Mercury Prize 2019: Punk and politics collide on shortlist

Summary: Albums addressing race, immigration, Brexit and class division populate the shortlist for the 2019 Mercury Prize.

By Mark SavageBBC music reporter Among the front-runners is Idles' Joy As An Act Of Resistance, a pro-immigration punk record that champions vulnerability and community. Punk energy also underpins slowthai's debut, Nothing Great About Britain; and London rapper Dave tackles the tough social conditions that confront black working class youths on Psychodrama. The winner is announced in September. More than 200 albums were submitted for consideration, with judges including former nominees Stormzy, Gaz Coombes and Jorja Smith, DJs Annie Mac and Clara Amfo and other figures from the music industry. They've championed several guitar bands on a strong, urgent shortlist - from Dublin punk newcomers Fontaines DC to festival headliners Foals; while British rap is represented by Little Simz, Dave and BBC Sound of 2019 runner-up slowthai. Meanwhile singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, whose album Hunter interrogates the constrictions of gender stereotypes, has now been shortlisted for each of her first three albums, equalling a record set by Coldplay. And The 1975 could become the first band since Arctic Monkeys in 2007 to win the Mercury Prize and be named best album at the Brit Awards. However, there was nothing in the nominations for Lewis Capaldi's Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, the best-selling British album of 2019; while captivating, adventurous records by Nilüfer Yanya, AJ Tracey, James Blake and Lucy Rose were also overlooked. Read about all 12 of this year's nominees below. The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships Smart phones, information overload, confirmation bias and attention deficit... The 1975's third album wrings humour and pathos out of our content-saturated world. Frontman Matty Healy wrote the album in a flurry of creativity after kicking heroin, and the whirlwind of musical styles can be dizzying - but his compassion and humanity ultimately shine through. The critics say: "A tone of urgent honesty pulses through the album, a visceral need to connect that shatters the production's glittering surfaces." [The Telegraph] Mercury Prize judges say: "Thrilling and thoughtful, eccentric and electric." Listen to this: Love It If We Made It [explicit language] Anna Calvi - Hunter Anna Calvi described Hunter as her "queer, feminist" album - a bolder, freer record than her first two albums (both of which were also nominated for the Mercury Prize). Written as a reaction against the way women are "depicted as being hunted by men", it sees her rejecting gender conventions (As A Man) and pursuing "pleasure in all possible ways, free from shame" (Hunter). A gutsy, predatory album that highlights Calvi's prowess as a guitar player, it's her most accomplished work to date. The critics say: "A soaring, feverish conflagration of sense and sensuality." [Mojo magazine] Mercury Prize judges say: "A wildly adventurous musical exploration of sexual identities and desires." Listen to this: As A Man Black Midi - Schlagenheim The debut album by experimental rock band Black Midi has a made-up word for a title. "It's absolutely meaningless," bassist Cameron Picton told All Things Loud. "It carries the vessel of those songs, which is why we think it's such a strong title. The only meaning that it could have in the world is being the album title, grouping those songs together." The songs are equally difficult to define - being slippery, unpredictable indie-jazz-math-rock concoctions that will either intrigue or repel you. The critics say: "There's so much going on here that nothing ever gets bogged down enough to feel indulgent." [Rolling Stone] Mercury Prize judges say: "Black Midi are so wilfully resistant to following any obvious musical path that it is impossible not to enjoy the ride". Listen to this: Ducter Cate Le Bon - Reward Cate Le Bon spent a year "sequestered in the Cumbrian mountainside" while recording her fifth album, living in a rented cottage where she built her own furniture and played piano late into the night. "I felt like I may have lost my mind a little at times," she said - and while Reward has moments of quiet contemplation, there's an undertow of loss and pain that suggests solitude gave her permission to wallow in her feelings. But Le Bon's restless musicality, all honking saxophones and rubber-band basslines, constantly hints at the allure of returning to the real world. The critics say: "Spacious and remarkably constructed, with hidden compartments built for secret sounds that seem to unlock with repeated listenings." [Allmusic] Mercury Prize judges say: "Elegant, urgent and shimmeringly romantic." Listen to this: Home To You Dave - Psychodrama Framed as excerpts from a year-long course of therapy, Dave's debut album grapples with grief, pain, racial identity, domestic abuse and depression ("I think I'm going mad again," he raps on Psycho, "It's like I'm happy for a second, then I'm sad again".) The music is as thoughtful and introspective as the 21-year-old's lyrics, dusted with melancholy piano chords and textured beats that set it apart from the grime scene he rose up through. "It's meant to be innovative, risky, divisive in how it's heard," he recently told the Standard, describing the record as a "time capsule" people can open in "10 years and think: 'This is what it was like to be black in south London in 2019'". The critics say: "The boldest and best British rap album in a generation." [The Guardian] Mercury Prize judges say: "A powerful and astutely crafted memoir of Dave's life and our times." Listen to this: Black [Explicit language] Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost "The ultimate Foals album," declared one critic upon hearing Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - the first of two albums due from Foals this year. Recorded after the departure of founding member and bass player Walter Gervers, the record fuses the band's early, inscrutable math-rock with the pulverising riffs of 2015's What Went Down and the hyperspace rhythms of Holy Fire, while adding a few new flavours for good measure. The title comes from a video game screen warning players to save their progress, which frontman Yannis Philippakis applies here to the combined effects of political and environmental chaos. The critics say: "This is Foals at their best, and we're only seeing half of the picture." [Drowned In Sound] Mercury Prize judges say: "A musical soundtrack to the drama of climate change." Listen to this: Exits Fontaines DC - Dogrel A year ago, Fontaines DC were playing in pubs - but the break-neck buzz of singles like Liberty Belle and Hurricane Laughter quickly saw them outgrow those stages. Both are present on the Dublin band's debut album, a scrappy riff on their record collection (The Stooges, The Strokes, Joy Division) fused with the caustic romanticism of Shane MacGowan. "We looked around at Dublin, saw what was happening on the streets, opened our ears, and turned it into some music," said bassist Conor Deegan. The critics say: "A fiery album which grabs you by the scruff of your neck from the start." [The 405] Mercury Prize judges say: "Smartly written, impatiently driven. Irresistible reflections on urban change and loss." Listen to this: Boys In The Better Land Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance Anti-Brexit, pro-immigration and determined to topple toxic masculinity, Idles' second album pulls off the tricky feat of being compassionate and angry at the same time. Over thundering riffs and bovver-boy drum beats, singer Joe Talbot tears into Britain's societal ills, while never losing his sense of humour. "You look like a walking thyroid," he cajoles an assailant on Never Fight a Man With a Perm. "You're not a man you're a gland." The critics say: "This is the jarring sound of sensitivity in a new age of chaos." [The Line Of Best Fit] Mercury Prize judges say: "Everything the title promises. A bruising, uplifting guitar-charged defiance of austerity and hatred." Listen to this: Danny Nedelko Little Simz - Grey Area "I'm Jay-Z on a bad day, Shakespeare on my worst days," raps Little Simz on Offence, the strutting funk workout that opens her third album. It's tongue-in-cheek, but there's a sliver of truth: 25-year-old Simbi Ajikawo has emerged as one of the UK's most agile wordsmiths and she reaches new heights here by confronting the demons that lurk below that self-belief. Unusually for a British rap record, it's recorded with a live band, taking in everything from jazz and soul to punk and chiptune. The critics say: "A wickedly assured, highly entertaining, coming-of-age marvel." [Pitchfork] Mercury Prize judges say: "Rap as self-reflection, vulnerability as power. Poignant and implacable." Listen to this: Offence [Explicit language] Nao - Saturn In astrology, Saturn's Return is the theory that you undergo life-changing events every 29 years, when Saturn returns to the same position it occupied when you were born. For London singer-songwriter Nao, those changes involved a "complete shedding of skin" as she endured a painful break-up and questioned her career choices. Thankfully, she chose to stick with music - escaping sorrow's gravitational pull with an other-worldly album of neo-soul. The critics say: "Saturn's sonic palette and millennial anxieties are both strikingly modern, a testament to Nao's perceptiveness as a songwriter." [Loud and Quiet] Mercury Prize judges say: "Beautifully crafted songs and buoyant vocals. An impeccable soul album." Listen to this: Make It Out Alive Seed Ensemble - Driftglass Formed in 2016, Seed Ensemble is a 10-piece project led by saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, who mix old and new beats with spiritual, Afro-centric jazz. But it's a London album through and through. On the rootsy Afronaut, poetess Xana evokes London tower blocks and "growing up on Desmonds"; while WAKE is an acid-tongued tribute to the 72 victims of the Grenfell fire, opening with the lyrics: "Tell all my mourners to mourn in red, 'cause there ain't no sense in my bein' dead". The critics say: "A powerfully coherent document of an important strand of UK contemporary jazz that's also a lot of fun to listen to." [Jazz Views] Mercury Prize judges say: "Rousing and inspiring." Listen to this:Afronaut slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain Nothing Great About Britain may not be an easy listen, but it is a compelling one - giving a voice to disillusioned provincial Britain, while firing shots at the monarchy, the police and the far right. It's all the work of 24-year-old Tyron Frampton (slowthai was a school nickname), whose music is rooted in the sounds of grime and the attitude of punk. But while the title track and the Skepta-featuring Inglorious paint a bleak picture of modern Britain, Frampton retains a reassuring faith in the communal power of music. "I feel like as long as I bring people together, and we all have a love for life and a love for ourselves, I feel like that's what it's all about," he recently told Billboard. The critics say: "A measured yet viciously ribald meditation on the contradictions at the heart of Britishness in 2019." [The Quietus] Mercury Prize judges say: "Absorbing, vivid stories of lives lived at the cultural margins, told with tenderness, rage and humour." Listen to this: Inglorious [Explicit language] Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

नस्ल, आप्रवासन, ब्रेक्सिट और वर्ग विभाजन को संबोधित करने वाले एल्बम 2019 के मरकरी पुरस्कार के लिए शॉर्टलिस्ट किए गए हैं।


A63 Castle Street, Hull: £75m scheme contractor named

Summary: A contractor has been announced for a £75m improvement scheme to the A63 in East Yorkshire.

