London attack: Who was Khalid Masood?

Summary: The man responsible for the Westminster attack was 52-year-old Khalid Masood.

Dominic CascianiHome affairs correspondent@BBCDomCon Twitter He was born as Adrian Russell Elms at Hainault Maternity Hospital, Erith, south-east London, on Christmas Day in 1964. His father played no part in the newborn's life - and when his mother Janet married two years later, the boy was given his step-father's surname, Ajao. The future killer would use the surnames interchangeably as an adult, before he converted to Islam and became Masood. His mother and her husband lived for a while in south London and Adrian was at school in Lewisham until he was 13. His parents went on to have two more sons. He then he moved to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, with his two half-brothers. Adrian attended Huntleys School for Boys, having failed to secure a place at grammar school. In 2013, Masood sent an angry bitter email to his mother about his childhood - and his disappointment with his schooling. "I remember that email," Mrs Ajao told the inquests. "I have spent a long time thinking what did I do wrong… What should I have done." His parents later moved to rural Carmarthenshire - and after many years of being estranged from them, Masood visited one last time in the days before his attack. He left that last meeting, telling his mother, "They will say I am a terrorist - but I am not." First offending Masood's first offending came when he was arrested aged 14 for shoplifting and given a police caution. His mother had sent him out to buy stationery for school - and told the inquests she could not understand why he had not used the money she had provided. He left school at 16 and and studied for a BTEC in business studies at a local college. And as he entered his later teenage years, his temper developed. His two brothers told police Masood was "a violent but clever person who wouldn't back down from a disagreement". His mother later told police that she had come to believe years earlier that he could end up killing someone. And that refusal to back down would lead him into a life of violence. Detective Chief Inspector Dan Brown was in charge of the Metropolitan Police's operation to establish Masood's background "He would go out locally to pubs and clubs and his mother believes that Masood would go looking for a fight after drinking," he told the inquests. Despite this violence, his working life appeared to begin well. He was taken on to as a trainee manager for the now-defunct department store Woolworths, and moved to Hastings. But in October 1983, aged 18, he was convicted of criminal damage and fined £15. He later walked out of Woolworths and in 1988, when he was 23-years-old, he was arrested in possession of an offensive weapons and for threatening behaviour. Later he got into a row on a bus, leading to arrest for assault causing bodily harm. Then in 1990 he ripped a telephone from a wall in a restaurant and began to fight officers trying to arrest him. Adrian Ajao began his first serious relationship the same year after meeting Jane Harvey in Tunbridge Wells. They would go on to have two children and lived in the village of Northiam, East Sussex. She later told police he was powerful, charming and intelligent - but she would be scared when he was drunk - and they separated once after he hurt her in an incident. Four years into the relationship, he enrolled at The University of Sussex and graduated with a degree in economics - but his hopes of a career in finance was blocked by his criminal record. So he began working for his partner's firm, staying there until a more serious act of violence led to prison. In 2000, he became embroiled in a serious pub attack following a row, which he later claimed was triggered by racism. He lost his temper with Piers Mott, slashing him on his face and leaving an 8cm gash on his left cheek. Mr Mott has since died, but his widow Heather recalled the incident. "My husband was defending someone who was working for him," she said. "I don't know how it happened - Piers was just defending this guy." Elms/Ajao was jailed for two years and spent time in HMP Lewis, Wayland and Ford. He never returned to live in the village. This was the turning point in his life. Elms knew he was violent and dangerous - he pleaded guilty to the attack - and his partner left him. In prison, he began reading the Koran, apparently encouraged by a visiting imam who may have been called Khalid. Adrian Ajao began the transition to Khalid Masood. After his release from jail in the summer of 2001, he moved to Eastbourne - where a man who knew him as a casual acquaintance told the BBC Elms used both cocaine and bodybuilding steroids. And he was still violent. He was fined after assaulting a girlfriend - and in 2001 took part in a major pub fight. "I first met him in a pub around Christmas Eve 2001," the former electrician told the BBC. "He was introduced as 'Black Ady'. "Everyone who met him said he was really polite, but he was in a pub one night and two guys were playing pool. "Something was said and he battered them both with pool cues." The assaults didn't lead to prosecutions - and detectives believed that the suspect had intimidated the victims. "One time I noticed a Koran and I made a joke like: 'Are you reading that?' He did not seem the religious type at all," said the friend. "I spoke to my friend who lived with him for a while and he said he used to read the Koran all the time. "The next time I saw him it was summer 2002 - he was on steroids, though he wasn't huge. "He took quite a lot of cocaine and he seemed to like women with pink hair. He had one girlfriend and she had silicone breasts." When Elms and the acquaintance mistakenly thought they were dating the same woman - Elms suggested that if they weren't friends, he would stab him in the face. Attempted murder Sussex Police received reports of at least two other acts of violence in 2002 and 2003. Detective Constable Stuart Black from Sussex Police came across Khalid Masood in the critical period. "He was trying to increase his reputation and status," DC Brown told the Westminster Bridge inquests. "Eastbourne is only a small town, and he was just trying to big it up in a small town." In 2003 the future killer attacked a man called Daniel Smith. "The injuries were probably the worst knife injuries I've actually seen," said the detective. After some kind of row over whether or not he was an undercover police officer, Masood began the attack to prove he wasn't. He lunged at Mr Smith and plunged a knife through his nose. It went through the palate of his mouth, his tongue and into his jawbone. Masood was arrested and charged with attempted murder. DC Black recalled that during the interview, the suspect was "extremely confident to the point of cocky". At trial, he claimed self defence and was acquitted. The judge, according to accounts, was amazed. Despite a six-month sentence for the additional offence of carrying the weapon, the attacker had to be released straight away because he had spent that period on remand. Approaching 40 years old, he had escaped a major prison sentence. And that sealed his belief in God. He later told others that he had experienced two miracles in his life. One was his daughter's recovery after a serious car accident. The other was his acquittal for attempted murder. Filled with religious zeal, he would call his mother to lecture her. "He had met someone in prison who had advised or explained to him [the faith]," Mrs Ajao told the inquests. "He would telephone - he would never stop talking about it - go on and on and on. I would put the phone down, walk across the room and make a cup of tea and he would still be going on." What happened next is a little unclear. Police believe that the new convert briefly went to Saudi Arabia. By 2004 he was living in Crawley and using his new name all the time. He legally changed it in May of the following year. In September 2004 he married Farzana Malik, a Pakistani-heritage Muslim woman in Crawley, West Sussex. The relationship was an utter disaster because Masood was becoming more extreme in his views. "When I visited in the New Year there was an atmosphere," said Mrs Ajao. "I could feel that Farzana was separate from Adrian. It did not feel right to me. He said later he had five rules that he would like her to follow. What I felt at the time that he was too strict with these rules." Those rules included trying to control what she watched on TV and whether she met non-Muslims. What we have now learned is that during this critical period of being a new Muslim, Masood expose himself to the extreme worldview propagated by followers of a now-banned terrorism network. Crawley was then a centre of activity for Al Muhajiroun, the network later headed by the jailed preacher, Anjem Choudary. At the inquests, it emerged that Khalid Masood knew two Crawley members of the network who became involved in violence thousands of miles apart. The first was Waheed Mahmood, sentenced to life in 2007 for his part in the UK's then biggest bomb plot. The second was Waheed Majeed who became the first suicide bomber from the UK in the Syrian civil war. Masood and his wife split up - and in November 2005 he left to work as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia. In late 2006 he returned home and met, and later married, his final wife, Rohey Hydara. Masood worked twice more in Saudi Arabia before finally settling in Luton to teach English there to foreign students. During this period, the evidence suggests that Masood case to associate with more members of the al-Muhajiroun network. Luton was constantly targeted by the terror group - and Masood went to the same gym as a man who would later flee the UK while under investigation to fight in Syria. Eventually, Masood, his wife and their two children, settled in Birmingham - but they were effectively living separate lives by the time of his attack. He had become more and more extreme in his views, criticising her for wearing trousers and lecturing her about the Islamic State group. In late 2016, all the evidence indicates that Masood wanted to return yet again to Saudi Arabia - but his visa application was rejected, possibly because of his criminal record. Frustrated, this may have the significant final event in his road to becoming a killer in March 2017. Unbeknown at the time to their mother, Masood had a number of video calls with his young children. In some, he talked about dreams he'd experienced - and he told the children - too young to understand what it would come to mean - that he believed he was going to die fighting for God.

वेस्टमिंस्टर हमले के लिए जिम्मेदार व्यक्ति 52 वर्षीय खालिद मसूद था।


Half a million hoverboards recalled in US

Summary: A major recall of hoverboards is under way in the US.

The callback affects China-made models sold under a variety of brands and affects about 501,000 units. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it followed at least 99 incidents where battery packs had overheated. In some cases they caught fire leading to burn injuries and property damage. Owners are being told to contact the companies responsible, which should fix the problem or issue a full refund. Models involved include: A spokeswoman for Swagway told the BBC that it would be retrofitting the X1s it received with new "UL-certified" battery packs. "UL-Certification means that the product has been tested by Underwriters Laboratories, one of the largest consumer products testing labs in the world," she explained. "Please note that this does not affect any of the other models made by Swagway." Safety certificates The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the Chinese retailer Alibaba had given it a commitment that in the future it would require sellers to have safety check certificates for the hoverboards they sell via its sites. However, the recall is not limited to kit sold via AliExpress.com and Alibaba.com. The Overstock.com website, Boscov's department stores and Yuka Clothing shops also sold some of the recalled stock. Customers are also being asked to return a further 5,000 Swagway hoverboards distributed in Canada. House fires This is not the first time the self-balancing scooters have been flagged as a safety risk. In December, the UK's Trading Standards agencies seized more than 38,000 hoverboards it said were at danger of overheating after several house fires were blamed on the products. The authorities had already said it was an offence to ride them on pavements and roads. In the US, Amazon pulled some boards from sale and began offering customers full refunds in January after the Consumer Product Safety Commission voiced its concerns. A month later it stopped selling all examples of the product, but later returned some brands to sale.

