Granny army helps India's school children via the cloud

Summary: No-one does love and encouragement better than a granny. Now that love is being spread across continents, as UK-based grandmothers extend their embrace to school children thousands of miles away in India.

By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter Jackie Barrow isn't a granny yet but as a retired teacher she felt she might qualify for an advert in The Guardian newspaper calling for volunteers to help teach children in India. She did and today, three years on, she is reading "Not Now Bernard" via Skype to a small group of children in the Indian city of Pune. They love it and are engaged in the experience as she holds up an Easter egg to show them how children in the UK celebrated the recent holiday. Advice and praise The Granny Cloud project is the brainchild of Prof Sugata Mitra, best-known for his hole-in-the-wall computer scheme which put basic PCs into some of the poorest parts of India. The work is being supported by the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University. Prof Mitra installed the first such computer on the wall of his south Delhi office, opposite a slum. He was amazed to see that the children, initially curious about the machine, soon became self-taught experts. Within days the children were able to browse the internet, cut and paste copy, drag and drop items and create folders. The children liked to draw, discovering how to use the Microsoft Paint programme to create paintings. Then they moved on to downloading games and playing them. By the second month they had discovered MP3 music files and were downloading songs. Prof Mitra noticed they did best when an adult was present offering advice and encouragement over their shoulders. There was, he reasoned, no-one so encouraging as a granny and so the idea was born. The official name of the project is Sole (self organised learning environments) but it is more commonly known as the granny cloud. The grannies, or e-mediators as they are officially known, are not teachers and the sessions they conduct with the children in India are not lessons. Instead they read stories to the children and talk about things relevant to them and to the UK. The point, said Prof Mitra, was that they provided encouragement and praise and became a "virtual granny" to the children. Problems Jackie lives in a rural area 15 miles (24km) outside Manchester - a world away from Pune. "We chat about my garden. In the spring I show them pictures of the lambs in the fields by the house and in the winter, pictures of the snow. If I go to London I take a picture of myself there. They love it," she said. The e-mediators encourage each other, staying in touch via a Facebook page and a wiki, on which they offer tips for what went well and what did not work. There were now around 300 "grannies" involved in the scheme and it was growing all the time, Prof Mitra told the BBC. But it has not been without its problems. "After three years it still feels as if we are at a pilot stage. There are so many things that still need to be worked out," he said. He is very upfront about the challenges the project has faced. "This type of e-mediation is intended for the not-so-good schools but they don't want it. The teachers don't have great interest, there is not enough electricity, there are hundreds of reasons why it doesn't work," he said. Using Skype to connect the grannies with the children may be cheap but it isn't always reliable. The connection often goes down, as it did on the day Jackie was teaching. "One out of 10 sessions have a problem so it is not unusable and the children have no expectations. They are happy to revert to messaging," said Prof Mitra. Initially he put his grannies to work with schools in Hydrerabad where cultural differences between the backgrounds of the UK volunteers and the children they were connecting to soon became very obvious. "The schools were predominately Muslim and, with hindsight, that may not have been the best choice," said Prof Mitra. Jackie agreed that religion can be a sensitive topic and does her best now to avoid any religious references. She added that, at first, there was a more general lack of enthusiasm for the scheme. "There were lots of problems. No-one from the school seemed prepared to facilitate the sessions. In one town there was just one guy on a bicycle going from one centre to another opening up," she said. "The teachers are often not qualified, not competent with IT, can't speak English and maybe felt threatened by this kind of intervention," she added. Preoccupied parents Now she conducts her sessions at an after-school club, dubbed Khelgar, where there are lots of encouraging staff. Working with them is Suneeta Kulkarni, who has the incredibly challenging job of co-ordinating the scheme across the whole of India. For her the rewards are obvious. "I have seen big differences in the children. They have learnt lots of words and when Jackie holds something up they now attempt to read the words," she said. What do the children make of a story such as Not Now Bernard, a quintessentially British book about a boy whose protestations to his parents about a monster in the garden fall on deaf ears with tragic consequences. "Parents across the world are preoccupied, it is a universal message," said Ms Kulkarni. Retirement cloud The scheme has now been extended to four schools in Columbia, South America where, said Prof Mitra, it was doing very well. It is also being used in schools much closer to home. In Gateshead where literacy levels are lower than the national average, schools such as St Aidan's Church of England primary school are embracing the idea of the granny cloud and intend to use e-mediators to engage children at the very early stages of reading. "The teachers love it as they can go off and have a cup of tea and the children are very excited about a granny appearing on the screen," said Prof Mitra. The professor is hopeful that the project can be taken on by a big organisation and made to work at a global scale. "In terms of potential we have just scratched the surface," he said. He also sees huge potential for extending the role of the e-mediators into a "retirement cloud". "We have a silent workforce, retired engineers, doctors, plumbers - all with great expertise to share," he said. "I hope that at some stage the government picks it up. Retired people can input their information in a 21st retirement club on the cloud for everyone to tap into." It could, he said, be an important cultural leap in the way we view our ageing population. "Instead of saying 'what can we do for them?', we will be asking 'what can they do for us?'"

दादी से बेहतर प्यार और प्रोत्साहन कोई नहीं कर सकता। अब यह प्यार महाद्वीपों में फैल रहा है, क्योंकि ब्रिटेन में रहने वाली दादी हजारों मील दूर भारत में स्कूली बच्चों को अपना आलिंगन देती हैं।


Avon and Somerset PCSOs' power to detain considered

Summary: The Avon and Somerset Chief Constable is considering giving PCSOs the power to detain, not arrest, the Police and Crime Commissioner has clarified.

Chief Constables are able to designate a number of discretionary powers to Police Community Support Officers. PCC Sue Mountstevens had told BBC Radio Bristol that arrest powers for PCSOs were being considered by Nick Gargan. But a spokeswoman has now clarified the power being discussed was the right to detain for up to 30 minutes. Ms Mountstevens was involved in a discussion about wider PCSO powers with members of the police and crime panel. There are 384 PCSOs in the area.

पुलिस और अपराध आयुक्त ने स्पष्ट किया है कि एवन और समरसेट के मुख्य कांस्टेबल पी. सी. एस. ओ. को हिरासत में लेने की शक्ति देने पर विचार कर रहे हैं, न कि गिरफ्तारी की।


How did Disney get Moana so right and Maui so wrong?

Summary: A forthcoming Disney movie tells the story of Moana, a Polynesian girl who teams up with demi-god Maui to save her people. But some people have said the film and its merchandise are appropriating Pacific Island culture. Arieta Rika, who founded a website called Talanoa as a home for Pacific stories, told the BBC how she wants her culture to be celebrated.

By Arieta Tegeilolo Talanoa Tora Rika Founder of talanoa.com.au As a Pacific person, I can't tell you how excited I am to see this movie. Seeing faces that look like mine, telling a story that relates to me. I just don't have the words. I haven't felt this excited about a Disney film in decades. I am excited that the film has given a voice to many Pacific people who might have otherwise gone unheard when discussing issues about culture, people and place in the context of the Pacific and our stories. It has also raised important questions about cultural appropriation and misappropriation. Is Disney doing it right? Is there a way to celebrate Moana and Pacific culture, without offending Pacific people? What is Moana? I've yet to watch the movie, but so far, it looks like Disney has applied four important aspects of Pacific culture: awareness, context, relationship and respect. This week, Disney released a children's costume for Maui, a character in the Moana film. I get it - Disney knows and appreciates that children across the world will fall in love with Maui, and like many other Disney characters, they'll want nothing more than to look exactly like him. On paper, it seems like a pretty logical decision to create a costume. There is not much to work with in terms of clothes though, as he only wears a grass skirt and a necklace made of shells. Hence the final product that Disney released - a body suit with brown skin, tattoos, Maui's necklace, and a grass skirt. Disney accused of 'brownface' over Maui costume In reality, it has offended many Pacific people. I understand the reasoning behind the grass skirt and the necklace, but the brown skin is too far, and the tattoos are culturally misappropriated. Tattoos are deeply meaningful to Pacific people. Like a fingerprint, a tattoo is unique to each person. Our markings tell a personal story that we carry with us on our skin, everywhere we go - constantly reminding us of our values, our people, and our identity. It is considered taboo and extremely disrespectful in many Pacific cultures to wear the markings of a people or place that you are not spiritually or physically connected to. After the release of Moana, Maui may be a Disney character to some, but to many Pacific people, he is very real - a hero, ancestor, demi-God and a spiritual guide. Even for Pacific people who don't believe in Maui, replicating a Polynesian tattoo and offering it to children for a price is belittling and trivializing an intimate aspect of Pacific people and culture. The rise of the Maori tribal tattoo Knowing this, Disney could have reconsidered their decision to include tattoos on Maui's costume. That would have also eliminated the need for the brown skin body suit that many consider "brownface". They also would have anticipated the backlash from Pacific people who interpret their decision as inappropriate and disrespectful at best - and at worst, a way to make money from a particularly significant aspect of Pacific culture. You need not be a Pacific person to enjoy and respect Moana, Maui and Pacific culture. Many Pacific people welcome questions. Taking initiative and starting these conversations creates trust, shows respect and ultimately, could be the start of a meaningful relationship between you and Pacific culture, and a Pacific person. In the meantime, I will be eagerly waiting for the release of Moana. If anything, I appreciate the opportunity it is giving me and many other Pacific people to share our thoughts, our opinions, and our stories. After all, having these conversations on a global scale is important, and it is what I and many Pacific people who have gone before me have been waiting for, for centuries.

एक आगामी डिज्नी फिल्म मोआना, एक पॉलिनेशियन लड़की की कहानी बताती है, जो अपने लोगों को बचाने के लिए अर्ध-देवता माउई के साथ मिलकर काम करती है। लेकिन कुछ लोगों ने कहा है कि फिल्म और इसका माल प्रशांत द्वीप संस्कृति का उपयोग कर रहे हैं। प्रशांत कहानियों के लिए एक घर के रूप में तलानोआ नामक एक वेबसाइट की स्थापना करने वाली एरीटा रिका ने बीबीसी को बताया कि वह कैसे चाहती है कि उसकी संस्कृति का जश्न मनाया जाए।


Brecon & Radnorshire by-election: 1985 and now

Summary: The voters of Brecon and Radnorshire will select an MP in a by-election on 1 August. Welsh Affairs Editor Vaughan Roderick looks back at another by-election in the constituency - one which was memorable for the amount of media coverage it got.

