'My spending has gone up, not down, in lockdown'

Summary: There are few benefits from lockdown, but one often touted is that people are managing to save a little money: lower transport costs, fewer shop-bought office lunches, cheaper childcare costs and no foreign holidays.

By Russell HottenBusiness reporter, BBC News Single mum Caroline Rice gives a wry smile when asked if she's managed to squirrel away extra cash over the past few months during pandemic restrictions. "My spending is up," she says. "The heating costs are higher because it's very cold. I'm having to shop locally because of lockdown, where the prices are slightly higher. The nearest Asda is 12 miles away." The small savings on little luxuries that many people are making - fewer coffees or restaurant meals - were never an option for her in the first place. Her meagre finances meant the registered child minder, who lives in rural County Fermanagh, was already living week-to-week. Now it seems like day-to-day, she says. "There's a mental stress, fatigue, in having to check the bank balance every day to see how much I'm down," she says. "My child and I haven't bought any clothes in almost a year." She's having to home-school her child. Many people wouldn't think twice about printing off their child's maths homework project. Caroline had to write it out by hand because they could not afford the ink. And she is not alone. A new report on the finances of low-income families during the pandemic says they are twice as likely to have increased their spending. It says extra costs for food, energy and remote learning equipment have piled financial pressure on the poor. 'Worlds away' The study - Pandemic Pressures - was a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the Nuffield Foundation-funded Covid Realities research project at the University of York. Dr Ruth Patrick, a social policy lecturer at the University of York, says talk of saving money during the pandemic is "worlds away" from the experiences of many low-income parents and carers. "Parents have found their spending increases, as some of the usual strategies they use to get by on a low income - shopping around for the best deal, going to families and friends for a meal when the cupboards are empty - have become suddenly impossible," she said. For Shirley Widdop, an increase in food costs has been one of the biggest issues. The disabled single parent, who lives in Keighley, now has to shield for health reasons. That means using online deliveries a lot. She says: "There's a minimum basket size [with online orders]. You often have to bulk buy in case there's a problem getting delivery slots." When not shielding, Shirley would seek out food in her supermarket's reduced-price section. "There used to be just a couple of people. Now there are crowds," she says. "Not everyone has easy access to the internet. And not everyone has a functioning bus service." The report notes that the pandemic has been marked by a huge reduction in overall spending, with entertainment and social activities restricted by lockdown. Higher-income households have been the main beneficiaries of this "enforced saving", as they spend 40% more of their income on recreation and leisure activities than the poorest fifth of households. The report says that in contrast to this overall picture, the pandemic has in many cases made it more expensive to live on a low income with children. More than one in three (36%) low-income households with children have increased their spending during the pandemic so far, compared with about one in six (18%) who have reduced their spending. Among high-income households without children, 13% have increased their spending, compared with 40% who have reduced it. The report highlights three main reasons for these extra pressures: It should also be noted, the report says, that these extra spending pressures are squeezing living standards that had stagnated even before the pandemic. To ease the burden, the report says the government should be seeking to maintain the £20-a-week rise in Universal Credit (UC) into next year. Otherwise, six million households face having their incomes cut by more than £1,000. Government action Mike Brewer, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: "The pandemic has forced society as a whole to spend less and save more. But these broad spending patterns don't hold true for everyone. "The extra cost of feeding, schooling and entertaining children 24/7 means that, for many families, lockdowns have made life more expensive to live on a low income." However, a government spokesperson said measures had been put in place to "ensure that nobody is left behind", including extra welfare payments, job protection safeguards, the £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme, and equipment for home-schooling. "We are committed to supporting the lowest-paid families through the pandemic and beyond," the spokesperson said. Sometimes the overall economic figures can not capture the actual on-the-ground financial reality. The pandemic lockdowns have led to a "K-shaped" recovery. Across the entire economy, staying at home has meant less capacity to spend on going out and a surge in savings. But the economic picture is both up and down at the same time, depending on which household. The average picture is composed of wealthier people saving a huge amount and poorer families more squeezed than ever. This report shows how children staying at home have increased food and energy bills. The cost of buying food has increased with fewer store promotions and a requirement to use more expensive local shops. The furlough scheme has kept people paid, but not necessarily on full pay. So the chancellor hopes that the vaccine rollout could unleash pent up demand in the form of huge levels of savings from the already well-off. And yet at the same time, will continue to face pressure over extending support - for example, the £20-a-week increase to universal credit.

तालाबंदी से कुछ लाभ हैं, लेकिन अक्सर कहा जाता है कि लोग थोड़ा पैसा बचाने का प्रबंधन कर रहे हैंः कम परिवहन लागत, कम दुकान से खरीदा गया कार्यालय दोपहर का भोजन, सस्ती बच्चों की देखभाल की लागत और कोई विदेशी छुट्टियां नहीं।


Wolseley returns to profit and reinstates dividend

Summary: Building and heating materials group Wolseley has reported a return to profit for the six months to the end of January and reinstated its dividend.

Pre-tax profits for the period were £195m compared with a loss of £261m a year ago. Revenue rose 5% to £6.6bn. The group said profitability had improved in all regions, but warned that the outlook for the UK was uncertain. The results sent Wolseley shares up 2.5%. Related Internet Links Wolseley

भवन निर्माण और ताप सामग्री समूह वोलसेली ने जनवरी के अंत तक छह महीने के लिए लाभ में वापसी की सूचना दी है और अपने लाभांश को बहाल किया है।


HS2 station designs unveiled for Curzon Street and Solihull

Summary: Designs for two new HS2 stations have been revealed.

Curzon Street, in Birmingham city centre, will serve the new high-speed route due to be built between London and Birmingham. Plans have also been unveiled for Interchange Station near Solihull which will be part of a public transport interchange serving Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. Curzon Street is due to open with seven high-speed platforms in 2026. The Grade I-listed original Curzon Street station will become a visitor centre and offices. Curzon Street and Interchange Station will be linked to the tram network as well as rail networks to the wider West Midlands, HS2 said. The designs include office and retail space, hotel accommodation and homes. The plans will be displayed at Birmingham Library for the public to view and give feedback. West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the new stations will be "catalysts for regeneration" and will create jobs in the region. "Curzon Street station will put Birmingham at the heart of Britain's new high speed network and enhance the rail connectivity for the city, whilst Interchange provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help drive the growth of the region," he added. HS2 is the £55.7bn planned high-speed rail network initially running between London and Birmingham by 2026, before a second phase expands it to Manchester and Leeds. Work is under way on 60 sites across the route from London to Birmingham. HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said: "Preparatory work for the stations is well under way, with a variety of enabling works including the construction of access roads and archaeological investigations." The history of Curzon Street

दो नए एच. एस. 2 स्टेशनों के लिए डिजाइन का खुलासा किया गया है।


Don Hale: One man's fight for justice

Summary: Fifteen years ago Stephen Downing was acquitted after spending 27 years in prison for murder, overturning one of Britain's most notorious miscarriages of justice and putting into the spotlight the local newspaper editor who helped to bring the police's case tumbling down.

