Timeline: The Garda McCabe whistleblower controversy

Summary: As a supreme court judge in Dublin examines whether senior Irish police officers were involved in an alleged smear campaign against whistleblower Garda Maurice McCabe, BBC News NI looks at the background to the story and outlines allegations of corruption by gardaí, accusations of malice and a false child abuse claim that ultimately led to the Disclosures Tribunal.

December 2012: Sgt Maurice McCabe is ordered to cease using the Garda Síochana (Irish Police) computer system at Bailieborough in County Cavan after he had looked at files linked to the alleged wiping of driving penalty points of well-connected people by other officers, mainly in 2007 and 2008. A subsequent internal Garda investigation failed to interview the sergeant. September 2013: A report by the public spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General, found that the state had lost significant revenue because of irregularities in the penalty points system. January 2014: The head of the force, the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, tells the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that he personally finds what Garda whistle-blowers have been saying as "quite disgusting". January 2014: Sgt Maurice McCabe gives evidence in private to the Dáil PAC about the cancellation of penalty points. The committee finds him to be credible. March 2014: Martin Callinan resigns as Garda Commissioner shortly after two cabinet ministers, Eamon Gilmore and Leo Varadkar, call on him to withdraw his comment that Garda whistle-blowers were "disgusting". The Deputy Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan succeeds him, initially on an acting basis. May 2014: A report compiled by the barrister, Sean Guerin SC, criticises the Garda treatment of Sgt McCabe and recommends a Commission of Investigation into the affair. The Justice Minister, Frances Fitzgerald, agrees to such an enquiry which carries out its work in private. It's led by the former High Court judge, Kevin O'Higgins. May 2016: The O'Higgins report upheld a number of Sgt McCabe's complaints about serious failings and commended Sgt McCabe, but also noted he was prone to exaggeration on occasion. He also found no evidence to substantiate claims of corruption by gardaí. Commissioner O'Sullivan says she "never had regarded Sgt McCabe as malicious". But, despite her public praise, opposition politicians say leaked documents show her lawyers challenged his "credibility and motivation" right to the end. Earlier suggestions of "malice" seem to have been based upon senior Garda officers' reports to the commissioner of their interviews with Sgt McCabe but he was able to debunk their assessment because he had secretly recorded his interviews. October 2016: Supt David Taylor, the former head of the Garda press office, makes a "protected disclosure" under whistle-blower protection laws saying that he was directed by senior Garda officers including, Martin Callinan and Nóirín O'Sullivan to blacken Sgt McCabe's name. She strongly denied involvement in any campaign of spreading smears. Justice minister Fitzgerald asks retired Judge Iarfhlaith O'Neill to compile a report to her on whether the matter requires further investigation. December 2016: Judge O'Neill recommends in an unpublished report that a Commission of Investigation, should carry out a private enquiry into who was telling the truth about what Supt Taylor had to say. February 2017: The Irish government announces that Supreme Court judge, Peter Charleton, will the head the inquiry that will have to look at Commissioner O'Sullivan's mobile phone and text records. She resists calls to stand aside for the duration of the inquiry saying that she was innocent and had done nothing wrong. February 2017: It publicly emerges under Dáil privilege that senior Garda officers are accused of spreading a false smear that Sgt McCabe had been liked to a case of child sex abuse. It also emerges that the alleged victim was a daughter of one of the officers disciplined because of Sgt McCabe. It was a false claim with no evidence to support it. RTÉ's Prime Time programme reports that the state's child protection agency, Tusla, had created a file on Sgt McCabe and on his family after an employee copied and pasted an allegation of child sex abuse against someone else into the McCabe file. Tusla says it was an "error". February 2017: The McCabe family reject apologies and say they intend to sue the state. The government also announces a sworn public inquiry to be headed by Judge Charleton after the McCabe family say they are totally opposed to another private investigation. The announcement is made in the midst of a political crisis that temporarily threatens a general election and seems set to result in Enda Kenny's period as taoiseach coming to an end. 27 February 2017:The Disclosures Tribunal - set up to investigate the alleged smear campaign against Sgt McCabe - opens its first public sitting. Chaired by Supreme Court judge Peter Charleton, it will examine allegations that senior police officers were involved in the smear campaign. The tribunal is scheduled to report in nine months, and provide an interim report to the Irish government in three months.

डबलिन में एक सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के न्यायाधीश के रूप में यह जांच की जाती है कि क्या वरिष्ठ आयरिश पुलिस अधिकारी व्हिसलब्लोअर गार्डा मौरिस मैककेब के खिलाफ एक कथित धब्बा अभियान में शामिल थे, बीबीसी न्यूज एनआई कहानी की पृष्ठभूमि को देखता है और गार्डाई द्वारा भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपों, द्वेष के आरोपों और एक झूठे बाल शोषण के दावे को रेखांकित करता है जो अंततः प्रकटीकरण न्यायाधिकरण का कारण बना।


In pictures: Public sector strikes

Summary: Widespread strikes by public sector workers have been held across the UK following a series of rows with the government over pay, pensions and cuts. Teachers, firefighters, librarians and council staff have been among those taking part in the industrial action, with a string of rallies held in cities across the UK. Union leaders said more than a million workers had been expected to strike, with the government criticising a "handful" of leaders for the "irresponsible" action.

Union marches and rallies have been held across the UK, including in Newcastle, where public sector workers marched through the city centre in protest. The biggest issue for workers has been a dispute over pay, after ministers froze public sector salaries in 2010 and introduced a 1% cap on pay rises in 2012 - which still remains in place. The Cabinet Office said one fifth of civil servants - or fewer than 90,000 workers - were on strike and that 717 Jobcentres were unaffected, with the "majority" of schools in England and Wales staying open. However, thousands of pupils missed lessons as schools were closed and partially shut after teachers in the National Union of Teachers (NUT), including these in Bristol wearing masks resembling Education Secretary Michael Gove, went on strike. Almost 1,500 schools in England closed or partially closed, while more than 1,100 were shut or partially shut in Wales. The Department for Education said there was no justification for the strike. Firefighters, including these Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members in Portsmouth, staged a nine-hour walkout in an ongoing row with the government over pay and pensions. The strikes, which included public sector workers in Brighton, were hailed as the biggest show of industrial action for three years and the largest since the coalition government came to power in 2010. The industrial action comes as the government said it planed to change union balloting laws and the cabinet office said a "handful of union leaders" had pushed for "irresponsible strike action". Union leaders, who addressed crowds in London's Trafalgar Square, hit back at the government by accusing it of "utter hypocrisy".

वेतन, पेंशन और कटौती को लेकर सरकार के साथ कई विवादों के बाद पूरे ब्रिटेन में सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के कर्मचारियों द्वारा व्यापक हड़ताल की गई है। शिक्षक, अग्निशामक, लाइब्रेरियन और परिषद के कर्मचारी औद्योगिक कार्रवाई में भाग लेने वालों में शामिल हैं, जिसमें ब्रिटेन के शहरों में रैलियों की एक श्रृंखला आयोजित की गई है। संघ के नेताओं ने कहा कि दस लाख से अधिक श्रमिकों के हड़ताल करने की उम्मीद थी, जिसमें सरकार ने "गैर-जिम्मेदाराना" कार्रवाई के लिए "मुट्ठी भर" नेताओं की आलोचना की थी।


Community pharmacists in NI vote for industrial action

Summary: Community pharmacists in Northern Ireland have voted to take industrial action.

The decision was prompted by what they describe as "insurmountable funding pressures" and a "staffing crisis". More than 123,000 people use their local pharmacy every day, with the service seen as a vital link between patients and GPs. Health Minister Robin Swann said the vote for industrial action was "regrettable and surprising". It is not clear what form the industrial action will take or when it will start. Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland said 98% of its members at a meeting on Monday night voted to take industrial action. Representatives of 418 pharmacies in Northern Ireland attended the meeting. The body said community pharmacists have reached "breaking point" and there were major concerns about maintaining a safe and ongoing supply of medicines. Mr Swann urged Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland to reconsider its plan for industrial action and called on the body to "work with me to develop a sustainable way forward". "I am very aware of the challenges within community pharmacy, including the need for greater funding certainty," added the health minister. "I want to assure patients that contingency measures will be developed to minimise the impact of any industrial action." Gerard Greene, the chief executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland, said: "We have been warning the department for years of this growing crisis. "The decision to take action is not one reached lightly and we regret that the refusal of the department to address this crisis has brought us to this. "Our network is at the point where the safe delivery of crucial frontline services for patients could be compromised." On Monday, the four main health unions in Northern Ireland reached agreement on pay and safe staffing levels with the Department of Health, ending months of strike action.

उत्तरी आयरलैंड में सामुदायिक फार्मासिस्टों ने औद्योगिक कार्रवाई करने के लिए मतदान किया है।


Brexit and Europe: The French village that fears for its British community

Summary: Alet-les-Bains in southern France may be a long way away from the UK, but Brexit looms large there.

