perplexed some observers, even to the point of questioning the data. With tensions high, US Pacific Command was careful to categorise the flight as "not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile", which is - in short - one which could reach the US mainland. One step further This "mystery" missile is now revealed to be a powerful intermediate range missile, which North Korea claims can deliver a large and heavy nuclear warhead. This vague statement leaves the door open to a range of possibilities, including that North Korea has not been able to make a compact warhead, or even that a new warhead will be revealed in the future. North Korean state media said the missile had been launched over the country and into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula 787km (489 miles) away from its launch site near Kusong. It reached an altitude of 2,111.1km according to KCNA. These figures fit approximately with statements made by both American and Japanese officials monitoring the situation. While unusual, this sharp trajectory with an extremely high altitude allowed North Korean scientists to test the range of the missile without directly flying over any neighbouring countries. The altitude would also allow the North to test the atmospheric re-entry vehicle under the extreme heat, pressure and vibration. The KCNA noted both facts in its public statement on Monday. This "lofted" trajectory would be equivalent to over 4,500km if launched at a standard trajectory, putting US bases in Guam well in range. It is indeed the longest-range missile North Korea has ever tested (aside from its space launch vehicles). Deeply disturbing Photographs indicate the Hwasong-12 to be a single stage, liquid-fuelled rocket, which would be unusually inefficient at this range due to the weight of the frame, fuel and oxidisers. One possibility is that the body of the rocket is intended to be one part of a larger multi-staged intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching well into the US mainland. In this way, North Korea can make iterative progress towards an ICBM without immediately crossing Trump's red line. The missile launch, occurring just days after the new South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office, is deeply disturbing to many observers. Missile testing under Kim Jong-un increased dramatically compared with his father and grandfather's programmes. This test marks the 10th test of 2017, and this particular missile shows a greater range than any other tested in its military programme. South Korea's new president has espoused dialogue with North Korea, and is now forced to take a tougher line just days into his administration. So once again North Korea, with its rapidly advancing missile technology and the decline in relations with its neighbours, including China, has left diplomats scratching their heads. Melissa Hanham is a Senior Research Associate in the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, USA.

उत्तर कोरिया ने कहा है कि उसने रविवार की सुबह जो रॉकेट दागा था, वह एक नई बैलिस्टिक मिसाइल थी जिसे ह्वासोंग-12 कहा जाता है। रक्षा विशेषज्ञ मेलिसा हानहम बताते हैं कि यह हमें प्योंगयांग की सैन्य प्रगति के बारे में क्या बताता है।


Aldeburgh couple John and Connie Hewitson 'fell down stairs'

Summary: A husband and wife who died two days apart after being found at home both had head injuries consistent with a fall down the stairs, police said.

John Hewitson, 90, and Connie Hewitson were discovered in Acheson Way, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on Monday morning. Mrs Hewitson, who was 55, died soon after paramedics arrived. Her husband died at Ipswich Hospital on Wednesday. Suffolk Police, which had treated the deaths as unexplained, said the deaths were not believed to be suspicious. Post-mortem examinations were carried out on Thursday and the results revealed the cause of death to be similar in both cases. Detectives were still investigating what happened and said anyone with any information should contact them. Related Internet Links Suffolk Police

पुलिस ने कहा कि एक पति और पत्नी, जो घर पर पाए जाने के बाद दो दिन के अंतराल पर मर गए, दोनों के सिर पर सीढ़ियों से गिरने की चोटें थीं।


What Trump's latest Twitter tirade tells us

Summary: The London Bridge attacks set Donald Trump off on an extended Twitter rant over the past few days, reviving his calls for sweeping immigration action and renewing old feuds with Democrats, gun-control advocates and even the mayor of London.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter While White House advisor Kellyanne Conway recently complained that the media have an "obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little of what he does as president", Mr Trump is the pot-stirrer-in-chief, who has the power to drive debate and shape events. Words, whether spoken or tweeted, have consequences. The president's Monday morning fusillade about his immigration policy is no exception. Here are five things we learned. A ban is a ban is a ban The lynchpin of the White House's defence of Mr Trump's two controversial immigration executive orders that set restrictions on immigration from a handful of majority-Muslim nations was that they had no connection to the anti-Muslim travel ban candidate Trump proposed back in December 2015. The executive actions, they argued, constituted temporary restrictions and not a "ban", Muslim or otherwise. The president has occasionally undercut that defence, by using the b-word in the past - leaving his aides to clean up the mess. "It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban," Press Secretary Sean Spicer said back in January. "It's a vetting system to keep America safe." On Monday morning, however, Mr Trump applied kerosene to that defence, set it ablaze and danced around its ashes. "People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want," he tweeted, "but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN." Trump targets the courts (again) Speaking of the judicial branch, the president on Monday morning went on the attack against the US legal system, calling the courts "slow and political". The line is reminiscent of one of the president's more inflammatory tweets, when he lashed out against the federal judge who struck down his original immigration order. "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" he tweeted on 4 February. The following day he issued an even more ominous warning, tweeting that the judge put the nation in peril and "if something bad happens blame him and the court system". According to one theory, advanced by Lawfare blog's Jack Goldsmith, Mr Trump's seemingly ill-considered comments are all part of a plan to get the courts to strike down his immigration orders, freeing him to blame the judiciary for any subsequent attacks. It may, however, be just another case of "what you see is what you get" with Mr Trump. He has feuded with judges throughout his professional life, including criticising the Mexican heritage of the man who was presiding over a lawsuit against his for-profit "university" during last year's presidential campaign. President Trump is the same as candidate Trump is the same as businessman/TV star Trump. The stage may be different, but the man doesn't change. Trump turns on his own One of the more unusual components of Mr Trump's Monday morning diatribe was that he turned his Twitter invective on his own administration. He lashed out at the Justice Department, headed by his close political confidant Jeff Sessions, for focusing its legal defence on what he called the "watered down, politically correct" second executive order on immigration and not the more sweeping first version that explicitly mentioned religion and caused confusion when it was first enforced at airport immigration checkpoints. Justice Department lawyers have tried to decouple the second order from the original, arguing that it remedied the discriminatory portions of the earlier effort, clarified that those with legal residency were unaffected and focused exclusively on nations that had previously been determined to be of concern to US. When the president signed that second order in early March, Spicer tweeted that it would "keep the nation safe". "This revised order will bolster the security of the United States and our allies" Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. Now the president is bad-mouthing the very same action his aides had resolutely defended. He is clearly irked that his administration abandoned that first travel order, particularly after he told its critics that he would see them "in court". If Mr Trump continues to casually undercut his own people, however, they'll be less willing to rush to his defence in the coming days - when the president may need them most. Last week, for instance, multiple officials doggedly refused to say whether the president believes climate change is caused by human activity - a position most conservative officeholders, including the president's own Environmental Protection Agency head, accept. Such reluctance may be just a taste of things to come. Why go out on a limb for a president who is standing by the tree with a saw in hand? Extreme vetting is back The president also dusted off one of his favourite terms from the 2016 campaign - "extreme vetting" - which he said is helping "keep our country safe". The original justification for the travel ban orders was that they were a temporary measure to allow a rigorous review process to be instituted for all individuals entering the US. The first action's time frame for implementation was 90 days - which would have set the mark at 27 April. The second order, signed on 6 March, reset the 90-day clock again - a point that was reached on Sunday. The Weekly Standard's Michael Warren reached out to the Trump White House for further clarification on what vetting measures had been put in place and was directed to the State Department, which has not yet responded. Before Monday morning the last time the president himself had mentioned "extreme vetting" was in mid-February, when he said it "will be put in place, and it already is in place in many places". Now extreme vetting - as a term at least - is back. But what is it? And if it's already in place, doesn't that erase the justification for implementing the travel ban? It might - unless, of course, the ban was never intended to be temporary. That's a question the "slow and political" courts are likely to consider. Trump is cornered The president's social media onslaught comes after the latest round of stories about how the president was going to be more disciplined and focused, and less prone to Twitter tirades. Mr Trump's lawyers, we were told, were counselling him to tamp things down, lest his comments land him in more hot water. The president has apparently disregarded this advice yet again and is trying his best to fight old battles and rekindle old feuds. Why? Perhaps it's because there is a very dark storm cloud on the horizon. On Thursday former FBI Director James Comey - the man Mr Trump dramatically fired and has since very publicly insulted - will testify under oath before a Senate inquiry into Russia's meddling in the US presidential election. He's expected to discuss reports that the president asked him to pledge his loyalty and pressured him to back off from his investigation of Trump foreign policy advisor Michael Flynn. Given Mr Comey's reputation for political independence and moral certitude - combined with the possibility that he has contemporaneous memos documenting his interactions with the president - the testimony could be disastrous for the White House. At the very least, it will be a spectacle the likes of which Washington has not seen in decades. The president could be eager to change the subject or, at the very least, deflect some attention. If so, the past few days of Twitter invective could be just the start.

