How Rachel Hislop relaunched Okayplayer - despite everything

Summary: June was an unforgettable month for Rachel Hislop. Just not in the way she expected.

By Mark SavageBBC music reporter For the last two years, she's been plotting the relaunch of the ground-breaking and influential hip-hop website Okayplayer. Once one of America's most popular online music destinations, its reputation had dipped in recent years; and Hislop, who'd made her name working with Beyoncé, was brought in to make it relevant again. By the start of 2020, plans were in place. New writers had been hired, photoshoots were booked and interviews were scheduled, Then Covid-19 hit and scattered her staff. Then the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor irrevocably changed the site's editorial goals. Then her CEO, Abiola Oke, was forced to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment and creating a toxic work environment. "It all just came tumbling down," Hislop tells the BBC. We spoke to the editor-in-chief twice for this article. The first interview took place a few days after Okayplayer's relaunch, when Hislop was tired but excited at having pulled together the new site through "the fog of fatigue and trauma". The second came a week later, after the allegations against Oke had come to light. That time, she was more reserved. The intervening seven days had not been easy. "I learned of the allegations as they rolled out on Twitter," she says. "And, you know, as someone who has dealt with similar situations in my personal life, it knocked me clear off of my feet. "It was really, really disappointing." 'No stigma' The importance of Okayplayer in the early days of online music culture is hard to overstate. Established by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and author Angela Nissel in 1999, it was one of the first places where fans could interact directly with artists online - four years before MySpace and six before YouTube. Initially conceived as a promotional tool for The Roots and their associated acts, it thrived because of its messageboards, where topics included "The Lesson", a deep dive into music history; "Pass The Popcorn," for movie discussions; and "Okay-activist," which centred around political activism. "OKP was the first place where you could talk to other black people from all over the country who shared your experiences and interests," rapper Phonte Coleman, a regular poster on the message boards, told The Undefeated earlier this year. "OKP removed the stigma of talking to strangers on the internet because we had the shared bond of music. If you were a Prince fan, you could be on a forum of other Prince fans. OKP is where you can find bigger music nerds than me. And I'm a big music nerd." The community, like many early internet chatrooms, was unusually supportive. Members organised interstate carpools, promoted each other's art and formed political action groups. But as the conversation around music and black culture moved away from blogs and messageboards to Facebook and Twitter in, the site began to feel stale. That's where Hislop comes in. Born and raised in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn to working-class immigrant parents, she'd fallen in love with magazines as a child. Her mother, who worked for the union that serviced the L'Oreal building in New York, would bring home copies of 17 and Cosmo Girl. "I remember being like, 'What is this world? Who are these cool people in these pages?'" she says. "It just was so far-fetched for me because I grew up in Brooklyn and everybody was very blue collar. I'd never seen anyone who looked like me doing these types of things. But my mom would be like, 'Write letters to the addresses in there.' So I was like, 11 years old writing letters to the editor! "It wasn't until I was in my senior year of high school that I took a journalism class, and was like, 'Oh, this is a thing! I love editing people and this red pen gives me power! This is amazing!'" Dr Dre and Beyoncé While studying journalism at university, Hislop took a summer internship at the fashion magazine Nylon. She quickly realised that, every time she returned to the office, the print team was dwindling while the website was growing - and started enrolling in classes that taught Photoshop and the web design software Dreamwaver. "And that was kind of like my edge, like, 'I know I'm young, but I know the internet really, really well - please just give me a chance!'" Her first job came at the Global Grind website, where she secured an exclusive interview with Dr Dre by walking up to him at a "really fancy party wearing these pants that I had bought at the Gap for $7". "I just approached him like, 'Hey I'm a reporter, would you mind if I just asked you three questions?' and he was really welcoming." What she didn't realise, as she sat on the bus ride home, filing the story on her mobile phone, was that Dre hadn't spoken to the press for three years. His quotes - which covered his ambitions for the Beats headphone brand, and a then-unknown rapper called Kendrick Lamar - would go around the world. Hislop was quickly promoted to style editor at Global Grind. Soon after, though, she received "a mysterious call about a mysterious job for a mysterious person". That person turned out to be Beyoncé. Hislop was hired to run all of the star's websites and social media channels, and she helped mastermind the online strategy for her 2016 album, Lemonade, which highlighted messages of social justice and black empowerment. "At the time, celebrities were on social media but they weren't really using it to make statements," recalls Hislop. "We were able to work together to think about how we can use her digital voice for philanthropy, for everything, to really expand those messages about who she was as a person." Although the job was successful and rewarding ("it was like really intense grad school," she says), Hislop was itching to get back into journalism. So when Okayplayer came knocking in 2017, she saw an opportunity to take all the lessons she'd learned about digital storytelling and apply them to a "legacy brand". As editor-in-chief, she wants to steer the site away from "rolling news" - the video premieres, gossip and squabbles that play out in real time on social media - and commission more coverage of culture, political, and social reform. "In the past we focused just on the music," she says. "We don't have that luxury any more. "Now, we have to have enough information for our readers to be fully informed, to understand the scope of the music that we're presenting to them. They have to have the backstory." When the Covid-19 lockdown took effect in March, Hislop found herself reconfiguring Okayplayer from her teenage bedroom. There, she commissioned digital cover stories with reggae artist Buju Banton and stars-in-the-making Chloe x Halle, reflecting her vision of a site that could "provide the bridges that tie legacy to the new age". But just as the team were about to hit the publish button, George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis, triggering a huge wave of Black Lives Matter protests. Hislop paused the relaunch and asked her staff a question: "What is our role in this protest moment?" It was a shrewd point. The 1960s civil rights movement helped establish black-owned magazines like Ebony and Jet, which in turn helped set the tone of the conversation for black communities. But in 2020, citizens are mobilising and organising online. Where does a site like Okayplayer fit into that landscape? "It's something I think about a lot," says Hislop. "There are different ways to lend a voice right now. Some people need to be in the street, some people need to be on Twitter and some of us need to be documenting the things that are happening and making sure that we're elevating the voices that are enacting that change." 'Young black journalists burn out early' Her approach was eventually inspired by the original incarnation of Okayplayer, which put the audience at the heart of the conversation. "I can't sit here and say that I know exactly what a low income person in Flint, Michigan is going through right now - but I do have a platform where we can reach out to people who are living those realities and allow them the space to write about these things from their point of view." She adds that discovering and supporting new voices, especially minority voices, has got to become a priority for media companies across the board. "A lot of young black journalists burn out really early in their careers and it's really because that mentorship is missing," she says. "It takes real systematic change within organisations to make sure that the black and brown people who are on the staff, that are telling these stories, feel supported. That their ideas feel like they're respected and that they're not shut down all the time." She says young writers, of any background, "might not come in with the cleanest first draft, but that's okay because they need these opportunities to understand what it's like to be edited, and to understand what it's like to get that first click and then build from there. "We have to continue to get people in positions of power so that they can lift as they climb." Hislop is in such a position right now - which is why it's been so demoralising to have her achievements overshadowed by the exit of Okayplayer's CEO. The accusations against Abiola Oke surfaced just days after the website relaunched. Ivie Ani, a former writer, posted a statement on Twitter, saying that black female employees had suffered "a lack of support and resources, below market salaries, inadequate leadership, targeting and sabotage, slander, verbal abuse, inappropriate behaviour, gaslighting, lack of empathy, manipulation, rationalising poor or unethical conduct and wrongful termination". Other people came forward with similar allegations, including one woman who claimed Oke sexually harassed her. He resigned the next day; and later posted a lengthy statement saying he was "deeply sorry" for making black female colleagues "feel invisible or silenced". He also "emphatically and unequivocally" denied sexual assault. Hislop also responded, saying the accusations were "a gut check", and acknowledging her own failures in speaking up for the victims, two of whom reported directly to her. Behind the scenes, she went to the board of directors with a list of demands from her editorial team. "If they're not met," she told them, "I'll step down." Those demands were met and published online. Among the provisions were the inclusion of black women to the board, and establishing an external, independent investigation into the company's culture. "I regret not doing it sooner," she says, "But I'm doing my best right now to create a better environment for the people that are here, and an environment that they're proud to create work in. "There's no right answer, and there's no answer that pleases everyone, but I'm just trying to lead with humanity and compassion and hope that this brings us where we need to go." Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

राहेल हिसलोप के लिए जून एक अविस्मरणीय महीना था। बस वैसा नहीं जैसा उसने उम्मीद की थी।


'UK's first' osprey chick of 2016 hatches at Loch Garten

Summary: What is thought to be the first osprey chick of the latest breeding season for the birds of prey in the UK has hatched in the Highlands.

The young raptor is being raised by a female and male known as EJ and Odin at Loch Garten, near Grantown on Spey. RSPB Scotland said the chick hatched at about 07:00 on Saturday and believe it to be the first osprey hatching in the UK this year. Ospreys migrate from West Africa to breed in the UK and elsewhere. EJ returned to Loch Garten for her 14th season.

जिसे यू. के. में शिकार के पक्षियों के लिए नवीनतम प्रजनन मौसम का पहला ऑस्प्रे चूजा माना जाता है, वह हाइलैंड्स में पैदा हुआ है।


William Davenport jailed for Windlestone Hall mortgage fraud

Summary: A County Durham man has admitted making fraudulent loan and mortgage applications to buy a stately home.

William Davenport, 60, used forged documents to raise money to purchase Windlestone Hall, near Bishop Auckland. Teesside Crown Court was told Davenport, previously known as William Green, had been made bankrupt three times and had incurred a number of county court judgements The judge described him as "thoroughly greedy" and jailed him for six years.

काउंटी डरहम के एक व्यक्ति ने एक आलीशान घर खरीदने के लिए धोखाधड़ी से ऋण और बंधक आवेदन करना स्वीकार किया है।


Moray Council run by Conservative and independent coalition

Summary: Moray Council's new administration has been confirmed as a Conservative and independent coalition.

The Conservative group of eight councillors has joined forces with six of the independent members. The council leader is independent George Alexander, with Conservative James Allan as convener. Nine SNP councillors were elected in Moray at the recent local elections.

मोरे परिषद के नए प्रशासन की पुष्टि एक रूढ़िवादी और स्वतंत्र गठबंधन के रूप में की गई है।


Snakebites: Like having my hand smashed by a hammer'

Summary: David Williams has been bitten by a snake six times.

