Sean Quinn's jailing reminiscent of Greek tragedy

Summary: The inevitability of Sean Quinn's jailing at the hands of Justice Dunne, does not diminish the jaw-dropping shock at seeing him taken from the Four Courts to Mountjoy jail in a prison van.

By Jim FitzpatrickBBC NI economics and business editor People talk about the ongoing Quinn saga, but this tale is much more in the mould of Greek tragedy than Norse myth. The fates decreed that the man who once was Ireland's richest, would end up in prison, because all the other elements of Greek tragedy were there from the beginning. The first is hamartia - a tragic human flaw. In Sean Quinn's case it was his exceptional greed. He was keenly aware of this character flaw, but instead saw it at as a positive. He famously told an audience at the height of his power: "I suppose I was always very greedy. I was never happy with what we had, and I was always looking for new opportunities." Greed served him well up to a point - fashioning a manufacturing giant from the very sand that lay beneath his family farm. It was tangible success with tangible products - you can't get more concrete than, well, concrete. But as he sought those new opportunities his greed began to take him towards the intangible - insurance, shares, derivatives - where the seeds of his destruction were sown. Debts When he placed the biggest financial bet in Irish history - on the bank he then loved, Anglo Irish - he was already Ireland's richest man. Had his bet come good he would have placed himself between Roman Abramovich and the Duke of Westminster as the UK's third richest person with a fortune of £8bn or more. But it didn't come good. It went bad. Very bad. And he turned to the bank he had bet on for help. Either it lent him the money to pay his debts, or they were both going down together. He mortgaged his empire to the tune of 2.8bn euros. It wasn't just the biggest financial bet in Irish history, it was the riskiest. That level of risk suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the intangible Contracts for Difference that comprised the bet. CFDs allow buyers to put a deposit down to gain control over shares - therefore with, say, 20% of the money they get all the increase in value on 100% of the shares should they go up. But if they go down, they suffer 100% of the loss. And as more facts emerge about the history of under-provisioning and risk-taking at Quinn Insurance, it is hard not to conclude that Sean Quinn should have taken that most basic business advice to heart and stuck to what he knew. A chain of events unfolded leading to the insurance business being taken from him by the regulator and ultimately the entire company as Anglo sought security over its debts. Dramatic But it's worth remembering that this didn't happen overnight. Sean Quinn was only deposed in April 2011 - years after the fateful bet. And it was during this period that the border tycoon displayed the another key element of Greek tragedy - hubris. A senior businessman who knows Quinn told me that during the fraught negotiations with the bank that preceded his downfall, Sean Quinn confided in him. This confidante was shocked by his attitude: "They'll never take it away from me. I'm too big for that", he reportedly said. But Ireland had changed. It wasn't just regime change at the bank. It had been all change at the regulatory authorities and dramatic change in government too. The rules of the business game in Ireland were not the same and Sean Quinn didn't see it. He over-negotiated on the terms of his exit and lost it all as a result. Next, a combination of greed and anger propelled Sean Quinn to take the actions that ultimately led to the catastrophe he is experiencing today. His decision to sanction, support and add his signature to a plan to take half a billion euros worth of assets back from the bank that now owned them was his most ill-judged move to date. The Quinn family argues that the "big case" regarding the legality of Anglo loans needs to be determined first before any action is taken to recover disputed assets. But until a court says otherwise - and none has - those assets are only disputed in the minds of the Quinns and their supporters. Taking them now, and the income that flows from them, is illegal. And to do so on the basis of a future court decision finding in your favour is self-contradictory and absurd. Emotions So Sean Quinn goes to jail for contempt of court and could yet face more serious criminal charges that would keep him there for some time. It is a truly tragic fall from power. There were distressing scenes in court as the former billionaire was taken away. Supporters and Sean Quinn crying real tears. But there is no sign of any awareness of how alien his actions appear to the vast majority of his fellow Irish citizens. Perhaps that will come. And as for that wider population: does the imprisonment of the mighty Quinn and the faltering recovery of those international assets that now belong to the state-owned bank, bring catharsis, the healing and purging of emotions that the Greek writers would have liked? That too, remains an unanswered question. This tragedy has a number of further acts to play out.

न्यायमूर्ति डन के हाथों सीन क्विन को जेल में डालने की अनिवार्यता, उसे जेल वैन में चार अदालतों से माउंटजॉय जेल ले जाते हुए देखकर जबड़े से गिरने वाले सदमे को कम नहीं करती है।


Dozens of Hove beach huts broken into

Summary: Dozens of beach huts along the seafront in Hove have been broken into overnight, Sussex Police said.

The damage to 36 huts along the Kings Road Arches was discovered at about 04:30 GMT and locks were found on the nearby pitch and putt green. Sussex Police said two boys were seen "shoulder charging" the beach hut doors between about 01:00 and 01:30. Detectives are trying to trace a cyclist with a dog who was spotted on CCTV disturbing one of the boys. Related Internet Links Sussex Police

ससेक्स पुलिस ने कहा कि होव में समुद्र तट के किनारे दर्जनों समुद्र तट झोपड़ियों को रात भर तोड़ दिया गया है।


Will the government part-nationalise Port Talbot?

Summary: The Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, rolled back the years yesterday when he seemed to allow the possibility of the part nationalisation of the UK steel industry by saying the government was prepared to "co-invest" with potential buyers of Tata's remaining business.

Simon JackBusiness editor Not since the 1970s has the government owned a slice of a manufacturing industry and it runs contrary to every instinct of a Conservative government for the state to meddle in the free market. Shadow Business Secretary Angel Eagle in the Commons today referred to it as "ideological reluctance". So how likely is it? The government's line is that it remains "very unlikely" and Sajid Javid was not in the mood to elaborate during a Commons debate which was more political than business-focused. He said it wouldn't be prudent for the government to declare its hand before a buyer was found. There are many ways the government can support a troubled company or industry. It can guarantee loans which allow borrowing at lower rates, it can give tax reliefs as it has for the North Sea operators, or it can lend directly as in the case of Greybull Capital for investment in Scunthorpe. This last option, say the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, is the government's preferred method of co-investing. (Worth noting, these loans have to be on commercial terms to avoid breaching EU state aid rules). Taking an ownership stake in the business is a last resort, as it means pumping in money which has no repayment schedule. But there it is - on the table. Once that option is there, why would any buyer not want a chunk of money it may never have to pay back? The government may say it's unlikely, but given the scale of the problems facing Port Talbot wouldn't it become a pre-requisite? Not necessarily. Having the government as a part-owner can be a headache for those running the business. With taxpayer money at stake, every decision is, quite rightly, scrutinised intensely. Meetings with government officials can eat up time and energy better spent focused on running the business. The price you pay for government money is government bureaucracy. At this point you may be screaming - but what about the banks? The government nationalised Northern Rock and spent billions on massive stakes in Lloyds and RBS. That is perfectly true but, whether we like it or not, banks are different. If Tata abandons Port Talbot, there will be thousands of redundancies but - elsewhere in the UK economy - life will go on. Wages will be paid, mortgages will be provided and cash points will work. In the case of the banks those fundamental economic functions were gravely threatened. The banks could not have survived without government support, but that does not mean they have enjoyed having it as a shareholder. If you asked Stephen Hester, the former chief executive of RBS, how he found being perceived as a sock puppet on the government's hand I suspect the answer would be not much. Whether the government takes a stake or not is not the most important issue. Any stake would be a minority one, which means that other investors would have to be found. For that to happen, you need a credible business plan. At the moment Port Talbot has attracted the interest of Liberty House's Sanjeev Gupta whose plan has been formulated, in his own words, on the back of an envelope. Port Talbot needs a lot more than that. Once there is a plan, we can figure out who owns what later.

व्यापार सचिव, साजिद जाविद ने कल उन वर्षों को पीछे हटा दिया जब उन्होंने यह कहकर ब्रिटेन के इस्पात उद्योग के आंशिक राष्ट्रीयकरण की संभावना की अनुमति दी कि सरकार टाटा के शेष व्यवसाय के संभावित खरीदारों के साथ "सह-निवेश" करने के लिए तैयार है।


Is this the PM's 'white heat' of technology moment?

Summary: In 1963, Harold Wilson gave a speech at the Labour Party Conference, telling his audience that if the country was to prosper, a "new Britain" would need to be forged in the "white heat" of a scientific revolution.

