Opioid epidemic: The other public health crisis killing Canadians

Summary: Opioid deaths have been rising again in the shadow of the pandemic, notably in the Canadian province of British Columbia, where overdose casualties have reached historic highs. Is enough being done to end this second public health crisis?

By Holly HonderichBBC News, Washington Every month or so, Garth Mullins has breakfast with his best friend. They go to the same place - an aging diner in downtown Vancouver with chipped wooden booths and neon signs. They always end up there around 1pm, talking through bites of bacon, eggs and white toast. "And I always think, 'Is this the last time I'm going to get bacon eggs with him?'" Mullins said. Mullins was an injection heroin user for more than a decade, before moving to methadone. He is now a journalist and advocate for drug users and harm reduction policies in his home of Vancouver - at the centre of the overdose crisis in the province of British Columbia [BC]. When the coronavirus hit the province in March, one public health crisis collided with another, and overdose deaths began to climb. Two months later they reached all-time highs: 174 deaths in May, then 177 in June, 175 in July. So far this year, 909 people have died of an overdose in BC. Deaths from illicit drugs continue to eclipse deaths from homicides, suicides, car crashes and Covid-19, combined. It's led to Canada's chief public health official - and the face of the country's coronavirus response - to warn of this second health emergency. "Canadians should be seized with this particular crisis," said Dr Theresa Tam last month. It is "escalating as we speak". The record-breaking figures reversed a period of relative stability in the province's battle with opioid abuse. In 2019, three years after the province declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, the number of drug deaths fell by more than a third from the year before - an encouraging trend that continued into the early months of 2020. Then the coronavirus hit. Experts say the necessary response to the pandemic laid the foundation for a spike in overdose deaths. First, there is the sheer toxicity of the drugs on the street, said Dr Jane Buxton, the medical lead for harm reduction at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. Canada's border closure has disrupted the country's typical illicit drug supply chain, Dr Buxton said, leaving drugs more vulnerable to contamination as local dealers cut them with toxic additives to increase supply and lower costs. A second factor is the clash in guidance between the two health emergencies. Safety amid Covid-19 means social distancing and prolonged periods of isolation. Harm reduction for drug users means never using alone - and social distancing requirements have compelled some supervised consumption sites in Canada - where no overdose deaths have ever been recorded - to reduce capacity or shutter altogether. And experts say some of the common side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic - anxiety, isolation and uncertainty - may drive people to use. Mullins said Canada didn't have an effective plan to address the opioid crisis to begin with, a shortfall that has been compounded by Covid. "Everything is so precarious that if any one thing goes wrong, the statistics will jump up." These same factors are at play in the US. In August, the American Medical Association reported increases in opioid-related deaths in more than 40 states. In Canada, the crisis is most pronounced in BC. A few years ago, Mullins said, he tried to tally the number of people he had lost to an overdose. When he got to 50 he stopped counting. "It's a terrible, morbid exercise," he said. Lately, the deaths feel like a "constant stream". Last month, Mullins and other advocates in Vancouver gathered for a "mass memorial" and eulogies for some of those who have died in recent months. "It's been a crisis for so long I feel like it's rewritten a part of my personality. You just expect this kind of loss," he said. Advocates say the response to the coronavirus outbreak and the overdose crisis has exposed a gulf between the respective public and political attitudes. Canada's "bold and urgent" response to Covid-19 has not been matched by that to the overdose crisis, said Leslie Mcbain, who lost her 25-year-old son Jordan in 2014 to a drug overdose after he was prescribed opioids for a back injury. "It's the absolute worst thing that could happen to a family," she said. "You don't go through it, you carry it. We carry it forever." In the wake of Jordan's death, Mcbain co-founded Moms Stop the Harm, a support group for families affected by substance use. In August, both Mcbain and Mullins quit a provincial overdose response committee over what she described as governmental inaction. "Nothing was happening," she said, just as "everything" was being done to protect the province from Covid-19. "We realised we were at the kids' table," she said. In July, BC Premier John Horgan apologised for remarks suggesting that, while Covid-19 "affects anyone at any time", the opioid crisis involves those who made an initial "choice" to use drugs. Critics say the premier's comments signal why the overdose crisis has not received the type of muscular response summoned for the coronavirus - that those dying of an overdose were "morally culpable". "The wrong people are dying," Mullins said. Among those struggling with addiction and those in the harm reduction community, the disparity seemed clear, according to Dr Buxton. "There's a lot of discontent around how much time, energy and money is being spent on Covid," Dr Buxton said. "There's also that feeling of despondency: 'We've been telling people this is an issue and nobody's been listening and then it's gotten worse. So what's being done about it?'" Amid mounting deaths, authorities have suggested two principal solutions: decriminalising the possession of illicit substances and providing a safe supply of prescribed alternatives - pharmaceutical-grade medication as a substitutes to illegal drugs like heroin. Both steps have been sought by advocates for decades. In recent weeks, BC provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry, Premier Horgan, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and health officers in Toronto and Montreal have all called on the federal government to decriminalise possession. Dr Henry has joined BC's chief coroner Lisa Lapointe and Guy Felicella, a harm reduction campaigner and advisor with the BC Centre on Substance Use in advocating for prescribed alternatives. "Access to a safer supply remains the number one, most urgently needed intervention to stop overdoses and stop people from dying," Felicella told reporters. Early in the pandemic, the BC government announced new guidelines to allow more people - those at risk of Covid-19 infection, those with a history of ongoing substance abuse and those at high risk of withdrawal or overdose - to access prescription alternatives. Nearly 2,000 people in the province can now use prescribed opioids. But this figure is a "drop in the bucket" for a province with an estimated 55,000 to 100,000 illicit drug users, said Leslie Mcbain. And much of the legal control of drugs in Canada rests with the federal government. "Even when we have a supervised consumption site [in BC] we have to get an exemption," Dr Buxton said. "It's not as easy just to go in and say, 'OK we're going to change this in BC.' It all comes under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which is the federal piece." Asked about the surge in overdose deaths on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there was not one "silver bullet" to address this crisis. "We're prioritising the things that are going to make the biggest difference immediately," he told CBC News, and said that his government was "moving forward aggressively" on ensuring a safer supply. In July, Health Canada department announced C$2m ($1.5m; £1.15m) in funding for a safe supply pilot project in BC's Cowichan Valley. Inside this roughly 84,000-person region, the program is reserved for those who have not responded to other treatments for opioid use disorder - about 25 people so far. And the Canadian government is not currently considering the decriminalisation or legalisation of illegal drugs, Trudeau said on Wednesday. For many advocates, including Garth Mullins, until both measures are mandated by the federal government, it won't be enough. Unlike the virus outbreak, the spike in drug deaths in British Columbia was "entirely predictable", according to Mullins. Covid-19 was "a force of nature", he said. Canada's overdose crisis was "a force of policy".

महामारी की छाया में ओपिओइड से होने वाली मौतें फिर से बढ़ रही हैं, विशेष रूप से कनाडा के ब्रिटिश कोलंबिया प्रांत में, जहां ओवरडोज से होने वाली मौतें ऐतिहासिक ऊंचाई पर पहुंच गई हैं। क्या इस दूसरे सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य संकट को समाप्त करने के लिए पर्याप्त प्रयास किए जा रहे हैं?


Paris attacks: Who was Hasna Ait Boulahcen?

Summary: French prosecutors have confirmed that Hasna Ait Boulahcen, 26, was the woman who died when she blew herself up during a police raid on a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday. The operation targeted the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. The BBC's Tom Burridge met people who knew her.

Hasna Ait Boulahcen's mother reportedly lived in a large block of flats in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois. There were heavily armed masked police there on Thursday evening. We met two women who knew her. Khemissa, who went to school with her, says the Hasna she knew "loved life", but describes her former classmate as "vulnerable" and "fragile". "I don't think she had the intention to be a suicide bomber," she says. "I don't think she planned it, it must have been a last-minute thing - she was influenced." She was aware of reports that Hasna Ait Boulahcen had written on Facebook that she wanted to travel to Syria. "We didn't really believe her. We thought it was words without meaning." Was she religious, we ask? "She was maybe brain-washed, or influenced. She was a weak person. They came at the right moment. They found the right person," she says. Given the ruthless, unmitigated violence in Paris a week ago, suggestions that Hasna Ait Boulahcen was a victim will understandably be met with anger. However, another woman who said she knew Hasna Ait Boulahcen "very well" also said she couldn't believe "that she was a terrorist". The woman, who didn't want to give her name, confirmed Khemissa's assertion that Ait Boulahcen had spent time in the care of social services. She said her father had left her mother and siblings. "There were problems in the family," she said. The woman said Hasna Ait Boulahcen's mother sometimes looked after her children. Hasna "had a sad childhood," she said. "But I would never have thought the girl would have done that. She was always smiling and very polite." 'Party girl' As we spoke to the women, crowds of teenagers and young men, clearly with little to do, hung around. Some of them shouted mockingly at the armed policemen in balaclavas as they drove away. One policeman gave them a two-fingered victory salute out of the window. Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb to northeast of the French capital, has deep social problems. There was violence here during the 2005 Paris riots. Other reports of Ait Boulahcen in British newspapers paint a picture of a party girl. Khemissa, who told us she took dance classes with Hasna, says she got good grades. "I don't think she was in a normal state," she says. "I think she must have been drugged. She must have taken substances. She was not in a normal state, otherwise she wouldn't have done that."

फ्रांसीसी अभियोजकों ने पुष्टि की है कि 26 वर्षीय हसना एट बोलाहसेन वह महिला थी जिसकी बुधवार को पेरिस के उपनगर सेंट-डेनिस में एक फ्लैट पर पुलिस की छापेमारी के दौरान मौत हो गई थी। अभियान ने पेरिस हमलों के संदिग्ध सरगना अब्देलहामिद अबाउड को निशाना बनाया। बीबीसी के टॉम बुरिज ने उन लोगों से मुलाकात की जो उसे जानते थे।


Increase in TT passengers at Isle of Man airport

Summary: The number of TT visitors who travelled to the Isle of Man by air has risen by 4% since last year, according to a report from the Manx airport.

