Doctors paying for sons to have HPV cancer jab

Summary: Doctors and health professionals are regularly paying hundreds of pounds for their teenage sons to receive a vaccination against cancer that girls already receive for free on the NHS, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told. Is boys' health being put at risk?

By Anna CollinsonReporter, Victoria Derbyshire programme "Had the HPV vaccine been available when I was a boy, I believe I would not have developed throat cancer more than 30 years later," said Jamie Rae, 53. "I'm basing this on the overwhelming majority of research I have seen over the years and countless experts I have spoken to. "That's why I'm desperate for boys to be able to receive it." HPV is the name given to a large group of viruses. It is very common and can be caught through any kind of sexual contact with another person who already has it. Doctors say 90% of HPV infections go away by themselves - but sometimes infections can lead to a variety of serious problems. For boys, this includes cancer of the anus, penis, mouth and throat. Since 2008, girls aged 12 to 18 across the UK have been offered HPV vaccinations as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme. It is currently not offered to boys of the same age, but it can be done privately, costing several hundred pounds. Mr Rae founded the Throat Cancer Foundation after the treatment he received in 2010. He said at the time there was little information on HPV and he did not want anyone to go through his experience. "I had radiotherapy for 35 days except weekends. I felt extreme burning in my neck and mouth and I was covered in sores. The pain was excruciating," he explained. "It's a lengthy recovery time. You have to teach yourself to swallow again and you get a dry mouth all the time." His foundation is part of HPV Action - which represents more than 50 groups and charities that are calling for both genders to receive the vaccination on the NHS. 'Indefensible' Mr Rae said the current disparity between boys and girls was "appalling". "Lots of doctors are having their boys vaccinated because they can afford it, as are those who are better informed," he said. "But what about those who can't afford it? Cases of throat cancer are soaring. It's indefensible. "Every day that goes past where boys are not being vaccinated condemns them to a whole host of diseases that we could prevent." HPV Action says around a dozen countries including Australia, Canada and the US are already vaccinating boys or are planning to do so in the near future. The government's vaccination advisory committee is currently reviewing whether boys should receive the HPV vaccination. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Cares says it will carefully consider its advice once they've received it. Campaigners hope there will be a decision this year, possibly as soon as June. A debate is taking place on Wednesday at Westminster Hall about the issue. The argument for vaccinating boys against HPV Source: HPV Action Prof Francis Vaz, a head and neck surgeon at University College London Hospital, paid privately to vaccinate his three sons. He explained this was because he wanted to protect them from certain cancers like anus, penis, mouth and throat. He said he saw on a daily basis that cancers driven by the HPV virus had been increasing in the past decade. "I regularly see the bad end of that spectrum, so I thought the vaccination would be suitable for my sons," he said. "It's just unfortunate it wasn't available for them on the NHS. I was happy to pay for it because I think it's a good vaccine." He said he made a conscious decision to spend £450 on three injections per son - you can pay less if you have two vaccines. "I'm aware that I'm in the know - and that there are people out there that can't afford it or aren't aware. It seems unfair." He said for those who are concerned about vaccinating their child, it is a decision for parents to make. "I wouldn't suggest anyone should force a vaccine on any individual, but if this vaccine was exceptionally dangerous it wouldn't be distributed to as many people as it is." 'Very frustrating' Prof Vaz said he understood there may be many factors explaining why boys were currently not receiving the vaccine, but cost had to be one of them. The NHS argues only vaccinating girls indirectly protects boys because vaccinated girls will not pass HPV on to them. This is called herd immunity. However, many doctors argue this does not work because boys may go on to have a male partner, have a female partner who has not had the jab or visit a country where they do not provide HPV vaccinations. "You hope with herd immunity it'll work and protect the boys - but that doesn't work," he explained. "People can fall through the net, though the net has been cast reasonably wide, it currently doesn't protect everyone." Prof Chris Nutting also vaccinated his two sons, who were aged 13 and 14. "I specialise in treating throat cancer," he explained. "Fifty per cent of cancers I treat are caused by viruses which could be vaccinated against. It's very frustrating." Decision call Prof Nutting said the main argument against giving boys the jab is cost - extending the scheme will cost £20m. "The Department of Health should be making a decision. They have put it off for years," he said. Peter Baker, of HPV Action, said HPV was as dangerous for boys as girls as it caused a number of different cancers in both sexes. "There's no obvious reason why the vaccination is split between the genders. More women get cancer through HPV then men - but the difference isn't huge," he said. The government's vaccination advisory committee (JCVI) said it was still in the process of considering all the data and will wait until the process has concluded before making any statements. Public Health England also said it would not comment before the decision was made. Watch the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.

विक्टोरिया डर्बीशायर कार्यक्रम को बताया गया है कि डॉक्टर और स्वास्थ्य पेशेवर नियमित रूप से अपने किशोर बेटों के लिए सैकड़ों पाउंड का भुगतान कर रहे हैं ताकि वे कैंसर के खिलाफ टीकाकरण प्राप्त कर सकें जो लड़कियों को पहले से ही एनएचएस पर मुफ्त में मिलता है। क्या लड़कों के स्वास्थ्य को खतरे में डाला जा रहा है?


'Pink teddy bear' ecstasy police warning in north Wales

Summary: A warning has been issued after two men fell ill after taking what are thought to be "pink teddy bear" ecstasy tablets.

North Wales Police said one man, from Gwynedd, was very ill and in intensive care. Both have since recovered. Wrexham Maelor Hospital consultant Hywel Hughes said there had been an increase in people falling ill after taking psychoactive substances. The pills are the shape of a teddy bear and a faded pink colour. Dr Hughes said: "You cannot know what these substances contain and they can be deadly."

"गुलाबी टेडी भालू" परमानंद की गोलियाँ लेने के बाद दो लोगों के बीमार पड़ने के बाद एक चेतावनी जारी की गई है।


Ystalyfera landslip tribunal: Decision due in 30 days

Summary: Three households forced to leave their homes following a series of landslips face a wait to see if they can return.

Ten homes in Cyfyng Road, Ystalfera, were evacuated last year - with people later stopped from returning after Neath Port Talbot council issued an emergency prohibition order. Residents in three homes have since taken the matter to a tribunal. A hearing in Cardiff was told decision will be "reserved", with the outcome expected within the next 30 days.

भूस्खलन की एक श्रृंखला के बाद अपने घरों को छोड़ने के लिए मजबूर तीन परिवारों को यह देखने के लिए इंतजार करना पड़ता है कि क्या वे वापस आ सकते हैं।


Coronavirus: What are UK health officials saying?

Summary: It is still possible the coronavirus can be contained - but the situation is "extremely concerning" in Iran and the number of cases and deaths in Italy are set to rise sharply, the UK's chief medical adviser has said.

Hugh PymHealth editor@BBCHughPymon Twitter Working closely with his counterparts in the devolved administrations, Prof Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, plays a central role in planning the UK's response to Covid-19. An infectious diseases expert, he played an important role in combating the Ebola threat. It was encouraging the number of new cases in China was declining, he said, but he worried the official number of reported cases in Iran greatly understated the reality. Italian disease control systems were "very robust", Prof Whitty said, but people with underlying health conditions should think hard before travelling there. The official line remains anyone returning from the north of Italy with flu-like symptoms needs to isolate themselves at home and phone NHS 111. Those returning from the designated high-risk areas should self-isolate no matter if they are showing symptoms. Significant challenges The UK, meanwhile, is still in the containment phase, with just 13 cases, including four who caught the virus on the UK Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan. Public health staff have successfully traced about 700 people with whom these 13 have had close contact. But they are under no illusion a rapid global spread of the virus turning into a pandemic would raise significant challenges. And they hope if this happens the peak number of cases in the UK would be in the summer, when: Planning for hundreds of cases in the UK was advanced, Prof Whitty said, but it was no more than a possibility. "If there was a major epidemic, there would be substantial pressure on the service," he said. "But it is actually something we are already planning for, so if this happens we are in a position to get the NHS working as efficiently as possible." A range of policy responses would be considered, Prof Whitty said, which might include asking whole families to stay at home if one of them tested positive. The next step, he said, would be to think about closing schools and parts of the public transport network and cancelling events with large crowds But the cost to the economy and society would have to be weighed up against the health benefits. "The expectation is not that we will do all these things, the expectation is we will be looking systematically, using the science, at all the building blocks and balancing the effects against costs to society," he said. Prof Whitty and other system leaders are clearly prepared - but nobody can be sure how resilient the UK's health defences will be if an epidemic develops here.

ब्रिटेन के मुख्य चिकित्सा सलाहकार ने कहा है कि यह अभी भी संभव है कि कोरोनावायरस को नियंत्रित किया जा सकता है-लेकिन ईरान में स्थिति "बेहद चिंताजनक" है और इटली में मामलों और मौतों की संख्या तेजी से बढ़ने वाली है।


'Bed-blocking' concerns in Grampian being raised

Summary: Concerns over the number of people waiting to be discharged from hospital to care homes in the north east of Scotland are set to be highlighted.

Grampian's NHS board will be told that in September this year there were 112 so-called bed-blocking cases. This was the highest in any month for two-and-a-half years, with seven care homes in Aberdeen closed to admissions. The fear is that delayed discharges can have a significant impact on the flow of patients through acute services.

स्कॉटलैंड के उत्तर पूर्व में देखभाल गृहों के लिए अस्पताल से छुट्टी मिलने की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे लोगों की संख्या पर चिंताओं को उजागर किया जाना तय है।


Rohingya crisis: Seeing through the official story in Myanmar

Summary: The 300,000 people who have fled Rakhine state to Bangladesh over the past two weeks all come from the northern districts of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, the last areas of Myanmar with sizeable Rohingya populations not confined to displacement camps.