By Pallab GhoshScience correspondent, BBC News It was one of the most memorable speeches in British politics. With Theresa May now pledging, at the CBI conference, a big increase in funding for scientific research and development, is this another "white heat of technology" moment? The scientific community is one of the main beneficiaries of the UK's membership of the EU, and stands to lose out in a post-Brexit world. Britain receives £850m in research funds from the EU each year. Full membership of one of the main EU funding programmes requires free movement of labour. British universities employ 30,000 scientists with EU citizenship. There have already been reports of UK scientists losing out in EU grant applications and of EU citizens not taking up posts in UK universities because of the uncertainty around funding and the residency status of EU citizens following the referendum result in June. If Theresa May's CBI announcement of £2bn for research is truly new money and depending on the strings attached - this intervention could go a long way to cancelling out any potential financial cost of Brexit. It would not on its own, however, make up for the possible loss of collaborations with EU scientists following Brexit. Within days of becoming Prime Minister, Mrs May wrote to senior scientists to say that she wanted to ensure a positive outcome for science in negotiations to leave the European Union. A few weeks later, the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, said that the government would underwrite EU research funds obtained before the UK leaves the EU. So there is not much more the government could have done to reassure the scientific community in the early days following the referendum result. Greatest strengths Now, research leaders want the warm words of the summer turned into firm commitments as the autumn chill of an uncertain future sets in. On the face of it they seem to have precisely that. The President of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan, cautiously welcomed the government's announcement of the additional money for research. He said: "Science and innovation are among the UK's greatest strengths and are key to our future. By placing them at the heart of our industrial strategy the prime minister is setting out a progressive vision for a country where the fruits of knowledge can spur economic growth and improve people's lives. We look forward to seeing further details of the government's plans." But the scientific community's concern is not just about the money. Free movement of labour enables UK institutions to attract the best scientists from Europe. And the EU research funding system - which requires full members to allow free movement - enables collaborations with researchers from some of the leading labs in Europe. The prime minster said on Monday that she was committed to attracting the brightest and best researchers to the UK, but this could not be done without reducing overall numbers of people migrating to the UK - an indication that she may be willing to allow some form of free movement of scientific labour or possibly a simplified visa system for researchers. UK research is among the best in the world. Without the free movement of European scientists, the concern is that this great national resource, which enriches the country and benefits the economy, will slowly be diminished just as other nations are boosting their research efforts. At a recent meeting of the Foundation for Science and Technology at the Royal Society, senior scientific leaders were advised against complaining too much. The former science minister, Lord Willetts, was not quite that blunt as he tactfully told them that unless they were seen to adopt a more constructive approach they would be in danger of being regarded as a privileged elite, putting their own self-serving interest ahead of the wishes of many people in the country. Smart lobbying He gently urged them to be as smart with their lobbying as they are with their research and to play the government's game. As a first step, he said, the science community should make every effort to set up new collaborations with research groups outside Europe. One of the government's top political priorities is to demonstrate that the country can thrive post-Brexit, so there is plenty of money and enthusiasm from ministers for projects with institutions in the US, China and Commonwealth countries. Lord Willetts suggested that if researchers try their best to seize the new opportunities Brexit presents, two things might happen. First, they might be pleasantly surprised and get to be involved in some really good, well-funded science. Second, according to the wily Lord Willetts, they would receive a more sympathetic hearing from government for the concessions they are seeking over Brexit. Chief among these is an exemption for researchers from restrictions on free movement - both from the EU and from other parts of the world. If the research leaders cannot get free movement for scientists then they will seek a simpler, faster and less bureaucratic visa system for them. And the university sector wants to take student numbers out of the immigration figures - because if foreign student numbers are cut, British universities receive less money. But any relaxation on immigration would be at odds with the government's stated aim of reducing numbers. One chink of hope for many in the scientific community is that the government's much heralded industrial strategy might come to their rescue. No-one knows quite what the strategy is - so at the moment it is whatever anyone wants it to be. Scientific leaders want it to be something that provides the political cover for government to be more flexible on immigration and a means by which they can get a huge cash injection. A vibrant research base, they are telling ministers, could be the engine to the high-tech, high-skills economy that Mrs May has said she wants post-Brexit Britain to be. It would also present the optimistic narrative the government is seeking. More money So emboldened by the possibility of research being at the heart of the industrial strategy, four of the UK's national science academies and the Campaign for Science and Engineering (Case) have called for the government and UK industry to make up for the possible loss of EU funding. They also asked them to nearly double the amount of public and private money spent on research. The academies and Case want an increase from the current 1.7% of GDP to 3% by 2025. This would bring British R&D spending in line with Germany and increase the UK's annual combined public and private research spending from around £30.6bn to £52bn. Such a boost in funding would be transformative, according to Naomi Weir of Case. "It would boost confidence for inward investment, drive growth in the economy, see the creation of high-quality jobs and increase our capacity to tackle national and global challenges in health, energy and the environment," she said. Follow Pallab on Twitter

1963 में, हैरोल्ड विल्सन ने लेबर पार्टी सम्मेलन में एक भाषण दिया, जिसमें उन्होंने अपने श्रोताओं से कहा कि यदि देश को समृद्ध होना है, तो वैज्ञानिक क्रांति की "श्वेत गर्मी" में एक "नए ब्रिटेन" को बनाने की आवश्यकता होगी।


How St Pauls Carnival is rooted in bringing people together

Summary: St Pauls Carnival in Bristol was founded almost 50 years ago to bring people together, but has been cancelled this year due to "ongoing challenges" faced by organisers. Here is a look back at its history.

The carnival started life as the St Pauls Festival in the 1960s. Early immigrants from the Caribbean had settled in the St Pauls area of Bristol and were "unhappy with how they were perceived and treated by Bristol at large", according to the carnival's website. The community had previously organised the Bristol Bus Boycott, in 1963, which overturned a ban on ethnic minorities working on Bristol's buses and is regarded as a milestone in achieving equality. The community created the St Pauls Festival not only to gather and enjoy themselves, but also for other people to learn more about their culture. There is disagreement over when the first festival was held, but Roy Hackett, one of the founders, said in an interview that the first one was in 1968. "At the very beginning we just wanted to do something to say thank you to our community, which at that time was St Pauls," he said. "If somebody had come up with another idea like cutting the hedges, cleaning snow from doorways or doing the groceries we may have done that instead, but we came up with this and I thought it was a good idea because everybody could have a part in it." Similar festivals were created around the country at the same time, including Notting Hill Carnival in London. Mr Hackett said there were only two floats at the first St Pauls Festival and it attracted between three and four thousand people, as "we were just testing it". The festival grew and is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe. Tens of thousands of people attended last year. It became known as St Pauls Carnival, and most recently St Pauls Afrikan Caribbean Carnival. Writing on the Bristol Culture website, Aisling Mustan said the carnival "has offered musical inspiration for hundreds of local acts" throughout the years. Carnival acts have included The Wild Bunch, a sound system and collective of musicians and DJs which included Tricky and members of Massive Attack. In the interview from 2012, Mr Hackett commented on organisational problems that have caused the the carnival to be cancelled in recent years, including in 2002 and 2006. "It is designed to bring people together and it did in the days we did it," he said. "As the event approaches there is always a discussion whether they can afford to put it on. Sometimes it just scrapes through." Although there will be no large-scale carnival event this year, the organisers said there would be a community showcase on 5 September. "The organisation is working hard with funders and supporters to make sure we can deliver a successful Afrikan Caribbean Carnival in Bristol for many years to come," a statement said.

ब्रिस्टल में सेंट पॉल कार्निवल की स्थापना लगभग 50 साल पहले लोगों को एक साथ लाने के लिए की गई थी, लेकिन आयोजकों के सामने "चल रही चुनौतियों" के कारण इस साल इसे रद्द कर दिया गया है। यहाँ इसके इतिहास पर एक नज़र डालते हैं।


NI newspaper review: Minister's warning and ambulance workers test positive

Summary: A warning from DUP minister Diane Dodds that Northern Ireland's economy is in a "perilous situation" and would be destroyed by another coronavirus lockdown features on the front page of the News Letter on Thursday.

Mrs Dodds' comments at Stormont's scrutiny committee led to Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd asking whether the minister was challenging the public messaging from her party leader, the NI First Minister Arlene Foster. "Even the fear alone of another lockdown would remove any lingering hopes businesses have of economic recovery," Mrs Dodds said. "This is costing jobs and impacting on families." The Irish News front page focuses on the message from NI Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride who has called for a "six month commitment" from the public as Health Minister Robin Swann said coronavirus is "gaining momentum" again in Northern Ireland. "I ask for six months more commitment from you, as if your life depends on it - because your life and the lives of others does depend on it," Dr McBride said. Meanwhile, the Belfast Telegraph reveals on its front page that 10 staff at Craigavon Ambulance Station have tested positive for coronavirus after attending "a social event outside of work". A further six workers have also been advised to self-isolate. "The situation is being managed in line with Public Health Guidance and NIAS procedures," a Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) statement said. Elsewhere, a number of the newspapers, including the Belfast Telegraph and the News Letter, report that sex offence convictions against 15 people are to be set aside because of "legislative error". The cases involve 17 victims, the majority of whom were children at the time the offences occurred. The Public Prosecution Service has discovered "a technical change in the law" in 2009 meant the cases should not have been prosecuted in a magistrates court. It said it is "truly sorry" for the distress the news will cause victims. The Irish News says grammar schools that suspended "11-plus style exams" this year could potentially be forced to reverse their decisions. It reports that a dozen schools, most of them Catholic grammars, cancelled entrance assessments due to take place later this year. The newspaper says it has now emerged the schools may be required to go through an "onerous development proposal process before any change can be made". Finally, in these difficult times, it is always useful to get advice from an elderly couple who have stuck together through thick and thin. Joseph Graham, 102, and wife Nellie, 101, from Randalstown, County Antrim, were married during World War Two and are celebrating 78 years together. They first met 96 years ago at Taylorstown Elementary School. Their great grand-daughter Joanne Graham told the News Letter that Joseph has let her in on the secret to wedded bliss. "Grandad says you just have to agree and say nothing, that's how it has lasted so long," she adds.

डीयूपी मंत्री डायने डोड्स की एक चेतावनी कि उत्तरी आयरलैंड की अर्थव्यवस्था एक "खतरनाक स्थिति" में है और गुरुवार को समाचार पत्र के पहले पृष्ठ पर एक और कोरोनावायरस लॉकडाउन सुविधाओं से नष्ट हो जाएगी।


Man arrested over Birmingham 'hit-and-run' death crash

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a mother-of-three was killed in a suspected hit-and-run crash.

Noreen Akhtar, 38, from Banbury, died in hospital after being struck by a vehicle outside Cravings Café in Stratford Road, Birmingham, on 16 June. A 33-year-old man, from Moseley, was held after the car believed to be involved was found at an address in Birmingham, said West Midlands Police. He has been released on police bail. Related Internet Links West Midlands Police

एक संदिग्ध हिट-एंड-रन दुर्घटना में तीन बच्चों की मां की मौत के बाद खतरनाक ड्राइविंग से मौत के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


What's Wales Worth? Growing exports despite recession

Summary: The recession means that Welsh companies have to be ever more inventive and determined due to difficult world trade conditions. According to the latest figures, the value of exports for Wales for the four quarters up to and including the first quarter of 2013 fell by £1,235 m compared with the previous four quarters. But the Welsh government says the long-term trend in Wales is positive with exports increasing by 97.8% since 1999. Four Welsh exporters explain how they have managed in the downturn.

