Lancashire County Council election: Tories gain control

Summary: The Conservatives have gained control of Lancashire County Council.

The authority had been under no overall control, with Labour the biggest party by four councillors. Nationally, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) suffered huge losses, but they did manage to gain the Padiham and Burnley West ward on Lancashire County Council from Labour. Alan Hosker beat Marcus Johnstone with a majority of 228 as, elsewhere, the Greens held Lancaster Central ward. With a 45% share of the vote, the Tories won 46 of the council's 84 seats. Among them were incredibly narrow victories in Mid-Rossendale (won by only eight votes) and Clitheroe (five). Pendle Central was a Conservative gain for Joe Cooney from the Liberal Democrats, while the Tories also picked up Rossendale South, Chorley Rural West, and Moss Side & Farington. Labour lost nine wards compared to 2013, winning 30 seats on a 35% share of the vote. Hasina Khan gained Chorley North in a rare bit of good news for the party. Jennifer Mein, the previous council leader, easily retained her Preston South East seat but was left in tears by Labour's loss of the county hall. The Liberal Democrats took four seats - losing two - while two seats were held by independents (Liz Oades in Fylde East and Paul Hayhurst in Fylde West) Compared with 2013, overall turnout rose 5% to 42%. The county council provides local government services across the region including education, health, social care and transport. Analysis: Mike Stevens, BBC Radio Lancashire The Conservatives have done it... they have overall control of Lancashire County Council. Labour haven't done as poorly as some might have predicted but they'll still be bitterly disappointed with this result. The Lib Dem surge that some had predicted hasn't arrived and they've ended up with only half the seats they've had for the past four years. As well as that Conservative majority, the big shock here today is the fact UKIP have won a seat. Alan Hosker is so far the UK's only victor. I'm told the Tories are having a meeting on Saturday to finalise arrangements but, as things stand, Councillor Geoff Driver will be the next leader of Lancashire County Council. Labour leader Jenny Mein told me: "I just want to go home and cry". Politics can be an unforgiving beast.

कंज़र्वेटिव्स ने लंकाशायर काउंटी काउंसिल पर नियंत्रण हासिल कर लिया है।


Contempt case against Peter Hain to begin in Belfast

Summary: Contempt of court proceedings against the former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain are due to begin on Tuesday at the High Court in Belfast.

The legal action is being taken by NI's Attorney General, John Larkin, over criticism of a judge in Mr Hain's autobiography. Mr Hain said he was astonished the legal action was being taken. The case concerns comments in his autobiography about Lord Justice Paul Girvan. In the book, Mr Hain was also critical of one of the judgements Mr Justice Girvan made in Belfast six years ago. The case is being taken by Mr Larkin on the basis that Mr Hain's criticisms undermined the administration of justice and constituted unwarranted abuse of a judge.

उत्तरी आयरलैंड के पूर्व सचिव पीटर हैन के खिलाफ अदालत की अवमानना की कार्यवाही मंगलवार को बेलफास्ट के उच्च न्यायालय में शुरू होने वाली है।


Things no-one tells you before running the London Marathon

Summary: This Sunday, 39,000 people will run the 37th London Marathon.

By Paul StanworthNewsbeat reporter For many, it'll be their first time. These are the 10 things which every London Marathon virgin will want to know. 1. Toilet queues Greenwich Park and Blackheath are lovely settings for the start. You won't really enjoy them, you'll be in the queue for the toilet. And that last security wee won't make a difference anyway because as soon as you're in that starting pen, you'll want to go again. 2. The starting pen Wherever you're directed to start, choose your friends wisely. You're stuck with these people for at least the first mile. 3. Fancy dress However good the cause might be, fancy dress is not as funny as you thought. This emotion will kick in around mile eight when a 10 foot gorilla jogs past you. The same goes for the free energy gels - the novelty wears off quickly. 4. Sightseeing It's not all Big Ben and Canary Wharf. Ever seen Isle of Dogs Asda or Surrey Quays station from the outside? Get ready to tick them off the bucket list. 5. Greenwich The roar of that crowd around Cutty Sark as you go from mile six to mile seven is the most reassuring thing you'll ever hear. There will be thousands of people there - they'll make you smile, they'll probably make you speed up. Don't forget there are still 20 miles to go though. 6. The halfway point Your run towards the 13-mile mark will be one of your highlights. Going across Tower Bridge with thousands of people either side of you will be enough to bring on a tear. The hard bit comes next. As you head up Shadwell Highway, DON'T look to your left. Trust us, don't. (There are people running the other way to you, fast). 7. The drinkers People use your marathon to start drinking very early. A 10am lager is nice for them. It's nice for the pubs making a killing. You'll be livid. 8. The name thing You've got your own name plastered across your chest, mainly because it's what everyone else does. Around the streets of Charlton, Woolwich and Greenwich, hearing complete strangers yelling your name will be a nice thing. By the time you get to Canary Wharf, it'll be weird and annoying. 9. Canary Wharf People do go there at the weekend after all and after a lull in the crowd around the Isle of Dogs (keep your biggest tunes for that bit), the sound of the crowds at Canary Wharf will be one of the best feelings of the day. 10. The last bit and the end Everything you've ever been told about sweets and strangers goes out of the window here. You'll take anything. The roar of the crowd is getting louder as the Mall is getting closer. But that bit from Big Ben to the finish line will feel like it's a marathon of its own (it's not, it's only a mile, keep going). There's a goodie bag at the end but don't get too excited. As soon as you cross the line, you'll crave sugar, chips, beer, all kinds of things. What you're probably not after is a carrier bag containing numerous leaflets, a slightly odd cereal bar and a complimentary T-shirt. Oh, and on that beer, it'll taste weird. It'll get better but that first one will taste weird (and crying at the finish line is absolutely fine - you've just had one of the best days of your life.) Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

इस रविवार को 39,000 लोग 37वीं लंदन मैराथन में भाग लेंगे।


McDonnell takes aim at “big four” accountancy firms

Summary: Labour's John McDonnell has called for a new "Hippocratic oath" at Britain's large accountancy firms, warning that they must work to maximise the amount of tax their clients pay.

By Joe MillerBBC News, Davos Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the shadow chancellor said the so-called big four accountants were not doing enough to tackle tax avoidance. He also warned that public anger over the issue was building. But he paid tribute to businesses that paid their taxes. Mr McDonnell, attending Davos for the first time, said there was a "sense of complacency" at the gathering and warned that the benefits of global growth were not being felt by all. There was, he added, an "avalanche of discontent". He reserved his harshest comments for accountancy firms, whom he said must change "their entire ethos" and rediscover their moral purpose. 'Bizarre schemes' "I think we need a new Hippocratic oath for [the accountancy firms], where they sign up to being committed to tackling tax avoidance themselves, rather than coming up with all these bizarre schemes to enable that to happen," Mr McDonnell told the BBC. "There is almost a monopoly, a cartel that's going on, there are so few of them that are dominating the sector," he added. "If they don't act," he cautioned, "they will be open to real public opprobrium." The big four accountancy firms - Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG - declined to comment when asked by the BBC for a response to Mr McDonnell's comments. Reacting to Mr McDonnell's comments, Treasury minister Robert Jenrick said an extra £160bn has been raised since 2010, when the Conservative party regained office, by tackling tax evasion and avoidance. "If John McDonnell was serious, he would back the anti-avoidance measures we are taking in the Budget that will raise an extra £4.8bn, instead of opposing them as Labour have done so far," he said. 'Need to deliver' Mr McDonnell also had some strong words for the so-called Davos elites, especially those who talk about reducing inequality, but "haven't delivered". "Labour is likely to go into government, so we are attending Davos, to come here with a straightforward warning," he said. "You need to deliver, and when we get in to government we will make sure you do."

लेबर पार्टी के जॉन मैकडॉनेल ने ब्रिटेन की बड़ी लेखा फर्मों में एक नई "हिप्पोक्रेटिक शपथ" का आह्वान करते हुए चेतावनी दी है कि उन्हें अपने ग्राहकों द्वारा भुगतान किए जाने वाले कर की राशि को अधिकतम करने के लिए काम करना चाहिए।


Glasgow's Twin Atlantic on their 'infamous Belladrum debut'

Summary: Scottish rockers Twin Atlantic are preparing for their fifth appearance at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Music Festival. But when they first played at Bella, the band almost had to leave the stage without having finished their set.

By Steven McKenzieBBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter For Glasgow's Twin Atlantic the Highlands is a special place. They have played more than a few gigs there, including at the Ironworks in Inverness and the Loopallu music festival in Ullapool as well as working with young people in a music project in Lochaber. The band's frontman, Sam McTrusty, is also just back home from a "touristy trip" to Skye. Next week, McTrusty and the band's Barry McKenna, Ross McNae and Craig Kneale will head back to the Highlands after being announced as a surprise last minute addition to Bella's line-up. "We were due to play at something else, but that fell through and we had a free weekend," says McTrusty. 'Infamous debut' Twin Atlantic last played Bella, which takes place on the Belldrum Estate near Beauly, in 2013. "We headlined on the main stage that year. It was the first time we had been given that responsibility - to headline a festival," says McTrusty. But he does not consider it to have been the band's best performance, citing "maybe being too excited", along with "some nerves" and unlucky technical issues affecting the production crew. "Even things like stepping out onto a stage in the dark of the night and waiting about all day to do that," says McTrusty. "We are a high energy band. All these things were a new learning experience for us." He adds: "Before then it had been a quick on and off a stage at four o'clock in the afternoon." While that night four years ago was one of many "firsts" for Twin Atlantic, as McTrusty describes it, their first ever appearance at Bella was back in 2008. The music festival's organisers jokingly call it "Twin Atlantic's now infamous debut Belladrum appearance". The band was booked for the Seedlings Stage, a place offering new bands and musicians a platform to share their tunes with an audience. McTrusty says: "It is inside a tent with capacity for a couple of hundred people, maybe 300 at a push. We weren't expecting to have anyone." But after being booked by Bella, Twin Atlantic supported Biffy Clyro. This elevated Twin Atlantic's profile, and boosted the turn out for their appearance on the Seedlings Stage. The tent at Bella was packed. 'Crowd surfing' "There were people wearing our t-shirts and rocking out as hard as they could," says McTrusty. "Then all these security people came in and then up on to the stage. We were told that we would need to stop the show because it was not safe." But an alternative option to scrapping the gig was offered up. "It just sprung to mind: what if everyone in the audience just sat down?" says McTrusty. "I went to the mic and said if everybody sat down then we could keep playing. If they didn't we would have to stop." "Everyone politely took the seat." He adds: "Then we were into this seven-minute-long prog rock song and there's a guy surfing the crowd while they are sat down on the ground." Twin Atlantic, still buzzing from playing at Glasgow's new TRNSMT festival, are looking forward to playing to a Highlands audience again. McTrusty says: "Many of those who come have to travel long distances to get to the festival and also face the logistical challenges of sorting out somewhere to stay during the event." He adds: "Highlands audiences are very committed to having a good time."

