India state elections: Uttar Pradesh battles apathy

Summary: Vital assembly elections get under way on Wednesday in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which has traditionally seen very low voter turnouts. This time the election authorities are working hard to turn it around. The BBC's Geeta Pandey reports from Pokhraya village in Ramabai Nagar district.

Hundreds of people are watching a cricket match at a college ground on a mellow winter afternoon. The spectators squat around the ground or perch on top of walls and roofs of adjoining buildings. The commentator stirs the crowd as he explains every bowling and batting action. But this is no ordinary game. The match is part of what officials here call the NPL (Nirvachan Premier League) - a take on the hugely popular IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket tournament. Nirvachan means election. 'Youth to booth' The batting team is led by the most senior government official in the area, district magistrate Mayur Maheshwari. "We have seen that, generally, a lot of young voters and a lot of women voters do not vote," Mr Maheshwari told the BBC. "We want to make them aware through sports and culture that it's important to vote. And events like these are aimed at bringing the youth to the [election] booth," he says. During breaks in the match, Mr Maheshwari goes around the field, telling the spectators why they must vote. He quizzes them about the forthcoming elections and the winners get yellow T-shirts as prizes. The cricket match is just one of the events organised by the election authorities to try to motivate voters. Uttar Pradesh is equal to Brazil in population, with more than 200 million people and 126 million eligible voters. But in the last assembly elections, in 2007, the turnout was only 46%. In one constituency, Allahabad city, only 24% of voters cast ballots. The state's chief electoral officer, Umesh Sinha, says he is working to change that. He says voter apathy is higher in urban areas, and that "in some rural areas the turnout has been better, at 55% to 60%". In the capital city, Lucknow, massive posters and hoardings have been hoisted on every street corner, telling people that it is their prime duty as citizens to vote. In villages and towns across the state, marathon races and street theatre have joined the cricket matches to try to attract voters to the booths. Mr Sinha says college students have been involved in a campaign to motivate the neighbourhoods, even kindergarten students have been roped in to tell their parents and other elders at home to vote. "We are telling people to spare just two minutes to vote - to strengthen democracy and to strengthen their country," Mr Sinha says. 'Great responsibility' In the past two years, 17.3 million new voters have been added to the voter list; 5.4 million of them are 18- to 19-year-olds. This is a group the authorities are specifically targeting. "We tell them that when they turn 18, they turn into a very important citizen of the country" Mr Sinha says. "We tell them that their voter identity card is not just a means of getting them a bank account or a driving licence, we tell them that it is a symbol of this great responsibility that the country is giving them. "We tell them that it is not just their right to vote, it's also their duty to vote." The message appears at least to be reaching those on the cricket pitch in Pokhraya. Shubham Bansal, 20, says events like the NPL are useful because "they inform us about the voting process". "It's important to have a fair election. We have to choose our politicians and a new government which will make our future better and brighter. Our future depends on it, so we should go out and vote." Rishabh Gaur, 19, says such events help spread awareness about the importance of elections. He says many people choose not to vote because they think no candidate or party will fulfil their expectations. But on 23 February, when Ramabai Nagar district votes, Rishabh says he will cast his ballot in the morning and "then I will tell all my friends to go and do the same". Such statements are music to the ears of the election officials. "I think people are eager and motivated. And I feel this time voting should set a new milestone and probably there will be a big jump in turnout," Mr Sinha says.

भारत के सबसे अधिक आबादी वाले राज्य उत्तर प्रदेश में बुधवार को महत्वपूर्ण विधानसभा चुनाव शुरू हो रहे हैं, जहां पारंपरिक रूप से बहुत कम मतदान हुआ है। इस बार चुनाव अधिकारी इसे बदलने के लिए कड़ी मेहनत कर रहे हैं। रमाबाई नगर जिले के पोखरया गांव से बीबीसी की गीता पांडे रिपोर्ट करती हैं।


Sian Blake murderer was arrested 'drinking out of a coconut'

Summary: Arthur Simpson-Kent was drinking out of a coconut on the rocky shore of a palm-lined cove in Ghana when he was arrested for the murder of his partner Sian Blake and their two young boys.

By Pippa StephensBBC News, London The former EastEnders actor and her sons were found buried in the garden of their family home in Erith, south-east London, on 5 January. Simpson-Kent's arrest four days later came after locals in the backpacker resort of Busua recognised him as the person they had partied with on New Year's Eve. Seeing his pictures on social media, they tipped off police - while fishermen had also spotted the 48-year-old swimming in the gentle waves among wooden fishing boats. Nearly a month earlier, Simpson-Kent had made the 3,165-mile journey from London to the Ghana's capital, Accra, after he had been questioned by police. His journey to West Africa began when Ms Blake and the couple's children Zachary and Amon - who reportedly adored his father - were reported missing on 16 December. The police questioned the hairdresser on the same day. Simpson-Kent told officers his 43-year-old partner and the children, aged eight and four, had gone to visit a friend in Cambridge. That same day, the actor's sister received a text from Ms Blake's telephone saying she and her children needed to get away for a while - detectives believe Simpson-Kent had already murdered his family at this point and sent the text himself. A successful actor, in addition to EastEnders Ms Blake also had roles in The Bill, Doctors and Skins. The last time she and her two children were seen was on 13 December, when they visited her family in Leyton. And the last time anyone heard from her was the afternoon of 14 December, when she spoke to an acquaintance on the phone. Her body was found next her two sons three weeks later after an extensive police search. Half way around the world, after landing in Accra, Simpson-Kent headed west along a long coastal road lined with stalls and single-storey houses towards Takoradi, a coastal city. He apparently visited his grandmother in Cape Coast, a fishing town, along the way. As the police hunt for Simpson-Kent unfolded, and Ms Blake's family made tearful pleas at home in London for him to return, the killer partied in Busua with the locals. Roger Camden met Ms Blake's killer in a cafe. "We met and had a coffee, he said he was going to relocate here. I just didn't put it all together, even though I had seen his photograph," he said. After identifying him, the owner of a different local cafe in Busua told the local assembly men, who called the police chief. The cafe owner told BBC News "he was carrying a knife, just a knife". Heavily-armed Ghanaian police were led down a small, shaded path through coconut palms to the murderer. Simpson-Kent was reportedly asked to put his hands up and kneel down. He put down the knife he was wielding and a bag he was carrying as police arrested him. Back at home, in the couple's neighbourhood Ms Blake's sister Ava has said Ms Blake had been wanting to end her relationship with Simpson-Kent but that she "hadn't quite made that break or that decision to leave Arthur". She said: "I'm not going to see them grow up. I loved her and I was proud of her as an actress and I just wanted the best for her, and my nephews. "Our brothers, our cousins are angry. They are angry about Sian, but the boys have devastated us. "We have lost a generation. We can never replace them."

आर्थर सिम्पसन-केंट घाना में एक ताड़-पंक्तिबद्ध कोव के चट्टानी तट पर नारियल पी रहे थे, जब उन्हें अपने साथी सियान ब्लेक और उनके दो छोटे लड़कों की हत्या के आरोप में गिरफ्तार किया गया था।


Xander Irvine: Pensioner arrested over fatal crash

Summary: A 91-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the death of a three-year-old boy knocked down and killed in Edinburgh.

Xander Irvine suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by a red Kia car on Morningside Road on 30 June. The toddler's 37-year-old mother, Victoria, was also hurt in the incident but was later released from hospital. Thousands of people lined the streets of Morningside on the day of Xander's funeral. Police Scotland said a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.

एडिनबर्ग में एक तीन वर्षीय लड़के की मौत के मामले में एक 91 वर्षीय महिला को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Islamic State: The women and children no-one wants

Summary: The al-Hol camp in north eastern Syria is an overflowing vessel of anger and unanswered questions. Inside are the lost women and children of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), abandoned by their men, their nightmare caliphate and their governments.