By Dave WadeBBC News Don Hale could hardly have foreseen that by championing the case he would go on to suffer police intimidation and receive death threats - there were even two apparent attempts on his life - forcing him to leave his Derbyshire home. But the Downing case would eventually change the law, win Hale an OBE and make him a go-to journalist to investigate major miscarriages of justice. In the years since the release of Mr Downing, Hale has also helped to free Barry George, the man who spent eight years in jail for the murder of Jill Dando, and to clear the name of footballer, Ched Evans, after a controversial rape retrial. For Hale, the brutal trigger for his life of campaigning was the 1973 killing of 32-year-old Wendy Sewell. She was found badly beaten but still alive in a Bakewell graveyard by Mr Downing, a council gardener. He was arrested and questioned without a solicitor for several hours but, aged 17 and with a reading age of 11, officers pressured him into signing a confession to the attack, filled with words he did not understand. When Mrs Sewell died two days later, the charge was upgraded to murder. Mr Downing immediately retracted his confession but was found guilty at a trial at Nottingham Crown Court. After their son had spent two decades in prison, Mr Downing's parents approached Hale, editor of the Matlock Mercury, for help. He faced obstacles at every turn, with police telling him all the evidence had been "burnt, lost and destroyed". A turning point came when Derby Museum staff informed him that the murder weapon - a pickaxe handle - was on display there. With Hale's help, Mr Downing won £13,000 from the Legal Aid Board. This paid for a modern forensic examination of the weapon, crucially revealing Mr Downing's fingerprints were not present - although there was a bloody palm print from an unknown person. The clothes Mr Downing had been wearing, which had been returned to his parents, were flecked with spots of blood which Hale believed were consistent with him having tried to help Wendy Sewell as she lay dying. "I reported developments through the Matlock Mercury - it became like The Archers, a bit of a saga," he joked. But the articles prompted real-life drama in the form of anonymous death threats and what Hale claims was police harassment. "They made my life absolute hell for five or six years," he said. "I was pulled up for speeding, stopped and searched, victimised." Letters were sent to his home and a brick was thrown through the newspaper's window. Most seriously, on two occasions a vehicle was driven at him at speed, which he believes were attempts to kill him. Police even gave him a mirror on a stick to check for bombs under his car. "I was very worried for my family. There weren't threats against other journalists, it was simply against me. It turned into a rollercoaster," he said. But all of this merely strengthened his resolve: "If Downing had done it, why should anyone want to threaten me?" Mr Downing was ineligible for parole under the law at the time because he had refused to admit his guilt. Hale believed this was unfair and took the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, winning the case in 1996. It was adopted into law that prisoners who maintained their innocence after conviction could apply for parole. By now, the Downing case was attracting attention from far and wide: "I became a hero in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Argentina, because I had taken on the British government and won," Hale said. Closer to home, Hale said then Prime Minister Tony Blair asked him for help in setting up an independent body to investigate miscarriages of justice, which became the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC). Stephen Downing's was one of the first cases to be looked at by the CCRC. It recommended his conviction should be overturned on the basis that the circumstances in which he gave his confession made it unreliable evidence that should not have gone before a jury. The conviction was quashed in 2001 with Mr Downing finally walking free in January 2002. Hale was pleased but also disappointed: "He had got off on a technicality," he said. "He didn't get his day in court because police were bang to rights. Somebody should have been called to account." The legal challenge to Mr Downing's conviction focused on the way detectives had conducted the original investigation in 1973. He had been questioned without a lawyer and there were serious doubts about whether he had been properly advised of his legal rights. These facts were never made known to the jury that convicted him, but they were enough to overturn the conviction. But Mr Downing, for his part, was not angry: "Who would I feel bitter against? The system? I think I would be punishing myself," he said. With much more to say himself, Hale wrote the book, Town Without Pity, which was turned into BBC drama, In Denial of Murder, in 2004. Police reopened their investigation, interviewing 1,600 witnesses, at an estimated cost of £500,000, but failed to identify any alternative suspect - although Hale has previously said he believes he has a "very good idea" who killed Wendy Sewell. Mr Downing was later awarded £900,000 in compensation. The huge press attention the case attracted finally forced Hale to relocate to north Wales. "One of the reasons I moved away from Derbyshire was to get relief," he said. "It wasn't fair on my family." But he was soon called on to help with another miscarriage of justice. BBC Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was shot dead on her fiancé's west London doorstep in April 1999. A year later, after interviewing over hundreds of people, the Met Police charged 41-year-old Barry George, a self-confessed stalker and loner, with her murder. He was tried, convicted and jailed for life. But there were serious concerns about the police investigation, and in 2004 Hale was asked to get involved. "Quite quickly, I found a lot of evidence that didn't match up," he said. He went to see Mr George in prison where he was "like a lion in a cage", pacing the floor. "How could he do a clinical murder like that?" Hale said. "Everyone that was dealing with him said he's a bit of an oddball but he's not a killer." Gunpowder residue on Mr George's clothing had played a large part in convicting him. But Hale said there was so little of it that it could have come from weapons armed police were carrying when he was arrested. The CCRC referred Mr George's case to the Court of Appeal and a retrial took place at the Old Bailey in 2008, when he was cleared of murder and released. Ched Evans was serving a five-year sentence for rape when his family approached Hale for help. "I didn't want to touch it because it was so high profile," he said. But Mr Evans' mother had serious doubts about the "rushed" investigation. The then-Sheffield United striker had been convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman at a Premier Inn in Denbighshire in May 2011. At the same trial, footballer Clayton McDonald was acquitted of the offence. Hale believed the guilty verdict was an "emotional response" from the jury, owing to Mr Evans' "cockiness". "He thought he was God's gift to women," Hale said. He spent six months working on the case, in which time Mr Evans was released having served half of his sentence. "My knowledge and experience meant I could cut corners and had an important point that I knew the IPCC would look at." That point was the woman's sexual history and, after the CCRC agreed there was enough evidence to quash the conviction, this evidence controversially formed part of the retrial. Unlike during the original trial, her previous sexual partners gave evidence recounting similar encounters to the one in the hotel room that night. It led to plans to review the law protecting alleged rape victims from disclosing details of their sex lives. Mr Evans was cleared in October 2016 but it left a bitter taste for Hale. "In this case it was right - you have got to look at each case on its own merit," he said. "But the whole thing was a bit unsavoury and not good for the girl herself." Hale said at the time he hoped the case did not deter women from coming forward to report sexual offences. But, had that evidence been used in the original trial, "Evans would have been cleared," he said. The case took its toll on Hales, now 64, and he has decided not to investigate any more miscarriages of justice, focusing instead on writing books. "I am proud of what I have done," he said. "If it wasn't for people like me you'd have no-one to say, 'this isn't the way we should interview people, this is not the way we should treat people'." Yet he still insists modestly that much of the credit for overturning the miscarriages of justice he has worked on belongs to others, seeing himself more as a catalyst for change. "You have got to have somebody who gets the ball rolling."

पंद्रह साल पहले स्टीफन डाउनिंग को हत्या के आरोप में 27 साल जेल में बिताने के बाद बरी कर दिया गया था, जिसने ब्रिटेन के न्याय के सबसे कुख्यात गर्भपातों में से एक को उलट दिया था और स्थानीय समाचार पत्र संपादक को सुर्खियों में ला दिया था जिसने पुलिस के मामले को नीचे लाने में मदद की थी।


Boy bailed after girl, 12, raped in Sheffield woods

Summary: A teenager arrested on suspicion of raping a 12-year-old girl in Sheffield has been released on bail.

The attack happened in Richmond Heights Woods, in the Richmond area of the city, in the early hours of Sunday. South Yorkshire Police said the boy, a 16-year-old from Sheffield, was arrested on Tuesday and the investigation continues. Det Insp Tom Woodward said the inquiry was "complex" and appealed for anyone with information to contact police. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

शेफील्ड में 12 वर्षीय लड़की के साथ बलात्कार के संदेह में गिरफ्तार एक किशोर को जमानत पर रिहा कर दिया गया है।


West Molesey murder: Man arrested after woman found dead

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was discovered at a house in Surrey.

Surrey Police found the 50-year-old woman at an address in Walton Road, West Molesey, just after 08.00 GMT on Monday. A 52-year-old local man is being held in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder. The force said the "investigation is still in the early stages" and post-mortem tests were expected later. Related Internet Links Surrey Police

सरे में एक घर में एक महिला का शव मिलने के बाद हत्या के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Safety cameras to reduce collision risk at rail crossings

Summary: Safety cameras will be placed at level crossings to deter motorists from jumping lights and risking high-speed collisions.

Network Rail will place them at four locations in Wales where trains can pass through at speeds of up to 60mph. They include Ffairfach and Llangadog in Carmarthenshire, Borth Capel Soar in Ceredigion and Fairbourne in Gwynedd. The cameras will capture images of motorists who breach the barrier lines when the red warning lights are on. They will use number plate recognition technology and the footage will be used in prosecutions. Network Rail Wales' risk advisor Christine Booth said safer driving would reduce the risk of fatalities.

मोटर चालकों को रोशनी कूदने और तेज गति की टक्करों के जोखिम से रोकने के लिए लेवल क्रॉसिंग पर सुरक्षा कैमरे लगाए जाएंगे।


Waste water charges for Guernsey may start in 2011

Summary: New waste water charges for Guernsey householders will come in by April 2011, if agreed by the States.

The charges, an average of £150 per household, will be added to bills from Guernsey Water. States members made the decision to introduce the annual waste water charge last year. Some of the income from this new scheme will be set aside to improve the island's sewage treatment. All domestic and commercial properties will have to pay the charges, including those with cesspits, although there will also be a reduction in the charges for the emptying of cesspits.

यदि राज्यों द्वारा सहमति दी जाती है तो ग्वेर्नसे के गृहस्थों के लिए अपशिष्ट जल का नया शुल्क अप्रैल 2011 तक आ जाएगा।


Royal baby: Revolution in the nursery

Summary: Behind the walls of Kensington Palace, a revolution is taking place in the royal nursery, writes royal commentator Carolyn Harris. But how might the new royal baby's upbringing differ from that of his or her predecessors?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been quietly making plans for the future king or queen to receive a thoroughly modern upbringing. The baby's parents and grandparents will have more influence than any nannies might have, and both William and Catherine will balance royal duties with plenty of family time. Previous generations of royalty introduced innovations to their nurseries but the royal couple enjoy an unprecedented amount of support from the public and the palace alike. They represent the future of the monarchy and their choices will shape popular attitudes toward both parenting and the royal family. In January, they advertised for a general housekeeper, but not a nanny. This was interpreted by the media as a sign that they might intend being their child's primary caregivers. The position, which was filled by the Queen's housemaid Antonella Fresolone in May, entails a diverse range of responsibilities including laundry, polishing silverware and walking the dog, as well as childcare. When Prince Charles or even Prince William were children, numerous members of the royal household divided these duties between them. The transformation of the royal nanny from the superintendent of the nursery to a part-time position is a break from tradition that reflects the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's position in the 21st Century debate about "work-life balance". The credentials and duties required of a royal nanny have changed considerably over the centuries. Charles I replaced his eldest son's first governess, the Countess of Roxburgh, when the Protestant public objected to a Roman Catholic raising the future Charles II. By Queen Victoria's reign, royal nursemaids and governesses were expected to exercise complete authority in the nursery and devote themselves entirely to their charges with very little time for themselves. The degree of authority wielded by 19th and 20th Century nannies brought disaster for some royal children and comfort for others. As mentioned in the recent film, The King's Speech, the future Edward VIII and George VI were abused by one of their early nannies. But both Charles and William were close to their caregivers and found them to be sources of stability during difficult times. By the time William and Harry were born, the traditional role of the royal nanny had become increasingly incompatible with the hands-on parenting style preferred by both the Prince and Princess of Wales. Compared with the more formal approach favoured by the Queen and Prince Philip, both Charles and Diana embraced their children in public and took them on overseas royal tours from a young age. Diana reportedly thought William's first nanny, Barbara Barnes, was acting too much as a surrogate mother to the young prince - the accepted role for previous generations of royal nannies. After the Prince and Princess of Wales separated in 1992, Charles hired an unconventional nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke, to help care for his sons. Rather than ruling a royal nursery, the youthful Legge-Bourke acted as a kind of older sister and friend to the princes, accompanying them on outings with their father. The combined nanny and housekeeper role created by William and Catherine continues this process of innovation in the royal nursery, replacing traditional nannies with part-time caregivers. It is thought that the royal baby's grandparents will have more influence over his or her upbringing than any nanny, should they hire one. Catherine reportedly intends to spend the weeks following the birth with her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton. Before the 20th Century, British monarchs usually married foreign royalty, limiting the involvement of one set of grandparents in a royal child's life. When both sets of grandparents were close at hand, however, they all became involved in their grandchildren's upbringing. Despite Diana's frequent conflicts with her family, William and Harry developed such a close relationship with their "Gran Fran" - Frances Shand Kydd - that Frances is one of the favourite names for the royal baby. When the Queen was a child, trips to Scotland not only meant time at Balmoral with King George V and Queen Mary but visits to her Bowes-Lyon grandparents. Like Catherine, the woman who became known as the Queen Mother liked to have her parents close at hand during her confinements and gave birth to her second child, Princess Margaret, in the Bowes-Lyon residence, Glamis Castle. There are numerous other signs that William and Catherine intend to follow in the footsteps of royal trailblazers rather than traditionalists. Prince Charles was the first royal father to be present in the delivery room since Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, and there is every indication that William will do the same. And 18th and 19th Century royal mothers courted controversy when they decided to breastfeed their children. Queen Marie Antoinette of France received a scolding letter from her mother when she decided to follow French Enlightenment parenting ideals and nurse her firstborn child. When Queen Victoria learned that her daughters were breastfeeding their own children, she named a cow in the royal dairy Princess Alice. Diana's decision to breastfeed her sons received praise from the public and Catherine will receive similar approval for being a modern royal mother. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are part of a new generation of royal parents determined to balance their royal duties with a close relationship with their child. Their solution to the 21st Century problem of work-life balance is a hands-on approach to parenting with plenty of help from part time nannies and involved grandparents. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook

शाही टिप्पणीकार कैरोलिन हैरिस लिखती हैं कि केन्सिंगटन पैलेस की दीवारों के पीछे, शाही नर्सरी में एक क्रांति हो रही है। लेकिन नए शाही बच्चे की परवरिश उनके पूर्ववर्तियों से कैसे अलग हो सकती है?


Can the law stop Brexit?

Summary: As the dust settles after the UK vote to leave the EU, lawyers are picking over the landscape and legal opinions are emerging as to how the UK's departure from the European Union might be slowed or even stopped.

By Clive ColemanLegal correspondent, BBC News They fall into three main areas: It has come as a shock to many that the referendum result itself is not legally binding in UK law and it alone does not trigger the UK's departure from the EU. That has to be done under the withdrawal process laid down in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. In other words, the referendum has changed nothing legally but everything politically. Article 50 Article 50 is the mechanism by which the UK will end its 40-year relationship with the EU. Once notice is given by the prime minister, the clock starts ticking and there is a two-year time limit to negotiate an exit deal. That time period can be extended only with the unanimous agreement of the remaining 27 member states. If there is no extension, the UK ceases to be a member of the EU on the conclusion of an agreement within the two years, but in any event two years after notice has been given. Article 50 says any EU member state can leave "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". That phrase has given lawyers pause for thought as to what is lawful under our constitution. In a piece co-authored by three legal experts, for the UK Constitutional Law Association, it is argued that under our constitutional settlement, the prime minister cannot issue a notification under Article 50 without being given authority to do so by an act of Parliament. The argument rests on the fact that without Parliament's backing any prime minister would be exercising what are known as prerogative powers. These are a collection of executive powers held by the Crown since medieval times and now placed in the hands of ministers. They are often used in foreign affairs Parliament has largely left to the government. However, case law establishes these executive powers cannot trump an act of Parliament. Legislation can only be altered by legislation. And so, by extension, if a prime minister triggered Article 50 and so put the UK on a one-way road out of the EU without Parliament's backing, he or she would be overriding the 1972 European Communities Act, which provides for the UK's membership of the EU and for the EU treaties to have effect in domestic law. The Article 50 process would cut across and emasculate the 1972 act, and so, the argument goes, the prime minister needs the backing of a new act of Parliament to give him or her the constitutional authority to push the Leave button. Writing in the Times newspaper, the crossbench peer Lord Pannick QC, an eminent specialist in public law, said: "Whether Parliament would enact legislation to allow for an Article 50 withdrawal is a matter for it. "However, without such legislation, the prime minister cannot lawfully give a notification." Similar views have been expressed by Lord Lester QC and Sir Malcolm Jack, a former clerk to the House of Commons. There is also an attempt to crowd-fund legal advice on the issue: "Should Parliament decide?" The Crowd Justice website says a legal challenge could be "the most important public law case in living memory". If it was decided that a prime minister acting alone under prerogative powers lacked the constitutional authority to trigger Article 50, an act of Parliament would need to be passed giving him or her that authority. The passage of that act would of course provide the opportunity for MPs (a majority of whom favour Remain) to express their views on Brexit and in theory vote according to their consciences. However, it seems constitutionally inconceivable that Parliament would fly in the face of the Leave vote secured through a national referendum and refuse to pass an act that gave the prime minister authority to begin the "divorce" process. Scotland Scotland's first minister has raised the prospect of Scotland attempting to block a Brexit. Could it? The short answer is: "No." But how could it try? Nicola Sturgeon is referring to a parliamentary convention, known as the Sewel convention, that says the Westminster Parliament will not normally legislate - ie interfere - on devolved matters, without the consent of the devolved parliament. The Scottish Parliament's powers are limited by EU law. So, the argument would be that if Brexit legislation enacted by the UK removed those limits, it would free the Scottish Parliament to make laws that breached EU law. That would be to alter its powers, and that triggers the need to get the Scottish Parliament's consent under the Sewel convention. So, could the Scottish Parliament block Brexit by withholding consent? The UK Parliament is sovereign. Under devolution, it authorised devolved legislatures to make law in certain areas. However, it retained the right to make any law it liked. Consider also that Article 50 arguably does not need legislation and can be triggered by a prime minister using prerogative powers. In other words, the two-year period could run its course without any agreement and thus any legislation by the UK Parliament. That would mean the Scottish Parliament would have no legislation to withhold its consent from. More significantly, the Scottish Parliament cannot block UK legislation on Brexit or any other issue. It can withhold consent, but the UK Parliament can override that. A second referendum The petition calling for a second EU referendum has been signed by more than four million people. It was, ironically, created by Leave supporter Oliver Healey, before the referendum, when a Leave victory looked unlikely, in an attempt to make things harder for Remain. It called for a change in the referendum rules requiring a second vote if either side achieved less than 60% on a turnout of less than 75%. Before the vote, it had 22 signatures. The sovereignty of Parliament is a cornerstone of our constitution, so it is possible it could pass a law calling a second referendum. However, although constitutionally possible, this is politically unthinkable. It would take something akin to a revolution and full-blown constitutional crisis for it to happen. If the petition grew to show a clear majority of the electorate now favoured Remain, that might be tantamount to the revolution and might possibly trigger the unthinkable. But four million is a long way off that. While lawyers may raise arguments, it seems impossible to see a legal challenge stopping the great democratic juggernaut now chuntering towards the EU's departure gate. There are times when politics simply outstrips the law. This feels like one of them.

जैसे-जैसे ब्रिटेन के यूरोपीय संघ छोड़ने के लिए मतदान करने के बाद धूल जम जाती है, वकील परिदृश्य को चुन रहे हैं और कानूनी राय सामने आ रही है कि यूरोपीय संघ से ब्रिटेन के प्रस्थान को कैसे धीमा किया जा सकता है या रोका भी जा सकता है।


France-Turkey Armenia 'genocide' row reflected in media

Summary: The news that the French Senate on Monday approved a bill which will make it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire was genocide has infuriated the Turkish establishment, which has threatened France with permanent sanctions.

The media in Turkey, France and Armenia have mostly reflected the official positions, but two French reports have highlighted the division between French lawmakers over the issue. Turkey The story has dominated Turkish television since Monday when TV channels had live coverage of the Senate debate and interviews with officials from Paris. The Yes vote and its implications have been the focus of several Turkish television discussion programmes. In the newspapers, a sense of Turkish outrage over the issue was reflected in the headlines. "Shame on You France", centrist Vatan said. Sarkozy "Murdered Democracy", centre-right Hurriyet charged. "The Senate has written 'History' ", declared centre-left daily Radikal. Some commentators were incensed by what they saw as French hypocrisy. Fikret Bila writing in centrist Milliyet suggested that France's own historical record could bear looking at. It was "bad in Europe and in Africa", Bila said. Rauf Tamer in the tabloid Posta said France had shot itself in the foot. "It wanted to exploit the Great Catastrophe of the past politically. Just for the sake of a handful of votes," he argued. Liberal Yeni Safak accused Paris of taking a "political decision on history", but Ahmet Altan writing in leftist Taraf announced his disinterest in the whole subject. "Frankly, I do not care at all. Whether France bans saying that or not", he said. France In France, the row was the top story on many early morning news bulletins. State-owned France 2 TV said that exchanges between Ankara and Paris had "become even more heated overnight" after the former threatened to reduce its diplomatic presence in France. State-owned France Inter radio noted "Ankara's anger and the joy of French Armenians" in its top headline, but privately-owned Europe 1 radio emphasised that many French MPs felt uneasy about the vote. The story, which broke only late on Monday, did not take a prominent place on most newspaper front pages, but best-selling Ouest France was a notable exception with its main headline: "The Senate has voted, Turkey makes threats." Le Monde noted that, although the bill was passed by 126 votes to 86, most of the 348 senators failed to back it and many "strongly expressed their reservations". Most groups in the Senate were divided over the bill and "the result of the vote is a sign of the unease that was expressed throughout the debate", according to an article by Patrick Roger published on the paper's website. Liberation suggested that the bill was "not entirely free of ulterior electoral motives considering that there is a 500,000-strong French Armenian community in France". An article by Elsa Sabado and Francois Wenz-Dumas published on the paper's website added that the vote casts doubt on the Senate's effectiveness in preventing laws that are inspired by short-term interests and may be unconstitutional. Le Figaro, however, judged that the Senate debate was often "of high quality". Guillaume Perrault writing in an article published on the paper's website noted that in 2001 parliament passed a law in which France recognised the "Armenian genocide" and that the bill before the Senate was intended to make that declaration binding by making denial of the "genocide" a crime. Armenia Only four of the eight newspapers in Armenia carried reports on the French Senate vote. This may have been because the news broke late in the evening. The Aravot, Azg and Golos Armenii newspapers ran the story on their front pages giving mainly factual reports. Only one daily carried any commentary. In an editorial, the opposition Zhamanak hailed the French decision, which it saw as "a good opportunity to advance" Armenian "interests and take an advantageous position in its relations with Turkey". However, the paper advised Armenians not to be excessive in demonstrating their gratitude to France. "The French Senate's decision was by no means based on emotion, but was a result of pragmatic and hard-nosed policy pursued by a country which has proved to be a big expert in such issues," the paper suggested. BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

यह खबर कि फ्रांसीसी सीनेट ने सोमवार को एक विधेयक को मंजूरी दी, जो इस बात से इनकार करने को अवैध बना देगा कि 1915 में तुर्क साम्राज्य में अर्मेनियाई लोगों की सामूहिक हत्या नरसंहार थी, ने तुर्की प्रतिष्ठान को क्रोधित कर दिया है, जिसने फ्रांस को स्थायी प्रतिबंधों की धमकी दी है।


Madras Cafe: Bollywood film stirs up a storm in India

Summary: Bollywood's big cinema release this week, the spy thriller Madras Cafe, has caused controversy in India with Tamil groups demanding a ban. Geeta Pandey in Delhi meets the film's director and lead actors to find out what the row is all about.

