Fleeing Saddam with the Kurds

Summary: Twenty-five years ago, virtually the entire Kurdish population of northern Iraq fled the forces of Saddam Hussein. BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir, who witnessed it first hand, recalls the dramatic exodus.

I arrived in Kurdistan, crossing the swollen border river in a tiny boat, armed with the technology of the day - two notebooks, a tape recorder and four cassettes. The Kurds had taken over the whole of the area they regard as theirs, including the big cities of Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk. The Iraqi army had fallen to pieces. The Kurds were jubilant - generations of struggle against the central government in Baghdad had, it seemed, suddenly been magically rewarded. But disaster lay only days ahead. Saddam struck back, sending tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships to attack the big cities on the flatlands. A vast flood of humanity, several million strong, poured out of those cities and up into the mountains, heading for the Turkish and Iranian borders. They travelled in every kind of vehicle you can imagine. A patient being trundled out of Dohuk on his hospital bed, still hooked up to an intravenous drip. Children being carried out of Erbil in the scoop of a bulldozer. And of course, many just walking, often barefoot, past the vast queues of stalled vehicles, stretching from the borders 9,000ft up in the mountains all the way back down to the plains. The weather was foul and freezing. Many died of hunger, exposure or dysentery. Dead children were being buried at the roadside. While the civilians fled, the Kurdish Peshmerga guerrillas stayed behind and I witnessed several of the battles in which they pushed back Iraqi forces trying to advance into the mountains. But the plight of the Kurds, meanwhile, had caught the world's attention. The western powers imposed a no-fly zone and a safe haven in northern Iraq so the Kurds could stay and return to their homes. Nowadays, of course, there would have been satellite trucks and the internet, and all of this would have been transmitted live minute-by-minute. But all I could do to get the barest news out, if I was with Masoud Barzani's KDP fighters, was to shout despatches down a Peshmerga backpack military radio to an office in Damascus that somehow managed to pass them on to London - or, if I was with Jalal Talabani and his PUK, I could shout them down what may have been the only satellite phone in Iraq at the time. But, meanwhile, I was recording on my four cassettes, descriptions of what was going on, interviews, and battles. When I eventually left, walking up through the mountains across into Turkey, I carried those unheard tapes with me. Things had, of course, moved on by then. There were new stories to cover, so those tapes remained unheard, sitting in a drawer, for 25 years, until we decided to make a programme with them. Find out more Listen to Iraq's Kurds: From Flight to Freedom on the BBC iPlayer I was full of trepidation. How much of what I had experienced would be there on the tapes? The answer was, a great deal. Many interviews with Barzani and Talabani as the story unfolded, and with another Kurdish leader, Sami Abdul Rahman, whose elderly father died as the family fled from Dohuk. A larger-than-life actor called Hama Ali, who the last time I saw him in the mountains, had lost his own wife and children in the chaos of the mass flight. Many other voices and commentaries that brought it all flooding back. To bring the story up to date, I went back to Kurdistan a quarter of a century later to see what had happened to some of the characters. Jalal Talabani, of course, succeeded his adversary Saddam Hussein as president of all Iraq. He's now sadly handicapped after suffering a severe stroke some years ago. Masoud Barzani became president of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, and still is. Sami Abdul Rahman, the other leader, was killed along with one of his sons by a suicide bomb attack in 2004. His name is immortalised on a huge public park in Erbil, and I interviewed his son Sirwan there. Hama Ali, the ebullient actor, I tracked down in Sulaymaniyah. He did find his family, and the two-month-old daughter he was so worried about is now married and about to produce his first grandchild. But I wasn't able to find out two things. There was a badly-wounded Iraqi soldier who'd clung to life for two days among dead comrades on the battlefield and had the same deathly pallor as them. The Peshmerga put him in a car and sent him back to the government side. Did he survive? And up in the mountains, there was a little boy, about eight, clutching a tiny suitcase containing all the possessions he had left. He'd lost his family during the exodus. What became of him? These are things I'll never know. Listen to From Our Own Correspondent on BBC World Service or on BBC Radio 4 on Thursdays at 11:00 and Saturdays at 11:30. Or catch up on the BBC iPlayer or get the podcast. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

पँचिश साल पहले, उत्तरी इराक की लगभग पूरी कुर्द आबादी सद्दाम हुसैन की सेना से भाग गई थी। बीबीसी मध्य पूर्व संवाददाता जिम मुइर, जिन्होंने इसे पहली बार देखा था, नाटकीय पलायन को याद करते हैं।


Are shrunken homes the answer?

Summary: An average earner in Cambridge will have to part with more than 40% of their salary if they want to call even a basic studio flat their home. But the situation here is far from unusual. Could smaller homes be the answer?

By Laurence Cawley and Jo TaylorBBC Inside Out East Alison Smith's home is only a little larger than a pair of prison cells. For the time being, she says, her £510-a-month rented en-suite room (which has a shared kitchen) in a former hotel in Cambridge offers enough space. "But I wouldn't want to go all that much smaller than this," she said. "I did see some smaller rooms than this one and I would struggle to live in that. The white-walled former hotel is now home to about 20 residents following conversion by developer and letting agent Terry Lucking. "Space is running out," says Mr Lucking. "Prices are high. Never mind buying a house, renting a room is going to cost you at least £500 a month. "I passionately believe that we should be providing smaller accommodation - not necessarily because that's what people want to live in, but from the reality of the situation. "The only way for many people to afford to live in Cambridge is to live in a smaller unit, but these smaller units shouldn't be built in a way where they are unattractive." Building rooms such as Ms Smith's could soon be outlawed in Cambridge under new "minimum internal space" standards proposed by the city council. Under those proposals, a studio apartment would have to be at least 398 sq ft (37 sq m) - more than twice the size of Ms Smith's studio, which is 173 sq ft (16.1 sq m). The council said it wanted to prevent battery farm living becoming the norm. Kevin Blencowe, of Cambridge City Council, said: "There are concerns coming through about various aspects of housing provision and planning issues in the city and one of them has been in recent years the prevalence of small rooms within housing developments." He said some developers had turned to "cramming as many rooms into a development as is possible". "We have decided as councillors, as responsible representative that actually we want to put down a minimum standard that future developments have to meet." But what will that mean for those struggling to find a place to live? Mr Lucking said: "A studio no smaller than 37 sq m - that's double the size I think single people can easily live in. "And it'll mean double the rent." Dr Mike Page, head of research and consultancy at the University of Hertfordshire's psychology department, shares the council's unease at the idea of "crammed" development. But he does not believe minimum living standards are the answer either. Dr Page, who designed the Cube micro and carbon-neutral home, believes the success of a small living space depends as much on design as dimension. "Space standards are a bit of a cleft stick and it is always the people who live in big houses who complain about things being too small. "We didn't want to make something that people would be forced into, but something people would opt into." The second version of the Cube home is 9ft x 12ft x 9ft (3m x 4m x 3m). Another single-storey version has movable walls which means residents can extend the floorspace of the room they are in at that time. "It is an example of what you can do with fun and simple space design," he said. How much room? Although talks are under way with an undisclosed London council for Cube accommodation for about 150 people, to date not a single Cube has been sold. The reason, according to Dr Page, is that prospective buyers need planning permission land to put it on. But the interest, he says, is there. "Young people don't really need a lot of mortgage baggage or space they won't use," says Dr Page. "I used to have my record collection lined up along the wall. Young people today have their entire music collection on their phone. And with a laptop, they can pretty much do everything." Small, he says, can be not only affordable, but cool.

कैम्ब्रिज में एक औसत कमाई करने वाले को अपने वेतन के 40 प्रतिशत से अधिक के साथ भाग लेना होगा यदि वे एक बुनियादी स्टूडियो को भी अपना घर कहना चाहते हैं। लेकिन यहाँ की स्थिति असामान्य नहीं है। क्या छोटे घर इसका जवाब हो सकते हैं?


Rotherham child abuse: The background to the scandal

Summary: A report commissioned in the wake of revelations that "at least" 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham has branded the local authority "not fit for purpose" and left it facing takeover by government commissioners. How did it reach this point?

The issue of child sex abuse in Rotherham first came to light in November 2010 when five men from the town's Asian community were jailed for sexual offences against underage girls. But suspicions were already growing that the scale of the town's problem was far more widespread. Almost two years later, in September 2012, Andrew Norfolk, a journalist on The Times newspaper, published an investigation which revealed a confidential 2010 police report had warned thousands of such crimes were being committed in South Yorkshire each year by networks of Asian men. The town's former Labour MP, Denis MacShane, claimed police had kept the abuse secret from politicians. "The Rotherham police exposed, arrested and broke up an evil gang of internal traffickers who were sent to prison," he said. "But it is clear the internal trafficking of barely pubescent girls is much more widespread." In October 2012, the council, South Yorkshire Police and other agencies set up a Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) team to investigate the issues raised in the report, although South Yorkshire Police denied it had been reluctant to tackle child sexual abuse or that "ethnic origin had been a factor" in its decisions. But the force was criticised by the Home Affairs Select Committee and told by its chairman Keith Vaz they needed to "get a grip". Rotherham was not the only community in the North and the Midlands to have uncovered such abuse. There have also been arrests or prosecutions of groups of men in 11 towns and cities, including Oldham, Rochdale and Derby. "In the other cases, overwhelmingly, they were men of Pakistani origin and we need to understand why this has been happening," said Mr Norfolk. He described a previous report into gang exploitation as a "missed opportunity" because of its failure to look at the proportion of men of Pakistani origin committing such offences. Yet, despite the concerns, in 2012 no further prosecutions for child sex exploitation took place in Rotherham. However, the council did say "improved public awareness" had helped it identify more young girls at risk of sexual exploitation in the town. In January 2013, the town once again fell under the scrutiny of MPs. This time it was the borough council which appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee to answer questions about the lack of prosecutions. Mr Vaz said the council had not done enough since the 2010 prosecutions. "In Lancashire there were 100 prosecutions the year before last, in South Yorkshire there were no prosecutions," he said. "We're talking about hundreds of victims, of vulnerable young girls, who have not been protected because, at the end of the day, what people are looking for are prosecutions." The council's chief executive Martin Kimber apologised to "young people and families that have been let down" and blamed "systemic failures". He also commissioned an independent inquiry, in September 2013, to examine how cases have been handled by social services from 1997 onwards. In the same month, South Yorkshire Police enlisted the help of children's charity Barnardo's to help tackle child sexual exploitation. Barnardo's subsequently said the council had made improvements. However, in August 2013, the council's deputy leader stepped down over claims he knew about a relationship between a girl in care and a suspected child abuser. Jahangir Akhtar denied the claims. In July 2014 the town's mayor Barry Dodson quit over separate claims he sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in 1987. He did not comment on the claims. Following the publication of the Jay Report, South Yorkshire Police said up to 29 people had been charged with child sexual exploitation offences in Rotherham. However, the force said it was unable to say how many had been convicted.