A spokesman from Ronaldsway said the amount of festival traffic rose from 39,800 in 2011 to 41,100 in 2012. Several direct charter flights to Europe also helped to boost business. Airport director Ann Reynolds said to deal with the extra demand, some airlines supplied larger planes and increased flight frequency. The Isle of Man TT festival 2012 was the busiest in a decade outside of its centenary year, according to the island's ferry service. Ferry passenger figures showed a 4.3% rise in visitors and a 3.4% increase in motorcycles compared to last year.

मैनक्स हवाई अड्डे की एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, हवाई मार्ग से आइल ऑफ मैन की यात्रा करने वाले टी. टी. आगंतुकों की संख्या में पिछले साल से 4 प्रतिशत की वृद्धि हुई है।


Lake District plans to bid for World Heritage status

Summary: The Lake District is to apply for World Heritage status.

Cumbria county and district councils and the national park authority have voted to submit a bid to the international organisation, UNESCO. The much-coveted status is held by sites including the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, and Hadrian's Wall. Lord Clark of Windermere, chairman of the Lake District Partnership, said the bid was based on the area's "cultural landscape". He said: "We linked that to the great Romantics, the world of the Wordsworths. "We also looked at the way it brought about the world environment bodies such as the National Trust. 'Special places' "I think it is the last chance for a generation to achieve this. "If we do get it, it will be money well spent." Richard Greenwood from Cumbria Tourism said becoming a World Heritage Site could attract visitors from fast-growing markets like China and India. He said: "A fair bit of research has been done and it has found that overseas the Lake District is not as well known as we perhaps think it is. "Also, you have this new breed of global visitors, who like to go around the world ticking off very special places, and world heritage sites are the first on the list."

झील जिले को विश्व धरोहर के दर्जे के लिए आवेदन करना है।


Lorry driving: The logistics of keeping logistics on the road

Summary: Facing an unprecedented shortage of lorry drivers the UK haulage industry has this week asked the government for support to help recruit and train new blood. But what is being done in the meantime to keep our shop shelves stacked and our parcels delivered?

By Francesca WilliamsBBC News As long as he keeps on passing the fitness test, Mel Gwyn will be driving lorries. At 56, he personifies an industry that is experienced but top heavy, with nearly half of drivers on domestic routes aged over 50. In the past five years, HGV licence applications have dropped by more than 32,000. The cost of getting the licence is putting potential young drivers off. Those left consist of mostly older drivers changing careers, with more than 13,000 working truckers already aged over 65. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) estimates 45,000 new recruits are needed to keep the industry from grinding, literally, to a halt. Already there are delays, especially at busy times such as Christmas. Eventually production lines will be hit and supermarket shelves will go un-stocked, the FTA says. "Those beer barrels need to be delivered by someone," a spokeswoman warns. What's it worth? 285,000 Number of HGV drivers in the UK - April - June 2014 £30,000 Average articulated lorry driver salary, including overtime 1.6bn Tonnes of goods moved by road in 2013 £22.9bn Total amount generated by the road freight industry in 2013 The situation was made worse last September when experienced drivers left en-masse rather than bother with the new Certificate of Professional Competence. Faced with 35 hours of training every five years many drivers nearing retirement age threw in the towel. "I think some had thought it might just go away," says FTA regional head of policy, Natalie Chapman. Some companies, like Ferguson's Transport in Cramlington, helped staff comply, but even they lost drivers. "If you're someone who's approaching retirement age, to be told that you've got to have a bit of paper, that you've got to go and sit in a classroom for a week to do the job you've done for the last 40 years of your life, they don't take it very well," owner Alan Ferguson says. Last Christmas, when the industry relied on self-employed and agency staff to cover the extra traffic, the loss of drivers and delays in compliance prompted the FTA to warn deliveries were at risk. Agencies turned down jobs because they did not have enough staff with the right paperwork, Ms Chapman says. Qualifying as a trucker takes too long and is too expensive to happen by accident so "you've got to want to do it", Mr Gwyn says. When he starts telling stories it is clear his job remains a pleasure to perform. He describes pallets of envelopes so light they are like "carrying fresh air" and the equally light empty trucks, which can be toppled by wind. "If it's going to go, it'll go," he says. "You cannot fight it. The wind just gets it and it's like a sail." Removing the "sail", by tying back the canvas sides, allows the wind to pass through the trailer, but that creates another problem. One driver arrived at the Nissan car factory in Sunderland completely oblivious his roof had been blown off, Mr Gwyn says. They never found it. Off-road facilities also pose problems, with parking facilities often full, expensive and insecure. "Anyone can wander around the trucks and there's actually quite a lot of issue around truck crime, so theft of loads, fuel theft, stories of drivers being attacked," Ms Chapman says. And, qualifying for the licences required to drive articulated lorries will set new drivers back at least £3,000 - even if they pass first time. "That's a lot of money for anybody," says Allan McNaught, centre manager at Tyneside Training Services (TTS), which teaches new drivers. There are no student loans for this and, even if an 18-year-old could afford the training and the licence, they still need an employer "willing to take the risk on a young person, with no experience and no background", Mr McNaught says. They also face insurance companies, which insist drivers under 25 have two year's HGV experience. The FTA is fighting this claiming that, unlike car drivers, there is no evidence younger HGV drivers are more of a risk. It is also pressing the government for vocational loans and training grants. The treasury says it is considering their proposals. Meanwhile, it is increasingly falling to employers to nurture the new drivers they will eventually depend on. To "protect its own position", Ferguson's has started a scheme to recruit ex-army drivers and launched an apprentice scheme in partnership with TTS, says human resources manager Andrew Muxworthy. More used to teaching middle-aged career-changers, TTS centre manager Mr McNaught thinks it is "quite a challenge" for the industry to bridge the age gap. "I think there's always been more attractive industries for young people to come into at 16 or 17, when they're leaving school," he says. "Because the wages have been perceived as quite low you could, instead of delivering goods to Asda or Tesco, actually stack the shelves and probably earn as much, if not more." One of the scheme's successful applicants, Anthony Doherty, from North Tyneside, personifies how easily the industry can fail to snare potential recruits. "My dad does it and I've always loved lorries," the 20-year-old says. "It's definitely what I want to do." Yet, despite this, he ended up working for HM Revenue and Customs. It was only redundancy and Ferguson's new training programme that forced his hand. Without the scheme, funding the licence would have been unthinkable. "The only way out is significant investment from businesses like ours," says Mr Muxworthy. "We have an ageing workforce. This is not a Ferguson's issue, it's an industry issue." Related Internet Links Freight Transport Association Ferguson's DHL Gateshead College

लॉरी चालकों की अभूतपूर्व कमी का सामना करते हुए ब्रिटेन के ढुलाई उद्योग ने इस सप्ताह सरकार से नए रक्त की भर्ती और प्रशिक्षण में मदद के लिए समर्थन मांगा है। लेकिन इस बीच हमारी दुकान की अलमारियों को ढेर करने और हमारे पार्सल वितरित करने के लिए क्या किया जा रहा है?


Police crime commissioners: Media reaction

Summary: The media is reflecting on the low turnout at the police crime commissioner (PCC) elections, which saw fewer than 15% of voters turning out in the 41 English and Welsh police areas, a peacetime low.

