Cartoon: Planet of Forbidden Prime Ministers

Summary: On a far-off planet that's very much like Australia, strange creatures engage in a brutal battle for political domination, in this satirical cartoon from illustrator Laurent Sanguinetti.

Not sure what we're on about? Australia has run through a slew of prime ministers in recent years and is holding a federal election on 2 July. You can read more about Australia's revolving-door of political leadership on these links, but for now, let us journey to Australis Minor. Are Australians ready to gamble on yet another PM? | Coup capital of the democratic world Laurent Sanguinetti is a French-Australian illustrator who bases himself between Sydney and Paris. You can see more of his work at his website.

एक दूर के ग्रह पर जो बहुत हद तक ऑस्ट्रेलिया जैसा है, चित्रकार लॉरेंट सैंगुइनेट्टी के इस व्यंग्यपूर्ण कार्टून में अजीब जीव राजनीतिक वर्चस्व के लिए एक क्रूर लड़ाई में संलग्न हैं।


Man dies and two in critical condition after Hengoed crash

Summary: A 27-year-old man has died in a crash after a car came off a road in Caerphilly county.

Police said a silver Renault Clio left Hengoed Road in Hengoed at about 22:45 GMT on Saturday. Callum West from the Caerphilly area died at the scene. His family is being supported by specialist officers. Two other men, who were also in the car, are in a critical condition in hospital. Gwent Police is appealing for witnesses to come forward.

कैर्फिली काउंटी में एक कार के सड़क से उतर जाने के बाद हुई दुर्घटना में एक 27 वर्षीय व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


Mountain biking 'boosts Welsh economy by £23m'

Summary: Mountain biking is worth more than £23m to the Welsh economy, an environment body has estimated.

Natural Resources Wales says facilities attract cyclists from across the world. BBC Radio Wales' Country Focus programme has been to Bike Park Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, which opened in 2013 at a cost of £1.8m. The programme airs on Sunday at 07:00 GMT. Rachel Garside reports.

एक पर्यावरण निकाय ने अनुमान लगाया है कि वेल्श अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए माउंटेन बाइकिंग का मूल्य 23 मिलियन पाउंड से अधिक है।


Is Trump now part of the establishment?

Summary: Donald Trump campaigned for president as the ultimate outsider, promising to unseat a corrupt and atrophied Washington establishment. Now, after two months in office, has he become the establishment? Are Trump and his team the insiders now?

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter One thing the recent collapse of healthcare reform efforts in the House of Representatives has revealed is just how quickly attitudes and alliances can shift in Washington, DC. Last year Mr Trump and members of the House Freedom Caucus, a collection of 30 or so libertarian-leaning fiscal conservatives in Congress, were singing from the same anti-government hymnal. Now, however, Mr Trump is the government - and he teamed up with congressional leadership to back a healthcare bill that conservative hard-liners believe didn't go far enough in undoing the 2009 Democratic-designed system. The effort's failure set off back-and-forth sniping between Mr Trump and the Freedom Caucus that morphed into a classic insider-outsider faceoff, with Mr Trump cast as the new voice of the powers that be. Freedom Caucus - Do these 29 white men run America? Congressman Justin Amash said the White House has become part of the hated status quo - the "Trumpstablishment", he called it in a Saturday tweet. That line drew the ire of Mr Trump's director of social media, Dan Scavino Jr, who tweeted that Mr Amash was a "big liability" and encouraged Michigan voters to unseat him in next year's Republican primary. (The tweet has since been criticised as a possible violation of a federal law preventing executive branch officials from attempting to influence election campaigns.) If Mr Trump's conservative critics are trying to make the case that the president has become the establishment he campaigned against, their arguments have been buttressed by the financial disclosure documents released by the White House on Friday evening, which revealed exactly how well-heeled and connected many of the top White House staff are. According to the Washington Post, 27 members of Mr Trump's team have combined assets exceeding $2.3bn (£1.84bn). Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner - both unpaid presidential advisers - are worth roughly $740m. Senior White House strategist Steve Bannon earned as much as $2.3 million in 2017. Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive who is one of Mr Trump's top economics advisers, has a net worth approaching $611m. The New York Times points out that many in the inner circle of the putatively anti-establishment Mr Trump drew significant sums from the network of big-money political donors, think tanks and associated political action committees that populate the Washington insider firmament. "The figures reveal the extent to which private political work has bolstered the financial fortunes of Trump aides, who have made millions of dollars from Republican and other conservative causes in recent years," the paper reported. Already there are signs that conservative true-believers - some of whom were never fully sold on Mr Trump to begin with - are questioning Mr Trump's anti-establishment bona fides. "That's the dirty little secret," writes conservative columnist Ben Shapiro. "Trump isn't anti-establishment; he's pro-establishment so long as he's the establishment." Even conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, an early Trump supporter, is having some doubts. "I think it is really, really unhelpful to Donald Trump's ultimate agenda to slam the very people who are going to be propping up his border wall, all the things he wants to do on immigration, on trade," she said on Fox News."I don't know where he thinks he's going to get his friends on those issues." Perhaps of greatest concern to Mr Trump is that the failure to enact promised healthcare reform, along with his recent feud with members of his own party, have been accompanied by a softening of his core support in recent polls. In a Rasmussen survey, the number of Americans who "strongly approve" of the president has dropped from 44% at shortly after his inauguration to 28% today. While the Republican base is largely sticking with Mr Trump so far, they may be starting to have some doubts. For much of 2016 Donald Trump was the barbarian at the gate, threatening to rain fire on the comfortable Washington power elite. Even in his January inaugural address, he condemned an establishment that "protected itself" at the cost of average Americans. "Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land," he said. Now, however, Mr Trump and his team of formerly angry outsiders meet in the Oval Office. They fly on Air Force One. They host events in the White House rose garden. They issue tweets warning apostates of harsh political consequences. They walk the halls of power and call the shots. It doesn't get any more "insider" than that.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प ने राष्ट्रपति के लिए अंतिम बाहरी व्यक्ति के रूप में प्रचार किया, एक भ्रष्ट और भ्रष्ट वाशिंगटन प्रतिष्ठान को हटाने का वादा किया। अब, दो महीने के कार्यकाल के बाद, क्या वह प्रतिष्ठान बन गया है? क्या ट्रम्प और उनकी टीम अब अंदरूनी हैं?


Feeding Spain's jobless back to work

Summary: The vast majority of the staff at La Trobada restaurant in the Catalan town of Terrassa are unemployed. They volunteer as waiters, cleaners and assistant cooks at the restaurant, and in return they eat for free.

By Tom BurridgeBBC News, Terrassa Other than four paid members of staff, including the restaurant's two head chefs, everyone working at La Trobada is working without a wage. Over a period of four months they will each do 80 hours' work. Dolores Roelas, 58, lost her job at the town's municipal courts three years ago and suffered severe depression. "Suddenly I felt excluded from the world I had known for 28 years," she told me. "Being here makes me feel useful." Diners who help The waiters serve a three-course set menu, as well as bread, water and wine for just 6.50 euros (£5.60; $8.70). Alfonso, who runs a business restoring classic cars, says you cannot find such good food at such a reasonable price anywhere else. "You also help people at the same time," adds the businessman, who is one of several paying customers helping to fill the restaurant on a Monday lunchtime. The restaurant project has received nearly 100,000 euros in funding from local and national charities and support from Terrassa's town hall. However, the restaurant calculates that the takings from the paying customers will be 60,000 euros less than the cost of running the not-for-profit venture in its first year. La Trobada manager Xavier Casas says they are considering increasing the cost of the set menu by one euro and also hoping to attract more sponsorship from local businesses to make the project more sustainable in the longer term. Short-term culture Low-paid jobs are in high demand in Spain, where as many as 1,000 people can apply for the same job. Professor Jose Manuel Campa, a former secretary of state for the economy who now teaches at Spain's IESE business school, estimates that about 15% of the country's population is working in "very short-term conditions". Short-term contracts provide flexibility, he notes, but "that does not encourage a long-term relationship" between employers and workers. "In the medium term this is reflected through a very low productivity per worker, and that is not good for future growth or future welfare," he says. Professor Salvador del Rey, an expert in Spanish labour law from the law firm Cuatrecasas, believes that "hundreds of thousands of jobs" could be cut in the public sector over the next few months. And of the 6.2m unemployed people in Spain, there is a growing number, which the government and analysts consider to be the long-term unemployed. The worry is that people spend so long outside of the workforce that they find it much harder getting a job, when the market in Spain finally recovers. That is a problem which La Trobada hopes to address. 'Bigger person' Mr Casas says the restaurant scheme is about "recuperating people for society". "We are giving them additional tools to cope with this huge crisis," he argues. That is a sentiment shared by Estefania Lao, 26, who has been out of work since she gave birth to her daughter five years ago. Ms Lao cleaned, set tables and helped serve the food on the day I visited. "We work in exchange for a meal but it's not just about the food - it is the fact that you get out of the house and you meet people," she says. "In my case I have done nothing apart from care for my daughter for the past five years. This makes me a bigger person."

कैटलन शहर टेरासा में ला ट्रोबाडा रेस्तरां के अधिकांश कर्मचारी बेरोजगार हैं। वे रेस्तरां में वेटर, क्लीनर और सहायक रसोइये के रूप में स्वेच्छा से काम करते हैं और बदले में वे मुफ्त में खाते हैं।


Glee star Matthew Morrison says album 'nearly done'

Summary: Glee star Matthew Morrison, who plays school teacher Will Schuster, says he is "three quarters" of the way through recording his debut solo album.