अमेरिका में होवरबोर्ड को वापस बुलाने का एक बड़ा काम चल रहा है।


Face to face with a man-eating tiger

Summary: Five hundred Bengal tigers live in the largest mangrove forest on earth, situated on the border of India and Bangladesh. But so do more than a million humans. Every year the tigers attack up to 60 people, and only half survive to tell the tale.

By Candida BeveridgeBBC World Service Nothing strikes more fear into the hearts and minds of the people of the Sundarbans - the vast river delta on the northern shore of the Bay of Bengal - than the word "tiger". Even the mention of this word can send villagers into a blind panic. Eager to catch a glimpse of a tiger, I asked a passing fisherman if he had seen one on his travels that morning. Up to that point he had been happy to pass time with me - but immediately he packed up his crabs and left without a word. "If you talk about the tiger, it will come," said my boatman. "That is why." There is hardly a person here whose life hasn't been touched by a tiger in some way. Some areas are more prone to attacks than others. Between 2006 and 2008 several people were killed in Joymoni, a small village on the banks of the Pashur river, bordering the forest. In one of the attacks, a tiger burst through the bamboo walls of a hut in the middle of the night, and snatched an 83-year-old woman. Her son, Krisnopodo Mondol, who was in his late 60s at the time, heard her screams. "I opened the door and ran to my mother's bed. But my mother was not there," he says. "All I saw was the empty bed. I couldn't find her anywhere. I opened the door to the veranda and in the moonlight I saw my mother. She was badly injured, lying on the ground, her clothes strewn around her." Tears stream down Krisnopodo's face. At one point he is so overcome with grief, he can't talk. He fetches a picture of his mother from the wall and looks at it with disbelief. Then he continues. "The tiger attacked my mother in the left side of her head. Her skull was broken. She was still breathing but senseless." Before long, she died. "On my deathbed, I'll still remember my mother that night," Krisnopodo says. "When I recall that accident, I cannot hold back my tears. I can still hear that sad scream." Shortly after the attack, Krisnopodo and his wife moved to a concrete house a short distance away from Joymoni, where he now makes a living by drying coconut in his garden, fenced off from the world. Most people in the Sundarbans rely on the forest and the river for food and earn money by collecting wild honey and fishing. Although it's illegal, many go into protected areas - the Sundarbans is a Unesco World Heritage site - to cut firewood and poach animals, and it's this that brings them into direct conflict with the tiger. This summer two people were killed in separate incidents while fishing for crabs. In 1997, Jamal Mohumad went into the forest to hunt and fish for food - and found himself in competition with a bigger and more ferocious hunter. "The tiger lunged at me with its paws. It dug its claws into my legs and dragged me under the water. I struggled under the water and dived down about 10 feet under the water. The tiger let go of me. I swam deep under water as fast as I could. After a while, when I reached the surface of the water, I couldn't see the tiger. I swam down the river for a bit and saw a boat and cried out for help." Jamal is a local legend in the Sundarbans. He's the only person anyone knows who's survived three separate tiger attacks. In the most recent, in 2007, he'd gone to the forest looking for firewood, when, in the tall grass by the side of the river, he spotted a tiger lying in sun. "The tiger was on the north side of the river and I was on the south side. I couldn't run. I knew if the tiger saw me he would attack so I said a prayer." The tiger stalked Jamal. Frozen, Jamal stood his ground. He knew that if he turned to run he would be done for. "Because I had been attacked twice before I was more conscious about what to do. So I stood in front of the tiger and made mad faces at it and lots of noise. "The tiger also fears humans, you know. Both can attack each other and it is dangerous for both parties." The tiger came to within a metre of where Jamal was standing and let out a huge roar. Jamal roared back. "I roared and roared at the tiger and made the scariest faces I could. It went on for about half an hour until my throat was bleeding." Jamal's wife heard the noise and fetched a crowd from the village. "They made so much noise, they scared the tiger off. When I saw my friends from the village, I collapsed." Unlike many villagers who've been attacked, Jamal still goes to the forest - but he is more cautious now. "I always see the tiger in my dreams and when I go into the forest there is a deep fear within me that the tiger is watching me and might attack me again. But I have to go to the forest to ensure foods for my children. It's only for them that I have to face the tiger again and again." The tigers in the Sundarbans appear to be more aggressive than those in other parts of the world. It is not fully understood why this should be - some suggest it might be the high salinity of the water. But the most likely cause is depletion of their natural habitat and a shortage of prey. With a million people living on the fringes of the mangrove forest, food scarcity is a problem for humans and tigers alike, with each poaching the other's prey. In one village studied by conservationists, tigers were found to kill about 80 domestic animals a year - dogs, goats, buffalo and cows. As a result, villagers carried out several attacks on tigers in retribution. To stop this, in 2008 local conservation groups rolled out 49 Tiger Village response teams. Each team of volunteers is responsible for dealing with tigers that stray into villages. Rather than kill the animal, villagers scare it back into the forest by brandishing flaming torches and setting off firecrackers. If this fails they have a number to call to get a swat team on the ground with a tranquilliser to sedate the tiger so that it can be taken back to the forest. Nonetheless, retaliatory attacks still happen. In December 2013 a group of villagers living near Ghagra Mari forest station tracked down a tiger and killed it after it had attacked and killed a human. The idea that tigers might one day become extinct is hard for local people to grasp. A fisherman, Deban Mandal, looks at me suspiciously when I put this to him. "How could such a fierce animal possibly be at risk of dying out?" he asks. Have I not heard the beating heart of a tiger? I confess I have not. He throws back his head and laughs. "I have heard a tiger's heart, and it's stronger than mine." Deban was on his way to the Kultoli Khal area of the Sundarbans to fish. The fishermen pulled their boat to the shore shortly before dawn. The tide was low and they made their way into one of the many muddy rivulets that lead into the forest. Everything was completely silent. Just the sound of their footsteps among the mangrove roots. Deban went down to the edge of the rivulet and said a prayer. It was just after sunrise and the mist was rising off the still water. Stepping forward into the silky mud he laid down his net. At that moment, from out of nowhere, a tiger flew at him. "Its roar was so loud it was like a thunder to me," he says, imitating the sound of the animal. "I was completely helpless. With the weight of the tiger, I thought I would fall, so I grabbed hold of his torso and laid my head against his chest. I could hear the tiger's heart thumping so fast. I just clung on with my ear to its chest. I could feel its breath on my head, as it tried to attack me." He looks at me, his eyes wide as he recounts the event. "I thought if I could keep holding on, it would not be able to bite me. But it thrashed from side to side and eventually I toppled over and it bit me here on my neck. I was sure I would not live any more." One of the fishermen climbed up a tree, but another came to Deban's rescue. "One of the guys came up with an axe or something long, maybe a piece of wood, and hit its head. When it was hit, the tiger released me and ran away." He shows me the scars on his neck - I can see clear puncture marks. "When I see a tiger now, I'm filled with fear. When our boss asks us to visit the other side of the river, I tell him if the tiger sees me, it will certainly catch me. He tells me: 'Why would it catch you?' I tell him it secretly watches me from the jungle, I know if I go, it will find me." Another villager, Sukumar Mondol, suffered far more serious physical injuries. His face is lopsided, he can no longer see or hear clearly and speaks with a lisp. "I was sitting down on the bank of the river when I heard the tiger roar." he says. "Within a minute, it was on me. He attacked me over and over with his paws. My hand was completely dislocated." He shows me his hand, which has long white lines, where the scarred skin dimples his palm. "The tiger was biting my head. I felt I was dying. I thought there was no way I could survive the attack. Nobody could save me." The tiger was nine feet long not counting the tail, he says. "Then a woman came to rescue me and saved my life. She hit the tiger with a stick once with her full strength," he says. They covered Sukumar's wounds with a towel and took him by boat to Chalna, 10km (six miles) away, from where he travelled another 50km (31 miles) to hospital in Khulna. Sukumar is lucky to be alive. He spent several weeks in hospital and can no longer work. "From 27 July, 2011, I have not been back to the forest. The tiger is ferocious. He eats people for his lunch. We live in his territory. It is his area. By the help of God I survived the attack. By his blessing I am alive." Candida Beveridge's report appeared on Outlook on the BBC World Service. Listen to the interview again on iPlayer or get the Outlook podcast. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

पाँच सौ बंगाल बाघ भारत और बांग्लादेश की सीमा पर स्थित पृथ्वी के सबसे बड़े मैंग्रोव जंगल में रहते हैं। लेकिन दस लाख से अधिक लोग भी ऐसा ही करते हैं। हर साल बाघ 60 लोगों पर हमला करते हैं, और कहानी बताने के लिए केवल आधे ही जीवित रहते हैं।


Why South Korea's corruption scandal is nothing new

Summary: A scandal is swirling round the South Korean president. Park Gun-hye has been accused by prosecutors of being complicit in a scheme to pressure big companies to donate millions of dollars to funds controlled by a very close friend. Some of the biggest family-run firms - Samsung, Lotte, SK - have been raided, along with various government offices. Ms Park's lawyer says prosecutors have "built a house of fantasy" but the allegations highlight a historical paradox, say the BBC's Stephen Evans in Seoul.