The commissioners will be in post until 2016 and will have the power to set policing priorities, budgets and also to hire and fire chief constables. The Conservatives won 16 posts and Labour 13. The remaining 12 went to independents, including some ex-police officers. Some commentators suggest that it is now up to the PCCs to prove their worth to communities, despite the low turnout. Sunday reaction The Sunday Times comment "The government cannot say it was not warned. The Electoral Commission, which is to submit a report to parliament on the turnout, told ministers beforehand that a greater effort had to be made "to engage effectively with voters". The coalition, apparently fearful of criticism of the cost, ran the election on a shoestring. "In the absence of leaflets telling voters what the election was about, many did not know about them and cared even less. Downing Street on Friday resorted to blaming the media for their failure to report the elections. "Maybe the media could have done more, but they took their lead from the curiously detached approach of David Cameron and his ministers." Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer "Britain, in common with most mature democracies, has had a long-standing and deep-seated problem with voter disengagement. But a new low is set by this latest episode of There's An Election... Get Me Out of Here. "I thought I might have been a bit pessimistic when I predicted a few weeks ago that turnout in some places could be as low as 15%. It transpires I was too optimistic. Less than one in six cast a vote, the lowest ever participation in a national election. "No one at all visited a polling station in Newport, which has since become more celebrated than most of the new commissioners. The obvious place to start the blame game is with the government. The timing couldn't have been better designed to ensure that the elections were a flop. "It would have made much more sense to have held them with next May's council contests rather than stage standalone elections for new roles in chilly November when it starts to get dark at four in the afternoon. The Lib Dems, who insisted on the separate poll, deserve the blame for that." Christopher Booker in the Sunday Telegraph "In Manchester the turnout was 18%, the lowest at any by-election since the Second World War. The national turnout for police commissioners was even lower, one polling station in Wales registering no voters at all - while a record 3% of those who did vote spoilt their ballot papers to show their disgust at the farcical exercise. "When I walked into our village hall on Thursday evening to spoil my own ballot paper for the first time in 50 years, I found that only 15 of my 200 neighbours had turned up all day - most of them totally bemused. "Meanwhile, in Bradford, my friend Richard North was staring at claims that commissioners would restore "local control" over the police, asking how this could possibly make sense when the new commissioner for West Yorkshire will have to decide policing priorities over an area of 800 square miles, with a population of 2.2 million, containing five metropolitan districts and including the cities of Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield and Halifax. "With the election of 12 non-party commissioners, Thursday was the day when, more clearly than ever, we showed the political class, which for so long has treated us with such contempt, that our only response is to reciprocate. But how to re-establish democratic control over that class, which rules our lives as surely as if we lived in a one-party state, is one of the greatest political challenges of our age." Sunday People comment "What is the point of police commissioners? Why do we need them? What will they do? Why do they deserve £100,000 a year? Theresa May should have addressed herself to these questions before Thursday's elections. "Instead the home secretary presided over the biggest voting shambles since 1831 when 152 MPs were chosen by fewer than 100 voters each. These rotten boroughs were consigned to the dustbin of history until, with staggering incompetence, Mrs May fished them out again. "What possessed her to imagine the Home Office was capable of running national elections in the first place, when it has no experience of doing so? There were no mail shots or explanatory booklets, only a totally inadequate website. The Welsh almost went to the polls without bilingual ballot papers. "And it compromises all the principles of democratic neutrality for a government department to be sticking its nose in anyway. As Mrs May never made the case for creating police commissioners before the election, she must now explain after it why she felt it was worth the £100 million the whole fiasco cost." Nick Ferrari in the Sunday Express "As predicted, the turnout for the vote for police commissioners up and down the land has been pitifully low. What else were politicians seriously expecting when the information was so slim and the candidates' selection came from a list of the not very good, the bad and the ugly? "As a result this government looks even more out of touch as it pushes through this expensive Whitehall farce yet still ignores the growing, and at times deafening, clamour for a vote on Europe." Saturday reaction Michael White in the Guardian "Low turnout is rightly seen as bad for democracy and cannot help establish the PCCs' authority. The Police Federation, and critics on both left and right, were quick to say "told you so". But politicians can have selective amnesia on the mandate argument. "Did Labour rejoice any less over its baleful wins in Corby (turnout 44%), Manchester (18.6%) and Cardiff (25.6%), or grieve less over its candidate's defeat (on a 22.9% turnout) by the red-trousered independent, George Ferguson, for Bristol mayor? No. "Low turnout is a wake-up call, not a death sentence. So the Tory chairman, Grant Shapps, had a point, a modest one, when he claimed that five million more people voted for PCCs than ever did for the highly anonymous police authorities. "The ball is now at the PCCs' feet. With a positive response from the police (far from certain) and restraint from the Home Office (ditto) they must try and make a go of it in hard times. Like it or not, we are where we are." The Times comment "Is a minority vote a sufficient mandate to exert authority over the local chief constable? The first retort to anyone who says that the new PCCs lack legitimacy because turnout was only 18% is to point out that the turnout to appoint police authorities, which PCCs now replace, was 0%. Police authorities were appointed by a few bigwigs gathered in a room. "Ultimately, however, success or failure is in the hands of the PCCs themselves. the serious test of the new institution is not the initial level of turnout. It is whether the PCCs turn out to be a good tribune of the people on local issues of crime and anti-social behaviour which are always two of the answers most readily given when people are asked for their concerns. "This has been a poor start for a good idea. The onus is now on the new breed of PCCs to earn themselves a better turnout next time." The Independent editorial "The plan for Police and Crime Commissioners was central to Mr Cameron's early political vision. In opposition, his "big idea" was the redistribution of power from the centre, and the election of police commissioners was cited as a key example, along with the revival of elected mayors. "In practice, there are few mayors, and police chiefs have now been elected on a wave of indifference. "Such laxity has only exacerbated the challenges the new system will face. Senior police officers have expressed concern over blurred lines of accountability, warning of a repeat of the confusion in London, where the Metropolitan Police's responsibility to the Home Office, the Mayor of London and the assembly leaves it a servant of too many masters. "It was always incumbent on the newly elected commissioners to work through such issues. But an only shakily credible electoral mandate will not help them." Rick Muir in the New Statesman "I have a confession to make. I think directly elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are a positive step forward. "The problem is that this democratic reform has been implemented in a totally cack-handed fashion. It was absurd to hold these contests to new and unfamiliar posts in November, with cold weather and early nights. They should have been held in May in tandem with the local elections, which would have ensured a more respectable turnout of 30 to 40% in most places. "But the difficulty of engaging people in these elections does point to wider problems for those engaged in public service reform. Earlier this week, IPPR published a book on "the relational state", which argues for a shift away from public services being managed in a top down fashion from Whitehall and for services to be re-designed from the bottom up, with the users of services playing a more active role. "Should a turnout of below 15% in the PCC elections force us to reconsider these arguments? I do not believe so: we want public services that are designed around their users, that are held to account locally and that are flexible enough to innovate and respond to local needs." Charles Moore, the Daily Telegraph "It is perfectly true that the low turnout is embarrassing for the Conservatives, who devised these reforms. "You might have thought that the people who created this new field of battle would have ridden out and fought on it. This important reform should have been argued for day by day through the campaign, by cabinet ministers. "The Tory leadership, though extremely media-conscious, does not seem to realise that, in politics, it is not enough to have a good idea. It is not even enough to have a good idea and then legislate. It is necessary to have a good idea, argue for it, enact it - and then argue for it all over again. "For the first time, that public have the right to make their voice heard by the police. That requires democratic politics, and it is a good and dreadfully belated innovation. "So the last thing the Tories should now do is to resile from their own invention. From today, the fighting will get fiercer. The struggle begins for the PCCs to get to grips with their huge new task."

मीडिया पुलिस अपराध आयुक्त (पी. सी. सी.) चुनावों में कम मतदान पर प्रतिबिंबित कर रहा है, जिसमें 41 अंग्रेजी और वेल्श पुलिस क्षेत्रों में 15 प्रतिशत से भी कम मतदाताओं ने मतदान किया, जो शांति के समय में सबसे कम था।


One person dies in A38 road crash near Dobwalls

Summary: One person has died in a crash involving a car and a HGV on the A38 in Cornwall.

Emergency crews were called to the scene near Dobwalls, Bodmin, at about 11:30 BST. Police described the incident as a "serious crash" and closed the dual carriageway in both directions. Highways England said the road was still "expected to be closed for some time" and drivers should expect severe delays despite diversions.

कॉर्नवाल में ए38 पर एक कार और एक एचजीवी की दुर्घटना में एक व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


Manchester Airport breaks yearly passenger record

Summary: Manchester Airport has broken its all-time yearly passenger record, with more than 22.32m people flying from the site over the last 12 months.

The airport said it represented a growth of 7.5% year-on-year. The rise in passengers is connected to increasing capacity and frequency on existing routes, as well as new long haul services starting. Ken O'Toole, the airport's managing director, called it a "magnificent achievement". He said: "It's a historic milestone for Manchester Airport and UK aviation, as well as a huge boost for the economy and the north of England." The figure beats the previous 12-month record set in July 2006 of 22.26m.

मैनचेस्टर हवाई अड्डे ने पिछले 12 महीनों में साइट से उड़ान भरने वाले 22.32m से अधिक लोगों के साथ अपना सर्वकालिक वार्षिक यात्री रिकॉर्ड तोड़ दिया है।


Coronavirus: First case in Wales confirmed

Summary: The first case of coronavirus in Wales has been confirmed.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton said the adult patient had returned from northern Italy, where the virus was contracted. Swansea council leader Rob Stewart said the diagnosis had a link to the city's Bishop Gore School, but there are no cases within any schools. On Friday, a man on the Diamond Princess cruise ship became the first Briton to die of coronavirus. Nineteen people have tested positive in the UK since the virus outbreak began in China. There was one case in Northern Ireland on Thursday and two new cases in England on Friday. Dr Atherton said the development was "not unexpected" and the patient was being treated at one of the four specialist units in England. He said it was "inevitable" there would be more cases. Dr Atherton said: "Our job is to prepare for a significant number of cases, for an epidemic in the UK, or a pandemic if it becomes a global issue." He said the Welsh patient had been tested on Thursday, adding: "They developed symptoms and contacted the NHS and were assessed by colleagues from Public Health Wales." He said: "All appropriate measures to provide care for the individual and to reduce the risk of transmission to others are being taken. "I'd like to take this opportunity to assure the public that Wales and the whole of the UK is well prepared for these types of incidents." He said to protect the patient's confidentiality no further details regarding the individual would be released. Public Health Wales said it was is working hard to identify close contacts and taking all appropriate actions to reduce any risk to the public's health. Aneurin Bevan health board also tweeted to say the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport was open, despite false reports over coronavirus. Experts have warned of school closures and the cancellation of major sporting events, concerts and festivals in the UK in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said transmission of the virus between people in the UK was "just a matter of time". He said if the outbreak intensifies, it may be necessary to close schools and stop mass gatherings of people for "quite a long period of time, probably more than two months". The World Health Organization also warned that the outbreak had reached a "decisive point" and had "pandemic potential". How deadly is the coronavirus? Based on data from 44,000 patients with this coronavirus, the WHO says: The proportion dying from the disease, which has been named Covid-19, appears low (between 1% and 2%) - but the figures are unreliable. Thousands are still being treated but may go on to die - so the death rate could be higher. But it is also unclear how many mild cases remain unreported - so the death rate could also be lower. To put this into context, about one billion people catch influenza every year, with between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths. The severity of flu changes every year. The authorities here are stepping up a gear. They are moving from just testing people who have been to the hotspots. They are now beginning to test some patients, either in intensive care units or some GP surgeries, who have unexplained symptoms which might indicate coronavirus. Things are shifting up a gear but the general message is that people should not panic. Even though more cases are expected, officials insist the NHS is well prepared. What should I do to prevent catching and spreading the virus? To protect against infection, the NHS has advised people to wash their hands frequently with soap and water or a sanitiser gel. It is best to catch coughs and sneezes with tissues, which should be thrown away immediately afterwards. Be sure to wash your hands after disposing of tissues. Avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and avoid close contact with people who are unwell. The World Health Organization advises keeping at least a metre between you and other people, particularly those who are coughing, sneezing and have a fever. What is the official advice? The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is warning against all but essential travel to 11 quarantined towns in Italy, two cities in South Korea and mainland China. The Department of Health says anyone who has returned from those specified parts of Italy and South Korea, as well as Iran, since 19 February should call the NHS 111 helpline, stay indoors and avoid contact with others. Anyone who has returned in the past 14 days from Hubei Province in China - where the FCO has warned against all travel - should do the same. People should also call the helpline and self-isolate if they are experiencing symptoms - however mild - after returning to the UK from the following places: The latest information and travel advice is available from the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England (PHE), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales. Ask me Share this Explainer Have you been affected by the coronavirus? Or do you have any information to share? Get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

वेल्स में कोरोना वायरस के पहले मामले की पुष्टि हो गई है।


What does it take to relocate a 195kg tiger in India?