Billboard reports that Morrison hopes to bring out the album in February 2011 with the album originally expected to be released this autumn. He is fitting recording in between filming the second series of Glee. "It's full-time Glee right now," he said. "I'm trying to do it on the weekends." Describing the sound of the album Morrison added: "[It will be like] a lot of stuff that you would find on the adult contemporary charts, but stuff that I hope you'll hear in the club and you can dance to." The second series of Glee premieres in the US on 21 September on Fox. Britney Spears has already recorded several cameo appearances after filming began in August.

ग्ली स्टार मैथ्यू मॉरिसन, जो स्कूल के शिक्षक विल शूस्टर की भूमिका निभा रहे हैं, का कहना है कि वह अपना पहला एकल एल्बम रिकॉर्ड करने में "तीन चौथाई" हैं।


Devon black swans die of bird flu 'devastating'

Summary: Six black swans have died after contracting bird flu.

An adult and five cygnets in Dawlish died from the virus on Monday, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) tests confirmed. Two further adults died overnight on Tuesday and their remains will be examined to establish the cause of death, Dawlish Town Council said. The town's mayor described the deaths as "devastating", as the birds hold a "special place" within the community. Dawlish Water's black swans have been a significant tourist attraction for decades and have been the town's emblem for over 40 years. Recently, a live webcam stream of them has been available online . Nine swans are still alive, two of which are sick and being monitored by the council's waterfowl wardens, who have asked people to avoid them. 'Heartbreaking' Tributes have been paid to the "very special and beautiful" birds on social media, with locals and visitors expressing their sadness. Iris Taylor said: "So very sad and heartbreaking not only for the community of Dawlish, but for those of us who look forward to seeing them when we are on holiday there." Gillian Dobbs said watching the swans online had brought "relief from these horrible times". Mayor of Dawlish Alison Foden said: "This is obviously devastating news for us, not just as a council but for the Parish of Dawlish as a whole. "We are famous for our black swans all over the world, they hold a special place within our communities and their health and wellbeing is really important to us." Other populations of birds in south-west England have died of the virus in recent days. The strain of the bird flu is "considered very low risk" of human transmission, Public Health England said.

बर्ड फ्लू से छह काले हंसों की मौत हो गई है।


Carlisle murder: Man arrested after woman's death

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the sudden death of a 64-year-old woman.

Police were contacted by paramedics who had been called to a house on Cant Crescent in Carlisle at 10:55 BST on Thursday. Cumbria Police said relatives had been informed but the woman's death was currently unexplained. A 31-year-old man has been arrested and is in custody being questioned by police.

64 वर्षीय महिला की आकस्मिक मृत्यु के बाद हत्या के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Chernobyl's legacy 30 years on

Summary: Children are still being born with severe birth defects and rare types of cancer in areas near to Chernobyl, according to a British charity, three decades on from the world's worst civil nuclear disaster.

By Tom BurridgeBBC News, Ukraine The accident on 26 April 1986 contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union, changed the way the world thinks about nuclear energy and has affected an unquantifiable number of people in the region. For British paediatrician Dr Rachel Furley, the "desperately sad" reality is that women who have spent their entire lives exposed to high levels of radiation are now having children. She says that in the most severe cases babies have limbs missing and in one case a baby was born with two heads. When Dr Furley is not treating children in Bury St Edmunds, she helps 800 youngsters in Gomel, a region of Belarus. She set up the charity Bridges to Belarus when she was still at medical school. It now gives families clothing, school materials and accommodation, as well as food during the harsh winter, English lessons and healthcare. The organisation also provides pain relief, palliative care and potentially lifesaving blood tests for the unusually high number of children with cancer, in a region where state healthcare is often lacking. The statistics are stark In more than a decade's work as a paediatrician in Britain, Dr Furley has seen two children with thyroid tumours. Roughly half of the 800 children her charity assists in the Gomel region have developed thyroid cancer. "We have an awful lot of palliative cancers and tumours. Types which we don't see anywhere else in the world." Dr Furley studies the "really strange birth abnormalities and genetic disorders" with medical colleagues in Britain. The diseases are often linked to heart problems and sometimes learning disabilities. When compared with the mortality rates of the wider population the children helped by Bridges to Belarus stand a better chance of living longer. But still, according to the charity, many die young. Deserted city The desolate concrete graveyard of giant Soviet-era buildings in the deserted city adjacent to Chernobyl is a reminder of how, in the days following the accident, a whole community left their homes in a hurry and never returned. Pripyat was a city built for Chernobyl's workers and their families. Before the disaster it had a population of 60,000. Three decades on and children's shoes and toys are still left in the decaying building that was a kindergarten. Families separated But about 180 mainly elderly people still live within the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl. Sixty-two-year-old Valentina remembers the "whispers" and "fear" within the local community in the days after the disaster. It took the Soviet authorities several days to announce that something had happened at Chernobyl. And it took much longer for the full truth to emerge. Valentina left the area briefly but soon returned to her home near Chernobyl. Her daughter, sister and parents, however, were relocated to different parts of Ukraine. "Being separated from my family was hard," she told us. "But I don't worry about my health. "We don't fear the radiation… for us it doesn't matter where we die." Workers kept in the dark Andrei Glukhov worked at Chernobyl and knew those in the control room of reactor four, whose names are part of a permanent memorial to the 31 people killed in the immediate aftermath of the accident. The body of one man is thought still to be inside. In the early hours of 26 April, Andrei was at home in Pripyat when he heard loud bangs. There was a brief power cut. But even employees like Andrei were not told what had happened. Attempts to cover up the disaster further discredited the Soviet authorities and ultimately contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Two days later Andrei visited the plant and saw the "glowing" core of the reactor. "This was the moment that I realised that this was not an accident. It was a disaster," he recalls. Even after the accident at the nuclear plant at Fukushima, Japan in 2011, Chernobyl retains the unfortunate infamy of being known as the world's worst ever civil nuclear disaster. Chernobyl disaster 30 years on, 30 to go? Andrei is now part of an international project to build a shield-like structure, which later this year will be moved over reactor four. Work will then begin, using robotic machinery, to deconstruct the reactor and the highly radioactive core. Even now, approximately 97% of the reactor's radioactive contents remain inside. It could take as long as 30 years to complete the project. However, the other 3% - which spewed out following the explosion and fire inside the reactor - not only had a devastating health impact on an unquantifiable number of people, it also changed the way the world regards nuclear energy. 'Opened eyes' on nuclear According to Vince Novak, head of nuclear safety at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the project's main donor, Chernobyl "had a phenomenal influence on public opinion and public and political acceptance" towards nuclear energy. As well as the negative impact it had on the nuclear industry, Mr Novak argues that it also "opened the eyes of Western politicians" and "paved the way for huge improvements to nuclear safety", particularly within the former Soviet Union. Chernobyl's last active reactor was shut down in 2000. Since then eight more Soviet-designed reactors in Eastern European countries have been closed down. No room for complacency The question we all have is: could there ever be another Chernobyl? Before the events in Fukushima, Vince Novak was "absolutely convinced" that a nuclear accident on a similar scale was not possible. Now he is more cautious. The risks have "decreased significantly" because of technological and attitudinal changes. But, he says, there is no room for complacency when it comes to nuclear safety.

दुनिया की सबसे खराब असैन्य परमाणु आपदा के तीन दशक बाद, एक ब्रिटिश दान के अनुसार, चेरनोबिल के पास के क्षेत्रों में बच्चे अभी भी गंभीर जन्म दोषों और दुर्लभ प्रकार के कैंसर के साथ पैदा हो रहे हैं।


How did The Lad Bible become so successful?

Summary: If you use Facebook, the chances are that you have seen the material - videos of Rambo-themed stag parties, mobile discos paraded through supermarket aisles, or a man changing a nappy wearing a gas mask.