Balfour Beatty will start the Castle Street scheme in 2016/17. The 0.9 mile (1.5 k) scheme in Hull city centre aims to improve journey times with a new underpass and two new pedestrian bridges over the road. The plan is to lower the road into a cutting at Mytongate Junction so Ferensway and Commercial Road can pass over it. The route is an important link between the M62, Humber Bridge and the city's port, the Highways Agency said.

ईस्ट यॉर्कशायर में ए63 के लिए 75 मिलियन पाउंड की सुधार योजना के लिए एक ठेकेदार की घोषणा की गई है।


Fox hitches free ride on London sightseeing bus

Summary: A free-riding fox surprised sightseers on a London tour bus - who found themselves sharing the experience with the furry stowaway.

The four-legged tourist is thought to have slipped onto the double-decker while it was parked in a depot. It sat on the top deck and rode the bus until Park Lane, in the heart of the capital, when it was finally spotted. RSPCA animal collection officer Jill Sanders, said: "Nowhere does it say that a fox can't travel. "But understandably staff were a little concerned about the fox's welfare." Passengers were taken off and the bus was locked so Ms Sanders could safely catch the fox. It was then returned to its den, being released into undergrowth near the bus depot.

एक मुक्त-सवारी करने वाले लोमड़ी ने लंदन टूर बस में दर्शकों को आश्चर्यचकित कर दिया-जिन्होंने खुद को प्यारे स्टोववे के साथ अनुभव साझा करते हुए पाया।


Brian Wilson revisits Smile album

Summary: Smile was the album that broke Beach Boy Brian Wilson, one of the greatest songwriters of the 1960s. Now, 45 years on, the dozens and dozens of recordings made in the now almost legendary Smile Sessions are being released.

By David SillitoArts and entertainment correspondent, BBC News In 1966, the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds and set a new benchmark for innovative pop music. The Beatles took notice. A year later, Wilson, the sensitive songwriter behind most of their hits, set out to create something an even more adventurous Beach Boys album. It was to be called Smile but it was never released. Wilson still bears some of the mental scars. Talking to him now it's clear he has good and bad moments. Some answers are abrupt, some tail off. Then suddenly, usually when he's talking about the music, he's entirely lucid. The main problem was drugs. "I regret what happened. We overdid the drugs, we went too deep into the drugs," he says. "It took us so into the music we couldn't finish it. Because we were so stoned, we were like... Okay, let's hold on for 10 minutes." It's no wonder that a multi-layered pop masterpiece such as Good Vibrations took seven months to complete. It was then an amazing amount of time, given that he had only a year or two before been producing four albums a year. But while Good Vibrations was issued as a single, much of the material recorded over those months was never released. In between the tracks were little spoken interludes. One of them is called Brian Falls In To A Piano, which Wilson now admits sounds rather crazy. "Those drugs got us going," he says. "A lot of people in the early 60s were taking drugs, you know, and drugs do help the creative process. But they also do damage to the brain. "You get two things. You get this creative high and the minus is you've got to come down off those awful drugs, back to the world of reality." Water phobia However, it was never clear how far Wilson truly returned. One tune, entitled Mrs O'Leary's Cow, is about fire and Wilson became alarmed when a fire started in the neighbourhood. Had the song triggered the fire? Wilson was worried. He also wanted the feel of the beach to help his composing, so he had a sandpit installed in his house. Yet looking back at film footage from that era is a reminder that the description Beach Boy was always an odd one for Wilson. He never went into the sea because he was terrified of drowning. In the 1970s Wilson was, after some cajoling, filmed using a surf board in a segment for a TV programme. The board is the wrong way round. In the Smile Sessions is the song Surf's Up. But it doesn't bear any similarities with their old tunes, such as Surfing Safari. Surf's Up's lyrics go: A blind class aristocracy/Back through the opera glass you see/The pit and the pendulum drawn/Columnated ruins domino. What did it mean? "I have no idea," says the lyricist Van Dyke Parks. For a band that had been mocked when they had appeared at London's Albert Hall for being too square in their smartly pressed matching shirts, the transformation was bewildering. Wilson's bandmates, especially Mike Love, did not know what to make of the songs. How would middle America relate to Love To Say Dada, Do You Like Worms and the companion piece to Brian Falls Into A Piano, Brian Falls Into A Microphone? There was also a dispute with the record label. Wilson's mental health was not good. The tapes were shelved. "We thought we were too far ahead of our time," he says. "It was too advanced, too much for people to understand and so we put it on the shelf for 40 years." In 2004 Wilson returned to Smile and recorded a completed version with his new band the Wondermints. Now, another seven years on, Wilson and the remaining Beach Boys are releasing the original Smile from the dozens of tracks and fragments recorded in the 60s. Many of the songs have appeared on other albums. But what makes this special is that there is now a Beach Boys album called Smile - the long lost "missing" album that sent Wilson over the edge. It's a little piece of the myth of the 1960s. Smile is released in the UK on 31 October.

स्माइल वह एल्बम था जिसने बीच बॉय ब्रायन विल्सन को तोड़ दिया, जो 1960 के दशक के सबसे महान गीतकारों में से एक थे। अब, 45 साल बाद, अब लगभग प्रसिद्ध स्माइल सत्रों में बनाई गई दर्जनों रिकॉर्डिंग जारी की जा रही हैं।


Badger culling: Questions and answers

Summary: A pilot cull of badgers is about to start in Wales with the aim of curbing tuberculosis in cattle; and the UK government has indicated that culling may begin in England too in the next few years. Our environment correspondent Richard Black looks at what is happening, and what it may achieve.

By Richard BlackEnvironment correspondent, BBC News What is happening in Wales? The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is commissioning a pilot cull of badgers within a 288 sq km (111 sq miles) area of south-west Wales. WAG has not revealed the date when the cull will begin, nor the exact boundaries of the Intensive Action Pilot Area; but it is known to lie principally in north Pembrokeshire, extending marginally into Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire. The aim is to remove all badgers within the area. Animals will be trapped in cages and shot, although the control order also allows for the shooting of roaming badgers and for the use of lethal injection. The order gives contractors the right to enter anyone's land. A minority of landowners have declared their opposition. The pilot cull is expected to last for five years. It is part of a wider programme of efforts to control the disease in the area, which will also see cattle being tested for infection twice each year in addition to existing restrictions on their movements. At least 1,500 badgers are likely to be killed during the pilot. Why is it happening? Infection through contact with badgers is one of the main routes by which cattle contract bovine tuberculosis (though nationally, cattle-to-cattle transmission is more significant). This debilitating disease is caused by Mycobacterium bovis, a close relative of the bacterium that usually causes TB in humans. Because the bovine bacterium can also cause human TB, infected cattle have to be destroyed. The incidence of the disease has been growing in Wales. WAG says that more than 12,000 cattle were slaughtered as a result of TB infection in 2008 (compared with 669 in 1997), at a cost of £24m to the public purse. In March 2009, Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones announced that a pilot badger cull would be instigated. North Pembrokeshire was chosen largely because TB is an acute problem there, with more than half the compensation paid out across Wales going to farmers in this area. Based on existing scientific research, WAG believes the cull may reduce the incidence of TB in cattle by 9%, with the effect persisting for 2 to 3 years after the cull stops. The ultimate aim of the entire intensive bovine TB plan - culling plus all the cattle control measures - is local eradication of the disease. How much will it cost? WAG has allocated £9m over the five-year period to intensive bovine TB controls within the North Pembrokeshire area, including culling. This does not include the cost of any policing operations. WAG's advisory documents put the culling cost at £2,830 per badger. It believes that given the high and rising cost of the disease in cattle, this is an investment that should pay for itself. Is culling backed by science? The biggest study on the issue anywhere in the world - the UK Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), also known as the "Krebs Trial" - concluded that "reactive culling" (killing badgers in response to a TB outbreak in cattle) makes the problem worse, producing an increase in infections in cattle. This is thought to be because culling disturbs badgers' social groups, causing them to roam further and come into contact with more cattle. Culling "proactively" - seeking to wipe out badgers in pre-determined areas, as will be done in the Welsh pilot - brought the infection rate down within the culled area. However, it also produced an increase in infection on farms outside the immediate area - again, probably because the badgers were roaming further afield. In early 2007, the government's advisers, the Independent Scientific Group, which included the scientific leaders of the Krebs Trial, concluded that culling "cannot meaningfully contribute to the future control of cattle TB in Britain". They said culling was unlikely to have a significant positive impact unless conducted over really big areas, and would not be cost-effective. The rising tide of infection could be tackled by cattle-based measures, they said. Soon afterwards, a review by the then UK chief scientific adviser Sir David King reached the opposite conclusion: culling could be an useful tool under certain situations, he determined. His analysis did not include the question of cost effectiveness. Sir David was heavily criticised within the scientific community, an editorial in the journal Nature saying his "mishandling" of the issue "…is an example to governments of how not deal with [independent scientific] advice". Badgers are culled in the Irish Republic, where the government says it makes a real contribution to suppressing bovine TB, but will not eradicate the disease. In New Zealand, possums are culled for the same reason. Is it legal? The European badger (Meles meles) is a protected species under both the European Bern Convention of 1979 and the UK's 1992 Protection of Badgers Act. However, both of these documents allow for exemptions "to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries, water and other forms of property", provided "there is no other satisfactory solution and that the exception will not be detrimental to the survival of the (wildlife) population concerned". In addition, the UK's Animal Health Act of 1981 sets out conditions under which the designated government minister can order a cull. The minister must be satisfied that a wildlife species is acting as a reservoir of an animal disease, and "that destruction of wild members of that or those species in that area is necessary in order to eliminate, or substantially reduce the incidence of, that disease in animals of any kind in the area", then he or she may "by order provide for the destruction of wild members of that or those species in that area". Both UK laws, and the Bern Convention, apply in Wales. Last year, the Badger Trust lodged application for a judicial review of the cull order. Its main grounds were that culling would not "substantially reduce" TB incidence, that the minister had erroneously proceeded on the basis (contrary to her scientific evidence) that the benefit would persist for years after culling stopped, and that the minister had failed to balance the harm to badgers against the suggested benefits for cattle. The judicial review found in favour of WAG. However, in early June the Badger Trust won leave to appeal against that decision in the Court of Appeal. No date has yet been set. What about vaccination? Current regulations mean that vaccinated cattle could not be exported to the rest of the EU, as current tests cannot distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals. Vaccinating badgers is another approach. The effectiveness of injectable vaccines has been shown in captive badgers, but has not yet been demonstrated in the wild. The ultimate goal is an oral vaccine that would be added to food left out for badgers to eat. This may be available in four to five years' time. The Irish Republic sees vaccination as opening the door to eradication of bovine TB. However, vaccines would not affect infected badgers, so culling might be maintained for some years after the start of a vaccination programme. What does the Welsh plan mean for the rest of the UK? The coalition government in Westminster (which administers the issue for England) says it will "introduce a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control in areas with high and persistent levels of bovine tuberculosis". In briefings in May, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said this could include limited culling in "hot-spots". But Agriculture Minister James Paice took a considerably stronger line, telling farmers: "We will do it - it is an absolute pledge". Opponents have asked how small-scale targeted culls can be "science-based" when the Krebs Trial conclusions indicate that only large-scale culls can produce a positive impact. Ms Spelman says the situation has changed since 2005, when the Krebs Trial concluded. Ms Spelman said her department would look to learn from the Welsh experience. This would not mean waiting for results, however, but observing how contractors carry out the process. Northern Ireland's agriculture department does not have plans for a cull but, says it "shall be very interested to see exactly what it is they (Defra) propose and how it is to be funded". The Scottish government has no plans in the area, as it says badgers are not a source of bovine TB infection in Scotland.