Summary: A male tiger weighing 195kg (420lb) was relocated from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to a sanctuary in the eastern state of Orissa 600km (410 miles) away. The massive operation involved numerous forest officers, wildlife veterinarians - and five elephants.

The three-year-old tiger, known to forest officials as MB2, lived in Kanha National Park, a vast bird sanctuary and tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. On 20 June MB2 became the first tiger to be relocated for this project. It was also the first time such an operation had been carried out in India, the forest department said in a statement. MB2 is one of five male tigers identified for relocation to the Satkosia reserve in Orissa as part of a campaign to increase the region's tiger population. "Hopefully, this tiger will fulfil the objective of this ambitious project and help establish a good population of tigers in Satkosia," the press release said. Satkosia reserve is estimated to have just two female tigers and no males. "They want to build up the population, so they wanted some male tigers," Sanjay Shukla, the chief conservator of forests in Madhya Pradesh, told the BBC. He said the capture of MB2 was a major operation. The tiger was first tranquilised with a dart and then carried to a customised truck fitted with a cage specially built for the long journey. MB2 arrived in Satkosia on the afternoon of 21 June, Mr Shukla said. It was released into an enclosure on the edge of the reserve where it is being observed to see how it adapts to its new environment. If the animal adjusts well, it will be released into the wild. And only then, he added, will the remaining five tigers be relocated to Satkosia. A second male tiger will be sent from Kanha and four others, three males and one female, will be sent there from two national parks in Madhya Pradesh. That is Bandhavgarh, which is also home to the rare white tiger and Pench, one of India's best tiger reserves. Photos courtesy of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department

195 किलोग्राम (420 पौंड) वजन के एक नर बाघ को मध्य भारतीय राज्य मध्य प्रदेश से 600 किलोमीटर (410 मील) दूर पूर्वी राज्य उड़ीसा के एक अभयारण्य में स्थानांतरित किया गया था। इस बड़े पैमाने पर अभियान में कई वन अधिकारी, वन्यजीव पशु चिकित्सक और पांच हाथी शामिल थे।


Eddie Hall: Strongman risking death to achieve his dream?

Summary: The World's Strongest Man competition is just a few months away and Briton Eddie Hall is bidding to fulfil a life-long ambition of winning the title. But the 28-year-old admits he could well "die trying" to achieve that dream.

By Laura May McMullanReporter, BBC Inside Out Hall, a father-of-two from Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire, has dedicated the past five years of his life to extreme training, polishing off a staggering 10,000 calories a day. He already weighs in at 28 stone (178kg) - and aims to get to 30 stone (190kg) to compete against the strongest men in the world. His chest size is 66 inches and he wears 5XL clothes. But he is fully aware pushing his body to the limit could very well take its toll. "Yes I'm doing damage to my body now," Hall told BBC Inside Out. "The human body isn't designed to be this size. "I mean, for God's sake, I'm 6ft 3in and 28 stone. Ideally, someone my height needs to be 15 or 16 stone. "But the same as any sport - you've got to push the boundaries to be the best. "My life revolves around World's Strongest Man. I want to be the World's Strongest Man. That's what I said I was going to do five years ago and that's what I'm going to do." But, how far is too far in his bid to rewrite the record books again? To see the stress and strain he puts his body under, Hall underwent five hours of scientific testing at Staffordshire University. Scientists tested his blood pressure, muscle fibres, aerobic power, his body fat composition, exertion, heart rate and recovery. He also had an Electrocardiogram (ECG) to check if his body really could cope with the gruelling extreme weight training. In the middle of the tests, they had to break for lunch. Hall has to eat every two hours and he had ordered a family size "deluxe" pizza in order to keep his strength up. Power of a Corsa This was something confirmed by the so-called isokinetic dynamometer. While lying still for 30 minutes and measuring the strongman's intake of oxygen and how much carbon dioxide he produces, the results showed he needs to eat 5,000 calories a day just to function and 10,000 with his training. That is four times the recommended daily allowance. But, in the short term it looks like Hall's body really can cope. One test showed he has the same power in each of his legs at that of a 1.2 litre Vauxhall Corsa. Another aerobic test, where he cycled at full power for 10 seconds with weights attached, gave the score of 2,444 watts. Students at the university usually score between 500-1000. The reaction from Dr Jacky Forsyth, from the department of psychology, exercise and sport was: "2444? Are you kidding me?" The final test was for Hall to squat-lift 150kg eight times, to see the increase in his heart rate and also his recovery. His heart rate spiked at just 132 beats per minute and he recovered straight away. Dr Peter Jones, head of the department, said: "He's lifting a weight that is twice my body very, very easily, eight times. He's producing a huge amount of force, but has this amazing cardiovascular physiology in order to be able to do that. "I can honestly say, in all my time as a sports scientist I've never worked with an athlete quite like him. He's unique." Hall, who trains for five hours a day, already has one world record to his name, set a year ago in March 2015 - when one of the fans cheering him on was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Competing at the Arnold Classic event in Australia in March last year, Hall set a new world deadlift record by lifting 462kg - the equivalent of 72 stone, or more than double his own current body weight. Then at this year's Arnold Classic event in the US on Friday he beat his current record, achieving 465kg. At just 13, he was a national swimming champion. It was not until a few years later he turned his attention to weight training and then began the journey into strongman. His wife Alex, said he "likes to make his family proud". But she said: "You can see in some events he's pushed himself so hard he's not breathing at the end of an event and I'm just thinking 'Get through it and get up'. "I worry about him every day." Hall's huge frame has brought on sleep apnoea, which carries a risk he could stop breathing in his sleep at any time. Following tests, he now has to wear an oxygen mask in bed. "The first thing the doctor said was the healthiest and safest way is for me to lose weight," he said. "Plain and simple, I can't do that. I'm chasing a dream. "I just want to win it once and then come back down to safe levels you know because, to put it blankly, if I stayed at 28 stone for 10 years I'd die. "I've got to be level headed about this and think not only about myself, my family, my kids. I don't want them growing up without a dad". 'Ripped my stomach' During a 40-year career, Great Britain's former Olympic shot putter Geoff Capes became better known for becoming first Britain's, then the World's Strongest Man. He won more than 60 titles and was Hall's childhood hero. And, after sharing a fish and chip lunch with the great man, Hall was given a further warning about the seriousness of injuries. "One of my biggest fears when I see talent like this is what they will eventually go through," Capes said. "I've ripped my stomach open three times, my abdominals. I've ripped my leg open, I've got a new hip. I've got degenerative problems in my spine because of the pressure on the lifts and everything else." So, will 2016 be Hall's time to take the title of World's Strongest Man and achieve his dream? "You've got the likes of the big Americans, the Icelanders," he said. "I've got to push the boundaries that little bit more and carry out a bit more body weight. "I'm not going to walk around at 28 stone until I'm 48. My plan is to win the World's Strongest Man, walk away gracefully and live a long life." Eddie Hall was talking to BBC Midlands Today's Laura McMullan for Inside Out West Midlands (BBC One 19:30 GMT, Monday 7 March).

वर्ल्ड्स स्ट्रॉंगेस्ट मैन प्रतियोगिता बस कुछ ही महीने दूर है और ब्रिटेन एडी हॉल खिताब जीतने की जीवन भर की महत्वाकांक्षा को पूरा करने के लिए बोली लगा रहा है। लेकिन 28 वर्षीय ने स्वीकार किया कि वह उस सपने को हासिल करने के लिए "कोशिश करते हुए मर" सकता है।


Canada v US: Loon stabs eagle through heart

Summary: As with global affairs, nature has its pecking order.

And in a contest between the bald eagle, America's national bird, and a common loon, which is featured on Canada's dollar coin, few would bet on the latter to come out the victor. But sometimes the underdog comes out on top, as was revealed when an eagle was found dead in the water near a dead loon chick in a Maine lake. A necropsy revealed he was killed by a stab to the heart from a loon's beak. Baby loons are common prey for eagles, which are fearsome hunters. Bald eagles are protected in the US, and typically their remains are sent to the directly to the National Eagle Repository in Colorado. It is a crime in the US to kill an eagle, possess one or disturb its remains, except for special exemptions, such as in the use of Native American ceremonies. But after seeing a dead baby loon chick so near the carcass, scientists began to wonder if the eagle could have been killed by an enraged mother loon in an avian equivalent of David and Goliath. So they sent the eagle not to the eagle repository, but to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin where it could be examined by a loon specialist. There, a pathologist found that the eagle died by a quick stab to the heart from what appeared to be a loon beak, and the chick had eagle talon marks, indicating it had been captured by an eagle. A nearby neighbour also told wildlife investigators she heard a "hullabaloo" the night before. Wildlife biologist Danielle D'Auria, who works for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, shared the news on the department's blog, noting it is the first confirmed case of a loon slaying an eagle. "Who would think a loon would stand a chance against such a powerful predator?" she wrote.

वैश्विक मामलों की तरह, प्रकृति का भी अपना विशिष्ट क्रम है।


Coronavirus: Disease meets deforestation at heart of Brazil's Amazon

Summary: In the middle of the rainforest, the virus has taken hold. Manaus, the Amazon's biggest city, is at breaking point. They are digging mass graves, or trenches. It is the only way overwhelmed authorities can cope with the deaths from Covid-19.