In everyday life, it seems like one of the most honest countries on the planet - and yet president after president has ended up entangled in scandals over money. The cloud of corruption rarely lifts from the presidential palace. Take the last four presidents: Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003) was himself untainted but two of his sons were jailed for taking bribes. Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008) committed suicide after leaving office as corruption investigators closed in over allegations he accepted $6m in bribes. Lee Myung-bak (2008-13) apologised after his elder brother was sentenced to two years in prison for accepting $500,000 from businessmen in return for influence over the government. And now the current president, Park Gun-hye, is accused by prosecutors of being complicit in a scheme to pressure millions of dollars out of big companies. There does seem to be a pattern: even if the president seems untouched, those close to him - or now her - harvest opportunities for reaping cash from their closeness to power. It's sometimes called "pay to play". And all in a country where you can leave a full wallet on a table to reserve a place in a bar in the full confidence that it will not be stolen. You can forget your camera in a public place and return unworried to find it in the same spot or even moved to the side and left safely under a shelter. But all the presidents of the democratic era - not to mention the heads of the family-owned conglomerates, the so-called chaebols - have been soiled by corruption, either personally or by their close friends and family leveraging their ties to the leader. Sometimes politics and business go hand-in-dirty-hand together: a chaebol head goes to jail and then the president pardons him. Why is this? How do you explain an almost naive honesty at the bottom and an unreliable moral compass at the top? Firstly, honesty is not such a simple quality. We can be honest in some circumstances and not in others. Even though there is a high level of trust between people in South Korea, other measures of honesty paint a less idyllic view. Researchers at the University of East Anglia in the UK devised an experiment to test personal honesty in 15 countries. They got people from each country to toss a coin privately and then report the result. The participants were told they would get more money if heads came up than tails (even though the actual probability was 50:50). The more the people involved reported that they had had more than 50% of heads, the more dishonest they were deemed to be. South Korea came out low (though not quite as dishonest as China, but way below the UK, the most honest country on the basis of this particular test). Away from the test and back in the real world, dishonesty at the top (in business and politics) is not unknown. One of the reasons is the way South Korea is run, with the government historically taking a strong role in the direction of the economy. The government of Park Chung-hee (the current president's dictatorial father) started the modernisation of South Korea by directing chaebol heads to establish industries. As Professor Robert Kelly of Pusan National University put it: "The opportunities for graft (political corruption) are as obvious as they are extensive. These are the sorts of relationships that have repeatedly done-in Korean political and chaebol elites. Until the state steps back from the economy, such scandals will continue." There are also deeper roots, according to Professor Kyung Moon Hwang of the University of Southern California. Confucianism "values not only hierarchy in social relations but also reciprocity, the idea that one must repay kind treatment". "This is in general a good thing, but in the political arena, this can lead to officials expecting something in return for their decisions." Before the current democratic era, which has only been going for 30 years, despotism, Professor Hwang said, triggered "the impulse to pay bribes, regardless of the official's wishes, knowing that the official will feel obligated to return the favour". On this argument, old habits die hard, and democratically elected politicians retain old despotic ways of thinking. But there is a hopeful side to this: prosecutors do pursue miscreants, people protest against corruption in their hundreds of thousands, new laws do get passed (like a recent cap on the amount of money which can be spent on entertaining public servants, from politicians to teachers), and the press is tenacious. As Professor Kelly put it: "Corruption in South Korea is often uncovered and subject to scrutiny. Prosecutors pursue it and the public gets incensed. "Future cheaters," he added, would have to reckon on being caught and punished. "Cleaning out the dirt may be ugly but it is happening."

दक्षिण कोरियाई राष्ट्रपति के इर्द-गिर्द एक घोटाला घूम रहा है। अभियोजकों ने पार्क गन-हे पर एक बहुत ही करीबी दोस्त द्वारा नियंत्रित धन के लिए लाखों डॉलर दान करने के लिए बड़ी कंपनियों पर दबाव बनाने की योजना में शामिल होने का आरोप लगाया है। विभिन्न सरकारी कार्यालयों के साथ-साथ परिवार द्वारा संचालित कुछ सबसे बड़ी कंपनियों-सैमसंग, लोटे, एसके-पर छापा मारा गया है। सुश्री पार्क के वकील का कहना है कि अभियोजकों ने "कल्पना का घर बनाया है" लेकिन सियोल में बीबीसी के स्टीफन इवांस का कहना है कि आरोप एक ऐतिहासिक विरोधाभास को उजागर करते हैं।


Retired prison staff may reapply

Summary: Prison officers who take the equivalent of the Patten redundancy scheme could still apply to become custody officers under a new wave of recruitment.

The justice committee at Stormont heard an officer could take a £100,000 package, plus an £18,000 a year pension and still apply for new jobs. The redundancy scheme will cost about £60m over the next two years. Employees have to state their interest in redundancy by 17 February. The director-general of the Prison Service, Colin McConnell, said "solid progress" was being made on prison reform. Earlier this month, the BBC revealed that hundreds of retired police officers had been re-employed by the PSNI. The officers had left the police with generous Patten redundancy packages.

जो जेल अधिकारी पैटन अतिरेक योजना के समकक्ष लेते हैं, वे अभी भी भर्ती की एक नई लहर के तहत हिरासत अधिकारी बनने के लिए आवेदन कर सकते हैं।


Olympic Games: Why cities are snubbing the 'greatest show on Earth'

Summary: It has long been billed as the greatest show on Earth.

By Gareth EvansBBC News Both the summer and winter versions of the Olympic Games are multi-billion dollar spectacles that bring together the world's top athletes and draw masses of media coverage. So when residents in the Canadian city of Calgary voted on whether to bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics last week, you might have expected an enthusiastic thumbs-up. But instead their verdict was clear: thanks, but no thanks. Their rejection, motivated by fears about high costs and questions about the economic benefits, came after three other cities all withdrew from bidding earlier this year. This is part of a bigger problem that experts say could threaten the very future of the Olympic Games: fewer and fewer cities around the world want to play host. Just consider the numbers: the 2004 Summer Games, which were ultimately held in Athens, attracted 11 bids but the 2024 event garnered just two. So what's behind this trend? Chris Dempsey knows more than most about why there is increasing scepticism. He spearheaded the opposition to Boston's bid for the 2024 Olympics, a movement that started in his living room in early 2013 after a conversation with some friends. "We saw that a group of very wealthy and powerful [people] had gotten together and decided that a bid would be a good thing for Boston," he says. "But we were concerned about the cost." "At first, the polling showed that Bostonians were very open to hosting the Olympics," he explains. "But when they started reading the fine print - that's when they decided that the bid wasn't in their best interests." He says the financial burden of hosting the Games was the primary concern, along with a resentment of outsiders telling the city what would be best for it. "[We] wanted to be heard and to chart the future of our city. I think in Calgary they felt the same way," he says. And he appears to have a point. After Calgary residents voted overwhelmingly against running as hosts last week, one Calgary councillor, Sean Chu, said: "I think that people had enough of the establishment, telling us what to do, what to think. They tell you to spend millions, billions, it's good for you." After polls began to show declining support for Boston's bid, it was withdrawn in the summer of 2015 in what was seen as an unlikely victory for the 'No' camp. "The 'Yes' side spent about $15 million (£11.7m) and we spent less than $10,000 on our entire campaign," Mr Dempsey says. He believes that residents should assess the facts of an Olympic bid rather than just buying into the pride and honour of being a host. "When democracies look at this as a public policy question - and they soberly assess the pros and cons - their voters are realising that this is just not in their best interests," he says. "We were always confident that we had the facts on our side." Growing concerns over the economic benefits of hosting an Olympics are not unreasonable, experts say. "There is good reason for cities to be concerned," says Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, who has studied decades of Olympic budgets. "The general trend is that costs have been going up and governments are anxious about spending too much money. "It's a multi-billion dollar budget that you will need to host the Games and that's only covering the direct sports-related costs," he says. "There are also the indirect infrastructure costs such as improving transport systems." The cost of the 2014 Winter Games in Russia's Sochi was put at $51bn - the most expensive in history. The Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 cost $40bn. Prof Flyvbjerg says that every Olympic Games since 1960 has run over its budget - some by startling amounts. So why is spending increasing? "People like to put on bigger parties," he says. "There's a sort of competition that everyone wants to do the best Olympics ever." The other reason for this is inexperience, Prof Flyvbjerg suggests. "Any city that puts on the Olympics has never done it before or did it so long ago they cannot use that experience," he says. "So you have inexperienced people in charge of putting on a multi-billion dollar event which is bound to lead to cost overrun. "It's not sustainable. I think it's come as a bit of a shock for the International Olympic Committee [IOC]." The IOC, which organises the event, does recognise the worry around costs. "We know the cost of the Games is a concern," its Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi tells the BBC. "I feel that we have to make all efforts to contain the costs and complexity." He says that a number of measures have been introduced in recent years that are aimed at reducing the cost of hosting the Games. The organisation has started pledging money to offset some of the financial burden. It has promised to contribute $1.8bn to the organising committee of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, for example. It also wants to see bids from cities that already have the right infrastructure and venues in place. This is due to growing concerns about so-called "white elephants", expensive facilities that go to waste after the Games have finished. Take this year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea. The centrepiece of that event was a brand new $109m stadium that was used a grand total of four times. In Brazil, many of the expensive arenas that were used in the 2016 Olympics have been left abandoned, creating environmental hazards. "Generally speaking if a city doesn't have a stadium or arena before the Olympics come, then why would they need one afterwards?" asks Professor Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economist who was also part of the No Boston Olympics campaign. "The reason why the stadium or arena didn't exist before the Olympics happened is because there wasn't an economically viable reason... to make the investment," he says. "It ends up being financially and environmentally very wasteful." All of this contributes to a view that the Games are excessive and extravagant. This is something the IOC says it is trying to combat, and Prof Zimbalist suggests that seeking bids from cities with pre-existing arenas is the right approach going forward. "Some cities like Los Angeles can get away with hosting the Summer Games with almost no investment so then it can make sense," he says. So why would a city without the right infrastructure bid at all? Daniel Ritterband, who worked in marketing for the London 2012 Olympics and on the Budapest bid for 2024, argues that the Games can actually have a positive impact on less-developed cities. "I think the future is for small cities of a million people where the Games can really have a transformative effect," he says. "Some of the things that are disruptive in bigger cities - like specialist traffic lanes - are less disruptive in smaller ones." He says that having public support is "essential". "If you don't take them with you then you're doomed - that's what happened in Boston," he says. So what would his advice be to a city considering a bid in future? "It needs to be part of a 20 year plan of how to move the economy onwards where you build up the infrastructure and support then it's totally worthwhile. "There has to be a clear benefit to the people in terms of jobs and skills," he adds. "Whether that's hospitality programmes or the increase in short-term contracts. "It's the greatest moment of national pride a country can have. How people were talking about it in 2012 showed that the nation had their chests puffed out." But the reality is that bids from smaller cities, however beneficial an Olympics may be, are not being made. So if the worst-case scenario for the IOC comes and the bids dry up, what can they do? "The rational end is to have one city that's the permanent host of the summer Games and one that is the permanent host of the winter Games," Prof Zimbalist says. Mr Dempsey says "this could make a lot of sense", but there would still be questions about who would take up the site indefinitely. "The problem is that these cities don't really show an interest in taking them now," says Professor Donald Dengel, who has researched the long-term impact of the Olympics on a host city. "So the IOC would have to contribute... to the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities so the citizens don't have to take up that burden." "They're going to have to make the financial incentives much greater," he says. "It's a really tough call for them."