By Henri AstierBBC News, Alet-les-Bains, France And it's not just the large number of Britons among its 440 residents who worry about the future. "Our English friends have done a lot for the village," says resident Annick Van Mairis. "Thanks to them, dilapidated houses have become beautiful. Our main fear is that they should have to leave for some reason or other." In a country not renowned for being Anglophile, the warm feelings towards Alet's 60-strong British community are striking. Retired postman Gérard Baudru says they have brought "brotherhood" to the village - as well as work for himself. "The number of greeting cards in December and January is extremely high," he enthuses. The mutual attraction between Alet and its British residents is rooted in geography. The village is located in Aude, the second-poorest area in mainland France. It has no industry. Its main city, Carcassonne, has half the population of Oldham in the north-west of England and five times its unemployment rate (24% to Oldham's 4.5%). Aude may be struggling economically but, attracted by the stunning scenery, the lifestyle and dirt-cheap property prices, pensioners started trickling in from Britain and other parts of northern Europe in the 1980s. When Ryanair began operating flights from London and Manchester to Carcassonne in 1998, the trickle became a flood. English not spoken Alet, a medieval spa town with a 9th Century abbey, caught the eye of many. One of the early arrivals, Min Stevenson, had originally planned to settle with her husband in a country house near the Pyrenees but decided on Alet instead. "We thought, if we do that we won't feel as if we're living in France," she recalls. "What I want is to be in a village. And I like the fact that people come along and say, 'hello, nice to see you'. The French people were very friendly." Their story is typical. British expats in Aude seek to blend in with the local culture rather than set up their own enclave. When David Goldsworthy settled in Limoux, a medium-sized town a 10-minute drive from Alet, fellow Brits were the last people he wanted to run into. "When I heard English voices at the supermarket or Mr Bricolage [hardware store] I went the other way. I wasn't here for that. I was here to try to become part of the landscape." L'Odalisque, a Limoux restaurant, has been popular with Britons since it opened three years ago. They make up 50% of its patrons even though owner Sven Choplin does not speak a word of English. "We tried to translate our menu at first. The English said, 'stop! This is meaningless. We'd rather make the effort'," he laughs. Annie Morejon - who owns the only store in the village, a grocery shop-cum-café - finds that some even out-French the French. Unlike the natives, who "are sometimes not very polite, they come and give me a kiss", she says. Grand designs Far from recreating Little Britain, the newcomers are busy rebuilding old France. Until the arrival of the British and others, traditional homes in villages like Alet were crumbling. "People from Aude did not value their own heritage," says Catherine Pouedras, who works at the Carcassonne tourist office. The newcomers eagerly bought properties to do them up. They have done so "in a way that respects the tradition and the harmony of the village", Alet Mayor Ghislaine Tafforeau says. This renovation work has been "a lesson for natives", who she says are mainly interested in building identikit modern villas with gardens on the outskirts. One of the prettiest streets in the centre of the village, the mayor points out, is known locally as "la rue des Anglais". The British, says Alet resident Martine Théveniaut, "have breathed new life into the place". You will, if you try hard, find people in Alet who take exception to the British influx. Standing in a square, builders grumble about being undercut by a foreign workforce. "The English give work to each other," one says. Another blames EU rules that allow "posted workers" to escape France's high social security contributions. But both men agree that if it were not for the British, half the houses in a nearby town would still be derelict. In the run-up to Brexit, however, fewer people have been snapping up such properties. Christophe Bac, a Limoux estate agent who advertises extensively in the UK, says the fall in the pound has meant that his share of British buyers has dropped from 30% a few years ago to 15% now. Some who find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet are already selling up, Mr Bac adds. 'Anglet-les-Bains' Beyond the property market, Brexit could have consequences for the community life of villages like Alet. The most crucial British investment there has not been in stone and mortar, but in time and effort. The expats have brought to Alet an Anglo-Saxon zeal for self-help and grassroots action. The local British brigade plays a leading role in every charity sale and village fair. They staff a workshop that makes the Alet coat of arms displayed at festivities. They have raised funds to put flowers around the village ever since the municipality's budget ran out a few years ago. The Brits organise quiz nights and poetry evenings. One hosts a film club that screens alternately French and English-language films (with subtitles for each) every month. Alison Hope settled in Alet in 2013, and bought part of a 200-year-old former nougat factory from another Briton. She is making Robin Hood costumes for the Christmas pantomime - a British tradition the expats have introduced to Alet. "French people do go," she says. "This year we're putting up signs with subtitles so they can follow the action. "Whenever we ask for help to set up an event, the English-speaking community is always there," says Jozy Laval, who heads Anim'Alet, a volunteer group. "I like to say that this place is not Alet-les-Bains, but Anglet-les-Bains." Deputy Mayor Jean-Pierre Gayda agrees that without them the village would have no civic life to speak of. "I'm happy that the English are here in Alet - except during the 80 minutes of Le Crunch," he jokes, drawing the line at France against England at rugby. Staying on? Dawn Stollar settled in the village back in the 1980s after falling "in love with the region". Now a sprightly 80, she remains a leading force in Alet's civic life. A few years ago she drew up a list of emergency numbers and volunteers that sick people could call when they needed help, or have a meal brought to their home. The list was particularly useful when the Aude valley was devastated by floods in mid-October, when the equivalent of five months of rain fell in a few hours. But it is unclear how much longer Alet will benefit from Dawn's energy. She is deeply worried she will be forced to return because of Brexit. One major source of concern for retired expats like her is health coverage. Although they would continue to have access to medical care under the Brexit withdrawal deal, the future is far from certain. And then there is money. Those living on pensions in sterling have already seen a 20% fall in their income since 2016. "There's a limit to how much the elastic can stretch," Dawn says. "I lie in bed thinking, 'what happens if I'm left alone and the income drops so much? What do I do?' You obviously go back to your children. That would be fun wouldn't it? Grannies from all over France and Spain trooping back to England to be with their children. "All my life I got through everything somehow or other. But this one is coming very late in one's life, and you thought of a nice old age in a beautiful place and suddenly there is this tension." Knock-on effects Brexit is also bad news for the local economy. As their incomes dwindle, expats are spending less. The Britons' legendary enthusiasm for do-it-yourself has meant brisk business over the years for Mr Bricolage in Limoux. If Brexit drives many away, says store manager Gaëtan-Pierre Dumonceau, "this would have a negative impact on our sales, and also on the villages where they are so heavily invested." The travel industry, Aude's main cash earner, is already feeling the pinch. The British are its main foreign customers and the number of those visiting campsites in the area was down 27% between 2015 and 2017. In other words, many Britons looking for value holidays - the kind of tourism Aude specialises in - are staying away. Antoinette Fairhurst, who runs a bed and breakfast in Alet with her husband, notes that her income from the past summer's high season plummeted by two-thirds compared with last year. "I hardly had any English that came," she says. François Raynaud, of the regional tourism agency, fears Brexit could make things worse, with tougher border checks. "If the British don't come to Carcassonne that will leave a big hole," he says. Aude's other money-spinner is wine. The Blanquette de Limoux, a bubbly that locals compare favourably to champagne, is sold worldwide, with the British among the keenest drinkers. Le Sieur d'Arques, Limoux' leading winemaker, sells to UK supermarket chains such as Tesco and Waitrose. Brexit could hit sales with extra taxes and paperwork, says Sieur d'Arques export manager Gabi van Dael. "We are very worried about what is going to happen next year." Françoise Antech-Gazeau is head of Antech, an old Limoux family-run firm that specialises in high-end sparkling wine. Her main concern is not about the extra bureaucracy after Brexit - Antech has done business with generations of keen British customers and "we will always find solutions". But she fears a Brexit-induced downturn that could hit the purse of the British and lead them to drink less Blanquette. Brexit will not end the love affair between the British and Aude. The many who have moved there to work are determined to stay, and are busy getting residency permits or French citizenship. "In terms of Brexit, you would have to shoehorn me out with a shotgun," says Charlotte Pye, a yoga teacher who helps kids in rugby clubs up and down the Aude valley in her spare time. "My life is here." But in an area with an economy on the brink, any drop in foreign income can make a big difference. And in a tiny place like Alet, the departure of even a few of its most active residents poses a threat to community life. "Brexit is a danger for us," says Anim'Alet volunteer Claude Carayol. "If the British are not there, who will replace them?" Photographs by Samuel Aranda/Panos Pictures

दक्षिणी फ्रांस में एलेट-लेस-बेंस ब्रिटेन से बहुत दूर हो सकता है, लेकिन ब्रेक्सिट वहाँ बड़ा है।


TN parliamentary delegation to visit IDPs

Summary: A delegation of Indian Members of Parliament from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu will visit Sri Lanka for four days from Saturday to learn about the conditions of the Tamil displaced people in the IDP camps.

The team , comprising members of parliament belonging to the ruling DMK, Congress and Viduthalai Siruthaigal Party, will meet Tamil civilians displaced in the recent war. DMK Member of Parliament Kanimozhi ( who is also the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi) told BBC Tamil Service, the team will stay in Sri Lanka until Oct 14. Asked whether the team would meet the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa and other government functionaries, she said they would definitely meet them. The team had expressed their intention to visit some camps but what is possible will be known only when the team goes there, she said. When pointed out that the Sri Lankan government had not given free and unhindred access for many international organisations into the camps, DMK Member of Parliament Kanimozhi said " finally everything comes down to hope".

दक्षिणी भारतीय राज्य तमिलनाडु के भारतीय संसद सदस्यों का एक प्रतिनिधिमंडल आई. डी. पी. शिविरों में विस्थापित तमिल लोगों की स्थिति के बारे में जानने के लिए शनिवार से चार दिनों के लिए श्रीलंका का दौरा करेगा।


Profile: Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI

Summary: Following his shock resignation in February, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has officially retreated to the converted Mater Ecclesiae convent, where he will dedicate himself to a life of private prayer in the service of the Church.