By Jonathan HeadSoutheast Asia correspondent These districts are hard to reach. Roads are poor, and the government requires permits to go there, which journalists rarely get. So we grabbed the opportunity to join a government-organised visit to Maungdaw, for 18 local and foreign journalists. It would mean seeing only places and people they wanted us to see. But sometimes, even under these restrictions, you can glean valuable insights. Besides, the government has arguments that need to be heard. It is now facing an armed insurgency, albeit one some would argue has been self-inflicted. The communal conflict in Rakhine state has a long history, and would be difficult for any government to deal with. On arrival at Sittwe, the Rakhine state capital, we were given instructions. No-one was to leave the group and try to work independently. There was a curfew at 6pm, so no wandering after dark. We could request to go to places that interested us; in practice we found such requests were rejected on grounds of security. To be fair, I believe they were genuinely concerned for our safety. Most of the travel in this low-lying region of Myanmar is along the maze of creeks and rivers on crowded boats. The journey from Sittwe to Buthidaung takes six hours. From there we travelled for an hour on a rough road over the Mayu Hills to Maungdaw. As we drove into the town we passed our first burned village, Myo Thu Gyi. Even the palm trees were scorched. The government's purpose in bringing us was to balance the overwhelmingly negative narrative coming from the Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh, who have almost all spoken of a deliberate campaign of destruction by the Myanmar military and Rakhine mobs, and appalling human rights abuses. But right away these efforts faltered. We were first taken to a small school in Maungdaw, now crowded with displaced Hindu families. They all had the same story to tell of Muslims attacking, of fleeing in fear. Oddly, Hindus who have fled to Bangladesh all say they were attacked by local Rakhine Buddhists, because they resemble Rohingyas. In the school we were accompanied by armed police and officials. Could they speak freely? One man started to tell me how soldiers had been firing at his village, and he was quickly corrected by a neighbour. A woman in an orange, lacy blouse and distinctive grey and mauve longyi was especially animated about the abuses by Muslims. We were then taken to a Buddhist temple, where a monk described Muslims burning down their own homes, nearby. We were given photographs catching them in the act. They looked strange. Men in white haji caps posed as they set light to the palm-thatch roof. Women wearing what appeared to be lacy tablecloths on their heads melodramatically waved swords and machetes. Later I found that one of the women was in fact the animated Hindu woman from the school, and I saw that one of the men had also been present in among the displaced Hindu. They had faked the photos to make it look as though Muslims were doing the burning. We had an audience with Colonel Phone Tint, the local minister for border security. He described how Bengali terrorists, as they call the militants of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, had taken control of Rohingya villages, and forced them to offer one man per household as a fighter. Those who refused to comply have their houses burned, he said. He accused the militants of planting mines and destroying three bridges. I asked whether he was saying that all of the dozens of burned villages had been destroyed by the militants. He confirmed that was the government's position. Responding to a question about military atrocities, he waved it away. "Where is the proof?" he asked. "Look at those women," he meant the Rohingya refugees, "who are making these claims - would anyone want to rape them?" The few Muslims we were able to see in Maungdaw were mostly too scared to talk in front of a camera. Breaking away from our minders, we spoke to some who described the hardship of not being allowed to leave their neighbourhood by the security forces, of food shortages, and intense fear. One young man said they had wanted to flee to Bangladesh, but their leaders had signed an agreement with the authorities to stay. In the now quiet Bengali market, I asked a man what he was frightened of. The government, he said. The main destination on our itinerary outside Maungdaw was the coastal town of Alel Than Kyaw. This was one of the places attacked by Arsa militants in the early hours of 25 August. As we approached, we passed village after village, all completely empty. We saw boats, apparently abandoned, along with goats and cattle. There were no people. Alel Than Kyaw had been razed to the ground. Even the clinic, with a sign showing it had been run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, had been destroyed. To the north, in the distance we could see four columns of smoke rising, and heard bursts of automatic weapons fire. More villages being put to the torch, we guessed. Police Lieutenant Aung Kyaw Moe described to us how he had been given advance warning of the attack. He had taken the non-Muslim population for protection into his barracks, and his men fought off the assailants - armed, he said, with guns, swords and home-made explosives, for three hours until they were driven off. Seventeen of the militants lay dead, and one immigration officer. The Muslim population fled shortly afterwards. But he struggled to explain why parts of the town were still smouldering, two weeks after the attack, and in the rainy season. Perhaps a few Muslims stayed on, and then set their homes alight before leaving more recently, he suggested half-heartedly. Then, on our way back from Alel Than Kyaw, something entirely unplanned happened. We spotted black smoke billowing out of some trees, over the rice fields. It was another village going up, right by the road. And the fires had only just started. We all shouted at our police escort to stop the van. When they did, we just ran, leaving our bewildered government minder behind. The police came with us, but then declared it was unsafe to enter the village. So we went ahead of them. The sound of burning and crackling was everywhere. Women's clothing, clearly Muslim, was strewn on the muddy path. And there were muscular young men, holding swords and machetes, standing on the path, baffled by the sight of 18 sweaty journalists rushing towards them. They tried to avoid being filmed, and two of them dashed further into the village, bringing out the last of their group and making a hasty exit. They said they were Rakhine Buddhists. One of my colleagues managed a quick conversation with one of them, who admitted they had set the houses on fire, with the help of the police. As we walked in, we could see the roof of the madrassa had just been set alight. School texts with Arabic script had been thrown outside. An empty plastic jug, reeking of petrol, had been left on the path. The village was called Gawdu Thar Ya. It was a Muslim village. There was no sign of the inhabitants. The Rakhine men who had torched the village walked out, past our police escort, some carrying household items they had looted. The burning took place close to a number of large police barracks. No-one did anything to stop it.

पिछले दो हफ्तों में राखीन राज्य से बांग्लादेश भाग गए 300,000 लोग सभी उत्तरी जिलों मौंगदाउ, बुथिडाउंग और राथेडाउंग से आते हैं, जो म्यांमार के अंतिम क्षेत्र हैं जहां बड़ी संख्या में रोहिंग्या आबादी विस्थापन शिविरों तक ही सीमित नहीं है।


Pride Cymru brings Cardiff to a standstill

Summary: The streets of Cardiff were brought to a colourful standstill on Saturday as record numbers attended Pride Cymru.

A one-mile long parade, including an inflatable unicorn and a dragon made up of balloons, snaked through the city. People on colourful floats and holding banners and flags enjoyed the carnival atmosphere. Peter Jenkins, attending his 19th Pride Cymru, said: "I have seen it grow and grow. I never, ever thought we would get to this stage".

कार्डिफ की सड़कों को शनिवार को एक रंगीन ठहराव पर लाया गया क्योंकि रिकॉर्ड संख्या में लोग प्राइड साइमरू में शामिल हुए।


Fresh Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre plans go on show

Summary: Fresh plans for the proposed new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) - as well as the current site - have gone on show to the public.

Henry Boot Developments is behind plans for a replacement for the existing Bridge of Don-based AECC, to be built at a site at Bucksburn. The plan is for a concert venue, along with a 200-bed four-star hotel and a green energy centre. The current AECC site could be used for housing. There may also be retail or business space, or a household waste recycling facility. A number of public consultations are being held. The first was between noon and 20:00 at the Jesmond Centre in the Bridge of Don.

प्रस्तावित नए एबरडीन प्रदर्शनी और सम्मेलन केंद्र (ए. ई. सी. सी.) के साथ-साथ वर्तमान स्थल के लिए नई योजनाएं जनता के सामने रखी गई हैं।


Concorde stories: Remembering the 'pocket rocket'

Summary: Concorde, perhaps the most iconic airliner in history, made its first commercial flight between London and New York 40 years ago today. Enjoying a journey that took a mere three hours, the rich and the rushed quaffed champagne and scoffed lobster while travelling at twice the speed of sound.