Watching the official trailer of the film, it is obvious that the conflict in Sri Lanka and the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is its central theme. The film is set in the late 1980s and early 1990s and includes the time when Mr Gandhi was assassinated by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels in 1991 at an election rally in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Director Shoojit Sircar describes the film, which will be released across India and many parts of the world on 23 August, as "an espionage thriller", but concedes that it draws from real-life events. "The film is a work of fiction, but it is based on research into real events, it has a resemblance to actual political events, dealing with civil war and the ideology of a rebel group. "The film revolves around important events that changed the political history of India," he says. Uncanny resemblance John Abraham, the lead actor, plays intelligence agent Major Vikram Singh who is sent to Jaffna (in northern Sri Lanka) against the backdrop of the civil war and becomes entangled in rebel and military politics. In the process he discovers a plot to assassinate "a former Indian prime minister". Mr Sircar agrees that the rebel leader in the film bears an uncanny resemblance to Tamil Tiger rebel group leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, while the actor playing the former prime minister looks like Rajiv Gandhi. But he says that "such resemblances are coincidental". But even before its release, the film has run into controversy. Tamil groups and politicians in the southern state of Tamil Nadu denounced it as "anti-Tamil" and vowed to stop its release in the state. A special screening, arranged for some of the protesters earlier this week, failed to pacify them. Many insist that it depicts the Tamil Tigers and Prabhakaran in a bad light. "The aim of the movie is to portray Prabhakaran as a villain. We cannot accept the movie in any form," Seeman, leader of Tamil group Naam Tamizhar Katchi, said. "The heart of the film is anti-Tamil," he added, urging cinema halls in the state not to screen the film. A petition has been filed in the Madras high court which also seeks a ban. 'Disappointed' The petitioner, lawyer B Stalin, alleges that the film portrays Tamils as "terrorists" and that its screening might lead to law and order problems. Abraham, who has also produced the film, says he is "very disappointed and disturbed" by the allegations. "I believe it to be a very pro-Tamil film and it was not made to hurt anyone's sentiments," the actor told the BBC. "We did not make the film to create a controversy." Director Sircar says the film "does not take any sides" and focuses solely on the civil war. "I am proud that we made this film," he says, describing Madras Cafe as "a hard-hitting [and] realistic film". "We've seen movies on [the] India-Pakistan and Afghanistan [conflicts], but we've not seen any film based on the civil war in Sri Lanka," he says. The film's lead actress Nargis Fakhri says the film is made in Bollywood, but has a "very international appeal". Fakhri, an American citizen of Pakistani-Czech parentage, plays a journalist in the film. "Playing a war correspondent was not easy, it needed a lot of research. It's a very realistic role," she says. The movie, though based in Sri Lanka, was never filmed there - most took place in Kerala and in coastal Tamil Nadu with some bits shot in London, Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere. The producers, however, say they are in talks to release it in Sri Lanka too. "We've been approached by distributors in Sri Lanka and we hope to release it there soon," Mr Abraham said.

इस सप्ताह बॉलीवुड की बड़ी सिनेमा रिलीज, जासूसी थ्रिलर मद्रास कैफे ने भारत में तमिल समूहों के साथ प्रतिबंध की मांग को लेकर विवाद खड़ा कर दिया है। दिल्ली में गीता पांडे ने यह जानने के लिए फिल्म के निर्देशक और मुख्य अभिनेताओं से मुलाकात की कि विवाद किस बारे में है।


Judge frees Colorado man from prison, then ICE immediately re-arrests him

Summary: After a massive procedural mistake and a three-year fight for his freedom, Rene Lima-Marin was set to be released from a Colorado prison this week. Instead, he is now in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, facing deportation.

By Jessica LussenhopBBC News Magazine At first, Jasmine Lima-Marin did not want to tell her two boys that their father was coming home until he physically walked through the door. But after a Colorado judge issued a scathing, 165-page decision ordering his release, reporters, family and well-wishers started calling and dropping off bunches of balloons for the impending homecoming. It became impossible to keep the secret. "They were really excited," she says. But it now appears that her first instinct was correct. Before Lima-Martin could set foot outside, agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrived to take the 38-year-old father into custody on Wednesday. He now faces deportation to Cuba. Instead of welcoming her husband home, Jasmine spent the night rallying with supporters outside of an Ice detention centre. "It feels very political to us," says Jaime Halscott, the lawyer who argued for Lima-Marin's release earlier this year. "Ice didn't seem to want to do anything with him for years, they didn't do anything. They didn't take any action on it. Now that the Department of Corrections and the state has egg on their face, someone's still got to pay. That's what it feels like." Lima-Marin was a baby when his parents brought him to the US from Cuba during the 1980 Mariel boatlift. Lima-Marin grew up into a troubled teenager who burglarised cars for extra cash. When he was 19, he committed two video store burglaries with a friend, armed with a rifle. They were caught almost immediately. In 2000, Lima-Marin was sentenced to 98 years in prison. This was also when he was ordered removed from the country by a federal immigration judge. After 10 years behind bars, Lima-Marin was paroled and released by accident in 2008 - 88 years early. An apparent clerical error caused officials at the Colorado Department of Corrections to believe he was serving concurrent, not consecutive, years on his sentence. "I had no clue as to how any of this works," Lima-Marin testified at a hearing for his release. "All I knew was, my prayers had been answered." He walked out of prison at the age of 29 a seemingly changed man. He had no more run-ins with law enforcement, he married his long-time girlfriend Jasmine, and they started a family. They had two boys, Justus and Josiah, bought a house. Lima-Marin was working as a glazier, installing glass on downtown Denver skyscrapers. He kept his record spotless for nearly six years and according to his wife Jasmine, had regular check-ins with immigration officials and his parole officer. But in 2014, the prosecutor who sent him to prison happened to look Lima-Marin up, and was shocked to see he was free. Officers came to Lima-Marin's home that night to re-arrest him. Lima-Marin has been fighting for his release ever since, on several fronts. State legislators unanimously passed a resolution urging the Colorado governor to grant Lima-Marin clemency. His lawyers drew up a writ of habeas corpus, and argued in front of Judge Carlos Samour for his release in a December 2016 hearing. On Tuesday this week, Samour released his lengthy decision that ordered Lima-Marin's immediate release. "It would be utterly unjust to compel Lima-Marin, at this juncture, to serve the rest of his extremely long sentence," he wrote. "The government - not Lima-Marin, his family, the community, and society - should bear the brunt of the consequences of its conscience-shocking deliberate indifference." Jasmine Lima-Marin spent all day Wednesday waiting to find out when she could make the short drive to pick up her husband. During the three years they have been apart, she has struggled to keep their home out of foreclosure, and to buoy the spirits of her children. Now that struggle continues. "It's terrible. Unexpected. I was shocked," says Jasmine. "I told [the kids]. I don't think they really understand what's going on." Dave Williams, the Colorado Republican who sponsored the resolution to grant Lima-Marin clemency, issued a statement expressing outrage over the arrest. "The injustice committed by our Colorado criminal justice system and Rene's remarkable story of redemption, as outlined in Judge Samour's decision to release him, should not be disregarded simply because Ice has decided to step in," he wrote. "When Rene was a baby, his parents took him and left an oppressive Cuba. They were all granted permission to stay here and experience the freedom that the United States had to offer." Questions remain about Lima-Marin's immigration status, which seems to have been affected not only by the new presidential administration but by shifting Cuba-US policies. Kimberly Diego, another of Lima-Marin's lawyers, says that because of the Cuban Adjustment Act, he was a lawful permanent resident. She says he had been under an order of supervision from Ice and was compliant with all of their conditions. Under the Trump administration, many undocumented immigrants that were not priorities for removal under the previous administration are being arrested and deported. The latest figures show that immigrant arrests are up 38% from the same time period in 2016. "These new days it's apparently a lot cooler to just grab everybody and throw them out of the country," says Halscott. He says Rene now has an immigration lawyer and will be fighting deportation. There is also still an open application for a pardon on Governor John Hickenlooper's desk, which - if granted - could halt Lima-Marin's removal. Hickenlooper issued a statement about Lima-Marin's surprise detention, but did not address the issue of a pardon, or return requests for comment from BBC News. "We can't imagine the emotional roller coaster this family has endured," Hickenlooper wrote. "The family has shown amazing strength and we hope this is a temporary stop on his way to being reunited with his family."

एक बड़ी प्रक्रियात्मक गलती और अपनी स्वतंत्रता के लिए तीन साल की लड़ाई के बाद, रेने लीमा-मैरिन को इस सप्ताह कोलोराडो जेल से रिहा किया जाना था। इसके बजाय, वह अब अमेरिकी आप्रवासन और सीमा शुल्क प्रवर्तन हिरासत में है, जो निर्वासन का सामना कर रहा है।


Withybush Hospital changes: Campaigners stage march

Summary: Hundreds of people campaigning against changes to services at a Pembrokeshire hospital have staged a protest march.