By Quentin SommervilleBBC News Some cling to their hate-fuelled ideology: "We are undefeated!" they scream in your face. Others beg for a way out - a way home. While western governments prevaricate, their children die. Umm Usma, a Moroccan-Belgian woman, clings to a fantasy that she helped the women and children of Syria in her six years here, most of it with IS. The former nurse grabs her niqab with a black-gloved hand, "This is my choice," she says. "In Belgium I couldn't wear my niqab - this is my choice." "Every religion did something wrong," she said. "Show us the good." As she shouts with a group of other black-clad women, a badly burnt child is pushed in a buggy through the mud by his mother. "Look at what they did," her mother shouts, referring to US-backed forces. Al-Hol is a nightmare, a camp that has grown from 11,000 people, to more than 70,000. It is swollen with the dark aftermath of the collapsed pseudo-caliphate. It is ready to burst. Umm Usma says she has no need to apologise for the 2016 IS attack in Brussels in which 32 people - not including the bombers - were killed. In her mind, an attack against her country by the group she joined doesn't need to be answered. She has cloaked herself in victimhood. She believes the West and its air strikes against the last IS hold-out of Baghouz are to blame for their misery. The hate and violence perpetrated by IS are forgotten. This is the jihadist mind-trick, a selective memory that erases any wrongdoing. "I won't talk about what my husband did, I don't know what he did," Umm Usma claims. She has lived under democracy and under IS. She tells me she knows which one is better. "Your mind is closed," she says as she turns her back and walks away. It is only two weeks since Baghouz, the last of IS-governed territory, fell to Kurdish-led forces. The Kurds had taken their time, allowing ceasefire after ceasefire so that women, children and the injured could leave. The coalition warplanes that killed civilians in Mosul and Raqqa, IS's two lost capitals, were more cautious over Baghouz. Infant victims IS used its families as a last line of defence. "In one day, at least 2,000 people were killed," one Iraqi boy, who survived the combat, tells me. "IS parked vehicles among the tents of families. We knew that vehicles were targeted, so we told them to take the vehicles away. But they didn't, and the vehicles exploded." When the fighting was over, Baghouz was cleared of corpses before the media arrived. The men of IS were not just soldiers on a battlefield. They brought with them women, children and extended families. Nour is a victim of their catastrophe. She lies on an examination bed in the camp's Red Crescent clinic. The six-year-old has been shot in the face. That was 15 days ago, and since then she's only been given the barest of medical attention. Her cheeks are swollen and her teeth shattered. The pain appears to be something she's become accustomed to, because she only screams when she's moved. It was a sniper's round that came through the tent in Baghouz. She was hiding out there with her family, part of an army of hardcore believers who stayed with IS to the end. In al-Hol, many of the war wounded are children. Nour's mother, from Turkmenistan, is too sick to stand. She curls on her side, beside Nour, teetering on the edge of the bed. Her IS fighter husband is already dead. Nour's condition needs urgent attention and she is sent to a hospital in the city of Hassakeh. Now the clinic bed is emptied and a new occupant is placed on its black leather surface. But Asma is barely there at all: she's a faint speck of a human being, almost transparent. Too weak to cry much, she looks only days old. She is, in fact, six months old. Her sister, a girl herself, stands above her, eyes cast down. As IS fought to the last, their families starved. Displaced caliphate Some 169 children have died since escaping Baghouz - children who did no wrong. Those that remain are at risk from sickness and disease. And there is a greater danger that Western governments appear to have ignored. They are still in the care of extremist parents, and their malice isn't being countered or re-educated - it is being left to fester. Those that survived IS were brought in open cattle trucks, across the desert in their tens of thousands to al-Hol. The village by the camp is where IS once sold Yazidi women as slaves. Not far from here, hundreds of Kurdish-led forces were killed in a single IS attack. The two-storey school in the village still has the IS flag painted across it. The spring rains and summer sun are fading it to nothing. The campsite is at the village edge: a mini-state, a displaced caliphate, a growing danger that is now larger than the village itself. What remains inside, no-one wants. A few governments have taken people back: Russia, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. The United States has taken back a single woman. The UK has no plan to repatriate fighters or their families. Al-Hol is the camp where Shamima Begum, the teenager from London, was first held and where she learned she had been stripped of her British citizenship. France has taken back a handful of orphans whose parents died fighting for IS. There are degrees of radicalisation, and the immediate aftermath of a war is no place to judge who can be reformed, who can be saved. Toxic ideology The foreign women in the camp are kept separately, under armed guard. Here the ideology is at its most toxic. This is where the true believers are contained. A guard outside points to his bruised head. "They threw rocks at us yesterday," he says. By the entrance, a bag of raw chicken pieces lies tied up in the dirt. Women are pressed up against the chain-link fence, demanding to be let out. They are from everywhere: Brazil, Germany, France, Morocco, Somalia, the list goes on. The western women are wary of speaking inside. They fear being attacked by the more radical women in the camp, if they are seen speaking to a man. If they remove their veils, they are set upon by some of the women. Tents have been burned to the ground in retribution. "The Tunisian and Russian women are the worst," says 19-year-old Leonora Messing from Germany. She points to two large communal tents. "They were last to come out from Baghouz." Messing joined IS at the age of 15, a month after another 15-year-old, Shamima Begum, and her friends fled Britain for Syria. Messing became the third wife of a German extremist who is now, too, in Kurdish custody. The German woman is full of regret, born not only of circumstance, but regret, she says, that long predates the defeat of IS. "I was a half-year in Isis and I asked my father if he can help me to send a smuggler to bring me out. They sent a smuggler but security from Isis, they killed him. And then they catch me also because they find pictures of me on his phone. And then I was locked up first time in prison [in Raqqa] and then a second time in [the village of] Shaafa," she explains. In her arms, she cradles a two-month-old, wrinkle-faced baby, her second child, born in Baghouz as the fighting raged all around them. "I gave birth alone. There was no doctors, no nurses", she says, "I sent my husband out. I sent him. I was crying. You know how woman have faith. I said you search. He said there is nobody. I said GO SEARCH." She still loves her extremist husband and says she will wait for him if he is sent back to Germany to serve a prison sentence. She talks about the death of Shamima Begum's son, who was born in the camp, and died just 20 days later. Both of her own children have been sick, but she says she has reason to believe they will be safe. Our second meeting is cut short. Leonora Messing has an appointment. A convoy of armoured-vehicles, protected by armed men arrives, with Westerners inside. "The German government wants to check on my children," Messing said. How much mercy? Britain's foreign secretary has said it is too dangerous for UK diplomats to travel to Syria, a place where, like Germany, it has no consulates or embassies. There is still no plan to repatriate women and children, many of whose husbands have been killed or stripped of their UK citizenship. As rain clouds swirl and thicken above, two gangly young women march across the muddy ground with purpose, heading straight for my Syrian colleague and me. The camp smells bad, there isn't proper sanitation and the rain isn't helping. One of the pair is carrying, incongruously, a patent leather handbag, with a little diamanté clasp. Through their veils I see what looks like the eyes of teenage girls. "Where are our husbands? When will they be released?" they demand, but without much menace. When my colleague shrugs his shoulders, one of the women says, "ask him," pointing at me with a black-gloved hand. A giggle emerges from under the other black dresses. They may have their answers in the coming days, as Iraq, too, prepares to take back its people. The high-value prisoners will go first and will almost certainly be executed, and their women and children will follow to Iraq. Camps are already being prepared, not very far from al-Hol, on the Iraqi side of the border. That will alleviate pressure at the camp, but it will not solve the enduring question that al-Hol presents the West: how much mercy should be shown to an enemy that offered none? And, what is to become of their women and children now that IS is gone?

उत्तर-पूर्वी सीरिया में अल-होल शिविर गुस्से और अनुत्तरित प्रश्नों का एक भरा हुआ पोत है। अंदर जिहादी समूह इस्लामिक स्टेट (आईएस) की खोई हुई महिलाएं और बच्चे हैं, जिन्हें उनके पुरुषों, उनके दुःस्वप्न खलीफा और उनकी सरकारों द्वारा छोड़ दिया गया है।


Healing Guatemala's emotional scars from the civil war

Summary: The search for justice in Guatemala is continuing, more than 15 years after the end of the country's 36-year civil war. A former guerrilla, who is now a psychologist, tells the BBC of the trauma caused by one of the region's most brutal internal conflicts.

By Paula DearGuatemala City The story of Maria Tulia Lopez Perez and her family seems almost impossibly extreme, including as it does the worst hardships of social inequality, division and conflict. But it is real. And it is a story she hears daily in her work as a psychologist with the government's programme set up to compensate civil war victims and their families. For the past three years, Maria, who still suffers chronic back pain from the torture she endured in 1985, has carefully recorded her patients' accounts of physical and emotional pain. Murder, disappearance, torture, rape, displacement and forced recruitment into the armed forces were the experiences of many victims. At least 200,000 people were killed during the war, with the indigenous Maya population bearing the brunt of atrocities. Maria's clients come to her suffering from depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress. Alcoholism is common, and many are also in physical pain from the torture they suffered. Maria, 56, says her job helps her to remember she is not alone. "This work, this is where my struggle is today," she says. Maria's own father and brother were kidnapped and disappeared nearly 27 years ago. She had no contact with her mother for 16 years during the war. As a nurse for a guerrilla group, she saw people killed, maimed and traumatised. Revolution Her involvement with the rebels began in 1978, when she was a young trainee teacher in her home municipality of Malacatan, in western Guatemala. A Spanish priest recruited her to the Revolutionary Organisation of Armed People (ORPA). "It wasn't rare that a priest should be involved. He said a large revolutionary movement was building and he was part of it," Maria says. "When he eventually asked us, we were excited to join. I had for a long time been thinking about how we could change things. "We grew up barefoot. Six of my younger siblings died of hunger. We were always afraid of death," said Maria. "I wasn't scared when I joined ORPA, but what troubled me was that I hadn't finished my degree yet. I asked the priest how long he thought we would be fighting and he said three or four years." It would be another 20 years before she finally qualified as a teacher. Maria and a fellow rebel pretended to be married and rented a small house where they could treat wounded guerrillas. She drove alone into the mountains to retrieve the injured. "I told the neighbours I sold at the market, to explain why I always had so much stuff," she says. She recalls one injured rebel, Pedro. Other fighters had had to amputate one of his arms with a knife. He had been blinded by an explosion, and had lost two fingers from an infection on his remaining hand. "I washed out the wound but found it full of worms. I sterilised my own tweezers and started removing them but there were so many. "I called my friend, whose brother was a doctor, and invented a story to get advice. He told me to boil basil in water. I dripped it into the wound and all the worms started crawling out." She nursed Pedro back to health, but he remained blind. "He had left a wife and children behind to go and fight, but he never returned to them because he was worried they'd be afraid of his physical state," said Maria. Soldier brothers In 1985, Maria was captured by members of the government's military intelligence unit, beaten and interrogated for 22 days before being released. Shortly afterwards, her father and brother were kidnapped and disappeared. Two of her other brothers were forcibly recruited to the Guatemalan military - a common tactic used by government forces during the war. "I have still never discussed where I was during the war with my family. I would like to, but now I have two ex-soldiers in my family." The conflict was terrible for her mother, Maria says. "When I returned she almost fainted. It was like a whole new trauma for her. She thought my father and brother would reappear with me, but they did not." Earlier this year a judge ruled that ex-Guatemalan military leader Gen Efrain Rios Montt would be tried for genocide and crimes against humanity. Gen Rios Montt, 85, was in power from 1982-1983 when some of the worst civil war atrocities occurred, but has denied ordering massacres. With such a painful recent history for Guatemala, can victims of the conflict ever feel that justice has been done? "Judicial justice is the best form of compensation for victims, much better than money or anything else," says Maria, but she says too few people have been tried. Funding for the programme Maria works for has been secured for another year by the new government. But she says in post-war Guatemala there has not been enough focus on healing people's psychological wounds. "We must liberate the victims from all this weight they are carrying which stops them from living normal lives."