मवेशियों में तपेदिक पर अंकुश लगाने के उद्देश्य से वेल्स में बैजर्स की एक प्रायोगिक कटाई शुरू होने वाली है; और यूके सरकार ने संकेत दिया है कि अगले कुछ वर्षों में इंग्लैंड में भी हत्या शुरू हो सकती है। हमारे पर्यावरण संवाददाता रिचर्ड ब्लैक देखते हैं कि क्या हो रहा है, और यह क्या हासिल कर सकता है।


Wood Group wins Majnoon oil contract in Iraq

Summary: Aberdeen-based Wood Group has been awarded a contract to help develop what is thought to be one of the world's biggest oil fields, in Iraq.

Majnoon is estimated to hold about 38 billion barrels of oil. About 200 Wood Group workers will provide tools, services and test equipment to assist the start-up, commissioning and testing of the field, which lies near Basra. The contract is believed to be worth up to $20m (£12.8m). The project is being overseen by Shell Iraq Petroleum. The one-year contract was awarded to Wood Group-CCC, a joint venture between Wood Group PSN and Consolidated Contractors Company. In March, Wood Group reported a 43% increase in pre-tax profits for 2012. The firm made $363m (£239m) with revenues up 20% to $6.8bn (£4.5bn).

एबरडीन स्थित वुड ग्रुप को इराक में दुनिया के सबसे बड़े तेल क्षेत्रों में से एक को विकसित करने में मदद करने के लिए एक अनुबंध से सम्मानित किया गया है।


Royal opening for Eton school extension and gallery

Summary: A collection of Egyptian artefacts held by Eton College has been made available for public view with the opening of a new gallery.

Prince Charles opened the Bekynton Field Development, which includes 40 new classrooms and a new Eton Museum of Antiquities. It will display artefacts given to the school over the centuries. Head master Tony Little said: "It's wonderful to have a place where people can visit." The new building is the biggest addition to the Berkshire public school since it was founded in the 15th Century. It includes facilities for the school's modern languages, politics, economics and divinity departments as well as a 300-seat lecture theatre.

ईटन कॉलेज द्वारा आयोजित मिस्र की कलाकृतियों का एक संग्रह एक नई गैलरी के उद्घाटन के साथ जनता के लिए उपलब्ध कराया गया है।


Diary of a Mercury Prize nominee

Summary: We all watched as The xx made their meek acceptance speech over the sound of popping champagne corks during the televised conclusion to the evening but what's it like to be nominated and what happens on the day? Newsbeat's music reporter spent the day in the back pockets of nominees Foals to find out...

By Greg CochraneNewsbeat music reporter Early afternoon A hazy looking Foals arrive one-by-one from London Grosvenor House hotel's luxurious lift looking sleepy eyed. After soundchecking in the basement venue of tonight's awards (7 September) the evening before they were put up in one of the building's swanky suites. "£5 I've just paid for some water with herbs in," exclaims keyboardist Edwin Congrave holding a cup of tea. An A4 'day schedule' is shoved into the Oxford band's hands and a long day begins. Mercury Prize goes to trio The xx Meanwhile, many of the 12 nominated artists begin congregating in the hotel foyer. Paul Weller looks every inch the confident favourite (or he might just look cool because he's wearing sunglasses inside), The xx clutch their suit bags and Biffy Clyro chat with Wild Beasts. "I'm feeling a bit jittery now. I think I'm quite nervous, or it could be the hangover," says Foals guitarist Jimmy Smith cupping a wine glass of water walking from the lobby to the basement venue where the awards take place tonight. "I've got to perfect my losing face. I don't want to be disappointed." Mid-afternoon "The room looks pretty amazing now," says Jimmy surveying the ceremony being prepared as the final tables are set out and the chandeliers dusted. Taking to the stage after Biffy Clyro and Laura Marling the fivesome breeze through single Spanish Sahara for their television rehearsal and greet host Jools Holland. Now, normally the nominees would head back to their plush hotel rooms to get changed into their Tuesday-best at this point. Not Foals though. "This is the first thing we've ever done like this so we weren't sure how to play it," confides Jimmy looking down at his T-shirt. "We were going to go for the proper DJs. I'm glad we didn't. "It's all about the music and about being yourself and looking like the band you are - which in our case is awful." Rehearsal complete, Jimmy looks to capitalise on a free minute. "I'm going to go for a lie down," he says looking like he needs a lie down. Early evening An hour later, the five members reconvene in the hotel lobby preparing to be sent down the media shuttle run after Paul Weller, Villagers and Wild Beasts. "Can we go to the bar?" offers lead singer Yannis Philappakis. One shot each later, chests puffed out and they're being sprayed by the flashes of about 30 paparazzi bulbs before wandering down the red walkway in the hotel courtyard to chat to the assembled media. "If we broke up tomorrow, getting nominated here would feel like a concrete achievement," says Yannis to a BBC colleague udring one of their many interviews trying to sum up what being nominated for the Mercury Prize means to them. Meanwhile, he's also the only person we've ever seen light up a string of cigarettes on a red carpet. Attendees Martine McCutcheon, Mr Hudson, Seasick Steve and Mat Horne all brush past them. Show time After the "dazzling" of the red carpet the band are guided through a warren of corridors into the venue and to their table - decorated generously with alcohol. Foals nervously wait their turn to play live on stage during the pre-recorded Mercury programme. "Some pretty great performances so far," says Jimmy anxiously. "Laura Marling was my favourite." Following on from jazz outsiders Kit Downes Trio, Foals take to the Mercury Prize stage and rattle through their track confidently to huge applause from the hundreds of guests seated in the room. Murmurs around them suggest the 14/1 outsiders could have swung the judges (not that they're supposed to take it into account). Post track Jimmy nips out for a cigarette: "I feel pretty good now. I didn't realise how nervous I was. "It's a different kind of show, just all these eyes staring. "It's an hour and a half until we find out who the winners and losers are and we get dinner in the meantime. I hope there's a cheese platter." The result After a nerve jangling wait (and a cod dinner) the hyped atmosphere is almost at breaking point as host Jools Holland arrives on stage to deliver the result live on BBC2. Foals, and the 11 other nominees, collectively hold their breath. He opens the small envelop to reveal… The xx. "Gutted, gutted," says Jimmy leaving the table. "Everyone didn't know what to do with themselves. I was looking over at Mumford's [And Sons'] table and everyone was stone cold still. "We tried not to get our hopes up at all but then you do, don't you? I thought Paul Weller had got it. "The xx though - I'm happy. They're doing something unique, they're causing a stir. They're great and they're humble about it." Late evening Sat still at their table as The xx are rushed off to be drenched in the media spotlight the band share a reflective moment. "What happens now? Now, we all get dropped by the label," laughs Jimmy half on his way to the after-show party. "We're looking in Yellow Pages for jobs. No - now I think we all go hang out and have a few drinks."

हम सभी ने देखा कि द एक्सएक्स ने शाम तक टेलीविजन समापन के दौरान शैंपेन कॉर्क की आवाज़ पर अपना विनम्र स्वीकृति भाषण दिया, लेकिन नामांकित होना कैसा लगता है और दिन में क्या होता है? न्यूजबीट के संगीत रिपोर्टर ने यह पता लगाने के लिए नामांकित फोल्स की पिछली जेब में दिन बिताया...


‘The hangman was too tired to hang me – three times’

Summary: On death row in Malawi, Byson Kaula was nearly executed three times - but on each occasion the hangman stopped work before hanging all the prisoners on his list. So he survived… until the country stopped executing people altogether.

