Viewpoint: James Bond fails the tech test in Skyfall

Summary: As a self-confessed technology geek, there have been numerous occasions when my enjoyment of a movie has been marred by technological impossibilities. For example, Independence Day was ruined for me when Jeff Goldblum used an Apple Mac to transfer a virus to the alien mothership and thus saved mankind, all at a time when it was a miracle if you could get your Mac to talk to a printer via a cable.

By Kevin CurranIEEE Technical Expert So, for all you out there with similar sensitivities planning to go and see Skyfall, the latest in the Bond franchise, be warned! I have been to see this movie (expect spoilers below) and if you like your technology on the realistic side then you should see a different show... One of the most glaring errors occurs in what is perhaps the most crucial scene between the cyber-terrorist bad guy Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem, and Bond, who is tied up throughout to a chair. In the scene, the large room is dominated by the racks of computers that allow Silva to conduct his cyber-attacks. What is striking to a geek like me however is the complete absence of background noise! Firstly, a room full of computing hardware would have to be air-conditioned to keep the temperature of the servers down. Despite the precarious situation Bond was in, all I could think about was the potential of a fire caused by overheating throughout this scene. Secondly, as anyone who has been in a server farm will tell you, you would have struggled to hear the conversation over the background humming from the machines themselves. Hacked-off Later we see an active hacking attempt on MI6 by Silva with Q and Bond watching an animation that represents the code involved in the attack. The animation is very creative but it has absolutely no resemblance to anything you might see in reality. What you would actually see would be a plain command line - very dull admittedly. If you were very lucky you might have a mirror image of the attacker's screen but clever graphics? Not likely. Again, we security geeks are asked to suspend our knowledge of the complexities of cryptography when we find Bond being able to decipher part of the code in order to spot Granborough Road Tube station embedded in the cipher. If only it was as easy as that. Code-breaking is incredibly difficult, just ask the poor people at GCHQ who only last week had to admit they were stumped by a 70-year-old message taped to the leg of a dead pigeon, and can really only be done nowadays by large amounts of computing power. I cannot remember the last time I broke even a simple substitution code, but admittedly I don't work for GCHQ. Tracking shots Then there is my particular bugbear - tracking Bond underground. The public have no idea how hard it is to even track people in indoor locations using radio frequency techniques such as wi-fi, Bluetooth or Zigbee. It is highly unreliable. However difficult normal above-ground indoor tracking can be, tracking people underground is a nightmare. Despite this, we see Q getting an immediate fix on Bond and easily tracking him as he navigates deep underneath London in the tunnels. Arrhhhh, I'm an indoor location determination researcher... get me out of here! Of course, it is not difficult to understand why films overreach in their depiction of technology. Take just one example from Skyfall, such as hacking. Hacking in the real world is quite mundane and involves a number of labour intensive steps from identifying the systems which have weaknesses to executing the "payloads" which allow capture of the remote systems. It also quite often takes place on an old-fashioned "command line" with no fancy graphics at all. Any movie which attempted to give you a realistic interpretation of this would risk putting the audience to sleep. Licence to school The positive aspect for us involved in teaching computer science is that exciting overdramatisation of technology can encourage the younger generation to take up computing courses in higher education. Even without the movie glamour however, life in computer sciences can be pretty exciting. One of the most involving aspects of my life is acting as an expert witness for defence lawyers in court cases. This often sees me forensically trawling through a defendant's hard disk or mobile phone in some corner of a police station, visiting suspects in prison and attending court in order to help with technical questions. This is indeed a fast-paced world to be in, and one about to get even more interesting in the near future due to the sheer amount of information stored on digital devices. The importance of this data and the need for secure systems is certainly one aspect of technology that Skyfall did get right - the James Bonds of the future will have to be very aware of the potential for disruption posed by hacking sensitive information and platforms. Kevin Curran is a technical expert for internet and security matters at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and is also a reader in computer science at the University of Ulster.

एक आत्म-कबूल प्रौद्योगिकी गीक के रूप में, ऐसे कई अवसर आए हैं जब एक फिल्म का मेरा आनंद तकनीकी असंभवताओं से प्रभावित हुआ है। उदाहरण के लिए, स्वतंत्रता दिवस मेरे लिए बर्बाद हो गया था जब जेफ गोल्डब्लम ने एक वायरस को विदेशी मां में स्थानांतरित करने के लिए एक ऐप्पल मैक का उपयोग किया और इस तरह मानव जाति को बचाया, यह एक चमत्कार था जब आप अपने मैक को केबल के माध्यम से एक प्रिंटर से बात करने के लिए प्राप्त कर सकते थे।


Major cuts force Berkshire councils to find almost £7m

Summary: Berkshire's six unitary councils will have to find savings of nearly £7m between them as the government tries to cut the UK's deficit by nearly £6bn.

Social care projects, transport schemes and library services are expected to be scrutinised as the local authorities decide where the axe will fall. West Berkshire Council says it will have to take "urgent action" to plug a £1.9m shortfall. Reading Borough Council has to slash £1.5m. West Berkshire has already frozen recruitment, and Council Leader Graham Jones said: "We are already planning for government cuts for next financial year, but these immediate cuts have come on top of that. "However, they are a reality, and the main point to make is that we are dealing with them." Chief Executive, Nick Carter, said: "National economic austerity has been with us for some time, so we established a task group a while ago to oversee pressure on the council's finances. "However, we wait to see if the government's emergency budget on 22 June will mean a further demand for savings."

बर्कशायर की छह एकात्मक परिषदों को उनके बीच लगभग 7 मिलियन पाउंड की बचत करनी होगी क्योंकि सरकार यूके के घाटे में लगभग 6 बिलियन पाउंड की कटौती करने की कोशिश कर रही है।


Water voles face 'slippery slope' to extinction, expert warns

Summary: The water vole population in Wales is on a "slippery slope" to extinction, an expert has warned.

Analysis by Glandŵr Cymru has shown a "dramatic decline" in water vole sightings in Powys, Denbighshire and Wrexham over the past 15 years The trust's national ecologist Stuart Moodie said water voles were "probably the most rapidly declining mammal in the UK". He urged the public to record sightings to help prevent extinction. The decline has been attributed to habitat loss from development, agriculture and pollution, as well as the threat from American mink, which have bred prolifically since escaping from fur farms in the 1970s.

एक विशेषज्ञ ने चेतावनी दी है कि वेल्स में जल क्षेत्र की आबादी विलुप्त होने के लिए "फिसलन वाली ढलान" पर है।


Feeding the children of Boko Haram's victims

Summary: Behind the rusting walls of a Nigerian bakery, young boys forced out of their homes by Boko Haram, have found refuge. They are the sons of bakers killed or kidnapped by the insurgents and brought together by one man's kindness.

By Katerina VittozziMaiduguri, Nigeria "Have you heard about the baker and the displaced people?" I thought it was the start of a bad gag when my Nigerian friend asked me that. We were having a drink in a hotel in Maiduguri, Boko Haram's former stronghold. Turns out, it wasn't a joke at all. He'd heard about a local bakery that had become a sort of refuge for people displaced by Boko Haram attacks. Trying to find it was easier said than done. Maiduguri is a large city, the capital of Borno state, and I only had vague directions to the bakery. When I got to where I thought it should be, I didn't see any buildings that looked like a bakery. No sign, no telltale sacks of flour. Car fumes from the busy road overpowered any possible scent of baked bread. But then I saw it - a building with rusting, corrugated metal walls, and on top of the roof a brick chimney pot emitting a thin line of smoke. Something was cooking. Inside, the baker came over, holding his fist against his chest in a traditional, polite greeting. He was tall, in his late 50s and was smartly dressed in a knee-length cotton shirt and loose trousers - it was Friday afternoon and he had just come from the mosque. His bakery was equally tidy - made up of one large, main room with a cement floor and a brick oven in the corner. I was wrong - nothing was cooking there. The fire was going out. The day's baking was done. Piles of rectangular and round loaves of white bread were stacked on the wooden table, wrapped and ready for sale. On the far side of the room, I saw about a dozen boys lolling on raffia floor mats. The youngest, I was told, was eight, the eldest 16. Some of the smaller ones giggled and returned my two-handed wave. The baker and I sat on small wooden stools away from the oven. It was still giving out a good amount of heat. Via a translator, he explained that all these boys came here after Boko Haram attacked their homes. They are the sons of other bakers, from villages outside Maiduguri. Their fathers were among the thousands who had been killed or kidnapped by the insurgents. The baker felt responsible for the welfare of other bakers and their extended families. They started arriving in 2012 - just a few people at first but last year Boko Haram intensified attacks in and around Maiduguri. More people started to arrive looking for shelter, food, water and money. He said he had helped find homes for almost 300 people, most of them women and children. Some live in shelters in his garden, others, like these boys, stay in the bakery. He gets no support from local government. What he does to help, he does alone. More than two million Nigerians have been displaced during four years of fighting. Fewer than 10% of them live in official government camps. Most rely on friends, family or virtual strangers like this baker. But his resources are limited - his gently rusting surroundings attest to that. He can't offer these growing boys much more than a roof over their heads and endless bread to eat. He pointed to a small shack in the corner by the entrance. I thought it was a cupboard but it's where these 14 boys sleep. It was no bigger than a small garden shed. A few clothes hung on nails in the walls. In one corner, someone had neatly rolled up the sleeping mats. "Do you get into fights?" I asked one 15-year-old boy who has lived there for two years. He laughed and nodded but said he always tried to get in early to secure his favourite sleeping spot, in the corner, by the room's only window. That's where he keeps his little bundle of things, including an English vocabulary book. It's just a couple of tired-looking pieces of paper stapled together. He practised some words on me, numbers mostly, hellos and goodbyes. I asked about school. He shrugged and told me he hasn't been since arriving here. He wants to go back though, once he gets home. He wants to study and become what he calls "a big government man". For now those dreams are being kept alive in this shack, with this tiny bundle of English words and the generosity of a baker. How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent: BBC Radio 4: Thursdays at 11:00 and Saturdays at 11:30 Listen online or download the podcast. BBC World Service: At weekends - see World Service programme schedule or listen online. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

नाइजीरियाई बेकरी की जंग लगी दीवारों के पीछे, बोको हराम द्वारा अपने घरों से मजबूर किए गए युवा लड़कों को शरण मिली है। वे बेकर्स के बेटे हैं जिन्हें विद्रोहियों द्वारा मार दिया गया या अपहरण कर लिया गया और एक आदमी की दया से एक साथ लाया गया।


Your pictures of Scotland 15 - 22 January

Summary: A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 15 and 22 January. Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules regarding photographs that can be found here.