लंदन ब्रिज हमलों ने डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प को पिछले कुछ दिनों में एक विस्तारित ट्विटर राग पर बंद कर दिया, व्यापक आप्रवासन कार्रवाई के लिए उनके आह्वान को पुनर्जीवित किया और डेमोक्रेट, बंदूक-नियंत्रण अधिवक्ताओं और यहां तक कि लंदन के मेयर के साथ पुराने झगड़ों को नवीनीकृत किया।


Why Iceland banned beer

Summary: A century ago, Iceland banned all alcoholic drinks. Within a decade, red wine had been legalised, followed by spirits in the 1930s. But full-strength beer remained off-limits until 1 March 1989. Megan Lane asks why it took so long for the amber nectar to come in from the Icelandic cold.

When the mercury hovers below zero, a cold beer is not the first drink that springs to mind. A warming shot of schnapps might be more appropriate. But on 1 March 1989 - when the top temperature in Iceland was -5C (23F) - beer was exactly what drinkers had in mind. It was the first time in 74 years they'd had a chance to legally order beer. And order it they did, in rowdy scenes televised live on national television. Historian Unnar Ingvarsson was 21 at the time and living in a small town. "It was a big party. I and my friends bought a case each... We managed to finish them quickly and went to the pub where we stayed and drank through the night. "A girl who had been living in Australia taught us drinking games - we lost obviously." This red-letter day is marked annually as Bjordagur (Beer Day), though it tends to be much quieter now than the bacchanalian scenes witnessed 26 years ago. A generation on, beer accounts for 62% of the 7.1 litres of pure alcohol consumed each year by the average Icelander. That's higher than in traditional brewing countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic (54% each) and the UK (37%), according to the most recent World Health Organization figures. But for much of the 20th Century it was unpatriotic - and illegal - to drink beer. When full prohibition became law 100 years ago, alcohol in general was frowned upon, and beer was especially out of favour - for political reasons. Iceland was engaged in a struggle for independence from Denmark at the time, and Icelanders strongly associated beer with Danish lifestyles. "The Danes were drinking eight times as much alcohol per person on a yearly basis at the time," says historian Stefan Palsson, author of Beer: Around the World in 120 Pints. As a result, beer was "not the patriotic drink of choice". The independence and temperance movements reinforced each other, and in 1908, four years after gaining home rule, Iceland held a referendum on a proposal to outlaw all alcohol from 1915. About 60% voted in favour. Women, who still didn't have the vote, were vocal in their support. "Prohibition was seen as progressive, like smoking [bans] today," says Palsson. It didn't take long for Prohibition to be undermined. Smuggling, home-brew and ambassadors lobbying for alcohol to oil the wheels of diplomacy all played a part. "Doctors started prescribed alcohol as medicine and they did so in huge quantities, for more or less everything. Wine if you had bad nerves, and for the heart, cognac," says Palsson. But beer was never "what the doctor ordered", despite the argument some put forward that it was a good treatment for malnourishment. "The head doctor put his foot down and said beer did not qualify as a medicine under any circumstances," Palsson says. There were other leaks in the Prohibition armour too. "Prohibition supporters complained that painters who never used to use spirits to clean their brushes were now getting litres and litres each year," says Palsson. "So alcohol was flowing in from all directions." Then the Spanish threatened to stop importing salted cod - Iceland's most profitable export at the time - if Iceland did not buy its wine. Politicians bowed to the pressure and legalised red and rose wines from Spain and Portugal in 1921. Over time, support for prohibition dwindled. It had already been repealed by all the other European nations that had experimented with it (apart from the Faroe Islands) when in 1933 Icelanders voted to reverse course. But even then the ban remained in force for beer containing more than 2.25% alcohol (about half the strength of an average-strength beer). As beer was cheaper than wines or spirits, the fear was that legalising it would lead to a big rise in alcohol abuse. The association of beer with Denmark also continued to tarnish its image in a country that only achieved full independence in 1944. However, beer remained accessible, just about, to those who really wanted it. "If you knew a fisherman, he may have had a few cases stashed in his garage - usually the cheapest and strongest beer available, often stored too long," says Palsson Also popular, according to Ingvarsson, was tipping brennivin (burning wine), a potato-based vodka, into non-alcoholic beer - which tasted, as he puts it, "interesting and totally disgusting". Some Icelandic drinks It wasn't until the 1970s with the rise of city break holidays, that attitudes really began to shift, Palsson suggests. "You'd go to London to shop, to watch football and go to the British pubs, and this started to seem like something you would like to have over here," he says. Another crack in the edifice of prohibition came in 1979, when businessman David Scheving Thorsteinsson challenged the rule that only pilots, cabin crew and foreign tourists could bring in duty-free beer. When his six bottles were confiscated, he refused to pay the fine. His cause was taken up by the MP Sighvatur Bjorgvinsson, whose bill to allow Icelanders the same rights was passed in 1980. It became practically a civic duty for Icelanders to buy a duty-free crate at the airport: six litres of imported beer or eight litres of local beer (brewed in Iceland even though it was not legally available outside the airport). If they didn't like beer themselves, they'd pass it on to family, friends or colleagues. Polls throughout the 1980s showed about six in 10 Icelanders supported legalising beer. "Beer is being consumed in Iceland," said Jon Magnusson of the Independence Party in 1987. "Why should the state not get its piece of the cake in the form of taxes and so on?" Finally, in 1988, Iceland's parliament, the Althing voted to legalise beer, after debates that were televised live and attracted huge audiences. A dozen beer-lovers remained outside the building to flash victory signs following the conclusive post-midnight vote in the upper house, reported AP. Today Icelanders drink less than many of their European counterparts. The 7.1 litres of pure alcohol drunk annually by over-15s in Iceland, on average, compares with 11.4 litres in Denmark, 11.6 in the UK, 12.2 in France and 15.1 in Russia, according to the World Health Organization's Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014. Iceland also has a relatively high proportion of abstainers, according to the WHO report - lifetime abstinence for 14.1% of the drinking age population, and 32.1% in the past 12 months. In Denmark, these figures are 4.5% and 11.4%, with 15.1% and 16.1% in the UK. But when it comes to binge drinking, Iceland's stats are on a par with the UK, and Palsson puts this down to drinking habits laid down in the beer prohibition years. "Before 1989, most alcoholic consumption would take place over a few hours at weekends. So you needed big clubs which could serve a lot of customers in a short period of time. Some served bjorliki, pseudo-beer, a mixture of low-alcohol lager and different types of spirits served in large beer glasses." Beer Day is not generally used as an excuse for binge drinking these days, however. Though it's mentioned in all the guidebooks, it isn't the festive blowout tourists often seem to expect, judging from surprised posts on TripAdvisor. "Maybe we should make it into more of a celebration," says Audur Osp, who runs the popular I Heart Reykjavik travel blog. "I will go out for a beer myself to celebrate, possibly to one of the craft beer bars to try something new." Ordering an Icelandic beer isn't always easy, unless you happen to speak the language. Some, such as Borg Snorri Nr. 10 and Ulfur Ulfur Double IPA Nr. 17, are just about pronounceable, but others - Olvisholt Suttungasumbl, for example, or Víking Islenskur Urvals Einiberjabock - are more of a challenge. Once you have the glass in your hand, though, it's easy. You just say "Skal!" and drink. The Magazine in Iceland Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