By Esther WebberBBC News They are hosted on a website called the Lad Bible and are being shared in their thousands by its 17 million followers, across Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. The LAD Bible is a mixture of video and photos, some of it posted by users, the rest harvested from the four corners of the internet. It has a sister site, the Sport Bible, but should not be confused with Unilad, which has a similar feel but was founded by a separate team. Web analytics site Alexa reports Lad Bible is the 12th most popular website in the UK, above more established resources such as LinkedIn, PayPal and the Guardian. But its popularity is not universal. 'Redefines lads' Features such as Cleavage Thursday or Bumday Monday, now phased out, have attracted accusations of sexism, particularly from student groups. Laura Bates, of Everyday Sexism, has written the Lad Bible and sites like it represent "a culture of misogyny sickeningly disguised as 'banter'". Radhika Sanghani, of the Telegraph's Women pages, has said they "encourage male users to rate women and make misogynistic comments". These charges are rejected by the Lad Bible's marketing director, Mimi Turner, in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live. She told BBC Radio 5 live: "A quarter of 'lads' reading the site are actually women," and that it "absolutely redefines what lads are". Her own recruitment was reported by the Telegraph and the Guardian as a sign the website was making an effort to rebrand itself. Contrasting the site with older household names, she said: "We're two years in, and a lot of my job is about how we scale up what we're doing and stay relevant. What are we doing that's different?" Asked about the disappearance of some of the less safe-for-work features, she said: "Do you know why? They're just not funny and clever enough to meet the content standards for what we need." Summarising the Lad Bible's appeal, she said: "We have a huge appetite for relatable content - somebody doing something foolish or crazy or brave or inspiring that you might do too. "That's a type of content that lends itself to social media, whereas it was never a lever that Loaded or Zoo could pull." This ability to attract clicks has made the Lad Bible highly sought after by advertisers. BuzzFeed reported it made more than £1m a year from advertising. The range of groups advertising on the site - from PlayStation to Oxfam - is testament to its pulling power. 'Cats and cleavage' BBC Click's social media reporter LJ Rich said: "What the Lad Bible does well is it collates things. It's like a Pinterest." "It has changed a lot over the past couple of years, which does seem to be a model for a lot of companies - you start off by getting some kind of stranglehold on the market, then you can make yourself acceptable to a wider demographic." But Ms Turner said: "You can get a small number being nasty and shocking and controversial, but you can't get to 17 million. "At 17 million you're building a community who know why they're going back. "You can't do it quickly with cats, you can't do it quickly with cleavage." She told BBC Radio 5 live the site was growing by 250,000 followers a week and getting 3.5 million "likes", shares and comments on its media every day. While Ms Turner is happy to spread the word, co-founders Alex Solomou and Arian Kalantari prefer to keep a low profile. But if their creation continues to grow at such a rapid pace, they may not be able to stay out of the spotlight much longer.

यदि आप फेसबुक का उपयोग करते हैं, तो संभावना है कि आपने सामग्री देखी होगी-रैम्बो-थीम वाली स्टैग पार्टियों के वीडियो, सुपरमार्केट गलियारों के माध्यम से परेड किए गए मोबाइल डिस्को, या गैस मास्क पहने हुए एक आदमी नैपी बदल रहा है।


Brexit: Supreme Court sets date for judgement

Summary: The government will learn next Tuesday whether it has won its legal battle to get Brexit under way without the need for a vote by MPs.

The Supreme Court's judgement follows an appeal against the High Court's rejection of ministers' arguments. Theresa May says the government already has powers to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - starting Brexit talks - by the end of March. But campaigners say Parliament must be consulted before she does so. Labour has already said it will not vote against the government over invoking Article 50.

सरकार को अगले मंगलवार को पता चलेगा कि क्या उसने सांसदों द्वारा वोट की आवश्यकता के बिना ब्रेक्सिट को शुरू करने के लिए अपनी कानूनी लड़ाई जीत ली है।


Obituary: George HW Bush

Summary: The inauguration of George HW Bush as president in January 1989 was the culmination of a career built on privilege: a series of political promotions ending at the White House.

The 41st president of the United States had previously served eight years as vice-president to Ronald Reagan and was the first serving vice-president for more than 150 years to be elected to the highest office. His term in office was defined by his foreign policy at a time when communism was collapsing in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the USSR left the US as the world's only superpower. His policies helped restore the credibility of the US in the rest of the world and lay to rest the ghost of the intervention in Vietnam. But he was accused of neglecting domestic affairs and, after reneging on a campaign promise not to increase taxes, he was defeated by Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election. A political life •1966: Wins seat in House of Representatives •1971: Nixon installs him as UN ambassador •1974: Heads newly established mission in Beijing •1976: Ford makes him CIA director •1981-1989: Ronald Reagan's vice-president •1989-1993: President of the US; leads US into first Gulf War; copes with collapse of communism in Eastern Bloc George Herbert Walker Bush was born on 12 June 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of an investment banker who later became a US senator. He volunteered for the US Navy after Pearl Harbor. He trained as an aviator before being assigned duties in the Pacific where he saw action against the Japanese during World War Two. Just 18, he may well have been America's youngest flying officer, assigned to pilot torpedo bombers off aircraft carriers. He was shot down in September 1944 while on a bombing raid. His plane filled with smoke and flames swallowed both wings. "My God," he recalled thinking, "This thing's going to blow up." He continued to pilot the aircraft, dropping his bombs on their target. He ordered his two fellow crew members to parachute out of the plane but neither man survived. Choking on the smoke, Bush followed his crew - smashing his head on the tail of the plane as the wind propelled him backwards. He made it into a tiny life-raft and began paddling away from the nearby Japanese island with his hands. Incredibly, a US submarine rose to the surface right next to him and his rescue was even captured on camera. Following his honourable discharge from the navy in 1945, Bush married 18-year-old Barbara Pierce. Their marriage would last 72 years and they would have six children together. Their first son, the future president George Walker Bush, was born a year later. Bush had been offered a place at Yale prior to his enlistment in the navy, and he took it up in 1945, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Bush and his family then moved to Texas where, with the use of his father's business connections, he got a job in the oil industry. By the age of 40, he was a millionaire. He and Barbara suffered the trauma of losing their first daughter to leukaemia. Robin was taken to the doctor suffering from tiredness and the awful diagnosis was completely unexpected. The family was shattered by her death a few months later. When Barbara Bush herself died, 65 years later, the family posted a touching note. "Give Robin a hug from us, Mom," it said. Conservatism George's professional interest had turned to politics. After serving as the chairman of a local branch of the Republican Party he took a major step, seeking and winning the Republican nomination for the US Senate seat for Texas. The Democratic incumbent successfully branded Bush as a right-wing extremist, gaining 56% of the vote to Bush's 43%. Undaunted, Bush successfully stood for the House of Representatives in 1966, where he served for two terms. President Richard Nixon persuaded Bush to try for the Senate again in 1970 but, again, he was defeated by the Democratic candidate. Instead, Nixon appointed him US ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and then Republican Party chairman. When Nixon was forced to resign 1974, Bush did his best to heal some of the wounds left by Watergate, touring the country in support of Republican candidates. At the end of the year he went to Beijing as head of the new US mission there. After just over a year in China, President Gerald Ford brought him home to take charge of the Central Intelligence Agency, which had been rocked by a series of scandals relating to covert operations abroad and unauthorised spying on US citizens. The posting coincided with a deterioration in Barbara's mental health. She wrote in her biography that she would have to pull her car up on the side of the road for fear of steering into a tree, or on-coming traffic. The dark feelings eventually passed. Bush left the CIA after Ford left office and, in 1978, began campaigning for the Republican nomination for the 1980 presidential election. He travelled the country, preaching his brand of moderate conservatism and, by the beginning of 1980, had emerged as the main challenger to Ronald Reagan. But he entered the presidential fray only to find that his privileged past could be a political liability. "What's wrong with excellence?" he said at the time. "What's wrong with having a good education? What's wrong with having excelled in my life and business or being a good ambassador in China or the United Nations, or having done an excellent job at the CIA? I have. I know that sounds a little immodest, but that's my record." Defeated by Reagan there was, once again, a consolation: a ticket to the White House as Reagan's deputy and eight years of training for the top job itself. Read my lips In the 1988 race which delivered George HW Bush to the presidency, he made two fundamental misjudgements. The first was his choice of vice-presidential candidate: Dan Quayle, a little-known senator from Indiana, who gained international fame through a series of gaffes. The second was in a speech Bush made at the 1988 Republican National Convention. During an attack on the fiscal policy of his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis, Bush made a pledge that was to haunt his presidency and ultimately bring about his political downfall. "Read my lips," he told the assembled delegates. "No new taxes." After one of the most acrimonious election campaigns in US history, Bush became the first serving vice-president to be elected to the top job since Martin van Buren in 1836. It was a time of momentous change which saw the the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Soviet empire. "A new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over," he declared on the steps of the Capitol. Don't go wobbly, George His true test came in August 1990 when the US was caught off-guard by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Bush moved quickly to build an international coalition to end Saddam Hussein's occupation and establish a US military toehold in Saudi Arabia, a valuable strategic dividend. He delayed military action in order to give time to secure UN approval for the action. The decision led to a famous rebuke from Margaret Thatcher. 'Well, all right, George, but this is no time to go wobbly," said the Iron Lady in a middle-of-the-night phone call from Downing Street. The subsequent battle proved to be a triumph for American military expertise and a major boost for the nation's morale. In the defining moment of Bush's presidency, the US and its allies swept across the desert in a ground war lasting just 100 hours. The victory boosted the president's standing despite the fact that US and allied forces stopped well short of Baghdad, allowing Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It would be left to the president's son to topple the Iraqi dictator. Despite achieving popularity ratings of 90%, Bush's decision to concentrate on foreign affairs led to accusations that he was ignoring the worsening economic situation at home, most notably, the longest-lasting recession since World War Two. Hamstrung by a Democratic-controlled Congress, President Bush insisted that the worst was over economically. "We are going to lift this nation out of hard times," he pledged, "Inch-by-inch and day-by-day and those who would stop us had better step aside." But the country would not believe him. To make matters worse he did the one thing he had promised he would never do: he raised taxes. The 1992 election was a disaster. He was let down by a poorly run campaign and had to fight off a strong challenge from the conservative Pat Buchanan for the Republican nomination. Defeat Bush could not match the energy of his opponent, the young Democratic governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, who conveyed a new vision for America that Bush admitted he simply could not express. The image that summed it all up came on a trade trip to Japan that ended in dismal failure when the president fainted after vomiting at a banquet laid on by his hosts. Bush went down to a landslide defeat. His later years were spent touring the world in his role as elder statesman. Though delighted to see George W Bush enter the White House, relations between the two men were said to be somewhat strained. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday in June 2014 by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. But he began to make fewer public appearances and was forced to use a wheelchair after developing a form of Parkinson's which meant he could no longer use his legs. A series of women accused him of acting inappropriately towards them at various times in the past. A spokesman, Jim McGrath, acknowledged that Mr Bush had "on occasion… patted women's rears in what he intended to be in a good-natured manner". The former president denied groping anyone but let it be known he apologised to anyone he might have offended. He also lost Barbara - his wartime bride - after more than seven decades of marriage. Her funeral was attended by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama - although President Trump stayed away. As president, he proved himself an efficient chief executive - more of a manager than inspiring leader. His public image suffered because of his Ivy League background and many voters saw him as lacking a common touch. His foreign policy was successful in the handling of the invasion of Kuwait and the fall of communism. His domestic agenda will be less well applauded - with critics complaining he came across as a somewhat confused president with a shaky grasp of economics. And personally, George Herbert Walker Bush will be remembered as, essentially, a cultured family man, uncomfortable with the rough and tumble of politics. "Because you run against each other that doesn't mean you're enemies," he once said. "Politics doesn't have to be uncivil and nasty."

