Back to front: Loopallu the festival 'that shouldn't work'

Summary: Loopallu - Ullapool backwards - takes place in the village later this month. The music festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, will feature Utah Saints, Twin Atlantic, Shed Seven, The Undertones, Alabama 3 and Public Service Broadcasting among others. But Robert Hicks, the festival's founder and director, says it is an event that almost defies logic.

By Steven McKenzieBBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter The odds of Loopallu being a success are stacked against it, according Mr Hicks. It is held in autumn - placing it outside the traditional summer festival season - in a location on Scotland's north west Highland coast and with just 2,500 revellers on each of the two days it is held. "On paper, it is an event that should not work," says Mr Hicks, who lives in Ullapool. "But here we are 10 years on. "I think we now stand alongside Scotland's other festivals - T in the Park, the Wickerman, HebCelt and Belladrum," he adds. Hayseed Dixie, at the time enjoying a huge public profile, promoted and headlined the first Loopallu. The Tennessee-based group, which continues to tour in the UK and recently finished a new album, had previously played in the village hall at Ullapool. In the build up to Loopallu's debut, Hayseed Dixie plugged it at every opportunity including during an appearance on BBC Radio Two's Jeremy Vine show and from the main stage of Glastonbury. Mr Hicks drew his inspiration from Glasgow band Belle and Sebastians Camber Sands Weekender, where the band took over a holiday camp for the weekend Mr Hicks says: "The first festival was very much about Hayseed Dixie and Ullapool. "While they did not have a financial input in it, they promoted the festival throughout the UK in the build up to the first event, coupled with incredible support from Radio Two's Janice Long. The rest, as they say, is history." He adds: "The festival is held at the end of September to avoid clashing with the height of the summer tourist season. "Ironically it is now one of the biggest weeks in terms of income for the village. Many of those going to the festival start arriving on the Wednesday and stay until Sunday." About 30% of the revellers are from the Highlands, 50-60% from the rest of Scotland and the rest from other parts of the UK and abroad. In the past, an economic impact study showed the festival generated between £600,000 to £700,000 for the local economy. Mr Hicks adds: "Pretty much the same people have been involved in running Loopallu since the start. "We have people who down tools to come and run it. There is a joiner who becomes the site manager, another joiner who manages the bar." Tickets for this year's festival sold out before any of the acts were announced, a cause of delight but also concern for Mr Hicks. "It was incredible. It was the quickest ever we have sold out," he says. "On one hand I was really, really chuffed, on the other hand I was really nervous. I thought 'oh god who do they think we have got?'" Headline acts in previous years have included Franz Ferdinand, Paolo Nutini and Mumford and Sons. Mr Hick says: "People's expectations are high. "Fortunately, when we announced this year's line up it was again well received. I think we have built up a trust with our audience that we will deliver." Acts, as well as festival-goers, have also shown a willingness to come back year after year. They include Hunter and the Bear and, making their second appearance at Loopallu, Public Service Broadcasting. Mr Hicks says one of the biggest complements has been Mumford and Sons being inspired to set up their own mini festival, Gentlemen of the Road Stopover, following their appearance at Loopallu. "I'm flattered that we've had that little bit of influence on a global act," he says. Loopallu takes place on 26-27 September.

लूपल्लू-उल्लापूल बैकवर्ड-इस महीने के अंत में गाँव में आयोजित किया जाता है। संगीत समारोह, जो इस साल अपनी 10वीं वर्षगांठ मना रहा है, में यूटा सेंट्स, ट्विन अटलांटिक, शेड सेवन, द अंडरटोन्स, अलबामा 3 और पब्लिक सर्विस ब्रॉडकास्टिंग शामिल होंगे। लेकिन महोत्सव के संस्थापक और निदेशक रॉबर्ट हिक्स का कहना है कि यह एक ऐसा कार्यक्रम है जो लगभग तर्क की अवहेलना करता है।


Alderney seeks marina developer for Braye Harbour

Summary: The building of a 300-berth marina in Alderney could start as soon as spring 2011 if a developer is found.

The States of Alderney has started its search for a partner to design, build, finance and operate the new marina at Braye Harbour. It said it hoped the new facility would bring tourists to the island, while allowing current operations to continue and providing private moorings. The plan is to include the possibility of future ferries to and from the UK. Expressions of interest need to be put to the States before the end of August.

एल्डर्नी में 300-बर्थ मरीना का निर्माण वसंत 2011 के रूप में जल्द से जल्द शुरू हो सकता है यदि कोई डेवलपर पाया जाता है।


Inquiry into £150m Great Homer Street project starts

Summary: A public inquiry has begun to decide whether a £150m redevelopment project in north Liverpool can go ahead.

Plans for the regeneration of the Great Homer Street area, which developer St Modwen says could create up to 1,000 jobs, were first proposed in 2004. The inquiry follows objections to an application to the government by Liverpool City Council for compulsory purchase orders. A decision from the inquiry on Project Jennifer is expected in the autumn. The scheme includes 480 new homes, a supermarket, health centre, library, a new market and improvements to Everton Park. If approved work is set to start on the site next year.

यह तय करने के लिए एक सार्वजनिक जांच शुरू हो गई है कि क्या उत्तरी लिवरपूल में 150 मिलियन पाउंड की पुनर्विकास परियोजना आगे बढ़ सकती है।


Storm-hit Heart of Wales rail services restored

Summary: The Heart of Wales rail line has fully reopened a week after flooding damaged sections of tracks and trains, according to Transport for Wales.

The trackbed was washed away at Pontarddulais and Llandeilo when Storm Callum struck, said TfW. Friday was the first time in seven days that services could run fully along the Shrewsbury and Swansea line. So far this autumn, 21 of TfW's 127-strong fleet have been damaged by the weather, said bosses. Network Rail said it had replaced 300 tonnes of ballast along the line at Llandeilo alone. Commuters have been critical of issues across the wider rail network since TfW's takeover of the £5bn rail franchise in Wales on Monday. First Minister Carwyn Jones has warned improvements "won't happen overnight".

ट्रांसपोर्ट फॉर वेल्स के अनुसार, पटरियों और ट्रेनों के क्षतिग्रस्त हिस्सों में बाढ़ आने के बाद हार्ट ऑफ वेल्स रेल लाइन पूरी तरह से एक सप्ताह के लिए फिर से खोल दी गई है।


Dizzee heads home to headline festival

Summary: Dizzee Rascal is to return home to headline the first night of the Lovebox festival 2010.

The Bonkers rapper, from Bow, east London will take to the stage with support from Chase N Status on 16 July. Held at London's Victoria Park, next year's festival has been extended to 3 days, with tickets on sale now. Speaking about the gig Dizzee Rascal said: "I'm really looking forward to headlining such a wicked event in the area where I grew up."

डिज़ी रास्कल को लवबॉक्स उत्सव 2010 की पहली रात को सुर्खियों में लाने के लिए घर लौटना है।


Why do the police use helicopters?

Summary: The helicopter crash in Glasgow that killed nine people has shone a spotlight on the police's use of helicopters, considered an "essential tool" by officers on the front line. So how exactly do they help?

Helicopters are used for all sorts of reasons in the UK - from shooting films to transporting severely injured patients. In a typical year, all of the registered helicopters in the UK fly a combined total of about 270,000 hours, according to the aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In particular, they have become an important part of the emergency services' kit, with 30 police helicopters and 36 air ambulances in operation in the UK. And a police air service is available to 98% of the population of England and Wales within 20 minutes, the National Police Air Service (NPAS) says. Issues with cost Police forces usually turn to helicopters when there is no other alternative as they are expensive to operate, says David Learmount, from the aviation news website Flight Global. But sometimes there is nothing else that can do the job, he insists. "You cannot get away from a police helicopter. There is nothing like it for surveillance." And helicopter pilot Richard Banham, who was trained by the British Army, says "helicopters' versatility really comes to the fore with the police". As with the Police Scotland aircraft that crashed, the Metropolitan Police in London uses a three-man crew of a pilot and two police officers for its flights. The Met's three helicopters are most commonly used to help officers on the ground search for suspects who are hiding, using thermal imagining equipment and a spotlight - according to its website. And sometimes police officers on board take photographs - normally by leaning out of a door attached to a harness - to assist in the planning of operations and for use in court. Helicopters are also useful during vehicle pursuits. By hovering above a chase and filming the scene below, the police's lead pursuit car is able to pull back from a suspect, helping to prevent any potential collisions, the Met says. Technology is another important factor. Like other forces, Essex Police's helicopter has an automatic number plate recognition system that can read number plates and indicate any crimes associated with the vehicle. Elsewhere, the aircraft can also help police to find missing people. Dyfed-Powys police force says it can take 12 police officers 454 hours to search one square mile, at a cost of £4,500. But it says a police helicopter can do the same job in 12 minutes at a cost of just £160. Despite this benefit, cost remains a big consideration. The NPAS replaced localised police helicopter operations in England and Wales in 2012 in an attempt to cut the costs of running the air service from £63m a year to £48m a year, closing seven bases operating aircraft across county borders from 23 locations. Despite the closures, Brian Greenslade of the Association of Police Authorities told the BBC air support remained an "essential tool" in the fight against crime. Helicopter safety A 2011 Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Grimsby Telegraph shows it cost Humberside Police £1,600 per hour to operate its helicopter, prior to the NPAS forming. And a 2010 FOI request suggests North Wales Police's helicopter cost a total of £1.7m to run over the course of a year. The Met Police says its current annual budget to run its air support unit, including the maintenance of its three helicopters and staffing costs, is £7m. In an effort to show what the helicopters are being used for, some air support units tweet what they are doing on a daily basis. A recent tweet from the Met's team reveals it generally deals with 8,000 tasks per year, making it the country's busiest air support unit. Safety is a high priority. Pilots who fly for the police are required to be very experienced and they are tested every six months. "Helicopters have saved far more lives than they have ever taken," says pilot Richard Banham. The crash in Glasgow is the only accident of any kind involving a police helicopter during the last decade, according to CAA figures. Aviation expert David Learmount says it was only the second crash in a British city since aviation began. The first, he says, was a crash in Vauxhall, London, earlier this year when a helicopter hit a crane, killing the pilot and a pedestrian. Between 2003 and 2012 there were an average of nine fatal accidents for every million hours flown, according to the CAA. That figure is 13.2 so far for 2013. Mr Learmount adds that while helicopters do have a worse safety record than planes, it is unfair to compare them because they are doing such completely different jobs. There was a total of 201 accidents involving helicopters of all types between 2003 and 2013 - some 49% of which involved aircraft that were classed as being flown for pleasure. Commercial air transport accounted for some 17% of all the accidents in the same period. It is not helicopters that are dangerous but rather the jobs that they do, insists Mr Learmount. Correction 4 December 2013: The Civil Aviation Authority has amended the figure it supplied for total helicopter flights from 27,000 hours a year to 270,000.