ग्वाटेमाला में न्याय की खोज जारी है, देश के 36 साल के गृहयुद्ध की समाप्ति के 15 साल से अधिक समय बाद। एक पूर्व गुरिल्ला, जो अब एक मनोवैज्ञानिक है, बीबीसी को इस क्षेत्र के सबसे क्रूर आंतरिक संघर्षों में से एक के कारण हुए आघात के बारे में बताता है।


Two Italy 'Ndrangheta mafia bosses found in bunker

Summary: Police in the far south of Italy have arrested two top fugitives - 'Ndrangheta mafia bosses who were hiding in a camouflaged bunker.

Giuseppe Ferraro, 47, had been on the run since 1998, and Giuseppe Crea, 37, since 2006. Vegetation concealed their mountain hideout in Reggio Calabria. Various weapons were seized in the small bunker, which also had cooking equipment and electricity. The convicted pair have been linked to gangland murders and other crimes. The police raid took place near the town of Maropati. The 'Ndrangheta controls much of the world's cocaine trade. Last year Italian police seized several billion euros' worth of 'Ndrangheta assets. The pair were "living like animals... cut off from society", according to prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho, quoted by the AFP news agency. But they were still controlling other gang members from the bunker, he said.

इटली के सुदूर दक्षिण में पुलिस ने दो शीर्ष भगोड़ों को गिरफ्तार किया है-'नद्रंगेटा माफिया मालिक जो एक छिपी हुई बंकर में छिपे हुए थे।


Cardiff City exhibition marks 90 years since FA Cup triumph

Summary: An exhibition celebrating 90 years since Cardiff City won the FA Cup final against Arsenal has gone on display at the city's Old Library.

The club's 1927 victory marked the only time England's showpiece football trophy has been out of the country. Memorabilia on display include the medal belonging to captain Fred Keenor, match day shirts and a replica trophy. Councillor Peter Bradbury said the achievement was "something the whole of Wales should be proud of".

कार्डिफ सिटी द्वारा आर्सेनल के खिलाफ एफ. ए. कप फाइनल जीतने के 90 साल पूरे होने का जश्न मनाते हुए एक प्रदर्शनी शहर के पुराने पुस्तकालय में प्रदर्शित की गई है।


Two men arrested on suspicion of rape in Canterbury

Summary: Two men have been arrested after a woman was raped in a residential street in Canterbury.

Kent Police was called out at 03:00 BST on Sunday but the attack was carried out earlier in the evening in Church Street Saint Paul's, the force said. The suspects, aged 25 and 28, were both apprehended on suspicion of rape. They remain in custody as inquiries continue. Police were still at the scene on Sunday afternoon.

कैंटरबरी में एक आवासीय सड़क पर एक महिला के साथ बलात्कार के बाद दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Noble's Hospital stroke unit re-opens

Summary: The stroke unit at Noble's Hospital has been re-opened, the Manx Department of Health has confirmed.

The unit was closed on 23 December because of staff illness, and patients transferred to other wards in the hospital. It was reopened on Wednesday and all patients returned to the ward. Health minister David Anderson said: "I would like to reassure the public that patients have not suffered as a consequence of the brief closure." He added: "I am grateful for the staff's efforts in making sure we have been able to reopen so quickly."

मैनक्स स्वास्थ्य विभाग ने पुष्टि की है कि नोबल अस्पताल में स्ट्रोक इकाई को फिर से खोल दिया गया है।


Carmarthenshire: Teen cyclist seriously injured in crash with car

Summary: A 15-year-old cyclist has been seriously injured after a crash with a car.

The boy was airlifted to hospital after being hit by a blue Audi at Capel Hendre near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Dyfed-Powys Police said. Emergency service crews were called to the scene at around 20:35 GMT on Sunday. Officers have issued an appeal for any witnesses who were travelling through the area at the time. Related Internet Links Dyfed-Powys Police

कार से टकराने के बाद एक 15 वर्षीय साइकिल चालक गंभीर रूप से घायल हो गया है।


Ukraine crisis: Oligarchs are Yanukovych's weakest link

Summary: As Ukraine slides further toward catastrophe, its rich and mighty could play a key role to prevent further loss of life and put the country on the path to normalisation. Ukrainian oligarchs, who control great swathes of the country's economy and some 80-odd MPs from the ruling Party of Regions, could, counter-intuitively, become part of the solution.

By Orysia LutsevychResearch fellow, Chatham House In Ukraine the fusion of business and politics is more the rule than the exception. Holding high legislative and executive office provides access to a patronage system, protection for business, access to public finance, and immunity from prosecution. For example, Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, the main financial backer of the regime and a long-standing ally of President Viktor Yanukovych, was, until recently, a member of parliament. These privileges can yield substantial benefits. Forbes.ua (the Ukrainian edition of the Forbes financial magazine) reports that Mr Akhmetov's businesses obtained 31% of all state tenders in January 2014. Mr Yanukovych's son tops even this, having "won" 50% of state contracts in the same period. Mr Akhmetov controls a group of around 50 MPs in parliament. Mr Akhmetov has issued two statements condemning the violence and went out in his hometown of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine to talk to protesters outside his house. Meanwhile in London, protesters regularly rally near his luxury apartment at One Hyde Park Corner, the most expensive real estate in the city, in protest over his support for the authoritarian regime. But Mr Akhmetov, despite a shaky history with Mr Yanukovych, is currently sticking with the president. Other powerful business moguls inside the Party of Regions include Vadim Novinsky, the third-richest man in Ukraine, and Serhiy Tigipko, a former presidential candidate and minister of labour. As the violence took a new vicious circle this week, Mr Tigipko called for a new technocratic government to manoeuvre Ukraine out of the edge of economic and political default, and for international mediation of the crisis. Finally, the so-called "Firtash group" in the parliament is led by gas magnate Dmytro Firtash and Vice-Prime Minister Igor Boyko. It includes around 30 MPs. A close ally of Mr Firtash, Serhiy Liovochkin, has resigned as Head of the Presidential Administration but remains an advisor to Mr Yanukovych. With the rising death toll this week, the gas magnate sent out a statement calling for peace, for the first time since the crisis. Statements such as these are not enough to stop the bloodshed. Business groupings have hitherto shied away from taking responsibility and using their considerable influence in parliament to force a resolution. Achilles' heel This partly explains the escalation on the streets of Kiev this week, as parliament failed to vote in changes to the constitution. Such a move would have limited the powers of the president and paved the way for elections. The protesters thus lost hope for a viable solution from the main legislative chamber. The business clans are the Achilles' heels of the regime. With smart sanctions, targeting financial assets and judicious visa bans, including on members of the Yanukovych family, the West could help to break the status quo in Ukraine. Big businesses need access to European markets. Further instability will devalue their assets. Cutting off European oxygen would mean that the cost of doing business under a Yanukovych presidency would be too high. This is the main leverage that the EU and the US have. If Mr Yanukovych fails to compromise, even under the pressure of sanctions, the business groups will still have a choice. But if they are hesitant, the EU and the US can help. Under the pressure of sanctions, the business groups have enough members of parliament to form a new majority with the opposition and a smattering of independent MPs. Fissures in the ruling Party of Regions have already started, with perhaps seven MPs leaving the faction and calling others to follow. If the oligarchs continue to hedge their bets, it will probably be their undoing - as the regime collapses with or without them.

जैसे-जैसे यूक्रेन तबाही की ओर बढ़ रहा है, उसके अमीर और शक्तिशाली लोग जानमाल के नुकसान को रोकने और देश को सामान्यीकरण के रास्ते पर लाने में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभा सकते हैं। यूक्रेनी कुलीन वर्ग, जो देश की अर्थव्यवस्था के बड़े हिस्से को नियंत्रित करते हैं और सत्तारूढ़ पार्टी ऑफ रीजन के कुछ 80-विषम सांसद, स्वाभाविक रूप से, समाधान का हिस्सा बन सकते हैं।


Canada's Project Naming: Identifying the unidentified

Summary: A photo identifying effort by Canada's national archives that started in the country's remote north is helping name indigenous Canadians in archival images - and bringing the country a step closer to reconciliation by correcting historical wrongs.