Fans of the aircraft included the Queen Mother who, after taking an earlier flight on Concorde, mentioned to Captain Jock Lowe that whenever she heard the plane approaching her Clarence House home in London, she would go out on to the balcony and wave. He told her that from then on when he flew Concorde over central London he would flash the aircraft headlights in salute, which then became a tradition for all the Concorde captains. Twenty of the birdlike planes with their distinctive droop-noses were built. Seven went to the then state-owned British Airways and seven to Air France. The remaining six were prototypes that never went into passenger service. Here are some of the stories of Club Concorde members who were inspired and enthralled by their experiences of "the pocket rocket". Jazz band on board On 31 March 1976 Captain John Eames was in command of Concorde G-BOAA in flight from London Heathrow to Bahrain. "Soon after accelerating to supersonic speed, the chief steward came on to the flight deck and informed me that among the passengers was a jazz band, complete with instruments. Moreover they wanted my permission to perform in the cabin. "I was mildly surprised at this notion but decided that as the passenger load was quite small, 'why not?' They did play and, I learned later, made a recording of a tune that they had specially written called The Mach 2 March. "Later, after we arrived in Bahrain, they came round to our hotel and gave a small performance in our hotel's crew party room. I then learned that our erstwhile passengers were The Temperance Seven. "On a later visit to Bahrain their leader, whose name I have sadly forgotten, came to dinner at the crew hotel and gave me a recording that they had made and which included the aforesaid March, interspersed with my in-flight announcements." 'The memories are precious' As a teenager in London, Trish Dainton would often stop in her tracks and look up to the sky when hearing that instantly recognisable sound. "It was a regular sight but every time was like the first. "Unknown to me at the time, in another part of London, another teenager would also look up in awe hoping to be on Concorde one day. Forward-fast a few years and our paths had crossed. "In 1987, the young man - Steve Dainton - and I got engaged. We married in 1988 and made a promise that we would do something very special like travelling on Concorde for our 10th year as a married couple. We were so serious about it that we opened a 10-year joint endowment policy and paid into it every month. "We were absolutely thrilled to find we had been allocated seats 1A and 1B. These are the seats at the very front of the plane and where the information board was. "The in-flight service was immaculate, as would be expected. We were pleasantly surprised we could get to meet the captain and other members of the crew and take photos. "The memories of that time are now even more precious. In 2011 aged just 49, Steve died from Huntington's disease he had inherited from his father. Although he did not have the gene formally diagnosed until seven years after our trip, when we married we knew that there was a risk we wouldn't be growing old together so it was imperative we did not put off things for too long. "I will always cherish having been able to share living the dream with Steve by my side. I hope Concorde takes to the skies again one day to allow others to dream and to fulfil their dreams like we did." 'Knocked off my stool' The end of the runways at Heathrow all have public roads and footpaths near them. During the summer of 2003 Jetinder Sira often used to walk to these spots: "I would stand on my blue stool waiting for Concorde to take off. "The idea was to stand on the stool near the end of the runway, peek over the perimeter fence and look down the runway. "When I saw Concorde coming I got my camera and started taking photos. As she very rapidly flew over the fence and over my head, she formed a shockwave and this shockwave knocked me off my feet and off my stool. It was an awesome experience, it wasn't a one off, it happened on every single take-off. "No other plane, not even the 'overweight' Boeing 747 (which was twice the size of Concorde) could ever knock me off my feet, but Concorde did." Champagne apology Stephen Gay flew Concorde twice, both times from London to New York, in the early 1980s: "On the second flight, one of the flight attendants spilled some of the lunch offering on my trousers while she was serving me. Needless to say she was most embarrassed and apologised profusely. "As I disembarked at JFK, she met me at the door and handled me two bottles of French champagne and stated her hope that they would offset the cost of dry-cleaning my suit, to which I replied with understatement: 'Yes, that would just about cover it.' "A class act on her part and that of BA." 'Jeeez' Doug Newton, who was based in the Concorde Flight Test Department at Fairford, recalls: "During the flight-testing days we flew down to Casablanca for a day out when we were asked by another snail plane who we were and what we were doing. "Our answer: 'We are at 600mph, accelerating; 50,000ft climbing; mate - this is Concorde over and out.' "'Jeeez' was the only reply! "So Concorde 202 - G - BBDG sped on with some wry grins in the cockpit. All in a day's work! "Still very proud of our aircraft and what we did to get it into airline service. I was in fact on the delivery flight from Fairford to Heathrow in January 1976 of the very first Concorde for BA." 'Floods of tears' "I booked a trip for my husband's 30th birthday as a surprise," says Jan Ward. "It was one of the best experiences of our lives and we had an amazing weekend. "The day they did the final Concorde landings, we were on our way to Devon. It must have been the only time that we were grateful for being in a traffic jam. Our Audi had a television in it, and, as we were stationary, we were able to watch them come in from their final flight. "It made me so emotional. I was in floods of tears. It was lucky that I wasn't driving." 'Lifted from our seats' Neil Kemsley says he was one of the lucky people given a free flight on Concorde as part of a promotion. "We boarded at Gatwick and then landed at Heathrow. "This flight was passengers-only and no baggage, and the captain was very aware of the fact that the aircraft would be a lot lighter than usual and was out to impress us all on the performance. When we were all seated he requested that we all ensure that our seatbelts were securely fastened. "We taxied to the end of the runway. We took off like a bullet out of a gun, climbing nearly vertical. When we had reached some amazing altitude he took the power off and we lifted out of our seats. "What a fantastic experience." Missed opportunity Dennis Williams, who lived in Woking until 1986, said: "Concorde was a familiar sight and sound overhead our house. "When we moved to Herefordshire, we exchanged Concorde for low-flying military jets, which appeared to be much noisier. "Nearing my 60th birthday, my wife thought that she would surprise me by booking a champagne Concorde flight. "She then realised that a hefty withdrawal from our joint bank account would attract suspicion, so she had to confide her plans with me. "I was overjoyed at such a wonderful birthday present, but decided that I would rather wait until I retired at 65 and take the trip then. "Sad to say, as history relates, before I reached retirement, Concorde was withdrawn from service and I never flew in her." Words by Bethan Bell.

कॉनकॉर्ड, जो शायद इतिहास का सबसे प्रतिष्ठित विमान है, ने आज से 40 साल पहले लंदन और न्यूयॉर्क के बीच अपनी पहली वाणिज्यिक उड़ान भरी थी। केवल तीन घंटे की यात्रा का आनंद लेते हुए, अमीर और जल्दबाजी करने वाले लोगों ने ध्वनि की दोगुनी गति से यात्रा करते हुए शैंपेन और लॉबस्टर का मजाक उड़ाया।


Woman dies at Boomtown Fair festival

Summary: A woman has died at a music festival in Hampshire.

The 18-year-old was taken ill at the Boomtown Fair, near Winchester, late on Thursday, police said. She was was taken to Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Hampshire Constabulary said the woman's death was not being treated as suspicious, but it was working with the organisers of the festival to establish the circumstances around her death. The woman's next of kin and the coroner have been informed. The Boomtown Fair, now in its fifth year, takes place at the Matterley Estate and has a daily capacity of about 30,000 people. This year's event features artists such as Arrested Development, The Selecter, Lee Scratch Perry and LTJ Bukem.

हैम्पशायर में एक संगीत समारोह में एक महिला की मौत हो गई है।


Joint Mechanism for Interim Admin - JVP

Summary: Tamil tigers are presenting the ' interm administration' in the guise of 'Tsunami Joint Mechanism', says the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna(JVP), Somawansa Amerasinghe.

"LTTE is attempting to establish a separate state by war or peace", he said at a news confernce in Colombo on Tuesday. JVP leader said that the government has no right to go for a joint mechanism with LTTE which has weapons in their hands. "The government has effectively carried out tsunami relief programmes. That is why not a single case of contageous desease was found against such a massive destruction", he said. Though the facts being such, he said, international community has been pressurising the government to agree on the joint tsunami mechanism. Challenging the LTTE he asked "Can Tamil Tigers give an assurance that they are going to establish democracy in the north and east with the Joint Tsunami Mechanism?" It will not happen. Here, the International community is not fair by their judgement, he added.

जनता विमुक्ति पेरामुना (जे. वी. पी.) के नेता सोमवंसा आमेरासिंघे कहते हैं कि तमिल बाघ 'सुनामी संयुक्त तंत्र' की आड़ में 'अंतर प्रशासन' पेश कर रहे हैं।


Hawaiian shirts and gravy: Christmas tributes for loved ones lost to Covid

Summary: Christmas is different for everyone this year but especially for the thousands of UK families who have lost relatives to Covid-19.