ग्लासगो में हेलीकॉप्टर दुर्घटना, जिसमें नौ लोगों की मौत हो गई थी, ने पुलिस द्वारा हेलीकॉप्टरों के उपयोग पर प्रकाश डाला है, जिसे अग्रिम पंक्ति के अधिकारियों द्वारा एक "आवश्यक उपकरण" माना जाता है। तो वे वास्तव में कैसे मदद करते हैं?


BP heads for Russian exit

Summary: I said on Tuesday that BP was playing a game of chicken with the Russian billionaires who co-own TNK-BP . What is slightly unclear this morning is whether BP has blinked or put its put foot down harder on the accelerator.

Robert PestonEconomics editor BP has had years of difficult and fractious relations with the troika of billionaires, who work through the AAR consortium. Following the almost total collapse of normal working relations with them, BP's board has decided to try and sell its 50% stake in TNK-BP, following receipt of what it calls "unsolicited indications of interest". I understand that one of these approaches is from an unnamed Russian state business, which might offer cash and shares for the TNK-BP stake. The Russian billionaires, led by Mikhail Fridman, have also suggested to BP they would perhaps be prepared to buy the British company's stake. Slightly confusingly, BP also sees the billionaires as potential sellers to BP of all or part of their shares in TNK-BP, although not on terms that BP's board regard as acceptable. TNK-BP is thought to be worth around $50bn. Strikingly that is less than the $64bn valuation put on it last year by BP - which may cause concern to some BP investors. But a year ago, the oil price was 25% higher, BP-TNK contained more cash, and there was the possibility of more value being extracted from it via a possible related deal with another Russian energy giant, Rosneft (at that time BP would have bought the billionaires' stake and then sold it to Rosneft). If BP now succeed in selling its TNK-BP shares - and we probably won't know that til the last three months of the year - it would probably receive $25bn, including a stake in another Russian energy business. But that is an if - given that BP's Russian billionaire partners have a history of throwing large and disruptive spanners into BP's works.

मैंने मंगलवार को कहा कि बी. पी. रूसी अरबपतियों के साथ चिकन का खेल खेल रहा था जो टी. एन. के.-बी. पी. के सह-मालिक हैं। आज सुबह जो थोड़ा स्पष्ट नहीं है वह यह है कि बी. पी. ने पलक झपकाई है या त्वरक पर अपना पैर रखा है।


Babcock and Fluor venture preferred bidder for nuclear deal

Summary: A joint venture between engineering contractors Babcock and US firm Fluor has been named as the preferred bidder for a contract to manage the decommissioning of UK nuclear sites.

The 14-year contract, worth £7bn, covers 12 nuclear power sites. Cavendish Fluor Partnership was chosen by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which said the project should save the UK at least £1bn. Hinkley, Sizewell and Dungeness will be decommissioned under the contract. NDA chief executive John Clarke said the joint venture was chosen for its "successful track record and extensive nuclear experience". The contract is one of the most valuable in the UK, and the bidding process took two years. Cavendish Fluor Partnership beat competition from three other groups. Babcock chief executive Peter Rogers said the decision reflected its "ability to successfully deliver complex projects of national significance in very demanding environments". Babcock's shares surged sharply after the announcement, rising over 5%.

इंजीनियरिंग ठेकेदार बैबकॉक और अमेरिकी फर्म फ्लोर के बीच एक संयुक्त उद्यम को ब्रिटेन के परमाणु स्थलों के विघटन के प्रबंधन के अनुबंध के लिए पसंदीदा बोलीदाता के रूप में नामित किया गया है।


The murky allure of the Loch Ness monster

Summary: A scientist has spent four painstaking decades studying the loch best known for the creature affectionately known as "Nessie". Why does this mythical monster hold such fascination for so many people, ask Chloe Hadjimatheou and Vanessa Barford.

Adrian Shine has patrolled lakes by day and night. He's taken countless photos, and he's used all the latest technological advances in sonar to uncover the mystery behind Loch Ness monster. Twenty-five years ago this week, he led what was at the time considered the most extensive search of Loch Ness - a £1m exploration called Operation Deepscan. The week-long project consisted of a flotilla of 24 boats, equipped with high-tech sonars, which trawled the 22.5-mile (36km) long, 738ft (227m) deep lake in the Scottish Highlands for two days. Shine may have gone to unusual lengths in his hunt for the Loch Ness monster, but he is far from alone in falling under its spell. Willie Cameron, an expert on the Highland tourism market, says about one million people visit Loch Ness and the surrounding area every year, with the value to the economy worth about £25m. And he says more than 85% of them are attracted by the phenomenon of the Loch Ness monster. "Loch Ness has become a brand as big as Elvis Presley, Madonna and Coca-Cola - but by default rather than design," he says. So when did the Loch Ness monster gain such mythical status, and what is the fascination with finding it? Jonathan Downes, director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, says the legend of the monster dates back to the 6th Century, but it was not until the 1930s that it really took off. Since then there has been a flurry of sightings, with more than a thousand people insisting they have seen creatures in Loch Ness. Most descriptions of encounters lend themselves to either the theory of a multi-humped sea serpent or the plesiosaur, a long necked dinosaur from the early Jurassic period. "People like to think of it as a giant prehistoric reptile living in a lake, but it can't be, that's nonsense. "But it's a lovely notion. I think people find the idea of a 21st century monster, a prehistoric survivor, irresistibly romantic," says Downes. Downes says the odd thing about the Loch Ness monster is that although it is "the most iconic mystery creature", it is actually the one with the least amount of evidence of its existence. So-called physical evidence has turned out to be hoaxes, he says. "Footprints turned out to have been made by a stuffed hippo or stuffed elephant, and a 'monster body' that washed up in 1972 turned out to be a dead elephant seal," says Downes. So most of the legend around what lies in Loch Ness comes from stories and sightings. And Shine has first-hand experience of how unreliable they can be. He says shortly after he arrived in Loch Ness in the 1970s, he rowed out on a nearby lake, Loch Morar, which has its own history of monster sightings, hoping to spot something. "Suddenly there it was - the classic profile of a large hump and then I saw a half-submerged head which seemed to be moving," he says. He excitedly began snapping pictures but soon realised that it was nothing more than a strange-shaped rock sticking out of the water. "That was when I realised that if I couldn't trust my own eyes I shouldn't necessarily trust anybody else's," he says. Nevertheless, Shine says it is hard to dismiss "the honesty and volume" of eyewitness testimony of the Loch Ness monster. Lots of locals, too, believe there is something lurking in the loch, according to Cameron. "I know four people who very genuinely believe they have seen a creature, but they would not speak about it publicly for fear of ridicule. "My late father saw something unexplainable on 15 June 1965. Nine other people saw it at the same time - and it had a power source because it went against the wind. He said describing it would be like trying to describe a tomato to a blind man." Operation Deepscan picked up three large unexplained sonar "contacts". They appeared on the scanners as crescent shaped marks - which some people believed were too big and too deep to be any creature known to inhabit the Loch. However, others say the "contacts" could have been a seal or a group of salmon. But Shine, who now runs the Loch Ness & Morar Project and is still hoping to find out what is behind the mystery, says the beauty of the monster myth is that no one can disprove it, short of draining the loch. Although he doesn't believe that Scotland's most famous and reclusive resident is a dinosaur, his own theory is that it is a "Jurassic creature" of sorts. "I think it could be the occasional navigationally challenged Atlantic Sturgeon," he says, with a mischievous smile. Known to grow to over 4m long, the fish, which has reptilian scaled plates along its back and a long pointed face with tusk-like barbells hanging from its jaws, is not indigenous to Scotland. It could conceivably make its way up River Ness and into the loch in the search for new breeding grounds. "It could very easily have swum into the loch, been spotted and left again leaving nothing behind save an enigma," he says. Of course theories are part of the appeal for many intrigued by tales of the Loss Ness monster. Downes says the only theory that makes sense to him is that a "gene of gigantism" might have created an eel that was bigger than normal. Cameron, on the other hand, says the sightings could be a number of things, including a large, nocturnal invertebrate, or a large seal, shark or dolphin that has come in from the sea. But Shine says even if he does manage to prove his theory about the sturgeon, he is under no illusion that it will bring an end to the mystery of Nessie. "If Operation Deepscan proved one thing, it is that you can't kill a legend with science," he says. Cameron concurs: "This fascination with the Loch Ness monster is now part of the public psyche. Everybody loves a mystery."

एक वैज्ञानिक ने लोच का अध्ययन करने में चार श्रमसाध्य दशक बिताए हैं जो उस प्राणी के लिए जाना जाता है जिसे प्यार से "नेसी" के नाम से जाना जाता है। यह पौराणिक राक्षस इतने सारे लोगों के लिए इतना आकर्षण क्यों रखता है, क्लो हदजीमाथ्यू और वैनेसा बारफोर्ड से पूछें।


Zulu - the film which inspired UK and South Africa

Summary: At the foot of a steep hillside lined with dry grass and littered with grey-brown boulders, Alistair Lamont was trying his best to imitate the sound of 4,000 Zulu warriors approaching over the ridge.

