Five takeaways from James Comey's testimony

Summary: James Comey didn't bury Donald Trump in his Senate testimony, but he dug a Trump-sized hole in the ground.

Anthony ZurcherNorth America reporter@awzurcheron Twitter While the former FBI director danced around what, if anything, the ongoing investigation into possible Trump campaign Russia ties has found, he was much more forthcoming about his relations with the president, before and after his dismissal - and how they made him feel. He was confused by the circumstances of his firing. He felt the president and his staff "defamed" him and, more importantly, the FBI as a whole. As for allegations that the bureau was in disarray? "Those were lies, plain and simple," he said. He left drawing conclusions about the president's behaviour to others, but the picture he painted wasn't a flattering one. Mr Trump may not have been scheming, but his efforts to draw a pledge of loyalty from his FBI director, his pleading for him to go easy on his former national security adviser and his repeated requests for assurances that he, personally, was not under investigation were ham-handed at best. This, of course, was Mr Comey's moment, and it's his version of events that were in the spotlight. His descriptions have been (and will probably continue to be) vehemently disputed by the president and those who speak in his name. "I can definitively say the president is not a liar," Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday. This all sets up a "he-said, he-said" conflict. As Mr Comey himself acknowledges, during the key meetings with the president, the two men were the only ones in the room. The former director, however, comes armed with a career reputation as a straight shooter - sometimes to a fault - who is willing to take what he views as the correct course even in the face of powerful adversaries. The president comes off a brawl of an election campaign, with more than half the American public doubtful of his very fitness for office. Mr Comey also confirmed he wrote numerous contemporaneous memos about his interactions with the president - and even had a friend share their contents with the media - which gives additional heft to his account. Here a few other key takeaways from Thursday's historic testimony. The Flynn pressure Ever since the New York Times first reported that the president had urged his FBI director to go easy on Michael Flynn, his former campaign aide and short-lived national security adviser, Washington has been anxious to hear Mr Comey's take. Not from anonymous sources or friends, but from the former director himself. It turns out his version is pretty much what had been reported up until now. Somewhere, reporters for the Times and the Washington Post are smiling. "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Mr Comey says the president told him. "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." The former director did take a bit of heat off the president when he noted that he felt he was only being asked to back away from prosecuting Flynn for lying to federal agents about his December conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. "I did not understand the president to be talking about the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign," he says. The reality, however, was that Flynn was firmly in the crosshairs of the investigation. "He was in legal jeopardy," Mr Comey said. After his conversation with the president, the director said he discussed the issue with his FBI colleagues and notes that the request was "very concerning". He said, under questioning, that while Mr Trump framed his request as a "hope", he "took it as a direction" - and he decided to not to share those instructions with the FBI investigators. "I think if our agents, as good as they are, heard the president of the United States do that, there is a real risk of a chilling effect on their work," Mr Comey said. The loyalty pledge The other big New York Times revelation that swept through the nation last month was that, in a one-on-one dinner shortly after his inauguration, Mr Trump reportedly asked Mr Comey to give him assurances that he would be loyal. The president flatly denied this account of the dinner - but Mr Comey has now repeated it, under oath (with a twist). His account sounds like a political haggling skit written by Monty Python. Mr Comey told the president he would be "reliable". Mr Trump countered that he wanted - needed - "loyalty". The director says he froze, as though confronted by a wild beast while hiking in the woods. "I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed," he says. Finally, he offered "honesty". Mr Trump countered with "honest loyalty" - a term on which they both agreed. While the conversation was confusing, Mr Comey said his conclusion from it was clear given that earlier in the dinner they had discussed the director's continued tenure in office. "My common sense told me, he's looking to get something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job," he said. The state of the investigation In Mr Trump's letter firing Mr Comey, the president went out of his way to mention that the director had told him three times that he was not under direct FBI investigation. That assertion raised eyebrows among legal experts, since such statements usually only come from prosecutors and not law enforcement officials. On Thursday Mr Comey gave some context