By Katy WatsonBBC South America correspondent People are asking whether this city, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, will become the next Guayaquil. It is hard not to compare the two, as the images of unburied bodies in Ecuador are still etched on many peoples' minds here. Amazonas has one of Brazil's highest infection rates and also one of the most underfunded health systems, a combination that has brought chaos to the heart of the jungle. In April, Manaus saw a rise of 578% in the number of people who died from respiratory problems. They are not officially noted as victims of Covid-19 but experts believe there can only be one explanation. With testing still low, there is a massive underreporting of the real numbers. But even the official figures - about 92,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,500 deaths - saw Brazil reach a grim milestone as it passed China where the outbreak started. "We don't want miracles," said the mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio Neto. It was a dig at President Jair Bolsonaro, who mocked the rising numbers of deaths by joking that his middle name was Messiah but he did not work miracles. "What we need is a plane full of scanners, ventilators, medicines and PPE," he said, referring to protective equipment for health workers. But help has been slow, while Mr Bolsonaro continues to downplay the severity of the virus. Feeling of abandonment Home to nearly two million people, Manaus is the seventh-biggest city in Brazil and its most isolated urban centre. Amazonas also has the largest number of indigenous in the country, many of whom now live in the city. Poverty, malnutrition and displacement make tackling the virus an even bigger challenge for these communities, some of Brazil's most vulnerable. In Parque das Tribos, on the outskirts of Manaus, several women are busy at sewing machines. History has taught people that viruses from outside bring devastation. Their only defence now are home-made masks, but much more is needed to protect them. "We already have lots of people in the community with symptoms," says resident Vanderleia dos Santos. "We don't have a doctor here, or a nurse to look after us." During the coronavirus crisis, she says, indigenous communities in the city are being attended to by the public health system, known as SUS. Rural indigenous communities have their own special health service, the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai). She worries though that the system masks the true numbers of indigenous suffering from Covid-19. She says indigenous are not being registered as such, instead they are put down as "white". "Our identity is being questioned all the time," she says. "And it means we can't map the relatives who could be infected." With nearly half of Brazil's indigenous communities now in cities, it is not a small problem. "The indigenous in urban areas feel abandoned," says Sonia Guajajara, who heads up the Association of Brazil's Indigenous People. "They're exposed to contagion and death because they're not being attended to straight away." 'Double whammy' For those living deep in the rainforest, the closest medical help is often days away by boat. Some communities have shut themselves away, fearful of contagion. Others remain uncontacted, but their livelihoods are at threat when there is also less oversight from indigenous and environmental agencies. "It's a double whammy," says Jonathan Mazower of Survival International. "Many of the field agents who would have been working to protect reserves from invasions have pulled back and are not patrolling anymore." That has huge consequences in a country where illegal loggers and miners have been emboldened by a government set on getting rid of protected areas and developing the Amazon. "Many people are eyeing up these lands," Mr Mazower says. "Undoubtedly they're taking advantage and staking their claim." The figures speak for themselves. In the first three months of the year, deforestation rose 51%. "At the same time as adopting measures to combat Covid-19, we can't forget the incursions and attacks that keep happening and are never resolved," says Sonia Guajajara. "Looking out for Covid-19 makes the other issues invisible." She says illegal miners, loggers, hunters and evangelicals wanting contact with uncontacted tribes "aren't in quarantine", adding: "They are using this time to explore and they are the principal vectors." And there is an added urgency as fire season begins. Last year an unprecedented number of fires devastated huge swathes of forest in the Amazon. Peak fire season is from July which some experts worry could coincide with the peak of the coronavirus crisis. "This will be double-trouble," says Romulo Batista of Greenpeace in Manaus. In 2019, there were more than two and a half times the number of people with lung problems than usual, he said. And municipalities closer to the fire areas, like Porto Velho in the state of Rondônia, will suffer the most. "When you have a lot of fires, you have a lot of people going to hospital and when you have a hospital full of Covid-19, it will be madness when the fires start this year."

वर्षावन के बीच में, वायरस ने पकड़ लिया है। अमेज़ॅन का सबसे बड़ा शहर मनौस टूटने की कगार पर है। वे सामूहिक कब्रों या खाइयों को खोद रहे हैं। यह एकमात्र तरीका है जिससे अभिभूत अधिकारी कोविड-19 से होने वाली मौतों से निपट सकते हैं।


Netherton man dies as garden fire spreads 'out of control'

Summary: A man has died after a garden fire developed "out of control" and spread to his house, said fire crews.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) was called to a property in Canterbury Way, Netherton at about 18:00 BST on Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, they found an outbuilding fully engulfed in flames and the body of a man inside the house. His death is believed to be the result of a tragic accident, MFRS said. "The cause and the circumstances have been investigated by the police and our incident investigation team," Mark Thomas from MFRS said. "The initial investigation indicates this was a tragic accident after a garden fire has developed out of control."

अग्निशमन दल ने कहा कि बगीचे में लगी आग "नियंत्रण से बाहर" हो गई और उसके घर में फैल गई, जिससे एक व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई।


Chocolate maker Lindt sees sales rise after US deal

Summary: Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli has reported a sharp rise in sales for the first half of 2015, helped by its purchase of US firm Russell Stover.

Sales rose 17.4% from a year earlier to 1.4bn Swiss francs ($1.48bn: £957m). Excluding its purchase of Russell Stover, sales were up 9.4%. However, the rise was slightly below expectations. Lindt said it had been hit by higher raw material prices and the strength of the Swiss currency. Lindt said that key markets for chocolate such as Switzerland and Europe were "largely saturated, with very little growth". However, it added it had grown market share in Germany and France, and was also seeing good growth in the UK and US.

स्विस चॉकलेट निर्माता लिंड्ट एंड स्प्रूएंगली ने 2015 की पहली छमाही के लिए बिक्री में तेज वृद्धि दर्ज की है, जिससे अमेरिकी फर्म रसेल स्टोवर की खरीद से मदद मिली है।


Libya country profile

Summary: Libya, a mostly desert and oil-rich country with an ancient history, has more recently been known for the 42-year rule of the mercurial Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - and the chaos that has followed his departure.

Libya was under foreign rule for centuries until it gained independence in 1951. Soon after oil was discovered and earned the country immense wealth. Colonel Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled for four decades until he was toppled in 2011 following an armed rebellion assisted by Western military intervention. In recent years the country has been a key springboard for migrants heading for Europe, and a source of international tension as rival governments in the west and east seek to establish nationwide control. FACTS State of Libya Capital: Tripoli Population 6.4 million Area 1.77 million sq km (685,524 sq miles) Major language Arabic Major religion Islam Life expectancy 69 years (men), 75 years (women) (UN) Currency Libyan dinar LEADERS The toppling of long-term leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 led to a power vacuum and instability, with no authority in full control. The country has splintered, and since 2014 has been divided into competing political and military factions based in Tripoli and the east. Among the key leaders are Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, head of the internationally-recognised government in Tripoli; Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army, which controls much of eastern Libya; Aghela Saleh, speaker of the House of Representatives based in the eastern city of Tobruk; and Khaled Mishri, the elected head of the High State Council in Tripoli. Islamic State group briefly took advantage of the conflict to seize control of several coastal cities including Sirte, which it held until mid-2017. It retains a presence in the desert interior. MEDIA Libya's media environment is highly-polarised and virtually unregulated, reflecting the country's political instability. Satellite TV is a key news source and many outlets are based outside Libya. Journalism is fraught with danger; reporters face threats and attacks. TIMELINE Some key dates in Libya's history: 7th century BC - Phoenicians settle in Tripolitania in western Libya, which was hitherto populated by Berbers. 4th century BC - Greeks colonise Cyrenaica in the east of the country, which they call Libya. 74 BC - Romans conquer Libya. AD 643 - Arabs conquer Libya and spread Islam. 16th century - Libya becomes part of the Ottoman Empire, which joins the three provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan into one regency in Tripoli. 1911-12 - Italy seizes Libya from the Ottomans. Omar al-Mukhtar begins 20-year insurgency against Italian rule. 1942 - Allies oust Italians from Libya, which is then divided between the French and the British. 1951 - Libya becomes independent under King Idris al-Sanusi. 1969 - Muammar Gaddafi, aged 27, deposes the king in a bloodless military coup. 1992 - UN imposes sanctions on Libya over the bombing of a PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988. 2011 - Violent protests break out in Benghazi and spread to other cities. This leads to civil war, foreign intervention and eventually the ouster and killing of Gaddafi. 2016 - Following years of conflict, a new UN-backed government is installed at Tripoli. It faces opposition from two rival governments and a host of militias.

लीबिया, एक प्राचीन इतिहास के साथ ज्यादातर रेगिस्तानी और तेल समृद्ध देश, हाल ही में अस्थिर कर्नल मुअम्मर गद्दाफी के 42 साल के शासन और उनके जाने के बाद हुई अराजकता के लिए जाना जाता है।


Moray Council by-election date set after resignation

Summary: A date for a by-election after a new councillor resigned only days after being elected in Moray has been set.

Sandy Cooper was one of three people chosen to represent the Elgin City North ward in last week's election. He tendered his resignation in a letter to the council's chief executive. When contacted by BBC Scotland and asked about his decision, Mr Cooper said: "It's just not for me." The by-election will be held on 13 July, with the count the following day. Moray Council said Mr Cooper's nomination papers contained no party or political affiliation.

मोरे में निर्वाचित होने के कुछ ही दिनों बाद एक नए पार्षद के इस्तीफे के बाद उपचुनाव की तारीख निर्धारित की गई है।


Andrew Mather death: Wayne Miller denies murder

Summary: A man has denied murdering a 48-year-old man whose body was found in a house in Sunderland.

Andrew Mather was pronounced dead by paramedics called to his home in Aintree Road on 3 June. Wayne Miller pleaded not guilty to murder when he appeared before Newcastle Crown Court via videolink from HMP Durham. The judge gave the 32-year-old, of Dene Street, Sunderland, a provisional trial date of 2 December.

एक व्यक्ति ने एक 48 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की हत्या से इनकार किया है जिसका शव सुंदरलैंड में एक घर में मिला था।


Brexit and customs union: A matter of confidence?

Summary: Lots of things can be true at the same time, even though they seem to contradict each other. It happens a lot in politics as, if you read my ramblings here often, you'll know I've said before.