Here, nine people reveal how they plan to remember the loved ones who are no longer here to celebrate the season with them. My dad, the Welsh gravy king Dean, Cardiff "My father was an entrepreneur, raconteur and creative maverick - but he also had a huge heart," says neuroscientist and author Dean Burnett. "He was also pathologically obsessed with gravy." Peter Burnett died in April at Morriston Hospital, Swansea. He was 58. In the 1980s and 90s, Dean's parents ran a pub in Pontycymer, in the Garw Valley north of Bridgend. "My dad was a big community figure and his exploits are still talked about today," says Dean. "It was a bit like growing up in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, but with different accents." Last Christmas, Dean received a video message from his dad - which was just him delivering festive tidings while stirring a large vat of gravy. "He always used to practise the gravy beforehand," says Dean. "He'd make it in a big saucepan on the stove, tweaking his secret recipe a little each time." This year, Dean's in charge of the gravy. He too has practised in advance. "I hope I can do my dad proud - and that my wife and children like it!" I'll toast my action man and his Hawaiian shirts Gail, Cheshire "Harry thought of himself as a bit of a Bear Grylls. He was a passionate canoeist and loved being in charge of a good barbecue," says Gail, of her late husband. Harry worked for Manchester University for nearly 40 years, before taking early retirement a year ago. He died in May aged 62. "My sister in Sydney was always sending him Hawaiian shirts - and the week before he fell ill, he'd posed in a different one each day for Facebook." At Harry's funeral, each of Gail's sons wore one of Harry's shirts. Gail joined a widows' support group, but says it was the couple's seven-year-old dachshund - Daisy - who helped her most through the past few months. "She saved me through the grief. She's part of him now. She's always looking out, wondering where he is." Gail is spending Christmas with one of her sons - and Daisy of course. A new album filled with photos of Harry - and the Hawaiian shirts - will be open for the family to look through. "We'll make sure we toast Harry and do our best to remember him." Mum's Christmas hamper lives on Heather, County Down "Mum came to us every Christmas and I'd make her a hamper of nice things. Her favourite jam, lovely smellies, things that she really liked," says Heather, who's a teacher in Belfast. "A few weeks ago, it struck me that I wouldn't be able to make her a hamper this year." Andree died with Covid in hospital in June. She was 92. Heather wanted to carry on the hamper tradition. "I suppose because of my grief over Mum, it made me think of the number of elderly people alone," she says. On Facebook, Heather asked friends and family to become a "Silver Santa" and provide a personalised present, for about £10, for care home residents. But her initial post travelled far and wide. "Within one week I had 800 offers!" "Because of data protection, we only had the resident's initials, gender and what their favourite things were. One elderly man liked Manchester United and brandy." The gifts have been delivered to more than 40 care homes in North Down. Andree was always on her sewing machine. When Heather cleared her house after her death, she found hundreds of handicrafts her mum had made over the years. "I put some of Mum's crafts into a few of the gifts. A little bit of Mum is living on and doing good this Christmas." Gifts from my son, so we can remember him Dorothy, Birmingham "He was a wonderful son, brother and uncle. He'd buy me lunch and take me shopping. He was always there, always thinking of other people." Stephen died at the end of March. He was 39. His family weren't able to bury him until May. "It was terrible, we were in bits. He was all alone and we couldn't see his body," says Dorothy. "And then one night I had a dream. I was holding him and he told me, 'Mum don't worry, I'm all right.' I felt like I'd said goodbye." At Christmas, the family will light 12 candles and say a prayer for Stephen. His brothers and sisters have already each taken one of his personal possessions - "gifts from him for Christmas", says Dorothy who has kept a few things for herself. "A necklace with a lion's head which he had in the hospital - and one of his favourite T-shirts with Bob Marley on the front." My mum, the agony aunt Rhys, Nottinghamshire "My mum was the agony aunt of Kimberley," says Tina's son, Rhys. Tina had worked for most of her adult life in two supermarkets in the small Nottinghamshire town. She knew everyone. She died aged 53. Rhys and his brother Anthony were allowed to sit by her bedside, in PPE, until the very end. Their father, Tina's partner Mick, was recovering at home after his own battle with Covid-19. On the day of her funeral, hundreds of people stood outside their homes waving football flags and blowing whistles. Tina was a big supporter of the Rams - Derby County FC. Her football shirt would end up on her seat at Pride Park Stadium for some of the remaining games of the 2019-20 season. Christmas will be tough says Rhys, but the family are working towards a fitting tribute. Tina will be remembered on an engraved memorial brick at the football ground, with her ashes interred inside. I'll be on shift, just like my sister would have been Kazeema, West Midlands "We got married on the same day to two brothers. I looked after her kids and she looked after mine. She was my heart and soul," says Kazeema of her sister Areema. A newly qualified nurse at the age of 36, Areema died where she worked - at Walsall Manor Hospital. "She started at the hospital as a housekeeper in 2003," says Kazeema. "Sixteen years later she fulfilled her dream of becoming a nurse." Kazeema is a healthcare assistant in the department where Areema worked. Inspired by her sister, she's now trying to become a nurse herself. "I want Areema to be proud of me. It's so difficult for some British Asian girls to get into higher education and study. They're expected to bring up families. This is so important." The hospital trust has set up a scholarship in Areema's name, which will fully fund a nursing degree for someone who cannot afford the fees. Kazeema says work has kept her sane since Areema died - and over Christmas she'll be on shift. "Areema would have worked too if she was here," she says. My mum, the angel who always spoke her mind Joanne, East Lothian "My mum was a bit of a shopaholic. She used to get taxis to the shops and banter with the drivers," says Joanne. "When she died, I had nice messages from them saying they'd miss her blunt Glaswegian wit. She was funny, but I don't think she always realised it." Josie died in April. She was 77. Joanne lived near her mum in Dunbar, to the east of Edinburgh. She and her two daughters have bought a wreath and wicker robin to put on Josie's grave - and a new ornament for their Christmas tree. "So we now have angel wings on the tree sitting together. One for Mum - and one for Dad, who died in 2008." With money her mum left her, Joanne has bought her daughters a final Christmas gift from their granny - some jewellery. "Mum was a very bland eater. She always insisted on soup and roast beef for Christmas dinner. It's going to be strange not having her to focus on. We'll all miss her at the table." The tree near the sea Denise, Cornwall In the corner of a country garden, barely a mile from steep cliffs that overlook the sea, there's a newly planted crab apple tree. It has already borne a couple of handfuls of bright red fruit and Denise is looking forward to spring - when it will come alive with scented, white blossom. She planted it in memory of her husband John. He always liked fruit trees. John was 78 and had a long-term, painful medical condition. He was admitted to a hospital ward thought to be Covid-free - but soon developed symptoms. He died in the early hours of a Monday morning. "That was the longest night of my life," says Denise. The couple moved to their smallholding 20 years ago. For much of that time they reared a flock of sheep. Now though, there are just three animals to look after. Denise has seen few people in the months since John's death, but she's hoping to see family at Christmas. She likes to sit on a bench close to John's tree. "We'd like to scatter his ashes around the tree. I want the family to be there and they'd want to be there too. But if it can't be done at Christmas, I'm prepared to wait until spring - when the blossom arrives." We pray for my father daily at the cemetery - we'll do the same at Christmas Ven, West Yorkshire "Hard-working, that's how I would describe my father," says Ven. "On the day of his burial, we passed through Pontefract Hospital. Some NHS staff and managers were waiting to pay their respects. It was very moving." Policarpio, who was originally from the Philippines, died in April aged 67. He was a nurse for more than 40 years before his recent retirement. For the last 18 years of his career he worked for Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust. Since Policarpio's funeral in the spring, the family - who are Catholic - have visited the cemetery every day. Over Christmas, they'll do the same. "It's very traditional. In the cemetery we take our rosary beads and recite a special prayer for the deceased - the 'Panalangin para sa mga Yumao'. It helps us think back to better times when my dad was with us. We miss him terribly." Interviews by Paul Kerley and Matthew Tucker.

क्रिसमस इस साल सभी के लिए अलग है, लेकिन विशेष रूप से उन हजारों यूके परिवारों के लिए जिन्होंने कोविड-19 के कारण अपने रिश्तेदारों को खो दिया है।


Instagram fact-check: Can a new flagging tool stop fake news?

Summary: Facebook has launched a new feature allowing Instagram users to flag posts they think contain fake news to its fact-checking partners for verification. But questions remain as to whether it goes far enough to counter the amount of disinformation on the image-sharing platform.

By Shayan SardarizadehBBC Monitoring The move is part of a wider raft of measures the social media giant has taken to tackle the problem of fake news on social media. Facebook announced in May that it would start reducing the reach of false content on Instagram and gradually extend its fact-checking partnership to include the image-sharing platform. It also said it would start blocking hashtags and posts that spread anti-vaccine misinformation. Most recently, it tightened its political advertising rules ahead of next year's US presidential election. Launched in December 2016 following the controversy surrounding the impact of Russian meddling and online fake news in the US presidential election, Facebook's partnership now involves more than 50 independent fact-checkers in over 30 countries. The new flagging feature for Instagram users was first introduced in the US in mid-August and has now been rolled out globally. Users can report potentially false posts by clicking or tapping on the three dots that appear in the top right-hand corner, selecting "report", "it's inappropriate" and then "false information". Facebook provides fact-checkers with a dashboard of flagged posts. Fact-checkers can also check content of their own choosing. They use a rating system to determine whether it contains false or misleading information. The usual procedure on Facebook is that stories that are rated false, contain a mixture of accurate and inaccurate claims, or have false headlines will appear less prominent in users' news feeds. Accounts, pages and groups that repeatedly share misleading stories will be notified and face restrictions on distribution and their ability to make money from advertising. Instagram's new flagging tool uses a similar dashboard and rating system. Posts rated as false by fact-checkers will be downgraded on its hashtag search and explore pages, two big methods people use to find new posts on the platform. Facebook says that if a fact-checker rates a story as false on Facebook and it then appears on Instagram, an extra button can be clicked to rate it on there as well. One notable difference is that an Instagram user whose content is reported and rated will not be notified. Stephanie Otway, a spokeswoman for Instagram, said: "This is an initial step as we work toward a more comprehensive approach to tackling misinformation." 'Quite a lot of harm' BBC News spoke with two fact-checking partners who welcomed the new feature and Facebook's track record in responding to feedback. But they have concerns over the additional volume of work and ambiguity regarding the amount of impact it will have on reducing the spread of misinformation on the platform. "Parts of the [Instagram] tool are less well-defined than the Facebook one. The amount of content that is sent to us is much smaller," says Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact, a US non-profit that has been using the tool. PolitiFact recently debunked an Instagram hoax claiming 12 restaurant chains including McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut had come out in support of President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign. Mr Sharockman says he had only been given access to 31 Instagram posts on the day of his phone interview with the BBC. "They seem to have trouble finding out what constitutes misinformation. I am getting quite a lot of posts that I would not rate as false. "I want to see more posts and be able to search within posts. Searching based on keywords is difficult on Instagram, especially if those words are in a photo or meme." He says he wants to focus on "pure misinformation" relating to politics and the 2020 US election, and especially regarding posts seen by large numbers of people. Will Moy, chief executive of Full Fact - a UK charity that joined the programme in January - says Facebook must be more transparent about the impact of their work and share more data with fact-checkers. "It is very important that platforms help to educate people about misinformation and the risks that exist on the internet and social media," he says. Full Fact published an assessment of the first six months of its partnership in June, calling on Facebook to expand its fact-checking programme to Instagram. Mr Moy says misinformation about vaccination, 5G phone technology and toxins in food and drink are prevalent on Instagram. "We have seen enough to know that health misinformation on Instagram is a real danger to people and can potentially cause quite a lot of harm." 'Most effective platform' Instagram boasts one billion monthly active users. Two reports for the US Senate Intelligence Committee in December about the extent of Russia's disinformation campaign in the 2016 election highlighted the platform for generating a high volume of engagement for misleading memes and images. One report by the research firm New Knowledge said Instagram was "perhaps the most effective platform" for Russian troll farm the Internet Research Agency (IRA), adding: "Instagram engagement outperformed Facebook, which may indicate its strength as a tool in image-centric memetic (meme) warfare." The other, by University of Oxford's Computational Propaganda Project and the social network analysis firm Graphika, said the IRA's activity on Instagram rose by 238% after the election. Many of the misleading memes specifically targeted African-American voters or centred on issues like gun rights. Samantha Bradshaw, a researcher for the Computational Propaganda Project, says that viral images and videos are "the future of disinformation and fake news", making Instagram an ideal platform for such operations. "No-one has time to read a long piece containing false information anymore. People want a brief, digestible and sometimes humorous image or video carrying a specific political message," she says. Flagging tools for users are "positive steps in the right direction", she says, but do not address the root causes of online disinformation. "Platforms should think deeply about the broader issues that cause false content to go viral, rather than content that is true. They need to address concerns regarding their algorithms and business models." In an example of how misleading images can trick people, Madonna, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cristiano Ronaldo all recently posted what they assumed were images of fires in the Amazon on Instagram, generating over 14 million likes in total. Although there is no doubt about the high number of fires in the rainforest this year, a reverse image search shows the photos were, in fact, taken in 1989, 2012 and 2013 respectively. US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and actor Rob Lowe both recently fell for a viral hoax claiming Instagram was about to change its privacy policy and make public photos that users had deleted. 'Human judgement' Instagram hopes artificial intelligence will enable it to train algorithms to detect false content in the future, reducing the need for relying on fact-checking services and users. But experts believe some level of human intervention will always be required to ensure the validity of the process. "Ultimately, I expect that some aspects of identifying disinformation will be reliably covered by AI," says Ben Nimmo, head of investigations at Graphika. "But that means training enough analysts in the first instance to be able to create a large and reliable enough dataset, and then training the AI on the datasets and making sure it is up to the task, including by using human checks as a backstop." Mr Moy says although AI will certainly help track the dissemination of fake news, it cannot "replace the human judgement in a way that respects the free speech of everyone involved." "We could probably get to a place where algorithms and computers can spot fake news with a high degree of certainty," says Mr Sharockman. "But for people to believe it, we need humans to remain involved in the process." BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. What did you think of this story? Email and let us know Follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