By Jessica MurphyBBC News, Toronto Janet Brewster did not expect to see a baby photo of her mother in a press release. But there she was, Ms Brewster was sure of it, her mother Betty's chubby arms resting on her older sister's back, eyes looking directly at the camera. "It was the eyes, eyebrows and hair that really struck me and I thought 'Oh my gosh, that has to be my mom,' because it looked so much like my youngest son," she says. Ms Brewster emailed the image to her mother, now 69, who confirmed it was indeed her as a child, along with Ms Brewster's aunt Bella, their two brothers and a third, still unnamed, boy. The image of the siblings, a snapshot taken when the family was living in a remote Hudson's Bay Company trading post and spent many of their days together, was being used by Library and Archives Canada to promote Project Naming, an initiative to help communities identify indigenous Canadians captured in photos in the archive's extensive collection. That coincidence eventually led Betty Brewster to identifying a handful of other previously anonymous Inuit people in digitised images at the national archives, and other images of her and Bella, now 78. "It started with that first photograph," Ms Brewster says. Project Naming was first launched as a small one-off project with the goal of identifying Inuit people from the territory of Nunavut who had been photographed by Canadian government bureaucrats and employees working in the far north from the late 1800s to the mid-20th century. The images rarely made their way back to the remote communities, but eventually ended up in the national archives, a repository responsible for collecting all significant government records in need of preservation. As was convention at the time, many of the white people in the images were named for the record. The indigenous subjects were not. "Most photos were described as being native, native-type, half-breed, Eskimo, or simply ignored in the photographs," says Beth Greenhorn, who has been heading the project for the archives since 2003. "Terminology has changed and, because we are dealing with historical records that were created decades ago, I find it a bit painful to go through." Updating the official record and terminology is one part of the project. The other is helping youth connect with their community elders to better understand their past. Ms Brewster says most of her family now knows the names of the children in the old images. Like family photos do, the images spurred a conversation about what their lives were like and where they were living. Among the stories they shared with their family were Betty Brewster's time as an interpreter-translator for the Nunavut land claims agreement that led to the creation of Canada's newest territory. "When you talk about reconciliation and about moving forward as a country and as indigenous people, Inuit people living in this country, naming people in those historic photographs is so important," Ms Brewster says. "When you acknowledge people have names, it lends more credence to their life experience." The project was inspired by Murray Angus, who oversaw a college programme for Inuit youth that brought them to the Canadian capital of Ottawa to study Inuit history, land claims, culture and language. In the early days of the project, the pictures were transferred onto CDs and brought north by the students to be shared at community gatherings and to visits to elders for identification. The project now uses social media outreach on Twitter and Facebook, where people can share the photos and offer clues. Ms Greenhorn says it gives her "goosebumps" when she sees someone recognise a family member or even a photograph of their much younger selves in the images. "It is this very elemental human reaction that it just drives the project forward," she says. Images, now posted weekly, showcase the austere beauty of Canada's Arctic regions and its people, and glimpses into the past lives of ndigenous Canadians across what was a largely rural nation. They also portray some of the darker parts of Canada's relationship with its indigenous people, including photos of children in the residential school system, which removed them from their homes and aimed to eliminate their culture. The project is now entering its 15th year and has been expanded to include anonymous photographs from First Nations, Metis and Inuit people across Canada and all its northern territories. Since the project's launch in 2002, about 10,000 images have been digitised. More than 2,500 people, places, and activities they are participating in have been identified. Ms Greenhorn admits the number does not seem high but believes that each person named counts. "Some of these portraits are so beautiful and they represent a life that was lived, someone that's contributed to their community that had a family and to not have a name for them is sad," she says. "So when you do make a connection, when you get a name and add it to the record it's exciting and you think OK - there's one more done."

कनाडा के राष्ट्रीय अभिलेखागार द्वारा देश के सुदूर उत्तर में शुरू की गई एक तस्वीर पहचानने का प्रयास अभिलेखीय छवियों में स्वदेशी कनाडाई लोगों के नाम रखने में मदद कर रहा है-और ऐतिहासिक गलतियों को सुधारकर देश को सुलह के एक कदम करीब ला रहा है।


Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson charges: CPS statement

Summary: Ex-Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson and ex-News International executive Rebekah Brooks have been charged in connection with payments to police and public officials. This is the full CPS statement made by Alison Levitt QC, Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

"This statement is made in the interests of transparency and accountability to explain the decisions reached in respect of allegations arising from Operation Elveden into allegations of unlawful payment by News International staff to public officials. "This announcement relates to two files of evidence received from the Metropolitan Police Service. The two files were received on 30 August 2012 and are: "The first of these two files relates to: "We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Clive Goodman and Andy Coulson should be charged with two conspiracies. "The allegations relate to the request and authorisation of payments to public officials in exchange for information, including a Palace phone directory known as the "Green Book" containing contact details for the Royal Family and members of the household. "The second of these two files relates to: "We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Bettina Jordan-Barber, John Kay and Rebekah Brooks should be charged with a conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office between 1 January 2004 and 31 January 2012. "This conspiracy relates to information allegedly provided by Bettina Jordan-Barber for payment which formed the basis of a series of news stories published by The Sun. It is alleged that approximately £100,000 was paid to Bettina Jordan Barber between 2004 and 2011. "All of these matters were considered carefully in accordance with the DPP's guidelines on the public interest in cases affecting the media. This guidance asks prosecutors to consider whether the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the overall criminality before bringing criminal proceedings. "Following charge, these individuals will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on a date to be determined. "May I remind all concerned that these five individuals now will be charged with criminal offences and that each has a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons it would be inappropriate for me to comment further." The full charges are as follows: Andy Coulson & Clive Goodman: Charge 1 Clive Goodman and Andrew Coulson, between 31 August 2002 and 31 January 2003, conspired together and with a person or persons unknown to commit misconduct in public office. Contrary to s.1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 Charge 2 Clive Goodman and Andrew Coulson, between 31 January 2005 and 3 June 2005, conspired together and with a person or persons unknown to commit misconduct in public office. Contrary to s.1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 Bettina Jordan-Barber, John Kay & Rebekah Brooks: Charge 1 Bettina Jordan-Barber, John Kay and Rebekah Brooks, between 1 January 2004 and 31 January 2012, conspired together, and with others, to commit misconduct in public office. Contrary to s.1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977

डाउनिंग स्ट्रीट के पूर्व संचार प्रमुख एंडी कौलसन और न्यूज इंटरनेशनल की पूर्व कार्यकारी रेबेका ब्रूक्स पर पुलिस और सार्वजनिक अधिकारियों को भुगतान के संबंध में आरोप लगाया गया है। यह लोक अभियोजन निदेशक के प्रधान कानूनी सलाहकार एलिसन लेविट क्यूसी द्वारा दिया गया पूरा सी. पी. एस. बयान है।


Driver hits Grimethorpe roundabout and 25 parked cars

Summary: An 18-year-old man is in a critical condition after he crashed his car into a roundabout and then ploughed into 25 parked vehicles in South Yorkshire.

The man was driving a Vauxhall Corsa car on Thursday evening when it crashed at speed into the roundabout on Park Springs Road in Grimethorpe. Police said the driver then crashed into the car park of a nearby warehouse and damaged 25 other parked vehicles. The driver of the Corsa suffered life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers said the man whose identity has not been released by police was in a critical, but stable condition. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.

दक्षिण यॉर्कशायर में एक 18 वर्षीय व्यक्ति ने अपनी कार को एक गोल चक्कर में टक्कर मार दी और फिर खड़े 25 वाहनों को कुचल दिया, जिसकी हालत गंभीर है।


My Olympics: Jade Jones's mum on seeing her strike gold

Summary: In the third of our My Olympics series, Jade Jones's mother, Jayne Ferguson, describes how she and other relatives watched her daughter clinch a stunning victory to win a taekwondo gold at London 2012.

"We bought the tickets a while ago - before we knew she was in it - and we went down on the Wednesday, the day before. It was amazing. We went to Team GB House when we got there. It was really exciting just being there. We were allowed to go and see Jade for an hour. We were nervous and we expected her to be nervous. But she was laughing and joking. When we left, she just said, 'right,' then she gave me a kiss and a look, as if to say 'I mean business'. I was crying. I'd been crying for weeks up until that point because I know how much she wants it and how hard she's worked. It was just out of my control. I just wanted it for her. I didn't sleep much that night, I was tossing and turning. We got up at 5 o'clock the next day because we had to get the train in to the ExCel Centre. We got there for about 07:30 because we didn't know what the queues were going to be like. We just felt sick with nerves, wondering what the day was going to bring. Her first fight was 10:30. I couldn't really concentrate until then. The centre was massive. All the seats quickly filled up. It was dark and there was just the light on the ring. You could feel all the excitement round the arena. Everyone was clapping and stamping their feet. As soon as Jade's name was mentioned the place was up. It was lovely. There was uproar when she came out. It was deafening. Everyone was screaming, shouting, clapping, waving their banners. We were in the centre, eight rows up, so very close. We were in different seats for every fight but they were quite good seats. When she came out she was so so focussed. She didn't look at anyone, just stared straight ahead. You could see it in her eyes. I was a nervous wreck, shaking and sweating and willing her to do well. She went through 15-1. We couldn't believe it. We were on a high then, and then realised we had to do it all again. We just went and had a drink. We were just waiting. We knew what she could do. We just hoped nerves didn't overtake her. But as soon as we saw the first fight we knew she was on her game. We were just willing her to get through each fight. She wasn't showing any emotion until she got into the final. 'Tears of happiness' She had lost to Yuzhuo Hou in the world championships by one point, and Jade was gutted for ages. Then she fought her again and beat her, so we knew she could win. We knew she wouldn't let her take this one away from her. I was petrified. It was surreal. I was watching the clock going down, thinking 'please, please please'. Then the bell went and my legs nearly went from beneath me. I was just so happy for her, she'd dreamt of that for ages. My little girl's dream had come true. I was crying my heart out - tears of happiness. Somebody actually turned round and took a photo of me and said 'I don't think I've ever seen anybody so happy.' I've watched it about a million times. I've got the whole day on tape. I've always been so proud of her. She's just amazing - not just at taekwondo, she's an amazing girl as well, so lovely. I said to her the day before the fight, 'I can't get any prouder of you than I am already'. 'Such a high' We had to wait for a bit. They did let us go in and see her, so I just gave her the biggest hug ever. She had to go off then for drugs tests, so we couldn't see her until the next day properly. She was beaming. We didn't get that much sleep that night either. We were on such a high. The next day she had to do all the media stuff. It was about 12 o'clock when we got to see her. We had an hour with her, then she had to go off and do more media stuff. Jade says she hasn't had a minute to herself. It will be lovely to have her home, just for her to chill and relax, because she's worked so hard. The kids in Flint can look up to her and think that if they do set their minds to something and work really hard then dreams can come true. On Thursday, Monmouth MP David Davies describes how his experience as a special constable with British Transport Police during the Olympics left him "absolutely buzzing".

हमारी माई ओलंपिक श्रृंखला के तीसरे में, जेड जोन्स की माँ, जेन फर्ग्यूसन, वर्णन करती हैं कि कैसे उन्होंने और अन्य रिश्तेदारों ने अपनी बेटी को लंदन 2012 में ताइक्वांडो स्वर्ण जीतने के लिए एक आश्चर्यजनक जीत हासिल करते देखा।


Afghanistan: Where the road to peace is harder than war

Summary: "Peace is more difficult than war," the Taliban's lead negotiator, Abbas Stanikzai, told me during an interview back in February.