रोथरहैम में "कम से कम" 1,400 बच्चों के यौन शोषण के रहस्योद्घाटन के मद्देनजर कमीशन की गई एक रिपोर्ट ने स्थानीय प्राधिकरण को "उद्देश्य के लिए उपयुक्त नहीं" करार दिया है और इसे सरकारी आयुक्तों द्वारा अधिग्रहण का सामना करना पड़ा है। यह इस बिंदु पर कैसे पहुंचा?


Barclays Bank blasted for closing four branches in Wales

Summary: Barclays has confirmed it will close four branches in Wales.

The banking giant, which made a £1.5bn profit last October, said it was axing branches in Tonypandy, Abertillery, Ferndale and Holyhead because of a continued decline in customers there. Locals have criticised the decision, fearing it could cause problems for business owners and traders. It is believed the closures will happen in early May and affected staff will be offered jobs at other branches. Chris Bryant, the MP for the Rhondda, said he was "furious" with the decision. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I don't know how Valleys businesses are meant to survive." Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood described the closures as part of a "worrying trend". "Even though they are only open three days a week at the moment, when Barclays close in Ferndale it will mean that there will then be no bank left in the Rhondda Fach," she said. "Ferndale is a busy town centre. I am concerned that this move could jeopardise the town centre's businesses. "Moves to regenerate Tonypandy - which has struggled in recent years - will be undermined by this development too." Barclays community banking director Stephanie Dibble said more people were increasingly using online banking and that "customer usage" at the affected branches had "continued to decline". "That is why we have taken the difficult decision to close them," she added.

बार्कलेज ने पुष्टि की है कि वह वेल्स में चार शाखाओं को बंद कर देगा।


Cycle hire station for Waterloo

Summary: Work has begun on creating London's biggest cycle hire docking station.

The 124-space "super" docking station is being built at Waterloo Station in south London and will be in operation by mid-December. An extra 50 docking stations are being installed across London which will come into service next spring. Transport for London said it had more than 100,000 cycle hire scheme members and there had been 1.3 million journeys since the scheme began in July.

लंदन का सबसे बड़ा साइकिल किराया डॉकिंग स्टेशन बनाने पर काम शुरू हो गया है।


The original Dunkirk: A look back at the Ealing classic

Summary: Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is one of the most anticipated films of 2017. The story it tells happened 77 years ago but when Leslie Norman's black and white version came out in 1958, Dunkirk was still alive in the memory of audiences. It was one of the most ambitious Ealing productions - and today there are only a handful of actors left to recall making it.

By Vincent DowdArts reporter, BBC News Ealing films of the 1950s are mainly thought of as intimate and warmly comic. But in 1958, Sir Michael Balcon, who ran the studio, set out to prove Britain could produce a war film to rival the Americans. The director he chose was Leslie Norman, father of the late Barry Norman. Both films tell the most British of war stories: how Britain found an ambiguous form of victory in defeat at the hands of the advancing Germans in France. Around a third of a million men, mainly British and French, were rescued from northern France by sea as a flotilla of little boats crossed the Channel from England's south coast to support the bigger vessels. By the time the film was shot, financial problems had forced Sir Michael to sell Ealing Studios and move to a temporary base at MGM Borehamwood. But it was not long before the company was wound up completely and Dunkirk was one of the final Ealing productions. Kenneth Cope, now 86, later found fame playing Marty Hopkirk in the ITV series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), but he says that before Dunkirk he had played only "thugs, killers and a lot of bad people". He added: "I owe a huge debt to Les Norman, who was a lovely man who maybe saw something in me which other directors never had. He let me play an army lieutenant. "He directed me being blown up by a German Stuka - a spectacular death which helps set up the story of the other British lads like Johnny Mills setting off to get to Dunkirk and get home. "Les could really handle big scenes. Although my character was killed off early on, I still got to see a lot of the beach shoot down at Camber Sands. Les was in his element - and remember that all those years ago, camera equipment and lights and tracks were all heavyweight things. And this was long before CGI." Sir Michael had convinced the War Office to loan out hundreds of servicemen as extras, which still gives the scenes around Dunkirk a convincing quality. "Everywhere you looked there were rifles and uniforms and men shouting. I remember the actor Roland Curram turning up and saying 'Oh my dear, the noise! The people!'" "I shot my scenes early on, so I saw the rest of the cast arriving from London in nice clean uniforms from Morris Angel the costumiers and the first thing they had to do was swim out to the camera boat offshore. "I've never seen a bunch of actors look so horrified. But Les really made those scenes work on screen. There's a sense of peril." At 85, Harry Landis is still a working actor. He's occasionally recognised even now as the barber Mr Kawalski from EastEnders. But in 1958 in Dunkirk he was drafted in to play one big scene as a young Jewish doctor. 'When I got up to Borehamwood, Leslie Norman took me to one side and explained how my character had developed. They wanted a Cockney Jewish guy like me to play Lt Levy - but Leslie explained that until quite late on, the character was to have been a Lt Mason and not Jewish at all. "However, he'd seen the dramatic possibilities in me being Jewish, because the Germans are about to arrive at this dressing station and the doctors draw lots to decide who'll stay behind to look after the wounded, knowing this will mean certain capture. "It's a poignant moment because he's Jewish and he can see what's heading his way, but Levy just gets on with his duty. 'Mention in Variety' "I liked Leslie, but he was what people used to call a rough diamond. He had been a picture editor and wound up producing and directing. He could line up a shot but he did not really know much about actors. "I did my big scene in two takes and he was happy, so I went home. But when I finally saw the completed movie I saw how well he'd made the scenes work with the boys waiting to be rescued from France. And I got a mention in Variety, which I was happy about." Probably the youngest actor on set was Sean Barrett, who played the teenager Frankie. Much of the first part of the film concentrates on the home front, with Frankie's boss, played by Richard Attenborough, accused of profiteering from the early days of the war. When the call goes out for small boats to help rescue British troops, Attenborough sets off with Frankie and a journalist played by Bernard Lee, who went on to play M in the early Bond films. Barrett recalls an impressive sequence where the troops are attending a church service on the beach when a German plane suddenly appears and everyone scatters in panic. "It was an exciting thing to shoot," he says. "There were black smudges on the sand where the explosions were to go off and we were told at all costs not to be heroes and run over them. And it all had to work perfectly for the camera. It's different today, where so much can be fixed afterwards. "My big emotional scene was when Bernard Lee gets hit and dies on the beach. I had to react to him saying something like 'I'm going Frankie… please tell my wife', but being the character he was, for my reaction shots Bernard kept playing the line as 'Please tell my bookie,' trying to break me up. I got through it somehow. "My own uncle had been at Dunkirk, so in 1958 it was still a resonant moment for many people. It's interesting that all these years later, a director is making another version of what happened. "Obviously film-making has changed but, in its day, the Ealing version was a big project. I think even now it impresses people because the best scenes really do have the whiff of reality." On 20 and 21 September a restored version of Leslie Norman's Dunkirk will be screened on Camber Sands in a special event to launch the BFI's Britain on Film - Coast and Sea collection. The 2017 version is out in the UK on 21 July.

क्रिस्टोफर नोलन की डंकिर्क 2017 की सबसे प्रत्याशित फिल्मों में से एक है। यह कहानी 77 साल पहले की है, लेकिन जब लेस्ली नॉर्मन का ब्लैक एंड व्हाइट संस्करण 1958 में सामने आया, तब भी डंकिर्क दर्शकों की यादों में जीवित था। यह सबसे महत्वाकांक्षी ईलिंग प्रस्तुतियों में से एक था-और आज इसे बनाने के लिए केवल मुट्ठी भर अभिनेता ही बचे हैं।


Port Clarence wood recycling plant fire 'under control'

Summary: Firefighters who have been fighting a large blaze at a wood recycling plant on Teesside for more than 24 hours have declared it "under control."

Cleveland Fire Service said thousands of tonnes of wood were destroyed in the fire at the Jigsaw plant in Haverton Hill Road, Port Clarence. A spokesman said there were no reports of injuries and they would be at the scene for several days. At its height, 10 fire crews were tackling the blaze. Nearby residents are still being warned to keep their windows closed because of thick, lingering smoke. Spokesman for the fire service, Barry Waller, said four crews were pumping water directly out of the River Tees to dampen the fire which broke out on Saturday morning.

टीसाइड पर 24 घंटे से अधिक समय से लकड़ी के पुनर्चक्रण संयंत्र में लगी आग से लड़ रहे अग्निशामकों ने इसे "नियंत्रण में" घोषित कर दिया है।


Six ways to tackle the gender pay gap

Summary: Women in the UK who return to work after having a baby continue to earn less than men for many years afterwards, according to a new report. Part-time working, missed promotions and less experience are all contributing to what is being branded a "mummy tax".