By Tulip MazumdarGlobal health correspondent "The first time was pretty terrifying because I didn't know what to expect. It felt like having my hand smashed with a hammer," he says. "My last snakebite would have been a fatal one, but for the fact we were carrying an emergency medical kit so we could do something about it." Dr Williams, an expert on snakebites at the World Health Organization (WHO) - who travels the world collecting snake venoms to help develop new treatments - says most victims "don't have that life-saving luxury". The WHO calls snakebites "arguably the world's biggest hidden health crisis", with one person dying from a bite every four minutes. Hundreds of thousands of others are left seriously disfigured, with many needing amputations. Snakebites mainly affect people living in some of the poorest communities in the poorest parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Farmers risk their lives and livelihoods every day while simply tending to their crops, where deadly snakes lurk. Children often become victims too. So now two major health organisations - the WHO and the UK's Wellcome Trust - are taking steps to tackle snakebites. The Wellcome Trust is investing £80m into a new programme to invest in new treatments and better access to effective anti-venoms. And the WHO is preparing to publish a plan to halve the number of deaths and disabilities caused by snakebites by 2030. "We're at a very important point in the effort to do something about snakebite for some of the poorest people in the world," says Dr Williams. "Many already live in poverty and the consequence of snakebite is that they are driven further into debt and despair, even if they survive." Snakebite facts Source: World Health Organization Snakebite, though potentially lethal, is treatable. Wellcome's director of science, Prof Mike Turner, says: "With access to the right anti-venom there is a high chance of survival. "While people will always be bitten by venomous snakes, there is no reason so many should die." Dr Philip Price, science lead for snakebites at the Wellcome Trust, says there is a "spiral of decline" when it comes to dealing with snakebites. "The treatments are expensive, the people who need them often can't afford them, and in some cases people can't make it to the hospital in time." Dr Price said that even when people do reach hospital, sometimes the doctors are not trained adequately, and often treatments are not available. He said patients may instead turn to traditional healers, meaning they "fly under the radar" so "most countries aren't even aware they have a snakebite problem". So how are snakebites treated? Anti-venom treatment is made in the same way that it has been for more than 100 years. The costly and laborious process sees antibodies harvested from horse blood to make anti-venom. But even so, it is estimated that the world produces only a third of the anti-venom that it needs. The horses are given very low doses of snake venom over long periods of time, so it does not harm the animal, says Dr Price. "Eventually the blood is taken from the horse, and the antibodies are purified out. The antibodies inside that blood then bind and neutralise the venom. "It's not without risk to inject this directly into the patient." These risks mean victims have to be treated in hospitals, which can take hours or even days for people to travel to. That is often too late to save lives and limbs. Another major challenge is that many of the anti-venoms available are not actually effective. Different types of snakebites need different types of anti-venom. In Africa, for example, up to 90% of available anti-venom is thought to be ineffective. There is currently no authoritative international list that exists of all the anti-venoms available and what they actually treat. 'Not rocket science' Despite the challenges, achieving the WHO goal of halving deaths and disabilities from snakebites over the next decade is "not all that difficult", according to Dr Williams. He has spent decades working on improving snakebite treatments and education, particularly in Papua New Guinea. "In 2003 in Papua New Guinea, one in every four children who were bitten by snakes died. Today it's less than one in every 50." Dr Williams says whilst this is still too many deaths, the solution is "not rocket science". "It's about having safe, effective anti-venoms, trained health workers, communities that are engaged in the problem and are taught how better to prevent snakebite, and what to do when someone is bitten." He said a desperately needed spotlight is finally being placed on this avoidable killer. The WHO will announce its strategy to cut snakebite deaths and disabilities later this month at the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva.

डेविड विलियम्स को छह बार सांप ने काटा है।


Trump's 'Russian dossier' – what we know and what we don't

Summary: The latest - and perhaps most headline-grabbing - source of tension between Donald Trump and the US intelligence community is an unverified report, apparently compiled by a private intelligence firm, claiming Russia has gathered compromising data about the president-elect. Those claims raise far more questions than they answer. Here is a summary of what we know so far.

Who wrote the report and why? It has been widely attributed to Christopher Steele, a retired British intelligence officer. Mr Steele, who runs a London-based intelligence firm, was reportedly hired by anti-Trump Republicans to investigate Mr Trump's ties to Russia during the battle for the party's presidential nomination. In the general election campaign the research was funded by an anonymous Democratic donor. But since Mr Steele has been in hiding since the report surfaced on Tuesday, there is no confirmation that he is the author. What does the report say? It consists of a series of memos dated from June to December, and said to be based on information from members of the Russian intelligence community. It claims that Russian officials have cultivated Mr Trump for at least five years to encourage splits within the Western alliance, and shared intelligence information with him. Most startlingly, it alleges that Russia has managed to compromise Mr Trump and is in a position to blackmail him. It says Russia's FSB agency has footage of the president-elect using prostitutes at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. How did the public learn of the existence of the report? CNN reported its existence on 10 January, and the Buzzfeed website published it in full. How credible is the information it contains? Since the report was published, Mr Trump has denounced it as "false and fictitious" and "made up, phony facts". Russian officials have also dismissed it as "pulp fiction". All major media outlets have stressed that the report's allegations are unsubstantiated. Several, including the BBC, had knowledge of the claims before the election but were unable to verify them and therefore did not publish stories. Newsweek says it "contains lots of Kremlin-related gossip" and points to factual errors and the misspelling of Russian names. However, the reports were considered credible enough by the US intelligence community for a two-page summary to be given to both President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump in early January. US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has merely said the claims were still being assessed. He also strongly denied suggestions by Mr Trump that US intelligence agencies had been involved in leaking the report.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प और अमेरिकी खुफिया समुदाय के बीच तनाव का नवीनतम-और शायद सबसे अधिक सुर्खियों में रहने वाला-स्रोत एक असत्यापित रिपोर्ट है, जिसे स्पष्ट रूप से एक निजी खुफिया फर्म द्वारा संकलित किया गया है, जिसमें दावा किया गया है कि रूस ने राष्ट्रपति-चुनाव के बारे में आपत्तिजनक डेटा एकत्र किया है। ये दावे उनके उत्तर से कहीं अधिक सवाल उठाते हैं। यहाँ हम अब तक जो जानते हैं उसका सारांश है।


The best of Bangkok's street food

Summary: Food - specifically Thai cooking - should be one of the highlights of any visit to Bangkok. There are thousands of restaurants to choose from, but if you don't try Bangkok's street food, cooked to order, usually over a fierce flame in a wok, you are missing out. So how do you choose where to go?

By Jonathan HeadBangkok Picture gallery: How to get the best from Bangkok's street food I have just been on a tour of Bangkok with Chawadee Nualkhair, or 'Chow', as she appropriately likes to call herself. Chow is a Thai brought up in the USA who returned to Bangkok as an adult and developed a passion for street food. She writes a blog and has published a book about the top 50 places to grab a bite along the road. We managed eight places, until we were too stuffed to walk. Sukhothai noodles at Somsong Pochana First, to Banglamphu, in old Bangkok. This area is popular with tourists, particularly around Khao San Road, but it also has some of the best casual eating spots in the city. Chow took me to Somsong Pochana, near the Chaophraya River, which is renowned for its Sukhothai noodles. These are thin rice noodles, in a pork broth sweetened with palm sugar, tamarind, slices of pork, crunchy green beans, topped with peanuts. I asked Chow what was the key to getting this dish right. "It's got to be spicy, but not overpoweringly, tart from the tamarind, sweet from the sugar," she says. "Roasted peanuts for texture - you need to get the balance just right. That's what I love about Thai food. They pay attention to detail - the balance of flavours, texture, aroma, how it feels on the tongue." The chef at Somsong Pochana also served me kanom jin saonam, an unusual and hard-to-find dish these days: fermented rice noodles, topped with coconut cream, masses of raw, sliced garlic, pineapple, chillies and dried shrimp. An amazing mix of flavours, but delicious! Pork sate at Chongki Next towards Hualampong Station, Bangkok's main railway terminus, for pork sate at Chongki. Sate is a Malay/Indonesian dish, although of course as Muslims they use chicken or goat meat, rather than pork. A row of young women sit in the corner of Chongki, quickly skewering the chunks of pork or liver onto thin bamboo sticks. It's marinated in sweet coconut cream, grilled over a smoky barbecue, and dipped in a peanut sauce, the recipe for which is a secret closely guarded by Chongki. Thais will tell you that all their food should have a balance of four flavours - sweet, salty, sour and spicy - and the sauce seems to have all these. Nai Mong Hoy Tod We moved on, to a little café called Nai Mong Hoy Tod, just off Charoen Krung, the main road in Bangkok's Chinatown. Hoy tod is one of many Thai street dishes with its origins in China - brought by the influx of Chinese immigrants a century or so ago. It's an omelette, filled with local oysters or mussels, cooked on a hot griddle. A wonderful snack, but like many casual Thai dishes, be sure to specify if you don't want the cook to put MSG in it. Even good cooks do this in many parts of Thailand. Chow likes her omelette super crispy, which she assures me is a feminine trait. Real men, apparently, like their oyster omelettes soft and sloppy. Nam kaeng sai in Suan Luang market If you are after dessert, there is nothing more cheerful than nam kaeng sai - shaved ice, piles of multi-coloured jelly bits, strings of dough, crunchy water chestnuts, ginko beans, with salty-sweet coconut cream on top. And there is nowhere better to have it than Seng Sim Ee, in Suan Luang market, behind Chulalongkorn University. Don't be put off by the swarms of bees clustering around the bowls of ingredients - it is a richly refreshing dish, well worth the trip. I asked Chow what she looked for in a street stall or restaurant. "Hygiene is the first thing I check. Are the condiment jars clean? Have the tables been wiped? What about the food preparation areas." I have been eating street food in Thailand for more than a decade, and I have never once had an upset stomach. Hygiene standards may not seem to be up to top restaurant standards, but I suspect there is not much between them. The best street stalls do care a lot about keeping their cooking clean and safe. Jok at Jok Samyan Another dish that has come from China is 'jok' - rice porridge, or congee. And most Bangkok residents will tell you that the place to go is Jok Samyan, also behind the university. Outside the café, a woman stirs an enormous pot of simmering rice that has been stewed to a sticky, soupy consistency. Next to her is an equally large pot of pork-bone soup. Thais like to add minced pork-balls, and a raw egg, with crispy bits of fried dough on top. It's irresistible - real comfort food. "It's the quality of their meatballs - they're very well seasoned - that makes this restaurant so famous," says Chow. Phad thai at Thip Samai Few dishes are as well-known in Thailand as phad thai. This fried noodle recipe originates from an attempt by a nationalist Thai leader in the 1940s to give noodles - a Chinese import - a more 'Thai' flavour, by holding a competition. Phad thai was the result. Cooked in a searingly-hot wok, the noodles are fried with bean curd, garlic chives, dried shrimp, then tamarind juice and palm sugar are added, and it is served with chillies, nam plaa - the ubiquitous fermented fish sauce - bean sprouts, banana blossom and coriander leaves. At Thip Samai, back in Banglamphu, perhaps the most famous phad thai restaurant, they keep at least two woks going on charcoal stoves, producing a phad thai every minute. Then, in a trademark twist, a woman coats another wok with egg, and with two flicks of her spatula, ingeniously wraps the noodles in a neat, egg bag. Like so much fried street cuisine, this is not health food, but it is irresistibly delicious. Phad Kee Mao at Jay Fai Round the corner from Thip Samai is one of the city's most famous street chefs, Jay Fai. She's been called the 'Mozart of the Wok', and watching her stoking her charcoal stove to blast-furnace intensity, and tossing ingredients into a wok or saucepan with lightning speed, it is easy to see why. The dishes at Jay Fai are more expensive than other street food. A plate of phad kee mao - 'drunken noodles' - will set you back US$10. But eating it is the closest to noodle heaven I have ever been. Thick slices of chilli and onion, a rich, smoky gravy, succulent prawns and glistening noodles, all cooked in a matter of seconds. Perfectly balanced, wonderfully fresh. Her tom yam gung, sour prawn soup, is legendary, and priced to match. Som tam at Hai Somtam Finally, no Thai food odyssey would be complete without som tam, the fiery salad of grated, green papaya from Thailand's north-east. Among the best places to get it is Hai Somtam, in Soi Convent, just off Silom Road. The papaya is pounded with raw garlic, chillies, fish sauce, lime juice, and small tomatoes, and for an especially pungent flavour, a raw, fresh-water crab is thrown into the mix. Eat with small baskets of sticky rice. A true taste of Thailand, uncompromising and unmistakable.

