Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web

Summary: France is switching off its groundbreaking Minitel service which brought online banking, travel reservations, and porn to millions of users in the 1980s. But then came the worldwide web. Minitel has been slowly dying and the plug will be pulled on Saturday.

By Hugh SchofieldBBC News, Paris Many years ago, long before the birth of the web, there was a time when France was the happening-est place in the digital universe. What the TGV was to train travel, the Pompidou Centre to art, and the Ariane project to rocketry, in the early 1980s the Minitel was to the world of telecommunications. Thanks to this wondrous beige monitor attached to the telephone, while the rest of us were being put on hold by the bank manager or queueing for tickets at the station, the French were already shopping and travelling "online". Other countries looked on in awe and admiration, and the French were proud. As President Jacques Chirac boasted: "Today a baker in Aubervilliers knows perfectly how to check his bank account on the Minitel. Can the same be said of the baker in New York?" Chirac was speaking in 1997, exactly half way through the life-cycle of France's greatest telecoms innovation. At the time, he could be forgiven for thinking it would last forever. This was the high point, with nine million Minitel sets installed in households around the country, an estimated 25 million users, and 26,000 services on offer. But of course, the story was already written. The internet was moving in. Today bakers from Timbuktu to Tallahassee are not just consulting their bank statements online, but doing just about everything else as well. And so on Saturday, exactly 30 years after it was launched, the Minitel is bowing out. After that, the little beige box will answer no more. It was born in the white heat of President Valery Giscard d'Estaing's technological great leap forward of the late 1970s. An expert report then concluded that with proper investment the nation's telephone network could be complemented by a visual information system, accessed through screen-keyboard terminals. "As well as being a technological project, it was political," says Karin Lefevre of France Telecom. "The aim was to computerise French society and ensure France's technological independence." Rolled out experimentally in Brittany, Minitel went national in 1982, offering the telephone directory and not much else. Gradually the offer increased to a vast array of services - banking, stock prices, weather reports, travel reservations, exam results, university applications, as well as access points to various bits of the state administration. All users had to do was dial up a number on the keyboard, then follow instructions that juddered out in black and white across the screen. It may have been the ultimate in computer clunk, but it worked. "Of course it looks terribly old-fashioned by today's standards," says Lefevre. "But it was simple to use. You pressed a button and it did something. Just like on a tablet today." Apart from ease of use, two other factors ensured Minitel's success. First was that it was distributed free of charge by the then state-owned France Telecom (or its predecessor the PTT). This meant that even the poorest of households contained a set, subsidised by the taxpayer. The other reason was the variety of content, facilitated by a business model that was not exactly free-market but for a while proved highly effective. From the start, there were commercial interests that were highly suspicious of Minitel - the newspaper industry, which feared the new creation would drain vital small ads revenue. So France being France, the government intervened to save the press. It made a rule which said that the only institutions entitled to provide services on Minitel were registered newspapers. Soon these were creating all kinds of new ideas, leaving to France Telecom the hassle of collecting and then passing on their monthly fees. The most lucrative service turned out to be something no-one had envisaged - the so-called Minitel Rose. With names like 3615-Cum (actually it's from the Latin for "with"), these were sexy chat-lines in which men paid to type out their fantasies to anonymous "dates", most of them sitting in the 1980s equivalent of call-centres. Until very recently, billboards featuring lip-pouting lovelies advertising the delights of 3615-something were ubiquitous across the country. Some people are said to have spent thousands of francs every month on the Minitel Rose, and a number of entrepreneurs certainly got rich. It turned out to be quite easy to set up a newspaper. Once you were registered, you quietly let it die and got on with making money from Minitel. Today, as switch-off approaches, debate rages in France about Minitel's legacy, and whether in retrospect it has proved more of an embarrassment than a mark of pride. What once was shiny and new now looks like a shoddy bad investment - of interest to the retro market, but not to anyone else. One thing that is very telling is that Minitel was a uniquely French institution. It never made it abroad (apart from Belgium). Briefly in the early 1990s, France Telecom did set up a pilot project in Ireland. The idea was to test Minitel in a small Anglophone environment, with an eye on a bigger launch in the UK or the United States. A few thousand terminals were sold, but it never took off. "I remember when I joined in 1990, it all felt extremely funky. My friends were all very impressed that I was bringing in this new sexy piece of French kit," says Gary Jermyn, who was the joint operation's finance director. "But there were so many problems. First of all, unlike in France, we were selling the terminals, not giving them away. That was a huge handicap. And then the internet was arriving, and that was the death knell. "Minitel wasn't an open platform. It only provided Minitel services, which was quickly going out-of-date as a model. Also by the early 1990s the terminal itself was the clunkiest piece of desk manure you could imagine. It was embarrassing." A decade later, Jermyn says all that remained in Ireland were a few disused Minitel sets gathering dust in a handful of remote B&Bs (a tourist booking service had been one of the key ideas). For Benjamin Thierry, a Sorbonne university lecturer and co-author of the recent book on Minitel, France's Digital Childhood, Minitel's failure to penetrate foreign markets is a classic French experience. "When the French try to sell overseas, they insist on selling a whole system lock, stock and barrel. They don't know how to adapt, to break it up into parts. That just puts people off," he says. Indeed the whole Minitel adventure can be seen as a typical French experience. Only in France could the public resources have been mobilised to give the project its initial boost. So for a few years, the country was the envy of the world. But then, immobility and inertia - as the market simply passed by. "The failure of Minitel was not one of technology," says Benjamin Bayart, head of France's oldest internet provider, French Data Network. "It was the whole model that was doomed. Basically to set up a service on Minitel, you had to ask permission from France Telecom. You had to go to the old guys who ran the system, and who knew absolutely nothing about innovation. "It meant that nothing new could ever happen. Basically, Minitel innovated from 1978 to 1982, and then it stopped," he says. But others are less critical. Valerie Schafer, Thierry's co-author, says "the way Minitel is now fobbed off as risible and old-fashioned" is unfair. "People forget that many of the ideas that helped form the internet were first of all tried out on Minitel. Think of the payment system, not so different from the Apple app-store. "Think of the forums, the user-generated content. Many of today's web entrepreneurs and thinkers cut their teeth on Minitel," she says. "The world did not begin with the internet."

फ्रांस अपनी अभूतपूर्व मिनीटेल सेवा को बंद कर रहा है जो 1980 के दशक में लाखों उपयोगकर्ताओं के लिए ऑनलाइन बैंकिंग, यात्रा आरक्षण और पोर्न लाया। लेकिन फिर दुनिया भर में वेब आया। मिनीटेल धीरे-धीरे मर रहा है और शनिवार को प्लग को बंद कर दिया जाएगा।


Brexit: Despite bitter row can deal still be done?

Summary: When it comes to Brexit, all negotiations are inter-linked: EU-UK trade talks, the process to implement their divorce deal, negotiations on fishing rights and Brussels' deliberation on UK financial service.

Katya AdlerEurope editor@BBCkatyaadleron Twitter What happens in one area very much affects progress in the others. You cannot separate them entirely. Which is why this week, as the war of words and wills between Brussels and Downing Street raged over the government's threat to throw a grenade at key parts of the divorce deal, everyone's thoughts turned immediately to the trade talks between the two sides. Could they survive? In fact, they limp on. Negotiations are set to resume in Brussels on Monday. This, despite the EU ending the week by threatening Downing Street with legal action unless it rowed back on its threats to the Withdrawal Agreement by the end of the month. The government insists it will not budge. So it is significant that the EU stopped short of threatening to press the nuclear button - shutting down trade talks altogether. Why is that, when we know the EU is furious? First of all, Brussels still wants a deal with the UK, if at all possible, this autumn. Secondly, the sense in Brussels is that the government is trying to provoke the EU into abandoning the trade negotiations. "We're not going to give them that satisfaction," a high-level EU diplomat told me. "We refuse to be manipulated." So, despite bitter arguments over legislation on the one hand, and a huge list of outstanding issues still to be ironed out in bilateral trade talks; despite time and trust running out on both sides; neither the EU nor the UK seem to want to be the first ones to walk out the door. It is still possible, of course, that the government's bill is stopped in the House of Lords or even beforehand by rebel MPs. It is possible for the EU and UK to iron out their differences over the divorce deal and in trade talks. Concessions can always be "dressed-up" to look like victories, after all. It has been done before. Remember last autumn? Finding agreement on the divorce deal seemed nigh on impossible - until it was not and a deal was signed. But, right now that feels like a long shot. The chatter on both sides of the Channel is that "no deal" is becoming more likely by the day.

जब ब्रेक्सिट की बात आती है, तो सभी वार्ताएं आपस में जुड़ी होती हैंः ईयू-यूके व्यापार वार्ता, उनके तलाक सौदे को लागू करने की प्रक्रिया, मछली पकड़ने के अधिकारों पर बातचीत और यूके वित्तीय सेवा पर ब्रसेल्स का विचार-विमर्श।


Gary Shepherd-Mason: Missing man's body found on Instow beach

Summary: A body found on a north Devon beach is a missing Carmarthen man, police have confirmed.

Dyfed-Powys Police carried out extensive searches for Gary Shepherd-Mason after he disappeared on 15 November. The body found at Instow has been formally identified and officers are supporting Mr Shepherd-Mason's family. Supt Gary Mills said: "It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of Gary Shepherd-Mason."

उत्तरी डेवोन समुद्र तट पर पाया गया एक शव एक लापता कार्मार्थेन व्यक्ति है, पुलिस ने पुष्टि की है।


Hammersmith Bridge: Task force appointed to reopen crossing

Summary: A government task force has been launched to reopen Hammersmith Bridge.

Cracks in the pedestals led to motor vehicles being prohibited from using the 133-year-old cast iron bridge in April 2019. In August, a heat wave caused the faults to worsen so pedestrians were banned from crossing over it and vessels from sailing underneath. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there had been "a lack of leadership" in the capital over the bridge. Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which owns the bridge, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson stating the estimated cost to make it safe and "avoid a potential catastrophic failure" was £46m. The letter said: "No local authority has that kind of money available. We therefore write to ask that the government funds this work as a matter of urgency." Announcing the creation of the task force, Mr Shapps said: "There has been a lack of leadership in London on reopening this vital bridge. "It's stopped Londoners moving about easily and caused huge inconvenience to everyone, adding extra time to their commute or journeys." The task force, led by transport minister Baroness Vere, will initially work towards reopening the bridge for cyclists and pedestrians, before moving on to enabling the return of motor traffic. The Department for Transport has commissioned its own engineering advice on the state of the bridge. A spokesman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "The Mayor and TfL (Transport for London) will continue working closely with the bridge owners Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the government to find an urgent solution, but it's time for ministers to put their money where their mouth is."