Concrete Canvas The company based at Treforest, Pontypridd, produces a unique fabric shelter which when sprayed with water turns to concrete in just hours and is selling it to over 40 countries worldwide with exports making up 85% of its sales. The canvas is used mainly in civil infrastructure and mining applications. Last year the firm, which employs 20 people, won a £1.2m deal to Chile, to supply the material to a gold mine 4,000 metres high in the Andes where it was used to line water channels carrying off the glacial melt. But there are more artistic uses - the canvas was exported to Iceland and used in a set design for Ridley Scott's film Prometheus. Director Peter Brewin explained how they have multiplied exports since launching in 2008. "Because our product is unique and has generated so much international interest we receive regular enquiries from companies wished to represent Concrete Canvas from all over the world," he said. "Additionally, we regularly attend trade shows internationally to meet new distributors for markets that are particularly promising. "Once we have an in-country distributor we support them heavily with training, technical support, marketing material and by participating with them at trade shows. "We also facilitate transfer of knowledge and project case studies internationally between our distributors." He said they had received Welsh government support including funding which helped them take part in trade missions to Japan and Australia, as well as advice and guidance on entering new markets like Brazil and Russia. Mr Brewin said the company had maintained 100% turnover growth year-on-year since its launch and expected to maintain a comparable growth rate in the future. "Consequently, we anticipate our exports increasing dramatically both in magnitude and as a proportion of overall turnover," he added. "For all companies who add value in the UK and export overseas the recent decrease in the value of the pound relative to many currencies has helped to offset comparatively high labour, tax and regulatory costs. "All of Concrete Canvas Ltd's tier one suppliers are UK-based, allowing us to add significant value within the UK throughout our supply chain. "A fall in the pound adds significantly to our cost advantage compared to the cost of locally sourced concrete in many export markets. "However, in most markets Concrete Canvas is sold based on its technical superiority as well as its cost advantages." Tomos Watkin beers Eleven years ago the Tomos Watkins Swansea brewery was in liquidation, but then Connie and her brother Phil Parry stepped in to buy it, turning it into a success story. The company now employs 69 and has an annual turnover of about £10m, and according to chief executive Ms Parry, the beer is one of the fastest growing brands in Wales. "We put all of our heart and soul into reinvesting in plant and equipment and staff training," she said. "There is a uniquely Welsh quality to their products. From the names of the ales - Cwrw Idris , Cwrw Haf, Cwrw Braf - to the labels. "Our Cwrw Braf for instance depicts a daffodil - our national flower. "And our Magic Lager which was voted the best beer in Wales by Tesco." Exports are a growing area and earlier this year, after taking part in a trade mission to China, the company shipped its first consignment of the hand-brewed beverage to Shanghai. Now they have clinched a second order, double the size of their first. "The first order was for a 20ft container. And this one if for a 40ft container," explained Ms Parry. They also export to the United States, Hong Kong, and Spain but are concentrating on Australia and China, she said. The firm first broke into the export market when they were invited to New York to take part in a Welsh Week. "We will continue to explore new markets by taking advantage of the trade missions that are organised and subsidised by the Welsh government," said Ms Parry. "We do see our exports increasing. At the moment they are a relatively small part of our turnover." Ms Parry added that exchange rates are a factor for their American importer as they are paid for goods in sterling as opposed to dollars. She added: "Our most surprising event has been the amount of companies that have contacted us for an order. We did win the World Beer Championship in Chicago. "And we are consistently recognised in the brewing industry as one the forerunners of quality and excellence. So I think that this is major contributing factor." Melin Tregwynt Pembrokeshire-based Melin Tregwynt's distinctive Welsh woollen blankets have become increasingly visible in stores in the UK. But company partner Eifion Griffiths said while home sales continue to do well, exports have fallen from about 30% of total turnover in 1997/98. Mr Griffiths said the fall had been partly driven by the increasing value of the pound and fell to its lowest level during the financial problems of 2008. After sales in the US and Europe declined, the company started to investigate Japan and found they were not so price-sensitive and more interested in the authenticity and story behind the blankets. Mr Griffiths said: "This gave us an opportunity to begin to rebuild our exports. "Recently despite the volatile exchange rate we have found exports increasing both in Europe and the US as well as Japan. "We have begun to show in these markets again in the last few years. In addition, there are new opportunities in counties like China, Korea and Singapore." He said exports are currently 10% of turnover which sounds like a big decrease but in fact turnover has more than doubled since the 1990s. He also praised the help they have had to support their international export campaign from the Welsh government, but said one of the problems with the support mechanism is that it appeared to "be too driven by short-term political goals". Mr Griffiths said: "The assembly strategy changes too often and this can confuse our overseas partners. We need to provide at national level, a consistent, well-thought through policy with a brand that develops but doesn't keep changing every year." The unique Welsh flavour of the product was not something the emphasised in the beginning, Mr Griffiths said, because they felt that might limit its appeal. But as times changed, they found that Welshness was a driver for their sales. Selling Melin Tregwynt products to Japanese company Muji and having their directors visit the west Wales mill to see production was a surprise, Mr Griffiths added, as was working with Birkenstock providing fabric to be made into shoes. Hajj Safe Kamal Ali came up with the idea of manufacturing safety bags for the millions of pilgrims going on the Islamic pilgrimage of the annual haj and umrah after he gave up his design and technology teaching job and moved home to Newport, south Wales. That was four years ago, swiftly followed by the setting up of the company two years ago. It sells secure waist bags and other bags for Muslims who are making the pilgrimage to Mecca. It also works to supply airline kits with anti bacterial hand wash that does not contain alcohol. The bags are manufactured in China where costs are cheaper and shipped back to the UK. Hajj Safe currently exports about £15,000 to £20,000 of products a year, mainly to Europe, the US and Nigeria which Mr Ali says is a really big market with 100,000 haj pilgrims, to Indonesia and Australia. "We would like to break into the Middle East, India and Pakistan markets," said Mr Ali, who has just returned from a trip to Morocco. "That would be brilliant news for us." Most of the sales are direct to shops in the UK where transactions can be completed quickly but Mr Ali said he has secured a deal with a major luggage company which gives them access to all the UK's airports. Mr Ali said while the firm is currently small he hoped to employ Welsh designers. "I spent my childhood here and graduated from Newport university in fashion design," he said. " And I would like to help bring jobs into the area where I grew up." Mr Ali said they had secure a good manufacturer in China for their products, but the costs of importing them were affected by exchange rates. Initially, he said it had been a massive risk "giving £15,000 to this company in China and we hadn't seen a single product." His biggest business surprise had been about working with wholesalers, who were taking about 60% of the recommended retail price of his goods. "In two years' time I would like to be settled with 10 or more employees firmly situated in lots of markets in Europe," he added. "I would like to be a really known brand in the industry."

मंदी का मतलब है कि वेल्श कंपनियों को कठिन विश्व व्यापार स्थितियों के कारण और अधिक आविष्कारशील और दृढ़ होना पड़ता है। नवीनतम आंकड़ों के अनुसार, 2013 की पहली तिमाही सहित चार तिमाहियों के लिए वेल्स के लिए निर्यात का मूल्य पिछली चार तिमाहियों की तुलना में 1,235 मिलियन पाउंड गिर गया। लेकिन वेल्श सरकार का कहना है कि वेल्स में दीर्घकालिक प्रवृत्ति 1999 से 97.8% द्वारा निर्यात में वृद्धि के साथ सकारात्मक है। चार वेल्श निर्यातक बताते हैं कि उन्होंने मंदी में कैसे प्रबंधन किया है।


'Corruption in Ukraine has to be stopped'

Summary: The port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine has become a symbol in recent months of the country's economic struggles. A recent partial blockade by Russian naval vessels of the nearby Kerch Strait means that fewer ships are now docking at the harbour.

By Ed ButlerBusiness Daily presenter, Ukraine The port has lost 33% of its fleet and up to 140,000 tonnes of exported metal products a month since Russia's construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait in May 2018, and restrictions on the size of ships that can pass underneath. Cargo vessels are being delayed by up to a week, and the cranes on the dock stand idle. Larger international shipping firms have simply stopped coming. Thousands of jobs depend on the work here - Mariupol is one of Ukraine's largest ports - and many tens of thousands more depend on the export of goods it allows. "Big business feels it and we all feel it too because prices are rising," says Galina Balobanova, a local businesswoman. "A lot of people work in the port and they're not being laid off, but for them it's an unexpected vacation. We need this trade and for the blockade to be lifted." Yet it's not just the relationship with Russia that is the problem for firms in Mariupol. Another businessman, who doesn't want to be named, meets me in a local bar and puts it bluntly: "The Russians are a big problem - but the corruption here is the single biggest thing strangling our trade." Money for much-needed dredging of the harbour has simply gone missing, he tells me, presumed stolen by officials, and this has placed big limits on the types of ships reaching the dock. The way that corruption impedes business in Ukraine is varied and has been widely studied. In the past ordinary citizens would often have to pay a bribe just for simple procedures such as a visit to a doctor, obtaining a passport or driving licence. Much of this has now improved, though, thanks to a system called PreZorro that bypasses human officials and allows digital processing of applications and tenders. "The last five years the pace of reforms is amazing," says Olesia Verchenko, academic director at the Kyiv School of Economics. "If you look at the price of drugs, for example, in hospitals you sometimes have a tenfold decrease in the health ministry's costs [as a result of the reforms]." These changes mean that regular small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine may not see corruption firsthand. But experts say it is still a problem at the highest level, in the courts and among the political class. "They stole money from our army, they stole the lives of our soldiers," says Vyacheslav, a protester I meet at a noisy demonstration in Independence Square in Kiev. The charges he refers to are recently revealed documents implicating senior members of Petro Poroshenko's government in a defence procurement scam worth some $10m (£8m). Smuggled Russian munitions and other weaponry were allegedly sold to the Ukrainian military at wildly inflated prices. The two senior officials have been suspended by the president pending an investigation. "They were so confident they wouldn't get caught, they filtered the money through their own companies," says Sergey Leshchenko, an MP and former investigative journalist. President Poroshenko has not been directly accused of any wrongdoing himself. But one of those firms was one formally owned by the president. "It's impossible he couldn't have known," Mr Leshchenko adds. The IMF has made accountability and transparency a condition of recent bailouts in Ukraine, but even it admits that those accused of corrupt practices are rarely seriously punished. In what's been seen as a backwards step, just two days after the defence scandal broke, the constitutional court ruled that those accused of corruption no longer have to provide evidence in court on how they came by their wealth. For Mr Leshchenko this scandal has been the last straw. He has withdrawn his support for President Poroshenko and is not backing any of the other established parliamentary candidates in this month's presidential election either, saying the entire political elite is compromised. "Fixing corruption in this country is Ukraine's number one problem, it has to be stopped," he says. "It's in the interests of Europe and the whole world and that's why I urge friends abroad not to back Ukraine's corrupt leadership but to protect anti-corruption institutions - and free and fair elections."