Laura KuenssbergPolitical editor@bbclaurakon Twitter This time, lots of seemingly contradicting strands are combining to create a situation that is potentially dangerous for Theresa May, and not very helpful for the UK's case in the Brexit negotiations. Yes, it is true that a powerful group of Brexiteers believe that they have been told by No 10, that any effort to water down the government's position on the Customs Union would be treated as a vote of confidence, to bring rebel Remainers to heel. This is in the context not of this week's vote, which would not have any power to force a change of heart, but a vote that will have that authority next month. It is also true that those potential rebel Remainers believe they have been assured by the government that they would NOT turn a vote on the customs union into a vote of confidence. They think they can try to shift Theresa May's position without collapsing the government, indeed they say the chatter about a confidence vote is a 'ruse' by the Brexiteers. Downing Street says publicly that no such decision has been made. It's not surprising that in uncharted territory they don't want to be bound to one position now over a vote that's not for another month. But it is also true that No 10 cannot sustain a situation where the two opposing sides in the Tory party who are in perma-campaign mode, are continually told the opposite. It is not possible to drive left and right at the same time. It is also true that the government's public position has been clear for ages - to leave the customs union and pursue two separate potential models, the 'hybrid' and the 'max fac' . If you want to read more details about how they could both work read here. But it is also true that some Cabinet ministers believe that only the second option is remotely viable. Even in No 10 senior figures accept that they are nowhere near being able to prove to the EU that the hybrid model would work. Even the Brexit Secretary himself, David Davis, questioned its credibility almost as soon as it was published, saying it was "blue sky thinking". Many months on, at least in public, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that would change his or other Brexiteer ministers' views. That's why there are whispers, as on the front of today's Times, that he and others might try to force the PM to ditch it. It's also the case that there has not been enough progress towards sorting out the Irish border question. Whether the UK should call the EU's bluff as some Brexiteers suggest, or accept what others see as inevitable and change position, is a different question. For as long as the question is open, the border question is a proxy for the whole debate about the world after Brexit. Should we mirror the existing arrangements we have to minimise disruption, or go for a more radical break? The most important truth is that with a divided party and no majority, it's massively difficult for Theresa May to settle that question. Her survival so far has hinged on only inching forward, but pressure is building through the proxy of the arguments about the customs union, to take a bolder next step.

एक ही समय में बहुत सी बातें सच हो सकती हैं, भले ही वे एक-दूसरे के विरोधाभासी लगती हों। राजनीति में ऐसा बहुत होता है, जैसे कि अगर आप यहां मेरी बातों को अक्सर पढ़ते हैं, तो आपको पता चल जाएगा कि मैंने पहले भी कहा है।


Is the welfare state about need or nudging?

Summary: To William Beveridge it was about eradicating evil - the "giant evils" of squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. To David Cameron it is about encouraging citizens to do the right thing - to work, to save, to take personal responsibility.

Mark EastonHome editor@BBCMarkEastonon Twitter The prime minister urges us today to go back to first principles in thinking about what the welfare state is for. For some it should be the mechanism by which the state seeks greater social justice. For others it should be a mechanism by which the state seeks to promote individual morals. Mr Cameron's starting point for a national debate appears to echo the view of the high Tory thinker and journalist TE Utley, who described the welfare state as "an arrangement under which we all largely cease to be responsible for our own behaviour and in return become responsible for everyone else's." Instead, the Conservative leader imagines a welfare system where ministers in Whitehall pull fiscal strings which encourage people towards his party's core values of hard work, saving, marriage and having children (when you can afford to). To Mr Cameron, the machinery of state benefits is less about need and more about nudging. He wants to end the "culture of entitlement" and focus on those "who have no other means of support, or who have fallen on hard times". In order to strengthen his argument, the Conservative leader paints a picture of "them" and "us". He talks of a "welfare gap in this country - between those living long-term in the welfare system and those outside it." It is a view that plays directly to ancient anxieties about the residuum of society, the shadowy people who remain in poverty because of their indolence, incorrigibility and moral corruption. Mr Cameron notes the division and resentment "amongst those who pay into the system" against those who are "getting without having to put in the effort." This battle between "strivers versus skivers" has underpinned British attitudes to poverty since the Poor Laws. Ministerial rhetoric about scroungers, benefit cheats and what Kenneth Clark recently called "the feral underclass" presses the point. There are two problems with this argument. First, those in poverty are not part of some clearly defined group. Many people move in and out of welfare all the time as their circumstances change. Secondly, because it is not that simple, there is a significant risk that measures designed to kick the feckless up the backside end up hurting the poorest and most vulnerable. The Conservatives want to make the welfare state simpler - the Universal Credit introduced next year is a bold attempt to do that. They also want it to cost less - the chancellor has already made it clear he wants to save a further £10bn from the welfare budget in the first two years of the next Parliament. But the welfare state is complex because it is trying to do a very complex thing - provide tailored support of exactly the right amount and type only to those individuals who need it. "Strivers versus skivers" may appeal as a slogan, but the world isn't that simple.

विलियम बेवरिज के लिए यह बुराई को खत्म करने के बारे में था-अस्वच्छता, अज्ञानता, अभाव, आलस्य और बीमारी की "विशाल बुराइयों" को। डेविड कैमरन के लिए यह नागरिकों को सही काम करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करने के बारे में है-काम करने के लिए, बचाने के लिए, व्यक्तिगत जिम्मेदारी लेने के लिए।


Murder probe into Grove caravan park death, Pendine

Summary: A murder probe has been launched after a man was found dead at a caravan park in Carmarthenshire.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were called to Grove Caravan Park in Pendine at about 10:00 BST. The victim's body was discovered and emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene. His identity has not yet been confirmed, the force said. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody for questioning.

कार्मार्थेनशायर के एक कारवां पार्क में एक व्यक्ति के मृत पाए जाने के बाद हत्या की जांच शुरू की गई है।


India floods: Monsoon rains kill two in Assam

Summary: Authorities in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam say two people have died and more than 200,000 have been affected by flooding.

By Subir BhaumikKolkata The state government said that over 500 villages in 13 districts of the state had been affected after early monsoon rains swelled the Brahmaputra river. Floods are an annual occurrence in the region during the summer monsoon. Assam has sufficient food stocks and medicines to cope, its revenue and disaster management minister said.

पूर्वोत्तर भारतीय राज्य असम के अधिकारियों का कहना है कि बाढ़ से दो लोगों की मौत हो गई है और 200,000 से अधिक लोग प्रभावित हुए हैं।


Jeff Flake: Fallen soldier in war for soul of Republicanism

Summary: Shortly after Jeff Flake delivered his blistering speech about Donald Trump from the Senate floor, as media talking heads were swooning and fellow senators were lauding their colleague, the White House had a message for the departing Arizonan.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter "Based on previous statements and certainly based on the lack of support that he has from the people of Arizona, it's probably a good move," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. In other words, don't let the door hit you on the way out, Jeff. Your poll numbers were dismal, and you were already heading for defeat at the hands of a Trumpist firebrand in the primary - an ignominious fate for a man who has been in Congress for 17 years. And so the battle lines in the Republican Party have been drawn. On one side is the president, former top adviser and campaign chair Steve Bannon and the rest of the Trump legions, who have embraced his populist, nationalist brand of politics, leavened with a confrontational, take-no-prisoners style of rhetoric. Mr Trump, the titular leader of the party, hasn't been reluctant to push back against Mr Flake's past criticisms, even meeting the senator's potential primary challengers the last time he was in Arizona. Mr Bannon already had Mr Flake targeted for defeat. The Breitbart News chief has already helped take down Alabama Senator Luther Strange, and has virtually every Republican senator running for re-election in his crosshairs. On the other side are those like Mr Flake, fellow Arizona Senator John McCain, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and former President George W Bush, who have loudly condemned what they view as the corrosive effect Donald Trump is having on American politics. Second Republican senator blasts Trump "Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behaviour has become excused and countenanced as 'telling it like it is', when it is actually just reckless, outrageous, and undignified," Mr Flake said in his speech announcing he would not seek re-election in 2018. The battlefield is the heart and soul of Republicanism. Should it be the party of small government, low taxes, free trade, an internationalist foreign policy and conservative social values? Or is it one of ethno-nationalist sentiment, closed borders, unilateralist foreign policy, America-first protectionism and, well, conservative social values? The stage is set for a showdown, but at least for the moment the most vocal anti-Trump politicians are heading for the exits, if they aren't there already. Senators like Mr Flake and Mr Corker, in effect, are acknowledging that the party already belongs to the Trumps and the Bannons, rather than running for re-election and proving them wrong. Most Republican officeholders, who have largely taken the plunge with Mr Trump so far, have stayed in line. And while they tip a hat to Mr Flake, they seem unlikely to follow his words of warning on Tuesday. "When we remain silent and fail to act when we know that that silence and inaction is the wrong thing to do - because of political considerations, because we might make enemies, because we might alienate the base, because we might provoke a primary challenge, because ad infinitum, ad nauseam," Mr Flake said, "when we succumb to those considerations in spite of what should be greater considerations and imperatives in defence of the institutions of our liberty, then we dishonour our principles and forsake our obligations." That's not to say there hasn't been effective resistance to Mr Trump within Republican ranks. It's just been of the quiet variety, from senators like Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have held their tongues while casting votes to sink the president's - and much of their own party's - legislative priorities. They've found common ground with Democrats on policy matters, and have been less concerned with publicly condemning the president's caustic style. Unlike Mr Flake, their prospects for eventual re-election remain good. If there's hope for the more conservative anti-Trump forces, it came at the end of Mr Flake's speech, when the first senator to clap - the one whose applause prompted his colleagues to follow suit - was Ben Sasse. The Nebraska Republican - a former college president with a PhD in history - has himself been an outspoken critic of the president and yet still seemingly harbours long-term political ambitions. He has three years left in his first Senate term, however. He may be hoping the Trumpist surge will be temporary. That's a view Mr Flake shares. "This spell will pass," he told the Arizona Republic newspaper. Perhaps. If it does, in the end, it will be the ballot box that issues the final verdict. The test will be whether Republican primary voters pick candidates in the Trumpist mould to replace senators like Mr Corker and Mr Flake. And then, in the general election, whether Americans opt for those choices over the Democratic alternative. One Bannon supporter, feeling triumphant on Tuesday, told the Washington Post his man already has three Senate "scalps", with more to come. If that's the case, then Trumpism just won another big battle. Next year, it could win the war.