फेसबुक ने एक नई सुविधा शुरू की है जो इंस्टाग्राम उपयोगकर्ताओं को सत्यापन के लिए अपने तथ्य-जांच भागीदारों को नकली समाचार वाली पोस्ट को चिह्नित करने की अनुमति देती है। लेकिन सवाल यह है कि क्या यह छवि-साझाकरण मंच पर गलत सूचना की मात्रा का मुकाबला करने के लिए पर्याप्त है।


Club 18-30: Are millennials responsible for its downfall?

Summary: At the beginning of the 21st Century, 110,000 young British people were going on Club 18-30 holidays each year, bringing in £48m in sales annually. But less than two decades on, the brand's appeal is waning, with parent company Thomas Cook admitting it is open to selling.

By Hamish MackayBBC News Thomas Cook blames the rise of "ego travel" and Instagram for driving young people away from cheap package clubbing holidays and towards more photogenic travel opportunities. More than half of 18-24 year olds asked in the report said they considered potential social media posts when booking a holiday. Foam parties are out, it seems, and staring at the idyll is in. But are millennials really to blame for the decline of Club 18-30 and, if so, what do they want instead? The "diversification" of options is a key factor, argues Emma Brennan of the Association of British Travel Agents, who says city breaks are now more popular than beach holidays among both 18-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds. "Young people are increasingly looking for specialist trips," she says, "that could be a festival, something more adventurous, or a city break." On the role of sites like Instagram, Ms Brennan adds: "People are more interested in the design of where they live and work and that's reflected in their holiday choices." Travel blogger and photographer Claire Menary argues social media is opening people's eyes to previously unknown possibilities, describing Instagram as "a never-ending source of wanderlust". "You're constantly being exposed to so many incredible accounts," she says, "all providing endless travel inspiration so it's hard not to get carried away and add countless countries to your travel list. "I think young people are wanting more freedom when it comes to choosing and organising their holidays so are breaking away from the package holidays and, in particular, the Club 18-30 kind." But social media is not just a source of inspiration, Ms Menary argues, it is a cultural CV where people can showcase their tastes. "People love to document their experiences because it is, in a way, a form of showing off where they've been and what they've done," she continues. "Not necessarily in a bragging, crass way, but just to portray yourself being well-travelled and cultural." 'Attitudes have changed' It is hard to consider the decline in popularity of clubbing holidays separately from the destinations on offer. Club 18-30 customers can choose from places such as Magaluf, Zante, Kavos and Ayia Napa. Ayia Napa, like 18-30, was booming around the turn of the century after underground music such as UK garage turned a Cypriot fishing village into the place to go for a generation of Brits. Nick Power was a DJ and club owner there for more than a decade and is credited with bringing about its transformation into a popular holiday scene. But Ayia Napa does not hold the appeal it once did and Mr Power believes social media has changed young people's approach to holidays - highlighting dating apps as having shifted social behaviour abroad. "Attitudes have changed a lot since back then - the way young people connect with each other has played a big part in this," he says. "Back then you'd have to go out to meet a girl, ask her out for a date and have a drink. These days that doesn't happen - people get together on dating apps. That's made a huge change to people's holidays." 'Best time of my life' Ash Moore was an 18-30 rep and then a manager between 1999 and 2004, working in Gran Canaria, Benidorm, Tenerife and Zante. He describes his work there as "the best time of my life" - but feels the brand has now "died a natural death". "At the time, lots of people just wanted everything done for them but now it's so easy just to do it yourself," he says. Mr Moore agrees that technology and social media has played a part in the decline - but says the "unfashionable" name is the most important factor. "People are much more aware now, it's not something they would put on Facebook - it might actually be looked down upon by their mates if they're 18 or 19," he says. "It's just the name - the name itself has died a bit of a death, it's fallen out of fashion." So, could Club 18-30 live on under a different name? It has, after all, been rebranded once already during its 48-year existence, when it was relaunched as The Club in 1991. "I wouldn't be surprised if it goes full circle and in a couple of years something under a new name is launched," adds Mr Moore. "It was an amazing company to work for and it made me into the person I am today."

21वीं सदी की शुरुआत में, 110,000 युवा ब्रिटिश लोग हर साल क्लब की छुट्टियों पर जा रहे थे, जिससे सालाना 48 मिलियन पाउंड की बिक्री होती थी। लेकिन दो दशकों से भी कम समय में, ब्रांड की अपील कम हो रही है, मूल कंपनी थॉमस कुक ने स्वीकार किया कि यह बिक्री के लिए खुला है।


Shaheen Bagh: The women occupying Delhi street against citizenship law

Summary: For more than two weeks, hundreds of Muslim women have been braving one of the coldest winters in India's capital Delhi to protest against a controversial new citizenship law. BBC Punjabi's Arvind Chhabra reports.

On 31 December, Delhi experienced its coldest day in more than a century. But that did not deter the women of the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood. Armed with thick blankets, warm cups of tea and songs of resistance, they have not left their spot under a tent on a public street since 15 December. And that's how they rang in the New Year - a few minutes after midnight, they stood up to sing the Indian national anthem. Their demand? Revoke the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The law, which came into effect on 11 December, offers amnesty to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government says it will protect religious minorities fleeing persecution in these countries. But the government's words have done little to reassure India's Muslims, many of whom fear the law will discriminate against them - and could even go as far as to push some out of the country or into detention centres. "I hardly ever leave my house alone," admits Firdaus Shafiq, one of the protesters. "My son or husband accompany me even to the nearby market. So I found it tough at first to be out here. "But I feel compelled to protest." And it is women like Firdaus Shafiq who make the protest at Shaheen Bagh so unusual, according to activists and commentators. "These women are not activists," says Syeda Hameed, founder of Delhi-based Muslim Women's Forum. Instead, they are ordinary Muslim women, many of them homemakers, at the centre of a national debate - standing up to the government. "This is the first time they have come out on a national issue which cuts across religious lines and I think that's important," says Ms Hameed. "Although it's something to do with victimisation of [the] Muslim community, it's still a secular issue." Read more about the citizenship law It's hard to say how many women were present when the protest started but their numbers have swelled quickly. They first came out on the night of 15 December - when a protest by students of Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university ended in clashes with the police. The university said police later entered the campus without permission and assaulted staff and students. The protests against the act snowballed after that night, spreading out across the country. While many protests have come and gone, and some have descended into violence, the site in Shaheen Bagh has remained consistently occupied and peaceful. But as it sits on the border between eastern Delhi and Noida, a suburb, and serves as a crucial link for commuters, not everyone is happy. "It's affecting our business," a local shopkeeper says, while a resident who works in Noida says it now takes him double the time to get to work. Protesters say they don't want to disrupt anyone's life and have pledged to keep their sit-in peaceful. Yet other shopkeepers have come out in solidarity - some have even turned up with food. In fact, as the protest has grown, it has drawn people from across the city, from students to political commentators. "We want to ensure that this protest doesn't turn violent and that we don't give the police a chance to use force against us," one protester, who did not wish to be named, says. "We've been forced to protest because of the government," Ms Shafiq adds. "If we fail to prove our citizenship, we would either be put into a detention centre or banished from the country. So it's better to struggle for our rights now." Her words echo the concerns of many others, who fear the CAA could endanger their citizenship if it is used in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). This is because the NRC will eventually require Indians to submit documents proving their citizenship. But while non-Muslims who are not on the register could claim protection under the CAA as a minority, Muslims without the required paperwork do not have the same rights and could be detained or deported. And even though the government has said it has no immediate plans to implement a nationwide NRC, protests have continued - with some of the women so dedicated to the cause that they have temporarily given up work. Rizwana Bani, a daily wage labourer, says that she is losing pay by being here day and night, but is also scared of what the law could entail for her and her family. "We don't know where and how to get those documents, which will prove our citizenship," she says. "We're being divided on the basis of religion. We are Indians first and then, Hindus or Muslims." The protest has also drawn women of all ages. "I won't leave this country, and I don't want to die proving I am Indian," says 70-year-old Aasma Khatoon, who hasn't left the protest site for days. "It's not just me. My ancestors, my children and grandchildren - we are all Indian. But we don't want to prove this to anyone." Protesters say that the law as they see it targets Muslims, but is a threat to everyone else too. "The law violates the constitution," says Humaira Sayed, a university student. "It may target Muslims at the moment but we're convinced it will gradually target other communities too. "As a Muslim I know I've to be here for my brothers, sisters , the community and for everyone else."

