Covid-19: Traders hope shoppers return for Christmas after lockdown

Summary: Many businesses are getting ready to welcome back customers after four weeks of closure. When England's new tier system comes into force on Wednesday, shops, gyms and personal care services, like hairdressers, can reopen, if they are Covid-secure.

But pubs and bars in tier three will be unable to open and only if they serve a "substantial meal" under tier two. Sarah Wright, Josh Rogers and Lauren Dalglish had arranged the opening of their new store, Under One Roof, in Oswestry, Shropshire for 4 November. Then England's second lockdown was announced from 5 November. They opened for one day, closed the next and spent lockdown photographing products so they could offer an online click and collect service. But, Sarah Wright said, this had only offered steady sales during the closure. "Lots of people messaged to say weren't going to do click and collect, they were waiting for the shop to reopen and we will be inviting people in from 09:30," she said. "Everyone's work is so individual it is really hard to get across on the internet." Tuesday was spent rearranging the shop layout and adding items to shelves ready for people to come in and Ms Wright said they were feeling "really optimistic". They are thinking of opening for seven days a week in the run-up to Christmas. Gift shop Wyle Blue World, in Shrewsbury, normally thrives in November but this year, Belinda Griffiths is worried shoppers have gone online. But, she said, she has been boosted by promises from her customers that they will continue to support small, independent businesses. "I am anxious, having been closed for a month, November is the busiest month of the entire year," she said. "We are all a bit apprehensive that while customers have been in lockdown for the last month, have they been buying on Amazon? Have they spent their money? "I am excited but anxious, I am just hoping that people will come out and support us…so mixed feelings…really hoping we are going to be busy." But she said the lockdown has brought the independent businesses together as a community, and all are "excited" about reopening. For Hillers Gifts and Interiors November has been "dire". Sally Haines is hoping a review of tiers will allow their restaurant to reopen. The gift shop is one of several businesses run by the family in Alcester, Warwickshire, and while the farm shop has remained open during lockdown, their restaurant will stay shut as the county is in tier three. "We have bookings for Wednesday with some people booking so they can have the store to themselves," she said. "But we are really holding out for the 16th, for the welfare of our staff, the community, to really get some buzz back in there," she said. The gift store generates about 15% of their annual turnover and the firm has bought in clothes, games, trivia, fragrances and other items ahead of the reopening. The shops employ 95 people, with seven currently on furlough, as staff have been used in other roles during the lockdown. Hagley, in Worcestershire, is in tier two. But traders are concerned about the closeness of its border to Dudley and Staffordshire, both in tier three and where a lot of custom comes from. Hagley Cafe owner Amanda Mortimer fears takings will not be as high as people in tier three have been advised not to travel. She says "half" of her customer base comes from across the borders. "I am just hoping that I don't have to police it because that puts me in a very difficult situation," she said. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.

कई व्यवसाय चार सप्ताह के बंद होने के बाद ग्राहकों का स्वागत करने के लिए तैयार हो रहे हैं। जब बुधवार को इंग्लैंड की नई स्तरीय प्रणाली लागू होगी, तो दुकानें, जिम और हेयरड्रेसर जैसी व्यक्तिगत देखभाल सेवाएं फिर से खुल सकती हैं, अगर वे कोविड-सुरक्षित हैं।


Attempt to undermine Auditor General

Summary: The Asian Human Rights Commission, also known as Ahrc, has said it's gravely concerned that Sri Lanka's Auditor General, Sarath Mayadunne is being criticised by senior government officials, after he named them in a report exposing government corruption.

In a letter to Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapakse, Ahrc urges him to prevent any attempts to undermine the official, whose duty - it says - is to make a critical evaluation of the public institutions without fear of interference. The Ahrc letter came after the Finance Secretary, who himself had been named in the auditor's report, criticised the official in press interviews saying his reports had a negative impact on the public sector. Ahrc have called on Sri Lanka's President to take appropriate measures to ensure the office of the auditor general maintains it's constitutional independence.

एशियाई मानवाधिकार आयोग, जिसे एएचआरसी के नाम से भी जाना जाता है, ने कहा है कि यह गंभीर रूप से चिंतित है कि श्रीलंका के महालेखा परीक्षक, सरथ मायादुन्ने की वरिष्ठ सरकारी अधिकारियों द्वारा आलोचना की जा रही है, क्योंकि उन्होंने सरकारी भ्रष्टाचार को उजागर करने वाली एक रिपोर्ट में उनका नाम लिया था।


Meet the Fokkens: Amsterdam's oldest prostitutes

Summary: Amsterdam's oldest prostitutes have been thrust into the spotlight with the release of their memoirs and a documentary film about their lives. The film, Meet the Fokkens, follows 70-year-old identical twins Louise and Martine Fokken as they share secrets of selling sex in the city's famous red light district.

By Anna HolliganBBC News, Ijmuiden Louise and Martine shuffle round their cluttered two-bedroom apartment in Ijmuiden, just west of Amsterdam. One in slippers, the other in sandals, they fetch foaming mugs of coffee and their favourite cream cakes. There is an absent-minded synchronicity to their movements. Martine hums as Louise breaks into an old lament about families forced to flee during World War II. Their mum was part Jewish, something they managed to hide from occupying Nazi forces while remaining in the Netherlands. Louise's song dwells on the joy of living and the sadness of leaving. "We were very little during the war. When the sirens started our mum would take us down into the basement. We didn't have any helmets so we used frying pans to cover our heads. We all looked so funny. And we had fun there." I ask, when she looks back at her life in Amsterdam, was there more laughter or tears? "Oh laughter, definitely laughter. You have to laugh even if you are sad because it is your life and you can't change it, but it is always better if you are smiling." The sisters nod in unison. But their expertly applied scarlet smiles do not detract from the shimmer of sadness in their eyes. "Of course when we were 14 or 15 we never thought we would be working as hookers one day. We were creative and we had dreams," Martine says. Louise adds: "I always say that my husband beat me into it. He was violent and said he would leave me if I didn't sell sex to make us more money. "He was the love of my life…" she says. Louise's children were taken into foster care. She holds one of the photographs, showing their small smiling faces, that sits on the shelves of an antique bookshelf. Speaking from experience Martine still sells sex. She says the Dutch state pension alone is not enough to live on. Louise quit because of arthritis. Martine says she would like to retire but cannot afford to. The documentary shows her at work - perched on a stool in stockings, suspenders and patent leather stilettos. Young men who pass by, some of them on stag parties from abroad, mock her for being old. She laughs it off (like she does with everything) and says she does not care. She says times have changed: "The boys are different now, they drink too much, they're fat and they don't respect you. They should be on their bikes like Dutch boys, not just drinking all the time." Despite younger competition next door, there is still a market for Martine's services. She appears to specialise in bondage for older men. Targeting them with things they like to dress up in. Tempting them into her brothel with an array of dangerous looking whips and high-heeled shoes. It seems she has found a niche in the fetish market. "We know the tricks, we know what they want. We know how to talk to them and we know how to make them laugh too." "Honeybee come to me," they chorus in English with a strong Dutch accent. Martine says they are lucky to be alive: "Once there was a man and there was something I didn't like about him. So I made him take off all his clothes. Then I sat on the bed and I felt under the pillow he'd hidden a huge knife." "There are always ups and downs," Louise adds. "Ups and downs, ups and downs..." the twins sing-song, before falling into each other in fits of laughter. They have a century's worth of experience between them. And now their story is going global. The twins' memoirs topped the Dutch bestsellers list, and now an English translation is being printed and is due to be released later this year. The twins say that Meet the Fokkens has helped to change attitudes; some of the abuse has been replaced by respect. And as Martine tucks into the remains of Louise's cream cake, sharing a forkful with one of their three Chihuahuas, balancing on her shoulder, she swears they would not have done it any other way. "This is what we know. If we didn't do hooking then what would we do? This is our life. "And," she glances again at her sister, "we are still having fun".

एम्स्टर्डम की सबसे पुरानी वेश्याओं को उनके संस्मरणों और उनके जीवन के बारे में एक वृत्तचित्र फिल्म के विमोचन के साथ सुर्खियों में लाया गया है। फिल्म, मीट द फोकेन्स, 70 वर्षीय समान जुड़वां लुईस और मार्टिन फोकेन का अनुसरण करती है क्योंकि वे शहर के प्रसिद्ध रेड लाइट जिले में सेक्स बेचने के रहस्यों को साझा करते हैं।


Following a dangerous path to radicalisation in Syria

Summary: Douglas McAuthur McCain went to Syria, one of the many Americans who have taken part in the civil war, and died while fighting alongside Islamist militants. How did he and other Americans make their way to the battleground?