Hywel Dda University Health Board announced reductions in paediatric and maternity services at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, in 2014. Save Withybush Action Team (Swat) is calling for an urgent review of the changes. The group marched from the town's cenotaph to the hospital on Sunday.

पेम्ब्रोकेशायर अस्पताल में सेवाओं में बदलाव के खिलाफ अभियान चला रहे सैकड़ों लोगों ने विरोध मार्च निकाला है।


Executive pay rules 'could have unintended consequences'

Summary: Vince Cable wants to compel UK listed companies to disclose one single figure for the earnings of each director in any year, to try to make the often complex pay awards more transparent. But David Ellis, head of the remuneration practice at KPMG, argues this could have unintended effects.

We have precedent which shows that even the most well-intentioned efforts to improve corporate governance and transparency of pay can lead to consequences that no party intended. For example, the major push in the mid-1990s to compel companies to disclose further and further levels of detail on directors' earnings was arguably a contributing factor to the ratcheting up of directors' pay in subsequent years. The increased disclosure led to increased visibility, which in turn led to an increased desire to pay above the median, or mid-point, to retain key talent. Not all companies can pay above the median - for obvious reasons. The problem with disclosing one figure for aggregate earnings rests in how it is calculated. Whilst it is clear how base salary or annual bonus should contribute towards the aggregate, it is less clear how one should approach deferred pay or long-term incentives, which are awarded over time subject to performance. By disclosing one number for aggregate pay, the line between those amounts an executive has taken home in a particular year and those which he or she may receive in subsequent years if the company performs, is blurred. Pay rise risk How does the law of unintended consequence apply to this? There is a big difference between cash paid in one year, cash that may be paid in subsequent years subject to performance, and gains realised that relates to previous years' performance (i.e. which were earned some years ago). By producing an aggregate figure for pay, we run the risk of treating base pay and performance pay as the same. They are not. A director with a relatively low figure for aggregate remuneration may compare favourably to one with a higher figure - but not when the composition of the package is looked at more closely. The key to making this proposal work is keeping a very clear distinction between amounts earned in the year, performance pay earned for previous years' performance, and performance pay that may be earned for future years' performance. If we do not keep this distinction clear (and the current proposals suggest that this level of separation will not be required), history tells us we will see base pay creep up - a consequence that Vince Cable can in no way have intended. The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement.

विंस केबल ब्रिटेन की सूचीबद्ध कंपनियों को किसी भी वर्ष में प्रत्येक निदेशक की कमाई के लिए एक ही आंकड़े का खुलासा करने के लिए मजबूर करना चाहते हैं, ताकि अक्सर जटिल वेतन पुरस्कारों को अधिक पारदर्शी बनाने की कोशिश की जा सके। लेकिन केपीएमजी में पारिश्रमिक अभ्यास के प्रमुख डेविड एलिस का तर्क है कि इसके अनपेक्षित प्रभाव हो सकते हैं।


What Los Angeles can teach the UK on riot control

Summary: Prime Minister David Cameron is to consult US "supercop" Bill Bratton on how to deal with city rioting. Mr Bratton, the former New York and Los Angeles police chief, is credited with dramatically reducing crime after the 1992 riots in LA.

By Alastair LeitheadBBC News, Los Angeles The burning buildings, looting, and clashes with police in Britain this week have brought back some vivid memories in Los Angeles. In 1992, riots sparked by a row over racism spread across the city and for six days the fires burned and the violence raged. Until a week ago they were the defining images of urban rioting etched on the public memory here and around the world. Now David Cameron is turning to the man who is credited with restoring law and order in the city - former LAPD chief Bill Bratton - dubbed a "US Supercop" by the British newspapers. Mr Bratton, having earlier served as the head of the NYPD in New York, took over the LAPD a decade after the 1992 riots. At one point he was apparently being considered for the job as Britain's top policeman, the new Commissioner of London's Metropolitan police. King verdict "Looking at the pictures coming out of London really brings back memories of what happened here in Los Angeles 20 years ago," said Commander Andrew Smith, then a Los Angeles Police Department street officer. He showed me a photograph taken on the day violence erupted in 1992 - a little faded but clearly showing him standing in the middle of the road holding a shotgun upright in one hand, burning buildings all around him. "I see a lot of parallels with the behaviour of the rioters in London - they did the same things here then - and we learned a lot of lessons. "One of the first things we did initially was to back off from the flashpoint of the riot, but we realised after a while we had to send in more cops and just have an overwhelming show of force and take a lot of people to jail." That was a similar approach to that taken by British police in London. The violence in LA was sparked by a court decision. A white jury acquitted four white police officers who had been videotaped badly beating Rodney King, an African American. "The beating of Rodney King was simply the catalyst," said Joe Hicks, a former civil rights leader who led a multi-cultural organisation to help repair communities in the aftermath of the riots. It began in a black neighbourhood but, as was the case in the United Kingdom, many different people joined the riot. "They were Latinos, poor whites, they were just hooligans of all sorts hit the streets along with black gang members and all sorts of people out doing burning and looting and rioting and general thuggery on the streets of LA," he said. "You get a lot of clowns and fools and idiots in any society, who are just laying in wait for the chance to do what they do." Rioter's regrets One of the gang members involved in the violence in South Central LA was Najee Ali who described how people were pulled from vehicles and beaten and how local grievances were settled with violence and vandalism. "I'm sorry for what we did to this day. We set fire to innocent people's property - people who had worked hard to come to America and make a better life for themselves," he said. "Some of them never recovered and that is something we can't repay. But they are doing the same in the UK right now - not realising what they are doing, and unfortunately they are going to regret what they did. "At the end of the day random violence, rioting is not going to be the solution to address their problems and grievances." The LAPD learned tactics like bringing in large numbers of police officers, and the national guard, making a huge number of arrests to show their strength. But the police also went through a long period of soul-searching after the riots. "Across the board we made changes in our police department, adding more officers - more women, more minorities, a lot more Hispanic officers to match the community make up," said the LAPD's Commander Smith. "We have embraced community policing - we really work a lot more in partnership with the different communities and we do everything we can to keep things calm when bad things happen and make things better in any way we can. "I think we are able to relate to the community a lot better now."

प्रधानमंत्री डेविड कैमरन अमेरिकी "सुपरकॉप" बिल ब्रैटन से शहर के दंगों से निपटने के तरीके के बारे में परामर्श करेंगे। न्यूयॉर्क और लॉस एंजिल्स के पूर्व पुलिस प्रमुख श्री ब्रैटन को एल. ए. में 1992 के दंगों के बाद अपराध को नाटकीय रूप से कम करने का श्रेय दिया जाता है।


Chemical weapons: New watchdog powers an important step

Summary: This is an important step forward for arms control.

Jonathan MarcusDiplomatic correspondent@Diplo1on Twitter It strengthens the unravelling consensus against the use of chemical weapons. It marks a victory for the rules-based international order, which itself is under increasing strain given the rise of populists and nationalism in many countries. But inevitably it will prove to be a new source of tension between Russia and the West. Until now, chemical weapons inspectors, working under the auspices of the OPCW (the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) were in a curious position. They could send teams to an alleged chemical weapons attack. They could take samples and draw their conclusions. They could determine whether indeed a chemical weapons incident had occurred. But whatever evidence they turned up, they could not point the finger at a particular country or non-state actor as the perpetrator. That was, of course, nonsense. It was like having a detective investigate a killing, only to conclude that yes indeed, murder most foul has been committed, but then being unable to identify the likely culprit. One way of getting around this was the so-called Joint Investigative Mechanism - a concerted effort by the OPCW and the UN to investigate some of the alleged chemical attacks in Syria. In difficult conditions this did indeed investigate alleged chemical attacks in Syria and found sufficient evidence to determine that the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (President Bashar al-Assad's troops) were responsible for three chemical weapons attacks in 2014 and 2015, and that the Syrian regime was responsible for the Sarin nerve agent attack in April 2017 in Khan Shaykhun. The identification of the Syrian authorities and their armed forces as responsible for these attacks was too much for Moscow, which has never accepted the culpability of its Syrian ally. It effectively pulled the plug on the joint mechanism last year. Many Western governments were already coming to the view that some kind of serious effort was needed to revise the way the OPCW worked. Naming the authors of chemical attacks was seen as a vital step - not just in terms of international justice, but also to reinforce the ban on the manufacture, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, which seemed to be slowly unravelling. The use of a nerve agent in the attempted murder of a former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury earlier this year added further ammunition to those who believed that much more needed to be done to reinforce the chemical weapons ban. Britain, backed by several other Western governments, tabled a draft proposal for the OPCW to significantly strengthen its role. With its explicit mention of the Syrian attacks and a reference to the episode in Salisbury (which the British government insists involved a type of nerve agent developed in Russia), this draft text was never going to get Moscow's backing. A rival Russian text was tabled but then withdrawn - perhaps when it became clear to its backers that they would not garner sufficient votes to derail the British proposal. Today's decision specifically refers to Syria - the conflict in which chemical weapons have been used most frequently in recent years. British officials believe that the OPCW's director general now has the authority to conduct more effective investigations in that country. The agreed text also raises the possibility that the OPCW might be able to attribute blame for other attacks on which it has not yet reported. This raises the intriguing possibility that the OPCW's pending report on the alleged use of sarin in the Syrian town of Douma might also include some attribution of responsibility - should the use of chemical weapons indeed be proven. OPCW member states will meet again in November to discuss giving the organisation powers to "name and shame" chemical weapons users elsewhere. This decision is inevitably going to exacerbate friction between Russia and the West. Moscow, Tehran and Damascus all opposed the draft text. Russia was not a fan of the OPCW's investigations prior to this vote and it will be even less so afterwards. One Russian minister is warning that "a lot of the countries that voted against the measure are starting to think about how the organisation will exist and function in the future". That sends a worrying signal, since the universality of any arms control regime is essential to its success. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking ahead of the OPCW vote, summed up the views of many of the advocates of the changes, insisting that the world had a responsibility to future generations. "What would it say about us," he asked, "if we allowed the emergence of a new taboo, a taboo not on using chemical weapons but on identifying those responsible. None of us wants our children to grow up in a world were the use of chemical weapons becomes normalised." Attributing responsibility for chemical attacks of course is one thing. What you then do about it is quite another. Will attribution lead to more punitive air strikes like those carried out by the US and its allies against the Syrian regime? And if so, will these types of attacks be sufficient to deter future chemical use? So far, that has not been the case.