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

15 और 22 जनवरी के बीच भेजी गई स्कॉटलैंड की अपनी तस्वीरों का चयन करें। अपनी तस्वीरें scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk पर भेजें। कृपया सुनिश्चित करें कि आप यहाँ पाई जाने वाली तस्वीरों के संबंध में बीबीसी के नियमों का पालन करते हैं।


Delays as lorry gets stuck under railway bridge in Somerset

Summary: Drivers faced delays after a lorry hit a railway bridge in Somerset and became stuck.

The vehicle struck the 4.2m (13ft) high bridge near Railway Street on Kingston Road, Taunton, at about 08:00 GMT. The A3102 was partially blocked while the vehicle was being freed but has now been re-opened in both directions. Network Rail said engineers had inspected the bridge and found "no damage" and trains were running normally.

समरसेट में एक लॉरी के रेलवे पुल से टकराने और फंस जाने के बाद चालकों को देरी का सामना करना पड़ा।


El Chapo 'gave $1m to Honduran president's brother'

Summary: US prosecutors say jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán gave $1m (£810,000) to the brother of the Honduran president, a bribe that was meant to reach the country's leader.

The charge was read out at the start of the trial of President Juan Orlando Hernández's brother in New York. Juan Antonio Hernández was arrested in an anti-drugs operation in Miami in November. The president said the claims were "100% false, absurd and ridiculous". The conservative leader, who enjoys the staunch support of the Trump administration, said the accusations were "less serious than Alice in Wonderland". In a strongly worded tweet, the 50-year-old president - who has not been charged in the case - also pointed out that the prosecutor did not say he had received the money that was allegedly given to his brother. What happened in New York? Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández, 41, faces four separate charges, including drug conspiracy to import cocaine into the US and weapons offences. He denies the accusations. If convicted he faces life in prison. "The defendant was protected by and had access to his brother, the current sitting president of Honduras, a man who himself has received millions of dollars in drug money bribes," said Assistant US Attorney Jason Richman. "Bribes he received from some of the largest cocaine traffickers in the world, bribes he received from men like 'El Chapo' and the Sinaloa cartel who personally delivered $1m to the defendant for his brother." The prosecutor did not say when the alleged transaction by Guzmán took place. Earlier this year, Guzmán was convicted in a US court and sentenced to life in jail. According to Mr Richman, Tony Hernández, a former congressman, was part of a "state-sponsored organisation" that distributed cocaine in the US for years, and that corrupt "mayors, congressmen, military generals (and) police chiefs protected" him. Some of the cocaine he transported was said to have been labelled with his initials "TH". Tony Hernández's lawyer, Omar Malone, said he was being targeted because of President Hernández's tough policies against criminals, including extraditing drug traffickers to the US. What's the background? President Hernández is facing growing calls to step down following the release of a court document linked to his brother's case. It alleged that his 2013 presidential campaign had been financed by drug money, labelling him as a co-conspirator. He denies the claims. The president - whom protesters deride as a "narco-dictator - was re-elected to a second term in 2017 in polls which his opponents said were fraudulent. Honduras is a major transit route for cocaine smuggled from Colombia and other South American nations to the US. Thousands of Hondurans have left the country in recent years, mainly for the US, because of violence and poverty. Last week, Honduras signed a deal with the Trump administration to accept migrants applying to asylum in the US.

अमेरिकी अभियोजकों का कहना है कि जेल में बंद मैक्सिकन ड्रग लॉर्ड जोआक्विन "एल चैपो" गुज़मैन ने होंडुरास के राष्ट्रपति के भाई को $1 मिलियन (£810,000) की रिश्वत दी, जो देश के नेता तक पहुंचने के लिए थी।


The Vince Cable story: Profile of new Lib Dem leader

Summary: Sir Vince Cable has been crowned leader of the Liberal Democrats without a contest - this is the story of how he got there.