By Tara McKelveyBBC News, Washington About 100 US citizens have gone to Syria to battle the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to Matthew Olsen, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center. That's a far lower number than in some European countries, like France and the UK. Some of these Americans have ended up dead. Besides McCain - who grew up in Minnesota - Nicole Lynn Mansfield, and Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha were also killed in Syria. Mansfield, 33, was a convert to Islam from Flint, Michigan. She died last year - apparently during an attack on Syrian government forces. Abu-Salha, a 22-year-old from West Palm Beach, Florida, joined the rebel group Nusra Front and became a suicide bomber on 25 May. Each of these cases is unique, and the Americans who go to Syria come from different parts of the US. In addition they choose a life of violent extremism for a variety of reasons, many of which are known only to themselves. Yet on a basic level they tend to follow a similar path. Here's a look at the some of the steps they take on their way to extremism. Aspiring jihadists are like most people in the US. When they are trying out something new, they look to the internet for help. There is a wealth of material for them. A radical cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011, spoke fluent English - and edited a magazine called Inspire. Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly looked at the magazine and later made their own explosive devices. More recently Islamic State supporters published an English-language magazine called Dabiq. (People also refer to the group as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant or Isil.) The flashy graphics are designed to appeal to a broad audience. One issue featured pictures of black flags and militants manning checkpoints. Sometimes these individuals, whether they live in the US, UK or other countries, also shop online. Two men, Yusuf Zubair Sarwar and Mohammed Nahin Ahmed, who are from Birmingham, UK, bought the book Islam for Dummies - then went to Syria, according to the New Statesman. They later pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. Most people who make the journey to Syria seek help, often from people they meet online. Many of the relationships start on Twitter. "The ISIS recruiter will start to groom the person," says Humera Khan, executive director of Muflehun, an organisation that tries to counter violent extremism. "Once that person seems interested, the conversation moves off Twitter," she says. "They use email and Skype." They may also look for guidance from those who've gone before them - and made videos. Abu-Salha made a video before his suicide. Aspiring jihadists aren't the only ones online, though. People who work for the US state department tweet messages that cast Islamic State militants in a bad light, hoping to convince people not to sign up with them. "Fighter's father calls #ISIS barbarians - son starred in recruitment video, was killed in #Syria," one of the officials wrote. UK officials have also been fighting online extremism. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Prime Minister David Cameron said they have removed "28,000 pieces of terrorist-related material from the web, including 46 Isil-related videos". Istanbul is a popular destination for aspiring jihadists, whether they live in the US or Europe. "It's pretty easy for people to travel to Turkey - to say, 'We're going on a vacation'," says Ronald Sandee, a former analyst with the Dutch military intelligence service. One American, Eric Harroun, chose that route, travelling first to Turkey and then Syria. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his involvement with one of the militant groups in Syria. Earlier this year he died of an accidental drug overdose, according to his family. Foreign fighters in Syria - by the numbers: Source: Foreign Fighters in Syria by Richard Barrett, Soufan Group Harroun is not the only one who chose Turkey as a transit point. A Texas man, Michael Wolfe, 23, planned to fly Iceland Air to Copenhagen and then go to Turkey. Afterwards he wanted to go to Syria to commit "violent jihad", according to court papers. He unknowingly relied on an undercover FBI agent for travel advice, though. He was arrested on 17 June at Houston airport. He later pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to terrorists. If the Americans make it to Turkey, though, the journey becomes easier. "'They'll say, 'OK, I'm here,' and someone will come and find them," says Khan. Others will take a bus to a place near the Syrian border. "Then they make their way in," she says. The journey from the US to Syria - and the decision to join an extremist group known for beheading people - may seem chilling to some. These Americans see things differently. Sandee says: "They think that Syria is heaven."

डगलस मैकआउथर मैक्केन सीरिया गए, जो गृहयुद्ध में भाग लेने वाले कई अमेरिकियों में से एक थे, और इस्लामी उग्रवादियों के साथ लड़ते हुए मारे गए। उन्होंने और अन्य अमेरिकियों ने युद्ध के मैदान में अपना रास्ता कैसे बनाया?


Euromillions lottery: What do you do with £170m?

Summary: A UK ticket-holder won the full £170m Euromillions jackpot on Tuesday, making them Britain's richest ever lottery winner. As the country holds its breath for the winner to come forward and claim their eye-watering sum, a lottery winner adviser and millionaires from previous lottery wins share their experiences about how to make the most of such a windfall.

By Alice EvansBBC News How do I get over the initial shock? If Andy Carter has good reason to speak to you, then life must be good. His role as "senior winner's adviser" at lottery operator Camelot means that he spends his days talking to those people who have won eye-boggling amounts. He says he often encourages big winners to get away for a few days to "let it all sink in". "It's a huge shock," he adds. "If your thing is sitting on a beach, go and sit on a beach," he says. "If it's climbing mountains, go and do that." When Dean Allen and Louise Collier from Essex won £13.8m in 2000, they went to Hawaii straight after winning - and came home with more money in the bank than when they had left because of the interest they were earning. You definitely shouldn't start splashing the cash without thinking about it though. Michael Carroll, a bin man from Norfolk, managed to spend all of his £9.7m fortune within eight years of winning it at the age of 19 in 2002. Should I stop working? Mr Carter says winning the lottery "enables you to follow your dream". "If you've always wanted to run a cake shop, or be a florist, or train in something... you can," he says. But he says most lottery winners don't choose to ditch the day job straight away, because they know it will take time to adjust to not working - in much the same way as retirement. "We get lots of winners who invest in business, or do charity work and volunteering. People need something to do, a structure, a reason to get up in the morning," he adds. When Susan Herdman won £1.2m in 2010, the single mum kept working in her hair salon and hardly spent a penny of her winnings to begin with. However, Ms Herdman says the £170m winner is in a completely different league to her small fortune. "You hear people say it's too much money. It is if you're going to be greedy with it, but how much fun could you have giving it away?" she says. "When you first win the lottery, it is quite scary in a way," she says. "I thought 'I don't really want things to change, because my life is pretty good'." However, after about a year, Ms Herdman says she realised she had been holding back. She sold the salon within a week and moved to Yorkshire to be with her partner Andrew Hornshaw, a farmer. Without the restraint of working hours, Ms Herdman spends a lot of her time fundraising for charity - and raised more than £50,000 for Cancer Research last year. Should I tell my friends? Mr Carter says sharing news of the win "isn't right for everyone" but that hiding it from close friends can be stressful. "If it was your friend that won, you'd like them to tell you. And you've got to remember, it's a good thing, it's a nice thing," he says. However, telling friends can be difficult too. Jane Restorick was 17 when she became Britain's youngest Euromillions millionaire. Ms Restorick, previously known as Jane Park, says there was an expectation that she should help friends or family if they were having money problems, which she found "stressful". Mr Carter says Camelot can help to connect winners with financial advisers, so that they can be savvy about how generous they can be with gifts. "We would encourage people to give people a little bit [of money] and see what they do with it," he says. "There's no need to give them a huge amount straight away - you can always give them more down the line. And also, talk to recipients of gifts about what would help them. Some people just don't need it, others might want it staggered." How do I decide who to donate money to? As Mr Carter points out, millionaires have "a lot of power" because they can choose how to influence and improve society through donations to charity. He says making that decision is all about choosing something "close to your heart". Colin and Chris Weir, who scooped £161m in 2011, chose to donate £1m to the independence campaign ahead of the 2014 referendum in Scotland, and continued donating to the SNP afterwards. The couple also set up The Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 which has employed people across the UK and "raised millions" for charitable causes, Mr Carter says. Ms Herdman says she donates money regularly to the NSPCC, Dogs Trust and to a guide dogs charity, while Mr Allen says he gave money to a London hospital after his father had a heart operation there. ... and what should I do with the rest of it? Dean Allen says he and his wife did so well out of their £13.8m win because they sat down and carefully agreed what they wanted to spend the money on. "We thought about what we wanted to do for family and friends, because we had to make sure this lasted us the rest of our lives," he says. The couple has balanced their winnings well enough that they have been able to travel the world while providing for their loved ones. Mr Carter's main piece of advice is to "take your time" in deciding how to spend your money. "The £170m is about not just you as a winner," he adds, "but your family for generations to come. It's about friends, it's about charity - the scale of it is so vast." The vast network of more than 5,000 lottery winners can also be a great source of advice, Mr Carter says. "The very best thing you can do is to have a cup of tea with another lottery winner."

ब्रिटेन के एक टिकट धारक ने मंगलवार को पूरा 170 मिलियन पाउंड का यूरोमिलियन्स जैकपॉट जीता, जिससे वे ब्रिटेन के अब तक के सबसे अमीर लॉटरी विजेता बन गए। जैसे ही देश विजेता के सामने आने और अपनी आंखों में पानी लाने वाली राशि का दावा करने के लिए अपनी सांस रोक रहा है, एक लॉटरी विजेता सलाहकार और पिछली लॉटरी जीतने वाले करोड़पति इस तरह के अप्रत्याशित लाभ का अधिकतम लाभ उठाने के बारे में अपने अनुभव साझा करते हैं।


Covid in Scotland: What level will your area be in from 17 May?

Summary: The next big step in lockdown easing will take place from Monday, 17 May. Most councils move from level three to level two where indoor socialising without the two metre rule is allowed. Find out which council is in which level.

No local authority has yet been assigned this level. In this tier, hospitality would operate "almost normally" - subject to rules on physical distancing, limits on numbers and other rules, such as table service. A handful of Scottish communities move to this level which allows six people from three households to meet inside and stay overnight. There is no need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home. Travel around Scotland is permitted but you cannot enter somewhere with level three restrictions. You can also travel to other parts of the UK as long as you follow their rules. Shops and leisure attractions are open, including soft play and funfairs, but nightclubs and adult entertainment remain closed. Most areas will move to this level which allows six people from three households to meet inside and stay overnight. There is no need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home. Travel around Scotland is permitted but you cannot enter somewhere with level three restrictions. You can also go to other parts of the UK as long as you follow their rules. Shops and leisure attractions are open, but soft play, funfairs and nightclubs remain closed. Two council areas will be in level three for at least another week. Under these rules, six people from two households can gather at an indoor public place such as a cafe or restaurant. Groups of up to six from six households can meet outdoors, but there is no indoor visits to private homes. Going inside someone's living accommodation is only permitted for essential purposes or if you are in an extended household. Shops and many leisure facilities can open, but cinemas, theatres, nightclubs, concert halls and stadiums cannot. People should only travel in or out of the areas for permitted purposes. No Scottish local authority is in this level. The rules say that four people from two households can meet outdoors in a private garden or a public place, but they would not be able to travel outside their area, unless for an essential reasons. Indoor activity can only be for essential purposes and not for socialising. Essential shops would be open, plus places of worship which can follow social distancing rules. Hospitality venues would remain closed along with indoor visitor attractions, gyms and swimming pools.