Andrew HardingAfrica correspondent@BBCAndrewHon Twitter "Mzeeeeee," said Mr Lamont, in a gruff baritone, before confidently declaring that "was the sound that Michael Caine heard". History and cinema have a habit of getting mixed up here at Rorke's Drift - a small village deep in the spectacular hills and gullies of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. Historians may be right in asserting that 22 January 1879 was the date that put Rorke's Drift on the map. But how many of us would have remembered the ferocious battle that took place that afternoon, and the long night that followed, had it not been for Zulu - the vivid 1964 film that starred a young Michael Caine and is now celebrating its 50th anniversary? "It's a film about men behaving bravely," said Mr Lamont - a local tour guide - who acknowledged that most tourists who made the long trek here were drawn by a movie that "captures the sounds and the spirit this battle was fought in - with the bravery of men on both the British and Zulu sides. "Indeed an unmatched 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded to some of the successful defenders of the small outpost," added Mr Lamont. "I've seen the film a few times. My dad's obsessed with it," said a visiting British tourist, Paul Holcroft, last week. "It's the fact that so few British soldiers held off such a large number [of Zulus] - 139 against 4,000," he said. Tens of thousands of people - many from Britain - visit both Rorke's Drift and the nearby (and militarily far more important) battlefield of Isandlwana each year, to be guided through the history of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu war by Mr Lamont and his colleagues. The Anglo-Zulu war Royal film star The experience was pioneered by South African historian David Rattray, who was murdered during a robbery at his nearby home in 2007, and whose charitable trust now stands to benefit, along with Prince Harry's Sentabale charity and Walking with the Wounded, from the re-release of Zulu. The film - digitally re-mastered - is having an anniversary premiere screening in London this Tuesday. "Michael Caine was a very shy young man. Not as outgoing as he probably is today," chuckled Mangosuthu Buthelezi, 85, watching Zulu on a laptop in Durban and reminiscing about his own unexpected role in the film. Mr Buthelezi said the film's producers had come to visit him in 1963 to discuss hiring extras, but had suddenly offered him a role, playing his own great-grandfather, the Zulu King Cetshwayo - a key figure in the war. "There was some hesitancy on my part. I didn't know if it would have political implications," he said. But although the film was shot on location in the nearby Drakensberg mountain range at the height of racial apartheid, the set itself was "an oasis". "In a sense we forgot we were in this country at the time. Whites and blacks could mingle without any fuss. You might say it was a very small thing but for this country, which was so racist at the time, it was something of great significance for us," said Mr Buthelezi. "The film helped restore to pride about where we come from - about how our people resisted the mightiest army in the world at the time, even though we were poorly equipped with cow-hide shields and spears," he said. That sense of pride is echoed by Mondli Makanya - a South African journalist, a Zulu, and a board member of the David Rattray Foundation. "I saw the film as a child. It was the time of Rambo," he said, remembering the thrill of watching black South Africans on screen in Zulu during the apartheid era. "On that film you actually saw people who looked like you being triumphant. That's my memory of that movie - seeing heroes who looked and behaved like me," said Mr Makanya. But he acknowledged that the film is little known in South African these days. "It would be a great thing right now to have some screenings here… because it's about a great South African moment - a moment everyone is still very attached to, and so for it to have more currency in the United Kingdom than in South Africa is a great tragedy," he said.

सूखी घास से पंक्तिबद्ध और भूरे-भूरे रंग के पत्थरों से भरे एक खड़ी पहाड़ी के तल पर, एलिस्टेयर लैमोंट 4,000 ज़ुलु योद्धाओं की आवाज़ की नकल करने की पूरी कोशिश कर रहे थे जो रिज के ऊपर से आ रहे थे।


Newspaper headlines: 'Virus battle won by spring' as mass tests piloted

Summary: Several papers lead with the news that up to half a million people in Liverpool are to be tested for Covid-19 in the government's first attempt at city-wide mass testing, aimed at tracking down every case of the virus.

By BBC NewsStaff The Guardian says a variety of test types and the logistical skills of the Army will help to establish whether mass population screening is feasible across other regions of England. According to the Daily Telegraph, the plan would offer a "route out of lockdown". It says 80% of those with Covid are asymptomatic and therefore spreading the virus silently - but experts believe weekly tests could halve the reproduction rate by quickly ensuring infected people isolate, while others resume their activities. The i agrees that identifying people with the virus rapidly should break the chain of transmission. It reckons that if the pilot scheme in Liverpool is successful, the test offering a result within 15 minutes could be rolled out across England before Christmas. According to the Independent, leaked NHS data has revealed that the number of patients admitted to hospitals in England with Covid has jumped by more than 60% in just 10 days. The number needing a ventilator is said to have increased by more than a half as hospitals across the North and the Midlands report higher levels of the disease than in the spring. The medical director of Liverpool University Hospitals Trust is said to have warned colleagues that services are now running at 100% capacity. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's efforts in the Commons to quell the anger felt by many Conservative MPs about England's new lockdown are given short shrift by many of the papers which - in normal times - he might expect to support him. The Daily Mail accuses the prime minister of "duping the public" by "cherry-picking only the most blood-curdling statistics" to regulate "who we hug, whether we visit our parents, and where we eat and drink". The Daily Telegraph and the Sun both ask why children are to be banned from playing sport outdoors - something they will be allowed to do at school. There's some comfort for Mr Johnson in the Daily Express, though. Faced with the spectre of an overwhelmed NHS, it says he's decided there's no alternative to a second lockdown. It adds that his hope that the virus can be defeated by the spring should be taken in good faith. In Austria, there's shock that Vienna has been targeted in what's being treated as a co-ordinated terror attack. Wiener Zeitung and Kronen Zeitung both speak of the multiple shootings "shaking" the capital. They quote the interior minister, Karl Nehammer, saying: "This is the hardest day for Austria in many years." One witness tells Kurier that a gunman entered a bar and opened fire on people gathered in the middle of it. Oesterreich quotes a local rabbi saying people fled in panic into another bar pursued by at least one gunman, and the shooting continued. For Die Presse, Vienna was never immune from an attack like those in Paris, London and Berlin. Like those, it says, the aim appears to have been to kill as many people as possible; the shooting was wild and indiscriminate. Sign up for a morning briefing direct to your inbox On election day in the United States, the New York Times says the nation is watching anxiously as the presidential race comes to a "furious" end. As President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden barnstormed their way through battleground states, it says much of the country felt on edge, as if the often predicted "most important election of a lifetime" had finally arrived. Businesses were boarding up their windows in case of civil unrest and some governors were readying the National Guard, it says. With both sides gearing up for legal battles over the results, the Wall Street Journal says many states are "steeling themselves for a drawn-out vote-counting process". USA Today reports that most of the final opinion polls point to the race tightening, both nationally and in battleground states. The Daily Telegraph speaks of the US being "braced for delay and violence". According to the Sun, armed militia are standing by to take to the streets with assault rifles if there are signs of voting fraud affecting the result, as President Trump has suggested. The Guardian says Americans are bracing for an election day unlike any other, shadowed by threats of manipulation and violence, "stoking fears that democracy itself is at stake". The Financial Times suggests there could be "days or even weeks of uncertainty" about the final outcome result. And so, it says, even more than in recent elections, all eyes will be on the early results from Florida, the second largest battleground state. Back in the UK, the Sun reports that the £200m polar explorer ship, RSS Sir David Attenborough, was unable to leave port in Liverpool - because of a bit of a breeze. The vessel was built to withstand extreme conditions in Antarctica and the Arctic. But unsuitable weather in Merseyside meant a planned trip to Holyhead was called off. The Sun's headline: "Boaty McBoat Farce!" Speculation about the future of actor Johnny Depp features widely after the actor lost his High Court libel battle with the Sun newspaper over an article that called him a "wife beater", claiming he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard. The judge found 12 of 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred. The Sun says the judgement "leaves his reputation in tatters" and his screen career "facing ruin". The Times reports that campaigners against domestic violence are urging Hollywood studios not to offer the star further roles. It notes that Johnny Depp is due to appear in the third instalment of JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts franchise - but that the writer, who has herself said she's been the victim of domestic abuse, has yet to comment. The Daily Mirror tells the story of a man who has walked the 84-mile length of Hadrian's Wall, dressed only in a pair of skimpy swimming trunks and a Roman helmet, to raise money for charity. John Myatt traipsed from Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway in just four days, in near zero temperatures and torrential rain.

कई समाचार पत्र इस खबर के साथ आगे बढ़ते हैं कि लिवरपूल में आधे मिलियन लोगों का कोविड-19 के लिए परीक्षण किया जाना है, सरकार के शहर-व्यापी सामूहिक परीक्षण के पहले प्रयास में, जिसका उद्देश्य वायरस के हर मामले का पता लगाना है।


Jermaine Baker shooting: CPS urged to review non-charge decision

Summary: The family of a man killed during a botched attempt to free a prisoner has asked prosecutors to review a decision not to charge the officer who shot him.

Jermaine Baker was killed in London by an armed officer in December 2015. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) previously announced the officer would not be charged as there was "not a realistic prospect of conviction". But the CPS told the BBC it had received a Victims' Right to Review (VRR) application from the family. The 28 year old, from Tottenham, was with two other men in a car near Wood Green Crown Court. They had intended to help spring an inmate from a prison van but firearms officers were deployed to foil the plan and Mr Baker, who was unarmed, was shot. The VRR scheme allows bereaved relatives or partners in homicide cases to request a review of a decision not to charge. The CPS said it was considering the application.

एक कैदी को रिहा करने के असफल प्रयास के दौरान मारे गए एक व्यक्ति के परिवार ने अभियोजकों से उसे गोली मारने वाले अधिकारी पर आरोप नहीं लगाने के फैसले की समीक्षा करने के लिए कहा है।


Transformer fault blamed for Guernsey power cut

Summary: A faulty transformer at Kings Mills in Guernsey has been blamed for a power cut on Friday night.

The power cut affected large parts of the south and west of the island for about 90 minutes. Guernsey Electricity said about 5,000 customers were affected and has offered its apologies for the inconvenience. A spokesperson for the company said engineers had been able to restore power to all the affected areas by about 2300 BST.

गुएर्नसे में किंग्स मिल्स में एक दोषपूर्ण ट्रांसफॉर्मर को शुक्रवार रात बिजली कटौती के लिए दोषी ठहराया गया है।


Why this man became a hermit at 20

Summary: Many people don't like being alone. They feel lonely. For others, though, it can be a source of ecstasy. The BBC's Shabnam Grewal spoke to a hermit on the Scottish moors, and learned about an American who turned his back on the world when barely out of his teens.