By Brian WheelerPolitical reporter He is one of the most recognisable faces in British politics: a former minister in the coalition government, a ballroom dancing enthusiast who did Strictly before Ed Balls, a financial guru noted for predicting the economic crash and now, at the age of 74, the leader of what used to be known as the third force in British politics. As someone who was a leading player during the coalition years, and who paid the price for it by losing his Commons seat in 2015, he will know better than anybody the scale of the task facing him. The Lib Dems have just 12 MPs. Sir Vince has conceded that the party's decision to campaign hard for a second referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal did not "cut through" at the general election. But he believes the party's time will come again, when it begins to dawn on the public that leaving the EU is a terrible mistake and has harmed the economy. He aims to lead the charge in Parliament against what he sees as Theresa May's reckless pursuit of a "hard Brexit," joining forces with Remainer Tories to frustrate the passage of key pieces of legislation. His mild manner - impressionists have compared his voice to that of the soft-hearted prison officer Mr Barrowclough in the 70s sitcom Porridge - masks a shrewd and steely operator, with a knack for generating publicity. Even before easing into the seat vacated when Tim Farron felt compelled to resign as leader, he was grabbing column inches and stirring up social media controversy, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr show he thought Brexit might never happen. It was this tendency to speak his mind, with one eye on the headlines, that drove some of his Conservative coalition colleagues to distraction during his years in government. At times, Sir Vince, or plain old Mr Cable as he was known then, gave the impression of a man being held captive by enemy forces. He baffled Tory MPs with his first Lib Dem conference speech as business secretary, in which he attacked capitalism, accusing it of killing competition. He branded the Conservative stance on immigration "nasty" and "ugly" and fought a long-running battle with then Home Secretary Theresa May over immigration curbs on students and non-EU workers, which he believed would be disastrous for the UK economy. But it was comments he never meant to be heard publicly that landed him in the most trouble, when in December 2010 he told undercover reporters he could bring down the coalition at any point by walking out - and how he had to "battle" to curb Tory excesses and promote his own party's agenda. He called the coalition's attempts to push through changes in the health service, local government and other areas a "kind of Maoist revolution", which was "in danger of getting out of control". Most damagingly, he told the undercover Daily Telegraph reporters he had "declared war on Rupert Murdoch" and planned to block the media baron's efforts to take full control of BSkyB. The remarks led to him being stripped of his powers to make a decision on the BSkyB bid - and were criticised by Downing Street as "totally unacceptable and inappropriate". But the fact that he remained business secretary may have proved his point about being unsackable. Who is Sir Vince Cable? Date of birth: 9 May 1943 Education: Grammar school, Cambridge university Family: Father of three grown-up children by his first wife, Olympia, who died in 2001. Remarried in 2004. Eldest grandson, Ayrton Cable, launched the Humanitarian Water and Food Youth Award at the age of 11, in front of 12,000 young people at Wembley Job before politics: Economist, lecturer and adviser to the Kenyan government and senior Labour politicians. Chief economist at oil giant Shell. Political career: A Labour councillor in Glasgow in the 1970s, who joined the SDP in 1982 and then won his Twickenham seat for the Lib Dems at the second attempt in 1997. Stood in as Lib Dem leader when Sir Menzies Campbell quit in 2007, was business secretary in the coalition government between 2010 and 2015, before losing his seat. Returned to the Commons in June. Knighted in 2015. Off duty: Ballroom dancing and writing - he is about to publish his first novel, a political thriller about a post-Brexit future called Open Arms. Sir Vince was a contemporary of Ken Clarke, Michael Howard and Norman Lamont - some of the Tory "big beasts" of the 1990s - while at Cambridge University. But he did not follow them on the fast track to Parliament. A grammar school boy from York, he initially joined the Liberal Party but, after university, defected to Labour. He fought for the Glasgow Hillhead seat at the 1970 election, losing. As a Labour councillor in Glasgow he contributed to The Red Paper on Scotland, edited by Gordon Brown in 1975. In 1982, Sir Vince changed party once more, this time opting for the newly formed Social Democratic Party. He made failed attempts to run for Parliament in 1983 and 1987. After the SDP and the old Liberal Party merged to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988, Sir Vince was unsuccessful in another bid to become an MP in 1992. It was not until the anti-Tory landslide of 1997 that he finally won the seat of Twickenham, south-west London. Along the way, he worked as an economics lecturer, at the Foreign Office, as a special adviser to future Labour leader John Smith, an official in the Kenyan government and as chief economist for the oil company Shell. Once in Parliament, his political career went comparatively smoothly, with promotion to the Lib Dem front bench in 1999 and to Treasury spokesman in 2003. In this influential role he made pronouncements on the unsustainability of Labour's long economic boom - comments which saw his reputation rise following the arrival of the credit crunch. He was also one of the first senior politicians to call for Northern Rock to be nationalised. Sir Vince helped to oust Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy in 2005, but it was after Mr Kennedy's successor, Sir Menzies Campbell, resigned after two years in the job, that Sir Vince became a household name. Having been elected deputy leader, he stood in at prime minister's questions and in a memorable exchange mocked Gordon Brown, remarking on the then prime minister's "remarkable transformation in the last few weeks from Stalin to Mr Bean, creating chaos out of order rather than order out of chaos". Laughter rang around the Commons chamber and a man previously seen as a rather dry figure was instantly transformed into a budding media star. By the 2010 election he was a familiar face on the nation's TV screens, cultivating a reputation as one of the few front-ranking politicians who had warned about the looming financial crisis in 2008. When David Cameron failed to win an overall majority, there were suggestions he might become chancellor under the Tory-Lib Dem government that emerged from coalition talks. However, the job went to George Osborne and Sir Vince was given the business brief - in charge of a department he had previously suggested should be abolished. Sir Vince's most controversial task was to oversee the rise in university tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000 a year. This came despite the Lib Dems signing a pre-election pledge to oppose any such move, which made him and party leader Nick Clegg the focus of much anger. Sir Vince voiced doubt about whether he should back the plans in Parliament. Eventually he and all his Lib Dem ministerial colleagues did so, in the face of a large rebellion by the party's backbench MPs. The Lib Dems have still not recovered from the reputational hit they took over tuition fees, although Sir Vince continues to defend the policy to this day, telling Sky News earlier this month that scrapping fees would be a "cheap populist gesture" that would create an unfair system, adding that the "40% of students" who go to university should not be subsidised by the "60% who don't" He also oversaw the controversial privatisation of the Royal Mail, which was criticised by the National Audit Office as being sold off too quickly and cheaply, after shares soared 70% above their original price. Sir Vince insisted the sale had delivered "value for money" for taxpayers. His political career appeared to have come to an end in 2015, when he was ejected from Parliament by the voters of Twickenham. Never one to rest on his laurels, he threw himself into his hobby of ballroom dancing - in 2010 he had taken part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special - entering the British National Dance Championships, after taking lessons at the dance studio of his Strictly dance partner Erin Boag. He also started work on a novel, after previously hitting the best seller lists with The Storm, an explanation of the 2008 world financial crash and how Britain should respond to it. Sir Vince is the father of three grown-up children by his first wife, Olympia, who was from Kenya. It was a mixed-race marriage, which saw Sir Vince defying his father, who told him such unions "didn't work". After Olympia was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in the 1990s, he combined the roles of being an MP and her carer until her death in 2001. Sir Vince remarried in 2004, to Rachel Smith, a farmer from the New Forest who had been at Cambridge with him. He wears the wedding rings from both of his marriages. He won back his Twickenham seat in June's snap election and when Tim Farron unexpectedly announced he was quitting as Lib Dem leader, saying he could not reconcile the role with his Christian faith, Sir Vince decided to stand for a job he had long coveted. When potential rivals ruled themselves out, it became clear that he would be crowned leader without a contest. Sir Vince has brushed off concerns about his age by referring to Sir Winston Churchill, who led his party in his late 70s, and William Gladstone, who was prime minister in his 80s. "Some of the brightest and most interesting people in British politics recently have been relatively old," he said when quizzed about it. "You remember Bernie Sanders in America as well? I don't feel old, I feel young and energetic." He had always regretted not standing for the party leadership in 2007, when Sir Menzies Campbell was effectively hounded out of the job for being too old, at the age of 66. Sir Vince, who was then 64, apparently feared that he would also be judged too old, but with his opposite numbers in the Conservatives and Labour both in their 60s, age is less of an issue now. He bristles at the suggestion that he is merely keeping the leadership seat warm for his 38-year-old deputy Jo Swinson, who had been the runaway favourite to be the party's next leader before deciding not to stand. "I've made it very clear I wasn't signing up to be a caretaker, I was signing up to do the job and do it properly and whatever that involves," he told The House magazine, including leading the party into the next election, whenever that might be.

सर विंस केबल को बिना किसी प्रतिस्पर्धा के लिबरल डेमोक्रेट्स के नेता का ताज पहनाया गया है-यह कहानी है कि वे वहाँ कैसे पहुँचे।


How the French learned to love their police

Summary: A record number of people have applied to join the French police force over the past year. Many new recruits say the recent attacks in Paris inspired them to sign up. It also seems that the shootings have made the country rethink its attitude towards the police.

By John LaurensonBBC News, Sens A young recruit pushes away a woman charging at her with a club. The recruit draws her revolver. "Police! Don't move!" she yells. Audrey is taking part in a self-defence class at the police training school in Sens, eastern France, having signed up after gunmen attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket at the start of 2015. "Since the [Paris] terror attacks in January and November last year, the danger confronting us is clear," she says. "Any one of us can be a victim. Every one of us needs protection. And we all want to help somehow. That's why I'm here. To help make this country safer." In March this year, a record 35,000 people sat the exam to join the police - 50% more than last year. Only 8% of those who took the test passed - the same success level as for the entrance exam for the elite Science-Po political science school in Paris. "I was really shocked by the video from the Charlie Hebdo killings of the policeman who was on the ground, asking for mercy, who they shot in cold blood," says another recruit, Perez, when I ask him why he joined the police. "That made me want to defend our republic, defend our nation even more. In the morning we'll wake up and know that maybe today we'll risk our lives but we're more motivated than ever," he says. The policeman Perez is talking about was called Ahmed Merabet, and the next recruit I talk to shares the same first name. "I'm of Algerian origin," he says. "We had a lot of terrorism in Algeria when I was growing up. I remember the curfews when we went there on holiday. When the Bataclan happened in November I remembered Algeria, and in December I joined the police." Three of the victims in the Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarket attacks were police officers, and the live TV coverage of their colleagues storming the shop to save hostages led many to see them as heroes. Then, in November, the first man to confront the attackers inside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris was an off-duty police officer who happened to be passing. He entered the building and shot one of the gunmen dead with his service revolver. A few days later police stormed a flat in St Denis, just north of the city, killing the suspected ringleader. "The terror attacks are a decisive factor for many in our new intake," says the director of the training college, Jacques Richard. "I think these young people are discovering a sense of duty and the desire to help their fellow human beings. "When something like this happens, people pull together. Everyone wants to make their own contribution. There's been a big increase in the number of people volunteering to give blood, for example. And more people have wanted to join the emergency services and the police. It's had a big influence on the way people think." The image of the police in France has changed significantly over the past 20 years. The 1995 film La Haine, a hit both at the box-office and with the critics, portrayed the police as sadistic and racist. "It's an anti-police film," explained Mathieu Kassovitz, who won the best director prize for the movie at Cannes that year. When the cast climbed the famous festival steps, the police on duty there turned their backs in protest. The police have had an extremely negative image in France for centuries, says historian Jean-Marc Berliere, who's written several books about them. "Even in Louis XIV's time the people loathed the police," he says. "In the public imagination the police meant repression and the limitation of freedom." A defining moment was May 1968 when police and rioting students fought pitched battles around Paris's Sorbonne University. That revolutionary movement spread to workers bringing the French economy to a virtual standstill for two weeks. Violence erupted when President Charles de Gaulle tried to sort things out by sending in the police. But the media always had a soft-spot for the paving-stone-hurling students. But four days after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, something extraordinary happened. People filled the streets of Paris to show their sympathy for the the victims and demonstrate their support for the police. A video posted on YouTube captures the moment. The crowd parts. There are women running - some of them laughing. "What's going on?" says the man filming with his smartphone. And then, police - in vans and on foot. Their black rubber shoulder protection giving them the kind of silhouettes usually associated with science fiction heroes. And the crowd starts to chant, "Merci, merci" - Thank you, thank you. "I couldn't believe it," says Jean-Marc Berliere who was there. "Here was a young, urban, intellectual crowd applauding the police! I saw women giving them flowers. I saw people shaking their hands. I saw women kissing them. And you could see how moved the police were. It was so unexpected." For Audrey, it made her realise that "this job is, in fact, fantastic". Something like this had happened only once before, says Berliere, at the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The police were the first to rise up against the Germans before the Allies got there. "Afterwards, when they marched, the crowds shouted 'Vive les flics!' - Long live the cops!" he says. It's not clear if the police's popularity will last, or if it will sag like a souffle in a police canteen. A video of a police officer hitting a young black demonstrator at a recent demonstration against labour reforms has not helped their image. Neither has a book by renowned anthropologist Didier Fassin, La Force de l'Ordre (Security Forces). He was allowed to follow the police in one part of the Paris region from 2005 to 2007 and reports widespread brutality and racism. But, for the time being at least, a significant part of the French population is seeing the police in a new way. As heroes. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

पिछले एक साल में रिकॉर्ड संख्या में लोगों ने फ्रांसीसी पुलिस बल में शामिल होने के लिए आवेदन किया है। कई नए रंगरूटों का कहना है कि पेरिस में हाल के हमलों ने उन्हें साइन अप करने के लिए प्रेरित किया। ऐसा भी लगता है कि गोलीबारी ने देश को पुलिस के प्रति अपने रवैये पर पुनर्विचार करने के लिए मजबूर कर दिया है।


Hemwand Ali Hussain: Two more arrests in murder probe

Summary: Police investigating the death of a father of two at a house in Hartlepool have made two further arrests.