लॉकडाउन में ढील देने की दिशा में अगला बड़ा कदम सोमवार, 17 मई से उठाया जाएगा। अधिकांश परिषदें स्तर तीन से स्तर दो पर चली जाती हैं जहां दो मीटर के नियम के बिना इनडोर सामाजिककरण की अनुमति है। पता करें कि कौन सी परिषद किस स्तर पर है।


The letters that ended World War One

Summary: After four years of bloody conflict, the Armistice was finally signed in November 1918. The arrival of American troops, earlier that year, saw the Germans grow progressively weaker and their officers privately conceded they had no hope of victory.

By Judith BurnsBBC News A series of letters, the most reliable form of communication in an age when electronic methods were in their infancy, marked the path towards peace. The formal negotiations began on 8 November 1918 in a luxurious railway carriage in a siding in a forest near Paris. The German delegation, led by civilian Matthias Erzberger, had no choice but to accept tough terms demanded by Britain, France and America. At the end of a momentous day, Rear Admiral Sir George Hope, a member of the British delegation, wrote to his wife Arabella. "Erzberger was very nervous at first and spoke with some difficulty, the general awfully sad, the diplomat very much on the alert, and the naval officer sullen and morose." 'Subordinate rank' Rear Admiral Hope judged the accommodation "most comfortable". "The British have a wagon-lit to ourselves with all possible conveniences: there are several other wagon-lits and a dining saloon," he wrote. The German delegation was in a similar train, about 100 yards away. They had hoped to make it "principally a civilian affair", notes Rear Admiral Hope. "The French and we are very angry with them for only sending military and naval officers of a rather subordinate rank." The German party approached in single file and got into the conference carriage where "we received them stiffly but courteously". The two sides exchanged salutes and lined up on different sides of the table, recalled Rear Admiral Hope. "The terms were then read out to them and evidently made them squirm, but they were probably prepared for most of them as they must know the present military position and the state of mutiny in the fleet." Rear Admiral Hope's private letter was first published in 1979 by Leeds University historian Peter Liddle, in his book Testimony of War. "He was perfectly placed, superbly placed. Nobody better to record it," Dr Liddle told the BBC. "It's not just one man's experience, in minuscule, of events, it is a man near the very heart of important things that were happening." The Armistice 100 years on Long read: The forgotten female soldier on the forgotten frontline Video: War footage brought alive in colour Interactive: What would you have done between 1914 and 1918? Living history: Why 'indecent' Armistice Day parties ended It is one of five letters, written by key players at key points in the weeks before the Armistice, selected by Cambridge historian Sir Richard J Evans and the Royal Mail, to highlight the crucial role of written communication and postal services in the Great War. "Every combatant nation had a postal service," says Prof Evans. "In Britain these were post office personnel who were given military ranks and a bit of training, but basically organised a worldwide postal service across the empire. "And you had something similar with the Germans and the Austrians and so on, because it was very important to get letters to the troops and letters back, to maintain morale, and of course at a very high level to communicate." The US had joined the war in 1917 and the following year, the arrival of American troops bolstered France and Britain, leaving the German army unable to withstand a series of sustained attacks. Germany became increasingly isolated, as its allies dropped out of the war, among them, Bulgaria, where the government collapsed. In a telegram on 1 October, Germany's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Paul von Hintze, wrote to representatives at Army Grand Headquarters: "According to the most recent reports from Bulgaria, we must give up the game there. "From a political point of view, there is no point in our keeping our troops there, let alone reinforcing them." Within days, the Germans requested a truce. Prince Max von Baden, Imperial Chancellor in a newly formed, rather more democratic German government, wrote to US President Woodrow Wilson, offering to accept his terms. "In order to avoid further bloodshed the German government requests to bring about the immediate conclusion of a general armistice on land, on water, and in the air," he wrote. According to Prof Evans, the German generals "thought they might be able to hold off the allies on the Western Front for a bit longer, but they were under no illusion about the fact that they were not going to win by this stage and so they thought it was best to sue for peace". He adds that the new democratic government hoped it might get fairly decent terms from the Americans, who were now calling the shots. But on 27 October, Germany was further weakened, when Austro-Hungary left the war. In a letter to Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl wrote: "It is my duty, heavily though it lies upon me, to inform you that my people are neither able, nor willing, to continue the war. "I do not have the right to oppose this wish, since I no longer hope for a favourable outcome. "The moral and technical preconditions for it are lacking, and useless blood letting would be a crime that my conscience forbids me to commit." This allowed the British and French to push President Wilson for harsher terms, says Prof Evans. "They thought he was a bit wishy-washy, vague and idealistic. So they toughened up the terms of the Armistice." The Germans simply had to accept the terms offered and the Americans said they would only negotiate with a democratic government, forcing the abdication of the Kaiser on 9 November. The fifth letter shows how news of the Armistice was slow to spread to the more distant parts of the war. In east Africa, the British wanted to send a telegram to the German Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who had fought a successful guerrilla war against the British for four years. 'Under white flag' But the British could not find him and he only got to hear about the Armistice when his troops captured a motorcycle despatch rider, carrying the telegram to be delivered "under white flag". "The problem was... he couldn't believe the Kaiser had abdicated, and got in touch with the British High Commissioner asking for confirmation," says Prof Evans. "Eventually he was given credible evidence that this was not a ruse designed to trick him into abandoning the struggle and signed a formal cessation of hostilities on 25 November 1918. "So that's the last gasp of the war really... and it's the GPO (General Post Office) that plays a role in bringing it about."

चार साल के खूनी संघर्ष के बाद, अंततः नवंबर 1918 में युद्धविराम पर हस्ताक्षर किए गए। उस साल की शुरुआत में अमेरिकी सैनिकों के आगमन ने जर्मनों को उत्तरोत्तर कमजोर होते देखा और उनके अधिकारियों ने निजी तौर पर स्वीकार किया कि उन्हें जीत की कोई उम्मीद नहीं है।


Michael Morpurgo on keeping right on to the end of the road

Summary: Michael Morpurgo, the author and former children's laureate, is 76 on Saturday 5 October 2019, and he's beginning to feel his age. But he's not downhearted, partly because he draws inspiration from others who've stayed active and positive to the end of their lives.

Strange thing, getting old - because I never thought it would happen to me. Well, it has, and quite suddenly too. Life these days is punctuated with little reminders. A certain reluctance, that I never had when I was young, when it comes to looking in the mirror. Full body or face. Neither merits a second glance. Mirrors are in fact a perfect nuisance. In lifts with mirrors all round, sometimes you catch a glimpse of the back of a head that always lacks more hair than last time you looked, less than you had supposed or hoped. And a casual glance at a shop window as you pass by catches you walking more bent. Two choices. One, play the part. Beethoven, hands behind his back, bent into the wind, hair flying, as he composes the Pastoral Symphony? Or you straighten up and walk younger, more youthfully, a sprightly step, just in case anyone else had noticed the elderly slouch. No-one has of course because no-one is looking. But I noticed. I do the Beethoven walk into the wind, humming the Pastoral. Good choice. In truth of course, you hardly need mirrors to remind you that the years are marching on. There are plenty of other signs you can't avoid noticing. You have to think before you bend down to pick anything up, or tie up a shoelace. There are baths too deep to get out of, so you have to turn turtle and push yourself up and out. But at least no-one is looking. Then there are far too many kind people these days offering you a seat on the bus or the underground. Your little grandson outruns you easily on a country walk, and no longer just because you are pretending to let him win. You can pretend you are pretending, if you like; but he's not fooled, no-one is fooled. I'm not fooled. And these days I'm finding there are far too many visits to doctors and nurses, wonderful though they are. I was used to tests when I was young - vocabulary tests, comprehension tests, spelling tests. It's blood tests now. Then there's losing old friends, and neighbours, and family. Not sure you ever get used to being an orphan. That's maybe the worst of being old, and getting older. There are more people you miss, and with every one that goes, you are more alone. Find out more Listen to Michael Morpurgo reading this essay on BBC Sounds You can hear his thoughts about stress and anxiety among children on A Point of View, on BBC Radio 4, at 08:48 on Sunday 6 October - or listen now online You find you are now among the last old trees in the park, wary of wild winds of fortune that might weaken you or uproot you. I'm sad sometimes that the world changes too fast around you and you feel you cannot belong, you cannot keep up. As a child I never liked feeling left behind. "But you are in second childhood, Michael," I tell myself. "Get used to it. Mustn't worry about sans eyes, sans teeth, sans everything. If it's another childhood you are living through, just be thankful for it. It means there's more ahead, more to look forward to, to live for." So am I downhearted? No. What keeps me going are the young, and the very old, the remarkably old. The young are beacons that burn bright with new hope, new energy, with the beauty of fervour, the joy of discovery. To be with them, to work with them, is to be inspired, feel the enchantment and excitement of youth again, to share it, to live in its glow. With them, around them, playing, talking, working, the years peel away. Age no longer wearies. When they've gone I know they have tired me, but I sleep deep and wake contented, refreshed, younger in heart. Just as rejuvenating and energising to me are the examples of those who have lived long, and never aged, some of the generation before me, whose lives have been lived fully, who have stayed positive to the end, active, and who have contributed so much to all of us. They are my mentors. I will try to tread where they have trod, keep right on to the end of the road. I think of Judith Kerr, author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, and the Mog books, who passed away only recently, aged 96. She was at her desk, writing and painting, only a few weeks before she died. Well into her 90s she remained indefatigable, travelling widely, in this country and abroad, talking and drawing in schools, in libraries, at festivals, living life to the full. She walked four or five miles every day, ran up the stairs to her studio, loved to be with her friends, enjoyed good conversation, and a good whisky last thing at night. She was a child refugee from Nazi Germany, had lived through family tragedy, through loss and grief, put up with living alone, worked through being alone. She had her memories, had her cat, her family and friends. She loved making her books, meeting families and children who loved them. And what a legacy of joy she has left! If she was ever downhearted, and I'm sure she was, she just went on dreaming her stories and characters up, went on writing, painting, walking, running up her stairs, kept right on. I walk sometimes where she walked along the Thames, from Hammersmith Bridge to Putney. Just to think of Judith puts a spring in my step. We were in a restaurant in Oxford some years ago. A man came up to our table. He was old, but he walked tall. He explained he had just been to a talk I had given, told us how much he had enjoyed it, that his name was Roger Bannister. So I found myself speaking to one of my childhood heroes, the young doctor who had broken the four-minute mile, whose modesty was legendary. Having met him, and his wife Moyra, I discovered how, although running had brought him fame, it was primarily medicine, neurology, that was his life's work. In old age, more and more immobilised by Parkinson's Disease, he continued his work, for his science, his athletics, his city, remaining active as long as he could, remaining an inspiration to us all. I recall well the determination on his face, as he willed himself through the tape that rainy evening in Oxford in 1954, when he became the first man in the world ever to run the mile in under four minutes, a determination that stayed with him all his life, that was with him in his wheelchair. The sight of him breasting that tape stays with me. The memory I have of him in his wheelchair the last time I saw him, still cheerful, still positive, reminds me that we have the power of the human spirit to keep us going, to keep right on. In the village where we live in Devon we are a small community, with an average age of over 75. Every Tuesday lunchtime the pub, The Duke of York, puts on a lunch for the older villagers. It costs £5 a head for a three-course meal. Twenty or 30 will turn up, a chance to meet, to talk of old times, to remember together. The village consists of a couple of dozen cottages, a village hall - once the old school, closed over 60 years ago now - the pub, the church, the chapel. It is a living community that has a strong tradition of looking after our old people. Families look after their own elderly as best they can, so elderly are looking after elderly more and more. It is a place where the old are valued, respected and cared for. And it is a place where I witness daily the courage and dignity of the old. They too are my mentors. I will try to emulate them all, Judith Kerr, Sir Roger Bannister, the old folk of my village, as best I can. I'll keep right on. You may also be interested in: Mollie Macartney's passion for planes began during her wartime service. Now she's taking to the skies herself - and passing on her appetite for adventure to her 12-year-old granddaughter. Why my 93-year-old gran is learning to fly