By-elections were big deals back in the 1980s and none came bigger than the 1985 Brecon and Radnor contest, so much so that the BBC devoted half of the Nine O'Clock News to discussing the result. The contest was seen as an early test for the new Labour leader, Neil Kinnock and the SDP/Liberal Alliance which was still recovering from a poor result in the 1983 general election. Ironically, the chances of the Conservatives, who'd held the seat until the death of local MP Tom Hooson, were quickly written off given the unpopularity of Margaret Thatcher's administration. The Liberals, who hadn't even contested the seat for much of the 20th Century, chose a softly spoken agricultural college lecturer, Richard Livsey as their candidate. Mr Livsey, a man once described as "wearing the right shoes to appeal to farmers" had contested the seat at the previous election, coming third. His main opponent, Richard Willey, a Radnorshire councillor and son of a veteran Labour MP, spent much of the campaign out of the media limelight, closely shadowed by Peter Mandelson on his first outing as Labour's election supremo. Labour might well have won it too, had it not been for a speech two nights before the poll in which the miners' leader, Arthur Scargill, demanded the right to choose the next chairman of the National Coal Board. That reminder of the only recently ended miners' strike, along with tactical voting by Conservatives, were enough to put Mr Livsey over the top with a slim majority of just over 500 votes. This year's Brecon and Radnorshire by-election has received far less media attention than its predecessor but it could prove to be far more important politically. Losing Brecon and Radnor did little to dent Margaret Thatcher's parliamentary majority and she swept to victory in the subsequent general election. The 2019 parliament though is one where every vote counts, and where the vote of whoever wins on 1 August could prove crucial.

ब्रेकन और रेडनोर्शायर के मतदाता 1 अगस्त को एक उपचुनाव में एक सांसद का चयन करेंगे। वेल्श मामलों के संपादक वॉन रॉडरिक निर्वाचन क्षेत्र में एक और उपचुनाव को देखते हैं-जो इसे मिले मीडिया कवरेज की मात्रा के लिए यादगार था।


Obituary: Talk Talk's Mark Hollis

Summary: "Our songs are about tragedy... Human tragedy."

By Mark SavageBBC Music reporter Talk Talk may have been lumped together with synth-pop bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. But singer Mark Hollis, who has died after a short illness aged 64, possessed a lyrical depth and musical curiosity that set him apart. By their fourth album, Spirit of Eden, he'd abandoned pop formulas in favour of ambient textures and jazz structures - setting a blueprint for bands who want to outgrow their origins. From the outset, Hollis's tastes were eclectic. His first record was the Northern Soul classic Everlasting Love, which he bought at the age of 12, while his first concert was David Bowie. Speaking to Record Mirror in 1982, he cited his main influences as Burt Bacharach and counterculture icon William Burroughs. He also said the best live show he'd ever seen was a performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 at London's Royal Festival Hall. Those facts aside, little is known about Hollis's early life - mainly because of his tendency to tell tall tales in interviews. Born in Tottenham in north London in 1955, he told one journalist he'd dropped out of school before his A-Levels, while informing another he had studied child psychology at the University of Sussex. Upon leaving education, he claimed to have worked as a laboratory technician - but music was always his first love. "I could never wait to get home and start writing songs and lyrics" he told Kim magazine in 1983. "All day long I'd be jotting ideas down on bits of paper and just waiting for the moment when I could put it all down on tape." Duran comparisons Hollis formed his first band, The Reaction, in 1977 and recorded a demo for Island Records that included a song called Talk Talk Talk Talk. The group split after one single, after which Hollis intended to pursue a solo career. After writing a new batch of songs, he recruited Paul Webb, Lee Harris and Simon Brenner to help him flesh out the arrangements in the studio. "But we liked what we were doing so much that we decided to throw every penny we had into hiring a rehearsal room and practicing to go out and play in the clubs," he said. The quartet soon had a name, Talk Talk, and a record deal with EMI Records, who hoped to mould them into another Duran Duran. The company even hired that band's producer, Colin Thurston, to work on their first two singles, Mirror Man and Talk Talk. But the band were keen to shake off the "New Romantic" tag, even dismissing their keyboard player to make it clear they weren't a synth-pop band. "It gets tiring to listen to the Duran comparisons" Hollis told Noise! magazine at the time. "I can't hear it myself. "I get depressed about the whole thing [because] kids ought to know about music, not image." The band deliberately took a year to craft their second album, It's My Life, and even recorded animal noises at London Zoo for the title track. The video for the song was compiled from rushes of the David Attenborough series Life on Earth. It's My Life went on to become Talk Talk's biggest hit. A cover by No Doubt reached the US Top 10 in 2003. The year 1986 saw the release of The Colour of Spring, which hinted at their musical ambitions. Based on the strength of the singles Life's What You Make It and Give It Up, it became the band's biggest album to date. A year later, Talk Talk settled into an abandoned Suffolk church to begin working on their fourth LP. When they emerged 14 months later, it was hard to believe it was the same band. Drawing on ambient textures, jazz-like arrangements and stunning orchestral arrangements, Spirit of Eden is a meditative, melancholy six-song suite that's as downbeat as it is breathtaking. "It's an engrossing, modern 'head' album, the kind of recording that Pink Floyd never became heavy enough to make," said The Times in a typically enthusiastic review. "I'd never heard music that dynamic while being organic," wrote Elbow's Guy Garvey, who named Spirit of Eden his favourite album in a recent edition of Q Magazine. "It's such a brave record. To this day, I can hear its influence." The record performed poorly with audiences, however. EMI deleted it after three months and promptly dropped Talk Talk from their roster. Re-signing to Polydor, the band released one further album - the equally ambitious Laughing Stock - before quietly dissolving. "There was no big split," Hollis later told The Times. "By the end, everything was so loose that walking away didn't seem like a wrench. We'd reached an end point." Hollis waited eight years before releasing his first, and only, solo album. Self-titled, nuanced and delicate, it was recorded with just two of microphones strategically placed to capture the musicians' every inflection, from gently caressed guitar strings to the creaking of their chairs. It ends with two minutes of analogue tape hiss. Perhaps he was always travelling towards silence. "Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note, and don't play one note until you've got a reason to play it," he said in 1998, shortly before retreating from public life altogether. But there's something uniquely inspiring about a musician who puts a full stop on their career. There are no second-rate comeback albums or awkwardly staged reunions to taint Talk Talk's legacy. And that's presumably the way Hollis wanted it. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

"हमारे गीत त्रासदी... मानव त्रासदी के बारे में हैं।"


How did music producer Gramatik raise $2m in 24 hours?

Summary: Rows between artists, managers and their record labels often become the stuff of music legend, but does blockchain technology mean that musicians could soon just deal directly with their fans - and keep far more profit for themselves?

By Emma JonesTechnology of Business reporter Gramatik - real name Denis Jasarevic - is a Slovenian electronic music producer and DJ with a worldwide fan base. He's become the first music artist to "tokenise" himself using the Ethereum application, Tokit. It allows users to embed their intellectual property rights, revenue and royalties into a programmable digital token. Fans and investors who "buy" the token using the Ether cryptocurrency can then - potentially - share in the revenue from an artist's work. But why has he decided to do this? "I had a bad experience with a small record label and I have friends in the music industry who've had way worse experiences than me," Gramatik says. "I don't need a major label sucking the life out of me. I was always annoyed about the intermediaries in the industry who extract monetary value from artists. It means creatives have to be business savvy and a lot of them aren't. "Using the blockchain has fixed the problem for me." When his GRMTK token was launched in November it raised $2.25m (£1.65m) in Ether digital currency in just 24 hours. "I'm cool with being the guinea pig," Gramatik explains. "This tech has the potential to change the industry." The GRMTK token was created by SingularDTV, an entertainment tech studio set up by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, along with Zach LeBeau and Kim Jackson. According to Mr Lubin, artists bypassing labels to have a direct financial relationship with fans via blockchain is the future. He explains how it works. "Artists are able to put their content on the Singular platform. We attach usage policies to that content and then users can buy a licence in real time. And their payments can also be split between artists - and their collaborators, producers, writers - in real time. "It means artists can get rid of some business sections of the music industry, and perhaps end up charging less for their music, but get a bit more as content creators." As well as the Singular platform, Mr Lubin is about to launch another platform called Ujo. Artists are broadly positive about the idea, Mr Lubin, says: "We're talking to some very prominent ones, I just can't name them." But the drawback of the Ethereum blockchain is that it can't yet support large-scale transactions between artists and fans, he says. "It's not that scalable yet in the sense it can only do about 20 to 30 transactions per second, but the tech is growing pretty quickly. Gartner analyst Alistair Newton agrees, saying: "Right now, if an artist with a fanbase of an Ed Sheeran got involved in this, it would crash the system." But Mr Lubin believes the technology will get there. "In 18 months to two years, we could have 100,000 transactions per second, and at that point you'd be able to handle the surge of a big artist release." Ethereum's cryptocurrency Ether may play second fiddle to Bitcoin, but it still has a market capitalisation of nearly $66bn, with one Ether currently priced at $675. Bitcoin's price rocketed to beyond $17,000 in December and has a market capitalisation of more than $100bn. Many commentators are calling this a classic investment bubble. But Mr Lubin believes that the current cryptocurrency hype is "necessary." "It's one of a series of bubbles and the bubbles are going to continue. They're going to get bigger and bigger and each one drives another layer of innovation," he argues. "Bitcoin is just a killer app going on the blockchain space right now, it's been seen as Gold 2.0 - a better, easier gold to store and value. More Technology of Business "In the Ethereum space the killer app is our use of tokens." Zach LeBeau of Singular DTV compares Tokit to an advanced crowdfunding platform where instead of receiving "a mug or a T-shirt for putting your money in", you share in "an artist's royalties and revenue". "You are investing," he says. But Mr Newton believes the digital wallet technology has to become much more user-friendly if it is to become mainstream. And artists and investors alike need to understand that the value of the token can go up and down. "It's great if you can understand the risks, but it's a complex world with some smart people setting the rules, and everyone needs to go in there with their eyes open," he warns. Mr LeBeau acknowledges that there have been many concerns around such cryptocurrency fundraising schemes - also known as Initial Coin Offerings - and insists his company wants to avoid the "pump and dump" mentality of some digital currency investors. The vision instead is to create "a sustainable entertainment economy by tokenising different music, film and TV platforms", he says. "I believe there might be a blueprint here for an universal basic income in the future." Blockchain technology could pose the greatest threat to record labels since music streaming service Napster came along at the turn of the century. And it could have similar implications for film studios, should movies and TV shows also become "tokenised". "Sooner or later, artists are going to get used to the idea of distributing their own intellectual property," says Kim Jackson, Singular DTV's president of entertainment.