Hemwand Ali Hussain, 30, was found dead in a property in Charterhouse Street on 15 September. Three men aged 38, 31, and 22 have been charged with his murder. Cleveland Police confirmed they had arrested two more men, aged 24, and 33, on suspicion of murder. A spokesman said the suspects had been arrested in the London area. Related Internet Links HM Courts & Tribunals Service

हार्टलपूल में एक घर में दो बच्चों के पिता की मौत की जांच कर रही पुलिस ने दो और गिरफ्तारियां की हैं।


Yemen war: Has anything been achieved?

Summary: This summer's partial withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen, while the war still drags on, prompts the inevitable question - has anything been achieved by anyone in this conflict? Even the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Saudi Arabia's closest ally - pronounced on 22 July: "There was no easy victory and there will be no easy peace."

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent Let's start with the downside. What has been lost and the scale of the disaster here is quite staggering. The Yemen war, now in its fifth year, has rightly been branded the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Estimates of those killed range from 10,000 to more than 70,000, the vast majority being Yemenis and an estimated two-thirds of those deaths from Saudi-led air strikes. According to the UN's Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, there are more than 30 front lines; more than 3.3 million people have been displaced; and 80% of the population need assistance and protection, including 10 million now reliant on food aid. Transpose those figures on to a UK population and it would notionally mean 53 million people needing help and protection. So Yemen, already the Arab world's poorest country, has been plunged ever deeper into poverty and economic disaster. This year, the Yemen war is already spreading beyond its borders, with missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi border towns, on shipping in the Red Sea and reportedly even on targets as far away as Riyadh and the UAE. Yet for Yemen's legitimate, UN-recognised government and its Saudi and Emirati backers, this war has always been about preventing an unacceptable takeover of the country by a tiny minority with links to Iran - the Houthis. And in that, they have succeeded, albeit at a terrible price paid by the people of Yemen. The war did not begin with the Saudi-led air campaign in March 2015. It began six months earlier when the Houthis, a small, largely unheard-of Yemeni tribal group from the mountainous north, marched on the capital, Sanaa, and evicted the legitimate government. Then, with the backing of forces loyal to the ousted former Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh, the Houthis took over most of the populated areas of Yemen. For Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional rival, this felt like an Iranian-backed coup on its southern frontier and the ruling princes resolved to act. Propelled by its inexperienced defence minister and now Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia put together a hastily-assembled coalition and began a devastating campaign of air strikes on Houthi positions. When I visited its operations centre in Riyadh in April 2015, the coalition spokesman was confident that within a few months Houthi resistance would crumble and they would effectively sue for peace. Yet more than four years on, the air strikes continue. There have been peace talks, but no peace. So has the war achieved nothing? That is certainly how it looks to much of the rest of the world. And the British government has found itself dragged into court, accused by human rights activists of providing weapons and munitions to the Royal Saudi Air Force which has, on several occasions over the past four years, bombed schools, hospitals, market places and funerals, killing civilians. The Houthis, too, have committed alleged war crimes but Britain isn't supplying them. The UAE, which at one point had up to 7,000 troops deployed in Yemen, has now reduced its contingent there to a few hundred, leaving the Saudis and their Yemeni allies to fight the Houthis, who remain firmly embedded in and around the capital and the north of the country. The UAE view is that its participation in this war has helped achieve several things. It has prevented a Houthi takeover of the whole country, which it considers would have ultimately given Iran control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait between Africa and Arabia. Also, it has "liberated" most of Yemen and undermined the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group. For Saudi Arabia, though, which has sunk billions of riyals into this war, and which now finds its towns and airports regularly targeted by increasingly sophisticated Houthi drones, the gains are less clear. Michael Stephens, a Gulf expert with the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think-tank in London, believes the war has been damaging for the Saudis as well as for Yemen. "The war has produced little of benefit for Saudi Arabia and strategically you could say that Riyadh is in a weaker position than it was in 2015," he said. "In contrast, the UAE has been able to achieve a number of tactical and political goals which have reinforced its position as a growing regional power." Meanwhile, the much-heralded Stockholm peace talks of last December have failed to translate into a lasting peace deal - or even a lasting ceasefire. While others can debate what they have gained or lost in Yemen, that country's agony continues.

इस गर्मी में यमन से अमीरात की सेना की आंशिक वापसी, जबकि युद्ध अभी भी आगे बढ़ रहा है, अपरिहार्य सवाल को जन्म देती है-क्या इस संघर्ष में किसी ने कुछ हासिल किया है? यहां तक कि संयुक्त अरब अमीरात (यू. ए. ई.)-सऊदी अरब का सबसे करीबी सहयोगी-ने 22 जुलाई को घोषणा कीः "कोई आसान जीत नहीं थी और कोई आसान शांति नहीं होगी।"


'My newborn son - the organ donor'

Summary: Nothing could prepare Valentina Daprile for losing her son, Angelo Ray, when he was eight days old. But she and her husband Luigi were determined to donate his organs so that another baby could live. It was something the hospital had never considered before.