स्कॉटिश रॉकर्स ट्विन अटलांटिक बेलाड्रम टार्टन हार्ट म्यूजिक फेस्टिवल में अपनी पांचवीं उपस्थिति की तैयारी कर रहे हैं। लेकिन जब उन्होंने पहली बार बेला में बजाया, तो बैंड को अपना सेट पूरा किए बिना लगभग मंच छोड़ना पड़ा।


The technology modernising Kenya's matatus

Summary: Matatus - the ramshackle public minibuses seating between 14 and 24 people that zip along the streets of Kenya's capital Nairobi - carry a third of the city's residents to and from work each day.

By Jonathan KalanBBC News, Nairobi The journey from the city centre to the working-class suburb of Rongai takes between 45 minutes and two hours, depending on traffic. Yet inside the "Ferguson" matatu - named for its colourful images of the former Manchester United manager - half a dozen passengers seem oblivious to the length of their commute. Instead, they sit glued to their smartphones, checking the latest news, YouTube videos and catching up on emails. Ferguson is one of more than 1,000 matatus in the city now equipped with free wi-fi for passengers to enjoy through a service called Vuma Online, launched this April by Safaricom, Kenya's biggest telecom company. The goal, according to Kevin Bett of Safaricom, is to "convert [passengers] to internet users". But for matatu drivers and conductors it's giving them an edge over intense competition for passengers. "We get more passengers," says Victor Njuguna, a Vuma-equipped matatu conductor. "They actually wait for our bus - they want to enjoy free wi-fi." Commuter pain Nairobi is East Africa's economic, business and technology hub. It has grown from half a million residents in the 1970s to more than three million today. It has grown outward, not upward resulting in an unplanned semi-urban sprawl. It is perhaps no surprise then that the city ranks as the fourth most painful commute in the world, according to IBM's Commuter Pain Index. The government estimates that traffic jams cost the economy more than 50m Kenyan shillings (£365,000; $585,000) per day in lost productivity, fuel consumption and pollution. While the government has ambitious plans to build new roads and bypasses for the city, and even establish a mass rapid transit system and rapid light rail by 2030, progress, like the traffic itself, seems painfully slow. Though Nairobi's commute is dreadful to most, for some of Kenya's burgeoning "silicon savannah" techies, it's an opportunity. #BestDressed "Commutes can be up to three hours long," says Jeremy Gordon, chief executive of FlashCast, a Kenyan tech start-up. "That's a captive audience whose time is pretty under-used." Launched in 2012, FlashCast has designed a location-based advertising system for buses and matatus, using a red LED marquee display connected to a GPS unit and 3G modem installed in the vehicles. Yet advertising alone can be boring. "If we can't make it an entertaining, engaging experience, it's not worth it for them," explains Mr Gordon. "We also display news headlines, short quizzes, games, word scrambles and discussion topics." For example, in April they asked riders on selected buses to nominate the #BestDressed Passenger on the bus. The replies ended up being a huge hit, with responses such as "Red lipstick grey top blue jeans seated back seat next 2 the window on the left side. #pliz…" "People have a desire to be stimulated when they're sitting in traffic," says Mr Gordon, "so it's a win win." It's also a win for the vehicle owners, since they earn a share of the advertising revenues. However, entertaining commuters - and occasionally helping them hit on each other - isn't the only service FlashCast offers. Since its GPS units track vehicles in real time, it is making that traffic information available through its Android mobile app so that customers can track the location and movement of certain buses, to help figure out which route to take to beat the traffic. From cash to cashless Traffic delays are just one part of Nairobi's commuter woes. A greater problem lies in the structure of the public transportation system itself - a semi-formal and chaotic set-up of 20,000 privately owned matatus and buses. Although in theory there may be set prices, the market forces of supply and demand come into play. So if it rains, for example, prices go up. And since passengers pay cash fares directly to drivers or conductors, the matatu and bus owners have no way of knowing how much profit their vehicles are making. As a result, owners simply demand a flat daily fee from their staff, with the remaining profits split between the driver and conductor. While in Europe and other parts of the world prepaid cashless systems for public transportation are the norm, in Nairobi cash is still king. Yet that may be about to change. In May, Google launched a cashless, prepaid card system for the city's public transport, called BebaPay. Conductors are equipped with small, NFC (near-field communication) enabled smartphones. Passengers simply tap their BebaPay card to the phone. Money is then digitally transferred from the card to the phone, and passengers get a message on their phone confirming the transaction. The physical BebaPay cards can be purchased and topped up with credit at various locations across the city. The service doesn't require a bank account - just a Google account - and the cards and phones work without an internet connection. "Cashless will lead to greater transparency, accountability, organisation… and ultimately better public transportation infrastructure," says Denis Gikunda from Google's Nairobi office. BebaPay is part of Google's broader strategy to "simplify payments", he says, and improve lives of people in emerging markets. "Transport was a great place to begin, because it captures all the problems - a lot of transactions, frequently, all cash-based." Eventually, he says, BebaPay will not just be used for transportation, but for payment services across the city - from taxis, to public toilets and small retail kiosks. Safety first These high-tech solutions are certainly helping commuters in various ways, but few address one of passengers' main concerns - safety. The World Health Organization's Global Status Report on Road Safety estimates that there were nearly 8,500 deaths from traffic incidents in Kenya last year. One-third of all fatalities are passengers, many a result of "unsafe forms of public transportation". The finger is often pointed at reckless matatu drivers. "What [passengers] want most is safety - to arrive at the destination in one piece," says Simon Kimutai of the Matatu Owners Association of Kenya. For that, he says, what Nairobi needs is better fleet management to monitor activity, and vehicles fitted with gadgets to monitor speeding, so owners can react. Yet more simple methods may also be effective. An initiative called the Zusha Project, funded by Georgetown University, recently randomly assigned stickers to the passenger cabs of 2,500 matatus around Kenya, with mottos such as "stand up and speak up" against bad driving. The idea was to get passengers to complain directly to the drivers about their reckless driving. After looking at aggregated insurance data, the project found matatus with stickers were in fact half as likely to get into accidents. As Billy Jack, associate professor of economics at Georgetown University who was part of the project, puts it: "Sometimes it's a low-tech solution that works the best."

मैटाटस-14 और 24 लोगों के बीच बैठने वाली सार्वजनिक मिनी बसें जो केन्या की राजधानी नैरोबी की सड़कों पर ज़िप करती हैं-हर दिन शहर के एक तिहाई निवासियों को काम पर ले जाती हैं और ले जाती हैं।


Prisoners cause disturbance at Suffolk juvenile prison

Summary: About 60 prisoners were involved in an overnight disturbance at Warren Hill juvenile prison in Suffolk.

The inmates, aged between 15 and 18, refused to return to their cells at 1930 GMT on Tuesday at the jail at Hollesley near Woodbridge. Specialist Prison Service teams were sent in at 0540 GMT and the Ministry of Justice said no resistance was offered. Three inmates were treated for minor injuries, damage will be assessed later and no staff were hurt. Suffolk police were called but did not enter Warren Hill.

