Coronavirus doctor's diary: So, did the Bradford choir have Covid-19 in January?

Summary: Many people would feel happier if they knew they had already had Covid-19, but the antibody tests designed to answer this question are not 100% reliable. Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary was therefore pleased when a local choir, which had Covid-like symptoms as early as January, got the opportunity to take a T-cell test, the gold standard for prior Covid infection.

Four months into the pandemic and there is one burning question on the lips of every one of our front-line staff. Have they had Covid-19? Many doctors and nurses had symptoms in the early weeks when testing was shambolic, so have never had the diagnosis confirmed. The majority of staff have remained asymptomatic but we know that over half of cases display no symptoms. The roll out of large-scale antibody testing is the opportunity we have all been waiting for. We don't know how long immunity lasts, so we know that there will be no "immunity passport", but intuitively it is better to have had the infection and have some protection than not to have had it and be back at the starting line, waiting nervously for the virus to strike. So unlike Ebola, HIV or recreational drug tests this is one where, deep down, we all want to test positive. An unexpected delivery of home testing kits arrives in our Clinical Research Facility and my colleague Dinesh Saralaya and I decide to take the plunge and find out if we have had the lurgy. An anxious 10-minute wait and long, silent drum roll while we wait for the lines to appear on our pregnancy test-like strip: mine turns out positive, Dinesh's negative. I am like a child at Christmas and have to hide my joy. Dinesh, in contrast, is glum but resigned. I try to cheer him up by telling him it shows how good he has been at wearing PPE. A few days later and we both have the hospital laboratory antibody test. This time mine comes back negative and I take the mantle of glumness from Dinesh's shoulders. Well, at least I have been wearing my PPE properly. It turns out that quite a few staff who had Covid symptoms or positive swabs have had negative antibody tests. I can hardly believe that anyone working in the hospital in the first few weeks of the epidemic managed to avoid such an infectious virus, particularly when the PPE was so inadequate. Studies from across the world are finding that less than 10% of people have Sars-CoV2 antibodies, even in countries that have been badly hit by the virus. This is rather depressing, as it suggests that we are a long way from the infamous herd immunity that could protect us in the long term. But a quick investigation into the accuracy of antibody tests uncovers doubts about their reliability. They have been evaluated on small numbers of hospitalised patients, from the more severe end of the spectrum and so may not detect antibodies in milder cases. Antibodies are also just one part of our immunity. They are produced from our B-cells (a type of white blood cell) in response to attacking antigens from viruses or bacteria. We also have T-cells (another type of white blood cell) that have a longer memory for past infections and help protect the body from subsequent infections. Antibody immunity tests are quite easy to develop and part of everyday hospital investigations. T-cell immunity tests are trickier, but we do use them for diagnosing infections such as latent tuberculosis. Front line diary Prof John Wright, a doctor and epidemiologist, is head of the Bradford Institute for Health Research, and a veteran of cholera, HIV and Ebola epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. He is writing this diary for BBC News and recording from the hospital wards for BBC Radio. A study from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden examined the blood of 200 blood donors and their family members and found that about 30% had evidence of T-cell immunity, despite the fact that many had had no symptoms, and had no measurable antibodies. Studies from other countries are also finding evidence of T-cell memory in people who have never been exposed to Covid-19, perhaps related to other "common cold" coronaviruses. This is potentially good news and suggests that many more of us have been infected than antibody testing is finding, or have some cross-immunity to other similar viruses. The next big question is whether or not this T-cell immunity will provide protection against Covid-19 in the short or long term. This brings me to the choir. Ever since I wrote about the local singers who had symptoms reminiscent of Covid-19 as long ago as January - before the first officially recognised case in the UK - people have not stopped questioning me about it. With the help of colleagues from the University of Oxford, who are running a national study on Covid-19 immunity, we were able recruit some of the choir members to test both antibody and T-cell immunity. At the end of the clinic session there was one testing kit left, so I eagerly volunteered: having had one positive and one negative antibody test, I was itching to find out more about my T-cell immunity. (It's a shame there weren't two kits - Dinesh would have leapt at the possibility of getting a positive result after his two negative antibody tests.) Prof Paul Klenerman of the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, who offered to do the tests, points out that the immune system's memory of coronavirus fades over time, so may not get picked up without a sensitive test. It is, after all, six months since the first choir members became ill. "We will look for cells that have gone to sleep - these can provide very good protection but they're harder to find," he says. "You have lots of T-cells at the beginning and can measure them in the blood, then they go back into the lymphoid tissue and the lymph nodes in the spleen and there are some in the blood, but you have to wake them up again. So we will do a proliferation assay, where we give them a few days to get going and give them something that mimics the virus, and see if they can respond to that." After two weeks of intensive laboratory work, the results come back. The choir members and the landlady of the Bulls Head in Baildon - whom the singers appear to have infected with their virus - are all negative, for both antibodies and T-cell memory. This is fairly persuasive evidence that they did not in fact have Covid-19 and shows that there are other nasty viral illnesses out there, not to mention flu, that can sometimes make people ill enough to need hospital treatment. I received a downcast email from Jane Hall, the singer pictured at the top of this story, who first brought the choir's illness to my attention. "I don't know what we all had but it was very similar to Covid in so many ways and there were just so many people asking the question that once I found the possible link, I felt it should be brought to the attention of a medical expert," she wrote. "I am disappointed with the results as it would have been good to know I had had it." When I first wrote about the choir, I mentioned that other people had also told me they'd experienced coronavirus-like symptoms before the virus's recorded arrival in this country - and I said I had generally reassured them that it was most likely a different viral infection. What made the choir's case stand out was their loss of taste and smell, and an intriguing link to Wuhan - the infections began after the return of one of the singer's partners from a business trip to the city in December. As I have said before, an epidemiologist always looks at person, place and time. But in this case we now have a convincing negative result. For those who had the symptoms without an obvious link to Wuhan, I would still say that it is highly likely that, like the choir, you had a different virus. As I also wrote in my first diary about the choir though, in all epidemics, when you start tracking back, you find that there were cases long before you became aware of them. The first confirmed case of transmission in this country came at the end of February. I still expect we'll discover that some people caught it in the UK before that. As for me, while my results came back negative for antibodies, my CD8 T-cell memory was said to be consistent with prior exposure to Sars-CoV2. This positive test is a ray of hope. It suggests that I have been infected, and it might provide longer-term protection, or reduce symptoms if I get infected again. However, as we write at the end of every scientific paper, more research is needed. Follow @docjohnwright and radio producer @SueM1tchell on Twitter

बहुत से लोगों को खुशी होगी अगर उन्हें पता होता कि उनके पास पहले से ही कोविड-19 था, लेकिन इस सवाल का जवाब देने के लिए डिज़ाइन किए गए एंटीबॉडी परीक्षण विश्वसनीय नहीं हैं। इसलिए ब्रैडफोर्ड रॉयल इन्फर्मरी के डॉ. जॉन राइट तब खुश हुए जब एक स्थानीय गायक दल, जिसमें जनवरी की शुरुआत में कोविड जैसे लक्षण थे, को टी-सेल परीक्षण करने का अवसर मिला, जो पूर्व कोविड संक्रमण के लिए स्वर्ण मानक था।


How one man saved a generation of premature babies

Summary: For years doctors in the US made little attempt to save the lives of premature babies, but there was one place distressed parents could turn for help - a sideshow on Coney Island. Here one man saved thousands of lives, writes Claire Prentice, and eventually changed the course of American medical science.