हैमरस्मिथ ब्रिज को फिर से खोलने के लिए एक सरकारी कार्य बल शुरू किया गया है।


When can I buy a 5G phone and how much will it be?

Summary: Superfast 5G mobile broadband sounds exciting, but there's a major drawback: we'll need to buy new phones. Will the extra expense be worth it and when will we be able to buy one?

By Padraig BeltonBusiness reporter To benefit from superfast mobile, due for launch over the next couple of years, we'll all need to buy new phones. And as we know with all new technologies, the first models won't come cheap. The next generation of phones will need a much more complex antenna, a whole new chipset or brain, and a way of managing the extra energy richer 5G services will gobble up. Much of the base engineering is solved, says Scott Petty, Vodafone UK's chief technology officer. Now engineers are working on miniaturisation and how to scale up manufacturing to keep costs down, he says. But with 5G-compatible phones likely to start selling from "around $600-$700 (£458-£534)", according to David McQueen from ABI Research - Samsung, Apple and Huawei prices will be "much higher", he says - will we bother to fork out the extra cash? This depends on how impressed we are with the new generation of services, says Mr Petty. "We think 5G will kick off another wave of innovation that we haven't seen in the last three or four years," he says, something akin to the shift from clunky physical keyboard-based models to those with high-definition touchscreens. "The smartphone will be acting as a communication hub for wearables," he predicts, with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) benefiting most from the faster streaming speeds and lower latency (delay). This should reduce the feeling of nausea many people feel experiencing VR on slower phones, he says. But while handset makers are racing to be first to market, they also don't want to launch 5G handsets before the new networks have been rolled out - a mistake they made with 4G much to consumers' annoyance. US mobile maker Motorola is coming out with a 5G add-on for its modular Moto Z3 smartphone in early 2019. "We wanted to be first to market, and we wanted to learn a little about 5G frequencies," says Doug Michau, Motorola's director of production operations in North America. The challenge, he says, "has re-energised our engineering base here at Motorola". But the 5G module is slightly bigger than the smartphone itself, housing a 5G-only modem, several antennae, and extra battery capacity to power them, says Ian Cutress, who writes for hardware review website AnandTech. And it will be available only to customers of the Verizon network in the US, he adds. "My guess for the first smartphone launch - after the Motorola add-on - would be from either OnePlus or Sony," says ABI Research's Mr McQueen. And the largest vendors will take longest, he says. Samsung, he suspects, will launch its first 5G smartphone "around August 2019 in its Note series", and Chinese manufacturer Huawei "sometime in mid-2019, possibly in its Mate rather than P series". "[For Apple] we anticipate it will probably take another two generations, so probably 2020 earliest until 5G is seen in any of its iPhone devices," he says. The researcher forecasts 5G smartphone sales will reach 15.8 million in 2019, rising to 77.5 million in 2020. While subscriptions "will ramp up quickly from 2020, reaching over 200 million by 2022". But there's a potential fly in the ointment. There will be two different frequencies, depending on location. Most of us will probably be offered services at sub-6GHz (gigahertz) to start with, as mobile operators simply enhance their existing 4G networks. But there will also be more expensive high-frequency "millimetre wave" (mmWave) services designed for densely populated areas. "Each one is essentially a new technology in its own right," says Mr Cutress. "And the world will be split into regions where mmWave is the technology, and regions where sub-6GHz is the technology," he says. So you may not always be able to use your flash new smartphone's 5G powers when you travel. The first 5G smartphones are likely to have two modems: a standalone 5G modem, and one that works on 4G and older networks "to fall back on when 5G isn't available", says Mr Cutress. In time, though, smartphones will probably have one modem that can switch between 3G, 4G, and 5G when necessary. More 5G stories and features Ben Stanton, from market research firm Canalys, thinks 5G "will not lead to a long-term lift in prices" and that by 2020-21 mid-range and low-end handsets will be 5G-compatible. Consumers will start off by using a blend of 4G and 5G as carriers roll out their new networks of specialised masts and antennae, says Mr Stanton, so mobile operators will need to have at least some 5G handsets available on the market beforehand. So will it be worth spending even more money on yet another smartphone? The industry will be hoping that technophile early-adopters blaze a trail and advertise the benefits of new 5G services so that we all feel compelled to jump on board. But there's a lot to sort out before then.

सुपरफास्ट 5जी मोबाइल ब्रॉडबैंड रोमांचक लगता है, लेकिन एक बड़ी कमी हैः हमें नए फोन खरीदने की आवश्यकता होगी। क्या अतिरिक्त खर्च इसके लायक होगा और हम इसे कब खरीद पाएंगे?


Stockline blast: Families mark 10th anniversary of disaster

Summary: It is an oasis of colour and prettiness in an otherwise drab part of Glasgow's Maryhill district. Carefully raked gravel surrounds a circle of memorial stones which are decorated by flower baskets, and in some cases hand-written cards.

By Reevel AldersonHome affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland Each stone carries a plaque commemorating the name of one of the nine employees of a factory destroyed by a massive propane (LPG) explosion on May 11, 2004. Fifty metres away a building bears the name Stockline Plastics - by which the disaster will always be known. Relatives of those killed regularly visit the garden to remember their loved ones. Marie Murray, whose husband Kenny, 45, was one of those killed, said his death was a loss she suffers every day, even after 10 years. But she said the garden gave her solace. "We come at different times during the year, and always come on the anniversary," she said. "It is somewhere we can come, quite close to where it happened, and I think it is quite nice for everybody. "The families can gather here whenever they want and it is a nice wee corner for the community as well. They look after it." Pauline McKenzie, whose 34-year-old sister Anne French was a victim, said: "We do remember; it is something we will never forget. "But it is nice for the community to remember in a nice place, a nice garden for them to come to." Although it is recalled as the Stockline disaster, in fact the factory destroyed was owned and operated by a sister company, ICL Plastics. The company and ICL Tech Limited were each fined £200,000 in August, 2007 after they admitted failing to maintain LPG pipes which had fractured, allowing a build-up of gas which ignited when a fluorescent light was switched on. Families campaigned for a judge-led inquiry rather than a Fatal Accident Inquiry, and it began taking evidence in July, 2008. At its conclusion the chairman, Lord Gill, asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to examine all LPG installations. Ian Tasker, assistant secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), said this was something which sheriffs conducting an FAI could not have ordered. "He (Lord Gill) instructed HSE to inspect industrial LPG installations of this type," Mr Tasker said. "And a number of failures were identified and a number of enforcement notices and prohibition notices were actually put in place by the HSE preventing, potentially, another explosion." Maryhill MSP Patricia Ferguson, who represents the area where the factory stood, has proposed a Bill in the Scottish Parliament to allow sheriffs to make similar binding recommendations after an FAI. Relatives of those who died in 2004 say if that were to happen, it would be a positive legacy of the disaster.

यह ग्लासगो के मैरीहिल जिले के एक अन्यथा सूखे हिस्से में रंग और सुंदरता का एक नखलिस्तान है। सावधानीपूर्वक तराशी गई बजरी स्मारक पत्थरों के एक चक्र को घेरती है जिन्हें फूलों की टोकरी से सजाया जाता है, और कुछ मामलों में हाथ से लिखे कार्ड।


Guernsey having wettest February in 35 years

Summary: Guernsey has already had its wettest February in 35 years, according to the Met Office.

Thursday saw 35.3mm of rain falling in 24 hours. The last time the island was waterlogged was in 1978. Guernsey Police confirmed that up to 60 roads were under two to three feet of water. The Fire Service has had about 100 calls and attended eight incidents, and bus services were cancelled as roads became impassable.

मौसम कार्यालय के अनुसार, ग्वेर्नसे में पहले ही 35 वर्षों में सबसे अधिक वर्षा फरवरी हो चुकी है।


Swansea Uni launches chemistry degrees after 12-year gap

Summary: Swansea University is to re-introduce chemistry degrees from 2017, after a 12-year gap.

The move came after discussions with the Royal Society of Chemistry. The university scrapped chemistry degrees in 2004 amid falling demand for scientific subjects. Vice Chancellor Prof Richard B Davies described the latest move as "a sign of Swansea's progress, ambition and confidence". Last September, Swansea was ranked 41st in the Sunday Times Good University Guide.

स्वानसी विश्वविद्यालय 12 साल के अंतराल के बाद 2017 से रसायन विज्ञान की डिग्री फिर से शुरू करने वाला है।


Coronavirus: The last-round fight for NYC's bastions of boxing?

Summary: Some of New York City's most iconic boxing gyms have been forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, and with no official guidance on how they can reopen, many gym owners fear the city will forever lose this sporting legacy, writes Ben Wyatt.