जनवरी 1989 में राष्ट्रपति के रूप में जॉर्ज एच. डब्ल्यू. बुश का उद्घाटन विशेषाधिकार पर निर्मित करियर की पराकाष्ठा थीः व्हाइट हाउस में समाप्त होने वाली राजनीतिक पदोन्नति की एक श्रृंखला।


Covid: Tier 3 status means dining pubs 'thrown to the wolves' in Beds and Herts

Summary: With much of England moving into tier three of coronavirus restrictions, pubs and restaurants in these "very high alert" areas can now only offer a takeaway and delivery service. How will hospitality businesses in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire cope with the changes?

By Katy LewisBBC News Online 'You can write off all of next year too' Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans dates back to AD793 and is reputed to be the the oldest pub in England, according to the Guinness Book of Records. In has survived wars, plagues and economic crises, but the coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges. After the first lockdown in March, the pub turned into a "supply point", providing fresh produce to the local community. After November's lockdown, when the city was in tier two, it decided to only open at weekends, but landlord Christo Toffali took the decision to close completely last Saturday. Tier two regulations meant drink could only be served with a "substantial meal" and, coupled with the lack of footfall past his out-of-the-city-centre pub, that meant he "just couldn't make it work financially". Mr Toffali says they spent "huge amounts of money, sweat and tears becoming Covid-safe", and now tier three means they cannot let people inside to eat and drink. "This year has been a nightmare for everyone, but the government has failed our industry completely," he says. Mr Toffali says it is "making the same mistakes over and over again" and if a third spike hits, the government's "nonsensical restrictions, guidance and advice" will be responsible. "We are running award-winning businesses, loved by local people, providing much-needed respite from the trials and challenges that 2020 has thrown at them - and we have been operating in a safe way, and still we are sacrificed," he said. "You can write off all of next year too. Lives and livelihoods have been needlessly thrown away." 'Hospitality is closed whilst everyone can still shop till they drop' Andrei Lussmann owns six restaurants, including five in Hertfordshire, with his latest establishment in Hertford only just opening this month. He says he has worked to overcome two lockdowns and, when the closure of restaurants was first announced in March, he set up a home delivery service which provided 28,000 items in its first 11 weeks. Since then, he says his restaurants reopened when they could with all Covid safety measures in place and he was anticipating Christmas as a "morsel of opportunity to keep the lights on and mental resolve alive". He says the latest announcement means they have been "thrown to the wolves". "Hospitality - the safest public arena - has once again been closed at the last minute leading to huge amounts of wasted food and lost revenues," he says. Mr Lussman says the government has a "hopeless grip on the data and lack of understanding about what is and isn't working in society with regard to the transmission of Covid". "Under the pathetic veil of keeping the NHS safe and reducing the death rate, hospitality is closed whilst everyone can still shop till they drop, brushing shoulders with hundreds of others, and then go back to their homes where three families will be able to enjoy festive cheer galore, all the while helping to spread the virus," he says. "Consistency, intelligence and a common-sense approach is what is needed." 'A decision a week or a fortnight ago would have been more acceptable' At the Fox Pub at Darley Hall in Luton, they were fully booked for Christmas and had spent about £4,000 on ordering food and drink, with about £500 alone spent on turkeys. Owner Linda Layton says moving to tier three will have "an enormous impact". "As any hospitality [establishment] will tell you, January is going to be really quiet, so this is when we take the money," she says. "The government has been a bit naughty, because they knew we were going to have a busy week next week, we've ordered everything, including all the beer and everything to do with the bar and now that's all going to waste. "If they'd made this decision a week or a fortnight ago, I think it would have been more acceptable, because then we wouldn't have put all the orders in." Eat Out To Help Out 'displayed poor judgement right from the get-go' Mark Pearse is the owner of the Tabure restaurants in St Albans and Berkhamsted. He says August's government-backed Eat Out to Help Out scheme and the booking "frenzy" that preceded the November lockdown had contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases and the move to tier three. "I thought Eat Out To Help Out displayed poor judgement right from the get-go," he says. "I hoped for a steady stream of trade after lockdown one that would allow us to build a rhythm and let our business find its groove through winter into 2021." Instead, he says the government helped to create a "rush of diners" who "clamber to get in before lockdown". Earlier this week, some parts of south Hertfordshire were moved up to tier three and Mr Pearse says he "sighed with relief" because his two restaurants remained in tier two districts which he was hoping would see them through to Christmas. "Alas again we find out we will also fall into tier three and instantly emails and phone calls fly in as the latest two-day boom starts to unfold. It's an absolute joke, a disgrace." Mr Pearse said a 12-month strategy would have been much better than the "stress and damaged caused" by the changes of the last two months. He says he would have favoured "a path for business, and therefore the economy, from July '20 to a July '21 where they allowed single-bubble dining throughout, instead of Eat Out To Help Out and the November lockdown with weeks of takeaways only". When the new tier three restrictions were extended across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesman said it made the decision to move all the whole of those two counties to the more serious category because the situation had deteriorated, with case rates increasing by more than 30% in the last seven days in Hertfordshire alone. It was this, plus the rise in daily Covid hospital admissions, that warranted the counties moving to the "very high alert" status, he adds. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

इंग्लैंड के अधिकांश हिस्सों में कोरोनावायरस प्रतिबंधों के स्तर तीन में जाने के साथ, इन "बहुत उच्च चेतावनी" वाले क्षेत्रों में पब और रेस्तरां अब केवल एक टेकअवे और डिलीवरी सेवा की पेशकश कर सकते हैं। हर्टफोर्डशायर और बेडफोर्डशायर में आतिथ्य व्यवसाय परिवर्तनों का सामना कैसे करेंगे?


Lochhead calls for fishing days at sea EU action

Summary: Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead has called for the EU to stop cuts to the number of days that Scottish fishermen can spend at sea.

Ahead of annual talks in Brussels, Mr Lochhead criticised a delay in bringing forward proposals for a cuts freeze. He also called for sanctions on Iceland and the Faroe Islands for over-fishing mackerel. The talks, to be held later this month, will determine what Scottish fishermen are able to catch in 2013. Mr Lochhead told MSPs: "The Cod Recovery Plan is supposed to promote conservation but threatens to leave long and winding trails of discarded fish across our seas."

मत्स्य पालन सचिव रिचर्ड लोचहेड ने यूरोपीय संघ से स्कॉटिश मछुआरों द्वारा समुद्र में बिताए जाने वाले दिनों की संख्या में कटौती रोकने का आह्वान किया है।


Police selfie: 'Impressed' arrested suspect asks police for a photo

Summary: A suspect so impressed by the police's "tenacity" to find him asked an officer to pose for a selfie during his arrest, captioning it "They finally got me".

South Leicester Police said the suspect - who has not been identified in the photo - was "actually smiling" with the obliging Sgt Joe Gunduz. The 30-year-old had been wanted since April and was arrested on Sunday. He was held on suspicion of three counts of criminal damage and two breaches of a restraining order. Leicestershire Police said one of the incidents of criminal damage was reported to police on 14 April. The other four are alleged to have taken place on 26 April. "Following his arrest, the man has been released with no further action for two of the reports of criminal damage and one of the breaches of a restraining order," a Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said. "He has been bailed for the other two offences." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

उसे खोजने के लिए पुलिस की "दृढ़ता" से इतना प्रभावित एक संदिग्ध ने अपनी गिरफ्तारी के दौरान एक अधिकारी से एक सेल्फी लेने के लिए कहा, जिसका शीर्षक था "आखिरकार उन्होंने मुझे पकड़ लिया"।


No cause for optimism in divided Turkey

Summary: Kadriye Uncu has left her son's room the way it was: the black and white striped flag of Besiktas FC covering his bed and on the wall the football club's shield and a photo of him in uniform during his military service.