In the early years of the 20th Century, visitors to Coney Island could see some extraordinary attractions. A tribe transported from the Philippines, "midget villages", a re-enactment of the Boer War by 1,000 soldiers including veterans from both sides, and death-defying roller coaster rides. But for 40 years, from 1903 to 1943, America's premier amusement park was also home to a genuine life-and-death struggle, played out beside the surf. Martin Couney's Infant Incubator facility was one of Coney Island's most popular exhibits. "All the World Loves a Baby" read a sign above the entrance. Inside, premature babies fought for their lives, tended by a team of dedicated medical staff. To see the babies, you paid 25 cents. A guard-rail prevented visitors getting too close to the tiny figures encased in incubators. Why were premature babies, who would now be cared for in a neonatal ward, displayed as entertainment? The man who ran the exhibit was Martin Couney, dubbed "the incubator doctor" - and although he practised in the sideshows, his operation was cutting-edge. Couney employed a team of nurses and wet nurses who lived onsite, along with two local physicians. In America, many doctors at the time held the view that premature babies were genetically inferior "weaklings" whose fate was a matter for God. Without intervention, the vast majority of infants born prematurely were destined to die. Couney was an unlikely medical pioneer. He wasn't a professor at a great university or a surgeon at a teaching hospital. He was a German-Jewish immigrant, shunned by the medical establishment, and condemned by many as a self-publicist and charlatan. But to the parents of the children he saved, and to the millions of people who flocked to see his show, he was a miracle-worker. Find out more The incubators Couney used were the latest models, imported directly from Europe - France was then the world leader in premature infant care with the US lagging several decades behind. Each incubator was more than 5ft (1.5m) tall, made of steel and glass, and stood on legs. A water boiler on the outside supplied hot water to a pipe running underneath a bed of fine mesh on which the baby slept, while a thermostat regulated the temperature. Another pipe carried fresh air from outside the building into the incubator, first passing through absorbent wool suspended in antiseptic or medicated water, then through dry wool, to filter out impurities. On top, a chimney-like device with a revolving fan blew the exhausted air upwards and out of the incubators. Caring for premature babies was expensive. In 1903, it cost about $15 a day ($405 or £277 today) to care for each baby in Couney's facility. But Couney did not charge the parents a penny for their medical care - the public paid. They came in such numbers that Couney easily covered his operating costs, paid his staff a good wage and had enough left over to begin planning more exhibits. In time, these made Couney a wealthy man. Couney saw his job as not only to save the lives of the premature babies, but also to advocate on their behalf. He gave lectures reciting the names of famous men who had been born prematurely and gone on to achieve great things, such as Mark Twain, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Charles Darwin, and Sir Isaac Newton. He maintained his facility for 40 years at Coney Island, and set up a similar one at Atlantic City in 1905, which he also ran until 1943. Over the years he took his show to other amusement parks, and to World's Fairs and Expositions across America. Although he made his name and his fortune in America, it was in Europe that Couney got his first taste of life as a showman. In 1897 he exhibited incubators at the Victorian Era Exhibition in Earls Court and they were a huge hit. Some 3,600 people visited the show on opening day alone, and the British medical journal, The Lancet, gave it a glowing write-up. The following year, Couney made his American debut at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. Sensing the huge opportunities for someone like him to exhibit in America, where there was always a fair or an expo taking place somewhere, Couney immigrated. From 1903, Coney Island was his main base but he travelled around the country as work demanded. Martin Couney 1869-1950 Couney's techniques were advanced for the time, including his emphasis on breast milk and his strictness about hygiene. But some of his methods were unconventional. Most hospital doctors believed that contact with premature babies should be kept to a minimum to reduce the risk of infection. But Couney encouraged his nurses to take the babies out of the incubators to hug and kiss them, believing they responded to affection. Eager to distance himself from Coney Island's more freakish elements, Couney stressed that his facility was a miniature hospital, not a sideshow attraction. The nurses wore starched white uniforms. He and the doctors wore suits topped with physician's white coats. The incubator facility was always scrubbed spotlessly clean. Couney employed a cook to prepare nutritious meals for his wet nurses. If any were discovered smoking, drinking alcohol or snacking on a hot dog, he would fire them immediately. Yet Couney was not averse to adopting a few showman's tactics himself. He instructed the nurses to dress the babies in clothes several sizes too large to emphasize how small they were. A big bow tied around the middle of their swaddling clothes further added to the effect. Despite his life-saving work, children's charities, physicians and health officials accused the incubator doctor of exploiting the babies and endangering their lives by putting them on show. There were regular attempts to shut him down. But as time passed, Couney's track record of saving lives, and his evident sincerity, began to attract supporters from the world of mainstream medicine. In 1914, while exhibiting in Chicago, Couney met a local paediatrician, Julius Hess, who would go on to become known as the father of American neonatology. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and an important professional relationship. The two men ran an infant incubator facility together at the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair. Some physicians began sending babies to Couney, a tacit acknowledgement at last of the quality of care the babies received in his facility. In a career spanning nearly half a century he claimed to have saved nearly 6,500 babies with a success rate of 85%. Hospitals in the US were slow to establish their own dedicated facilities for premature babies, though. The first on the Eastern seaboard arrived in New York in 1939, 36 years after Couney brought his show to Coney Island. In an article reflecting on Couney's long career in the New Yorker in 1939, the legendary journalist A J Liebling noted: "There are not enough doctors and nurses experienced in this field to go around. Care of prematures as private patients is hideously expensive... six dollars a day for mother's milk… rental of an incubator and hospital room, oxygen, several visits a day by a physician, and fifteen dollars a day for three shifts of nurses." The best medical minds in New York couldn't come up with a workable model to save these vulnerable babies. Yet, 40 years earlier, a young immigrant from Europe with little in the way of experience had done just that. Today Couney's legacy is being re-examined by doctors, and many of Couney's "babies" speak proudly in his defence. Carol Boyce Heinisch was born prematurely in 1942 and taken to Couney's exhibit in Atlantic City, New Jersey. "Martin Couney was an incredible man. He should be famous for what he did. He saved thousands of us," she says. She still has the identity necklace made of pink beads, with her name in white beads, which she was given in the incubator facility. "Nobody else was offering to do anything to save me," says another of the babies, Beth Allen, who was born three months premature in Brooklyn in 1941. When a physician suggested her parents take her to Coney Island, her mother refused, insisting her daughter wasn't "a freak". Couney came to the hospital and persuaded her parents to let him care for her. Every Father's Day, her parents took her to see Couney. When he died, in 1950, they attended his funeral. "Without Martin Couney I wouldn't have had a life," she says. Today it would be considered unethical to exhibit premature babies and charge fairgoers to see them, notes Dr Richard Schanler, director of Neonatal Services at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York and Northwell Health. "But you have to think back to that time," he says. "Nowadays when new technology comes out we do randomised controlled trials. They didn't do those back then so the shows were a way of demonstrating the benefit of using incubators… We owe a lot to Couney and the work he was doing." Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

वर्षों से अमेरिका में डॉक्टरों ने समय से पहले जन्म लेने वाले शिशुओं की जान बचाने के लिए बहुत कम प्रयास किए, लेकिन एक ऐसी जगह थी जहाँ परेशान माता-पिता मदद के लिए रुख कर सकते थे-कोनी द्वीप पर एक साइडशो। क्लेयर प्रेंटिस लिखती हैं कि यहाँ एक आदमी ने हजारों लोगों की जान बचाई, और अंततः अमेरिकी चिकित्सा विज्ञान की दिशा बदल दी।


Students 'see the beauty in the ordinary'

Summary: It has been a tough year for all of us but for those starting their university life it has meant adapting to a new way of studying - not only remote learning but also finding new ways to explore creative ideas with other students, having never met in real life.

For their first module, undergraduate photography students at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Rochester, in Kent, were asked to create work in response to the theme "environment". Calli Faraway My images show the journey of this 1974 Volkswagen Beetle through both natural and industrial environments. Each photograph takes you closer to the car, with the final photo being of its owner, Sam. Times have been tough and still are, which is why I wanted to create a positive piece of work that will make my audience smile. I also wanted to base my work around something that I was passionate about. Even though the pandemic's restrictions have made the start of my university journey difficult, I have enjoyed challenging my creativity and the opportunity to continue to develop my knowledge and skills. Alex O'Callaghan Starting at university during peak pandemic time was definitely a challenge - not just for me but for everyone, I would assume. But, it has also been the gateway to bringing forth new ideas and methods of working for us. The series of images that I have created were designed to be a form of escape. I wanted to create new worlds that have never been seen before, allowing you, the viewer, to imagine what life could be like on these different moons and planets. Perhaps you wish to be whisked away to the icy landscape of Europa or the red deserts of Mars? Refresh yourself and forget about what's happening across the world just for a moment and become lost in somewhere you've never seen before. Fraizer Dunleavy During the first lockdown, my mother sadly passed away. This, alongside the time I suddenly had available, served as a catalyst to reflect on my life path and the choices made. After feeling bogged down in a financial role for 12 years, my partner encouraged me to pursue photography professionally. I had years of experience as a hobbyist photographer, earning a bit of money here and there, but I decided to take the plunge and enrolled in a photography degree - during a global pandemic. Having spent time, as a young child, living in rural France, my mother's choice to return to London and live in a small flat in an overcrowded concrete town confused me. The blur of public transport, a loss of independence, and the feeling of isolation drowned me in Thamesmead[, Kent]. Our first photography project, Environment, allowed me the time and space to continue personal reflection, after a year of significant change. I revisited childhood memories in Thamesmead and learned to see the beauty in the ordinary - areas in our environment I had never taken the time to admire. Ed Thompson, course leader I'm always amazed to see the variation in our students' visual styles, especially at the beginning of their journey. Who knows where these photographs will lead them? What kind of image makers will they become? Many students around the country have struggled with their studies. But as photographers, they were placed in a position to document the pandemic in varying ways - either directly or looking at their personal response to the situation. Benjamin Taylor Remote learning is a particularly odd experience, especially for more practical learners, which creative students generally are. Being able to be creative in a pandemic can be a challenge but also a release at the same time. Motivation can come and go with the stresses of being a student, being compounded by the constant bombardment of statistics, updates and restrictions of coronavirus. Being in a new environment when moving into student halls, I found wandering around the area to also be beneficial for getting my bearings but also for my mental health. Going out and taking photos added a small element of stability and routine in such an unstable and testing time for everyone. Eleanor Luciani Coming into university, I imagined I would be creating projects of the outlandish and wacky, photographing exotic locations to capture the viewer's eye. However, as a nation, we have been put on hold. And for the most of us, we are stuck at home. Creatively, I thought basing my first project on my home was going to be rather bleak. But having this time to really study the space in which I live in has been so fulfilling. You think you know your home like the back of your hand. And there's nothing left to be seen that you haven't already. But there is beauty in these places, a beauty that is overlooked each day. Karl Fletcher Mr Rabbit is a product of lockdown. He is anxiety. He is the unknown path ahead. He is the uncertainty of the future, the nagging doubt, our inner demon. He is born from the observations of anxiety and wanting to give a feeling of the unknown fear a face. Holly Adams Leaving sixth-form abruptly in March was a big shock. However, university helped me to feel creative and engaged in work. Learning throughout the pandemic has been a challenge. But it has helped to change my outlook and has given me lots of inspiration for my work. I did not think for my first university project I would be shooting the effects of the pandemic. Faye Littlewood-Tribe When starting my first university assignment. I was full of ideas and excitement. However, with the current climate of the pandemic and restrictions getting tougher, I began to struggle with motivation to explore for new locations and to shoot. During this time, my inspiration and ideas for my project began to change. And I was seeking new ways to carry on whilst keeping to the government guidelines. I feel that throughout this project, I have portrayed how dark the world currently is. But photography is an amazing way to express the world's true beauty and tranquillity. Olesia Kolisnyk My first university project happened during isolation. I wanted to show my feelings, surroundings, and everything I was going through during that time. It was quite hard but also allowed me to grow creatively and to look for new meanings in my day-to-day life. Jake Knights Starting my first year of university during the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be challenging in a lot of ways. However, rather than seeing it within a completely negative light, I have tried to find positives within it. I feel that it has pushed me as a creative, presenting itself as a blessing in some ways, making me challenge myself and explore avenues for my work that without this pandemic, I may have never considered. This project is about the experience of life during the pandemic that makes you appreciate all the little things we had. See more student photography at the UCA Instagram page or the website. All of these images were made before the current national lockdown rules.