By Emma AtkinsonBBC News So what could be done to level the playing field? Enforce paternity leave Arguably, the best way to make businesses friendlier towards women is to make dads take more paternity and shared parental leave. When dads step in to cover the childcare, mums can return to work, work more hours and earn more money. It also ensures workplace flexibility is an important issue for men too. In some countries the idea of paternity leave has yet to take hold, but in Sweden it has been encouraged since 1974 and there is now also a new incentive for dads to spend a full three months at home. A "daddy quota" of 90 days' leave is allocated solely to the father on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. If the father doesn't take the time off work, then the couple as a whole lose the three months' paid leave. Shared parental leave was introduced in the UK in 2015, but not all parents qualify. Subsidise childcare The cost of childcare can be crippling for many families with an average part time nursery place now costing up to £6,000 a year. For mothers on low wages, after nursery and travel costs it can be barely worth working, with the government only covering the costs of some childcare once a child turns three. The Women's Equality Party is calling for state childcare help to start as soon as paid parental leave is over. "Of course, lots of mothers and fathers want to spend time at home with their young families. But at least 600,000 stay-at-home parents would prefer to work if they could afford to do so," says WEP leader Sophie Walker. The party says a free part-time nursery place should be available from when a child reaches nine months, with extra hours on top of that capped at £1 an hour. "Without bold changes women will keep dropping out of the workplace and men will keep dropping out of their families. This is bad for our economy and our society," Ms Walker says. Allow babies in the office When Italian politician Licia Ronzulli took her six-week-old baby to the European Parliament in September 2010, the pictures caused a media stir. She said her decision to bring baby Vittoria in to vote was not a "political gesture but a maternal one" because she was breastfeeding. Since then, photos of the MEP with her daughter have documented the little girl growing up attending a number of parliamentary votes. In the US, companies have started to take note, with a "babies at work" policy becoming a growing trend. Carla Moquin founded the Parenting in the Workplace Institute after being frustrated by the lack of options when she had to go back to work four weeks after giving birth. She says clear rules and a formal structure mean the office does not become a chaotic scene. Provisions such as making sure parents agree to respond quickly to any cries and setting a "baby free zone" for colleagues who want it are essential. Parents must also formally agree not to let their childcare responsibilities interfere with their ability to do the job. In the UK, taxi firm Addison Lee also experimented with the idea, while investment banking firm Goldman Sachs is one firm that helps parents back to work with an on-site office creche. The company says it offers emergency back-up care, an infant transition programme for parents returning to work following maternity leave and full-time care for children up to age three. Let parents work from home The financial burden of running a childcare facility means not all businesses can afford to offer such benefits. But in a world where email, mobile technology and communication are king the other obvious option appears to be working from home. The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, has called on employers to advertise jobs at all levels as flexible, part-time or a job share unless there is a strong business case not to. Meanwhile, the TUC says flexible working has real benefits for businesses and their workforces with employees being more dedicated and productive. But beware. Not being "seen in the office" may affect a person's chances of promotion, and result in a smaller pay rise and lower performance evaluations than office-based peers, according to research by the London Business School and the University of California. Give women a pay rise It might sound obvious, but why not just plug the gender gap by paying women more? In June, the University of Essex announced it was to raise female professors' pay with a one-off salary hike to bring their average pay level with their male colleagues. Vice-chancellor Anthony Forster said other steps aimed at improving women's promotion chances had failed to close the pay gap at professorial level. And the university is not alone. Brainlabs, a mathematical marketing agency based in London, also voted to eliminate the overall pay gap by increasing women's salaries by 8.6%. But does this strategy not offend male colleagues? Brainlabs director Sophie Newton says not, claiming none of her male employees had complained about the new policy. "I definitely do not think it is unfair on men. Women have been facing issues for centuries - it's only now that we are starting to talk about how we can make the workplace a much more equal and happy place." Increase the value of low paid work While those in big business are being pushed to publish what their employees are earning, small companies that tend to offer jobs at the bottom of the pay scale are not being so closely scrutinised. Research shows women tend to cluster in lower paid jobs - almost two-thirds (63%) of those earning £7 per hour or less are female. According to the Fawcett Society, jobs traditionally done by women, such as cleaning, catering and caring, are "undervalued and paid less than jobs traditionally done by men, such as construction, transportation and skilled trades" meaning "men's work" is generally given a higher value both socially and economically. The charity is encouraging employers to pay the living wage and support women to progress to higher paid jobs by using targets.

एक नई रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, ब्रिटेन में बच्चे को जन्म देने के बाद काम पर लौटने वाली महिलाएं कई वर्षों तक पुरुषों की तुलना में कम कमाती रहती हैं। अंशकालिक काम करना, पदोन्नति से चूकना और कम अनुभव सभी "ममी टैक्स" के रूप में ब्रांडेड होने में योगदान दे रहे हैं।


Newquay lifeboat rescues trapped pregnant woman

Summary: A pregnant woman who became trapped at the foot of steep cliffs by a rising tide was rescued when her husband swam to shore to raise the alarm.

The couple became stranded in a cove near the Barrowfields in Newquay, Cornwall, on Saturday evening. The woman was rescued unhurt by the RNLI's Newquay inshore lifeboat, with the help of the local coastguard team. A surfer, who had gone to the woman's aid before emergency services arrived, was also rescued. An RNLI spokesperson said the lifeboat crew had to use the boat's emergency oars to gauge the depth of water and negotiate large submerged rocks in a one-metre swell to rescue the woman.

एक गर्भवती महिला जो बढ़ते ज्वार से खड़ी चट्टानों के पैर में फंस गई थी, उसे तब बचाया गया जब उसका पति अलार्म बजाने के लिए किनारे पर तैरकर आया।


Eat Out to Help Out: The highs and lows of the coronavirus discount scheme

Summary: "When are we going to get this opportunity again?" says Danielle Hughes, from Livingston in West Lothian. She estimates that she's saved £150 on eating out this month - money that's been stumped up by the taxpayer.

By Francesca GillettBBC News She is one of millions of people who have been taking part in the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which sees diners get 50% off their bill, up to a total discount of £10, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August. It ends next week, on Bank Holiday Monday. Danielle, 24, has eaten out every day that the scheme has been going, and sometimes twice a day. She plans to continue until the offer ends on 31 August. "I've just been trying to make the most of it," she says. "It's all been really good. Even all the places that have been really busy, they have all had super good customer service." She says as soon as the scheme was announced she knew she wanted to use the offer as much as possible. "I have been out for breakfast sometimes and then out for dinner as well," she says. Has she ever been tempted to do three meals out in one day? "That's probably too much for my belly to handle," she laughs. "I'd love to see it extended or for it to happen again," says the University of Glasgow student, who is training to be a religious education teacher. "I don't want it to be over but it's probably good for my bank balance. "I'm not going to go out at all in September. In September I will be eating at home probably for the whole month." Daniel Davies-Luke, from Hartlepool, estimates he has saved £218 on meals out, often with his six-year-old daughter, Luna. "She's a little food-muncher," he says. Both of them have also been out to eat every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - and did once manage to do so three times in the same day. Daniel says he had "saved so much money through lockdown" and with lots of the traditional summer holiday activities closed, eating out was a natural choice. "We have tried to keep away from the chains as those guys have got big bank balances anyway," he says, adding that it was important to support local businesses. "Apart from McDonald's once, it's all been independent places." "We are going to pay for it ourselves on our tax anyway," he says. "Everyone knows there's a big tax bill around the corner. We are going to pay it back over the long run." The scheme began at the start of the month, and in the first three weeks it was used more than 64 million times. The idea was to tempt people back into pubs and restaurants to boost the struggling hospitality sector, which suffered badly during the coronavirus lockdown. The government set aside £500m to pay for it, and restaurants apply to reclaim the money. "The money is in my account in 3-5 days," says chef and restaurant owner Linsey Scott, who runs Mason Belles Kitchen in Linlithgow and Dunblane. Linsey says it's been "absolutely brilliant for us". Like many other businesses, she amended her restaurant opening times for it, and she plans on independently carrying the offer on into September by funding it herself - albeit with a maximum discount of £5 per person, rather than £10. 'I want it to end' Many businesses say they would love for the government to extend it, amid fears customer numbers could drop away in September. But alongside the calls for an extension, there are some who can't wait to see the back of it. Some restaurant staff say they have faced hostility and abuse from customers. "I have worked in hospitality for over seven years and have never experienced anything like this," says Amy Erkin, 21, a University of Nottingham student who works in a pub in her hometown in Norfolk. "The amount of hassle staff have been given for turning people away or there just being a 20 minute wait," she says. "I've dealt with customers who have got really aggressive, I have had to ask customers to leave. "People are having this attitude that I'm coming here to help you out, I want this now." She adds: "Obviously I know it's a really good scheme and it has helped a lot of places out, but I have hated it. It's given me anxiety going to work. "I used to love my job, I have always said I loved working in hospitality. And I said to my boss 'Realistically, if they decide to carry this scheme on through September, I will probably leave and find another job elsewhere'. "I don't want to come to work and deal with horrible people." She also says she and her colleagues have noticed "a really large lack of tips" compared to the rest of the week. "I think it's again, people are seeing what they are doing they are putting money into the pub, they think there is no need to leave a tip because they are already helping out by eating out." 84,000restaurants registered 64mmeals dished up 1 in 10people had taken part by mid August 41%likely or very likely to take part 36% unlikely to very unlikely to take part 1 in 2people who weren't taking part were afraid of catching virus Jordan Griffiths, who is a waitress in Porthcawl, says she has also faced abuse. "Last week I had someone swearing at me on the phone. They wanted to book a party of 20. I tried to explain there's no way we could book in 20, the only thing we could do is we have got tables outside. He told me I'd ruined his day." She says when she sees the rota with her name down on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, "literally I just want to cry". "I don't want to work those shifts." Meanwhile, some businesses warn the offer is affecting weekend bookings, as people are eating out at the start of the week instead. The Treasury has not said it will be extended - despite calls from the industry. A spokesman said: "Part of this popularity is precisely because it is a time-limited scheme - this reminds and encourages people to safely return to going out." It said the scheme "complements a wider package of hospitality support that goes beyond August, including cutting VAT to 5%, paying the wages of furloughed staff, business rates relief and billions in tax deferrals and loans". "Boosting confidence, boosting footfall has been the most significant thing this scheme has done," says Kate Nicholls, head of UK Hospitality that represents the sector. But she warns that a third of their members are still not open, especially in city and town centres where footfall is lower. "That means there's a million of our team still on furlough," she says. For many diners and restaurants, it's been a ray of light in an otherwise tough year. "I hope at the end of the scheme the pubs and other places can look and say it's been a positive thing," says Neil Simon, who runs a local Facebook page for Hartlepool residents to discuss the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Neil, who works as a drayman delivering beer, has also used the offer every day. "It's a bit strange when it comes to Thursday and I have to start cooking again," he jokes. "I have been over-indulging a little bit but we can all have a treat."