By Secunder KermaniBBC News By then, representatives of the militant group had already held a number of rounds of discussions with US officials in Qatar, aimed at bringing an end to the 18 year-long conflict. Those talks were seemingly brought to an abrupt and unexpected end in September by US President Donald Trump, just as an agreement was about to be signed. Mr Trump questioned the Taliban's commitment to peace after they launched an attack that killed 12 people, including an American soldier, as initial details of the proposals were being released. Taliban officials were shocked by the decision, countering that US forces had also been carrying out attacks as talks had been going on. Some welcomed the move, warning that President Trump's repeatedly stated desire to cut costs and bring the roughly 13,000 US troops home risked handing Afghanistan back to the Taliban - leaving stranded those who had struggled to improve women's rights, create a free press, and build a nascent democracy. Nine former US ambassadors to Afghanistan wrote a statement warning of the risk of "total civil war" if troops were withdrawn before a final peace deal. Others warned that a rare opportunity to help bring an end to the violence was being missed. Former senior US diplomat Robin Raphel was one of a small number of figures who played a crucial role in facilitating the start of the discussions, and told the BBC it was a "terrible mistake" not to sign the deal. Ms Raphel and other analysts believe the US could have avoided years of conflict by talking to the Taliban shortly after overthrowing them in 2001: "We should have reached out to the Taliban after we ran them out of Kabul." What's the situation now? In the past few weeks, the talks have restarted. Both sides seem to acknowledge that a negotiated settlement is the only solution to ending the war, but what exactly that will look like is still the focus of discussion. Sohail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told the BBC the latest round of discussions continued to focus on the existing agreement which he said had already been "finalised" prior to President Trump's suspension of the talks. Afghan government officials have been pressing for some form of ceasefire to be included in a revised deal, as what Habiba Sarabi, a deputy chair of the High Peace Council, described as a "trust-building exercise" designed to prove the Taliban retain control of their fighters on the ground. One proposal understood to have been made by the US is some form of a ceasefire for a 10-day period around the signing of an agreement with the Taliban, which could then also set a positive tone for the start of separate talks between the group and other Afghan political figures. Neither the proposal nor the Taliban's reaction to it have been public. One senior member of the group said they recognised the need to create a "conducive" atmosphere for peace talks but would not elaborate further. Another source suggested the Taliban was prepared to offer a "very short" universal ceasefire, and a longer ceasefire between the militants and US forces, but which wouldn't include Afghan forces. The source added Western and Afghan officials wanted the Taliban to agree to a longer pause in fighting with government forces. There have been suggestions that an agreement is imminent, but such predictions have been proved wrong in past. Meanwhile, the bloodshed continues. According to the United Nations, more than 2,500 civilians were killed in the first nine months of this year. Many say they feel caught in the middle of the conflict. At a hospital in Kandahar province earlier this year, one man tearfully gestured to his baby nephew who had suffered third degree burns after their village was attacked and asked: "Who will take responsibility for this crime? The Taliban or the government? On the Day of Judgement, which of them will dare confess to this?" Nevertheless, the fact the two warring parties continue to sit across the table from each other is, in the wider context of America's longest war, something of an achievement. Whilst the Taliban control or contest a significant portion of territory, they have not been able to seize and hold any urban centre. Neither side looks capable of an outright military victory and they both appear to know it. Concern has been expressed US troops might be withdrawn even without a deal in place. American officials have said the number of troops could be reduced by around 5,000 without affecting operational capabilities, but former diplomat Robin Raphel told the BBC that "any effort to remove the rest of the troops without a deal would meet with a lot of resistance". How did Afghanistan get here? The peace process was kick-started by two major developments in the summer of 2018. The first was an unprecedented ceasefire during the Muslim festival of Eid ul Fitr. Taliban fighters streamed into cities, savouring ice cream and posing for selfies with members of the security forces. Although fighting resumed immediately afterwards, it was a brief opportunity for both sides to see their enemies in a new light - as fellow countrymen rather than adversaries. The other was the decision by the US to drop its condition that the Taliban must first negotiate with the Afghan government, rather than American officials. The Taliban had consistently resisted this, dismissing the "Kabul administration", as they describe them, as "puppets". Kai Eide, a former UN special envoy to Afghanistan, told the BBC the change in US policy was a "breakthrough". It led to a series of rounds of discussions between the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban in Doha, where the group's political office is based. But the Afghan government was clearly unhappy at their exclusion, and there seemed a fundamental disagreement in the talks. The Taliban insisted negotiations revolve solely around their primary demand: a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. In exchange they vowed not to allow international jihadist groups to operate in the country - a significant promise given the US rationale for overthrowing the Taliban was that they had hosted Al Qaeda. But the Americans, perhaps wary of accusations they were abandoning their ally Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, initially insisted any deal would also incorporate "a comprehensive ceasefire", and the start of talks with the Afghan officials. The Taliban said these issues would have to be dealt with after an agreement on troop withdrawal. Again, it seemed the Americans were the ones forced to compromise. What do the Taliban want? Full details of the deal that was on the brink of being signed have not been made public. But from the outlines described by Mr Khalilzad, it involved the withdrawal of 5,400 US troops over 11 months, with some kind of reduction in violence in the areas they pull out from. The Taliban would only agree that after the deal was signed, they would begin talks with a delegation of Afghan figures on the country's future, including, but not limited to, government representatives. A ceasefire, the primary goal of most Afghans, would have been the first item of discussion of those talks, but there was no guarantee one would be declared. It was not clear if a further US troop withdrawal would explicitly depend on a ceasefire being agreed. Taliban figures have in the past acknowledged their reluctance to agree to a pause in the fighting until all their aims are achieved, concerned that it might be difficult to motivate their foot soldiers to pick up arms having laid them down. One Taliban source insisted if the original agreement were to be signed, it would reduce violence by 70-80% in the country, but he declined to name the specific terms in the agreement which would lead to that. Another attack by the Taliban close to the large American military base in Bagram during the latest resumed round of talks again led the US to question the Taliban's commitment to peace and the ability of the political office to speak for fighters on the ground. The Taliban political office's spokesman, Sohail Shaheen, retorted that they could "ask the same question from the other side," referring to continued US attacks on Taliban targets during the discussions. Other commentators say that in private the Taliban political leadership have at times expressed frustration with the timing of some of the bombings. The addition to the negotiating team of Anas Haqqani, brother of a deputy leader of the Taliban, Sirajuddin, who heads the powerful Haqqani Network faction, is seen by some analysts as further bolstering the links between the Taliban's political and military commands. Anas Haqqani was released by the Afghan government in a high-profile prisoner swap last month and flown to Doha. But despite predictions by Afghan officials that hardline elements of the Taliban, angered by the peace talks, would split off en masse to join the Islamic State, the Taliban, outwardly at least, have remained unified, boosted perhaps by the knowledge that President Trump clearly wants to begin to withdraw his forces ahead of next year's election. Time, as they are fond of saying, is on their side. What about the election? Complicating the picture within Afghanistan is the dispute over the country's own presidential election. On Sunday, three months after the vote, preliminary results were announced, with incumbent President Ashraf Ghani set to be re-elected. However, his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah is alleging fraud. Former UN Special Envoy Kai Eide told the BBC it was vital a stable government emerged at this "critical stage" as a lengthy, and potentially violent dispute would be "the worst possible background for real [peace] talks". Mr Ghani had hoped the elections would give him a strong, clear mandate, which he could use as leverage in any discussions with the Taliban after they reached a deal with the US. A low turnout and contested results make that more difficult. Those talks, between the Taliban and other Afghans about the future system of governance in the country, will be an even bigger challenge than the negotiations with the US. One leading Afghan official who met representatives of the group earlier this year told me he believed they favoured a theocracy along the lines of the system in Iran. For some Afghans, weary of the bloodshed, and disillusioned with what the last two decades have delivered, that would be a price worth paying for peace. For others, it would mean all the sacrifices made during those years were in vain. Similarly for the Taliban, whose fighters have been struggling to re-establish an "Islamic Emirate," how easy would it be to transform into a purely political group working within a democratic system? Their leaders are wary of the example of another Afghan Islamist figure, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who laid down arms in 2017 but has struggled to remain politically relevant. In many ways it seems true peace, or the path to it, is more difficult than war.

तालिबान के प्रमुख वार्ताकार अब्बास स्टैनिकजई ने फरवरी में एक साक्षात्कार के दौरान मुझे बताया, "शांति युद्ध से अधिक कठिन है।"


Ivory Coast hopes to squeeze the profits from palm oil

Summary: The palm oil industry originated in West Africa but is now dominated by massive plantations in South-East Asia. The BBC's Tamasin Ford reports that Ivory Coast, and other African countries, are trying to take the lucrative business back home to tap into its profits.