In 1986, 20-year-old Christopher Knight drove into a forest in rural Maine. He abandoned his car, and taking just some very basic camping supplies, simply walked into the woods. He didn't come out again for 27 years. After getting deliberately lost, Knight eventually found the site that would become his home, a small clearing in the densely wooded area surrounding a lake called North Pond. He stretched some tarpaulin between trees, put up his small nylon tent, and settled down. He was completely hidden, despite being only a few minutes' walk from one of the hundreds of summer cabins that dotted the area. Knight survived by breaking into these cabins and a community centre and stealing supplies. He only took what he needed - food, cooking fuel, clothes, boots, batteries for torches and a lot of books. He tried to cause as little damage as possible, but the sheer number of break-ins - more than 1,000 over the years, caused a lot of anxiety for some of the cabin owners. Eventually the police set a trap and caught him red-handed. The writer Mike Finkel visited Knight in prison when writing his book, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit. He asked him the obvious question, "Why?" Why had he turned his back on the world and gone off to live completely alone? "Chris Knight said he felt very uncomfortable being around other people. Now I had thought at first that there might have been a specific triggering action. 'Did you commit a crime? Was there something you were embarrassed about? Was there a specific action?' And he insisted that there was nothing like that at all. He said the tug to be alone was like this gravitational force, all his body was saying that he just felt more comfortable by himself." This tug was so strong that he chose to spend nearly three decades without speaking to a single person. Well, almost. He did speak to one person - he said "Hi" to a hiker who stumbled upon him one day. Find out more Click here to listen to Why do some people become hermits? on The Why Factor, on the BBC World Service Or get the Why Factor podcast Despite the bitter Maine winters, when temperatures can plummet to -20C, Knight says he never lit a fire, in case the smoke attracted attention. "There are many aspects of the story of Christopher Knight that boggle the mind," says Finkel. "If you went one night in the woods of Maine in winter, camping in a thin-walled nylon tent, and didn't light a fire, I'd be pretty impressed. If you did it for a week I'd be amazed, and a month would be beyond belief. And this guy did it for 27 entire winters." Knight told Finkel that he would instead go to sleep early, around 7pm, and set an alarm for 3am, the coldest time of the night. Then he would get up and walk around till morning, to stay warm. Finkel then asked him what he did to occupy his time. "For a little bit of the time he read some books, did the crossword... but really that did not occupy the majority of his time. What he did was what you and I might call 'nothing'." If the idea of sitting alone, for half an hour, with nothing to do - think of being stuck, alone, in a lift, while your phone is sitting on your desk - is a little terrifying, then try imagining what it would be like confining yourself to a little clearing in the woods, for days, weeks, months, years… "When I asked Chris Knight to explain this nothingness, he had some pretty interesting things to say," Finkel says. "First he was never for a moment, in all 27 years, bored. He was never lonely. He said that he felt almost the opposite of that. He said he felt utterly and intricately connected to everything else in the world. It was difficult for him to tell where his body ended, and the woods began. He said he felt this utter communion with nature and with the outside world." It sounds like a mystical experience, but one brought on not by psychedelic drugs, but by solitude. Christopher Knight spent seven months in prison for his thefts, and has chosen not to speak to any journalist other than Mike Finkel. But I have lots more questions so I Google hermits and find one happy to chat. Sara Maitland lives in solitude in Scotland in a simple and beautiful house she built herself. From her front door you can see for miles and miles, across empty windswept moorland. She is a Christian, but unlike official Christian hermits (which still exist) she isn't supervised by the local bishop. She says many people think being a hermit is selfish. "If I say I want to sail a small boat all the way around the world and it will take me two years, everyone says, 'Oh how exciting!' If I say I want to go and sit in my house and not talk to anyone for two years, they say 'Have you got mental health issues?' or 'Why are you so selfish?'" She adds, sarcastically: "I joke that wanting to be solitary is bad, sad and mad. It's immoral because it's selfish. It's sad because it'll make you miserable and it's mad because you must be a nutcase." So how does she answer the question why she does it? What does she get out of spending long periods of time all by herself and in silence? The answer, she says, is "ecstasy". "Silence is a place in which I can find ecstasy. I only get it in silence and most people I know only get it in silence. It is just a fabulous feeling. You know, you're walking along and quite suddenly you just say, 'Yes!' It's an extraordinarily intense response. Totally joyful." Although she doesn't think it's only available to the religious, for her, this ecstasy is a connection with God. "I'm trying to position myself so the gift of mystical prayer is available to me, because actually the presence of God is a terrifically nice experience. I think it's heaven! Literally. I think that is what it will be like in heaven, that extraordinary sense of fulfilled intimacy - that feeling that one desires from sex, which is of both being completely yourself and completely with another person, is I think, what prayer does for me. It's a very particular form of intimate conversation with another, and it just so happens the other is God." Maitland says you need to be alone for a certain amount of time before you start to get this feeling, but sometimes other things happen too when you are all alone. In A Book Of Silence she writes about her experiences of solitude, and those of others. She lists the different, but very common experiences of people who spend long periods alone. They include losing your inhibitions, and becoming who you truly are when you're not being polite or trying to please others. This might mean picking your nose a lot, singing loudly or forgetting to get dressed. Or something she calls "sensory intensification", which for Maitland included her sense of taste becoming very acute. "Food just tasted fabulous. But it wasn't it tasted particularly fabulous in any mysterious sense it just tasted MORE. So porridge tasted of PORRIDGE. But it also affected things like how strongly you experience physical things, like baths. Baths were fabulous - they weren't just some warm water, they became a completely luxurious experience. When you got cold, you got incredibly incredibly cold, or incredibly wet and just FELT it." And then she began to hear things. In fact auditory hallucinations are a common experience for hermits, and she heard the sound of a huge choir, singing in Latin, coming from a small room in the small house she was living in. Maitland enjoyed most of these and other effects of solitude, but only because she had chosen to be there. She thinks someone held against their will, in solitary confinement might, instead of a wonderful choir, hear nasty voices telling them to hurt themselves. Or their sensory intensification might mean the sound of a toilet flushing, becomes painfully loud and intense. In fact, one UN special rapporteur on torture called for solitary confinement to be banned. But even in everyday life, being alone can feel really hard. Maitland notes that people often encounter silence for the first time after a loved-one dies, or when a relationship breaks down. She thinks it would be better if people learned in childhood to experience solitude as something positive. "I say never ever use 'Go to your room on your own' as a punishment. You [can] use it as a reward. 'Darling you've been so good all day. You've been so helpful. Why don't you go to your room for half an hour now and be on your own.'" For Christopher Knight, the hermit from Maine, the solitude and silence were the reward. He wanted to live out his life in that small place in the woods, to die there among the trees, leaving nothing behind. "In this age of Facebook and social media, this is a person who literally wanted nothing known," says Mike Finkel. "He never had a camera. He never kept a journal. Nothing. He wanted to live completely unknown, and came close to succeeding." You may also be interested in: It's becoming normal for grown-up children to spend years at home even after starting work, because of the mismatch between salaries and rents. Sue Elliott-Nicholls and her son, Morgan Elliott, agree that it can be a nightmare. Here's Sue's story with interjections from Morgan. Housemates from hell: Me and my 23-year-old son

बहुत से लोग अकेले रहना पसंद नहीं करते हैं। वे अकेला महसूस करते हैं। दूसरों के लिए, हालांकि, यह परमानंद का स्रोत हो सकता है। बीबीसी की शबनम ग्रेवाल ने स्कॉटिश मूर्स पर एक साधु से बात की, और एक अमेरिकी के बारे में सीखा जिसने दुनिया से मुंह मोड़ लिया जब वह मुश्किल से अपनी किशोरावस्था से बाहर था।


Breckland stone curlew 'winning 30-year survival fight'

Summary: A bird that was on the road to extinction in its native habitat in the Brecklands of Norfolk and Suffolk is thriving after 30 years of care.

Farmers, conservationists and the RSPB have worked together to preserve the breeding habitat in fields that has helped the stone curlew survive. The birds, which winter in Africa, return to Breckland farms in April. Fields have been specially ploughed for birds to get at worms and insects while plants that attract them line edges. Those involved in the conservation programme met in Thetford on Friday to celebrate and welcome the arrival back of the birds. Breeding pair numbers have almost trebled and the RSPB has described the project as pioneering. Stone curlew Source: RSPB

एक पक्षी जो नॉरफ़ॉक और सफ़ोक के ब्रेकलैंड्स में अपने मूल निवास स्थान में विलुप्त होने की राह पर था, 30 साल की देखभाल के बाद फल-फूल रहा है।


Five interpretations of The Lorax

Summary: It's more than 40 years since Dr Seuss first published The Lorax, his classic tale of needless consumerism and environmental ruin. But as a new film version is released in the US, what is the book really all about?

By Daniel Nasaw and Kate DaileyBBC News Magazine, Washington As schoolchildren across the world can attest, The Lorax is the story of an ambitious businessman, a Once-ler, who reaps an entire forest of Truffula Trees to render their soft tufts into luxurious thneeds. The Lorax, who speaks for the trees, warns of the dire consequences of such environmental mismanagement - but his message goes unheeded until it's too late. On Friday, the same day the book's author would have turned 108, the orange, moustachioed environmental activist know as the Lorax made his big-screen debut in a 3D animated film by Universal Studios. It's been a long and circuitous road for the book, which like most of Seuss's books, found its origin in his personal experience. But just what is the Lorax about? Over the past 40 years, the book has meant different things at different times. 1. An environmental warning The Lorax was published in 1971, just as the environmental movement began to take hold (the first Earth Day was held in New York the year before). It is set in a dark, murky post-apocalyptic landscape, destroyed by the Once-ler's exploitation of the natural world. The consequence of excessive industrialisation is clear. But it ends with a glimmer of hope, as a single Truffula seed is left behind. The book went on to sell more than 200 million copies, and is widely used as a teaching aid for children's classes on environmentalism. Several university groups devoted to conservation have named themselves "The Lorax". Though most of the Seuss archives are housed at the University of California, San Diego, the Lorax drawings are found in Austin, at the presidential library of Lyndon B Johnson. Johnson, president from 1963 to 1969, and his wife were staunch environmentalists. She was known for her highway beautification projects; he protected nine million acres of federal land. When he heard that the book was under way, he called Seuss - unprompted - to thank him in advance for donating the original artwork to the Johnson archive. 2. A critique of capitalism Seuss isn't only concerned with the environment. He also implies the Once-ler relies on an aggressive, saturating advertising campaign to promote the thneeds, shapeless garments of dubious utility. "The Lorax was a brilliant description of capitalism as we know it," says Peter Barnes, a San Francisco businessman and author of Capitalism 3.0. "If you look at all the advertising, all the crap that our economy churns out, most of it is thneeds, it's not stuff we actually need. It's stuff we're made to think we need." Barnes says that while Seuss doesn't prescribe a remedy, his warning in The Lorax is clear. "Implicit there, is that unless we do something about that, there ain't going to be any trees, birds or fish left." 3. A personal crusade Seuss's studio in San Diego overlooked the Pacific and the view was framed by beautiful eucalyptus trees, says Steve Brezzo, a friend, neighbour and former art world colleague. When developers sought permission to fell them to build residential property, Seuss launched a campaign in opposition. "In his typical Seussian fashion, he began to develop this whole fantastic scenario about saving the trees," says Mr Brezzo. Seuss won, and the trees were preserved. The same cannot be said for the Lorax, who failed to overcome corporate greed. "Business is business! And business must grow, regardless of crummies in tummies, you know." 4. Propaganda Pro-business groups, including loggers, attacked it as environmental propaganda and the book was even banned in some schools and libraries. Recently, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs warned that the film adaptation of The Lorax was indoctrinating children against big industry. He said it was "demonising the 1% and espousing the virtue of green energy policy". The logging industry responded with its own book, The Truax, about responsible forest management. 5. Marketing for SUVs Universal Studios, which produced the new Lorax movie, has created marketing tie-ins with dozens of green products, according to the Associated Press, with the Lorax hawking everything from eco-friendly vacations to fuel-efficient SUVs. At a school in Virginia recently, more than 100 school children sat through a reading of The Lorax, followed by a presentation from a Mazda marketing executive who urged the children to persuade their parents to test-drive a Mazda SUV, the Washington Post reported. Seuss would most likely have been uncomfortable with the fact that his character is being used directly to market products to children, says Mr Brezzo. "He wanted to see a child with a book, reacting page by page, spontaneously to the drawings," he says. "He wasn't interested in that big cereal box world." "When the character that's being used to sell those products is one that's essentially been a spokesperson for conservation for more than 40 years, it's particularly perverse and damaging," says Mr Brezzo.

