The big science and environment stories of 2019

Summary: This year, millions of people around the world mobilised in protest to highlight the dire emergency facing our planet. Could 2019 prove to be the year when talk turned to action on the climate crisis? We looked back at some of the biggest stories of the year in science and the environment.

By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website The year the world woke up? In 2019, the reaction to the ongoing climate crisis switched up another gear. Inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, the climate strike movement exploded this year. Millions took part in mass protests during the course of the year in countries as diverse as Australia, Uganda, Colombia, Japan, Germany and the UK. Greta chose to make a statement when she sailed - rather than flew - to a UN climate meeting in New York. Summing up the trajectory for many who have joined popular climate movements, she told chief environment correspondent Justin Rowlatt: "I felt like I was the only one who cared about the climate and ecological crisis... it makes me feel good that I'm not alone in this fight." The UK's Extinction Rebellion (XR) was making its point through non-violent direct action in 2019. The group, which aims to compel government action on climate change, occupied five prominent sites across central London in April 2019. Notably, they parked a pink boat in the middle of busy Oxford Circus bearing the phrase "Tell the Truth". This year also saw the UK's Parliament - along with individual councils around the country - declare a climate emergency, granting what had been one of XR's key demands. But there were also setbacks to political efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The US - one of the world's top emitters - began the process of pulling out of the Paris Agreement. This deal was conceived in 2015 with the intention of keeping the global average temperature to below 2C. President Donald Trump said the pact was bad for the US economy and jobs. This year's UN climate meeting - COP25 - ended in a deal many described as disappointing. The result means that the onus now falls on the UK to resolve many of the most challenging questions at COP26 in Glasgow in 2020. 'Ring of fire' In April, astronomers released the much anticipated first image of a black hole. This is a region of space from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The picture was taken by a network of eight telescopes across the world and shows what was described as "the heavyweight champion of black holes". The 40 billion km-wide, spacetime-warping monster features an intense halo, or "ring of fire", around the black hole caused by superheated gas falling in. The image caused a sensation and raised the profile of one computer scientist working on the project. 29-year-old Dr Katie Bouman helped develop an algorithm that allowed the image to be created. A picture of her with hands clasped over her mouth, barely containing her excitement at the astronomical picture on her laptop, quickly went viral. But her fame led to trolling, with some accusing her of hogging credit for a male colleague's work. That team member, Dr Andrew Chael, quickly came to her defence. In an interview for the BBC 100 Women series, Dr Bouman said: "At first I was really taken aback by it. But... I do think it is important that we highlight the women in these roles." Land and oceans under threat Two major reports from the UN's climate science body revealed in sharp relief the extent to which humanity is ravaging Earth's land surface and her oceans. The first of these documents from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that we must stop abusing the land if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided. The report outlined how our actions were degrading soils, expanding deserts, flattening forests and driving other species to the brink of extinction. Scientists involved in the UN process also explained that switching to a plant-based diet could help combat climate change. The second report, dealing with the world's oceans and frozen regions, detailed how waters are rising, ice is melting and species are being forced to move. As co-ordinating lead author Dr Jean-Pierre Gattuso said, "The blue planet is in serious danger right now, suffering many insults from many different directions and it's our fault." The authors believe that the changes we've set in motion are coming back to haunt us. Sea level rise will have profound consequences for low-lying coastal areas where almost 700 million people live. Far-out fly-by On 1 January, Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft made the most distant ever exploration of a Solar System object. Launched all the way back in 2006, it performed its primary task - a flyby study of the Pluto system - in 2015. But with plenty of gas still in the tank, mission scientists directed the spacecraft towards a new target, an object called 2014 MU 69. MU 69, later dubbed Ultima Thule, and more recently Arrokoth, may be fairly typical of the primitive, icy objects occupying a distant zone of our Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. There are hundreds of thousands of objects out there like it, and their frigid state holds clues to how all planetary bodies came into being some 4.6 billion years ago. Earlier this year, scientists presented details of what they had found at a major conference in Houston. They had determined that Arrokoth's two lobes formed when distinct objects collided at just 2-3m/s, about the speed you would run into a wall, according to team member Kirby Runyon. Greenland's record melt In September, former UK chief scientist Sir David King said he was scared by the faster-than-expected pace of climate-related changes. One of the most shocking examples this year of the extreme events Sir David spoke of was surely the record ice melt in Greenland. In June, temperatures soared well above normal levels in the Danish territory, causing about half its ice sheet surface to experience some melting. As David Shukman reported on his trip to the region, during 2019 alone, it lost enough ice to raise the average global sea level by more than a millimetre. Underlining the rapid nature of the change, he returned to a glacier he had filmed in 2004 to find that it had thinned by as much as 100m over the period. Greenland's ice sheet stores so much frozen water that if the whole of it melted, it would raise sea levels worldwide by up to 7m. Although that would take hundreds or thousands of years, polar scientists told the American Geophysical Union meeting in December that Greenland was losing its ice seven times faster than in the 1990s. Prof Andy Shepherd, of Leeds University, said: "The simple formula is that around the planet, six million people are brought into a flooding situation for every centimetre of sea-level rise." Rocks from space While civilisation-threatening asteroids are a staple of the movies, the probability of a sizeable space rock hitting our planet is very low. But as the dinosaurs found out, the risk does increase with time. Some 19,000 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are being monitored, but many lurk undetected by telescopes, so there is always potential for a bolt-from-the-blue. In March, Nasa scientists told the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) that a big fireball had exploded in Earth's atmosphere at the end of 2018. The space rock barrelled in without warning and detonated with 10 times the energy released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Luckily, the rock blew up over the sea off Russia's remote Kamchatka Peninsula. But an outburst that size could have had serious consequences had it occurred nearer the ground, over a densely populated area. Then in July, an asteroid the size of a football field buzzed Earth, coming within 65,000km of our planet's surface - about a fifth the distance to the Moon. The 100m-wide rock was detected just days before it passed Earth. Meanwhile, two robotic spacecraft have been examining different NEAs close-up. Scientists working on Japan's Hayabusa mission reported that their asteroid, Ryugu, was made of rubble blasted off a bigger object. And the US Osiris-Rex spacecraft detected plumes of particles erupting from the surface of its target, Bennu. 'Dirty secret' boosts warming The gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) isn't a household name. But as the most powerful greenhouse gas known to science, it could play an increasingly important role in discussions about climate change. As environment correspondent Matt McGrath reported in September, levels are on the rise as an unintended consequence of the boom in green energy. The cheap, non-flammable gas is used to prevent short circuits and fires in electrical switches and circuit breakers known collectively as "switchgear". As more wind turbines are built around the world, more of these electrical safety devices are being installed. The vast majority use SF6. Although overall atmospheric concentrations are small for now, the global installed base of SF6 is expected to grow by 75% by 2030. Worryingly, there's no natural mechanism that destroys or absorbs the gas once it's been released. Reigning supreme Quantum computers hold huge promise. The "classical" machines we use today compute in much the same way as we do by hand. Quantum computers promise faster speeds and the ability to solve problems that are beyond even the most powerful conventional types. But scientists have struggled to build devices with enough units of information (quantum bits) to make them competitive with classical computers. A quantum machine had not surpassed a conventional one until this year. In October, Google announced that its advanced quantum processor, Sycamore, had achieved "quantum supremacy" for the first time. Researchers said it had performed a specific task in 200 seconds that would take the world's best supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. IBM, which has been working on quantum computers of its own, questioned some of Google's figures. But the achievement represents an important step towards fulfilling some of the predictions made for these machines. Follow Paul on Twitter. .

इस वर्ष, दुनिया भर में लाखों लोगों ने हमारे ग्रह के सामने आने वाले गंभीर आपातकाल को उजागर करने के लिए विरोध में जुट गए। क्या 2019 वह वर्ष साबित हो सकता है जब जलवायु संकट पर बातचीत कार्रवाई में बदल गई? हमने विज्ञान और पर्यावरण में वर्ष की कुछ सबसे बड़ी कहानियों को पीछे मुड़कर देखा।


Woman charged over 'seagull walking' in York

Summary: A woman has been charged with animal cruelty offences after being seen walking a seagull on a lead.

Police found the woman walking the bird in Parliament Street in York on 28 June. The injured bird had to be put down. The 44-year-old, of no fixed address, has been charged with taking a wild bird and injuring a wild bird. She is also charged with using abusive and threatening behaviour and is due to appear before magistrates on 14 July. Read more about this and other stories from across Yorkshire

सीगल को सीगल पर चलते हुए देखने के बाद एक महिला पर पशु क्रूरता के अपराध का आरोप लगाया गया है।


Bijan Ebrahimi murder: Police in court on misconduct charges

Summary: Three police officers and a PCSO facing misconduct in public office charges over how they dealt with a man murdered in Bristol have appeared in court.

Bijan Ebrahimi, who was wrongly branded a paedophile, was beaten to death and his body set on fire in July 2013. He had made several calls to Avon and Somerset Police. PCs Kevin Duffy, Helen Harris and Leanne Winter and PCSO Andrew Passmore appeared at Bristol Crown Court. They are next due in court on 29 May. Andrew Passmore is also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, and a provisional trial date of 9 November has been set for all four defendants. Lee James, 24, of Capgrave Crescent, who admitted Mr Ebrahimi's murder, was jailed for a minimum of 18 years in November 2013. Stephen Norley, 25 and also of Capgrave Crescent, admitted assisting an offender and was jailed for four years.

तीन पुलिस अधिकारी और एक पी. सी. एस. ओ. ब्रिस्टल में मारे गए एक व्यक्ति से निपटने के तरीके को लेकर सार्वजनिक कार्यालय के आरोपों में कदाचार का सामना कर रहे हैं।


Appeal after rabbit found in plastic bag in ditch in Mintlaw

Summary: A rabbit found in a plastic bag in a ditch in Aberdeenshire has been rescued.