यह हथियार नियंत्रण के लिए एक महत्वपूर्ण कदम है।


Sepp Blatter unveiled as Edenbridge bonfire Guy

Summary: An effigy of Sepp Blatter has been selected to be burned as part of a Kent bonfire society's annual celebrations.

The Fifa president is currently suspended from his position while he is being investigated over corruption allegations. Previous celebrity Guys have included Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, and footballer Wayne Rooney. The Edenbridge Bonfire Society raises money for local charities. In 2014, an effigy of Jose Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission was burnt as part of the society's celebrations.

सेप ब्लैटर का एक पुतला केंट अलाव समाज के वार्षिक समारोह के हिस्से के रूप में जलाने के लिए चुना गया है।


Chinese media mock India's 'dwarf' missile

Summary: While the Indian media are being swept along by the euphoria of the successful test launch of Delhi's first long-range ballistic missile - which can reach deep within China - Chinese papers have dismissed outright its impact on India's military might vis-a-vis China.

The press termed the test a "missile delusion" and a mere "show of strength". While the Indian media dubbed it a "China-killer", state-run Chinese newspapers mocked the latest Indian missile, the Agni-V, calling it a "dwarf" compared to China's own missiles. Both Chinese- and English-language newspapers rejected the view that this missile would tilt the strategic balance in the region towards India, something that the Indian media have been celebrating for the past two days. Chinese official reaction has been more restrained, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lui Weimin calling India a "partner and not a rival". In its editorial on Thursday - the day of the launch - the state-run English-language newspaper Global Times dismissed India "standing a chance" in a confrontation with China. "India should not overestimate its strength… For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China," the editorial said. 'No breakthrough' On 20 April, an editorial in the state-run newspaper Huanqiu Shibao said India's strategic strike force was in "early childhood". It further mocked the missile programme by saying that the Agni-V showed "the backwardness of Indian missiles" and was "merely one of the concrete displays of its social and economic development as a whole lagging behind China". In a similar vein, commentator Wu Xuelan wrote in the Communist Party newspaper Renmin Wang that India has always "cherished the dream of becoming a major power" but its social problems "are still very serious". Instead of wasting money on developing missiles, India "should do a better job in terms of [improving] the lives of ordinary people", the newspaper said. In an interview with the English-language China Daily, a senior researcher from the Academy of Military Science, Yao Yunzhu, said that the new missile is not a "significant breakthrough for India". Mr Yao said it was just "an improvement on the range" that in no way will change the "current military strength contrast between the two countries". Even commentators and analysts on CCTV's Global Watch programme on 19 April dismissed the strategic impact of the new missile launch. Song Xiaojun, the editor of the Chinese Military Magazine, played down India's military strength. "Without an adequate tank corps and a heavy-duty land force with adequate heavy weapons, it can hardly become a so-called 'China killer' by relying solely on nuclear weapons," he said. Similar views were echoed by Gao Zugui of the Institute of International Strategic Studies, who said: "Despite giving a little support, it was right in saying that if it really wants to become a great nation, each of its families should have a toilet first." Hong Kong's English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, on 20 April quipped that "India insists the missile - dubbed the 'China killer' in some of the country's more colourful media - is only for deterrent purposes". But: "Amid a powder keg of security concerns and competition for energy resources as China's rise transforms the political landscape, it poses a potential threat to regional stability and harmony." BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

जबकि भारतीय मीडिया दिल्ली की पहली लंबी दूरी की बैलिस्टिक मिसाइल के सफल परीक्षण प्रक्षेपण के उत्साह से प्रभावित हो रहा है-जो चीन के भीतर गहराई तक पहुंच सकती है-चीनी समाचार पत्रों ने चीन की तुलना में भारत की सैन्य शक्ति पर इसके प्रभाव को पूरी तरह से खारिज कर दिया है।


Entertainment quiz of 2020

Summary: Last year was largely one to forget for the world of arts and entertainment due to the huge disruption caused by the coronavirus.

But cancellations aside, let's see exactly what you can remember about music, movies, TV, books and more in 2020. If you cannot see the quiz, follow this link. What information do we collect from this quiz? Privacy notice. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

पिछला वर्ष कोरोना वायरस के कारण हुए भारी व्यवधान के कारण कला और मनोरंजन की दुनिया के लिए काफी हद तक भूलने योग्य था।


Ethnic dimension to Birmingham's vote

Summary: Detailed voting data from Birmingham sheds extra light on the EU referendum result. It confirms that Leave support was strongly linked to local populations who were older and had lower educational qualifications, but also shows that the city's ethnic minority areas were more likely to support Remain.

Martin RosenbaumFreedom of information specialist Birmingham council is one of very few authorities that have so far published their referendum voting figures broken down by local wards. The BBC will be trying to obtain this information from as many councils as possible. Data at this level can add more local detail to the national pattern, particularly when comparing it to ward statistics from the 2011 census. Analysis at the national level has found a very significant connection between the Leave vote share across the UK's council-based referendum counting areas and populations with lower levels of educational qualifications. Compared with other standard social and demographic factors, this had the highest correlation with the Leave vote. This was evident at the ward level in Birmingham too. The first graph shows how wards with high Leave votes had smaller proportions of graduates and people with equivalent qualifications. The pattern is maintained when other educational qualifications are also considered. Shard End ward had the highest Leave vote, at 76%, and the lowest proportion of graduates, at 9%. In contrast, Moseley and Kings Heath ward had the lowest Leave share, at 23%, and consists of 46% graduates. The link to lower qualification levels is stronger than associations with other usual indicators of class or poverty, such as the standard system of social grades or measures of deprivation derived from census data. However, one very striking feature of this chart is the cluster of wards towards the bottom left, which have low qualification levels but - in contrast to the general pattern - also a low Leave vote. The five wards of Aston, Bordesley Green, Lozells and East Handsworth, Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath had Leave vote shares under 38%, while also having proportions of graduates of under 17%. They are the five wards that deviate most starkly from the powerful city-wide and national pattern. They are also the five Birmingham wards with the highest ethnic minority populations - under 15% of their residents are white. This can be compared with the highest Leave ward, Shard End, which is 82% white. The second graph shows how the Leave vote was higher in those wards with a larger white population. In contrast, a high Remain vote was particularly strongly tied to high numbers with Asian ethnicity, although also strongly linked to high numbers of black residents. Another factor that powerfully connected to the Leave vote was age, nationally and in Birmingham. The Leave vote tended to be significantly higher in wards with older voters. These three factors - level of qualifications, ethnicity and age - account for over 90% of the variation in the voting results across the 40 Birmingham wards. Birmingham is important and interesting, as it was a very large counting area and had a result, with Leave at 50.4%, which was close to the national outcome (Leave at 51.9%). However, as a major city with a high ethnic minority population, it is not necessarily nationally representative. A few other areas have released ward-by-ward breakdowns. This includes Lambeth, but as the counting area with the highest Remain vote (apart from Gibraltar) and one that was consistent across the borough, there is less variation to assess. Greenwich has also released ward figures, but the way it has treated postal votes makes useful analysis harder. Voting patterns could of course have been different in various locations across the country. That's one reason why the BBC will be trying to get comparable data from as many places as possible.

बर्मिंघम से विस्तृत मतदान डेटा यूरोपीय संघ के जनमत संग्रह के परिणाम पर अतिरिक्त प्रकाश डालता है। यह पुष्टि करता है कि छुट्टी समर्थन स्थानीय आबादी से दृढ़ता से जुड़ा हुआ था जो अधिक उम्र के थे और जिनकी शैक्षिक योग्यता कम थी, लेकिन यह भी दर्शाता है कि शहर के जातीय अल्पसंख्यक क्षेत्रों में बने रहने का समर्थन करने की अधिक संभावना थी।


Why do the Chinese love Bicester Village?

Summary: It's claimed only Buckingham Palace receives more visits from Chinese citizens, whose pilgrimage to a designer outlet in Oxfordshire requires announcements in Mandarin at its railway station. But is there more to Bicester Village for these tourists than the appeal of cut-price handbags?