डॉ. सीउस को पहली बार प्रकाशित हुए 40 साल से अधिक समय हो गया है द लोरैक्स, अनावश्यक उपभोक्तावाद और पर्यावरण के विनाश की उनकी उत्कृष्ट कहानी। लेकिन जैसे ही अमेरिका में एक नया फिल्म संस्करण जारी किया जाता है, यह पुस्तक वास्तव में किस बारे में है?


Pram with baby inside 'pushed over' in Normanton robbery

Summary: Thieves "pushed over" a pram containing a five-week-old baby during a robbery in Wakefield, police have said.

A woman in her 20s was walking along Queen Elizabeth Drive, Normanton, on Saturday afternoon when she was approached by two men and a woman. They knocked the pram to the ground and stole shopping bags containing sportswear and a baby changing bag. West Yorkshire Police said neither the mother or baby were injured but were left "extremely distressed". It happened close to the St John's Terrace Working Men's Club between 17:15 and 17:50 BST, with officers appealing for witnesses to come forward. The three people who ran away were described as being about 18, of slim or very slim build and wearing dark hoodies. The woman had "messy peroxide blonde hair", police said.

पुलिस ने कहा है कि वेकफील्ड में एक डकैती के दौरान चोरों ने पांच सप्ताह के बच्चे वाले एक प्राम को "धक्का" दिया।


Tech firms anti-terrorism efforts criticised in Rigby report

Summary: The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC)'s report into the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby suggests there was a "significant possibility" MI5 could have prevented the attack had its officers been aware of an online exchange in December 2012 between Michael Adebowale and a person codenamed Foxtrot.

By Leo KelionTechnology desk editor "The party which could have made a difference was the company on whose platform the exchange took place," it says. However, it adds, the company "does not appear to regard itself as under any obligation" to have indentified the conversation or acted to prevent the threat of an attack becoming reality. "There is therefore a risk that, however unintentionally, it provides a safe haven for terrorists to communicate within." The version of the report released to the public does not identify the service involved, but goes on to highlight the "considerable difficulty" MI5 has accessing content from six US-headquartered companies: This returns to a theme highlighted earlier this month by Robert Hannigan, the new director of GCHQ, who wrote an article for the Financial Times suggesting the tech giants were in denial over the fact their services had become "the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists". The companies, in turn, have stressed their need to protect users' privacy. They have promised to co-operate with the authorities if surveillance requests occur under a legal framework and with oversight. But the ISC highlights the practical problems British authorities experience when they try to hold the companies to this commitment. Its report states that because the companies are US-based, they refuse to accept the UK has jurisdiction over them when it comes to lawful intercept requests and instead require authorisation from the US courts. For example, it notes that Twitter's guidelines explicitly stated that requests for tweets, direct messages, photos and other content required a "valid US search warrant". In fact, the reference to the United States in this passage has since been dropped from Twitter's site, but the San Francisco-based company still states it only guarantees a response to "valid legal process issued in compliance with US law". Forward planning The UK, is of course, an ally of the US, and British agencies can request their American partners seek local authorisation on their behalf. The problem is that in practice, the ISC says, this only happens when there is an imminent threat to life. The conversation in which Adebowale said he intended to murder a soldier occurred about five months before the attack - the implication is that this might not have qualified. So why aren't the tech companies flagging up spotted threats themselves? The committee says it had been told the messaging service used by Adebowale had closed some of his accounts before the murder and that GCHQ believed this was because the company's automated internal checks for terrorism-related content had been triggered. Yet it notes that no person at the company had ever reviewed the contents of the accounts or passed on the material for the authorities to check. The ISC contrasts this with the fact such companies are often quick to tip off others when it comes to suspected cases of child abuse. "On the basis of the evidence we have received, the company does not have procedures to prevent terrorists from planning attacks using its networks," the ISC says. Automated checks The committee does, however, acknowledge that the six named US companies took different approaches to the matter. Its report states: For the most part, however, the ISC says the companies rely on either other users or the authorities notifying them about offensive content before taking action - an approach it suggests is ill-suited to tackling covert communications between terrorists. Furthermore, it highlights that the companies' embrace of complex encryption techniques is making it even harder for GCHQ to spot potential threats in the "204 million email messages, 100,000 tweets and a million Facebook posts" sent every minute. And the report is critical of the suggestion the companies need to prioritise their users' privacy. "Where there is a possibility that a terrorist atrocity is being planned, that argument should not be allowed to prevail," it says. Tellingly, a section covering how GCHQ and others are seeking to tackle the issue is blanked out. 'Impossible to predict' Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband have both called for the tech companies to create a standard method to alert the authorities to cases of suspected extremism, similar to the way they flag child exploitation. Mr Cameron also told the House of Commons he regularly raised the issue with President Obama. But while the named tech companies have yet to release statements in response, one digital rights campaigner has attacked the tone of the ISC's findings. "The government should not use the appalling murder of Fusilier Rigby as an excuse to justify the further surveillance and monitoring of the entire UK population," said Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group. "The committee is particularly misleading when it implies that US companies do not co-operate, and it is quite extraordinary to demand that companies proactively monitor email content for suspicious material. Internet companies cannot and must not become an arm of the surveillance state. "As the report admits, 'lone wolf attacks' are almost impossible to predict - and therefore difficult to prevent. "The security services should focus their efforts on the targeted surveillance of individuals like Michael Adebolajo rather than continuing to monitor every citizen in the UK." TechUK, an industry lobby body, added that tech firms had taken part in counter-terrorism talks since the ISC's report was written. "Positive steps have already been taken since the summer to examine these very complex issues," said Antony Walker, deputy chief executive of the organisation. "However, if the government believes that it needs additional powers to be able to access communication data it must be clear about exactly what those powers are and consult widely on them before putting proposals before Parliament."

फ्यूसिलियर ली रिग्बी की हत्या में खुफिया और सुरक्षा समिति (आई. एस. सी.) की रिपोर्ट से पता चलता है कि एक "महत्वपूर्ण संभावना" थी कि एम. आई. 5 हमले को रोक सकता था, अगर इसके अधिकारियों को दिसंबर 2012 में माइकल एडबोवेल और फॉक्सट्रॉट नामक एक व्यक्ति के बीच एक ऑनलाइन आदान-प्रदान के बारे में पता होता।


Why clearing Gordhan is good news for South Africa

Summary: The U-turn by the head of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Shaun Abrahams, dropping controversial fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, signals a turning point in the nation's politics.

By Milton NkosiBBC News, Johannesburg Right from the outset, many respected individuals and civil society groups said the charges were the work of powerful individuals who wanted to loot the state coffers. They just wanted to get Mr Gordhan out of the way because he would stand up to them. He had been emphasising that the state should not spend money it does not have. In what many saw as Mr Abrahams buckling under pressure, he called an impromptu media briefing following speculation that he would have no choice but to drop the fraud charges. Why the U-turn? In simple terms, the chief prosecutor made the move because any self-respecting judge would have thrown the case out of court, had it gone all the way to trial. He explained that the decision to prosecute was based on advice from his fellow prosecutors who had been working on the case for months. He also said he found there was "no intent to act unlawfully" by any of those involved in the case. The finance minister was charged together with two others, Ivan Pillay and Oupa Magashole, who were senior officials at the South African Revenue Services (Sars), the tax collection agency where Mr Gordhan worked a decade ago. He was accused of costing the government more than $74,000 (£61,000) by approving an early-retirement package for Mr Pillay and then re-hiring him as a consultant. But many saw this as a matter which could have easily been resolved without having to get prosecutors involved. Monday's announcement contrasts with what happened just a few weeks ago, when Mr Abrahams displayed a high degree of confidence as he made the announcement that he was charging Mr Gordhan with fraud. He said at the time: "The days of disrespecting the NPA are over. The days of not holding senior government officials to account are over." South Africa's currency, the rand, lost 3% of its value soon after. What does this mean for Zuma? This must be humiliating for President Jacob Zuma, the man who hired Mr Abrahams. When the chief prosecutor was asked on Monday whether he was embarrassed by this legal somersault, he replied: "I certainly do not owe anybody an apology. I certainly don't." Just the day before Mr Abrahams announced the charges against the finance minister, he met President Zuma at the headquarters of the governing African National Congress. They both denied that the charges were mentioned. Instead, they said, they were discussing the ongoing university students' protests. But some pointed out that the minister of higher education was not present at that meeting. It is believed that the nucleus of this debacle emanates from squabbles within the governing ANC between those who want to run a clean government and those who allegedly want to loot the state through shady government contracts. This phenomenon is known here as "state capture" and refers to those who use undue influence on government officials and are able to manipulate them to deliver favours for kickbacks. What about the NPA? There is also huge concern that the NPA is being used to fight political battles. More than 80 South African business leaders, 101 ANC stalwarts, civil rights groups, retired judges, opposition parties and some in the government, including the ANC's own chief whip in parliament, had come out in public to support Mr Gordhan. They all said the charges were politically motivated. Opposition political parties are now calling for Mr Abrahams to be debarred. What does it mean for South Africa? Richard Calland, author of several books on South Africa's political machinations, told me that he takes a positive view from all this. "This shows that, although under attack from President Zuma and his cronies, South Africa's institutions are resilient," he said. "The momentum is switching. Civil society can be heard when it raises its voice of conscience." Twenty-two years after taking power from a white-minority government, with this controversy South Africa finds itself at a crossroads. Many here see two possible directions. The country could follow the same route as some other African states which crumbled under the heavy blanket of corruption and cronyism. Or, it will rise above the cancer of nepotism and maladministration. Many believe that Mr Gordhan is the face of those who want to show that African countries do not have to follow the route to chaos before things get better.