The mini lop rabbit was discovered in the Mintlaw area on Tuesday. Graeme Innes, manager of the Scottish SPCA's animal rescue and rehoming centre in Aberdeen, said: "It's very lucky a member of the public found this rabbit." The rabbit - which has been named Bernie - had an identification ring but part of the code was illegible. The charity is appealing for information.

एबरडीनशायर में एक खाई में प्लास्टिक की थैली में पाए गए खरगोश को बचा लिया गया है।


More disability Games than ever before

Summary: One year since the London 2012 event started, and we've just enjoyed a weekend's worth of Olympic and Paralympic action to commemorate the games we're all pleased we contributed our tax pounds to .

By Damon Rose BBC News, Ouch Jonnie Peacock, the amputee sprinter who lit up the beloved stadium with a charismatic gold win on what they called Thrilling Thursday last summer, came third in the 100m sprint on Sunday - even though he beat the time he achieved to win the gold last year. The (alternative) sporting summer isn't over, though. Perhaps hoping to bask in the afterglow of London 2012 there are three other significant disability events awaiting us and they're not linked to the Paralympics. Underway right now is the Deaflympic Games in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. They're proud to say the event has a longer history than the now much bigger and richer Paralympics. It's the 22nd Deaflympics. The first was in 1924, which means it pre-dates the Paralympics by 24 years. It also boasts more athletes - upwards of 4,600, compared to the London Paralympics total of 4,300. It has 18 events. The opening ceremony on Friday featured a traditional flame-lighting ceremony, a parade of athletes from the competing nations, along with Bulgarian music and dance. On hearing deaf people have their own Games, a common response is silence, followed by, "But aren't they as physically able as the Olympians? What's the point of a separate event?" Deaf people will tell you that it's all about differences in communication. Success isn't just born of one athlete, it's also due to the hard work of the team surrounding the superstar. It is networking and communication that builds teams, something in which deaf athletes are less able to partake if surrounded by people who can't communicate in sign language, for instance. Sporting success is likely to be lower until communication and language difficulties are solved. If you were a spectator you'd notice that starting guns are replaced by a traffic light system and referees use flags to communicate. Underway from 3 August is the World Dwarf Games, held this year at Michigan State University, US. As the name suggests, the competitors are all people of restricted growth, but to reflect the name of the games, I'm going to stick with using the "D" word for the purposes of this article, language fans. There are fewer athletes registered for this event - just 400, in fact. Unlike deaf athletes, dwarfs do compete in the Paralympics. 2012 made stars of Team GB's Ellie Simmonds, and power lifter Zoe Newson. In the Paras, they inhabit a category called Les Autres (The others, in French) where less easily definable people go. There are 14 events at the Dwarf Games which include old disability mainstays like archery, table tennis and boccia, plus swimming, soccer and more. Athletes from across the world take part. I was temporarily thrown when I read that one of the events is called the flippy flyer tennis ball throw. For a moment, It felt like the respectability boundary may have been transgressed and my pantomime sensors started to kick in - until I saw it was for children. Lastly, and back to the UK for this one, in late August it's the Special Olympics National Summer Games. 1,700 athletes from England, Scotland and Wales will compete in Bath. All athletes have a learning impairment, meaning they're below 75 on the IQ scale. The Games are described on the website as "a grassroots sports programme only for athletes with intellectual disabilities, of all abilities and ages." Two percent of the population have a learning disability, one in three of those are considered obese. The Special Olympics training and competitions promote self esteem, and good physical and mental health. Competitors with the greatest ability may progress on to the Paralympics which has a class for athletes with intellectual disabilities. At London 2012 the events they featured in were swimming, athletics and table tennis. The opening ceremony of the National Summer Games is on 28 August at the famous Royal Crescent and most events will take place at the University of Bath. The next Special Olympics World Summer Games are in Los Angeles in 2015. You can follow Ouch on Twitter and on Facebook, and listen to our monthly talk show

लंदन 2012 का आयोजन शुरू होने के एक साल बाद, और हमने उन खेलों को याद करने के लिए ओलंपिक और पैरालंपिक कार्रवाई के सप्ताहांत का आनंद लिया है जिनसे हम सभी खुश हैं कि हमने अपने कर पाउंड का योगदान दिया है।


Extra £19m funding for Bristol primary school places

Summary: A further £19m is to be spent on creating primary school places in Bristol, it has been announced.

The government has confirmed the award for the 2012-13 financial year. Last month, it was announced that the city would get £18.3m of government "emergency funding" to pay for extra places. The council says Bristol has seen one of the biggest rises in the school population in England. There has been a 20% rise in the number of children starting primary school over the past four years in the city, the spokeswoman said. Bristol City Council has forecast an extra 3,000 children in primary schools by 2015 and with planned housing, a possible increase of 5,000.

ब्रिस्टल में प्राथमिक विद्यालय स्थल बनाने पर और 19 मिलियन पाउंड खर्च किए जाने की घोषणा की गई है।


Man arrested after fatal Banbury lorry crash

Summary: A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving in Oxfordshire.

Thames Valley Police said the accident happened at 04:35 BST in Banbury on Beaumont Road, at its junction with Southam Road. A man was declared dead at the scene after his vehicle was involved in a collision with a lorry. The road remains closed at the junction with Southam Road while officers investigate.

ऑक्सफोर्डशायर में लापरवाही से गाड़ी चलाकर मौत के संदेह में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।


Rolls-Royce invests £30m in new Washington aerospace facility

Summary: Rolls-Royce is to invest more than £30m on a new facility in Washington to manufacture discs for aircraft engines.

The plant, which is expected to open by 2018, will sit alongside its existing manufacturing facility in the town which opened in June 2014. The move marks the final part of a modernisation plan which will see its Sunderland site close in 2019 after more than 60 years. A spokesman said it shows its will to develop innovative technology. The 8,000m² facility will manufacture more than 1,500 fan and turbine discs a year.

रोल्स-रॉयस विमान इंजनों के लिए डिस्क बनाने के लिए वाशिंगटन में एक नई सुविधा पर 30 मिलियन पाउंड से अधिक का निवेश करेगी।


A cancer patient's decision to die

Summary: Brittany Maynard says 1 November is the day she will die.

By Anthony ZurcherEditor, Echo Chambers The 29-year-old was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in January, after suffering from debilitating headaches for more than a year. Following months of treatment, and a progressively worsening prognosis, Ms Maynard decided she had to change course. "After months of research, my family and I reached a heartbreaking conclusion: there is no treatment that would save my life, and the recommended treatments would have destroyed the time I had left," she writes in an opinion piece for CNN.com. She adds that as her cancer progresses, it could lead to excruciating pain, despite the strongest palliative medication. "I could develop potentially morphine-resistant pain and suffer personality changes and verbal, cognitive and motor loss of virtually any kind," she writes. "Because the rest of my body is young and healthy, I am likely to physically hang on for a long time even though cancer is eating my mind. I probably would have suffered in hospice care for weeks or even months. And my family would have had to watch that." She and her husband moved from California to Oregon, one of five US states where physician-assisted suicide is permissible. Once she had established residency and proved that she had less than six months to live, she obtained a prescription for life-ending medication. She says she plans on using it on 1 November, two days after her husband's birthday. Ms Maynard has shared her story with Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organisation advocating the passage of euthanasia laws, and began a media campaign, including a YouTube video in which she and her family explain her situation. At one point in the video, Ms Maynard reaches in to her purse and removes two prescription bottles, presumably for life-ending drugs. "I know that it's there when I need it," she says. The video has been viewed more than 5.6 million times. She says that she feels relief knowing that she has the option to die "on my own terms" - and wants others in her situation to have the same options. Ms Maynard's campaign has once again stirred debate over the morality of physician-assisted suicide and its prospects for further legalisation in the US. "Maynard may not go through with her plans on 1 November (statistically, most of those who get end-of-life prescriptions don't use them, though nearly all report feeling peace of mind with the pills in hand)," writes Meghan Dawn in the Los Angeles Times. "But because she shared her decision, all of it, with the world, her legacy will be a crucial contribution to the conversation about how we live - and end - our lives." Bioethicist Arthur L Caplan says that Ms Maynard's story has the potential to change the way many people - particularly younger Americans - view the issue. "A whole new generation is now looking at Brittany and wondering why their state does not permit physicians to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to the dying," he writes for NBC News. "Brittany is having and will have a big impact on the movement to get measures before voters or legislators." The ground on which the physician-assisted suicide debate rests could quickly shift, he says, much as it did on the gay marriage. Matt Walsh, writing in the Blaze, agrees that Ms Maynard is "a very compelling spokeswoman for suicide". He says, however, that he is concerned by the almost universal praise she has received in the press and social media for her bravery and poise. "I am terrified to think that my children will grow up in a culture that openly venerates suicide with this much unyielding passion," he writes. "If you are saying that it is dignified and brave for a cancer patient to kill themselves, what are you saying about cancer patients who don't?" Several people with terminal diagnoses have also come forward to offer a critical take on Ms Maynard's decision. "The hardest part of a terminal diagnosis is not knowing the timeline," writes Maggie Karner, who has also been diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer. She says, however, that public policy on physician-assisted suicide shouldn't be centred around "hard" cases like hers and Ms Maynard's. The power of life and death should remain in God's hands, she writes. "Death sucks," she says. "And while this leads many to attempt to calm their fears by grasping for personal control over the situation, as a Christian with a Savior who loves me dearly and who has redeemed me from a dying world, I have a higher calling. God wants me to be comfortable in my dependence on Him and others, to live with Him in peace and comfort no matter what comes my way." Kara Tippetts, who has written a book and blogged about her experience with terminal breast cancer, penned an open letter to Maynard in which she asks her to reconsider her decision. "Suffering is not the absence of goodness, it is not the absence of beauty, but perhaps it can be the place where true beauty can be known," she writes. "You have been told a lie. A horrible lie, that your dying will not be beautiful. That the suffering will be too great." She says that doctors who prescribe life-ending medication "walk away from the Hippocratic oath that says 'first, do no harm'." She concludes: "I get to partner with my doctor in my dying, and it's going to be a beautiful and painful journey for us all. But, hear me - it is not a mistake - beauty will meet us in that last breath." Under Oregon's 1997 Death with Dignity Act, 1,173 people have requested prescriptions for life-ending drugs, and 752 have used them, according to state records. Ms Maynard says she plans to record video testimony for the California legislature, which is considering a similar physician-assisted suicide law. If events transpire as planned, her message to the lawmakers likely will be delivered posthumously.