यह हम सभी के लिए एक कठिन वर्ष रहा है, लेकिन जो लोग अपना विश्वविद्यालय जीवन शुरू कर रहे हैं, उनके लिए इसका मतलब अध्ययन के एक नए तरीके के अनुकूल होना है-न केवल दूरस्थ शिक्षा बल्कि अन्य छात्रों के साथ रचनात्मक विचारों का पता लगाने के नए तरीके भी खोजना, जो वास्तविक जीवन में कभी नहीं मिले हैं।


Fran Unsworth’s hellish new job

Summary: The job of director for news and current affairs, which has been accepted by Fran Unsworth, is undoubtedly one of the biggest in British, some would say international, journalism. It is also, by all accounts, an invitation to hell.

Amol RajanMedia editor@amolrajanBBCon Twitter A very privileged kind of hell, no doubt, and also a very well paid one: according to the most recent public information, James Harding, her predecessor, was paid £340,000. She will be paid the same as Harding. That is a huge salary, though it is worth noting that American counterparts in charge of organisations of comparable size would be paid several multiples of that. Accountable to the public Despite being one of the most powerful jobs in journalism, the job is not wholly, or even mainly, editorial. If you are in charge of a particular programme, or publication, the idea is that as editor you get to focus on the exciting business of editorial judgement: what stories, pictures, campaigns, headlines to use and so on. Unfortunately, the sorry financial state of much modern media means that editors' time is increasingly spent doing less fun things, like begging advertisers for money, or sacking people. At the BBC, however, there is a whole other world of pain, and rightly too: as an organisation owned by the public, every penny has to be accounted for, and most of the decision making too. I don't know and haven't asked, but I would suspect that at times, at least a third of the job involves justifying decisions, often taken by people several rungs beneath you. It's not like being editor of, say, the Daily Express, where you know most of the staff, and can impose your personality on the title, across all sections from home news to sport. Pick your battles Different BBC programmes have different editorial characters: you can't impose your personality on Newsnight, The Victoria Derbyshire Show (both BBC Two) and also The World at One and Today (both Radio 4) and also BBC World News and BBC Business - and everything else. You have to let them breathe, and their editors edit - but if there's a massive cock-up you'll be held accountable. And that massive cock-up is never far away. More dangerously, the claim that some decision is a massive error, because a particular disenfranchised group doesn't like it, even though it was wholly justified, is only ever a tweet away. Compared with doing the job 20 years ago, today's director of news and current affairs has to operate in an environment where social media, and the infinite number of idiots, trolls, and sanctimonious chumps who patrol it - amid many more admirable types, of course - is an ever-present headache. Deciding which battles to fight, by deciphering actual error from viral noise, and knowing which battles to delegate, will be crucial. Hated by both sides Talking of battles, Unsworth takes up her job in a poisonous political atmosphere. Brexit is one of the biggest editorial challenges the BBC has ever faced: it is incomparably important, but also to many licence fee payers who just want it sorted, incomparably boring. Moreover, as part of a long negotiation, a huge number of the supposed stories are just leaks from one side who are using naïve journalists to negotiate in public. But Brexit is also a horrific political challenge for the BBC. If, say, a Today presenter rightly gives the foreign secretary a hard time for bloviating and blustering his way through an interview and making no attempt to answer the question - and Boris is quite open about this tactic when the mics are off - then No 10 will be on the phone immediately to complain. Very senior Remainers have told me they think the BBC's Brexit coverage is a disgrace. The likes of Andrew Adonis have written to Tony Hall about it. Very senior Brexiteers have told me they think the BBC's Brexit coverage is not only a disgrace, but a betrayal of the spirit of Dunkirk. Unsworth will get familiar with them all. Aside from all these daily traumas, the financial challenge is immense: about £80m has to be saved from BBC News, and quickly too. I spoke to one final round candidate this week about how these savings would be found. I asked if the best route to £80m was salami slicing (ie taking out a proportion from several different bits) or big, symbolic, chunky cuts, like losing particular programmes, or even channels. Their response was: the trouble is, even after you do both - ie cut lots of big stuff and salami slice - you still get nowhere near the £80m. In other words, under Unsworth it is inevitable that some high-profile and hugely painful decisions, including about job losses, will become a regular occurrence. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be digital. Of all the metrics by which Unsworth will be judged when she stands down, few will give as good an indication of her tenure as how well she has managed the shift to mobile. BBC News has a very powerful digital operation, but it is still largely geared - by cultural inclination and resource - toward linear TV and radio. Flipping that, so that digital, and particularly mobile, becomes the priority could be tough - even if those £80m cuts weren't approaching. Another current issue, which Unsworth is well placed to address, is the furore over the gender pay gap at the BBC for top on-air presenters. A bigger issue is the off-air pay gap and a bigger issue still is the BBC's disconnect with the lives of poor people across the country. The attempt to address these issues, as well as diversity, is being led by Tony Hall. Unsworth, who turns 60 in a fortnight, hails from Stoke, and came up through local radio, will speak with authority when trying to redress the failings of BBC News on gender, class background, and being too focused on London. It would have been hard for her to stick around had another candidate got the job. In a well-received speech at James Harding's leaving party this week, she joked that having worked with several directors of news, they were a breed she knew well. As deputy to Harding, Unsworth did much to guide him, an outsider who had been editor of the Times, around the ways of the BBC. She, however, is an insider. A new era beckons The final interview panel was composed of Ken MacQuarrie, who is director for nations and regions; Valerie Hughes-D'Aeth, director for human resources; and Tony Hall, the BBC's director general. He attended the daily meeting at 9am with news executives this morning, to reveal the appointment. That was met with applause. I'm told he backed her because of her experience, judgement (her credentials on impartiality are impeccable) and deep relationship with staff, which will be vital given the pain ahead. It's not clear how long Hall wants to continue in this job. But if he decides to leave in, say, three years, Unsworth faces the prospect of making plenty of hard decisions, announcing job losses and seeing blood on the floor, only to find that she has a new boss with whom she has to forge a trusting relationship. Unless, that is, she succeeds him as director general, an eventuality which becomes much more possible in light of this appointment. So a huge privilege, yes; the chance to work with exceptionally talented, decent and industrious people; and a huge job at one of the world's foremost creative and journalistic institutions. But hell morning, noon and night too - and the worst time to do the job for as long as it has existed. Welcome, boss!

समाचार और समसामयिक मामलों के लिए निदेशक का काम, जिसे फ्रैन अनस्वर्थ ने स्वीकार किया है, निस्संदेह ब्रिटिश में सबसे बड़े में से एक है, कुछ लोग इसे अंतर्राष्ट्रीय पत्रकारिता कहेंगे। यह सभी मामलों में, नरक का निमंत्रण भी है।


Why Swedish workplaces aren't as equal as you think

Summary: Sweden may have a global reputation as one of world's most gender equal societies but when it comes to female representation in business, campaigners question whether the Nordic nation is right to keep basking in the spotlight, as progress slows down back home.