By Kirstie BrewerBBC News Valentina will always remember the kindness in the doctor's voice and the careful way he delivered the worst news a parent could ever hear. "I'm so sorry, but there's nothing we can do for your baby." The staff at the newborn intensive care unit (Nicu) at King's College Hospital had done everything they could but Angelo Ray would never be able to survive without life support and an MRI scan showed no brain activity. Thinking back to that day in July 2016, she says it felt as though her whole world was collapsing. Angelo Ray was just down the corridor resting in his incubator. His mother Valentina wondered how she would go on without him. She hadn't even been able to hold him yet. "I was so upset to imagine my baby thinking, 'We have been together for nine months, where is my mummy, why has she left me?'" she says. A week before Valentina had been due to give birth she had collapsed and stopped breathing, a wave of blue spreading up her body. Her husband Luigi called 999 and followed instructions on how to resuscitate his wife. It was the first day of the school summer holidays and so all this was witnessed by their six-year-old son, Leone. Until that day, Valentina's pregnancy had been complication-free and she had been planning a water birth at home. Instead, Angelo Ray was delivered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south London, via an emergency Caesarean section and Valentina was rushed away for life-saving blood transfusions immediately afterwards. It would be another 24 hours until Valentina got to see her baby, because she was so unwell and he was transferred for specialist care to King's College Hospital in Camberwell. Luigi would spend the days going between the two hospitals until Valentina had recovered enough to be transferred to King's too. By that time doctors had established just how badly Angelo Ray's brain had been affected by the lack of oxygen in the hours before his birth. "When the doctor spoke to us the toughest thing to accept was that there was absolutely nothing I could do to save my baby. Literally nothing," Valentina says. She was a mum with a high-pressure job - she'd always felt confident in her ability to solve all manner of problems and fix what was broken. But not this. "Just six days old and nobody will ever know him," she thought. Then, in her thick fog of grief an idea shone through, a small shard of comfort. "We thought the only thing that would make a bit of sense and to warm our hearts a little bit was to donate Angelo's organs," says Valentina. "This was something we could actually do and it seemed a waste not to - then this horrible tragedy could serve some purpose." Amy Overend, a nurse working in the King's Nicu at the time, was with Valentina and Luigi when they suggested organ donation. Never in her five years at the hospital had a conversation like this taken place. "Adults in intensive care might anticipate a conversation about organ donation because there is so much publicity around it, but it is a really difficult thing to broach with the parent of a newborn baby," says Amy. But here were the parents, initiating the conversation themselves. They had a strength she couldn't begin to describe. The Nicu team began to speak to the hospital's organ donation team and even they were unsure whether it was possible, says Amy. It wasn't something they had done before, and removing organs from such a small baby, and transplanting them, poses extra challenges. Angelo Ray had some bloods tests to check he would be a viable donor, and which organs it might be possible to use. Everything was successfully put in place to fulfil the family's wishes. Yes, it was possible for Angelo Ray to be a donor. "You could see how much it meant to Angelo's family, it meant their son could live on somehow," says Amy. Organ donation from a neonatal baby (a baby under 28 days old) is incredibly rare. In ten years just 40 babies this age have become donors, according to NHS Blood and Transplant. Twenty-six donated tissue - heart valves and corneas - while 14 donated organs, or both organs and tissues. They have helped save the lives of patients of all ages - from other babies to children and adults. While some organs would only be suitable for other babies, there are others, such as the kidneys, which can be used for an adult because they can grow. The number of neonatal organ donors is slowly rising thanks to greater public awareness, growing expertise around retrieving and transplanting smaller sized organs and greater willingness from Nicus to embrace having the conversation about organ donation with families making end of life choices. There was still the question of how to tell six-year-old Leone that the brother he had been so excited to have wouldn't be coming home with them. Amy felt very privileged to be asked by Valentina and Luigi to explain things to their son. In a quiet corner the two of them sat down with some chocolate cake and she talked to Leone about how unwell his little brother was. She explained he wouldn't be going home with them, he would be going to heaven instead. Leone listened intently. He'd been trying so hard to stay strong for his parents and had just one question - "Is it OK if I'm sad?" Valentina, Luigi and Leone picked the name Angelo Ray together as a family. The Italian word for Angel because they thought he looked like a perfect cherub and Ray because Leone had wanted to give his brother a name beginning with R. Before Angelo's life support was withdrawn Leone sat and read his little brother a story about an elephant called Humpety Trumpety, ignoring all the wires and tubes that snaked around them. He drew some pictures, decorating them with stickers, and they were taped to the inside of the incubator. The six-year-old was able to reach into the incubator to hold his brother's hand and chat to him. All this was his way of saying goodbye. The time came for Angelo Ray's life support to be withdrawn. Valentina and Luigi accompanied their baby son to a private room, near the theatre, so they could be with him when his heart stopped beating. An hour passed and Angelo Ray was still breathing, so the doctors decided to return the family to the Nicu ward to spend time together while nature took its course. The parents were told it would be possible for Angelo Ray's heart valves to be donated after he died. There in the ward Valentina held her son for what would be the first and final time. She nuzzled into the warmth of his body and took in the weight of him in her arms. "I will never forget his smell, the soft velvet of his skin," she says. The three of them sat together cocooned away from the rest of the ward by screens which had been put up by the nurses. The Nicu is several storeys up and its huge windows overlook sweeping views of the capital. "It was a starry night and London looked just beautiful," Valentina remembers. "There was a moment when he was on my chest and it felt like our hearts vibrated together, I can't explain it. I like to think that he knew he was finally back with his mummy." Soon afterwards he closed his eyes. "He took his last breath on me, in the warmth of my arms. I know many mums don't have that privilege and it was an incredible gift I will cherish forever." Angelo Ray died on 30 July 2016, he was eight days old. When he died, his parents felt at peace. They were given the chance to bathe him and christen him with oil. "I made him nice and clean, I wanted to purify him after so many days in the hospital," says Valentina. They softly said prayers and gave him a fresh nappy. They dressed him in a special white babygrow decorated with four hearts, linked together by a golden thread. Heart valves can be stored for up to ten years and have the potential to help multiple people. They can be transplanted to save the lives of children born with heart defects as well as adults with damaged heart valves. The family were told this week that one of the heart valves belonging to Angelo Ray was successfully transplanted to a newborn baby that was born with a congenital heart disease. Valentina was overwhelmed with emotion when she found out and said: "Now we know a part of our baby is definitely living on and it is an amazing legacy." Angelo Ray and his family made a profound impact on Amy and changed her as a nurse, she says. Now, if a baby meets the criteria, staff at King's College Hospital will always talk to the parents about the possibility of organ donation. "Angelo Ray was the catalyst for some real proactive change in our thought process," Amy says. The family gave the nurse a lasting passion for end of life care in neonates, so much so that she now leads on end-of-life care at the Royal Bolton Hospital Nicu. The hospital will be following the example of King's and making it standard practice to discuss organ donations in the Nicu. "That is Angelo's legacy - one of heartbreak, courage and pushing of boundaries." In the weeks that followed her son's death Valentina says she felt like an alien. "The world and everyone around me looked different. If I saw people in the street smiling and laughing I would think, 'I've lost a baby, there is nothing to laugh about'" "I made sure I took the time to grieve. I cried, I stayed in bed, I got angry." Slowly, with Luigi and Leone by her side, Valentina began to feel stronger and more able to face the world again. She got a clean bill of health from the doctor and was told it would be safe to have another baby, if that is what she wanted. "It would have been very easy at that point to let fear run my life and think, 'It wasn't meant to be, no more kids, my life is finished'. But my life is not finished," she says. In August 2018 Mattia was born, two years after Angelo Ray. He was born in perfect health and is now a spirited 17-month-old. Mattia joined his parents on a lantern-lit walk of remembrance during Baby Loss Awareness Week last year and will grow up knowing he is the third of three brothers. "I want Mattia to know his brother was a special baby, not destined for this Earth," says Valentina. "He came and gifted other people with life." If you or someone you know is struggling with issues raised by this story, find support through the BBC Action Line. Follow Kirstie Brewer on Twitter @kirstiejbrewer

वेलेंटीना डेप्रिले जब आठ दिन की थी तब अपने बेटे एंजेलो रे को खोने के लिए कुछ भी तैयार नहीं कर सकती थी। लेकिन वह और उसका पति लुइगी उसके अंग दान करने के लिए दृढ़ थे ताकि एक और बच्चा जीवित रह सके। यह कुछ ऐसा था जिस पर अस्पताल ने पहले कभी विचार नहीं किया था।


Indian factory workers supplying major brands allege routine exploitation

Summary: Indian workers in factories supplying the supermarket chains Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's, and the fashion brand Ralph Lauren, told the BBC they are being subjected to exploitative conditions.

By Rajini VaidyanathanBBC News, Delhi Women working at a Ralph Lauren supplier said they had been forced to stay overnight to complete orders, sometimes requiring them to sleep on the factory floor. "We're made to work continuously, often through the night, sleeping at 3am then waking up by 5am for another full day," one woman said in an interview. "Our bosses don't care. They're only bothered about production," she said. The BBC has withheld the names of those who agreed to be interviewed, as well as the names of the factories, to protect the workers' safety. Workers at the supermarket supplier said they had been made to endure conditions which would be unacceptable for staff employed by the same brands in the UK. "We don't get toilet breaks, we don't get time to drink water on shift. We barely get time to eat lunch," one woman said. She said a manager would sometimes stand behind staff in the canteen and blow a whistle to send them back to work. Another employee said staff were forced to work overtime and prevented from going home until extra work was finished. "They've increased our workload. We're forced to stay late to finish it - or they yell at us and threaten to fire us. We're scared as we don't want to lose our jobs." The four brands supplied by the factories we investigated all said they were concerned about the allegations put to them by the BBC and would investigate. The women working at these garment factories all live in poverty in a rural area of South India. The charity Action Aid, which supports more than 1,200 female garment workers across 45 villages in this specific region, told the BBC that forced overtime, verbal abuse and poor working conditions were routine at the factories in question. Allegations such as these are not confined to the garment industry. Low wages and weak labour laws have long made India an attractive place for foreign brands looking to outsource work. Unions are rare and virtually absent in the private sector, making informal and contract workers especially vulnerable. While inspections are mandatory, rampant corruption and a sluggish system has meant that factories are rarely held to account for breaking the law. The garment industry draws more attention because it's driven by exports and counts some of the world's biggest brands as among its clients. India is the world's second-largest manufacturer and exporter of garments after China. India's garment makers directly employ about 12.9 million people in factories and millions more outside, including their own homes, according to a 2019 report that investigated working conditions in the sector. Several women who spoke to the BBC described a climate of fear at the factory supplying Ralph Lauren. They said managers did not give them notice to work additional hours, instead threatening them with the sack if they were unable to stay on. "The supervisor always shouts at us," one woman said. "If we make any error in stitching, I'll be taken to the master who is very scary. The master will start swearing and shouting at us. It's a terrifying experience" Another woman, a widow who supports her family financially, said: "They ask us to work so late I can't even feed my children at night. They shouldn't treat us like slaves, they should give us respect," she said. The claims appear to violate India's Factories Act, which states that no worker should exceed more than 48 hours a week (or 60 hours with overtime), nor should they be made to work for more than nine hours in one day. The law also states that women should only work night shifts if they choose to do so. Ralph Lauren's 2020 Global Citizenship and sustainability report says the company is "committed to conducting our global operations ethically with respect for the dignity of all people who make our products". The report also includes a pledge to ensure employees "must not be made to work excessive working hours" and says there should be no "verbal harassment, coercion, punishment or abuse". The three brands are all members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), and have signed up to its base code which includes a pledge to ensure working hours are not excessive, overtime is voluntary and that workers are not subject to verbal abuse. In a statement, Ralph Lauren said it was deeply concerned by the allegations put to the company by the BBC and would investigate. "We require all of our suppliers to meet strict operating standards to ensure a safe, healthy and ethical workplace, and we conduct regular third-party audits at all factories," the company said. The factory supplying the fashion brand denied the staff members' allegations and said it was compliant with the law. The three supermarket brands all said they were shocked to hear the reports and were working together to ensure the issues were remedied, in particular on excessive working hours. Sainsbury's said it was "insisting on a number of actions the supplier must take in order for us to continue to work with them", including "immediate actions and ongoing commitments the supplier must make while we continue to closely monitor the site". Tesco said: "We don't tolerate any abuse of workers' rights and fully investigated these allegations as soon as we were made aware. We were deeply troubled with what we found." Tesco said its plan included "prohibiting excessive overtime, strengthening grievance procedures" and ensuring workers were "fully compensated at the correct rates for hours they've worked". Marks & Spencer said it "undertook an immediate unannounced audit" in the wake of the claims, the company said it "identified overtime working practices that are not acceptable", but disputed worker accounts about access to toilet breaks and water. The company also said it had a "robust" plan in place and would be "undertaking regular unannounced audits to ensure its implementation". 'Brands are to blame' These kinds of brands do not own or operate factories in India, which creates distance between them and working conditions there, but one owner of a clothing supplier - who did not want to be named - told the BBC that if brands push for cheaper clothes it can leave suppliers with no choice but to cut corners to meet orders. "It's the brand who wants to maximize the profit. So, they push you to a level wherein you have to do the exploitation in order to survive," he said. The owner, who used to supply a major UK brand not mentioned in this story, described some factory audit processes as a "sham". "The factory is aware when the auditors are coming, so they keep everything in perfect condition before," he said. "The moment the audit is over, everything goes back to normal, which means exploitation and non compliance." He said that poor checks and balances, combined with a lack of responsibility by the brands, makes it hard to stamp out that exploitation. "It is the way of working in the textile industry, it's just not India, it's everywhere." And as profits are squeezed, women often find themselves losing out. Payslips seen by the BBC show women working in garment factories can earn as little as £2.50 per day, making items which, in some cases, sell for hundreds of pounds. More than 40% of workers surveyed by Action Aid India reported that their average monthly income was in the range of Rs. 2000-5000. (£20-£50). "Women are undervalued and underpaid throughout global supply chains," said Esther Mariaselvam, the associate director at Action Aid's Chennai office. All of the workers who spoke to the BBC described living in impoverished conditions and said they struggled to survive on their salaries. One woman working at the Ralph Lauren supplier said she supported her entire family on a wage of around 6,000 rs (£61 per month), after deductions. Still in her late teens, she became the breadwinner after her father died and now provides for her mother and two sisters. Her salary is within the local legal minimum wage bracket for her job, but labour rights organisations say women like her should be earning more than three times as much. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance organisation which advocates for higher salaries for garment workers in the region, has set a monthly living wage in India of at least 18,727 rs (£190). Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer have previously made commitments to a living wage. Ralph Lauren has not done so explicitly. But according to payslips seen by the BBC, neither of the factories we investigated appeared to be paying their workers anything close to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance recommended minimum amount. We asked all four brands to comment on the living wage but none of them responded on the specific issue. Anna Bryher, from the advocacy group Labour behind the Label, said it was the responsibility of brands to ensure fair and safe working conditions. "If you're a brand and you're making clothing in different countries around the world then you need to look at whether you're paying your workers enough to live with dignity," she said. "It's your responsibility as the company at the top of the supply chain to know what is happening in your supply chain and to make sure that it's fair." Local labour laws were not doing enough to address exploitation, the push for change needs to come from the brands themselves," argues Vivek Soundararajan, a senior lecturer at Bath University who researches global supply chains. "Most checks and balances do not include workers voices, they do not include what workers actually need," he said. "I think the brand should take the full responsibility … They may not run the factory, but they get all the benefits." Photographs by Rextane Nissi S. Additional reporting by Peter Emmerson. If you are a worker in a garments factory and have a story to share you can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: Your contact info I am over 16 years old I accept the Terms of Service In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. The BBC retains the right to select from these contributions based on editorial requirements and subject to online terms and conditions and BBC editorial guidelines. For more information about how the BBC handles your personal data, see here. If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