कलाकारों, प्रबंधकों और उनके रिकॉर्ड लेबलों के बीच कतारें अक्सर संगीत के दिग्गज का सामान बन जाती हैं, लेकिन क्या ब्लॉकचैन तकनीक का मतलब यह है कि संगीतकार जल्द ही अपने प्रशंसकों के साथ सीधे सौदा कर सकते हैं-और अपने लिए कहीं अधिक लाभ रख सकते हैं?


'I get to go home, but they don't'

Summary: A student has spent a week sleeping rough on the streets of Aberdeen in an effort to better understand what it means to be homeless. Jonathan Kennard also did not eat for seven days, losing about 9lbs (4kg). The University of Chester student described the experience as "cold, hard and depressing".

By Callum TulleyBBC Scotland Jonathan, from Nottingham, had spent time sleeping rough in both Liverpool and Stirling in previous years, but expected Aberdeen to provide the most testing conditions he had experienced. The 25-year-old, who now wants to start a charity for the homeless, seemed in high spirits as he spoke to me before his trip. He explained: "I want to connect with more homeless people and find out what they're experiencing and what really needs to be done to help them. "I want to be more relatable to homeless people so I'm not just on an academic high horse, but someone who has actually done it as well. "I feel what's needed is people who understand the services, but who also understand homelessness. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm excited as well". However, when I caught up with him again several days later, his main emotion seemed to be one of anguish. He had made his bed in a narrow opening under a derelict part of a bridge by some railway tracks. The stench of human waste was potent. Far from the person I had previously spoken to, he seemed disjointed and depressed. He said: "Now I'm just counting down the days to go home. I really do not like it. "There's no comfort, there's no purpose, you're literally just surviving every day but it's like what for? Why bother? Where's this going? "There's the paranoia, the cold, the wet, the noise, and it makes you too tired to do anything. It's been very grim." Jonathan said he could see why people found it difficult to get back on their feet after becoming homeless, and that the constant struggle for comfort leads to craving escapism. "Many people are ashamed of being homeless and that just erodes your self esteem over time," he said. "Not being able to get a proper wash anywhere, it just stops you wanting to talk to people and go to appointments that are necessary for sorting your life out". Homeless in Scotland Homeless charity Shelter Scotland estimates there are about 5,000 people sleeping on Scotland's streets every year. According to the Scottish government's figures in June, the number of homeless applications rose for the first time in nine years. They showed applications to local authorities rose by 1% to 34,972 between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018. In response, the Scottish government said it was committed to ending homelessness and rough sleeping for good. We arranged to meet again, this time at 04:30. But on arrival it was clear he had managed to snatch some rare sleep. As he came round the reality of waking up homeless became clear. "Hey! Hey! Hey!" he shouted. "Oh my gosh, where? No! No! Please! Please!" Once he realised he was safe, he explained of his reaction. "It's the fear that you might get mugged because you're not behind a locked door," he said. 'Significant impact' "If you hear some people chatting they could just be friendly students, but to you it could be someone who's coming to rob you. It really is quite scary. "At the end of this I get to go home, but they don't." We met one last time as his time on the streets neared its end. The social policy, health and housing student's lasting hope is that those in authority will study how other countries and cities deal with homelessness, in an effort to benefit everyone. He explained: "I'm feeling quite tired and emotional. "It's a lot to process. I just want to get rested up and hopefully I can make some significant impact to the homeless scene in Britain."

एक छात्र ने एबरडीन की सड़कों पर खराब नींद में एक सप्ताह बिताया है ताकि यह बेहतर ढंग से समझा जा सके कि बेघर होने का क्या मतलब है। जोनाथन केनार्ड ने भी सात दिनों तक खाना नहीं खाया, लगभग 9 पाउंड (4 किलो) कम किया। चेस्टर विश्वविद्यालय के छात्र ने अनुभव को "ठंडा, कठिन और निराशाजनक" बताया।


Fire at Biffa recycling centre in Leckwith 'under control'

Summary: Fire investigators are working to establish the cause of a blaze that broke out at a recycling centre in Cardiff.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called to Biffa on Bessemer Close in Leckwith just before 14:30 BST. A total of 12 fire crews attended. Witnesses reported hearing loud bangs. In a statement, Biffa said the fire had been brought under control and no-one was injured. It added: "The fire is thought to have started in a waste disposal truck owned by a third party visiting the site."

अग्निशमन जांचकर्ता कार्डिफ में एक पुनर्चक्रण केंद्र में लगी आग के कारण का पता लगाने के लिए काम कर रहे हैं।


Can you live without processed food?

Summary: The white stuff you sprinkle on your food is back in the headlines. Whether it's salt or sugar, it seems many of us may be consuming too much. So how easy is it to live without processed food for a week? Helen Briggs finds out.

By Helen BriggsBBC News Sunday The first day of my new regime involves rifling through kitchen cupboards to see what I'm permitted to eat. The definition of processed food varies, but according to the US Food and Drug Administration it comprises: So out with pasta, oil, tinned tomatoes and many other staples. Unlimited fruit and vegetables are an easy option, along with the humble baked spud. But what about protein? I don't eat meat so that means soaking and cooking my own lentils and chickpeas, rather than buying them tinned. Monday It's a work day, so I have to pack an entire day's supply of rations. I can't rely on my usual soup or salad as it's bound to contain something processed, like stock cubes or mayonnaise. So, I load up with fruit - banana for breakfast; apple and oranges for snacks. Then, horror of horror, I'm struck by qualms about coffee - does it count as processed? Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation, has agreed to help me with my quest, so I ping off a panicky email. Thankfully, she grants me a concession - I can have coffee as long as I buy the coffee beans and grind them myself. Another thing to add to my to-do list, then. Tuesday Tired this morning after an evening up late soaking chick-peas, boiling lentils and grinding coffee beans. My children are peering into dirty saucepans: "What's all this burnt gooey stuff, Mummy?" My rucksack is bulging with pots of things - home-made chick-pea salad, nuts, bananas, bunch of grapes, and yet another variety of home-made salad. I am starting to crave sugar, and patrol hungrily around the canteen in search of anything non-processed. Wednesday A new routine this morning. To analyse what I'm eating, Victoria has asked me to weigh all my food three days a week. To add to the grinding, soaking and boiling, I now need to put everything on the scales. On the plus side I think my diet is having some effect - I feel healthy and full of energy. Thursday I've discovered that adding herbs to things is a good way to get flavour without using salt, sugar or sauces. Mint tea has become a speciality - fresh mint in the bottom of a mug, topped up with hot water, and you're good to go. I am also saving a fortune on ditching take-out coffees (although I have to confess to the occasional illicit non home-ground Americano). Friday I like to think I'm pretty good at checking food labels. But a cursory glance, before chucking it into the supermarket trolley, is no longer good enough. I am finding out that sugar or salt can be sneaked in to many things you wouldn't expect. The unprocessed pistachio nuts, complete with shells, I pick up in the supermarket queue actually have added salt. And sugar can be hard to spot on food labels, listed as high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, malt syrup, maltose and evaporated cane juice, among other things. Saturday In the UK, cooking food at home is becoming a thing of the past. In the last decade, money spent on take-aways and eating out has gone up by almost a third. I spend my Saturday the old-fashioned way - batch-cooking meals that can be eaten over the course of the next few days. Sunday A family birthday so eating out is unavoidable. The waiter is starting to get impatient with my questions. Is the risotto made with home-made stock? Does it have any added sugar/salt/artificial things? Eating out is a minefield when you're forbidden from adding anything to your food. Whether it's a take-away sandwich, a morning cappuccino or a birthday celebration in a restaurant, finding out exactly what is in your food is a nutritional nightmare. The verdict The week has been enlightening - and it's definitely something I will do again. But without a lot of forward planning and preparation, it's impractical for many. I could have opted for a more varied diet such as grilled fish and steamed vegetables, but without my own personal chef or a job working from home, that was beyond me. So how did I do? According to Victoria Taylor, not too badly. She says based on a comparison with my "control" week, my salt and saturated fat intake were both reduced by half. The main reason for me - as a non-meat eater - was giving up bread and cheese, which, while not conventional processed foods - can be relatively high in salt and saturated fat. "Although Helen wasn't feasting on foods we typically think of as processed, like ready-made meals, pizzas or crisps, her experiment does show how it's often the everyday foods like cheese and bread that make a big difference to the amount of saturated fat and salt we are eating," she says. "Processed foods aren't always a bad thing but this does highlight the importance of clear food labels. "Colour coded labels which give at-a-glance information are an easy way to work out if the food you're eating is the healthy choice."

आप अपने भोजन पर जो सफेद सामान छिड़कते हैं, वह फिर से सुर्खियों में आ गया है। चाहे वह नमक हो या चीनी, ऐसा लगता है कि हम में से कई लोग बहुत अधिक खा रहे हैं। तो एक सप्ताह तक प्रसंस्कृत भोजन के बिना रहना कितना आसान है? हेलेन ब्रिग्स को पता चलता है।


Gerry Anderson remembered at opening of charity walk

Summary: Jamie Anderson, the son of Thunderbirds' creator Gerry Anderson, has opened this year's Alzheimer's Society walk in Windsor.