इसे लंबे समय से पृथ्वी पर सबसे महान शो के रूप में देखा जाता रहा है।


Dead sea bird count carried out on Guernsey beaches

Summary: Volunteers in Guernsey have been searching the island's coast for dead sea birds following recent storms.

The Environment Department said it had organised a count to gather data on how the local sea bird population had been affected by the weather. High winds and heavy seas have exhausted sea birds and had stopped many species diving for food, it said. Shags, guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes were particularly affected, RSPB Guernsey said previously. Volunteers have joined the RSPB and the GSPCA to search island beaches to collect data on how many had washed up in Guernsey.

ग्वेर्नसे में स्वयंसेवक हाल के तूफानों के बाद मृत समुद्री पक्षियों के लिए द्वीप के तट की खोज कर रहे हैं।


Going for Growth

Summary: Next Friday, at last, we're due to get sight of a document likely to shape Scottish politics for quite a while to come. That is at least until someone comes up with anything more interesting or provocative.

Douglas FraserBusiness/economy editor, Scotland The SNP's Growth Commission was announced by Nicola Sturgeon in September 2016, two years after the Scottish referendum, and three months after the Brexit vote. It has been chaired by economist and former MSP Andrew Wilson, and its membership included Finance Secretary Derek Mackay and Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville. Having them on board carries a risk - it's harder for the SNP to distance itself from any tricky recommendations, though perhaps their presence there was to ensure there aren't any. The report has been ready for publication for many months. But it seems the time hasn't been right, until now. Windfalls It's just a hunch, but that might be because the remit was so broad, requiring the report to head into difficult territory. It goes like this: "The Commission will assess the projections for Scotland's economy and public finances, consider the implications for our economy and finances of different potential governance scenarios, and make recommendations for policy on: In addition, the Commission will "take account of the recommendations of the 2013 Fiscal Commission reports, and the outcome of the EU referendum, and consider the most appropriate monetary policy arrangements to underpin a programme for sustainable growth in an independent Scotland". Transition Consider some of the implications, particularly when set against Alex Salmond's Indy prospectus in 2014. For one, either embrace the Government and Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures, or set out the basis to reject them - even though they're from the Scottish government itself. If you accept GERS, a very large deficit has to be addressed. And we already know from Andrew Wilson that he is not going to massage oil tax revenue to do so. The commission chairman has said the figures were "baked in" to the 2014 prospectus, yet the remit defines them as "a windfall". Trident makes an appearance, as you might expect, giving the opportunity to take a share of nuclear weapons costs and spend that elsewhere. But a report like this can only spend it once elsewhere. The cost of the transition to independence? A very rough guess from Alex Salmond in 2014 was that it might cost £200m. As Brexit reality bites, the cost of such transitions are being shown to be very expensive indeed. And while the benefits could be made to look huge, cost and benefit analyses ought to show when those benefits kick in. They may not yet be delivered when the bills are dropping on the doormat at St Andrew's House. Currency A lot of attention will be focused on changes to the economic arguments for independence, when compared with Alex Salmond's White Paper. It's reported, in the Sunday Post, that the Growth Commission will back a Scottish currency. That should come as no surprise, though the detail is likely to include a mechanism for pegging it to sterling, or maybe the euro. The case for 'sharing' the pound, because "it belongs to Scotland too," was arguably (and it was argued over, for sure) the weakest point in the Indy prospectus. The case made four years ago on currency was merely to achieve what was possible. None of the choices looked easy. The remit for the Growth Commission is more specific. It is a monetary system that "underpins sustainable growth". However, the case against keeping the pound may have become easier to make. Since the Brexit referendum, Scotland sticking with Westminster can no longer be portrayed as the status quo. Between Brexit and independence, there would be two radical options, both carrying risks and costs, both with potential benefits - plus the third choice, of having both. The remit of the Growth Commission was also to recommend ways to boost the growth rate ahead of independence, or without it. That has become a more pressing issue since Andrew Wilson's team set to work. With the downturn in oil and gas came a downturn in growth across the country, hitting a small recession in 2015 and clearly lagging behind the UK's low growth rate. The recent surge in the oil price, hitting $80 per barrel this week, ought to spark hopes of a recovery for the energy sector, even if oil consumers - including drivers and much of industry - feel the heat of higher fuel and input costs. Footfall The past few days have given us some indicators of where the economy has stood recently. They're mixed. The latest Scottish Retail Consortium figures make grim reading for the nation's shopkeepers. Scotland is not alone in this. Earlier this week, the British figures for footfall registered an "unprecedented" fall. This is partly down to weak consumer confidence, particularly in non-food sales. It is also as the shift to online sales seems to be gathering pace. Take Macfarlane Group, as further evidence. The Glasgow packaging firm released a trading update last Tuesday, buoyed up by all the cardboard being used to wrap those parcels for home delivery. The number that most concerns politicians, unemployment - because it's the economic number that most affects voters - fell slightly in January to March, and remains at historically very low levels. Youth unemployment is at a particularly low level. Job creation has been fairly good over the past year, but not nearly as strong as across the UK as a whole. From autumn to winter, the number of Scots in employment fell 6,000, while the UK figure leapt on upwards by 197,000. Over the year, the figures look more respectable, but still short of Scotland's population share. Cheering The other number that voters feel in their household budgets is the extent to which real buying power is shifting. Real wages - the cash figure minus price inflation - have been negative or very weak through the past decade. A return to real wage growth, albeit by a tiny margin, is welcome, but there's a lot of catching up to do. That can best and sustainably be achieved with improved productivity, but earlier this month, we got numbers which should continue to cause concern. It was already weak, but these figures, from the Scottish government, suggest it's getting weaker. Output per worker increased slightly, but not as fast as hours worked. So the key measure of productivity - output per hour worked - saw it fall in 2017 by 1.1%, compared to a very low, but at least positive, 0.3% the previous year. The less disappointing news was that it was getting less bad over the year, from a fall in the first two quarters to no improvement in the third quarter and a 1% rise in October to December. More cheering was news this week that output from the private sector in Scotland, according to the monthly Purchasing Managers Index, registered a pick-up last month. That's after successive months of wavering around the standstill point, significantly behind the UK index. Brave For the Scottish government and the SNP, the political pressure from low growth is... well, it's growing. Conservatives recently put together their reckoning of the amount by which the Scots economy is under-shooting where it might otherwise be. It was a signal of the ground on which they want to take on their rivals. That's quite a brave thing to do when fellow Conservatives are running the show at Westminster. It can take some blame for the lack of investment confidence while Brexit negotiations stagger on, though less so for the numbers on which Scotland lags the UK. The Growth Commission report will surely presented as providing a route map to faster growth, and on towards independence. Or it may provide quite a lot of further ammunition for the government's critics. My hunch is that it will do both. Well worth a listen (and not because I was the interviewer), Prof Mariana Mazzucato is an adviser to the Scottish and Westminster governments and the European Commission, on ways in which government can shape the economy. In a half-hour discussion on BBC Radio Scotland, she explained why the state can and should be seen as entrepreneur. You can catch up here, 26 minutes, 23 seconds in.

अगले शुक्रवार को, आखिरकार, हम आने वाले कुछ समय के लिए स्कॉटिश राजनीति को आकार देने वाले एक दस्तावेज़ को देखने वाले हैं। यह कम से कम तब तक है जब तक कि कोई और अधिक दिलचस्प या उत्तेजक कुछ न ले आए।


Sudan protests: Inside the sit-in at army HQ

Summary: Protests in Sudan, demanding President Omar al-Bashir and his government stand down, have taken a twist with the activists being helped by some soldiers. army headquarters. The BBC has been talking to some of the demonstrators.