दक्षिण अफ्रीका के राष्ट्रीय अभियोजन प्राधिकरण (एन. पी. ए.) के प्रमुख शॉन अब्राहम का यू-टर्न, वित्त मंत्री प्रवीण गोरधन के खिलाफ धोखाधड़ी के विवादास्पद आरोपों को हटाना, देश की राजनीति में एक महत्वपूर्ण मोड़ का संकेत देता है।


Amnesty strips Alexei Navalny of 'prisoner of conscience' status

Summary: Amnesty International has stripped the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny of his "prisoner of conscience" status after it says it was "bombarded" with complaints highlighting xenophobic comments that he has made in the past and not renounced.

By Sarah RainsfordBBC News, Moscow A spokesman for the human rights organisation in Moscow told the BBC that he believed the wave of requests to "de-list" Navalny was part of an "orchestrated campaign" to discredit Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic and "impede" Amnesty's calls for his release from custody. But on review, Amnesty International concluded that comments made by Navalny some 15 years ago, including a video which appears to compare immigrants to cockroaches, amounted to "hate speech" which was incompatible with the label "prisoner of conscience". Alexei Navalny, who was almost killed in a nerve agent attack last year, is now serving a prison sentence widely seen as punishment for his opposition activism and big-splash investigations into the corrupt lives of Russia's rich and powerful. "We had too many requests; we couldn't ignore them," spokesman Alexander Artemev told the BBC, explaining that the team initially discounted Navalny's previous statements - which he has not repeated - as "not relevant" in the light of his current, political persecution. Amnesty's offices worldwide, including that of the secretary general, were then hit with complaints from "so-called concerned citizens", Mr Artemev says, in an apparently co-ordinated move. Some of the calls to revoke Navalny's prisoner of conscience status quoted a Twitter thread by Katya Kazbek, a freelance columnist published by the pro-Kremlin channel RT amongst others. She reposted Navalny's controversial videos after his arrest in January, describing him as an "avowed racist" and accusing supporters of "whitewashing" his nationalism. Ms Kazbek, a pseudonym, describes herself online as a "feminist, LGBT researcher, citizen of the world", but her posts include praise of Stalin and also echo Kremlin claims that Alexei Navalny is controlled by the US government. Since Navalny's return to Russia in January after recovering from the attempt to kill him, other English-language Twitter accounts have regularly latched on to posts to slam him as a "vile white supremacist". In Russia itself, state media and officials have ratcheted up their portrayal of Navalny as a stooge of the West: an enemy agent working to destabilise the country. In what Navalny claims was a crude attempt to tarnish his image, he was also found guilty this month of defaming a war-hero. Extensive coverage of that case on state TV and social media has likened him to a neo-Nazi. A second notorious video from the early 2000s shows Navalny dressed as a dentist, interspersed with images of immigrant workers, calling for the removal of "everything that bothers us", like rotten teeth. But in a phone-in poll to the editorially independent Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, just 1 in 5 listeners supported Amnesty International's decision to delist Navalny. Breakfast show host Alexander Plyushev called it "a huge victory for Russian state propaganda" and the move has already been hailed by RT editor Margarita Simonyan on Twitter, who noted the success of "our columnist" Katya Kazbek. "Navalny has not publicly denounced his YouTube videos so our idea is that somehow he can relate to what he said," Amnesty's Alexander Artemev explained, though clearly uncomfortable with the decision and its implications. "He cannot be a prisoner of conscience: that is someone who never advocates hate or violence or uses hate speech," Mr Artemev argued, adding that Nelson Mandela had also been stripped of the status in the 1960s after advocating the use of force against the apartheid regime in South Africa In January, Amnesty International decried Navalny's arrest as "further evidence the Russian authorities are seeking to silence him" and called for his immediate and unconditional release. The organisation says it will continue with those calls, and to "do everything we can do reach that goal".

एमनेस्टी इंटरनेशनल ने रूसी विपक्षी राजनेता एलेक्सी नवलनी से उनका "विवेक के कैदी" का दर्जा छीन लिया है, क्योंकि यह कहा गया था कि उन पर अतीत में की गई और त्याग नहीं की गई विदेशी विरोधी टिप्पणियों को उजागर करने वाली शिकायतों के साथ "बमबारी" की गई थी।


Attempted murder charge after Beeston park attack

Summary: A man has been charged with attempted murder after a woman was attacked in a Nottinghamshire park.

The woman, who was taken to hospital, was attacked in Beeston Fields Park at about 12:20 GMT on Friday. Richard Pickworth, 56, of Beeston, is to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Monday. Insp Simon Riley, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "I would like to reassure the community that there is no ongoing risk to the public." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

नॉटिंघमशायर पार्क में एक महिला पर हमले के बाद एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या के प्रयास का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Twitter reaction to Nigeria power couple spat

Summary: Aisha Buhari's stark warning to her husband, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, that she may not back him at the next election, and his later response that she "belongs to my kitchen" have triggered an avalanche of comments on social media.

In the BBC interview, the first lady suggested that the Nigerian government had been hijacked, adding that it was time for Mr Buhari to shake things up. Her comments, which have shocked the nation, were met with overwhelming support on Twitter. Some praised Mrs Buhari for encouraging free speech in the country: Others, however, accused Mrs Buhari's supporters of hypocrisy after she was criticised last year for appearing in public sporting expensive accessories: President Buhari, who is currently visiting Germany, was quick to respond to his wife's criticism. At a joint news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said: "I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room." His remarks have prompted sharp criticism on Twitter, with many also saying they are puzzled what "the other room" was. In a series of tweets, President Buhari's spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu later tried to downplay the row, saying his boss "was obviously throwing a banter".

आयशा बुहारी की अपने पति, नाइजीरियाई राष्ट्रपति मुहम्मदु बुहारी को कड़ी चेतावनी, कि वह अगले चुनाव में उनका समर्थन नहीं कर सकती हैं, और उनकी बाद की प्रतिक्रिया कि वह "मेरी रसोई से संबंधित हैं" ने सोशल मीडिया पर टिप्पणियों का एक हिमस्खलन शुरू कर दिया है।


School closures in Scotland

Summary: Severe winds and heavy rain have been battering Scotland on Thursday 5 December.

Schools in some areas have been forced to close because of disruption to travel and power supplies. Online information sources are available below, or you can check with your local authority or child's school. Information may be subject to change.

गुरुवार 5 दिसंबर को स्कॉटलैंड में तेज हवाएं और भारी बारिश हो रही है।


World Book Day: Is Covid lockdown giving reading a boost?

Summary: World Book Day will look very different this year across Wales.

By Hannah Billingsley-DaddBBC News Gone are the children's dressing up competitions, reading extracts in school assemblies, the book reports and the festivities at the local library. But with some readers delving deeper into new topics and others buying more books than ever, is lockdown giving reading a boost in the digital age? "I've definitely found myself reading a lot more as a result of the lockdowns," said 21-year-old Joel Rochester, from Newport, whose YouTube channel FictionalFates mostly focuses on books. "As a literature student, it's hard to find time to read for pleasure when you've got books to read for your degree. "I also got to explore more genres through the lockdown. For example, I finally delved into romance books for the first time which changed my perspective on them completely. "Likewise, I also delved into books marketed for adults for the first time, reading adult fantasy and sci-fi books as beforehand, I had only kept myself within the young adult category (YA). It was definitely quite a great exploration for myself, as it delves into deeper topics that I sometimes didn't get in YA!" While "booktubers" are a community of readers who discuss books on YouTube, "bookstagrammers" are an Instagram reading community. Tara Watson, 29, from Newport, who posts as My Evergrowing Bookshelf, described the changes in her reading habits. "I've always been an avid reader, although I lost the want to read when I was pregnant with my daughter," she said. "I finally started reading again in February last year, a month before having her. "Even though I've always loved reading, I've definitely read so much more during lockdowns. "However, I have started listening to audiobooks for the first time since lockdown. As we obviously couldn't do much, I'd take the baby out for a walk and listen to my audiobook every day on these walks, and I'm still doing that now. "I've also definitely found myself buying more books than ever before. I had to put myself on a book-buying ban for a while as it got a bit out of control." The Office for National Statistics has published data suggesting people in Britain spent on average 27.7 minutes each day reading books, magazines or newspapers. So people are reading in lockdown, but with bookshops and libraries closed, how has the industry adapted? During lockdown, the Welsh government provided £250,000 towards digital library resources and one provider saw a 110% increase in borrowing of e-books compared to 2019. In 2020, Cardigan-based Parthian Books held seven virtual events, saw an increase of 150% in book sales from its online store, and had 3,605 views across its new YouTube channel. A book release that was moved online was attended by more than 100 people, and the stream on Facebook was watched by 450 people - more than any event the company had held before the pandemic. "Our digital engagement this year has been a double-ended effort: Trying to capture the attention of younger generations already spending lots of time online, though not necessarily in the bookish world, but also making our content as accessible as possible for as many people/demographics as possible," said spokeswoman Kathryn Tann. "While this year has absolutely opened our eyes to the wider possibilities of what's possible for book launches, virtual events won't be replacing physical ones entirely. "I think the magic which happens in publishing when authors, publishers, readers and organisers get together in one room and let their experiences, ideas and ambitions spontaneously mingle in unplanned conversations... I think that magic often happens at launches. "Not to mention the importance for authors to connect with readers and to celebrate what is undeniably an incredible achievement - finishing a book." When lockdown restrictions allowed, libraries also began offering a click-and-collect service for readers. Another trend seen in lockdown is an increased interest in Welsh-language books. The pandemic has seen a shift in the popularity of academic books, whether for children learning remotely or adult learners looking to gain a new skill. Director of teaching and learning at the National Centre for Learning Welsh Helen Prosser said: "There has been tremendous interest in learning Welsh during lockdown. Our entry course for beginners was a bestseller at one point last year." The first book in their new graded reader series has sold almost 3,000 electronic and physical copies. The centre is now hosting a festival of reading for Welsh learners in March. With virtual events on the rise and the Hay-on-Wye literary festival going digital again this year, book sales up and e-books more popular, has reading changed forever? It is not clear yet, but it is safe to assume bookworms cannot wait to return to bookshops and libraries again once restrictions end.