वेस्ट लोथियन के लिविंगस्टन की रहने वाली डेनियल ह्यूजेस कहती हैं, "हमें यह मौका फिर से कब मिलेगा?" उनका अनुमान है कि उन्होंने इस महीने बाहर खाने पर 150 पाउंड की बचत की है-वह पैसा जो करदाता ने हड़प लिया है।


Irish abortion case review to start immediately

Summary: Irish health authorities have said that an inquiry team examining the care of a woman who gave birth by Caesarean section, after being denied an abortion, will begin work immediately.

Last week, the woman, a foreign national, said the pregnancy was the result of rape and that she first requested an abortion at eight weeks. She also said she attempted to take her own life while pregnant. Under a new law, abortion is permitted when a woman is at risk of suicide. The review has been sought by Health Service Executive (HSE) Director General Tony O'Brien. The HSE said the team will work with "a view to completing the report in the shortest time possible, provided unforeseen circumstances do not arise". Last night, the HSE published the terms of reference for the investigation. A team of four people will seek to establish the facts of what happened while the communication between different health service providers will also be assessed. A number of demonstrations, by pro-life and pro-choice groups, took place in Dublin on Saturday following the controversy surrounding the issue.

आयरिश स्वास्थ्य अधिकारियों ने कहा है कि गर्भपात से इनकार किए जाने के बाद सिजेरियन सेक्शन द्वारा जन्म देने वाली महिला की देखभाल की जांच करने वाला एक जांच दल तुरंत काम शुरू कर देगा।


Strictly final: The family party to end all parties

Summary: It was always going to be an emotional night.

By Lauren TurnerBBC entertainment correspondent, Elstree Not only was it the culmination of 13 weeks of hard work from the finalists and their partners to deliver the fun, fireworks and fancy footwork that has made this year's Strictly the most-watched in its history. But it was also the last time Len Goodman wielded his scoring paddle - the last time we'd hear his "severrrrn!" or "it's a 10 from Len" - in the dance series, having been head judge since it began back in 2004. Emotion was etched on the face of the professional dancers as they performed a ballroom tribute in his honour. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience either, some of whom had been at Elstree Studios since 04:45 in a bid to get an elusive grand final seat. And there were tears too from the judges, with Bruno Tonioli overcome by Louise Redknapp's showdance to One Moment in Time. As he told the singer, it encapsulated the "joy of dance". And that joy, as well as surprise, elation and stunned disbelief, were clear to see in Ore Oduba as his name was read out as the winner of Strictly 2016. Goodman had called him the "spirit of Strictly", thanks to his journey from being a complete beginner with no dance experience. And during the night, the atmosphere in the studio audience was electric as he performed his show dance, rising to their feet and stamping the floor in appreciation. But part of that Strictly spirit is thanks to the show being one big family, as the contestants have repeatedly told me when I spoke to them throughout the series (not forgetting of course that two of the final professional dancers, Joanne and Kevin Clifton are actually siblings). The Cliftons' parents were in the audience, with Joanne comforting her weeping mother after she lifted the glitterball trophy. Danny's proud family were also in the front row, as were Ore's beaming parents. Louise's husband, ex-footballer Jamie Redknapp and his father, former West Ham boss Harry, were also watching alongside other members of her family. Former Strictly contestants were in attendance, too, to show their support. They all hugged each other at the start of the show, whispering words of encouragement to each other - with no hint that this was actually a competition. It was that closeness, as well as the feeling of celebration with ticker tape and glitter floating in the air, that truly made this grand final the family party to end all parties.

यह हमेशा एक भावनात्मक रात रहने वाली थी।


Coronavirus: Who Trump supporters blame for virus 'hysteria'

Summary: With stock markets crashing, Democratic candidates cancelling events and politicians scrambling to come up with a response, the coronavirus outbreak is casting a long shadow over US politics. But some Trump supporters say the growing crisis is largely the work of a familiar villain - the US media.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter Conservative radio host and three-time congressional candidate Dan Bongino had a message for the almost 2,000 Donald Trump supporters gathered in an airport hotel convention room in the toney town of Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday night. The president, he said, had made stopping the spread of the coronavirus his highest priority. He had the "finest minds" in the world working on it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Vice-President Mike Pence, charged with heading the virus task force, was focused "like I've never seen him before in my life". Despite these efforts, Bongino acknowledged, the president's power had limits - and that the virus was "very dangerous" and "highly contagious". "He's not the Messiah," he said. "He can't just wave a wand and make this go away." That the president is not an omnipotent political deity who leaves adversaries, human and viral alike, trembling in his wake was perhaps an unusual admission in a room full of supporters decked out in Donald Trump gear, surrounded by vendors hawking Donald Trump hats, t-shirts, hot sauce and posters of a beaming Trump family that proclaimed "God, Life, Trump". Less surprising, however, was that Bongino placed the blame for the growing crisis at the feet of the mainstream media, which he said "engaged in a pathetic disgusting pile-on" to damage the president's political standing by making it appear that his administration was not doing enough to combat the spread of the virus and help those infected. "Just when I think we've hit a new low, they impress me again with their depravity," he said. "They blast right through the damn floor, and they reside in the basement." Bongino ended his remarks on an up note, however, saying the US had been through wars, revolutions, the Spanish flu and "hippies" - and survived. "We'll get through this," he said. "We'll fix it." After Bongino concluded his presentation and retired to a table to pose for photographs and give his autograph to those who paid $30 (£23) in cash for a copy of his new book, people present echoed his sentiments. "Donald Trump is a brilliant guy," said Mike Huey of Palm Beach Gardens. "He knows how to surround himself with brilliant people, and I'm sure he's doing every thing he can to control the situation." Huey, who runs an online disaster preparation and survivalist gear company, said he has "100% confidence" that the president is doing the right thing. Despite those efforts, Trump hasn't found a way to arrest the steep drop in the stock market over the past few weeks, however. Given that the president has frequently boasted about market gains over the past three years, this reversal of fortune threatens to undermine what would have been a key selling point for his re-election campaign in the autumn. Maggie VandenBerghe, a California filmmaker in town for an event at Trump's nearby Mar-a-Lago club, said the president's enemies in the press were to blame for "the scope of the hysteria". "Maybe it's a little conspiratorial, but I would not be surprised if the media was drumming up this hysteria in part to shake things up ahead of the election," she said. "The one thing Donald Trump has really been able to run on time and time again, regardless of how you feel about his other policies, is the economy. And if they can destroy that ahead of the election, they might have a better chance of electing a Democrat." Dan Ray, who goes by the nickname "Deplorable Dan", also blamed the media, as well as the left and its "Marxist mentality" for what he called "the goofy virus scare". Ray cited a series of statistics - including fatalities in the US from auto accidents and the seasonal flu - to suggest that American fears were overblown. "One hundred ten people die in America every day from car accidents," he said. "Those are human beings, and they're lives, but that doesn't stop me from driving." What is the current situation in the US? Coronavirus: Could the US do what Italy has done? As for economic and health concerns, Ray is not personally worried. He said he jams soft soap under his fingernails to keep germs at bay and has been stocking up on silver dollars and survivalist gear for years, just in case of a breakdown in civil order. "The stock market doesn't affect people like me," he said. "I haven't had a bank account since 1984. I don't have a credit card. If I'm going to buy something, I've got to have cash." Recent opinion polls suggest the coronavirus sentiment at the Palm Beach event, hosted by a group that bills itself as the president's largest independent fan club, reflect the larger views of Republicans across the US - and that America is once again sharply divided along partisan lines. According to SurveyMonkey, 62% of Republicans think the seriousness of coronavirus is "generally exaggerated", versus only 31% of Democrats. A Quinnipiac poll found 63% of Republicans were either "not so concerned" or "not concerned at all" about the virus, while for Democrats that number drops to 31%. As for the president's handling of the response to the virus, 87% of Republicans approve, while 83% of Democrats disapprove. Dawn Rofrano of Singer Island agreed that the president was handling things "the right way". Like many Americans, she said, she is carrying hand sanitiser and being careful not to touch her face, but "for the most part I'm not scared". "I'm looking at the facts," said Rofrano, who works as a health coach at a natural medicine clinic. "That's what I need to do." As for the economy and the political risk to the president? "I'm not worried about that, either," she said. "It will come back. When you are on the side of truth, I know that it will always prevail."

शेयर बाजार में गिरावट, डेमोक्रेटिक उम्मीदवारों द्वारा कार्यक्रमों को रद्द करने और राजनेताओं द्वारा प्रतिक्रिया के साथ आने के लिए हाथापाई के साथ, कोरोनावायरस का प्रकोप अमेरिकी राजनीति पर एक लंबी छाया डाल रहा है। लेकिन कुछ ट्रम्प समर्थकों का कहना है कि बढ़ता संकट काफी हद तक एक परिचित खलनायक-अमेरिकी मीडिया का काम है।


No candidates from Mebyon Kernow in 2017 general election

Summary: Mebyon Kernow, which campaigns for a National Assembly for Cornwall, has announced it will not be putting forward any candidates for the 2017 general election.

A party spokesperson said the timing made it "impractical" to put together and finance "a meaningful campaign". At the recent Cornwall Council elections four Mebyon Kernow councillors were re-elected. It lost deposits in all six seats at both the last general elections. More on Mebyon Kernow not fielding candidates, and other news On 18 April the prime minister called a snap general election for 8 June - three years earlier than scheduled.

मेब्योन केरनोव, जो कॉर्नवाल के लिए एक नेशनल असेंबली के लिए प्रचार करता है, ने घोषणा की है कि वह 2017 के आम चुनाव के लिए किसी भी उम्मीदवार को आगे नहीं रखेगा।


Aircraft carrier: What is costing £6.2bn?

Summary: The cost of two new aircraft carriers being built for the Royal Navy has risen to £6.2bn, more than £2bn over the original estimate. This has drawn renewed criticism of the project to build the two ships, the first of which will not be ready for service until 2020.