Former featherweight champion Heather 'The Heat' Hardy stands on a Brooklyn street corner dressed in workout gear. She has boxing mitts in her hands and a pair of gloves around her neck. As masked pedestrians walk along the sidewalk she tries to persuade them to join an impromptu training session on the sunshine-baked tarmac. Boxing has always been a tough career, but at the age of 38, and as a single mother of a 16-year-old daughter, the streets that forged Hardy are now proving her only refuge. Like all journeyed fighters, she talks a good game: "In New York City we work paycheque to paycheque, you know. "I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I always figure out a way. I'll get through this too." But her optimism belies the fact that her neighbourhood gym of Gleason's - a cultural and pugilistic icon of the city that's also the source of Hardy's private training income, her big-fight coaching team and her closest friends - has been closed by the state since March with no pathway to reopening. "You miss the jokes," she says of her fellow fighters, who before the pandemic trained and taught in the gym up to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Other opportunities have been missed too. The two fights Hardy had booked for this year, one of which was a title shot, were cancelled as the outbreak gathered pace. Without savings to spend or workout classes to supplement her income, Hardy's street hustle is her best hope. It's a far cry from her last fight at Madison Square Garden, where she suffered the first defeat of a gutsy 23-fight career, losing to interim world champion and fellow Brooklynite Amanda Serrano in an internationally televised match. Fights overseas are returning, but without access to her coaches or a ring she will be forced to consider bouts for which she'll be dangerously underprepared. Hardy's story personifies the plight of pro boxing in the Empire City in 2020. Madison Square Garden's position as the sport's first mecca made New York an epicentre for the sweet science in years gone by, but from a heyday-high in the 1920s there's been a steady decline with each passing decade. Of the 25 professional gyms that existed across the five boroughs in the 1970s, only a handful remain. These glitz-free, idiomatic churches of sweat and sparring - where age-old ring knowledge nurtured colossi such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta and Riddick Bowe - were already on shaky legs prior to lockdown. Their enforced closure, without an end in sight or mention in the state's phased reopening measures, means they are all now on the precipice. Bruce Silverglade, the former president of amateur boxing in New York and owner of Gleason's for 37 years, argues that at a time of their greatest need, boxing is being discriminated against by politicians choosing to look the other way. He's watched other professional sports franchises such at the NBA, Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball receive government guidelines on how to train and eventually resume play, while boxing has been left in the dark. In boxing, where individuals have no leagues, federations or expensive attorneys to speak on their behalf, Silverglade argues the fighters of the city should be allowed to resume behind-closed-doors training at the very least. It's a lifeline that could prevent the extinction of the culture and its gladiators. "If the governor or the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] were to give me directions, I'd adhere to them," says Silverglade. "I have no idea when I can reopen, why I'm closed, or when I can earn a living again. Gyms in other states are open. List your objections, so I can take care of them." Originally based just one block from Madison Square Garden, Gleason's moved to Brooklyn in 1987, schooling local talent such as the young Mike Tyson in the process. As the USA's oldest boxing gym, it's welcomed everyone from Muhammad Ali to Paul Malignaggi, and there were times in the 80s when all five of its rings would creak from the sparring of world champions. The clientele slowly evolved, with hobbyists accounting for 85% of members by the turn of 2020. Up until March, this income flow supported 92 trainers and eight staff. Now, most of the coaches are surviving on unemployment benefits. "Today, I made 40 bucks selling two t-shirts. Last week I made 120 bucks selling a pair of gloves," Silverglade says of his earnings from the last month. "I've still got to pay rent and insurance and I've spent thousands on PPE equipment." Worryingly, Gleason's is faring better than most in lockdown. The Fight Factory gym, located near the boardwalks of Coney Island and Brighton Beach, closed at the end of June after 11 years in business. Former soldier Eugene Ryvkn built the gym with help from local pro Dmitry 'Star of David' Salita after moving to New York in 1997 from Belarus. Having notched up 60 amateur fights back home, Ryvkn fought on in the US until he was 45; sparring in his gym until its last day. Ever mindful of his 165lb (75kg) fighting weight, the already slim Ryvkn, 50, has shed 15lbs since the closure. "I didn't sleep well, in like three months, because everything in my head. The rent, the business, everything, everything. I built it from scratch myself. I invested a lot of money in this place," he says. "I had three full size rings, wrestling mats, weights area. An area where parents could do homework with the kids after school. I tell you, there's no more American Dream here, no more dreaming." He applied for loans but found that he was ineligible for emergency funding due to the part-time nature of his coaches. After regularly housing pro boxing names such as Bakhtiyar Eyubov, Nikita Ababiy and Arnold Khegai along with 250 local children from the ages of six and up, the remnants of The Fight Factory is now functioning within a rent-free home in a local synagogue, contemplating how it might serve its largely Russian immigrant community in the future. Across the East River, the story is similarly critical. Marc Sprung, the owner of Church Street Boxing, initially moved his operations online, paying his coaches to host Zoom training sessions while relying on recurring subscriptions to weather the 80% drop in income. But when there was no further guidance from the state on how or when they might reopen, Sprung stopped charging fees and - with his staff's blessing and on the advice of lawyers - sacked his team so they would be eligible to file for unemployment benefits. "It was very emotional, I've known these guys for over 20 years. If nothing changes we'll be closed in a month," Sprung tells the BBC. "We could be looking at wiping out the fight culture in New York City." Sprung is part of group that has launched a lawsuit against the state government demanding the inclusion of small, independent gyms in the plans for phase four of reopening. More than 300 gyms and workout studios have joined the lawsuit. A few blocks from Church Street in Manhattan's financial district is Trinity Boxing, owned by former Golden Gloves super heavyweight champion Martin Snow. A heavy-hitting slugger in his fighting days; the garrulous coach stands at the front of his gym under an entrance bedecked with two signs. The first reads: "Fight the good fight", the second: "Sorry, we're closed". "Why can they train in California but [we] can't do it in New York? Do they know something we don't know?" he says. Without the greater resources of beginner-friendly boxing chains such as Rumble and Title, Snow feels the independent pro gyms - traditional havens for "the outcasts and the disenfranchised, the immigrants and the working class" - are particularly vulnerable. Even the city's sex clubs have been allowed to reopen before a road map for boxing facilities have been discussed, he adds. "You can have socially-distanced orgies with hand sanitiser and masks, but you can't go into a boxing gym? That's f—king nuts. So I decided, I'm going to have boxing orgies: only with no sex, three minutes a time, fully clothed, wearing boxing gloves and head-guards." You may also like: It's not just income that's being lost in the crisis but leaders too. As one of the legion of immigrant boxing enthusiasts in the five boroughs, Mexican-American Francisco Mendez opened the Mendez Gym on East 32nd Street in 2004. It became one of the city's leading locations for novices and champions alike. Sadly, Mendez died on 21 April because of Covid-19 related complication. Ultimately, the gyms may take up opposing corners come fight night but are united in their time-of-crisis message. "New York boxing is the forgotten sport," says Hardy. "Promoters are calling on New York fighters because they know we're not training. [Governor] Cuomo, don't let us be the underdogs, man." Follow Ben Wyatt on Twitter @benwyatt78

न्यूयॉर्क शहर के कुछ सबसे प्रतिष्ठित मुक्केबाजी जिम को कोरोनावायरस महामारी के कारण बंद करने के लिए मजबूर किया गया है, और वे कैसे फिर से खुल सकते हैं, इस पर कोई आधिकारिक मार्गदर्शन नहीं होने के कारण, कई जिम मालिकों को डर है कि शहर हमेशा के लिए इस खेल विरासत को खो देगा, बेन व्याट लिखते हैं।


HMP Birmingham riot: Officers describe conditions at jail

Summary: Rioting prisoners took over four wings over of HMP Birmingham last week, setting fire to stairwells, destroying paper records and causing £2m in damage. It was the latest high-profile disturbance to break out in a jail, prompting Justice Secretary Liz Truss to warn that "long-standing" problems in the nation's prisons could take months to solve.

Amid claims that inmates in Birmingham were pushed to riot by poor conditions and a lack of staff, a former officer at the jail has spoken about conditions there. The officer, who has now left the service, spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity. "I started work at the prison more than 10 years ago. It was my first prison job and I was a fresh recruit. I still don't know what attracted me to it, but it was a good decision. It was only in my final few years that I felt there was a decline. I felt safe at first. During the first few years I could count the amount of times I felt fearful for my own safety on one hand. Eventually it got to the point where I was fearful nearly every day. There wasn't a specific incident which led to this. At first, if you were dealing with an incident you would have colleagues around you. But gradually I realised they were taking more time to turn up, mainly because they may be coming in from other areas where there would be three to four officers for 100-odd prisoners. It's a psychological process - you become more wary of challenging prisoners so prisoners become more confident and less respectful. I am not sure how many officers worked there when I first started, but to say it was cut by 50% by the time I left is realistic. G4S officially took over the prison in 2011 (the prison was the first in the UK to be transferred from the public to private sector). They didn't radically reduce staff, but staff began to lose motivation and pride. Young prisoners would come in and see a G4S uniform and it got less respect than a prison officer's uniform. They would equate us to security guards, they would say 'you are not a real screw'. There began to be a reduction in staff visibility. For the prisoners, there was a lack of opportunity to build a rapport with staff so you could have that mutual respect and a level of trust. I felt like we regressed, like we went back to being "Victorian turnkeys". Another consequence of having less staff is that you get moved around all the time, firefighting. I am sure that is happening all over the country. I felt deskilled and demotivated. When I was recruited they wanted good communicators who could be compassionate and build a rapport. Over the years that has been sacrificed. If you have a rapport you don't end up with six people on the netting (the safety netting between floors - which is what happened at HMP Birmingham). That is certainly going to bring the regime to a halt. It is sad for the prisoners too - there is no stability and the continuity they need is not there. I think this disturbance could have happened at any time in the last 18 months. It is probably down to the staff that it did not happen earlier. I watched Liz Truss's speech to the House of Parliament. Recruiting 2,500 more staff is not enough. Even if you doubled that amount it does not make up for what the prison service is losing in experience. This is the perfect opportunity to make the changes needed. It has to be seized. One bit of light at the end of the tunnel is that Liz Truss said she was going to give staff more of a platform to get their views across. If that can happen, things can improve. In the past you had staff with 25 years plus on the clock. When I joined it was a career for life, I didn't even think about changing professions. Now the youngsters are paid peanuts and you cannot replace the experience which has been lost. I think it could take the best part of a decade to get the service back on an even keel." 'The whole (prison) estate is simmering' A current HMP Birmingham prison officer with more than 20 years' experience feels the riot could have happened anywhere. Again, they spoke on the condition of anonymity This could have happened anywhere - it's unfortunate it happened with us. It is not a G4S thing, or a public/private sector thing. It is a system wide thing. It is because of the cuts. The government needs to look at the cuts it is making to all public services to be fair, but we feel like we are the forgotten public service. Every prison, whether private or public sector, is in the same boat. Prisons tend to have high staff sickness which doesn't help. I think the public sector prisons are worse off than we are where staffing is concerned. It definitely has an effect on the prisoners. There's not enough staff to talk to if they have a problem or not. The prisoners did react (when G4S took over) - they might see us as security guards, not prison officers. But the staff see themselves as prison officers. The uniform does not make a difference. Things have become a little harder. But we are dealing with a different type of prisoner these days and nationally the government needs to realise that. With this type of job you are always fearful for your safety - it's part and parcel of this type of job. But it is down to how you deal with it. You have to use your skills more. I build up rapport with prisoners. If you show them respect then they will be able to respect you. Recruiting 2,500 is not enough. By the time they are trained you might have lost 2,500 through natural wastage. We need a minimum of 8,000 throughout the whole prison estate, all trained properly. Unfortunately things like this happen and this time it was Birmingham's time. And I don't think this incident will be the last. If they carry on with the cuts it will not be the last. The whole estate is simmering. Twenty years ago you would have an older type of prisoner. Now, prisoners tend to be younger and they are a lot wilder. There's trouble with phones and drones but all jails are having trouble with that. Prisoners will always find ways of doing things, it is the nature of it. The prison service both public and private has to change. This could turn out to be a positive thing. But Birmingham will bounce back, that is what we do."