सुपरमार्केट श्रृंखला मार्क्स एंड स्पेंसर, टेस्को और सेंसबरीज और फैशन ब्रांड राल्फ लॉरेन की आपूर्ति करने वाले कारखानों में भारतीय श्रमिकों ने बीबीसी को बताया कि उन्हें शोषणकारी परिस्थितियों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है।


How to control a machine using your mind

Summary: Imagine being able to make a machine do your bidding with your thoughts alone, no button pressing, typing, screen tapping or fumbling with remote controls, just brain power. Well, this sci-fi scenario could be closer to reality than you think.

By Emma WoollacottTechnology of Business reporter Bill Kochevar's life was changed, seemingly irrevocably, when he was paralysed from the shoulders down following a cycling accident nearly a decade ago. His future looked bleak. But last year he was fitted with a brain-computer interface, or BCI, that enabled him to move his arm and hand for the first time in eight years. Sensors were implanted in his brain, then over a four-month period Mr Kochevar trained the system by thinking about specific movements, such as turning his wrist or gripping something. The sensors effectively learned which bits of the brain fired up - and in what sequence - for each movement. Then, when 36 muscle-stimulating electrodes were implanted into his arm and hand, he was able to control its movements simply by thinking about what he wanted to do. Within weeks, he could feed himself again. "This research has enhanced my ability to be able to do things," he told the BBC last year. Research teams are also working on mind-controlled wheelchairs, and on using sensors to allow people who are completely paralysed to give yes-and-no answers through the power of thought. But this technology doesn't just have health-related applications. Many tech companies are exploring brain control as a user interface. Recently, for example, car maker Nissan unveiled a "brain-to-vehicle" headset that monitors a driver's brainwaves to work out what you're about to do - before you do it. The aim of the system is to allow the vehicle to respond that split-second more quickly than a driver's natural reaction time. On a mountain road with lots of hairpin bends for example, brain-to-vehicle technology should make it easier to keep the car under control, says Nissan. In tests, even very experienced drivers have performed noticeably better using the system, the firm claims. Meanwhile, virtual reality (VR) firm Neurable has developed a mind-controlled computer game that it says should be hitting the arcades later this year. Players wearing a sensor-equipped VR headset simply need to focus their thoughts on an object to manipulate it: there's no hand controller at all. At the more light-hearted end of the scale, EmojiMe has built a pair of brainwave-reading headphones that display the wearer's emotional state in the form of animated emojis. It was originally invented as a joke, its creators say. And there are plenty of other mind-controlled devices in the pipeline. The driving force behind research has come from the world of medicine, where great strides are being made in the use of BCIs. Implanting sensors on the surface of the brain gives them far greater sensitivity. If all this sounds awfully like magic, here's how these devices work. BCIs measure brain activity through an electroencephalogram (EEG) that's almost as sophisticated as those used in hospitals. The device picks up the tiny electrical signals produced when neurons in the brain communicate with each other. These signals include alpha, beta, delta, theta and gamma waves, as well as various types of signal triggered by visual cues. Certain patterns of activity can be associated with particular thoughts, allowing the system to make predictions about the user's wishes. In the case of the Nissan brain-to-vehicle system, for example, this means monitoring the signals associated with what's known as motion-related preparatory brain activity. This data is then correlated with information gathered by the vehicle itself. "The headset would read this preparatory activity, and would pair that with the information the vehicle has from sensors and maps - for example, 'there is a turn coming up in 200 metres'," says spokesman Nick Maxfield. "The AI uses this combination of the brainwaves and the sensor data to work out what to do - for example, 'there's a turn coming up, and she's started to think about turning - at this rate, she'll go into the turn a bit late, so let's start the turn now'." For this reason, assures Mr Maxfield, there's no chance of causing an accident by simply thinking about steering or braking. Neurable, developer of the world's first mind-controlled arcade game, claims that its system is the fastest non-invasive BCI and the most accurate at determining what the user wants to do, due to its machine learning system. This interprets a set of brainwave patterns, known as event-related potentials (ERPs), to establish when a game player wants to act. "ERPs are a brain response that occurs when a user is interested in a target selection - for example, a button, object, et cetera - and that target changes," says founder and chief executive Ramses Alcaide, adding that this response applies to any change at all, whether the object be moving, flashing or making a sound. "We then leverage this response to give users control that can very much be likened to using a mental computer mouse." The company has put its system to use in Awakening, a VR game developed in partnership with eStudiofuture. The game, a little like the Netflix series Stranger Things, involves children with telekinetic powers who escape by manipulating objects and battling enemies with thought alone. Neurable has released a kit allowing games developers to use its technology, and says it expects brain sensors eventually to become a standard feature of VR headsets. More Technology of Business And tech companies are thinking big for the future. Facebook and other companies are in the very early stages of developing "silent speech", enabling users to type words just by thinking them. Microsoft, meanwhile, recently filed a patent for a machine learning system that would use EEG waves to launch and control computer applications. Of course, one thing that is holding back really sophisticated uses is the need to use externally mounted electrodes. But brain implants are risky and expensive, making them suitable for only the most life-changing applications. "Invasive BCIs are used in experiments with people with severe disabilities," says Mr Alcaide, "and it is a long way away before we can see a future where people sport invasive BCIs."

कल्पना कीजिए कि आप एक मशीन को अपने विचारों के साथ अपनी बोली लगाने में सक्षम बना सकते हैं, कोई बटन दबाना, टाइप करना, स्क्रीन टैप करना या रिमोट कंट्रोल के साथ लड़खड़ाना नहीं, बस मस्तिष्क की शक्ति। ठीक है, यह विज्ञान-फाई परिदृश्य वास्तविकता के करीब हो सकता है जितना आप सोचते हैं।


What do Kushner talks with China's Anbang mean for Trump?