Gerry Anderson, who died in December, revealed he had dementia at the start of the walk last year. The 83-year-old, who lived in Henley-on-Thames, was a supporter of the charity. His son hopes Thunderbirds' fans will sign up for the walk around Dorney Lake in his memory. The Memory Walk is the Alzheimer's Society's annual fundraising event, and takes place across the UK throughout the autumn. In Windsor the event will take place on 5 October.

थंडरबर्ड्स के निर्माता गेरी एंडरसन के बेटे जेमी एंडरसन ने विंडसर में इस साल के अल्जाइमर सोसाइटी वॉक की शुरुआत की है।


Boxing: When a freed slave fought a sporting star

Summary: In the brutal world of bare-knuckle boxing a fight, more than 200 years ago, between a freed American slave and a Bristol-born boxer remains one of the most controversial and bloody battles in boxing history.

By Pamela ParkesBBC News, Bristol The contest - the first ever world title fight - between Tom Cribb, the son of a Bristol coal worker, and Tom Molineaux, a slave who won freedom with his fists, is an "an incredible story of racism, intrigue, gambling and above all courage". The story of the fight is now being turned into a play - Prize Fighters - by director Ed Viney. He said it was the struggle of the fighters to make something of themselves in 19th Century society which he found fascinating. "These characters seem to represent to me a huge amount of change and struggle which was going on in society as the country comes to terms with the abolition of the slave trade and the huge social and economic changes that brought about." Heroes of their day, the pugilists drew in huge crowds and won and lost fortunes for their rich and aristocratic patrons. In his book The Bristol Boys, author Jack Allen said generations of bare-knuckle boxing champions, brought up in the slums of Bristol, became the "very first sporting superstars". Between 1780 and 1820 five Bristol boxers rose to become All-England Champions - Big Ben Brain the "Napoleon of the Ring", Jem Belcher, Henry Pearce "The Game Chicken", John Gully and the most famous of them all - Tom "The Black Diamond" Cribb. Born in 1781 in Hanham, a Bristol suburb, Cribb was the David Beckham of his day. His fights were watched by tens of thousands. "Considering the state of the roads and the effort to get to the fights you can imagine the excitement and enthusiasm that these fighters inspired," said Mr Allen. Cribb's fight with Tom Molineaux (also known as The Black Ajax or The Moor) remains one of the most brutal ever fought. "Boxing then, as now, is one of the sports where you can get out of the gutter - it's your only way out and there was big money to be made," said Jack Allen. Tom Molineaux grew up as a slave on a plantation in Virginia and won his freedom in a fight. He then battled his way up from the Deep South to New York where he claimed the title "Champion of America". But it was in England where the real money was to be made. He sailed for England and challenged Cribb in the first World Boxing Championship. The fight took place at Copthall Common near East Grinstead in Sussex on 18 December 1810. It was, according to Jack Allen, "a brutal and bloody affair and one of the most controversial fights ever held in England". Cribb was brought time and time again to his knees while the crowd, who sensed a Molineaux victory, subjected the US fighter to appalling racist abuse. After 28 rounds Cribb was knocked out and could not "come up to scratch" - a line drawn on the ground. Molineaux had won - but Cribb's camp, playing for time, accused him of having bullets in his fist which gave Cribb time to rally. Molineaux battled on for two more rounds. He threw Cribb to the floor but hit his head against one of the wooden ring stakes which concussed him. Sensing his moment Cribb punched Molineaux in the throat. Broken, lying on the floor Molineaux raised his hand and said "Massa Richmond, me can fight no more". "So ended the first World Boxing Championship title fight with a result no Englishman can be proud of," said Jack Allen. In the play, Ed Viney sets the fight against the wider social and political struggles which Bristol was experiencing. "There was a huge amount of physical energy going on in 19th Century Bristol," he said which was set against the "continuing push for the abolition of slavery as well as a great push for big engineering projects in Bristol." Actor I-Kay Agu plays a character based on Tom Molineaux. He said: "I can understand what boxers go through - the adrenalin of the competition, the fact that you want to win over the crowd and prove yourself. "I might want to fight but there is an element of honour as well that keeps you in a good place instead of becoming a monster." Prize Fighters will be performed at the Tobacco Factory in 2015.

नंगे-नकल मुक्केबाजी की क्रूर दुनिया में, 200 से अधिक साल पहले, एक मुक्त अमेरिकी गुलाम और ब्रिस्टल में जन्मे मुक्केबाज के बीच एक लड़ाई मुक्केबाजी के इतिहास में सबसे विवादास्पद और खूनी लड़ाइयों में से एक बनी हुई है।


Practising medicine under fire in Yemen

Summary: Mariela Carrara was just days into her posting as an emergency doctor at the Al-Jumhori hospital in Saada, northern Yemen last May when a husband and wife were rushed into the building.

By Joel GunterBBC News They were young, no older than 35. Their family home had been hit by an air strike, they said, one of thousands launched by a Saudi-led coalition that pounded the province every day that month. The heartland of the rebel Houthi movement, Saada is among the most dangerous parts of Yemen, and the Al-Jumhori is the only emergency facility in the province — in reality, the only A&E department in most of northern Yemen. Dr Carrara, an Argentine working for the international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), triaged the married couple. The husband's injuries were minor and she turned her attention to the wife, who had severe injuries to both her arms. Nearly all the soft tissue had been stripped away by the blast. As a surgical team prepared to amputate, Dr Carrara spoke to the woman's husband. He asked her to save his wife's arms. Their four children, all younger than 10, had been killed by the strike, he told her. "We have lost our children," he said. "Please do everything you can." Since March, when the Saudi-led, US-backed coalition launched a military campaign to defeat the Houthi rebel group, some 6,000 people — almost half of them civilians — have been killed in air strikes and fighting on the ground in Yemen, according to the UN. In January, a leaked UN report accused the coalition of "widespread and systematic" attacks against civilians. The coalition says it regrets civilian deaths, which it insists are unintentional. The coalition is attempting to restore the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile by the rebels last March, but the conflict has taken a bloody toll on the country's civilians and ravaged an already fragile health system. Three MSF facilities and one ambulance have been hit by air strikes, killing at least eight people and depriving hundreds of thousands of access to emergency care — despite the charity providing their co-ordinates to all sides. With precious few A&E facilities left functioning, Al-Jumhori has expanded from a small facility into a 93-bed hospital treating 2,000 emergency cases a month and performing more than 100 surgeries a week. "I'd never before seen the level of casualties I saw in Saada," Michael Seawright, an MSF project coordinator, said in January after a stint in the province. "The scale of wounded was extreme in two respects - firstly there was a large number of wounded coming through the hospital, but second the severity of wounds was also often extreme." And the bombs have other crippling effects, beyond their blast radius. They discourage many casualties from even attempting to reach a facility, said Teresa Sancristobal, MSF's emergency co-ordinator for Yemen. "The perception is that the medical facilities are not safe. A lot of times when we ask patients why they didn't come sooner, they tell us they were afraid," she said. For Yemen's civilians, getting to a medical facility equipped to cope with severe trauma can be hellishly difficult. It can involve an hours-long journey by car, fraught with danger from flying bullets and falling missiles. On Thursday, a young pregnant woman arrived at Al-Jumhori with 60% of her body burned. Like so many who come through the hospital's doors, her home had been hit by an air strike, this one in the heavily-targeted Razeh district of Saada province, close to the border with Saudi Arabia. With travel too risky, the woman was forced to wait for a week before her family could take her to a nearby clinic. From there she was moved by ambulance to the Al-Jumhori, a five-hour journey. "I could not imagine how much pain she was in," said Dr Carrara. "By the time she reached us she was septic and had severe organ failure. We did what we could but there was no hope." The woman died 16 hours later. She was in her 20s. If she had made it to Saada city within eight hours, she and her child could almost certainly have been saved. Patients arriving at MSF facilities in Yemen are immediately graded with one of four colours: green denotes that they are walking wounded; yellow that they must be seen within an hour; red that they need immediate resuscitation; black that they are already dead, or have no hope. "We grade a lot of people black and red," said Dr Carrara. "Most of them are young. They have crash injuries, vascular injuries, fractures, open fractures on the legs and arms, head trauma, penetrating head trauma, abdominal trauma, chest trauma, open chest trauma, blunt trauma. "Air strikes cause multiple, severe injuries. They put people in critical condition." The first day we spoke, a family of seven was rushed in to Dr Carrara's A&E. Five — the mother, father, and three children — were immediately graded black. Two boys were alive. The older of the two, aged 20, was graded green — he would survive. The younger boy, aged just eight, was graded red. He had a penetrating head trauma and was in a coma. When we spoke again the following day, the boy's condition had deteriorated. He will probably die. Emergencies are not the difficult part of treating the war-wounded, said Dr Carrara. The difficulty comes later, as she follows them through their recovery — "sometimes 10 days, sometimes a month, sometimes more". "That is when you hear their stories, what happened to them, who they lost. That's when I wonder how they can continue. And that's when it gets difficult." At what point does it become too much? "It doesn't," she said. "You do what you have to. You do the work, that gets you through." An average day for an MSF doctor in Yemen would be too much for most. Last year, while Saada city was being bombed daily, the medical team at Al-Jumhori — a mix of MSF staff and Yemenis — were working 16-hour days and snatching naps on a handful of shared mattresses in the basement, the risk of leaving the hospital too great. Dr Carrara's few hours downstairs were usually interrupted by emergency calls, up to four or five per night. The warning system for an emergency is often primitive: the hospital's doors and windows vibrate. A bomb has landed nearby. "When you feel the ground shake, you know that patients are coming," she said. In January, a missile hit the Shiara emergency room, an MSF facility in nearby Razeh district. Six people, including three members of the medical staff, were killed and seven more severely injured. The hospital was destroyed. MSF says it does everything in its power to identify its staff and facilities to Yemen's warring factions, but there is only so much it can do. "The situation is very difficult, the insecurity is clear," Ms Sancristobal said. "Hospitals have to be a place where patients feel safe. We don't understand how we could have had so many attacks." The coalition promised in January to conduct a review into the strikes on MSF facilities and set up a "hotline" with the charity. Ms Sancristobal said she did not know what the coalition meant by "hotline" — MSF has been communicating its positions since the beginning of the conflict. "The communication is good, the results are bad," she said. In Syria, where two hospitals suffered direct air strikes last week, MSF has been forced to take a startling and opposite tack: withholding the GPS co-ordinates of its facilities from the Syrian and Russian militaries over fears they are being deliberately targeted. Dr Carrara is preparing to leave Yemen. In Saada city, things are beginning to improve — it is safe enough for the medical staff to live in a house opposite the hospital, although they still do not go out, only shuttle between the two buildings. The hospital is open again for inpatients, meaning people with chronic illnesses can again seek treatment. Women are delivering babies on the wards again, every day, and staying the night. It does not take Dr Carrara long to recall the moment that meant the most to her. One morning last October, shortly after returning to Yemen, she arrived for her shift and noticed a woman sitting quietly in the waiting area, her face covered by a veil. She asked a nurse what the woman was waiting for. "She's waiting for you," the nurse replied. It was the woman whose arms had been so badly wounded in May, whose four young children had died. Just as her husband had asked, the hospital staff had done everything they could — a massive operation to close her wounds, months of dressing her arms every day under sedation because the pain was so intense. And on top of all that, treatment for the malaria she contracted during her recovery. "What stayed with me was that she had never once complained, never," Dr Carrara said. "This woman who lost her four children, she didn't complain when she arrived, she didn't complain when she was treated, she didn't complain during her recovery. Her bravery... I couldn't understand how." That morning, in the waiting area at the hospital, she was alive and well. She had lost three fingers but only a small amount of movement in her arms. She was managing her daily activities, she said. She was coping. It was more than the doctors who had stood with her on the same spot six months before could have hoped. Dr Carrara has an understated way of describing things — perhaps it is just the effort of using a second language — but her voice thickens a little with emotion as she remembers. "It was difficult to talk, I don't speak Arabic. The nurse translated for us. She had come to say thank-you. It was nice. It was so nice."