दंगाई कैदियों ने पिछले सप्ताह एच. एम. पी. बर्मिंघम के चार हिस्सों पर कब्जा कर लिया, सीढ़ियों में आग लगा दी, कागजी रिकॉर्ड को नष्ट कर दिया और 2 मिलियन पाउंड का नुकसान हुआ। यह जेल में होने वाली नवीनतम हाई-प्रोफाइल गड़बड़ी थी, जिससे न्याय सचिव लिज़ ट्रस ने चेतावनी दी कि देश की जेलों में "लंबे समय से चली आ रही" समस्याओं को हल करने में महीनों लग सकते हैं।


'The day I met Princess Diana'

Summary: With her world renowned glamour and her willingness to get close to people through her charity work, Princess Diana fascinated the nation. Here people tell their stories of when they met the 'people's princess'.

A winning ballot ticket led to Susan Philcox from Oxford, becoming the only female server at the wedding of the Prince of Wales and the then Lady Diana Spencer. In fact, the event at St Paul's Cathedral was a family affair as both her father and brother were ushers. The day started early with the three being given a special pass to drive along the royal route. "We were driving on the route at 5am waving to the crowds who were already up and cheering everything and everyone that went past," Mrs Philcox remembers. Once inside the cathedral, the family carried out their respective duties. "I saw Diana enter through the west door of the cathedral, having her dress adjusted and then beginning the slow walk up the aisle," Mrs Philcox says. "She seemed nervous when she arrived - I smiled when she fluffed Prince Charles' names. Once the ceremony was over, you could hear the roar of the crowd as Charles and Diana stepped out of the cathedral." Mrs Philcox recalls seeing the princess again at St Paul's at another event in 1982 marking the end of the Falklands war. "We were standing by the clergy at the west end at the end of the service and she looked very pretty, if a little flushed, and she told the dean, chapter and the Archbishop how moving the service had been." 'She looked directly at you' In 1983, Princess Diana became patron of the Red Cross Youth. In the mid-80s, Edith Conn, the British Red Cross president for Greater Manchester, met her at a youth orchestra performance in Manchester. "I had quite a chat with Diana," Mrs Conn remembers. "We were introduced and she asked me what my role with the Red Cross was, how long I'd been involved and what brought me to the Red Cross. "Then we just chatted about everyday things. The funny thing about it was I asked her: 'What happens when you go home, do you go to another engagement?' She said: 'Oh no I'm going home to have beans on toast and I'm going to watch EastEnders.' That has always stuck in my mind." Mrs Conn says she felt the princess was "definitely a people person". "What struck me was her natural beauty. When she spoke to you she looked directly at you, not over your shoulder. You felt as though she was really very interested in what you did and what you had to say. She was lovely. "I think I am very lucky to have met her. It was a real privilege and this anniversary should be a time to celebrate her life." A lasting memory In 1989, Princess Diana represented the Queen for the passing out parade at Britannia Navel College in Dartmouth. Jennifer Warnock was a young naval officer and met the princess on board a ship. "Diana knew what to ask and had obviously spent time researching what she would be chatting about. "She came across as confident but shy. She was important yet down to earth - she told me she was wearing layers of thermals below her coat dress to keep her warm which was hard to believe when you see how trim she looked." Mrs Warnock's lasting memory is of a woman who was different from the image portrayed of her by the media at the time. "I remember excitedly phoning my parents afterwards. I was surprised at my own reaction. "I've said to many that when people talk about "the X factor", Diana was the only person I've met who had it." 'A normal mum having fun' Hamish Goddard, who now lives in Majorca, was working at the F1 Chelsea Raceway near Chelsea Harbour in the mid 90s when Princess Diana used to bring Princes William and Harry to take part in go-karting. He says: "The boys were talented drivers and Prince William even became the track's outright lap record holder. "His name and lap time was permanently displayed on the large electronic scoreboard above the start/finish line although it took some time before any journalist realised who William Wales was!" He added that managers tried to ensure the family was able to enjoy privacy at the raceway, although this wasn't always possible. "I remember a time when Harry was admiring and sitting on one of the staff's Ducati motorbikes in the private car park outside the clubroom," says Mr Goddard. "He saw a row of several cameras along the top of the wall of the adjacent company's car park. No heads were clearly visible - just the cameras. Harry came inside quickly, evidently unhappy and unsurprised." However, Mr Goddard's main memories are of an adoring mother with her "lovely and polite" sons. "Diana used to chat to us as the boys raced around - drinking a coffee, happy and relaxed - a normal mum having fun, out and about with her children". By Bernadette McCague, UGC and Social News team

अपने विश्व प्रसिद्ध ग्लैमर और अपने परोपकारी कार्यों के माध्यम से लोगों के करीब आने की इच्छा के साथ, राजकुमारी डायना ने देश को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया। यहाँ लोग अपनी कहानियाँ बताते हैं जब वे 'लोगों की राजकुमारी' से मिले थे।


Crocodile found in Russian weapons raid in St Petersburg

Summary: Russian police searching for illegal weapons in a St Petersburg house faced a scaly surprise in the basement: a two-metre (6.5ft) Nile crocodile.

Police said the reptile did not cause any injuries - but now they must find a new home for it. Russian media say the house is used by a nationalist group. A stockpile of illegal arms was found in the raid, in the city's Peterhof suburb, RIA Novosti news reports. It included explosive devices and copies of Kalashnikov assault rifles. A 40-year-old man arrested in November is suspected of illegal possession of weapons. The St Petersburg news website Fontanka says the property houses a "patriotic youth militia" called Red Star ("Krasnaya Zvezda" in Russian). The crocodile was living in a pool that had been dug into the concrete floor. Leningrad Zoo says it has no extra space to take it in. You may also like to read:

सेंट पीटर्सबर्ग के एक घर में अवैध हथियारों की खोज कर रही रूसी पुलिस को तहखाने में एक आश्चर्यजनक आश्चर्य का सामना करना पड़ाः एक दो मीटर (6.5ft) नील मगरमच्छ।


Trolling: Who does it and why?

Summary: An internet "troll" has been jailed for mocking dead teenagers on various websites. Public figures, including Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, have also been victims of trolling. So what is it and why do people do it?

By Tom de Castella and Virginia BrownBBC News Magazine For some the word derives from a fishing term for towing bait behind a boat, for others it comes from the Norse monsters. But today trolling is more likely to involve a keyboard and mouse than a trawler, and if not a monster, it is a very modern menace. Opponents might characterise it as the internet equivalent of road rage, vandalising a grave, or kicking a man when he's down. Trolling is a phenomenon that has swept across websites in recent years. Online forums, Facebook pages and newspaper comment forms are bombarded with insults, provocations or threats. Supporters argue it's about humour, mischief and freedom of speech. But for many the ferocity and personal nature of the abuse verges on hate speech. In its most extreme form it is a criminal offence. On Tuesday Sean Duffy was jailed for 18 weeks after posting offensive messages and videos on tribute pages about young people who had died. One of those he targeted was 15-year-old Natasha MacBryde, who had been killed by a train. "I fell asleep on the track lolz" was one of the messages he left on a Facebook page set up by her family. Duffy is the second person to be jailed for trolling in the UK. Last year Colm Coss was imprisoned for posting obscene messages on Facebook tribute sites, including that of Jade Goody. Trolling appears to be part of an international phenomenon that includes cyberbullying. One of the first high-profile cases emerged in the US state of Missouri in 2006, when 13-year-old Megan Meier killed herself after being bullied online. The bully, Lori Drew, was a middle-aged neighbour who had set up a MySpace account to win - and later betray - her trust. Drew was acquitted of unauthorised computer use in 2009 due to concerns that a conviction would criminalise false online identities. The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech and makes it difficult to punish people who post offensive messages. But concern over internet vitriol is growing. Facebook's former marketing director Randi Zuckerberg and Google head Eric Schmidt have both suggested anonymous posting should be phased out. One of the difficulties is that trolling is a broad term, taking in everything from a cheeky provocation to violent threats. And why people do it continues to baffle the experts. "Online people feel anonymous and disinhibited," says Prof Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University. "They lower their emotional guard and in the heat of the moment may troll either reactively or proactively." It is usually carried out by young adult males for amusement, boredom and revenge, he adds. Arthur Cassidy, a social media psychologist, says young people's determination to create an online identity makes them vulnerable to trolling. Secrecy is jettisoned in favour of self-publicity on Facebook, opening the way for ridicule, jealousy and betrayal. And the need to define themselves through their allegiance to certain celebrities creates a world in which the rich and famous become targets for personal abuse. As a result trolling is "virtually uncontrollable" until the government forces websites to clamp down, he says. But it's not just young people. Scan any football, music or fan site and there are people of all ages taking part in the most vituperative attacks. But many of the theories that have been put forward as to why people do it don't stand up, says Tom Postnes, professor of social psychology at Groningen University in the Netherlands. After researching "flaming" - the term for trolling in the early days of the internet - he rejects the idea that people "lose it" when online. If anything they become more attuned to social convention, albeit the specific conventions of the web. Provoking people appears to be the norm in some online communities, he says. Most trolling is not criminal - it's about having a laugh, says Rob Manuel, co-founder of the website B3ta, which specialises in altering photographs for comic effect. "Trolling taps into people's desire to poke fun, make trouble and cause annoyance," he says. He first became aware of the phenomenon in the 90s when a friend cross-posted on fan sites for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, asking: "Who'd win in a fight - the Emperor or Gandalf?" Manuel says his friend sat back and laughed like some "mad scientist looking at insects in a jar" as hundreds of passionate posts followed. 'No guilt' We're all capable of becoming a troll, says Jaron Lanier, a computer scientist in the US and author of You Are Not A Gadget. Lanier admits he has sometimes behaved badly online and believes the cloak of anonymity can encourage people to react in extreme ways. "The temptation is there and we can get caught up in impulses. If someone reacts, it's emotional and it can be hard to get out of. We can all become trolls." Twitter has given the public direct access to celebrities. And stars, including Stephen Fry and Miranda Hart, have temporarily left the website after coming under fire. Internet experts say the key is not to "feed the troll" by offering them a response. Comedian Dom Joly takes a different approach. He describes himself as "troll slayer" and takes pleasure in tracking down the culprits and exposing them to public shame, especially from close family. "There's something about a bully that really annoys me," he says. "They'll say something online that they'd never dare to say to your face." The deviousness is "freaky". He discovered that one of those who'd threatened him was a 14-year-old girl with nine different online identities. They aren't always very intelligent about how they do it, he says. "One guy tweeted from his work account that he hoped my kids die of cancer. I let the MD of the firm know and the guy was fired. I felt no guilt, he should have gone to prison." Some think regulation is needed, but trolling is not the internet's fault, says Jeff Jarvis, author of Public Parts. "The internet does not create special threats. It's a public square where people will be saying all sorts of things, some of them offensive." The answer is for newspaper websites and online forums to employ sufficient moderators to prevent the comments spiralling into petty vendettas, he says. To ban online anonymity in order to prevent trolling would be to remove the right of whistleblowers and dissidents to get their message across, he adds. Manuel agrees. "People are saying nasty, stupid things. So deal with it. Shutting down free speech and stamping on people's civil liberties is not a price worth paying."