ब्रिटनी मेनार्ड का कहना है कि 1 नवंबर वह दिन है जब वह मर जाएगी।


Trump impeachment inquiry: Three Republican claims fact-checked

Summary: President Trump and his Republican supporters are fighting hard to control the narrative of the ongoing impeachment hearings, hitting back with their own allegations against Democrats and the whistleblower at the origin of the affair.

By Jonah Fisher in Kyiv & Reality Check teamBBC News They're also questioning the actions of Ukrainian politicians, as well as pushing for greater scrutiny of allegations that Joe Biden and his son Hunter were up to no good in Ukraine. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the committee holding the impeachment hearings, made three specific claims in his opening statement on Tuesday. So what are these allegations and how valid are they? The whistleblower has links to the Democrats Mr Trump's supporters have accused the whistleblower of links to the Democratic Party, and say individual Democrats met the whistleblower and knew the details before the official complaint was made. The whistleblower did contact a staff member of the US House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, before officially filing the complaint. The staff member who met the whistleblower advised them to get a lawyer and follow the formal process for lodging a complaint. A spokesman for Mr Schiff suggested that this was not unusual as in the past, other whistleblowers had contacted both Republican and Democratic-controlled committees. There is official guidance for how Congress should respond when approached by whistleblowers, suggesting it's quite normal for them to receive these complaints directly. Mr Schiff denies allegations that he met the whistleblower, and recently said he didn't even know who they were. As for allegations of prior links to the Democratic Party, a lawyer representing the anonymous whistleblower says they never worked for or advised any political party, candidate or campaign. In considering these possible links, the top official in charge of dealing with complaints within the intelligence community had examined "indications of arguable political bias" on the part of the whistleblower, but had concluded the complaint about the president was still credible. Ukraine interfered in the 2016 US election At the core of these allegations by Mr Trump's supporters is that the Democrats were helped by individuals in Ukraine or with Ukrainian connections to undermine the Trump campaign. There are several key elements in this. The first concerns the so-called "Black Ledger" document that emerged in Ukraine appearing to show that Mr Trump's now jailed former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, received undeclared payments from a Ukrainian pro-Russian political party. President Trump's supporters suggest this document was a fake and that it was deliberately leaked by a Ukrainian journalist turned politician, Sergei Leschenko, who hated Mr Trump. The problem is that the sections released by Mr Leschenko did not refer to Paul Manafort at all. The material related to Mr Manafort was made public by an official Ukrainian anti-corruption body. And more than three years since it emerged, no one has managed to cast serious doubt on its contents. Secondly, there is the role of a former part-time Democratic National Committee (DNC) consultant called Alexandra Chalupa, who is of Ukrainian heritage. She figured prominently in a controversial report by the US website Politico which alleged that Ms Chalupa approached Ukrainian diplomats in Washington to dig dirt on Mr Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort. The article documents communication between Ms Chalupa and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington and her efforts to find information that would suggest a Russian link to Mr Trump and Paul Manafort. The DNC and Ms Chalupa have repeatedly said her outreach to the Ukrainian embassy was on her own initiative, and there is no evidence that any relevant information was ever provided. The Ukrainian embassy says it "refused to get involved in any way." It's true to an extent that in 2016, leading Ukrainian politicians preferred Hillary Clinton to win the presidency given the conflict with Russia in eastern Ukraine, and worries that Mr Trump was re-thinking ties with Moscow. In July 2016, Mr Trump made comments suggesting he would consider recognising Russia's annexation of Crimea, which most Ukrainians and most of the world considers illegal. The then Ukrainian ambassador in the US, Valeriy Chaly, wrote an opinion piece criticising Mr Trump. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called Mr Trump's remarks "shameful." But the idea there was concerted Ukrainian interference has been largely debunked, and the State Department's expert on Ukraine, George Kent, said during the impeachment hearing that the theory had "no factual basis." The Bidens were up to no good in Ukraine During the Obama administration, Vice-President Joe Biden was the administration's point man for Ukraine and his son Hunter was a well-paid director at one of Ukraine's largest energy companies, Burisma. President Trump's supporters believe that Mr Biden called for Ukraine's leading prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, to be sacked because he was scrutinising his son's company. It's certainly true that Mr Biden wanted the prosecutor to be sacked, but he wasn't alone. There was near unanimity among international institutions, Western countries and local anti-corruption activists at the time that he had to go. It's technically true to say the sacked prosecutor was looking at Burisma amongst cases he'd inherited from his predecessor, but like so many in Ukraine it was not being actively pursued. So what was Hunter Biden doing for his widely reported $50,000 a month fee? He had no experience either in the gas sector nor Ukraine when he joined Burisma in 2014 and has said he was probably recruited for his name and that it had been "poor judgement" to accept. We also know that George Kent, the senior state department official, had raised concerns at the time with Joe Biden's office about Hunter Biden taking on this role, that it could appear to be a conflict of interest. But in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world it's fairly common for well-known public figures to be given well-paid positions to improve the public image of a controversial company. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions Follow us on Twitter

राष्ट्रपति ट्रम्प और उनके रिपब्लिकन समर्थक चल रहे महाभियोग की सुनवाई के आख्यान को नियंत्रित करने के लिए कड़ी लड़ाई लड़ रहे हैं, डेमोक्रेट और मामले की उत्पत्ति पर व्हिसलब्लोअर के खिलाफ अपने स्वयं के आरोपों के साथ पलटवार कर रहे हैं।


Amesbury poisoning: Russia media say UK spoiling World Cup

Summary: As after the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in March, Russia's pro-Kremlin media have responded to the latest incident in Amesbury by spreading conspiracy theories apparently designed to deflect blame from Russia

By BBC MonitoringThe world through its media The overall gist of primetime state TV news reports is that Amesbury poisoning could be a ploy to tarnish Russia's image in the West, particularly at a time when - they argue - it has been boosted by its hosting of the World Cup. They also point out that it is a time of intense diplomatic activity involving US President Donald Trump in the run-up to his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. "Coincidentally or not," a correspondent on state-run Rossiya 1 said, the poisoning in Amesbury took place "right before" a Nato summit and Donald Trump's visit to Britain. Over on Channel One, a London-based Russian pundit said the incident had come as Theresa May's cabinet was facing "huge problems". In addition to a "failed" Brexit and a "failed" economy, she is dealing with the uncertainty over Mr Trump's visit and the Nato summit, he said. He added that all this comes amid "concerns" in the West about what Mr Trump may agree with Mr Putin. Illegal drugs Russian TV also suggests that the Amesbury couple could have poisoned themselves with illegal drugs they had procured. According to an NTV correspondent, drug poisoning is "a more realistic and simple account of what has happened". She spoke to a local man who was voiced over as saying that "just about everyone around here takes drugs - we think they simply got a contaminated batch". Russian chemical weapons expert Anton Utkin told Rossiya 1's "60 Minutes" programme that both the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and the incident in Amesbury "could somehow be linked with some sort of narcotics". 'Director of Darkness' News website Gazeta.ru speaks of a plot by a "theatre director of darkness" to smear Russia at a "suspiciously convenient time" - in the middle of a World Cup that is "disproving many of the Western press's scare stories". Another Channel One pundit compares Britain's behaviour to the kind of hostility towards Russia usually displayed by Ukrainian leaders. "This is pure schizophrenia, with the English beginning to imitate Kiev, who see the hand of Moscow when it rains," he said. 'Inhumane experiments' Another common line is to suggest that the British government's Porton Down chemical research complex, which lies near both Salisbury and Amesbury, is somehow linked to the latest poisoning. Channel One produced a map highlighting both towns' location within a 11km (6.8mi) radius of Porton Down - a fact a Rossiya 1 presenter called "a frightening coincidence". One theory floated by pro-Kremlin media outlets says the attacks in the two towns were the work of a rogue British chemical weapons specialist. Nikolai Kovalyov, a former head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), told government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta that this could be a former Porton Down employee who "is continuing with his inhumane experiments on people". The remark refers to the fact that Port Down in the past tested nerve gas on humans. On social media, pro-Kremlin commentators have been spreading similar conspiracy theories to their counterparts on TV and news websites. Many also distorted remarks by British Home Office minister Ben Wallace to the BBC that the police are working on the assumption that the couple poisoned in Amesbury "are victims of the consequences of the previous attack or something else but not that they were directly targeted". State news agency RIA Novosti reported this as "based on London's provisional information, Russia is not complicit in the Amesbury poisoning incident. It wasn't an attack by Moscow". "British Home Office: According to London's preliminary data, Russia is not involved in the incident with the Amesbury poisoning. Wow!" prominent pro-Kremlin social media commentator Armen Gasparyan tweeted. BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

मार्च में सैलिसबरी में पूर्व जासूस सर्गेई स्क्रिपल को जहर दिए जाने के बाद, रूस के क्रेमलिन समर्थक मीडिया ने रूस से दोष हटाने के लिए साजिश के सिद्धांतों को फैलाकर एमेसबरी में नवीनतम घटना का जवाब दिया है।


Eric Garner death: Police take to internet in defence of Daniel Pantaleo

Summary: After a New York City grand jury did not indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for causing the death of Eric Garner, protesters headed to the streets, city officials went before the cameras and at least some police officers took to the internet.