He caught the world by surprise when he announced on 28 February he would stand down as head of the Catholic Church. Benedict became the first Pope to resign in 600 years. Speaking in Latin, the 85-year-old told cardinals in Rome that his "strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited" to the role. The Vatican has rejected speculation that the former pope is unwell. Two months after his resignation, he was flown by helicopter from the Castel Gandolfo papal summer residence to Vatican City, where he was welcomed by his successor, Pope Francis. Emeritus Pope Benedict will now spend the rest of his days in the convent just behind St Peter's Basilica, with his personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein. 'Sin within' The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415. In the Middle Ages, Pope Celestine V abdicated in 1294, after only five months as pontiff. He died nearly two years later as a hermit. A clause in Church Canon Law stipulates that a papal resignation is valid if the decision is made freely and manifested properly. At 78, Benedict XVI was one of the oldest new popes in history when he was elected in 2005. A piano-playing professor, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was looking forward to retirement when Pope John Paul II died in 2005. He has said he never wanted to be Pope. If he or any of the cardinals who elected him imagined a brief, uneventful reign, paving a transition to a new era, they were to be disappointed. Benedict took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades - the scandal of child sex abuse by priests - was breaking. The flood of allegations, lawsuits and official reports into clerical abuse, which reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, may be the defining episode of his pontificate. The most damaging claims for the Church have been that local dioceses - or even the Vatican itself - were complicit in the cover-up of many of the cases, prevaricating over the punishment of paedophile priests and sometimes moving them to new postings where they continued to abuse. While some senior Vatican figures initially lashed out at the media or alleged an anti-Catholic conspiracy, the Pope has insisted that the Church accept its own responsibility, pointing directly to "sin within the Church". Shortly before his election in 2005, he lamented: "How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those... in the priesthood." He has met and issued an unprecedented apology to victims, made clear that bishops must report abuse, and introduced fast-track rules for defrocking abusive priests. Before his papacy Cardinal Ratzinger spent 24 years as a senior figure in the Vatican, heading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition. It earned him the nickname "God's Rottweiler", and played to his passion for Catholic doctrine. His high office gave him ultimate oversight of a number of clerical abuse cases. Critics say he did not grasp the gravity of the crimes involved, allowing them to languish for years without proper attention. He has never publicly given his own version of events. His backers, however, say he did more than any other pope to confront abuse. Formative experiences Joseph Ratzinger was born into a traditional Bavarian farming family in 1927, although his father was a policeman. The eighth German to become Pope, he speaks many languages and has a fondness for Mozart and Beethoven. He was said to have admired the red robes of the visiting archbishop of Munich when he was just five and carried his love of finery to the Vatican, where he has reintroduced papal headgear and capes from previous centuries. At the age of 14, he joined the Hitler Youth, as was required of young Germans of the time. World War II saw his studies at Traunstein seminary interrupted when he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich. He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner-of-war by the Allies in 1945. Benedict's conservative, traditionalist views were intensified by his experiences during the liberal 1960s. He taught at the University of Bonn from 1959 and in 1966 took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tuebingen. However, he was appalled at the prevalence of Marxism among his students. In his view, religion was being subordinated to a political ideology that he considered "tyrannical, brutal and cruel". He would later be a leading campaigner against liberation theology, the movement to involve the Church in social activism, which for him was too close to Marxism. Mild and humble In 1969 he moved to Regensburg University in his native Bavaria and rose to become its dean and vice-president. He was named Cardinal of Munich by Pope Paul VI in 1977. At the age of 78, Joseph Ratzinger was the oldest cardinal to become Pope since Clement XII was elected in 1730. It was always going to be difficult living up to his charismatic predecessor. "If John Paul II had not been Pope, he would have been a movie star; if Benedict had not been Pope, he would have been a university professor," wrote US Vatican expert John L Allen. He has a reputation as a theological conservative, taking uncompromising positions on homosexuality, women priests and contraception. He espouses Christian compassion - speaking out for human rights, protection of the environment and the fight against poverty and injustice. A central theme of his papacy has been his defence of fundamental Christian values in the face of what he sees as moral decline across much of Europe. He has confounded those who expected him to appoint hardline traditionalists to key posts. But the conclave of cardinals, which will elect his successor, is now dominated by Benedict's appointees, and has a bias towards European, and particularly Italian, clerics. Benedict is described by those who know him as laidback, with a mild and humble manner, but with a strong moral core. One cardinal put it another way, calling him "timid but stubborn". Absolute truth Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the former head of the Church in England and Wales, says he is "unfailingly courteous" and has many talents, but administration is not one of them. An embarrassing leak of documents from the Pope's desk revealing corruption and mismanagement inside the Vatican led to the conviction of his butler. The affair gave a damaging impression of a power struggle at the Holy See. The former pope's handling of the child abuse scandals also attracted stinging criticism from the secular press. And he managed to offend Muslims, Jews, and Protestants with his actions and speeches. Supporters argued such incidents misrepresented his avowed intention of improving inter-faith relations. He reached out, visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and praying for peace at the Western Wall. Even so, questions were raised about those who advised Benedict, and their attention to public relations - leading, eventually, to the appointment of a former Fox News correspondent, Greg Burke, to head the Vatican's communications strategy. For Benedict, public relations gaffes may only have been fleeting concerns compared with the serious long-term challenges for the Church - the falling away from the Church of millions of Catholics, and the decline in numbers of priests being recruited in the West. He always believed that the strength of the Church came from an absolute truth that does not bend with the winds. That approach disappointed those who felt the Church needed to modernise and despaired of his intransigence on priestly celibacy or condoms. But his supporters believed that was exactly why he was the man to lead the Church through such challenging times.

फरवरी में अपने सदमे वाले इस्तीफे के बाद, एमेरिटस पोप बेनेडिक्ट XVI आधिकारिक तौर पर परिवर्तित मेटर एक्लेसिया कॉन्वेंट में वापस चले गए हैं, जहाँ वे चर्च की सेवा में निजी प्रार्थना के जीवन के लिए खुद को समर्पित करेंगे।


Man arrested on suspicion of murder in Totton

Summary: A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in Hampshire.

Police were called to a home in Salisbury Road, Totton, on Saturday evening where they found a 26-year-old man from Wolverhampton. The man was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said. A 15-year-old boy and a 42-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

हैम्पशायर में हत्या के संदेह में एक 26 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


My family and other ibex

Summary: The mountain goats of the Italian Alps used to be encountered by any hiker who ventured high enough. Nowadays you have to work a bit harder. Prof Andrea Sella returned to the area of his childhood holidays to find out why.

It was not far from the treeline that we saw him - a magnificent large male ibex, dark beige and shaggy as he shed his winter coat, sporting a pair of huge curving horns. Forty years ago, my father took me up this valley in north-west Italy's Gran Paradiso National Park to see these iconic goats. It's a valley where he too spent his summer as a child with his grandmother back in the 1930s and which, judging from an old photograph that sits in his study, has changed remarkably little since. It has none of the hideous towering hotels and the scarred forests of so many Alpine resorts. Instead, the village of Cogne still curls round one side of the huge meadow, the Prato di Sant'Orso, that provides hay for local cows through the winter. The ibex (Capra ibex) had once been hunted almost to extinction in the Alps, but were saved by a keen hunter, the King of Italy, Victor Emanuel II. In 1856, he set aside a vast hunting reserve where he could unwind from the stresses of political life down in the plains. In 1919, his nephew Victor Emanuel III donated the reserve to the nation, creating the first and largest of Italy's national parks. It was animals from this park that ibex were reintroduced across Europe from Switzerland to Slovenia. I returned this summer to see how much the valley had changed, not simply since I came as a boy, but since the valley was photographed at the end of the 19th Century by one of the greatest of all mountain photographers, Vittorio Sella. Vittorio, who my family has always assumed to be a distant relation, hiked and climbed across the Alps documenting the mountains in exquisite, luminous detail. With Dr Achaz von Hardenberg, a park biologist who is an authority on the ibex, I hiked up one of the mule tracks that the king had built 150 years ago. It took us some time to see our first ibex nibbling grass quietly to one side of the path, near the ruins of an abandoned shepherd's hut. Achaz looked through his binoculars to read the multi-coloured tag hanging from the right ear of the animal. After making a call to park headquarters, he established that this was a 14-year-old male nicknamed "Archimedes", who had been seen a week before in the neighbouring valley and had made the trek over a snow-covered pass well over 3,000m high - thinking perhaps that the grass might be greener on the other side. Keeping track of animals in the park is a central part of the work done by the park rangers and biologists, who have built up detailed records of the numbers of wild animals in the park going back almost 60 years. These records show something very peculiar. "The population of ibex rose through the 1980s and 90s, reaching a maximum population in 1993 of almost 5,000 individuals," says Achaz. Through this period the ibex population tracked snowfall very closely - as winters got milder, more animals survived and the population rose. "After that the population declined steadily until 2009, when we counted only 2,321 individuals -which is lower than we have ever recorded since 1956." Achaz and his colleagues began looking more closely at the population data. What they found was surprising. While milder winters helped the adult ibex to survive and live longer, things looked very different for newborns. For young kids they found a precipitous decline in the first-year survival rate from 60% in the 1980s to 35% now. Achaz and his colleagues realised that in addition to getting less snow in winter, the thaw was coming earlier. The melting of snow is accompanied by the sudden growth of tender new grass, the spring "green-up", that should provide ibex mothers and their newborn kids with rich fodder. "Since the 1980s spring has been coming three weeks earlier," Achaz told me. "Our hypothesis is that because we are having the earlier spring, there is a mismatch between the timing of the birth of the kids and the optimum moment when we have the highest quality of the grass." In other words, by the time the female ibex give birth, the grass is already dry and tufty, and much less nutritious. This effect is not restricted to the Alps, but has also been seen in the Rocky Mountains, where bighorn sheep and mountain goats have suffered similarly complex changes. Park ranger Marco Grosa, a trim and athletic man in his early 50s, poured us big cups of sweet tea as he talked about other changes he's seen in the park in the 30 years he has worked here - not just the goats, the snow and ice and the timing of the green-up. From his bookshelf he picked out a guide to the flora of the Alps, and opened it to the entry for Androsace septentrionalis, the pigmy rock jasmine. The description reads "found up to 1,900m (exceptionally to 2,200m)". Moments later we were outside looking at a patch of tiny flowers nestling by the side of the building. "The altitude here is 2,700m. I don't know how these guys got here," he said. The next morning, he took us on a quick walk round the area identifying birds by their calls and pointing out dozens of flowers, some well above their normal range. "The valley has changed. I don't know where this is going." he said. Back in Cogne, I phoned an old family friend who arranged a meeting for me with a couple of elderly mountain guides, Alfredo Abram and Antonio Guichardaz, both now in their 80s. Alfredo had taken me climbing when I was a boy, and to my surprise, he still remembered our time together. I asked him about the Grivola, a perfect pyramidal peak photographed memorably by Vittorio Sella. "I first climbed the North face of the Grivola in 1956. We put on our [ice-climbing] crampons when we left the bivouac hut and we didn't take them off until we reached the summit," said Abram. "When I did it for the last time in 1985 there was no ice, let alone snow. We didn't need crampons at all." Antonio Guichardaz also talked about enormous changes. "We grew up with the glaciers on our doorstep. Now it's all loose rock. It's very strange." For both Alfredo and Antonio, the retreat of the glaciers is something both puzzling and worrying, especially as once reliable springs and streams have begun to dry up. Before I came on this trip, in my mind's eye the Cogne valley had been a bit like one of those little snow globes that you buy in a tourist shop, an isolated world suspended in time, rather like the mountains in Vittorio Sella's photographs. But hearing the guides' and the ranger's incomprehension at the speed and scale of the changes they have seen over their working lives brought home powerfully how even this remote valley is not disconnected from the rest of the world. They told a story that no visitor on holiday will be even dimly aware of. It is true, of course, the glaciers have been retreating gradually since the last ice age. But the little white flowers that Marco Grosa spotted living so high above their normal range, speak to us of the almost imperceptible warming of our world - and they thrive on the very same slopes where baby ibex go hungry in the spring. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

इतालवी आल्प्स की पहाड़ी बकरियों का सामना किसी भी पर्वतारोही से होता था जो काफी ऊँची यात्रा करता था। आजकल आपको थोड़ी मेहनत करनी पड़ती है। प्रोफ़ेसर एंड्रिया सेला यह जानने के लिए अपने बचपन की छुट्टियों के क्षेत्र में लौट आए कि क्यों।


Maldives President Mohamed Waheed ends election bid

Summary: Maldives President Mohamed Waheed has pulled out of this year's presidential election, after receiving 5% of the vote in the first round of the ballot.