एक सदी पहले, आइसलैंड ने सभी मादक पेय पदार्थों पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया था। एक दशक के भीतर, रेड वाइन को वैध कर दिया गया था, उसके बाद 1930 के दशक में स्पिरिट। लेकिन पूरी ताकत वाली बीयर 1 मार्च 1989 तक सीमा से बाहर रही। मेगन लेन पूछती है कि एम्बर अमृत को आइसलैंड की ठंड से आने में इतना समय क्यों लगा।


Nelson Mandela family tree

Summary: Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president and the father of the struggle against apartheid, has died at the age of 95. His three weddings and two divorces have left a complex and divided family, spanning four generations.

Evelyn Ntoko Mase 1922-2004 The first wife of Nelson Mandela, whom he married in 1944 and divorced in 1958. She died in 2004 of respiratory problems. Winnie Madikizela 1936- Mandela's second wife, whom he married in 1958. They separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. She is a social worker, activist and controversial ANC politician in her own right. Graca Machel 1945- Mandela's third wife, whom he married in 1998. A Mozambican politician and humanitarian worker. She is the widow of Samora Machel, Mozambique's first president. Madiba Thembekile 1945-1969 Born in 1945, Mandela's first son was killed in a car crash when he was 25. Mandela was in prison at the time and was not permitted to attend his child's funeral. Makaziwe 1948, died aged nine months Mandela's eldest daughter died aged just nine months. His next daughter was named Makaziwe in her honour. Makgatho 1950-2005 Mandela's second son died of Aids-related diseases in 2005. After his son's death, Mandela said: "Let us give publicity to HIV/Aids and not hide it...". Makgatho's eldest son, Mandla, is the family heir and chief of the Traditional Council in Mvezo - birthplace of his grandfather. Makaziwe (Maki) 1954- Named in honour of her older sister, who died some years earlier. Of the four children born to Evelyn and Mandela, Makaziwe is the only one still living. She has held senior university positions and has worked at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Zenani (Zeni) 1959- The eldest daughter of Mandela and his second wife, Winnie. She is South Africa's ambassador to Argentina and is married to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini of Swaziland. Zindziswa (Zindzi) 1960- Businesswoman and managing trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. With Mandela jailed in 1962, neither she nor her sister saw much of their father during their childhood. Source: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

दक्षिण अफ्रीका के पहले अश्वेत राष्ट्रपति और रंगभेद के खिलाफ संघर्ष के जनक नेल्सन मंडेल का 95 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया है। उनकी तीन शादियों और दो तलाक ने चार पीढ़ियों में फैले एक जटिल और विभाजित परिवार को छोड़ दिया है।


Bear naked: Uncovering the story behind a rising band

Summary: The band Hunter and the Bear started out as a duo that used to rehearse in a soundproofed shipping container in a London car park before becoming a four piece that supported Eric Clapton this summer. Ahead of their appearance at Loopallu in Ullapool, lead vocalist Will Irvine tells of growing up in Achiltibuie, listening to his parents' 1970s American rock music and the challenge of coming up with a good band name.

By Steven McKenzieBBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter Hunter and the Bear say they can chart their progress by where they are on the bill for this month's Loopallu music festival. The first time they played, they were on the fringes performing small gigs in Ullapool's Arch Inn and Argyll Hotel. "This year we've been invited to play on the main stage," says Irvine. "That is a real step up for us and a good reference point, letting us see how far in a year we've come." Hunter and the Bear started out as a duo, Irvine and long-time friend Jimmy Hunter, who hails from Glasgow. The pair ended up at the same university in Newcastle where Irvine studied English with drama and Hunter a business course. Irvine says: "I was interested in the singing and song writing side of music, but Jimmy taught me to play guitar. "He coached me through to a point where we could play together." Later, after university, the pair headed north to Irvine's family home in Achiltibuie in Wester Ross to write songs, before travelling to London in pursuit of gigs. "Ideally we would have liked to have stayed in Achiltibuie, but we felt we had to be somewhere we could be frequently playing live," says Irvine. "We felt we had some songs that weren't terrible. We had a few friends in London and were able to get a few gigs, and get invited back to play some more." Hunter and Irvine decided the next step was to add a drummer and bassist to their outfit. "We managed to do this reasonably quickly," says Irvine. They spotted drummer Gareth Thompson, from Brighton, playing in Ronnie Scott's Jazz Bar in London's Soho. Thompson was asked to an audition where, at that time in 2012, Hunter and the Bear were regularly rehearsing. "It was a rehearsal studio inside a shipping container in a car park," says Irvine. "It had been soundproofed and had an old drum kit and a couple of amps in it. "We had really good times there." Chris Clark, from Shrewsbury, a bassist with a love of heavy metal, joined the band next. Irvine says: "Our musical influences are all different. It is a real mixture and I think that is reflected in our music and song writing. "I grew up listening to my parents' old rock music, bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Van Morrison. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man was usually playing in the car on the way to school. And, of course, there was lots of exposure to traditional music." Earlier this summer, Hunter and the Bear played support to Eric Clapton at his performances in the SSE Hydro in Glasgow and the Leeds Arena. Irvine says: "Before the performances we would go to a sound check and the lead sound guy would ask us to play a little bit. The sound in those enormous arenas was amazing. It was something I had never experienced before." At the end of this month, Irvine will be back on home turf playing at Loopallu. The London-based band has already been up in Wester Ross this year playing at the Summer Isles Festival in August. Irvine has played solo at the small festival in the past. During the summer, Hunter and the Bear also played at Scotland's T in the Park and Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. "We come up to Scotland as often as we can," says the lead vocalist. "Coming home to Achiltibuie is somewhere I can always come up with ideas, away from the busy schedules down in the city. "It is somewhere you can clear your head, see the sea and get out for a walk if the writing isn't working out." So was it in the far north, under its dark skies - light pollution is not a problem in a community of about 300 people - and seeing the constellations of Orion the hunter and Ursa Major, the Great Bear, that Irvine and Hunter drew inspiration for the band's name? "We came up with some terrible names for the band at first. I'm too embarrassed to mention them," says Irvine, before revealing the answer. "Jimmy's surname is Hunter and when I was at school I played a lot of rugby and my nickname was the Bear, so we thought Hunter and the Bear was a good name. "However, because of Jimmy's beard and hair people always think he's the bear in the name. "The name means a lot of different things to us as a band," Irvine adds. "And we hope it is one that people remember."