विभिन्न वेबसाइटों पर मृत किशोरों का मजाक उड़ाने के लिए एक इंटरनेट "ट्रॉल" को जेल भेजा गया है। स्टीफन फ्राय और मिरांडा हार्ट सहित सार्वजनिक हस्तियां भी ट्रॉल का शिकार हुई हैं। तो यह क्या है और लोग ऐसा क्यों करते हैं?


Two men fined for homophobic abuse at Brighton match

Summary: Two men have been fined for chanting homophobic abuse at a football match at Brighton's Amex stadium.

The 19-year-olds, from Stafford, were arrested at Saturday's Brighton and Hove Albion match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sussex Police said they both received public order fixed penalty notices. Two other men, from Wolverhampton, were charged with failing to comply with a notice to leave a public area. More than 30,000 fans attended the match.

ब्राइटन के एमेक्स स्टेडियम में एक फुटबॉल मैच में होमोफोबिक दुर्व्यवहार का जाप करने के लिए दो लोगों पर जुर्माना लगाया गया है।


Your pictures of Scotland 11 - 18 December

Summary: A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 11 and 18 December. Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules regarding photographs that can be found here.

Please also ensure you follow current coronavirus guidelines and take your pictures safely and responsibly. Conditions of use: If you submit an image, you do so in accordance with the BBC's terms and conditions.. Please ensure that the photograph you send is your own and if you are submitting photographs of children, we must have written permission from a parent or guardian of every child featured (a grandparent, auntie or friend will not suffice). In contributing to BBC News you agree to grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish and otherwise use the material in any way, including in any media worldwide. However, you will still own the copyright to everything you contribute to BBC News. At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe the law. You can find more information here. All photos are subject to copyright.

स्कॉटलैंड की अपनी तस्वीरों का एक चयन 11 और 18 दिसंबर के बीच भेजा गया। अपनी तस्वीरें scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk पर भेजें। कृपया सुनिश्चित करें कि आप यहाँ पाई जाने वाली तस्वीरों के संबंध में बीबीसी के नियमों का पालन करते हैं।


Alfie Templeman: The fledgling star who needs a chaperone

Summary: For those standing at the back of the crammed Casablanca Jazz Club in Brighton trying to catch a glimpse of one of the most hotly tipped teens in UK music, they are rewarded by the occasional glimpse of a bouncing head of hair above the sea of similarly nodding heads.

By Kev GeogheganArts and entertainment reporter At just 16, Bedfordshire singer-songwriter Alfie Templeman, our latest Newbie Tuesday artist, has already notched up a few bucket list items of which an artist 10 years his senior would be proud. Play an iconic London venue? Check. Play a session at the BBC's Maida Vale studios? Check. "It's incredible, man," says the visibly buzzing and heavily perspiring young man after his show at the The Great Escape festival of new music on England's south coast. "The atmosphere feels like it's insane. Basically, everyone has shown so much support, it was such a great gig." A great gig it might have been for Alfie and the 200 or so people squeezed into a low-ceilinged, red-walled music venue. But Alfie's tender age has brought its own issues. "Most people my age aren't even allowed in," says Templeman - whose first London show was at the Brixton Academy - so I'm lucky to be here and it's a great experience for everyone in my band who are all really young. "I actually had some trouble getting in here in the first place. "They let us sound check, and then the bouncer came over and said, 'Sorry, we're not actually allowed to let you in here. We're like, 'Wait, what?' So we had to go through a bit of trouble to get in. "Got here eventually." Along with requiring a responsible adult to accompany him to his own shows, it's also meant Templeman has had to fit in time to rehearse between schoolwork. "I just finished, so it's a bit easier now, just got exams left," he explains. "There's been less focus at school because I'm so excited about the music and now I'm doing it full time but the teachers are happy about it as well. "My parents are cool with it, they were a bit worried at first that I was doing it at such an early age but they grew to really support it." Templeman has already picked up some high profile fans including Radio 1 indie show presenter Jack Saunders. With more than a passing resemblance to a young Jeff Buckley, his video for Like An Animal - recorded when Templeman was just 15 - sees the young singer wander around a deserted town dressed in a bear suit. While the promo for Yellow Flowers, shot in his own living room at home, sees him display his musicianship, picking up and playing instruments artfully scattered around the room. There are nods to the likes of Tame Impala and indie hipster Mac Demarco as well as 60s revival bands like The La's and The Stone Roses. "And Oasis," he agrees. "A lot of Oasis and a bit of The Smiths." Raised in the small town of Carlton, Templeman, whose father is an avid guitar collector, learned to play the drums at age seven. "My dad showed me the guitar but I always wanted to play drums. But he always didn't want that amount of noise, so he bought me a guitar instead. Eventually, he got to the point where he was like, 'Right, he makes enough noise and whacks stuff all the time. So he got me a drum kit." The young Templeman matched his enthusiasm for music with an equal enthusiasm for poetry, though he admits his early lyrical efforts don't slip well into a modern indie pop live set. "I think when I was about seven I wrote something about the war, World War One, about like, war sirens or something. I can't really remember but it rings a bell in my head." Signed to Chess Club Records, home to artists like Mumford and Sons and MØ, Templeman says he still insists on writing alone. "Just because I like being honest about myself," he says assuredly, "and not letting anyone else kind of put in their two cents. To give a slice of myself because at the end of the day, it is about Alfie Templeman." With future plans for an EP, or his preferred "mini-album" of around seven or eight songs, Templeman says his next single is called Don't Go Wasting Time. "It's just about not wasting time on things that were meant to be, basically. Just to ignore the things that didn't work out, silly mistakes and just move on. Spoken like a 16-year-old music prodigy with a recording contract and a bright future. And the hair. Mustn't forget the hair. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

ब्राइटन में खचाखच भरे कैसाब्लांका जैज़ क्लब के पीछे खड़े लोगों के लिए जो यूके संगीत में सबसे गर्म किशोरों में से एक की एक झलक पाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं, उन्हें समुद्र के ऊपर बालों के उछलते सिर की कभी-कभार झलक से पुरस्कृत किया जाता है।


Omagh bomb: Relatives 'deserve apology' on ruling delay

Summary: First Minister Arlene Foster has said relatives of those murdered in the 1998 Omagh bomb deserve an apology over the length of time a court is taking to rule on a call for a public inquiry.

By Julian O'NeillBBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent The case began in 2013 and concluded almost two years ago, but there has been no judgement. The lord chief justice's office has blamed the situation on the assessment of "sensitive" documents. After meeting some of the families, Mrs Foster said the delay is "inordinate". Twenty-nine people - including a woman pregnant with twins - were killed in the Real IRA bomb in August 1998. It was the biggest single atrocity in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The legal action, brought by Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was one of the victims, followed a decision by the government to reject the need for a public inquiry eight years ago. It said there had been multiple investigations, including those involving the Police Ombudsman. Central to Mr Gallagher's judicial review case are claims that intelligence from MI5 and the police could have been drawn together to prevent the Real IRA attack. There were national security issues around the hearing of evidence, which delayed matters, but it concluded in July 2019. In October, Mr Gallagher was told to expect movement before Christmas, but nothing happened. "From day one this has been dragged out," Mr Gallagher said. "We are getting no younger. "We want to do other things in life but we cannot move on until we get answers." He said the process could be "simplified" if the government granted an inquiry. "We support the police. "We support the intelligence service. "We just want answers - why things did not happen in the way they should have happened in the lead up to the Omagh bomb." He has raised the case with political parties and met the DUP leader within the past few days. Mrs Foster said: "I do think that he, and all of the Omagh victims, deserve an apology. "I think it is really sad that they find themselves in a situation where they have not been able to get answers." In a statement, the lord chief justice's office said the judgement was "taking longer than initially anticipated". It said the delay was due to the "sensitive nature of the material involved in the case". It added: "The documents which the judge has to consider are stored in a secured area which can only be accessed during restricted hours and not at weekends. "The judge's access to this material has to be scheduled around his workload in the High Court. "He would like to reassure Mr Gallagher that he is reviewing this material thoroughly to ensure that he is taking into account all relevant evidence."