By Anthony ZurcherEditor, Echo Chambers On websites catering to the law enforcement community, the mood was largely angry and defensive - reflecting a community that sees itself as under siege by an unappreciative public. On Thee Rant, a message board for New York Police Department officers, many posters expressed relief at the grand jury's decision and concern for backlash against fellow cops. Although the users are anonymous, the site attempts to limit its membership to verified law enforcement personnel. "I was afraid this was going to be payback for Ferguson," writes one. "Thankfully that wasn't the case." "To all the active cops working, be alert," says another. "Put your cellphones away, and watch each other's backs." The grand jury's decision proved that the system works, writes "Officer Joe Bolton". "You can hook up every cop in the nation with body cams, but the system, which is comprised of everyday citizens, ultimately decide the fate of all," he says. "This is our jury system, and it's not a lynch mob, it's a democratic process." Posters on PoliceOne, a national law enforcement website with restricted membership, echoed these sentiments. "Every now and then we win one," writes a poster. "Horrible situation, man lost his life, but like in the Ferguson case he controlled his own destiny." One particular point of contention in many of the messages was media descriptions of the restraining move used by Mr Pantaleo as a "chokehold". "He was not choked to death," writes officerloney. "He was taken down by the neck after refusing to comply with the lawful arrest of officers of the NYPD." Another says Mr Pantaleo was using a "lateral neck restraint" that, if done correctly, renders the "individual unconscious for a short time, enabling the officer to place handcuffs on the suspect". Garner, some asserted, died as a result of complications from pre-existing medical conditions such as his weight and asthma. Discussion also broadened to larger issues of effective policing. Many asked whether the public wants police officers to just stand by if they see a crime being committed or back down if challenged by a suspect. "I'm sorry for past issues involving race that I DIDN'T have anything to do with; but if you don't listen to what I'm telling you - like you are under arrest - then any problems from that point on are your fault!" writes Aviano25. The frustration boiled over for a number of members, who wondered why they should risk their lives for an ungrateful public. "Answer calls, take reports, TAKE YOUR PAYCHECK, and go home," one writes. "Don't be proactive; let the neighbourhood destroy itself." "Honour dictates we give eight hours of work for eight hours of pay, but it does not require we sacrifice ourselves for a community who routinely sides with the criminals," says another. "Maybe someday, the majority of the public will look up from the TV and wonder what the hell happened to the country," Aviano25 says. "Maybe they will actually want to see the laws that they passed enforced. Maybe they will want to feel safe in their communities. And if they're very lucky, there might still be a cop around that gives a damn." A number of the messages contained angry attacks on New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio, US Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama - some with overtly racist epithets. On Thursday social media erupted with anger over the tenor of these posts, with links to or images captured from the websites. Huffington Post justice reporter Ryan J Reilly, among others, tweeted the more offensive messages. New York magazine's Joe Coscarelli also covered the subject and presented choice quotes. "By no means a comprehensive view of law-enforcement feelings about the incident, the postings do provide a different - if beyond upsetting - perspective," he writes. Others were less sanguine. "I love when people periodically rediscover PoliceOne," tweets the Fix columnist and Atlantic magazine contributor Jeff Deeney. "Yes, white cops are racist right-wing culture warriors. THAT'S WHY THEY BECAME COPS." If many law enforcement officers feel embattled it's likely because the grand jury's decision in the Garner case has been almost universally condemned, on the right and the left. Even conservative Fox News panelists, many noted, were openly critical. "Let's be real about all this," NYCTPF writes on Thee Rant,. "A NYC cop's life, whether it be his physical life, his financial life, his family life or the lives of his family, mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to any of the characters in all this crap." A popular term used to describe police is that they are a "thin blue line" protecting the general public from dangerous criminals. Given the outrage in Ferguson and New York, combined with the apparent frustration on the part of some in law enforcement, that line may be growing increasingly frayed.

न्यूयॉर्क शहर के ग्रैंड जूरी द्वारा एरिक गार्नर की मौत के लिए पुलिस अधिकारी डैनियल पेंटालियो पर अभियोग नहीं लगाने के बाद, प्रदर्शनकारी सड़कों पर चले गए, शहर के अधिकारी कैमरों के सामने चले गए और कम से कम कुछ पुलिस अधिकारियों ने इंटरनेट का सहारा लिया।


Jacinda Ardern's majority may prove to be her biggest challenge

Summary: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has led the centre-left Labour Party to a historic victory and is in a position to form the first single-party majority government since 1993. But political columnist Josh Van Veen says this result is likely to be her biggest challenge.

The preliminary results suggest the largest swing to an incumbent government ever. With Labour projected to win more than 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament, Ms Ardern is now in a position to form the first single-party majority government since 1993. This is a remarkable turnaround since the beginning of the year when opinion polls suggested the election would be close. Ms Ardern's ability to make New Zealanders feel safe during a pandemic has been the main factor in her decisive victory. Before that, there was a very real perception that Ms Ardern could be a one-term prime minister as there was discontent towards her. In her first term Ms Ardern relied on support from the populist New Zealand First and the centre-left Greens to form the government. Now, with New Zealand First not making it back, and the Greens not needed for a majority, she can go it alone. Whether she will choose to is another question. Her leadership style is one that prefers compromise and consensus. She will be mindful that although the voters have given her a majority, this owes more to a quirk of the Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP) voting system - a system which asks people to vote twice, for their preferred party and for their electorate, or constituency, MP - than to her popularity . Labour has been helped by the fact that thousands of votes have been "wasted" on parties that did not gain representation. These votes are disregarded when allocating seats. In effect this means Labour has been able to secure a majority in Parliament with just under 50% of the vote. It is likely the 2020 result is an aberration, and won't lead to a permanent shift in New Zealand political culture. Come the next election, Labour may again have to depend on the Greens or another party to retain power. If she were to take a more long-term perspective, then Ms Ardern may be inclined to keep the Greens on side by offering them some role in the next government. This would head off criticism from the left. However, it remains uncertain what Ms Ardern plans to do with her second term. The Labour campaign was devoid of new ideas and light on policy. In 2017, she promised to lead "a government of transformation" but failed to deliver on that in office. In fact, child poverty and homelessness have worsened under her government. Although motivated by a belief in social justice, Ms Ardern has a conservative disposition which makes her reluctant to embrace the kind of radical policies needed to address structural inequality. Paradoxically, it is her conservative approach that persuaded many New Zealanders to vote for the Labour Party. Despite having the biggest mandate of any prime minister in recent history, she will find it extraordinarily difficult to reconcile the demands of affluent middle-class voters with those of the poor. A major issue during the campaign was the Greens' proposal for a wealth tax. Ms Ardern categorically ruled this out, frustrating her progressive supporters. For most of 2020, New Zealand was preoccupied with fighting Covid-19. Ms Ardern's success in uniting "the team of five million" - a reference to the population of the country - is a testament to her extraordinary abilities. But with the virus under control, attention is turning to other issues such as unemployment and housing affordability. Voters now expect her to address these problems. That will be no easy task. Josh Van Veen is an Auckland-based political writer and former member of NZ First, who worked as a parliamentary researcher toMinister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters from 2011 to 2013

न्यूजीलैंड की प्रधान मंत्री जैसिंडा अर्डर्न ने केंद्र-वामपंथी लेबर पार्टी को एक ऐतिहासिक जीत दिलाई है और 1993 के बाद से पहली एकल-पार्टी बहुमत सरकार बनाने की स्थिति में हैं। लेकिन राजनीतिक स्तंभकार जोश वान वीन का कहना है कि यह परिणाम उनकी सबसे बड़ी चुनौती होने की संभावना है।


Budget 2016: Osborne's economic fitness regime

Summary: The trouble with self-imposed targets is that if you break them, no one cares quite as much as you. A bit of bad weather and you don't go out for that run. One rotten day and your low-carb regime is ditched.

By Andy VerityBBC economics correspondent As with diets, so with Budgets. George Osborne's economic policy is guided by self-imposed targets which add up to "economic sanity". One is the much-trumpeted fiscal charter. The chancellor has pledged and legislated to return the Budget to surplus within four years - in other words, to spend less than his income - and keep it in surplus unless economic growth drops below 1%. A second is the promise set out in last year's Budget to have debt falling as a percentage of the economy in this financial year 2015-16, and in every year through to 2020. As long as the Budget is in deficit - in other words, we're spending more than our income - the chancellor has to borrow to make up the difference. But the plan has been to make up for that - and then some - by selling state assets such as our stakes in RBS and Lloyds. A third is the promise to keep welfare spending within strict limits. In 2014 the chancellor pledged to spend no more than £119.5bn on welfare in 2015-16, with the cap rising to £126.7bn by 2018-19. The discipline was supposed to be that if the limit were breached the chancellor must come to parliament, account for his failure to control public expenditure, and say what he would do to address it. So how's the regime working out? However strong the initial resolve may have been, it is looking distinctly sweaty now. The third self-imposed goal has been breached. The second is likely to be breached. And the first looks decidedly dicey. The chancellor can supply some understandable reasons why - which he can be expected to repeat in his Budget speech. The "dangerous cocktail" of financial risks - deflation, low global demand as exhibited by oil prices (in spite of the recent rebound) - has only become apparent recently and wasn't evident when the self-imposed goals were first announced. A stronger economy at home has been a marked contrast to weakness abroad. "It was precisely because we live in an uncertain world, because we have not abolished boom and bust as a nation, that... I need to go on explaining to the public that the difficult times aren't over," Mr Osborne warned earlier this year. Bad economic weather That uncertain world has been imposing itself. Barely noticed, the welfare cap was breached at the last Autumn Statement - largely because of the chancellor's decision to postpone his cuts to the amounts tax credit claimants could earn before the benefit was clawed back. Stormy financial markets have made the second self-imposed target vulnerable. In January Mr Osborne announced he was postponing the sale of part of Lloyds to the public. Planned sales of the taxpayer's giant stake in RBS also look difficult. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) now predicts he is unlikely to be able to boast that debt is falling as a percentage of the economy in every year through to 2020. And bad economic weather has also jeopardised his chances of eliminating the deficit on time. The chancellor is getting substantially more income than last year, with income tax, VAT and corporation tax all growing. But spending has been rising too - mainly because of all the exemptions from austerity - for state pensions, for the NHS, for schools and overseas aid. Tax receipts need to rise faster - or spending to be slashed faster - if he is to get that overspend down. The economy has enjoyed what Andrew Goodwin of Oxford Economics describes as a "sugar rush" -the equivalent of a big tax cut - or 'fiscal stimulus' - through lower petrol prices. The economy grew by 2.2% last year; 80% of that growth was down to consumer spending. "That [growth] strikes us as some distance below par given the tailwinds we have had," Mr Goodwin says. And after the sugar rush comes the sugar crash: growth is likely to be revised down in the years to come because of global economic weakness. Low inflation may mean the government will spend less on benefits, for example. But that saving will be outweighed by slower growth in taxes - notably the one linked to prices, VAT. The chancellor did his best to set a good course in the Autumn Statement - but didn't boast too much that, by imposing measures like an apprenticeship levy, stamp duty on second properties and insurance premium tax, he was raising taxes by approximately £15bn. Nevertheless, to hit the target of getting to a £10bn surplus by 2019-20, nothing must go wrong. And there are risks. Carl Emerson of the IFS points out that, if the Office for Budget Responsibility downgrades its prediction for pay rises in line with the Bank of England's latest projections, that will cost the chancellor £5bn a year because of lower income tax receipts. Falls in share prices could hit the £14bn in revenues from capital gains tax and inheritance tax. And the government's promise, so far unfunded, to raise the income tax threshold (below which you don't pay it) to £12,500, together with raising the higher rate threshold to £50,000, could remove £8bn from the public purse. Or take a simpler view. The total amount of public spending was predicted at the last Budget to be £742bn this financial year. The surplus Mr Osborne is aiming for in four years' time - £10bn - is, by comparison, inscrutably small. A tiny 1.3% shift in spending four years from now would be enough to wreck the self-imposed Budget-trimming plan. Just one more wafer thin mint, Mr Osborne?