Mr Waheed, who was installed after his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed was ousted last year, said his decision was in the greater interest of the Maldives. Mr Nasheed won 45% of the vote and was to face a run-off with another rival. But the courts annulled the result, and a new round of elections has been scheduled for later this month. International observers had all praised the conduct of the first-round election, and the Supreme Court's decision was condemned by Mr Nasheed's supporters. Mr Nasheed came to power in 2008 in the Maldives' first free elections, but resigned amid violent protests and a mutiny by senior police officers in February 2012.

मालदीव के राष्ट्रपति मोहम्मद वहीद ने मतपत्र के पहले दौर में 5 प्रतिशत वोट प्राप्त करने के बाद इस साल के राष्ट्रपति चुनाव से नाम वापस ले लिया है।


Ebola: Is bushmeat behind the outbreak?

Summary: Bushmeat is believed to be the origin of the current Ebola outbreak. The first victim's family hunted bats, which carry the virus. Could the practice of eating bushmeat, which is popular across Africa, be responsible for the current crisis?

By Melissa HogenboomBBC Health Check The origin has been traced to a two-year-old child from the village of Gueckedou in south-eastern Guinea, an area where batmeat is frequently hunted and eaten. The infant, dubbed Child Zero, died on 6 December 2013. The child's family stated they had hunted two species of bat which carry the Ebola virus. Bushmeat or wild animal meat covers any animal that is killed for consumption including antelopes, chimpanzees, fruit bats and rats. It can even include porcupines and snakes. In some remote areas it is a necessary source of food - in others it has become a delicacy. In Africa's Congo Basin, people eat an estimated five million tonnes of bushmeat per year, according to the Centre of International Forestry Research. Ideal hosts But some of these animals can harbour deadly diseases. Bats carry a whole range of viruses and studies have shown that some species of fruit bats can harbour Ebola. Via their droppings or fruit they have touched, bats can then in turn infect other non-human primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees. For them, like us, this can be deadly. Bats on the other hand can escape from it unscathed. This makes them an ideal host for the virus. Exactly how the virus "spills over" into humans is still not clear, says Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham. There's often an intermediate species involved, like primates such as chimpanzees, but evidence shows people can get the virus directly from bats, he told BBC Inside Science. But it is difficult for the virus to jump the species barrier from animals into humans, he adds. The virus first has to "somehow gain access to the cells in which it can replicate" by contact with infected blood. Most people buy bushmeat from markets once it has already been cooked, so it is those hunting or preparing the raw meat that are at highest risk. The current outbreak shows that, however difficult or rare it is, infection is clearly possible - though it must be remembered that each further infection, from Child Zero to today, has been caused by contact with an infected person. Bitten and scratched There has been talk of banning bushmeat, but that may simply drive it underground, experts have previously warned. Hunting bushmeat is also a longstanding tradition, explains Dr Marcus Rowcliffe from the Zoological Society of London, "It's a meat-eating society - there's a feeling that if you do not have meat every day, you haven't properly eaten. Although you can get other forms of meat, there's traditionally very little livestock production. It's not so different from Europeans eating rabbits and deer." In Ghana, for example, currently unaffected by the outbreak, fruit bats are widely hunted. To understand how people interact with this particular type of bushmeat, researchers surveyed nearly 600 Ghanaians about their practices relating to bats. The study found that hunters used several different techniques to kill their prey including shooting, netting, scavenging and catapulting. All hunters reported handling live bats, which often meant they came into contact with blood and in some instances were bitten and scratched. 'Healthy food' These hunters are therefore the most at risk of contracting viruses present in bats, explains one of the authors, Dr Olivier Restif from the University of Cambridge. The work also uncovered that the scale of the bat bushmeat trade in Ghana was much higher than previously thought, with more than 100,000 bats killed and sold every year. "People who eat bat bushmeat are rarely aware of any potential risk associated with consumption. They tend to see it as healthy food," he told the BBC's Health Check programme. This survey was carried out before the current outbreak but the team says that understanding the perceived risks could help control future epidemics. While there is a risk, this study exemplifies that it is low. The estimate of more than 100,000 bats consumed has not resulted in a single case of Ebola in Ghana. Researchers have also monitored populations of bats to test for Ebola and found very few animals with detectable levels of the virus. Since the first recorded outbreak in 1976 there have been only 30 single spillover events from animals into humans, according to new research which has mapped all previous outbreaks. But given Ebola's animal origin, it is perhaps not surprising that bushmeat has been cited as a core danger associated with the outbreak. An opinion piece in the New Scientist said: "The Ebola outbreak is an opportunity to clamp down on a practice which both causes disease outbreaks and empties forests of wildlife. At a minimum, governments should zealously enforce bans on the hunting and consumption of bats and apes." The Washington Post questioned "why West Africans keep hunting and eating bushmeat despite Ebola concerns". Media coverage like this is not only unhelpful but dangerous, warns Prof Melissa Leach, an anthropologist at the University of Sussex. "It's not a disease spread by eating bushmeat. As far as we know it originated in one spillover event from one bat to a child in Guinea. "Subsequent to that it's been a human-to-human disease. People are more vulnerable to Ebola by interacting with people than by eating bats." She says negative coverage of bushmeat "has deterred people from understanding the real risk of infection". However, despite the current outbreak, the very fact that bats are carriers means there is always a risk of further infection. Dr Rowcliffe says: "For any given contact the risk is quite low but given the scale of contact it is inevitable that there will be new emergences of Ebola or potentially other diseases that the bats harbour. The risks may be low but the consequences are severe as we are seeing at the moment." This view is echoed by Dr Restif, who argues that because the world's population is expanding, close contract with wildlife will increase, which is often "the first driver of these events".

बुशमीट को वर्तमान इबोला प्रकोप की उत्पत्ति माना जाता है। पहले पीड़ित के परिवार ने चमगादड़ों का शिकार किया, जो वायरस ले जाते हैं। क्या बुशमीट खाने की प्रथा, जो पूरे अफ्रीका में लोकप्रिय है, वर्तमान संकट के लिए जिम्मेदार हो सकती है?


Supernatural thriller Don't Knock Twice to start filming in Cardiff

Summary: A supernatural thriller is set to be made in Cardiff.

Don't Knock Twice, featuring Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff, will begin filming in the capital this week. Cardiff-based Red and Black Films was the first Welsh production company to receive funding from the Welsh government's media investment budget to make it. The company's previous films, Little White Lies and The Machine, both won BAFTA Cymru awards. The film is about a "guilt-ridden mother" who wants to reconnect with her estranged daughter. But she ends up having to save her daughter and to do this she has to uncover the truth behind an urban legend of a "vengeful, demonic witch". Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: "Film production is a hugely important element of the creative industries and an area that Wales excels in. "We are building on this success, attracting new productions to Wales and, through the Media Investment Budget, ensuring that at least 50 percent of each production is filmed in Wales, supporting Welsh talent and Welsh companies."

कार्डिफ में एक अलौकिक थ्रिलर बनने वाली है।


Cystic Fibrosis: The grandfather and grandson who must remain 2m apart

Summary: Social distancing has become the new normal during the pandemic.