By Mary GoodhartBBC News, Malawi Byson Kaula says jealous neighbours were responsible for him being found guilty of murder. It was 1992 and murder in those days carried a mandatory death sentence. Brought up in a small village in southern Malawi, Byson had made enough money working in the gas industry in Johannesburg, South Africa, to return home and buy land. He employed five people and grew fruit, wheat, maize, and cassava. "That is when my sad times began," he says. Neighbours attacked one of his employees, Byson says, leaving him badly injured. The man couldn't walk without assistance, and while helping him get to the toilet - navigating steps that were slippery after heavy rain - Byson fell and dropped him. The man died later in hospital, and Byson - then in his 40s - was charged with murder. In court, Byson's neighbours testified against him. His mother, Lucy, sitting at the back of the courtroom, couldn't hear the sentence being read out and had to ask what was happening. When she was told he had been sentenced to death, "tears rolled from my eyes down my chest," she says. This was towards the end of the totalitarian government of Hastings Banda, which had controlled the country since 1964. Byson vividly remembers the horror of waiting for his turn at what he calls "the killing machine". "When I was told: 'You can go now to the condemned section waiting for your time to be hanged' - oh, I felt as if I was already dead." At that time, there was just one executioner - a South African who travelled between several countries in the region, carrying out hangings. When he arrived in Malawi, once every couple of months, the prisoners on death row knew that time, for some of them, had run out. One day Byson remembers being told that his name was on the list of 21 people to be hanged within hours. A guard told him that executions would begin at 13:00 and that he should "just start praying". Find out more Listen to Life After Death Row, on Assignment, on the BBC World Service, on 21 February Click here for transmission times, or to listen online They continued until 15:00, when the executioner stopped work. But he had not reached the end of the list. Three people, including Byson, would have to wait until he returned. "He was the only one operating that machine. And on that day, I understand he said: 'No it's too much, I'll come again next month,'" Byson says. The same thing happened twice more, Byson says. The list was drawn up, but the hangman didn't finish it - and each time, by chance, Byson was among those left alive at the end of the day. On the third occasion, all the prisoners on the list were executed except him, he says. In a way he was lucky, but the experience took its toll on him and he attempted suicide twice - only to survive this too. After the establishment of multi-party democracy in Malawi in 1994, all executions came to a halt. The death sentence is still given out, even today, but no president has signed a death warrant for 25 years. Prisoners either languish on death row for years or have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. In time, Byson was moved from death row to the main part of Zomba Central Prison, and it looked as though he would spend the rest of his life there. He became heavily involved in the prison education programme, both studying and teaching. But he had no hope of ever being released. Then, in 2007, a historic case changed everything. A drug user who admitted killing his stepson, but argued that he had been temporarily insane, went to court to challenge the mandatory death sentence for murder. He argued that this breached the right to a fair trial, and the right to protection from "inhuman and degrading treatment" - both guaranteed by Malawi's constitution - and the court agreed. In some cases of murder the perpetrator was more culpable than others, it ruled, and there should therefore be different levels of punishment. This meant that all mandatory death sentences had to be reviewed. Of nearly 170 prisoners eligible for resentencing, 139 have so far been released. According to the legal charity Reprieve, many had mental health problems or were intellectually disabled. More than half of those entitled to a new hearing turned out to have no court record at all - it was unclear why they were even in prison. When lawyers said that they wanted to take Byson back to court he initially resisted, as he had been so terrified by his first experience. But he gave in, and when the judge told him he was free to leave immediately, he was stunned. "The prison warders said can you get out of the accused box. But I couldn't stand up. I was just shivering, all my body was so weak… It was just as if I was dreaming. I could not believe what the judge had said." Byson wasn't the only person whose life had been changed by his sentence. His mother Lucy had visited every year during his incarceration. She would save her earnings from a year's work farming cotton to make the journey to the prison in Zomba, bringing Byson as many provisions as she could carry. On the day of Byson's resentencing in 2015, she wasn't there, but her younger son was. When he rang to tell her the news, she took a while to believe what he was saying. Then, she says, she "jumped around like a lamb - a young lamb… my heart was filled with joy". Byson was taken to a halfway house to help him learn new skills and make the transition back to normal life after 23 years in prison. Already in his 60s, he was the oldest person they'd ever had there. He now goes back as a volunteer at weekends, to advise other ex-prisoners who are going through the same experience. The land Byson used to farm is now overgrown. His wife died during the long years he was in prison and his six children have grown up and moved away. He lives alone, but takes good care of his mother, now in her 80s. "During my imprisonment, all I was worrying about was my mother… Being her first-born, I would do everything possible for her. Now that I'm back, I don't let her go farming or do hard jobs. I have got other people to do the jobs for her. She doesn't go to the field. I do it myself." His next project is to build her a new brick house. You may also be interested in: Just over a year ago, Greek pilot Vasileios Vasileiou checked into a luxury hilltop hotel in Kabul. The Intercontinental was popular with foreign visitors - which is why, on 20 January, Taliban gunmen stormed it, killing at least 40 people. Vasileios explains how he survived. Read: 'The bed that saved me from the Taliban' Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

मलावी में मौत की सजा पर, बाइसन कौला को लगभग तीन बार फांसी दी गई थी-लेकिन हर अवसर पर जल्लाद ने अपनी सूची के सभी कैदियों को फांसी देने से पहले काम बंद कर दिया। इसलिए वह बच गया... जब तक कि देश ने लोगों को पूरी तरह से फांसी देना बंद नहीं कर दिया।


Papworth buys land ready for Cambridge move

Summary: Land for one of the UK's largest NHS specialist heart and lung hospitals has been bought on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Work on the new Papworth Hospital is now expected to begin early in 2015. Seven acres (2.83 hectares) have been bought ready for the move from Papworth Everard, 13 miles (20km) west of Cambridge. The 310-bed cardiothoracic hospital is expected to become operational in 2018. The move will cost £165m, partly paid through a 30-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal, and partly through the public sector. In 1979, the UK's first successful heart transplant was carried out at Papworth and the current hospital has 276 beds.

ब्रिटेन के सबसे बड़े एन. एच. एस. विशेषज्ञ हृदय और फेफड़ों के अस्पतालों में से एक के लिए कैम्ब्रिज बायोमेडिकल कैंपस में जमीन खरीदी गई है।


Prism: Just how much do the spooks know?

Summary: News that the US government's national security agency has been allegedly tapping into the phone records of Verizon customers quickly escalated into reports that it also had backdoor access to the major technology companies, including Apple, Google and Facebook.

By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter The so-called Prism programme tapped into the servers of nine internet firms, according to leaked documents obtained by the Washington Post. The leaked documents, supposedly supplied by a discontented spy, claim that the project gives the NSA access to email, chat logs, any stored data, voice traffic, file transfers and social networking data. While it was primarily aimed at counter-terrorism, the scale of it meant huge swathes of citizen data were also sucked up, according to the Washington Post. The newspaper claimed that the NSA can even conduct live surveillance of someone doing a Google search. The companies were very quick to deny that they offered "direct access" to their servers, leading many commentators to ask whether that actually meant that they offered indirect access or whether the NSA was perhaps filtering traffic independently. For digital forensics expert Prof Peter Sommer, the seeming clash between what the leaked documents suggest and the denials of the firms indicate the access was limited in scale. "It may be more of a catflap than a backdoor," he said. "The spooks may be allowed to use these firms' servers but only in respect of a named target. Or they may get a court order and the firm will provide them with material on a hard-drive or similar." The idea that the authorities acted independently is unlikely, he thinks. "They can't just put a magic box over the internet wire," he said. "Gmail and Facebook traffic is encrypted to thwart the cyber-crooks and in order to get hold of material they would need the co-operation of the firms." Even if the intelligence service had access to a piece of software that could automatically filter traffic and identify the bad guys, it would throw up hundreds of false positives. "We don't even understand how a domestic terrorist born in this country to a middle-class family becomes a radical. How can we expect a piece of software to know that?" he said. Traffic cameras For security expert Prof Alan Woodward, the idea that the authorities can routinely snoop on internet traffic is nothing new. "The security services have a mandate to intercept foreign communications and signals to look for intelligence and analysis about threats to the security of the country. They have been doing it for years." he said. "Lots of internet traffic is routed through Europe and the US so it is not altogether surprising that they are taking the opportunity to look at this traffic." What is important to note, he said, is that the authorities are interested in communications from foreigners rather than the emails of its own citizens - something backed up by a statement from the US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. "There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect [citizen data] but not wittingly," he said in congressional testimony. General analysis of traffic on the networks is not necessarily a privacy scandal, thinks Prof Woodward. "It is no different from the cameras routinely looking at the traffic road network. If you see a problem, for example an accident, you may want to zoom in but you need to get a court order in order to access the registration of a particular vehicle," he said. Weaken security Governments around the world are keen to increase the access that the police, as well as the intelligence services, have to internet communications. New laws are needed as internet communication changes, they argue. But getting the wording of such legislation right can be a minefield. In the UK, the draft Communications Data Bill was recently dropped because the Liberal Democrats considered it far too wide in scope, and similar legislation in the US is facing controversy. Security expert Brue Schneier notes in his blog that the ongoing push from the authorities to increase the amount of information to which they have access has a downside. "It's impossible to build a communications system that allows the FBI surreptitious access but doesn't allow similar access by others," he said. "When it comes to security, we have two options: We can build our systems to be as secure as possible from eavesdropping, or we can deliberately weaken their security. We have to choose one or the other." Privacy v Security And while the authorities may have a bird's eye view of internet traffic, they may not be as clever as we think, points out Prof Woodward. Military-grade encryption is now routinely available rendering emails unreadable. And steganography, the method of hiding information within other information, is also giving the authorities a real headache. "There are big concerns about how much is being sent using this method. Because it hides itself we don't even know if it is being widely used," he said. "People may have got their knickers in a twist about something that is not as dark or devious as they think." He also has niggling doubts that Prism is even genuine. "For something of that level of security to be leaked is highly unusual. I have never seen that before and that seems a bit odd to me," he said. Whether Prism turns out to be a bit of a sideshow or the biggest data collection scandal of its time remains to be seen. But before the privacy witch-hunt begins, people need to decide their priorities, thinks Prof Sommer. "If something goes wrong everyone will ask why didn't the spooks do something to stop it," he said. "But on the other hand there is a belief that society is based on an element of privacy so that the spooks can only do things under correct judicial process. That clash has been with us for a long time and is difficult to reconcile."

यह खबर कि अमेरिकी सरकार की राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा एजेंसी कथित रूप से वेरिज़ोन ग्राहकों के फोन रिकॉर्ड में टैप कर रही है, जल्दी ही इस खबर में बदल गई कि उसके पास ऐप्पल, गूगल और फेसबुक सहित प्रमुख प्रौद्योगिकी कंपनियों तक पिछले दरवाजे से भी पहुंच थी।


The youths out to save Hong Kong's unique opera

Summary: It is a centuries-old art form and a unique part of Hong Kong's identity but many people fear that Cantonese opera could die out if it doesn't reinvent itself. The BBC's Helier Cheung delves into a dramatic world of make-up, martial arts and vocal acrobatics.