An hour's drive to the west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast's skyscraper-filled commercial capital, palm trees dominate the landscape; thousands upon thousands of them in neat orderly rows. People have renamed the long, sweeping highway "Plantation Road". Most of the land belongs to PALMCI, a subsidiary of SIFCA Group, an Ivorian company involved in palm oil, sugar and rubber production across West Africa. But, as in Nigeria and Ghana, it is the smallholders in Ivory Coast, like Desire-Jacques Porquet, who produce most of the country's palm oil. "Palm oil is important because it supports two million people [in Ivory Coast]," Mr Porquet says as he turns off the smooth, tarred highway and drives deep into the bush along a winding, dusty track. "Farmers, producers, workers… and they use the fruit for food," he adds. Mr Porquet owns 200 hectares of land; 100 for rubber trees, 50 for palm oil and the remaining 50 he leaves as natural forest. The young farmer inherited the land from his father, who was inspired to start farming by Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast's first president. In the 1960s and 1970s, Mr Houphouet-Boigny encouraged Ivorians to turn to the land, creating laws to make it easy to cut down the forests. Agriculture became the driving force behind the country's economic boom but it also depleted the rainforest; less than 4% of virgin forest remains in Ivory Coast. Crushing one of the nuts between his fingers until they become stained with the crude orange oil, Mr Porquet says with a smile: "This is the money." 'African resource' In fact, palm oil is a multi-billion dollar industry. The nuts, clustered together under the big green fronds of the palm trees, produce the world's most consumed cooking oil. Almost every major food manufacturer uses it in their products. It is cheap. Unlike most other oils, the palm fruit produces mostly oil so there is little waste. And it is versatile; it is used in soaps, detergents and, increasingly, in biofuels. Palm trees are also prized for the wine they produce, which used in traditional ceremonies across West Africa. But demand for the lucrative oil across the world is increasing and land in the main exporting countries of Malaysia and Indonesia is quickly running out. So companies are now looking to the hot, humid countries along the Equator in West Africa where, in fact, palm oil comes from. "It's normal for African people to plant because that's the resource we have," says Mr Porquet as he points to the crop of new young trees on his plantation. He will have to wait another five years before they start bearing any fruit but each tree has a life expectancy of around 25 years. "In the European Union and America you sell cars, you sell manufactured products. In Africa we have oil palm, we have rubber, we have sugar and we have diamonds. That's what we sell," he says. Ivory Coast, home to Africa's largest oil palm refinery, is planning to double production by 2020. Keeping forests SIFCA Group, which owns the refinery, is spending more than $400 million (£256m) in the next five years on plantations and factories in Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria - currently the continent's biggest exporter. Over the last few years Malaysia's Sime Darby and Singapore's Golden Agri-Resources Ltd, the two leading palm oil producers in the world, have scooped up more than 500,000 hectares of land in neighbouring Liberia. Across West and Central Africa, hundreds of thousands of hectares have been identified for other expansions. All eyes are on Africa, the new frontier for palm oil. But this expansion has not arrived without problems. In June, Abidjan held Africa's first palm oil congress; its main objective being to change the image of palm oil. It is synonymous with words like deforestation, "land grabbing" and the thick smog that spread across parts of South-East Asia in June. Mr Porquet, however, insists they do things differently here. "In Africa we keep the forests - not in Malaysia or Indonesia," he says. That is certainly true of Mr Porquet's plantation, but that's not the case everywhere. For example in Liberia, where plantations are more than a hundred times the size of this one, companies have been accused of not keeping any free land. It has meant there is little space for villagers to farm and grow crops for themselves, raising the issue of food security. Mr Porquet says he has built a special village in the centre of his plantation for his 80-strong workforce. They each get paid $2 a day, pretty standard in Ivory Coast for this kind of work but still barely enough to feed, clothe and send their children to school. "The biggest problem of oil palm is the price," Mr Porquet says defensively, insisting he cannot afford to pay the workers more. Mr Porquet wants African governments to provide subsidies for palm oil. This, he says, would mean they could start paying workers more, as well as helping them compete with the Malaysian and Indonesian giants who rule the industry. At the moment the price is set in South-East Asia but the hope is that will change once production is increased across Africa. "For me, that's important," he says. "We need a local market so we can fix the price in Africa."

पाम तेल उद्योग की उत्पत्ति पश्चिम अफ्रीका में हुई थी, लेकिन अब दक्षिण-पूर्व एशिया में बड़े पैमाने पर बागानों का वर्चस्व है। बीबीसी के तामासिन फोर्ड ने बताया कि आइवरी कोस्ट और अन्य अफ्रीकी देश अपने मुनाफे का दोहन करने के लिए आकर्षक व्यवसाय को घर वापस ले जाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं।


Keith Morris guilty of Kenya 'holiday' child rape charges

Summary: A man has been found guilty of raping two girls in Kenya.

Keith Morris, 72, from Hull, carried out the crimes while on holiday in a remote village between 2016 and 2017, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. He denied 13 charges including rape and sexual assault but was convicted following a trial at Leeds Crown Court. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he befriended the young victims' families over the past 20 years, giving them money and gifts. Morris, a retired locksmith of New Bridge Road, also financially sponsored several of the families, providing household goods, clothing, medical treatment and paying for their children's education, the CPS said. He would take groups of children out of the village for day trips and would buy them sweets, make-up, meals out and often invited them to stay in his hotel rooms. The NCA said it was during these trips he had abused the children. 'Retraction statements' An investigation was launched after a hotel guest raised concerns, the CPS said. He was arrested in February 2017 and during a search of his home, officers said they found a Dictaphone containing audio recordings of phone conversations in which he had asked his victims "to sign retraction statements stating the sexual abuse had not occurred". He also transferred money to associates in Kenya in exchange for help to prove his innocence, the NCA said. The CPS said it had arranged for one of his victims to give evidence at his trial from Africa via video-link. Morris was convicted of four counts of rape, three counts of assault by penetration, four counts of sexual assault and two counts of perverting the course of justice. He is due to be sentenced in Leeds on 17 July.

केन्या में एक व्यक्ति को दो लड़कियों के साथ बलात्कार करने का दोषी पाया गया है।


Middlesbrough Tesco death: Two men released and two arrested

Summary: Two men arrested on suspicion of the manslaughter of a staff member who fell ill at a Tesco store and then died have been released without charge.

Detectives are still investigating whether the 59-year-old woman's death on Monday was linked to an earlier incident at the Tesco Express in Corporation Road, Middlesbrough. Two other men, aged 35 and 37, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and attempted theft. They remain in police custody. A Tesco spokesperson said: "We are shocked and saddened to hear of this incident and our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to our colleague's family and friends at this difficult time." A post-mortem examination has taken place but police have not yet revealed any details. Cleveland Police said the death was being treated as unexplained. Related Internet Links Cleveland Police Tesco

टेस्को स्टोर में बीमार पड़ने और फिर मरने वाले एक कर्मचारी की हत्या के संदेह में गिरफ्तार किए गए दो लोगों को बिना किसी आरोप के रिहा कर दिया गया है।


Muckamore Abbey analysis: RQIA action is not before time

Summary: The RQIA has finally acted and not before time.

By Marie-Louise ConnollyBBC News NI Health Correspondent It has been over a year since the spotlight fell on Muckamore Abbey Hospital. Parents of vulnerable adults broke their silence and their worst fears were realised when CCTV footage confirmed patients had been abused. Anne Blake, the mother of a man with learning disabilities, told the BBC that Muckamore Abbey did not "deserve to be called a hospital". His medical notes confirmed he had been put in the seclusion room for 75 minutes. The notes also confirm that her son, who has severe learning and physical disabilities, had cried throughout. His family had never been told. Horror A BBC investigation revealed that the controversial seclusion room was used 745 times in 2015. Figures also revealed that, in that year, 21 patients were placed in the room at least once. Families told of their horror on finding their children had been placed in the room and had also been subjected to mental and physical abuse. While staff were suspended and a police investigation launched, the hospital continued to operate but under-staffed and, according to charities and families, under-resourced. Despite the mounting evidence, albeit against the backdrop of an ongoing police investigation, families expected the RQIA to act a lot sooner. Inspections were carried out in February and April - time was given for the trust to up their game. It did not happen and now enforcement action has been taken. Challenging environment Committed staff have carried on but in an even more pressurised environment. Short staffed and in the shadow of an ongoing police investigation, staff have been left holding the fort. Hardly satisfactory. While it is a challenging environment, with a shortage of specialist nurses available, clearly some of the most vulnerable people in our community have been let down by the system. More than 12 months on and it seems the authorities are still playing catch-up. The RQIA would argue they are acting within the law. There have been calls for that law to change - surely the system can't wait around much longer.

आर. क्यू. आई. ए. ने आखिरकार कार्रवाई की है और समय से पहले नहीं।


N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos 'not X Factor judge'

Summary: N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos' manager says she "hasn't signed anything yet" after rumours she had been asked to be a new X Factor judge.

By Chi Chi IzunduNewsbeat entertainment reporter Dannii Minogue announced at the weekend that she would not be taking part in this year's UK X Factor. The 39-year-old said it was because of a clash in commitments with her role on Australia's Got Talent. Tulisa's manager, Jonathan Shalit, has told Newsbeat she is in the running but they haven't heard anything yet. He said: "The News of the World, who started the story, totally jumped the gun and never spoke to me. "We hope it is true, but in truth no contract has been signed or even received yet, and I keep on reading different people are doing it, so we wait and hope." Jonathan Shalit also said the 22-year-old was not in the country. As yet, there is no confirmation of any of the other judges.

एन-डबज़ गायिका तुलिसा कोंटोस्टावलोस की प्रबंधक का कहना है कि अफवाहों के बाद कि उन्हें एक नया एक्स फैक्टर जज बनने के लिए कहा गया था, उन्होंने "अभी तक कुछ भी हस्ताक्षर नहीं किया है"।


Guernsey unemployment rises slightly

Summary: The number of people out of work in Guernsey continues to rise.

At the end of April, 455 people were registered as unemployed, which is 28 more than March and 20 more than a 15-year high recorded in June last year. The Social Security Department said this represented 1.4% of the working population. It said an extra 193 people in full or part-time work were given supplementary benefit on top of their earnings and a further 34 were on training schemes. The department said nine people were registered as unemployed in Alderney.

ग्वेर्नसे में बेरोजगार लोगों की संख्या लगातार बढ़ रही है।


Mollem: The battle to save a biodiversity hotspot in India's Goa

Summary: Goa, a lush, popular tourist spot on India's western coast, has seen weeks of protests against three infrastructure projects. Locals fear the works will damage the state's biodiversity and turn it into a coal hub, reports freelance journalist Dielle D'Souza.