सफ़ोक में वारेन हिल किशोर जेल में लगभग 60 कैदी रात भर अशांति में शामिल थे।


The nuclear dimension to UK election

Summary: The British naval base in Faslane, Scotland, is home to four Vanguard submarines - and the source of a fierce debate that illustrates the sticky political issues presented by the rise of the Scottish National Party in this year's general election.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter While it may be hard for most Americans to imagine, those four submarines, equipped with ballistic missiles, are the sum total of the UK's atomic arsenal. While the US has ICBMs, bombers and submarines of their own, the British nuclear weapons programme is solely contained in the dark, sleek vessels that slip in and out of Faslane. It's become a common Conservative Party talking point in these last days of the campaign that the only way the Labour Party can return to power is by striking a deal with the SNP. Although it's a charge Labour vehemently denies, the SNP will likely post major wins at Labour's expense in Scotland's 59 parliamentary seats. If that happens, one of the bargaining chips in any deal could become the Faslane submarines and their Trident nuclear missile systems. The SNP wants the submarines gone not just from Scottish waters, but decommissioned entirely. "Trident is utterly irrelevant to the defence and security challenges we face in the 21st century," SNP defence spokesperson Angus Robertson said last month. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has called defunding the Trident programme a non-negotiable "blood red line" and, in a Scottish leaders debate in Edinburgh Sunday night, refused to rule out voting down a Labour budget that includes maintaining the missiles. Complicating all this is the fact the nuclear missile programme is aging - and will require additional moneys to stay operational. Coming on the heels of steep austerity cuts imposed after the 2008 recession, the estimated investment of at least £17.5bn is proving a bitter pill for many to swallow. Labour leader Ed Miliband has said he wants to keep the UK a nuclear power, but he hasn't ruled out reducing the number of submarines. And so the Conservatives have pounced on Mr Miliband, whom they charge with threatening to forsake the protection provided by a nuclear deterrent. "If he wants the keys to Number 10, he must abandon any plans to renew our current Vanguard ballistic missile submarines," said Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. He added that Mr Miliband "is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister", comparing it to a Labour leadership fight Mr Miliband had with his brother. Mr Miliband replied that Mr Fallon had "demeaned himself and demeaned his office". Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone tweeted: "We should stick pompous Michael Fallon on the end of a nuclear missile and fire it off into space." This kind of back-and-forth prompted UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who supports continued nuclear funding, to quip that the campaign "is turning into an American, negative, shouting match between two parties". (Around here, comparing anything to US-style politics is sharp criticism indeed.) All of this is just "stale Westminster politics" and the bickering of "grey men in grey suits", says Chris Higgins. Higgins has a particularly unique view of the nuclear issue, as the Faslane navy base and its submarines are his neighbours. Since September, he's been a resident of the Faslane Peace Camp, a brightly coloured collection of caravans, trailers and hand-constructed shelters that has been a permanent fixture just down the road from the base for more than 33 years. On a grey, drizzling afternoon in Faslane, I sit in one of these ramshackle buildings and talk with Higgins and his fellow camp residents about weapons, politics and nationalism. They say they are vehemently opposed to nuclear arms and maintain their site, which draws visitors from around the world, as a protest against the British "military-industrial complex". On 13 April they staged a rally to blockade access to the base that drew hundreds of protestors to the area. At one point Higgins reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small piece of thick metal wires, soldered together. It's part of the Faslane base's fence, which he and some friends cut through during one of their attempts to sneak onto the base to highlight its security weaknesses. Is he afraid he's going to get shot? He says he always raises his hands and shouts "I'm unarmed!" when spotted. Once, he says, a guard was disciplined for falling asleep and not noticing their intrusion. It's perhaps an indication of just how quickly the political climate is changing in Scotland. With the rise of the SNP, the campers can sense that after three decades they may be inching closer to a time when such acts of daring - or foolishness, some might say - are no longer necessary. "I think they have a strong anti-nuclear agenda," Angus Chalmers, a camp activist from Edinburgh, says of the SNP. "They have a strong resolve for getting rid of nuclear weapons, and it's a good opportunity." The situation has Dave Stevens, who's lived in the camp for 10 years, puzzled. He says most of the peace activists aren't big on nationalism, Scottish or otherwise, but they find themselves standing with the SNP. "It's actually kind of a strange situation to be in because usually, when you have a campaign and you're trying to change the world, you're trying to convince the government of this also," he says. "This time, we're on the same side as the Scottish government." He adds that he's hopeful that a breakthrough is near, "but I've seen political opportunities come and go". "New Clear Free Scotland" reads this gate to Peace Camp. For once, protestors say, voices in government are on their side The SNP has a plan to use its strength as a voting bloc in a fractured Parliament after Thursday's election to finally take aim at the nuclear subs. "No sensible UK government would develop a nuclear weapons capability now if one didn't exist," SNP's Robertson said, sounding a lot like one of the Faslane peace activists. "Therefore, a strong group of SNP MPs in a hung parliament, working with other progressive political forces, can bring common sense to bear now - and halt Trident renewal in its tracks." As Scottish poet Robert Burns once famously wrote, however: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley". Or, as Americans much less eloquently put it: "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched."

स्कॉटलैंड के फासलेन में ब्रिटिश नौसैनिक अड्डा चार वैनगार्ड पनडुब्बियों का घर है-और एक भयंकर बहस का स्रोत है जो इस साल के आम चुनाव में स्कॉटिश नेशनल पार्टी के उदय द्वारा प्रस्तुत चिपचिपे राजनीतिक मुद्दों को दर्शाता है।


Russia's music stars split in culture war over Ukraine

Summary: Andrei Makarevich is used to packing out big venues, but these days one of Russia's best known rock stars is struggling to get on stage, because of a culture war sparked by the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

By Sarah RainsfordBBC News, Moscow "It happens in the old, Soviet way," the musician shrugs, a veteran of old-style censorship who formed his hugely popular rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine) over four decades ago. So far, 28 of his concerts have been cancelled. Now he says all it takes is a call from the Kremlin to the venue where he is due to appear and there's a sudden "double-booking" or vital repair work. "If the guy who makes the concert is not so brave, and usually they are not because they want to live and feed their children, then the concert is stopped," a now silver-haired Makarevich told the BBC. The Ukrainian crisis has divided artists here into "traitors" and "patriots". Makarevich's fall from grace began when the rocker spoke out against Russia's annexation of Crimea in March, which he continues to describe as "a big mistake by our government". It accelerated after he performed in eastern Ukraine, riven by conflict since April. The concert was in an area that had recently been recaptured by Ukrainian troops, and Makarevich was soon denounced in Russian state media as a "friend of the junta" - Kremlin-speak for the pro-Western government in Kiev. Outraged campaigners called for the star to be stripped of his music awards; one politician even wanted him exiled. Then at a Moscow concert, nationalist protestors pelted Makarevich with tomatoes, yelling that he had "betrayed his country". It was a very different scene when Russia's queen of pop, Valeriya, strode the stage in silver sequins recently, working an enthusiastic crowd in the city of Voronezh, about 290 miles (470km) south of Moscow. The chart-topper has also taken a public stance over the crisis in Ukraine, signing a letter of support for President Vladimir Putin's policy there. She sees Russia's absorption of Crimea as a matter of national pride. "I understand that the people of Crimea have the right to choose and they did that," the singer told the BBC, referring to a local referendum condemned by Kiev and Western governments. "We feel that [Crimea] is Russian territory, it always has been," she adds, pointing out that most Russians agree. Certainly the only backlash Valeriya has faced for her views has been abroad. She was heckled as "Putin's propagandist" ahead of a recent performance at London's Albert Hall, and she's been banned from Latvia, accused of undermining Ukrainian sovereignty with her statements. "They made an enemy out of me," the singer complains. "I just expressed my opinion and I was accused of all the sins in the world." Compared with the actions of some "patriotic" Russian artists, Valeriya might seem almost dove-like. Last month, screen star Mikhail Porechenkov was filmed firing a machine gun from rebel-held positions around Donetsk airport. And legendary crooner Iosif Kobzon openly supported the insurgents on a trip to eastern Ukraine that included an awkward on-stage "duet" with a rebel leader at Donetsk Opera House. They were accompanied by a Russian interior ministry choir. Blacklisted But those who fall on the "wrong" side of the loyalty line are clearly facing problems. Satirist Victor Shenderovich, a prominent critic of President Putin, has complained of a cancelled show in Moscow. Rock singer Diana Arbenina was labelled another "friend of the junta" after she apologised to Ukrainian fans that more artists had not shown their support. And after rapper Noize MC performed in western Ukraine wrapped in that country's flag, 10 venues in Russia refused to host him. "We know we are blacklisted, it's obvious," the musician, otherwise known as Ivan Alekseev, told the BBC, saying that word had spread that his group was out to "provoke the audience in an unpatriotic way," which he denies. "We are being watched and monitored everywhere. It's pretty creepy," the rapper adds. "I'm really against war. And now this kind of position is considered dangerous." One cultural critic, however, believes it's nothing personal. "The Kremlin are not afraid of Makarevich or Arbenina. They're afraid of other opinions," argues Andrei Archangelsky, of Ogonyok magazine. "They're afraid that being independent and not hiding your convictions will become the norm," he says, stressing that the Kremlin's unwritten rule for artists these days is "support us, or stay quiet". Choosing to dissent from the mainstream can prove costly. "We've lost money," says Noize MC, but he feels the block on performing hurts more. "That made me really mad and depressed," he says. "You can't help wonder how much worse it can get. When did everyone get so aggressive?" The ban is not total - at least not yet - but is noticeably worse in the provinces. Fans of Andrei Makarevich recently squeezed into a Moscow basement, passing metal detectors and a bag check for rotten fruit, to see him play at a jazz club. "I could never imagine this might occur in our country," one fan, Igor, commented after a final encore. "It's awful. But he's a great man anyway." As for Makarevich himself, he called his latest song My Country Has Gone Mad but still hopes that this latest "stupid thing" as he calls it, will pass. "I remember a time when it was worse," the rocker reflects wryly. "I do hope it will not repeat again."

आंद्रेई मकरेविच बड़े स्थानों को पैक करने के आदी हैं, लेकिन इन दिनों रूस के सबसे प्रसिद्ध रॉक सितारों में से एक मंच पर आने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहा है, क्योंकि पूर्वी यूक्रेन में संघर्ष से एक सांस्कृतिक युद्ध छिड़ गया है।


What's happened to Thalidomide babies?

Summary: Fifty years ago, the sedative Thalidomide was withdrawn after thousands of mothers gave birth to disabled babies. That ageing Thalidomide generation now faces rising care bills - but some hope a possible Nazi link to the drug could bring more compensation.