माइकल मोरपुर्गो, लेखक और पूर्व बाल पुरस्कार विजेता, शनिवार 5 अक्टूबर 2019 को 76 वर्ष के हो गए हैं, और वह अपनी उम्र को महसूस करने लगे हैं। लेकिन वह निराश नहीं हैं, आंशिक रूप से क्योंकि वे अन्य लोगों से प्रेरणा लेते हैं जो अपने जीवन के अंत तक सक्रिय और सकारात्मक रहे हैं।


What’s eating the restaurant trade?

Summary: The restaurant sector is hardly sizzling at the moment.

By Tom EspinerBusiness reporter, BBC News Last month burger chain Byron agreed a rescue plan with lenders and landlords which could lead to the closure of up to 20 restaurants. Also in January, Jamie Oliver's restaurant group said 12 of its 37 outlets would shut their doors - the second wave of closures in the space of a year. And since the beginning of 2015, shares in the Restaurant Group, which owns Frankie and Bennys and Garfunkels, have lost two thirds of their value. So what's causing the gloom? Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, who helped expand Pizza Express in the 1990s, says the whole of the food sector in the UK is under pressure at the moment. Businesses in the sector are having to pay the new living wage, the apprenticeship levy, and deal with "upwards-only rent reviews", he says. Mr Johnson, who among his many business interests is the chairman of casual-dining chain 3Sixty Restaurants, adds that "food and ingredients costs are affecting the whole eating-out market". That is certainly the case for Jamie's Italian, which said the rising price of ingredients was partly behind its troubles. It buys many ingredients from Italy and they have become more expensive due to the slide in the value of the pound since Britain's vote to leave the European Union. Roger Tejwani, head of consumer sector at stockbrokers Finncap, says there are just too many restaurants. "There is too much capacity in the market with consumers having a considerable amount of choice," he says. He says there needs to be a big decrease in the number of outlets some chains have. Customers have so much choice that there is little loyalty, and social media lets people be more aware of a wider range of food, Mr Tejwani says. Fast-casual restaurant firms have to work hard to persuade people to spend - especially as people are already spending more on experiences. "They are all competing against each other and other forms of entertainment," he says. So to win customers restaurant chains have had to discount, making life even tougher. Social scene Mr Tejwani argues that restaurants need to move with the times and start taking account of consumer technology. Younger customers expect to be able to document what they are doing and "want to be seen in a cool place", which means restaurants have to be "Instagrammable", he says. Creating that cool environment will require investment, and there's less of that to go around, says Mr Johnson. "The banks are pulling in debt lines where they can," he says, while private equity is also getting harder to come by. Brexit blues Uncertainties caused by the Brexit process are having an impact on the casual dining sector as a whole, according to consultancy firm Deloitte. Consumer confidence steadily fell throughout 2017, putting a squeeze on spending on non-essential items, says Deloitte. "2018 is going to be a challenging year for restaurants, and they will need a tightly-run ship to survive," says Sarah Humphreys, lead partner for casual dining at Deloitte. "Consumer tastes such as healthy eating, sustainable food sourcing and informal or experiential dining should not be ignored. "Operators should consider how adaptable their models are to changing tastes, or else face the risk of missing out," she says. Consumer spending in general took a hit in 2017, having its worst year since 2012, according to payments processor Visa. That's partly because wages have been rising at a slower pace than inflation, leaving consumers worse off. Taking out Food delivery firms such as Just Eat and Deliveroo are a double-edged sword for the sector. They can increase sales, and on balance, they increase profit, says Ms Humphreys. But they can put pressure on restaurants if there's not enough staff to fill the takeaway orders and keep the customers in the restaurant happy, says Mr Tejwani. There are other downsides. Food delivery firms charge a high commission for delivery, and also restaurants lose the opportunity to sell profitable extras like drinks. However, Luke Johnson says that while the market is "tough" at the moment, he remains hopeful for the sector. "Generally speaking the industry remains in reasonable health … I'm sure it will remain profitable in five to ten years time."

रेस्तरां क्षेत्र इस समय शायद ही गर्म है।


Guam: A conflicted island at the centre of a firestorm

Summary: Last week a threat from North Korea to fire missiles into the sea near Guam led to a spike in war rhetoric from both the US and the North, and put the tiny island territory squarely at the centre of the world's attention. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes went there to find out why Guam has been caught in the crosshairs.

Sitting here on Guam I am in the United States, and yet I am much closer to Manila than Los Angeles. The nearest bit of the US proper, Hawaii, is nearly 4,000 miles (6,400km) to the east. Honolulu sits across the international dateline - so it is still Wednesday there - even though over here the sun is setting on Thursday. Little wonder people in Guam often feel forgotten by the rest of America. Standing in the immigration line it doesn't feel much like America either. The airport is filled with young families flooding off planes from Tokyo and Osaka, Seoul and Busan. Of the 1.5 million tourists who flock to Guam's beaches each year, most are from Japan and South Korea. For them, it's a little bit of America anchored off the coast of Asia. The car rental shops do a brisk trade in bright yellow Mustang convertibles. Young South Korean couples cruise the beach roads, the hood down. There are shooting ranges that do an equally brisk trade with Japanese men eager to have a go with an M16, something that is illegal and taboo back home in Tokyo. The fact that Guam belongs to America is an accident of history, a bit of war booty left over from the 1898 Spanish-American war. It's the same deal that gave the US Puerto Rico and the Philippines. And that has left a difficult legacy. The Philippines eventually got independence, but Guam remains a US territory - in effect a self-governing colony. Guamanians - as the locals refer to themselves - are US citizens. But here at home they have no right to vote in US presidential elections, and even though they elect a member of the US Congress, she cannot vote on any legislation. Everyone I've spoken to here agrees this situation is untenable, that Guam either needs to become a fully-fledged US state, or an independent country. But don't count on the latter. The native people of Guam are called Chamorro. Their ancestors came here 4,000 years ago. Like their distant cousins in Hawaii and Samoa they are deeply conflicted about their American identity. One evening this week a group of pro-independence Chamorro campaigners gathered on a street corner in the main town Hagatna. They held up peace banners and Guam flags and sang traditional folk songs. Passing cars hooted their support. "We've been used for other people's war's for too long," one young woman told me. "Its time for us to stop being a colony." "The American military occupies 27% of the land here," the leader of the protest Kenneth tells me. "A lot of that land was taken from Chamorro families after World War Two. Not all of us accept this. We are an indigenous people. We've been here for thousands of years. We've been stuck in the middle before and we don't want history to repeat itself." But that huge US military presence has affected the identity of Guam in surprising ways. Virtually every family I've spoken to has a connection to the military, an uncle or brother or cousin who has served. Per capital this little island sends more of its sons and daughters to the US military than any other place in the United States. Partly that's a product of poverty. Guam is poorer than Mississippi. But it means Guam is surprisingly patriotic. Over and over during the last week I've been told: "I feel safe because the US military is here, they are powerful and they will protect us. North Korea will not do anything to us, and if they do we will destroy them." But it's also the reason Kim Jong-un is so interested in this tiny scrap of American land. It's not about Guam's proximity to Asia, it's what America keeps here. On the north end of the island, a huge airbase is hidden behind dense jungle. Beside its runways a fleet of sleek B1 bombers stands ready to strike back at North Korea should it ever attack the South. On the west coast of Guam an even more secret base is home to a squadron of nuclear attack submarines. But perhaps even more important than those is what's hidden under the hills in the south of the island. "This is the US military's store house," Governor Eddie Calvo told me. Governor Calvo is a big, ebullient politician. He's a republican and a fan of US President Donald Trump. "He called me on Saturday when I was gardening," the governor tells me. "The President told me he is behind us 1,000%," he says laughing. Governor Calvo is acutely aware of the strategic importance of his little island to United States. "There are more munitions stored here on Guam than any other place in the United States," he tells me. Munitions are the real key to prosecuting a war, and they get used up really quickly once conflict breaks out. Here under the hills of Guam the US stores enough bombs and missiles to keep a war going for weeks and weeks. It is what makes Guam so important to the United States, and what now makes this little island, with its long sandy beaches and ridiculously friendly people, a target for North Korea's ballistic missiles.