हंटर और बेयर बैंड ने एक जोड़ी के रूप में शुरुआत की जो लंदन के कार पार्क में एक ध्वनिरोधी शिपिंग कंटेनर में अभ्यास करते थे, इससे पहले कि वे इस गर्मी में एरिक क्लैप्टॉन का समर्थन करने वाले चार टुकड़े बन गए। उल्लापूल में लूपल्लू में उनकी उपस्थिति से पहले, प्रमुख गायक विल इरविन ने अचिल्टिबुई में बड़े होने, अपने माता-पिता के 1970 के दशक के अमेरिकी रॉक संगीत को सुनने और एक अच्छे बैंड नाम के साथ आने की चुनौती के बारे में बताया।


Murder probe as man's body found in Southampton flat

Summary: The body of a man has been discovered in a flat in Southampton, sparking a murder investigation.

The 70-year-old was pronounced dead after police were called to the property in Bursledon Road shortly after 21:00 GMT on Wednesday. Hampshire Constabulary said the man's next-of-kin had been informed of his death. Officers remain at the scene. Anyone with information is urged to contact the force.

साउथेम्प्टन के एक फ्लैट में एक व्यक्ति का शव मिला है, जिससे हत्या की जांच शुरू हो गई है।


Daniel Fitzjohn: Further arrest in 'newsagent row' killing

Summary: A new arrest has been made by police investigating the murder of a man stabbed after an "altercation" at a newsagent.

Daniel Fitzjohn, 34, died in hospital after the attack in the Kingsley area of Northampton on 14 June. Officers said a 25-year-old man from Wolverhampton was being questioned on suspicion of murder. Another man from Wolverhampton, 27-year-old Daniel Quinn, has already been charged with murder. He was remanded in custody after appearing at Northampton Crown Court on Monday.

एक न्यूज एजेंट पर "विवाद" के बाद चाकू से एक व्यक्ति की हत्या की जांच कर रही पुलिस ने एक नई गिरफ्तारी की है।


Man who 'forgot lockdown' drove from London to Derbyshire

Summary: A man who drove from London to Derbyshire to collect a wardrobe claimed he had "forgotten about lockdown", police said.

Officers came across a van in the village of Repton on Saturday evening. They approached the driver, who told them he had come from London to pick up some second-hand furniture and admitted the trip was not essential. Derbyshire Police handed him a £200 fine for breaking lockdown rules. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Related Internet Links National lockdown

पुलिस ने कहा कि अलमारी लेने के लिए लंदन से डर्बीशायर जाने वाले एक व्यक्ति ने दावा किया कि वह "लॉकडाउन के बारे में भूल गया था"।


Life: Doctor Foster spin-off explores 'loneliness in big cities'

Summary: Launching a spin-off to a hugely popular TV series can go either way. There are plenty of success stories (like Frasier) but also quite a few flops (with all due respect to Joey).

By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter BBC One's latest drama, Life, is a spin-off from Doctor Foster, which launched in 2015 and was watched by an audience of more than 10 million. Life is set in the same world as its predecessor, but only features one familiar character - Victoria Hamilton's Anna, the friendly neighbour who always had a glass of wine in her hand. But does that mean viewers need to have seen all of Doctor Foster to understand its new spin-off, which begins on Tuesday night? "Absolutely not, no," says Hamilton. "To an extraordinary degree, I think, you really don't need to have seen it. "Life is a very complete story on its own, this is an entirely different universe and you're given everything you need to know about it in episode one of this story." Those who did watch Doctor Foster may remember that Anna left Parminster in series two, having discovered that her husband had been unfaithful again. In Life, Anna has changed her name to Belle (as her full name is Annabel) and is trying to start afresh. But she is just one of several main characters, who all live in close proximity to one another. Set in Manchester, the series follows the residents of a large house divided into four flats, and also stars Adrian Lester, Alison Steadman and Melissa Johns. The neighbours don't know each other well, and yet their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Writer Mike Bartlett (who was also behind Doctor Foster) was intrigued by how the characters' actions could impact on each other, often without them realising. "I used to live in a flat which was part of an old house that had been divided up, and I was amazed that we were all one stud wall away from each other, but didn't really know each other," he explains. "We would hear the most intimate details of each other's sex lives and love lives, and yet you'd meet in the corridor, and you wouldn't exchange two words. "And I found that really interesting about our nature as people, when we want to be private and when we want community. We are desperate for connection, and yet so often we end up feeling alone, particularly in big cities, so I wanted to write about that." Spin offs: A brief history Some of the biggest shows in TV history were spin-offs. The hugely successful Frasier lasted for 11 seasons and notched up 264 episodes - just behind its predecessor Cheers, which managed 270. Happy Days had a whopping seven spin-offs. The most successful were Mork & Mindy and Laverne & Shirley. More recently, the Emmy-nominated Better Call Saul launched in 2015 as a spin-off from Breaking Bad, and was created by the same team - Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Young Sheldon is still going three years after it debuted as an examination of the childhood of The Big Bang Theory's lead character. But others have been distinctly less popular. Friends spin-off Joey lasted just two seasons and failed to match the phenomenal popularity of its predecessor. And the less said about Only Fools And Horses spin-off Green Green Grass, the better. Life is appropriately named, as the series covers birth, death, marriage, infidelity and mental health. The series launches with the arrival of Belle's teenage niece, who is quite a handful, to put it mildly. "Her niece comes into her life like a whirlwind, and one of the things that Belle has always ended up doing is looking after other people, taking their problems on board and being the person that copes with stuff," Hamilton explains. "So you watch her try to cope with all of these people and essentially try to carry all of their problems for them, at the same time as being less than honest about how huge her own demons are." But each character in the show has their own inner battles - which is a reflection of real life, says Lester, who plays David: "Everyone is going through some unique, incredibly profound, heart-breaking situations, and it's great to be part of a show that explores that." Steadman's character Gail finds herself re-evaluating things as she approaches a major birthday. "Here was a woman who had been happily married for all these years, lovely home, two kids, and everything seemed fine, but suddenly she looks at her life again, at the age of 70," she says. "Normally people look at their lives again at the age of 50 or 60, but at 70? To suddenly say 'hmm' and re-appraise it, that seemed interesting and challenging." The fourth main character is Hannah, played by Melissa Johns. "In episode one, Hannah is heavily pregnant, and the father of her baby is Andy, who she had a one night stand with eight months previous," she explains. "I think the term is entanglement - you know, like Jada Pinkett Smith and August [Alsina]," jokes her co-star Calvin Demba, referring to one recent high-profile affair. In the absence of a third series of Doctor Foster, Bartlett felt there was potential to explore and develop the character of Anna, but also make a drama which struck a different tone. "I'd written a lot of quite heavy things," he says. "Doctor Foster goes to very dark places, and this show goes to very dark places too, but what I felt I hadn't seen enough of was a show that allowed us to see the strength that people have, the kindness, the goodness. "A show that really took a group of characters through some of the toughest stuff that everybody has to face in life, and saw how they dealt with it." Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

एक बेहद लोकप्रिय टीवी श्रृंखला के लिए एक स्पिन-ऑफ लॉन्च करना किसी भी तरह से जा सकता है। सफलता की बहुत सारी कहानियां हैं (जैसे फ्रेज़ियर) लेकिन कुछ फ्लॉप भी हैं (जॉय के पूरे सम्मान के साथ)।


British skier John Bromell's body found in French Alps

Summary: The body of a man found in the French Alps last week is that of a missing British skier, French police confirmed.