By Frederick DoveBBC World Service In November 1961, I was five months old. My family had no idea why their otherwise healthy baby boy had been born with short arms, twisted hands and no thumbs. But by the end of that month, the truth was finally out in the open. After a German newspaper reported that Thalidomide was the likely cause for the mysterious spate of disabled babies born in Germany since 1958, the drug's producer, Chemie Gruenenthal, caved in to growing pressure, and on 26 November withdrew all products containing Thalidomide from what had been very lucrative, over-the-counter sales. A few days later, Thalidomide's British licensee, Distillers, followed suit in the UK. But by then, the damage was done. Thalidomide has strong sedative properties and many women in the early weeks of pregnancy had taken it to ease their morning sickness, utterly unaware its effect on the unborn child can be teratogenic, or "monster-forming". Limbs can fail to develop properly, in some cases also eyes, ears and internal organs. No-one knows how many miscarriages the drug caused, but it's estimated that, in Germany alone, 10,000 babies were born affected by Thalidomide. Many were too damaged to survive for long. Today, fewer than 3,000 are still alive. In Britain, it's about 470. Among the nearly 50 countries affected are Japan (approximately 300 survivors), Canada and Sweden (both more than 100), and Australia (45). Spain's government only recently acknowledged the drug was ever distributed there. No-one knows how many Spanish survivors there are. It could be hundreds. After 1961, the drug didn't disappear - medical researchers discovered it can be extremely effective in certain treatments. Stringent precautions should be taken, particularly with women patients of child-bearing age. But sadly, in Brazil, where the drug has been widely used in treating certain leprosy symptoms, there is now another, younger generation of disabled Thalidomide survivors. Just as the drug's effect in the womb seems totally random, so too was the compensation received. In recent years, UK survivors have won concessions from the government, the tax authorities and Distillers' successor company, which has boosted current average compensation pay-outs in the UK to around $63,000 (£40,000) a year. But elsewhere, survivors still get nothing, or very little. Of today's 6,000 estimated survivors around the world, nearly half fall under the compensation deal in Germany. That currently provides a yearly maximum of about 13,500 euros (£11,840), which does not cover the needs of those with multiple limb deficiencies. Many have no independent income and require constant care. Campaigns for higher compensation are gaining support - in Germany and elsewhere. Progress has been slow, but that could change dramatically, if proof is found that it was not Chemie Gruenenthal which discovered Thalidomide, as has always been claimed, but scientists working for the Nazi regime. Gruenenthal patented Thalidomide in the mid-1950s. But investigations in the past two years have confirmed that the German brand-name - Contergan - was owned by the French pharma-company, Rhone-Poulenc, during the early 1940s, when it was effectively under Nazi control. It's also now becoming clear that Gruenenthal was part of a post-war network of German scientists and businessmen who had played leading roles during the Nazi era. Immediately after the war, for example, Gruenenthal employed Dr Heinrich Mueckter as chief scientist, who was sought in Poland on charges of war crimes after conducting medical experiments in prison camps, during which hundreds of prisoners may have died. "Gruenenthal taking on someone like Dr Mueckter is one of the key factors we must highlight in the Thalidomide scandal," says Gernot Stracke, a leading spokesman for survivors in Germany. He adds: "To my knowledge, no representative for the German government has yet made any public comments about Thalidomide's possible roots in the Nazi-era, or whether the government would accept greater liability and offer more help to survivors if proof of such a link were found." Martin Johnson, director of the UK Thalidomide Trust, and Professor Ray Stokes, of the University of Glasgow, are preparing to publish a book after investigating Thalidomide's possible Nazi origins. Mr Johnson says: "Although, at this stage, we cannot prove that Thalidomide was definitely developed and tested in prison camps by the Nazis, there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence that it was tested as part of their search for an antidote to nerve gas." For the survivors, decades of coping with stunted, twisted or missing limbs has meant greater wear and tear on remaining joints and muscles, and virtually guaranteed the premature onset of arthritis and chronic pain. Many who managed to go out and work have already been forced into early retirement, while others who used to rely on their parents for everyday care, can no longer do so. Every year, more and more are becoming totally dependent on other family members, on social benefits or health insurance payouts - or on charity. Which is why, on 26 November - 50 years on - we, the German survivors, will march, waddle, limp or roll in wheelchairs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. To celebrate that we are still alive, and to remember those who never lived.

पचास साल पहले, हजारों माताओं द्वारा विकलांग बच्चों को जन्म देने के बाद शामक थैलिडोमाइड को वापस ले लिया गया था। उस उम्र बढ़ने वाली थैलिडोमाइड पीढ़ी को अब बढ़ते देखभाल बिलों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है-लेकिन कुछ लोगों को उम्मीद है कि दवा के लिए एक संभावित नाजी लिंक अधिक मुआवजा ला सकता है।


Basking shark spotted in Looe harbour, Cornwall

Summary: A basking shark has been spotted in a town harbour in Cornwall in what is believed to be the first such sighting for about 20 years.

The shark, estimated to be between 8ft and 10ft (2.4m and 3m) long, spent an hour at Looe after being seen at about 16:00 BST on Sunday. The creature was watched by dozens of people on the town's quayside and Banjo Pier. It then swam out of the River Looe, local lifeboat staff said. Looe lifeboat operations manager Dave Haines said it was the first time in nearly 20 years a basking shark had been seen in the river. Basking sharks can grow up to 39ft (12m) long and weigh up to seven tonnes. They are often spotted off the county's coast, particularly during the summer because of a seasonal plankton bloom.

कॉर्नवॉल के एक शहर के बंदरगाह में एक बास्किंग शार्क को देखा गया है, जो माना जाता है कि लगभग 20 वर्षों में इस तरह का पहला दृश्य है।


Ipswich Town 1978 FA Cup win celebrated 40 years on

Summary: Although it's a phrase still trotted out every year, it often feels that the "magic of the Cup" has waned, if not disappeared completely. Forty years ago though, when underdogs Ipswich Town beat Arsenal at Wembley, things were very different.

By Jon WelchBBC News "Geddis... taking on the defender and winning.... Osborne... one-nil!" For Ipswich Town fans, hearing David Coleman's commentary again is sure to send them into a reverie. Not only did local lad Roger Osborne's goal win them the FA Cup in 1978, it ushered in a period where the small-town Suffolk team could rival some of the best in Europe, culminating in their 1981 Uefa Cup win. For Osborne himself, now 68, the events of 6 May 1978 remain a very happy memory. "You're on Cloud Nine," he says. "You can't wish for anything like that, but it's actually happening. It must be a terrible thing to lose at Wembley, but to win? It takes some beating, really." After scoring his 78th-minute goal, Osborne was mobbed by his team-mates and, feeling faint, was replaced by substitute Mick Lambert. "It's all a bit embarrassing now to think of it. I've always said, if we hadn't have had a sub, given a few minutes, I would have carried on. But Mick Lambert was a very good sub, and it wasn't a big deal for me to come off," he says. Heroes don't come much more local than Osborne. The son of a cowman, and one of 12 children, he was one of only two Suffolk-born players in Ipswich's starting line-up that day. And while he enjoys being recognised and talking to fans, he says: "It hasn't changed my life a great deal. "I've always been pretty down-to-earth anyway, and after the cup final I didn't play for the first team much, and then I played for Colchester for five years. So I never even moved house for the whole of my football career, really. I've always been pretty grounded." After retiring from the game, he drove a lorry for 15 years, and now manages a sports centre, where he has worked for the past 20 years. "There wasn't the money in football when I played, so it was back to a full-time job," he says. "Everybody I meet now regarding football says 'Haven't you retired yet?', which I probably should have done, but I enjoy the work I do." The FA Cup itself - in terms of what it means to fans - has changed "a thousand-fold", he says. "The world nearly stopped for the FA Cup - from early in the morning until teatime. "If I hadn't scored the goal, you wouldn't be interviewing me now, and if you'd asked people 40 years on to name the cup final team, if I hadn't scored perhaps they wouldn't have named me, because we had seven, eight, nine internationals in the team." One team-mate that day was John Wark. Although he would go on to win the Uefa Cup with Ipswich in 1981, play in the World Cup Finals for Scotland and win the league twice with Liverpool, that day in 1978 remains a career highlight. "I've won a lot of things, but I always say that was the best because it was the first," says Wark, now 60. "Everybody in the world watched that final - not like now - and I was just part of a team that beat Arsenal, who were big favourites. It's 40 years now and it's incredible that I remember every minute of it. "The FA Cup in these days was the biggest cup competition in the world - it was televised all over the world and there were cameras at the hotel in the morning, and on the bus with us going to the ground. "We were just ready for it and it was a fantastic occasion, and we took it. We started well and it was one of those games... it was 1-0, but for me it could have been three or four. "I hit the post twice, Paul Mariner hits the crossbar and Roger scores the winning goal. It was a great occasion - 100,000 people there. It was a real hot day and I'll never forget it." Also in Ipswich colours that day - albeit a smart blue suit - was Pat Godbold, secretary to manager Bobby Robson - "'Mr R', I called him" - and eight other Town bosses over the years. "I can remember very clearly I had a fantastic day. I didn't think I'd ever live to see that," says Miss Godbold, who is now 82 and still works for the club as an archivist. "The players were all fitted for their clothes to wear on the day. Mr R - he was just one of those fantastic people - said 'Well, we've all got clothes, so Pat, we'll pay for the suit you've bought', and he said 'Go and buy yourself a nice blouse or jumper or something to go with it'." She continued to wear the suit to home games, and it is still among her most treasured possessions. "It's had pride of place in my wardrobe for many years. And I'll tell you where it's going to finish up - I'll be cremated wearing it. And my family know - 'Oh, don't tell me that, Auntie Pat!'" Miss Godbold and her suit are among the subjects featured by artist, photographer and lifelong Ipswich Town fan Julian Germain in his project ITFC: The People's History. He asked fans to bring along artefacts and souvenirs, including pictures, scrapbooks and banners from 1978 to be photographed for his exhibition. The FA Cup final was one of the few live televised matches in the 1970s, screened on two of the three channels of the day. Germain, 55, hopes to rekindle some of the competition's magic through his work. "For me, it's partly about recognising this is an important historical and cultural moment for Ipswich - and for me, I must say - but it's also about the passage of time," he says. "This is people's family history, and part of my job is to salvage this stuff before it's lost. "A lot of people I have spoken to are in their 60s, and it's a long time ago. Football's all about tradition and history. Hopefully it will give young people some pleasure if they can see Ipswich winning for a change." Bob Southgate, now 66, still has a 1978 signed photograph of Town players Trevor Whymark, Kevin Beattie and Les Tibbott - all with immaculately permed hair, the work of staff at Nutters, the Ipswich salon that he ran. Studying the photo, he winces slightly. "It looks quite horrendous now," he says. The salon specialised in styling long hair and counted many Ipswich players as customers, including Paul Mariner. "One day Mariner walked into the ground and Robson said 'Mariner, get your hair cut!' and he said 'But I've just had it cut, Boss!' "I don't think Bobby could ever understand the long-haired look, and I'm sure a lot of the managers don't understand the shaven, bleached-hair look of the players nowadays." Mr Southgate remembers mounting excitement as Town progressed towards Wembley. "Ipswich was a smaller place in those days, and everybody knew who the footballers were, even if they weren't football fans, so the build-up to the cup final was dramatic. It gradually got better and better as the days went on," he says. "I was at the cup final and I saw Roger's leg go out but I never saw the ball go in the net, I just saw everybody jump for joy. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy than him." Footage of FA Cup finals from the era shows dozens of home-made banners waved by the crowd, often bearing pun-laden jibes at the opposition's expense. "Mariner sinks Nelson" and "Woods fries Rice" were among the Ipswich efforts that day. Andrew Kerrison, now 61, took his own banner to the the match: a bed sheet featuring the club crest, drawn and coloured in with blue felt-tip pen. He has kept it "lovingly" ever since. The banner got an outing in 2001 when a resurgent Ipswich qualified for the Uefa Cup once more. But with the Blues marooned in the Championship since 2002, it hasn't been waved for a while. "There's nothing that deserves it to come out quite yet," he says. Pam Ireland, now 80, was among the tens of thousands who greeted the victorious Town team as they toured Ipswich on an open-top bus. She recalls her son, then 10, and daughter, eight, being very excited, so she painted a picture of Ipswich captain Mick Mills on piece of cardboard for them to hold up as they bus passed by. "We got a good wave from the crowd, and I think that Mick Mills blew a kiss to my daughter. "The whole town was so excited. I think it just boosted everyone's spirits." And thanks to Wark, whose then-girlfriend lived nearby, she got the picture signed by Robson and his players. Reflecting again on the cup win, Wark says: "It's changed my life because I'm good with people, and the Ipswich Town people regard me as one of their favourites, and I think that was the start. "I've played for Ipswich and then I went to another big football club called Liverpool, but I'll always say Ipswich is my team. "Not giving it the big one but everywhere you go, all over the world, people always talk about Ipswich, and they do mention me, and mention other players who played a part in that team, and I think that's a nice thing." Julian Germain's ITFC: The People's History will run from 24 May to 24 June at Quay Place (St Mary at the Quay) in Key Street, Ipswich, as part of the PhotoEast Festival, and on 27 May he will be presenting a show at DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse in the town. A BBC Radio Suffolk Special: Bobby Robson's Blue and White Army can be heard on the BBC iPlayer.