'The army are protecting us' - Ahmed Mahmoud I am at the sit-in at the army headquarters now - on the street opposite the naval force headquarters. We spent the night here. At around 04:00 we were attacked by the national security forces. Tear gas and live bullets were fired. As soon as we started hearing the bullets the army let us into the headquarters and then fighting broke out. The national army are protecting us. They let us into their HQ building and they are firing back at the NISS [National Intelligence and Security Service] soldiers. It is serious now. This is the second night they [the NISS and the army] have been firing at each other. It is pointless for [President] Omar al-Bashir to continue using his thugs to get us off the streets as we are not going anywhere. I'm hoping he will give up. Ahmed Mahmoud was talking to BBC Newsday on Tuesday 9 April. Read more: 'Protesters brought mattresses with them' - Walaa I don't want to disclose where I am, for my own safety. People from the army started helping protesters because the government militias were using tear gas and live ammunition against peaceful protesters. Not everyone in the army supports us - it depends on their rank. The highest ranks are supporting the regime while other ranks joined the protesters. The protesters haven't left the army headquarters since 6 April when more than 800,000 people gathered there. Many spent the night there and on Sunday more people came, increasing to number of protesters to almost two million. Some people brought mattresses and pillows. The protesters also created a small clinic where you can buy medication and see a doctor. Sudanese people are collecting money for the protesters to buy food, water, shelter, sound systems and even generators. You can feel the unity and solidarity. This is the biggest protest against the government in the history of Sudan - bear in mind that in 1964, and in 1985 we overthrew two governments through revolutions. The government doesn't care about Sudanese people getting killed. What they care about is staying in power. That's why I'm afraid it's going to become a conflict between the good people from the military and the other militias. Walaa was speaking to BBC Focus on Africa radio on Monday 8 April. 'The sit-ins are filled with incredible kindness' - Dalia el Roubi I have been protesting outside the army headquarters since Saturday. The sit-ins are filled with positive energy, community and incredible kindness. Inside the sit-in there is music, performances and harmonised chanting. Lots of food and drink has been sent in by other people and private companies to help endure the long hours and heat. The types of people participating are so diverse - a mix of ages, religions, classes, ethnicities and gender. Being in there, none of us feel alone in this cause. People are peaceful, helpful and protective of one another. This sit-in shows a lot of who we are as a nation - our resilience, courage, solidarity, community and commitment to change for our country. The past four days have instilled in us a strong sense of hope for a future that we can finally look forward to. The bullets have not deterred the numbers - on the contrary they are creating more resolve. The past four days are a culmination of years of resistance. To see all the years of effort reaching this point is liberating. Dalia El Roubi was speaking to the BBC News website on Tuesday 9 April.

सूडान में राष्ट्रपति उमर अल-बशीर और उनकी सरकार के हटने की मांग को लेकर हुए विरोध प्रदर्शनों ने एक मोड़ ले लिया है क्योंकि कुछ सैनिकों द्वारा कार्यकर्ताओं की मदद की जा रही है। सेना मुख्यालय। बीबीसी कुछ प्रदर्शनकारियों से बात कर रहा है।


The underwater Indian village that emerges once a year

Summary: A village in the western Indian state of Goa is only visible for one month in a year - for the remaining 11 months, it disappears under water. And when the water recedes, its original residents, now settled elsewhere, come together to celebrate their home, reports Supriya Vohra.

The village of Curdi was nestled between two hills in the Western Ghats with the Salaulim river - a tributary of one of the major rivers in Goa - running through it. It was once a thriving village in south-eastern Goa. In 1986, the village as its residents knew it ceased to exist. The state's first dam was constructed and, as a consequence, the village was completely submerged. But every year in May, the water recedes to reveal what is left of it. Cracked earth, stumps of trees, eroded remnants of houses and religious structures, broken remains of household items, water canals in ruins, and miles of barren ground criss-crossing with water bodies. The land used to be fertile and most of the village, whose population was around 3,000, lived off it - they tilled paddy fields surrounded by coconut, cashew, mango and jackfruit trees. Hindus, Muslims and Christians lived together. There was a main temple, several smaller temples, a chapel and a Muslim shrine. It was also the birthplace of the renowned classical vocalist Mogubai Kurdikar. But things drastically changed after 1961, when Goa became a part of India. The state was under Portuguese rule until then. The first chief minister, Dayanand Bandodkar, visited the village with news about the construction of the state's first dam. He gathered all the residents and told them that it would benefit all of southern Goa. "He said it will drown our village, but our sacrifice will be for the greater good," 75-year-old Gajanan Kurdikar, who has vivid memories of the meeting, says. Mr Kurdikar and other residents, comprising more than 600 families, were forced to relocate to nearby villages but were given land and compensation. The project was ambitious. Built on the banks of the Salaulim river, it was called the Salaulim Irrigation Project. It proposed to provide water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes to most of southern Goa. And it was meant to provide some 400 million litres of water per day to citizens. "When we came to the new village we had absolutely nothing," recalls Inacio Rodrigues. His was amongst the first few families to shift in 1982. They had to stay in makeshift homes until they could build their own home from scratch. For some that took almost five years. Gurucharan Kurdikar was 10 years old when his family moved to a new village in 1986. "I faintly remember my parents hurriedly putting everything in a pick-up truck. I was also packed up in the truck, along with my brother and grandmother. My parents followed us on their moped," the 42 year-old recalls. His mother, Mamta Kurdikar, remembers the day more clearly. "I think we were the last few families left. It rained heavily the night before, and the water from the fields started entering our house. We had to leave immediately. I couldn't even take my flour mill with me," she says. But the water from the dam never reached the villages where the former inhabitants of Curdi moved. "The tap system did not come through to all villages of south Goa as promised," Gajanan Kurdikar says. "So we do not get our drinking water from the dam." In Vaddem, where Mr Kurdikar now lives, there are two large wells. But in April and May, the wells begin to dry up. They're then forced to depend on government tankers for their drinking water. When the water recedes in May, Curdi's original inhabitants visit their lost homeland. The Christian community gather for an annual Chapel feast and the Hindus host a temple feast during that month. "Today it's very easy for us to pack up our bags and move," says Venisha Fernandes, a Goa-based sociologist. "But for the people of Curdi, their identity was based on their land. They were closely and directly connected with it. That is perhaps why they remember it keenly, and keep coming back to it." Supriya Vohra is an independent journalist based in Goa.

सुप्रिया वोहरा बताती हैं कि पश्चिमी भारतीय राज्य गोवा का एक गाँव साल में केवल एक महीने के लिए दिखाई देता है-शेष 11 महीनों के लिए, यह पानी के नीचे गायब हो जाता है। और जब पानी कम हो जाता है, तो इसके मूल निवासी, जो अब कहीं और बस गए हैं, अपने घर का जश्न मनाने के लिए एक साथ आते हैं।


Does the Scottish Parliament hold a veto over Brexit?

Summary: Does Holyrood hold a veto over Brexit? The UK government would say no. Twice. The Scottish government would say no. Twice. But that is because it does not care to use the word "veto". And indeed has not done so.

Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland Let me explain - inasmuch as one can use such a precise word as "explain" in connection with such a complex and contentious issue as Brexit and its implications. It strikes me there are two distinct areas where Holyrood is entitled to be consulted with regard to Brexit. These are being cheerfully confused by sundry politicians and commentators. The first area concerns the negotiations with the European Union which will lead to Britain's departure from the EU. The second concerns the bill which will be tabled to legislate for the return of EU law to the UK. Let us take these in order. Theresa May, David Mundell and colleagues have all said, repeatedly, that the UK government will negotiate terms for the UK as a whole leaving the EU. It is almost as if they have a rehearsed line on this matter. Which, of course, they do. UK ministers say that the Scottish government will be involved, will be consulted, will be engaged - perm any one from those three verdicts. But there will be no veto. However, that characterisation is not accepted in terms by the Scottish government. They want participation, not consultation. They want to help frame the terms of the UK's negotiating package and, where relevant, they want to advance those terms in talks with the EU. To be clear, they do not describe that as a veto. To repeat, they choose not to use that word. Indeed, Nicola Sturgeon has taken pains to avoid such a description. She has noted, for example, the view emanating from Wales that the Brexit package should be subject to endorsement not just by the Commons but by all the devolved legislatures in these islands. She adds that there are certain attractions to such an argument - but she herself is not advancing it at this stage. Why? Three reasons. One, she genuinely wishes to extract as many concessions as possible for Scotland from the UK Brexit process - and sees conciliation as the route. Negotiation process Two, politically, she calculates that a troubled and anxious public would welcome a note of co-operation - along the lines of the customarily seductive argument: "Why don't they all just sit down and sort it out?" Three, it rather suits her if direct conflict over this issue between the UKG and the SG is deferred. If she is to call indyref2, she would rather not do it now - while the UK, including Scotland, is in turmoil and the terms of Brexit have yet to emerge in any meaningful way. But, to repeat, Ms Sturgeon and the Scottish Brexit Minister Mike Russell are looking for far more than is currently on offer in the negotiation process from the UKG. They were, therefore, exasperated to see the outline process of Brexit pre-emptively announced to the Conservative conference. They griped a little - but calculate that Mrs May requires to unite her party around a future direction: one which consoles Remainers, a little, while assuring Leavers that Britain will do just that. Leave. So the SG/SNP complaints were mostly confined to social media muttering. For now. Why? See above re the need to sustain a mood of conciliation. So much for Part One. Enter Part Two. This is the statute which will be necessary to repeal Britain's membership of the EU and to repatriate those laws which are currently dispensed by or shared with the European institutions. It is described by its advocates as the Great Repeal Bill. Some would dissent from that adjectival choice. Although they would probably accept that alternatives would fail to stir the blood. The Limpid Repeal Bill? Let us talk, neutrally, of the bill. Would it require to be endorsed by the Scottish Parliament under a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) - previously known as the Sewel Convention? The UKG says no - although not all that assertively and not all that loudly. Their argument is that the bill would be concerned solely with foreign affairs and the constitution. Both those issues are reserved to Westminster. QED. Except, says Mike Russell, the said legislation would impact directly upon areas which are explicitly devolved to Holyrood: such as justice, home affairs, rural affairs, the environment etc etc and - you've guessed it - etc. Devolved matters How can it be, he says, that Holyrood is not to be consulted on such matters which virtually define its list of powers? Ah, say UK ministers, Holyrood will be "consulted" - but not via the requirement for an LCM. The legislation only covers the EU ambit with regard to such devolved matters. Not the matters themselves. Thus it is foreign affairs and/or the constitution. And so reserved. Nonsense, says Mr Russell, this is legislation directly affecting devolved matters. LCM required - and, for now, there is no majority at Holyrood for such consent to be granted. To be clear, again, Mr Russell does not and will not threaten that this situation amounts to a prospective veto - even if his interpretation proves to be correct. For one thing, his objective is to use the possibility of an LCM as a negotiating lever to give him more clout in Part One - the formulation and promulgation of UK Brexit policy. For another thing, Mr Russell and Ms Sturgeon are only too well aware of the limits of an LCM. Suppose it is eventually conceded that an LCM there must be. That Holyrood must vote upon the EU departure bill. Holyrood may then decline to give consent, presumably on the grounds that the other element of the deal - Part One - has not gone well, from the perspective of Scottish Ministers. But, at the pinch, UK Ministers may then say: "So Holyrood declines to consent? These things. How sad. We had hoped to proceed by consensus but hey and, indeed, ho. Westminster is sovereign. Onwards and upwards." Not, you will readily understand, particularly good politics. Mrs May and her colleagues will indeed wish to proceed via consensus if possible. But the issue of sovereignty remains there, in the background. If needed. For now, we await the detail. In particular, we await the triggering of Article 50 in the spring and the introduction of the Bill in the subsequent Queen's Speech. But matters are moving.