During an evening stroll on Goa's Querim beach, Claude Alvares holds up a lump of coal he has found in the sand. Mr Alvares, a local activist, says the piece of black rock travelled all the way to Goa's northern-most tip from Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), about 70 kms (43 miles) away in the middle of the state. "This coal is very light," he says. "It gets into the water and the waves distribute it over Goa's beaches. Chances are, if you are walking on a beach anywhere in Goa, you may find this under your feet." Goa's only port, MPT, is embroiled in protests. It currently handles around nine million tons of imported coal bound via road and rail mainly for steel plants in neighbouring states. Reports suggest that MPT aims to import 51.6 million tons by 2030 to transport it through Goa to other states for companies such as the Adani Group, JSW Group and Vedanta. So when the government announced three new projects - expansion of a highway, double-tracking of an existing railway line and setting up of a transmission power line - environmentalists said it was to make coal transportation easier. Goa's government has denied this, saying the projects have nothing to do with coal. It says the new power line will provide the state much-needed electricity, the highway will meet the demands of growing traffic and the extra railway line will allow more goods and passenger trains to run. But environmentalists are concerned, especially since all three projects cut through a protected wildlife reserve in south Goa, threatening forests that they say are older than the Himalayas. The state's tourism industry is also anxious. Goa's lush forests and stunning beaches, which span the range from crowded to untouched, draw millions of tourists, both Indian and foreign, every year. They fear that projects such as these could hurt an industry that relies on adventure and wildlife, from trekking to bird-watching to surfing. The biodiversity at stake The protected area in question spans 240sq km (93 sq miles) of India's Western Ghats, recognised by Unesco as one of the world's eight 'hottest hotspots' of biological diversity. It is the site of a 12th Century Hindu temple, verdant tropical forests and waterfalls, including Dudhsagar that is a big tourist draw. The reserve is home to 128 endemic plants, birds, butterflies, reptiles and a variety of wild mammals including leopards, Bengal tigers and pangolins. One species of dragonfly has been recorded in only one location in Goa close to the proposed railway tracks, while the transmission line site is one of only two locations in India where a reclusive ant species has been found. Herpetologist and conservationist Nirmal Kulkarni says it was in these forests that he discovered his love for snakes on his first visit during a school picnic. The area was not identified as a reserve then, but he recalled "a small gurgling stream flowing slowly into a deep emerald-green forest". "I've come to Mollem National Park many times after that. These tropical forests have an amazing diversity of reptiles and amphibians, some of which are not found anywhere else in the world, and it is this diversity that we need to protect," Mr Kulkarni said. He is among hundreds of concerned citizens, scientists, activists, students and others who have signed letters to representatives in the state and central government, including India's Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, asking for the projects to be scrapped over threats to the park and a nearby sanctuary. Saving Mollem Local resistance - involving several groups and independent protesters - began after Mr Javadekar cleared several infrastructure projects over video conference, barely two weeks after India went into a coronavirus lockdown in March. Campaigners question the manner in which the projects were cleared and want a review of it. But on a recent visit to Goa, Mr Javadekar did not answer questions about this. And when asked about concerns raised by locals, he only said he "will definitely study" any petitions they send him. Soon after, thousands of protesters camped overnight at the railway track in Chandor, calling against its expansion. Six of them were charged with rioting and unlawful assembly, although others present say there was no sign of unruly behaviour and the charges are uncalled for. "We had to risk our lives [to gather during the pandemic] so the government could pay attention to us," says Sherry Fernandes, who attended the protest. "It was a success in terms of creating more awareness about the issue, but it was not a success in terms of our demands and will not be until the government listens to us." The protesters want the government to scrap the three new projects and stop all transportation and handling of coal. Is coal driving the expansion? "We also want a coal-free Goa and a pollution-free environment," Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recently said. "We are searching for alternatives for coal. We will reduce the quantity of coal being transported over the years and eventually stop it." But campaigners are not convinced. They say the government's claims that the new power line will meet Goa's shortage doesn't add up because the amount of power purchased from other states over the last nine years has grown only marginally. And in 2018-19, not all of it was consumed - by domestic or industrial users. They also say the infrastructure plans cutting through the reserve are part of the nation-wide federal government initiative to build new ports and improve connectivity to and from the existing ones. "All the documents point to Goa becoming a coal hub," says activist Abhijit Prabhudesai. "We have shared these documents with the government more than five months ago, but they are still unable to produce a single document to refute our claims."

स्वतंत्र पत्रकार डीले डिसूजा की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, भारत के पश्चिमी तट पर एक हरे-भरे, लोकप्रिय पर्यटन स्थल गोवा में तीन बुनियादी ढांचा परियोजनाओं के खिलाफ हफ्तों तक विरोध प्रदर्शन हुए हैं। स्थानीय लोगों को डर है कि यह काम राज्य की जैव विविधता को नुकसान पहुंचाएगा और इसे एक कोयला केंद्र में बदल देगा।


McVitie's closure: Scots bakers lose jobs with heritage

Summary: McVitie's biscuit brands each day accompany many millions of cups of tea, growing out of an Edinburgh shop 190 years ago to have the biggest share of Britain's £3bn biscuit barrel. Corporate control has passed out of Scotland, and its Turkish owner now says it has to protect brands that go back 130 years by closing a historic Glasgow factory and investing in England. Biscuit bakers have had a good lockdown, but face the challenge of sweet foods being more regulated.

By Douglas FraserBusiness and economy editor, Scotland Digestives, Rich Tea, Club, Penguin, Jaffa Cake, Hobnobs and 14 other brands make McVitie's a valued part of daily life for many millions. Market research tells us that biscuits are in the shopping baskets, at some point, of 99.5% of British households. So this would be a good time to pause and think about the people who get them there. News about the closure of McVitie's only remaining Scottish bakery will be indigestible to nearly 500 workers and their families in a part of east Glasgow that has long needed jobs like that. Investment in production lines is going elsewhere - the firm has a portfolio of five other UK factories - Carlisle, Leicestershire, Sheffield, Manchester and Harlesden, employing 4200 people. Pladis, the parent company - based in Middlesex, owned in Turkey - says the consultation on closure will be "full and meaningful", but trade unions complain there's very little information so far on the business case for closure. Consultation is a legal requirement where jobs are recognised as being put "at risk". Usually, that means the decision is already made, it can't be changed, and the jobs are not "at risk", but going for sure. Gobbling bakers If that is the end of the bakery in Tollcross, nearly 100 years after the Victoria Biscuit Works opened as flagship of the MacFarlane Lang family business, it will be the end of a once strong Scottish presence that came to dominate the Great British tea break. McVitie's grew out of a bakery in Rose Street, Edinburgh, first opened in 1830. The Digestive was a breakthrough innovation in 1892 that is still at the core of the business. The company, by then McVitie & Price, opened a vast London factory in 1902, where it still produces. The Digestive first got a chocolate covering in 1925, and the Jaffa Cake went on sale two years later. Wartime rationing reduced 370 lines of the company's biscuits to only 10, and McVitie's was well-placed to gobble up those that had been less resilient. The Penguin biscuit was developed by a rival Glasgow baker from 1932, and later became part of McVitie's. In 1948, it merged with Glasgow's big MacFarlane Lang to become United Biscuits. Some 52 years ago, as other plants closed, including one in Edinburgh, the Glasgow bakery benefited from a whopping £2.3m investment for expansion. At its peak, it employed more than 1,300 workers. Rich Tea for royalty From the 19th Century onward, McVitie's was the go-to baker of royal wedding cakes, including that of the current Queen, in 1947. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, married 10 years ago, opted for a cake that comprised 1,700 Rich Tea biscuits and a lot of chocolate. United Biscuits became a big corporate player through the connections of its Scots chairman, Sir Hector Laing. He was the grandson of the Digestive biscuit's inventor and a prominent Conservative and friend of Margaret Thatcher. He made UB one of the party's biggest corporate backers and was Tory treasurer for five years. But in 2000, 10 years after he stood down, it was taken over by a private equity investor. Five years ago, it became part of a new company, Pladis, created by a Turkish family-run investment firm, Yildiz Holdings, and named after a constellation. Pladis also owns Godiva chocolate, Carr's water biscuits, Go ahead! BN, Verkade and Ulker (the Yildiz family's name). Its most recent published accounts show revenue above £2bn in 2019, with an operating profit of £154m. Its share of the UK biscuit market edged up to 23%. The company website claims it has 16,000 workers in 25 factories, located in 11 countries, including Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Nigeria, plus a chocolate research centre in Belgium. There's nowhere without a sweet tooth. Trends and tastes So the Glasgow plant is a small, apparently dispensable cog in a multi-national machine. As Scotland has found repeatedly, ownership elsewhere means there's little attachment to the company's roots in Scotland, and sentimentality about biscuits does not cut it with shareholders. The company understands brand sentiment though. Pladis UK's boss, David Murray, told staff that the products are much loved, and the Glasgow bakery is a defensive move for their future. "In order to protect them for generations to come, we must take steps to address excess capacity in the UK," he said. "This overcapacity limits our ability to make the right investments in future capabilities to meet the very big changes in our industry." Asked what the big changes are, they told me - macro-economic headwinds (which usually indicates an economy-wide downturn), plus the need "to meet current and future consumer trends and tastes". However, the main problem is UK over-capacity, I'm told, and Glasgow lost out because of its "utilisation, volume and product mix". 'Hot drink moments' Some more context can be found in the 'annual biscuit review' from Pladis, which reflected on a bumper 2020 for comfort snacking. Britain's biscuit market grew 7% last year, or £212m, reaching nearly £3bn. It seems people eased off on the healthier biscuits segment of the market, sold as a packaged breakfast for commuters. While working at home, we opted for something reassuringly familiar to dunk in our tea and coffee. Sales of Digestives were up 26%, and Club biscuits by 17%. In marketing jargon, Pladis' vice-president of consumer reported: "Last year we saw more people re-acquainting themselves with the category, and buying in more frequently to complement an uplift in hot drink moments at home." Consumer behaviour is shifting fast, and marketers have had to adapt to a doubling of online grocery shopping in the past year. That brings opportunities and challenges ahead. In that irresistible jargon, Pladis' annual biscuit review suggests that it should "disrupt shoppers' online journeys with creative executions, and drive interest in the category via NPD (new product development)". Pladis prides itself on getting new products to market in around six months - a third of the industry standard. It goes on: "With working from home expected to continue for many, the hot drink moment is here to stay". And it adds: "Premium biscuit options will remain relevant for shoppers wanting to treat themselves. These often benefit from a 'lipstick effect' as shoppers look to these products as small, permissible indulgences." Shopping as 'theatre' Citing survey figures suggesting that 65% of biscuits are eaten with a hot drink, marketers at Pladis want to "develop new biscuit rituals and synergies beyond the traditional pairing of tea and biscuits". They noted in the 2019 review that 37% of consumers will snack instead of having a proper meal at least once a week. There's an expectation that Christmas 2021 is going to be a bumper sales opportunity. But beyond that lies a big threat, as governments squeeze HFSS content (high fat, sugar or salt) with regulation of advertising, marketing and perhaps price. The returned SNP government had action on that in its election manifesto. And despite the prime minister's well documented aversion to "nanny state" intervention, Whitehall is looking at it too. One of the suggested answers, from pladis' marketing gurus is to "bring fixtures to life through in-aisle theatre and engagement". I can only guess what that means. It's a long way from the job concerns now at the Glasgow bakery. But who knew that selling a biscuit could be made to sound that exciting?