By Ciara ColhounBBC News NI Millions across the UK have also had to "shield" due to their high risk of needing hospital treatment if they catch coronavirus. An end to some restrictions is in sight - shielding is due to be paused at the end of July in Northern Ireland while social distancing has been reduced to 1m (3ft) with restrictions. But Dr Ian Banks and his three-year-old grandson Lorcán Maguire, both from County Down, will not benefit from these changes. They have always lived 2m apart. Dr Banks has not held Lorcán since his grandson was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) - a genetic condition that can cause fatal lung damage. He last touched him when his daughter, Jen Banks, visited his home to tell him about the diagnosis following a heel-prick test given to all newborn babies in the UK. In a cruel twist of fate, the former A&E doctor has a long-term lung infection that could be deadly to his grandson. "Ever since then, I have never come closer to him than 2m or 3m, and always downwind and never in the same room," he said. Dr Banks said he had a good medical understanding of the need to stay 2m apart, not only with Lorcán, but also with his parents, due to the risk of cross-infection. But he said it was heartbreaking to do so. "Even with all that medical training, your relationship with your own child is very different," he said. "We have been in social isolation for three years when it comes to our family. "I can't even hug my own daughter, I haven't touched Jen since Lorcán was born. "It's a huge strain on your relationship, particularly when you are used to touching people as humans are." Despite the challenges, Dr Banks said Lorcán looks healthy, is a "wonderful little fella" and a credit to his parents. "Even the tiniest things we take for granted can be lethal when it comes to CF, so you are constantly worrying over whether you are going to give this child an infection," he said. "You never get used to it, when the virus crisis declines we will still be where we are." Jen said the need to be apart from family was "one of the worst things" about her child's diagnosis. She said it went against instinct not to hug her dad out of fear that it could hurt her son and that it "never felt normal" despite the passage of time. "From the start of them being together, they have always been 2m apart," she said. It has meant many difficult decisions around whether Jen's father or her son attend birthdays, weddings and funerals, while extended family Christmases are virtually impossible, she added. "Family is the most important thing in most people's lives so not to be as close to them as you want to be, not to be able to share a meal in the same house, not to be able to come and visit with you, it's not ok," she said. 'Love is tactile' Jen said she vividly recalled the last touch between her father and son. "I put Lorcán into his arms before I told him [the diagnosis] because I wanted him to feel him - love is so tactile," she said. "I said: 'We've some bad news. Lorcán has been diagnosed with CF'. "My dad handed him straight back into my arms. He knew immediately he could be a risk to Lorcán. "He has never held him again, very rarely been within 6ft, never held his hand, lifted him on his shoulders, any normal things a grandfather would do with his grandson." Dr Banks said it was an "absolutely heartbreaking" moment that had repercussions throughout their family. Jen said there were "dark days" during which they campaigned with the CF community for access to the best treatments. "Since he was born we have been fighting - fighting for access to the right drugs, fighting infections we can't clear, it's been awful," she said. The situation improved when Lorcán was prescribed the life-extending drug Orkambi after it was made available in Northern Ireland at the end of 2019. Lorcán has thrived on Orkambi but campaigning continued for Kaftrio, another groundbreaking drug that tackles the underlying causes of the disease by helping the lungs work effectively. Health Minister Robin Swann said last week that a deal had been struck with the makers of Kaftrio, which will also become available on the NHS. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust has described the drug as life saving and Mr Swann said the importance of the deal to affected families "cannot be emphasised enough". Jen said the news was a "complete dream". 'There is now light' Although there are no clinical guidelines as yet, she hopes Lorcán will start Kaftrio when he is six - subject to the age limit being reduced from 12 - finally enjoying a more normal relationship with her father due to a reduced risk of cross-infection. "Obviously we still need to social distance until then, but there is light at the end of the tunnel," she said. She said she was "incredibly grateful to the NHS" and Lorcán's CF team who were "the best in the world" and added that campaigning for those who would not benefit from Kaftrio will continue. Dr Banks described Kaftrio as a "game-changer" that should enable Lorcán's body to work normally. "It is very hard, even with a medical background, to maintain what we are doing," he said. "At the age of 70 I think I am allowed to be optimistic, I think the future for these children is so much brighter. "I am looking forward to his sixth birthday because that is when he is going to start [on Kaftrio] hopefully, and that will be the first time since he was born I will be able to give him a hug."

महामारी के दौरान सामाजिक दूरी बनाना नया सामान्य हो गया है।


Toshiba inflated profits by $1.2bn, report finds

Summary: Toshiba overstated its operating profit by a total of 151.8bn yen ($1.22bn, £780m) over several years, according to the findings of a probe.

An independent panel appointed by Toshiba found institutional accounting irregularities, the firm said in a statement to investors. Toshiba said it "takes the situation it has caused very seriously" and that it "deeply apologised" to shareholders. The overstatement was roughly triple an initial Toshiba estimate. The probe could lead to a restatement of earnings, a board overhaul and potential action by regulators. "Within Toshiba, there was a corporate culture in which one could not go against the wishes of superiors," the report said. "Therefore, when top management presented 'challenges', division presidents, line managers and employees below them continually carried out inappropriate accounting practices to meet targets in line with the wishes of their superiors." The improper accounting practices stretched back to 2008.

एक जांच के निष्कर्षों के अनुसार, तोशिबा ने कई वर्षों में अपने परिचालन लाभ को कुल 151.8bn येन ($1.22bn, £780 मिलियन) से अधिक बताया।


Pwllheli Crown Hotel: Man held over woman's death

Summary: A woman has died at a hotel and a man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

Officers from North Wales Police were called to the Crown Hotel in Pwllheli, Gwynedd, at 11:30 GMT on 29 December. The force said it was treating the 25-year-old woman's death as suspicious and a 36-year-old local man had been arrested. Det Ch Supt Gareth Evans said there was "nothing" the community in Pwllheli needed to be worried about. Related Internet Links North Wales Police

एक महिला की एक होटल में मौत हो गई है और एक आदमी को हत्या के संदेह में गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Public Service Broadcasting added to Electric Fields

Summary: Public Service Broadcasting are among a list of acts to be added to the line-up for this year's Electric Fields festival.

They will join Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Leftfield, James and Teenage Fanclub at the event. The festival will be staged at Drumlanrig Castle near Thornhill from 30 August to 1 September. RIDE, The Horrors, Hollie Cook, Dream Wife and The Orielles have also been added to the line-up. It will be a second visit to Dumfries and Galloway for Public Service Broadcasting in the space of a year. They performed in the Spiegeltent at the Big Burns Supper in January.

लोक सेवा प्रसारण इस वर्ष के इलेक्ट्रिक फील्ड्स महोत्सव के लिए लाइन-अप में जोड़े जाने वाले कार्यों की सूची में शामिल हैं।


Guernsey Gas MD calls for a natural gas pipeline

Summary: The managing director of Guernsey Gas has called for the construction of a natural gas pipeline to the island.

Paul Garlick said a pipeline could help cut gas tariffs and energy costs. Guernsey currently imports liquid petroleum gas, but a proposed energy plan due to be debated by the States calls for a review of the construction of a natural gas pipeline. Mr Garlick said he was enthusiastic about the review, and said it would be "a huge asset and advantage".

ग्वेर्नसे गैस के प्रबंध निदेशक ने द्वीप तक प्राकृतिक गैस पाइपलाइन के निर्माण का आह्वान किया है।


Pedestrian dies after being hit by motorcycle in Nottinghamshire

Summary: A man has died after being hit by a motorcycle.

The pedestrian died at the scene in Trowell Lane, Sutton Bonington in Nottinghamshire, at about 11:40 BST. Police said the motorcyclist was taken to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. The road has been closed for investigation. A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving whilst over the alcohol limit and remains in police custody. Det Sgt Adam Cooper said inquiries were continuing and has appealed to anyone who saw the crash or has dashcam footage to get in touch. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.

मोटरसाइकिल की चपेट में आने से एक व्यक्ति की मौत हो गई है।


Rochester and Strood by-election candidates

Summary: A by-election is being held in the constituency of Rochester and Strood, Kent, on 20 November.

It comes after sitting Conservative MP Mark Reckless defected to UKIP. He will be standing for UKIP in the by-election. Local councillor Kelly Tolhurst will stand for the Tories. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Britain First have also chosen candidates to contest the seat. The Conservatives held an open primary to select their candidate. The full list of candidates, in alphabetical order by surname, is:

20 नवंबर को रोचेस्टर और स्ट्रूड, केंट के निर्वाचन क्षेत्र में उपचुनाव हो रहा है।


Facebook expands Africa push

Summary: It's the new frontier for the internet - connecting billions of people in Africa and Asia who have yet to sample the delights of the digital world. Through an organisation called Internet.org, Facebook has put itself at the forefront of this mission.

Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent@BBCRoryCJon Twitter Today it unveils a clever plan to get millions of people in Zambia online. It is without doubt a laudable philanthropic mission - but in the long run it could also be hugely important to Facebook's growth. As Guy Rosen of Internet.org explained to me over a video link from Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters, 85% of those people who aren't connected to the internet are in places with mobile phone coverage. There are two reasons why, despite the widespread use of mobile phones, they have not tried the internet - affordability and awareness. In other words, data use on a mobile phone is far too expensive for most people and they have no idea of what advantages it might offer them. The plan in Zambia is to address both those issues. The mobile operator Airtel - like a number in Africa - has been offering a simple Facebook experience for free on mobile phones. Now in Zambia it will offer an Internet.org app which will supply Facebook but also a number of other web services. Users will get access to Wikipedia, job sites, weather forecasts, and information about health, all without paying any data charges. Users will be able to access these web services from simple feature phones by visiting the internet.org website, and they will get a warning if they stray onto sites where data charges apply. Only 15% of the 15 million people in Zambia have used the internet so far - now it is hoped that many more will try it. If the pilot is successful, the same method will be used with other mobile operators in other parts of Africa. Now Airtel is obviously forgoing some revenue from data to get this scheme off the ground, in the hope that some of those who try out the internet on a mobile will pay for the service in the future. But I was somewhat surprised to learn that Facebook is making no contribution to the cost of the data. Mobile phones will provide the first experience of the internet for the vast majority of those now trying it for the first time. The words "internet" and "Facebook" are already said to be interchangeable in some places in Africa. Now this initiative is bound to make millions more see Facebook as the gateway to the online world. Mark Zuckerberg's passionate interest in internet.org's mission certainly seems genuine. But a business with 1.3 billion users that needs to to show investors that those numbers are continuing to rise will now be looking to Africa and Asia to increase its audience. So the philanthropic mission of internet.org and Facebook's long-term business strategy are in perfect alignment.

यह इंटरनेट के लिए नई सीमा है-अफ्रीका और एशिया में अरबों लोगों को जोड़ना जिन्होंने अभी तक डिजिटल दुनिया के आनंद का नमूना नहीं लिया है। Internet.org नामक एक संगठन के माध्यम से, फेसबुक ने खुद को इस मिशन में सबसे आगे रखा है।


New plane to be bought for Barra beach airport run

Summary: Work will start over the next 12 months on buying a new aircraft to serve on lifeline routes, the Scottish government has said.

It would fly between Glasgow, Tiree, Campbeltown and Barra's beach airport. The routes are currently served by two Twin Otter aircraft which are approaching the end of their operational life. The government said funding could be made available later for a second plane. The current contract to provide the air services comes to an end in 2013. Bids would be sought to operate and maintain the new aircraft bought by the government. Work will begin during 2011-12 on purchasing one aircraft. The next government spending review would decide whether to go-ahead and buy a second plane.

स्कॉटिश सरकार ने कहा है कि जीवन रेखा मार्गों पर सेवा देने के लिए एक नया विमान खरीदने पर अगले 12 महीनों में काम शुरू हो जाएगा।


£6.3m Pontypridd lido set for summer opening

Summary: A Grade II-listed lido in Pontypridd which has not been used for more than 20 years, will reopen in the summer after a £6.3m makeover.

The lido was built at Ynysangharad War Memorial Park in 1927 and shut in 1991. The original site had just one large pool, but the revamped attraction will have three pools, changing rooms and sun terraces. Money for the restoration has come from the Welsh government, Heritage Lottery Fund and Rhondda Cynon Taf council.