हालाँकि यह एक ऐसा वाक्यांश है जो अभी भी हर साल प्रचलित है, लेकिन अक्सर ऐसा लगता है कि "कप का जादू" कम हो गया है, अगर पूरी तरह से गायब नहीं हुआ है। हालाँकि, चालीस साल पहले, जब अंडरडॉग इप्सविच टाउन ने वेम्बली में आर्सेनल को हराया था, तो चीजें बहुत अलग थीं।


Mary McLaughlin murder: Killer jailed after DNA solves 35-year mystery

Summary: Graham McGill strangled Mary McLaughlin with her own dressing gown cord - and was back in his prison cell the morning after the murder.

By Paul O'HareBBC Scotland Sex offender McGill was on the last night of temporary release from jail when he killed the mother-of-11 in her Glasgow flat. Mary was found dead in her bedroom six days later, on 2 October 1984. As a major investigation was launched, her killer was already locked up, less than 50 miles away in HMP Edinburgh. By the end of the month McGill, who had just turned 23, was a free man with a dark secret. It would be 35 years before a DNA breakthrough finally solved one of Scotland's most perplexing cold cases. Now McGill - who still maintains his innocence - has been sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in jail after being found guilty of Mary's murder. Mary McLaughlin spent her last night out drinking and playing dominos in the Hyndland Pub, now the Duck Club, which looks onto Mansfield Park in the west end of Glasgow. It was 26 September 1984 and the 58-year-old was joined by one of her daughters. Now aged 73, Catherin Mullen gave evidence during McGill's trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Asked if Mary was drunk, she replied: "She didn't act drunk - she was happy." Catherine left the pub to catch a bus home - and never saw her mother again. Mary was last seen leaving the bar, on Hyndland Street, at about 22:45 to walk less than a mile home to her Partick flat. Along the way she called into Armando's chip shop on Dumbarton Road, where she joked with staff as she bought fritters and cigarettes. David Seager, who knew her as Wee May, recalled that she walked in front of his taxi carrying her shoes in her hands. During the trial he was also asked if he thought a man he saw standing outside a shoe shop was following her. He replied: "Well yes. Every time Mary walked away he was always behind her." The defence cast doubt on whether this was the accused, as Mr Seager did not mention the scar which runs from one of McGill's ears to his chin. But what is certain is that a short time later McGill struck up a conversation with Mary and walked her back to the Crathie Court block on Laurel Street, where she lived alone. Detectives said McGill was a stranger to the area and to a woman who was more than double his age. Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the jury: "Mary McLaughlin was someone who was friendly and trusting and I would suggest that ultimately brought about her death." Once inside the third-floor flat McGill launched what was described in court as a brutal, sexually motivated attack. It ended with the grandmother being strangled and left lying on her back, covered with a green dress which had been put on back to front. At the time McGill, who had been convicted of rape in 1981, was in the final weeks of a six-year sentence, which had been halved due to good behaviour. BBC Scotland can reveal he was granted temporary release from HMP Edinburgh, as part of a training for freedom programme, on 21 September 1984. McGill returned to prison on 27 September - just hours after leaving Mary's flat and using her keys to lock the door behind him. In an era before mobile phones, Mary was not in frequent contact with her large family who lived in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. Once a week one of her sons, Martin Cullen, would call in to see her. But when the then 24-year-old turned up at the flat on 2 October 1984, there was no answer and a "horrible smell" coming from inside. Mr Cullen got a key from a neighbour but was still unable to get into the flat, so had to kick the door in. His ex-partner went inside and came out screaming. Mr Mullen, now 60, told the jury: "My mum was dead." A post-mortem examination concluded that Mary had died after being strangled at least five days earlier. The key pillars of a modern murder investigation - DNA, CCTV, digital forensics and social media - were not available to detectives in 1984 and they had very little to work with. There were no witnesses and, despite taking hundreds of statements, officers from the then Strathclyde Police were met with a poor response from the local community. Forensic science was always going to be the key to unlocking the case, but by 2008 four separate reviews had failed to yield a profile of the suspect. The fifth review was launched in 2014 and the eventual breakthrough was made possible by a new DNA-profiling facility at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire. Previously experts could look at 11 individual DNA markers but the latest technology was capable of identifying 24. This dramatically increased the odds of scientists obtaining a result from smaller or lower-quality samples. Tom Nelson, director of forensics for the Scottish Police Authority, said in 2015 that the technology would make it possible to "reach back in time, with the potential to rekindle justice for those who had all but given up hope". At the time of the murder experts only had very basic opportunities open to them, such as blood grouping and serum testing. Forensic scientist Joanne Cochrane said: "One of the benefits of a case from that era is that often very little was done with the productions. "They have been kept almost untouched for a number of years, which leaves us with quite a lot of opportunities to explore." In Mary's case experts decided in 2019 to untie a knot in the ligature that had been tightened by the killer 35 years earlier. This time they were able to take advantage of technology she described as "gold standard". Ms Cochrane told the trial: "We felt that within the knot might be protected from contamination. We felt there was a possibility of retrieving DNA from within the knot. "We did it very slowly... it was very difficult to unfasten." Scotland's cold case convictions Peter Tobin was jailed in 2008 for the 1991 murder of Bathgate schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton. Her body was found in 2007, buried along with the remains of 18-year-old Dinah McNicol in the garden of Tobin's former home in Kent. Angus Sinclair raped and strangled 17-year-olds Helen Scott and Christine Eadie after a night out at the World's End pub on Edinburgh's Royal Mile in 1977. He was jailed for a minimum of 37 years in 2014 after becoming the first person in Scotland to be tried for the same crime twice after a change in double jeopardy laws. John Docherty murdered 16-year-old Elaine Doyle in Greenock as she made her way home from a nightclub in June 1986 - but he was not convicted until 2014. His case was the first to go to trial following an investigation by the Crown Office's cold case unit. Previous examinations of the cord had only found Mary's DNA and a trace that was not possible to analyse. But DNA24 analysis picked up a minor profile from the knot. And when it was run through the Scottish database, police finally had a prime suspect. The jury heard the likelihood of the forensic sample on the cord belonging to someone other than McGill was 85,000 to one. Profiles were also found on a cigarette butt and on Mary's dress but this time the odds of it not being McGill soared to a billion to one. A fourth sample was found on a black bra he took from the flat but which was later found in a nearby garden. Det Supt Suzanne Chow said McGill was confused when officers finally turned up at his door on 4 December 2019. She said: "He was quite tight lipped. You could tell he was shell-shocked and he probably wasn't expecting his past to come back and haunt him 35 years later." At the time of his arrest he was still being managed as a sex offender, but was working in the Glasgow area as a fabricator for a company based in Linwood, Renfrewshire. After McGill's conviction last month, the court heard he was also jailed for life in 1999 for a brutal assault with intent to ravish and released on licence in 2007. 'A real danger' Det Supt Chow described McGill as "a sexual predator and a real danger to the public". During the investigation Police Scotland's homicide governance review team trawled through his life and tracked down his ex-wife, Suzanne Russell. She recalled a conversation from 1988 in which he confessed to killing a woman he met in a pub after going back to her flat. But Ms Russell later told the jury that McGill threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. She added: "He said he strangled her and said he just wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. "He said he used her tights and said he was shocked how long it took to actually murder her." WHO KILLED EMMA? Sam Poling investigates the brutal murder of Emma Caldwell THE DOORSTEP MURDER: The murder of Alistair Wilson is one of Scotland’s most baffling unsolved cases After three days of evidence, the jury in McGill's trial took just over two hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict. On Tuesday, the 59-year-old was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years in prison. Lord Burns said McGill had murdered Mary after a "chance encounter", and that he had shown no remorse. The judge added that Mary's family had been forced to wait more than 35 years to discover who was responsible for her death - knowing that whoever was responsible was probably still at large. "They have never given up hope," he said. After the sentence, Mary's son Martin Cullen said: "Hopefully he dies in jail." Police believe the prosecution will now give hope to other families waiting for justice. Det Supt Chow said: "These cases are not forgotten about. Just because they are not resolved at the time doesn't mean that we don't still think about these people who have been victims of crimes and that we don't think about their families." She added that McGill's conviction also sends out a powerful message to other cold case killers. "Your past doesn't go away. It will come back and haunt you one day."