By Maddy SavageBusiness reporter, Stockholm Amanda Lundeteg, already a chief executive aged just 32, is in one way a poster girl for gender equality in the Swedish workplace. She holds a degree in Business Economics, started her career in banking and has already served on three different boards. Yet the sole reason Allbright, the non-profit company she manages, exists is to expose the limitations in career opportunities for women in Sweden. Despite giving fathers the right to take paid time off since the 1970s and one of the world's most generous parental leave packages (currently 480 tax-funded days to share between a couple) and heavily subsidized day care - capped at some 1,230 Swedish krona ($141; £108) a month - Ms Lundeteg argues Sweden is less progressive than many might think. "We're really good at bragging about how good we are... but if you ask most women in Sweden I definitely don't think that they are satisfied." Gender stereotypes On the plus side, more than 80% of mothers work and Sweden leads the industrialised world in terms of public sector gender equality, according to the OECD; but Allbright's research shows the private sector - and the rapidly growing startup scene - is struggling to keep up. In 2016, more than 80% of managers at listed Swedish companies were men and not a single new business on the stock market had a woman boss. The main reason for this imbalance is that traditional gender stereotypes prevail, despite decades of legislation designed to even things out, says Ms Lundeteg. "It's possible to live a gender-equal life in Sweden, but we don't do it because of traditions. "As a man you're supposed to be the one who works and brings home the meat to the cave. It's about stereotypes and privileges that will take time to break down." Part-time roles Figures from Statistics Sweden confirm that women still take more than 80% of a couple's parental leave while their first child is under the age of two. Women also remain much more likely to work part-time than men. When it comes to the wage gap, Sweden is close to the OECD average and drops to 35th place on the World Economic Forum's gender equality ranking. It isn't difficult to find Swedes who are willing to talk about the discrepancies. "There's still a lot of fathers who don't take their parental leave so it's not perfect yet," says Martin Hector, 32, as he takes his baby son for a stroll in Ralambshovs park in central Stockholm. "Over the summer, for three months or something like that, feels the most common." He's planning to take a total of nine months off work. Hiring gap Camilla Dath, a lawyer who is also braving unusually chilly May temperatures of 2C with her seven-month-old, is taking 11 months' leave and says her husband will take a similar period off work. But other parents might not have the same opportunities, she argues, if one partner earns substantially more than the other or because they work in organisations with more old-fashioned cultures. "I have friends working in big law firms and they have a harder time to take parental leave," she says. When it comes to the number of women in management, the biggest discrepancies are still in the traditionally "male" industries of manufacturing and technology. However, Allbright's research suggests that financial services and property companies have made "significant" improvements in recent years. Rental accommodation firm Heba, for example, recently climbed 100 places in Allbright's rankings after replacing several of its top male executives, resulting in a female majority in management. However its chief executive, Lennart Karlsson, is candid enough to admit that reaching gender equality was not his original goal. "I thought competence was the main thing - competence and attitude - not sex, but I've changed my mind. The workplace works better because of the [gender] mix," he says. "The discussion climate is better, you have a better conversation and a better understanding for each other." Positive correlation Amanda Lundetag argues this should boost his business too, citing several recent studies including a high-profile report for the Peterson Institute for International Economics, which concluded that there is a positive correlation between the presence of women in leadership roles and an organisation's performance. It's a link that is definitely not lost on the Swedish politicians spearheading what they've described as "the first feminist government in the world". The Nordic nation's Left-Green coalition pushed through a new law in 2015, aimed to encourage men to take a greater share of the parental leave. Ninety days are now reserved for fathers on a "use it or lose" it basis. "What we want to see is an equal participation from the parents in the long run... but we also have to take it slowly so that families will be able to adapt to the changes," says Annika Strandhall, Sweden's Minister for Social Security. Next year will even see the launch of a new Gender Equality Authority, an admission, according to Ms Strandhall, that Sweden's world-famous feminist initiatives have not been as joined-up as they might have been. Split views Yet while creating equal opportunities for men and women appears largely hard-wired into the national psyche, Sweden is split on the extent to which the state should intervene to pick up the pace. The government's attempt to introduce legislation that would fine listed companies which fail to appoint women to at least 40% of board seats was rejected by parliament in January. The fear of potential penalties seems to have acted as a catalyst, though; 33% of those put forward for board seats so far in 2017 are women, up 2% on last year, says Allbright, putting Sweden behind only Norway and France, both of which have legally-binding quotas. However, the nationalist Sweden Democrats (currently the second-most popular party in the polls) and the smaller centre-right Christian Democrats -voted against the 90-day parental leave quota for fathers. They want families to have a greater choice when it comes to organising parenting. "There is a societal pressure... because everyone goes back to work. I felt I would be going against the norm if I had stayed at home," explains Simone French, a 46-year-old who is originally from Australia. She says she would have welcomed the opportunity to stay at home until her son started school. Instead she ended up taking just a year off from her digital marketing career amid pressure from her employer and relatives. "It was my maternal instinct to be with my son - every fibre in my being fought against going back. It's not really talked about here but I have actually met a couple of Swedish women who felt the same." 'A culture thing' However those cheerleading Sweden's march towards a completely gender equal society argue that evening out parental responsibilities is as much about giving fathers the same chance to bond with their children while they are young, as it is giving women greater opportunities to climb the ladder back in the workplace. "You become closer with the children - a better connection," says Andreas Lundvick, 38, one of the other fathers back in Ralambshovs park. He's taking time out from his job at a major Swedish bank to look after his six-month-old son while his wife is studying full-time, a move he believes will have "no impact" on his future career. "I feel lucky, when you speak to people from other countries, and you hear about their situation, it's mostly the mum being home with the children. It's a culture thing."

स्वीडन की दुनिया के सबसे लैंगिक समान समाजों में से एक के रूप में वैश्विक प्रतिष्ठा हो सकती है, लेकिन जब व्यवसाय में महिला प्रतिनिधित्व की बात आती है, तो प्रचारक सवाल करते हैं कि क्या नॉर्डिक राष्ट्र सुर्खियों में बने रहने के लिए सही है, क्योंकि प्रगति धीमी हो जाती है।


Young girl 'amazingly' escapes tree fall on Bristol flats

Summary: A child "amazingly" suffered only minor injuries when a tree crashed through her bedroom window during Storm Dennis, Avon Fire and Rescue Service said.

She was one of several residents treated by paramedics when the tree hit a block of flats in Hanham, Bristol just after 19:00 GMT on Sunday. A spokesperson for the rescue service said the girl was on her bed playing on her phone when the tree fell. South West Ambulance Service said all casualties were treated at the scene. "Thankfully" the girl only sustained small cuts, the spokesperson added. Six families have had to leave their homes at the flats on Grange Court, close to Hanham High Street. The flats have been cordoned off while the tree is removed.

एवन फायर एंड रेस्क्यू सर्विस ने कहा कि स्टॉर्म डेनिस के दौरान एक पेड़ के उसके शयनकक्ष की खिड़की से टकराने से एक बच्चे को "आश्चर्यजनक रूप से" केवल मामूली चोटें आईं।


The gambler and the top-50 tennis players

Summary: An Italian investigation is laying bare the efforts of a gambling syndicate that tried to fix tennis matches around the world, including at Wimbledon and the French Open. Documents seen by the BBC and Buzzfeed News suggest the gamblers approached two leading Italian players - but prosecutors say there is evidence they courted many others, including two who have been in the world's top 20.

By Simon CoxBBC News, Cremona Roberto di Martino sits back in his chair, his face creasing into a tight smile, pushing up his thin wire-rimmed glasses. I have just asked if I can look inside some of the dozens of manila folders of evidence about tennis match fixing piled around his vast office, beneath a fresco-covered ceiling. He shakes his head firmly, putting away the papers closest to me on his desk. In May, he will present his evidence in court against two former Italian tennis players, Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali, who are accused of conspiring to fix matches with Italian gamblers. It has taken a long time to get the case this far. The prosecutor from the northern Italian city of Cremona never set out to investigate tennis. In 2011, when police raided the home of Manlio Bruni, an accountant and gambler from Bologna, it was for involvement in a football corruption scam. He was placed under house arrest and his computers were seized. But as investigators waded through the thousands of Skype instant messages on Bruni's computer they realised he was trying to corrupt tennis players. Working with Buzzfeed News and the Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, the BBC has obtained hundreds of pages of the evidence Di Martino chose not to reveal. In July 2007 Bruni began chatting on Skype to Daniele Bracciali, who had at one time been one of the world's top-50 players. They had been introduced by a mutual contact, who said Bracciali might be interested in fixing a match. When Bruni decided to test him out, Bracciali was in the US, playing in the Newport tournament. He said it was "extremely important to win the first set, and if possible, to go a break ahead in the second… would that be possible?... in this case I can give you much more". Bracciali refused, so Bruni tried again. "OK, I could do 50 to begin with for tomorrow but it is absolutely necessary that you win the first set." By 50 he meant 50,000 euros (£39,000). Bracciali said he didn't know his opponent so it would be difficult to arrange to win the first set, and he told Bruni: "90% of me says no... but if I change my mind I will let you know." Bruni finished by promising 60,000 euros (£46,000) if Bracciali changed his mind. He said he couldn't do it, repeating that "it would be easier" if he knew his opponent. This was the start of a relationship that would last for four years until Bruni's arrest in 2011. During this period, prosecutors say, the gambling syndicate Bruni was a member of would try to corrupt countless other players in Italy and abroad. This wasn't the first time Bracciali had been tapped up by match-fixers. Years earlier, his family and friends had gathered in the bar of his tennis club, just outside the ancient walls of the Tuscan town of Arezzo. They were there to watch Bracciali play in the French Open, the local boy made good. Just hours before the match he called his father to say he had been offered $50,000 (£35,000) to throw the match. Also at the club was Paola Cesaroni, mother of another local tennis star, Federico Luzzi. She recalls how Bracciali's father was furious. He told his son, "Don't do it, because tonight the whole town of Arezzo, all the supporters of your club are in front of a TV waiting for your match. So play, and win," Cesaroni says. This is exactly what Bracciali did. Bracciali says he rebuffed Bruni's approaches too, and he denies any involvement in match-fixing. He told the police that he played along and faked interest - though one source close to the investigation says, "You might fake for a month but you don't do it for four years." Bruni later told prosecutors: "I actually tried to corrupt him by offering him 50,000 euros if he won the first set and lost the other two during the game." Although Bracciali declined to fix this match, Bruni said that Bracciali "declared himself available to contact the Italian tennis players he knew, to get them to do what I asked, altering in whole or in part the result of the matches". Bracciali first tried his sometime doubles partner, Potito Starace, who was then ranked number 31 in the world. According to prosecutors, Starace agreed to work with Bracciali and Bruni from the end of 2007. Prosecutors claim Bracciali communicated with the gamblers while Starace carried out the fixes on court. In December 2007 Bruni informed other gamblers in his syndicate: "We bought Potito." Starace was promised between 30,000 and 50,000 euros (£23,000 to £39,000) for each match he agreed to fix. Bruni told prosecutors he even provided Sim cards so the players could speak to him without being detected. Prosecutors claim this went on until 2011. Potito Starace strenuously denies any contact with gamblers or involvement in match-fixing. In the computers seized by the police, the gamblers discussed about 30 matches, including at Wimbledon and the French Open. But there are two matches in particular, according to chief Cremona prosecutor Roberto di Martino, "for which we have very concrete indications that they have been manipulated". Find out more Listen to Simon Cox's report for File on 4 at 20:00 on Tuesday on BBC Radio 4, or catch up later on the BBC iPlayer The first of these matches took place in May 2009. Manlio Bruni told police he had offered Starace 50,000 euros to lose against the lower-ranked German, Daniel Brands. The gamblers used several accounts to place bets that Starace would lose, but the betting company, Betfair, thought the betting looked suspect and refused to pay out their winnings when Starace lost. Bruni told the police the syndicate only made between 15,000 and 20,000 euros (£12,000 - £15,000) from the match but they decided to give this to Starace anyway and delivered it to him in cash at a tournament in Italy. There is no suggestion that Brands was aware that anything might be amiss. Bruni checked with another gambler on Skype: "Did he like the cash?" The gambler replied he still hadn't seen it but added: "Braccio [Bracciali] told me that he was very happy." The second match took place in April 2011. Starace was taking on the Spaniard, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, in Barcelona and was offered 25,000 euros (£19,000) to lose, but double that if he won the first set and went on to lose the match. Starace withdrew and forfeited the match after winning the first set. He denies fixing this match or any other game. A week before this match Starace had reached an ATP final in Casablanca. It was a big deal for him, a singles final. Bruni received a call about the game from a fellow gambler. He said Starace had taken 300,000 euros (£232,000) to lose. "I remained astonished," Bruni told the police. "Starace had always said that he would have been able to lose a first or second round but never a final." After receiving the call Bruni checked with Bracciali who said the idea Starace would throw a final was nonsense. In the end Starace did lose. Bruni told prosecutors: "When I saw the result, the world fell apart." Sources close to the investigation suspect that Starace was trying to work with a bigger, richer gambling syndicate. This part of the files was leaked to an Italian newspaper and Starace was furious when he read it. When he was interviewed by investigators in October 2014 he stated, "I emphatically deny any arrangement to lose a match in a tournament." While the prosecutor was investigating Bruni's links with Bracciali and Starace, the Italian Tennis Federation used some of this evidence in 2015 to ban the two players for life for match-fixing. Starace's ban was later overturned and Bracciali's reduced to a year because the appeal panel said the evidence wasn't strong enough. The Cremona prosecutor had already reached this conclusion and decided to base his case on different matches. The players face another possible hit, though, as the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) - the sport's own anti-corruption body - has also been running an investigation into the players since 2014. So far no action has been against them internationally. But arguably the TIU should be using the Italian investigation to look into other players linked to gamblers, not just Bracciali and Starace. As the Cremona prosecutor Roberto Di Martino ploughed through the thousands of documents, he realised this was not solely an Italian problem. He noticed the names of top foreign players being discussed by the gamblers and scams they were proposing. As a tennis fan their names leaped out at him. Some of these players featured in an earlier BBC/Buzzfeed News investigation which revealed the world tennis authorities failed to act on repeated warnings about 16 top-level players taking part in suspicious matches. In one conversation in February 2011 a discussion takes place about two players who have been in the world's top 20, who the gamblers call their "horses". One gambler says he has a conflict of interest as "one of my horses is in the final" and his "other one is in the semi-final". He goes on to claim he is friends with one of the players and "I have the pass as member of his staff", before adding ominously, "slowly my horses are coming to papa". A source close to the enquiry said referring to "horses" could refer to players who brought gamblers luck or alternatively that the players were under their control. Roberto Di Martino refuses to name any of these non-Italian players, but says there is enough evidence in his files for investigators to question them, at the very least to find out if they were approached by gamblers. He has limited ability to do this, so has handed all of his files to the TIU. But when they visited him three months ago they were only interested in the Italian players. He found this surprising and alarming. "The international events seem more problematic than those situations in which, after all, only a few Italian players were involved," he says. This was not a case of "one single situation in which shadows were cast on important tennis players. The problem is that there are many situations, then it cannot be an accident, it cannot be a coincidence." Nigel Willerton, director of integrity at the TIU said it "acts on all evidence of corruption". In January, following the BBC's revelations, an independent review panel was set up to look into match-fixing. Mr Willerton said: "This wide-ranging remit will allow it to investigate all and any allegations of corrupt practice." Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