By Mark LowenBBC Turkey correspondent But the room will forever lie empty. On the evening of 10 December her son, Tunc, was killed by a car bomb. A lifelong Besiktas fan, he was working at the stadium in Istanbul on the Saturday evening during a match with a local team. An hour after the game ended, a car bomb hit a riot police vehicle outside the stadium. Moments later, a suicide bomber approached another group of police and detonated his device. At least 44 people were killed and dozens more injured. "When I got the news, I collapsed," Kadriye recalls. "At the hospital they showed me his body. He smelled beautiful, like a rose. I kissed him. And then we buried him." She pauses - muttering some words to herself - and is unable to hold back the tears. "May the terrorists be uprooted. Mothers shouldn't cry anymore. May God spare everyone this pain and may there be peace for Turkey." Her call comes in vain. A week after the Besiktas bombing, another in the central city of Kayseri killed more than a dozen people. Both attacks were claimed by Kurdish militants - and there have been many more. Turkey has seen 22 terror attacks this year by Kurdish groups and the so-called Islamic State, killing at least 360 people. The cycle of violence has marked, perhaps, the most turbulent year in Turkey's modern history. As Turkey has become ever more embroiled in the Syrian war, launching a ground operation this year, it's extremely vulnerable. IS struck at Istanbul airport in June, and elsewhere, including a wedding party in Gaziantep, in the south-east of the country. The Kurdish-linked attacks have gone hand-in-hand with a worsening of the insurgency in south-east Turkey. Since a ceasefire with the PKK Kurdish militant group broke down in 2015, a wave of tit-for-tat violence has followed. The PKK have blown up Turkish soldiers and police; the state has attacked them and imposed curfews in many areas. According to the International Crisis Group, 2500 people have been killed - including civilians - and 500,000 have been driven from their homes. Esma Tan fought with the PKK and was killed in the town of Sirnak, which has faced repeated curfews. Her body could only be retrieved after six months. "She faced discrimination for being a Kurd and for being 'the other'," her sister Melek tells me. "She was a musician and wanted to discover her own culture. And she saw the massacres, especially of the past year - so that environment made her into a fighter." Turkey, the EU and the US label the PKK terrorists. But Melek rejects this. "We don't give importance to what a regime says, which is only after its own interests and the leadership of one man," she explains, referring to President Erdogan. "If there's terrorism in Turkey, it's state terrorism against the people. We've found people burned alive in basements and bodies abandoned on the streets. Isn't that terrorism? The regime has blood on its hands." Turkey's climate of insecurity was fertile ground for the defining moment of this year. On 15 July, rebel soldiers bombed parliament and drove tanks into civilians in an attempted coup. It failed. But at least 265 people were killed resisting it. The government blamed the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers for arguably the gravest ever attack on the Turkish state. He denies involvement - but tens of thousands have been arrested or dismissed from their jobs, charged with links to his movement. Lawyer Fatih Canbay was one of those who answered President Erdogan's call to take to the streets that night to stop the tanks. He shows me the spot where coup-plotting soldiers stopped him, ordering him to lie down for hours on the street. From there, he could see the jets overhead and hear the tanks on the Bosphorus bridge. "We couldn't have tolerated the coup attempt," he says. "It was like something precious was being forcefully taken away from us at gunpoint." But since then, he's represented some of the civil servants caught up in the purge - and is worried by what he sees. "If the coup had succeeded it would have been far worse. But I have friends in prison who have no links to Gulen. There was an attempt to steal our lives that night. But on a smaller scale, we're facing a similar attempt now, as the rule of law is eroded." So what of the mood in Turkey after a harrowing year? This is a defiant nation, but an anxious and divided one too. In 2017, President Erdogan will try to enhance his powers through constitutional change. He argues it'll bring stability, but many fear it'll deepen polarisation and conflict. 2016 has exhausted Turkey. And optimism for next year is painfully hard to find.

कद्रिये उनकू ने अपने बेटे के कमरे को वैसे ही छोड़ दिया है जैसे वह थाः बेसिक्टास एफ. सी. का काला और सफेद धारीदार झंडा उसके बिस्तर को ढकता है और दीवार पर फुटबॉल क्लब की ढाल और उसकी सैन्य सेवा के दौरान वर्दी में उसकी एक तस्वीर।


Somalia's frightening network of Islamist spies

Summary: Somalia's militant Islamists remain relatively undiminished, despite a 12-year UN-backed campaign against them, largely thanks to its sophisticated web of spies, writes the BBC's Mary Harper.

Often, when I return to the UK from Somalia, I get a phone call from al-Shabab. It usually happens even before I talk to my family, while I am waiting for my luggage or in a taxi on the way home. Once, after a trip to the south-western Somali town of Baidoa, I was given a detailed account of what I had done and where I had been. "You walked to a bank but it was shut. You knocked on the doors and tried to open them. You took some photos," said the man from al-Shabab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda. "Your bodyguards were not at all professional. They were wandering about, chatting amongst themselves with their guns slung around their shoulders, instead of keeping watch over you." When I ask members of al-Shabab how they know all these things, how they can be so accurate, my contacts simply tell me they have friends everywhere. I tell them I am scared they know my itinerary so intimately, but they tell me not to worry as they have far more important targets than me. However, they do say I could be in "the wrong place at the wrong time" and suffer the consequences. 'They are everywhere' I presume some of the people who track my movements in Somalia are part of the militant group's ruthless intelligence wing, the Amniyat. Others might be people who work on a "pay-as-you-go" basis, receiving small sums for imparting information. Even more terrifying is the way the militants track people they want to recruit, threaten or kill. "Al-Shabab are like djinns [spirits]. They are everywhere," said one young man the militants wanted to punish because he sold fridges and air conditioners to members of the UN-backed Somali government and the African Union intervention force [Amisom], both considered enemies by al-Shabab. Another man who had defected from al-Shabab explained how, one day, a member of the group called him to tell him the colour of the shirt he was wearing and which street he was walking down on a particular day at a particular time. Others have spoken about how militants come to their houses and places of work inside Mogadishu to threaten or try to recruit them. All this, despite the fact that the group "withdrew" from the capital in August 2011. Al-Shabab at a glance: Who are Somalia's al-Shabab? "The Amniyat is the veins of the organisation. It is all-powerful. If the Amniyat was destroyed, there would be no al-Shabab," says Hussein Sheikh Ali, a former security adviser to the Somali president and director of the Hiraal Institute, a Mogadishu-based think tank. He says the Amniyat is more than an intelligence unit. "It literally controls al-Shabab. As well as its core purpose which is intelligence gathering, it deals with sensitive areas of security. If a senior member of al-Shabab is sick or injured, the Amniyat will deal with it. It manages finances of a secret and delicate nature, and plans the big terror attacks inside and outside the country." People in the Amniyat are better paid than other members of the movement. They have spread their tentacles far and wide, including in place considered to be safe. 'At home in enemy territory' One time, when I didn't leave the heavily protected international airport, and stayed in accommodation on the base, a militant called to say it knew I had been in Somalia. Mohamed Mubarak, a researcher based in Mogadishu, estimates that the number of people in the Amniyat ranges from between 500 and 1,000. "They are designed to live in enemy territory. They spend most of their time in government territory," he says. According to Mr Mubarak, women play a crucial role in helping members of the Amniyat. "Women support the Amniyat. They are part of its infrastructure. Al-Shabab wives have to help them by providing a bed for the night, feeding them, transporting things for them and passing on messages." The Amniyat is highly secretive. Its members hide their identities from each other. Mr Mubarak explains how Amniyat cells do not know the details of other cells. Members cover their faces when they meet amongst themselves, even within the same cell. "Only their leaders know their faces," he says. 'Like Stalinist secret police' The Amniyat has a number of different departments. The main one focuses on intelligence and counter-intelligence, while others deal with bombings and assassinations. People who defect from al-Shabab are terrified the Amniyat will track them down. Defectors in a rehabilitation centre said the only way they could be safe from al-Shabab would be to flee Somalia. "Al-Shabab calls me on the phone," said one man who had fought with the group for six years. "I will try to melt away in a big city like Mogadishu or Baidoa, but I am scared they will find me there. I will only be safe if I go to Europe or the Gulf." More on life amid Somalia's conflict: Although the US has increased airstrikes in Somalia in recent months, it is facing great difficulty in destroying al-Shabab. This is partly because so many members of the Amniyat hide in plain sight in government territory, making them impossible to target. According to Richard Barrett, a former director of British global counter-terrorism operations who now works in Somalia, the Amniyat is "the elite of al-Shabab, with a reputation both inside and outside the movement as efficient, ruthless and disciplined". "There is no doubt that much of al-Shabab's success in government-held areas can be ascribed to the Amniyat," he says. "It is a Stalinist secret police with extensive powers and operational latitude." Mary Harper is the BBC World Service's Africa editor and author of Everything You Have Told Me Is True

बीबीसी की मैरी हार्पर लिखती हैं कि सोमालिया के उग्रवादी इस्लामवादी उनके खिलाफ 12 साल के संयुक्त राष्ट्र समर्थित अभियान के बावजूद अपेक्षाकृत कम नहीं हुए हैं, जिसका मुख्य कारण इसके जासूसों के परिष्कृत जाल हैं।


Is the internet killing opinion journalism?

Summary: It's no secret that the internet age has been bad for the print media business in general and newspapers in particular. But what has it meant for the world of opinion? Has the ease with which the average person can share their views with the public been an unmitigated good? Or have we paid a price in the quality of debate?