पोंटीप्रिड में एक ग्रेड II-सूचीबद्ध लिडो जिसका उपयोग 20 वर्षों से अधिक समय से नहीं किया गया है, गर्मियों में 63 लाख पाउंड के बदलाव के बाद फिर से खुल जाएगा।


Work starts on Cardiff University brain imaging centre

Summary: Work to build a £44m brain imaging centre to help experts better understand the causes of conditions like dementia and multiple sclerosis has begun in Cardiff.

Researchers at the Cardiff University site will use mapping techniques to get a more detailed look at how the brain works. It is hoped it will help scientists come up with better treatments. The centre is expected to open at the end of 2015. Once completed, the research facility will be four times larger than the university's existing centre and will be unique within Europe. It will house state-of-the-art imaging and scanning equipment, which will give researchers the ability to study brain chemistry, structure and function in much more detail than before. Experts hope they will be able to better understand the causes of brain disorders, including Huntington's disease and schizophrenia, and give them clues about how to develop more effective treatments.

कार्डिफ में मनोभ्रंश और मल्टीपल स्क्लेरोसिस जैसी स्थितियों के कारणों को बेहतर ढंग से समझने में विशेषज्ञों की मदद करने के लिए 44 मिलियन पाउंड का मस्तिष्क इमेजिंग केंद्र बनाने का काम शुरू हो गया है।


Man charged over double shooting in Liversedge

Summary: A man has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after two men were shot in West Yorkshire.

The men, aged 22 and 27, were seriously injured in the shooting on Huddersfield Road in Liversedge on 4 November. West Yorkshire Police said 32-year-old Umar Ditta, from Wakefield, was due to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court. A man, 30, arrested on Saturday remains in custody while two others, aged 24 and 25, have been released while inquiries continue. Related Internet Links Home page - West Yorkshire Police

वेस्ट यॉर्कशायर में दो लोगों को गोली मारने के बाद एक व्यक्ति पर हत्या की साजिश रचने का आरोप लगाया गया है।


The smoking actress and a 'sexist double standard'

Summary: Can men get away with things that women can't?

By BBC TrendingGoing in-depth on social media Three stories have become talking points on Pakistani social media channels - sparking questions about double standards and the treatment of men and women online. In a matter of weeks, images and videos of a Pakistani actress, a Muslim preacher, and a young girl have all shed light on what some have called hypocrisy in Pakistani culture and conservative religious beliefs. Story one: The smoking actress Towards the end of September, images of well-known Pakistani actress Mahira Khan were published on a celebrity gossip site. The photos, purportedly from July of this year, showed Mahira Khan smoking outside in a backless dress with an Indian male co-star, Ranbir Kapoor. Shortly after, the images began circulating on social media, and many people took aim at the actress. "On social media things went out of control. People were lashing at Mahira Khan about her dress, her smoking, and then a lot of people were angry because she was with an Indian star," says Tahir Imran, BBC Urdu's social media editor. Within hours, many on the internet had turned on Khan, with some accusing her of insulting Pakistan. But amidst the criticism, there was a chorus of people speaking out in her defence. Listen to BBC Trending radio on the BBC World Service One was the Indian actor, Ranbir Kapoor, who appeared alongside her in the viral images. In a statement he wrote: "It is very unfair the way she is being judged and spoken about. What is also sad is the inequality in judgement just because she is a woman." Another voice who came out in defence of Mahira Khan is prominent Pakistani journalist, Asma Shirazi. Shirazi told BBC Trending that after tweeting her defence of Ms Khan, she herself faced criticism online. "When I heard the story and saw it on the top trend I tweeted out in favour of her and pointed out that this is hypocrisy. If some woman is smoking then that is objectionable. If some man is smoking that is not objectionable," Shirazi says. She adds: "This is a double standard. They go to cinemas, they watch her movies, they admire her and love to see her naked in movies but can't stand to see a photo of her with a naked back and smoking with an Indian actor." You might also be interested in: Story two: The topless preacher Shortly after the images of Mahira Khan began circulating, another story developed - this time involving a well-known Muslim preacher. Nouman Ali Khan is based in Texas, and his online videos and institution, Bayyinah, have millions of followers in Pakistan and elsewhere. Known for his conservative viewpoints, Khan disapproves of men and women holding hands in public, has reservations against movies with adult themes, and encourages his followers to marry young. His reputation came into question after a Facebook post by Chicago-based Muslim chaplain Omer Mozzafar said Khan "confessed inappropriate interactions with various women," lied about them, and threatened lawsuits to stop them from exposing him. According to Navaid Aziz, a fellow Islamic scholar, these allegations have nothing to do with rape or sexual assault but are "related to an abuse of power and authority." Within hours, images began circulating online of a topless Nouman Ali Khan, along with allegations that he sent the picture to an unknown female. In a Facebook post, Nouman Ali Khan noted that he's been divorced for two years, that the pictures were sent to women who he says he was considering for marriage, and that he is "imperfect". Through a lawyer, he declined to comment further to Trending. Unlike the vitriol aimed at Mahira Khan, online many of Khan's supporters leapt to his defence and, in some cases, hounded those who publicly criticised him. Laila Alawa, a US-based media entrepreneur, spoke out about Khan's actions, and she says was harassed online because of it - most notably by Khan's female supporters. "Individuals on the side of Khan began attacking me and finding my personal social media platforms and just going at it," Alawa says. "Seeing that rabid response from his supporters was strange and the fact that a lot of the folks attacking me personally, the most vitriolic of them all were women who believed in him." According to the BBC's Tahir Imran, the contrast in reactions towards Nouman Ali Khan and Mahira Khan not only points towards a sexist double standard, but also a professional one. "If he were a film star or a TV actor, things would have been different. But he's a preacher so there is this perception that he's a pious man, so a lot of people were saying these screenshots were Photoshopped." Story three: blaming young girls The third story to emerge in close succession has a more sinister undercurrent. A video, which according to Tahir Imran has been shared widely in Pakistan on Facebook and Twitter, shows a young girl allegedly being inappropriately touched by an older man while in a shop. BBC Trending have not seen the video as it's no longer available in the original tweet it was shared from, and we have not been able to identify the origin of the clip or the man who appears in it. BBC Urdu says that there has been no further information regarding arrests or investigations related to the video. But some of the comments made on the video passed judgement not on the man allegedly inappropriately touching the girl, but on the girl herself. "A lot of people were saying 'oh, she's not wearing full sleeves, she's not dressed modestly'," says Tahir Imran. "If you look at the initial reaction that is still there and if we talk very broadly about it, up to 50 or 70 percent of people were objecting to the girl and how she was dressing, rather than saying the contact was inappropriate," he says. At the same time, "there was a huge backlash to that." One voice that was part of the backlash is Pakistani journalist Shaista Aziz. In a post published online and widely shared on social media, Aziz took aim at people blaming the young girl in the video. "In Pakistan, girls and women must be held responsible for attracting the lustful attention of men, all men, regardless of how old the little girls are," she wrote. So what, if anything, can be drawn from these three stories? On the one hand there is a society's attempts to police women and even young girls, and hold them to a standard that's not applied to men, says Tahir Imran. But on the other, there's also a fight back online, with both men and women pushing back against what they see as sexist double standards. Reporting by Kayleen Devlin and Ritu Prasad You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

क्या पुरुष उन चीजों से बच सकते हैं जो महिलाएँ नहीं कर सकतीं?


The battle for Nelson Mandela's legacy

Summary: While South Africa's political icon Nelson Mandela is set to celebrate his 92nd birthday on Sunday, his relatives and colleagues are becoming increasingly involved in bitter feuds for control of his name because of the political and economic riches it carries.

By Farouk ChothiaBBC News The disputes are taking place at different levels, involving Mr Mandela's family from his three marriages, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to which he dedicated most of his life, the various foundations and charities he set up after his retirement in 1999, as well as political comrades and business associates with whom he forged relations over many years. "It's nasty. People are fighting while he is still alive," says the South African author and newspaper columnist Fred Khumalo. The most recent controversy was over Mr Mandela's appearance at the football World Cup. In the build-up to the tournament, the ANC government's Sports Minister, Makhenkesi Stofile, and Mr Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, both claimed to speak on behalf of the former president, and gave contradictory accounts of his wishes. Mr Stofile said Mr Mandela had "demanded" to appear at the opening, while Mandla said he had indicated he would "prefer to be at home". And Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon's second wife who he divorced after his release from jail, entered the fray at a pre-World Cup rally in Johannesburg. Claiming to carry a message on behalf of "Tata" [father], she told the crowd that he wanted the trophy to stay in Africa, indicating the extent to which she was prepared to associate herself with his name, despite the acrimonious personal and political fallout they had at the time of their divorce. In the end, Mr Mandela did not attend the opening ceremony because of the death of his great-grandchild in a car accident, but was there - according to the Nelson Mandela Foundation which is officially in charge of his itinerary - "in spirit". Mr Mandela appeared briefly at the closing ceremony, with his current wife, Graca Machel, helping him raise his hand to wave at the crowd - a clear sign of how frail he has become. Hinting that the issue had again ignited controversy, Mandla said Mr Mandela had attended under "extreme pressure", putting the blame on the world football governing body Fifa. 'In the blood' It echoed the dispute over Mr Mandela's role in last year's hard-fought general election. The Nelson Mandela Foundation ruled out Mr Mandela taking part in the campaign, but lost the battle when he attended the final ANC rally to give his backing to the party's controversial presidential candidate, Jacob Zuma. Taking a swipe at the foundation at the time, Mandla said: "As a family, we are united in that the legacy of Madiba [Mandela] belongs to his family first and to the ANC." New to the political stage, Mandla has become influential since his appointment as a traditional chief in Mr Mandela's birthplace, the village of Mvezo, and his elevation to parliament in last year's election. "In my veins runs the blood of the Mandelas which has been around for centuries," he once boasted. Mr Khumalo has doubts about Mandla's rise to prominence, pointing out that as early as 2008, Snuki Zikalala, the former head of news at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, told the Sunday World newspaper that the public broadcaster had paid Mandla 3m rand ( $395,000, £257,000) for rights to cover Mr Mandela's funeral - an allegation Mandla strongly denied. "It's as though the Mandela name is a licence to make money," says Mr Khumalo. Mandla was also involved in a bitter feud with the Nelson Mandela Museum over plans to protect Mr Mandela's birthplace as a heritage site and accused it - along with the Mandela Aids project, 46664, named after his prison number - of "benefiting and profiting from my grandfather's name". "They give nothing to his people… Mandela's people are dying here [in Mvezo] from Aids, yet 46664 have done nothing here," he said in an interview with South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper. Martin Luther King parallel But he is only one of several Mandelas claiming to be the true custodian of the anti-apartheid icon's legacy. When Mr Mandela's 90th birthday was celebrated two years ago, most of his children boycotted an event held at his homestead in Qunu in the Eastern Cape because of differences over the celebrations, despite a plea from Mr Mandela and Mandla. "We do not approve of the vineyard theme," one of the children said in a letter referring to a bottle of wine produced for the occasion with a personalised birthday greeting to Mr Mandela on the label. "Tata's legacy institutions have taken a decision not to have Tata's image associated with tobacco products, alcohol or drugs," the letter said. With his name a global brand worth millions of dollars, Mr Mandela has also been involved in a long-running dispute with his former lawyer Ismail Ayob, who acted for him when he was in jail on Robben Island, and businessman Ross Calder over the sale of artwork bearing his signature. Mr Mandela has been trying to prevent them from selling the artwork and demanded they account for large sums of money collected through sales. When the row first erupted, Mr Ayob's son, Zayd Ayob, said that "all the money went to the family". This appeared to be a reference to the Mandela Trust, a private fund administered by Mr Mandela's children. Hitting back, Mr Mandela's lawyer George Bizos said: "Mr Mandela's dispute is with Ayob and Calder, and not with his children." But suspicion lingers that Mr Mandela's family, as well as his political comrades and business associates, will become involved in more acrimonious battles once he dies. There would be a parallel in this with another globally recognised black civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, whose family is still fighting for control of his estate more than 40 years after his death. Last year, South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper reported that Mr Mandela had convened a family meeting to discuss his will. At the meeting he reportedly suggested that the Nelson Mandela Foundation should inherit a large portion of his estate and the rest should go to his children, Mandla, his grandson, and his current wife, Graca Machel. But, the newspaper said, no agreement was reached. It showed Mr Mandela's weakening grip on his affairs. "He is old now and people are just abusing his name and dragging him to public events," Mr Khumalo says.