क्या ब्रेक्सिट पर होलीरूड का वीटो है? यूके सरकार नहीं कहेगी। दो बार। स्कॉटिश सरकार नहीं कहेगी। दो बार। लेकिन ऐसा इसलिए है क्योंकि वह "वीटो" शब्द का उपयोग करने की परवाह नहीं करती है। और वास्तव में ऐसा नहीं किया है।


Coronavirus: The junior US doctors rushing to the frontlines

Summary: Doctors now finishing at US medical schools are seeing their graduation dates moved forward in the calendar and are quickly being drafted into the battle against the coronavirus pandemic before the ink on their diplomas is dry.

By Shrai PopatBBC News With his white coat freshly pressed and his webcam poised, Patrick Lowe was ready for his graduation from medical school. On Zoom, he recited his class' personalised version of the Hippocratic Oath. And in lieu of receiving his physical diploma from the University of Massachusetts, he shook his wife's hand and gave his six-month old son, Jack, a hug. "It's been a bit of whirlwind," he told the BBC. "It's all pretty surreal, but also exciting." The Covid-19 outbreak meant that a traditional graduation ceremony was out of the question, but the University of Massachusetts wanted to ensure that the class of 2020 was able to commemorate their achievement. As a result, the university conferred 135 medical degrees in an online event streamed online for friends and family to watch. Lowe and his classmates were originally meant to graduate on 31 June, and begin their respective residencies soon after. The time in between finishing up classes and graduation is usually when students brush up on their training and recuperate before starting their medical career in earnest. "Some use it as vacation time," Lowe explains. However, for the class of 2020, there wasn't much time to rest. As medical licences are expedited by the state, nascent doctors have been rushed to fill the gaping demands caused by the coronavirus. The University of Massachusetts joined three other medical schools in the state - Tufts University, Boston University and Harvard University - to accelerate their students' graduation, and allow them to enter the medical workforce immediately. Lowe swiftly started working on the general medicine ward at the University of Massachusetts Hospital. He deals with patients coming to hospital with conditions that are not coronavirus-related. The aim of the acceleration is to recruit junior doctors who can handle these cases, and ultimately free up more senior residents and doctors to handle the influx of Covid-19 patients. "I feel I'm helping the system work more efficiently," Lowe told the BBC. "I'm just one piece of the huge puzzle." At their virtual graduation, Terence R Flotte, the dean of the medical school, told the graduating class that "never before have we needed you more to join our ranks as healers and leaders of health care teams". This attitude is certainly felt among graduating students. Colleen Flanagan says she was "thrilled to have the opportunity to work". She is one of Lowe's classmates, and has spent the past three weeks working in the cardiac intensive care unit at the UMass Memorial Medical Center. Flanagan is due to move to San Francisco in June to begin her residency in vascular surgery. Since she was unable to spend the interim period saying goodbye to her loved ones, she felt getting on the ward in Massachusetts was imperative. "I had no interest in sitting around at home," she tells BBC News. "I was ready to help." Flanagan explained that many patients with non-Covid conditions are choosing to stay home, but coming to the hospital at a stage when they're presenting symptoms more severely. "It's heartbreaking to see someone who had a five-day old heart attack, but they didn't want to risk it," she says. "We say 'time is tissue,'" she added. Flanagan noted that while these issues can be devastating, they can also be helped if they are treated as soon as possible. She is ultimately concerned that the strain caused by Covid-19 might lead to a number of deaths at home because people are too scared to come to the hospital. In New York City, medical students also graduated early to assist with the inundation of coronavirus cases. There are currently over 150,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city, according to John Hopkins University. For students like Brandon Mogrovejo at Columbia University this work has even included using 3D printers to make and assemble PPE (personal protective equipment) for medical workers throughout the city. Mogrovejo was due to begin his residency as a paediatrician-in-training in June at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, but is volunteering in the meantime. "It's so tangible," he said. "I look at the masks piling up on the table and you know that will be going to the frontline." While Mogrovejo was initially apprehensive about how his graduating class were going to prove useful, he soon realised that volunteer work meant he was still able to make a difference. "Part of the reason I got into this line of work was because I wanted to help people in need," he said. "This is part of my calling."

अब अमेरिकी मेडिकल स्कूलों में पढ़ाई पूरी करने वाले डॉक्टर देख रहे हैं कि उनकी स्नातक की तारीखें कैलेंडर में आगे बढ़ गई हैं और उनके डिप्लोमा पर स्याही सूखने से पहले ही कोरोनावायरस महामारी के खिलाफ लड़ाई में तेजी से मसौदा तैयार किया जा रहा है।


Currys sales boosted by TVs and iPads

Summary: DSG International, which owns Currys and PC World, has seen sales boosted by demand for TVs and iPads.

DSG, which is soon to change its name to Dixons Retail, said like-for-like sales in the quarter to 24 July were 3% higher than a year ago. The group said it had gained market share in the UK and its store re-fit programme was on track. Chief executive John Browett said customers had responded to its strong World Cup promotion. "This is an encouraging start to the year, especially given the challenging market conditions," he commented. "We remain cautious about the economic outlook, but we will continue to deliver on our renewal and transformation plan." Related Internet Links DSG

डी. एस. जी. इंटरनेशनल, जो करीज़ और पी. सी. वर्ल्ड का मालिक है, ने टीवी और आईपैड की मांग से बिक्री में वृद्धि देखी है।


Artemisia Gentileschi: Will Gompertz reviews her show at the National Gallery ★★★★★

Summary: There is an art to exhibiting art. Good curators are more than specialist academics with arcane knowledge they share from time to time with us in an exhibition. Good curators are storytellers with a sense of theatre and occasion. Good curators are impresarios.