पूर्वी यूक्रेन में मारीपोल का बंदरगाह देश के आर्थिक संघर्षों के हाल के महीनों में एक प्रतीक बन गया है। हाल ही में पास के केर्च जलडमरूमध्य के रूसी नौसैनिक जहाजों द्वारा आंशिक नाकाबंदी का मतलब है कि अब कम जहाज बंदरगाह पर डॉकिंग कर रहे हैं।


Clacton murder inquiry: Scott Hilling sought after woman's body found

Summary: Police have named a man they are searching for after the death of a woman in Essex.

The murder inquiry was prompted by the discovery of a woman's body in a building on Old Road, Clacton. Officers want to question Scott Hilling, 25, who has a cross tattoo on his left hand and the word "Hillen" on his neck. Police have requested CCTV footage from businesses and residential properties in the area.

पुलिस ने एसेक्स में एक महिला की मौत के बाद एक व्यक्ति का नाम लिया है जिसकी वे तलाश कर रहे हैं।


Plans for Olympic pool in Aberdeen progress

Summary: An Olympic-sized swimming pool for Aberdeen has taken a step closer after a planning application was lodged with the city council.

Under the proposals, the former Linksfield Academy would be demolished to make way for the 50m pool and a separate diving pool. It is adjacent to the new Sports Village. The application from the council, Sportscotland and University of Aberdeen, could see eight or 10 lanes.

एबरडीन के लिए एक ओलंपिक आकार का स्विमिंग पूल नगर परिषद में एक योजना आवेदन दायर किए जाने के बाद एक कदम आगे बढ़ गया है।


VE Day: The enemy soldiers left in Britain after WW2

Summary: The parties and bunting of VE Day marked the end of hostilities, but World War Two was still affecting hundreds of thousands of former enemy soldiers - and those who lived near them - in camps across the UK.

By Greig WatsonBBC News While Hitler's plans for invasion in 1940 were defeated, an army of German and Italian troops did occupy parts of Britain. Held in camps across the country, they were put to work - and even after the end of the war, many stayed on and made friends, fell in love and integrated into British life. Giovanni Bredariol was 21 and serving with the Italian navy when captured at Tobruk in Libya. Sent to a camp near Loughborough in Leicestershire, he volunteered to cook for the British guards. "These officers very likely came to enjoy pasta and pizzas long before they became such a popular part of the English diet," noted his daughter, Dorina Voyle. "He returned with [his wife] to England to settle in 1948, worked on a farm in Wigston, and then became a builder." Salvatore Zuncheddu, also 21, worked on farms in Somerset after being captured in North Africa. He made a good impression on one owner, Ted Moxey, who when the war ended, asked him if he would come back and work for him. Mr Zuncheddu went to Italy to get his wife and returned to England. "'Nan Moxey' taught my mother to speak English," remembered his daughter Linda Hocking. "She was welcomed into the family and treated like a daughter. My father took work on the local farm and became "one of the boys"." He joined in the local community life, including joining the Burtle Silver Band playing the trumpet. Thousands of Italian prisoners started to arrive in Britain after victories in 1941. Due to manpower shortages, the demand for their work, especially on farms, was huge and thousands were shipped in and put up in various places. Robin Quinn, author of Hitler's Last Army: German POWs in Britain, said: "It was very makeshift. All sorts of buildings were used as accommodation, from stately homes to old mills. "When the Red Cross asked to know how many camps there were, the government responded they had no idea." Eventually there were more than 130 purpose-built camps, with many other buildings pressed into service, and soon it felt like there was one on the outskirts of almost every town. Seen as "docile", the Italian soldiers quickly became part of the wartime landscape with a total of about 150,000 eventually arriving. The German prisoners, however, were for a long time regarded as more dangerous and the hardened Nazis were identified and sent to camps in the US, Canada or Scotland. By March 1945, 70,000 Germans were working in Britain but their numbers peaked after VE Day, when approximately 140,000 were sent from the US. At first they were given the toughest farm work, like cropping sugar beet, while many others were sent to London to help with building work for the 1948 Olympics. Mr Quinn said: "The country was still desperately short of manpower and transport. Britain was in no hurry to send them back." The peak number of German prisoners reached 402,200 in September 1946. At Christmas the same year, they were given permission to visit British homes. Hans Behrens, who was still a teenager at the time, was invited for Christmas dinner by a family in Burgess Hill, Sussex, with whom he became firm friends. "To this day I call them 'my English parents'," he later said. "I thought about going back to Germany all the time. I wanted to go home, but the more I got to know England the less I wanted to go back. "By the time I moved in with my English parents the draw of home became less." He eventually settled and set up a firm importing German electronics into Britain. Many of the 25,000 Germans who elected to stay in Britain did so after finding wives and girlfriends. Gary Paterson said his wife's grandfather, Berthold Beer, was sent to work on a farm near Rugeley, Staffordshire, where he met his future wife, Peggy. "He wasn't allowed to take her to the cinema so it was just fleeting moments until Peggy got a job working on the same farm. "They got married in 1948 but there was so little housing, they and some others moved back into a then disused prison camp to live." The last prisoner did not return to Germany until 1948. There are no statistics for Italians staying in the country because their status changed in 1943 from prisoners of war to "co-operators" when Italy surrendered. Ultimately there were more than half a million enemy soldiers held prisoner in the UK. Most of the camps have been lost but a few, including the museum of Eden Camp, stand witness to this chapter of British history. "Perhaps the most remarkable thing is how little disruption there was," said Mr Quinn. "There were few escapes, very little crime and their presence allowed people - some of whom had never met a foreigner before - to see they were just people too."

वी. ई. दिवस की पार्टियों और बंटिंग ने शत्रुता के अंत को चिह्नित किया, लेकिन द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध अभी भी सैकड़ों हजारों पूर्व दुश्मन सैनिकों को प्रभावित कर रहा था-और जो उनके पास रहते थे-पूरे ब्रिटेन के शिविरों में।


Crufts 2019: Facts and figures about the dog show

Summary: Belgian papillon Dylan may have taken the Crufts crown , but the judges were spoiled for choice as 27,000 dogs descended on the NEC over four days. Here are the facts and figures about the world's biggest dog show.

The Birmingham exhibition venue is accustomed to hosting hordes of human visitors, but with their four-legged friends in tow that was more dogs than there are households in the neighbouring postcode district. I cani, les chiens, de honden Out of almost 21,000 competing dogs (the rest were just visiting) 3,611 were from overseas. Among the 44 other countries represented at Crufts, Italy led the way for foreign entries with 413, followed by France (389), the Netherlands (327) and Germany (325). The number of overseas dogs fell very slightly for the first time in almost a decade. Organiser The Kennel Club said it was a "potential sign of concern" for dog owners travelling after Brexit. The decrease was 0.3%, from 3,623 to 3,611 in one year. Some new faces, but retrievers topped the entrants list There were three breeds competing for the first time: the black and tan coonhound, the Russian toy and the white Swiss shepherd dog. Retrievers, golden and Labrador, made up more than 1,000 of the competing dogs at Crufts. Cocker spaniels have won Best in Show more than any other breed, with seven taking the trophy home in previous years. Irish setters, standard poodles and Welsh terriers have also won four times each. 128years since Crufts began 890"dog years" 220breeds competed for Best in Show in 2019

बेल्जियम के पैपिलन डायलन ने भले ही क्रूफ्ट्स का ताज ले लिया हो, लेकिन न्यायाधीशों को पसंद के लिए खराब कर दिया गया क्योंकि चार दिनों में 27,000 कुत्ते एन. ई. सी. पर उतरे। यहाँ दुनिया के सबसे बड़े कुत्ते शो के बारे में तथ्य और आंकड़े हैं।


Nick Hurd announced as London Minister

Summary: Nick Hurd has been appointed Minister for London, replacing Jo Johnson who resigned last week.

Mr Hurd will take on the new role in addition to his responsibilities as Home Office Minister for Police and Fire Services, Downing Street said. He is MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner in north London, and the son of former Foreign Secretary Lord Hurd. Mr Johnson stepped down arguing Britain was "on the brink of the greatest crisis" since World War Two.