प्रथम मंत्री अर्लीन फोस्टर ने कहा है कि 1998 के ओमघ बम विस्फोट में मारे गए लोगों के रिश्तेदार माफी के लायक हैं क्योंकि अदालत सार्वजनिक जांच के आह्वान पर फैसला देने में कितना समय ले रही है।


Sri Lanka's sinister white van abductions

Summary: Almost three years after the end of the civil war, Sri Lanka is still dogged by allegations of human rights violations. Amid fresh moves in the UN's Human Rights Council to hold Sri Lanka to account, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo reports on a rise in sinister abductions by anonymous squads in white vans.

At a small shrine in her home, Shiromani lights a candle and rings a bell, offering prayers to the Hindu deities. She has few consolations now. Her life has been a nightmare since her husband, Ramasamy Prabagaran, a Tamil businessman, was snatched by eight men outside their front door last month, in front of Shiromani and their three-year-old daughter, and taken away in a white van. "He was screaming, calling for help, hanging on to the gate," Shiromani said tearfully. "There were people and vehicles in the street but no-one came to help as they had T56 guns and pistols. They pushed me down. I pleaded: 'Sir, don't do anything'." But the vehicle disappeared and she was unable to follow in her own car. Mr Prabagaran was abducted shortly before his case accusing the police of torture was due to be heard. He had been held for two-and-a-half years by them and, he claimed, badly tortured before being released without charge. Unidentified bodies Human rights campaigners say there were 32 unexplained abductions between last October and this February, mostly in Colombo or northern Sri Lanka, the victims a mix of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. In addition, 10 mostly unidentified bodies were found in February alone. It's not clear how many of these, if any, are linked to the disappearances - but their discovery has added to a heightened sense of unease here. Of the kidnappings that were witnessed, most were said to have taken place in white vans - which for years have been the vehicle of shadowy gangs behind enforced disappearances. One victim was seized right outside the Colombo law courts - snatched from prison guards bringing him for a bail application. Five of the 32 escaped but seven bodies have been found, including a woman in her 60s. The other 20 have simply vanished. The witnessed disappearances include the case of two young activists, Lalith Weeraraj - half Sinhala and half Tamil - and a Tamil, Kugan Muruganathan. They spent 2011 organising a number of demonstrations, bringing to Colombo people from the former war zone whose family members disappeared as the war ended - mostly, they claim, at the hands of the security forces. In a sinister development in December, Lalith and Kugan themselves vanished in northern Sri Lanka, seemingly abducted as they prepared another demonstration. Death squads? All sorts of people are disappearing, but many of them appear to have been at loggerheads with the authorities. As well as human rights workers and ordinary businessmen, those who have disappeared include some accused of being part of organised crime networks or the so-called "underworld". Campaigners are privately pointing the finger at pro-government forces and security personnel. But the government and security forces deny being responsible for disappearances. In fact the police spokesman, Superintendent Ajith Rohana, says special police teams have been deployed to investigate them. "There are abductions. It happens. But generally we are conducting investigations into the matter," he told me. I put it to him that, in effect, death squads are operating in Sri Lanka despite the end of the war. "No. Not at all," he responded. "We don't have them. We totally deny that allegation. We don't have any type of squads like that." Meanwhile, the disappearances continue. At least one more person, a Colombo restaurateur, disappeared this week. Mr Prabagaran was a successful businessman with an electronics business based in a well-known Colombo mall, Majestic City. In 2009, he was picked up by police when his name was found in the phone of an army officer accused of links with the Tamil Tigers. He denies any links. In a report by the Judicial Medical Officer in October 2009, Mr Prabagaran said he had been beaten with a pole all over his body, stripped naked, assaulted on his genitals, immersed up to his neck in a barrel, had his fingernails removed and more. 'Law of the jungle' One of the few parliamentarians who regularly speaks out on human rights issues is Jayalath Jayawardana of the opposition United National Party. "The human rights situation in Sri Lanka is deteriorating day by day and there is no rule of law in this country," he told me at his office in Colombo. "Jungle law is prevailing... Without the protection or blessings of the government in power or the security forces these type of things cannot take place," he said. And recent days have seen some unexpectedly revealing remarks from within the government. An unnamed senior police officer in Colombo told a Sinhala-language newspaper that, as a precaution against possible street protests, "we have arranged to bring tear gas, and we have plenty of white vans in Sri Lanka". And a cabinet minister, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, told the same paper: "The government should answer for this [missing people]. They can't say we don't know about it." He said the military was getting excessively involved in civil affairs, stopping the country from being democratic and inviting international criticism. Unusually, last Saturday a man publicly said he had foiled an attempt to abduct him - just weeks after his own brother disappeared. With the help of a crowd the intended victim, the mayor of a Colombo suburb, Ravindra Udayashantha, confronted the would-be abductors who were in a white van. They were soldiers. The military denied plans to kidnap anyone. Whatever the facts behind that incident, the rule of law is being flouted in Sri Lanka and disappearances are continuing.

गृहयुद्ध की समाप्ति के लगभग तीन साल बाद, श्रीलंका अभी भी मानवाधिकारों के उल्लंघन के आरोपों से घिरा हुआ है। संयुक्त राष्ट्र की मानवाधिकार परिषद में श्रीलंका को जवाबदेह ठहराने के नए कदमों के बीच, कोलंबो में बीबीसी के चार्ल्स हैविलैंड ने सफेद वैन में अज्ञात दस्तों द्वारा भयावह अपहरणों में वृद्धि की सूचना दी है।


Migrant dreams turn into Sahara sex work

Summary: Thousands of African migrants are stuck in the Nigerien town of Agadez - the gateway to the Sahara - as they battle to fulfil their dream of reaching Europe. The BBC's Thomas Fessy met some of them during a visit to the town.

This is nothing like what Vivienne expected. "I thought I would find a job here," she says. "I came here because of the conditions I found myself in Nigeria. I had just finished my secondary school but my Dad doesn't have money for me to study. I just want to continue north, make money and make my family proud." Vivienne, who declined to give her surname, says she is 23. She looks younger but it is impossible to verify her age. Last month, she took a bus ride of about 240km (150 miles) from Kano, the main city in northern Nigeria, to Zinder, Niger's second city, and from there another bus to Agadez, a town about 370km away. Dusty alleyways She arrived in Agadez with big dreams. Instead, desperate to reach Europe, she is now selling herself to men. "I've searched. There is no job," she laments, rolling her mobile phone between her hands. I have met her in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of Agadez. She shares two dusty rooms with 10 other Nigerian young girls. One of the rooms does not have a door. Nor does the other, but there is a curtain hanging, at least. The place is littered with open condom packets, used ones were thrown onto a pile of trash that the women burn every now and then just a couple of metres away from their doorstep. "I thought I could do the cleaning at somebody's house and that they would pay me. But there are no jobs here," Vivienne says. "Then I met these Nigerian friends and they told me that this was how they coped here. So, I started to work for men." "I am not happy with the job I am doing, but it's the only way I can survive." The old part of town is a maze of narrow streets and dusty alleyways. All houses have been built with mud-bricks, in a square or rectangular-like shape and they look as though they are just coming out of the earth. Agadez is an obvious market place for communities surrounded by nothing else but the desert. But it is a place of secrecy, the gateway to the Sahara and the home to all kinds of smugglers. For African migrants, their dream - the promise of a better life - starts here. Money is what they hope to find in Europe, but it is what they need now. Just around the corner from the main market, a group of West African migrants is queuing outside a bank. Meeting smugglers There are more than 30 of them. None of them want to give their name. "We are here to receive money for survival," one says. "Some of us did some work back home and still have a bit of money in a bank account so it's time to withdraw it," he explains. "Others hope that their family has sent something to help them." He came from Senegal in the past two weeks but he does not know when he will be able to continue his journey north. "I need the money first. So I might have to work for one, three or six months and then go." On the other side of the roundabout, some of the migrants who were queuing at the bank earlier on are now buying jerry cans which they will fill with water to survive the desert ride. Those who will drive them and smuggle them into Libya are traffickers from the region. Either from Libya or Niger, they are from the Toubous ethnic group that enjoyed recognition in Libya under Col Muammar Gaddafi. However, like sub-Saharan Africans, the Toubous say they are now discriminated against by the majority Arabs in Libya, where lawlessness prevails. I met a group of smugglers, who accepted to talk on condition of anonymity. In the migration business, people are just another commodity. The man, who speaks to me in Arabic, is smuggling up to 300 people a month. Rocky desert "We charge $500 (£295) for the ride all the way into Libya, but you need to count another $300 so we can bribe the police at all checkpoints," he says. "We can give the migrants credit, if they need it, but that means they will end up paying double on arrival." Migrants are usually crammed into the back of pick-up trucks, between 25 and 35 of them per vehicle. Two brand-new Toyota Hilux, just washed, were parked outside the house, where I met the smugglers. "We're now equipped with GPS and Thurayas [satellite phones], so it's easier than it used to be, in case we get stuck." But such equipment does not prevent serious incidents from happening. Hidden behind a black turban and sunglasses, cigarette in hand, the smuggler recalls a deadly ride from last year. "One of the pick-ups tumbled down a sand dune, six died," he says. "They were three Gambians, two Nigeriens and a Cameroonian." Leaving Agadez opens the way to a rocky desert, where the long road through the Sahara begins. Jailed But the track will soon disappear under the heavy sand dunes for what is probably the most extreme journey that African migrants will ever undertake. One either makes it or does not, but there is no going back. The blazing sun is punishing, and reaching Libya will offer no respite. Back in Agadez, another group of West African migrants are waiting to return home at the Red Cross transit centre. Most of them are from The Gambia, but others are from Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. A few dozen Senegalese had also arrived back from Libya the week before but the International Organization for Migration, an inter-governmental agency, had already arranged for them to be repatriated. Their eyes dropping in despair, they tell brutal stories of being kidnapped by militiamen, sold to the police and thrown in jail for up to six months. They were beaten and starved, and eventually deported. They have failed in their effort to migrate to Europe. "After spending this amount of money to get to Libya, work there, they take all your belongings, even your clothes. We go back home with nothing. That's absolutely sad. More than the word sad, in fact," Lalo Jaiteh, a 44-year-old Gambian, says. Mr Jaiteh's journey across the desert involved going without water or food for two days. "Some were even lying, crying that they will not see their parents again. One was lying beside me telling me: 'my brother, that's the end of it, I'm sorry I won't see my mum again' - I said: 'No. Don't cry. God is so kind. Certainly we will make it'," he says. A younger man, Ousmane, 26, was jailed in two different prisons while in Libya; three months each time. He had tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea with others but the boat's engine broke down. They drifted away until Italian coastguards rescued them and brought them back to Libya. Mr Jaiteh says he did not believe such stories before he found himself "in the centre of it." "When I am finally home, those who want to leave will not believe me either because they want to go so badly." The risks involved in this grim journey north are no deterrent and thousands of African migrants, without jobs or prospects in their countries, will continue to transit in Agadez each year. They include Vivienne. As her foot brushes the remains of a red condom packet covered in dust, she explains she cannot return home now because her family would not allow her back if they came to know what she was doing in Agadez. I ask her where in Europe would she like to go. "I want to go to Spain because my friend told me it was nice," she answers. "I want to study to be a nurse. That's my dream." Migration routes across the Sahara desert