स्वयं लगाए गए लक्ष्यों के साथ समस्या यह है कि यदि आप उन्हें तोड़ते हैं, तो कोई भी आपके जितना परवाह नहीं करता है। थोड़ा खराब मौसम और आप उस दौड़ के लिए बाहर नहीं जाते हैं। एक सड़ा हुआ दिन और आपकी लो-कार्ब व्यवस्था समाप्त हो जाती है।


'I thought maybe I would die': S Korea's delivery drivers demand change

Summary: It was an hour before sunrise, 21 hours into a shift, and Mr Kim had delivered more than 400 packages. The 36-year-old delivery driver had been working since 5am the previous day. He messaged a colleague, pleading to skip a round of parcel deliveries.

By Laura BickerBBC News, Seoul "It's too much," he wrote. "I just can't." Four days later, Mr Kim was dead. He is one of 14 workers in South Korea who union officials say died because of overwork - most of them delivery drivers. The fates of the 14 drivers can not be directly linked to overwork, but their families described the causes of death as "kwarosa" - a Korean term used for sudden death due to heart failure or a stroke as a result of extreme hard work. Drivers in South Korea are struggling to cope with the sheer volume of online orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the packages have piled up, so has the pressure. One of the drivers who died was 27-year-old Jang Deok-jin, a former Taekwondo enthusiast who had lost 15kg (33lbs) after doing 18 months of night shifts, according to his family. Deok-jin came home from a night shift earlier this month at around six in the morning and headed for a shower. His father found him dead face down in the bathtub an hour later. "We loved that boy. When he said it was such hard work we told him it was ok to stop working, but he used to tell me that he had plans for his future," his father said. "I am to blame for not discouraging him from working so hard and exploiting himself." Mr Jang's anger took him to South Korea's National Assembly. In grief he fell to his knees and begged congressmen to look at the circumstances surrounding his son's death. "It is my son who died," he said. "I am going to let the whole world know about it. I am going to get to the bottom of it." Deok-jin's case, along with others, won the attention of President Moon Jae-in, who called for an overhaul of working conditions for delivery employees, saying they had suffered some of the worst hardships under the pandemic. The pressure is particularly acute in South Korea, where home deliveries are expected in hours not days. 'We want to live' In August, South Korea's labour ministry stepped in and urged the country's major logistics companies to sign a declaration to ensure drivers got enough rest and did not have to work continuous overnight shifts. Three of the biggest firms, CJ Logistics, Coupang and Hanjin Transportation, all made public apologies over the deaths of workers. CJ Logistics said it would add more drivers and ensure all couriers were signed up for industrial accident insurance. Coupang said it was hiring more people while admitting the step was "not enough". Hanjin Transportation pledged to reduce the workload for its staff. But most contracts signed by the workers are with independent agents who act as middlemen, rather than with the company itself, leaving them outside the protection of labour law. Union leaders also said they had yet to see the promised increase in manpower at most depots. Around the developed world, delivery drivers are bearing the burden and the cost of the pandemic-induced new normal. The coronavirus has accelerated our love of internet shopping - each year, demand for delivered goods has increased by 10% in South Korea. This year, so far, it has increased by double that. No human interaction is needed when shopping online, but there are humans involved in the transaction. I visited a warehouse depot the size of an aircraft hanger on the outskirts of Seoul last week, where several hundred workers for Lotte Global Logistics were on strike demanding better pay and conditions. Their rally cry was, "We want to live". Kim Duk-yeon, 48, hadn't told his family he was on the picket line, as they knew he could not afford to go a day without pay. "Before I used to think this work was just hard, but this year especially with the increased shipping due to the coronavirus, the situation on the ground got a lot worse," he said. "As I worked more and more I thought maybe I too would die." As the union march made its way through the warehouse there was an incessant clatter from the conveyor belts which snaked around the building moving thousands of boxes and bags of all shapes and sizes. Hundreds of delivery vans were lined up in neat rows with very little space between them. The drivers have to sort their own packages before they can even get behind the wheel. Duk-yeon gets to the depot around 6.30am and can be sorting and packing for four to five hours before he gets on the road. Filling the trucks is like a giant jigsaw puzzle - fitting smaller and larger boxes into the space. No package can be left behind. Drivers there said they are paid around 800 Korean won per parcel ($0.70, £0.50), and these days they deliver around 350 packages a day. Most also have to pay for the wages of workers who bring packages down to the floor of the warehouse, and they have to pay penalties if deliveries are late or lost. The day after I visited the depot, Lotte Global Logistics settled its dispute with the unions. The company also pledged to deploy a thousand more workers to sorting stations and abolish the penalty payments. Shin Bok-sun, a 43-year-old mother of three, said she hoped one day the workload would be reduced enough that she could see her kids at night. "We are under a lot of pressure. There are customers who order groceries and call incessantly to complain that they need to make lunch or dinner with their order," she said. "If the delivery doesn't come the same day, customers will call and say, 'I need to wear this skirt to go out today. Why is it coming at midday?'" There are some small signs the deaths of delivery worker deaths is having an impact on South Korean shoppers. In the windows of some apartments you can see notes which read, "Dear deliveryman, it's okay to be late". In my apartment block, people have started to meet our delivery man with hot coffee and some breakfast. And hashtags like #it_is_ok_to_be_late, #Thankyoudeliverymen and #weneedtostopthedeathofdeliverymen have trended on social media. The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be with us for some time, and may have altered our shopping habits in the long term. These small signs of appreciation for the delivery drivers may not substantially change the demands placed on them but the gestures are welcomed by drivers as they prepare for the long shift ahead. You may also be interested in...

सूर्योदय से एक घंटा पहले, एक पारी में 21 घंटे, और श्री किम ने 400 से अधिक पैकेज वितरित किए थे। 36 वर्षीय डिलीवरी ड्राइवर पिछले दिन सुबह 5 बजे से काम कर रहा था। उसने एक सहकर्मी को संदेश भेजा, जिसमें उसने पार्सल डिलीवरी के एक दौर को छोड़ने का अनुरोध किया।


£7m pledged to upgrade Swansea port

Summary: About £7m will be invested in the port of Swansea over the next four years so it can deal with more cargo and bigger ships.

The first £2.1m is to be spent on upgrading the outer lock gates, owners Associated British Ports (ABP) said. The port handles 600,000 tonnes a year, mostly cargo for the coal, paper, farming and recycling industries. "The ability to be flexible is crucial," said ABP's south Wales director Matthew Kennerley.

अगले चार वर्षों में स्वानसी बंदरगाह में लगभग 7 मिलियन पाउंड का निवेश किया जाएगा ताकि यह अधिक माल और बड़े जहाजों से निपट सके।


The spying game: China's global network

Summary: The latest controversy to swirl around the Chinese telecoms company Huawei has shone a spotlight on the murky world of Chinese espionage, agent-recruitment and an ambitious programme of extending its influence across the globe.

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent So how extensive is it, how does it work and who runs it? A dossier reportedly compiled with the help of a former MI6 spy has accused China of trying to manipulate key UK figures, including politicians, to back the telecom giant's business in Britain. Every major Chinese enterprise anywhere in the world allegedly has an internal "cell" answerable to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to drive the political agenda and ensure that the company is compliant with political directives. This is why China experts assert that the CCP does operate here in Britain, often under the natural cover of business. "The Party machine is everywhere", says one, adding: "For China, business is inseparable from politics." The CCP has 93 million members, with many of them placed or hidden in organisations abroad. This allows them to be tasked with gathering secrets, especially in the technology sphere, including telecoms. Experts say these "agents", as well as targeted individuals in important positions in foreign companies, can be recruited or persuaded using a number of different methods. Setting honeytraps The first approach is usually what is known as "a positive incentive", especially if the targeted individual is a non-Chinese national. In the West this can take the form of a tempting invitation to an important business meeting in China, an offer of financial help for a company facing difficulties, or the offer of a (sometimes meaningless) seat on a board as a non-executive director or even in some cases a life-changing sum of money. In the last 10 to 15 years there has been an increasing readiness to target well-placed foreigners with positive incentives. Inside China though, recruitment methods can, according to people familiar with them, take on a far more sinister form. This can include putting pressure on Chinese family members - essentially blackmail - to honeytraps set for unwary western businessmen. This usually entails a "chance" encounter with an attractive woman which is then covertly recorded and used as "kompromat" - compromising material to be used as a lever. "The Chinese state is very good at setting honeytraps on their own territory," says a British businessman who has worked in China. These are normally run by China's Ministry of State Security. Rather than being run centrally, these targeting operations tend to be run out of provincial State Security bureau, each of which deals with a different geographic area of the world. So the Shanghai bureau, for example, covers the US, Beijing covers Russia and the former Soviet republics, Tianjin covers Japan and Korea, and so on. "The Chinese state uses the full spectrum of government levers to acquire information," says someone very familiar with its operations. "This ranges from targeted and large-scale cyber espionage and theft to co-opting industry experts, both knowingly and unknowingly." "Along with Russia," he adds, "China is the biggest espionage threat to the UK".