निक हर्ड को जो जॉनसन की जगह लंदन का मंत्री नियुक्त किया गया है, जिन्होंने पिछले सप्ताह इस्तीफा दे दिया था।


Matterhorn: Japan climbers killed in Swiss Alps

Summary: Two Japanese climbers who scaled the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps have been found dead on the mountain, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

A spokesman said both men were in their 60s, but gave no further details. The men reportedly ran into bad weather as they were coming down the mountain over the weekend. Last week, the remains of two Japanese climbers who disappeared 45 years ago were found on the Matterhorn, one of Europe's highest mountains. DNA tests helped identify those remains - the latest to have been discovered with the melting of ice on the mountain. The 4,478m (14,700ft) Matterhorn has a distinctive pyramid-shaped peak, making it one of the world's most recognisable mountains. Hundreds of people have died trying to reach the top.

जापानी विदेश मंत्रालय के अनुसार, स्विस आल्प्स में मैटरहॉर्न पर चढ़ाई करने वाले दो जापानी पर्वतारोही पहाड़ पर मृत पाए गए हैं।


Man accused of Janet Commins' murder in 1976 appears in court

Summary: A man accused of murdering a schoolgirl from Flintshire 40 years ago has appeared at Mold Crown Court.

Stephen Hough, 57, of Flint, is charged with the rape, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Janet Commins. Her body was found on a school playing field in Flint on 11 January 1976. Mr Hough, who spoke only to confirm his name via video link, also faces separate charges of rape and sexual touching, alleged to have happened in February this year. The case was adjourned until a hearing on 5 December.

40 साल पहले फ्लिंटशायर की एक स्कूली छात्रा की हत्या के आरोपी एक व्यक्ति को मोल्ड क्राउन कोर्ट में पेश किया गया है।


Arab press angered by Coptic church blast

Summary: The Egyptian press has reacted angrily to the suicide bombing that targeted a Coptic church in Alexandria on New Year's Day, with several papers saying it was an attack on all Egyptians, not just Christians.

The state and opposition press called on their compatriots to unite in the face of terrorism but two papers suggested the underlying causes of sectarian tension should be tackled. Elsewhere, Arab commentators speculated about who was behind the bombing, but two writers were concerned that the incident would prompt an exodus of Christians from the region. EGYPT'S AL-AHRAM People who think that what happened on Egyptian soil may have been a result of internal friction should reconsider... This cowardly attack... has taken the blinkers off. The message is clear. Egypt is targeted... everyone must urgently help to chop off the serpent's head that is spreading the poison of terrorism in the entire region. EGYPT'S AL-AKHBAR This treacherous criminal act not only targeted Egypt's Copts, but also its Muslims. It also targeted Egypt's stability, unity, destination and future... We are all in the same boat and we should join hands to confront those lurking to target Egypt's security. EGYPT'S AL-JUMHURIYAH The Egyptians' commitment to national unity increased after the blast at Alexandria's church... Feelings of anger were rampant and calls for unity and retribution grew, perhaps more from Muslims than Christians... this terrorist attack shocked the homeland and broke the hearts of all Egyptians. ABBAS AL-TARABILI IN EGYPT'S AL-WAFD I wish the state had taken the necessary precautions and had taken the threats by these militant groups seriously... It is not enough for a Muslim cleric to hug or kiss a Christian cleric. AHMAD AL-SAWI IN EGYPT'S AL-MASRY AL-YOUM The real battle is not against terrorism and will not end with the arrest of the sinful perpetrators. The real battle is against the environment that provokes tension. DIYA RASHWAN IN EGYPT'S NAHDAT MISR We need legislation to put an end to the Copts' state of frustration and all their problems. YAHYA RABAH IN PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH The explosion killed and injured Egyptians... Copts and Muslims. This shows that the criminal act was directed against Egypt - the fortress of moderation in the Arab world, Africa, and the Islamic world. This was a criminal attempt to undermine its great and enlightened role. SAUDI AL-RIYADH Targeting Egypt was not a haphazard act, but was done because Egypt is the powerhouse of a Middle East in crisis. Egypt was also a model of co-existence before it was placed in the line of terrorism by internal and external agents. AHMAD AL-QUDWAH IN PAN-ARAB AL-ARAB AL-ALAMIYAH It appears that sectarian incidents in Egypt are on the rise and there are people using these to achieve political objectives with dangerous repercussions. TALAL AWKAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-AYYAM The blast... was an extremely dangerous terrorist attack designed to undermine the unity of the Egyptian people. It could ignite a religious feud that could spread outside the Arab Republic of Egypt... All Egyptians agree that this conspiracy was woven by foreign hands and I think that Israel is the number one suspect. MUHAMMAD JAMAL ARAFAH IN PALESTINIAN FILASTIN I have no doubt whatsoever that the intelligence service of the Zionist enemy masterminded the criminal explosion that took place outside the al-Qiddissin Church in Alexandria. I also have no doubt that it was carefully prepared in a new way to pin the blame on the demented members of al-Qaeda in an attempt to start a feud between Muslims and Christians. QATAR'S AL-RAYAH Initial analysis points the finger at al-Qaeda... Other theories refer to the involvement of external forces that benefit from al-Qaeda's threats because they do not want Egypt to enjoy stability and welfare... They have a long-term aim to make the Copts feel persecuted, fearful and not tolerated, to start thinking about having a separate homeland. SUBHI ZUAYTAR IN SAUDI AL-WATAN The coming days will see incentives to make Egyptian Christians emigrate, as was the case in Iraq. Western planes will be ready to fly Egypt's Christians out and Western and Israeli media will reap the benefit. URAYB AL-RINTAWI IN JORDAN'S AL-DUSTOUR If the situation continues, it will not take long to declare the Middle East - the cradle of Christianity - Christian-free. 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.

मिस्र की प्रेस ने नए साल के दिन अलेक्जेंड्रिया में एक कॉप्टिक चर्च को निशाना बनाने वाले आत्मघाती बम विस्फोट पर गुस्से में प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त की है, कई समाचार पत्रों में कहा गया है कि यह सभी मिस्रियों पर हमला था, न कि केवल ईसाइयों पर।


Has the world started to take climate change fight seriously?

Summary: A surprise announcement at this year's UN General Assembly has transformed the politics of cutting carbon, says the BBC's chief environment correspondent, Justin Rowlatt. As the meeting of the so-called "global parliament" comes to an end, he asks whether it might just signal the beginning of a global rush to decarbonise.