जबकि दक्षिण अफ्रीका के राजनीतिक आइकन नेल्सन मंडेला रविवार को अपना 92वां जन्मदिन मनाने के लिए तैयार हैं, उनके रिश्तेदार और सहकर्मी राजनीतिक और आर्थिक धन के कारण उनके नाम पर नियंत्रण के लिए कड़वे झगड़ों में तेजी से शामिल हो रहे हैं।


Fishy business makes more sense with sensors

Summary: Farming eels is a tricky business.

By Tom JacksonBusiness reporter The slippery customers are extremely sensitive to even the smallest change in water conditions and can die quickly if the farmer doesn't sort out any problem as soon as it occurs. And in South Korea, where there are more than 450 eel farms, dead eels mean lost profit - one tank containing two tonnes of eels can be worth more than $63,000 (£41,500). So local company SK Telecom has been piloting Smart Fish Farm, a hi-tech way to keep an eye on water quality in the fish tanks. Sensors collect real-time data and transmit it wirelessly over the company's 4G mobile network to its central "internet of things" (IoT) Mobius platform. Farmers receive emergency alerts to a Care4Fish app on their smartphones, enabling them to monitor the water quality remotely. During trials over a period of three months, six wireless emergency alerts were issued to an eel farmer's smartphone, successfully preventing the loss of up to 12 tonnes of eels worth nearly $400,000. SK Telecom plans to expand the project to different species of fish, and different countries. "Eel farming is a high-profit business," said Moon Tae-hee, manager of the company's IoT Solution Business Team. "However, it entails a high risk caused by the sensitive nature of eels. Lack of timely and appropriate management of the farming environment often leads to massive deaths of eels." Feeding frenzy IoT technology may be associated more with the connected home and industrial sectors, but it is having a practical and profound effect on the food and farming sectors, as well. IT company Cisco predicts that 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2020. In Indonesia, eFishery has designed an automatic "smart feeder" for fisheries that uses sensors to help farmers dispense the right amount of feed into the water. The company claims these sensors, working in conjunction with a complex algorithm, can assess how hungry the fish are by measuring the rate at which the feed is depleted in the water. Farmers receive real-time food consumption reports on their smartphones. Boss Gibran Huzaifah says the technology cuts down on wastage and so reduces the cost of feeding fish by up to 21%. The automated feeding units and sensors cost $700 each, and Mr Huzaifah says his company has received interest from countries like Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Brazil and Kenya. "In Indonesia itself, there more than five million farmers, and millions of farms and ponds. Each farm is at least one potential market for eFishery," he says. Telling tails And it's not just fish that can benefit from IoT tech - cows have for a long time been the focus of the latest technologies. Along with fully-automated milking sheds, we now have tail-mounted sensors made by Irish company, Moocall. These gather more than 600 pieces of data a second and can predict when a cow is most likely to give birth by measuring its tail movements. Apparently cows flick their tails more the closer they are to calving. This is important because a cow and its calf can often die during birth, mostly when the farmer is not present to help. When Moocall founder Niall Austin lost a cow and a calf this way, he sought a solution to the problem. "The only one he could find was an internal probe," says John Larkin, the firm's head of technology and marketing. "He had noticed what a lot of other farmers had, that cows move their tails when they are about to calve, and he thought there was something non-invasive that could be done using that knowledge." Moocall correctly predicts when a cow will calve 95% of the time, the company says. Not only is this beneficial from an animal welfare point of view, it obviously saves the farmer money, given that a year-old calf can be worth about £1,000. Farmers receive a simple text message identifying the individual cow that's about to calve, and the system can work over the basic GSM mobile network - 3G and 4G will come later says Mr Larkin. Most sales have been made in the UK and Ireland, but Moocall has sold devices to farmers in the US, Canada, South Africa, and Europe. At £199, and £89 per year after that, the sensors aren't cheap, but Mr Larkin argues that if the system significantly reduces animal mortality, it's "an excellent investment". Sensor sense Some observers believes the food and agricultural markets are only just waking up to the potential of sensors and IoT. Brian Geisel, boss of US IoT development firm Geisel Software, told the BBC: "I think there's a lot of things in the agricultural and fish markets they haven't even thought of yet because there was no way to do it. But now the tools are showing up. "The reduction in cost of sensors means you can put one almost anywhere now. And hardware has got so much better at performance - five years ago it wasn't capable." But concerns remain, notably with data security and the potential lack of interoperability between competing systems. The reduction in the cost of sensors means you can put one almost anywhere now Lack of understanding is also an issue. "With any new technology it takes people a while to figure out how they can best leverage it," Mr Geisel says. Mr Larkin agrees, saying the only problems Moocall ever encounters are not with the technology itself, but with the human operating it. "We need to educate users on how to use the device - sometimes people put it on tight, for example," he says. "Our demographic would not be the most tech savvy - not many of them even have email - but that is improving over time. "Tech in agriculture is growing rapidly."

ईल की खेती एक मुश्किल व्यवसाय है।


Roseanne Barr's five most controversial moments

Summary: US comedian Roseanne Barr, who recently made a splash with the successful reboot of her '90s TV sitcom, has landed in hot water after posting a racist tweet likening an African-American former Obama aide to an ape.

Broadcaster ABC said on Tuesday the comments were "abhorrent" and pulled the plug on Barr's self-titled show, despite it drawing more than 18 million viewers for its first episode. It was only recently that Barr, 65, who has previously implied that she may make a second run for US president, was being congratulated by Donald Trump over her success. But Barr has been caught up in controversy several times before. Here we take a look back at five of her most notorious moments. The Star-Spangled Banner: 1990 Barr took to the field at a baseball game to sing the Star-Spangled Banner. She was booed and ridiculed for a "screechy" performance that was far from pitch perfect. "I started too high. I knew about six notes in that I couldn't hit the big note," she later admitted. Then-President George H W Bush labelled the performance "disgraceful". Dressing as Hitler: 2009 The comedian was criticised after photos emerged of her dressed as Adolf Hitler in a shoot for the satirical Jewish magazine Heeb. It was reported that the outfit - complete with moustache and swastika armband - was her own suggestion. Barr, who is herself Jewish, said that she was "making fun of Hitler, not his victims". Tweet leads to lawsuit: 2014 Then Barr shared the home address of George Zimmerman on Twitter. The neighbourhood watchman was cleared over the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 after it was determined that he acted in self-defence. Mr Zimmerman's parents filed a lawsuit against Barr, claiming that they felt unsafe in their own home. The comedian deleted the tweets. She had more than 100,000 followers at the time. A conspiracy too far: 2018 In March this year, a tweet from Barr that featured David Hogg, a student survivor of the Parkland school shooting in Florida that left 17 dead, sparked another backlash for the comedian. In her post, Barr appeared to suggest that the student gave a Nazi salute at a protest rally calling for stricter gun control laws in Washington DC. Responding to a tweet featuring Mr Hogg, Barr tweeted the words "NAZI SALUTE". She later deleted her tweet. Racist 'joke' ends the show: 2018 On 29 May, the comedian apologised over a tweet in which she said that Valerie Jarrett, an African-American, was the child of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes. "I apologise to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans," Barr said in follow-up posts in which she defended her remarks as a "joke", admitting that it was "in bad taste". Mrs Jarrett was a senior adviser to former US President Barack Obama. The latest tweet follows a long line of incidents, including: Earlier this month she vowed to quit social media, blaming a "toxic" atmosphere. Then, on Tuesday...