पिछले हफ्ते उत्तर कोरिया की ओर से गुआम के पास समुद्र में मिसाइल दागने की धमकी ने अमेरिका और उत्तर दोनों की ओर से युद्ध की बयानबाजी में वृद्धि की और छोटे द्वीप क्षेत्र को दुनिया के ध्यान के केंद्र में रखा। बीबीसी के रूपर्ट विंगफील्ड-हेस यह पता लगाने के लिए वहाँ गए कि गुआम को क्रॉसहेयर में क्यों पकड़ा गया है।


Ukraine crisis: What now?

Summary: The Ukraine crisis is entering a new and dangerous phase. The seizure of police and administrative buildings in several cities in the eastern part of the country by what some describe as pro-Russian activists raises the prospect of a firm response from the Kiev government.

By Jonathan MarcusBBC diplomatic correspondent This, in turn, could give the Russian authorities the pretext they need to move the military forces massed on Ukraine's frontier westwards. Alternatively this may just all be political theatre, an attempt to visibly up the stakes; mounted to scare the interim Ukrainian government and perhaps also to scupper four-way talks - between Ukraine, Russia, the US and the EU - that were loosely planned for this week. Alternatively Moscow may simply be seeking to control the context in which any talks take place. Either way the temperature is rising and a diplomatic solution to this crisis seems now more distant than ever. So what of the assertion by Nato sources and western leaders that the Russian military is already conducting covert operations in eastern Ukraine? The evidence from social media sites shows that groups of men, well armed and uniformly equipped, have been involved in a number of the initial seizures of buildings in eastern Ukrainian cities. Unopposed campaign Roger McDermott, senior fellow in Eurasian studies at the Jamestown Foundation, is a long-time watcher of the Russian military. His assessment is that the uniforms and the uniformity of weapons suggest that "the well-organised 'militants' have all the hallmarks of Russian special forces, or to be more exact, the military intelligence special forces or 'Spetsnaz'". Nonetheless he cautions that this is only a partial re-run of the initial Russian operation in the Crimea. "In the Crimea," he notes, "Russian forces mounted an essentially unopposed campaign to seize key strategic points and exploit the weakness of the interim government in Kiev. Mr McDermott asserts that the situation is different in eastern Ukraine. "The special forces units with local assistance can gain control of strategic buildings and key routes, but if the Ukrainian defence and security forces respond, there will be an escalation which will involve Russia's more conventional forces, including air power and ground forces units," he says. Another veteran analyst of Russian military affairs, Keir Giles of the Conflict Studies Research Centre, says he is "depressed but unsurprised" by the escalating events over recent days. When asked if he believes this could be a prelude to overt Russian military action, he replies that this is entirely plausible. "This would play not only into Moscow's long-term narrative about securing the rights and lives of Russian citizens abroad, but also to the doctrinal imperative of ensuring security and stability on the approaches to Russia's borders," he says. 'Strategic shock' Both analysts believe that the crisis has entered a new and perhaps critical phase. I asked Mr McDermott if Russia's aims in all of this were clear. Surely Moscow was taking a huge gamble? "The risks are that the Ukrainian army and security forces put up more resistance than Moscow foresees, and it all descends into something long, drawn out and messy," he says. However, "if the Kiev forces crumble, or fail to respond quickly enough, Moscow would have a grand bargaining chip to bring to the table and secure its objectives in the crisis: either the West recognises a dismembered Ukrainian state, or promotes the idea of a compromise involving a new constitution and the emergence of a weaker Ukrainian federal state more biddable to the Kremlin in the future." In his view Moscow's key demands are clear: it wants the federalisation of Ukraine and a legal guarantee that the country will never enter Nato. "The Kremlin is playing for high stakes and it believes it can win," he says. In contrast Nato and the West seem to have few options to influence events on the ground. Mr McDermott says that the West has received what he calls "a strategic shock". He argues that this crisis has revealed "weaknesses in the intelligence assessment of Russia and the potential threat it may pose in Eastern Europe. "Both western analysts of the crisis and governments are at a loss to explain any means to prevent Russia achieving its strategic goals in Ukraine," he says. "In place of sound thinking, we see only hand-wringing and embarrassment."

यूक्रेन संकट एक नए और खतरनाक चरण में प्रवेश कर रहा है। देश के पूर्वी हिस्से के कई शहरों में पुलिस और प्रशासनिक भवनों की जब्ती, जिसे कुछ लोग रूस समर्थक कार्यकर्ताओं के रूप में वर्णित करते हैं, कीव सरकार की ओर से एक ठोस प्रतिक्रिया की संभावना को बढ़ाती है।


The boy abducted to guide blind beggars in Nigeria

Summary: Samuel Abdulraheem has no recollection of the day he was abducted, aged seven, from his family home in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

By Adaobi Tricia NwaubaniNigeria Although he came from a large family - his father had 17 children by four wives - Samuel was on his own with a nanny that day. His family were told he had gone outside to ride his bicycle. They would not see him again for another six years. The search "There is nothing we didn't do to try to find him," his older sister Firdausi Okezie recalls. Then aged 21, she was not made aware of his disappearance at first. Her brother had always enjoyed rushing to answer the phone and speak with her when she called home from university. But when other members of the household began answering it when she rang, she suspected something was wrong. After her classes one afternoon, Firdausi travelled home unexpectedly and her father, an architect and hotelier, was forced to reveal the heart-breaking truth: Her favourite sibling had been missing for more than a month. "At first, my father had the nanny arrested, but after investigations, they let her go," Firdausi says. They also tried to hide the news from Samuel's mother, who was divorced from his father, for as long as possible. Every time she called from her new home in a different city, they would conjure different excuses. Eventually, an uncle was assigned the unenviable task of telling her. In addition to extensive police investigations, the family placed adverts in newspapers and sent out search parties to comb the streets. They checked ditches in case he had been the victim of a hit and run, and even consulted Muslim spiritual priests, known as malams. In time, her father asked the family to accept that their brother was dead - they had done the best they could. The scream Firdausi refused to give up. She dedicated her university thesis to her missing brother and a year after graduating, she moved south to Lagos in search of work. She converted to Christianity and started attending Winners Chapel - one of Nigeria's mega churches based in Ogun state just outside the city. Every December, the church holds a five-day gathering of its members from all over the world. During the event, known as Shiloh, interested members of the congregation are allocated free stands to display their goods and services within the church premises. Still without a job in December 2000, Firdausi applied for a stand to sell some tie-dye fabrics her mother had made. While waiting for a carpenter to help set up the display, she sat on a chair and placed her head in her lap for some rest. That was when she heard a beggar appealing, in the name of Allah, for spare change. Firdausi looked up. This beggar had his hand firmly planted on the left shoulder of a boy who was dressed in a tattered brown tunic and undersized trousers. Firdausi screamed - the haggard boy guiding the beggar was her lost brother. The kidnap Samuel, now aged 30, cannot recall exactly how he was stolen from his family: "All I remember is the train journey." He was taken to a one-armed woman who lived on the outskirts of Lagos in an area mostly occupied by disabled beggars. The woman hired him out to blind beggars for 500 naira (approximately $5 or £2.50 at the time) per day. The sight of blind men and women being led around by boys and girls is common on many streets in Nigeria - especially in dense traffic where they usually tap on car windows, or around churches and mosques. Only Samuel lived with the woman, sleeping on a mat in her shack. Over the years, he says about five others boys turned up to live with other women in the same yard, each hired out to blind beggars. Samuel suspects that something must have been done or given to him during that time because he does not recall ever thinking of his family during that period, or wondering what had become of them. "I am not sure I had emotions then," he says. "Just a zombie that knew he had to wake up and lead a beggar out. Make money, eat food and sleep, and the same routine the next day. Life of a slave Different beggars hired him for a period of anything from a week to a month. At the end of each day, Samuel and the beggar slept alongside others in various public spaces. If a beggar enjoyed working with him, they hired him again for another period. "I was like a slave," he says. "I couldn't say I wanted to go and do anything. I had to be around always." As he was always on the move, Samuel made few friends, only occasionally playing with the children of other beggars he bumped into in the evenings. Sometimes people gave them food while they were out begging. At other times they hung around restaurants and ate the leftovers or scavenged in dustbins. "I was always hungry. During the daytime when you work, you hardly sit down to eat," he recalls. "I didn't feel the beggars were bad. They wake up, beg, the way people wake up and go to work." Day after day, Samuel walked from one end of Lagos to the other with a beggar's right hand gripping his shoulder. Sometimes, they trekked to neighbouring states or across the border to Benin. If the beggars received news of potential benefactors gathered somewhere, they told Samuel and he took them there by bus. "There were times when you get so tired and you start bypassing people, but blind people are very sensitive - their hearing - so they pick up sound. Sometimes they would twist your shoulder and say: 'There is someone there. Why are you moving away?' "They try to make as much money as they can." The 'miracle' In December 2000, a beggar he was guiding heard news of the programme at Winners Chapel where they ran into his sister. At first, Firdausi was too shocked to reach out and touch her brother - who can still recall her scream. "I fell down on the floor," she says. Samuel looked gaunt, his right shoulder was significantly tilted and he appeared dumb, not speaking a word. The sight caused Firdausi to burst into tears. "It took a while but I knew that she was someone I knew - that this person was someone related to me," Samuel says. Soon a crowd gathered and drawn by the commotion, church officials also arrived. They managed to make sense of Firdausi's barely coherent joy and decreed that it was a "miracle" worth sharing with the entire congregation. They ferried Samuel to a corner and gave him a quick wash. They found him fresh clothes to wear and rushed them both to the stage of the 50,000-seat auditorium where Firdausi was given a microphone. In tears, she narrated how she had just found her brother who had been missing for six years. Firdausi recalls how the entire congregation leapt out of their chairs in shouts of praise and thanksgiving. The founder of the church, David Oyedepo, then held Samuel and prayed for him. You may also be interested in: That night they slept on the church premises in a car, as it was a long way to get back to where Firdausi lived. She remembers waking up throughout the night and touching her brother to make sure he was real. The recovery Today Firdausi says that she regrets being so engrossed in finding her brother that she did not try to rescue the others from where he was kept. Shortly before his rescue, a new young child had arrived in the yard, Samuel says. At first, the boy wept non-stop and refused to eat. Suddenly, he became silent, leading Samuel to suspect that something had been done or given to the boy to quieten him. "In a developed country, you would just go and tell the police. But, here, the police would ask you to give them money for fuel and all that, and I didn't even have a job," Firdausi says. Besides, reintegrating her 13-year-old brother into normal life was proving more difficult than she had imagined. He had not returned to live with his father and she was taking care of him. Boils and rashes had broken out all over his body, giving off a foul stench. His right shoulder remained bent for more than a year, requiring X-rays and physiotherapy before it finally stopped showing signs of the pressure from years of being gripped by beggars. Their mother did not recognise the youngest of her seven children - who was now rough and haggard. She had to raise his arm and search for a birthmark before she finally believed that the person in front of her was actually her son. The student After six years of no formal education, Samuel was barely literate. Firdausi was left frustrated with the search for a school - with many saying he was too old to join at primary level. Just when she had almost lost hope, Firdausi met a school proprietor who had seen them on the stage at the church. The woman agreed to admit him, while Firdausi made arrangements for additional private classes. In three months, Samuel zoomed from primary one to primary four. Within a year, he had passed the entrance exams to secondary school. Samuel spent only three years in secondary school when, aged 17, he felt confident enough to sit for university entrance exams. He passed with flying colours, attaining the best result in his entire school, and gained admission to study chemical engineering at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. But Samuel's academic prowess would eventually lead to the sudden end to his studies. Other students often sought his assistance with assignments and he was expelled during his fourth year after being caught writing another student's answers during exams. 'No grudges' Samuel now works as a supervisor on construction sites. "Someday when I am comfortable financially, I hope to continue my education," he says, adding that computer science might be an option as he is good with gadgets. Samuel holds no ill feelings about what he went through while in captivity. He believes that all those years shaped him and taught him to try to always be nice to people. "Nothing that people do actually gets to me. I just see it as a way of life. I don't hold grudges," he says. Memories of the constant hunger have affected the way he relates to beggars and their guides today. He never gives them money. "I'd rather buy them food. Because, back then, it was better giving me food than money because the money went to the beggar and none came to me." Samuel hopes that, by sharing his story, people will pay more attention to beggars and the children who often guide them. "When they see a beggar with someone, they should have a second thought that, possibly, this child could need help," he says. "Don't just see and give money and walk away." Illustrations by the BBC's Manuella Bonomi