By Anthony ZurcherEditor, Echo Chambers I put these questions to Kate Riley, the editorial page editor of the Seattle Times, one of the more forward-thinking newspaper newsrooms in the US. Here's what she had to say: I think the Internet age is good for the business of opinion, especially newspaper editorial pages - um, make that media opinion enterprises. We all, after all, are in transition and are figuring out how the business model transforms. There are the trolls, of course, who throw mud in the comment sections of every published article - not so useful. But where I really think that opinion pages are making a difference is in modelling that old-school civil discourse. Disagree but don't be disagreeable. Be tart and clever without name-calling. Especially because of the mission of newspapers serving a general community's readership, not just those of a certain ideology, readers can stretch their own thinking on issues by reading pro and con columns side-by-side. People often call me to complain about running too many conservative columnists or too many liberal, and I explain that is the role of our opinion section and part of its mission statement: to be a forum for community dialogue and learning. I promise each caller that they will find things they agree with on our pages and things they don't agree with. And that's the point. Readers/viewers/users - or whatever you want to call them - have an appetite for opinion. Editorial pages can cater to that and provide opinion content in many different ways. We do chats often, and we recently ran our second Google Hangout around campaign finance issues during the lunch hour. Last year, we enlisted readers through social media to advance the same-sex marriage issue - and received 315 photos, representing more than 1,000 people. A popular feature, Civil Disagreement, between one of our most liberal writers and our most conservative, thoughtfully, respectfully hashes out issues of the day. First rule? No ideological talking points. At The Seattle Times, we have much more opinion content online than in print, and I've come to view the printed page as the best of our online content, whether it's a letter worth highlighting or a blog post to be excerpted. Around the US, newspapers and purveyors of opinion are grappling with the challenges of the internet and social media. Establish writers are having to adapt, and new voices are being revealed. I'll ask them what they think the futures holds and share their take with Echo Chambers readers.

यह कोई रहस्य नहीं है कि इंटरनेट का युग आम तौर पर प्रिंट मीडिया व्यवसाय और विशेष रूप से समाचार पत्रों के लिए बुरा रहा है। लेकिन राय की दुनिया के लिए इसका क्या मतलब है? क्या औसत व्यक्ति जिस आसानी से जनता के साथ अपने विचार साझा कर सकता है, वह एक अच्छा काम है? या हमने बहस की गुणवत्ता में कीमत चुकाई है?


How will India destroy 20 billion banknotes?

Summary: India's central bank will have to destroy, by one estimate, some 20 billion "expired" banknotes after it scrapped two high-value denominations - the 500 ($7.60) and 1,000 rupee notes - this month to crack down on "black money" or illegal cash holdings.

Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent To give some idea of the amount of the currency that represents - there were more than 90 billion banknotes in circulation in India last March. Most central banks destroy soiled and mutilated banknotes on a regular basis and replace them with new, crisp ones. The Reserve Bank of India, similarly, shreds such notes and makes briquettes of them. But they are not your usual briquettes. Briquettes - usually made of farm waste in India - are used for cooking, lighting and heating. They are cheaper than coal, have lower ash content, are less polluting, and easier to store and pack. They are mostly used as fuel in factory boilers. But briquettes made out of shredded cash are brittle and serve no such purpose, a senior central bank official told me. So the bank's 27 shredding and briquetting machines in 19 offices across India will now snip the expired banknotes into the smallest of pieces and the resulting briquettes will be then dumped in India's vast landfills. Sometimes the shredded currency is also recycled to make files, calendars and paper weights and ballpoint pen shells, tea coasters, cups and small trays as souvenirs for guests. The practice is similar in the US: counterfeit banknotes are sent to the Secret Service, while unfit notes are shredded and sent to landfills or given away as souvenirs to the public touring the Federal Reserve Bank. Central bank officials believe shredding 20 billion banknotes will not be a huge challenge. In 2015-16 the Reserve Bank of India destroyed more than 16 billion soiled notes. More than 14 billion were removed in 2012-2013 after nearly 500,000 fake notes were found in the system. "Destroying so much cash is not a challenge because we have enough shredding and briquetting machines with very high capacities. These are automatic machines which shred the cash into the finest of pieces," says an official. So, India's mountain of expired currency will soon become rubbish, literally. Cash in India

भारत के केंद्रीय बैंक को "काले धन" या अवैध नकदी रखने वालों पर नकेल कसने के लिए इस महीने दो उच्च मूल्य के 500 और 1,000 रुपये के नोटों को बंद करने के बाद, एक अनुमान के अनुसार, लगभग 20 अरब "समाप्त" हो चुके बैंक नोटों को नष्ट करना होगा।


Llantarnam parade for Rorke's Drift hero John Williams

Summary: A parade and service has been held to honour a soldier who won the Victoria Cross in the legendary defence of Rorke's Drift in the Anglo-Zulu wars.

John Williams VC, from Cwmbran, was one of 11 decorated for bravery after the battle on 23 January 1879. Roads were closed for a short time for Saturday's annual parade in Llantarnam where a new gravestone to the soldier was erected in 2013. About 150 British soldiers defended the mission station against 4,000 Zulus. The events were immortalised in the 1964 film Zulu starring Michael Caine. The Anglo-Zulu war saw Britain fight against the Zulu kingdom in South Africa and brought an end to Zulu independence.

एंग्लो-ज़ुलु युद्धों में रोर्क के बहाव की पौराणिक रक्षा में विक्टोरिया क्रॉस जीतने वाले एक सैनिक को सम्मानित करने के लिए एक परेड और सेवा आयोजित की गई है।


Iraqi widows: Lost 'love stories'

Summary: Conflict over much of the past three decades in Iraq has caused the number of widowed women to pass the one million mark. Here, Iraqi widows tell the BBC Arabic Service about their experiences, and hopes and fears for the future.

Nahla al-Nadawi, 44, Lecturer at Baghdad University The day I had to bury my husband was the hardest day in my life. I was not able to grieve properly as I had to look after my son who suffers from autism. My husband, Mohammad, was a surgeon and a refugee in Germany, but after the regime change in 2003, he returned to Iraq immediately. In mid-April 2007, an explosion occurred at al-Jadiriyah Bridge in Baghdad causing many deaths. There were 10 bodies that were completely charred. One of those was my husband. Aseed, my son, who used to sleep every day on his father's chest to the sound of his heartbeat, felt the loss of his father immediately. For many days, he sat in the wardrobe wearing the same clothes. If any good has come out of his father's death, it made him more determined to face life. I feel that my husband is still with us. He was a writer, a thinker and a painter and for that reason, I feel he has only died in physical form, and his works remain with us. To get out of my crisis, I challenged myself to carry on. With the help of friends, I managed to get a second job, as well as training other widows on the art of living life after a crisis. In fact, I was helping myself because I still could not overcome my own crisis. Elham Mahdi, 42, Housewife in Baghdad I have become the mother and father of four children ever since my husband was killed in a bus explosion on his way to work. He left the house at eight that morning to get to the Shorja market in Baghdad where he worked as seller. But his life was over within half an hour. We received compensation from the government, but it will never compensate for losing a loving father to four children. Although we also get help from a local organisation which provides a monthly salary for my children, clothing for Eid [festival], and help at the start of the academic year, our living conditions are difficult, and I need more money to meet the needs of four growing children. Razan Othman Mohammed, 29, Worker in Baghdad After a love story that lasted 10 years, one minute was all it took to lose my husband. Back in 2008, my husband, his orphaned relative - who was only five years old - and I were caught up in a bomb explosion at the market. When the medics came to our rescue, a suicide bomber strapped with explosives set off another bomb. I lost consciousness at that moment and my body was full of shrapnel. My husband died of his injuries on his way to the hospital and the orphaned child was badly injured. He is now disabled and no longer able to walk. I have undergone five surgeries in the aftermath of the explosions. My condition was so serious that I didn't know my husband had died for three months, as the doctors advised my family to keep the news from me. I have since moved back in with my parents and I look after myself using my own income. I see myself in a better position compared to other widowed women since I do not have any children. But what about all the other young widowed women who have children? Who will support them? Adawyia Mutar Hussein, 40, Najaf I lost my husband while I was pregnant with our daughter, who is now six years old. She became fatherless even before she was born. My husband was killed in 2004 in a family dispute and left me with two daughters to take care of, alone. I have tried to get my husband's entitlements but no-one seemed to help, neither the government nor my family. My first source of income is from my neighbours and well-wishers who collect money for me every now and again. My second source is from working as a cleaner at party and wedding venues. More than half of my income goes on rent for the house that I live in at the moment, which consists of one room. I currently live with my two daughters and my 35-year-old orphaned nephew who is completely disabled. We want only one thing from the government, and that is a small piece of land to build the simplest house just to keep the family all together under one roof. Huda Abd al-Hafith, 37, Baghdad I am a mother of four children whose father used to work as a taxi driver. He left the house one day for work and never came back. After four days of absence, I found his tortured body in the local hospital. The criminal report into his death concluded that he died in a car-jacking attempt that went wrong and the case was closed. But I think the sectarian extremism that was prevalent at the time led to his torture and killing in 2007. I now live alone with my four children in a rented one-bedroom house after I was kicked out of my old house. I receive a small amount of income support from the government, 150,000 dinars ($125; £80) per month, which does not even cover the rent of 200,000 dinars per month. I work from home because I cannot leave my children alone at such a young age. I make and sell bread and food to the neighbours. I'm not thinking of getting married again, I have tried my luck once and the children now are my main concern. Majda al-Basrah, 60 The shock of his failed attempt to migrate to Germany back in 1995 led to my husband's death. We lost everything - our jobs, our house and money. That year, the situation in Iraq was very difficult. I had problems at work mainly because I refused to become a member of the [then ruling] Baath Party. We decided to travel to Jordan and move on from there to Germany, but we were not able to obtain a visa. Because of harsh conditions that we were facing in Jordan, we decided to return to Iraq and start our life from the beginning. We bought a simple house and basic furniture with the money we had left. But after a year, my husband passed away, partly because he couldn't cope with the stress and pressures of life. At the moment, I live alone in my house and I work as a tailor every now and then, and my family helps too with the finances. I started receiving the widows' income support recently after help from my local council. All the widows and divorced women in my area are receiving their income support because of the help of a kind man that works in the council.