चीनी दूरसंचार कंपनी हुआवेई के इर्द-गिर्द घूमते हुए नवीनतम विवाद ने चीनी जासूसी, एजेंट-भर्ती और दुनिया भर में अपना प्रभाव बढ़ाने के एक महत्वाकांक्षी कार्यक्रम की अस्पष्ट दुनिया पर प्रकाश डाला है।


China's Class of 1977: I took an exam that changed China

Summary: Forty years ago China reinstated its all-important college entrance exam after a gap of more than a decade when the country was plunged into the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. More than five million people sat the exams in the hope of securing a university place. The BBC's Yuwen Wu describes what it was like to be among them.

On 10 December 1977, I took a bus to No 35 Middle School in the West City District of Beijing to do something young people in China hadn't done for more than 12 years. I was taking part in the first college entrance examination since 1965. There was subdued yet palpable excitement and expectation in the cold winter air, because for the first time in years we had our destiny in our own hands. In my pocket I clutched a bar of chocolate from my father. It was his way of supporting me - I'd never tasted chocolate before. During the Cultural Revolution, normal learning at schools and universities was interrupted, teachers and intellectuals found themselves publicly humiliated and beaten; some were driven to suicide. It was not a good time for those who valued a formal education. A year of change Most people associate 1978 with the start of China's reform and opening up, but it was in 1977 that momentum for that change was slowly building up - and the exam was hugely symbolic. In February that year, I got a job as a teacher of English in a primary school in Beijing. I had just spent three years at a language school that trained teachers, and considered myself lucky to be staying in the city rather than being sent to the countryside, like my four siblings and many of my classmates. Of course I had always wanted to go to university, but realising that it was not possible at that time, and might not be possible ever, I got down to work. I was tasked with teaching English to 200 grade three pupils aged 10, divided into four big classes. Within a week, I knew all their names, and I tried to instil in them a love for English, and was given a lot of support from other teachers. I even did a master class for the whole school, and it looked like I was on track to become an excellent teacher. One warm autumn day in 1977, I had just returned from a month in the countryside with the pupils, when my mother told me, in a very excited tone, that the government had decided to restore the college entrance exams from that winter, and I might be able to take part. Historic decision I couldn't believe my ears. "Is it real or is it a bad joke? Do I finally have a chance to study at university?" It turned out that Deng Xiaoping, purged by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution and rehabilitated as vice premier in 1977, had decided to tackle education as his priority. He called a meeting in August 1977 to discuss the possibility of restoring college entrance exams. Many were in favour, but others were not sure, the main obstacle being that Chairman Mao had endorsed selecting college students from workers, peasants and soldiers' backgrounds and there was little time to prepare for the switch. But Mr Deng made the historic decision to start the new system that year, which sent a ripple of excitement up and down the country, not least in the school where I worked. Eight young teachers wanted to do the exams. Our principal told us she supported us but couldn't give us leave to prepare for the exams. So we should carry on teaching as usual, but could skip the meetings. What followed were many long evenings revising for exams while preparing for the classes the next day. But I was in high spirits and didn't feel tired at all. My mother sat up late into the night with me, knitting in the background and testing my knowledge of history from time to time. I applied to read English at Peking University on my father's advice. I remember doing the Chinese exam on the first day; there was a composition which asked what we had done in that historic year. This played right into my hands - a new job, teaching 200 children English. We also did an English and maths exam. After passing the written tests, I took oral exams at Peking University, followed by a medical check-up, and a long wait for the final results. They came in a pretty dramatic fashion. On the last Saturday of the winter vacation in February 1978, all the staff members including eight of us exam takers were asked to make preparations for the new school year, while the principal went to pick up the results on our behalf. If it was good news, this would be our last day at this school; if it was bad news, we would return on Monday to carry on being a teacher there. Factbox: The Class of '77 College examinations were suspended in 1966 when Mao's Cultural Revolution swept the country. Students were mobilised to take part in the revolution, so formal schooling was interrupted. From 1968, millions of young people were sent to the countryside to be re-educated by "peasants". From the early 1970s, universities and colleges started to take in students again, from workers, peasants and soldiers' backgrounds, and they were mostly recommended for good political behaviour rather than through open competition. Some 5.7 million people took part in the college entrance examinations in 1977 and 273,000 got places, an admission rate of 4.8% - the lowest in history. Admission rates these days for the college exam - the gaokao - are significantly higher but the stakes are still high. The news came just before midday. Five of us had places in various universities. I got into Peking University. It all seemed a bit surreal. The principal hastily called a farewell meeting and we were each given a notebook as a leaving present. A few days later, I checked into Peking University, and the rest is history. We are known as the Class of '77 - even though we started our degrees in 1978. If you mention this term to people above a certain age, they will immediately associate you with life experience, hard work, a strong sense of responsibility and good luck. "You caught the first train," they would say. I am very proud to be a member of the Class of '77 and bear witness to a historic event in recent Chinese history. The exams in that year marked the beginning of China's opening up and reform and the Class of '77 went on to become the backbone of China's transformation for the next four decades. They were professors, scientists, lawyers, doctors, writers and leaders in their fields, among them the current Chinese premier Li Keqiang, who studied law and economics at Peking University, my alma mater. It was clear this generation would be the elite tasked with the responsibility of bringing the nation out of a period of darkness. There has been enormous economic progress, but there are also many voices that question the pace of political change. I fulfilled my dream of a university education and it is indisputable that China took a huge step towards correcting the wrongs of the Cultural Revolution.

चालीस साल पहले चीन ने एक दशक से भी अधिक समय के अंतराल के बाद अपनी महत्वपूर्ण कॉलेज प्रवेश परीक्षा को फिर से शुरू किया था, जब देश सांस्कृतिक क्रांति की अराजकता में डूबा हुआ था। विश्वविद्यालय में जगह पाने की उम्मीद में पचास लाख से अधिक लोग परीक्षा में बैठे थे। बीबीसी के युवेन वू ने बताया कि उनके बीच होना कैसा था।


Rangers goalie Allan McGregor's car set on fire

Summary: A police investigation is under way after a car belonging to Rangers player Allan McGregor was deliberately set on fire in the driveway outside his home.

The incident happened on Thursday at about 22:40 at the goalkeeper's house in the outskirts of Glasgow. A total of three fire engines were sent to the incident to extinguish the flames. No one was injured. Police Scotland said the fire was "being treated as wilful" and its investigation was ongoing. In a statement the force said they were made aware of the vehicle fire outside a property on Thursday night. They added: "The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended, nobody was injured and the fire is being treated as wilful. "Inquiries are ongoing. Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 3735 of 3 September."

रेंजर्स खिलाड़ी एलन मैकग्रेगर की एक कार को उनके घर के बाहर ड्राइववे में जानबूझकर आग लगाने के बाद पुलिस जांच चल रही है।


Inverness footballer Simon Shields loses cancer battle

Summary: Tributes have been paid to a 23-year-old Inverness footballer who died at the weekend after battling lung cancer.

Simon Shields played for Fort William before joining his home club, Clachnacuddin, last summer. He was diagnosed with the disease late in 2010 and died on Friday at the Highland Hospice. News of his death was announced at the Highland League Football Awards Dinner on Friday and as a mark of respect there was a one-minute applause.

एक 23 वर्षीय इनवर्नेस फुटबॉलर को श्रद्धांजलि दी गई है, जिसकी फेफड़ों के कैंसर से जूझने के बाद सप्ताहांत में मृत्यु हो गई थी।


Islamic State group: Could it rebound from caliphate defeat?

Summary: In short: yes, but not in the same form.

By Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent The jihadist terror group's self-proclaimed "caliphate", which once ruled over nearly eight million people across Syria and Iraq, has been all but eliminated. The temptation for triumphalism in Western capitals is overwhelming. It has taken four and a half years of relentless military pressure by a 79-nation coalition to get to this point. It has cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives, many of them civilian. But people who have access to secret intelligence on the Islamic State (IS) group's activities and intentions are calling for caution. At the recent Munich Security Conference, Alex Younger, the chief of Britain's secret intelligence service (MI6) - an organisation that was frankly caught completely off-balance by IS's lightning advances in 2014 - said this: "The military defeat of the 'caliphate' does not represent the end of the terrorist threat. We see it therefore morphing, spreading out... within Syria but also externally... This is the traditional shape of a terrorist organisation." Speaking at the same event, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen assessed that IS was currently going deeper underground and building networks with other terrorist groups. Gen Joseph Votel, who runs US Central Command, has warned that, although the IS network is dispersed, pressure must be maintained or its components will have "the capability of coming back together if we don't". Estimates of the number of IS fighters who have dispersed across the Syria-Iraq arena range from 20,000 to 30,000, many of whom will be unwilling to return to their home countries for fear of prosecution. There are also small concentrations of fanatical IS-linked militants in Libya, Egypt, West Africa, Afghanistan and the southern Philippines. Already in Iraq there is evidence of IS militants mounting increasingly bold attacks in the northern provinces. So far, so grim. But let's have a look at what originally propelled IS to its early victories and lightning conquests in 2013/14 and assess whether it could do so again. Out of the wilderness IS grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq, an insurgent group formed from an alliance of convenience between disgruntled and out-of-work Iraqi military and intelligence officers with idealistic jihadists flooding in from around the Arab world and elsewhere. The calling card of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was what it said was a religious duty by all Muslims to come and resist the US occupation of Iraq. But then its brutality and intolerance (e.g. chopping off the fingers of anyone caught smoking cigarettes) so alienated the Iraqi tribes that they sided with the government and drove al-Qaeda out into the wilderness. Iraq's Shia-led government then squandered this gain by embarking on a systematic programme of discrimination against Sunni Muslims. By the summer of 2014 they felt so disenfranchised that IS (a Sunni extremist movement) was able to practically walk into Iraq's second city of Mosul unopposed. Couple this with a weak, demoralised Iraqi military, whose senior officers deserted their own troops ahead of the IS advance, and you had all the ingredients of an IS takeover of a third of Iraq. Next door in Syria, with the civil war still raging, there was enough chaos and confusion for IS - as the most ruthless and ideological of all insurgent groups - to carve out large areas of control. Islamic State 2.0 So could this happen again? Yes, and no. It is highly unlikely that a physical "caliphate" of any size would be allowed to be reconstituted. Yet many of the factors that fuelled IS's early success are still there. Iraq is awash with sectarian Shia militias, some funded, trained and armed by Iran. There are disturbing reports of Sunni villagers being dragged from their homes and - in some cases - falsely accused of supporting IS. In some places, Shia revenge squads stalk the streets at night with impunity. Iraq desperately needs a national reconciliation process and inclusive government if it is to avoid a regenerated IS 2.0. Yet there is little sign of this happening in practice. In Syria, the factor that sparked that country's catastrophic civil war now sits victorious in his palace in Damascus. President Bashar al-Assad, saved from defeat by his Russian and Iranian allies, appears more secure than ever. Most Syrians are now too exhausted to oppose him. But the atrocities committed by his regime, on an industrial scale, will continue to propel some towards armed resistance, and IS will be looking for ways back into the Syrian battle space. Further afield and globally, wherever there is a perception of bad governance, of disenfranchisement, of religious persecution against Muslims or where large bodies of alienated young men feel their lives lack purpose, there will always be opportunities for recruiters to the "cult" of IS. Its caliphate is over - its dangerously infectious ideology is not.

संक्षेप मेंः हाँ, लेकिन उसी रूप में नहीं।


Alan Henning: An ordinary man who wanted to help Syrians

Summary: When Alan Henning, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Eccles in Salford, was on his way to Syria in an aid convoy late last year, he said it was important to make sure aid was going to "the right people".

By Catrin Nye BBC Asian Network But his charitable actions took him into the hands of Islamic State (IS), who took him hostage within minutes of him arriving in the country in December 2013. A video has now been released, apparently showing Mr Henning being killed. His kidnapping was not made public until nine months later when he became the fourth Western hostage - after US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines - to be paraded in a video by the extremist organisation. The married father-of-two, known as "Gadget" or "Gadge" to friends because of his technical skills, had been on an informal convoy with British Muslims when he was kidnapped in Ad Dana, an area held by IS, on 27 December 2013. His colleagues were people he had got to know through his work as a taxi driver, and he had already travelled on three convoys before the one on which he was kidnapped. Prior to travelling to Syria for the fourth time, he told BBC News he was not a Muslim himself, but that visiting a refugee camp had changed his life and he had felt compelled to return. The group left the UK a week before Mr Henning's capture and had been intending to deliver aid to refugees. Volunteers had raised money to buy potentially vital medical equipment, including former NHS ambulances, which they planned to deliver to hospitals. Items such as baby milk, nappies and food were packed into the back of the ambulances in the UK and driven more than 3,000 miles overland, before crossing into Syria from Turkey. Mr Henning had been washing cars in the UK to raise money for donations. When I met Alan Henning I met and filmed Alan Henning in Salford in October when he was packing up for an aid convoy. At this point, he had already travelled to Syria on three convoys. When I asked him why he was going back to such a dangerous country he told me he had been inspired by friends. After experiencing a refugee camp, life at home had never quite been the same for him. He described holding children and how it had affected him. When he came back to the UK he found it difficult - Syria was drawing him back. He told me he had to go back. He also said he was unwell and might not have the opportunity to get involved in that kind of aid work for much longer. Footage of him from Christmas Day 2013, taken on the convoy in Turkey, showed him discussing the presents he had received from his family. In it, he said how it was "hard" to be away from his family and that their Christmas presents included "smellies" - toiletries - and how the other members of the convoy had given him a T-shirt, aftershave, chocolates and biscuits. He also joked how someone on the convoy had made him a breakfast of "Asian eggs, beans and toast" which was "gratefully received". And he said: "More people should show a bit more charity. This way at least you see where it's going, to the right people." A week after the first IS video of Alan appeared online - the video in which the group threatened to kill him - his wife Barbara released a statement on behalf of the Henning family, pleading for his release. "When he was taken he was driving an ambulance full of food and water to be handed out to anyone in need," she said. "His purpose for being there was no more and no less. This was an act of sheer compassion." 'At a loss' Three days later the family received an audio file of him "pleading for his life" and Barbara Henning issued a second message. "I have seen Muslims across the globe question Islamic State over Alan's fate," she said. "We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the facts surrounding Alan's imprisonment and why they continue to threaten his life. "Please release Alan." The leader of the convoy on which Alan was travelling when he was kidnapped was Kasim Jameel who was also a close friend. Mr Jameel said receiving the message was difficult for everyone. "Receiving a message like that from a loved one - it's difficult for me but that's nothing compared to what the family are going through and that again is nothing compared to what Alan is," he said. "He is a big softie. What he's going through must be absolute hell - not knowing what's going to happen to him from one hour to the next." Fellow convoy member Majid Freeman, 26, described how at home Mr Henning had watched a video in which children had died because of a lack of power in a Syrian hospital. He went on to raise money to buy a generator and took it to the country. "That's the kind of person Gadget is," Mr Freeman said. Passport chip IS captured Mr Henning and dozens of members of the convoy about 20 minutes after they entered Syria. They were questioned by militants and had their passports taken, but eventually the others - all British Muslims - were released. Mr Freeman, who was with Mr Henning at the time, said: "That's when we found out that Gadge was actually gone." IS accused Mr Henning of being a spy, saying the chip in his British passport was an indication of this, and took him away. At one point Mr Freeman handed over his own passport to show that everyone, British Muslims included, had this chip. But it was to no avail. Most of the convoy left Syria in a shaken state - but a small number stayed behind to help in the search for Mr Henning before eventually returning home. The other members of the convoy still believed he would be released within days. But on 13 September 2014, Mr Henning appeared at the end of an IS hostage video in which British aid worker Mr Haines was killed. 'Worst nightmare' Mr Freeman told the BBC seeing him in the video - dressed in orange as other IS hostages had been - was what he and other friends of Mr Henning had been dreading for some time. "He lost a lot of weight, he looked different and what can you do - it's just your worst nightmare," he said. "You hear about these things in the news all the time but you don't expect [it to happen to] someone you spent time with, someone you travelled with, someone you ate with, someone you know in real life." Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar also travelled with Mr Henning on several convoys, including his most recent one, and kept a diary for BBC Radio 5 live, which was not fully broadcast because of his kidnapping. She said: "Alan is remarkable. He's such a compassionate and selfless human being. "It just simply wasn't enough for Alan to sit back and just donate or raise awareness. He had to get up and he had to do something about what he'd seen. "Every time the convoys went, he had this yearning to go. That really motivated him, to see, practically, first hand the difference he was making." Mr Henning was incredibly popular with other aid convoy members - just about everyone had a funny story about him. He was a fan of Phil Collins and while the convoy drove through Europe, the traditional Islamic nasheeds (vocal music) played en route would be replaced with Collins. Other convoy members recounted how - while driving to Syria - when some members wanted to take a rest in a Venice hotel Mr Henning insisted on sleeping in his ambulance, saving the money it would have cost so it could be donated to Syrians instead. The thing that made Mr Henning stand out for so many was what an ordinary man he was. A father, a taxi driver and a keen fisherman who just wanted to help the Syrian people.

जब सैल्फोर्ड के एक्लेस के 47 वर्षीय टैक्सी चालक एलन हेनिंग पिछले साल के अंत में एक सहायता काफिले में सीरिया जा रहे थे, तो उन्होंने कहा कि यह सुनिश्चित करना महत्वपूर्ण है कि सहायता "सही लोगों" को जा रही है।


Africans in China: We face coronavirus discrimination

Summary: Ade* was given until midnight to vacate his apartment.