John Bromell, 39, from Willingham by Stow, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, was last seen on the Paquis chairlift in Tignes, on 7 January. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British man following his death in France." It said it was in contact with the French authorities. More from Lincolnshire At the time of Mr Bromell's disappearance, there was more than 1m (3ft) of snow reported in the resort, with a warning about the risk of avalanches issued. A full-scale search by French police was hampered by what were described as "terrible conditions".

फ्रांसीसी पुलिस ने पुष्टि की कि पिछले हफ्ते फ्रांसीसी आल्प्स में पाए गए एक व्यक्ति का शव एक लापता ब्रिटिश स्कीयर का है।


Paramedics injured in Brockenhurst ambulance crash

Summary: Two paramedics were injured when their ambulance smashed into a cycle shop after crashing with a car.

The crash happened in Brockenhurst, in the New Forest, on Wednesday evening. The paramedics were reported to have suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. The female car driver was left with minor injuries. In a separate incident, a woman was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after reversing into a police car dealing with the initial crash. A South Central Ambulance Service spokesman said the two staff members had since been discharged from hospital and were recovering at home. He confirmed the ambulance had been on an emergency call at the time of the crash.

दो पैरामेडिक्स घायल हो गए जब उनकी एम्बुलेंस एक कार से टकराने के बाद एक साइकिल की दुकान में घुस गई।


Paul Steele murder trial: Jury discharged

Summary: A jury has been discharged at the trial of two men accused of murdering another man at a flat in Derby.

Paul Steele, 53, died after being found injured inside the property in Lapwing Close, Sinfin, Derby, on the evening of 9 December. Talvir Singh Girn, 40, of Cloverdale Drive, Derby, and Kulvinder Singh Nath, 52, of Glencroft Drive, Stenson Fields, both deny murder. The trial is due to re-start with a new jury at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Related Internet Links HM Courts & Tribunals Service

डर्बी के एक फ्लैट में एक अन्य व्यक्ति की हत्या के आरोपी दो लोगों के मुकदमे में एक जूरी को बरी कर दिया गया है।


Facebook Places location-aware service launches in UK

Summary: Facebook has launched its location-based Places service in the UK.

It allows people to "check in" wherever they are and see who among their friends and other Facebook users is - or has been - at the same location. The service also lists nearby businesses and attractions, and Facebook will target the locations it lists to each Places user. It has numerous privacy controls in place to control the amount of location information that is shared. Places is available in the US and now the UK for the iPhone and select other smartphones through Facebook's mobile site, with other countries to come. Michael Sharon, product manager for Places, said that the firm was working on developing the application for Blackberry and devices running the Android operating system. He added that the firm has made Places' API - the software that allows other programs to interface with it - available, so that Places will be able to integrate with existing location-aware services such as Foursquare. "We started seeing that in status updates people were saying things like 'going to the gym' or 'hanging out with Joe and Sue'," Mr Sharon said at the UK launch. "We realised that this is something that people do every single day, telling their friends where they are. "The natural thing is to build a product that takes advantage of this and makes it easier, more convenient and more social for them to do what they're already doing." The service allows people to access "Place pages" wherever they are, indicating local points of interest and listing people who are "Here Now" and friends who have visited the place. Users can then "check in" to the location, making themselves visible to their friends, to everyone on Facebook, or to no-one at all. The location information can then appear on a user's wall and newsfeed; however, the default setting is that only Facebook friends can see the check-in. Mr Sharon stressed that there were also a number of security features in place for minors; for example, only a minor user's friends will be able to see check-ins. Josh Feldberg, a digital consultant attending the UK launch, told BBC News that the sheer size of Facebook's user base would make it more successful than other location-aware services such as Gowalla and Foursquare. "It makes my location check-ins more useful; Foursquare's a bit of fun but only a couple of times has it led to actual offline meetups; with Facebook, the people on there are more my close friends and family." Advertisements will not be linked to Place pages, but rather targeted at specific users; Mr Feldberg said the location-aware service could offer new types of content. "It could help with their advertising revenue but their ads are already quite targeted; from a marketing point of view for businesses it offers interesting opportunities. You could do reward schemes for people who check in at a certain business, for example." Rik Ferguson of security firm Trend Micro, trialled the service as it was launched on Friday. He raised a number of concerns about the functionality that allows users to check in their friends at a given location. "One of the major issues is the way that Facebook have implemented his functionality," Mr Ferguson told BBC News. "By default, users are opted in to the ability to be tagged by their friends, they are opted in to allowing their friends' Facebook apps to access their location information, and they are opted in to allowing 'non-friends' checked-in to the same place to see their whereabouts. "This is all backwards - this should be deployed on a purely opt-in basis and no information about my whereabouts should be posted without my explicit consent, every single time a post is made."

फेसबुक ने यूके में अपनी स्थान-आधारित स्थान सेवा शुरू की है।


Why do we love pandas?

Summary: For the first time in nearly two decades, two giant pandas will be brought from China to the UK, to live in Edinburgh Zoo. The project represents the culmination of five years of political and diplomatic negotiation at a high level. But why does the panda - unlike any other animal - have the power to involve and engage so much? And what is the key to its enduring popularity?