भोजन-विशेष रूप से थाई खाना बनाना-बैंकॉक की किसी भी यात्रा के मुख्य आकर्षणों में से एक होना चाहिए। चुनने के लिए हजारों रेस्तरां हैं, लेकिन यदि आप बैंकॉक के स्ट्रीट फूड को, जो ऑर्डर करने के लिए पकाया जाता है, आमतौर पर एक कड़ाही में तेज आग पर नहीं खाते हैं, तो आप चूक जाते हैं। तो आप कैसे चुनते हैं कि कहाँ जाना है?


Maghaberry prison officer on trial over hanging

Summary: It has emerged that a prison officer is to go on trial over the death of an at-risk prisoner in Maghaberry jail, County Antrim.

The officer, who has been granted anonymity, is accused of misconduct in public office by wilfully neglecting to perform his duty. The case relates to Colin Bell who hanged himself in the jail in 2008. He had been serving a life sentence for murder and was on suicide watch. The accused is charged with an offence between 30 July and 2 August 2008. The officer will be formally arraigned at Craigavon Crown Court on 19 November.

यह सामने आया है कि एक जेल अधिकारी पर माघबेरी जेल, काउंटी एंट्रिम में एक जोखिम वाले कैदी की मौत पर मुकदमा चलाया जाना है।


'Top Christmas toys' in pictures

Summary: Dolls, Lego and variations of new technology all feature in a list of predicted bestselling toys this Christmas.

The annual Dream Toys chart, from the Toy Retailers Association, features toys ranging in price from £7.99 mini-figures to a £99.99 dinosaur. Toys that have featured on the industry group's list in previous decades have included drawing set Spirograph in 1967 and the Nintendo Game Boy games console in 1991.

गुड़िया, लेगो और नई तकनीक की विविधताएं सभी इस क्रिसमस पर अनुमानित सबसे अधिक बिकने वाले खिलौनों की सूची में शामिल हैं।


Brexit: How many trade deals has the UK done?

Summary: As a European Union member, the UK is part of about 40 trade agreements which the union has with more than 70 countries. If the UK leaves the EU in a no-deal Brexit on 29 March, it will immediately lose these deals.

By Tom EdgingtonBBC Reality Check Last year, the UK government said it wanted to replicate the EU's trade agreements "as far as possible" and have them ready to go immediately in the event of a no-deal Brexit. So how much progress has the government made? 'No deals yet' Being a part of the EU means the UK (or any other EU member) cannot implement its own trade deals. Trade negotiations are instead handled by the EU on behalf of its members. These existing arrangements are designed to make trade easier between the EU and the rest of the world. This could include: relaxing certain rules, reducing taxes (tariffs) on imports and exports, or granting easier market access. The government estimates that about 11% of UK's trade relies on the EU's agreements with other countries. But on Thursday, International Trade Minister George Hollingbery told the Commons: "There are no deals yet that have been actually signed." However, the minister added that he was confident "the majority of those will be in place by 29 March". Switzerland So if no trade deals have been signed, what progress has been made? In December, the Department for International Trade revealed that it had approved a trade agreement with Switzerland - although it has not been officially signed. At the moment more than 100 agreements exist between the EU and Switzerland. These cover areas such as taxation on savings and agriculture. The government said the Swiss arrangement will replicate these existing arrangements "as far as possible" and allow "businesses to continue trading freely". Reality Check asked the Department for International Trade what "as far as possible" meant, but it was unable to offer us any further clarity. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, announced on Twitter that the UK had "agreed in principle" a free trade agreement with Israel. A trade conference between the two countries will be held in London in the "coming months", added Dr. Fox. However the Department for International Trade has not published further details on what the exact nature of the Israel agreement will be. South Africa has said it is close to signing a trade deal, but nothing has so far been formally agreed. The UK has already signed deals with Australia and New Zealand, but these are in areas known as mutual recognition agreements and not free trade agreements. The deal replicates all aspects of the current EU agreements and allows for a continuing acceptance of product standards, such as the labelling and certifying of wine. 'Challenging' In his update to MPs, Mr Hollingbery conceded that rolling over some EU trade agreements would be "challenging", adding that "one or two" would be "close to impossible". The current lack of signed trade agreements is not a surprise to Alan Winters, director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at Sussex University. "You can't simply roll over everything, these existing agreements will have references to EU law, so you cannot avoid some negotiation," he says. Some countries may also be apprehensive in signing deals right now given that it is so unclear what Brexit will ultimately look like, adds Prof Winters. Consequences So what could the consequences be if trade arrangements are not fully in place by 29 March and the UK leaves with no deal? In the countries where the UK had no formal trade agreement, both would have to trade under the rules overseen by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Under this system, every WTO member is free to negotiate its own tariffs - or taxes - on different goods. But under the rules, members have to offer the same tariff to every other WTO country. Trade will not stop if this were to happen but some barriers will go up, says Alex Stojanovic, from the Institute for Government think tank. "There is a reason you have trade agreements, it's that they give you better trade preferences than WTO terms. "So some businesses will be harmed by tariffs coming into play," he says. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter

यूरोपीय संघ के सदस्य के रूप में, यूके लगभग 40 व्यापार समझौतों का हिस्सा है जो संघ के 70 से अधिक देशों के साथ हैं। यदि यूके 29 मार्च को बिना किसी सौदे के ब्रेक्सिट में यूरोपीय संघ को छोड़ देता है, तो वह तुरंत इन सौदों को खो देगा।


South Africa's 'born-free' generation

Summary: South Africa's so-called "born-free" generation now accounts for some 40% of the population. Born since the country's first fully democratic elections in 1994, they have grown up without apartheid and the struggles of South Africa's older generation.

Here, six "born frees" talk about life growing up in the new South Africa. Ballet dancer Thabang Mabaso grew up in Orange Farm, a poor township outside Johannesburg, before going to art school. There he started to train as a dancer and is now a professional dancer in the Johannesburg ballet company. He gives ballet lessons in the townships and knows his life would have been very different under apartheid. "If we hadn't gained democracy in 1994," he says, "I'd have been perhaps a gardener but definitely not a ballet dancer." He readily acknowledges that few blacks attend his performances and adds that there has been opposition to his chosen profession closer to home. "My mum never saw my ballet as a proper job or career, she would always say: 'Oh you're going to go play ballet now?' However, Thabang believes that South Africa has the diversity and the potential to develop like the United States. "I think we have similar histories and I believe that South Africa definitely could become like America." Trainee nurse Nisha Lutchman runs a small novelty cake business with her sisters. She lives with her family in a semi-rural location just outside Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, where violent robberies are a constant source of fear. Their house has been robbed so often that the TV is now in a cage bolted to the wall. "I have heard from older people what it was like before 1994, how you had to carry your pass around with you to go to different areas but the crime was much less then," she says. "I don't have freedom. I can't walk to the shops without taking off my jewellery. I passed my driving test but I have never driven on my own for security reasons," she says. "Many things about South Africa are better now. I can be friends with whoever I want, I don't have to worry about what race they are. But crime is much worse than before. I just want it to be a safer place." Tyron Miller is an up-and-coming motocross rider competing in national events. When he is not competing, he works for his father's ophthalmology business. "I think for my parents' generation it was a really big change," he says of the end of white-minority rule. "I am conscious that I am one of the first generation to be born free in South Africa but because of that I don't think about it," he says. "I have only known this South Africa. I love it. No other country has the diversity that South Africa has. There is nowhere else I'd rather be." Mahlatse Legodi was jailed for four months for stealing a mobile phone and now is determined to set his life on the right track. Living in the Pretoria township of Atteridgeville, he says he fell in with a bad crowd. "I would hang around with my friends in the street and they would say: 'Do this,' and I would do it. I began stealing. There was no-one to say what was right or wrong." He credits his uncle, a former prisoner who now runs an NGO (non-governmental organisation) rehabilitating offenders, with inspiring him to complete his education and turn his life around. "My uncle has done a lot to help me realise what I can do if I go back to school. For me, freedom is the freedom to live a better life." Khensani Khoza, aka Ms Candy K, is a radio DJ who presents a show on VOW FM, a university radio station in Johannesburg. A child of South Africa's new black middle class, she is a law student but has ambitions to become a star radio or TV presenter. "I don't want to imagine if 1994 hadn't happened, but I can imagine it: I would not have been able to go to university, to study law," she says. She believes the ANC government of the last 20 years should be given more time to make changes. "I am one of those people who believes in giving my government time. It is very easy to criticise but I think people should remain optimistic and hope they can deliver on their promises." Chanelle is one of the top female skateboarders in South Africa. Also a student, she has studied ballet as a hobby. "I think the ballet helps with skateboarding, it's all about balance," she says. But the world of competitive skating is a male-dominated one that she discovered almost by accident. "A friend got me into playing skating games on the computer and then we started skating for real," she explains. Chanelle says the skating community is close-knit and racially mixed, "It's like a family. It's a small skating scene in South Africa and there's a sense of community, it's not really competitive like in some other countries."