हजारों अफ्रीकी प्रवासी नाइजीरियाई शहर अगादेज़ में फंसे हुए हैं-सहारा का प्रवेश द्वार-क्योंकि वे यूरोप पहुंचने के अपने सपने को पूरा करने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहे हैं। बीबीसी के थॉमस फेसी ने शहर की यात्रा के दौरान उनमें से कुछ से मुलाकात की।


What is the legacy of the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak?

Summary: Foot-and-mouth disease swept though the UK after it was confirmed at an abattoir in Essex in February 2001. In Britain's first major outbreak of foot-and-mouth for 30 years, nearly 6.5 million sheep, cattle and pigs were slaughtered to control the disease and photos of burning pyres of animal carcasses shocked the country. But what was the legacy of the crisis?

The farmer Trevor Wilson, a farmer from Cark in Cartmel, Cumbria, watched the foot-and-mouth crisis unfold with horror. And in May 2001 he noticed that several of his sheep looked ill. "They were just lethargic and lying under the fence," he said. "When you looked inside their mouths there were lesions on their tongues." He said the disease was never confirmed but his flock of 420 sheep had to be slaughtered because of suspicions they had contracted it. "It was such a shock at first," he said. "You do the best you can to nurture livestock because that is your livelihood and what you have always known. "So to see everything you've done and worked for destroyed is terrible." He said the flock included lambs which were only a few days old, while most of the sheep were only 12 months old. Mr Wilson's farm then covered 25 different sites and so he had about 3,100 sheep and 200 dairy cows which were unaffected. He said the restrictions were also very difficult and made it a "terrible time" for farmers. Many sheep and lambs died because they could not be brought inside and it made the lambing season particularly fraught, he added. "There's nothing worse for a farmer than thinking a lamb is going to die of hypothermia and not being able to save it," he said. He said farmers had to accept much lower prices for livestock from slaughter houses because they were unable to transport animals to markets and abattoirs. Mr Wilson said there had been a lot of changes in British farming over the past 10 years. But he said a marked fall in livestock numbers was the result of reduced profitability in the industry rather than the foot-and-mouth outbreak. "I think farms adapted very quickly after the outbreak, but it shocked many farmers and quite a lot moved out of the industry," he said. "A lot of farmers in Cumbria have diversified to help their business. "They have gone into all sorts of areas. Some have gone into property and some have bought ice-cream vans." Mr Wilson used compensation from the loss of his sheep to buy property which he now lets out as shops and homes. He said farming had seen "10 years of recession" and was facing a real crisis because of increased exports from abroad and falling profitability. He added with pressures to increase food production by 40% across the world to cope with the growing population, the government needed to seriously consider the way forward. The animal welfare campaigner Peter Stevenson, chief policy advisor for Compassion in World Farming, was working for the charity during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001. "I remember that period very vividly - it was horrific," he said. Compassion was against the government policy which at one time recommended slaughtering livestock within 3km (1.9 miles) of infected farms. "There was no discretion involved," he said. "It was that policy and its inflexibility which led to such large numbers of animals being slaughtered." He said the charity argued there was insufficient scientific evidence for the policy and some scientists said in many cases the disease did not spread beyond a few hundred metres. Mr Stevenson said the speed at which the animals were slaughtered and the fact it had to happen on farms raised concerns among animal welfare charities. "There were many accounts of slaughters being carried out inhumanely, involving immense suffering to animals," he said. He said ministers had been slow to bring in restrictions on moving animals and "inflexible" over the issue of vaccination, which Compassion believed was an "important part of the solution". Mr Stevenson believes lessons have since been learnt. "The public was distraught at seeing such large numbers of healthy animals being slaughtered and I don't think that could happen again," he said. Mr Stevenson believes the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey four years ago was better handled with animal movements immediately restricted. Economic demands He said the charity did not link foot-and-mouth to "factory" farming, but had hoped the 2001 outbreak would lead to other methods. "At the time we hoped the shock of foot-and-mouth would cause a rethink about the way we farm animals and as a society we would move away from the industrial approach to farming. "But sadly that hasn't happened," he said. He said most pigs and poultry in the UK and the rest of Europe were intensively farmed and this resulted in animals suffering. "Other serious diseases can develop and spread in the highly overcrowded conditions of factory farming," he added. "Although the foot-and-mouth crisis led to a rethink about how diseases should be tackled and a similar disaster avoided, I think as a society we have not improved animal welfare as a whole." Mr Stevenson added that increasingly dairy cows were being intensively farmed as a result of economic demands. "If people want to still see dairy cows out in the fields they have to be prepared to pay a little more for milk," he said. Government chief vet and Defra The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 was handled by the then Labour government, which delayed an election because of the crisis. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was replaced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) within months of the crisis unfolding. Nigel Gibbens, the current government's chief veterinary officer, said: "Foot-and-mouth was a devastating blow for British farmers and the country in 2001, and this anniversary is upsetting for many who lived through it. "We have learnt many lessons on how to prevent and manage exotic animal disease outbreaks since then and we work closely with farmers and vets whose experience and knowledge is invaluable." The government said the focus was on prevention and it provided a lot of information about the disease and encouraged farmers to report anything suspicious early. Mr Gibbens added: "We are not complacent. We monitor disease outbreaks around the world assessing the risk, and regularly update and test our contingency plans, and policies for dealing with them." Defra said many measures had been introduced, such as stricter hygiene rules for the transportation of animals and improved checks to find smuggled animal products. A Defra spokesman said: "In any outbreak we would be prepared to vaccinate from the very start and contracts are in place to quickly mobilise this." However, he stressed there were "crucial factors" to consider such as whether it was known where the outbreak had started. He added that vaccination in the event of an outbreak would mean the UK would not regain disease-free status for at least three months - costing the farming industry "tens of millions of pounds".

फरवरी 2001 में एसेक्स में एक बूचड़खाने में पैर और मुंह की बीमारी की पुष्टि होने के बाद ब्रिटेन में पैर और मुंह की बीमारी फैल गई। ब्रिटेन में 30 वर्षों में पैर और मुंह की बीमारी का पहला बड़ा प्रकोप हुआ, इस बीमारी को नियंत्रित करने के लिए लगभग 65 लाख भेड़, मवेशी और सूअरों की हत्या की गई और जानवरों के शवों की चिता जलाने की तस्वीरों ने देश को चौंका दिया। लेकिन संकट की विरासत क्या थी?


Search for boy missing in River Stour in Sandwich

Summary: A search operation has been launched after a six-year-old boy fell into a river in Kent.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the child fell into the River Stour close to Richborough Road and the A256 in Sandwich at about 13:30 BST. A Coastguard helicopter, an inshore lifeboat, firefighters and police are hunting for the child. Local people offering assistance were given briefings on how to help search for the boy safely. Emergency services warned them not to place themselves at risk, especially as the light fades.

केंट में एक छह वर्षीय लड़के के नदी में गिरने के बाद खोज अभियान शुरू किया गया है।


London 2012: Athletes start training at Surrey Sports Park

Summary: Olympic athletes from around the world are arriving at the University of Surrey to prepare for London 2012.

The Nigerian and Singaporean Olympic teams have started preparing for the Games at the Surrey Sports Park. On Sunday swimmers from Estonia join their Filipino and Mauritian competitors at the Guildford venue. Olympic and Paralympic athletes from Argentina, China, Dominica, Malta, Philippines, Spain, Sweden and the USA will also train at the centre.

लंदन 2012 की तैयारी के लिए दुनिया भर से ओलंपिक खिलाड़ी सरे विश्वविद्यालय में आ रहे हैं।


New Brunswick outbreak: How a smalltown doctor became a Covid pariah

Summary: After being labelled the "patient zero" of an outbreak of Covid, a Congolese-Canadian physician says he became a target for racist threats, a pariah in his community, and a "scapegoat" for local officials.