मारीएला कैरारा पिछले मई में उत्तरी यमन के सादा में अल-जुम्होरी अस्पताल में एक आपातकालीन डॉक्टर के रूप में अपनी पोस्टिंग में कुछ ही दिन थे जब एक पति और पत्नी को इमारत में ले जाया गया था।


Coronavirus loss of smell: 'Meat tastes like petrol'

Summary: Losing the ability to smell or taste are two of the symptoms associated with Covid-19. But while many have regained their senses, for others it has turned into a phenomenon called parosmia, leaving them trapped in a world of distorted scents.

By Alex MossBBC News For Kate McHenry, simple tap water triggers an awful stench. That, along with the horrible smell she experiences from body wash, means taking a shower is something to be endured. "My Aussie shampoo used to be my favourite, but now it's the most disgusting smell in the world," she says. After falling mildly ill in March with suspected coronavirus, the 37-year-old, from Widnes in Cheshire, was unable to smell anything at all for four weeks before the sense slowly returned. But by mid-June things "started to taste really weird" with odours being replaced by a "horrible, chemical" stench. It has had a life-changing effect on Kate - she has lost weight, struggles with anxiety and is starved of the pleasures of eating, drinking and socialising. The problem is so bad that even in places where food is being cooked, she is overwhelmed by the apparent stench. She is scared she will be left without her sense of smell forever. "I love nice meals, going out to restaurants, having a drink with friends but now all that has gone. Meat tastes like petrol and prosecco tastes like rotting apples. If my partner, Craig, has a curry the smell is awful. It even comes out of his pores so I struggle to go anywhere near him. "I get upset in the evenings when I cook. Craig will say 'what do you fancy to eat?' and I feel really bad because there's nothing I want - I know everything is going to taste horrendous. The implications it's had on my life are huge and I am so scared I'll be stuck like this forever." People with Covid-19 lose their sense of smell - known as anosmia - because the virus damages the tissue and nerve endings in their nose. It is when those nerves are regrowing that parosmia can happen and the brain is unable to properly identify an odour's real smell. The condition is normally linked to common colds, sinus problems and head injuries. Sufferers describe being able to smell burning, cigarette smoke or rotting meat. In severe cases, the smell is vomit-inducing. Although professionals are hopeful parosmia is a sign of recovery to restored smell, for some people it can take years to pass. For Pasquale Hester, from Leeds, toothpaste is one of the worst culprits. The chemical taste makes her retch so much so she has resorted to brushing her teeth with salt, which tastes normal to her. Like many affected by Covid-19, it was weeks before she had an improved sense of smell after being ill with the suspected virus. But then when she ate a curry for her birthday in June, she realised her scent was distorted. "I had a poppadum but spat it out straightaway because it tasted like paint. Some things are more bearable than others," said Pasquale, 34. "Coffee, onion and garlic are the absolute worst. All I can manage to get down me some days are sugar snap peas and cheese. "Losing my smell was mentally a struggle, but this has completely blown me away. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." Law student Brooke Jones began getting symptoms in April and tested positive for Covid-19 a week later. She describes almost everything she smells as like "rotting meat mixed with something off a farm". The 20-year-old, from Bradford, has a list of "safe foods" that she can just about tolerate - toaster waffles, cucumber and tomatoes. Anything else and she just puts up with the unpleasantness. "I think now I can imagine what things taste like. So when I'm eating a Chinese [takeaway], even though it's not particularly nice, I can convince myself that it isn't too bad." You might also be interested in: 'They haven't found anyone else like me' 'We can enjoy life without sound' 'How I hid my autism to fit in' While the numbers of Covid patients experiencing parosmia is not known, it is estimated hundreds of thousands have suffered anosmia. Prof Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society (BRS), said there is "widely-held incorrect belief" that smell blindness from the virus is short-lived. "Yes, there is a good chance of recovery but there are huge amounts of people who will lose their smell for a long period of time and the impact of that has been completely overlooked." Smell plays an important role in memory, mood and emotion and those suffering dysfunction describe feeling isolated, said Prof Hopkins. While anosmia is bewildering, parosmia can be unbearable and only in very extreme circumstances can medicine, in the form of an antiepileptic drug, be prescribed. Prof Hopkins said patients were finding it difficult to access help for smell problems and she is working with the NHS to change that. "GPs are playing catch-up and probably most doctors have not come across a patient with anosmia before. There aren't many silver linings from the pandemic but if we can use it to educate health professionals better about smell loss and better understand the mental and physical impact, then that is a huge step forward." In the absence of a cure, sufferers are getting help and support from smell loss charity AbScent, which has set up a Facebook group for those affected through the pandemic. With input from the BRS, the charity has produced an information guide for people experiencing Covid-related smell loss, including details of which foods to eat and how to go about smell training. Its founder, Chrissi Kelly, said: "The most important thing for people is to see that others are in the same boat and to be able to share openly and have this big conversation." The Facebook group also serves as platform for anosmia and parosmia sufferers who are fighting to get their condition understood. Brooke added: "When I try and explain it, some people think it's funny and make a joke - that at least I can't smell bad stuff. I know the effects of Covid could have been much worse, but it does get to me and it's scary that no-one seems to be able to tell you when or if it will ever get any better."

सूँघने या स्वाद लेने की क्षमता खोना कोविड-19 से जुड़े दो लक्षण हैं। लेकिन जहां कई लोगों को होश आ गए हैं, वहीं दूसरों के लिए यह पैरोस्मिया नामक एक घटना में बदल गया है, जिससे वे विकृत सुगंधों की दुनिया में फंस गए हैं।


Woman held over 'huge cannabis grow house'

Summary: A woman in her 20s has been arrested after gardaí (Irish police) discovered a huge cannabis grow house in County Clare.

Gardaí carried out searches at Tinarana, Killaloe. They described the discovery as "significant" with cannabis plants worth an estimated street value of €900,000 (£795,000). A garda spokeswoman said the woman was detained at the scene and is being held at Ennis Garda station.

गार्डाई (आयरिश पुलिस) द्वारा काउंटी क्लेयर में एक विशाल भांग उगाने वाले घर की खोज के बाद 20 साल की एक महिला को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Covid in Scotland: Travel sick