By Marcus LiddellBBC News With so many other sights to see in Britain, the fascination with a man-made, manicured shopping centre on the outskirts of Bicester is somewhat baffling to those closer to home. But for Chinese visitors to the UK - more than half of whom shop at Bicester Village, according to the outlet - a walk through its Scandi-inspired high streets is an unmissable part of the trip. Tracey Xiau, a student at Birmingham University, has stopped off on her way to London. It's her second visit to the site, which has savings on high-end brands such as Burberry, Gucci and Armani. Through the help of a translator, she explains "it is very famous for Chinese people" - especially with Chinese women who like shopping. "The discounts are very nice and the product has a good brand, that's why I come here," she adds. The appeal is obvious to a large extent. "We can buy discounted items... [it is] cheaper than high street stores," say Mo Zhou and Leon Yue, a well-dressed couple from Beijing who have already snapped up a pair of designer sunglasses. For Yining Lu and Huang Xin, they want to take advantage of being able to claim back the 20% VAT available to non-EU visitors. "The tax is higher in China so we need to buy it in Bicester," says Ms Lu, who has been planning her trip for two months. Mr Xin wants to "buy, buy, buy, buy". Asked whether it was cheaper than in China, she replies: "Yes, of course. I want to get tax free." Bicester Village was established in 1995 by American Scott Malkin on the edge of what he then described as "a garrison town best known for Friday night fighting and take-out food." Chinese citizens have only recently become regular travellers to the UK and since the mid-2000s, Bicester has taken advantage, working with Chinese tour operators. Today, it is the only outlet in the UK visited en masse by Chinese tourists and it scores highly in almost all of the country's online tourist forums, where it is described as a "must-go place for visitors to London". You might also be interested in: Five ways China's past has shaped its present China deters jaywalkers with water spray at crossing - BBC News The undying Asian gay icon in red high heels The Village also features on social media channels such as Weibo and WeChat, where posts and comments - mostly of shoppers showing off their purchases - are shared every day. Owner Value Retail is surely reaping the benefits of its marketing plan, though it declined to comment. However, it estimates it had 6.6m visitors last year, a similar figure to Visit Britain's figures for the British Museum. Its high footfall is perhaps helped by the outlet's proximity to the M40, which means coach groups can travel on to London, or Oxford and its surrounding villages, where tourists were spotted peering into people's gardens. But more so perhaps because it capitalised on being in the "right place at the right time" with the "right product for the right people", says Kegang Wu, a former adviser on China to the British Chamber of Commerce. "Chinese tourists are relatively new, with their new-found money and new-found wealth," he says. "The gift-giving culture of the Chinese tradition also means if they buy something they buy expensive stuff, differently to UK tourists who go abroad for a good time." He says the Chinese traditionally like to buy presents or gifts for friends or relatives. And, he adds, they also like a good deal. "They're good businesspeople, they like a discount." Bicester Village employs 150 Mandarin speakers on site, while at its railway station - and even 60 miles away in London Marylebone - announcements for Chiltern Railways services are made in English and Mandarin. Leon Yue, from Beijing, speaks no English and was surprised to find Chinese-speaking staff at the site. She tells the translator she is buying presents for her mum after hearing about the outlet through "word of mouth". "When they come here they find it very surprising to see lots of Chinese sales staff in the shops and they have received lots of welcoming, nice words from the staff, so they feel very special experience from coming today," the translator explains on her behalf. "The Chinese staff make the shopping experience more convenient." But the outlet has challenges ahead if it is to sustain its success, says Dr Wolfgang Georg Arlt, from the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute. He says travel trends, particularly around shopping, are changing as more of the country's citizens start going abroad and it becomes less of a novelty. There is no need to buy for five others, he says, if they are travelling soon as well. "If everybody has a Gucci bag, and you tell them 'Oh, I bought a new Gucci bag'... they're not so impressed." He believes to continue attracting the wealthiest Chinese tourists, the outlet must keep evolving to offer more of "an experience". "These kinds of people will still come to Bicester," he said. "But you will have to give them a story to tell to their friends, that they didn't just go for discounts." Additional reporting by BBC Chinese.

यह दावा किया जाता है कि केवल बकिंघम पैलेस में चीनी नागरिकों की अधिक यात्राएं होती हैं, जिनकी ऑक्सफोर्डशायर में एक डिजाइनर आउटलेट की तीर्थयात्रा के लिए इसके रेलवे स्टेशन पर मंदारिन में घोषणाओं की आवश्यकता होती है। लेकिन क्या इन पर्यटकों के लिए बाइसेस्टर विलेज में कम कीमत वाले हैंडबैग की अपील से ज्यादा कुछ है?


FR case against P-TOMS

Summary: Fundamental rights case has been filed in Supreme Court against the P.Tom. It says Muslims were not given due representation in the P-Tom agreed by the government and the LTTE and thus violates the fundamental rights of Muslims.

The petition was filed by Ebra Lebbe Javufer of Akkraipattu and Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed of Kalmunai both of whom were affected by the tsunami. The petitioners saying that a fair representation is not given to the Muslims in the P-Tom ask to issue an order to the effect that their fundamental rights have been violated. The petitioners said the majority of people affected by tsunami in the north and east are Muslims which is 41%. Out of disappeared people 34% are Muslims, out of displaced people 32% are Muslims and out of injured people 49% are Muslims. The Petitioners ask the courts to issue an order to the government demanding a reasonable Muslim representation in the P-Tom. They also ask the courts to issue an interim order suspending the activities of P-Tom Agreement and its proposed regional committees. In their petition they named M.S.Jayasinghe, Secretary to the ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees (RRR), and Shanmugalingam Ranjan, Deputy Head of Planning and Development Secretariat (PDS) of the LTTE as defendants.

आई. डी. 1 के खिलाफ उच्चतम न्यायालय में मौलिक अधिकारों का मामला दायर किया गया है। इसमें कहा गया है कि सरकार और एल. टी. टी. ई. द्वारा सहमत पी-टॉम में मुसलमानों को उचित प्रतिनिधित्व नहीं दिया गया था और इस प्रकार यह मुसलमानों के मौलिक अधिकारों का उल्लंघन करता है।


Man in court over West Bromwich pensioner attack

Summary: A man accused of a violent burglary at an 85-year-old man's home has appeared in court.

The victim was allegedly grabbed around the throat and pinned to a chair in his home in West Bromwich on 14 September. The intruder fled empty-handed after being disturbed, West Midlands Police said. Kevaughn Redden, 22, from Long Lane in Halesowen was remanded by magistrates in Dudley to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 5 November. He is charged with two counts of burglary and one of possession of an offensive weapon.

एक 85 वर्षीय व्यक्ति के घर में हिंसक चोरी का आरोपी एक व्यक्ति अदालत में पेश हुआ है।


Tour de France Grand Depart diary

Summary: With the world's biggest bike race starting in Leeds on 5 July, BBC Yorkshire's Tour de France correspondent Matt Slater rounds up the best of the gossip, opinion and stories, on and off the bike, and also tries to explain some of cycling's unique lingo. TOP STORIES

It has been suggested by some correspondents to the diary that Sheffield has been a little slow out of the traps in proclaiming its part in the big bike race, but the South Yorkshire metropolis has finally come to the party with some permanent signage on its four categorised climbs in the Tour's second stage. These signs, which show the hill's altitude, gradient and length, also list the climbs by their new French names. So Jenkin Road is now the Cote de Wincobank Hill, and Jawbone Hill is the Cote d'Oughtibridge. Will the names stick? Will the riders have to get off and push? Only time will tell. Full story: The Guardian Having once spent hours hanging yards of Christmas lights around my flat for a party only to turn them on and find out they were broken, I have a lot of sympathy for the people in Masham who hung up 20,000 hand-knitted miniature cycling jerseys only to be told "can't do that - health & safety, innit?". The Tour-themed bunting had been hung from the North Yorkshire market town's lamp posts, only for "spoilsports" from Harrogate Borough Council to say they could make the lamp posts bend if the bunting got wet. Thankfully, residents have not taken been bowed by this outbreak of excessive caution and have simply hung the bunting from windows and shop signs. Full story: Harrogate Advertiser On the day it has been announced that Yorkshire has been given an additional £10m to fix the potholes in its roads (actual amount needed, £1bn), it has emerged that there is still some urgent work to do along the stage three route in Essex. Saffron Walden is one of the prettiest places in that part of the world but it has some very scary road surfaces. One recreational cyclist has told the local paper that there are potholes big enough to "swallow a child". Perhaps Yorkshire should send that cheque down south. Full story: Saffron Walden Weekly News CYCLING ROUND-UP With the Tour little more than two weeks away now it is good to see so many of the sport's big names in form. Germany's Tony Martin continues to lead the way at the Tour of Switzerland and should stretch that lead in Friday's time trial. A couple of big mountain stages await this weekend. His fine form was evident on Thursday, however, when he set up teammate Matteo Trentin for a sprint victory with a frightening surge of power that only half a dozen riders could stay with. Team Sky's Ben Swift was one of those but he did not have the legs to get past the Italian Trentin. Slovakia's Peter Sagan was in the mix, as ever, and he also showed his class with a cheeky attack and breath-taking descent on the final climb before the finish. Elsewhere, Marcel Kittel returned to racing after his illness with a sprint win at the Ster ZLM Toer in the Netherlands. TWEET OF THE DAY "#RideTheFuture - How big is your love for cycling? Join us for 10 euros & show potential sponsors we have loyal fans!" @TeamBelkin are not taking the news that their title sponsor Belkin is quitting at the end of the season lying down. The Dutch team is hoping online "crowd-funding" could provide the stability they need to attract a new backer in time for next year. TODAY'S TOUR TRIVIA This diary likes to keep abreast of the national mood, so it is only fit and proper that we pay tribute today to Italy, our new best friend forever when it comes to sport. Twenty-seven different Italians have worn the yellow jersey, winning nine Tours amongst them. Ottavio Bottecchia was the first rider from across the Alps to win the race, doing so in 1924 and 1925, and Marco Pantani was the last Italian to finish Le Tour in yellow. Vicenzo Nibali is the Bel Paese's big hope this year, although the 2013 Giro d'Italia champion has not so far shown much form in 2014. The diary is quite happy to give Vicenzo a place on the Paris podium in return for Italy doing the business in Brazil THE COUNTDOWN - 15 DAYS TO GO Freddy Maertens is one of the more colourful characters from the Tour's long history, and the Belgian sprinter won 15 stages during an erratic career that saw him dominate one year, disappear for a few more, only to bounce back again another year. A double world champion, Maertens also won the Tour's green jersey in 1976, 1978 and 1981, and the overall prize at the 1977 Vuelta. But he is also remembered for drinking champagne DURING races, his honesty when asked about drug-taking and his 20-year battle with the Belgian tax authorities. He is now the curator of the Tour of Flanders museum in Oudenaarde.

5 जुलाई को लीड्स में शुरू होने वाली दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी बाइक दौड़ के साथ, बीबीसी यॉर्कशायर के टूर डी फ्रांस संवाददाता मैट स्लेटर बाइक के अंदर और बाहर गपशप, राय और कहानियों का सबसे अच्छा दौर पेश करते हैं, और साइकिल चलाने की कुछ अनूठी भाषा को समझाने की भी कोशिश करते हैं।


A history of prime ministers caught on mic

Summary: David Cameron has been recorded describing Nigeria and Afghanistan as "fantastically corrupt" in a conversation with the Queen. It is not clear whether or not he knew his words were being recorded - but it would not be the first time his unguarded remarks have been caught on microphone - and he's not the only prime minister to have been caught out in this way...