विश्व पुस्तक दिवस इस साल पूरे वेल्स में बहुत अलग दिखाई देगा।


Jobs boost for IT professionals in Cardiff

Summary: A Cardiff-based company is hoping to capitalise on Wales' growing IT industry by creating 40 new jobs.

The new roles will include highly-skilled developers and engineers for IT solutions company Tracesmart. Rick Trainor, of parent company LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said it chose to invest in Cardiff due to its "thriving local IT industry". Hiring will continue in 2015 to meet demand in providing online tracing and identity verification solutions.

कार्डिफ स्थित एक कंपनी 40 नई नौकरियों का सृजन करके वेल्स के बढ़ते आईटी उद्योग का लाभ उठाने की उम्मीद कर रही है।


Jose Mujica: Uruguay's rebel turned president comes to term's end

Summary: Voters in Uruguay elect a new president on Sunday and whoever they choose will have a difficult act to follow. Barred from running for a second consecutive term by the constitution, the widely popular incumbent, Jose Mujica, will have to hand over the reins of power. Jonathan Gilbert looks back at his life and what he will be remembered for both at home and abroad.

Jose Mujica's life at times reads more like a film script than a presidential biography. During his time with the armed left-wing guerrilla group Tupamaros in the 1960s and 70s, he survived a shoot-out with police in which he was hit by six bullets. Captured four times by the authorities, he managed to escape twice, both times through tunnels dug first by rebels on the inside, and a second time, by his comrades on the outside. Recaptured, he withstood years of inhumane treatment in military jails, becoming emaciated and suffering great psychological trauma. But his nom de guerre from that era also reveals a softer side. His fellow rebels called him Florero (florist) for his passion for growing flowers. Going mainstream Freed when constitutional government returned in 1985, Mr Mujica, who is popularly known as Pepe, toned down some of his more radical socialist rhetoric to fight for his ideals as a mainstream politician. In a region where left-wing leaders often attack the private sector and blame it for their countries's woes, Mr Mujica and his Broad Front coalition opted for a more moderate approach. "Mujica's ideas have changed in the last 20 years," explains Oscar Bottinelli, a political analyst in the capital Montevideo. "But he has always been concerned about regular people." Speaking at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Montevideo, he tells me that he thinks "we have to favour capitalism, so that its wheels keep turning". The modest home stands next to fields of chard and an abandoned factory he would like to turn into an agricultural school. He says a quota of resources should be given to the weakest. "But we should not paralyze it [capitalism]; there's a limit," he insists. Uruguay's economy, boosted by foreign investment, has grown at an average of 5.8% since the Broad Front to power in 2005, World Bank figures suggest. Poverty levels have dropped from around 40% before 2005 to less than 13% today. Wealth is more evenly distributed now in this nation of 3.4 million people that at any point in the last 30 years, according the government. 'Chaotic style' Mr Mujica, whose term ends in March, says this is his greatest achievement. But he is not without critics, who point to his sometimes chaotic leadership, gauche manner and occasionally contradictory statements. "Mujica's style has become tiresome for some people," Mr Bottinelli says. "They want more certainty." "He is idealised a lot abroad," sociologist Santiago Cardozo explains. "But his government, like him, was not very organised." Many Uruguayans admire him precisely because he is sincere and unrefined. "His strength is not in managing the government, but in understanding the people and reaching their hearts," author Sergio Israel writes in his book "Pepe Mujica - President: An unauthorised investigation". Mr Mujica still has an approval rate of nearly 60%, according to a recent survey. And even though he is barred from standing in Sunday's presidential election, he is likely to continue as a political force in congress. Marijuana dilemma As president, Mr Mujica has overseen some radical social reforms, including the passage of a groundbreaking law that gives the state nearly total control over the production and sale of cannabis. It is a law that polls suggest a majority of Uruguayans disagree with. Those favouring legalisation have called it totalitarian because it places a limit on the amount of cannabis people can buy and obliges smokers to sign up to a federal register. Mr Mujica agrees with them in this particular instance. "They're right," he told me. "But they're my children. And I'm not going to gift them something that turns them into druggies with their eyes popping out of their heads." Pablo Almiron, a 24-year-old who delivers takeaway food, agree with the president. "The state needs to control things; that's its job. It's acting for our own good," he says while puffing on a spliff by the waterfront in Montevideo. The two presidential candidates vying to succeed Mr Mujica may well try to overturn the law. Luis Lacalle Pou, 41, of the centre-right National Party, openly opposes it and Tabare Vazquez of the Broad Front has also called it into question. Whoever succeeds Mr Mujica in power will find it hard to match him on the world stage, says political analyst Agustin Canzani. Simple life "Mujica has achieved an international image without precedent for almost any Uruguayan of the last few decades," Mr Canzani says of Mr Mujica's image as "the world's poorest president". But his simple lifestyle, while widely admired, is not one sociologist Santiago Cardozo would want to follow. "He's like the modern Uruguayan version of a medieval monk. He makes for a good film." It is something Mr Mujica himself is well aware of. "They might look at how I live," he tells me wearing a black beret, fleece and sandals while sitting in his wood-heated living room. "But they don't follow me. I am a ghost in solitude."

उरुग्वे में मतदाता रविवार को एक नए राष्ट्रपति का चुनाव करते हैं और जिसे भी वे चुनते हैं, उसे पालन करना एक कठिन कार्य होगा। संविधान द्वारा लगातार दूसरे कार्यकाल के लिए चुनाव लड़ने से प्रतिबंधित, व्यापक रूप से लोकप्रिय पदधारी, जोस मुजिका को सत्ता की बागडोर सौंपनी होगी। जोनाथन गिल्बर्ट अपने जीवन को पीछे मुड़कर देखते हैं और उन्हें देश और विदेश दोनों में किस लिए याद किया जाएगा।


HMP Berwyn: Inside Britain's new super-prison

Summary: As the first inmates prepare to move in to Britain's new "super-prison" these pictures give a unique insight into what life will be like inside.

By Lucy BallingerBBC News The images of HMP Berwyn show the custom-built facility ahead of the first prisoners moving in on Tuesday. The prison in Wrexham, north Wales, cost £250m to build and will hold 2,106 prisoners. It boasts a health and well-being centre, an education block, workshops, a sports hall and a multi-faith area.

जैसे ही पहले कैदी ब्रिटेन के नए "सुपर-जेल" में जाने की तैयारी करते हैं, ये तस्वीरें इस बात की एक अनूठी अंतर्दृष्टि देती हैं कि अंदर जीवन कैसा होगा।


Man in court over 'bomb threat' at Dundee tenement

Summary: A 65-year-old man has appeared in court accused of threatening to manufacture and plant bombs throughout Dundee.

Prosecutors allege Patrick McCabe caused police to declare a major incident in the city's Fairbairn Street overnight and evacuate residents from their homes. He is alleged to have made repeated threats to kill members of the public. Police Scotland confirmed earlier that a bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion in the street. Mr McCabe, from Dundee, made no plea during a hearing held in private at Dundee Sheriff Court. Sheriff John Rafferty continued the case for further examination and remanded Mr McCabe in custody.

पूरे डंडी में बम बनाने और लगाने की धमकी देने के आरोप में एक 65 वर्षीय व्यक्ति अदालत में पेश हुआ है।


Leicester lockdown: Parents and pupils upset at school closures

Summary: Leicester is to stay in lockdown after an increase in coronavirus cases, meaning schools will have to stay shut from Thursday. Parents of children who only just returned to school at the beginning of June say they are worried about their children's education.

By David PittamBBC News, Leicester Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there had been "an unusually high incidence" of coronavirus among children in Leicester since increased testing began in the city 10 days ago. He said schools were being closed to help slow the transmission of the disease. At Launde Primary School in Oadby, a small town on the edge of Leicester but included within the lockdown boundary, parents were adjusting to the news. Teresa Lander, 51, who has a child in Year 6, said the local lockdown was "a surprise and a bit upsetting" for parents and pupils. "It's worrying how much school they are missing, it's a massive gap in their learning if they're not in from March to September," she said. "They were having fun being back at school, it's disappointing for them, but you've got to respect it." Liz Sharpe, 40, said the situation was "heartbreaking" for her daughter as this was her last year at the school. "They've missed out on so much education and she's off to secondary next year so has missed out on some big changes," she said. "They were so excited to come back. She was a little bit tearful, she wants to see her friends and her teachers." Magda Raszowska, whose five-year-old daughter Iman attends the same school, said the news was "frustrating". "It's like we're going back to March, that was the shocking thing," she said. "Closing schools, closing shops again. It's scary, it just shows how a second wave can be not far off. "Obviously safety comes first, I understand that, we all do. [But] it seems very strict. As the mayor said, has Leicester been singled out now they're getting more cautious?" School leaders have said they will do what they can to keep children learning and safe. However, Inderjit Sandhu, the executive head of the Scholars Academy Trust, which runs the school, said she only learned of the lockdown via a BBC News alert on Monday night. She said she was still emailing the local authority seeking more details at 21:50 BST. "It was a surprise, we'd heard nothing whatsoever about it," she said. "I don't know the right way to go about it, it's all so new. "We've got to keep everyone safe, if we follow the guidance we're doing the right thing. "It just shows how crazy it all is, but we're still smiling." The government has said children of "critical workers" and those classed as vulnerable will still be able to attend lessons. Naomi Grant, deputy head at the city's Braunstone Frith Primary School, said these pupils had remained in its classrooms throughout the pandemic. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme closing its doors to a number of children it had welcomed back was "disappointing", but said she was "keeping up to date with the news as much as I can". The school would work hard to ensure pupils are safe, she added. "Since the whole of lockdown our school has never been closed, we've just reopened to more children since 1 June," she said. "We're really upset that we won't be able to have as many children in school as we have been for the past four weeks. "We've got such a detailed risk mitigation plan in place. At the minute it's working for nearly 200 children. We'll scale that down after Thursday, but we can scale it up as much as we need to as well."