Summary: This may not be the travel season, but it is a time when the industry is busy - desperately looking for help. Government restrictions have knocked confidence, even before they were stepped up, and bookings are being postponed. Worldwide, the industry is looking to a 'new normal' as 'neither victim nor villain', with less business travel, but remote workers travelling and living away from home for longer periods of each year.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland This isn't the usual season to be thinking of travel. It's more often the time to be planning for Christmas and New Year. But as that isn't likely to resemble the usual festivities, and is even less likely to feature a holiday, the travel industry sees an opportunity to draw attention back to its plight. The Scottish Tourism Alliance secured a virtual 45 minutes with the first minister last week, urging her to move faster on airport testing and highlighting the plight of businesses which may be able to furlough workers but are still losing vast sums in fixed costs. This Monday, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce weighed in, with a wish list which also featured airport testing and help with those overheads. It also wanted more flexibility on traveller quarantine, and a further review of Air Passenger Duty to help spark the aviation aero-engine back into life. You may recall the Scottish government had planned to cut it in half, and then abandoned that idea on environmental grounds. Covid-19, of course, has done a lot more for emission reductions than any government aviation policy. There's also a call for more collaboration with the UK government, to establish an "international standard" for self-isolation, testing and travel corridors. Singapore is held up as one example of a country that has put in place such a set of protocols, for testing travellers, contact tracing, and an accreditation system for infection control in hotels and other traveller venues. The industry - inbound, outbound and staycationing - has been hit once more by lockdowns for most the UK. It is still possible to fly to the Canaries from a Scottish airport, but as even crossing council boundaries is against guidelines, foreign travel is even more discouraged. And there's no guarantee that you can avoid a quarantine requirement on your return. Domestic tourism in Scotland is hard hit by the rules against moving between council areas, and an even firmer instruction not to travel between high risk and lower risk areas. With Perthshire joining level three on Friday, Gleneagles hotel - a big international magnet, with a big supply chain - closed down and won't open again until at least February. Loganair, which has a lot more going on than lifeline island services these days, served notice of a possible big cut in its workforce at four Scottish airports. The latest survey evidence, from across Britain, suggests people are pulling back on their plans to take trips around the UK, either for a holiday or to visit relatives. Of those who plan a trip in the early part of next year, they are holding off booking. The expectation is of free cancellation as standard. Even before the latest tightening of restrictions, as the Scottish government last month told hotels they could only serve meals early, only to residents, and without alcohol, there was evidence of the way the public were turning away from travel. Figures from a survey carried out last month by the Tourism Alliance showed a tenth responded to the Alliance survey saying they lost more than £50,000 in room reservations. In October, half of the public surveyed said they intended to take a break during October, November and December. That fell to quarter when Scottish restrictions came in. The evidence is that "intenders" were not following through. Older people have the time and money, but more reluctance to take a trip. More than half of all those surveyed across Britain said they would not visit a locked down area for two months after. There was already declining confidence. Nearly half said they would not feel comfortable eating in a restaurant: a third said that of travelling in public transport. With not much prospect of a return ticket to the pre-Covid travel world, the industry has been trying to discern a "new normal". It seems unlikely to spring back as quickly as hospitality and entertainments, when the shackles eventually come off. The World Travel Market usually meets in London in November, but did so virtually last week. The messages coming out of its conference is that business travel is going to take a big knock, now that people are so much more used to remote communications. On the other hand, people now know they can work remotely, and can travel or live abroad while they work. So that opens up new opportunities beyond travel as holiday. The key will be building confidence, which is why that rapid turnaround of testing, at airports or just below you fly or after you arrive, is going to be vital. One industry leader was saying that tourism must try to avoid being seen as either victim or villain, and instead more of a solution to the wider economic downturn. The message from British travel agents: bookings are relatively good for the Caribbean and Indian Ocean. They omit to mention ski trips, so you can assume they're terrible. Prices are low at the moment, but expect them to go up as confidence returns. Travel firms need to rebuild and they need margins. The message was that cruise liners will be among the first to return, with infection control protocols on board. They were among the first to suffer from Covid-19, with a breakout on the Diamond Princess in Yokohama harbour. That seems a long time ago. It was in early February, six weeks ahead of Britain's first lockdown, and was among the first news stories about the pandemic that grabbed international attention. The hope expressed at the World Travel Market was that a UK Foreign Office advisory against cruises will be lifted before long, and they can weigh anchor. For me, for now, I'd make do with a trip into the Highlands, even in the November gloom.

यह यात्रा का मौसम नहीं हो सकता है, लेकिन यह एक ऐसा समय है जब उद्योग व्यस्त है-मदद की तलाश में। सरकारी प्रतिबंधों ने विश्वास को तोड़ दिया है, इससे पहले कि वे आगे बढ़े, और बुकिंग स्थगित की जा रही है। दुनिया भर में, उद्योग एक 'नए सामान्य' की ओर देख रहा है 'न तो पीड़ित और न ही खलनायक' के रूप में, कम व्यावसायिक यात्रा के साथ, लेकिन दूरदराज के श्रमिक यात्रा करते हैं और हर साल अधिक समय तक घर से दूर रहते हैं।


Ten hits you may not know were cover versions

Summary: Rockin' All Over The World - Status Quo (1977)

By Colin PatersonBBC News entertainment correspondent BBC Music has launched a survey to find the greatest cover version of all time. DJs and producers have put together a shortlist and fans can vote until Tuesday 21 October. It is often said that what makes a great cover is the artist having "made the song their own". Here are 10 examples of tracks that have become so synonymous with one act that many people do not realise that it is not the original. Rockin' All Over the World was the song that opened Live Aid. But the man who wrote it only played one huge charity concert in 1985, and that was Farm Aid. Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty released Rockin' All Over The World in 1975. It missed the UK charts. Status Quo came to cover it two years later after a late-night escapade by guitarist Rick Parfitt. He was driving under the influence and, after mistaking a postbox for a person, turned on the radio to wake himself up. Rockin' All Over the World came on and the rest is double-denim history. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes (1981) The best-selling single of 1981 in the US (spending nine weeks at number one) was originally a 1975 album track by Jackie DeShannon, complete with a big band intro and country-style steel guitar. The song's co-writer Donna Weiss was pitching songs for Kim Carnes' album and mentioned her old composition. Carnes' keyboardist Bill Cuomo added the icy synth riff and Bette Davis Eyes was recorded in one take on the same night John Lennon was shot. Within a year, it had reached number one in 31 countries and won Record of the Year and Song of the Year at The Grammys. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper (1983) One of the great feminist pop anthems of the 1980s was originally sung by a man. In 1979, Robert Hazard wrote Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in 15 minutes in a motel bath. His version (in which he sounds uncannily like Razorlight) was about a woman-obsessed lothario. Four years later, Cyndi Lauper totally changed the meaning, altering the line "All my girls have got to walk in the sun" to "I want to be the one to walk in the sun" and describing it as a song "for all the women around the world to remember our power". It reached number two on both sides of the Atlantic. Ray of Light - Madonna (1998) British Folk duo Curtiss Maldoon only released one eponymously titled album, in 1971, on Deep Purple's record label. Dance producer William Orbit was a fan of their delicate psychedelic song Sepheryn, with its refrain "Quicker than a ray of light". In 1996, he teamed up with Christine Leach, the niece of one of the duo, Clive Maldoon, to record a version. He played it to Madonna, who adapted it into Ray Of Light, a single Entertainment Weekly described as a "siren-like techno-glitter-ball". It was only kept off number one in the UK by All Saints with their "double A-side" of cover versions - Under The Bridge and Lady Marmalade. I Love Rock 'N' Roll - Joan Jett and The Blackhearts (1982) Joan Jett came upon her signature song by watching British children's TV. Touring the UK in 1976 with her first band The Runaways, she saw the power-pop trio Arrows perform the track on their weekly ITV music show. Arrows' legendary manager Mickie Most was not impressed with the song and made it a B-side. Jett did the same when she first recorded it in 1979 with Steve Jones and Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols. However, three years later, another version with her new band The Blackhearts topped the US charts for seven weeks and caused plenty of dimes to be put into jukeboxes. Denis - Blondie (1978) Blondie wrote five of their number one singles, but that did not stop them being masters of the cover version. Their breakthrough single Denis was a New Wave gender-swapping take on Randy and The Rainbows' doo-wop hit Denise, which made the US Top 10 in 1963. Blondie came across the song by their fellow New Yorkers on a K-Tel compilation, changed the sex and added a verse in broken French. They would also go on to top the charts with The Tide Is High, originally by Jamaican band The Paragons, and have a hit with Hanging On The Telephone, the only single ever released by The Nerves. Sailing - Rod Stewart (1975) Only one Rod Stewart single has sold a million copies in the UK, and it started out as flop three years earlier for The Sutherland Brothers Band. The Scottish duo released Sailing as the second single from their 1972 album Lifeboat. Rod made it the lead single from his own nautically-named 1975 album Atlantic Crossing. It went on to reach number one and returned to the UK top three the following year when used as the theme to Sailor, a documentary about HMS Ark Royal. The Sutherland Brothers benefited from the exposure as well, making the top five the following year with Arms of Mary. Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison (1987) In 1963, George Harrison became the first Beatle to set foot on American soil when he visited his sister Louise in Illinois. During this trip, he bought a copy of I've Got My Mind Set On You by R&B singer James Ray. His 1961 single If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody was already a staple of The Beatles' live shows. In 1987, Harrison decided to return to music after spending much of the 1980s making films. He chose Got My Mind Set On You as his comeback single. It reached number two in the UK and topped the US chart. James Ray died from a drugs overdose the very year Harrison originally bought his single. Don't Cha - The Pussycat Dolls (2005) In 2005, the refrain "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" could be heard coming out of radios the world over. The previous year, the original version by Tori Alamaze was such a flop it caused the singer to be dropped by her record company. Then the decision was made to try and turn the decade-old LA burlesque troupe, The Pussycat Dolls, into pop stars, and the song, written by Cee Lo Green, was to be their first single. A Busta Rhymes guest rap apart, this version was almost identical, but it reached number one in the UK and number two in the US. Poor Alamaze immediately dubbed them "The Copycat Dolls". I Write The Songs - Barry Manilow (1975) Barry Manilow did not write I Write The Songs. It was composed by former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and, while Manilow's version won Song of the Year at the 1977 Grammys, it was not even the original. The song first appeared on Captain and Tennille's 1975 album Love Will Keep Us Together (they divorced this January after 39 years of marriage). The first person to release it as a single was teen idol David Cassidy, who took the track to number 11 in the UK charts in August 1975. It is not Manilow's only famous cover - Mandy was originally a 1971 top 20 UK hit called Brandy for Scott English. In 1974, Manilow changed the name and had a US number one. Other hits that were cover versions: Finally

रॉकिंग 'ऑल ओवर द वर्ल्ड-स्टेटस क्वो (1977)


Top Welsh government official Gillian Morgan to retire

Summary: The most senior civil servant in Wales has announced her retirement.

Dame Gillian Morgan says she will stand down from her position as permanent secretary to the Welsh government. Originally from Llwynypia, in the Rhondda, she was appointed to the job in 2008 following a career as a doctor and health service manager. First Minister Carwyn Jones paid tribute to her work and commitment during a period of downsizing for the Welsh government. She said she was immensely proud of what the Welsh government had achieved during an economic downturn and cuts in public spending. 'Honour' "Taking the decision to retire from the role of permanent secretary has not been easy," she said. "There is nothing more important to me than the long-term future of Wales and the people who live here. "It has been a great honour for me to lead an organisation that is committed to supporting ministers to improve the lives of the people of Wales." She was previously head of the NHS Confederation, which represents health trusts and boards. She was part of the team led by Sir Jeremy Beecham in 2006 to advise the Welsh government on public services reforms. When she was appointed to the Welsh government at the age of 54, then first minister Rhodri Morgan hailed it as a "major coup for Wales". Current First Minister Mr Jones thanked her for her commitment and said her successor would be taking one of the biggest jobs in Wales. Mr Jones said: "Dealing with the financial challenges of the past few years hasn't been easy, either for ministers or the civil service, and Gill has led the organisation through a period of significant downsizing while remaining focused on what we're trying to achieve through the Programme for Government. "I know my cabinet colleagues and everyone who works here will join me in thanking her for everything she's done." "Good and effective leadership of the civil service is absolutely critical in supporting ministers to do what they were elected to do and it's essential that whoever takes over from Gill has the right skills and experience to take on one of the biggest jobs in Wales."