एक इतालवी जांच एक जुआ सिंडिकेट के प्रयासों को उजागर कर रही है जिसने विंबलडन और फ्रेंच ओपन सहित दुनिया भर में टेनिस मैचों को ठीक करने की कोशिश की। बीबीसी और बज़फीड न्यूज द्वारा देखे गए दस्तावेजों से पता चलता है कि जुआरी ने दो प्रमुख इतालवी खिलाड़ियों से संपर्क किया-लेकिन अभियोजकों का कहना है कि इस बात के सबूत हैं कि उन्होंने कई अन्य लोगों से संपर्क किया, जिनमें से दो दुनिया के शीर्ष 20 में रहे हैं।


Indian airport police told to cut down on smiling

Summary: Airport police in India are being instructed to smile less.

This is over concerns cheerfulness could lead to a perception of lax security and a threat of terror attacks. The country's Central Industrial Security Force, which is in charge of aviation safety, wants its staff to be "more vigilant than friendly". They will move from a "broad smile system" to a "sufficient smile system", the Indian Express says. Officials are said to believe that excessive friendliness puts airports at risk of terrorist attacks. You may also be interested in: The organisation's director general, Rajesh Ranjan even said the 9/11 attacks had taken place because of "an excessive reliance on passenger-friendly features". This is not the first time Indian police officers have been told to improve their standards or alter their behaviour: By contrast, elsewhere in Asia, Nepalese police hired 600 trainers in 2014 to help officers become more friendly.

भारत में हवाई अड्डा पुलिस को कम मुस्कुराने का निर्देश दिया जा रहा है।


The Afghan Taliban enter uncharted territory

Summary: The Afghan Taliban face the biggest challenge in their history.

By Dawood AzamiBBC World Service With the death of their revered leader Mullah Omar and the selection of a successor, the group has entered uncharted territory. Mullah Akhtar Mansour's appointment came after three days of talks among members of their religious council. There were disagreements over the choice of Mansour, a native of Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Many powerful commanders, including the Taliban's top military commander, Abdul Qayum Zakir, have long-standing disagreements with him. A faction within the Taliban wanted Mullah Omar's eldest son, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, to take over; other leading figures favoured Mullah Abdul Ghani Braradar, a founding member of the Taliban and Mullah Omar's former deputy. Mullah Mansour served as aviation minister during Taliban rule and has been a deputy of Mullah Omar and acting head of the Taliban's Leadership Council for around three years. He has been accused of monopolising power and hijacking the movement. Some also accused him of being close to Pakistan. But he is seen as a pragmatist and a proponent of peace talks. The biggest challenge for the new leader will be to keep the group united and inspire and motivate the rank-and-file members. The council also appointed the chief of Haqqani network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, as one of two deputies of the new leader. His other deputy is Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, a religious scholar and former head of the Taliban courts. As they represent different factions and tendencies, this seems to be part of an effort to make the group inclusive and united. Mystique of absence Mullah Omar had become a mythical figure within the group, closely obeyed by the wider membership. With a $10m (£6.4m) US bounty on his head, Mullah Omar kept an exceptionally low profile. He was not seen again in public after he left Kandahar on a motorbike when the Taliban regime fell in December 2001. Mullah Omar was widely rumoured to be in Pakistan. A couple of sightings in Pakistan were reported, in 2004 and later in 2011, but the authorities there have always denied his presence on their soil. He did not live with his wives and children, perhaps for security reasons. His eldest son, 27-year-old Mohammad Yaqoob, graduated recently from a religious seminary in Karachi. He has never issued a video statement and relied on audio messages to instruct his lieutenants and the Taliban leadership council. But apparently that, too, stopped around 2008. He issued written statements usually twice a year for the two Muslim festivals of Eid. The latest of these statements, issued on 15 July, expressed support for the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Mullah Omar was the glue that held the movement together since it was launched in 1994. He was both feared and revered. His reclusiveness added to his mystique. However, in recent years, his absence fuelled rumours that he was dead or incapacitated. Over the past two years, questions about his life and whereabouts increased, putting pressure on Mansour to produce credible evidence he was alive. Persistent rumours The other controversial point is the timing of Mullah Omar's death, as rumours of his ill-health and demise have circulated in the past. Afghan and Nato officials have said around a dozen times over the last 14 years that Mullah Omar was dead. But the Taliban repeatedly denied this as "enemy propaganda". The Afghan government said on Wednesday that Mullah Omar died in a hospital in Karachi in April 2013, while other reports put it in July that year. But by some accounts Mullah Omar died in recent weeks of a heart attack. He had reportedly been ill for a long time and was operated on about four years ago after developing heart complications. The cause of his death is also a matter of debate. It is widely thought the Taliban leader died from an illness - some reports say tuberculosis, others mention hepatitis. But several credible sources told me that he died of heart attack in Pakistan. Taliban sources say he was buried on the Afghan side of the border after his son identified his body. Question of legitimacy The new Taliban leader will have to deal with two big problems. On one hand, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for his successor to achieve the same popularity in the group. On the other, disagreements could result in the fragmentation of the Taliban and possible defections to the so-called Islamic State (IS). Mullah Omar had a dual role. He was the political and military leader of the Taliban but more importantly he was called Amir al-Mumineen (Leader of the Faithful). The Taliban have a principle of "obedience to the Amir (leader)," which makes following orders a religious duty. Mullah Omar was seen as a saintly figure to whom all the Taliban had pledged allegiance. Even leaders of foreign militant groups such as al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan had sworn loyalty and accepted Mullah Omar as leader. But Mullah Mansour has now been given the same title of Leader of the Faithful. This means that he would expect the same religious legitimacy Mullah Omar had. It will be a challenge for Mullah Mansoor to acquire the same wider appeal and legitimacy. In the case of a questionable religious authority, members of militant groups including the Taliban and al-Qaeda could switch their loyalties to the leader of the IS who has declared himself the Caliph. Although Mullah Mansoor does not have same stature as Mullah Omar, efforts are under way to resolve these internal disagreements within the Taliban.