दक्षिण अफ्रीका की तथाकथित "जन्म-मुक्त" पीढ़ी अब आबादी का लगभग 40 प्रतिशत है। 1994 में देश के पहले पूरी तरह से लोकतांत्रिक चुनावों के बाद से पैदा हुए, वे रंगभेद और दक्षिण अफ्रीका की पुरानी पीढ़ी के संघर्षों के बिना बड़े हुए हैं।


'Hardest hit' speak out about spending cuts

Summary: "Stop - would you like to be disabled? I didn't ask to be," read one placard. Another, in blue felt-tip pen, said: "I'm not here as the lift has been broken for three weeks!"

By Marie JacksonBBC News Many more were designed to make people on London's Embankment - and perhaps David Cameron and his colleagues - pause and think for a moment. They were being held aloft at a colourful rally to deliver a message to the government to stop spending cuts to welfare benefits. Many protesters were in wheelchairs or had guide dogs and white sticks. They had come from right across the UK and were representing some 40 or so charities and organisations and a whole range of disabilities, both visible and hidden. Asked what the cuts would mean to her, Kirsty Gerrard, who has cerebal palsy, summed it up in three words: "Can't get out." Her carer elaborated, saying it would mean no transport to see family and friends and the closure of daycare centres where Miss Gerrard does most of her socialising Under cloudy skies, and against a backdrop of the London Eye, actress and charity campaigner Jane Asher told the crowds: "This is the largest rally of disabled people in living memory, and that's something to be proud of - at the same time, it is very sad that it has come to this. "I am calling on the government, with all of you, to put a stop to these cuts - they are cruel, they are misguided, and they are badly drafted." Most troubling, say campaigners, are cuts to the disability living allowance, which helps pay for people's transport and ensures they can live independently, and new work capability assessments, considered to be unfair for many. Lord Low, president of the Disability Alliance, estimates 700,000 people will be affected by the cuts. Later, Miss Asher, who is president of Arthritis Care, said there had been a rise in suicidal calls to its helpline. "People are very frightened and upset," she said. At the rally however, any fear had been cast aside for the day leaving a good-humoured mood, but one with angry undertones. Gerard Maguire, from a deaf group in Islington, smiling and wearing latex blue gloves, attracted the attention of Labour MP Liam Byrne as he came off stage after an impassioned speech. A sign language interpreter told Mr Byrne he was wearing them to symbolise the government "cutting their hands off". 'No privacy' Dino Goldie, a 33-year-old from Bath who has been blind since the age of six, was one of many who were desperate to get across the reality of being disabled. "Disability is not a consumer choice," he said. "How would you feel about having your bank statements and medical notes read by your next-door neighbour? How would you like to be barred from clubs, bars and taxis because of your disability? "This government has some very strange notions of dignity, privacy and responsibility." There was also anger directed at benefit cheats. One placard summed it up: "I'm no scrounger, I have MS". Jim Lodge, from Peckham, who is blind, worries people who already fiddle the system will go on receiving benefits, but honest people - who haven't learned how to play the system - will end up with no help. He is one of few in the blind community to work full time, earning less than £1,000 a month, but says it does not go far. "If you want to buy anything, it's four times dearer than for sighted people," he said. Talking weighing scales would set him back £40, whereas an ordinary set from Argos would be no more than £10, he says. Then there are the white sticks which cost £20 each, and another £10 every time the tip needs replacing. An electronic voice-operated organiser might cost £150, while special reading devices near £1,600. Without it though, blind people have to rely on other people to read their private mail, says Ray Steptoe, from nearby Bermondsey, who is also blind. "It's expensive to be disabled. "The disability living allowance helps us retain a reasonably normal life, whatever normal is."

"रुकिए-क्या आप अक्षम होना चाहेंगे? मैंने नहीं होने के लिए कहा था", एक तख्ती पर लिखा था। दूसरे ने नीले रंग के टिप वाले पेन में कहाः "मैं यहाँ नहीं हूँ क्योंकि लिफ्ट तीन सप्ताह से टूटी हुई है!"


'If he runs, I will find him' - the fear behind loan sharks

Summary: There are fears loan sharks will undergo a resurgence due to new regulations restricting payday money lenders. But what is it like to be reliant on loan sharks, and why do people turn to them in the first place? Taxi driver Andy* from Bridgend, south Wales, found himself paying back a loan at 50% interest after turning to a loan shark in desperation.

By Lucy BallingerBBC Wales News I first borrowed from Dan when I hadn't been able to work for a year as I had become ill. When I came back to work I was behind on a few things. I really needed some money to meet the rent that month, other taxi drivers had borrowed some money from him, who also drove taxis for the same firm, and so I asked to borrow £400 that first time. That was how it started. He said you have got to pay me back £100 a week, plus 30% interest. He had a little book he kept in his taxi which he wrote it in, but there was nothing for me to sign or anything. The arrangement was that I should pay him by midday every Monday. It didn't matter what day you borrowed it on - the first day for the first repayment was always the next Monday. Let's just put it this way - everybody paid, nobody ever went over midday, otherwise you knew there was somebody he would phone to collect it for him. 'We couldn't buy food' It was only because I had become ill and fallen behind on bills that I did it. It was that desperation - that feeling of what am I going to do otherwise. I didn't tell my wife Kirsty to start with as I felt like I should be providing for her and my daughter, but it got to the weekend and I had to get the money somehow, so I had to tell her. She screamed at me for it. It meant we couldn't buy food, it was that extreme. My daughter was only a year old at the time, but returning the money to Dan had to come first - I felt terrible. It was tough times, £130 a week might not sound like much but when you're in that situation it is the difference between paying the bills or eating. We paid it all back, but I didn't realise I had fallen into the hands of somebody who was going to take advantage, and he was always there offering. I would go to him when I couldn't pay the rent, or had problems playing the bills. At the time we were in the middle of a recession and there were times when no-one wanted a taxi, so it was hard. When I borrowed from him he would ask me if I was sure I didn't want more, but I didn't. I had to borrow from him another five times and was lent around £2,000 in total at either 30% or 50% interest. 'I will find him' I felt terrible, each time Kirsty said she couldn't believe I had done it, and I felt I was not providing what I should have been. It caused problems between us as it put an awful lot of pressure on when we had to repay money, but I couldn't see any other way of paying the bills and providing for my family. And the fear of what would happen if we didn't meet the repayments was immense. One Monday night someone came hammering on our door, and my immediate thought was that Dan had sent someone to collect early. In the end it was just someone knocking on the wrong door, but I've never forgotten that fear, the fear of what he was capable of if we were late with repayments. Once he told a friend of mine he had seen my daughter in casualty. I was so worried, when I finally got hold of her she said she hadn't been in the hospital - it was just Dan being spiteful, it was all about control. One bloke ran away as he was too scared and couldn't meet the repayments. I ran into Dan at a supermarket around the time this guy left and he said: "You tell him if he runs, I will find him and he will pay me." He has never come back. The last time I borrowed money was when I had just gotten divorced and was going through a tough time, I was desperate again. I needed insurance for the taxi and Dan heard about it and kept offering to lend me the money. I said no to start with, but I was desperate again so gave in. But then, as he handed the money to me he said: "I don't know what to charge you this time, I think I'll charge you 50% rather than 30%." The threat That was it for me. He said he was helping his friends out, but he wasn't doing me a favour, he wasn't my friend. In the end he upset somebody who he hadn't lent money to, and they reported him for illegal money lending. I would never have come forward to report him - I was too scared, and too focused on paying the bills. When I was approached to act as a witness against him at court I initially said no, but in the end decided I should speak out. But all he got was a £10,000 fine, which to him is nothing - he's still driving taxis and I still see him around. Now there is always that threat that somebody is going to pay me a visit, I never know who is going to get in my car, one day I believe it is going to happen. There is no justice here, it is not about the money, he is still out there and still driving taxis. *All names have been changed

ऐसी आशंका है कि कर्ज वाली शार्क नए नियमों के कारण पुनरुत्थान से गुजरेंगी क्योंकि वे पैसे देने वाले साहूकारों पर प्रतिबंध लगा रहे हैं। लेकिन कर्ज वाली शार्क पर निर्भर रहना कैसा लगता है, और लोग पहली जगह में उनकी ओर क्यों रुख करते हैं? ब्रिजेंड, साउथ वेल्स के टैक्सी चालक एंडी * ने हताशा में लोन शार्क की ओर रुख करने के बाद खुद को 50 प्रतिशत ब्याज पर ऋण चुकाते हुए पाया।


Lottery grant for Staffordshire community cafes

Summary: A project which aims to give residents a place for a coffee and information has been given £142,000 lottery money to expand.

Community Cafes, in Tamworth, Staffordshire, will set up new sessions in Glascote and Stoneydelph. Organisers have already set up cafes in Amington, Belgrave and Wilnecote. The project began in 2007 and is a drop-in service where people can get information on local services and join in activities.

एक परियोजना जिसका उद्देश्य निवासियों को कॉफी और जानकारी के लिए जगह देना है, उसे विस्तार करने के लिए £142,000 लॉटरी का पैसा दिया गया है।


Container slides off truck killing 19 in India freak accident

Summary: At least 19 people have been killed in a freak accident in southern India, after a container slipped off a truck and rammed into a passenger bus.