दो सप्ताह से अधिक समय से, सैकड़ों मुस्लिम महिलाएं एक विवादास्पद नए नागरिकता कानून के विरोध में भारत की राजधानी दिल्ली में सबसे ठंडी सर्दियों में से एक का सामना कर रही हैं। बीबीसी पंजाबी के अरविंद छाबड़ा की रिपोर्ट।


What Kim Jong-un's new photo tells us about North Korea

Summary: North Korean state media on Tuesday reported its leader Kim Jong-un's delight with the outcome of his country's attendance at the Winter Olympics. Released alongside the report was an unusually relaxed photo showing Mr Kim with his sister clutching his arm, and another high-level official holding his hand. Analyst Michael Madden explains what this photo, showing a more casual side to the Kim family, can tell us.

As far as Kim Jong-un's commemorative photo sessions go, this projects a fairly relaxed image of top officials. Commemorative photographs taken during his on-site visits and military field inspections usually involve carefully selected North Korean citizens, and the photo moment might be the only occasion where they will meet the Supreme Leader, let alone be in close proximity to him. So we tend to see North Korean workers or soldiers crying, gesticulating in reverence and, when posing for the photograph, standing statue still and giving sombre expressions. These photographs are then hung up in whatever room has been earmarked at the worksite or military base that has been designated for displaying "revolutionary history". Copies are sometimes distributed to the workers or soldiers in them, and citizens who have participated in multiple commemorative photo sessions with him hang the photos, framed of course, in a prominent and honoured place in their homes. Kim Yo-jong's 'smize' Senior officials can sometimes appear tense in these photos. This happens for a number of reasons. One, it is a matter of respect for the moment and not wishing to appear frivolous in front of Kim Jong-un, or in state media. Two, sometimes these senior officials are posing for these photographs in the course of a busy work day. Finally, there is always the chance that Mr Kim's on-site visit or inspection did not go well, for whatever reason, and they may have been upbraided by the Supreme Leader himself. Kim Yo-jong has been an exception, because she has been observed to smirk or smile with her eyes - to smize - in these photos, an indication of her personality and authority in North Korean political culture. However, there is very little tension in Mr Kim's new photograph with the high-level delegation that had just spent three days in South Korea meeting senior officials, most notably having several interactions with President Moon Jae-in. The photo was taken after Mr Kim had received briefings from Kim Yong-nam - the formal North Korean head of state - and Ms Kim, one of his closest aides. The meeting room where the photo took place is located in central Pyongyang and is familiar to North Korean citizens as it has been the venue of numerous interactions between senior officials and late leader Kim Jong-il. Look closely at National Sports and Physical Culture Commission Chairman Choe Hwi and Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country Chairman Ri Son-gwon. They still have their notebooks and pens in their hands. On the one hand, we might view this as a bit of uncertainty. In the event Mr Kim has more instructions or guidance to provide after the shutter stops clicking, they don't want to risk fumbling around for the notebook. Hiding the notebooks behind their backs and thus clasping their hands in the Supreme Leader's presence would be interpreted as highly disrespectful. On the other hand, there could be a degree of spontaneity. Perhaps, meeting done, the photo session was impromptu and Mr Choe and Mr Ri did not have time to put their notebooks down. We don't know if the meeting was lubricated with wine toasts or liquors. Choe Hwi is relaxed and bemused, while Ri Son-gwon (being a former military intelligence officer) almost cracks a smile, in contrast to the fairly tense expression he wore throughout the weekend in the South. Closer to Mr Kim, we find Kim Yong-nam holding hands with the North Korean leader. There is an act of respect and deference on Kim Jong-un's part as he is the one holding Kim Yong-nam's arm. On Kim Jong-un's other side, again in an act of respect, Kim Yo-jong clutches her brother's arm, like other officials that are subordinate to him. The Supreme Leader, when we look closely at his face, is amused at the whole scene. There is a subtle transparency here. The recently released photograph is also reminiscent of an old photo showing Mr Kim's aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, with her arm around Kim ll-Sung. During the Sunshine Period between 1998 and 2008, when the South tried to build a closer relationship with the North, many senior North Korean officials went to the South and returned to brief Kim Jong-il. But these meetings were seldom, if ever, reported in real time. There have been previous photos showing affection between members of the Kim family and certainly photos of senior North Korean officials not looking as if they're posing for their morgue shots. Mr Kim was last year even pictured giving someone a piggyback. Kim Jong-un has also held the arms or hands of elder senior officials and even civilians before; in Korean culture this is a sign of friendship and respect. The recently released photo is intended to show the more relaxed, freewheeling aspects of the North's top leadership. It softens some of the sharp edges and shows a youthful leader so confident in his role and position in the regime that he is ready to deal with the South. Such a confident, happy photo might also make audiences forget this is a leader that tests missiles at will and who tolerates little dissent. Michael Madden is Visiting Scholar of the US Korea Institute at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University and Director of NK Leadership Watch, an affiliate of 38 North.

उत्तर कोरियाई राज्य मीडिया ने मंगलवार को शीतकालीन ओलंपिक में अपने देश की उपस्थिति के परिणाम से अपने नेता किम जोंग-उन की खुशी की सूचना दी। रिपोर्ट के साथ जारी की गई एक असामान्य रूप से आरामदायक तस्वीर थी जिसमें श्री किम अपनी बहन के साथ अपनी बांह पकड़े हुए थे, और एक अन्य उच्च-स्तरीय अधिकारी ने उनका हाथ पकड़ा हुआ था। विश्लेषक माइकल मैडेन बताते हैं कि यह तस्वीर, जो किम परिवार को अधिक अनौपचारिक पक्ष दिखाती है, हमें बता सकती है।


Does AI really threaten the future of the human race?

Summary: The end of the human race - that is what is in sight if we develop full artificial intelligence, according to Stephen Hawking in an interview with the BBC . But how imminent is the danger and if it is remote, do we still need to worry about the implications of ever smarter machines?

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter My question to Professor Hawking about artificial intelligence comes in the context of the work done by machine learning experts at the British firm Swiftkey, who have helped upgrade his communications system. So I talk to Swiftkey's co-founder and chief technical officer, Ben Medlock, a computer scientist with a Cambridge doctorate which focuses on how software can understand nuance in language. Ben Medlock told me that Professor Hawking's intervention should be welcomed by anyone working in artificial intelligence: "It's our responsibility to think about all of the consequences good and bad", he told me. "We've had the same debate about atomic power and nanotechnology. With any powerful technology there's always the dialogue about how do you use it deliver the most benefit and how it can be used to deliver the most harm." He is, however sceptical about just how far along the path to full artificial intelligence we are. "If you look at the history of AI, it has been characterised by over-optimism. The founding fathers, including Alan Turing, were overly optimistic about what we'd be able to achieve." He points to some successes in single complex tasks, such as using machines to translate foreign languages. But he believes that replicating the processes of the human brain, which is formed by the environment in which it exists, is a far distant prospect: "We dramatically underestimate the complexity of the natural world and the human mind, "he explains. "Take any speculation that full AI is imminent with a big pinch of salt." While Medlock is not alone in thinking it's far too early to worry about artificial intelligence putting an end to us all, he and others still see ethical issues around the technology in its current state. Google, which bought the British AI firm DeepMind earlier this year, has gone as far as setting up an ethics committee to examine such issues. DeepMind's founder Demis Hassabis told Newsnight earlier this year that he had only agreed to sell his firm to Google on the basis that his technology would never be used for military purposes. That, of course, will depend in the long-term on Google's ethics committee, and there is no guarantee that the company's owners won't change their approach 50 years from now. The whole question of the use of artificial intelligence in warfare has been addressed this week in a report by two Oxford academics. In a paper called Robo-Wars: The Regulation of Robotic Weapons, they call for guidelines on the use of such weapons in 21st Century warfare. "I'm particularly concerned by situations where we remove a human being from the act of killing and war," says Dr Alex Leveringhaus, the lead author of the paper. He says you can see artificial intelligence beginning to creep into warfare, with missiles that are not fired at a specific target: "A more sophisticated system could fly into an area and look around for targets and could engage without anyone pressing a button." But Dr Leveringhaus, a moral philosopher rather than a computer scientist, is cautious about whether there is anything new about these dilemmas. He points out that similar ethical questions have been raised at every stage of automation, from the arrival of artillery allowing the remote killing of enemy soldiers to the removal of humans from manufacturing by mechanisation. Still, he welcomes Stephen Hawking's intervention: "We need a societal debate about AI. It's a matter of degree." And that debate is given added urgency by the sheer pace of technological change. This week the UK government has announced three driverless car pilot projects, and Ben Medlock of Swiftkey sees an ethical issue with autonomous vehicles. "Traditionally we have a legal system that deals with a situation where cars have human agents," he explains. "When we have driverless cars we have autonomous agents... You can imagine a scenario when a driverless car has to decide whether to protect the life of someone inside the car or someone outside." Those kind of dilemmas are going to emerge in all sorts of areas where smart machines now get to work with little or no human intervention. Stephen Hawking's theory about artificial intelligence making us obsolete may be a distant nightmare, but nagging questions about how much freedom we should give to intelligent gadgets are with us right now.