अफगान तालिबान को अपने इतिहास की सबसे बड़ी चुनौती का सामना करना पड़ रहा है।


Madeleine McCann: Tragic disappearance that has obsessed Britain

Summary: One of the most famous missing persons cases in British history - the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann on holiday in 2007 - has been thrust back into the spotlight this week after police released information about a new suspect .

A German prisoner - previously convicted of sex offences against children - is now being investigated on suspicion of murder, the latest turn in a tragic case which has never been far from the headlines in Britain and further afield for 13 years. And at the centre of the tragedy is a family that still has no answers about what happened to their little girl. What happened 13 years ago? In May 2007, Gerry and Kate McCann were staying in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal with their three children. The couple went for dinner with a group of friends in a nearby restaurant, leaving their three children asleep in the apartment. They checked on them throughout the evening but when Mrs McCann returned to the apartment at about 10pm, she discovered Madeleine was missing. Her disappearance sparked a huge international search and sprawling investigation that continues to this day. How the case touched hearts - and a nerve with some The deeply-emotional story dominated British media for months with the little girl's face splashed on front pages and TV screens day after day. Millions witnessed the anguish and despair felt by Mr and Mrs McCann as they issued desperate pleas for information and help. The family's pain was only exacerbated when the couple also became targets of criticism - particularly in the tabloid press - for leaving their children alone while they went out with friends. The trauma was heightened when Portuguese detectives questioned Mrs McCann after naming the husband and wife as suspects - an investigation only dropped in 2008, for lack of any evidence. Later the McCanns' lawyer was to call their treatment by the British press a "national scandal". The investigation's ups and downs The investigation into Madeleine's disappearance has involved huge and costly police hunts across much of Europe. At times it was sustained by the McCanns themselves, using private detectives. In Britain the most recent Metropolitan Police investigation, which began in 2011, has cost more than £11m. Despite the identification of new suspects and persons of interest over the years, and fresh investigations of the crime scene - the mystery of Madeleine's disappearance remains unsolved. The case has been the subject of multiple documentaries, including a 12-part Netflix series in 2019 that was criticised by Madeleine's parents. What's happening now? German police have just announced that a new suspect - a 43-year-old German man previously convicted of sex offences against children - is being investigated on suspicion of murder. Currently serving a long prison sentence for sex crimes against young girls, "Christian B" travelled around Portugal in a camper van and was believed to have been in the area where Madeleine was last seen before she went missing. British police still list the case as a "missing persons" investigation, and Kate and Gerry McCann say they have never given up hope. They described the latest lead as "significant". "All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice," the couple said in a statement.

ब्रिटिश इतिहास में सबसे प्रसिद्ध लापता व्यक्तियों के मामलों में से एक-2007 में छुट्टी पर तीन वर्षीय मेडेलिन मैककेन का लापता होना-पुलिस द्वारा एक नए संदिग्ध के बारे में जानकारी जारी करने के बाद इस सप्ताह फिर से सुर्खियों में आ गया है।


Call for open vote in Guernsey chief minister election

Summary: Moves to make voting more open in the election for Guernsey's next chief minister have been proposed by the current holder of the job.

Deputy Lyndon Trott, who has not ruled out standing again for the role, has proposed two motions that will be debated ahead of Tuesday's election. He has called for voting to be done by appel nominal, verbally given in the States, rather than by secret ballot. He has also asked for the details of how deputies vote to be published. The proposals are seconded by Deputy-Elect Roger Perrot. Both will be debated before a decision is made on whether or not to remove a rule that limits who can stand for chief minister to those who have previously served in the assembly for four of the past eight years.

ग्वेर्नसे के अगले मुख्यमंत्री के चुनाव में मतदान को और अधिक खुला बनाने के लिए वर्तमान पदधारी द्वारा प्रस्ताव दिया गया है।


Syria air strikes: President Trump statement in full

Summary: My fellow Americans, a short time ago I ordered the United States armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way. We thank them both.

Tonight, I want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. One year ago, Assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. The United States responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20% of the Syrian air force. Last Saturday, the Assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians - this time, in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus. This massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime. The evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children, thrashing in pain and gasping for air. These are not the actions of a man; they are crimes of a monster instead. Following the horrors of World War One a century ago, civilized nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. Chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous not only because they inflict gruesome suffering, but because even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation. The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons. Establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the United States. The combined American, British, and French response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power - military, economic, and diplomatic. We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. I also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime. To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children? The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. No nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators. In 2013, President Putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons. Assad's recent attack - and today's response - are the direct result of Russia's failure to keep that promise. Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path, or if it will join with civilized nations as a force for stability and peace. Hopefully, someday we'll get along with Russia, and maybe even Iran - but maybe not. I will say this: The United States has a lot to offer, with the greatest and most powerful economy in the history of the world. In Syria, the United States - with a small force being used to eliminate what is left of Isis (the Islamic State group) - is doing what is necessary to protect the American people. Over the last year, nearly 100% of the territory once controlled by the so-called Isis caliphate in Syria and Iraq has been liberated and eliminated. The United States has also rebuilt our friendships across the Middle East. We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment, and all of the anti-Isis effort. Increased engagement from our friends, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others can ensure that Iran does not profit from the eradication of Isis. America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria, under no circumstances. As other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home. And great warriors they are. Looking around our very troubled world, Americans have no illusions. We cannot purge the world of evil, or act everywhere there is tyranny. No amount of American blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the Middle East. It's a troubled place. We will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place. The United States will be a partner and a friend, but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people. In the last century, we looked straight into the darkest places of the human soul. We saw the anguish that can be unleashed and the evil that can take hold. By the end of the World War One, more than one million people had been killed or injured by chemical weapons. We never want to see that ghastly spectre return. So today, the nations of Britain, France, and the United States of America have marshalled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality. Tonight, I ask all Americans to say a prayer for our noble warriors and our allies as they carry out their missions. We pray that God will bring comfort to those suffering in Syria. We pray that God will guide the whole region toward a future of dignity and of peace. And we pray that God will continue to watch over and bless the United States of America. Thank you, and goodnight. Thank you.

मेरे साथी अमेरिकियों, कुछ समय पहले मैंने संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका के सशस्त्र बलों को सीरियाई तानाशाह बशर अल-असद की रासायनिक हथियार क्षमताओं से जुड़े लक्ष्यों पर सटीक हमले करने का आदेश दिया था। फ्रांस और यूनाइटेड किंगडम के सशस्त्र बलों के साथ एक संयुक्त अभियान अब चल रहा है। हम उन दोनों को धन्यवाद देते हैं।


Nottingham robberies: Boy, 11, charged with racially-aggravated assault

Summary: An 11-year-old boy has been charged with racially-aggravated assault and seven other offences.

Nottinghamshire Police said the charges related to two robberies in The Meadows, Nottingham, on May 12, during which a bike was stolen. The boy was charged with robbery, possession of a bladed article, theft, criminal damage and causing actual bodily harm. He is due to appear at Nottingham Youth Court on Saturday. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. Related Internet Links Nottinghamshire Police

एक 11 वर्षीय लड़के पर नस्लीय रूप से बढ़े हुए हमले और सात अन्य अपराधों का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Birmingham pub bombings: Why has no-one been brought to justice?

Summary: Forty years ago 21 people were killed when bombs were detonated at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham city centre. Six men were wrongly convicted for the bombings in 1975 and were finally released in 1991. Since then, no-one has been found responsible. No-one has been prosecuted. No-one has been arrested. And no-one has admitted it. Why?