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter The National Gallery in London has more than its fair share of good curators, not least Gabriele Finaldi, the institution's boss. He is a specialist in Renaissance and Baroque art with an international reputation, which must be an additional pressure if you happen to be a rank-and-file National Gallery curator putting on a show of Renaissance and Baroque art. When I put this to Letizia Treves, the curator of its newly opened Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition, she smiled graciously. We left it at that. No need to elaborate. Anyway, her show does the talking for her. It starts well. The first painting you see sets the tone for the rest of the exhibition. It is not only big, biblical and Baroque, but also has a subject matter that provides important autobiographical detail about Gentileschi, who painted Susannah and the Elders (1610) when she was a 17-year-old apprentice working in her father's studio in Rome. It depicts the Old Testament story of the virtuous Susannah - who is trying to have a private bath in a fountain - being harassed by two lecherous men. They tell her that if she refuses to succumb to their advances they will accuse her of adultery, a sin punishable by death. It's a remarkably accomplished picture for one so young, completed under the tutelage of her father, Orazio, who might also have had a hand in its creation. The modelling of the nude body, the colour-mixing used in the rendering of the garments, and the play of shadows are all techniques she learned from her father. But the emotion and palpable menace the painting transmits are pure Artemisia. For her, it was personal. The teenage artist was a young woman operating in a man's world. Unwanted and uninvited sexual advances were not unknown to her. She could relate to Susannah's ordeal. And more. Around the time she was working on this painting, her father began a collaboration with an artist called Agostino Tassi, who aggressively pursued Artemisia. She rebuffed him. He attacked her, she fought back. But he was too strong. Tassi stood trial for her rape in 1612, the transcript from which is shown in the exhibition. He was convicted, but not before the court had tortured Artemisia by crushing her fingers until she screamed. They wanted to be sure she was telling the truth. "It is true! It is true! It is true!" she exclaimed through the pain. It is a traumatic experience that has come to define Artemisia Gentileschi as an artist and a historical figure. Given what she produced next, you can see why. On the right-hand wall in the second room of the exhibition hang two huge paintings of the same Old Testament story, Judith Beheading Holofernes. Made by Gentileschi between 1612-14, they do not spare any of the gory details. Judith uses her left hand to get a decent grip on Holofernes's beard, while in her right is the sword with which she decapitates the Assyrian general. Blood gushes as the artist captures the most horrific moment in this most horrific act. It is a piece of revenge art, according to many commentators. And so it might be. But to limit it and the woman who created the picture to such a reductive reading is to underplay, and possibly miss altogether, her significance as a major figure in the history of art. First and foremost, Gentileschi was an exceptional artist, as these two paintings demonstrate. Her mastery of composition, colour and line are first class. The modelling of the three figures is highly sophisticated, as is her use of chiaroscuro (exaggerated contrast between light and shade). Added to this is the drama and atmosphere she conveys in pictures that present the female protagonist in a new light: independent, powerful and determined. Artemisia Gentileschi was a uniquely gifted artist who should be considered among the all-time greatest painters, regardless of her back story. True, she might well have pictured Tassi in her mind as the blade plunged into one of the many male characters in her shock-and-awe paintings. But that was not why she made them. They were commissions. Such scenes were all the rage in 17th Century Italy, where Baroque art - as defined by Caravaggio, with its dramatic lighting and narrative theatricality - lent itself to the spectacular. There is a cinematic quality to it that has influenced filmmakers from Orson Welles to Martin Scorsese. We like thrillers and horror movies. They liked thrillers and horror pictures. Orazio Gentileschi learned his methods from Caravaggio, who painted his version of Judith Beheading Holofernes in 1599. It is a technically better picture than the 20-year-old Artemisia's, but it doesn't have the same graphic intensity, and his Judith looks timid and a bit weedy. His is a pre-watershed picture. Hers is most definitely post-watershed. Not every painting she produced was a winner. There are 29 in the National Gallery show, a few of which are not top notch. But even when she makes a mistake, the outcome is compelling. In 1623 she started work on another Judith picture, this time skulking away in the aftermath of her murderous act in Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes (1623-5). It has all the hallmarks of the Italian Baroque: a simple design, a limited number of figures who appear near the front of the picture plane, blocks of rich yellows, reds and blues - and, of course, the single light source creating a scene full of melodrama. The trouble is that the single light source in this instance - a candle near Judith's upper arm - is in the wrong place. It is too far behind Judith, who has her left hand held out catching the light that is clearly behind it, which is not possible. The mistake is compounded by a poorly painted shadow covering much of Judith's face, which is also not possible. It's a splodge and a botch. And yet. Who cares? The fabrics are beautifully painted, Judith's hand is wonderfully rendered, and the composition of the scene is a success. The exhibition ends in London, which is where Orazio had moved to work in the court of Charles I. It is here that we are told Artemisia produced one of her finest paintings. It is a self-portrait called the Allegory of Painting (1638-9). She had used herself as a subject on numerous occasions, but usually in the guise of someone else, as is the case with the National Gallery's recently acquired Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1615-17). There is no hiding behind another character in this grand finale, show-stopping self-portrait, in which we see her at work (made possibly with the use of a mirror) dressed in a splendid green silk dress with a lace trim. She looks younger than a woman in her mid 40s (her age when in London), which has led some to question whether she made this painting earlier. But it doesn't really matter. The painting matters. And it's wonderful. It is an extraordinary achievement by an extraordinary artist. It is a good way to end a good show by a good curator. Recent reviews by Will Gompertz: Follow Will Gompertz on Twitter

कला को प्रदर्शित करने की एक कला होती है। अच्छे क्यूरेटर विशेषज्ञ शिक्षाविदों से अधिक होते हैं जिनके पास रहस्यमय ज्ञान होता है और वे समय-समय पर प्रदर्शनी में हमारे साथ साझा करते हैं। अच्छे क्यूरेटर रंगमंच और अवसर की भावना वाले कथाकार होते हैं। अच्छे क्यूरेटर प्रभावशाली होते हैं।


Murder arrest over missing Ascot woman

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman who is missing from her home in Berkshire.

Police said the arrest followed a telephone call they received at about 0800 GMT which raised concerns for the welfare of the woman. Officers have not yet located the woman, who is in her 40s and from the Ascot area. Thames Valley Police said the arrested man was in his 40s and from the Windsor area.

बर्कशायर में अपने घर से लापता एक महिला की हत्या के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


How to turn a hit TV show into an international success

Summary: If you happen to switch on the TV in Brazil then you might come across a four-hour live talk show presented by a popular celebrity and her puppet parrot. The programme includes pre-recorded video clips, which the parrot and presenter then discuss.

By Daniel ThomasBusiness reporter So far, so foreign television. But what you may well not realise is that these clips are actually the Brazilian version of British reality TV programme Come Dine With Me. In the UK, the popular programme shows a group of four amateur chefs competing against each other to host a dinner party for each other. The format "felt particularly British," says Mike Beale, head of global development at ITV Studios, the company behind the programme. Yet when the south American country bought the local rights from ITV Studios the programme changed pretty dramatically. Brazil is just one example of how hit game shows, reality shows and dramas produced in one country are being bought and adapted for scores of countries around the world in a global trade worth billions of pounds a year. Since Come Dine With Me began in 2005, local variations of the show have been produced in more than 40 countries. When the format was sold to France, the producers eliminated the tongue-in-cheek social commentary and turned it into a straightforward cooking competition. "It was about how does food taste, not who has the nicest home or who gave the best entertainment," says Mr Beale. The programme's global expansion is a great example of the television formats industry which has grown rapidly since the late 1990s. In Europe alone the market was estimated to be worth $2.9bn (£2.2bn; 2.5bn euros) in 2013, but the industry has become increasingly competitive as a growing number of countries produce their own formats, challenging top exporters such as the UK. Major industry Major networks are also struggling to create global hits like they once did, while most of the really big formats on TV, such as Masterchef and Big Brother, are decades old. BBC Worldwide is behind the formats Strictly Come Dancing - produced internationally as Dancing With the Stars - and Bake Off, which have been adapted in 54 and 25 international countries, respectively. Sumi Connock, creative director of formats at BBC Worldwide, says the most successful global formats tend to be based around "universal themes" that viewers anywhere can relate to, such as cooking, dating or dancing. "They also have really identifiable elements so you can distinguish them from other shows and they have to answer an audience need," she says. "At the moment there is a real trend for warmth, and the feel-good factor so shows like Bake Off and Pitch Battle are doing well - although there was a time when shows with a meaner edge seemed to do well." Outsourcing the risk Foreign formats are attractive to networks because they are programme ideas that have already been shown to work, says Ed Waller, an analyst at media research firm C21. In essence, networks are "outsourcing risk" to countries such as the UK or US, which may have better funded broadcasters with stronger track records of developing successful shows, he says. However, Mr Waller says that while in the 1990s and 2000s there were relatively few suppliers of ideas for international formats, that has now "completely changed". "You have many more networks developing for the international market and creating their own intellectual property," he says. "As a result many more formats now change hands - although they tend not to reach as many countries or stay on our screens for as long." New countries have entered the fray too. The UK has long been the world's top exporter of ideas, followed by the US and the Netherlands, but countries such as Scandinavia, South Korea, Israel and Argentina have all become serious players too. Recent examples include the South Korean dramas The Good Doctor and Somewhere Between, which were sold to major US network ABC last year. And Spanish talent show Tu Cara me Suena has been adapted in 40 countries, including the UK, where it airs as Your Face Sounds Familiar. Cultural tweaks Mr Beale says production companies generally try to keep formats recognisably the same as they move from country to country, so they keep their "special sauce". However, formats are commonly changed to reflect budget sizes or local customs, says professor Jean Chalaby, an expert in formats at City University. For instance, talent shows in countries like Spain and Italy are often stretched out to last three or four hours while they might last only an hour in the UK or US. The judges on such programmes also tend to be less cruel in smaller countries, such as New Zealand, than in bigger ones like the UK or US. "The humiliating first rounds are taken off in smaller countries as there is more of a sense of a community," he says. Global Trade More from the BBC's series taking an international perspective on trade: Cars for cheese - why a free trade deal may not be free Is time up for plain vanilla flavour ice creams? Where's hot? This summer's most popular holiday spots Read more global trade series here. Of course, formats don't always work when adapted for new markets, with comedy and drama being particularly hard to pull off. Some ideas simply don't translate, as seen with the controversial teen drama Skins. It lasted seven series in the UK but just one when it was adapted for MTV in the US. Building a brand Mr Beale says that what all production companies want is to create "evergreen" formats that can be brought back time and time again. Such programmes become global brands, offering recurring royalties and spin-off opportunities such as events and merchandise. Gordon Ramsay's new Hell's Kitchen Restaurant, due to open in Las Vegas this year, is one such example. Creating such hits has become harder in the current climate. "If a network doesn't like a cooking programme they just go for another one. It's a buyers' market," says Mr Beale. Another problem producers face is copycatting as it is very hard to protect a format's intellectual property. The best protection for this, says Mr Beale, is having a market-leading idea to begin with so anything that comes behind you "won't look as good". "You've got to be pragmatic". "We're in a global society and you have to accept that people will copy you. You just need to become the best very quickly," he adds.

यदि आप ब्राजील में टीवी चालू करते हैं तो आपको एक लोकप्रिय सेलिब्रिटी और उसके कठपुतली तोते द्वारा प्रस्तुत चार घंटे का लाइव टॉक शो मिल सकता है। कार्यक्रम में पहले से रिकॉर्ड किए गए वीडियो क्लिप शामिल हैं, जिन पर तोता और प्रस्तुतकर्ता फिर चर्चा करते हैं।


Sabrina Moss's friend Sabrina Gachette 'can't accept' shooting

Summary: Almost a year after Sabrina Moss became the innocent victim of a gang feud in north London , her friend Sabrina Gachette gives her account of how her friend died and how she overcame fear to help convict her killers.