Police are investigating the incident, but officials say the container came off its hinges after one of the wheels of the truck had a puncture. "There were about 48 people in the bus, and several are in a critical condition," an official told BBC Hindi. The incident occurred around 3:30am local time (21:50 GMT), police said. The bus was on a highway when the container slipped off the truck, which was in the opposite lane. It then rolled onto the other side, colliding with the bus. The Volvo bus, owned by the Kerala state transport corporation, was travelling from Bangalore city in the neighbouring state of Karnataka to Ernakulam in Kerala. The district collector, Dr Vijay Karthikeyan, told BBC Hindi that the cause of the accident was still being investigated. The driver of the truck is reportedly absconding.

दक्षिण भारत में एक ट्रक से एक कंटेनर के फिसलने और एक यात्री बस से टकराने के बाद एक अजीबोगरीब दुर्घटना में कम से कम 19 लोगों की मौत हो गई है।


Denbighshire dog poo on girl's gum shield sparks warning

Summary: A warning has been issued to pet owners in Denbighshire after dog poo ended up on a rugby player's gum shield.

The council said the incident at Cae Ddol fields in Ruthin could have had "serious consequences" for the young girl's health, although there were no "lasting effects". David Smith, Denbighshire's cabinet member for environment, said he was "disgusted and disappointed". "We would urge everyone to be responsible and clean up," he said.

डेनबिघशायर में पालतू जानवरों के मालिकों को एक रग्बी खिलाड़ी के गम शील्ड पर कुत्ते के मल के समाप्त होने के बाद एक चेतावनी जारी की गई है।


Cheltenham Festival: Golfer Lee Westwood backs every winner

Summary: Golfer Lee Westwood won nearly £22,000 after backing every winning horse on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The former world number one, from Worksop, won Betfred's totejackpot competition by betting on the first six winners. The golfer then bet on the seventh race and picked yet another winner. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I put £128 on the tote [totejackpot] and it paid just under £22,000."

गोल्फर ली वेस्टवुड ने चेल्टेनहैम महोत्सव के पहले दिन प्रत्येक विजेता घोड़े का समर्थन करने के बाद लगभग 22,000 पाउंड जीते।


M4 junction trial closure at Port Talbot 'a benefit'

Summary: A controversial peak time closure of a slip road to ease congestion on the M4 near Port Talbot is 'a benefit', a review into the trial has found.

But it added that traffic on local roads around the junction 41 westbound on-slip had increased. Traffic Wales said that could be cut by drivers using the diversions in place. The six-month trial started on 4 August with the slip road closed Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 09:00 and 16:00 to 18:00. The part-time closures were agreed following a meeting between the Welsh government, Neath Port Talbot council, representatives from Port Talbot Chamber of Trade, the local community and Business Wales. Both the local MP and AM have previously voiced concern about the impact of the closures on the town.

परीक्षण की समीक्षा में पाया गया है कि पोर्ट टैलबोट के पास एम4 पर भीड़ को कम करने के लिए एक स्लिप रोड का विवादास्पद पीक टाइम बंद होना 'एक लाभ' है।


Army cadet poppy seller threat: Derbyshire man charged

Summary: A man who allegedly threatened a 13-year-old poppy seller has been charged.

The Army cadet was selling poppies for the Royal British Legion outside a supermarket in Belper, Derbyshire, when Adelso Saws allegedly made threats. Police have charged the 34-year-old of Kilburn, Derbyshire, with using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoking violence. He was due to appear at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court.

13 वर्षीय खसखस विक्रेता को कथित रूप से धमकी देने वाले एक व्यक्ति पर आरोप लगाया गया है।


Blackpool hotel demolition could close part of prom for four weeks

Summary: The emergency demolition of a derelict hotel in Blackpool could close part of the town's promenade for four weeks, the local council has said.

Work on the former Ambassador Hotel began after owner Ged O'Mahoney said large cracks suddenly appeared in its walls. He said the work, which will clear the site, would cost £200,000. Blackpool Council said the Promenade between Derby Road and Wilton Parade will be closed until work is completed. The hotel, which was badly damaged in a suspected arson attack in 2018, had been condemned by structural engineers. Mr O'Mahoney's plans to convert the hotel into 17 luxury flats were approved by Blackpool Council in May. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

स्थानीय परिषद ने कहा है कि ब्लैकपूल में एक परित्यक्त होटल के आपातकालीन विध्वंस से शहर के सैरगाह का हिस्सा चार सप्ताह के लिए बंद हो सकता है।


Abersoch practice could close over GP shortage

Summary: Health officials are meeting to decide whether to close a doctors' surgery in Gwynedd amid concern over recruiting GPs.

The number of doctors at Botwnnog has dropped to three and they say it is not enough to run their Abersoch surgery. The North Wales Local Medical Committee says it is an example of how GP levels are unsustainable in rural areas. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board says the recruitment problems mirror the situation across the UK. However, it adds that it is confident it can meet the challenge. The meeting is due to take place on Friday afternoon but the final decision is not expected to be made known until next week.

स्वास्थ्य अधिकारी यह तय करने के लिए बैठक कर रहे हैं कि जीपी की भर्ती पर चिंता के बीच ग्वेनेड में डॉक्टरों की सर्जरी को बंद किया जाए या नहीं।


Two people and a horse die in Waltham Cross road crash

Summary: A man, a woman and a horse have died after their trap was involved in a collision with a car.

The crash happened at about 19:10 BST on Monday on Lieutenant Ellis Way, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. A man in his 40s died in hospital on Monday night, and a woman in her 20s died in hospital in the morning. They had both been riding in the trap - the horse died at the scene. The woman driving the car involved, a Mazda, was not injured. The road was closed for several hours to allow investigations to take place at the scene. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call Hertfordshire Police.

कार के साथ टक्कर में एक पुरुष, एक महिला और एक घोड़े की मौत हो गई है।


Fire crews still tackling blaze at Llandow recycling plant

Summary: Fire crews are continuing to fight a large blaze which sparked at an industrial estate near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan on Sunday.

South Wales Fire and Rescue said it had seven engines and 50 firefighters at the recycling plant on the Llandow industrial estate through the night. The site is not near any housing, a spokesman said. The fire began shortly before 16:00 BST. Witnesses said the smoke was visible for miles around.

अग्निशमन दल रविवार को वेल ऑफ ग्लैमॉर्गन में काउब्रिज के पास एक औद्योगिक एस्टेट में लगी एक बड़ी आग से लड़ना जारी रखे हुए हैं।


Esports degree: 'I won't spend three years playing games'

Summary: Esports is big business, with the global economy forecast by analysts to reach $900m (£685m) by the end of the year . Riding the wave of this rapidly expanding industry is Staffordshire University, which has just begun teaching undergraduate and masters courses in the subject.

By Sophie MaddenBBC News But who is studying for these degrees and what can they expect to take from them? "Since my thumbs could work a Gameboy, I was hooked - that was what got me into gaming," says Stuart Kosters, who helped to launch the university's new undergraduate course, and is lecturing on it. The course, which costs £9,250 a year, will focus on the business of esports, teaching students how to host and promote events, create businesses and build online communities. Mr Kosters, 30, who is himself studying for a masters, started running an esports society during his undergraduate degree in computer games design. "With esports, I've always played games, always been interested in business and it is good to combine them," he says. "In college, I was studying game design and I picked up my first esport, League of Legends [a team-orientated strategy game], which really hooked me. "I went to a League of Legends competition, sat in the arena with all the other fans and thought: 'This is real, this is as big as any sport out there.' "The atmosphere was incredible; for people who don't generally do something like watch sport, it captured the most passionate audience." While studying for his MA, Mr Kosters has been exploring the economics of competitive gaming, what makes it the success it is and how it will change in the future. This, along with his involvement in the esports society, helped provide the inspiration for a dedicated course. A big part of the three-year degree will be events organisation, with students expected to hold a large-scale expo in their third year. One of the students who has just started the course, Danielle Morgan, believes it is a great time to embark on an esports degree. "For me, gaming is about bringing people together, aside from the competitive aspect, and a lot of this course is about organising these big events," she says. "If you look back 10 years ago not many people were doing a computing degree and now everyone's got a computing degree. The industry is rapidly growing and it is going to be the same. "Already there is so much money in esports and it is about getting into it at the right time. Being able to do this course is definitely such a massive opportunity. "There's a lot of misconceptions; obviously people think you are going to be playing games for three years but in actual fact the course is like a business degree but it is in a new industry. "Give it five or 10 years a lot of people will have heard of it and it won't be so alien." What is esports? Esports - or electronic sports - is the umbrella term for organised, competitive computer gaming. Esports consists of many different games - although those games don't necessarily mimic traditional sports. Tournaments staged in front of live audiences can attract tens of thousands of fans, but online they are watched by tens of millions of viewers. In 2014, more than 40,000 people attended the League of Legends World Championship finals when they were held in Seoul. By 2016, the tournament attracted a record 43 million unique online viewers, with the winning team sharing $2.7m in prize money. The course has the backing of Ed Vaizey MP, vice chair of the British eSports Association. He said: "Esports is one of the fastest growing entertainment mediums in the world, and anything that can help the UK establish itself as a centre for this exciting industry should be celebrated." The university's new degree course is in part a response to a white paper on driving esports events in the UK. "Plans to grow the UK as an esports hub bring huge opportunities in job creation and we are well placed as a university to explore that," says Dr Bobbie Fletcher, head of games and visual effects at Staffordshire University. Rachel Gowers, academic dean for recruitment in the university's business school, believes there is now an understanding that studying esports is a legitimate business pursuit. You might also like: "Over 73% of those employed within esports are under the age of 35 and their skills are in demand," she says. "Companies are looking for people who are entrepreneurial and tech-savvy and the industry is driving the creation of new jobs. "Parents are the generation that have grown up playing computer games and there's now acknowledgement that it is a viable career route." Even so, Mr Kosters admits it was something of a gamble to launch the course. "We took a chance - it is always a challenge when you launch a new degree but we went through great networking with people in the industry - British Esports Association, Codemasters, Red Bull. "Twitch [a video streaming platform, used by gamers] was a massive help; they gave us the knowledge we needed to move down a more academic route." He says he feels the degree subject is as legitimate as any other and, while it appeals particularly to gamers, it's also attractive to anyone who wants to learn about the growing industry. "It is the same as a film degree... every business is a business," he says. "It has captured the attention of people who like games, like me, but want to be able to use the skills they have acquired. "There has been lots of interest - there has been no problem filling the course. I don't know the exact numbers but it is over 100. It has gone above and exceeded expectations. "One of the best stories has been at an open day, a father and son came. "We were talking for five minutes, then 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then the father said he wanted to apply. "I believe he did, so the father and son will be taking the course together."