They remind us of ourselves One of the main reasons we love pandas is that they remind us of ourselves, says Ron Swaisgood, Director of Applied Animal Ecology, San Diego Zoo Institue for Conservation Research. "They eat sitting up using their hands and their special pseudo thumb, which is actually a modified wrist bone," he told the BBC News website. Zoo visitors love to watch Pandas eating and are often amazed by the way they handle their food with considerable dexterity - thanks partly to that "pseudo thumb", which functions as a sixth digit. The classic pose for a panda eating is one that resembles the way humans sit on the floor. According to Mr Swaisgood, we also love pandas because of their distinctive eyes. Their eye patches make their eyes look bigger. "People love big eyes because it reminds them of children," he says. "This is called neoteny in scientific terms." Neoteny basically means keeping a juvenile appearance into adulthood. According to the San Diego Zoo's website: "Our own young have characteristics that we humans respond to such as a big, round head, large eyes, a high forehead, and a roly-poly body. We are programmed to respond to these babyish looks. Babies just make us like them and want to care for them. It is part of our human makeup." In the human world, panda eyes can take on a less appealing connotation, often being associated with badly applied make-up, or lack of sleep. We just find pandas funny. But, according to Henry Nicholls, author of The Way of the Panda, they are undeserving of mockery. Indeed, pandas were not seen as figures of fun until humans failed to get them to reproduce in captivity. Out of their natural habitat more than 60% of male pandas exhibit no sexual desire at all. In a bid to encourage them to mate, the Chinese have experimented with everything from what has been dubbed "panda porn" - explicit video of pandas mating - to traditional herbs. In the 1960s, attempts to get Chi Chi, a famous panda bought by London Zoo, to breed failed spectacularly. "At the height of the Cold War, she was even flown to Russia to mate with a giant panda there. It was a very high-profile failure, sparking a rash of cartoons about the case and an explosion of humour that has never gone away," Mr Nicholls told the BBC News website. But in fact, pandas' mating habits are only funny by human standards, Mr Nicholls points out, and the species is very effective at breeding in the wild. The female panda may only be fertile for a few days each year but during this period she will mate dozens of times, with multiple males. The giant panda's enigmatic nature is in stark contrast to its sheer bulk and striking appearance. The few that remain in the wild are mainly scattered across six isolated mountain ranges across south-central China. For researchers, it is a real challenge to find this extraordinarily elusive beast which moves away higher and deeper into the forest before long before humans can get anywhere near. "There is some rather heartening that, in a very developed world, this species can still evade us and manage to carve out a space for itself," Mr Nicholls says. The panda has been relentlessly made into a symbol since the 1960s. It's been used by the WWF to convince us about the importance of conservation. According to San Diego Zoo's Ron Swaisgood, the fact that they are an icon of conservation helps boosts their appeal. "People love to rally around an underdog," he says. "Good news is, it's working. China has now established more than 60 reserves protecting the remaining pandas and researchers have accumulated enough knowledge about their biology and behaviour to have a self-sustaining captive population and begin to adaptively manage the wild population toward recovery." The panda has also been used by China to represent the potency of a nation. Our love of pandas has also been used as a marketing ploy - their black and white folds used to sell everything from sweets and fizzy pop to Western consumer to cigarettes in China. The giant panda is so linked to the idea of China that, unlike any other animal, it has become a political symbol. Decisions to lend and loan pandas take years of negotiations. Edinburgh Zoo was reportedly in talks with the Chinese for half a decade before the deal to house Tian Tian and Yangguang was sealed. And, unlike the exchange of any other animal, these deals often involve political negotiations at the very highest levels. Giant Pandas are officially listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's list of endangered species, which assumes there are fewer than 2,500 giant pandas in the world. The official figure is 1,596. But, suggests Mr Nicholls, it is almost impossible to effectively document the actual number of pandas in existence, the animal is so elusive. He says that such is the cultural and political power of the animal for China that is highly unlikely the number would ever be simply scientific. "It has been suggested that with an animal this emblematic, politics gets in the way of the actual scientific decisions. A census which took place in the 1970s was highly massaged to get a sense of a species on the edge." Although giant pandas are classified as a kind of meat-eater, in the wild they eat almost exclusively bamboo, and a lot of it. The average giant panda can consume as much as 14kg (30lbs) of bamboo shoots each day. Because of this simple diet, which is low in nutrients, the panda conserves energy by limiting its movements. But the diet is also linked to some of the giant pandas most distinctive features, including its round face with its powerful jaw muscles to crush the shoots. In captivity, pandas enjoy a much wider variety of foods - including honey, eggs, fish and fruit and vegetables like oranges, yams and bananas.

लगभग दो दशकों में पहली बार, एडिनबर्ग चिड़ियाघर में रहने के लिए चीन से दो विशाल पांडा को ब्रिटेन लाया जाएगा। यह परियोजना उच्च स्तर पर पांच साल की राजनीतिक और राजनयिक बातचीत की परिणति का प्रतिनिधित्व करती है। लेकिन पांडा में-किसी भी अन्य जानवर के विपरीत-इतना अधिक शामिल होने और संलग्न होने की शक्ति क्यों है? और इसकी स्थायी लोकप्रियता की कुंजी क्या है?


Who was Somali suicide bomber Luul Dahir?

Summary: She was, by almost all accounts, a rather wonderful woman - smart, helpful, and engaging - and a familiar presence behind the old-fashioned wooden reception counter in the Central Hotel's spacious lobby in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Andrew HardingAfrica correspondent@BBCAndrewHon Twitter "We made a really good connection. She was very attentive, and was doing her job very well. One government minister I knew was ready to offer her a job," said a European official who sometimes stayed at the hotel in order to meet the many Somali politicians who had made it their home. He asked for his name not to be used for security reasons. "She was a nice person, really talented," confirmed the hotel manager and co-owner, Ahmed Ismail Hussein, of Luul Dahir, the Somali woman in her mid-30s whom he had hired four months earlier. 'She exploded here' "She had six young children, and everyone was sympathetic and supportive. But after all, to me she was not a nice person. She was a horrible person when you consider what she did," he said. On 20 February, a car bomb was driven inside the hotel's heavily guarded courtyard during Friday prayers. Dozens of men, including ministers and a deputy prime minister, were praying in the hotel mosque. Somehow, the mosque wall managed to absorb most of the blast, and for minutes afterwards, dazed survivors wandered around the courtyard. This was the moment Luul Dahir chose to make her move. The manager had noticed earlier that morning that she seemed tired, and tearful - and had asked her if she wanted to take a day or two off. "She was looking down - I told her: 'Please, take leave.' She was not willing to go," he said. Underneath her black chador she had strapped a belt packed with explosives. "She exploded here, this black spot. She was looking for the deputy prime minister, asking: 'Where is my uncle?' He was not really her uncle but she wanted to make sure he dies," said Mr Hussein, showing me around the scarred courtyard. Others remember hearing her scream - trying, they thought subsequently, to attract a crowd around her. Mr Hussein suspects there might have been a scuffle - that the minister's bodyguards even fired shots at Ms Dahir. But she managed to detonate her bomb. "I believe not less than 40 people were killed here", said Mr Hussein. Official figures suggest about half that number. 'Shortcut to paradise' The al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. More details about Luul Dahir soon emerged. She had recently returned from Holland, where she had lived since childhood as a member of Somalia's huge diaspora. She had applied for jobs at a number of prominent hotels in Mogadishu. In her letter to the Jazzier Palace hotel, she had described herself as: "A dynamic professional who strives for excellence in all assigned tasks. I have good customer service skills. I consistently approach work with energy. I am a team player." Her hobbies included "reading new novels" and "learning new things." Her application was rejected. Ms Dahir's late husband, named as Abdi Salan, had been involved in another al-Shabab suicide attack, one year earlier, on Mogadishu's heavily guarded government compound, Villa Somalia. Somehow, none of this had come to light before the attack. Indeed, it is alleged that several senior security officials had befriended Ms Dahir at the hotel. "I believe these guys, al-Shabab, use weak people - people with difficulties. They tell them this is a short cut to go to paradise," said Mr Hussein, who had also returned to Somalia recently after 24 years in Sheffield, England. "Later I learned that [Luul Dahir] had problems with her sight. Her husband was dead. I heard he was another suicide bomber," he said. "She had six young children and was struggling... So I think her mentality was turned... she had been told: 'Paradise is waiting for you. Your husband is waiting for you'," he added. The Central Hotel bomb was by no means a one-off. Mogadishu's political elites have been targeted in a series of recent hotel attacks - several involving members of the diaspora. "People keep asking: 'Why do the diaspora come back to kill themselves and kill others?' "They say we cannot trust the diaspora because they're blowing themselves up. It's very hard now to get confidence and trust from others," said women's rights campaigner Ifrah Ahmed. Read Andrew's other reports from Somalia: Sun, surf... and grenades in Mogadishu 'Why I left al-Shabab' Getting round remittance bans Two days after we visited the Central Hotel, a car bomb exploded on the street outside, killing diners lunching at a popular restaurant. The manager, Mr Hussein, replayed the explosion for us on the hotel's CCTV. "They've parked right opposite our door. That young boy... will be among the dead very soon. That's the one.... You can see the car burning there," he said quietly, describing the scene unfolding on the screen. "I'm very pessimistic. It needs a sea of change to happen here. The government is doing absolutely zero. They're just going... around and around, fighting among themselves," he said. Since the second bombing, which broke most of the hotel's windows - only just replaced after February's attack - Mr Hussein is actively considering a return to Britain. "Two years ago property was booming, there was a lot of activity. But since then 80% of the diaspora went back because of the deteriorating security situation," Mr Hussein told me. "Only a few like me are still here, and I cannot go back easily because I invested a lot of work and money. But I don't know how long I can stand on my feet... I may go back to the UK," he said. Ms Dahir's actions continue to haunt him, and many others who encountered her in the days leading up to February's attack. The anonymous European official, who had been so struck by her enthusiasm, now remembers a seemingly throwaway comment she made - as they discussed security at the hotel - which has now come to have much more sinister undertones. "She said - and I think this is word for word - 'It's not the number of guards on the outside. It's who gets inside that will make it unsafe.' That was on the Wednesday before that attack," he said.