जेफ फ्लेक द्वारा सीनेट फ्लोर से डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के बारे में अपना तीखा भाषण देने के कुछ ही समय बाद, जब मीडिया में बात करने वाले प्रमुख मूर्छित हो रहे थे और साथी सीनेटर अपने सहयोगी की सराहना कर रहे थे, व्हाइट हाउस के पास प्रस्थान करने वाले एरिज़ोनन के लिए एक संदेश था।


Teenage girl raped near Poole car park

Summary: A 15-year-old girl was raped by a man who grabbed her after she became separated from her friends.

Dorset Police said the teenager, from Poole, was with friends in area of the town's civic centre car park before she was attacked on Wednesday. Officers said after she became separated a man attacked her between 22:30 and 23:30 GMT. The force has appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information about the suspect to contact them. Related Internet Links Dorset Police

एक 15 वर्षीय लड़की के साथ एक व्यक्ति ने बलात्कार किया, जिसने उसे अपने दोस्तों से अलग होने के बाद पकड़ लिया।


Hepatitis C: Closing in on its viral origins

Summary: The virus behind Hepatitis C has been the target of virologists, epidemiologists and geneticists for years, in a bid to find out the animal host from which it likely came. But Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, UK, says early indications that bats are the culprit may yet be proven wrong.

The omnipresent bat represents around one fifth of mammal species, yet remains strangely enigmatic. Known to be the source of a range of human viral infections such as Sars and ebola, a recent study published in PNAS suggests that bats are a large natural reservoir to groups of viruses similar to the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is a life-threatening infection affecting more than 150 million people worldwide and its origin has eluded scientists for years. To define if bats were a possible source for HCV-like viruses, Phenix-Lan Quan from Columbia University in New York and her colleagues analysed the blood from hundreds of bats living in South America, Africa and Asia. To expose any infectious payload that the bats carried, the team used a method called high-throughput sequencing, which surveys all of the genetic material - nucleic acids - present in their blood. In amongst the bat DNA, in approximately 5% of the animals tested, they discovered novel genetic sequences that were similar to nucleic acid present in viruses belonging to two groups - or genera - called pegiviruses and hepaciviruses. HCV is a member of the hepacivirus genus. To determine the evolutionary history and relatedness of these viruses, they performed computer analyses to build what is called a phylogenetic tree. Unlike a family tree, which is built using archive records of significant events like births, deaths and marriages, phylogenetic trees use the historic record written into the sequence of information stored in nucleic acids. During replication, virus genetic material changes, or mutates, and these mutations accumulate over time allowing the virus to evolve. Determining the number of genetic differences that exist between viruses gives an idea of how related they are - the fewer the changes, the more closely related - and phylogenetic trees represent this genetic relationship. Viruses located on connecting branches are most related and the shorter the branches, the more related they are. In the pegivirus and hepacivirus tree constructed by Dr Quan, the branches leading to clusters of bat virus sequences were numerous and long, indicating that bats have long been infected by a great variety of strains; more so than humans. The branching pattern of the phylogenetic tree can also provide a clue to the origins of HCV. If bats are the source of this virus, then the HCV sequences should nestle amongst the branches of the bat hepaciviruses - and at first sight they do. But before we designate the much-maligned bat as public enemy number one, is there sufficient evidence to suggest that these vital pollinators and insect predators are the direct source of deadly HCV? Equine enigma Scientists have used phylogenetic trees to identify the source of many viral infections. A 2005 paper in Science showed that Sars passed from bats to civet cats then on to humans, and a 2010 Royal Society journal article reported that HIV arose following transmission from African primates. The evidence supporting these particular animal-human transmissions - or zoonoses - is strong. For example, in trees of virus sequences derived from extensive sampling of wild primate and monkey species, HIV is embedded firmly on the branch of the tree containing chimpanzee viruses. Genetically, HIV is most closely related to its chimpanzee counterparts and they are the most likely source. In the hepacivirus tree, research in Emerging Infections Diseases has shown that HCV is more related to viruses found in horses and dogs than it is to those present in bats, but the branch leading to HCV is very long - it contains lots of genetic change and therefore long evolutionary timeframe. A virus could have made the jump into humans millennia ago, but this unlikely. The key to it all is in the virus sampling. Just as an identity parade is only useful if the guilty party is present, phylogenetic analysis can only identify the cause of a virus outbreak if the most probable source is included. Although Dr Quan's analysis includes far more viral sequences than has been possible before, the hepacivirus and pegivirus line-up still contained very few suspects. "Our findings shed new light on the deep evolutionary history of those viruses that ultimately resulted in HCV," Dr Quan explained. "We show that all known hepaciviruses and pegiviruses - including primates, horses and dogs - fall within the phylogenetic diversity of the bat-derived viruses, suggesting a longer evolutionary history of these viruses in bats than in primates, horses or dogs." Whilst Dr Quan believes that bats harbour the greatest array of these important viruses, she stops short of arguing that her data prove that bats are the source of HCV. "With our current data, we cannot conclude whether or not bats are the 'ultimate' reservoir of hepaciviruses and pegiviruses, nor whether HCV came from bats," she said. "To be truly able to answer this question, you would need to study a far larger sample of potential reservoir hosts." Of mice and men And to prove this point, a related study published in the journal mBio by a team led by Prof Amit Kapoor, also from Columbia University in New York, reported that numerous species of rodents also harbour hepacivirus and pegiviruses. Just like the bat viruses, these too exhibited a large degree of genetic variability, hinting at an enduring history of infection. None of the rodent sequences was more related to HCV than the horse hepaciviruses, but one of the co-authors of this study, Prof Peter Simmonds from the University of Edinburgh, thinks that the large degree of variability observed in these rodent viruses might prove significant. "It seems as though different bat and rodent species carry a remarkably diverse range of HCV-like viruses," he said. "None of these are very close genetically to HCV, but with such limited sampling, it certainly remains possible that other variants exist in other species that match HCV more closely." Although leaving open the possibility that other animals might be the source of HCV, he added: "My prediction is that we will find a range of bat and/or rodent species to be infected with viruses that represent the immediate source of human infections in those parts of Africa and South Asia where HCV seems to have originated. It's difficult to know what those species are, when and how such species jumps occurred." So, despite recent growth spurts, the hepacivirus and pegivirus phylogeny is still more of a sapling than a fully grown tree. Extensive virus sampling from global mammalian species will add further branches and bring us closer to understanding the origin of HCV. Bats and rodents have been around for more than 50 million years, so it's no surprise they've picked up one or two viruses in their travels. Some of these, driven by habitat encroachment and human activity, have undeniably passed into humans. But whether HCV arose from bats or rodents remains to be seen.

हेपेटाइटिस सी के पीछे का वायरस वर्षों से विषाणु विज्ञानियों, महामारी विज्ञानियों और आनुवंशिकीविदों का निशाना रहा है, ताकि यह पता लगाया जा सके कि यह किस पशु मेजबान से आया है। लेकिन प्रोफ़ेसर जोनाथन बॉल, नॉटिंघम विश्वविद्यालय, यू. के. के एक विषाणु विज्ञानविद् का कहना है कि शुरुआती संकेत कि चमगादड़ दोषी हैं, अभी भी गलत साबित हो सकते हैं।


Is climate change making hurricanes worse?

Summary: The past year has been a busy one for hurricanes.

By Chris FawkesBBC Weather There were 17 named storms in 2017, 10 hurricanes and six major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) - an above average year in each respect. The 10 hurricanes formed consecutively, without weaker tropical storms interrupting the sequence. The only other time this has been recorded was in 1893. Are these storms getting worse? And does climate change have anything to do with it? A year of records This Atlantic hurricane season has been particularly bad. There was Harvey, which pummelled the United States in August. It brought the largest amount of rain on record from any tropical system - 1,539mm. It caused the sort of flooding you'd expect to see once every 500 years, causing $200bn of damage to Houston, Texas. Ironically, this was the third such "one every 500 years" flood Houston had suffered in three years. September brought Irma, which devastated Caribbean communities. It was the joint second strongest Atlantic hurricane ever, with sustained winds of 185mph. Those winds were sustained for 37 hours - longer than any tropical system on record, anywhere in the world. Next came Hurricane Maria - another category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of 175mph - which destroyed Puerto Rico's power grid. Finally, Hurricane Ophelia span past Portugal and Spain - the farthest east any major Atlantic hurricane has ever gone. Despite this, 2017 wasn't the worst year in some key respects. It didn't produce the strongest storm - that was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with sustained winds of 190mph. Nor did it have the greatest number of storms - that was 2005, which saw an incredible 28 named storms, including seven major hurricanes. One of them was the infamous Hurricane Katrina. But 2017 was probably the costliest. Estimates for the cost of the hurricane season vary and continue to be revised, ranging up to $385bn. By comparison, 2005 racked up $144bn in damage according to the National Hurricane Center - about $180bn today, adjusted for inflation. It has certainly been a bad year. But over time, are hurricanes getting worse? There have been 33 of the strongest category 5 hurricanes since 1924. Eleven of these have occurred in the past 14 years. We know that hurricanes are powered by warm seas and over the past 100 years global average sea temperatures have risen by about 1C. But when you look at the total strength of storms in each year since records began, some years are more fearsome than others. Meteorologists use something called accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) to calculate the total wind power of all the storms in any given year. As you can see from the following chart, there's no clear upward trend. Why not? Even though seas are getting warmer, other factors can prevent hurricanes forming in particular years. Saharan dust can interfere with hurricane formation as can the close proximity of African storms to the equator. But one of the great weather ironies is that hurricanes hate strong winds. Strong winds in the Atlantic interfere with the circulation of air through a developing storm. This stops the storm growing into a hurricane. During a phenomenon called El Niño, the Pacific Ocean near the equator gets warmer than usual. This affects global wind patterns, leading to stronger winds in the Atlantic. That means El Niño years tend to be quiet years for hurricanes. But when the Pacific is cooler (known as La Niña), the reverse is true - making it easier for hurricanes to form. And 2017 is a La Niña year. In fact, the total storm strength in La Niña years has been rising decade by decade. Land drainage High winds are just part of the story. Climate change affects hurricane seasons in other ways, too. Rainfall during hurricanes can be devastating. Hurricane Harvey would have brought severe flooding to Houston regardless of climate change. But it is reasonable to assume that Harvey brought more rain than it would have done 100 years ago. Global air temperatures have also increased by about 1C in the past 100 years, and warmer air holds more water. That's likely to be behind the increasing frequency of extreme rainfall events seen in the US in recent decades. But the location of housing compounded the damage. Houston's population has more than doubled since 1960 to more than two million people. Housing developments are expanding into more marginal, poorly drained land. This puts more people in harm's way. Climate change is also causing seas to rise. Melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets contribute to higher sea levels. Also warmer water occupies a larger volume. So as seas warm up, sea levels rise. In the US, the largest sea-level rise is around the coast of the Gulf of Mexico - about 9.6mm each year at Eugene Island, Louisiana. All of this is increasing vulnerability to flooding when hurricanes and their associated storm surge reach land. Scientists are still analysing what this data will mean, but a warmer world may bring us a greater number of more powerful category 4 and 5 hurricanes and could bring more extreme rainfall. There's an increased risk of flood damage - whether related to climate change, rising sea levels or more people moving into flood-prone areas. Correction 29 January 2018: This story has been updated to clarify that it is modelling rather than historical data that predicts stronger and wetter hurricanes. What do you want BBC Reality Check to investigate? Get in touch Read more from Reality Check Follow us on Twitter