Mitchie Choi expected to learn martial arts and operatic singing, but not how to act like a man, when she decided to commit to Cantonese opera. The 22-year-old had just finished a linguistics degree . "When I started learning Chinese opera, obviously I wanted to [play] a female role." But her tutors told her she was more suited to playing male roles because of her height and deep voice. Now, she says, she loves performing as a male character, and can't imagine doing anything differently. But the training is tough and the future rewards of this career path are unclear. "We have to be on our feet most of the time, we're working 9-6 every day, [on] acrobatics, combat movements. We have to do the splits...and singing lessons as well," she says. Cantonese Opera, a type of Xiqu (Chinese Opera) developed in southern China, is loved by many in Hong Kong - especially the elderly. Yet many fear it could become endangered as it struggles to engage younger audiences. Although there are more than 1,000 Cantonese opera performances in Hong Kong each year, "you can argue that the majority of the audience are old or retired people", says Leung Bo Wah, a professor of Cultural and Creative Arts at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Attracting new performers is difficult because in a practical, almost utilitarian society such as Hong Kong's, young people think this is a hard way to earn a living. But, Mr Leung says, it is one of the art forms that best represent local Hong Kong culture, almost part of its very identity. People "feel this is our own kind of art form" because it uses Cantonese, the language spoken in southern China. A quick guide to Cantonese opera Ms Choi readily admits she is in a minority, she knows the art form is considered "very old and boring" by people her age. Her fellow student Ho Jun Hei, a 20-year-old training as a flautist in Cantonese opera, says that part of the problem is that many young people simply aren't exposed to Cantonese opera any more. The pair are among very few studying for a bachelor of fine arts in Cantonese opera, a degree programme launched in 2013 at the Academy of Performing Arts as part of efforts to preserve the art form. It has been billed by the academy as the first Cantonese opera degree in Hong Kong, and possibly the world. There are those who passionately argue for the beauty of the art form. "Cantonese opera is really a treasure, a beautiful Chinese heritage [that is] very special in Hong Kong," says Frederic Mao, a theatre director who chairs the Chinese Opera school. He points out that unlike other forms of Chinese opera, it has been able to develop uninterrupted for decades. During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution in mainland China, most forms of art and entertainment were banned, including traditional Beijing opera, and performances of Western films. However, Cantonese opera was able to continue in Hong Kong, which was a British colony at the time, and has been "preserved and performed until today". The art form got a boost in 2009, when it was recognised by the UN's arts body as an "intangible cultural heritage". In its listing, Unesco said the art form had developed "a rich repertoire of stories", and also "provides a cultural bond among Cantonese speakers in [China] and abroad". Hong Kong's government is also attempting to boost Cantonese opera in Hong Kong, building a large Xiqu theatre in a huge arts hub set to open in 2017. The last Sunday of each November has also been designated Cantonese Opera Day by authorities in Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong. But ultimately, the future of Cantonese opera will depend less on official efforts, and more on the ability of the performers to adapt the art for younger generations. "Aside from telling people how precious it is... we have to produce the type of work that audiences will appreciate, and be interested in by themselves," Mr Mao says. For example, the percussion in many traditional Cantonese opera performances is loud - something younger audiences find off-putting - so some theatre groups have started to adjust the sound levels. "It's not easy to preserve Cantonese opera. On the other hand, it's exciting to bring it up to date. The art form is old, but hopefully... we can bring in some new ideas." Ms Choi and Ho Jun Hei are young and committed to rejuvenating the art. Their enthusiasm, undoubtedly, would be music to the ears of many who love Cantonese opera.

यह एक सदियों पुरानी कला है और हांगकांग की पहचान का एक अनूठा हिस्सा है, लेकिन कई लोगों को डर है कि अगर यह खुद को फिर से स्थापित नहीं करता है तो कैंटोनीज़ ओपेरा समाप्त हो सकता है। बीबीसी के हेलियर चेउंग मेकअप, मार्शल आर्ट और मुखर कलाबाजी की एक नाटकीय दुनिया में तल्लीन हैं।


Channel Island UK goods tax hearing 'to reach third day'

Summary: Legal challenges to the ending of VAT relief on goods imported into the UK from Guernsey and Jersey are expected to take two-and-a-half days.

The UK Treasury announced in November it would end Low Value Consignment Relief for the islands from 1 April. Each island has launched its own action on the grounds of discrimination, as the move applies only to the two Channel Island jurisdictions. A judicial review set for Tuesday is predicted to end on Thursday. A spokesperson for Jersey's Economic Development Department said an oral judgement could be delivered as early as Thursday. However a written judgement may be published instead. In this instance, the spokesperson said the "urgency of this case" would mean it was "likely to be released very quickly". The department said it anticipated an announcement between 15 and 22 March.

ग्वेर्नसे और जर्सी से ब्रिटेन में आयातित वस्तुओं पर वैट राहत को समाप्त करने के लिए कानूनी चुनौतियों में ढाई दिन लगने की उम्मीद है।


Lincoln murderer Mark Edmonds missing from HMP Sudbury

Summary: A man who murdered a mother and her young daughter in Lincoln 28 years ago has gone missing from prison.

Mark Edmonds was serving a life sentence at HMP Sudbury, in Derbyshire, where he failed to return on Wednesday. Edmonds, now 52, stabbed Cecily Browne and her five-year-old daughter Khardine on 18 September 1984, at their home in Stainton Gardens. He is described as white, 5ft 9ins tall, of average build, with short brown shaved hair and brown eyes. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court in May 1985, and his last address was in Norwich.

28 साल पहले लिंकन में एक माँ और उसकी छोटी बेटी की हत्या करने वाला व्यक्ति जेल से लापता हो गया है।


State pension: The overhaul and you

Summary: When the state pension was introduced in 1909, the maximum payment was five shillings (25p) a week - the equivalent of about £20 today.

By Kevin PeacheyPersonal finance reporter, BBC News Just over 500,000 old and poor people queued up to receive it. They had to be at least 70 years old, have an income of less than 12 shillings a week and not have too much furniture, which was judged as a sign of wealth. An overhaul of the state pension system will see a single-tier pension - of £155 a week - being paid to some new pensioners from April 2016. Others will get less, and those who qualified for a pension before April 2016 will remain on the old system. So how will this change the current system and how will it affect you?

जब 1909 में राज्य पेंशन शुरू की गई थी, तो अधिकतम भुगतान प्रति सप्ताह पांच शिलिंग (25 पी) था-जो आज लगभग 20 पाउंड के बराबर है।


South Africa grapples with dilemma of pregnant students

Summary: A recent Constitutional Court ruling in South Africa has confirmed that schools cannot expel students for becoming pregnant, but the BBC's Pumza Fihlani reports that the country is still struggling to cope with the issue, which affects some 180,000 girls each year.

Shrill wails fill the maternity ward of Durban's King Dinuzulu public hospital. One scream, followed by another, then another - a disturbing chorus of tormented cries and laboured breathing. Three teenagers are about to give birth. The youngest girl in the ward is 14 years old. Overwhelmed by labour pains, she struggles to even speak. In the next room Phumla Tshabalala, 16, is holding her tiny baby, a one-day-old girl. Phumla is a first-time mother and says she is worried about the possibility of being a single parent. "I haven't seen my boyfriend for a long time and he hasn't even been here to see me and the baby," she says anxiously. "I told him that I've given birth but no-one from his family has come. I'm not even sure if he told his parents about the baby." She is from a modest home, her father is the sole breadwinner. She is the youngest of three daughters and the first to have a child - something her mother and father are struggling to come to terms with. "My parents are disappointed in me - they worked hard to educate me and they say I've thrown all of their hard work away. I hope that they can forgive me one day," she says. Phumla plans to return to school in time for the end-of-year tests, but is worried about how she will juggle being a student and a mother. She tells me that in retrospect, she wishes she had waited until she was older. But she and her baby are both healthy so she considers herself lucky. There is a real risk in giving birth at a young age, doctors say. The mortality rate is much higher for teenage mothers - they account for 36% of maternal deaths every year, despite only accounting for 8% of births, according to the Human Sciences Research Council. "Their pelvises are not yet developed and in many case they struggle to deliver naturally because their pelvises are still small," says Dr Jay-Anne Devjee, head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward at King Dinuzulu hospital. "We are often forced to deliver the babies via Caesarean section, which increases the risks of haemorrhaging and puts their lives at risk." In another hospital room, a new mother is battling with hypertension. She has been hooked on an intravenous drip for several days. She is on medication to stabilise her blood pressure - but this is not an elderly woman, she is just 19. The doctors tell me that if she had not received treatment when she did, it could have been fatal. 'Outcasts' Many young mothers are forced to leave school in order to take care of their children and many of them never return, studies suggest. In Intshisekelo High School outside Durban, more than 20 schoolgirls became pregnant in just the first half of the school year, officials say. One teacher said that pregnancy is one of the main reasons, along with poverty, why only about half of all students finish their schooling. By law, the school authorities cannot reveal which students are pregnant and say some girls go to great lengths to hide their protruding bellies, including wearing oversized tops and always carrying their rucksacks at the front. The South African Schools Act of 1996 says students cannot be expelled because they are pregnant, but schools say they are forced to do so because they are not trained how to provide support to expectant mothers. "Teachers are confronted with situations where learners are stigmatised by other students, where the pregnant pupil becomes emotionally ostracised and your call of duty now extends to that of being a nurse, a social worker. It places pressure on teachers, not to mention the workload," says Mugwena Maluleke, spokesperson for the South African Democratic Teachers Union. Inside the classroom, students say they are sometimes ridiculed by their teachers for becoming pregnant. "You just become an outcast. Sometimes you are labelled as a loose girl and everyone makes fun of you," says a girl whose friend and schoolmate became pregnant at 17. She refused to give her name. Local education chief Senzo Mchunu says he is extremely worried about the high levels of teenage pregnancy in KwaZulu-Natal Province, which includes Durban. "In many instances a girl's future is destroyed, she has no hope of ever returning to school," he says. While the official line is that no pupil should be denied an education, regardless of the circumstances, provincial governments and school governing bodies have the prerogative to decide what to do with pregnant teenagers. And so it is not uncommon to hear of schools, especially in rural areas, where students are expelled as soon as the school becomes aware of their pregnancy. Few bother to go to court because many are not aware of their rights and they also have other things to worry about, such as how to feed their children. For years government departments have been going back and forth about who has responsibility for this issue. Is it a health problem, a social problem or simply a problem for the education department? There are still no clear answers but these departments in KwaZulu-Natal have begun working together in a bid to get a handle on the problem. They have been holding awareness campaigns across the province about the risks of teenage pregnancy and HIV/Aids. Some three million people are HIV-positive in KwaZulu-Natal - more than in any other part of South Africa, the country with the highest number of people living with the Aids virus in the world. Many pregnant teenagers admit to regularly having unprotected sex, sometimes with multiple partners, officials say. These "reckless sexual activities" could undermine the strides made in the fight against Aids, they say. "We are faced with a problem that is threatening to take on monstrous proportions and we cannot sit back and do nothing. We are doing everything we can to encourage our young people to be responsible," says Mr Mchunu.