Size of ship Aircraft Modular build Power Control towers Size of ship The Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will be the largest warships ever constructed for the UK. With a displacement of 65,000 tonnes, they are three times the size of HMS Illustrious, the Navy’s remaining carrier. They are 280m long, about 70m wide, twice the width, and carry some 1,600 personnel, including air crew. Flight deck The carriers will be equipped with F-35B, short take-off and vertical landing joint-strike fighters. The coalition government announced in 2010 that it would buy the F-35C jets instead, because they had a longer range and had a bigger weapons payload, but the cost of fitting the carriers with the “cats and traps” launch and landing system proved prohibitively expensive and the government was forced to reverse its decision in 2012. Modular build The ships are built in blocks or modules, with pieces being constructed around the country and sent to Rosyth in Fife. The LB04, pictured, is part of the ship’s hull. It was constructed in the Govan shipyard by BAE Systems and taken by barge to Rosyth. The construction of the second carrier, Prince of Wales, is also under way, but its future is uncertain. Power The carriers are fitted with two propellers, with a diameter of seven metres. Each will output about 80MW of power, enough to run 1,000 family cars or 50 high speed trains. Two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines will provide about two-thirds of the ship’s power and the rest will come from four diesel engines. The MT30 is based on the engine which powers the Boeing 777 aircraft, and around 80% of the parts are the same. Control towers The carriers are designed with two 'island' control towers, instead of a traditional single one The forward or front island will house the ship’s bridge, with flight control based in the aft or rear island. Nine decks extend below the main flight deck. The hangar deck is big enough to accommodate up to 20 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the cost of building the two carriers has increased to £6.2bn. The latest news follows a series of price increases since the contract was first signed in July 2008. The original contract, signed by the Labour government, was worth about £3.9bn. The carriers, over three times the size of the current Invincible class, were each planned to be equipped with up to 40 Short Take-off and Vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B jets. By the time the coalition came to power in 2010, the project cost had risen to an estimated £5.2bn. As part of the government's Strategic Defence and Security Review, it announced a change of plan and said the carriers would be equipped instead to carry F-35C jets. The F-35C jets have a longer range and are capable of carrying a higher weapons payload, but they require catapult and arrestor gear, so-called "cats and traps" to be able to take off and land. At the same time, Mr Hammond also announced that the second carrier, Prince of Wales, would be built but its exact future was unclear. With costs continuing to rise, Mr Hammond said the ship might have to be sold or mothballed. In May 2012, Mr Hammond announced a u-turn over the jets - saying the adaptations to the ships were going to cost far more than originally thought - so the government would stick to the original decision to buy F-35B jets. He estimated at the time that the change of plan had cost about £100m - but now says the figure was in fact around £62m. According to reports, the latest price increase to £6.2bn is mainly down to failing to factor in the costs of inflation and VAT into the original contract. Mr Hammond said the government had agreed new terms for the contract and any future variation in price would be shared by the government and the contractors. Explore the zoomable image below to see how a QE Class aircraft carrier (left) would compare in dry dock alongside HMS Illustrious. You need JavaScript to use this deep image zoom application.

रॉयल नेवी के लिए बनाए जा रहे दो नए विमान वाहक की लागत बढ़कर £ 6.2bn हो गई है, जो मूल अनुमान से £2 बिलियन से अधिक है। इसने दो जहाजों के निर्माण की परियोजना की नए सिरे से आलोचना की है, जिनमें से पहला 2020 तक सेवा के लिए तैयार नहीं होगा।


Arvind Kejriwal: The politician with a hole in his sweater

Summary: There it was: clean, white and defiant.

Andrew NorthSouth Asia correspondent@NorthAndrewon Twitter A circle of Arvind Kejriwal's shirt was poking from a hole in the middle of his rumpled sweater. And below, his bare feet were clad in well-worn sandals with a relaxed coating of dust. But perhaps more significant than Mr Kejriwal's choice of look for his BBC interview is that he will probably be quite happy for us to point it out - unlike many smarter-looking politicians. 'Third class governance' After his electoral breakthrough last year, dressing down is now a poll-tested way of dressing up his Aam Aadmi or Common Man party's anti-corruption campaign. In the picture Mr Kejriwal seeks to paint, the always-flawless tailoring of India's political and business elite represents the corrupt old-order. It was that order he was targeting in his interview, arguing that the old established parties have in effect conspired with a handful of Indian billionaires to create a new oligarchy. So whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi's ruling Congress party win the spring elections, "makes no difference". Corruption was at the root of all India's problems he argued, dismissing suggestions it was only a minority urban concern. It was why rural people struggled to find jobs and that "so many farmers are committing suicide" He went further, saying that unless India tackles political corruption "the country will not survive". Corrupt politicians "created the poison" behind India's frequent episodes of communal violence. "Indians are first class people suffering from third class governance," he said, saying only a minority could prosper in India. "If you go to America or London, you will see Indians shining," he said, which also sounded like a deliberate twist of the BJP's 2004 "India Shining" campaign slogan. "My job is to change the system so all of India can shine." He claimed he had "substantially reduced" corruption during his short tenure as Delhi chief minister, by encouraging people to use their phones to record any official offering a bribe. His plans for bringing change on a national scale are less clear. Mr Kejriwal said he doesn't want to be prime minister, but again declared himself "an anarchist" trying to "shake up the system." Such remarks are bound to divide his many critics and supporters once more. But regular salvos aimed at the AAP by Congress and the BJP are a clear sign they're rattled by his political insurgency. "This is a guerrilla force attacking two standing armies" says Professor Bina Agarwal of Manchester University. And the hole in Mr Kejriwal's sweater says this is a man determined to keep burrowing.

वहाँ यह थाः साफ, सफेद और अवज्ञाकारी।


Man charged with murder after Wisbech stabbing death

Summary: Police investigating the death of a man who was stabbed have charged a man with murder.

Jurijs Paramonovs, 46, died at his home in West Parade in Wisbech at about 21:45 GMT on Sunday. Cambridgeshire Police said he was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. Olegs Titovs, 49, of West Parade, Wisbech, has been charged with murder and was due to appear before Cambridge magistrates on Tuesday. A post-mortem found he had died from a stab wound.

छुरा घोंपने वाले व्यक्ति की मौत की जांच कर रही पुलिस ने एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या का आरोप लगाया है।


Man accused of Plymouth seafront murder remanded

Summary: A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man who was found with serious injuries close to Plymouth seafront.

Anthony Brinton, 42, had originally faced an attempted murder charge after Adrian Cieslik, 35, was attacked in West Hoe, in January. But Mr Cieslik died in March and the charge against Mr Brinton was changed. The defendant, of no fixed address, appeared at Exeter Crown Court to deny a charge of murder. He was remanded in custody and is due to go on trial at Plymouth Crown Court on 12 October. Mr Cieslik died at the city's Derriford Hospital from the injuries he sustained in Cliff Road, at about 03:20 GMT on 13 January, the court heard.

प्लाईमाउथ सीफ्रंट के पास गंभीर चोटों के साथ पाए गए एक व्यक्ति की हत्या के आरोप में एक व्यक्ति अदालत में पेश हुआ है।


Fire on Barmouth Bridge viaduct leads to rail disruption

Summary: Rail services could be affected for several days following a fire at Barmouth Bridge railway viaduct in Gwynedd.

Replacement buses are being used between Barmouth and Tywyn. Fire crews received a callout to a fire within the bridge structure shortly after 06:00 BST on Tuesday. Services between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury may also be affected due to rail staff being displaced, Arriva Trains Wales said. The affected route is part of the Cambrian Lines which continues to operate as normal between Pwllheli and Barmouth and between Tywyn and Machynlleth.

ग्वेनेड में बारमाउथ ब्रिज रेलवे पुल में आग लगने के बाद कई दिनों तक रेल सेवाएं प्रभावित हो सकती हैं।


How Trump stirred controversy in Nigeria

Summary: Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari became the first president from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Donald Trump's White House on Monday. But even after they neatly avoided Mr Trump's alleged comments about "shithole" African countries, the US president managed to stir controversy in Nigeria, writes the BBC's Stephanie Hegarty from Lagos.

Perhaps warning bells rang when Mr Trump started off asking Mr Buhari how he was getting on with "that Boca Haram", a reference to militant Islamist group Boko Haram. But then again, maybe that slip of the tongue was predictable. Less so was what he said next, as the former reality television star weighed in on the conflict between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria's Middle Belt - or the way in which he would frame it. "We have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria," Mr Trump said. "We are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen." 'Genocide'? The US president showed little understanding of a very complicated and intensely politicised crisis - one which has a battle between nomadic cattle herders and settled farmer over access to land and grazing rights at its centre. But perhaps it should not come as any surprise. Mr Trump has always been quick to jump to the defence of Christians in conflicts such as Syria and Iraq and comments like this play well to his base among Evangelical Christians in the US. But his point of view also plays into popular feeling among some Nigerian Christian groups. It is a widely touted refrain that the conflict between farmers and herdsmen constitutes a "genocide against Christians". It is hard to support this claim with any fact: there have been many killings on both sides in this conflict. But the recent attack on a Catholic church by suspected Fulani herdsmen and the murder of 17 people, including two priests, have added fuel to the flames of those who want to frame the conflict in this way. After that attack a priest in the area told the BBC he was doing what he could do prevent young Christian men from his parish launching random reprisal attacks on Muslims. Clearly then, Mr Trump's words then make for dangerous rhetoric. But many Christian leaders have taken to mainstream and social media to push this narrative, jumping upon Mr Trump's comments as a kind of vindication of their own claims. In response, Nigerian Muslim advocacy groups have criticised his comments. In a statement, the director of the Muslim Rights Concern, Ishaq Akintola, said they were "prejudiced, parochial and unpresidential" and claimed that Mr Trump "is luring Nigerian Christians into bolder confrontation with Muslims". With elections due in February 2019, there is an intensely political side to all of this. President Buhari has announced his intention to re-run for office. He is a Muslim and a Hausa-Fulani. Much of the conversation on this crisis falls along these ethnic and political lines - Christian vs Muslim; Hausa-Fulani vs everyone else. In reality, the conflict falls along lines that are much less easily defined. During the press conference, Mr Buhari was quick to deflect the Christian comment. He immediately reframed the question to address a conflict between farmers and herdsmen, saying: "The problem of cattle herders is a very long historical problem. Before now, cattle herders were known to carry sticks and machetes… but these ones are carrying AK-47s." As he has in the past, he went on to explain what is happening as a consequence of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's arming of "mercenaries". Mr Buhari claimed they are now returning to West Africa and causing trouble. Whether Gaddafi's former soldiers are responsible for this crisis or not, there is a point to be made here. Since the crisis in Libya began, guns have been flooding into West Africa through the Sahel - just as migrants have been rushing in the other direction. Last year, the Director of UN's Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa said 70% of the illegal small arms imported to West Africa end up in Nigeria, according to PRI Nigeria. But if Mr Buhari felt any exasperation at Mr Trump's unexpected comments, it was quickly brushed under the carpet. Despite the rhetoric which does little to promote peace in Nigeria's central region, the two leaders came across as firm friends. Instead, in true Trump style, the two men patted each other on the back over a recent "deal": the sale of 12 US military aircraft to Nigeria. And another bone of contention was artfully avoided - Mr Trump's allegedly ungracious comments in January comparing African countries to a toilet. While many Nigerians had hoped their president would take Mr Trump to task, Mr Buhari admitted he did not bring it up. Instead, Mr Buhari, standing in the Rose Garden, reiterated his deep appreciation for the invitation. He seemed to shrink into the background as Mr Trump took centre stage, complimenting Nigeria as a beautiful country and professing his desire to visit Africa's most populous state.