वेल्स के सबसे वरिष्ठ सिविल सेवक ने अपनी सेवानिवृत्ति की घोषणा की है।


Nigerian law student allowed to wear hijab at graduation ceremony

Summary: A Nigerian law graduate has finally been called to the bar months after she was blocked from attending the ceremony for insisting on wearing a hijab.

The body in charge of admitting graduating law students had said Amasa Firdaus was breaking the dress code. Ms Firdaus said her rights were being violated. The Ilorin University graduate wore a wig on top of her headscarf at Tuesday's ceremony for 1,550 students in the capital, Abuja. The Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria welcomed the news of her graduation, saying the Nigerian law school "has shown enough maturity". Blocking Ms Firdaus' graduation "would have been a breach of her right", it said. An aide to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari joined others in tweeting commendations to Ms Firdaus:

एक नाइजीरियाई कानून स्नातक को आखिरकार बार में बुलाया गया है, जब उसे हिजाब पहनने पर जोर देने के लिए समारोह में भाग लेने से रोक दिया गया था।


Snake found at Guinness brewery in Dublin

Summary: A snake has been recovered from St James's Gate in Dublin after apparently arriving in a container of empty Guinness kegs from Texas.

Guinness Brewery called the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after the snake was discovered. It has been identified as a non-poisonous corn snake. The juvenile snake is said to be underweight and dehydrated and will be cared for by a vet who identified it.

टेक्सास से खाली गिनीज केग के कंटेनर में पहुंचने के बाद डबलिन के सेंट जेम्स गेट से एक सांप बरामद किया गया है।


'Killfies': Indian state campaigns against deadly selfies

Summary: Authorities in the southern Indian state of Karnataka are working on a campaign to warn people that "selfies can kill". The move comes after the deaths of four students in recent months in selfie-related incidents, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Bangalore.

On a sunny Sunday morning in September, about two dozen college students visited a beautiful temple dedicated to Gundanjaneya, or the monkey god Hanuman, about 30km (19 miles) from the city of Bangalore. Warning: A photograph below may be distressing to some readers Built in 1932, the temple in Ramagondlu village is a big draw with pilgrims as well as students from nearby colleges. The teenagers, who were part of the Indian military's NCC cadet corps, spent the entire morning cleaning and beautifying the temple premises. At noon, as the temperature rose, they decided to take a dip in the temple pond. "They were all very happy, laughing, shouting, taking selfies," local shopkeeper Manjunath told me when I visited the temple last week. But the day ended in tragedy. One of the students, later identified as Vishwas G, drowned in the 15ft-deep pond. In one of the selfies the boys took, the top of the drowning teenager's head is clearly visible - but they are looking in the other direction at the camera. No one noticed him and it was only an hour later that his friends became aware that he was missing. His body was recovered three hours later by the police and local people. A few weeks later, in another tragic incident just an hour's drive from the temple, three teenagers were run over by a train while trying to take a selfie. "I was going to drop my cousin to school and I passed this way at about 08:15 and it was all quiet then," said engineering student Sharad Gowda, who lives in a nearby village and took me down to the tracks to explain the incident. "When I returned half an hour later, there were about 100 people here so I came down to see what was happening. "There were body parts strewn about everywhere. Some people said they were lying down [on the tracks] to take a selfie and that's why they didn't see the train approaching. "It was the birthday of one of the boys." The two incidents shocked Karnataka and the state government wants its young people to think more carefully about the circumstances in which they take selfies, in case they become "killfies". "We are working on putting up new signage at tourist sites in 11 districts," Karnataka Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge told the BBC. "These will also have messages saying selfies can kill. We will also be launching a social media campaign in a couple of weeks that will go out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms, warning people of the dangers of killfies." India has more than 1.1 billion mobile phone subscriptions and more than 300 million people use smartphones. Experts say youngsters obsessed with social media are going to extreme lengths in the quest for perfect selfies, often becoming reckless and taking unnecessary risks. Many cases involve young men. According to a study by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the Indraprastha Institute of Information in Delhi, India has recorded far more selfie-related deaths than any other country in the world in recent years. Of the 127 global selfie deaths the researchers identified between March 2014 and September 2016, 76 occurred in India and most of the victims were reported to be young people. They defined a selfie-related fatality as one which "could have been avoided had the individual(s) not been taking a selfie". People have died taking selfies after being hit by trains, falling from a height, drowning in rivers, lakes and ponds, or being washed away at dams and on the seashore. In June, police in the northern Indian town of Moradabad threatened to send selfie-addicts to jail if they took pictures on railway tracks or flyovers, or while travelling on buses. And last year, police in the western city of Mumbai began installing signs saying "no selfie zone" at popular tourist spots after an 18-year-old girl drowned in the sea while taking a selfie. But Mr Kharge, the state tourism minister, says it is very difficult to demarcate "no-selfie zones" because tragedy can strike anywhere. "Every place is a potential threat. It can happen at a popular tourist spot like the Nandi Hills or a dam, but it can also happen on the train tracks or even in your balcony. A small misstep can be fatal. "Through our campaign, we're going to tell people it's good to have a smartphone, but you must use it smartly."

दक्षिणी भारतीय राज्य कर्नाटक में अधिकारी लोगों को चेतावनी देने के लिए एक अभियान पर काम कर रहे हैं कि "सेल्फी से मौत हो सकती है।" बैंगलोर में बीबीसी की गीता पांडे लिखती हैं कि हाल के महीनों में सेल्फी से संबंधित घटनाओं में चार छात्रों की मौत के बाद यह कदम उठाया गया है।


Jersey minister puts social security rise on hold

Summary: Higher contributions towards old age care in Jersey could come from income tax instead of a rise in social security charges, a minister has said.

In 2011, the States agreed to increase social security contributions but Senator Francis Le Gresley has now announced a new plan. He said any change to the system was being delayed by a year to 2014 while further work was carried out. More funding is needed to pay for the ageing population, he added. "It is vital that when this new law is implemented the benefit it provides for older people is balanced against the costs it imposes on younger people," the senator said. "The impact must be fair both across generations and between rich and poorer islanders." The minister said the delay would allow his department to work with the income tax department to find other ways of funding the care.

एक मंत्री ने कहा है कि जर्सी में वृद्धावस्था की देखभाल के लिए उच्च योगदान सामाजिक सुरक्षा शुल्क में वृद्धि के बजाय आयकर से आ सकता है।


Holodomor: Memories of Ukraine's silent massacre

Summary: Eighty years ago, millions of Ukrainians died in a famine that many label a genocide by the Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin. As Ukraine prepares to embark on its annual memorial events, the BBC's David Stern finds that memories of the massacre are undimmed for many.

Nina Karpenko, an energetic 87-year-old, demonstrates what it took to survive Ukraine's Stalin-era famine, known as the Holodomor, or "death by hunger". Some cheap cornmeal, wheat chaff, dried nettle leaves and other weeds - this was the essence of life during the horrific winter and early spring of 1932-33 in Ukraine. As Ms Karpenko tells her story, she kneads the ingredients into a dull green mass, adding water and a little salt, which she then fashions into a patty. She calls it bread, though it barely fits this description. Then she spreads wax shavings on a pan to keep the patty from sticking and burning, and places it in an oven. Ms Karpenko's father died early on. His legs swelled up and he expired when trying to consume a small amount of food - a common occurrence among those close to starvation. Her mother walked 15km (nine miles) to a nearby town to see if she could obtain something to eat for Ms Karpenko and her brother and sister. She exchanged her earrings and a gold cross she wore around her neck for about 2kg of flour. Ms Karpenko takes the bread from the oven when it is ready. It is tough and tastes like grass. But thanks to this weed loaf, and a horsehide that her mother cut into pieces and boiled for soup, the Karpenko family managed to survive until the spring, when they could forage in the nearby forest. Others in their village, Matskivtsi, in central Ukraine, were not as fortunate. "There was a deathly silence," she says. "Because people weren't even conscious. They didn't want to speak or to look at anything." "They thought today that person died, and tomorrow it will be me. Everyone just thought of death." Silent wasteland Ukrainians mark a Holodomor Remembrance Day every year on the fourth Saturday of November. Some historians, like Yale University's Timothy Snyder, who has done extensive research in Ukraine, place the number of dead at roughly 3.3 million. Others say the number was much higher. Whatever the actual figure, it is a trauma that has left a deep and lasting wound among this nation of 45 million. Entire villages were wiped out, and in some regions the death rate reached one-third. The Ukrainian countryside, home of the "black earth", some of the most fertile land in the world, was reduced to a silent wasteland. Cities and roads were littered with the corpses of those who left their villages in search of food, but perished along the way. There were widespread reports of cannibalism. Ms Karpenko says that when school resumed the following autumn, two thirds of the seats were empty. But the pain of the Holodomor comes not only from the unfathomable number of dead. Many people believe the causes were man-made and intentional. A genocide. They say that Joseph Stalin wanted to starve into submission the rebellious Ukrainian peasantry and force them into collective farms. The Kremlin requisitioned more grain than farmers could provide. When they resisted, brigades of Communist Party activists swept through the villages and took everything that was edible. "The brigades took all the wheat, barley - everything - so we had nothing left," says Ms Karpenko. "Even beans that people had set aside just in case. "The brigades crawled everywhere and took everything. People had nothing left to do but die." Genocide row As the hunger mounted, Soviet authorities took extra measures, such as closing off Ukraine's borders, so that peasants could not travel abroad and obtain food. This amounted to a death sentence, experts say. "The government did everything it could to prevent peasants from entering other regions and looking for bread," says Oleksandra Monetova, from Kiev's Holodomor Memorial Museum. "The officials' intentions were clear. To me it's a genocide. I have no doubt." But for others, the question is still open. Russia in particular objects to the genocide label, calling it a "nationalistic interpretation" of the famine. Kremlin officials insist that, while the Holodomor was a tragedy, it was not intentional, and other regions in the Soviet Union suffered at that time. Kiev and Moscow have clashed over the issue in the past. But Ukraine's present leader Viktor Yanukovych echoes the Kremlin line, saying it was "incorrect and unjust" to consider the Holodomor "the genocide of a certain people". Mr Yanukovych's government still takes care to commemorate fully the destruction that the famine wrought. This year's Remembrance Day will feature a number of different ceremonies and prayer services, as well as the world premier of a Holodomor opera, Red Earth Hunger, by Virko Baley. Mr Baley, an American composer who was born in Ukraine, supports efforts to have the Holodomor recognised internationally as genocide. "You have to admit that it was done, if you want to have any kind of human progress," he says. "You can't wrap it up and say that it wasn't."