to those assurances. During a 6 January meeting, Mr Comey informed President-elect Trump he wasn't the subject of a "counter-intelligence" investigation, which he said tends to look at whether Americans were "witting or unwitting agents" of foreign powers. Mr Comey revealed that there was a debate within the FBI over whether to give the president any such assurances, given that the investigation covered the Trump presidential campaign and Mr Trump was the candidate. According to Mr Comey, one FBI leader insisted that Mr Trump's "behaviour, his conduct, will fall within the scope of that work". Mr Comey decided to tell the president anyway. Where the dispute with the Mr Trump arose, according to Mr Comey, was whether the FBI should make it clear Mr Trump wasn't in the investigatory crosshairs. The director was concerned if the FBI went public, it would "create a duty to correct, should that change". That is, if Mr Trump eventually was swept up in the inquiry the FBI would have to make another public announcement, much like there was with the now-infamous October letter to Congress about the Clinton email investigation. Mr Comey also said he could only comment on the status of the investigation up until he was fired. As special counsel, Robert Mueller at this point could very well be looking into obstruction of justice by the president as part of his inquiry. Another curious revelation buried in Mr Comey's testimony was that Mr Trump was less concerned about possible legal predicaments of his staff (Mr Flynn, it seems, being the notable exception). "If there were some 'satellite' associates of his who did something wrong," Mr Comey said the president told him, "it would be good to find that out". How those "satellite associates" might react to the president's supposed declaration - and what they might do if they eventually face criminal prosecution - will be an interesting question to ponder in the coming days. Trump's counterattack What also has come into focus this week is the strategy the White House will pursue to counter Mr Comey's testimony. According to Marc Kasowitz, Mr Comey's account was vindication where it helped the president and untruthful where it didn't. When the former director said he was not under investigation? True. When he said that the president asked for - needed - his loyalty? False. It's a fine line to walk, to say the least. Another prong of the response builds on the attacks the president launched last month, painting Mr Comey as a "showboater" and a "grandstander" - a man more obsessed with press clippings and the limelight than the FBI's role in defending national security. This was the line explicitly advanced in a television advert funded by a pro-Trump political group that aired on cable news channels on Thursday, which criticises Mr Comey for meddling in US politics and ignoring terrorist threats and calls him "just another DC insider only in it for himself". Kasowitz also took a shot at Mr Comey's admission that he instructed a friend to share details of his conversations with the president with the media - in response to the president tweet about "secret tapes" of their meetings. "It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified and privileged communications," he said. "Mr Comey has now admitted that he is one of those leakers." Mr Comey's memos weren't classified, but Kasowitz's accusations will start a debate over whether they were privileged communications. Mr Trump's prior willingness to talk about his conversations with Mr Comey will make that a challenging case to make. According to media reports, the president wholeheartedly endorses this bare-knuckles response to Mr Comey. Given that the former director's testimony is going cast a shadow over the Trump presidency for months, if not years, the White House counterattack is almost certainly only just beginning. The president's lawyer has made his statement - now all of Washington waits for a presidential tweet-storm. The president has held his tongue so far. But how long can that possibly last? This is just getting started The fireworks of the Comey public testimony may be past, but the show is far from over. The former director also spoke to senators in a closed-door session on Thursday, and chances are good that details of those conversations will eventually seep into media reports. In the coming days attention will return to the ongoing work of the congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Will they be able to avoid partisan bickering, or did Mr Comey's appearance inflame existing tensions between Democrats and Mr Trump's Republican supporters, derailing attempts at reaching consensus on how to proceed? Time will tell. The involved committees will continue to subpoena documents, and there's the prospect of past and present Trump aides being called to testify - including Flynn, Trump son-in-law/senior adviser Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Meanwhile Mr Mueller's investigation will continue to quietly grind away out of the public eye. With no clear timeline on when it will complete its work, the effort sits like a smouldering volcano on the horizon. If it erupts, it could put members of Mr Trump's inner circle in legal peril and, possibly, implicate the president himself. Even if the White House's worst fears are never realised, the mere threat will shape the actions and attitudes in Washington for months, if not years.