By Bethan BellBBC News Is there enough evidence? Chris Mullin, a former MP and an investigative journalist who was instrumental in freeing the group who became known as the Birmingham Six, said of those he believes were behind the bombings: "Forty years after the event, other than a confession, there is no evidence that would stand up in court which would lead to the conviction of the surviving suspects". Mr Mullin became a researcher for ITV's World in Action in 1985 and several editions were dedicated to discrediting the evidence on which the Birmingham Six had been convicted. In 1986, Mr Mullin published a book, Error of Judgement: The Truth About the Birmingham Bombings, in which he claimed to have traced and met some of those actually responsible. Evidence was lost After a review was carried out between 2012 and 2014, it was announced in April that, of the original 168 exhibits listed for trial in 1975, there were 35 which the reinvestigation team was unable to locate, including a bomb which did not go off. The current Chief Constable for the West Midlands, Chris Sims, said the force assumed the items had been disposed of in the 1980s "on the basis the case had been completed". "That feels utterly at odds with current procedure but was probably not unusual at that time," he said. A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said the "general rule of thumb" for retaining evidence was seven years. "It isn't cut-and-dried or a one size fits all. Evidence may be retained if it is felt it could be relevant to future investigations." He said decisions would lie with senior investigating officers or other high-ranking police. Professor Michael Zander, Professor Emeritus of Law at London School of Economics, explained the significance of an exhibit may not always be apparent to investigating officers. According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, he said, the prosecution is obliged to pass on any unused material that may assist the defence. However, "things can get overlooked because they don't know exactly what the defence case is," he said. "So there are situations when a completely honest policeman could say 'I didn't hand that over because it didn't occur to me that the defence might want to raise that'." No new evidence Following the release of the Birmingham Six in 1991, a reinvestigation was opened, led by the then Chief Constable for the West Midlands, Ron Hadfield, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Barbara Mills. A team of 40 officers generated 5,000 documents, statements and reports. At its conclusion in April 1994, Mr Hadfield and Mrs Mills issued a statement announcing: •There was insufficient evidence for proceedings against any person •The inquiries carried out were to the satisfaction of the DPP •The DPP was unable to suggest any further reasonable lines of inquiry that could have been "usefully pursued" at that time Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was killed in the bombing, said: "Isn't it the job of the police to go out and find new evidence? "They just seem to be waiting for it to drop on their desks". Evidence is unavailable Mrs Mills, who became a Dame in 1997 and died in 2011, put a 75-year embargo on files relating to a Devon and Cornwall inquiry into the West Midlands Police investigation. It prevented the release of documents until 2069. Records can be retained for such a length of time "if the disclosure of which would not be in the public interest in that it would harm defence, international relations, national security (including the maintenance of law and order) or the economic interests of the UK and its dependent territories". They can also be retained if they relate personal details about people who are still alive. Disclosure of such information might be a "breach of confidence" or cause "distress" or "endangerment". Is there 'something to hide'? Julie Hambleton said: "Our question is this. Why is this file being kept closed for so long, if the police and the government have nothing to hide? "Would it not be financially and judicially more prudent to make these files available to all concerned parties as a way of expediting justice? "Or is this too simple? Do these files have the potential to open up a Pandora's box that could put certain individuals and organisations in a light that they would prefer not to have switched on?" Following the reinvestigation in 1994, Mr Hadfield said: "The objective [had been] an open minded search for the truth behind the Birmingham pub bombings." Mr Sims said earlier this year: "Nothing would give me more satisfaction than to bring those responsible for this atrocity to justice. "However, I make this pledge today - I would like to offer families of those who died or people who were hurt on the night to be given as much information as possible to answer the questions that we can. I would ask them to contact us so we can start that process." In April 2014, Mr Sims reassured the victims' families that the investigation remained open. "It is always possible that brand new and significant information could become available to us - let me be clear - this case is not closed," he said. Has too much time passed? Independent advice from the Netherlands Forensic Institute was given to the 2012-2014 inquiry that "whilst acknowledging improvements in forensic science, it is assessed that any results from further forensic testing would be unlikely to yield any information of value due to potential contamination, the effects of previous examination and degradation over time". Chris Mullin has also said that several of the perpetrators, who would now be in their 70s, are dead and would therefore never be brought to justice. Who are the suspects? The World in Action programme in 1985 named four suspects the production was "100% sure" were the true perpetrators, and said they knew the identity of a fifth. After the six were released in 1991, and following the allegations made by World in Action, Mr Hadfield said "all those named as potentially being responsible or involved in the Birmingham pub bombings were thoroughly investigated". Former BBC Northern Ireland correspondent Denis Murray said Mr Mullin, who claims he knows the names of the perpetrators, is a journalist "to the toenails" and "a journalist will never reveal his sources". Could Chris Mullin be compelled to give evidence? A 1986 debate in the House of Commons indicated he could not because: •Any names would be hearsay and therefore inadmissible in court •The safety of Mr Mullin would be compromised if he breached any confidentiality agreements •Mr Mullin's investigation was in the public interest and future journalists could be put off legitimate investigations if they could be compelled to identify suspects •The investigation was to prove the innocence of the convicted men, not to identify the guilty men Will there be an inquest? If a person has been sent for trial for causing a death, any inquest is adjourned until the criminal trial is over. When the trial is over, the coroner can decide there may be no need for an inquest, if he or she is satisfied the facts surrounding the death have emerged at the trial. Because the bombings were subject to a criminal prosecution resulting in a conviction, there was no inquest. It meant there was no further investigation into the circumstances of the deaths. Earlier this month, human rights lawyer Kevin Winters, who has represented families of victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, said he believed there was a basis for an inquest and would write to West Midlands Police and the relevant coroner. "There's an on-going duty on behalf of the authorities, and especially West Midlands Police, to actually get to the bottom of what happened. "These families have received a very poor service in terms of justice and truth and closure - they've got nothing near it at all." Does the Belfast Agreement have an impact? BBC correspondent Murray has said one of the reasons there has been no prosecution is because of the Belfast Agreement - known as the Good Friday agreement. The agreement specifies that anyone convicted of a paramilitary offence before 1998 would be subject to a maximum of two years in prison, "and probably not even that, if they are prosecuted at all", said Murray. No-one has been legitimately convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings. "The people who did this have never admitted it. The agreement doesn't apply to them," Julie Hambleton said. "It's the largest unsolved mass murder in Britain. I don't understand why [the police] don't want to solve it". However, Murray has said: "The only people who know for certain who did it are the provisional IRA and they are never ever going to say."

चालीस साल पहले बर्मिंघम शहर के केंद्र में टाउन पब में शहतूत बुश और टैवर्न में बम विस्फोट में 21 लोग मारे गए थे। 1975 में बम विस्फोटों के लिए छह लोगों को गलत तरीके से दोषी ठहराया गया था और आखिरकार 1991 में रिहा कर दिया गया था। तब से, किसी को भी जिम्मेदार नहीं पाया गया है। किसी पर मुकदमा नहीं चलाया गया है। किसी को गिरफ्तार नहीं किया गया है। और किसी ने इसे स्वीकार नहीं किया है। क्यों?


Somerset flood crisis: Community fund nears £1m mark

Summary: A charity fund to help Somerset people affected by winter flooding is expected to have raised £1m by the end of March.

Of that money, the group responsible said £260,000 had already been given to more than 350 households affected. Storms at the end of last year led to chaos with much of the Somerset Levels remaining underwater for three months. The Somerset Community Foundation fund is one of many in existence. More than £20m has also come from the government so far to help with flood repair work. The community group said its fund had grown with donations from individuals, local businesses, charitable trusts and fundraising events. It added it expected to be using the fund for up to three years. Related Internet Links Somerset Community Foundation

सर्दियों की बाढ़ से प्रभावित समरसेट लोगों की मदद के लिए एक चैरिटी फंड के मार्च के अंत तक 1 मिलियन पाउंड जुटाने की उम्मीद है।


Eleven in court over Bulmers cider family art robbery

Summary: Eleven men have appeared in court charged in connection with a multi-million pound raid at a cider-making family's luxury home in Somerset.

Esmond and Susie Bulmer's home in Bruton was targeted in 2009 and the couple's housekeeper was allegedly tied to a banister. A total of 15 paintings worth £1.7m, and £1m of jewellery were stolen. All the defendants deny any wrongdoing and are due to appear at Bristol Crown Court on 22 September. Those charged are: At Bristol Magistrates' Court, all 11 indicated through their lawyers that they would be pleading not guilty to the charges. A 12th defendant, John Morris, 56, of Cowper Gardens, Enfield, London, did not attend court and a warrant for his arrest without bail was issued by the judge. He is accused of conspiracy to receive stolen goods.

समरसेट में एक साइडर बनाने वाले परिवार के लक्जरी घर पर लाखों पाउंड की छापेमारी के आरोप में ग्यारह लोग अदालत में पेश हुए हैं।


Vatican reforms may be starting to bite

Summary: The latest revelations of dirty dealings swirling around the Vatican have not only shown that the price of sainthood is high (around £350,000), but also the price that Pope Francis is paying for his attempts to reform Roman Catholic HQ.

Caroline WyattReligious affairs correspondent@CarolineWyatton Twitter As the CEO of a global organisation, whose mission statement is spreading the word of God and whose bottom line is saving souls, Pope Francis has called often for a "poor Church" that serves the poor. His problem, though, is that the Church is not poor. And in the past, the temptation to abuse the Vatican's coffers - and money donated by ordinary Catholics - has been too much for some of the Church's most senior servants to resist, with such dealings obscured until recently by a veil of secrecy. Three years after the original "Vatileaks", in which the revelations of the then Pope Benedict's butler shook the Vatican, two new books based on leaked documents (Avarice by Emanuele Fittipaldi and Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi, of Vatileaks fame) created headlines over the past week. Their revelations of greed and mismanagement might not shock if they concerned the upper echelons of an international sporting organisation, but they will horrify many of the faithful with yet more evidence of cardinals' sins. However, far from revealing that Pope Francis is presiding over new scandals, the leaks make abundantly clear the scale of the challenge that has been faced by those whom this Pontiff has tasked with cleaning up the Vatican's finances and past mismanagement. Serious message In comments that many will see as directed at his middle and senior managers who have not understood that Pope Francis is serious about reform - financial and spiritual - he told a meeting of bishops in Florence this week: "May God protect the Italian church from every pretence of power, image and money." Among the disclosures in Nuzzi's latest book is the revelation that the cost of sainthood can run up to £350,000 or more. He also tells the story of a monsignor, Giuseppe Sciacca, who allegedly enlarged his own apartment by taking down his neighbour's wall while the priest was in hospital. Sciacca was demoted and forced to move out by Pope Francis. Similar claims in Fittipaldi's book include the allegation that the former Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, used £140,000 destined for sick children towards the renovation of his apartment. In response, Cardinal Bertone said he paid the bill himself and then that he had discovered the foundation had also settled it - even though he said he had never asked for that to happen. The author also claims that an even larger sum that had been destined for the needy from the "Peter's Pence" fund, from church collections around the world, was instead used to plug deficits in the Vatican's finances. Secret recordings of the Pope were obtained by Nuzzi, although they also play to Francis's credit, revealing the Pontiff's dismay at the corruption that had gripped some parts of the Vatican, as well as his determination to get a grip on its finances and clean up a system whose opacity has protected the guilty in the past. Nuzzi says that in a recording of a meeting in July 2013, Pope Francis tells the assembled clerics: "I am reminded of an elderly parish priest in Buenos Aires, a wise man who was very careful with money." He said: "If we don't know how to look after money, which you can see, how can we look after the souls of the faithful, which you can't see?" Dirty tricks Although both authors claim to have published in the hope of helping Francis with his reforms, the Pope appeared less than delighted at the latest airing of the Vatican's dirty laundry beyond its walls. The Vatican's official response to the books included the threat of legal action against the authors, and the arrest by the Vatican police of a senior cleric, Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, and a PR woman, Francesca Choaouqui, for their alleged involvement in the leaking of confidential documents to the authors. She has denied being responsible, and was released after co-operating with the investigation. Both had been on the special commission set up by the Pope to investigate the Vatican's murky finances two years ago. The revelations may well be shocking, but they are also proof, perhaps, that the Papal reforms are starting to hit where it hurts. The attempts at imposing financial transparency and rigour within the Curia are making it harder for the misspending of Vatican funds to continue, or be kept secret, not least thanks to Rome's first independent auditor general, plus a new finance department led by the conservative Australian cardinal, George Pell. On top of that, a supervisory Council for the Economy includes outside lay experts for the first time. Lay members of the Council for the Economy: Changing the culture of an unwieldy and change-resistant bureaucracy such as the Vatican, though, will not happen overnight and some in Rome fear that the latest leaks are all part of a "dirty tricks" campaign against a Pope who is determined to ensure that the Church hierarchy practises what it preaches. Pope Francis once said that it hurt his heart to see a priest with the latest model of car. "If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger," he said. These days in Rome, fancy apartments, ostentatious clerical vestments and top of the range cars are frowned upon at the highest level, for spiritual as well as financial reasons. In Florence this week, Pope Francis continued to lead by example - choosing to eat lunch with the poor and lining up at a Caritas soup kitchen to eat soup with a plastic spoon. He had told a newspaper not long before that "a believer cannot speak of poverty and the homeless but have the lifestyle of a pharaoh". The would-be pharaohs of the Vatican have been warned.