Summary: A company part-owned by Donald Trump's son-in-law and now senior White House adviser, Jared Kushner, is reportedly negotiating a deal with a Chinese company to redevelop 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The 41-floor ageing property, which occupies a full block that fronts Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street, was purchased by Kushner Companies in 2006 for $1.8bn (£1.5bn). At the time, it was the highest price paid for a single building in Manhattan. But does Chinese interest in the building, just a few blocks south of Trump Tower, raise questions over a potential conflict of interest with someone so personally and professionally close to the US president? And would a possible sale to China's Anbang Insurance Group pose security risks? Deal or no deal? On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Anbang was planning a $4bn (£3.3bn) investment deal with the owners of 666 Fifth Avenue. The agreement, the news agency reported, would make Kushner Companies, owned by Jared Kushner and his father Charles, more than $400m (£327m). The report says that some real estate experts consider the terms of such a transaction unusually favourable for the US company. On Tuesday, however, Anbang said that reports circulating of its investment in the Fifth Avenue property were "not correct". "There is no investment from Anbang for this deal," the company wrote in a statement. Kushner Companies later confirmed that it is in "active discussions" over the building in Manhattan, but did not name Anbang specifically. "Nothing has been finalised," company spokesman James Yolles told Reuters news agency. What are the potential conflicts of interest? After Mr Kushner was given a senior role inside the White House, his lawyer told the New York Times that he "would recuse from particular matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on his remaining financial interests". As an owner of Kushner Companies, and with close ties to Mr Trump, investment deals under negotiation between his company and firms such as Anbang do raise questions. Responding to these concerns, company spokesman Mr Yolles said that Mr Kushner sold his ownership stake in 666 Fifth Avenue to family members, meaning that any transaction would pose no conflict of interest with his role at the White House. "Kushner Companies has taken significant steps to avoid potential conflicts and will continue to do so," Mr Yolles said in a statement. What do we know about the Kushners? Jared Kushner, 36, is married to Mr Trump's daughter, Ivanka. In 2006, at just 25, the softly-spoken millionaire bought the once-venerable New York Observer newspaper. Although he shares with Mr Trump a complete lack of political experience, last year he exerted a powerful influence over the Trump campaign - including digital strategy and top-level hires - and carried that clout into the White House. His father, Charles, founded Kushner Companies in 1985 and made his fortune as a New Jersey property mogul. A controversial figure, Kushner senior received a prison sentence in 2005 for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering. At the time, he admitted setting up his own brother-in-law with a prostitute, secretly filming the liaison, and sending the tape to his sister in an effort to dissuade them from testifying against him. The man who prosecuted Charles Kushner was the former US Attorney for New Jersey and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie. Jared Kushner is reported to have been involved in counselling Mr Trump to choose Mike Pence as his running mate, over Mr Christie. What do we know about Anbang? China's Anbang Insurance Group was founded in 2004. It is now one of the country's corporate goliaths with an increasingly large international portfolio and interests ranging from banking to traditional Chinese medicine. The firm first came to prominence in 2015 when it bought New York's landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel for $1.95bn (£1.35bn), then the biggest US real estate deal by a Chinese buyer. Following the acquisition, then President Barack Obama refused to stay at the Waldorf Astoria during a UN general assembly gathering, citing security concerns. Anbang has been making an aggressive push into the US property market over the last few years but little is known about the company. In April 2016, the firm unexpectedly abandoned a $14bn (£9.75bn) takeover offer for Starwood Hotels, ending a three-week bidding war with Marriott. According to reports at the time, there were questions over its financing sources. The company now claims to have total assets of more than 1.9tn yuan ($300bn, £240bn). What are Angbang's political connections? Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui is considered one of the best politically-connected men in China, having married the grand-daughter of former leader, Deng Xiaopeng. Mr Wu, 49, is considered "reclusive" but in 2015 he appeared at a Harvard event in Beijing, where he spoke about his firm's investment strategy. "We must win the first battle and every battle thereafter, as we are representing Chinese enterprises going global," he said. Company records have also shown members of the board to include the son of a top military commander under former leader Mao Zedong and the son of China's former prime minister Zhu Rongji. Are international deals a problem for Trump? Mr Trump's overseas business interests invite questions of whether his foreign policy decisions are directed by US interests or by his own - or his family's - business interests. A section of the US Constitution known as the Emoluments Clause restricts what US presidents can accept from foreign governments. America's founding fathers included this to prevent US leaders from being beholden to foreign governments. After Mr Trump was elected in early November he spoke over the phone with Argentine President Mauricio Macri. After that call, the Trump Organization issued a press release indicating that Trump Tower Buenos Aires - which had been waiting permit approval to be built - was a done deal. In January, Donald Trump said he had formally given "complete and total" control of the Trump Organization's businesses to his two sons in a bid to avoid conflicts of interest. But meetings with Indian business partners and current projects in places like the Philippines and Brazil are also raising questions about what the power of the presidency could do for the Trump brand's international negotiating power.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के दामाद और अब व्हाइट हाउस के वरिष्ठ सलाहकार, जारेड कुशनर के आंशिक स्वामित्व वाली एक कंपनी कथित तौर पर न्यूयॉर्क शहर में 666 फिफ्थ एवेन्यू के पुनर्विकास के लिए एक चीनी कंपनी के साथ एक सौदे पर बातचीत कर रही है।


Martin Sellner: The new face of the far right in Europe

Summary: In his T-shirt, skinny jeans and sharply styled haircut, Martin Sellner is the European far right's newest poster boy. The group he leads in Austria has attracted huge publicity. However, Sellner's insistence that his movement is non-racist and non-violent doesn't have everyone convinced.