ग्राहम मैकगिल ने मैरी मैकलॉघलिन का अपने ड्रेसिंग गाउन की डोर से गला घोंट दिया-और हत्या के बाद सुबह अपनी जेल की कोठरी में वापस आ गए।


Carlisle's old fire station could become arts centre

Summary: A new £1m arts centre could be built in an old fire station in Carlisle to help develop arts and culture in the city.

Carlisle City Council wants to transform the former fire station on Warwick Street to provide space for galleries, workshops and meeting rooms. It is hoped the development will provide "exciting opportunities" for local artists and groups. Councillor Anne Quilter said it will help deliver a "vibrant and creative" place for visitors and the community. The council said residents would be involved in the process and play an "active role" in its development. The proposal will be discussed at a meeting on 1 July.

शहर में कला और संस्कृति के विकास में मदद करने के लिए कार्लिस्ले में एक पुराने फायर स्टेशन में एक नया £1 मिलियन का कला केंद्र बनाया जा सकता है।


Holly Brown death crash: Bin lorry driver charged

Summary: A bin lorry driver whose vehicle collided with a school minibus has been charged with causing the death of a teenager.

Holly Brown, 14, was on an art trip at the time of the crash on the Kingsbury Road in Castle Vale, Birmingham, on the morning of 7 July. Nicholas Buck, 52, of Kingshurst Way, Kingshurst, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving. He will appear before Birmingham Magistrates' Court later. Holly, a twin, was part of a 21-strong party from John Taylor High School, in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire. on board the minibus.

एक बिन लॉरी चालक, जिसका वाहन एक स्कूल मिनी बस से टकरा गया था, पर एक किशोर की मौत का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Climate emergency: Who you gonna call?

Summary: A state of emergency has been declared, it won't end quickly, but its implications are far from clear. The U-turn on cutting Scotland's air passenger tax is an early example of many more difficult choices ahead. The effect on road-building could be profound, and more so for the oil and gas industry.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland What is an emergency? When you're in government, I mean. Is it a time when extra resources are mobilised, from contingency funds? The national guard mobilised and police leave is cancelled? When laws are suspended? Martial law and a curfew imposed? We need to find out, because an emergency has been declared - a "Climate Emergency". This is not to ridicule the importance of the issue, nor the pressure from street protesters to cut net climate changing emissions to zero within only six years, nor the declarations of emergency by national leaders and parliaments. It is a serious question of how much this one issue trumps every other priority, or even legal safeguard. While emergencies caused by exceptional weather events are stood down after a while, this doesn't look like the kind of crisis that can readily be declared as solved and over. Not for a half century or so, at best. We'd better get used to it. We're beginning to see the consequences, this week on a relatively small issue. The SNP manifesto promise of cutting air departure tax (or air passenger duty, as it is at Westminster) in half, and then removing it "when resources allow" is being ditched. It had run into technical, legal problems over the devolution of an exemption on Highlands and Islands flights, given by the European Commission to the UK government. It was enacted in law, but implementation delayed. Taxation experts had not given up the concerns they voiced during the legislative phase about its practical application. The tax cut was stalled by the arithmetic at Holyrood. The SNP needs support to get policy past combined opposition, and it's got a special problem if it continues to rely on Scottish Green votes to pass its budgets. They surely won't vote for a tax cut intended to boost air travel numbers. That's because of the factor that proved decisive for Scottish ministers - the promise to cut air departure tax clashed too loudly with the newly raised status of environmental considerations, under the Climate Emergency. The tension in SNP policy has been there for some time. The new status made it a clear contradiction, and forced its resolution into the open. Lifeline routes The U-turn leaves a lot of questions. Whereas the tax was introduced to force air passengers to pay at least some of the external costs imposed by their travel, it had become a cash cow for the Westminster and now (with newly devolved powers) the Holyrood governments. Now, there's a third justification. The tax is being retained as a constraint on the growth of aviation. That may be a laudable aim if your primary concern is global warming. But if that is now the policy, what else must be done to constrain aviation? Is that now in play when airports plan further expansion of terminal facilities? Should air departure tax be raised? Is this the best way of constraining aviation, or merely the means that's evolved? Is it, for instance, fair? Does the tax use the right, arbitrary definitions of short and long-haul, and of economy class and the posh seats? In both cases, it makes a lot of difference. If it's really an emergency, how can zero rating of the departure tax be justified in the Highlands and Islands? Could there be better ways of targeting funds at lifeline services for islands rather than adding in every flight that takes off from Inverness? And how can the Scottish government keep Prestwick Airport operating with a subsidy of £10m per year? The intention is to find a route to returning it to commercial viability. That can only be done with more flights. And if, instead of generating more traffic, it aims to divert flights from other Scottish airports, then it's a state subsidy being used to undermine the commercial operations in Glasgow and Edinburgh. That would not be a clever place for the Scottish government to be. Road ahead Next week, we're due to get more detail on the review of policy in light of the Climate Emergency being declared. There will be a statement from Roseanna Cunningham, the Scottish environment secretary. Maybe she can answer some of these questions. She will make the case for opposition MSPs to support new powers for councils to introduce low emission zones, which means barring the dirtier type of vehicle, and workplace parking levies. (A declaration of interest here: I stand to be hit by both, but make no complaints.) Ms Cunningham can also expect to be asked about transport spending priorities. Campaigners for public transport say too much has been directed towards road-building. Having poured resource into the M80 and M8 through North Lanarkshire, the M74 through South Lanarkshire and Glasgow, It continues with billions being poured in aggregate and asphalt to improve the capacity of the A9 between Perth and Inverness, and the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen. There are plenty of road projects that could use funding. Edinburgh's ring road is struggling to cope with peak periods, for instance. The West Highlands deserve a better A82 along Loch Lomond, and the A75 between Dumfries and Stranraer is far from ideal for servicing Northern Ireland. The case was made in Glasgow last week for such spending to come back into cities, to make internal public transport work better and for more marginal communities. So what does a Climate Emergency mean for those capital spending priorities? Drill bit What about oil and gas? The international campaign to "Keep it in the Ground" has gained traction by putting pressure on lenders and investors. Big funds, such as university endowments, have shifted portfolios away from fossil fuels. The giant Norwegian oil fund, representing 2% of world stock markets, recently did likewise. While derived from the tax and profits on North Sea oil and gas, its trustees believe it had become over-exposed. What about Scotland? Holyrood does not have the powers to pull back on exploration or production licences in Scottish waters. These powers are located at Westminster, and exercised through the Oil and Gas Authority. But environment campaigners want to see oil and gas addressed as part of this Climate Emergency. They want to see, at least, that the SNP is backing their cause, and pushing the Westminster government to draw back on its current policy of "maximising economic recovery" from UK waters. As a sign that it gets the point, the Scottish government can point to its moratorium on allowing planning permission to be granted for fracking. But that has riled companies such as Ineos, which operate Grangemouth, pipelines and several of the offshore installations which are vital to the Scottish economy. Such decisions are taken as signals by the private sector and to investors. The air tax U-turn will too. They can see that the priority given to economic growth - assuming ever-increasing prosperity and use of resources, on household and business items such as transport fuel - is in tension with the new Climate Emergency. Meltdown In an ideal world, the jobs created by a mighty green transition would replace those lost in oil and gas, or in aviation. But in the real world, there will be dislocation, destruction of some parts of the economy, and some personal and political pain can be expected. Transition cannot be cost-free. The clash over air departure tax is already out in the open. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce fear the Scottish government's eagerness to be an international leader on green policy will "cut off Scotland's economy at the knees". Edinburgh Airport is furious that it was being told by a minister, only two weeks ago, that it could go ahead in talks with Ryanair on the basis that Scottish government policy on cutting the air duty remained its intention. The capital's airport has been successful in attracting new airlines and routes, and adding a lot more passengers. That is despite having the high tax in place. But prominent in the sales pitch to expand connectivity was the pledge that air departure tax cut had clearance from ministers for take-off. It would, itself, be making a departure. The numbers will now have to be re-run. Low-cost, long-haul carrier Norwegian has already pulled out of three transatlantic routes for Edinburgh. If the numbers don't stack up any longer, others can be expected to stay grounded. With such trade-offs, the big question is how big a compromise of economic growth is the Climate Emergency going to require? It is a question for every government that has signed up to tackle climate change. Ominously for the state of the planet, on the day Holyrood was facing up to one, relatively small but difficult decision, the Trump administration denied the problem and defied a consensus of other members of the Arctic Council on tackling the crisis which is already becoming evident as the polar ice-cap recedes.

आपातकाल की स्थिति घोषित कर दी गई है, यह जल्दी समाप्त नहीं होगी, लेकिन इसके निहितार्थ स्पष्ट नहीं हैं। स्कॉटलैंड के हवाई यात्री कर में कटौती पर यू-टर्न आगे आने वाले कई और कठिन विकल्पों का एक प्रारंभिक उदाहरण है। सड़क निर्माण पर प्रभाव गहरा हो सकता है, और तेल और गैस उद्योग के लिए भी अधिक हो सकता है।


Douglas lifeboat called out twice in 24 hours

Summary: The Douglas lifeboat crew was called out twice in a day on Sunday, the RNLI have confirmed.