सैमुअल अब्दुलरहीम को उस दिन की कोई याद नहीं है जब उत्तरी नाइजीरियाई शहर कानो में उनके परिवार के घर से सात साल की उम्र में उनका अपहरण किया गया था।


Transformers storms UK box office

Summary: Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third movie in the franchise starring Shia LaBeouf, has topped the UK and Ireland box office, taking £10.7m on its opening weekend.

The film, directed by Michael Bay, is the first Transformers film to be released in 3D. Bridesmaids fell one place to number two, followed by Kung Fu Panda. In fourth place was Cameron Diaz's latest movie Bad Teacher with new release Larry Crowne at number five. Larry Crowne, starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, took £346,486 and bumped The Hangover Part 2 into sixth position. Bollywood film Delhi Belly, the third new release in the top 10 this week, debuted in ninth place, taking £155,211.

ट्रांसफॉर्मर्सः डार्क ऑफ द मून, शिया लाब्यूफ अभिनीत फ्रैंचाइज़ी की तीसरी फिल्म, अपने शुरुआती सप्ताहांत में £ 10.7m लेते हुए यूके और आयरलैंड बॉक्स ऑफिस पर शीर्ष पर रही है।


Penylan: Two in court after man found dead in street

Summary: A man has been charged with murder and another with drugs and money laundering offences after the body of a 23-year-old man was found in a Cardiff street.

The body of Tomasz Waga, was found in Westville Road, Penylan, on 28 January. A 23-year-old from Whitchurch, Cardiff, is charged with murder and a 29-year-old man, of no fixed abode, with drugs and money laundering offences. Both were remanded in custody at Cardiff Magistrates' Court to appear at the city's Crown Court on Monday.

कार्डिफ स्ट्रीट में एक 23 वर्षीय व्यक्ति का शव मिलने के बाद एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या और दूसरे पर ड्रग्स और मनी लॉन्ड्रिंग के अपराधों का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Judge to Waymo: Close, but no smoking gun

Summary: "So far you don’t have a smoking gun."

Dave LeeNorth America technology reporter Not the words Waymo’s legal team wanted to hear from a judge in San Francisco on Wednesday, but hear them it did as it was scolded for not having enough evidence to prove its claims. That case, if you’ve not been following, is that Uber stole trade secrets from Waymo - a company spun out of Google’s self-driving division. For the full background on that, I'd suggest reading this piece, as I’m keen to focus now on the new things we learned in court. This was the first time lawyers for both Uber and Waymo were able to square up against each other, and the question for the hearing was whether or not a preliminary injunction should be put in place immediately to prevent Uber from using or developing the disputed technology while the trial continued. Judge William Alsup, something of a fan favourite for his ability to cut through legalese and technical jargon, pushed for a substantial part of the hearing and as much documentation as possible to be made public. Because of this, I and other reporters were given a glimpse into what Waymo believes was a grand plot to steal its innovation. Here’s how Waymo’s legal team put it: But when Uber responded, its lawyers said: Amid the impassioned tit-for-tat, Judge Alsup had the following questions for Waymo: And from Uber, he wanted to know: There is someone missing in all this, of course. Waymo has not been able to search Mr Levandowski’s personal laptop - or even question him about it - as he is invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, the part of US law that means people can not be forced to incriminate themselves. So now the next steps are: Finally, we might see Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, take the stand. “No-one is hiding at Uber,” the company said. __________ Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370

"अब तक आपके पास धूम्रपान करने वाली बंदूक नहीं है।"


Hafod Copperworks, Swansea, regeneration plan unveiled

Summary: Affordable housing, a brewery and a visitor centre could form part of the future redevelopment of Swansea's Hafod Copperworks site.

Business units and a restaurant could also be created and the site's engine sheds could be restored to show visitors how they once worked. Work to stabilise at-risk buildings and clear the site near Swansea City's stadium has already begun. The copper works was once the largest in the world but closed in the 1980s. Once up and running, the site could run metalwork demonstrations and water activities and a pontoon could also provide mooring for Swansea's community boat Copper Jack. Access for visitors has already been improved and new pathways, an audio visual trail and information panels have been added. The project is being led by Swansea council and Swansea University.

किफायती आवास, एक शराब की भठ्ठी और एक आगंतुक केंद्र स्वानसी के हाफ़ोड कॉपरवर्क्स साइट के भविष्य के पुनर्विकास का हिस्सा बन सकते हैं।


Andrejs Saveljevs: Man shot by police remanded

Summary: A man who was shot in the street by police has been remanded in custody charged with firearms offences.

Police were called to reports of a man with a firearm in Hull in the early hours of 15 December. Andrejs Saveljevs, aged 35, of Boulevard, Hull, appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court. Mr Saveljevs' application for bail was refused and he will appear at Hull Crown Court on 24 January. Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

पुलिस द्वारा सड़क पर गोली मारने वाले एक व्यक्ति को आग्नेयास्त्रों के अपराधों के आरोप में हिरासत में भेज दिया गया है।


Henry Dimbleby's mission to replace bagels in school

Summary: Nearly all schools in England are now serving hot lunches to children aged four to seven. But implementing the government's policy has not always been easy. We took one of the policy's architects to a school which is serving up bagels.