By Robin Levinson-KingBBC News, Toronto When Dr Jean-Robert Ngola heard that he had to pick up his daughter last May, he quickly did the maths. His daughter lived in Montreal with her mother, about seven hours away from his home in Campbellton, New Brunswick. As a family physician, he knew that he needed to be as safe as possible to limit the spread of Covid to others. But as a parent, he had to come get his child so that her mother could attend a family funeral in Africa. In order to get her and have contact with as few people as possible, he hopped in his car and drove all day, spending the night at his brother's before driving her back. Before leaving, Dr Ngola called the local police, asking for clarity around the laws about self-isolation. New Brunswick has one of the strictest quarantine policies in Canada. Along with several other eastern provinces, it has formed an "Atlantic bubble" - in the early months of the pandemic, most forms of travel into the bubble were restricted, and anyone entering had to quarantine for 14 days. But as a frontline worker, he says police told him he was exempt. Not wanting to leave his patients without a doctor, he decided to go back to work. On 25 May, Dr Ngola heard that one of his patients had been diagnosed with the virus. He got tested, and began to self-isolate with his four-year-old daughter. At 11am on 27 May, he learned he, too, had the virus, although he had no symptoms. Then, his life began to fall apart. Within the hour, his identity began to spread online. Later in the afternoon, Premier Blaine Higgs, who leads the provincial government, was chastising him on live television. At least two other people had contracted coronavirus "due to the actions of one irresponsible individual," Mr Higgs said, after nearly two weeks without a single case. Although the premier did not name Dr Ngola directly, by that time, people had connected the dots, and photographs of his office were circulating online. Provincial health officials told the media Dr Ngola had contracted the disease in the neighbouring province of Quebec, and spread it to others because he did not follow the 14-day mandatory quarantine for people who had been out of New Brunswick. But Dr Ngola, and his lawyer Joel Etienne, say the rules were not clear, and Dr Ngola was following the same practices as people around him. They also dispute the province's claim that he was "patient zero". Although no criminal charges were filed, Dr Ngola faces a civil charge for violating the Emergency Measures Act and could face a fine up to C$10,200 ($7,600, £6,000). The case is currently making its way before the courts. His employer, Vitalité Health Network, immediately suspended him without pay for breaking protocols. "I was the scapegoat. As soon as my diagnosis is made… one hour later, my life changed," he said. In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Vitalite confirmed that Dr Ngola's suspension continues, and declined to comment further. The premier's office did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. The reaction from the community was swift and brutal. Dr Ngola, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said people were telling him to "go back to Africa" and other forms of racist abuse. Quarantining in his home with his small daughter, he feared for his safety when his address was leaked online and had to go under police protection. But he was also constantly under police scrutiny, he says, because people kept phoning in with bogus "tips" claiming to have seen him break quarantine. Dr Ngola says the harassment was so bad, he had to leave the province. He was offered a job in a small community in Quebec, where he has been living for the past several months. He says he feels welcome there, but his experience in Campbellton has left psychological scars. "I cannot have the same life because now I'm public," he says. This is not the first time he's had to start over. Born in the Congo, Dr Ngola had wanted to be a doctor since he was a small child, after coming down with polio and being unable to get the appropriate medical treatment because it was too costly. "My childhood ambition was to become a doctor in order that children like myself would be spared," he says. He paid his way through school by tutoring other students, and practised medicine during his country's brutal civil war. In 2000, he immigrated to Belgium, where he had to retrain in order to continue to be a doctor. Then five years later, he relocated to Canada, because he felt he would face less prejudice as an African immigrant. Once again, he went back to school in order to practise medicine. Now, he feels disillusioned. Dr Ngola says he believes his race and immigration status played a factor in how he was treated not only by the public at large, but by the province's top officials. "What is the difference with me? The difference is I'm black and I'm a foreigner," Dr Ngola said. Although he felt like a pariah at home, around the country his fellow physicians were rallying to his defence. In September, 1,500 physicians signed a letter condemning his treatment, and demanding an investigation into how his name was leaked to the press. "All of us signed below have felt tremendous anger, discomfort and frustration with the backlash that followed once you were publicly identified. What unravelled thereafter was unjust, unkind and dehumanizing," the letter, which was spearheaded by Dr Danusha Foster, read. "We strongly believe that systemic racism coupled with the stigma surrounding individuals infected with the Covid-19 virus have significantly contributed to the crucifixion of your character within the public eye." Dr Foster, a family physician who lives in Ontario, says that when she first heard about Dr Ngola, she, like many others, judged him. "We're in a deadly pandemic, and health professionals should be held to a higher standard at this time, because we're supposed to be modelling for the general population what we should be doing," she told the BBC. But after hearing about the abuse he was suffering, and reading media articles critical of the province's investigation, she began to feel sympathy. "He was being judged in the public eye before the facts were known," she says. She says patient confidentiality is the "core" of the doctor-patient relationship, and whoever leaked his name should be held to account. After talking about his case on online physicians groups, she decided to organise the letter of support, to show Dr Ngola that he wasn't alone. "I hadn't even written my letter, and I already had 800 names that wanted to sign," she says. "We realised as we watched this case that what happened to Dr Ngola, could have happened to anyone of us... if we made one little mistake." Did he break the rules? Over 40 cases and two deaths have been connected to the outbreak in the Campbellton region since 27 May. But it remains unclear if Mr Ngola was the source. Anyone entering New Brunswick from another province outside the Atlantic Bubble is supposed to quarantine for 14 days. But residents of Campbellton, which is on the border of Quebec, were allowed to cross the border without self-isolating for certain reasons, such as if they worked in Quebec, had to attend a medical appointment in Quebec or if they shared custody of a child in Quebec. According to the provincial guidelines, "all such workers and individuals who are exempt from self-isolation must travel directly to and from work and/or their accommodations, self-monitor and avoid contact with vulnerable individuals" Dr Ngola spent about 30 hours in Quebec, including an overnight stay with his brother to rest up after the seven-hour drive. He also saw two colleagues in Trois-Rivieres, although they were masked and socially distanced. He also had contact with a petrol-station employee. Dr Ngola said many of his co-workers went back and forth to Quebec and did not fully self-isolate, so he did not think he was breaking the rules. His employer, Vitalite Health, told the CBC's Fifth Estate that all workers were ordered to self-isolate after returning to the province unless they lived in Quebec. Mr Etienne says regardless of whether his client broke the rules, the province failed to do its due diligence before blaming him for the outbreak. He says they had not finished contact-tracing the four individuals in Quebec whom Dr Ngola had contact with, before claiming the doctor was the source of the Covid cluster in New Brunswick. He says their own private investigator found that neither his brother, the two colleagues, nor the gas station employee tested positive for Covid. His daughter, however, did. Both she and her father have made a full recovery. There had been at least one confirmed case of Covid in Campbellton in the days prior to Dr Ngola's diagnosis, and his lawyer says he could have got it from community spread.

कोविड के प्रकोप के "रोगी शून्य" का लेबल लगाए जाने के बाद, एक कांगोली-कनाडाई चिकित्सक का कहना है कि वह नस्लवादी धमकियों, अपने समुदाय में एक अछूत और स्थानीय अधिकारियों के लिए "बलि का बकरा" बन गया।


Prince Andrew BBC interview: Six things we learned

Summary: In an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew has given details about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and addressed allegations about sex with a teenage girl.

By Alice EvansBBC News Here are six things we learned from the interview. 1. He still does not regret being friends with Epstein Prince Andrew has defended his relationship with Epstein before - including as recently as August - two weeks after the disgraced financier took his own life while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. But in the BBC interview broadcast on Saturday night, the prince gave more detail about why he "still" did not regret the friendship. He said knowing Epstein had "some seriously beneficial outcomes", at a time when he had left a career in the Navy and begun one as a trade and industry special representative. Prince Andrew said: "The people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn, either by him or because of him, were actually very useful." 2. He met up with Epstein's ex-girlfriend this year Prince Andrew has always said he met Jeffrey Epstein in 1999 through the financier's then-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell - a well-connected socialite. Ms Maxwell, daughter of the late newspaper tycoon, Robert Maxwell, has generally kept a low profile since claims about Epstein began to emerge. But the prince said he met up with her earlier this year, before Epstein was arrested and charged over sex trafficking allegations. "She was here (in the UK) doing some rally," the prince said. He said they did not discuss Epstein during the meet-up. "There wasn't anything to discuss about him because he wasn't in the news, you know, it was just… we had moved on." The prince stressed throughout the interview that he and Epstein "weren't that close". Invitations Epstein had received to events at Windsor Castle and at Sandringham were in the financier's capacity as Ms Maxwell's "plus one" rather than as a friend in his own right, he said. 3. His reason for meeting Epstein in 2010 was 'to put an end to the friendship' Much of the interview focused on why the prince went to stay with Epstein in 2010, following Epstein's conviction and imprisonment for soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. The prince said the visit was to explain to Epstein that their friendship was over. He said he had considered speaking to Epstein on the phone, but decided to meet him face-to-face "to show leadership". "I took the judgement call that because this was serious, and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken's way of doing it, I had to go and see him and talk to him." 4. Being shot at in the Falklands meant he 'stopped being able to sweat' Maitlis asked the prince for his response to allegations against him made by one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre (then known as Virginia Roberts). Ms Giuffre said she met the prince in 2001 when she dined with him, danced with him at a nightclub in London, and had sex with him at Ghislaine Maxwell's house in Belgravia. Maitlis pointed out that Ms Giuffre's accusations were "very specific" and included that the prince had been "profusely sweating". The prince said a "problem" with Ms Giuffre's story was that a medical condition meant he could not have been sweating. "I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenalin in the Falklands War when I was shot at and I simply… it was almost impossible for me to sweat," he said. 5. How the prince likes to dress Prince Andrew revealed he had investigated the possibility that a photograph - or elements of it -provided by Ms Giuffre was fake. One reason the prince gave was his attire. "I don't believe it's a picture of me in London because... when I go out in London, I wear a suit and a tie," he said. "That's what I would describe as… those are my travelling clothes... if I'm going overseas." However, newspapers have previously pictured the prince wearing jeans without a tie or blazer on a night out in London. Speaking about the photo with Ms Giuffre, Prince Andrew told Newsnight: "Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don't recollect that photograph ever being taken." He also said he did not believe the photograph "was taken in the way that has been suggested" because it shows the prince's hand on the woman's waist. "I am not one to, as it were, hug - and public displays of affection are not something that I do." 6. He has been to Pizza Express in Woking The duke said the day on which Ms Giuffre's allegations are said to have happened, 10 March 2001, he was not out in London but "at home with the children". He said he had taken his eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a party at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking at about four or 5pm. "And then because the Duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there." He added he remembered the occasion "weirdly distinctly" because it was one of only a couple of times that he had been to Woking, and going to the Pizza Express there was "a very unusual thing for me to do". Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal: The Newsnight Interview was shown on BBC Two on 16 November 2019 and can be seen on BBC iPlayer in the UK and the full interview can also be seen on YouTube.

बीबीसी न्यूज़नाइट की एमिली मैटलिस, ड्यूक ऑफ़ यॉर्क के साथ एक साक्षात्कार में, प्रिंस एंड्रयू ने दिवंगत दोषी यौन अपराधी जेफरी एपस्टीन के साथ अपने संबंधों के बारे में विवरण दिया है और एक किशोर लड़की के साथ यौन संबंध के आरोपों को संबोधित किया है।