"There was nothing out of the ordinary... that could have warned us about what was to happen. We were just talking... then out of nowhere I just felt this weight on my back. "I heard her [Ms Moss] say that she'd been shot in her heart. That's the last thing I ever remember her saying." Caught in the crossfire of gang warfare, Sabrina Moss was celebrating her 24th birthday when she was fatally shot with a Mac-10 sub-machine gun as she sheltered from rain under a shop awning on Messina Avenue, Kilburn, in the early hours of 24 August 2013. The bullet was fired "without warning" and travelled through her arm, piercing her heart. Her friend, Ms Gachette, now 25, was also hit by 50 shotgun pellets in the back. Both women were taken to hospital where Ms Moss died, but Ms Gachette underwent surgery for serious injuries to her bowel, liver and back. "A lot of the doctors would look at me... and say 'wow, you shouldn't be here, with the injuries that you sustained'," she said. "Some people referred to it as being a miracle. "It's only recently being in court and hearing it I've realised just how close to death I actually was." During the court case details of the hours leading up to the attack were revealed. Yassin James, 19, and Hassan Hussain, 29, had tracked their prey throughout the night and convinced Martell Warren, 22, to drive them to and from the shooting location, although he claimed he thought he was taking them to a drugs deal. James and Hussain planned to shoot Edson Da'Silva, a member of the South Kilburn Gang, and Mahad Ahmed, but opened fire when they had merged with about 13 others under the shop awning. All three have been convicted of Ms Moss's murder. "It is scary to think that you're just out minding your own business and someone could just creep up behind you and do something like that," said Ms Gachette. "They don't know you. You know for sure that you don't know them." The 10-week trial at the Old Bailey saw Ms Gachette face the killers in the dock. She said: "I was really, really afraid.... [but] I plucked up the courage to stand up in front of them and give evidence. At first it was hard and of course emotional at times, but it was something that I had to do for myself and for Sabrina. "It's been done for the wider community, it's been done for society. They're violent people that have been taken of off our streets." Since the shooting Ms Gachette said she had tried not to think about the people behind it. "Trying to work out the reasons why they did it, it's only going to frustrate me and it's only going to make me angry and those aren't things I want to be," she said. "They've done what they've done, if they choose to own up to it that's their decision, if they don't they have to deal with it." Asked whether her "fun and loving friend" was often in her thoughts, she replied: "I'd say no". "Maybe I don't think about her because there's so much that comes with what has happened and it's really difficult to accept."

उत्तरी लंदन में सबरीना मॉस के एक गिरोह के झगड़े का निर्दोष शिकार होने के लगभग एक साल बाद, उसकी दोस्त सबरीना गेचेट उसे बताती है कि कैसे उसकी दोस्त की मृत्यु हो गई और कैसे उसने अपने हत्यारों को दोषी ठहराने में मदद करने के लिए डर पर काबू पाया।


Piglet rustlers in Cavenham make off with 102 animals

Summary: More than 100 piglets thought to be worth about £3,000 have been stolen from a farm in Suffolk.

Witnesses reported hearing the animals squealing as they were taken from a farm near The Street in Cavenham on Wednesday afternoon. Two men were seen taking the 102 piglets from a pen and loading them into a green trailer pulled by a 4x4 vehicle, Suffolk Police said. The National Farmers Union said an average piglet was worth about £30.

सफ़ोक के एक खेत से लगभग £3,000 मूल्य के 100 से अधिक सूअर के बच्चे चोरी हो गए हैं।


Teen charged with murder over Batley street fight stabbing

Summary: A teenager has become the fourth person charged with murdering a man who was stabbed to death in a street fight.

Bradley Gledhill, 20, from Heckmondwike, died after the attack in Park Croft, Batley, on Sunday. The 17-year-old boy has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder and is due to appear before Leeds Magistrates' Court later. Three other men have previously appeared in court charged with Mr Gledhill's murder. Another man, aged 22, is also being held on suspicion of murder, police said. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.

एक किशोर चौथा व्यक्ति बन गया है जिस पर एक व्यक्ति की हत्या का आरोप है जिसे सड़क पर लड़ाई में चाकू मारकर मार दिया गया था।


The rise and rise of fake news

Summary: The deliberate making up of news stories to fool or entertain is nothing new. But the arrival of social media has meant real and fictional stories are now presented in such a similar way that it can sometimes be difficult to tell the two apart.

By BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why While the internet has enabled the sharing of knowledge in ways that previous generations could only have dreamed of, it has also provided ample proof of the line, often attributed to Winston Churchill, that "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on". So with research suggesting an increasing proportion of US adults are getting their news from social media, it's likely that more and more of us are seeing - and believing - information that is not just inaccurate, but totally made up. There are hundreds of fake news websites out there, from those which deliberately imitate real life newspapers, to government propaganda sites, and even those which tread the line between satire and plain misinformation. One of them is The National Report which advertises itself as "America's Number 1 Independent News Source", and which was set up by Allen Montgomery (not his real name). "There are times when it feels like a drug," Montgomery told BBC Trending. "There are highs that you get from watching traffic spikes and kind of baiting people into the story. I just find it to be a lot of fun." One of The National Report's biggest ever stories was a scare about a US town being cordoned off with a deadly disease, and as Montgomery explains they've mastered the art of getting people to read and share their fake news offering. "Obviously the headline is key, and the domain name itself is very much a part of the formula - you need to have a fake news site that looks legitimate as can be," Montgomery says. "Beyond the headline and the first couple of paragraphs people totally stop reading, so as long as the first two or three paragraphs sound like legitimate news then you can do whatever you want at the end of the story and make it ridiculous." But why go to such trouble? The answer is there is big money to be made from sites by The National Report which host web advertising, and these potentially huge rewards entice website owners to move away from funny satirical jokes and towards more believable content because it is likely to be more widely shared. "We've had stories that have made $10,000 (about £8,100). When we really tap in to something and get it to go big then we're talking about in the thousands of dollars that are made per story," Montgomery says. But how much should be worried by fooled by sites that set out to get fake news stories up and running? Brooke Binkowski from Snopes, one of the largest fact checking websites which fights online misinformation, believes that while individual fake news stories may not be dangerous their potential to cause damage becomes more powerful over time and when considered in the aggregate. "There's a lot of confirmation bias," she says. "A lot of people want proof that their world view is the accurate and appropriate one." And that idea of reinforcing people's beliefs and falsely confirming their prejudices is something that Allen Montgomery says his fake news site actively tries to exploit. "We're constantly trying to tune into feelings that we think that people already have or want to have," he says. "Recently we did a story about Hillary Clinton being fed the answers prior to the debate. There was already some low level chatter about that having happened - it was all fake - but that sort of headline gets into the right wing bubble and they run with it." Buzzfeed's Craig Silverman, who heads a team looking into the effects of fake news, explains just how easily fake news can end up being reported as true by the mainstream media. "A fake news website might publish a hoax, then because it's getting social attention another site might pick it up, write that story as though it's true and may not link back to the original fake news website," Silverman says. "From there it's a chain reaction until at some point a journalist at a largely credible outlet might see it and quickly write something up, because many journalists are trying to write as many stories as possible and write stories that get traffic and social attention. The incentive is towards producing more and checking less." And as Anthony Adornato, assistant Professor of Journalism at Ithaca College in New York explains journalists are not only under increasing pressure but in many cases are also not being given sufficient guidance on how to properly verify stories. "The policies in newsrooms haven't caught up with the practice," Adornato says. "Its commonplace that news outlets are relying on content that folks have shared, but not every newsroom has a policy regarding how to verify and authenticate this information." A recent study of local TV stations in the US conducted by Adornato revealed that that nearly 40% of their editorial policies did not include any guidelines on how to verify information from social media, yet news managers at the TV stations admitted that at least a third of their news bulletins had reported information from social media that later was revealed to be false or inaccurate. So with the fake news floodgates now wide open, has the battle to contain it already been lost? Allen Montgomery says Facebook has taken steps to reduce the impact of fake sites like his own. "We were specifically targeted by the Facebook changes in their news feed algorithm. They've drowned out our stories from being shared and from being liked, and I have no doubt that they are doing the same to other fake news sites. Really though, if there's money to be made - and there is - you just have to get more creative." Montgomery says he now has nine fake news sites around which he moves content to try to beat Facebook censoring. So if fake news sites aren't going away, Buzzfeed's Craig Silverman says that more needs to be done to ensure that people aren't duped by them. "Journalists need to get training so that they can quickly spot fakes, and people in school should learn how to read things critically online - they should learn how to research and check multiple sources online." Listen to a special edition of BBC Trending on fake news on the BBC World Service. You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

मूर्ख बनाने या मनोरंजन के लिए जानबूझकर खबरें बनाना कोई नई बात नहीं है। लेकिन सोशल मीडिया के आने का मतलब है कि वास्तविक और काल्पनिक कहानियों को अब इस तरह से प्रस्तुत किया जाता है कि कभी-कभी दोनों को अलग करना मुश्किल हो सकता है।


St Edmund Primary School fire: Blaze breaks out in roof

Summary: A large fire has broken out at a school in Maidenhead, with plumes of smoke visible over parts of the town.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the blaze at St Edmund Campion RC Primary School in Altwood Road at about 08:50 BST. A spokesman said the fire in the roof had been put out with one crew still at the school checking for hotspots. The fire service said no-one was injured and the cause of the fire was being investigated. Residents living nearby were urged to close doors and windows as smoke spread across the area.

मेडनहेड के एक स्कूल में भीषण आग लग गई है और शहर के कुछ हिस्सों में धुएं के गुबार दिखाई दे रहे हैं।