By Jon ManelThe World at One, BBC Radio 4 We are in a small school, a very small school. It has a grand total of just 33 pupils. It is lunchtime and, as the children begin to eat, Henry Dimbleby is looking at a bagel filled with turkey. There are plastic pots containing carrots and cucumbers too. And there is some fruit. He is with the head teacher, Sara Bennion. "What do they charge you for this?" he asks. On hearing the answer, he looks pained. He is told the meals cost £2.95 per head and the school has to pay another £15 a day for them to be delivered by taxi. He is not particularly impressed. "I've seen a lot of school food", he says. "That feels like a lot to be charging. Eating this everyday would be quite uninspiring", he concludes. Sheepscombe Primary School sits on a hill in a village in Gloucestershire. We have brought Mr Dimbleby along to look at the school's lunches because he is a sort of posh version of Jamie Oliver. He is the joint founder of the Leon chain of fast-food restaurants and co-wrote the government commissioned but independent School Food Plan. That recommended free lunches for all primary schools in England and, although the government decided not to go that far, it has introduced free meals for infants. Nearly all state schools in England with children between the ages of four and seven have managed to do just that and are providing hot meals. However, a small number of schools have struggled and are serving up cold food. "We've tried nearly everything" Mrs Bennion explains. She became head teacher here in 2013 and has taken it from "special measures" status to being rated "good" by the inspectors from Ofsted. Free meals She is a supporter of the universal infant free school meals policy, which came in last month. "We're not being difficult", she tells Mr Dimbleby. "It's just there isn't a slush fund somewhere". The school has been provided with money to help introduce school meals but it is having to use that to subsidise the cost of its cold lunches, which it gets via the local secondary school. Mr Dimbleby, son of the broadcaster David Dimbleby, sees a problem. "So at the moment you're worried that when the transitional funding runs out next year, you won't be able to do even what you're doing at the moment?" he asks. Sara confirms that is "a concern". As one of the architects of the government's school meals policy, Mr Dimbleby wants very small schools like this to be able to continue to receive financial help beyond this academic year. The government has told the BBC it is looking at that but will need to see evidence that the extra cash is needed. Pizzas Henry asks the children if they would like to have hot meals instead of their sandwiches. Most say yes. One shouts out it would be "awesome" because "there's pizza". Outside in the playground, in his rather creased white shirt and bright yellow watch, he takes in the beautiful views across the Gloucestershire countryside. The location, though, is part of the problem. "To get food to us, particularly in the winter, is tricky", Mrs Bennion explains. There is one possible solution just a short walk away - the local pub. The Butchers Arms already supplies the school with hot food once a week - its popular fish and chips. The landlord, Mark Tallents, also happens to be the school's chair of governors so is very keen to help. The problem is that just might not be possible. The school's lunch hour happens to be at a busy time of day for the pub, when it is serving its own lunches. "I'd like to feel if I could do it I would", he tells Mr Dimbleby. "Maybe if we could arrange a more convenient time for it to be ready and at the school for twelve o'clock?" he asks. Toilet becomes a kitchen The neighbouring school, Cranham Church of England Primary, has managed to introduce hot meals. It has built a kitchen in what was a disused toilet turned storage cupboard. What works for one school though, does not necessarily work for another. "Having a class responsibility as a teacher - that's the difficulty I would find, in terms of me generating time to be able to do that," Sara tells Henry. Having assessed all the options, Mr Dimbleby leaves for London, hopeful that a solution can be found. "I definitely think they should be able to get something in, at the latest, next term", he says. And he promises to return. Mrs Bennion is pleased. "I think it would be good for Henry to come back", she tells me. "But also to be involved in the journey in us getting there. That's the bit that I need. That's the bit that I want out of it". And the early signs are that Mr Dimbleby's visit has already had an effect. The school tells me it is now looking at a "possible solution". Watch this space.

इंग्लैंड के लगभग सभी स्कूल अब चार से सात साल की उम्र के बच्चों को गर्म दोपहर का भोजन परोस रहे हैं। लेकिन सरकार की नीति को लागू करना हमेशा आसान नहीं रहा है। हम नीति के वास्तुकारों में से एक को एक स्कूल में ले गए जो बैगल्स परोस रहा है।


At last, Iowa results. So who won and lost?

Summary: The Iowa caucuses used to be viewed as messy but endearing. Now they're just a mess. Three days after Democrats across the state gathered to vote for, and haggle over, their preferred presidential nominee, results are in - but the dust still hasn't fully settled.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter Time waits for no one, however - even the Iowa Democratic Party - and the candidates have moved on to New Hampshire, where they will debate on Friday night and stand in the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. With 100% of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are neck and neck in terms of delegates, which is the prize in this state's contest. Some candidates have reason to celebrate, some will be relieved - but all have cause for a bit of concern, if not more. Here's a look at the biggest winners and losers that have emerged from the Iowa chaos. Pete Buttigieg He may end up the biggest winner among the Democrats even though his win is by the narrowest of margins. If early polls are any indication, he seems to be getting the biggest post-Iowa bump in New Hampshire - and momentum is really what Iowa is all about. Pause for a moment to think about what a 38-year-old, openly gay former mayor of the fourth-largest city in Indiana just accomplished. A year ago, few had heard of him - or knew how to pronounce his last name. Now he's going to finish ahead of a two-term vice-president and several popular senators. Now unpause. Buttigieg still seems to be getting close to no support from black voters, who form up a sizable contingent in the states that come after New Hampshire (60% in South Carolina, for example). Unless that changes, all the success in Iowa and, perhaps, New Hampshire won't amount to a proverbial hill of beans when it comes to winning the Democratic nomination. Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator narrowly lost in Iowa against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Here he is again, with yet another razor-close result. But he won the state's popular vote, giving him grounds for claiming at least a partial victory. Beating fellow liberal Elizabeth Warren also bodes well in the states to come. The Sanders camp should be concerned, however, that the turnout in Iowa ended up being at or below 2016 levels. For a campaign whose argument for being the nominee is that they'll ride to victory in November by bringing in a wave of new voters, that's not an encouraging development. Donald Trump While the Democrats bickered among themselves and seemingly moved farther away from determining a nominee, the president stood to the side and smiled, waving a copy of a newspaper with "acquitted" as its headline. There's still plenty of time for the Democrats to get their act together, but first impressions matter - and the picture the Iowa result has painted is of a party not ready for prime-time. With his poll numbers ticking up, at least temporarily, campaign coffers filled to the brim, the economy still humming and impeachment behind him, the president is having a very good week. Joe Biden The former vice-president came into Monday thinking he might have a chance to win Iowa. While it was never a state he would dominate, he shifted time and resources there in an attempt to secure a finish that could weaken his liberal opponents and perhaps knock some more of the moderates out of the race. Instead, a distant fourth-place finish has raised all sorts of doubts about the viability of his campaign. Biden is the candidate who has made electability the central focus of his campaign. How electable is a guy who can't beat the former mayor of a modest-sized Indiana city or two senators forced to sit on their hands during the president's impeachment trial in Washington for most of the two weeks before the caucuses? While his post-New Hampshire firewall in the form of support from black and older voters still appears intact, he may not have the kind of campaign cash necessary to mount an extensive campaign in the upcoming states. Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg - perhaps the heir apparent to Biden's moderate, establishment voters - waits in the wings, adding a few more zeros to the amount he is spending to campaign in the biggest states ahead. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar While both these candidates may have moderately exceeded expectations, neither did enough to fundamentally change the dynamics of the race. Given all the time and resources they poured into the Iowa, "just surviving" isn't the payoff they hoped for. Klobuchar is probably the worse off of the two, if only because she has less cash on hand. New Hampshire could be the end of the road for her. Warren has the organisation to keep going, but unless Sanders stumbles - or she finds a way to expand her appeal beyond the progressive left - it's hard to see where she starts posting wins. She's going to need some magic in Friday night's debate. Iowa Democratic Party It's hard to imagine a more devastatingly bad performance by the state that takes pride in its role as the starting gate for presidential campaigns. The app designed to speed the reporting and processing of results was a bust. After a day's delay, the party rushed to release only partial results that overstated the size and durability of Buttigieg's delegate lead. Some of the numbers were subsequently retracted and corrected. There have been allegations that caucus rules have been interpreted in contradictory ways in different locations. Now the head of the Democratic National Committee himself is calling for a review and re-tally of the numbers. Every four years, politicians and pundits question why a small midwestern state unrepresentative of the nation as a whole is entrusted with the power and privilege of going first. While Iowans have successfully fought back against changes in the past, the knives are out in earnest. The quadrennial tradition of winter caucuses among the cornfields and barns could be coming to an end. Who will take on Trump in November?

आयोवा कॉकस को गन्दा लेकिन प्यारा माना जाता था। अब वे सिर्फ एक गड़बड़ हैं। राज्य भर में डेमोक्रेट अपने पसंदीदा राष्ट्रपति पद के उम्मीदवार के लिए मतदान करने और सौदेबाजी करने के लिए इकट्ठा होने के तीन दिन बाद, परिणाम आ गए हैं-लेकिन धूल अभी भी पूरी तरह से शांत नहीं हुई है।


Bikers flock to St Peter's Square for Pope's blessing

Summary: St Peter's Square in Rome has been resounding to the roar of hundreds of motorcycles as bikers from around the world joined Catholic pilgrims for a Mass and a blessing by Pope Francis.

Leather-clad cyclists sat alongside nuns and other members of the large congregation, turning the famous square into a giant and noisy parking lot. The Pope blessed the bikers without referring to them directly. The bikers are marking the 110th anniversary of Harley-Davidson. Some 35,000 Harley-Davidson bikers have pulled up in the Italian capital for the event, attending concerts at Ostia beach and taking part in a parade. Earlier in the week, the US maker of the iconic bikes gave the pontiff two white classic Harleys for the Vatican police force to use. The Pope delivered a pro-life sermon, offering prayers "for every human life, especially the most fragile, defenceless and threatened', without speaking directly about abortion or contraception. After the Mass, the Argentine Church leader spoke to disabled people in the square, including one on a motorcycle wearing Harley garb.