कोरोनावायरस मामलों में वृद्धि के बाद लीसेस्टर को लॉकडाउन में रहना है, जिसका अर्थ है कि गुरुवार से स्कूलों को बंद रहना होगा। जून की शुरुआत में ही स्कूल लौटने वाले बच्चों के माता-पिता का कहना है कि वे अपने बच्चों की शिक्षा के बारे में चिंतित हैं।


Newspaper headlines: 'Anti-Tory tactical vote' and 'Brexit is now up to you'

Summary: As the election approaches, the Observer reports that "senior Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP figures" have "launched an 11th-hour appeal to anti-Tory voters" to consider voting tactically and deny the Conservatives a majority.

By BBC NewsStaff But for the Sun on Sunday, "just 10,000 voters in battleground seats have the destiny of Brexit in their hands". And as the votes are counted on election night, the Sunday Times offers some light relief: Big Beast Bingo, featuring 12 high-profile figures who could lose in swing seats. Among them are Boris Johnson, the Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson and the former Tory ministers David Gauke and Dominic Grieve. Players are urged to "tick them off as they fall". Elsewhere, Australia's former prime minister Tony Abbott writes in the Sunday Telegraph that a Labour government would be a "disaster" for Britain. And in the Sunday Express, the Leave.EU founder, Arron Banks challenges Nigel Farage to back Boris Johnson and avoid Brexit being "pulled into the shadows by Parliament and quietly strangled". Election pitches Meanwhile, the editorial columns make the papers' final pitches to voters before they go to the polls. The Sunday Telegraph sets out its stall for the Conservatives, describing the election as "an opportunity to say 'yes' to Brexit and to reject totally Labour's politics of hate". The Observer sees the election as a "chance to strip power from a dangerous charlatan - Boris Johnson". It says that, while it abhors "Corbyn's failures on anti-Semitism" and recalls the "Lib Dem complicity in the dreadful policies of the coalition", readers should "vote for the pro-referendum, progressive candidate" who will deny the Conservatives a majority. For the Mail on Sunday, a vote for Boris Johnson will not only allow the country to "get on with both Brexit and economic recovery", but also "rescue the Labour Party" from the current leadership. The Sunday Times tells its readers their "task is to keep Mr Corbyn out of Downing Street", adding that "while the prime minister's flaws are in plain sight... many of the threats posed by the Labour leader lurk beneath the surface". The Sunday Express warns that Mr Corbyn would "usher in a new dark age, fuelled by his Marxist dogma and corrosive extremism". The Sunday Mirror nails its colours firmly to the Labour mast, pointing out that, although "old party loyalties have been chipped away by Brexit", voters should bear in mind that austerity will only get worse under another Tory government. The Sunday People follows suit, calling on the nation to "vote for hope" by backing Labour. Cancer waits The Sunday Times reports that "cancer patients are being forced to endure the worst waiting times since records began" a decade ago. It says that, between April and September, 168,000 patients were not seen or treated within the target times for referral and treatment. The NHS states there were "a record 2.2 million cancer checks last year", with survival at "an all-time high" in England. The same paper leads with leaked documents from Labour's disciplinary body, which are reported to reveal the scale of its anti-Semitism problem. The "secret files" are said to show that the party is "overwhelmed with complaints that have been left unresolved for months or years". Most cases, the Sunday Times says, "have resulted in lenient punishments or no sanctions". Labour insists the claims are "categorically untrue" and that it has taken "robust action" to suspend or expel those involved. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning 'Ru-Turn of the King' Anthony Joshua's world title win in Saudi Arabia happened too late for many papers - but the Sun on Sunday is able to hail it as the "Ru-Turn of the King". "On a night of desert storms", it says, "Anthony Joshua found an oasis of calm" and redemption for his loss to Andy Ruiz in June. The Sunday Times website praises his "ability to stick determinedly to a gameplan" and put his career "back on track". The Sunday Telegraph believes that Joshua's "focus and desire cannot be doubted" but that there was little in the fight to worry his main rivals.

जैसे-जैसे चुनाव नजदीक आ रहा है, ऑब्जर्वर ने बताया कि "वरिष्ठ लेबर, लिबरल डेमोक्रेट और एसएनपी हस्तियों" ने "टोरी विरोधी मतदाताओं से 11वें घंटे की अपील शुरू की है" कि वे रणनीतिक रूप से मतदान करने पर विचार करें और कंजर्वेटिव को बहुमत से वंचित करें।


University of Aberdeen could be told to repay part of grant if rules broken

Summary: The University of Aberdeen could be told to repay part of its grant from the Scottish Funding Council if it is ruled a six-figure payoff to its former principal broke rules.

Prof Sir Ian Diamond announced his plans to retire in 2017. It is understood his 12-month notice period only began in July last year when he had actually left his post. The SFC has now outlined the remit of its investigation. The report is expected in December. In June, the SFC said it was reviewing the payment - believed to be in the region of £280,000. It said universities receive public funds and must comply with value for money requirements, and the review was with the "full cooperation" of the university. The terms of that review and possible sanctions include asking the university to pay back part of its grant. It is understood that would be in proportion to the sum paid to Prof Diamond. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is also reviewing the case.

एबरडीन विश्वविद्यालय को स्कॉटिश फंडिंग काउंसिल से अपने अनुदान का कुछ हिस्सा चुकाने के लिए कहा जा सकता है यदि यह माना जाता है कि इसके पूर्व प्रिंसिपल ने नियमों को तोड़ा है तो छह अंकों का भुगतान किया जा सकता है।


Reading Bridge repair closure date announced

Summary: "Significant disruption" is expected when one of the main bridges over the River Thames in Berkshire is closed to all traffic for two weeks from 18 May.

Reading Bridge near the town's station needs "essential work" done to strengthen its 92-year old structure. The closure until 31 May includes the two weekends but the second week coincides with half-term holidays when "traffic levels are lower". Buses will be redirected and diversion signs will be put in place. From Monday 6 April during the Easter break one lane of the bridge and adjacent pavement will be closed for up to 20 days for strengthening work. During this closure there will be a lane running in each direction over the bridge. The project is planned for completion in late June or early July.

"महत्वपूर्ण व्यवधान" की उम्मीद है जब बर्कशायर में थेम्स नदी पर मुख्य पुलों में से एक को 18 मई से दो सप्ताह के लिए सभी यातायात के लिए बंद कर दिया जाता है।


Campsfield House fire: Detainee charged with arson

Summary: A detainee at an immigration removal centre has been charged with arson following a fire earlier this month.

Two people were treated in hospital for their injuries sustained during the fire at Campsfield House in Kidlington, Oxfordshire on 18 October. Farid Pardiaz, 24, of Campsfield House, has been remanded in custody to appear before magistrates in Banbury later. Campsfield House is a long-term centre, privately run by MITIE, where men are detained under immigration laws.

एक आप्रवासन निष्कासन केंद्र में एक बंदी पर इस महीने की शुरुआत में आग लगने के बाद आगजनी का आरोप लगाया गया है।


'Night out' man drowned in River Severn in Shrewsbury

Summary: An inquest into the death of a man whose body was recovered from the River Severn has recorded a verdict of accidental death, caused by drowning.

Joshua Wreford, 24, was last seen in Shrewsbury town centre on 11 August after leaving The Source Vodka Bar. His body was found two days later. The inquest heard he had been out with friends and had been drinking. He became separated from his friends and his body was later pulled from the river. Mr Wreford had worked as a dietician at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Related Internet Links West Mercia Police

एक व्यक्ति की मृत्यु की जांच, जिसका शव सेवर्न नदी से बरामद किया गया था, ने डूबने के कारण आकस्मिक मृत्यु का फैसला दर्ज किया है।


German 'psychic' octopus predicts victory for Spain

Summary: A "psychic" octopus in Germany, which appears to have correctly predicted every World Cup game involving the national team so far, has picked Spain over Germany in the semi-final.

Paul, from the Sea Life Aquarium in the western city of Oberhausen, chose a mussel from a jar with the Spanish flag instead of one with a German flag. The two-year-old cephalopod has become a national celebrity. According to his owners, he has a record of predicting German results. They say Paul chose the winner in nearly 70% of Germany's games during the 2008 European Championship. He correctly predicted all five of the team's previous World Cup games - including a shock defeat by Serbia in the group stages. His prognosis ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final was broadcast live on German TV. Correspondents says Paul's plumping for Spain has caused alarm in the country, but some analysts point out that his predictive powers are not perfect. During Euro 2008 he wrongly picked Germany as the victor against Spain.

जर्मनी में एक "मानसिक" ऑक्टोपस, जिसने अब तक राष्ट्रीय टीम से जुड़े प्रत्येक विश्व कप खेल की सही भविष्यवाणी की है, ने सेमीफाइनल में जर्मनी पर स्पेन को चुना है।


What can we do to tackle air pollution?

Summary: Air pollution is responsible for 50,000 premature deaths in the UK each year, an environmental report has warned.

In the wake of last week's report we are looking at ways that people are tackling this issue. How can we solve the issue? It could be a simple change in your day to day routine or an advance in the world of business or technological innovation. Thank you for sending your ideas for solutions, we are now investigating.

एक पर्यावरणीय रिपोर्ट में चेतावनी दी गई है कि ब्रिटेन में हर साल 50,000 समय से पहले होने वाली मौतों के लिए वायु प्रदूषण जिम्मेदार है।


Guernsey Museums project protects island heritage

Summary: The future of some "irreplaceable objects" has been safeguarded by the latest stage of a £1m archive project, Guernsey's museums director has said.

More than 30,000 items from the small natural history section are being moved to a new archive. The room has environmental controls and more space than the current store. Jason Monaghan said: "You can probably hold objects in these conditions more or less indefinitely if you look after them." He said previously they had used second hand shelving and were not able to make very good use of the space available. Four annual payments of £250,000, starting in 2011, were agreed by the States for the project. Alan Howell, senior curator, said the collection included "basically about everything Victorians used to collect from plants, fossil mammoth bones, insects [and] shells". He said: "It's going to be wonderful to have space to arrange this material properly."

ग्वेर्नसे के संग्रहालय निदेशक ने कहा है कि कुछ "अपरिवर्तनीय वस्तुओं" का भविष्य एक मिलियन पाउंड की संग्रह परियोजना के नवीनतम चरण द्वारा सुरक्षित किया गया है।