वैटिकन के चारों ओर घूमते गंदे लेन-देन के नवीनतम रहस्योद्घाटन ने न केवल यह दिखाया है कि संत होने की कीमत अधिक है (लगभग £350,000), बल्कि वह कीमत भी है जो पोप फ्रांसिस रोमन कैथोलिक मुख्यालय में सुधार के अपने प्रयासों के लिए चुका रहे हैं।


Indigenous Brazilians use web to fight for rights

Summary: When Terena tribesman Oziel Gabriel was shot dead in a clash with police forces in Sidrolandia, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, last week, it only took minutes for videos and pictures to appear on Facebook accusing the Federal Police (PF) of responsibility.

By Joao FelletBBC Brasil, Brasilia Fellow members of his indigenous group who had witnessed the incident quickly passed on the images to a wide network of supporters. It took only hours for the case to make headlines abroad. And, in an unusually swift reaction, Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo promised a thorough investigation. Brazilian indigenous groups say they are increasingly using social media websites to spread their views and to counter what they say are the prejudiced views about them in local media. Luiz Henrique Eloy, a Terena lawyer, says newspapers and television stations in Mato Grosso do Sul often take sides in agrarian disputes, backing local farmers over indigenous groups. Mission to educate Mr Eloy says the media propagate the commonly-held view in the region that indigenous people are incited by non-governmental organisations and the government's Indian affairs office, Funai, to invade farmers' land. But according to Tonico Benites, an anthropology student of the Guarani-Kaiowa tribe, the reality is very different. He says NGOs and Funai are often expelled from indigenous meetings for "trying to prevent action and discouraging land invasions". "The initiative always comes from the people and their leaders. At the end of the day, it's them who will go to war, who will get the bullet," he told BBC Brasil. Mr Benites and Mr Eloy are part of a growing group of highly educated indigenous leaders who have made it their mission to make the demands of their people heard. Mr Eloy says there are 800 indigenous students currently pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Mato Grosso do Sul. At university, most of them have access to the internet and start using social networks to spread their message. When they are back in their villages or in areas of conflict, they use mobile phones to post information on the internet in real time. 'Abandoned' Mr Benites, who runs a page about the Guarani-Kaiowa on Facebook, says that virtual activism has convinced many Brazilians who were previously unaware of the situation to take a stand in their favour. He says his group is fighting to have its ancestral land in the south and centre of the country recognised as indigenous territory. But the process has been dragged out for decades by bureaucratic hurdles and legal challenges brought by the agricultural lobby. The president of the National Confederation of Agriculture, Senator Katia Abreu, says indigenous groups "do not suffer from a shortage of land". She says they have been given 12% of Brazilian territory when they make up only 1% of the population. The National Confederation of Agriculture welcomed the government's announcement last month that it would change the way indigenous territories were allocated, giving the ministry of agriculture a bigger say in the process. The change has triggered indigenous protests across the country, as groups fear the changes will place another hurdle in the way of reclaiming their ancestral lands. They say they have been abandoned by the government and point to the fact that since taking office in 2011, President Dilma Rousseff has not once met indigenous leaders.

जब पिछले हफ्ते ब्राज़ील के माटो ग्रोसो डो सुल राज्य के सिड्रोलैंडिया में पुलिस बलों के साथ झड़प में तेरेना आदिवासी ओज़ील गैब्रियल की गोली मारकर हत्या कर दी गई थी, तो फ़ेसबुक पर फ़ेडरल पुलिस (पी. एफ.) पर ज़िम्मेदारी का आरोप लगाते हुए वीडियो और तस्वीरें दिखाई देने में केवल कुछ मिनट लगे।


Birstall £5.5m park and ride scheme opens

Summary: A new £5.5m park and ride has opened in Leicester.

The facility at Birstall, which is near the A6 and A46, began operating at 0700 BST. The joint project between the city and county councils, which was set up to tackle congestion, has been funded by the government and developer Jelson. It will link up with an existing park and ride service at Enderby to provide a connecting service and cut costs, the county council said. Lesley Pendleton, the county council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "Linking up the two park and rides significantly reduces costs and enables us to run two sites for the price of one, whilst opening it up to Charnwood and Melton residents and visitors arriving from the north of the county and beyond. "The park and ride has been constructed on time and within budget and I'm pleased it's opening its doors to the public." Leicester's assistant mayor, Councillor Ted Cassidy, said the new park and ride would help to cut carbon emissions in the city as each bus could take up to 50 cars off the road. More than 4,000 trees and 9,500 shrubs have been planted at the site.

लीसेस्टर में एक नया 5.5 करोड़ पाउंड का पार्क और सवारी खोला गया है।


Mylee Billingham had 'defensive hand wounds'

Summary: An eight-year-old girl, alleged to have been murdered by her father, had two "defensive" wounds to her hands, apparently caused as she tried to ward off a knife, a court has heard.

Mylee Billingham also had an injury near her lip suggesting a hand was placed over her mouth, a forensic pathologist told jurors. She died from a single stab wound to the chest on 20 January in Brownhills, near Walsall. William Billingham, 55, denies murder. Giving evidence via video-link, Home Office-accredited pathologist Brett Lockyer said injuries found during a post-mortem examination included a "superficial" linear incised wound on her right middle finger. Asked to comment on the wound and another injury to Mylee's left hand, Dr Lockyer told Birmingham Crown Court: "This type of injury could be caused by sharp force with a weapon with a cutting edge, such as a knife or glass. "It's in an area that can be regarded as defensive. I would regard this as being suggestive of a defensive-type mechanism." The trial has previously heard claims Mr Billingham, a father-of-six, was struggling to cope with Mylee's mother, his ex-partner, Tracey Taundry's Miss Taundry's decision to start a new relationship. Mr Billingham, of Valley View, Brownhills, did not attend the fourth day of his trial because of illness. Explaining the defendant's absence from the dock to jurors, Judge Paul Farrer QC said: "Overnight he has been unwell and I am quite satisfied he is not well enough at the moment to be in court. "Clearly it's not Mr Billingham's fault that he is not here and it's not something that you should hold against him in any way." Mr Billingham also denies making a threat to kill Mylee's mother. The trial continues.

एक अदालत ने सुना है कि एक आठ वर्षीय लड़की, जिसकी कथित तौर पर उसके पिता द्वारा हत्या कर दी गई थी, उसके हाथों में दो "रक्षात्मक" घाव थे, जो जाहिर तौर पर चाकू से बचने की कोशिश में हुए थे।


Trams option proposed for Aberdeen by city council

Summary: Trams could return to the streets of Aberdeen under proposals revealed by the city council.

A strategic infrastructure plan to come before councillors next week includes the possibility of reintroducing some kind of tram or light rail system. It suggests approaching the Scottish government to carry out a feasibility study. The opposition SNP group has described it as "pie in the sky". However the council leader, Labour's Barney Crockett, said it was something that could be considered.

नगर परिषद द्वारा प्रकट किए गए प्रस्तावों के तहत ट्राम एबरडीन की सड़कों पर लौट सकते हैं।


£45m Swindon to Kemble rail upgrade work begins

Summary: Work has begun on a £45m project to improve a section of railway line between Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

Planned changes by Network Rail include reinstating a second line, which was shut in the 1960s, between Swindon and the Gloucestershire village of Kemble. "[It] will increase network capability allowing the operation of four trains per hour along the line of route in each direction," a spokesperson said. It is needed before the electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML).

विल्टशायर और ग्लूस्टरशायर के बीच रेलवे लाइन के एक हिस्से को बेहतर बनाने के लिए 45 मिलियन पाउंड की परियोजना पर काम शुरू हो गया है।