अस्सी साल पहले, लाखों यूक्रेनी अकाल में मारे गए थे जिसे कई लोग जोसेफ स्टालिन के सोवियत शासन द्वारा नरसंहार कहते हैं। जैसे ही यूक्रेन अपने वार्षिक स्मारक कार्यक्रमों को शुरू करने की तैयारी कर रहा है, बीबीसी के डेविड स्टर्न ने पाया कि नरसंहार की यादें कई लोगों के लिए अधूरी हैं।


What does Chancellor Rishi Sunak's statement mean for Scotland?

Summary: UK government Chancellor Rishi Sunak has made a Summer statement mini-budget announcement aimed at minimising the economic impact in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the measures directly affect Scotland while others will result in about £800m more for the Scottish government to distribute as they choose.

By Douglas FraserBusiness and economy editor, Scotland VAT The VAT cut from 20% to 5% runs from next Wednesday to 12 January. It covers food, accommodation and attractions, including cinemas. This applies across the UK. Don't assume that it will reduce the cost of going to the pub or restaurant. It's more likely to be seen by businesses as a boost to their finances. They get to keep more of your bill. The point is not to entice people into eating or drinking by lowering prices, or at least that's not seen as the main problem: the challenge is the caution people feel about going out, and the lower capacity while social distancing remains in place. Eat out to help out This scheme is intended to entice people back into restaurants and pubs serving food, with the government paying half your bill, up to £10 per person, on a Monday to Wednesday. Restaurants have to register, and can claim back the funds, with the promise of funds in their bank accounts within five days of filing a claim. Furlough 'bonus' scheme The chancellor rejected calls to extend the furlough scheme beyond the end of October, saying it had to be wound down, and was bad for the economy to have people kept off work for any longer. But he sugared that bitter prospect with a commitment that could cost up to £9bn. For everyone furloughed, who remains in employment from November to January, subject to a minimum earnings level of £520 per month (about 90% of those furloughed), there will be a £1,000 bonus for employers. This scheme, like the current furlough scheme, applies to Scotland. Kickstart jobs for young people We already knew about the £2.1bn Kickstarter scheme to create more jobs for those under 25. The fund will subsidise six-month work placements for young people on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment. There are conditions to ensure the system is not gamed, so there has to be proof that these are new jobs. The measures that don't apply in Scotland UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak also announced a range of measures that do not apply directly in Scotland due to devolution. These will result in funds being available through the formula which calculates how much UK expenditure Scotland receives.

ब्रिटेन सरकार के चांसलर ऋषि सुनक ने कोरोनावायरस महामारी के मद्देनजर आर्थिक प्रभाव को कम करने के उद्देश्य से एक ग्रीष्मकालीन बयान मिनी-बजट घोषणा की है। कुछ उपाय सीधे स्कॉटलैंड को प्रभावित करते हैं जबकि अन्य के परिणामस्वरूप स्कॉटिश सरकार को अपनी पसंद के अनुसार वितरित करने के लिए लगभग 800 मिलियन पाउंड अधिक होंगे।


Aston factory unit fire 'deliberate' says fire service

Summary: A fire that broke out at a large derelict factory unit close to the scene of a similar blaze was "deliberate", the fire service said.

Residents reported seeing smoke coming from the building on Priory Road in Aston, Birmingham, at about 10:25 BST on Saturday, the fire service said. The building, which was derelict, was on the same road as another unit which caught fire in August. It is due to be demolished soon, West Midlands Fire Service said. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Aaron Adshead, crew manager at Aston fire station said: "We believe that the fire was started deliberately. "We extinguished the fire, made the building safe and handed over responsibility to the council. "They are to demolish it in the next few weeks."

अग्निशमन सेवा ने कहा कि इसी तरह की आग लगने के स्थान के पास एक बड़ी परित्यक्त फैक्ट्री इकाई में लगी आग "जानबूझकर" लगी थी।


Birmingham clean air charge: What you need to know

Summary: Drivers of high-polluting cars are set to pay £8 to travel into the centre of Birmingham from 1 June 2021 , after the city council announced the start date for the long-delayed Clean Air Zone. The proposals, approved by government in March 2019, are to bring in fees for older vehicles driving within the city's ring road that release high levels of toxic emissions.

It is part of a radical transport plan which could see all private cars banned from driving through the city centre by 2031. But how will it work and how will it affect you? The BBC looks at some of the key questions and answers. Will it affect me? Proposals put forward are a penalty for vehicles with high nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, so there wouldn't be a congestion charge with a blanket tariff on everyone going into the zone. Paying would only apply to non-compliant vehicles - diesels manufactured before 2015 and petrol cars made before 2006. The Department for Transport has now launched an online vehicle checker which will allow drivers to see if they will be affected by the change. How much will it cost and who is exempt? The proposed charges for high-polluting vehicles are £8 for cars and £50 for buses and HGVs driving in central Birmingham. However, there will be some exemptions. Charges will not be applied: There will be permanent exemptions for vans and minibuses registered to provide school and community transport and for vehicles with disabled tax class. How do I pay the clean air charge? Vehicles entering the area inside the ring road will be picked up by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, so there won't be any barriers or toll booths. For those who do incur charges, these will be payable online. And if you don't pay up, you could face a £120 fine under proposals. However, people will not pay for vehicles below the emissions standard if they are parked within the zone all day but are not turned on. Where would it apply? All roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road would fall into the clean air zone, but the circular route itself is not included. So, for example, that means drivers travelling on the M6 who leave at Spaghetti Junction would be charged if they go right through the city centre on the A38. The council believes the ring road is a sensible boundary which is clear to motorists and the clean air zone covers most of the worst pollution hotspots in the city. It is proposed the charge is in effect all day every day. Will there be any support for those set to be penalised by the charge? The council has secured £15m to help taxi drivers upgrade to newer, cleaner vehicles. Go-slow protests have happened in Birmingham from people in the trade who argue the clean air zone is a threat to their livelihood. Council transport and environment chief Waseem Zaffar said in March 2019 it would enable them "to continue providing their valuable service to the city". Why is the council doing this? Air pollution is widely regarded as a public health crisis in Birmingham that contributes to 900 premature deaths a year in the city. The Labour-run council has stated because of the ministerial direction it had received, it was "impossible" to introduce a zone without charges. It faces a fine of up to £60m if it fails to implement the zone in time. How many people is this likely to affect? Out of the 200,000 vehicles that pass through the city centre every day, about 60% do not comply with the required emission standards, studies have suggested. So what happens next? The government had demanded the zone was implemented by January 2020, but it will now come into effect in June 2021. It was delayed by issues with the government's vehicle-checking software and the economic impact of coronavirus.

उच्च प्रदूषणकारी कारों के चालक 1 जून 2021 से बर्मिंघम के केंद्र में यात्रा करने के लिए £8 का भुगतान करने के लिए तैयार हैं, जब नगर परिषद ने लंबे समय से विलंबित स्वच्छ वायु क्षेत्र के लिए शुरुआत की तारीख की घोषणा की। मार्च 2019 में सरकार द्वारा अनुमोदित प्रस्ताव, शहर के रिंग रोड के भीतर गाड़ी चलाने वाले पुराने वाहनों के लिए शुल्क लाने के लिए हैं जो उच्च स्तर के विषाक्त उत्सर्जन को जारी करते हैं।


Cornwall based helicopter sent to Sierra Leone in Ebola fight

Summary: Royal Navy helicopters from Culdrose in Cornwall have been sent to help fight Ebola in Sierra Leone.

The Merlin helicopter will airlift supplies to a community care centre that is not accessible by road. The 28-bed facility is in a mountainous area in Kumala for the care of Ebola patients including young children under five years old. Lt Roger Angliss said it was the first time they had been asked to complete a mission of this type. Sierra Leone is one of the countries worst affected by this year's Ebola outbreak, with more than 1,200 deaths.

सिएरा लियोन में इबोला से लड़ने में मदद के लिए कॉर्नवाल के कलड्रोज से रॉयल नेवी हेलीकॉप्टर भेजे गए हैं।


Gas reconnected to 120 homes in Sevenoaks area

Summary: Some of the 800 homes in West Kent which lost their gas supply after the pipe network became flooded with water have been reconnected.

The homes in the Halstead area of Sevenoaks were cut off at the weekend. A spokesman for Southern Gas Networks said 2,000 litres of water had now been extracted from the mains and 120 homes had been visited by engineers and reconnected. He added it could take several days before all homes were reconnected. Related Internet Links Southern Gas Networks

वेस्ट केंट के 800 घरों में से कुछ, जो पाइप नेटवर्क के पानी से भर जाने के बाद अपनी गैस आपूर्ति खो चुके हैं, उन्हें फिर से जोड़ा गया है।


Street lights cut for Fermanagh cash machine robbery

Summary: Six people have been arrested after an ATM inside a County Fermanagh shop was robbed of several thousand pounds.

Police believe the robbery took hours, with the perpetrators cutting street lighting and alarm wires in Trory before forcing entry to the shop. The burglary is believed to have occurred between 01:30 and 05:30 BST on Thursday. A woman and five men, aged between 22 and 51, were arrested in the Crossgar area of County Down on Thursday night.

काउंटी फरमानाघ की एक दुकान के अंदर एक एटीएम से कई हजार पाउंड लूटने के बाद छह लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।