Justin RowlattChief environment correspondent@BBCJustinRon Twitter You probably missed the most important announcement on tackling climate change in years. It was made at the UN General Assembly. It wasn't the big commitment to protect biodiversity or anything to do with the discussion about how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic - vitally important though these issues are. No, the key moment came on Tuesday last week when the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, announced that China would cut emissions to net zero by 2060. The commitment is a huge deal on its own, but I believe his promise marks something even more significant: China may have fired the starting gun on what will become a global race to eliminate fossil fuels. I'll get to that later. First off, Xi's pledge. Why is Xi's 2060 pledge so important? It is fair to say environmentalists were stunned by Xi's surprise pledge. Let's be clear what it means: China, the most polluting nation on earth - responsible for around 28% of global greenhouse gas emissions - is saying it is going cut that back to virtually zero within 40 years. "Enormously important" is how Todd Stern - the man President Obama put in charge of climate negotiations - described it to me. "A massive move" and "a happy, happy surprise" was Li Yan's take: she's the head of Greenpeace in China. The commitment is so significant because China has never promised anything near as bold as this on climate before. And it comes after the European Union committed billions of euros towards a green stimulus package and - only last week - toughened up its own 2030 climate targets. It therefore raises the prospect of a carbon-cutting coalition of Europe and China covering more than a third of world emissions. Why good news on climate is so rare Climatologists just aren't used to such good news. International negotiations to reduce carbon emissions all too often end in ugly squabbles. With good reason, says Todd Stern, who was instrumental in making the most successful climate agreement to date: the Paris Agreement of 2015. The problem is cutting carbon has always been regarded as an expensive chore. The effort to control climate change impacts virtually every element of a country's economy, says Mr Stern, "so countries have traditionally been nervous about what they're going to be asked to do." Indeed, Paris was the first time the world actually agreed that all nations needed to do their bit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And then, of course, the deal was promptly dumped by US President Donald Trump after he was elected the following year. But even before the US said it wanted out, nobody involved in the negotiations thought the goals laid down in Paris were anywhere near strong enough to meet the objective of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees of pre-industrial levels. The idea was that every five years countries would be asked to come up with more ambitious targets, ramping up their efforts. The conference at which those new targets were to be discussed was to be held in Glasgow this November. Thanks to the pandemic it will now be held in November next year. Many observers had expected China to keep its powder dry and produce any ambitious new targets with a flourish at a crucial moment in those negotiations. So why now? President Xi definitely had an eye on global politics. His address was a very deliberate contrast to that of President Trump a couple of days earlier. Where Trump blames China for the world's problems, Xi calls for global cooperation and highlights all the good work China has been doing. He called on the world to work together, investing in a green recovery to lift the global economy from the post-Covid doldrums. "We are living in an interconnected global village with a common stake," says Xi. "All countries are closely connected and we share a common future. No country can gain from others' difficulties or maintain stability by taking advantage of others' troubles." "we should embrace the vision of a community with a shared future in which everyone is bound together," he continues. Heart-stirring stuff, eh? It is also presumably no coincidence that Xi's announcement came weeks before the US Presidential election, and just as the terrible fires on the west coast and a series of fierce storms in the east made climate an issue in the polls for the first time. And a cynic might think his reassuring words were partly a ploy to reingratiate China with the climate-conscious Europeans, and isolate a climate-sceptic US President. It came straight after a virtual bilateral summit between Beijing and Brussels. A global race to clean power? But there is a much more important broader context for his announcement: the fact that the collapsing cost of clean energy is completely changing the calculus of decarbonisation. Renewables are already often cheaper than fossil fuel power in many parts of the world and, if China and the EU really ramp up their investments in wind, solar and batteries in the next few years, prices are likely to fall even further. Why? Because the cost of renewables follows the logic of all manufacturing - the more you produce, the cheaper it gets. It's like pushing on an open door - the more you build the cheaper it gets, the cheaper it gets the more you build. The Europeans have been quite open that their strategy is to entice other countries to join them by driving down the cost of renewables globally. Alongside this carrot, they also plan to wield a stick - a tax on the imports of countries that emit too much carbon. Meanwhile, President Xi's 2060 pledge was notably unconditional - China will move ahead whether or not other countries chose to follow. This is a complete turnaround from past negotiations, when everyone's fear was that they might end up incurring the cost of decarbonising their own economy, while others did nothing but still enjoyed the climate change fruits of their labour. How things have changed. Very soon, renewable power is likely to be the cheapest and therefore almost certainly the most profitable choice in large parts of the world. Think what this means: investors won't need to be bullied by green activists into doing the right thing, they will just follow the money. Why invest in new oil wells or coal power stations that will become obsolete before they can repay themselves over their 20-30-year life? Why carry carbon risk in their portfolios at all? The change of appetite on financial markets has become ever more obvious over the last decade. This year alone, Tesla's rocketing share price has made it the world's most valuable car company. Meanwhile, the share price of Exxon - once the world's most valuable company of any kind - fell so far that it just got booted out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of major US corporations. And this is where the idea of a race comes in. Countries - and companies - may soon rush to decarbonise as they see opportunities to make profits in what will be an enormous new market. President Xi is well aware of his country's leading position in the market for clean energy - investing in renewables has been a priority for China for many years. It is already the world's biggest manufacturer of solar panels and wind, it makes more electric cars and buses than anyone else and has also become the international hub for battery production. "It is going to keep on driving down the prices, so that everybody can get onto this parade, as it were, and go along," says Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, and a former adviser to the UN Secretary General on sustainable energy. So, it looks like Xi has judged that the economics of clean energy mean that decarbonising is now the most sensible choice for the Chinese economy as well as for the world's climate. He is not alone. Look at how oil companies like BP and Shell are saying they want to move away from the black stuff and into clean energy. So can we stop worrying about climate change? Sadly we cannot. The idea of a global race to decarbonise is a thrilling new prospect for anyone interested in limiting climate change, but I am sorry to say there are still many hurdles along the way. First off, Mr Xi's did not give any details of how his country would achieve his carbon-neutral target. Remember, China is by far the biggest consumer of coal in the world, hoovering up about half of the global supply. It is also the world's second biggest user of oil - after the US. Across its economy, some 85% of its power comes from fossil fuels with 15% from low carbon sources. Those ratios will need to be turned on their head to have any chance of meeting the net zero pledge. That will take eye-popping investment in wind, solar and nuclear power. But all Xi said at the UN about how it would get to its 2060 goal was that China would peak its emissions of greenhouse gases "before 2030" - little change from China's previous promise that the peak would come "around" 2030. Li Yan of Greenpeace says the acid test will be whether a raft of new coal plants proposed by provincial authorities are approved. "Existing core industries are still fighting their survival in China," she says, "and that's why we're still seeing coal plants proposed everywhere." We'll see whether they get the go-head - and how aggressive the investment in clean energy is - in a few months when the details of China's next five-year plan are published. Another reason for optimism? So even as the economics tilts in favour of renewables the task of decarbonisation is still enormous. Meanwhile, the effects of climate change will only accelerate. But there is another reason for optimism. The US is the world's biggest economy and the second biggest producer of greenhouse gases, and is therefore essential to any effort to tackle climate change. Under Donald Trump it has steered clear of carbon-cutting commitments. But his challenger, Joe Biden, has said he will re-join the Paris accord, and has promised a $2 trillion green recovery plan for the US, which would aim to slash emissions and tackle the effects of climate change. That holds out the promise of the world's three largest economies, responsible for nearly half of all emissions, all making a serious effort to cut carbon. Once half the world is on-board with the project it is hard to see how the rest could hold out. So - and this isn't something we often say about climate change - there are powerful new reasons for optimism. Follow Justin on Twitter. I've travelled all over the world for the BBC and seen evidence of environmental damage and climate change everywhere. It's the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. Tackling it means changing how we do virtually everything. We are right to be anxious and afraid at the prospect, but I reckon we should also see this as a thrilling story of exploration, and I'm delighted to have been given the chance of a ringside seat as chief environment correspondent.

बीबीसी के मुख्य पर्यावरण संवाददाता, जस्टिन रॉलेट कहते हैं कि इस साल की संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा में एक आश्चर्यजनक घोषणा ने कार्बन में कटौती की राजनीति को बदल दिया है। जैसे ही तथाकथित "वैश्विक संसद" की बैठक समाप्त हो रही है, वे पूछते हैं कि क्या यह केवल डीकार्बोनाइज़ करने के लिए एक वैश्विक भीड़ की शुरुआत का संकेत हो सकता है।


Hit play confronts Australia with its bloody past

Summary: To see the play The Secret River in the run-up to Australia Day, the national holiday marking the moment of British colonisation in 1788, is to be reminded in the most confronting of ways why many Aboriginal Australians continue to label it "Invasion Day."

By Nick BryantBBC News, Sydney The drama, adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by the Australian author Kate Grenville, tells the story of William Thornhill, a British convict pardoned in the early 19th Century who sets out with his young family to build a new life on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, to Sydney's north. His plan is to farm a small plot of land, with little regard for the rights of its ancient custodians, the native Dharug people. "What marks a man's name is a square of dug-over dirt and something to grow in it that hadn't been there before," the reformed petty criminal declares at the play's outset. "It's as good as raising a flag." When spear-carrying tribesmen first confront Thornhill, he fears they are about to kill him and his two sons. As their interactions grow, however, he comes to respect their bush skills and even aspects of their baffling culture. Sal, his homesick wife who pines for their former life in London, comes to enjoy the company of the Aboriginal women. His youngest son, Dick, befriends the boys of the tribe, and begins to master their language. Thornhill, though, can never banish from his mind the two ideas with which he arrived: that the tribesman are encroaching on his land, rather than he on theirs; and that the "blacks" are murderous savages, a prejudice stoked into paranoia by the other settlers who have also converged on the Hawkesbury. "Enabled by gunpowder and led by ignorance, greed and fear, a terrible choice was made," notes the play's director, Neil Armfield. "It is a choice that has formed the present. Nine generations later, we are all living its consequences. The lucky country is blighted by an inheritance of rage and of guilt, denial and silence." 'Mythology of silence' That is one of the reasons, along with its startling acting and beautiful staging, why The Secret River works so powerfully as theatre. It speaks so directly to modern Australia. "There's no use in investigating that history unless it is illuminating the present," says playwright Andrew Bovell. "The question of who we are is based on who we were." He hopes the Sydney Theatre Company production, which has become the hottest ticket in Australian theatre, becomes a "conduit" for a broader discussion on the breach between black and white Australia. "It's a sign of our maturity as a nation that we can talk more openly about these questions," says Mr Bovell, who also co-wrote the hit Australian movie, Strictly Ballroom. "Twenty years ago, there was almost a mythology of silence. We just didn't want to talk about it. There's a new openness." The legacy of those first bloody confrontations between white settlers and indigenous Australians is still a matter of contention. In recent decades, there has been something of a reckoning. On land rights, the High Court's milestone Mabo decision, which last year marked its 20th anniversary, rejected the doctrine of "terra nullius", the idea that the continent was ownerless prior to British settlement. Next month marks the fifth anniversary of Kevin Rudd's apology to members of the Stolen Generations, which was seen by many as a day of national atonement. However, the gap in life expectancy between white and black Australians, which currently stands at 11.5 years for men and 9.7 for women, has proven devilishly hard to close. Incarceration rates for Aborigines are also alarming. The juvenile incarceration rate for young Aborigines is 31 times higher than the non-indigenous rate. In Western Australia, Aboriginal children make up 70% of the juvenile prison population. Symbolic reconciliation efforts, like a proposed referendum to decide whether the Australian should finally recognise the first Australians, have also run into trouble. Last September, the Gillard government shelved the original timetable, which would have seen a vote sometime this year, because it feared there was not yet sufficient community support for a change that many consider long overdue. Only this week, the paucity of Aboriginal representation in parliament was highlighted by Julia Gillard's choice of the indigenous Olympian Nova Peris as a Labor party candidate in the Northern Territory. Astonishingly, if Peris were to be elected to the Senate, she would become Labor's first indigenous parliamentarian (in 1971, Neville Bonnor, a Liberal Senator for Queensland, became the first indigenous member of the Australian parliament, while in 2010 Ken Wyatt, another Liberal, became the first Aborigine elected to the lower house). 'Communal mourning' Noticeable over the past few years, however, has been a cooling off in the "history wars", the rancorous debate over how British colonisation and the Australian story should be interpreted. Certain historians like Geoffrey Blainey, and leading politicians like John Howard, have bemoaned a "black armband" view of history, an unduly pessimistic take on white settlement. Others, like former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating, contested that white Australia needed to apologise for past sins. Rudd's historic "Sorry speech" in February 2008 quietened the battlefield, but by no means silenced it. Books and plays like The Secret River, then, continue to be politically sensitive. One of its greatest achievements is its nuance and balance. William Thornhill is not an entirely unsympathetic figure. In trying to build his new life, and to escape his petty criminality, he embarks with good intentions. He comes to respect his neighbour, Thomas Blackwood, who lives with an Aboriginal woman, with whom he has a child. He is plainly uncomfortable with "Smasher" Sullivan, the villain among former villains, who believes that the lash is the best way of dealing with "the blacks". It makes the denouement of the play all the more dispiriting. "The play is not about dwelling in white guilt," says Mr Bovell. "It's not about self-flagellation. We've moved beyond that." Perhaps the overriding emotional response to the play is one of sadness and frustration rather than of anger and shock. Seeing the children play happily together, and the white and Aboriginal women respond to each other as sisters rather than foes, offers a glimpse of another possibility. "You see Thornhill trying to move towards co-existence and mutual acceptance," says Andrew Bovell. "There could have been another way. There's a sense of communal mourning over what might have been."