नाइजीरिया के मुहम्मदु बुहारी सोमवार को डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के व्हाइट हाउस का दौरा करने वाले उप-सहारा अफ्रीका के पहले राष्ट्रपति बने। लेकिन अफ्रीकी देशों के बारे में श्री ट्रम्प की कथित टिप्पणियों को बड़े करीने से टालने के बाद भी, अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति नाइजीरिया में विवाद खड़ा करने में कामयाब रहे, लागोस से बीबीसी की स्टेफ़नी हेगार्टी लिखते हैं।


Man dies in early morning Ixworth flat blaze

Summary: A man has died in a blaze at a flat in the early hours of the morning, police have said.

The victim, who has not been named, died after a fire broke out at the property in Peddars Close, Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds. Suffolk Police said they were contacted by the fire service just after 01:30 BST following reports of the blaze. Officers said the death is not thought to be suspicious, but a joint police and fire investigation was under way.

पुलिस ने कहा है कि सुबह एक फ्लैट में आग लगने से एक व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


Mind the NHS financial 'black hole'

Summary: Hospital trusts at "crisis point", a "huge challenge" to put the NHS on a firmer footing and a potential "black hole" in the finances. These were just some of the bleak conclusions of the Commons Public Accounts Committee on the financial state of the health service in England.

Hugh PymHealth editor@bbcHughPymon Twitter In one sense the findings were not surprising as the Committee was putting its own stamp on a previously published report by the National Audit Office. But the MPs zoned in on one particular aspect of NHS finances which has not had much of an airing - the feasibility of the planned annual £22 billion of efficiency savings which NHS England says must be achieved by 2020 to allow growth in patient demand to be satisfied. That £22 billion was flagged up by Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, as part of a deal with ministers which would see more than £8 billion above inflation coming from the Government in 2020. But not much has been said since about how those savings might be achieved. The Committee report says there is "not yet a convincing plan" for the £22 billion. Ministers and NHS leaders argue that "transformation" plans in local communities aimed at giving patients better care closer to home will keep them out of hospital and so save money. But the MPs are sceptical about whether this will generate anything like the required amount of savings. How to make savings Lord Carter, the Government's adviser on hospital productivity, believes that £5 billion can be found in 2020 partly by smarter procurement of supplies. But some close to the front line believe this is too optimistic. More savings will come from setting a cap on pay growth, but one senior source in hospital management says the idea that the full £22 billion can be conjured up is "fanciful". Ministers argue, understandably, that health had a considerably more generous settlement in the spending review than most other departments. An extra £3.8 billion above inflation has been allocated for the financial year beginning in April as well as the promised higher funding in 2020. A Department of Health spokesperson, responding to the parliamentary committee report, said : "We are intensively supporting challenged trusts to improve finances, while clamping down on rip off staffing agencies and helping hospitals become more efficient by sharing best practice across the service." But sceptics in the leading hospitals argue that the funding increase for the 2016/17 financial year is enough simply to keep the show on the road. The extra annual allocations for the following few years, they argue, are not enough to keep up with the anticipated surge in patient demand. Extra cash has been pledged in recent weeks for mental health and maternity services and it is not clear how much is left over just to deal with the larger numbers of people needing hospital care. And then there's the seven-day NHS issue. The Government wants to extend the range of weekend services in hospitals and GP practices in England by the time of the next election. Ministers acknowledge this pledge will come with a price tag. But the doubters ask where that money is coming from. Prof Jane Dacre, president of the Royal College of Physicians, has argued there are not enough doctors to fill vacancies now, let alone provide the more extensive range of weekend cover planned by the Government. The Chancellor George Osborne, as he prepared to deliver his Budget, will probably feel exasperated that some in the NHS are calling for even more money so soon after what many hailed as a generous deal in the spending review. But the NHS has to deliver care to a rising and ageing population and questions are increasingly being asked across the service and in parliament about what that care will look like in 2020 on current spending plans.

अस्पताल "संकट बिंदु" पर भरोसा करता है, एन. एच. एस. को एक मजबूत पायदान पर रखने के लिए एक "बड़ी चुनौती" और वित्त में एक संभावित "ब्लैक होल"। ये इंग्लैंड में स्वास्थ्य सेवा की वित्तीय स्थिति पर कॉमन्स पब्लिक अकाउंट्स कमेटी के कुछ निराशाजनक निष्कर्ष थे।


stop criticising each other - Anura Bandaranaike

Summary: The Leaders of the Sri lanka Freedom party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) emphasised in a joint press conference held in Anuradhapura that despite recent differences they are still very much together.

The press conference was held as part of the one year commemoration of the ruling party alliance. Addressing the press conference Minister Anura Bandaranaike said that there are many including the main opposition, Tamil tigers and non governmental organizations that are looking forward towards the collapse of the alliance. He went on to say that if the JVP moves away the government would be pushed out of office. Athula Bandara reporting from Anuradhapura says that Anura Bandaranaike was critical towards the Deputy Ministers who give press interviews denouncing the JVP. He said “there have been careless utterances from both sides but there is more blame on our side" Anura Bandaranaike also added that it is the responsibility of the President not to turn her friends in to enemies.The Presidient has been very critical of the JVP in the recent past. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha who participated in the religious ceremonies did not participate in the press conference. Echoing Anura Bandaranaikes comments JVP Parliamentarian Wimal weerawansa said that the wish of the Opposition for the alliance to collapse is nothing more than a dream.

श्रीलंका फ्रीडम पार्टी (एस. एल. एफ. पी.) और जनता विमुक्ति पेरामुना (जे. वी. पी.) के नेताओं ने अनुराधापुरा में आयोजित एक संयुक्त संवाददाता सम्मेलन में जोर देकर कहा कि हाल के मतभेदों के बावजूद वे अभी भी एक साथ हैं।


Thai granny completes university degree at 91

Summary: A 91-year-old woman from Thailand who says it's "never too late to study" has completed her bachelor's degree after more than 10 years of work. She spoke to Watchiranont Thongtep of the BBC's Thai service.

Kimlan Jinakul had always wanted to go to university but as a young girl simply did not have the opportunity. But almost a lifetime later and after seeing most of her own children through university, she decided to enrol and on Wednesday finally picked up her degree. Kimlan originally comes from the Lampang province in the north of Thailand. She was a smart pupil and went to one of the best schools in her province. But moving on to university was not an option at the time, and after her family moved to Bangkok she got married and had to abandon her dream to study further. "I have always, though, wanted my children to be able to study. So I encouraged and supported them when they wanted to to go to university." Four of her five children got a masters degree and one even went on to receive a PhD in the US. And it was her kids' academic experience that eventually led her to get enrolled herself. A good and happy life When one of her daughters - who was already working at a hospital - took a course at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Kimlan decided to get on board as well. She was 72 when she first enrolled, but tragically, the daughter she was studying with died. Kimlan dropped out of the course for a few years. When she was 85, she went back for a second shot and enrolled for a degree in Human Ecology - a programme that she said would teach her how to live a good and happy life. "After recovering from the loss and sadness, I pushed myself to finish this programme. I'm hoping my daughter's soul would be pleased to see this," she told the BBC. More stories like this During her years of studying, her daily routine was to rise early and give alms to Buddhist monks, then visit a temple in the neighbourhood and eventually sit down and study. "It's never too late. My mind is always awake and sharp for learning," Kimlan said. "This world never stops. There are always new problems for us to solve. If there were no new sciences, the world would stop prospering," she said. Formula for success Asked about the secret to success, she said it was determination and ambition that got her that far. "When I told myself to finish one chapter, I would try my best to do so. I underlined all the key points I needed to memorise. And that's what helped me during my study reviews. "I was glad when I passed and sad when I failed. So I re-took the exam until I passed," she laughed. So what's the plan now that she's got her degree? "I don't think anybody would employ me if I were to look for a job," she jokes. "I will just continue to look after my grandchildren."

थाईलैंड की एक 91 वर्षीय महिला, जो कहती है कि "पढ़ने में कभी देर नहीं होती", ने 10 साल से अधिक के काम के बाद अपनी स्नातक की डिग्री पूरी की है। उसने बीबीसी की थाई सेवा के वॉचिरानॉन्ट थोंगटेप से बात की।


Minimum wage fight: 'There's no recovery without raising it'

Summary: When 23-year-old Jamila Allen cast her vote for Joe Biden in the US presidential election last year, one thing was top of her mind: his promise to raise the country's minimum hourly wage to $15 (£10.80).

By Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, New York Jamila, a full-time manager at a fast food restaurant in North Carolina, earns about $11.20 an hour. With an increase, she saw a chance to breathe easier financially - to not worry about the cost of food and other basics, maybe live on her own, even save up to go to university. But though Mr Biden won the White House, the prospects of such a change to the minimum wage remain unclear. Last month, a proposal to include the increase in the $1.9 trillion economic relief package failed - sunk in part due to lack of support from key members of his own political party, the Democrats, who said requiring businesses to pay $15 an hour by 2025 went too far. Now, as Mr Biden turns to other priorities, such as a massive package of infrastructure spending, there is a risk the issue will get lost. "We've been fighting for so long," Jamila says. "To see that the people we voted for really denied it made me feel really disappointed." Can a $15 minimum wage still pass? Polls show widespread support for raising the national minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 (£5.22) - roughly $15,000 annually - since 2009. In recent years, under pressure from activists, 30 states and Washington DC have taken steps to boost pay above that standard. Nine will have minimum rates at or above $15 per hour by 2025. Major employers like Amazon, Target and grocery store Kroger have also set starting pay at that amount. But efforts to extend the increase countrywide have repeatedly failed. 'Systemically discriminatory' The Raise the Wage Act would have increased the minimum hourly rate to $9.50 this year and to $15 by 2025. It also proposed expanding the minimum rate to more groups, such as people under the age of 20, disabled and tipped workers. Economists estimate such a move would boost pay for roughly 30 million people, or about one in six US workers - disproportionately black and Hispanic women in southern states. "There are 20 states that haven't and won't raise their own minimum wages [without] federal action," says Judy Conti, government affairs director at the National Employment Law Project, which has pushed for an increase. "It is leaving way too many people behind… and it is leaving them behind in a systemically discriminatory way." Senators from both political parties have said they are open to an increase. After all, the current minimum is so low that less than 2% of US workers earn at or below that rate - even less than in the UK, where the comparable figure stands at about 7%. But many business groups and politicians favour a smaller increase - to $10 or $11 an hour - arguing that $15 doesn't account for the difference between places like high-cost New York City and rural Mississippi. Lawmakers looking at a rise should account for regional cost-of-living variation, reconsider the timeframe to phase in a hike, and include other support for businesses, says Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association, which opposed the increase to $15 in the relief bill, including the expansion to tipped workers. "We are absolutely ready for a real conversation on what to do about increases to the minimum wage, but the Raise the Wage Act is not the right way to do it," he says. 'Wrong' time? The pandemic has complicated the conversation. Many on the right say acting now will hurt small firms in the already battered restaurant and hospitality sector, risking millions of jobs needed for a recovery - an estimated 1.4 million by one government estimate. But supporters of a change say $15 hourly pay - a target activists first set back in 2012 - would help stimulate spending, and argue that the dollars involved are not radical. Equating to roughly $31,000 a year, it is barely enough for a single adult to afford basic necessities in most parts of the country, according to a living wage calculator put together by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). "Workers in this country have compromised enough," says Lauren Jacobs, executive director at the Partnership for Working Families, a national network of advocacy groups. "The reason why so many people and so many families are on the precipice of eviction and that hunger has expanded so much is because of the working conditions that existed before the pandemic started. Raising the minimum wage is a long-term fix to getting at some of the root causes." Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, which represents tipped workers and restaurants that support an increase, says the topic remains the subject of active discussions in Washington and she is optimistic that it will pass eventually. "There is no recovery without raising the wage. You can't 'build back better'," says Ms Jayaraman in a pointed reference to Mr Biden's campaign slogan. "So it's not dead by any means - it's actually much more alive than it's been in a very long time." Activists don't plan to let Mr Biden forget his promises. "We need $15. I know people who are getting paid $13 and still can't afford things," says Jamila, who joined the Fight for $15 campaign a few years ago when she started working at the Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers chain in Durham. "So we're going to keep pushing, keep yelling, keep talking and we're going to make them listen."

जब 23 वर्षीय जमीला एलन ने पिछले साल अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति चुनाव में जो बाइडन के लिए अपना वोट डाला, तो उनके दिमाग में एक बात सबसे ऊपर थीः देश के न्यूनतम प्रति घंटा वेतन को $15 (£ 10.80) तक बढ़ाने का उनका वादा।


Coronavirus: New virus hotspots emerge in Australia

Summary: Health officials in Sydney have issued public health alerts after a cluster of coronavirus cases believed to be linked to gyms and clubs in the city.

Eleven new cases have been reported in and around Sydney since Wednesday, and there are fears the numbers could grow. Meanwhile in Queensland, correctional facilities have been quarantined after a trainer tested positive. Victoria was celebrating some good news with its lowest number of daily cases, 113, since the beginning of July. State Premier Daniel Andrews said it raised hope that the spread of the virus was slowing and strict lockdown restrictions could be eased next month. Australia has now recorded more than 25,500 infections of Covid-19, resulting in more than 570 deaths.

सिडनी में स्वास्थ्य अधिकारियों ने शहर में जिम और क्लबों से जुड़े कोरोनावायरस मामलों के एक समूह के बाद सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य अलर्ट जारी किए हैं।


Luton woman in her 70s robbed on post-lockdown walk

Summary: A woman in her 70s was robbed while out walking for the first time in three months after spending time shielding herself from the coronavirus.

The victim was walking her dog in a wooded walkway dividing Henge Way and Spinney Road in Luton when she was attacked. A man approached her on a bike, punched her and pushed her to the ground, before stealing her handbag. Bedfordshire Police called the incident "terrifying". The incident took place on Wednesday 1 July at about 19:50 BST. The man is described as black, of medium build and about 5ft 6ins tall. He was wearing a navy blue hoodie with the hood up and tied around his face.

कोरोनावायरस से खुद को बचाने में समय बिताने के बाद तीन महीने में पहली बार चलने के दौरान 70 के दशक की एक महिला को लूट लिया गया था।


Slough's Horlicks Bridge shut for Crossrail works

Summary: Drivers are being diverted away from a bridge in Slough over the Easter weekend, as it is replaced as part of the Crossrail project.

Horlicks Bridge, in Stoke Poges Lane, shut on Friday at 07:00 BST and will reopen at 19:00 on Monday as part of the first stage of the work. Diversions will be in place via the A4, Stoke Road, Elliman Avenue, and Sheffield Road. The first Crossrail services through central London will start in late-2018.

ईस्टर सप्ताहांत में चालकों को स्लॉ में एक पुल से दूर भेजा जा रहा है, क्योंकि इसे क्रॉसरेल परियोजना के हिस्से के रूप में बदला गया है।


York Viking treasure back on display after conservation

Summary: A hoard of Viking jewellery discovered by a metal detectorist has gone back on display at the Yorkshire Museum in York after restoration.

The Bedale Hoard was found in a field in 2012 and was bought by the museum after a public campaign raised £50,000. It includes a gold sword pommel, a silver neck ring, silver ingots and an armlet. The collection was described as a "nationally important discovery" by experts at the British Museum. It has been restored by a team at the York Archaeological Trust over the last few months. The hoard, believed to date from the late ninth or early 10th century, was found by metal detectorist Stuart Campbell.

एक मेटल डिटेक्टर द्वारा खोजे गए वाइकिंग आभूषणों का एक भंडार पुनर्स्थापना के बाद यॉर्कशायर संग्रहालय में प्रदर्शन के लिए वापस चला गया है।


German president voices 'shame' at Nazi Wannsee villa

Summary: German President Christian Wulff has spoken of Germany's "shame" on a visit to the villa where 70 years ago senior Nazis planned the mass murder of Jews.

"It is important and a national task to keep the memory alive," Mr Wulff said at Wannsee, near Berlin, where the Holocaust was planned in 1942. He called it "a place of German shame". He also expressed "anger and shame" that a neo-Nazi cell blamed for 10 murders had operated for a decade before being exposed in November. The Holocaust was planned at the Wannsee villa by Reinhard Heydrich and 14 other top Nazis. Killings of Jews were already under way and Wannsee turned the policy into genocide. It is now a memorial and educational site. Mr Wulff said "we cannot be allowed to forget that this - the unbelievable and unimaginable - actually happened".

जर्मन राष्ट्रपति क्रिश्चियन वुल्फ ने उस विला की यात्रा पर जर्मनी की "शर्म" की बात कही है जहाँ 70 साल पहले वरिष्ठ नाजियों ने यहूदियों की सामूहिक हत्या की योजना बनाई थी।


Wales Bill nears the end of its Commons journey

Summary: The Wales Bill is nearing the end of its journey through the House of Commons. MPs are currently debating a range of amendments to legislation that is largely unchanged since it was introduced in parliament (although very different from the draft version of the legislation).

David CornockParliamentary correspondent, Wales Some of the issues are familiar - the issue of a separate legal jurisdiction is occupying MPs at the time of writing. Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has rejected that proposal despite a Plaid Cymru protest that the Welsh Assembly is the only legislature in the world without a separate jurisdiction. The debate has followed a familiar routine. Plaid Cymru cut and pasted an amendment from the Welsh Government's own alternative Wales Bill and challenged Welsh Labour MPs to vote for it. It can be an effective tactic in highlighting differences between Labour in Wales and in Westminster. Ahead of the debate, Mr Cairns challenged the Welsh Government to use its new powers "to make a difference" and make the National Assembly matter to the people of Wales. Mr Cairns said people were "fed up" talking about the constitution and it was time to use the powers contained in the Bill effectively. The Bill transfers power over fracking and road speed limits as well as allowing the National Assembly to set the voting age for Welsh elections, call itself a parliament and decide how many members it should have. It removes the requirement to hold a referendum before the Welsh Government gets the power to vary income tax rates. 'Accountable' Mr Cairns told BBC Wales: " It's about making an Assembly that matters to the people of Wales. For too long we've been debating the constitution, for too long we've been debating minutiae about governance issues. This is now empowering the WG to act on the things that matter to people in Wales. They will be truly accountable, truly responsible, so they will rightly get the credit when things go right but they will also be held to account when things aren't going the way in which they deemed in their policies. "My message is: take these powers, use them effectively to make a difference. We're fed up talking about constitutional settlements. This is a Bill that will give them the right powers and it is up to them to make the most of them and use them properly to benefit the people in Wales." Plaid Cymru say the Bill still leaves Wales behind Scotland and Northern Ireland. Jonathan Edwards said: "Both those nations have far more powers than Wales at the moment and this Wales Bill won't take us anywhere near where Scotland is at the moment." Mr Cairns's former special adviser Tomos Dafydd echoed his former boss's tone in an article that suggested tax-varying powers would change the political culture in a Wales where "our political class remain fixated on petty constitutional squabbles". For Labour, Shadow Welsh Secretary Paul Flynn dampened hopes that this Wales Bill might draw a line under those squabbles. He told MPs: "This is one of those occasions we turn to every four or five years in this House and we're doomed to do it, I'm afraid, for the foreseeable future because this is not the final word." 'Consensus' But he tempered that prediction with some warm words for minister: "I'm grateful, I think we all are, to the amount of consensus there is on the Bill - and the main features of this Bill are progressive. They'll introduce a stability and a new dignity to the Assembly which is winning more respect for its position virtually every time we come and have these Bills here." He added: "There is in general agreement and thanks to the government fore being pragmatic enough and generous enough to accept reasonably many of the amendments put down." Despite criticism of the timidity of the Bill, Mr Flynn praised a recent appointment on the government side - that of "a young, thrusting MP" [Glyn Davies] as Mr Cairns's parliamentary private secretary. "It's nice to know that the spirit of giving youth a chance on this front bench is extended to the honourable gentleman too." The Montgomeryshire MP - nine years Mr Flynn's junior - grinned broadly.