They first responded at 09:20 BST after a vessel's engine failed en route to Barrow in Cumbria with three sailors on board. In a second rescue, they were called to help after the battery on a RIB-type vessel failed near Laxey Bay. According to the RNLI, the sailor was rescued and the boat towed back to Douglas harbour.

आर. एन. एल. आई. ने पुष्टि की है कि डगलस लाइफबोट चालक दल को रविवार को दिन में दो बार बुलाया गया था।


Teenager cut free from child's swing at Rhyl park

Summary: A 15 year-old girl has been cut free after becoming trapped in a children's swing in a park in Denbighshire.

North Wales Fire Service were called to the play area at Marine Lake, in Rhyl, at about 19:00 BST on Thursday. The teenager was stuck in a swing, which is understood to be designed for infants. Firefighters used cutting gear to free the girl, who was uninjured.

डेनबिघशायर के एक पार्क में बच्चों के झूले में फंसने के बाद एक 15 वर्षीय लड़की को काट दिया गया है।


Walsall hospital still needs to improve say inspectors

Summary: A hospital trust still needs to improve, according to inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission says it recognises changes being made by Walsall Manor Hospital, but it still says it "requires improvement" Two years ago inspectors the trust was rated "inadequate" and put into special measures. Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital says it is a "different trust" to the one last seen. When inspectors revisited in May they said they saw progress being made and upgraded its status to "requires improvement" - but a report said there was still more to be done. A number of areas, including services for children, are now individually rated as good. But the CQC says there are still some staffing and training problems across the hospital, adding that maternity remained an area of concern. Staffing problems in maternity and gynaecology have been a key issue, and remain "inadequate", according to inspectors. 'Deliver our vision' The report also recognised some "outstanding practice" in end of life care and urgent and emergency services. Richard Kirby, chief executive, said the trust was "encouraged" by the positive feedback from inspectors. It says its next steps will be to improve maternity services and ensure the hospital keeps up high quality in care. He added: "We know we still have lots more to do to deliver our vision."

निरीक्षकों के अनुसार, एक अस्पताल ट्रस्ट को अभी भी सुधार करने की आवश्यकता है।


Rift in Sri Lanka cricket team denied

Summary: The Sri Lanka cricket authorities have denied media reports that skipper Kumar Sangakkara is planning to resign at the end of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean as a result of a rift in the team.

Anura Tennakoon, the manager of the team, told BBC Sandeshaya from Guyana that he had not been informed of any such decision. "But I sincerely hope he stays. He is a very special captain as well as a batsman and the country needs his service," the team manager said. There have been media reports that skipper Sangakkara has vehemently opposed the selection of parliamentarian Sanath Jayasuriya despite his failing to perform in the recently concluded IPL and the domestic season. It is the first time in the history of cricket that an MP has played international cricket. Sri Lanka progressed to the second round of the tournament, courtesy of a 14-run victory over Zimbabwe via Duckworth Lewis, and will take on the West Indies on Friday. But only former captain Mahela Jayawardene performed well in both matches while many other senior players failed to make an impact. Murali's replacement Other players will need to perform if the team to progress well in the Super Eight round, says the manager. "Other players like Sangakkara, Dilshan, Sanath of course hasn't had an opportunity as he had batted down the order, most of the batsmen haven't hit the real form. Hopefully, at the practise sessions the batsemn who are still to make runs will find their form,"he said. The selectors have come under fire from media over the non selection of Jeevantha Kulathunga, Sri Lankas Player of the Year who has been fine form especially in the shortest form of the game. Veteran opening bowler Chaminda Vaas has also performed well in the IPL. Mr. Tennakoon did not deny that there have been rifts in the team. He defended the selection of veteran all-rounder Jayasuriya, to "balance the team." "As with any other group of individuals, there have been differences of opinion but as far as I can see the team is very united to play for the country." Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday said the top spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was out of the tournament due to an injury picked up in the preliminary round match defeat to New Zealand. But the manager says the spinner is to remain with Sri Lanka World Twenty20 squad after making "significant progress" in recuperating from a groin injury. "We hope to recall Thilan Thushara Mirando as the replacement for Murali if need but we pretty much hope that Murali will recover and be able to play in the future matches, he told BBCSinhala.com."

श्रीलंका क्रिकेट अधिकारियों ने मीडिया रिपोर्टों का खंडन किया है कि कप्तान कुमार संगकारा टीम में दरार के परिणामस्वरूप कैरेबियन में आईसीसी ट्वेंटी-20 विश्व कप के अंत में इस्तीफा देने की योजना बना रहे हैं।


Three men charged with horsemeat sales fraud

Summary: Three men have been charged with fraud for allegedly conspiring to sell horsemeat as beef.

They are accused of conspiring together, and with others, to sell goods in 2012 that contained wholly, or in part, a mix of beef and horsemeat. Ulrik Nielsen, Alex Ostler-Beech and Andronicos Sideras will appear at City of London Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 27 September. The charges follow an investigation led by the City of London police.

घोड़ों के मांस को गोमांस के रूप में बेचने की कथित साजिश रचने के आरोप में तीन लोगों पर धोखाधड़ी का आरोप लगाया गया है।


What life is like in Delhi's 168-year-old mansion

Summary: Old Delhi draws thousands of tourists every year because of its old-world charm, street food and heritage buildings. Anasuya Basu visits one such building to explain what makes it special and how the owners are trying to save it from crumbling. Pictures by Mansi Thapliyal.

The walled city or Shahjahanabad, as old Delhi was earlier known, was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. Few yards away from its historic 17th Century Mughal mosque and within a stone's throw of an old cloth market stands the famous Lala Chunnamal's haveli (mansion). Many such palaces and mansions were built in this city, which was the power centre of the Mughal rule in India, but only a handful of them have survived. The Delhi government's planned work to restore 554 crumbling mansions in the area is yet to begin. But the owners of Lala Chunnamal's haveli take pride in keeping it in a reasonably good condition without any government support. It was built in 1848, nearly a decade before the sepoy mutiny of 1857. Anil Pershad, one of the current owners of the mansion, explains why his haveli is considered grand. "It covers an area of one acre, there are 128 rooms which could house 30 family members, excluding the servants. But now most of the family members have locked up their share of the mansion and shifted to other localities in the city," he says. Beautiful interior The once grand facade of the building is now crowded and lined with many shops selling clothes, hardware and spices. But once you step inside the haveli, it's a different world. Two flights of a narrow stairwell open in front of a heavily decorated mirror hung on top of the doorway, which leads to a beautiful courtyard that looks like a structure straight out of a period film. The drawing room is spread over an area of 700 sqft (65 sqm) and its walls are 18ft high. The room has three wooden chimneys and the ceilings are decorated with handmade chandeliers. Huge Belgian mirrors positioned at an angle on the sturdy walls catch the reflection of the breathtakingly beautiful chandeliers, ancient fans suspended from the high ceiling and finely-crafted glass lamps from Europe. Mr Pershad says that his family is the 10th generation of Lala Chunnamal's descendants. Chunnamal was a wealthy man. He used to lend money to the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II and was also a supplier of shawls, silks and brocades to the royal household, Mr Pershad says. He even had great trading relations with India's British rulers. "We actually owned half of old Delhi but now this [mansion] is the only ancestral property that remains with us," says Mr Pershad. He adds that the haveli's old-world charm has attracted many famous people in the past. "India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi used to visit the haveli for dinners," he says "Actress Kate Winslet has also visited the haveli. Even today, Bollywood actors and director often come to see the place as a possible shoot location." 'No plans to leave' The mansion has been listed as a heritage property by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an organisation that works towards conservation of unprotected architectural heritage and sites in India. But Mr Pershad says nobody has come forward to help him with the upkeep or preservation of the building. "I do what I can to take care of the mansion and the rooms which are in use with my own money," he says. Maintaining this building is tough, but he has no plans of leaving the area. "I can't imagine living in any other part of Delhi where living quarters are so cramped. I wake up in this house where my forefathers have lived and have witnessed so many important twists and turns of history," he adds. "Even my grandchildren refuse to move out of this old mansion."

पुरानी दिल्ली अपने पुरानी दुनिया के आकर्षण, स्ट्रीट फूड और विरासत भवनों के कारण हर साल हजारों पर्यटकों को आकर्षित करती है। अनसूया बसु ऐसी ही एक इमारत का दौरा करती हैं और बताती हैं कि इसे क्या खास बनाता है और कैसे मालिक इसे ढहने से बचाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। मानसी थपलियाल की तस्वीरें।


Is Kenya finally getting tough on corruption?

Summary: Two Kenyan ministers, the capital's mayor and a technocrat in the key ministry of foreign affairs have resigned within the last two weeks, raising hopes that the government has finally come to terms with the corruption that blights Kenya's economy and the lives of its citizens.