लगभग सभी खातों से, वह एक अद्भुत महिला थी-चतुर, मददगार और आकर्षक-और सोमाली राजधानी, मोगादिशु में सेंट्रल होटल की विशाल लॉबी में पुराने जमाने के लकड़ी के स्वागत काउंटर के पीछे एक परिचित उपस्थिति थी।


Leicester City: The Premier League fairy tale gripping a city

Summary: Leicester City are on the brink of pulling off one of sport's greatest fairytales - even the bookies thought there was more chance of finding the Loch Ness Monster than the Foxes winning the Premier League. But what impact have they had on the people of the city?

By Calum McKenzie & Sandish ShokerBBC News Online As #backingtheblues began trending on Twitter shop windows were dressed in blue, bars created blue cocktails and a butchers at Leicester Market was selling limited edition blue sausages. One coffee shop even created a special Vardyccino - with the chocolate on top supposed to look like the team's striker Jamie Vardy - while someone modified a photo of King Richard III, whose remains were found beneath a city centre car park, in a Foxes kit. But the excitement is not just limited to Leicester City supporters. The city's elation has also gripped people who did not previously like the sport. Nicola Butler, 33, from Ratby, Leicestershire, admits she was never a football fan until the start of this season. "I have a few friends who are die hard [Leicester City] fans and they would talk to me about it. "And it's kind of got everyone else excited about it too." On Friday the mum-of-two joined her colleagues at the University of Leicester and a large majority of the city dressed in blue. "When you meet people excited by it, you can't help but get gripped by it as well. "I don't know anyone who hasn't been caught up in this story. Even my granddad, who lives near Liverpool, wants Leicester to win. "Whatever happens everyone really just can't believe we have come this far." As a treat for her dad's 60th birthday, Mrs Butler bought tickets to her first ever football game to watch Leicester play Swansea City last weekend. "It was brilliant. The atmosphere was amazing," she said. But despite the heady atmosphere in the city, there are still some who are refusing to be swept up in the excitement. Lee Pickering, who lives in the city, says he will probably be watching the Grand Prix instead of Leicester's game against Manchester United on Sunday. "It'll do nothing (for the city)," he says. "Those that like football will enjoy it because they'll get to see bigger teams come down here but those that don't like football will be like 'so what'. It won't make any difference at all." It seems people like him are in the minority though. Harinder Singh, born and brought up in India, only caught the Leicester bug during the Foxes' great escape from relegation at the end of last season. "As you know in India, we are crazy about cricket and hockey, but when I came over to this country, football is the main sport," he said. "I started watching football but only the internationals when England were playing, and I wasn't really interested in backing any club side until I moved to Leicester. "I'm amazed to see how this team has dug itself out of a hole having almost been relegated last year. "Since then, I've been following them and it's completely amazing what these guys have done." Whatever the outcome of Leicester City's title race, there is no doubt it has united the city. And while there are still some people who will be happy to hear the back of the team winning the league, the team's accomplishments this seasons will be talked about by for many years to come. Related Internet Links Leicester City FC

लीसेस्टर सिटी खेल की सबसे बड़ी परीकथाओं में से एक को खींचने के कगार पर है-यहां तक कि सट्टेबाजों ने भी सोचा कि प्रीमियर लीग जीतने वाले लोमड़ियों की तुलना में लोच नेस मॉन्स्टर को खोजने की अधिक संभावना है। लेकिन शहर के लोगों पर उनका क्या प्रभाव पड़ा है?


German Covid Easter U-turn shakes Merkel's cool, calm image

Summary: It's not often a world leader insists so openly on taking the blame. In newsrooms across Europe journalists looked on baffled as Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that a strict Easter Covid lockdown, agreed and announced just 30 hours earlier, was off.

By Jenny HillBBC Berlin correspondent Mrs Merkel not only apologised but begged forgiveness. "This mistake is mine alone," she said. Once the surprise subsided, German commentators took a rather favourable view. "Respect!" said the tabloid Bild. Tagesspiegel pictured Mrs Merkel in biblical robes, bent under the weight of a cross, with the words "Merkel Culpa". Mrs Merkel, ran the general view, had made a mistake and, rightly, come clean about it. But most are still scratching their heads over why the chancellor would expend so much political capital over such an insignificant development. Germany usually shuts up shop for three days of public holiday over Easter. Mrs Merkel had agreed with regional leaders to extend the number of "Ruhetage" (rest days) to five. But the plan reportedly infuriated business owners, concerned about logistics, and in particular supermarket chains, which warned of empty shelves if suppliers and staff were forced to shut down. Given the increasingly chaotic nature of the Covid pandemic response here, it's fair to assume that many Germans might have simply shaken their heads and muttered, had the plan been shelved in a less dramatic fashion. So why the mea culpa? It's possible that Mrs Merkel, the daughter of a pastor, and a leader who frequently cites the importance of transparency within a democracy, simply felt it was the right thing to do. But with her apparently heartfelt apology Angela Merkel has, by accident or design, arguably distanced herself from Germany's regional leaders who, throughout the pandemic, have bickered, procrastinated and repeatedly ignored her calls for a tough national strategy. That's their prerogative of course - this is federalism. More on Europe's pandemic The Easter plan was, by all accounts, her plan. It was one of the rare corona policies for which she was more or less directly responsible unlike, say, the fudged agreements last autumn which, against her wishes, saw regional leaders grudgingly - and belatedly - introduce restrictions as the second wave began. Mrs Merkel, who wanted a hard, fast, national strategy then said she regretted the tardy response - but she didn't apologise for it. It was perhaps telling then that, the day after her Easter U-turn, she stood up in parliament and effectively challenged regional leaders to put their money where their mouth was - calling on them to take the initiative and be more creative in their response. If you think you can do it better, the subtext seemed to say, then get on and do it. Pre-election anxiety At least one leader, Berlin mayor Michael Müller, is now resisting the implementation of an emergency brake which, it was agreed, all German states must impose when infections reach a certain limit. So it's fair perhaps to assume that Mrs Merkel's exasperation is growing. Some wonder whether Mrs Merkel - now just months away from stepping down - apologised because she felt she had nothing now to lose. Quite the reverse. Support for Mrs Merkel's coalition government, and her centre-right Christian Democrat (CDU) party, is wavering. Some in the CDU fear it might be driven from government come the September general election. Nor is Mrs Merkel showing any sign of stepping back to allow Armin Laschet, who it's widely assumed will be her potential successor, more room centre stage. Commentators argue that, if Mrs Merkel really wants to make amends, she should turn her attention to Germany's vaccination programme. Its slow rollout is an increasingly incendiary source of public frustration. Just 10% of the population have received a first dose. Case numbers are rising exponentially, fuelled by the spread of the B117 or UK/Kent variant. Lothar Wieler of the Robert Koch Institute, which advises the government, has warned there are already indications that Germany's third wave could be worse than the first two. Without further action, he added, case numbers could soar to 100,000 a day. Mrs Merkel, who has warned that hard weeks lie ahead, has promised to accelerate the vaccine rollout, and is sticking to her pledge to offer all adults a vaccine by late September. The chancellor - who after 16 years in office is famed for her crisis management and safe pair of hands - may find her reputation depends on that pledge.