By Danny VincentBBC News, Hong Kong Five months earlier, the Nigerian student had moved to Guangzhou, southern China, to study computing at Guangdong university. He had just paid his university fees for the new semester when his landlord informed him that he needed to leave. He scrambled to pack his belongings. The police were waiting for him and his roommates outside. 'In hiding' When he attempted to drop off his bags at a friend's warehouse, he was prevented from entering. He spent several nights sleeping on the streets. "Look how they are treating us, how they forced us out of our houses and forced us to self-quarantine," he told the BBC from a hotel in the city. "They told me that the [test] result is out and I am negative. Still they don't want me to go out." African community leaders in Guangzhou believe the vast majority of the city's African population have been forced into quarantine or are sleeping on the streets. "Some are in hiding," said one community leader over an encrypted social media app. Every African national tested In early April, online rumours began to circulate that parts of the city where Africans live and trade were under lockdown after two Nigerians who had tested positive for the virus escaped. Chinese media reported that a Nigerian patient had attacked a Chinese nurse. The health commission began widespread testing of African nationals. The local authority says it has tested every African national in the city for the coronavirus. It found that 111 of the more than 4,500 Africans in Guangzhou tested positive. "They just came with their ambulance and medical team and took us. All they said was that it was Chinese law and an order from the government," said Hao*, a businessman from Ivory Coast. Guangzhou has become a hub for Africans in China. Towards the end of the century's first decade, hundreds of thousands were thought to live in the city. Many of them entering the country on short-term visas to buy goods from nearby factories and send them back to the continent. By some estimates there were more than 200,000 dwelling in the city. Some settled for the long term. Many overstayed their visas. 'Africans friendly with locals' In recent years, the numbers have dwindled. Businessmen have complained of unfair visa restrictions and unfair treatment. In 2018, small hotels in Xiao Bei Lu, a popular area for African traders, temporarily turned away Africans from several nations, they told the BBC. "Most of the Africans living there are nice and friendly with the locals, and they are doing business as normal for the past years," said one Guangzhou resident who did not want to be named. "If there is a problem, it may be that some Africans are overstaying and doing some illegal things. "The conflict over the virus test, I think it is something of a misunderstanding. It is not about racial discrimination. That's not the style of the Guangzhou people," he said. "People are not hostile to Africans in their mind, unless some Africans are doing things against the local rules," he added. You may also like to read: The Chinese government dismissed claims of racism, insisting China and Africa are friends, partners and brothers and that it has zero tolerance to racism. But many of those the BBC spoke to say they have been singled out because of their race. "Ninety-eight per cent of Africans are in quarantine," said one community leader who did not want to be named. Wuhan lockdown continues - for some Africans across China say they are facing increased scrutiny. On the deserted campus of Wuhan University African faces outnumber Chinese. "We are the ones that are left behind," says a Ghanaian student in the Chinese city where coronavirus was first detected. At the height of the outbreak, an estimated 5,000 African students were stranded in Wuhan and neighbouring cities, after most sub-Saharan nations failed to evacuate their citizens. "We feel like sacrificial lambs for no reason. The plan was to keep the people safe by sacrificing us," asked one student who did not want to be named. "What was the point as our countries didn't put measures in place to protect the people from the virus?" When Wuhan officially ended its lockdown on 8 April, normality began to creep back into the city. More than a week on, African students on campuses remain unable to leave the grounds of the university. They have no information of when their own lockdown will be lifted. Back in Guangzhou, a student from Sierra Leone said she believed Africans were being singled out. "All of this is happening because there has been a rise in foreign imported cases, [but] the majority are from Chinese nationals," she said. "Only a small percentage is made up of Africans." She received a letter from her university stating that all Africans needed to be tested. Despite being tested twice she remains in quarantine. 'Others not treated like this' "With all this happening, the Chinese have exhibited racism and discrimination against black people here in Guangzhou. "I know people from my church who are white and non-Africans who are not going through what we are going through - quarantine and multiple testing," she said. "Quarantine hotels are like forced detention for blacks." A Nigerian businessman under quarantine said that "it was the police that removed me from my apartment and put me on the streets". "I don't have any problem with my landlord. He didn't even know I had been evicted. My children slept on the streets for many days." On social media, hundreds of Africans in Guangzhou have organised groups supplying each other with regular updates. They send photos of numerous hotels and hospitals where businessmen, residents and students are being held across the city. Some post test results showing that they are negative. Others post medical and hotel bills that they say they cannot afford to pay. Videos of Africans sleeping on the streets have gone viral. The Guangdong government has publicised a hotline for "foreigners who experience discrimination". But for those in quarantine, suspicions remain high. Videos continue to circulate online of Africans being moved between hotels by ambulance. Xiao Bei Lu is known as "China's little Africa" but social media videos show that its streets, at one time packed with African traders, are now deserted. The names of the interviewees have been changed.

अडे * को अपना अपार्टमेंट खाली करने के लिए आधी रात तक का समय दिया गया था।


How Facebook is being used to profile and kill Kenyan 'gangsters'

Summary: A suspected death squad operating inside Kenya's police force is using Facebook to target and kill young men they believe to be gang members, residents of a poor and overcrowded area of the capital have told a public meeting.

By Dickens OleweBBC News "I have lost two husbands in one year," a tearful young woman, balancing a toddler on her side, told the crowded town hall meeting in Nairobi's Kayole residential estate last month. Others came forward to the microphone to tell similar stories about losing young relatives aged between 15 and 24. The state prosecutor, top police officers and human rights activists, who were also at the rare gathering, listened as community leaders explain how these youngsters, suspected to be criminals, were profiled within various Facebook groups by "gangster hunters". "They profile them on Facebook, after one week or a month they shoot them, and put pictures of their dead bodies on Facebook," Wilfred Olal from the Dandora Community Justice Centre told the meeting. The posted photos, sometimes showing close-up shots of heads split open by bullets and eviscerated bodies, usually come with a warning that the same fate awaits other criminals. Some of the images are blurred by Facebook but a user can choose to un-blur them. The Kayole residents say there are various Facebook groups, some public and some which are closed, that are updated with gruesome pictures almost every day. Police tears Duncan Omanga, a researcher at Moi University in Kenya, who has been monitoring such Facebook pages for three years, says that suspected police officers use anonymous digital personas to spy on their targets. "The first unofficial police Facebook account appeared under the name Hessy wa Kayole [Hessy from Kayole]. "Hessy became the shadowy crime-hunter, the mystical lone ranger." With his legend spreading on social media, more Facebook accounts with names of gang hunters from other crime-ridden residential estates started to appear. According to Mr Omanga, it seemed to be a deliberate strategy to give the impression of "police omnipresence and 'state' surveillance" in these areas of Nairobi. Last November, former police chief Joseph Boinnet had said: "The person behind the Facebook accounts is not a police officer, but [a civilian] passionate about security matters." And the police's Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), George Kinoti, who shed tears whilst listening to some of the testimonies in Kayole, told the meeting that he had no knowledge of agents such as Hessy. "I am saying no-one will ever cover for a police officer who kills under my watch." But his comments were drowned out by the crowd, with someone shouting: "They are on Facebook, even on Twitter." The meeting in Kayole was organised by the director of public prosecutions (DPP) after activists and residents said the police were not taking them seriously. 'Fixing an appointment with God' Mr Omanga's research has found that in one month, an average of six suspected gangsters are profiled, details of their alleged crimes and areas of operation, and the kind of arms they are believed to own are published on various Facebook accounts and groups. In the same period, between 10 and 12 police killings of suspected gangsters are published on a closed Facebook group called Nairobi Crime Free. It has more than 300,000 members and has the slogan: "Forgiving a terrorist is left to God, but fixing their appointment with God is our responsibility", along with the logo of an unidentified man wearing army combat uniform and a beret. Mr Omanga says the macabre images shared in the group are intended to shock and show bravado. Sometimes an old picture of the victim is juxtaposed beside their dead body. The group members seem to revel in the content - judging from the likes and the positive emoticons that are left below each post. Some also share their personal experiences as victims of crime and call on the police to eliminate other criminals. To sign up for this front-row digital seat, new users have to answer three questions, including whether they support police's efforts to fight crime. Criminals also pay attention to these Facebook pages just in case they are listed for elimination. After being profiled, several young men have gone into hiding or have sought protection from human rights organisations. Mr Omanga says the police were also able to learn about some gangs through Facebook when members used their personal accounts to show off their exploits and even taunt officers. 'Gaza gang wiped out' But this has largely stopped since one gang leader, Mwani Sparta, notorious for posting about his ostentatious lifestyle, uploaded of a photo of himself in 2017 brandishing a machine gun along with his notorious accomplices. He realised his mistake and took it down - but it had already been shared and the police gained an invaluable insight into the identity of the Gaza gang members. All became suspected targets of extrajudicial killings. Each time a Gaza gang member died, the group photo would appear on Facebook with another of the faces struck out, Mr Omanga said. Another gang member, whose photo had also been shared, seemed so terrified by the killings that he posted on Facebook that he had given up the criminal life and become a born-again Christian - and was subsequently arrested. But it is not just criminal gangs who are the targets from these Facebook groups. Human rights activists say they also feel under threat for speaking out about extrajudicial killings. "We have also been profiled on these Facebook pages - pictures of our offices have been posted. We have reported to the police but nothing has been done," Mr Olal said, adding that they also feel harassed by the police as activists are sometimes arrested but then not charged. "We want to know if these people, like Hessy, are police officers and if they are, do they have a right to shoot people dead and post pictures of their dead bodies on Facebook?" Graphic content 'banned' An umbrella group, called Uhai Wetu, has been now been formed so human rights activists from different suburbs can support each other in forming a joint response to these threats. They have repeatedly asked Facebook to take down the offending content, which they say goes against the platform's community standards, but despite several attempts they have not been successful, a researcher with the organisation told the BBC. You may also be interested in: "We recognise that we have a responsibility to fight abuse on our platform and we are working hard with partners on the ground, including civil society organisations, to better understand local issues and tackle them more effectively," a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC. The spokesperson said that Facebook had clear rules against posting graphic and violent content and "when we are made aware of this content, we remove it". "Our investigation into this issue is ongoing and we thank the BBC for bringing it to our attention," Facebook added. However, there has not been a general outcry about these killings, except from the affected communities. Mr Omanga says a no-nonsense, gung-ho police officer has an enduring appeal for many Kenyans fed up with what they see as a justice system that is corrupt and slow. An article in the Kenyan press a few years ago about four of Nairobi's "super cops" said they had earned themselves "the licence to kill", the researcher said. "The writer said they were 'cut from the same cloth as the legendary Patrick Shaw,'" he said, explaining that this was a reference to a British settler who had served as a volunteer policeman after Kenya became independent in 1963 and was heralded as a model for dispensing "on the spot justice". For Mr Olal, who admits that crime is a big problem in some of the Nairobi residential estates, says it is a question of the law being applied equally. "If rich people suspected of stealing taxes are being taken to court, then we also want our young men to have a fair hearing," he said.

केन्या के पुलिस बल के अंदर काम करने वाला एक संदिग्ध मौत दस्ते फेसबुक का उपयोग उन युवाओं को निशाना बनाने और मारने के लिए कर रहा है जिन्हें वे गिरोह के सदस्य मानते हैं, राजधानी के एक गरीब और भीड़भाड़ वाले क्षेत्र के निवासियों ने एक सार्वजनिक बैठक में कहा है।