ईस्पोर्ट्स एक बड़ा व्यवसाय है, विश्लेषकों द्वारा वर्ष के अंत तक वैश्विक अर्थव्यवस्था के 900 मिलियन डॉलर (685 मिलियन पाउंड) तक पहुंचने का अनुमान है। इस तेजी से बढ़ते उद्योग की लहर पर सवार स्टैफोर्डशायर विश्वविद्यालय है, जिसने अभी-अभी इस विषय में स्नातक और स्नातकोत्तर पाठ्यक्रम पढ़ाना शुरू किया है।


Is this the most toxic job description in public life?

Summary: Wanted: highly respected chairman or chairwoman, available for up to 10 years, robust in the face of press scrutiny, and with no ties to the British establishment - it is becoming the most toxic job description in public life. Finding the right person to chair this vast, complex and crucial public inquiry is proving all but impossible.

By Clive ColemanLegal correspondent, BBC News The departure of Dame Lowell Goddard has plunged the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) into crisis. And what makes that so bitterly ironic is that she was precisely the person appointed to be the steadying hand on an inquiry that many felt had lost its way before it had even started. The first chairwoman, Baroness Butler-Sloss, a hugely experienced retired judge, stood down after a week because of concerns relating to the fact she was the sister of the late Lord Havers. He was attorney general at the time of some of the abuse that was to be examined. Why that had not been considered, or thought to be important, before her appointment remains a mystery. The second, City solicitor Dame Fiona Woolf, lasted less than two months. Her judicial experience was confined to sitting as a part-time magistrate. She resigned after it was claimed she was too close to Lord Brittan, who was at the time under investigation for sexual offences. He was subsequently exonerated, but like Lady Butler-Sloss, Dame Fiona was seen as just too close to the British establishment that would fall under the inquiry's gaze. Established in 2014, the IICSA is not simply a public inquiry, it is a vast, six-decade retrospective exercise in national soul-searching. There is little doubt that children were sexually abused in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s and beyond, across many public and private institutions. Society frequently tolerated such abuse by turning a blind eye and allowing those who were complicit to go freely about their gruesome business. It took a series of scandals, most notably that of serial child abuser Jimmy Savile, to really change perceptions. The IICSA must delve into the national psyche and institutions of decades past, and carry out extensive examinations of how they operated in relation to children. Its scope is mammoth. Churches, children's homes, the police, armed forces, schools, hospitals, charities, the BBC, and the role of well known people in politics and the media are just some of the areas it aims to tackle. It must then come up with a comprehensive report that ensures no such abuse can occur in future. That such an inquiry could have lost three chairwomen, all appointed by the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, in two years is disturbing. So, back to basics. There are two key selection criteria for the new chairman or chairwoman. They need the intellect and experience to do the job. It would normally be a senior serving, or former, judge familiar with the law underpinning a public inquiry, and used to hearing and analysing mammoth amounts of testimony from multiple witnesses - effectively and with sensitivity. But two senior judges have come and gone. Equally important is perception and independence. Victims and survivors must have confidence the chairman or chairwoman is divorced from the contentious subject matter of the inquiry and key people who may figure in it. That is difficult for a senior British judge, who would be seen as part of the establishment and could have connections to individuals and institutions being examined. But recruiting from abroad has also failed. What makes recruitment harder still is that, in football parlance, Dame Lowell had "lost the dressing room". My colleague Tom Symonds has reported that there was tension, even conflict, between her and her officials. The former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald says chairing the inquiry is now "not so much a poisoned chalice as a lethal injection". That raises two questions: The role would dominate and define the career of a senior person and place them under an intense media spotlight for the best part of a decade or longer. Senior judges, such as the much respected Dame Heather Hallet, who won praise for her sensitive handling of the inquests into the deaths of those killed by the 7 July 2005 London bombings, would have to give up their judicial career and the chance of becoming Lord Chief Justice. The role becomes vacant next year. Among other names mentioned are the current counsel to the inquiry Ben Emerson QC. He is a distinguished human rights lawyer, with the advantage of knowing the preliminary work of the inquiry well. The barrister Michael Mansfield QC is favoured by some survivors, but at 74 is perhaps too old for a 10-year stint. Beyond judges and lawyers, Prof Alexis Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham and is currently on the IICSE's advisory panel, is being touted by some as an interim chairman who could then take over full time. Judge, civil servant, academic? Only the brave need apply.

वांटेडः अत्यधिक सम्मानित अध्यक्ष या अध्यक्ष, 10 साल तक उपलब्ध, प्रेस की जांच के बावजूद मजबूत, और ब्रिटिश प्रतिष्ठान से कोई संबंध नहीं होने के कारण-यह सार्वजनिक जीवन में सबसे विषाक्त नौकरी का विवरण बन रहा है। इस विशाल, जटिल और महत्वपूर्ण सार्वजनिक जांच की अध्यक्षता करने के लिए सही व्यक्ति को ढूंढना असंभव साबित हो रहा है।


Champions League: Cardiff's streets return to normal

Summary: With 170,000 fans departing following the Champions League final, Cardiff is expected to return to normal with all roads reopened on Monday.

Restrictions were in place as Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 on Saturday. There was a "significant" police presence at the final day of the Champions League Festival on Sunday following the London terror attack. After the festival finished nearby roads in Cardiff Bay, such as Lloyd George Avenue, reopened by 22:00 BST. All other roads were accessible to motorists, apart from Cowbridge Road East, Castle Street and the bottom of North Road, which were open to pedestrians and cyclists only. However, these were due to be fully open by 03:30 Monday.

चैंपियंस लीग फाइनल के बाद 170,000 प्रशंसकों के प्रस्थान के साथ, कार्डिफ के सोमवार को सभी सड़कों को फिर से खोलने के साथ सामान्य होने की उम्मीद है।


Financial Times price rises in the Channel Islands

Summary: People in the Channel Islands are paying 30p more for their copy of the Financial Times.

From this week, the cost of the pink paper in the islands has risen to £2.30, compared to £2 in the UK. A spokesperson for the newspaper said the decision had not been taken lightly and the new price reflected the escalating cost of serving the islands by air. National newspapers arrive at Jersey airport every morning. They are then distributed around the island by Jersey Distribution, a trading division of Jersey Evening Post Limited.

चैनल द्वीप समूह के लोग फाइनेंशियल टाइम्स की अपनी प्रति के लिए 30 पैसे अधिक दे रहे हैं।


Will Gompertz reviews Tina: The Musical at London's Aldwych Theatre ★★★★☆

Summary: Back in 1994, when Tina Turner was moving into her new home in Switzerland, a couple of advertising copywriters in London were having a terrible time trying to come up with a strapline for a wood varnish product.

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter Their creative juices were flowing all right, but the client wasn't buying any of their fancy-pants puns or arty references. He wanted something more direct, less hyperbolic. Saying it was "Simply the Best" accompanied by Tina Turner belting out her 1989 hit obviously wasn't going to do the trick. So instead they settled on: "Ronseal Woodstain - it does exactly what it says on the tin." It was hardly Shakespearian but it worked. Which you could also say about The Tina Turner Musical, a West End jukebox show that does exactly what it says… Except. And this is a major exception. Except for the titular performance given by Adrienne Warren. The American actress is not unlike the chap in the Ronseal ads, in that she is not a household name. Yet. She will be though. And that's because very few performers have the ability to transform the ordinary into extraordinary in the way she does with this show. Warren is a 24-carat, all singing, all dancing, bona fide star. She starts slow and a little tentative; reflecting the early steps Anna-Mae Bullock was taking on her journey to becoming Tina Turner. At 17, Anna-Mae meets Ike Turner (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) who schmoozes her mother (Zelma Bullock) and then abuses her gifted daughter. For 16 years. The early Ike and Tina scenes see him forcibly shaping his musical protegee. Cymbals fly and a menacing finger is wagged in what feels like a direct lift from J.K. Simmons's merciless jazz teacher in Damien Chazelle's Oscar-winning movie Whiplash. The show stutters at this point but then bursts into sonic life when we first hear Warren give full vent to her voice. It is as if she's drawing up the sound from deep within the earth and releasing it in a controlled eruption with a Janis Joplin-meets-Tina-Turner growl. She is, Ike tells us, "spitting fire". The hits - 23 in all - are rolled out in a reasonably subtle manner (not always the case with this type of fare), woven, as they are, into the chronology of her life story, which is told through Katori Hall's rather disappointingly two-dimensional script. I say disappointing, because Hall is generally a very good writer and you'd have thought Tina Turner's tumultuous life story would have provided a feast of opportunities into which she could sink her playwriting teeth. What we have is a serviceable script elegantly staged by the experienced and astute Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!), who uses an uncluttered, layered, geometric set to good effect. She has had to overcome one of the trickier aspects of staging a musical production, which is to figure out a workable plan for getting actors and objects on and off stage in a seamless manner. It is a technical problem that is exacerbated in this production by the frequency and speed of the costume changes Warren is required to make. There are a couple of occasions where Lloyd appears to have been so flummoxed by the logistics of it all that she's given up, leaving the unfortunate Warren to strip to her underwear and perform an awkward costume change in front of the audience. There are other moments though, when you sit back and enjoy the intelligence and wit of her direction. Most memorably in a scene in which Phil Spector (Tom Godwin) takes over from Ike as Tina's producer and has her sing River Deep Mountain High with such intensity and ferocity that there is absolutely nothing left of the song when she's finally done. If this show had premiered on Broadway and not the West End, the audience would have risen as one and given her a standing ovation at this point. But this is low-key London not noisy New York, so we sat still. Until, that is, Warren donned her big 1980s Tina wig and started to belt out The Best. Nobody could resist that. Up we all went with a gentle side-to-side sway and the occasional self-conscious shoulder inflection. I turned round and saw the lady herself three rows back beaming from ear-to-ear. She'd enjoyed the show. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the show. OK, it's not Hamilton, but then, nothing is Hamilton. But it is a decent alternative for fans of the musical genre who can't get tickets to Lin-Manuel Miranda's blockbuster and are in need of a fix. You never know, The Tina Turner Musical might just run as long as those Ronseal ads.