वेल्स विधेयक हाउस ऑफ कॉमन्स के माध्यम से अपनी यात्रा के अंत के करीब है। सांसद वर्तमान में कानून में कई संशोधनों पर बहस कर रहे हैं जो संसद में पेश किए जाने के बाद से काफी हद तक अपरिवर्तित हैं (हालांकि कानून के मसौदा संस्करण से बहुत अलग हैं)।


Christmas markets: Will Brexit have any effect?

Summary: It's that time of year when market traders from Europe make their annual pilgrimage to kick off England's Christmas countdown. It's the first time the rows of glowing wooden huts have been set up since Britain voted to leave the European Union. So will Brexit have any impact on Christmas markets as we know them?

Birmingham is twinkling in anticipation of the Frankfurt Christmas market which opens on Thursday with 138 stalls - only eight down from last year. Stallholders have extended their stay until 29 December. Over in Manchester, the smell of warm Bratwurst and Glühwein is already filling the cold air in an event hailed as the "biggest and best yet". And Shropshire is getting ready to welcome traders from Italy, France, Germany Poland and Spain when Telford's Southwater shopping centre holds its first European Christmas market from 1 to 23 December. If these three events are anything to go by, the markets have never been better. But organising the markets, which have become a mainstay of Christmas in the UK, was already well under way by June's EU referendum. When Britain leaves the EU will it be more difficult for stallholders to come and work here? Will the value of the pound against the euro affect their profits? Will they still feel welcome here? Drei Brum German Market Facts Eins: In its 16th year, the market has 138 stalls selling everything from nutcrackers to giant iced biscuits Zwei: The market spans one mile from Victoria Square down New Street Drei: Chris Moose has his own Twitter account to share his favourite festive puns and jokes Britain must first submit Article 50 to trigger the start of two-year exit negotiations. During this time nothing legal and regulatory will change, says Prof Philip Booth, an academic and research director at the London-based think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. Currently EU residents have the right to live and work in the UK. But if the British government imposes permits and visas, stallholders "may just find it more hassle than it's worth", says Prof Booth. "Unless the government issues temporary permits for that particular issue, some kind of non-bureaucratic arrangement, then if I was a stallholder I think I would be pretty worried." With many traders relying on seasonal migrant workers to run their stalls, he says stallholders may stop coming to England in favour of EU countries to avoid paperwork and costs. Allan Hartwell has built his business on bringing European markets to the UK. He thinks if Brexit has an impact it may create more opportunities for British businesses. The managing director of Market Place, which operates Christmas markets in Belfast, Exeter, Glasgow and Newcastle, says: "It may be that we are doing trade with new countries and that may create opportunities for Christmas markets. "Even if we start to see a drop-off in the travelling EU traders, it's going to create more opportunities perhaps for local traders to emerge." So we could see more items with a Made in England stamp. During last year's Christmas market the exchange rate was 1.4 euros for every £1. The pound plummeted immediately after the referendum result but today it's back up to around 1.16. The organiser of the Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham, Kurt Stroscher, told the Birmingham Mail: "Brexit and the low value of the pound will not have any effect on prices." As stallholders begin setting out their wares, a full picture of what kind of a welcome they will receive from British shoppers is yet to emerge. But Astrid Von Der Gathen, a stallholder at Birmingham's Christmas market for more than 10 years, says she is "not worried" because she runs part of her business through a limited company in England. And she says she still feels welcome: "England will always be like my second home." Prof Iain Beggis, from the European Institute at the London School of Economics, does not think trade negotiations will go so far as to turn people away from wooden toys and pretzels. "Unless of course there is a cultural backlash of 'we don't want them here', however I think the hostilities we have seen since June will fade," he says. Over in Telford, council arts manager Psyche Hudson says the town is "still very much European" and "eclectic" despite most voters being in favour of leaving the EU. Back in Birmingham, as Chris Moose the singing moose is unpacked and put back in pride of place on the marketstall pub, Mr Stroscher is pragmatic about the result of Brexit. He says: "The stallholders of Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market and me, as the organiser of it, are not really happy with the Brexit vote. "But in my opinion, voting against the EU was political - it was not a vote against friendship with the people of Europe. "And for me the Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham is a sign of this human friendship." Your Christmas shopping questions This story was inspired by Stuart Onyeche who used Your Questions to ask about the future of Birmingham's Christmas market post-Brexit. He said: "I think regardless of which side of the EU membership debate Brummies fall on, the vast majority of people would agree [the Christmas market] is a very visible example of the beneficial cultural bonds we have with our European neighbours that we want to continue to see flourish after the UK leaves the EU."

यह साल का वह समय है जब यूरोप के बाजार व्यापारी इंग्लैंड की क्रिसमस की उलटी गिनती शुरू करने के लिए अपनी वार्षिक तीर्थयात्रा करते हैं। यह पहली बार है जब ब्रिटेन द्वारा यूरोपीय संघ छोड़ने के लिए मतदान करने के बाद से चमकती लकड़ी की झोपड़ियों की पंक्तियाँ स्थापित की गई हैं। तो क्या ब्रेक्सिट का क्रिसमस बाजारों पर कोई प्रभाव पड़ेगा जैसा कि हम उन्हें जानते हैं?


Work starts on flood damaged path near Keswick

Summary: A footpath near Keswick damaged in the floods that affected Cumbria during November 2009 is to be repaired.

Work on Newlands Beck, Little Braithwaite, will see logs used to strengthen the watercourse. The path alongside will then be restored. About 4,000ft (1,200m) of logs will be used. Work is scheduled to take 10 weeks to complete. More than 250 bridges were damaged in the Lake District due to the floods. So far £1.4m has been spent on repairs. The Lake District National Park Authority estimate that another £500,000 of work still needs to be done.

नवंबर 2009 के दौरान कुंब्रिया को प्रभावित करने वाली बाढ़ में क्षतिग्रस्त केसविक के पास एक फुटपाथ की मरम्मत की जानी है।


Navalny 'Novichok poisoning' a test for the West

Summary: The German government's announcement on Wednesday that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has been poisoned by a sophisticated nerve agent known as a Novichok makes this case even more serious than it already was.

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent Most importantly, it will increase suspicions that, despite its denials, the Russian state was behind his poisoning. Novichok - meaning "newcomer" in Russian - applies to a group of synthetically produced nerve agents originally developed by the Soviet Union in a laboratory in Uzbekistan before the USSR disintegrated in 1991. Western intelligence agencies believe that Novichok has since been refined into a hard-to-detect assassination weapon in covert techniques practised by operatives of the GRU, Russian military intelligence, including being smeared on to door handles. Novichok can be deployed in both liquid and solid forms. Two of those operatives were widely believed to have poisoned the Russian defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in 2018 using Novichok. A local Wiltshire resident, Dawn Sturgess, subsequently died after handling the contents of the discarded perfume bottle used to disguise the nerve agent. Western governments reacted forcefully to this failed assassination attempt on British soil. In a co-ordinated move, 20 countries expelled more than a hundred Russian diplomats and spies, dealing a huge blow to Moscow's intelligence-gathering networks in the West. Even covert agents in deep cover inside Britain, whom Moscow believed were operating undetected by MI5, the security service, were ordered to leave. This was all in marked contrast to the mild British government response - since criticised - to the poisoning of former KGB officer and defector Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. After the agonising death in a London hospital by radioactive Polonium poisoning of this former Russian colonel, branded as a traitor by the Kremlin, an investigation dragged on for years while the two Russian suspects remained at large in Russia. Critics believe the lack of a forceful response by the West encouraged hardliners in the Kremlin to sanction the targeting abroad of those considered traitors to the Russian state. Today, Alexei Navalny has no shortage of enemies. As a vigorous campaigner against corruption, he has amassed millions of young followers but also angered those people whose nefarious activities have been exposed in his popular videos. There are plenty of people both in government and in business circles who would like to see him removed from the public sphere. But Novichok, unlike naturally occurring toxins that can be refined from natural products found in the countryside, is not something casually cooked up by amateurs. It is a military-grade chemical weapon that tends to point the finger of suspicion towards the Russian state. Although Mr Navalny appeared to be poisoned on Russian soil, rather than in a Nato member country, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said "there were now very serious questions which only the Russian government could and must answer". UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab echoed that comment, saying that the Russian government had a clear case to answer about what happened to Mr Navalny. He said Britain would now work closely with Germany and other allies to show there were consequences for using banned chemical weapons. In Washington, the White House National Security Council issued a statement saying it would work with allies to hold those in Russia accountable. The former British Army officer and chemical weapons expert, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, has been warning for years that the unchecked use of chemical weapons against rebels and civilians alike in populated areas by the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria sends a dangerous signal. How governments now react to this latest use of a Novichok nerve agent against a public political figure will be influenced in part by the findings of the global chemical watchdog, the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the OPCW. The chairman of Britain's Parliamentary Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood MP, tweeted: "Russia/Novichok - again. A test for the West on how we collectively respond."

बुधवार को जर्मन सरकार की घोषणा कि रूसी विपक्षी नेता एलेक्सी नवलनी को नोविचोक के रूप में जाने जाने वाले एक परिष्कृत तंत्रिका एजेंट द्वारा जहर दिया गया है, इस मामले को पहले से भी अधिक गंभीर बना देता है।


Thanet cancer fundraiser denies £45k fraud

Summary: A woman has denied fraudulently accepting more than £45,000 in donations for an illness she allegedly did not have.

Nicole Elkabbas, 40, of Edge End Road, Broadstairs, is alleged to have falsely claimed to need cancer treatment. She received donations from the public between February and August 2018, Kent Police said. Appearing at Margate Magistrates' Court, Ms Elkabbas denied six counts of fraud by false representation. She was granted bail ahead of a trial at Canterbury Crown Court. Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram

एक महिला ने एक ऐसी बीमारी के लिए धोखाधड़ी से £45,000 से अधिक दान स्वीकार करने से इनकार किया है जो कथित रूप से उसके पास नहीं थी।