By David Okwembah BBC News, Nairobi After prevaricating for years, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have suddenly made war against graft a key pillar of their leadership. At every recent public gathering, the two coalition government principals have upped their ante against the scourge, warning government officials and Kenyans in general that they will crack the whip. Surveys show that Kenya, generally seen as one of Africa's more stable and prosperous countries, is also one of its most corrupt. The most recent corruption perception index from watchdog Transparency International (TI) shows Kenya placed a joint 154th, along with war-torn nations or those recovering from conflict such as Congo, Cambodia and Guinea Bissau. Kenya was placed lower than Zimbabwe (134) under Robert Mugabe and crisis-prone Madagascar (123). Citizens' arrests The first to resign was Higher Education Minister William Ruto. He is charged with defrauding a state corporation of $1.2m (£750,000) nine years ago over the sale of forest land. A week later, Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula and his Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi followed him out of government for their role in the purchase of diplomatic properties in Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan and Japan. And, a day later, Nairobi Mayor Geoffrey Majiwa had to step aside after he was charged in court over the city council's acquisition of cemetery land for $3.8m (£2.3m). All four have vehemently denied being involved in corruption. In 2002, when Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga campaigned together under the National Rainbow Coalition and subsequently formed the government in January 2003 they were elected on an anti-graft platform. So enthusiastic were Kenyans about fighting corruption that they enforced citizens' arrests and nabbed police officers who dared take bribes from motorists. But the zeal soon petered out with the unearthing of the Anglo Leasing scandal just one year into President Kibaki's first term. Since then, the case has remained an albatross around his neck. The government is feared to have lost an estimated $750m (£467m) in the case, entering into contracts with phantom companies and purchasing over-priced services and equipment. But following the violence after the 2007 election and the formation of a coalition government between Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity and Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, fate seems to have re-united the two leaders again. Robust The new constitution and the appointment of Patrick Lumumba as the new anti-graft tsar at the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) has given the battle a new impetus. Indeed, all the resignations have come since the new constitution was passed in August. There now seems to be a serious commitment to tackling the vice that has dogged governments since independence. Parliament has equally become aggressive, flexing its muscles by probing suspicious government deals. Technocrats and ministers have been summoned by various committees of parliament to explain their expenditure, recruitment and choice of state corporation chiefs, much to the chagrin of the executive. Mr Odinga himself has complained that the legislature was interfering so much with the work of the executive that some technocrats were reluctant to make decisions and government projects were being delayed. The new set of laws has robust clauses which call for any public servant named in any corruption case to step aside until they are cleared by the courts or the anti-corruption institutions. But, in a country where everything is seen through political and ethnic lenses, the fight against corruption is likely to run into trouble. All talk? Following the resignation of the four officials, more accusations have been levelled against key ministers on both sides of the political divide. While the KACC has said it has its eyes trained on more senior officials, politicians have been competing to show one part of the ruling coalition as more corrupt than the other. Moses Wetangula (October 2010) Long before the new constitution, several ministers and top government officials had been mentioned in corruption deals but the president and prime minister always turned a blind eye. The investigations into the subsidized maize scandal which cost the government an estimated $40m and the pilfering of petroleum by the Triton Company to the tune of $102m, are for example, yet to be resolved. Kenyans and the international community will be watching with interest to see how the two political principals handle the recent cases which caused the resignations in government. So despite all the talk, Kenyans are still waiting for proof that concrete action is now being taken to stop the corrupt profiting from their crimes. Under Mr Kibaki, no politician has been sacked or charged for corruption. Five ministers implicated in the Anglo Leasing and the Goldenberg scandals were asked to step aside only to be re-appointed and moved to different ministries after pressure on the government had eased. Previously, ministers implicated in corruption have blamed technocrats. All the technocrats named in the Anglo Leasing scandal were off-loaded by Mr Kibaki's regime.

केन्या के दो मंत्रियों, राजधानी के महापौर और विदेश मामलों के प्रमुख मंत्रालय में एक टेक्नोक्रेट ने पिछले दो हफ्तों के भीतर इस्तीफा दे दिया है, जिससे उम्मीद है कि सरकार अंततः केन्या की अर्थव्यवस्था और उसके नागरिकों के जीवन को धूमिल करने वाले भ्रष्टाचार से उबर गई है।


Star Wars Boba Fett figure sells for £26,000

Summary: A rare Star Wars toy has sold for £26,000 at auction.

The boxed figure of bounty hunter Boba Fett - just 3.75in (9.5cm) high - smashed its estimated sale price of £4,000-£5,000. It is one of a number of Star Wars lots being auctioned on Teesside across two days. An unpainted Fett prototype, which was not put into production over fears its firing rocket was a safety hazard, sold for £18,000 including fees. The higher priced figure was described as being in "near to mint" condition. Originally sold in France, it was produced under the Meccano brand. Auctioneers Vectis said the sale price was a world record. The figure is part of a collection which was amassed over a 40-year period by a French collector. The items are expected to sell for a total of £500,000. In January 2015, another Boba Fett figure - costing £1.50 when it was released 35 years earlier - was sold by Vectis for £18,000.

एक दुर्लभ स्टार वार्स खिलौना नीलामी में 26,000 पाउंड में बिका है।


Thieves take jewellery in Stoke-on-Trent shopping centre raid

Summary: A "large quantity" of watches and jewellery have been stolen in a raid by thieves on a shopping centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

The gang targeted the Beaverbrooks store at about 02:30 GMT at the Intu Potteries centre in Hanley, police said. A fire was also started at the main entrance to the centre. Officers said the offenders fled the scene "within minutes" and the value of the stolen items was not yet known. Some offenders were wearing face coverings. More on this and other stories from Stoke and Staffordshire A police spokeswoman said a detailed forensic examination was taking place in and around Beaverbrooks and officers were trawling internal and external CCTV footage. Last year two people were jailed after a raid on the Beaverbrooks store in November 2014.

स्टोक-ऑन-ट्रेंट में एक शॉपिंग सेंटर पर चोरों द्वारा की गई छापेमारी में बड़ी मात्रा में घड़ियाँ और गहने चोरी हो गए हैं।


Dylan Edwards admits causing suffering over cat killing

Summary: A former chef has admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a feral cat which died in the kitchen of the Snowdonia hotel.

Dylan Marcus Edwards, 50, of Llanrwst, Conwy county, pleaded guilty to the charge relating to an incident at Royal Oak Hotel, Betws y Coed. Llandudno Magistrates' Court heard the cat was allegedly put in a bag and hit with a piece of wood. A second man has denied the same charge. The case was adjourned until 31 May for a probation service report and for the RSPCA to decide if it will pursue a case against the second man.

एक पूर्व रसोइये ने स्नोडोनिया होटल की रसोई में एक जंगली बिल्ली की मौत को अनावश्यक पीड़ा देने की बात स्वीकार की है।


Drive-through virus testing set up at Brexit lorry park

Summary: A drive-through facility to carry out coronavirus testing is being built in Portsmouth.

The site at Tipner will be open for NHS and care staff from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It is expected to open next week and will have the capacity to conduct 400 swab tests a day. The facility, near the M27, was originally built as an emergency lorry park for Portsmouth port as part of no-deal Brexit preparations.

पोर्ट्समाउथ में कोरोनावायरस परीक्षण करने के लिए एक ड्राइव-थ्रू सुविधा बनाई जा रही है।


Covid: How worried should we be?

Summary: Winter looks like it is going to be tough. Cases are rising across the whole of the UK, the restrictions on our lives are already tightening, there are fears some hospitals are starting to fill up and there are ongoing political and scientific rows.

By James GallagherHealth and science correspondent It feels like there is a constant stream of information and you would be forgiven for getting lost in the whirlwind of headlines. So - let's keep this really straight and really simple. Where are we, is this a repeat of spring and how worried should we be? Covid is still mostly mild Don't forget the overwhelming majority of people do recover from Covid and it is often a mild disease. The main symptoms are a cough, fever and a loss of sense of smell and most will recuperate at home. It is estimated that 1% to 3% of people who catch the virus require hospital treatment. But it is more deadly than flu The number of people that die after catching the virus, known as the infection fatality rate, is about 0.5%. Or one death in every 200 people infected. That is five to 25 times more deadly than a seasonal flu infection, despite ongoing myths that Covid is just like flu. Influenza kills between 0.02% and 0.1% of people who are infected. Some people are at higher risk People of any age can die from Covid, but the risks are higher the older you are. Only a tiny fraction of people under the age of 45 die after catching the virus and the risk really picks up after the age of 65. People with other health problems - such as type 2 diabetes and heart problems - are also at higher risk. As are people from certain ethnic backgrounds. The numbers are all going up The statistics tell a grim tale. The number of daily cases - up. The number of people being admitted to hospital - up. The number of people dying - up. We are not at the same level we were at the peak, when 3,000 people were being admitted to hospital with Covid each day. It is currently below 1,000. So this is a problem of trajectory. The worry is rising cases could eventually overwhelm the NHS. If that happens then more people will die, from Covid and other causes, because there won't be enough beds and doctors to go round. But the virus is spreading more slowly than before The things we are now doing in our day-to-day lives are making a difference to the spread of the virus. At the beginning of the pandemic, the number of people being infected was doubling every three-to-four days. The doubling time is now closer to every fortnight. The reproduction or R number - the number of people each infected person passes the virus onto on average - was about 3.0 across the UK early March. It is now about half that (between 1.3 and 1.5). We are making a difference, but any growth is still growth and unless the R number comes below 1.0, the number of cases, and in turn pressure on hospitals, will continue to rise. We are better at treating Covid The chance of dying if you are admitted to hospital has fallen since the start of the pandemic. Getting a precise estimate is hard, but the death rate in hospitals seems to have fallen by between a third and a half. Doctors have a better understanding of what happens to severe Covid patients, such as developing unusually sticky clot-prone blood. That means care has improved. And we have the first life-saving drug, a steroid called dexamethasone that calms the immune system when it becomes overactive and attacks the body. But we must not ignore 'long Covid' However, there is rising recognition that a coronavirus infection can take a lasting toll on the body. We don't know how long or exactly how many people are affected, but long-term fatigue and a whole host of other health problems have been reported. These symptoms appear to affect young and old, as well as those who had even mild infections. You're probably not immune Most people have not been infected with the virus. About nine in 10 of us in the UK are thought to still be vulnerable. Getting Covid twice is rare. However, nobody is quite sure how long any immunity from fighting off the virus might last. We're still waiting for a vaccine An effective vaccine would either stop people getting infected or at least make the disease less severe. Progress is being made, but none has yet been proven to work. A vaccine remains one of the key tools for getting our lives back, until then the government's strategy is relying on slowing the spread of the virus and that means restrictions on all our lives. Test-and-trace is struggling The other measure that was supposed to help suppress the virus was the government's test-and-trace programme. Testing capacity has increased dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic and there are now more than 300,000 tests a day being performed. However, the programme works best when levels of the virus are low and the government's own science advisers, Sage, say test-and-trace is having a "marginal impact on transmission". Follow James on Twitter

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