मैकविटी के बिस्कुट ब्रांड हर दिन चाय के लाखों कप के साथ आते हैं, जो 190 साल पहले एडिनबर्ग की एक दुकान से उगते हैं और ब्रिटेन के 3 बिलियन पाउंड के बिस्कुट बैरल का सबसे बड़ा हिस्सा हैं। कॉर्पोरेट नियंत्रण स्कॉटलैंड से बाहर हो गया है, और इसके तुर्की मालिक का कहना है कि उन्हें एक ऐतिहासिक ग्लासगो कारखाने को बंद करके और इंग्लैंड में निवेश करके 130 साल पुराने ब्रांडों की रक्षा करनी है। बिस्कुट बेकरों के लिए एक अच्छा लॉकडाउन था, लेकिन मीठे खाद्य पदार्थों के अधिक विनियमित होने की चुनौती का सामना करना पड़ता है।


Chichester pedestrian dies after van crash

Summary: A 54-year-old pedestrian has died in hospital after being hit by a van in West Sussex.

The accident happened at about 16:05 GMT on Friday on the Chichester bypass between the Whyke and Stockbridge roundabouts, Sussex Police said. The pedestrian was taken by ambulance to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester where he later died from his injuries. The van driver, a 34-year-old man, was uninjured. Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

वेस्ट ससेक्स में एक वैन की चपेट में आने से एक 54 वर्षीय पैदल यात्री की अस्पताल में मौत हो गई।


Iraq crisis: Gauging Obama's strategic goal

Summary: All three of President Barack Obama's predecessors in the White House were involved in one way or another with military conflicts in Iraq. Now, having set out his stall as the president who would end Washington's foreign interventions, Mr Obama has a new Iraqi conflict of his own.

By Jonathan MarcusBBC defence correspondent True, for now, the US role seems limited and circumscribed. Mr Obama has made it clear that it is up to the Iraqis to do the fighting. There will be no US "boots on the ground", at least in terms of combat troops. A further 130-strong US assessment team of military advisers has been despatched to Irbil - in addition to the US trainers and liaison people who are already there. But the aim is to bolster the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to enable them to hold the line against the advancing Islamic State (IS) tide. The humanitarian crisis afflicting Iraqi minorities - the Christians and the ancient Kurdish Yazidi sect - has formed the ostensible reason for American involvement. Accordingly the US action has been as much humanitarian as military. Indeed the number of actual air strikes on IS vehicles and positions has been small - enough to send a clear warning that an advance on Irbil would bring much heavier US action. For now, at least on this front, the US demonstration may have contained the pressure on the Peshmerga, though it has clearly done nothing to put the IS advance into reverse. Fanned by factionalism This, then, raises the most fundamental question about Mr Obama's war: what is its strategic goal? Is it to try to defeat IS - a group that holds a huge swathe of territory in both Syria and Iraq and one that is already being hailed as the next great strategic threat to the region and beyond ? If so, then according to Mr Obama's critics, US action has been both too little and too late. But there are significant constraints on US action and Mr Obama's caution may indeed be well advised. The message coming from Washington is that Iraqis must do the heavy lifting here themselves. The reason they cannot is seen in the West as being due to the disastrous factionalism pursued by the Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. His administration has undermined confidence in the central government in Baghdad. But worse, his favouritism and sectarian approach has served to hollow out the US-trained Iraqi military, which, when faced with ruthless IS, has frequently melted away, its troops abandoning their equipment. This equipment has served to reinforce the jihadists, helping them to out-gun the Kurdish fighters in the north. Significant US help has been made conditional on achieving a more inclusive government in Baghdad - implying Mr Maliki's departure. He now does appear to be on the way out. But the humanitarian crisis and the threat to Washington's long-standing ally, the Kurds, forced Mr Obama's hand. But the message from Washington remains that US action will be limited until significant changes are seen in Baghdad. Much, too, has been made of a second constraint; a desire not to arm the Kurds to such an extent that they could forcefully break away from Iraq altogether. Elements of civil war Washington remains wedded to the current status quo in Iraq even as the centrifugal forces there appear to be growing. The Kurds have carved out a remarkable degree of autonomy over many years. To a large extent they have a successful "country" in all but name. But they have shown only limited desire to expand the area they control. Arming them now is an urgent priority so that they can defend their lengthy border against the IS forces. The US, France, the Czech Republic and Jordan have all pitched in to promise arms or equipment of various kinds and more is likely to follow. But so far few details have been given as to exactly what weaponry is involved. A third constraint is probably even more significant and that is the make-up of the IS coalition. On the map it seems to dominate a great swathe of territory - although of course much of this is simply empty space. It is not a huge organisation, though well-organised and well-financed. Its success is in part due to the relationships it has formed with local Sunni tribes and factions who themselves have been alienated by the Maliki regime. In this sense this battle is not simply, as many in the West would have it, a struggle against jihadism, but it also has elements of an Iraqi civil war. Many of these may well be groups that the US won over in the so-called "awakening" when it rallied Sunni tribes to the Iraqi state against Jihadist extremists during the US occupation. Bombing Iraqi Sunni militias is hardly going to be a good way of reconstituting some kind of coherent and inclusive Iraqi state. If there can be genuine political change at the centre or maybe if they become alienated by the brutality of IS rule, then perhaps they can again be rallied to Baghdad. High risk This, though, is a high-risk strategy for the Americans. IS is fighting on multiple fronts and in recent days it has made some gains in the direction of Baghdad. What would the US do if the Iraqi capital again appeared to be under threat or if there was a further military collapse on the part of government forces ? The danger for Mr Obama is that time is not necessarily on his side. The direction of political change in Baghdad appears positive for Washington if Mr Maliki really is on the way out. Even his Iranian allies seem to have tired of him. But a new prime minister will only be a beginning. It is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for change at the centre. Even a more inclusive government will take time to have an effect. And the performance of the shaken Iraqi military is not going to change overnight either. The danger is that it will be the IS actions that determine the pace and scale of US intervention. Mr Obama must also contend with the broader strategic picture. IS is a transnational organisation in the sense that it is fighting in both Iraq and Syria. Indeed the geographical ambitions of its caliphate may be even broader. It has taken on the Lebanese army in the border region and potentially threatens Jordan too. The US needs to establish a broader coalition in the region to contain the IS advance. And in this light it cannot avoid thinking again about Syria. Syria, after all, provided the launch pad for IS. And the failure to halt its growth there meant that it was able to export its violence across the border into Iraq.

व्हाइट हाउस में राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के तीनों पूर्ववर्ती किसी न किसी तरह से इराक में सैन्य संघर्षों में शामिल थे। अब, वाशिंगटन के विदेशी हस्तक्षेपों को समाप्त करने वाले राष्ट्रपति के रूप में अपना पड़ाव निर्धारित करने के बाद, श्री ओबामा का अपना एक नया इराकी संघर्ष है।


Signs of the times: Scotland's Trump protests

Summary: Scottish cities hosted protests against US President Donald Trump's travel ban on Monday night and some of the protesters brought a distinctly Scottish touch to their banners.

The largest demonstrations were in Glasgow and Edinburgh with protesters also gathering in Aberdeen and Dundee. Mr Trump has halted the entire US refugee programme for 120 days and suspended the visas of all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. His executive order, signed on Friday, also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees from the US. Thousands of Scots took to the streets, many with home-made signs and a healthy dose of Scottish humour. .

स्कॉटिश शहरों ने सोमवार की रात को अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के यात्रा प्रतिबंध के खिलाफ विरोध प्रदर्शनों की मेजबानी की और कुछ प्रदर्शनकारियों ने अपने बैनरों पर एक स्पष्ट रूप से स्कॉटिश स्पर्श लाया।


Aberdeen bypass: Tunnel suggested as alternative

Summary: Building a tunnel from the south of Aberdeen would be less disruptive and more effective than the planned bypass, it has been claimed.

Deputy leader of Aberdeen City Council, Marie Boulton, an Independent, has written to the transport secretary outlining plans for the link. It would run underground from the A90 Aberdeen to Stonehaven road into the Lang Stracht and Hazlehead area. Opposition councillors have dismissed the idea. Ms Boulton said it could solve many problems, with one of the advantages being no snow clearing. The 28-mile Aberdeen bypass was given the green light by Scottish ministers in 2009, but was delayed by legal action. Previously predicted to cost £347m, that has risen to more than £650m. It is expected to be completed in 2018.

यह दावा किया गया है कि एबरडीन के दक्षिण से एक सुरंग का निर्माण नियोजित बाईपास की तुलना में कम विघटनकारी और अधिक प्रभावी होगा।