By Simon Cox and Anna MeiselBBC News In April 2016, hundreds of people sat inside the University of Vienna's theatre watching The Suppliants, a play performed by asylum-seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. And then the stage invasion began. Members of a far-right group called Generation Identity (GI) rushed in, unfurling a banner calling the audience hypocrites and throwing fake blood over some of them. The performers screamed, fearing they were under attack. There were scuffles as some in the audience began shouting "Nazis raus" or "Nazis out" and tried to eject the protesters. Ima was one of the performers. She had fled Mosul in Iraq when it was taken over by the so-called Islamic State group. "We came from the land of fear," she says. And now, in the darkness and confusion, she was scared again. "We thought they were going to kill us. In my homeland it's just so much killing and dead people so that's what we believed." The young man who leads GI in Austria plays down the incident. "I actually don't think people were really traumatised," he says. "I don't know anybody who had a severe trauma or a medical condition." His name is Martin Sellner, and with his striking haircut, fashionable skinny jeans and thick-rimmed glasses, he looks like a typical style-conscious 29-year-old. Like many others of his generation, he can normally be found staring into the lens of a mobile phone - but in Sellner's case, it's typically to deliver a monologue about the evils of multiculturalism and how Muslims want to take over Europe. He is often joined in his videos on YouTube by his fiancee, Brittany Pettibone, an alt-right vlogger and conspiracy theorist. Her posts about a so-called "white genocide" and a paedophile ring connected to Hillary Clinton led the Anti-Defamation League to place her on its list of hate groups. Earlier this year Sellner and Pettibone were both banned from entering the UK. The Home Office said that when "the purpose of someone's visit to this country is to spread hatred, the Home Office can and will stop them entering Britain". Sellner isn't just GI's leader in Austria. He's also a poster boy for the Europe-wide Identitarian movement, which is fiercely opposed to Muslim migrants - claiming that they threaten Europe's identity and will eventually replace the indigenous populations. The movement began in France in 2012 and has expanded to nine countries including Germany, Italy and recently the UK. It doesn't have many members but gets publicity through confrontational and expensive stunts. In the summer of 2017, GI raised over £150,000 through crowdfunding to charter a boat in the Mediterranean to target non-governmental organisations that patrol the sea to rescue migrants in peril. GI said it would arrest illegal migrants and sink their boats - its campaign received the backing of a neo-Nazi website, former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and a leading American white supremacist. It didn't quite go to plan, though. GI's boat was detained and the captain was arrested, accused of having illegal Sri Lankan refugees on board and false documents. They were all later released. A few months later, GI paid for a red helicopter to land on the crisp white snow of the French Alps. Flanked by 100 activists from across Europe, a massive poster was laid out telling migrants to go home. This stunt cost more than £50,000. But the organisation's actions in Austria have landed it in deep trouble. The Austrian authorities think that actions like the protest at the University of Vienna theatre and Generation Identity's accompanying rhetoric amount to incitement of hatred against Muslims, foreigners and refugees. It's why they have taken the unprecedented step of charging GI with being a criminal group, rather than the non-governmental organisation it says it is. The Austrian prosecutor compiled evidence from stunts GI carried out in the past two years. These included the targeting of a lecture at Klagenfurt University, a small campus set amidst the jagged mountains and cool lakes of Carinthia. Identitarians disrupted a talk on refugees and integration, unfurling a banner while a man with a megaphone barked at a shocked audience. Enis Husic, a softly spoken student from Bosnia, challenged them that day. "It was very tense and aggressive. I could really sense that," he says. "At the time I wasn't scared but I was very scared afterwards once it was all over." The fresh-faced rector, Prof Oliver Vitouch, was looking out of his office window when he saw protesters and rushed to confront them. He was hit by one of them as they tried to escape. "Although they usually say they're completely free of violence and completely peaceful, it's pretty clear to me that the readiness to violence is obviously there," he says. For years, GI was dismissed by its critics as a bunch of wannabe hipster Nazis - but Natasha Strobl, an author and researcher, has long thought their actions and rhetoric pose a threat to the country. "They paint refugees as invaders, as dangerous soldiers of Islam who come here to destroy Europe. It really destroys society," she says. As a result of this rhetoric, she adds, "people get aggressive, people harass Muslim women on the streets". She wrote a book about the Identitarian movement and then began receiving threats. "There are rape and murder threats when you open your email… I try not to go the same ways in the city because I don't want to be followed. So you change how you live." Generation Identity says it's not racist or violent but articulating the views of many Austrians. Martin Sellner grew up in an affluent suburb outside of Vienna. In his teenage years, Strobl says, he was drawn to the nationalist fringe in Austria. "He was part of the neo-Nazi scene and the most well-known figure of the neo-Nazis, Gottfried Kussel, was his mentor," she says. At the time Kussel had already been to prison for trying to revive Nazism. He was arrested again in 2011 and later jailed for nine years for continued far-right activity. It was after this, in 2012, that Martin Sellner set up the Identitarians in Austria. We meet him inside their offices in a scrappy apartment in the centre of Vienna. It's fairly basic apart from a room full of cameras, laptops and lights where they make and edit their videos. Sellner is relaxed and confident; the day before he had been acquitted, along with 16 other GI members and supporters, of belonging to a criminal organisation. "I really think we were vindicated and I hope that this verdict will also have an effect beyond this case and beyond Austria in the rehabilitation of GI," he says, sipping from a glass of sparkling water. The prosecutor is appealing against the acquittal and is investigating GI's finances. GI likes to stress it's not violent or racist, but what of Martin Sellner's past? He admits he was involved with neo-Nazis when he was younger because, he says, "there was no alternative. There was no right-wing patriotic movement". When asked bluntly: "So you weren't a racist?" his fluency falters. "I don't think I was." Find out more Simon Cox's documentary Generation Identity, produced by Anna Meisel, is broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents at 11:00 on Thursday 20 September 2018. Listen again on iPlayer For transmission times on the BBC World Service, click here When pressed further - "Surely you'd know if you were a racist?" - he still sounds a little unsure. "I wouldn't say I was. It was a very ambiguous thing. I would say I was like a conservative, patriot." Earlier this year, before he was banned from the UK, he was secretly filmed by undercover reporters during a trip to London. He was captured using a racist and offensive term. He says it was a genuine mistake. "I really thought that 'Paki' was a completely normal term. If I would have known it, that it was considered a racial slur, I would have definitely not used it." "Come off it," we tell him. "You come to the UK a lot - the idea you wouldn't know it was offensive isn't believable." He once again insists he didn't know and apologises. "If I insulted anybody with this word, I absolutely say sorry and I will never use it again." GI's actions often target events which promote integration - because, he says, he doesn't believe in this. The Muslims who come to Europe must do more, he says - they must assimilate. "Assimilation means that you completely identify with the country, the nation, its history," he says - otherwise, he warns, "it's treason, because you're betraying this community… because this community is giving you open hands, taking you in and then you have to put the interests of this community in front of your own." Standing in his way are anti-fascist campaigners like Jerome Trebing. Publicly, Sellner's group says it is not violent or racist. But Trebing has worked with activists who have gone into meetings GI holds in isolated rural areas. As he sips sweet tea in a Turkish cafe in Vienna's multicultural 10th district, a place that GI abhors, Trebing says: "There is some really hard stuff going on. There are people who are allowed to say racist stuff, anti-Semitic stuff and there is no-one who is saying there is no place for it here." According to Trebing, in these meetings GI supporters said it wasn't just Muslims who wanted to replace the local population, but Jews too. The alt-right on BBC Trending The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread Who's behind the fighting at US universities? Undercover in the alt-right GI's leader denies it has any bias against the Jewish population. He wants to expand the Identitarian movement to other European nations. In Austria, he says, "We have a right-wing government. And we want to push for that everywhere in Europe, we really want to change public discourse." The nationalist, anti-immigration Freedom Party joined Austria's coalition government last year. Sellner's ban on visiting the UK has made it harder for him to spread his message to potential supporters, but online he is still very active - although he has been banned from Facebook. In mainland Europe he is free to lead GI's continued aggressive, provocative targeting of Muslims. Besima is one of those who have been on the receiving end of GI activity. Sitting in her faded apartment drinking sweet tea with freshly made lamb koftas, she describes how she was performing with other asylum seekers at the University theatre in Vienna when GI stormed in. Her son Mohammed was on stage with her too and she said the experience had traumatised him. "He has refused to go out, he is still at home, saying 'If I go out something bad will happen to me.'" Mohammed had been kidnapped in Iraq, which is one of the reasons she originally fled Basra with her three children. When she arrived two years ago she felt welcomed and accepted but feels the atmosphere towards migrants is changing. "I thought I found happiness and peace here," she says, "but I feel it's not safe any more." Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

अपनी टी-शर्ट, पतली जींस और तीव्र शैली के बाल कटवाने में, मार्टिन सेलनर यूरोपीय धुर दक्षिणपंथी का सबसे नया पोस्टर बॉय है। ऑस्ट्रिया में वह जिस समूह का नेतृत्व करता है, उसने बहुत प्रचार किया है। हालाँकि, सेलनर का आग्रह कि उसका आंदोलन गैर-नस्लवादी और अहिंसक है, हर किसी को आश्वस्त नहीं करता है।


Can India really become a cashless society?

Summary: On the evening of 8 November, vegetable vendor Vishal Gupta was preparing to shut his roadside stall when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that 500 ($7.30; £6) and 1,000 rupee notes would be banned effective midnight as part of a crackdown on corruption.

By Sameer HashmiMumbai business reporter Within minutes, people were out on the streets - queuing outside ATM machines to withdraw money in lower denominations or rushing to shops to buy provisions. The two banned notes account for 86% of all notes in circulation in India's largely cash economy. "I sold all the vegetables in my stall in 20 minutes. This had never happened before," Mr Gupta told the BBC. How will India destroy 20 billion banknotes? India rupee ban: Currency move is 'bad economics' Why India wiped out 86% of its cash overnight India's 'desperate housewives' scramble to change secret savings How India's currency ban is hurting the poor India's cash crisis explained But the following day, he did not earn anything. Very few customers turned up and even those who wanted to buy vegetables did not have change to pay him. The situation continued for the next five days where without buyers all his vegetables got spoilt, causing him a loss of over 10,000 rupees ($150;£121) Desperate to earn some money, Mr Gupta turned to popular mobile wallet Paytm, which he had heard about from his friend. Mobile wallets are apps that allow people to load and transfer money electronically using their smartphones. "The situation is better now. I get at least four to five customers a day who use mobile wallets to pay me," he says. Like Mr Gupta, many small business owners are using mobile transactions and cards to survive. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the government's decision are financial technology firms which have seen a surge in new customers. Paytm, India's largest mobile payment company, says that it has seen a 700% increase in overall traffic, and a 300% hike in the number of app downloads with daily transactions touching 5 million. It currently has 85,000 merchants on its platform but the company has now set a bold target of signing up another five million by March 2017. The company is backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. "We have seen remarkable growth since the currency announcement came in. We are opening offices in small cities and towns to expand our presence" Kiran Vasireddy, senior vice president at Paytm, told the BBC. Payment revolution Other mobile wallets like Mobikwik and Freecharge have also reported a huge jump in new customers. But it's not just mobile payment firms who are trying to woo consumers. Indian banks are also encouraging people to go cashless by using online banking and mobile apps services. Financial technology firms are seeing the rupee ban as a start of a digital payment revolution in the country. Paytm came out with full-page advertisements in newspapers, congratulating the prime minister for taking the "boldest step in the financial history of India". What is fuelling this optimism is that India is the second largest market for smartphones behind China. This has coincided with a rapid rise in internet users. The country presently has more than 450 million internet users, a number expected to touch 700 million by 2020. But despite this sharp uptick in mobile and online payments, this overall user base is still very small for a country with a population of 1.25 billion people. And India still has a long way to go to before it can become a major cashless economy. Most people only like dealing in cash. This is a mindset issue that will take a lot of time and effort to change. And with more than half of India's population residing in rural areas where mobile coverage is still patchy, this task becomes even more daunting. Restricted use Even though India has successfully opened millions of banks accounts over the last two years to get more people into the financial system, a huge portion of the population still has no access to banking services. The country has more than 24 million credit cards and 650 million debit cards. The number of debit cards has been growing steadily but most people only use them to withdraw money from ATMs instead of using them to make payments. "You need more small businesses to buy devices that will accept debit and credit cards. Most of them want cash," says Vivek Belgavi, a financial services expert with PricewaterhouseCoopers India. While businesses in the cities are gradually moving to cashless modes of payments, their counterparts in smaller cities and towns are reluctant to do that. They still do not understand the advantages of digital transactions. There is also a perception among a lot of Indians that internet and mobile transactions are not secure. Many experts say that the key task once the cash situation normalises will be to retain customers that have switched to cashless payments in recent days. Not an easy task in a nation where cash is king.

8 नवंबर की शाम को, सब्जी विक्रेता विशाल गुप्ता सड़क के किनारे अपनी दुकान बंद करने की तैयारी कर रहे थे, जब प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने घोषणा की कि भ्रष्टाचार पर कार्रवाई के हिस्से के रूप में आधी रात से 500 और 1,000 रुपये के नोटों पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया जाएगा।