By Pippa SimmPolitical reporter, BBC News 2015: Yorkshire people hate each other David Cameron was heard joking that Yorkshire people "hate each other", while rehearsing a speech in Leeds. Wearing a microphone but not on camera, the PM said: "We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn't realise they hated each other so much." Later, Mr Cameron told the BBC's Test Match Special it was "a total joke". 2014: Purrgate David Cameron, in conversation with ex-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, unwittingly revealed that the Queen apparently "purred" when he told her Scotland had rejected independence. Overhead by the waiting camera crews, the PM said he had "never heard someone so happy" at the result, and said she "purred down the line". Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the remarks. Mr Cameron said he was "embarrassed" and "extremely sorry". 2010: Bigotgate With just a few days until the 2010 general election, Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown was out and about on the campaign trail to try to woo voters. But on returning to his car after an encounter with Rochdale resident Gillian Duffy, with whom he had been discussing immigration, he was unaware his microphone was still on - and could be heard calling her a "bigoted women". Mr Brown later said he was "mortified" by the slur and a grovelling phone apology to Mrs Duffy was made, but it wasn't enough, and he had to go back to Rochdale to apologise to her in person. The incident was often cited in Labour's subsequent shift in tone on the issue - as the party said that talking about immigration did not make someone a bigot. 2006: Yo, Blair US President George Bush's exchanges with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair were recorded at a G8 summit in Russia. They began with Mr Bush apparently asking: "Yo, Blair. How are you doing?" Critics said this was over-familiar and showed a lack of respect on the part of the leader of the free world for his ally. Mr Blair ended the eavesdropping when he spotted the live microphone and switched it off. 1993: Angry Major People remember Conservative John Major as one of the milder-mannered prime ministers in British history. But, back in 1993, he was an angry man. Embroiled in battles with the more Eurosceptic of his cabinet ministers, he spoke honestly about his feelings to ITN's Michael Brunson. Unaware that he was still being recorded after an interview, Mr Major described his foes as "bastards" he would like to "crucify".

डेविड कैमरन को रानी के साथ बातचीत में नाइजीरिया और अफगानिस्तान को "अद्भुत रूप से भ्रष्ट" बताते हुए रिकॉर्ड किया गया है। यह स्पष्ट नहीं है कि उन्हें पता था कि उनके शब्द रिकॉर्ड किए जा रहे थे या नहीं-लेकिन यह पहली बार नहीं होगा जब उनकी बेपरवाह टिप्पणियों को माइक्रोफोन पर पकड़ा गया है-और वह एकमात्र प्रधानमंत्री नहीं हैं जिन्हें इस तरह से पकड़ा गया है...


Lord Byron statue stolen from Godmersham Park estate

Summary: A £10,000 statue of one of Britain's greatest poets has been stolen from the grounds of a Kent estate, police said.

The 4ft tall marble statue of Lord Byron was taken from Godmersham Park, near Ashford, between midnight and 05:00 BST on Wednesday. Detectives believe a number of people would have been required to move the "extremely heavy" statue. The 18th Century estate was once the home of novelist Jane Austen's brother, Edward. Police have asked anyone with information to come forward.

पुलिस ने कहा कि ब्रिटेन के महानतम कवियों में से एक की 10,000 पाउंड की मूर्ति केंट एस्टेट के मैदान से चोरी हो गई है।


Birmingham Pallasades Shopping Centre to be renamed

Summary: Birmingham's Pallasades Shopping Centre will be renamed when its redevelopment is completed in autumn 2014, Network Rail has announced.

The renamed Grand Central Birmingham complex will be part of a £600m revamp of the area around New Street railway station, due to be completed by 2015. Work to transform the existing concourse is due to start next year. The project is being funded by Birmingham City Council, the Department for Transport and Centro. The new development in the city centre will include a 250,000 sq ft (23,000 sq m) John Lewis store on the site of the former Stevenson Tower, which was demolished last year.

नेटवर्क रेल ने घोषणा की है कि जब शरद ऋतु 2014 में इसका पुनर्विकास पूरा हो जाएगा तो बर्मिंघम के पल्लासेड्स शॉपिंग सेंटर का नाम बदल दिया जाएगा।


Sir Ben Kingsley in Isle of Man film

Summary: Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley is heading the cast of a new production which begins filming in the south of the Isle of Man this weekend.

Our Robot Overlords is a science fiction story aimed at a teenage audience, written by Jon Wright and also starring Gillian Anderson. The plot revolves around a group of youngsters who rebel against robots which threaten to take over the world. Production began in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, earlier this month. The film, which is being shot mainly in Castletown, is expected to be in cinemas by the Spring of 2014.

ऑस्कर विजेता सर बेन किंग्सले एक नए प्रोडक्शन के कलाकारों का नेतृत्व कर रहे हैं, जिसका फिल्मांकन इस सप्ताह के अंत में आइल ऑफ मैन के दक्षिण में शुरू हो रहा है।


Panama Papers: How assets are hidden and taxes dodged

Summary: The revelations in the millions of papers leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca uncovering a suspected money laundering ring run by close associates of Vladimir Putin may leave readers drowning in a sea of confusing terms and phrases.

By Jonty BloomBusiness correspondent, BBC News Although there are legitimate ways of using tax havens, most of what has been going on is about hiding the true owners of money, the origin of the money and avoiding paying tax on the money. If you are a wealthy business owner in Germany who has decided to evade tax, an international drugs dealer or the head of a brutal regime, the methods are all pretty similar. Mossack Fonseca says it has always complied with international protocols to ensure the companies it incorporates are not used for tax evasion, money-laundering, terrorist finance or other illicit purposes. Shell companies A shell company has the outward appearance of being a legitimate business. But it is just an empty shell. It does nothing but manage the money in it, while hiding who owns the money. Its management is made up of lawyers, accountants or even the office cleaner, who do little more than sign documents and allow their names to appear on the letterhead. When the authorities try to find out who really owns or controls the money in the company, they are told the management does, but it is all just a front. Someone else is just paying them so they can hide their money from the authorities or in some cases their ex-wives. Shell companies can also be called "letterbox" companies, as they consist of little more than an address to post documents to. Offshore Financial Centre If you have a shell company, you don't want it based in London or Paris where the authorities can normally find out who owns it, if they really want to. You need an Offshore Financial Centre, or what is often called a tax haven. These are normally based in small island countries (hence the name), with a great deal of banking secrecy and very low or non-existent taxes on financial transactions. There are many such countries or authorities around the world, from the British Virgin Islands, to Macao, the Bahamas and Panama. Even in such places most of the financial services are perfectly legal: it is just the secrecy which also makes them very attractive to tax evaders and crooks the world over, especially if the regulators are weak or turning a blind eye. Bearer shares and bonds For that extra layer of anonymity and so that you can move large amounts of money around easily, bearer shares and bonds are an obvious answer. Every British £5 note has the words "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds". That means if it is in your pocket it is yours: the person "bearing" or carrying the cash owns it, can spend it or do what they like with it. Bearer shares and bonds work in the same way, the person who has it in their pocket, briefcase or safety deposit box owns it. But they aren't worth £5. Bearer bonds normally come in nice round figures like £10,000. Very handy if you want to move vast amounts of money around and great if you want to deny ownership. If the bond is kept at a lawyer's office in Panama, who is to know whether it is yours, or even that it exists? This helps to explain why the US government stopped selling bearer bonds in 1982. They were just too easy for crooks to use. Money laundering Money laundering involves cleaning "dirty" money so that you can use it without arousing suspicion. If you are a drug dealer, fraudster or, let's say, a corrupt politician you will have a lot of cash and no way of spending it or hiding it for a rainy day, without giving the game away. The money needs cleaning, so you can ship it to a dodgy firm in an Offshore Financial Centre and they might help you convert it into bearer bonds, owned by a shell company that no one knows about. You could also use it to buy a bolt-hole in London or the South of France in case of a coup, maybe pay the kids' school fees or fund a great aunt's shopping trips to Paris. Sanctions and sanctions busting One of the ways of punishing and trying to limit the power of notorious regimes around the world is sanctions. These can involve limits on the importation of military equipment or ammunition, bans on the exports of oil and other goods, and personal sanctions; closing the bank accounts of dictators and their friends, families and supporters. The British government currently imposes thousands of sanctions against countries, their businesses, banks and many named individuals. But the more onerous the sanctions on a regime the more money is to be made by breaking or busting them. Providing secret bank accounts for torturers and mass murderers, supplying weapons to one or even both sides in a civil war or funding the nuclear ambitions of isolated regimes. The profits are huge and, of course, lots of secretive bank accounts and shell companies in parts of the world where officials turn a blind eye, is key to making sanction busting profitable and safe. You can see the list of UK sanctions here. The European Savings Directive To try to stop people hiding money from the tax authorities the European Union introduced the European Savings Directive (ESD). Basically, banks in EU countries collect the tax due on bank accounts held by citizens of other EU countries. So you can't be an Irish person with a Dutch bank account and hope the Irish tax authorities won't find out about it or collect the tax owed. The ESD made it much more difficult to hide your money in Europe. It is interesting because when the ESD was being discussed and introduced there was a sudden increase in people who wanted to open bank accounts outside Europe, hence the surge of interest in places like Panama and the British Virgin Islands. Panama Papers - tax havens of the rich and powerful exposed

पनामा की कानूनी फर्म मोसैक फोंसेका से लीक हुए लाखों पत्रों में व्लादिमीर पुतिन के करीबी सहयोगियों द्वारा संचालित एक संदिग्ध धन शोधन गिरोह का खुलासा पाठकों को भ्रमित करने वाले शब्दों और वाक्यांशों के समुद्र में डुबो सकता है।