दक्षिण अफ्रीका में हाल ही में एक संवैधानिक अदालत के फैसले ने पुष्टि की है कि स्कूल छात्रों को गर्भवती होने के लिए निष्कासित नहीं कर सकते हैं, लेकिन बीबीसी के पुम्ज़ा फिहलानी ने बताया कि देश अभी भी इस मुद्दे से निपटने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहा है, जो हर साल लगभग 180,000 लड़कियों को प्रभावित करता है।


Covid-19: Hampshire trust to postpone some operations

Summary: A hospital trust will start postponing some planned operations due to a sharp rise in patients with coronavirus, a chief executive said.

Alex Whitfield said the "difficult decision" was made due to Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust being "under increasing pressure". She said people impacted would be contacted and those not contacted should attend appointments. The move is in line with other NHS trusts across the country. The trust's hospitals include Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester. Related Internet Links Hampshire Hospitals

एक मुख्य कार्यकारी ने कहा कि एक अस्पताल ट्रस्ट कोरोनावायरस के रोगियों में तेज वृद्धि के कारण कुछ नियोजित कार्यों को स्थगित करना शुरू कर देगा।


Woman charged in Stoke-on-Trent murder probe as victim named

Summary: A woman has been charged with grievous bodily harm as police investigate a murder at a Stoke-on-Trent house.

Nicola Bray, 45, was found dead at her home on Scrivener Road in the Cliffe Vale area of the city on Thursday. Sheila Pickerill, 48, of Steel Street, Hartshill, was later arrested on suspicion of murder but has since been charged with the lesser offence. Police said it was still a murder enquiry, but did not say if it was looking for anyone else. Ms Pickerill is due to appear before magistrates at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre later. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Related Internet Links Staffordshire Police

एक महिला पर गंभीर शारीरिक नुकसान का आरोप लगाया गया है क्योंकि पुलिस स्टोक-ऑन-ट्रेंट हाउस में एक हत्या की जांच कर रही है।


New MHK Chris Robertshaw sworn in to House of Keys

Summary: A new member of the Isle of Man's House of Keys has been sworn in at a special ceremony in Tynwald.

Chris Robertshaw was elected to represent Douglas East in a by-election on 27 May. The former managing director of the Sefton Hotel stood as an independent candidate and won the seat with 388 votes. The seat was made vacant when Phil Braidwood was elected to the Legislative Council. House of Keys speaker Steve Rodan said he expected Mr Robertshaw's "own particular experience of commercial and public life in the Isle of Man" to benefit the House and his constituents.

आइल ऑफ मैन हाउस ऑफ कीज के एक नए सदस्य को टिनवाल्ड में एक विशेष समारोह में शपथ दिलाई गई है।


Leg-lengthening: The people having surgery to be a bit taller

Summary: Each year hundreds of people around the world are opting for long, often painful surgery to extend their legs in a bid to make themselves a few inches taller. But the complex procedure isn't without risk and health experts say some are being left with long-term problems.

By Tom BradaBBC News Sam Becker was the tallest kid at his middle school, but by the end of high school his peers had left him behind. "When I went to college, I noticed that I was shorter than a lot of the guys and even the girls," he says. "It does affect your life. Honestly, women generally don't date guys that are shorter than them. The hardest thing was sometimes feeling like I won't be able to find a wife." Sam, now 30, from New York, hoped that he might still grow, though in his heart he knew he had reached his full adult height. "I always thought that being tall and being successful were linked. I had to come up with my own solution." Will I be able to walk? Sam researched his options, but was unconvinced by temporary fixes like shoe lifts and stretching exercises. When he came across leg-lengthening, a fascination took root. Following a frank conversation with his mother and weighing up the various risks, he decided the answer to his problems lay on the operating table. He underwent surgery in 2015, going from 5ft 4ins (162cm) to 5ft 7ins (170cm). "At my first consultation the doctor made it very clear how difficult the surgery was going to be. I was concerned about what I would be able to do after getting those three inches. Will I still be able to walk? Will I still be able to run? "After I had the operation I was in physical therapy maybe three or four times a week for a few hours each day. I did that for probably six months. It was a very humbling experience. It is kind of crazy… breaking both of your legs and learning to walk again. It's seen as a cosmetic surgery, but I did it a lot more personally for my mental health." Leg-lengthening surgery is available in more than a dozen countries, with some patients able to increase their height by up to five inches (13cm). And while it's hard to say exactly how many people undergo it each year, clinics say it is gaining in popularity. The BBC has spoken to clinics around the world about the frequency with which they perform the operation and the numbers vary. At leading centres in the US, Germany and South Korea the procedure is carried out between 100 and 200 times a year. Others - including in Spain, India, Turkey and Italy - perform between 20 and 40 operations a year. In the UK the figure is slightly lower - about 15 times a year. Almost every clinic the BBC spoke to noted an increase year-on-year. In the UK, it's available at a handful of private clinics regulated by the Care Quality Commission. They charge up to £50,000, while in the US the price ranges from £56,000 up to £210,000 ($75,000 - $280,000). The surgery is long, expensive and painful. The technique was pioneered by Gavril Ilizarov, a Soviet doctor treating injured soldiers returning from World War Two. And while the surgery has evolved over the last 70 years, many of the principles remain the same. A hole is drilled into the leg bones - which are then broken in two. A metal rod is surgically fitted inside and held in place by a number of screws. The rod is then slowly lengthened by up to 1mm each day, extending until the patient reaches the desired height and their bones can heal back together. The patient then requires several months of daily rehabilitation to build up mobility. The process is fraught with the risk of complications, from nerve injuries and blood clots to the possibility of the bones not fusing back together. I had a three-inch gap Someone who understands that all too well is Barny. He had the surgery in Italy in 2015, gaining three inches in height - going from 5ft 6in (167cm) to 5ft 9in (175cm). After being diagnosed with a condition that required his legs to be straightened, he opted to have leg lengthening at the same time. He had been reassured that the procedures could be done together and wouldn't affect his recovery time. But he's been dealing with the consequences ever since. "If I was 16 years old, perhaps it wouldn't have been a problem. But when I had the operation I was 46," he says. "My legs were being pulled apart, but my bones never caught up. I had a three inch gap…just two sticks of bone and a metal bar in between." Barny recalls the physical discomfort he endured during the lengthening process itself. "It's like every nerve in your legs are being stretched," he says. "There are times when you can't escape anywhere in your head from the pain. It is excruciating." In spite of the alarming gap between his bones, the weight-bearing rod holding his bones together meant Barny was still able to walk. But the gravity of his situation was clear. "There was a moment of realisation of 'I'm stuck. I'm absolutely stuck'. I was fortunate, my family and employer were amazing. But it can spiral very quickly and you do need a support network. When things go wrong, it goes catastrophically wrong." Cosmetic limb-lengthening is limited to private clinics and as such there is little concrete data around the number of patients who go on to experience complications. But Professor Hamish Simpson, of the British Orthopaedic Association, reiterated the potential hazards. "The techniques and technology have improved substantially over the past couple of decades, making it a safer procedure. However, as well as growing more bone - more muscle, nerve, blood vessels and skin have to be grown and the procedure remains an extremely complex process, with a high complication rate." Dr David Goodier, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the UK, said some of the people he has come across who wanted leg lengthening surgery "have psychological problems", including body dysmorphia. He says as more people opt for the procedure, there is a concern patients will prioritise cost over welfare. "When faced with the choice of going somewhere with very experienced limb reconstruction surgical expertise versus getting it done on the cheap, I don't think people are necessarily made aware of all the things that can and often do go wrong," he warns. "What happens if you go somewhere, have the surgery done and then return to the UK with complications? The answer is you get sent up to see me on the NHS and we pick up the pieces." Done and dusted As for Barny, the day after we met he was having the final metal rod removed from his femur, five years after the original surgery. Despite the pain, the cost and the many years of rehabilitation, he has few regrets. "That will be me, done and dusted," he says. "Regret is a funny one. There are a lot of people who the surgery has gone right for and you'll never hear from them again… they quietly get on with their lives. I still have a long way to go to recover, but for me the operation was worth it. It has given me the opportunity to recreate my life, free from the prejudice that short people experience."

हर साल दुनिया भर में सैकड़ों लोग खुद को कुछ इंच लंबा बनाने के लिए अपने पैरों को बढ़ाने के लिए लंबी, अक्सर दर्दनाक सर्जरी का विकल्प चुन रहे हैं। लेकिन जटिल प्रक्रिया जोखिम से मुक्त नहीं है और स्वास्थ्य विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि कुछ लोगों को दीर्घकालिक समस्याओं का सामना करना पड़ रहा है।


Muriel Drinkwater murder: Harold Jones link ruled out

Summary: A schoolgirl's murder has gone unsolved since she was brutally killed more than 70 years ago. Police had been hopeful forensic evidence - thought to be among the oldest such specimens in the world - may finally prove who killed her. But the mystery still remains.