पिछला साल तूफानों के लिए व्यस्त रहा है।


Yemen: This doctor saw Covid hospital empty after fake death text

Summary: As war-torn Yemen braces itself for a second wave of Covid-19, one doctor recalls how she battled the pandemic alone after her colleagues fled the hospital, and the dramatic fake news that plagued the assistance when it eventually arrived.

By Nawal Al-MaghafiBBC Arabic special correspondent Twenty-nine-year-old Zoha Aidaroos al-Saadi recalls the moment she stood behind a hastily painted red quarantine line down the middle of her hospital. A patient on the other side of the line was all alone, struggling to breathe. For weeks, the line had not been needed. It was only a quiet warning that the pandemic ravaging other nations would eventually reach Yemen. But now al-Amal hospital, in the southern city of Aden, had its first suspected coronavirus patient. Zoha hovered at the line, terrified. The rest of the medical staff stood there too. When she asked them what was happening, they said they had given the man oxygen but wanted no further contact with him. The next thing she knew, her colleagues had left the hospital completely. "There was no response. I kept calling and shouting out… There was nobody left." Management say, however, that they did not leave the hospital. Find out more Nawal al-Maghafi was the first reporter to enter Yemen since the outbreak of Covid-19. Watch her documentary Yemen: Coronavirus in a Warzone is on BBC 2 at 23:30 GMT on Monday 18 January and also available on iPlayer For the next two weeks, Zoha and a single nurse were alone with dozens of patients. She didn't blame her colleagues. Al-Amal, though designated by the government as the city's official Covid hospital, was completely ill-equipped for that role. It did not have enough PPE, barely any oxygen canisters, and only seven ventilators. During those first two weeks, she was unable to save a single patient. Zoha had been dreading the moment the pandemic would hit Yemen. As she and her mother had watched the news the previous month, glued to the TV as coronavirus tore through the world's most developed nations, her thoughts had immediately turned to home. Six years of war in Yemen have had a devastating impact. More than half of the country's health facilities have been destroyed and two thirds of the population are reliant on aid to survive. Yemen's conflict But neither the authorities nor the state broadcaster made any mention of Covid. This somehow reassured Zoha. 'If they aren't talking about it,' she told herself, 'perhaps they do have everything under control.' Even so, when she heard that the World Health Organization was organising a Covid training conference in the country, she decided to sign up. Attendees were taught how to protect themselves and treat Covid patients safely. But although Zoha found the training useful, she was terrified. She knew the real state of the hospitals in Yemen, and particularly the one in Aden where she would be working. "They were training us but we didn't have the supplies or the infrastructure to apply any of this training." It was not long before Covid appeared to have spread throughout Aden. As other hospitals in the city found themselves unable to cope, and more than a dozen doctors working in those hospitals themselves died with suspected Covid-19, they shut their doors. Queuing at the gates Ambulances and cars driven by patients' relatives flooded al-Amal's hospital car park, all waiting for beds to become available. There were just nine beds in Zoha's makeshift Covid ward. Each had its own oxygen cylinder, but when they ran out, there was no support staff to refill them. That was down to Zoha and the nurse. But on many occasions, in the midst of the crisis, they were unable to do so, and patients would suffocate. Zoha recalls one patient watching her as she desperately tried to keep up with the demands of the ward - his oxygen canister had run out. "He could see that I was panicking. He held my hand and told me, 'Don't worry my dear, I know my time has come and it is not your fault, you have done all you can.'" He died a few hours later. Zoha kept reaching out to the government for help, both contacting it directly and posting appeals on Facebook, but got no response. By May, there were so many international media reports on the effect of coronavirus in Yemen that the government was finally forced to acknowledge the gravity of the situation. It reached out to the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for help. Within days, MSF was in Aden and had taken over the running of al-Amal hospital, bringing both manpower and much-needed supplies. It also set up a makeshift Covid hospital in a wedding hall next door. Zoha was no longer alone. "I was outside crying, it was all too much," says Zoha. She says an MSF doctor saw her, and uttered the words she says she had been waiting to hear from her own government: "Be strong - we are with you, and the situation will get better, I promise." With someone now in control and providing guidance and support, the hospital's local staff also returned. "Patients used to leave the hospital in a white plastic bag, now they [were] walking out. It was like moving from hell to heaven," Zoha told me. But this respite was to be short lived. Trouble was brewing. A voice recording shared on WhatsApp went viral in Aden. In the recording, the narrator said MSF staff at al-Amal hospital were killing Covid patients with a lethal injection. "It was just words without evidence," a local doctor who wished to remain anonymous told me. "They said if someone was terminally ill and about to die, they were given euthanasia injections. It was crazy but the people believed it." Zoha and MSF both say that numbers of patients appearing for treatment at the hospital dramatically declined following the recording. One patient, struggling to breathe, told Zoha he had had to beg his brothers to bring him to the hospital because they all believed that, once there, he would be euthanised. Clashes in the hospital And the unhelpful rumours kept coming, the doctors say. At one point, a number of armed men forced their way into the hospital. Local staff allege they were threatened. The armed men were led into the hospital - local staff and MSF say - by Zoha's boss, the manager of the hospital. Dr Zachariyah al-Ko'aity's role had been temporarily suspended while MSF oversaw the running of al-Amal, and now he was alleging that relief agency staff were stealing hospital equipment. He had earlier shared a video on Facebook of supplies being carried out of the hospital and loaded into lorries. MSF told the BBC that it was returning equipment it had borrowed from another facility in Aden. Al-Ko'aity told the BBC he had entered the hospital to check supplies, and when he was obstructed from doing this, armed security intervened to break up a clash between him and the hospital's own security. He denied that anyone was threatened or attacked. Such events might seem extraordinary in a country desperate for assistance in the face of a pandemic. But the political vacuum created by Yemen's ongoing war, and a government in exile, has bred a culture of chaos and mistrust, with local officials vying for power. What's more, domestic media networks effectively act as propaganda channels funded by the warring factions, so the public instead relies on social media for news, making it easier for false rumours to flourish. On 25 July, MSF pulled out of al-Amal hospital, citing security concerns. It moved to another hospital in Aden but there, too, it said it faced problems with the management, and after six weeks withdrew its team from the city altogether. Thousands of people are believed to have died from Covid at home, too afraid to seek healthcare. Yemen's minister of health declined to give an interview but told the BBC that his government's relationship with MSF was excellent, and that in a large number of governorates MSF fulfils its humanitarian mission. Counting the dead The toll the virus has taken on the city of Aden is stark at al-Radwan cemetery, the nearest functioning graveyard to al-Amal hospital, 10 miles (16km) away. Gravedigger Ghassan soon realised how serious the situation was when bodies arrived faster than he could bury them. "I asked friends to help, but they also got sick. There were so many deaths, there wasn't even time to eat," he says. Covid death figures in Aden are hard to come by. There's been little-to-no testing, so it's difficult to establish how many of the people who have died during the pandemic suffered from Covid. But Ghassan has been keeping his own records. The family of the deceased would provide him with a certificate stating cause of death. He noted down the name of every person he buried who had died in al-Amal hospital with Covid-like symptoms. He told me that in May alone - the pandemic's peak in the city - he buried more than 1,500 people. The death rate in the city was six times higher in May when compared with the previous year, according to official death records. "It was unbelievable," Ghassan told me. "This was the first time I saw such a thing. It was worse than the war." For now, the Covid situation is relatively stable in Aden, Zoha says. She is working with a different medical facility run by the International Committee for the Red Cross and says very few are testing positive there for the virus at the moment. "People here think the virus has disappeared, but scientists say that's not true." Like many countries, Yemen is expected to suffer a second wave. "We will be as unprepared as we were in the first one. They [the government] have learnt nothing."

जैसे ही युद्धग्रस्त यमन कोविड-19 की दूसरी लहर के लिए खुद को तैयार कर रहा है, एक डॉक्टर याद करता है कि कैसे उसने अपने सहयोगियों के अस्पताल से भागने के बाद अकेले महामारी से लड़ाई लड़ी, और नाटकीय नकली खबर जिसने सहायता को अंततः पहुँचने पर परेशान कर दिया।


Mark Wolsey death: Daniel Ainsley remanded on murder charge

Summary: A 23-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murder following the death of a 48-year-old man at a flat in Harrogate.

Daniel Ainsley, of no fixed abode, appeared at York Magistrates' Court over the death of Mark Wolsey at Mayfield Grove on Friday, 5 March. He was remanded in custody by magistrates and will appear at Leeds Crown Court on 10 March. Mr Wolsey was found seriously injured and pronounced dead at the scene. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here. Related Internet Links HM Courts

हैरोगेट में एक फ्लैट में 48 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की मौत के बाद हत्या के आरोप में एक 23 वर्षीय व्यक्ति अदालत में पेश हुआ है।