1994 में, जब टीना टर्नर स्विट्जरलैंड में अपने नए घर में जा रही थी, लंदन में कुछ विज्ञापन कॉपीराइटर लकड़ी के वार्निश उत्पाद के लिए एक स्ट्रैपलाइन के साथ आने की कोशिश कर रहे थे।


Birmingham bin strike called off

Summary: A long-running bin strike in Birmingham has been called off.

Conciliation service Acas said the action had been suspended amid negotiations between Unite and the city council to bring the seven-week dispute to an end. The city council agreed certain posts would not be made redundant and Acas said bin collections could now resume. Union officials said in return they would recommend staff considered accepting rota changes. More from Birmingham and the Black Country Why did the workers go on strike? A statement said the council and Unite had made sufficient progress in their talks to allow the industrial action to be paused. The statement said both parties would continue to discuss how the bin collection service could be improved and what savings could be made. It also said Unite had also agreed in principle to recommend its members accept work pattern changes, including considering a five-day working week instead of the current four days. Unite said it had achieved victory in the bin dispute. It said the council had accepted the refuse workers' case and restored the jobs of grade three workers, who are responsible for safety at the back of refuse vehicles. Analysis by Kathryn Stanczyszyn, political reporter The city sighs with relief as the dispute ends, but there have been casualties. The biggest is on Birmingham City Council's side. It appears to have given up a central part of the plan to modernise its waste service - the scrapping of grade three refuse workers on bin wagons. They were being offered jobs elsewhere but unions said it amounted to potential pay cuts of up to £5,000. The council said that was untrue and had seemed firm on the idea that to achieve the efficiencies needed, grade threes had to go. Unite has hailed it a victory, saying the council has accepted its point of view. It has however made a smaller concession on its own part that it will "consider" a five day working week rather than the current four. Council leader John Clancy appears to have been pivotal in this relatively swift development following seven weeks of stalemate, with the union saying he has "worked very hard and travelled the extra mile to achieve this solution, despite the reservations of some top council officials". Assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: "We are very pleased that we have reached the stage where we can suspend the industrial action while we hold further talks about the future of the refuse service. "I know this news will be greatly welcomed by the people of Birmingham as they look forward to their bins being collected again on a regular and seamless basis. I would like to thank them for their understanding over recent weeks." The strike action, which consisted of two or three-hour stoppages during a daily shift, had been set to last until 21 September - with talk of it possibly lasting until Christmas. The amount of rubbish left in some streets led to residents taking action to clear up the waste themselves. A Birmingham City Council spokeswoman said there was still a backlog of uncollected waste because of the strike and it was therefore still in a contingency phase. She said the council would resume regular collections as soon as it was able to. In a statement, the council said the Acas statement did not represent the council's official position as the matter still had to be considered by cabinet members at a special meeting on 24 August. Volunteers the Bearded Broz cleaned up 45 tonnes of waste in the Yardley area, leading them to be called scabs by the Morning Star newspaper. Spokesman Naveed Sadiq said it was good news the strike had ended, but it was not the end of their campaign to keep streets clean. Plans were in place for a community project to keep the area tidy he said. "We hadn't been able to clean the streets lately as the council told us the tip (Tyseley) was too busy. "The streets around here don't look too bad at the moment but around Alum Rock there are some that need clearing," he said. "Was it all worth it?" commented Birmingham resident Gary Jordan. "The only winners in this were the rats and the flies."

बर्मिंघम में लंबे समय से चल रही बिन हड़ताल को रद्द कर दिया गया है।


Wylfa nuclear reactor shut down for fuel element investigation

Summary: The operators of a nuclear power station on Anglesey say it is "highly unlikely" a fault will mean it shuts down permanently.

Station bosses Magnox shut down the Wylfa reactor on Saturday after they were unable to remove a fuel element. The reactor is due to stop generating power at the end of 2015. However, operators Magnox said the firm did not expect to bring its closure forward as a result of the fault. They added the reactor would not restart until investigations have been completed.

एंग्लेसी पर एक परमाणु ऊर्जा केंद्र के संचालकों का कहना है कि यह "अत्यधिक संभावना" नहीं है कि एक गलती का मतलब यह होगा कि यह स्थायी रूप से बंद हो जाएगा।


Tour de France Grand Depart diary

Summary: With the world's biggest bike race starting in Leeds on 5 July, BBC Yorkshire's Tour de France correspondent Matt Slater rounds up the best of the gossip, opinion and stories, on and off the bike, and also tries to explain some of cycling's unique lingo. TOP STORIES

On your marks, get set… In exactly one month's time from the moment that I wrote this sentence, the 101st Tour de France will be passing through Skipton…and some roads along the way will have been closed for almost a day. The first half of that sentence is - I think almost everybody would agree - is very exciting; the second half is causing a few people some concern. On Wednesday, the Grand Depart's organisers launched an interactive map - that is available online or as a mobile app - to help Yorkshire plan for the big weekend. The key message is get organised, get there early and get your car off the route. Thursday's Look North will have a lot more on this later. Full story: Yorkshire Evening Post On yer bikes : Of course, one of the key issues in the "an expensive way to cause a traffic jam vs the best advert Yorkshire will ever get" debate that surrounds the Grand Depart, is the promise of a cycling legacy for the region. Will the sight of 198 professional cyclists powering up the Scott Hall Road inspire people at home or on the roadside to have a go themselves? Only time will tell, is probably the best, if slightly boring, answer, but there is no question about the need for more of us to do more exercise. A report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Primary Care and Public Health has revealed that a quarter of all adults in England are now "inactive", and that a failure to do something about this could cause a "tsunami of premature deaths". British Cycling thinks it knows the answer: "The physical inactivity and obesity crisis is not going to go away and getting more people on bikes for short journeys is a key solution." Full story: British Cycling Recycling in action: With another official report confirming just how money chronic inactivity is costing us - £10bn a year, according to the APPG document above - it is especially important to highlight the really good work that is being done out there to get people moving again. The Kirklees-based charity Streetbikes is a great example of what can be done with a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work. It staged the Real Community Tour of Yorkshire in Huddersfield on Sunday, a fun ride that got almost 250 cyclists of all abilities, ages, shapes and sizes out on the road. It also managed to hand out 160 recycled, free bikes to people without wheels. Full story: Huddersfield Daily Examiner What charities like Streetbikes are so adept at doing is spreading the word about cycling as a means of transport and a feel-good activity that everybody can try. There is, however, something else that cycling is good at: burning the calories contained in fun things like beer and cake. I have already written about the numerous breweries in Yorkshire that have hitched their wagons to the Tour engine, but only one of them can claim to be a "Stage Winner". That distinction goes to the Little Valley Brewery's polka-dotted creation, made in honour of Streetbikes patron and Yorkshire cycling great Brian Robinson, who in 1958 became the first Brit to win a stage at Le Tour. Full story: Halifax Courier CYCLING ROUND-UP The "will Wiggo ride?" debate is not the only Tour de France selection issue that is currently vexing close followers of the professional peloton. In fact, Tour selection issues are pretty much the only thing anybody is talking about right now as we wait for the next meaning action to start at the Criterium du Dauphine in Lyon on Friday. This is the eight-stage race that is often a great indicator of who will be lining up at Le Tour. It is the next race that Chris Froome is hoping to win with a strong Team Sky contingent behind him: a contingent that does not include Sir Bradley Wiggins. He, for it is worth, is preparing for next week's Tour of Switzerland. The fact that he has been asked to do so whilst also preparing for a return to the track at the Commonwealths this summer, is perhaps the best indication of what he will be doing in July. If Wiggins does miss Le Tour, he will be joined on the side lines by Belgium's former world champion Philippe Gilbert and French climbing prospect Warren Barguil. Gilbert wants to concentrate on regaining the world title, and Barguil's team, Giant-Shimano, is prioritising Marcel Kittel's hunt for stage wins. One big-name rider who is definitely concentrating on a good showing in Yorkshire and beyond this July is American Tejay van Garderen. The BMC Racing team leader has struggled for fitness so far this season after a good start to his 2014 campaign in Oman, but he says he is in fine fettle now and ready to challenge Froome and co all the way to Paris. TWEET OF THE DAY "30 days to go until @letour and @letouryorkshire. Who's ready?" @letouryorkshire concentrates minds with a to-the-point tweet. A TO Z OF LE TOUR V is for… Voiture balai - The French term for "broom wagon", the vehicle that follows the race sweeping up those who can no longer continue: it is a ride no cyclist wants to take. TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA One of the great things about writing a daily diary about Le Tour on the BBC website is that book publishers start to send you the latest scribblings of their cycling writers. I am currently working my way through an uncategorised mountain of Tour literature, and there really is no need for family members to send me birthday/Christmas gift suggestions: you will be getting a cycling book. Anyway, Irish author Feargal McKay has written "The Complete Book of the Tour de France", and if I was to judge a book by its cover, so to speak, I would say it is comprehensive. I would also say that it is full of interesting nuggets, if its prologue is anything to go on. I have written before about Le Tour being created in 1903 to boost the sales of an ailing newspaper, but what I did not know until now is that the original idea was based on a British creation: the six-day race. This was an event that would run from early Monday to late Saturday (there would be no racing on the Sabbath, obviously) and would involve long sessions of intense track racing. The most famous of these took place at New York's Madison Square Garden, but they actually started in either Birmingham in 1875, or London in 1878 - it is a matter of some dispute. Six-day racing had not taken off in French velodromes by the turn of the century, but cycling fans were well aware of them, having read accounts of how brutal they were. What McKay points out is that the creators of Le Tour were effectively proposing something they had already described as "cruel", "inhuman" and "torture", but on an even grander scale. It would turn out to be circulation gold, though, so torturing cyclists is clearly what the public wanted.