By Gwyneth Rees & Jordan DaviesBBC News Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was singing as she walked along the mile-long path to her home after getting off a school bus. Her mother Margaret watched from the house as the youngest of her four daughters went among the trees and disappeared from sight. It was the last time her mother saw her alive. The next day the child's body was found. Muriel had been brutally raped, battered around the head and shot twice, with her killing dubbed the Little Red Riding Hood murder by the national press. Thousands of men were questioned over the shocking death of Muriel, a schoolgirl at Penllergaer Grammar School on the outskirts of Swansea. Posters featuring the weapon used and a description of a man wanted for questioning were circulated widely but yielded no results. Despite the effort and resources ploughed into finding the killer, the inquiry remained unsolved. It had been hoped a vital piece of forensic evidence might finally lead police to the identity of Muriel's killer. A semen stain found on her coat is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of crime scene evidence in the world. It was discovered during a 2003 case review, and was used to rule out a boy who passed Muriel before she was attacked as a suspect. South Wales Police were looking into whether Harold Jones, who murdered two young girls in a town about 45 miles away, also killed Muriel. But after re-examining the forensic evidence and considering theories that Jones was responsible, they have confirmed he was not the killer. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lewis, head of the South Wales Police's Specialist Crime Review Unit said: "The results of the forensic examination categorically confirm that Jones was not responsible for the murder of Muriel Drinkwater. "Due to advances in forensic technology, we have been able to look again at evidence from the murder in 1946 and I am now able to rule out Harold Jones completely as a suspect in this case. "I have spoken to Muriel's family to bring them up to date with the latest details of this investigation." The news will be a blow to historian Neil Milkins, who has spent 12 years researching Muriel's murder and took his theory to the police. Speaking before the results of the DNA sample were known, he said: "Harold was a convicted double child murderer - suspected of being one of Britain's most notorious serial killers. "He would have had no problem committing this murder." Growing up in Abertillery in a poor family, Jones left school in his early teens and began work as a shop assistant. But in February 1921, aged just 15, he lured eight-year-old Freda Burnell to a seed store behind the shop and killed her in a vicious attack. He hid her body and dumped it in an alley during the night. As the last person to see her alive, Jones was arrested and put on trial at Monmouth Assizes. But local people believed he was "fitted up" by the London detectives and campaigned for his release. After being found not guilty and released, he was paraded through the town shoulder high by his supporters and presented with a gold watch. Yet within days of his acquittal, he struck again. This time it was Freda's friend, 11-year old Florence Little. He lured her to his home, slit her throat, then hid her body in the attic. Upon the discovery of her remains, Jones admitted both murders and was jailed for 20 years. When he was released in 1941, he joined the army, serving in Libya before his military service ended in February 1946. Muriel was murdered four months after he left the forces, leading Mr Milkins to suspect it may be him. Mr Milkins said: "Just before he was released from prison, he told authorities he didn't want to lose the desire to kill and rape. "So it seems to me, and also psychologists, he may have gone on to kill many more times. "He was a psychopath, so calm and cool. "It seemed he could kill someone, walk away, and talk to people with no nerves at all." There is a school of thought that Jones was also Jack the Stripper, a notorious killer who strangled six women in London in the 1960s. Jones lived in the area at the time of the killings, and a 2018 investigation led by criminologist Prof David Wilson, named him as the prime suspect. Jones later went on to have a daughter, who knew nothing of his crimes, and he led an "unassuming life" until his death from cancer in 1971. As for the unsolved murder of Muriel, the re-opening of the cold case involved examining very old DNA was something that was highly unusual, according to one expert. Speaking before the DNA results were known, Dr Jane Monckton Smith, a forensic criminologist who grew up near Muriel's home town, said: "Personally, I don't know anyone using a sample so old. "It's amazing that we have come so far that we can extract a profile from it. "From what I know, Harold Jones was a sexual sadist and from my limited knowledge, I think it's highly likely he is a good suspect in a number of murders." For Muriel's niece, Margaret, she is back at square one, still waiting for an answer to who killer Muriel. She said: "Muriel was my aunt, and my mum and her had a very happy childhood on the farm. "The murder of her little sister had a massive effect on my mother and family. "Ideally, I would like to put it to rest, because it's an open case. "We still need justice for Muriel."

70 साल से अधिक समय पहले एक स्कूली छात्रा की बेरहमी से हत्या किए जाने के बाद से उसकी हत्या अनसुलझी है। पुलिस को उम्मीद थी कि फोरेंसिक साक्ष्य-जिसे दुनिया के सबसे पुराने ऐसे नमूनों में से एक माना जाता है-आखिरकार यह साबित कर सकते हैं कि उसकी हत्या किसने की। लेकिन रहस्य अभी भी बना हुआ है।


Life inside the chaos left by the Islamic State group's fall

Summary: US President Donald Trump says "100%" of the Islamic State group's territory has now been taken over, even though local commanders with the US allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), maintain total victory will be declared within a week. As the battle draws to a close, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville met some of those leaving the group's last stronghold, Baghuz.

By Quentin SommervilleDeir al-Zour, Syria Hamza Jasim al-Ali's world is small and terrible. He hasn't moved far in life, living always along the same 40km (25 mile) stretch on the banks of the Euphrates. His journey, still without end, took him from al-Qaim in Iraq, across the border to Syria and into the dark centre of what was the Islamic State group's nightmare caliphate. He has seen more of life and death than any child of 12 should. Now he is far from his river, sitting on the desert floor in a wind-whipped tent, alone - apart from an elderly woman who barely knows him. His leg is broken, but healing, and he smiles as I ask him questions. I asked him what life was like inside. "It was good," he says, smiling again. "Less food and water and a lot of fighting. It was heavy fighting." Does he still like IS? "No. Why would I like them after all they have done?" he answers. Hamza is an IS orphan. His father joined the group and took the whole family with him. He died five months ago, along with Hamza's mother and brothers and sisters in an air strike that was part of the battle to drive the group from its last toehold of territory in Syria. IS's victims number millions - they displaced and terrorised people across Iraq, Syria and Libya. Their treatment of the Yazidis was genocidal, according to the United Nations. But they also brutalised and corrupted not just their enemies, but their own children, too. As part of a ceasefire deal, more than 6,000 women and children have left IS territory, along with injured male fighters. The Islamic State group's dreams of a sprawling caliphate have been reduced to a pathetic encampment around the village of Baghuz. Their first stop when they get out is the desert, where thousands are processed in the open. The air is acrid and filthy; many of them are sick. They defecate out in the open. Most are then moved on to an overwhelmed internment camp near the city of Hassaka, in the village of al-Hol. As Hamza and I speak, there's a lull outside - the day's IS refugees have yet to arrive, and last night's have already been put on to cattle trucks for the long journey across desert roads to al-Hol. They are searched individually, by Kurdish women fighters, but it is not known if they are finger-printed or photographed. The injured men's pictures and other biometric data are taken before they are sent to detention. But there are limits to the investigations that can be carried out into the crimes of which they are suspected. It is not clear how long the Kurdish authorities can hold them. Some of the men said they expected to be freed in a few months' time. One man, who said he was from Aleppo, claimed he was a caretaker. At the edge of the processing area, he told me: "I'll do the supposed detention time and then go live with my parents and leave everything behind me. I'll go live with my mum. That'll be best." Another, Abu Bakr al-Ansari, showed little regret. "All Muslims will be sad it's gone because they wanted their own state," he says. "They won't live free to practise their religion in other Muslim countries." Both were then taken away to Kurdish detention. Across the desert plain, I find discarded belongings: mobile phones that have been smashed or burned in camp fires, USB drives snapped in two. There are photographs in the dirt, too - one of four young girl scouts, another of a girl wearing a headscarf. Was one of them now on her way to al-Hol camp? Amid the soiled nappies and empty tinned cans of food, a family ration card. It belongs to a Kosovan family. The father had a senior position within IS. But that's another story. In this mess of abandonment, there is purpose and care. A computer hard drive has been stamped on and covered in human excrement. Many of the women left IS not because they wanted to, but because they were ordered to. Plenty still carried their husbands' worn military backpacks. It appears that they want their enemies - the Kurds and the Western coalition - to have little clue to who they are. I met women from Turkey, Iraq, Chechnya, Russia and Dagestan. Some expected to be reunited with their husbands who are still inside Baghuz, waiting for the final battle. Many are still fanatics. A Tunisian-Canadian woman, her niqab streaked with stains under purple-framed glasses, gave her name as Umm Yousef. Her husband, a Moroccan, had been killed, but she may have married another who was still inside. She said she had no regrets and had learned much from IS. "So Allah, he made this to test us," she told me. "Without food, without money and without houses, but now I'm happy, because maybe some time, in two hours' I will see that I have water to drink." Britain and other coalition countries are maintaining pressure on the Kurds to keep the dispossessed of IS locked up. But after the misery the extremists brought here, the Kurds want them gone. At night more women arrived. Some of their children cried, but others stood silent and still, numb to everything around them. When they were asked a question, in the glare of television camera lights, they turned their dust-covered faces down to the ground and said nothing. A group that showed almost no mercy, now pleads for it. An Iraqi woman, standing in the dark, with around 200 other women and children, said to me: "Do you not see the children here before you? Can you not feel their pain? The pain of old men and the women who got shredded by the bombs? The children who died in air strikes? You're human. We're human as well. Do you not feel my pain, brother?" At the edge of the throng, there is a medical station, run by a charity, the Free Burma Rangers. Paul Brady, a Californian, is one of their medics. He says the injuries have changed as more people have arrived from IS. "About 10 days ago we saw quite a few with what looked like bullet wounds," he told me. "They said they were shot because they were escaping. But now we haven't been seeing as many of those. It feels like most of these injuries are a little older, mostly from air strikes and mortars. "You walk around this triage spot and it smells really bad because these wounds have been festering for a long time," he said. The flow of people will eventually dry up, and then the final battle for Baghuz is expected. Those we spoke to in the desert said there were still thousands of fighters still inside. Hamza was injured five weeks ago when he stepped on a landmine, but he says his broken leg is much better now. As I'm about to leave, he looks up at me, his smile finally disappearing from his face and he asks, "What will happen to me?" There's no clear answer. And I couldn't tell him that Iraq may not take him back. He would probably be taken to al-Hol camp like everyone else. I left him something to drink, some chocolate and bananas, in the care of the medics and the Kurdish forces. When I returned to the desert the next day, he was gone, his place on the floor taken by more sick and injured from the last of the so-called caliphate.

अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प का कहना है कि इस्लामिक स्टेट समूह के क्षेत्र का "100%" अब कब्जा कर लिया गया है, भले ही अमेरिकी सहयोगियों, सीरियन डेमोक्रेटिक फोर्सेज (SDF) के साथ स्थानीय कमांडरों का कहना है कि एक सप्ताह के भीतर पूरी जीत की घोषणा की जाएगी। जैसे-जैसे लड़ाई समाप्त हो रही है, बीबीसी के क्वेंटिन सोमरविले ने समूह के अंतिम गढ़, बघुज को छोड़ने वाले कुछ लोगों से मुलाकात की।


Dyson to create 300 jobs after hitting turnover record

Summary: The engineering firm Dyson says it has made £1bn ($1.58bn, 1.19bn euros) turnover for the first time and will create 300 skilled jobs, around 8% of its workforce.

The firm, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, said sales rose by a quarter in 2011, with some markets growing by 30%. The company's new chief executive, Max Conze, said 200 of the new jobs would be engineering positions. At least 150 will go to graduates. The Wiltshire-based group, founded by Sir James Dyson, employs 3,600 staff worldwide. It was founded in 1992 and now sells machines, including hand dryers, in more than 50 markets. Dyson designs its products in the UK but after initially making them in the UK, moved much of the manufacturing to Malaysia to cut costs. It did not reveal its profit figure for the year. In 2010, the business made a profit of £210m on turnover of £887m.

इंजीनियरिंग फर्म डायसन का कहना है कि उसने पहली बार £1bn ($1.58bn, 1.19bn यूरो) का कारोबार किया है और 300 कुशल नौकरियों का सृजन करेगा, जो उसके कार्यबल का लगभग 8 प्रतिशत है।


What should the UK do about foreign aid?

Summary: The UK is about to pass legislation committing it to ringfencing 0.7% of gross national income for international development spending. Prof Henrietta Moore, director of the Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London offers a personal perspective on the way forward.

By Prof Henrietta MooreUniversity College London What has been agreed? The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill is on the cusp of becoming law. It means that 0.7% of the UK's gross national income (GNI) will be ringfenced for international aid spending. The target will be legally binding on future governments. This makes Britain the first nation in the G7 to honour a commitment agreed by the United Nations as far back as 1970. In cash terms, it will mean spending around £12bn of taxpayers' money on development assistance in the current year. The bill has had a rocky ride through both Houses of Parliament. Proposed as a private member's bill by Liberal Democrat MP and former Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, some backbench Conservative MPs and Lords have been strongly opposed to the legal commitment. However, their proposed amendments were defeated in votes. The bill should receive Royal Assent in the coming days. Is the current system flawed? But while aid is certainly necessary in our deeply unequal world, not everything done in the name of aid is pure altruism. There is an undoubted connection between the UK's aid budget and the promotion of British 'soft power'. International Development Secretary Justine Greening has said herself that UK aid helps to fight the root causes of terrorism and it surely can't be coincidence that the single biggest recipient of UK aid is Pakistan. And there is a commercial angle to the aid we give, as it is often delivered via partner companies that profit as a result. In 2011-12, the Department for International Development (DFID) awarded 135 contracts to 58 contractors, worth almost £500m. Beneficiaries included big-name firms such as PwC, Mott MacDonald and Adam Smith International. And DFID's Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) has seen £1.9m in grants given to UK businesses including the supermarkets Waitrose and Sainsbury's to help get more African produce on to shop shelves. So from the developing world's perspective, aid can sometimes seem like a way of cementing the established relationships between the rich 'global north' and the poor 'global south' - with a transfer of cash from the former to the latter, but within power structures that favour the former. We also need to look at the wider context of aid. Often, the mainly agricultural economies of the 'global south' are struggling because of the inability to sell their products competitively to the rich world. This situation is maintained through the colossal subsidy regimes maintained by wealthy nations to protect their own farmers: the European Union spends around €59bn a year on farm subsidies through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with the US spending just over $30bn. These subsidies, combined with trade tariffs, serve to block out competition from developing nations. What should be the aim? While aid will certainly be necessary for the foreseeable future to alleviate the extreme poverty that still sees one billion people globally having to survive on less than $1.25 a day, we should be looking to move to a point where it is no longer needed. To do this, we need to radically rethink our economic, social and political models to create a sustainable, prosperous future for everyone on the planet. These models will be different for different places, because there will be varying factors negatively impacting on people's individual and collective prosperity. In a developed urban environment like London, for example, access to affordable housing might be the biggest pressure, while in rural Kenya it will be more basic things like access to clean and reliable water and electricity supplies. But these models will be united by a fundamental re-evaluation of the concept of growth. The continuous notching up of GDPs based on ever-rising consumption and carbon emissions across the globe simply isn't sustainable in a world with finite resources - especially when the UN predicts that we're hurtling towards a global population of 9.6 billion by 2050, while we're consuming resources at a rate that would need 1.5 earths to support. Case study: Cogen for Africa: New models of alternative pathways to sustainable development are already emerging. Take the Cogen for Africa project - a successful example of so-called 'south to south co-operation' - helping food processing firms benefit from a big expansion of eco-friendly biomass energy in East Africa. The technical expertise is being provided by the island nation of Mauritius, where over half of electricity is already generated by combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Mauritius established a system of feed-in-tariffs to enable firms to sell back surplus electricity to the national grid. The scheme has seen power plants set up in Kenya and Uganda which not only provide electricity to meet the needs of individual factories, but also enable owners to sell back green energy to the grid, replacing dirtier fossil fuel technologies. Feed-in-tariffs have now been developed in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, and Ethiopia is also considering implementing a similar model. What needs to be done? These new models will mean learning lessons from around the world - many of which will come from communities on the front line in the fight against climate change. Rich nations need to think beyond aid. They need to look at how the global trade system rigged in their favour is preventing poorer countries from lifting themselves out of poverty. It's clear that developing nations regard this as key. Following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, for example, the Thai government made pleas to the EU and the US to reduce punitive tariffs on Thai shrimp exports, with the Thai prime minister saying this would make a bigger difference to his country's rebuilding efforts than aid money. It also means involving business in rethinking its role in positive change. Ultimately, it is enterprise that will spread prosperity in the developing world and we need to foster the right conditions for firms to create social and environmental value. Business has a responsibility to act sustainably - as many UK companies already do - but this will mean developing new models that recognise that simply replicating the old growth path of the rich world will only compound the pressure on resources and hasten climate catastrophe. Listen to Prof Moore on the BBC programme Analysis.

ब्रिटेन अंतर्राष्ट्रीय विकास खर्च के लिए सकल राष्ट्रीय आय का 0.7% हिस्सा देने के लिए कानून पारित करने वाला है। यूनिवर्सिटी कॉलेज लंदन में इंस्टीट्यूट फॉर ग्लोबल प्रॉस्पेरिटी की निदेशक प्रोफेसर हेनरीटा मूर आगे की राह पर एक व्यक्तिगत दृष्टिकोण प्रस्तुत करती हैं।


Clapham rail disaster: Ex-firefighter remembers train crash

Summary: Twenty-five years ago 35 people were killed and 500 people injured when three trains collided in Clapham, south London. BBC producer Clifford Thompson, who at that time worked as a firefighter and was on duty, says he will never forget what he saw. This is his story.

By Clifford ThompsonBBC London The teleprinter furiously spat out messages printed on to a roll of paper. It was Monday, 12 December 1988 - a bright but fiercely cold day - just after 08:00. The London Fire Brigade's Green Watch firefighters were coming to the end of their 48-hour shift. I stood in the watch room at Stratford fire station in east London - I'd been a firefighter for three years and was one of the Red Watch crews preparing to relieve our colleagues. We crowded around the teleprinter as messages were relayed from Spencer Park in Clapham. "This is a major incident - initiate major incident procedure," followed by: "two commuter trains in collision, five carriages involved, approximately 150 casualties, unknown number of people trapped, efforts being made to release". A train travelling from Poole, Dorset, had passed a "clear" signal just outside Clapham Junction Station and hit the back of a train from Basingstoke, ripping open carriages. Some de-railed carriages were pushed into the path of a third train travelling away from London. Fifteen fire engines from closer stations headed straight to the crash site, along with a number of specialist rescue firefighters and police, ambulance and hospital surgical teams. At that point - being 12 miles away and a 45-minute drive from Clapham - I thought there was little chance of our crew getting called there. Then at 10:25 the officer in charge of the incident sent the radio message: "request 18 pump relief... as soon as possible... rendezvous at junction of Windmill Road and Spencer Park." A few minutes later the teleprinter bell sounded at Stratford and our engine was despatched to the crash. I was struck by the scale of what met us - there were dozens of emergency service vehicles and also TV crews. It was a surreal sight, like a massive film set. We were told to go down to the crash site and assist with the remaining victims. In the eerie quiet, it was clear that of those remaining, none was alive. I walked down the steep embankment - at the bottom was a ledge with a vertical drop about 15ft (4.5m) into the cutting - and saw the jumbled mess of iron and steel. Ladders and ropes were used to help us get down there. 'Quiet determination' A man's body was pulled from the wreckage, followed by a woman who had suffered multiple injuries. We removed another body, leaving only one in place: a man thrown from one of the first two carriages on the Poole train. At 15:52 another radio message was sent: "All bodies now removed from remaining coaches - British Rail heavy cutting and lifting units in operation. Brigade crews now standing by." I played a very small part in the rescue operation: one of about 250 firefighters who attended the incident. I could not imagine what the scene was like for the very first crews to arrive confronted by hundreds of injured people. But we worked with quiet determination to make sure that the final bodies were recovered with as much dignity as possible. It took more than a year for the 250-page report by Anthony Hidden QC to be published. It found that faulty wiring had caused an incorrect signal to be displayed to the driver of the Poole train, who was driving into a blind bend and had no chance of stopping. This crash was by far the largest incident I had attended at that point in my firefighting career. Of course, I had attended other incidents where people had died. But none of them were on this scale - even 25 years ago, it remains difficult to take in.

पँचिश साल पहले दक्षिण लंदन के क्लैफम में तीन ट्रेनों की टक्कर में 35 लोग मारे गए थे और 500 लोग घायल हो गए थे। बीबीसी के निर्माता क्लिफोर्ड थॉम्पसन, जो उस समय अग्निशामक के रूप में काम करते थे और ड्यूटी पर थे, कहते हैं कि उन्होंने जो देखा वह कभी नहीं भूलेंगे। यह उनकी कहानी है।