बीबीसी के साथ एक साक्षात्कार में स्टीफन हॉकिंग के अनुसार, अगर हम पूरी तरह से कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता विकसित करते हैं तो मानव जाति का अंत हो जाएगा। लेकिन खतरा कितना आसन्न है और अगर यह दूर है, तो क्या हमें अभी भी स्मार्ट मशीनों के प्रभावों के बारे में चिंता करने की आवश्यकता है?


Slough sulphuric acid attack: Ibrahim Khan pleads guilty

Summary: A man has admitted throwing sulphuric acid over a 27-year-old who was attacked in the doorway of a home.

Ibrahim Khan, 21, inflicted severe facial injuries on his victim in Granville Street, Slough. Two others were also injured. At Reading Crown Court on Monday, Khan pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of grievous bodily harm without intent. Khan, of Hatton Avenue, Slough, will be sentenced on 15 May. Det Con Abdi Awil said the victim would have to "live with the scars caused by Ibrahim Khan" for the rest of his life.

एक व्यक्ति ने घर के दरवाजे पर हमला करने वाले 27 वर्षीय व्यक्ति पर सल्फ्यूरिक एसिड फेंकने की बात स्वीकार की है।


Nutella: How the world went nuts for a hazelnut spread

Summary: Nutella, the nutty chocolate spread, is turning 50. Last year some 365 million kilos were consumed - roughly the weight of the Empire State Building - in 160 countries around the world. Half a century ago, in a small town in northern Italy, this would have been unimaginable.

By Dany MitzmanBologna In the hungry months after the end of World War Two, a young confectioner has a vision - of an affordable luxury made of a small amount of cocoa and lots of hazelnuts. His name: Pietro Ferrero. "My grandfather lived to find this formula. He was completely obsessed by it," says the current boss of the family business, Giovanni Ferrero. "He woke up my grandmother at midnight - she was sleeping - and he made her taste it with spoons, asking, 'How was it?' and 'What do you think?'" The way the family tells the story, it's a modern fairytale. Pietro was a humble man who lived in an enchanting region famed throughout the land for its delicious and abundant hazelnuts. Times were hard and chocolatey delights were not for the common people. Still, he dreamed of a magic formula that would enable everyone to enjoy his sweet treats. There's a happy ending, too. Ferrero's tiny business in the picturesque town of Alba goes on to become the fourth most important international group in the chocolate confectionery market, with an annual turnover of more than 8bn euros (£6.5bn; $11bn). When Pietro had his vision, the Piedmont region of Italy, and its capital Turin, was already famed for its chocolate industry. It was the birthplace of Gianduja, a creamy combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. But only the rich could think of buying it. "Chocolate was so expensive, it was really high-end, nobody could afford it, at least in Italy," says Giovanni Ferrero. But in 1946 his grandfather launched Giandujot, or Pasta Gianduja. Produced as loaves wrapped in aluminium foil, it was a sort of solidified Nutella that had to be cut with a knife. The first spreadable version - Supercrema - came a few years later. "This was a big success," says Giovanni. "It was the first brand that allowed people to enjoy confectionery at a very accessible price, even if it was not fully confectionery. This is how everything started." Spreadability meant that a small amount went a long way, helping to break down the perception that chocolate was, as Giovanni puts it, "only for very special occasions and celebrations like Christmas and Easter". It could also be eaten with bread, which formed a big part of the diet at the time. People who never ate chocolate got the Supercrema habit. But it was Pietro's son, Michele Ferrero, who turned it into Nutella, relaunching it with its now famously secret recipe and iconic glass jar. His father was a man obsessed, says Giovanni, just like his grandfather. "My father said, 'We can push it further, there are new technologies, there are new ways to integrate this winning recipe,'" he says. "Nutella was born the same year as I was born, 1964, so I have a small brother in the family! And it was not just an Italian success but a European success." The name gave the product instant international appeal. It said nuts. It also said Italy - "-ella" being a common affectionate or diminutive ending in Italian, as in mozzarella (cheese), tagliatella (a form of pasta), or caramella (Italian for a sweet). Fifty years on, Nutella is a global phenomenon, produced in 11 factories worldwide, and accounting for one fifth of the Ferrero Group's turnover, along with other products such as Kinder and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. The company is the number one user of hazelnuts in the world, buying up 25% of the entire world production. But how did one brand of hazelnut chocolate spread manage to creep its way into so many kitchen cupboards for a full five decades? Roberta Sassatelli, associate professor of cultural sociology at Milan University and author of Consumer Culture, says initially Nutella was the epitome of a "pop lux" (popular luxury) for Italians. "Nutella was something above average, something which was not a necessity," she says. "It was something very sweet and modern and different from the classic sweets in Italy… So, to Italians it meant both modernity and the possibility of giving yourself a treat." Both characteristics are embodied in its glass jar, with a "traditional and luxurious" shape, yet a plastic cap that is "modern, cheap and functional". The marketing of Nutella, Sassatelli says, has been a triumph. "They never sold it as a surrogate, and this was very clever. They could have played on different universal values like, 'This is cheap, this is affordable, this can substitute chocolate.' No, they played upon,'This is natural, it contains nuts so it's better than those that don't contain them.'" The images used to sell Nutella have tended to relate to children and family, she says - it may be an indulgence, but it's presented as the opposite of dangerous or decadent. "It allows you little forms of transgression. It's a spread so you can dirty yourself a bit, but it's just for fun. I think that in the course of the history of Nutella, this is something which has been played on a lot - Nutella as a 'polite transgression'." The company has been particularly good at marketing Nutella as a good ingredient for a nutritious breakfast, Sassatelli says, emphasising the hazelnuts and milk rather than the high content of sugar and saturated fat. It is in fact nearly 57% sugar and 32% fat - and about a third of the fat is saturated. "We all want our kids to have a balanced breakfast," said an advertisement in the UK in 2008, adding that each 400g jar contained 52 hazelnuts, the equivalent of a glass of skimmed milk and some cocoa. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled it exaggerated the spread's nutritional value. But three years later, the ASA gave a clean bill of health to another ad urging people to "Wake up to Nutella", and continuing: "Each 15g portion contains two whole hazelnuts, some skimmed milk and cocoa." Nutella's three-year sponsorship of the national football team, starting in 1998, was a masterstroke, Sassatelli says. "On the one hand, this links Nutella with the Italian national sentiment. On the other hand, of course, it links it with the idea that, in the right quantities, it is healthy to the point that even athletes use it." Health issues will be far from the minds of Nutella fans taking part in this weekend's 50th birthday celebrations, which include a street party on Saturday in Ferrero's home town of Alba and a free concert on Sunday featuring pop star Mika in Naples' Piazza del Plebiscito. Among passionate fans celebrating Nutella's half century (and his own) is, of course, Giovanni Ferrero, although he admits its precise birthday is something of a mystery. "Legend tells us that the first jar was manufactured out of the factory 50 years ago on 20 April and the first act of consumption was the 18 May," he says. "But there's no scientific evidence!" He says he loves not only the taste, but also the "sweet memories" of his childhood. His parents allowed him to eat Nutella at breakfast, and he now allows his own two sons to do the same. The Ferreros, he says, are a family with an "intergenerational sweet tooth".

न्यूटेला, नट्टी चॉकलेट स्प्रेड, 50 साल का हो रहा है। पिछले साल दुनिया भर के 160 देशों में लगभग 36.5 करोड़ किलो की खपत हुई थी-लगभग एम्पायर स्टेट बिल्डिंग के वजन के बराबर। आधी सदी पहले, उत्तरी इटली के एक छोटे से शहर में, इसकी कल्पना भी नहीं की जा सकती थी।


Guinea-Bissau: Political chaos could boost cocaine trade

Summary: For a day recently, the small West African country of Guinea-Bissau had two presidents and two prime ministers, until one of the presidents stepped down citing death threats. The country has been gripped by political turmoil for so many years that analysts do not agree on exactly how many coups it has had in its 46 years of independence. Some say nine, others count 10. An election held last year was another attempt to carve a new peaceful path but it has sparked yet more chaos, as journalist Ricci Shryock reports.