ऐसा अक्सर नहीं होता है कि कोई विश्व नेता खुले तौर पर दोष लेने पर जोर देता है। पूरे यूरोप के समाचार कक्षों में पत्रकार हैरान रह गए क्योंकि चांसलर एंजेला मर्केल ने घोषणा की कि एक सख्त ईस्टर कोविड लॉकडाउन, जो केवल 30 घंटे पहले सहमत और घोषित किया गया था, बंद कर दिया गया था।


Skull found near Telford motorway slip road

Summary: A human skull was found alongside an M54 slip road in Shropshire, West Mercia Police said.

It was discovered by workers doing a survey of the roundabout at junction four, near Telford, on Thursday. Police were called to the roundabout shortly before 13:30 BST. Highways England was also at the scene. The eastbound entry slip road was closed for the rest of the day for a forensic investigation to be carried out, the force said.

वेस्ट मर्सिया पुलिस ने कहा कि श्रॉपशायर में एम54 स्लिप रोड के किनारे एक मानव खोपड़ी मिली।


Sales tax 'thrown out' by States of Guernsey

Summary: A proposal to introduce a general sales tax in Guernsey has been rejected by the island's government.

Deputy Mike Hadley claimed a 2-3% sales tax on the price of everyday goods could generate £30m a year to help fill the island's financial black hole. However, an overwhelming majority of deputies rejected the proposals. In 2009 deputies approved a five-year strategy aimed at saving up to £70m through cut backs and the sharing of departments' resources.

ग्वेर्नसे में एक सामान्य बिक्री कर लागू करने के प्रस्ताव को द्वीप की सरकार ने खारिज कर दिया है।


Pontypool man arrested on suspicion of murder after woman dies

Summary: A 70-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a woman aged 74.

Police are investigating after the woman was found dead at a property in Sebastopol, Pontypool, at approximately 09:20 GMT on Saturday. Officers said the arrested man, from Pontypool, is currently in police custody. Gwent Police said officers were in the area "to reassure the community and carry out investigations". Related Internet Links Gwent Police

74 वर्षीय महिला की मौत के बाद हत्या के संदेह में एक 70 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Junior doctors contract saga - the latest twists and turns

Summary: After a dispute over junior doctors' contracts which has rumbled on steadily for a year, there has been a flurry of activity in just a couple of days. The British Medical Association announced it would ballot members over industrial action. The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has invited the BMA junior doctors' leader to a meeting. And an open meeting convened for doctors by NHS Employers has been abruptly cancelled.

Hugh PymHealth editor@bbcHughPymon Twitter The events are of course not unconnected. The minute the BMA decided to hold a vote on industrial action ministers were always likely to sit up and take notice. Mr Hunt, it appears, has been away for a few days so a return to the office on the first working day after the ballot announcement was a good opportunity to look again at the contract issue. Whitehall sources indicate that Mr Hunt is keen to meet Dr Johann Malawana, the new chair of the BMA junior doctors committee. Dr Malawana took on the role on Saturday and his first task was to announce the ballot, describing his members' mood as "incredibly angry". The Secretary of State has every reason to want to meet the new leader, especially one with a mandate for possible protest action. The Government line is that drawing up a new contract is best done by negotiation and that no firm and final offer has been put in front of the doctors. Although wanting to simplify and amend the contract, sources indicate that ministers have not set out detailed demands over which working hours in the week should attract higher payments. The BMA, however, is adamant that the Government and NHS Employers have demanded preconditions, including treating Saturday as a normal working day like Monday to Friday. That's why the association felt it had no alternative to suspending its involvement in talks. Negotiations stalled in October 2014 and the BMA declined to re-enter talks this summer. The Government then said it would impose a new contract on junior doctors in England from August 2016. The Scottish and Welsh administrations have not gone down the same route. Mr Hunt, it seems, would rather avoid headlines about doctors working to rule and routine surgery being cancelled. There was a walk-out over pensions as part of a public sector day of action in 2012. But you have to go back to the 1970's for the last time BMA members took disruptive action over pay. Mr Hunt has seen NHS consultants return to the negotiating table over the issue of weekend working. He will hope very much that the junior doctors can be persuaded to enter talks before a ballot takes place. A roadshow of open meetings for junior doctors planned by NHS Employers has been cancelled. One, planned for Westminster, was axed with less than five hours notice. Ministers had probably concluded that such events would be a magnet for protests witnessed by TV crews and a public focus for junior doctors' anger. But as it was, even after the cancelled meeting at Westminster, a few thousand medics still turned out to take part in a lively demonstration on Monday evening. Dr Malawana and his colleagues have accepted Mr Hunt's invitation for a chat at the Department of Health. He has made it clear that the ballot and possible route to industrial action will continue unless the Government can give "absolute assurances" sought by the junior doctors. The question now is how far the Secretary of State is prepared to go to get people around the table. On the face of it the two sides are some way apart. Ministers and NHS chiefs want to create a new contract which rewards higher-achieving junior doctors more than the current system allows with automatic increments. They also want a simplified system of payments for weekends and unsocial hours. The junior doctors, by contrast, say they could lose up to 30% of their annual pay with the new contract and be pushed into working excessive hours, putting patient safety at risk. They argue that doctors will head for the exit doors and seek employment overseas, leaving the NHS short of qualified staff. Much, then, hangs on the meeting between Mr Hunt and Dr Malawana. At stake is the possibility of serious talks over contracts or the first industrial action over pay and conditions by doctors in 40 years.

जूनियर डॉक्टरों के अनुबंध पर विवाद के बाद, जो एक साल से लगातार चल रहा है, कुछ ही दिनों में गतिविधि में तेजी आई है। ब्रिटिश मेडिकल एसोसिएशन ने घोषणा की कि वह औद्योगिक कार्रवाई पर सदस्यों को मतदान करेगा। स्वास्थ्य सचिव जेरेमी हंट ने बी. एम. ए. जूनियर डॉक्टरों के नेता को एक बैठक में आमंत्रित किया है। और एन. एच. एस. नियोक्ताओं द्वारा डॉक्टरों के लिए बुलाई गई एक खुली बैठक को अचानक रद्द कर दिया गया है।