इराक में पिछले तीन दशकों के संघर्ष के कारण विधवा महिलाओं की संख्या दस लाख का आंकड़ा पार कर गई है। यहाँ, इराकी विधवाएँ बीबीसी अरबी सेवा को अपने अनुभवों, और भविष्य के लिए आशाओं और आशंकाओं के बारे में बताती हैं।


Syria: The story of the conflict

Summary: More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in four-and-a-half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war. More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State. This is the story of the civil war so far, in eight short chapters.

1. Uprising turns violent Pro-democracy protests erupted in March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. After security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing several, more took to the streets. The unrest triggered nationwide protests demanding President Assad's resignation. The government's use of force to crush the dissent merely hardened the protesters' resolve. By July 2011, hundreds of thousands were taking to the streets across the country. Opposition supporters eventually began to take up arms, first to defend themselves and later to expel security forces from their local areas. 2. Descent into civil war Violence escalated and the country descended into civil war as rebel brigades were formed to battle government forces for control of cities, towns and the countryside. Fighting reached the capital Damascus and second city of Aleppo in 2012. By June 2013, the UN said 90,000 people had been killed in the conflict. By August 2015, that figure had climbed to 250,000, according to activists and the UN. The conflict is now more than just a battle between those for or against Mr Assad. It has acquired sectarian overtones, pitching the country's Sunni majority against the president's Shia Alawite sect, and drawn in regional and world powers. The rise of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) has added a further dimension. 3. War crimes A UN commission of inquiry has evidence that all parties to the conflict have committed war crimes - including murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearances. They have also been accused of using civilian suffering - such as blocking access to food, water and health services through sieges - as a method of war. The UN Security Council has demanded all parties end the indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas, but civilians continue to die in their thousands. Many have been killed by barrel bombs dropped by government aircraft on gatherings in rebel-held areas - attacks which the UN says may constitute massacres. IS has also been accused by the UN of waging a campaign of terror. It has inflicted severe punishments on those who transgress or refuse to accept its rules, including hundreds of public executions and amputations. Its fighters have also carried out mass killings of rival armed groups, members of the security forces and religious minorities, and beheaded hostages, including several Westerners. We're just living on the edge of life. We're always nervous, we're always afraid 4. Chemical weapons Hundreds of people were killed in August 2013 after rockets filled with the nerve agent sarin were fired at several suburbs of Damascus. Western powers said it could only have been carried out by Syria's government, but the government blamed rebel forces. Facing the prospect of US military intervention, President Assad agreed to the complete removal and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. The operation was completed the following year, but the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has continued to document the use of toxic chemicals in the conflict. Investigators found chlorine was used "systematically and repeatedly" in deadly attacks on rebel-held areas between April and July 2014. IS has also been accused of using homemade chemical weapons, including sulphur mustard. The OPCW said the blister agent was used in an attack on the northern town of Marea in August 2015 that killed a baby. 5. Humanitarian crisis More than 4.5 million people have fled Syria since the start of the conflict, most of them women and children. Neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have struggled to cope with one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history. About 10% of Syrian refugees have sought safety in Europe, sowing political divisions as countries argue over sharing the burden. A further 6.5 million people are internally displaced inside Syria, 1.2 million were driven from their homes in 2015 alone. The UN says it will need $3.2bn to help the 13.5 million people, including 6 million children, who will require some form of humanitarian assistance inside Syria in 2016. About 70% of the population is without access to adequate drinking water, one in three people are unable to meet their basic food needs, and more than 2 million children are out of school, and four out of five people live in poverty. The warring parties have compounded the problems by refusing humanitarian agencies access to civilians in need. Up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to life-saving aid. 6. Rebels and the rise of the jihadists The armed rebellion has evolved significantly since its inception. Secular moderates are now outnumbered by Islamists and jihadists, whose brutal tactics have caused global outrage. So-called Islamic State has capitalised on the chaos and taken control of large swathes of Syria and Iraq, where it proclaimed the creation of a "caliphate" in June 2014. Its many foreign fighters are involved in a "war within a war" in Syria, battling rebels and rival jihadists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, as well as government and Kurdish forces. In September 2014, a US-led coalition launched air strikes inside Syria in an effort to "degrade and ultimately destroy" IS. But the coalition has avoided attacks that might benefit Mr Assad's forces. Russia began an air campaign targeting "terrorists" in Syria a year later, but opposition activists say its strikes have mostly killed Western-backed rebels and civilians. In the political arena, opposition groups are also deeply divided, with rival alliances battling for supremacy. The most prominent is the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, backed by several Western and Gulf Arab states. However, the exile group has little influence on the ground in Syria and its primacy is rejected by many opponents of Mr Assad. 7. Peace efforts With neither side able to inflict a decisive defeat on the other, the international community long ago concluded that only a political solution could end the conflict in Syria. The UN Security Council has called for the implementation of the 2012 Geneva Communique, which envisages a transitional governing body with full executive powers "formed on the basis of mutual consent". Talks in early 2014, known as Geneva II, broke down after only two rounds, with then-UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi blaming the Syrian government's refusal to discuss opposition demands. Mr Brahimi's successor, Staffan de Mistura, focused on establishing a series of local ceasefires. His plan for a "freeze zone" in Aleppo was rejected, but a three-year siege of the Homs suburb of al-Wair was successfully brought to an end in December 2015. At the same time, the conflict with IS lent fresh impetus to the search for a political solution in Syria. The US and Russia led efforts to get representatives of the government and the opposition to attend "proximity talks" in Geneva in January 2016 to discuss a Security Council-endorsed road map for peace, including a ceasefire and a transitional period ending with elections. 8. Proxy war What began as another Arab Spring uprising against an autocratic ruler has mushroomed into a brutal proxy war that has drawn in regional and world powers. Iran and Russia have propped up the Alawite-led government of President Assad and gradually increased their support. Tehran is believed to be spending billions of dollars a year to bolster Mr Assad, providing military advisers and subsidised weapons, as well as lines of credit and oil transfers. Russia has meanwhile launched an air campaign against Mr Assad's opponents. The Syrian government has also enjoyed the support of Lebanon's Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, whose fighters have provided important battlefield support since 2013. The Sunni-dominated opposition has, meanwhile, attracted varying degrees of support from its international backers - Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, along with the US, UK and France. Until late 2015, rebel appeals for anti-aircraft weapons to stop devastating government air strikes were rejected by the US and its allies, amid concern that they might end up in the hands of jihadist militants. A US programme to train and arm 5,000 rebels to take the fight to IS on the ground also suffered a series of setbacks before being abandoned. Produced by Lucy Rodgers, David Gritten, James Offer and Patrick Asare

साढ़े चार साल के सशस्त्र संघर्ष में 250,000 से अधिक सीरियाई लोगों ने अपनी जान गंवाई है, जो एक पूर्ण पैमाने पर गृह युद्ध में बढ़ने से पहले सरकार विरोधी विरोध प्रदर्शनों के साथ शुरू हुआ था। 11 मिलियन से अधिक अन्य लोगों को राष्ट्रपति बशर अल-असद के प्रति वफादार बलों और उनके शासन का विरोध करने वालों के रूप में अपने घरों को छोड़ने के लिए मजबूर किया गया है-साथ ही तथाकथित इस्लामिक स्टेट के जिहादी आतंकवादी भी। यह आठ छोटे अध्यायों में अब तक के गृह युद्ध की कहानी है।


Inside the UK's biggest prison

Summary: By the end of this year, HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire will be the largest prison in the UK, with more than 2,000 inmates. Run by private firm G4S, Oakwood's reputation was dented in 2014 when a wing in the prison was taken over by inmates. Sima Kotecha has been inside.