5 जुलाई को लीड्स में शुरू होने वाली दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी बाइक दौड़ के साथ, बीबीसी यॉर्कशायर के टूर डी फ्रांस संवाददाता मैट स्लेटर बाइक के अंदर और बाहर गपशप, राय और कहानियों का सबसे अच्छा दौर पेश करते हैं, और साइकिल चलाने की कुछ अनूठी भाषा को समझाने की भी कोशिश करते हैं।


Concentrix to create around 1,000 new jobs in Belfast

Summary: US company Concentrix is to create around 1,000 new jobs in Belfast.

The company, which currently employs 800 people at three Belfast locations, is investing £36m. The firm set up in Northern Ireland in 2011 after buying the locally-owned call centre Gem. The bulk of the firm's work is call centre operations. First Minister Peter Robinson, who made the announcement on Thursday, described it as "excellent news for Northern Ireland". Speaking at Concentrix's headquarters at Lanyon Place, he said: "This major investment is a tremendous boost for our local economy and is further evidence that Northern Ireland remains one of the most competitive countries in Europe for inward investors seeking talented people in a cost-competitive location." "The decision by Concentrix to reinvest in Northern Ireland sends a clear and strong signal to other potential investors that Northern Ireland remains a great place to work, live and invest." Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: "This is an unprecedented jobs announcement by Concentrix creating over 1,000 jobs and contributing over £18m a year in wages and salaries to the local economy." 'Valuable opportunities' Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said the investment was the "biggest-ever job creation" project supported by Invest NI . "Investments such as this provide valuable job opportunities for a variety of people, particularly those returning to work, those who have experienced a period of unemployment and young people," she said. "The company considered a number of other locations before choosing Belfast." Concentrix provides business support services to government organisations and large organisations, such as Microsoft and Amazon. The company is recruiting not just customer care telephone staff, but also software developers. The posts will pay an average of £15,000 - that is below the private sector average. Vice President Philip Cassidy said the jobs offered good prospects in the current economic climate. "The career prospects have been very good for people within the business," he said. "There are people that have come in at a relatively low level within the business and have moved through the ranks through to senior management positions and we would encourage that." The project is the biggest ever backed by Invest NI in terms of a single jobs announcement. It is giving Concentrix £3.5m in grant aid. Earlier this week the company was linked to the purchase of the former Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast city centre. Neither the company nor the council has yet commented.

अमेरिकी कंपनी कॉन्सेंट्रिक्स बेलफास्ट में लगभग 1,000 नई नौकरियों का सृजन करेगी।


Thalidomide scandal: How Australia's response has 'lagged behind'

Summary: Australia has fallen behind many other countries in its response to one of the world's worst pharmaceutical scandals. That seems likely to change - but time is running out for thalidomide survivors and their parents, reports Gary Nunn in Sydney.

There was a recent six-month period when Trish Jackson, 56, didn't leave her house. "The minute I step out, I'm laughed at. Stared at. People say horrid things," she says. "Add to that my constant pain - because my feet are my hands, my knees and hips need replacing - and I was in a terrible headspace." Another factor deterring her from leaving her Brisbane home was that she struggled to get her mobility scooter modified - because she needs to drive it with her feet. Who is affected? "Thalidomiders" - a term many survivors use to describe themselves - were born to mothers who took a morning sickness pill which, unbeknown to them, caused birth defects, usually in the form of significantly shortened limbs (in Ms Jackson's case, her arms), or in other cases, no limbs. It has affected thousands of people globally in a scandal stretching back to the 1950s, when the drug was developed by German firm Chemie Gruenenthal. But today, Ms Jackson says she is thrilled. A Senate committee report, released late last month, has for the first time recommended government compensation, support and a national apology for thalidomide survivors in Australia. Lisa McManus, 56, a survivor who has lobbied MPs for the past five years, says, if implemented, these recommendations "will change the lives of Australia's 124 known thalidomide survivors dramatically". She is "delighted" by the report's findings, though she adds that Australian survivors "have won the battle but not the full war". Why survivors have been critical They say that unlike the UK, which made a national apology to its 467 living Thalidomide survivors in 2010, and Canada, which recently doubled government compensation to survivors, Australia has never publicly acknowledged wrongdoing, made an apology, or set up a support or compensation scheme. And unlike in the US, for example, Australia did not conduct a media campaign in the 1960s warning pregnant women, or make efforts to confiscate the drug from homes. Michael Magazanik, a lawyer and author of a book on the thalidomide scandal, says: "Australia lagged well behind other countries. Although Japan and Canada kept it on shelves longer than others, Australia made a comparatively weak and late effort to get it out of surgeries and pharmacies. It never got it out of homes, and never gave a proper warning." It was an Australian who first warned the world of thalidomide's dangers. In June 1961, Dr William McBride wrote to medical journal The Lancet after noticing deformities. The Australian government was warned about thalidomide in December 1961 by the drug's distributor, Distillers. Both Trish Jackson and Lisa McManus were born after that warning. It's "inexcusable" that this could've been prevented, Ms McManus says: "Of 124 known Australian thalidomide survivors, between 20 and 30 were conceived in that timeframe where the government knew about thalidomide's atrocities, but did nothing." In 2013, a cohort of Australian survivors won a payout from the company that distributed the drug, but not all were represented in this settlement. The government has offset tax for survivors who received the corporate compensation, and offered a memorial garden. It has also recently promised to do "what no government has done for the last 50 years and offer a national apology and establish a national memorial", a spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt says. However, Ms McManus says: "We've been pushing the government for a national apology but as it stands we still haven't received one. We've been offered an apology from the health minister in the memorial garden, but that isn't good enough. We'd like one from the prime minister in parliament." Wish for parents Life today for survivors is difficult. Ms McManus says: "There's internal damage, as well as external. Some days the challenge is just getting out of bed. The condition prematurely ages you - we're 25-30 years senior to our chronological age. I have a very active mind - to imagine sitting there unable to act is unbelievably confronting." The pace of her deterioration scares her: "Two weeks ago I could still sign my name. Today, I can't hold a pen." Government compensation, Ms McManus says, would help survivors "update wheelchairs and hearing devices, fund home help and modify cars and bathrooms". Senator Jordan Steele-John, who pushed to establish the Senate committee inquiry, tells the BBC: "The memorial garden offer shows that the Australian government viewed this as a tragedy - not a failure." A national apology would mean the world to Ms Jackson and Ms McManus, because their mothers, aged 91 and 92 respectively, are still alive. "I hope [the apology] happens in Mum's lifetime," Ms Jackson says. "Her guilt is heartbreaking. She needs to hear it wasn't her fault." Ms McManus's mother, who took just two thalidomide pills, "couldn't stop crying" when she heard the Senate recommendations. "She kept asking: 'Is it really true? They'll look after my girl?'" Ms McManus says. "That light at the end of the tunnel is no longer the train coming for me. It's hope."

दुनिया के सबसे खराब दवा घोटालों में से एक के लिए अपनी प्रतिक्रिया में ऑस्ट्रेलिया कई अन्य देशों से पीछे रह गया है। ऐसा लगता है कि इसके बदलने की संभावना है-लेकिन सिडनी में गैरी नन की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, थैलिडोमाइड से बचे लोगों और उनके माता-पिता के लिए समय समाप्त हो रहा है।


The view from one petrol station forecourt

Summary: As ministers say motorists should continue to take "sensible precautions" to prepare for the impact of a possible strike by fuel tanker drivers, the BBC's Steve Blears visited one forecourt on the Wirral.

By Steve BlearsBBC Radio 5 live reporter Shell's seven-pump service station at Eastham, on the Wirral, ran out of unleaded petrol on Wednesday morning and diesel just before lunchtime. On a busy dual carriageway, it is a larger petrol station than most - serving HGV traffic heading towards the M53. A selection of battered and mismatched traffic cones have sealed off the entrance along with a handwritten sign saying "No fuel". With little else to do, staff have been taking up the opportunity to tidy up. They have been sweeping sand used to dry fuel spills into neat little piles. The only interruption, a solitary Volvo driver allowed to enter after mouthing "Auto Gas?" through the service station window. Anecdotally, there has been a stronger than expected demand for fuel on the Wirral where pumps have also reportedly run dry at Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead. 'Selfish' One reason could be their closeness to the Stanlow oil refinery on the Mersey estuary. Seven miles from the refinery and just down the A41 at Bromborough service station, also on the Wirral, a much needed delivery of fuel arrived at 13:30 BST. The station had been closed all morning. One attendant said: "They've been coming for miles to fill up here because we are close to Stanlow refinery. "They think it means guaranteed fuel but it doesn't. It was terrible yesterday, people were arguing with each other about panic-buying and filling cans. "One chap was telling the other he needed fuel to drive for work and called the other selfish." As the petrol station opened, a queue of 12 cars immediately formed - with people spotting it and instinctively joining the end. "I can't be caught out, I need to drive for my business," said a landscape gardener filling his 4x4. "You'd think Cameron would be pleased," he added."More tax money for them."

जैसा कि मंत्रियों का कहना है कि वाहन चालकों को ईंधन टैंकर चालकों द्वारा संभावित हड़ताल के प्रभाव के लिए तैयार रहने के लिए "समझदारी से सावधानी" बरतनी चाहिए, बीबीसी के स्टीव ब्लियर्स ने विर्रल पर एक प्रांगण का दौरा किया।


Julie Clark death: Jason Nellist charged with Hereford murder

Summary: A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman in Hereford.

Julie Clark, 59, was found dead at her home in Highmore Street on 9 January. A post-mortem examination revealed she died from stab wounds. Jason Nellist, 40, Nicholson Court, Hereford, has been charged with her murder. Mr Nellist been remanded in custody to appear before Hereford Magistrates' Court on Monday. Related Internet Links West Mercia Police

हेयरफोर्ड में एक महिला की मौत के बाद एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या का आरोप लगाया गया है।


IPCC to probe collision involving Kent PCC Ann Barnes

Summary: A collision involving a car driven by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Ann Barnes was driving her Mercedes when it collided with another car and hit a tree in Princes Road, Dartford. Nobody was seriously hurt in the incident on 16 September. In a statement, the commissioner's office said it was aware of a referral from Kent Police but it could not comment any further.

केंट पुलिस और अपराध आयुक्त द्वारा संचालित एक कार की टक्कर को स्वतंत्र पुलिस शिकायत आयोग को भेजा गया है।