रोम के सेंट पीटर स्क्वायर में सैकड़ों मोटरसाइकिलों की गर्जना हो रही है क्योंकि दुनिया भर से बाइक सवार कैथोलिक तीर्थयात्रियों के साथ प्रार्थना सभा और पोप फ्रांसिस के आशीर्वाद के लिए शामिल हुए।


Bezos and the future of books

Summary: Now that Steve Jobs has gone, who is the most powerful and influential CEO in the technology world? My nomination is Jeff Bezos, founder of the first e-commerce business to make a real splash, and still running Amazon 18 years on.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter Not only has he shown real tenacity and long-term vision in repeatedly starting risky ventures amid investor disquiet, he is also a charming and interesting man - not something you can say of every tech CEO. Kind enough too, when we met him in London, to warn us about his explosive laugh which can rattle windows, and send the needles on recording equipment into the red zone. "We love to invent, we love to pioneer, we even like going down blind alleys," he told me when I asked what his company was about these days. So after pioneering online retailing, Amazon has moved into selling all manner of goods including clothes, into providing cloud computing services, and now hardware to give users access to all sorts of media content. Mr Bezos was in town to promote, among other things, one of those innovations which some thought might be a blind alley, the Kindle Fire. Amazon's colour tablet, which has been out for a year and selling very well in the US, has been slow to arrive in the UK, though we are now getting the Fire HD. Meanwhile, a clutch of other Android-based 7" tablets, notably the Google Nexus, have been grabbing consumers' attention - and if the rumours are right, Apple is about to launch a mini-iPad. But Amazon has two things going for it - price and that fashionable word ecosystem. At £159 it is hard to see how the firm is making any money on the device - in fact Jeff Bezos says it isn't. "We sell the hardware at cost," he explained. "We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy them." So the idea is that Kindle Fire users buy books, apps, films in huge and profitable quantities. Unlike Apple, its margins will remain wafer thin, but the sheer quantity of goods sold should keep revenues flowing and investors happy. This strategy has worked well in the US and is likely to be just as successful in the UK, where Amazon is a familiar brand, and the Kindle can be spotted on just about every commuter train or bus in the land. But however nice Jeff Bezos may be, not everybody is happy with the huge power he now wields over our culture and our publishing industry. Not only are independent bookshops closing down across the country, but the biggest force in the UK book trade is now almost certainly not WH Smith or Waterstone's but a company headquartered 5,000 miles away in Seattle. With the Kindle a relatively closed device, once consumers have started building a library of ebooks that they cannot read elsewhere, they are locked into Amazon's world. I suggested to Mr Bezos that some thought him ruthless in his pursuit of his vision of the future of books. "When we bring new things to the market and consumers like them it does create change," he said, "and if you're an incumbent change is scary but you have to lean into the future and embrace change." One big player in the UK market appears to have heeded that message. Waterstone's, once hostile to Amazon's advances, has now decided to sell Kindles in its bookshops and work with the company. Jeff Bezos says we worry too much about change - Kindle owners read more books and recent figures appeared to show that physical book sales were not being harmed by the digital switchover. But however benign a figure Mr Bezos cuts, his power over what gets written and read grows by the day. That means anyone with an interest in the future of books will have to watch his every move from now on. Mind you, with that laugh, there is no danger of not hearing him coming.

अब जब स्टीव जॉब्स चले गए हैं, तो प्रौद्योगिकी की दुनिया में सबसे शक्तिशाली और प्रभावशाली सीईओ कौन है? मेरा नामांकन जेफ बेजोस है, जो एक वास्तविक धूम मचाने वाले पहले ई-कॉमर्स व्यवसाय के संस्थापक हैं, और अभी भी 18 साल बाद अमेज़ॅन चला रहे हैं।


Man and woman found in Workington house

Summary: The bodies of a man and a woman have been found in a house in Cumbria.

Police received reports of concern for the welfare of a man in Vulcans Lane, Workington, at 09:45 GMT. Cumbria Police said officers forced their way into the house where a man in his 50s, and a woman, in her 80s, were found dead. Detectives said no arrests had been made and they were treating the deaths as unexplained. They also said there was no wider risk to the public.

कुम्ब्रिया में एक घर में एक पुरुष और एक महिला के शव मिले हैं।


Swab left inside Devon operation woman

Summary: Hospital bosses have apologised after a swab was left inside a woman following an outpatient procedure.

The woman had been treated at the outpatient clinic at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple and found the swab eight days later. The hospital says it was removed without surgery and the patient suffered no significant ill effects. Dr Alison Diamond, of the Northern Devon Healthcare Trust, said: "We have apologised profusely to the patient."

एक बाह्य रोगी प्रक्रिया के बाद एक महिला के अंदर एक स्वाब छोड़े जाने के बाद अस्पताल के मालिकों ने माफी मांगी है।


Royal warrants: What they tell us about the Royal Family

Summary: Companies which supply the Royal Family are gathering at Buckingham Palace for a four-day festival to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation. But what do these seals of regal customer approval tell us about the habits of royalty?

By Vanessa BarfordBBC News Magazine It's difficult to go a week without inadvertently picking up a product bearing a royal coat of arms and a legend beginning "By appointment..." This is a royal warrant. It's a seal of approval from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh or Prince Charles. To get one, a company must have been doing business with the Royal Household for at least five years. There are currently about 850 warrant holders. Some are brands you might expect. Barbour. Hunter. Fortnum & Mason. The Ritz London. Waxed country jackets, wellington boots, a luxury department store and a pricey hotel. There's a glorious appropriateness to others. The firm that makes Angostura bitters has a warrant. Present in every bar worthy of the name, the bottles are distinctive for their yellow tops and oversize labels. It is the key ingredient in perhaps the world's simplest cocktail - pink gin. This distinctively British drink was a favourite in the messes of Royal Navy ships as officers tried to enjoy their downtime while fighting wars in tropical climes. With his background in the navy, it's easy to imagine Prince Philip enjoying one in his youth. Gin-makers Tanqueray Gordon & Co are on the list. The Queen Mother famously enjoyed a Dubonnet and gin, a habit reportedly inherited by her daughter. For salmon-fishing fan Prince Charles, who is often pictured wading in the River Dee in the leafy grounds of Balmoral, his favourite rod and tackle maker Hardy & Greys has one too. Other famously royal-associated brands include lingerie firm Rigby and Peller, which has had a warrant since 1960, and Paragon Fine China, which the Queen is said to favour at tea parties. There are also silversmiths and jewellers, champagne houses and wine merchants, wheelwrights and gun-makers, glove-makers, tailors and kilt-makers - the kind of luxury brands befitting of the head of state who resides in palaces and castles. But the Royal Family's shopping bag arguably includes the more mundane. High Street brands such as Carphone Warehouse, squash-makers Robinsons, cereal brand Kelloggs and drinks firm Bacardi are on the list. There's a supplier of baked beans (Heinz), of Tabasco sauce (McIlhenny) and two suppliers of treacle (Lyle's Golden Syrup and Tate & Lyle). Virtually every type of goods and service is covered by a royal warrant, from toothpaste to coal, brass to biscuits, perfume to pest control. There are paint and wallpaper manufacturers and suppliers, decorators and restorers for the Crown Estate. There are also technology firms, catwalk fashion lines, cyber security specialists and foreign-owned luxury car brands. "Royal warrants don't just cover what the Royal Family needs, but what a business needs, so there are agricultural and engineering service suppliers, as well as the technology that supports a large business," says Richard Peck, secretary of the Royal Warrant Holders Association. Of course on one level, it could be argued royal warrants simply chart the changing tastes - albeit privileged ones - of the nation through the purchasing power of the Royal Family. Suppliers to the sovereign have been given recognition since the Middle Ages - initially in the form of a royal charter, the earliest of which was granted by Henry II to the Weavers' Company in 1155. One of the earliest recipients of a royal warrant was England's first printer, William Caxton, in 1476, but it was during Queen Victoria's reign - and the industrial revolution - that they flourished, says Peck. More than 1,000 were granted over 64 years. "Recent royal warrants have embraced changes in technology. Environmental issues and sustainability have also become more important, with companies such as Green Fuels, which makes biodiesel out of waste cooking oil, coming on board," he says. But while royal warrants can be seen as a sign of the times, they also give a rare insight into the private lives of the Royal Family. Chocolatier Prestat was the last warrant holder to be appointed by the Queen Mother - who loved their chocolate mint fondants and violet cremes - in 1999. Nick Crean, who co-owns the company, says he was told by her former steward and page of the backstairs that she used to keep a box of chocolates by her chair, but didn't like the brown colour of the branding. "We changed it to pink and blue, and that seemed to seal the deal," says Crean. Although the Queen Mother apparently had to convince the Lord Chamberlain - who approves the royal warrants - she still ate enough of their chocolates at the age of 99 for the firm to qualify. Gordon Bell, who runs a piano shop in Aberdeen and tunes the four pianos on the Balmoral Estate on an annual basis, says the pianos - which include a Broadwood grand given to the Queen on her Silver Jubilee in 1977 - are kept in pristine condition. "There are usually dust covers on them, but they are played a lot in summer time. Sometimes the Queen is there, but not always. It's a great honour," he says. One royal warrant holder who has become accustomed to seeing the Queen is Roger Pope, provider of her spectacles. He takes a selection of frames to Buckingham Palace for her to try in front of her dresser. "There are quite strict rules on what royal warrant holders can and can't say. But the Queen likes classic two-tone frames, and she has a rimless pair, which don't tend to dominate the face as much, which she wears on state occasions," he says. The Queen may have one of the most prestigious client lists in the world, but her requirements are fairly modest, says Pope. "She doesn't have that many pairs of glasses, and they are far from the most expensive frames in the shop." You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook

शाही परिवार को आपूर्ति करने वाली कंपनियाँ रानी के राज्याभिषेक की 60वीं वर्षगांठ को चिह्नित करने के लिए चार दिवसीय उत्सव के लिए बकिंघम पैलेस में इकट्ठा हो रही हैं। लेकिन शाही ग्राहक अनुमोदन की ये मुहरें हमें रॉयल्टी की आदतों के बारे में क्या बताती हैं?


Warning as works start on A338 Bournemouth spur road diversion

Summary: Motorists are being warned of further significant travel delays as roadworks start on the A338 Bournemouth spur road diversion route.

Dorset County Council said temporary lights will be in place for a week on the A347 New Road at Dudsbury Avenue, West Parley. The road is part of the detour route away from the major roadworks on the main route into Bournemouth. The lights are expected to be in place from 07:00 BST on 5 October. Work to rebuild the five-and-a-half mile stretch of the A338 started in September with a contraflow and a reduced speed limit in place.

ए338 बोर्नेमाउथ स्पर रोड डायवर्जन मार्ग पर सड़क निर्माण शुरू होने के कारण मोटर चालकों को यात्रा में और देरी की चेतावनी दी जा रही है।