By Sima KotechaReporter, BBC Radio 4 Today programme This jail is big. From a distance, it looks like a warehouse. But close up, the high fences and barbed wire project an image of incarceration. The site covers 50 acres and has two workshops, one the size of a football pitch. Through security and the first set of large iron gates, we are presented with five housing blocks, or wings, as they are referred to in jail-speak. The three largest wings house more than 400 prisoners. By the end of this year, this jail will be the largest in the country with more than 2,100 prisoners. Currently there are just over 1,600. As the inmates make their way around the estate, they stop to talk. Many are quick to tell us how much they like the prison, including one who is inside for supplying class A drugs. He said: "In my cell I have a toilet and a sink, a TV, somewhere to put my pictures. It's fantastic for a prison, it's really up to date." HMP Oakwood is one of five prisons in the UK managed by G4S and the company has been battling reputational damage since a part of this prison was taken over by inmates a couple of years ago. This resulted in the jail being branded by its critics as Jokewood, a name that stuck with the media. So what is the team doing differently, if anything, to move away from that image? The staff who work here say its unique approach is based on prisoners helping prisoners to rehabilitate, and that is done through an enhanced mentoring scheme. There is also a health and legal service on site run by inmates who have relevant qualifications so that they are able to help and advise prisoners with any problems. The prison has a no surname policy here: both staff and inmates use first names only to create an informal environment. But not everybody agrees with a friend-like relationship between officers and inmates. A middle aged man who is doing time for sex offences told us such an attitude was bound to lead to more violence. "Personally I don't find it helpful to call them by their first names because I think that's almost too familiar, there is a potential breakdown in the barrier between authority and prisoner and I've seen where it's got out of control because of that." he said. In his 2015 report into HMP Oakwood, the chief inspector of prisons said levels of violence had reduced and that the use of mentoring was impressive. But he also said incidents of self-harm were high and that illicit drugs were easily available. Profit worries Violence behind bars has been an ongoing problem on a national scale with more than 20,000 assaults recorded over the last year in England and Wales. Across the lawn from Ash wing, which houses mostly sex offenders and those deemed vulnerable, a prisoner collects rubbish. He was on what is known as a basic regime, when privileges such as TVs in your cell and family visits are taken away as a form of punishment for bad behaviour. He rushed up to me to complain about life at Oakwood. "It's all about profit here. Private prisons benefit prisons more and don't help the prisoners because it's about making money," he said. "In a public prison, there is more of a routine and staff who are experienced. Here everyone is young and they don't know what they're doing." I put that question to the G4S management team, is profit the main objective here? Managing Director Jerry Petherick replied: "I never put profit before taking care of the prisoners." It is arguably an easy answer to give but some of the prisoners we spoke to were worried that a desire to make cash was driving the management to take more inmates. "We're already seeing resources being stretched because more prisoners are coming in," one prisoner told us. "And it's only going to get worse as the numbers go up. And that could lead to more disorder." A prisoner serving a life sentence for murder disagreed. He believe that larger prisons like this one give the inmates more independence to take part in the various projects and workshops on offer. He said: "I think we've been given a bit more freedom in here and trust to start the projects. "The project we run is a basic intervention group which is not running anywhere else in the country, but in fact all the prison governors are visiting us now to try and copy what we're doing here up and down the country in every other prison." Of course incarceration is not supposed to be a five star experience. But campaigners argue most prisoners will be released and that some form of affective rehabilitation in jail could prevent them from reoffending once they get out. As the number of prisoners increases here at HMP Oakwood, there is a concern among some prisoners the housing blocks will become overcrowded, which could lead to more violence and disorder. Overcrowding is a problem facing many jails in the country, and the management here tell me they are determined to bring in more staff so that the system does not crash as a result of more inmates.

इस साल के अंत तक, स्टैफोर्डशायर में एच. एम. पी. ओकवुड 2,000 से अधिक कैदियों के साथ ब्रिटेन की सबसे बड़ी जेल होगी। निजी फर्म जी4एस द्वारा संचालित ओकवुड की प्रतिष्ठा को 2014 में तब झटका लगा जब जेल के एक हिस्से पर कैदियों ने कब्जा कर लिया था। सिमा कोटेचा अंदर थी।


Why confidence in Argentina's economy is dwindling

Summary: When a business-friendly conservative was elected president of Argentina in October 2015, hopes were high he would put the South American country's economy on a stable path. Mauricio Macri promised to revive Argentina's economy and achieve "zero poverty". But less than three years later, he has unexpectedly asked for the early release of a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). What has gone wrong?

By Daniel GallasBBC South America Business correspondent What's the latest? The Argentine peso has lost more than 40% of its value against the US dollar this year and inflation is rampant. Everyday life is getting more expensive for Argentines, as the prices of many goods and services still bear a close relation to the US dollar. The government of President Macri has not been able to lower inflation, which is the highest amongst G20 nations. It is failing to enact the economic reforms it promised the IMF, most of them aimed at curbing public spending and borrowing. And the combination of spiralling inflation and public spending cuts means wages are not keeping pace with prices, making most people poorer. How did the crisis start? Argentina has been plagued by economic problems for years but the commodities boom of the past decades helped the country repay the money it owed the IMF. It cleared its entire debt to the multilateral organisation in 2007. Argentina's economy began to stabilise under President Néstor Kirchner, who governed from 2003 to 2007, but became more shaky again under his wife and successor in office, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Her government, which was in power from 2007 until 2015, raised public spending, nationalised companies and heavily subsidised many items of daily life ranging from utilities to football transmissions on television. Most importantly it controlled the exchange rate, which created all sorts of practical problems, such as giving rise to a black market for dollars and heavily distorting prices. What did President Macri promise to do? Mr Macri was elected on a promise of ending all distortions and returning Argentina to a market-oriented economy where supply and demand, not the state, would define prices. In his first hours in office he put an end to capital controls and began a global campaign to repair Argentina's reputation with foreign investors. He also promised to bring down inflation, which was hovering around 40% per year, by curbing public spending. Can the IMF help? Argentina's government insists its problem lies with liquidity (a lack of cash) and not with solvency (its ability to meet its financial obligations). In May, it turned to the IMF for help, arguing that the Washington-based fund was the cheapest source of financing available. The argument went that with a loan from the IMF, Argentina would be able to intervene in currency markets for longer and also pay off bonds coming up for payment. At the time, President Macri said he did not plan to use the $50bn (£37.2bn) loan from the IMF except to boost the country's reserves. But with the peso sliding further and hit by a poor soybean and maize harvest, the economy continued to deteriorate. In June, the economy fell by 6.7%, its worst downturn since 2009. With confidence in Argentina's recovery eroded, President Macri on 29 August unexpectedly asked for the early release of the IMF loan. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the fund was ready to help Argentina but news of the request for early assistance caused the peso to drop more than 7%, its biggest one-day decline since the currency was floated. What do Argentines think of all this? Going to the IMF is the most unpopular move a president could make in Argentina, where the organisation is widely loathed and blamed for the 2001 economic collapse. In general, Argentines are not quick to panic, having been through so much economic turmoil in the past. But there are people expressing serious concern, especially those from the older generation which lived through Argentina's 2001 economic crisis when the government defaulted on its debt and the banking system was largely paralysed. The effect on Argentines was devastating with many seeing their hard-won prosperity quickly disappearing. Those who experienced it fear a return of the corralito (ring fence), the Spanish name given to government restrictions imposed in 2001 to prevent a bank run. Under the corralito's constraints, which lasted for a year, people could not freely withdraw money from their accounts, making life very difficult for ordinary Argentines.

जब एक व्यापार-अनुकूल रूढ़िवादी अक्टूबर 2015 में अर्जेंटीना के राष्ट्रपति चुने गए थे, तो उम्मीद बहुत अधिक थी कि वह दक्षिण अमेरिकी देश की अर्थव्यवस्था को एक स्थिर रास्ते पर लाएंगे। मौरिसियो मैक्री ने अर्जेंटीना की अर्थव्यवस्था को पुनर्जीवित करने और "शून्य गरीबी" हासिल करने का वादा किया था। लेकिन तीन साल से भी कम समय बाद, उन्होंने अप्रत्याशित रूप से अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष (आईएमएफ) से ऋण जल्द जारी करने के लिए कहा है। क्या गलत हुआ है?


Crews fight flat fire in Bermondsey tower block

Summary: A fire at a 21-storey tower block in south-east London has been brought under control by firefighters.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) crews were called to Lupin Point on Abbey Street in Bermondsey at about 1400 BST. A spokesman for LFB said the fire on the 17th floor was brought under control by 1545 BST and the cause was being investigated. London Ambulance Service said a woman was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. About 40 people had been evacuated from the building by the time fire crews arrived.

दक्षिण-पूर्व लंदन में 21 मंजिला टावर ब्लॉक में लगी आग पर अग्निशामकों ने काबू पा लिया है।


Oscars 2019: Nominated short tells of black teen who 'made friends with monsters'

Summary: The subject of an Oscar-nominated short film about a boy from Peckham who took drastic measures to fit in on an Essex estate blighted by racism said making it was "the hardest thing he's done".

"I didn't want to sit in front of that camera and be vulnerable," Cornelius Walker told the BBC's Will Gompertz. Black Sheep sees Walker talking openly about his childhood experiences. "I wanted to help people who've been through what I've been through," said the 27-year-old writer and director. After schoolboy Damilola Taylor was murdered in November 2000, Walker's mother decided to move her family out of London to a town in Essex. There her son faced verbal and physical abuse that led him to wear blue contact lenses and bleach his skin in an effort to be accepted and befriended by his persecutors. "I felt insecure, like I wasn't good enough for anyone, and the colour of my skin was the reason for it," he told the BBC. The film, shot in the same locations where the real events took place, re-enacts the harrowing moments Walker talks about in a candid, direct-to-camera interview. Produced by Lightbox and The Guardian newspaper, Ed Perkins's film is one of five shortlisted for this year's Oscar for best documentary short subject. Walker will attend the ceremony on 24 February in Los Angeles to see if it wins the award. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

पेखम के एक लड़के के बारे में ऑस्कर नामांकित लघु फिल्म का विषय, जिसने नस्लवाद से पीड़ित एसेक्स एस्टेट में फिट होने के लिए कठोर उपाय किए, ने कहा कि इसे बनाना "सबसे कठिन काम था जो उसने किया है।"