जेम्स कोमी ने सीनेट की गवाही में डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प को दफन नहीं किया, लेकिन उन्होंने जमीन में ट्रम्प के आकार का एक छेद खोदा।


US diplomat found dead in Madagascar

Summary: An investigation is under way after a US foreign service officer was found dead in Madagascar, the US state department says.

The unnamed officer was found at their residence overnight on Friday, a statement said. A suspect is in custody and both US and Madagascan officials are investigating, it added. A man was caught trying to jump over the fence while fleeing the house, a Malagasy police spokesman told AFP. The island nation, off the south-east coast of Africa, has experienced repeated political instability and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Madagascar country profile

अमेरिकी विदेश विभाग का कहना है कि मेडागास्कर में अमेरिकी विदेश सेवा के एक अधिकारी के मृत पाए जाने के बाद जांच चल रही है।


China's love affair with online game World of Warcraft

Summary: Hollywood film Warcraft will come to China next month, in what is the culmination of a decade-long love affair between the world's most populous country and one of the most popular online games of all time, writes the BBC's Tessa Wong.

The film, based on the fantasy game World of Warcraft (WoW), will open in China on 8 June, two days before it begins screening in the US, although it will be screened in various countries prior to that. Why China? The game sees players exploring a vast landscape, complete quests and interact with other gamers, and is known for its colourful array of monsters and landscapes, giving rise to its Chinese name "World of Magic Beasts". China is one of the biggest markets for WoW. The Chinese are estimated to make up about half of its five million players. One of the studios behind the movie, Legendary Entertainment, is majority owned by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, which acquired a controlling stake in January. But the decision is also part of an accelerating trend where Hollywood has been wooing China by staging elaborate premieres and tie-ups. The last Transformers movie was partly funded by Chinese backers and shot in China - though that ran into controversy - and the latest Star Wars movie was heavily promoted in China with publicity stunts and the appointment of pop star Luhan as an ambassador. Censorship and addiction The love story between China and WoW is one of perseverance, as the game's popularity has soared despite deep government suspicion prompting heavy controls, according to tech blog Engadget. Chinese players had to make do with a special version of the game with its violence, gore and even character design toned down. Skeletons were "covered up" with flesh, and even the colour of spilt blood was changed to a darker, less shocking hue. The government also insisted that a timer mechanism be built into the game to prevent people from playing it for too long, following widespread fears of internet addiction. Last year one WoW player reportedly collapsed and died after playing it for 19 hours without a break. Operation of the game in China was originally in foreign hands, but it eventually was bought over by Chinese company NetEase. China expansion But such obstacles could not stop its runaway success - part of the reason was the timing, as the game was first introduced China in 2005, at a time where online access and internet cafes were fast proliferating amid a booming tech scene. In a nod to its popularity, creator Blizzard Entertainment made a Chinese-inspired expansion to the game called Mists of Pandaria in 2012, featuring panda warriors and monk characters. In recent years the number of players of WoW globally has dropped, but it has made a lasting mark in China as a cultural touchstone. Entrepreneurial Chinese have cashed in on the craze - sometimes without official permission. There is WoW merchandise, a WoW-themed restaurant, and even a massive knock-off theme park in Changzhou. Perhaps unsurprisingly there is also a knock-off Warcraft movie - this month, a Chinese-produced movie called MyWoW will open in cinemas ahead of the official film.

बीबीसी की टेसा वोंग लिखती हैं कि हॉलीवुड फिल्म वारक्राफ्ट अगले महीने चीन आएगी, जो दुनिया के सबसे अधिक आबादी वाले देश और अब तक के सबसे लोकप्रिय ऑनलाइन खेलों में से एक के बीच एक दशक लंबे प्रेम संबंध की परिणति है।


New mental health facility planned for Guernsey

Summary: Plans for a new £25m mental health care facility in Guernsey have been released by the Health and Social Service Department.

The development, due to replace the Castel Hospital, will go before the States in 2012 and if agreed would be expected to be completed during 2014. Health and Social Services Minister Hunter Adam said the plans were long overdue. He said it would allow all mental health services to be under one roof. The proposals include 18 acute adult beds, a day centre and an adolescent secure unit. Project director Richard Evans said the new facility would be less expensive and more fit for purpose than what was currently being used.