अमेरिकी कॉमेडियन रोज़ेन बार, जिन्होंने हाल ही में अपने 90 के दशक के टीवी सिटकॉम के सफल रिबूट के साथ धूम मचाई, एक अफ्रीकी-अमेरिकी पूर्व ओबामा सहयोगी की तुलना एक बंदर से करते हुए एक नस्लवादी ट्वीट पोस्ट करने के बाद गर्म पानी में उतर गई हैं।


Indian army’s anger over Kashmir killings

Summary: There are growing demands from India's military for a robust riposte to Pakistan, after Sunday's dawn attack by four gunmen which saw 17 soldiers killed at the army's Uri cantonment in Indian-administered Kashmir.

By Rahul BediDefence analyst "I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared just hours after the strike. Mr Modi did not name Pakistan, but his response to the attack has boosted those who would like to see a tactical comeback by the Indian army against Pakistan's military, which is being blamed by senior leaders in Delhi for helping launch the attack. Pakistan has denied such allegations, dismissing it as a knee-jerk response by India and no group has said it carried out the killings. Vindicating the 'honour' of the army - with force But the army is itching to respond to the Uri attack, seeking to kill more than the 17 soldiers it lost, to vindicate its "izzat", or honour, in a move guaranteed to escalate tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Defence planners in Delhi have long believed, erroneously, that although the Pakistani army controls the nuclear button, India can successfully execute swift punitive strikes against Pakistan without crossing the nuclear threshold. That is without provoking a nuclear strike from the other side. Indian security officials are of the view that the nuclear escalatory ladder provides 'ample opportunity' for Delhi to undertake 'swift' military strikes for tactical and political gain, by which time the international community would intervene to prevent an all-out nuclear exchange. But this method of action is predicated to speedy action, which almost 24 hours after Sunday's attack, appears distant. The recent unrest in Kashmir explained What's behind Kashmir's deadliest militant raid in years? Viewpoint: Living in the shadow of Kashmir Viewpoint: Why mass funerals spark violence in Kashmir Why July's Kashmir Killings could have been avoided Concern over Kashmir police's pellet guns Kashmiri Hindus: Driven out and insignificant Kashmir profile Meanwhile, security insiders are of the view that the army's "aggressive school" is being encouraged by Mr Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's muscular approach in dealing with Pakistan - but that this approach is not mindful of the broader potential consequences. The 'strike now' school of thought "It's time we snatched the tactical advantage away from Pakistan by countering such an attack and showed them what the Indian army is capable of doing," said military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Vijay Kapoor. "We have kept our peace for too long and cannot allow terrorist proxies run by the Pakistan army to prevail time and again by attacking us," he added. "The reaction to the Uri attack must be swift," said former army deputy chief of staff Lt Gen Raj Kadiyan. "This sort of situation in which we keep getting hit cannot go on indefinitely." Senior army officers, however, are agreed that a calculated response at a time and place of India's choosing should be dramatic and in direct proportion to the publicity it would generate to appease public and official sentiment over the Uri strike. They would prefer to duplicate the special forces raid conducted against two Naga insurgent camps deep inside Myanmar in June 2015, to avenge the killing of 18 soldiers whose convoy was ambushed in Manipur's Chandel district a few days earlier. At the time, the army, in connivance with the federal security establishment, even encouraged some special forces personnel on the raid to give media interviews, providing classified operational details in an attempt to vindicate the army's izzat. But, as has been pointed out innumerable times since then, such an option is simply not possible with regard to Pakistan. Besides, military experts argue that any retaliation to the Uri attack would need to be quick, as diplomatic pressure from countries like the US were already kicking in to preclude such an option, leaving little time to manoeuvre or possibilities to pursue. The 'fire across the line' option for India Options too are circumscribed. The most obvious one is selective firing across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border, but that would in effect mean ending the November 2003 bilateral ceasefire agreement. The second and possibly only other prospect would be a "selective fire assault" across the LoC near Uri, through which the militants infiltrated, to strike at a Pakistani forward base or headquarters. That has, no doubt, been gamed earlier. But for this to succeed time would be of the essence, as counter-measures would already be in place on the Pakistani side, so many feel it would already be too late for any such attempt. The option to just create diplomatic noise But other analysts and military officers differ. They believe that despite severe provocation, India, intimidated by Pakistan's trigger-happy nuclear tsars, is incapable of responding militarily to Islamabad, seeking instead the largely ineffective diplomatic and political route to try and chastise it. "Over decades, including during the Kargil war, India has always looked to the US and other countries to discipline Pakistan, as there is little it is capable of doing itself," said former Major Gen Sheru Thapliyal. Robust, meaningful reaction is certainly not an option it can pursue, he added. The attack comes just ahead of the UN session in New York in which Pakistan aims to highlight atrocities it alleges have been committed by the Indian security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir. It recently dispatched 22 of its senior leaders and officials across the world to highlight the Kashmir situation. India, for its part plans to retaliate by raising human rights issues in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province promising a diplomatic stand-off between the neighbours. But what about internal security in the first place? In the meantime, the din of the militant attack has somewhat masked the lax security in the Uri cantonment along the LoC, that enabled the strike. An inquiry has been launched into it, and will no doubt apportion responsibility and punish those responsible, but many senior officers believe the army is too deeply deployed on internal security operations to remain constantly alert. This is reminiscent of the sloppiness in security that resulted in the ambush of an army convoy in Manipur last year. Little, it seems, has been learned.

भारत प्रशासित कश्मीर में सेना की उरी छावनी में रविवार की सुबह चार बंदूकधारियों द्वारा किए गए हमले में 17 सैनिकों के मारे जाने के बाद, भारत की सेना की ओर से पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ एक मजबूत जवाबी कार्रवाई की मांग बढ़ रही है।


Donald Trump calls for public inquiry into Aberdeen wind farm

Summary: Donald Trump's lawyers have called for a public inquiry into plans for an offshore wind farm close to his Aberdeenshire golf course.

The £230m project is a joint venture by Vattenfall, Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (Areg). In a letter to Marine Scotland, the lawyers said no stone should be left unturned in establishing if there was any economic risk to the Menie resort. The Scottish government said any correspondence would be considered. The Trump Organisation's legal representatives also said that if a public inquiry was not held, they would pursue all legal remedies available. The US billionaire claims the turbines would spoil the sea views for golfers on his course. Several organisations, such as Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland, have dropped opposition to the windfarm.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के वकीलों ने उनके एबरडीनशायर गोल्फ कोर्स के पास एक अपतटीय पवन फार्म की योजनाओं की सार्वजनिक जांच का आह्वान किया है।


Ebbsfleet Garden City: Public asked for views

Summary: Members of the public have been asked to express their views on a development corporation for a new garden city at Ebbsfleet in Kent.

The corporation will help local authorities drive forward the development of the 15,000-home scheme. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles invited the public to give their opinions on the area it will operate in, and its planning powers. Attempts have been made to build new homes at Ebbsfleet since 1996. Planning permission was granted for about 6,000 new homes at Eastern Quarry, near Ebbsfleet station, in 2007 but nothing was done, Dartford MP Gareth Johnson said. Ebbsfleet is a stop on the high-speed rail line to the Channel Tunnel. The corporation is expected to be established in early 2015, subject to parliamentary approval.

जनता के सदस्यों को केंट के एबस्फ़्लीट में एक नए उद्यान शहर के लिए एक विकास निगम पर अपने विचार व्यक्त करने के लिए कहा गया है।


Arrests after man's body found in Leatherhead town centre

Summary: Two men have been arrested after a man's body was discovered in a Surrey town centre.

Philip Bagwell's body was found at a property in North Street in Leatherhead at about 06:00 BST on Wednesday. Two men, aged 33 and 32, have been arrested on suspicion of murder, Surrey Police said. Mr Bagwell, 54, and the two arrested men were believed to be known to each other, a police spokesman said. Any witnesses are asked to contact police. North Street and Lidl were closed for most of the day.

सरे शहर के केंद्र में एक व्यक्ति का शव मिलने के बाद दो लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


What is Ashura?

Summary: The day of Ashura is marked by Muslims as a whole, but for Shia Muslims it is a major religious commemoration of the martyrdom at Karbala of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

It falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is marked by Muslims with a voluntary day of fasting which commemorates the day Noah left the Ark, and the day that Moses was saved from the Egyptians by God. For Shia Muslims, Ashura is a solemn day of mourning the martyrdom of Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq. It is marked with mourning rituals and passion plays re-enacting the martyrdom. Shia men and women dressed in black also parade through the streets slapping their chests and chanting. Some Shia men seek to emulate the suffering of Hussein by flagellating themselves with chains or cutting their foreheads until blood streams from their bodies. Some Shia leaders and groups discourage the bloodletting, saying it creates a backward and negative image of Shia Muslims. Such leaders encourage people to donate blood. Islamic schism The killing of Hussein was an event that led to the split in Islam into two main sects - Sunnis and Shias. In early Islamic history the Shia were a political faction (known as the "party of Ali") that supported Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph (temporal and spiritual ruler) of the Muslim community. The great schism between Sunnis and Shias occurred when Imam Ali did not succeed as leader of the Islamic community at the death of the Prophet. Ali was murdered in AD 661 and his chief opponent Muawiya became caliph. Caliph Muawiya was later succeeded by his son Yazid, but Ali's son Hussein refused to accept his legitimacy and fighting between the two resulted. Hussein and his followers were massacred in battle at Karbala. Both Ali's and Hussein's deaths gave rise to the Shia cult of martyrdom and to their sense of betrayal and struggle against injustice, oppression and tyranny. Today, Shias comprise about 15% of the total worldwide Muslim population.

आशुरा का दिन समग्र रूप से मुसलमानों द्वारा चिह्नित किया जाता है, लेकिन शिया मुसलमानों के लिए यह पैगंबर मुहम्मद के पोते हुसैन के कर्बला में शहादत का एक प्रमुख धार्मिक स्मरणोत्सव है।


Quiz: Match the politician to the biscuit

Summary: Can you match a politician to their favourite biscuit?

Pressed upon the subject of his preferred choice, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday told the website Mumsnet that "if forced", he would accept a shortbread. Mumsnet has been asking MPs the same question (among other more serious matters) for several years. Can you identify the politician by the biscuit? Try last week's 7 Days Quiz here Picture credits: iStock, except 3 and 5 - Alamy Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook

क्या आप किसी राजनेता की तुलना उनके पसंदीदा बिस्कुट से कर सकते हैं?