Amidst the political chaos, daily life appears to be carrying on as normal in the capital, Bissau, but underneath the veneer, residents say they are deeply frustrated with the political chaos and confused about what will happen next and whom to believe. While the Portuguese word "saudades" expresses a longing for the past, the feeling in Bissau is more akin to a longing for a more prosperous future they know is possible, but each time Bissau-Guineans' raise their hopes, they are dashed by political manoeuvring - often backed by guns. Along the streets, women are selling the country's number-one cash crop - freshly harvested cashews. But the presence of armed soldiers is a reminder that things are not normal. The absence of trusted sources of news has provided good fodder for rumours and innuendo, with people constantly trying to parse what is true and what is not. Contradictory official communiqués and letters from various sides, about who is the rightful president, are being shared on WhatsApp and Facebook in the country of 1.6 million people. Population:1.6 million Major languages:Portuguese and Crioulo Cocaine:Major trafficking hub from Latin America to Europe Cashew nuts:Fourth largest exporter Poverty:Nearly 70% of the population live on less than $1.90 per day "We don't know what's going on," said a hotel manager, Aboubacar, as he scrolled through his Facebook feed. He furrowed his brow and frowned as he tried to decide which local blogs to read. One restaurant owner, who said the chaos was hurting her business, added: "For such a tiny country, it's amazing how much fake news we can produce." Umaro Cissoko Embaló was announced as the winner of December's election. The long-time ruling party PAIGC however alleged it was cheated out of victory and insists that Mr Embaló waits for the Supreme Court to rule on its third request to annul the elections. But he refused and has taken the oath of office. And in the meantime, PAIGC lawmakers, who say that an alliance with smaller parties means they still have a majority in parliament, swore in one of its members as president and insisted their current prime minister stay in office. However, shortly afterwards PAIGC Cipriano Cassamá stood down, citing fears for his safety. Fake news fills the vacuum "The problems in Bissau are structural problems, and the country has never really stabilised politically," said Gilles Yabi, founder of West African think-tank, Wathi. "The country has the history of war, fighting for independence from Portugal, so the presence of the military is directly linked to this history, and the role the military played to get independence." He added there were other factors at play in the current crisis. "The main problem is the political class of the country, and the fact that they have been fighting for power for a long time. The current situation is very polarised. Depending on whom you talk to, they will have quite a different version of things." There are two competing versions at the moment: While the PAIGC says the elections was rigged, the opposing side, MADEM-G15, says its candidate Mr Embaló won December's polls and is now rightfully installed at the presidency. The National Election Commission has repeatedly confirmed that Mr Embaló won the polls with 54% of the vote, and at least one minister in his government has publicly accused their opponents of bribing a Supreme Court judge to rule in PAIGC's favour and stall the confirmation of Mr Embaló's win. Both sides say they have proof, but in the vacuum of that proof, residents' social media feeds are flooded with false news reports of weapons seizures at a political party's headquarters and politicians hiding out at foreign embassies - events that never happened. Bissau and the cocaine trade To add to the confusion, Guinea-Bissau has for many years been used as a staging post in the trafficking of cocaine from Latin America to Europe. The PAIGC's Aristides Gomes, who still says he is the rightful prime minister, has claimed that narco-trafficking is the main factor behind the current political instability. A brief history of Guinea-Bissau: 1446-47: First Portuguese arrive; subsequently administered as part of the Portuguese Cape Verde Islands, the Guinea area becomes important in the slave-trade. Guinea-Bissau becomes a separate colony in the Portuguese Empire in 1879. 1974: Independence following a guerrilla war. 1980: Country's first president, Luís Cabral, is ousted in military coup led by João Bernardo Vieira; plans for unification with Cape Verde dropped. The overthrow is the first of many political coups that undermine the country's stability over the next four decades. 2010: US names two top military officials as international drugs traffickers and freezes their US assets. EU announces it is ending mission to reform Guinea-Bissau's security forces, saying lack of respect for rule of law is making this an impossible task. 2011: EU suspends part of its aid to Guinea-Bissau because of concerns over governance and the rule of law. Several months later, thousands take to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior for his failure to curb rising food prices. 2012: The UN Security Council expresses concern that drug trafficking has increased, and demands a return to constitutional rule. 2020: Umaro Cissoko Embaló takes office Experts say drug traffickers can profit from the current political chaos, and there were already reports that one notorious trafficker who had previously fled the country was spotted back in Bissau at a downtown hotel last week. This report was denied by Ibrahima Jalo, an ally of Mr Embaló, who heads the association of 18 political parties which is not represented in the assembly. "No, no, no… Drug trafficking? In this country? No. Please. The drug trafficking here in Guinea-Bissau was maybe happening before, but it will never happen again." In the past, the military and navy have been heavily linked to the country's drug trade. In 2013, US Drug Enforcement Administration arrested the former head of the navy as he was attempting to close a million-dollar cocaine deal going through Guinea-Bissau. Trafficking reportedly dropped off in Guinea-Bissau after that, but some experts say the recent few years of political crisis have reopened the corridor. Amidst the chaos, nearly 1,000 hooded vultures were killed in a mass poisoning in the east of the country. Some said it was a bad omen for the country. The birds were bubbling from their beaks in what the Vulture Conservation Foundation says is the worst mass vulture death event in recent memory in the world. Fighting in the courts, not with guns Vincent Foucher, a researcher for the French National Centre for Scientific Research, stresses that the latest iteration of the crisis appears at least for now to be more peaceful than some in the past. "I think it's quite important to note that the elites have realised that now the competition is fought with and around legal norms. It's not about killing people - well for now - or coups. Let's hope it stays that way," he said. You may also be interested in: However, all parties insist the law is on their side. "It's always this thing that in Bissau people bend the law in one sense or another as suits their interests in the position of the moment. The law is bendable and it's not strong enough, not written clearly enough to an extent, and that's part of the problem even though it's not the cause of the problem," Mr Foucher added. Foreign involvement is also complicating the situation. Senegalese President Macky Sall has been outspoken in his support of Mr Embaló's presidency and his Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam. The PAIGC has, however, denounced Senegal for what it says is interference in Guinea-Bissau's internal politics and that it wants to control the country's development - or lack thereof - especially when it comes to contentious maritime rights along their shared border. Regional body Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has said Mr Embaló's inauguration was outside the legal framework. A claim Mr Embaló's supporters rejected. Still dreaming of a better future Meanwhile, young people in the country lament that the political crisis in the country has lasted their entire lives. Teachers and healthcare workers have been on strike since late last year, and many in the capital express a desire for the international community to intervene. Ecowas was scheduled to send a team of experts to mediate this week, but they cancelled their mission under pressure from Mr Embaló 's government at the last minute. The UN Security Council also late last week urged security and defence forces not to interfere with the post-electoral political crisis. Amid the chaos, at a café across the street from both the presidential palace and the PAIGC headquarters, one man shrugged his shoulders in frustration over the crisis. "As long as we are alive, we will dream," he said as he smiled nervously.

हाल ही में एक दिन के लिए, गिनी-बिसाउ के छोटे से पश्चिम अफ्रीकी देश में दो राष्ट्रपति और दो प्रधान मंत्री थे, जब तक कि एक राष्ट्रपति ने मौत की धमकियों का हवाला देते हुए पद नहीं छोड़ा। देश इतने वर्षों से राजनीतिक उथल-पुथल की चपेट में है कि विश्लेषक इस बात पर सहमत नहीं हैं कि स्वतंत्रता के 46 वर्षों में इसके कितने तख्तापलट हुए हैं। कुछ कहते हैं कि नौ, अन्य गिनती 10। पिछले साल आयोजित एक चुनाव एक नया शांतिपूर्ण मार्ग बनाने का एक और प्रयास था, लेकिन इसने और अधिक अराजकता को जन्म दिया है, जैसा कि पत्रकार रिक्की श्रायक ने बताया।


Challenge to Pope as 'gay lobby' talk fills Vatican

Summary: At the midway point of one of the most significant Vatican meetings since the Second Vatican Council half a century ago uncertainty reigns among the nearly 300 participants - most of them celibate male clerics - about what it will or can accomplish.

By David WilleyBBC News, Rome Pope Francis is being challenged by some powerful cardinals holding key posts inside the Vatican who fear for their careers, as a smaller group of clerics who support his reforms are pushing for change. The Pope has been warning darkly against unspecified "conspiracies" and "scandals" by lobbies who are playing a new role in Church politics. The existence of a so called "gay lobby" inside the Vatican has been confirmed by the outing of a gay priest who decided to go public on the eve of the opening of the Synod, causing shock and embarrassment to the organisers. Pope Francis is the first Pope ever to utter the word "gay" in public. Conservatives and reformers Hitherto, a deep taboo has prevailed on the subject of homosexuality and homophobia. Pope Francis is recommending a more merciful and less judgmental attitude towards gays who want to remain inside the church. One synod participant, the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia, Mark Coleridge, has been blogging throughout the conference giving a refreshingly candid view of the discussions. He has complained, however, about "lack of focus" and a tendency towards "Church-speak", which he admits "may seem wondrous to us, but communicates little or nothing to most people". Members of the Synod on the Family, as the three week conference is called, are divided between cardinals and bishops who want to emphasise the unchanging nature of Church teaching on such controversial matters as same-sex unions, contraception, the admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to communion - and those who feel that the language of the Church is too fusty and has become largely meaningless - particularly to young couples of today, whether married in church, in a civil ceremony or merely cohabiting. Secret decisions Pope Francis, who is closely following the proceedings of what has become an exceedingly long, drawn-out consultation of Church leaders from around the world (the first session was held a year ago), has told participants not to be afraid of putting their views forward at the closed-door conference. Bishops are gathering alternately in plenary session and in small language groups. They plan to produce a final report which will serve as a guide to Pope Francis in drawing up his final words on the subject. The synod is not a parliament of the Church, Pope Francis stresses, but it has been hailed as marking a step forward in modern Church governance by involving senior Church figures from around the world in the secret decision-making process that has gone on for centuries inside the Vatican. David Willey is the author of The Promise of Francis: The Man, the Pope and the Challenge of Change

आधी सदी पहले द्वितीय वेटिकन परिषद के बाद से वेटिकन की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण बैठकों में से एक के बीच में लगभग 300 प्रतिभागियों के बीच अनिश्चितता बनी हुई है-उनमें से अधिकांश पुरुष मौलवियों को ब्रह्मचारी मानते हैं-इस बारे में कि यह क्या करेगा या क्या कर सकता है।