ऑस्ट्रेलिया दिवस से पहले द सीक्रेट रिवर नाटक को देखने के लिए, 1788 में ब्रिटिश उपनिवेशीकरण के क्षण को चिह्नित करने वाले राष्ट्रीय अवकाश को सबसे अधिक विरोधाभासी तरीकों से याद दिलाया जाना चाहिए कि क्यों कई आदिवासी ऑस्ट्रेलियाई इसे "आक्रमण दिवस" का लेबल देना जारी रखते हैं।


Ashley Talbot minibus death: Bridgend council pleads guilty

Summary: A council has pleaded guilty to a health and safety failing after the death of a 15-year-old boy who was hit by a school minibus.

Ashley Talbot died in December 2014 following the incident in the grounds of Maesteg Comprehensive School. The teacher who drove the minibus was not prosecuted but the Health and Safety Executive brought a case against Bridgend council. The council pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach. The council pleaded guilty at Cwmbran Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, with the starting point for any potential fine £2.4m. The case was sent to Newport Crown Court with a hearing set for 17 September.

एक परिषद ने एक स्कूल मिनी बस की चपेट में आने से 15 वर्षीय लड़के की मौत के बाद स्वास्थ्य और सुरक्षा में विफलता के लिए दोषी ठहराया है।


US election primaries: Key takeaways for Biden and Sanders

Summary: Call it Mini Super Tuesday, or Super Tuesday: The Sequel. No matter the name, a week after Joe Biden surged into the front-runner position, he consolidated his lead. The bottom line is the race now appears to be firmly in his control.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter Six states held primary contests for the Democratic nomination, with the former vice-president winning Mississippi, Missouri and Michigan. Results from Washington, Idaho and North Dakota are still to come in, and Bernie Sanders will hope to do better there. But the Vermont senator has fallen further behind in the marathon race to decide who takes on Donald Trump in November. Here are the key takeaways from the night. The beginning of the end? Four years ago, Michigan gave Bernie Sanders a surprise win - albeit a narrow, 49-48 one - breathing new life into a campaign that was struggling after Hillary Clinton dominated Super Tuesday. This time around, the Midwestern state could mark the beginning of the end for his campaign. The difference, according to exit polls, were white voters, union voters and college graduates. Sanders won all three groups in 2016. On Tuesday night, Biden put them in his column. He carried college graduates 51-44, whites 51-45 and union members - 30% of the primary electorate - 54-42. Add that to Biden's already strong performance among black voters, late-deciders and those who are looking for someone who can beat Donald Trump, and it's the recipe for a comfortable win for the vice-president. The ease of the result will raise new questions about whether the 2016 Michigan primary was a reflection more of Clinton's weakness rather than Sanders's strength. At the very least, it's evidence that rather than improving on his 2016 performance, the Vermont senator is falling short. And if he's falling short in Michigan, his path to the Democratic nomination is narrowing fast. On Tuesday night, for the first time this primary season, Sanders chose not to speak to his supporters after the polls closed. His silence, however, spoke for itself. Biden wins the South Mississippi was the first state to be called for Biden on Tuesday, and it was only the latest example of the strengths of his campaign - and another reason why the former vice-president appears to be in the driver's seat as the primary season unfolds. As in South Carolina, the state that started Biden's political revival, more than 60% of the Mississippi electorate on primary night was black according to exit polls. And, as in South Carolina, the former vice-president dominated that demographic, to the tune of 86-11. The common refrain that a Democrat can't win the nomination without the support of black voters, somewhat in doubt after Sanders' dominating win in the Nevada Caucuses, now seems to once again be an ironclad rule. The Mississippi result is also important because of what it means for the delegate calculations that will determine the nomination. Biden isn't just winning the state, he's dominating it. He's going to win the lion's share of the state's 36 delegates to the national convention, further extending his delegate lead. Given that delegates are awarded based proportionally, to catch up Sanders would have to start winning in some states by similarly large margins. Barring some sort of drastic change in the race, that seems unlikely in the extreme. With every state Sanders loses, he falls farther behind - and the more improbable his comeback would be. Bernie's youth vote Once again, Bernie Sanders performed best with the youth vote, ages 17 to 29, according to exit polls. He carried it 82-15 in Michigan and 76-19 in Missouri, and only lost it by 4% in Mississippi, despite being routed in the state. The problem for the Vermont senator, however, was that the age group averaged only 12.5% of the electorate in those three states - not nearly enough to save the day for Sanders. The epitaph for his campaign may be that it was premised, in part, on the passion of new young voters who simply did not show up in sufficient numbers at the polling booths. While this may be good news in the short term for Biden, it is a flashing warning sign for the general election if he is the nominee. Young voters were a key part of the coalition that delivered the White House to Barack Obama in 2008, as he won them by a record 34% over John McCain. If the former vice-president does not find some way to improve his standing with this age demographic, he may suffer the same fate as Hillary Clinton, who only won the youth vote by 18%. On Tuesday night, Biden made his pitch to Sanders' voters, perhaps with the autumn campaign in mind. "I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion," he said. "We share a common goal, and together we'll defeat Donald Trump." Of all those in the Sanders camp, the most tireless and passionate were his youngest fans. Perhaps this is the start of Biden's attempt to court their vote.

इसे मिनी सुपर मंगलवार, या सुपर मंगलवारः द सीक्वल कहें। नाम चाहे जो भी हो, जो बाइडन के सबसे आगे रहने की स्थिति में आने के एक हफ्ते बाद, उन्होंने अपनी बढ़त को मजबूत किया। मुख्य बात यह है कि अब दौड़ उनके नियंत्रण में है।


Northern Ireland house prices predicted to rise by 4%

Summary: House Prices will grow by 4% in Northern Ireland in the next year, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has predicted.

In spite of the increase, the organisation places Northern Ireland at the bottom of the league table for price growth in the United Kingdom. Overall, prices in the UK are expected to see a rise of 8% over the coming year. RICS said Northern Ireland house prices were now 54% below their peak.

रॉयल इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ चार्टर्ड सर्वेयर्स (आर. आई. सी. एस.) ने भविष्यवाणी की है कि अगले साल उत्तरी आयरलैंड में घरों की कीमतों में 4 प्रतिशत की वृद्धि होगी।


Inside small-town USA

Summary: Photographers love to travel but sometimes it pays to look at what is close at hand and document the community you live in. Richard Beaven has done just that, turning his lens on the residents of Ghent, about 120 miles north of New York.

Phil CoomesPicture editor@philcoomeson Twitter Beaven has worked on the project for a year or so and in that time he has made 275 portraits, about 5% of the population of Ghent. "The catalyst for the project was the town's bicentennial in 2018 and creating an archive for it," says Beaven. News of the project spread through the town, with one shoot leading to another and only a handful declining the opportunity to take part. Each portrait is accompanied by the subject's name and the amount of time they had spent living or working in Ghent at the time of being photographed. Beaven says: "My intent was to include as diverse a cross-section of the community as possible, with everyone who was photographed receiving a handmade print. "Smartphone technologies have enabled us to capture billions of fleeting moments yet only a tiny fraction are intended to have lasting impact or to be printed and archived in any way. "Photographs from the 19th and 20th Centuries are more readily to hand, often serving as our only tactile document of history. "I printed a complete set of prints, which, along with a list of all subjects' names, will soon be given to the Ghent town historian for safekeeping in the town-hall attic. "We're lucky in such a small town to have a historian who is diligently recording details and archiving for the future. "I am also looking into the possibility of producing a book this year, which I believe would have broad appeal both locally in Ghent and with wider geographical audiences." Beaven himself has lived in Ghent since 2005, though was born and grew up in Exeter, Devon. "It's been fascinating to be able to observe and document the Ghent community, not to mention a privilege," he says. "In many ways I see it simultaneously as an insider, because I live here, and as an outsider, as I am a British expatriate. "At the core, it's my interest in and respect for the people here that has driven the work. "It's hard to do this unless people understand that's your motivation. "People gave much of themselves for the portraits and trust was very important. "The portraits are of individuals. While I take care to select appropriate environments, I provide minimal direction in terms of clothing or what the subjects happen to be carrying at the time. "The viewer is left to imagine and question for themselves what makes each subject unique or familiar based only on gesture, expression and setting. "I arrived at Jean's house - she has been a resident here for 56 years - one day in June. "She emerged from her house carrying a photograph of her husband, Walt, who had recently passed away. "Walt was part of a long-standing Ghent family and well known in the town. "She asked if she may hold the photograph for her portrait. "At that point, my task was simply to find a simple background and nice light. "Along the way I worked with piglets, sheep, rabbits, cats and dogs, which is a little more challenging when shooting on film and aiming for a single roll of film per person - 10 images. "For me, there's a little bit of magic that happens in each and every portrait." You can see more of Richard Beaven's work on his website.

फोटोग्राफरों को यात्रा करना पसंद है लेकिन कभी-कभी यह देखने में अच्छा लगता है कि आपके पास क्या है और आप जिस समुदाय में रहते हैं उसका दस्तावेजीकरण करते हैं। रिचर्ड बीवन ने न्यूयॉर्क से लगभग 120 मील उत्तर में गेन्ट के निवासियों पर अपनी नज़र डालते हुए ऐसा ही किया है।


Cubans stranded in Mexico after US 'slams door shut'

Summary: President Barack Obama's decision to end a long-standing policy granting temporary residency rights to Cubans arriving in the US without a visa has left many would-be migrants stranded. BBC Mundo's Valeria Perasso has been speaking to one Cuban father and daughter waiting in Mexico and now facing an uncertain future.

By Valeria PerassoBBC Mundo Jose Enrique Manresa and his daughter Arianne were hoping finally to reach the US this week after a 48-day journey from their home in Cuba through South and Central America. "We've lost everything." says Mr Manresa. "We risked everything on our journey and if we don't have the right to live in the US after all that, then there's no hope for us." For 20 years Cubans have benefited from a policy introduced in the US by presidential decree which gave them the right to enter the country without a visa and remain for one year in order to apply for legal residence. Since the rapprochement between Washington and Havana began in 2015, Cubans have been bracing themselves for the policy to be cancelled and the past two years have seen a sharp rise in the numbers of people seeking to move to the US while they still can. But no-one was anticipating this week's sudden announcement. Mr Manresa and his daughter were in a shelter in Tapachula, south-east Mexico, when they heard the news. "We are so sad," said Mr Manresa, one of 20 Cubans living in the shelter. "We are all calling our families in Cuba, we are desperate. I had to sell everything." Mr Manresa's story is typical for his generation. He has a degree in finance and economics and has worked for the Cuban state since the age of 22. After 25 years, his salary as a manager overseeing five shops for a soft drinks company was the equivalent of just $20 (£16.40) a month. Seeing no prospect of life improving he decided to take his chances and try to make it to the US to start a new life with his daughter. It was a long, risky and expensive journey. "I sold everything: my house, my appliances," he explains. "I got into a lot of debt as well to gather the $10,000 I needed to pay for the journey." Mr Manresa's first destination was British Guyana where he paid the bulk of his money to traffickers who then took him on a complicated journey via Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala before finally reaching Mexico. At the start of their journey he and his daughter were part of a group of 150 Cubans, but by the time they finally made it to the Mexican border there were just 20 people left. Some had been detained by local police and others got lost along the way. 'Retaliation' For many Cubans, the journey to the US now takes months, rather than the few weeks most anticipate. Recently many South and Central American countries have implemented tighter rules for crossing their borders in order to deal with growing numbers of Cubans trying to make it to the US before the door finally closes. Statistics from the US Customs and Border Protection Office showed that more than 45,000 Cubans entered the US in 2016, up from 25,000 in 2014. Cubans in the United States Sources: Pew Research Center; Cuban Research Institute Most of these people are coming in through Mexico. When Jose Enrique Manresa arrived in southern Mexico at the start of the week he discovered there were already 600 Cubans in the queue ahead of him waiting for an immigration permit to enter the US. News that he may have arrived just too late has plunged him into despair. "Obama, because he's leaving, suddenly takes the idea of repealing a law that has been going on for many years and has favoured many Cubans," he told the BBC. Some Cuban migrants now even wonder if the decision could be "a reprisal" because so many Cuban Americans voted for Donald Trump, he added. Mr Manresa and his daughter are now facing possible deportation to a detention centre in Cuba, and say all they have left is "a change of clothes and a pair of shoes". "We do not know anything," he says. "We do not know what we are going to do."

बिना वीजा के अमेरिका पहुंचने वाले क्यूबा के लोगों को अस्थायी निवास अधिकार देने वाली लंबे समय से चली आ रही नीति को समाप्त करने के राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के फैसले ने कई प्रवासियों को फंसे हुए छोड़ दिया है। बीबीसी मुंडो के वैलेरिया पेरासो मेक्सिको में प्रतीक्षा कर रहे एक क्यूबा के पिता और बेटी से बात कर रहे हैं और अब एक अनिश्चित भविष्य का सामना कर रहे हैं।


The retro cult around Fighting Fantasy gamebooks

Summary: In March 1983, an unconventional series of books held the top three entries of the Sunday Times bestseller list. These were Fighting Fantasy books - stories "in which YOU are the Hero". All that you needed to take part was a pencil, eraser, dice and an active imagination, writes Peter Ray Allison.

Created more than 30 years ago by Games Workshop founders Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, Fighting Fantasy continues to remain popular. The forthcoming Fighting Fantasy Fest in London will see dedicated fans coming from as far as Taiwan and Australia. Fighting Fantasy came about after a representative of Penguin visited a "games day" event in 1980. "They were fascinated by a hall jam-packed with 5,000 people playing Dungeons & Dragons," says Livingstone, "They asked us to write a book about the hobby of role-playing." Instead, Jackson and Livingstone convinced Penguin that a game book, which simulated the experience of role-playing, would be more effective. This book was The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and the Fighting Fantasy series was born. Fighting Fantasy employed, ahem, a non-linear, second-person narrative with a branching storyline. After reading a section, the reader would be invited to make a decision about how the story progressed. These choices could range from deciding which way to head down a corridor or whether to help a fair maiden (an invariably fatal decision in Fighting Fantasy). Each decision would be associated with a section number that the reader would then subsequently read. These entries would continue the story into a series of branching narratives that would lead on to further adventures. Or an untimely demise. For example: "Walking along the path you hear footsteps and arguing voices ahead of you. If you wish to meet their owners, turn to page 317. If you would rather hide in the bushes and let them walk by, turn to 300." If you went to page 300, you saw "two pairs of pair of spindly legs in tattered cloth shuffle past you and the voices soon fade into the distance". But page 317? "You encounter a pair of hobgoblins which you must FIGHT!" Second-guessing such decisions were the essence of the fun. Would the apparently innocuous decision lead to a grisly encounter? Or would the dangerous-sounding option actually get you out of trouble? Livingstone recalls sitting on a bus during the 1980s watching people read Fighting Fantasy. He was amused to see them bookmarking pages with their fingers in order to undo decisions which concluded with failure or death. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was not an immediate success, but this soon changed. "Playground chat was the virality of the game," explains Livingstone, "Children became completely taken over by the roleplaying, as suddenly this was the chance to experience a book where they were the hero." Software developer Christopher Brind was a fan at the time. "The books had been out for a while by the time I started reading them, so I was able to hammer through a whole bunch of titles once I got addicted." Dr David Waldron, a lecturer in History and Anthropology at Federation University Australia, collected a complete set of Fighting Fantasy: "I started when I was eight years old in the early 80s. For 30 years I have pottered about thrift shops for old copies to make a collection." The Mechanics of Fighting Fantasy Before starting a Fighting Fantasy gamebook, readers created a character by rolling dice to determine their character's Skill (proficiency in combat), Stamina (damage tolerance) and Luck. The higher these statistics, the better you were (and the easier the gamebook became). Throughout the gamebook, readers would face various enemies and monsters, from bandits and mercenaries to zombies and dragons. Each of these opponents would also have Skill and Stamina statistics. Combat would be resolved by rolling dice and comparing the player statistics with that of the monsters (some readers would forego this mechanic, due to the practicalities of dice rolling whilst outside). In Jonathan Green's forthcoming book, You Are The Hero - A History of Fighting Fantasy, he notes that while the books were targeted at boys, the character's gender in the gamebooks was never identified. Thus large numbers of girls also read Fighting Fantasy. Not everybody liked the books. Livingstone recalls: "The Evangelical Alliance published an eight-page warning guide saying, because children were interacting with ghouls and demons, they would be interacting with the devil. One housewife phoned her radio station and said her son levitated having read one of my books. A vicar also threatened to tie himself to the gates at Penguin Books until Fighting Fantasy was banned." But there was a clear positive. "It got children reading," says Livingstone. With the success of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Penguin wanted more. Nearly 60 gamebooks would be commissioned, with writing duties delegated to authors such as Jonathan Green and Marc Gascoigne in later titles. More from the Magazine In an era of potent concern over internet pornography, cyber-bullying and drugs, it is hard to imagine a game being controversial. But 30 years ago Dungeons & Dragons was the subject of a full-on moral panic. The great 1980s Dungeons & Dragons panic (11 April) In Green's book, he discusses writers and creators who grew up reading Fighting Fantasy including novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland, author Joe Abercrombie and Moshi Monsters creator Michael Acton Smith. Labour MP Tom Watson was another fan of the series, and appeared in Ian Livingstone's Blood of the Zombies, released as part of the 30th anniversary. Neil Rennison, creative director of Tin Man Games, describes the books as "my first portable gaming experience - I remember family holidays where I would take along a stack of Fighting Fantasy books". Rennison was approached by Livingstone to develop app adaptations of the books. The influence of Fighting Fantasy continues to be felt today. "Without The Warlock of Firetop Mountain I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today," explains author Graham McNeill. "It was the first book I read that opened my eyes to the possibility of being a writer." Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

मार्च 1983 में, पुस्तकों की एक अपरंपरागत श्रृंखला ने संडे टाइम्स बेस्टसेलर सूची की शीर्ष तीन प्रविष्टियों को धारण किया। ये थीं फाइटिंग फैंटेसी किताबें-कहानियाँ जिनमें आप नायक हैं। पीटर रे एलिसन लिखते हैं कि आपको केवल एक पेंसिल, इरेजर, पासा और एक सक्रिय कल्पना में भाग लेने की आवश्यकता थी।


Attempted murder charge over Aberdeen car incident

Summary: A man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder and road traffic offences after another man was hit by a car in Aberdeen.

A man in his 50s was seriously injured in an incident in the Bucksburn area at about 19:30 on Wednesday. Michael Scott, 34, made no plea or declaration when he appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear in court again later this month. Related Internet Links Police Scotland

एबरडीन में एक अन्य व्यक्ति को कार से टक्कर मारने के बाद एक व्यक्ति हत्या के प्रयास और सड़क यातायात अपराधों के आरोप में अदालत में पेश हुआ है।


Boston's new St Botolph's Bridge lifted into place

Summary: A new £750,000 footbridge has been lowered into place over the River Witham in Boston, Lincolnshire.

St Botolph's Bridge has replaced the old bridge that had been there for more than 40 years. Lincolnshire County Council said the structure had been installed by Saturday evening. The bow string design, chosen during a public consultation in January 2012, was partly funded by the local authority.

बोस्टन, लिंकनशायर में विथम नदी पर एक नया £750,000 का पैदल पुल बनाया गया है।