स्वास्थ्य और समाज सेवा विभाग द्वारा ग्वेर्नसे में एक नई 25 मिलियन पाउंड की मानसिक स्वास्थ्य देखभाल सुविधा की योजना जारी की गई है।


Michael Cohen's book: ANC blasts 'divisive' Trump over Mandela

Summary: South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) has called US President Donald Trump "divisive, misogynistic and disrespectful" in response to reports that he was dismissive about Nelson Mandela, the country's first black president.

Mr Trump said the Nobel Peace Prize winner was "no leader", according to his former lawyer Michael Cohen. The allegation comes from Cohen's new book, Disloyal: A Memoir. The White House says Cohen is lying. His book also says that Mr Trump behaves like a mobster and has "a low opinion of all black people". In a scathing response, the ANC, which Mandela led from 1991 to 1997, said that "all freedom-loving people of the world are appalled by these insults which come from a person who, himself, is not a model of competent leadership". "Trump is [the most] divisive, misogynistic and disrespectful person ever to occupy the office of the president," it added. In contrast, Mandela had stood as a unifying leader, who "reached out to the world and sought to bring peace and a just society", the ANC said. Nobel Peace Prize winner Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years for his fight against apartheid, negotiated with the white-minority government to ensure a non-violent transition to democratic rule in 1994. In 1993, he won the Nobel prize alongside former South African President FW de Klerk, the man he negotiated with, for their efforts in securing a "peaceful termination of the apartheid regime". Apartheid was a legalised system of discrimination against people who were not white, and had been introduced in South Africa in 1948. Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and stepped down in 1999. He died in 2013 aged 95. Earlier, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it did not believe that "leaders who conduct themselves in the way Mr Trump does are in a position to offer authoritative commentary on the life and work of Madiba [Mandela]". As well as criticising Mandela, the US president is reported by Cohen to have said: "Tell me one country run by a black person that isn't a shithole. They are all complete [expletive] toilets." The words echo similar allegations, from 2018, that Trump referred to African countries as "shithole" nations. Back then, Mr Trump told reporters: "I am not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed." Responding to Cohen's book, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany at the weekend described him as "a disgraced felon and disbarred lawyer, who lied to Congress". "He has lost all credibility, and it's unsurprising to see his latest attempt to profit off of lies," she said.

दक्षिण अफ्रीका की सत्तारूढ़ अफ्रीकी राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस (एएनसी) ने अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प को देश के पहले अश्वेत राष्ट्रपति नेल्सन मंडेल के बारे में खारिज करने की खबरों के जवाब में "विभाजनकारी, महिला विरोधी और अपमानजनक" कहा है।


Meeting Mullah Fazlullah, the Taliban's new chief

Summary: A BBC correspondent travelled to the mountainous far north of Pakistan to meet Mullah Fazlullah, shortly after the Swat Taliban had been defeated by the army in 2009. Here he describes meeting the man who went on to become the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

After the defeat of the Taliban in the Swat valley in 2009, many militants fled further north to the Tirah Valley and that is where I met Mullah Fazlullah. It is a beautiful and very remote district. The residents there, mostly farmers and people with small, humble businesses, have very little contact with Pakistan's major cities. In their midst are various militant factions who have sought sanctuary among the mountain passes and for this reason the Tirah Valley has long been heavily bombed by Pakistan's air force. When I reached the area after the Taliban's eviction from Swat, it was full of Taliban fighters who had poured out of Swat after the battles there. The atmosphere was febrile as militants plotted their next move. One faction vowed to return to Swat to resume battle. The other faction planned to take their arms to Afghanistan. A man defeated I first encountered Mullah Fazlullah while he was busy making speeches to his fellow Taliban fighters. He was preaching jihad and telling his fighters not to lose morale after their recent defeat. They were all gathered in a large open-air compound in a lush and green area, surrounded by trees. It was cold and crisp in the middle of the day. He is a tall and powerfully built man and he made a speech full of emotion. He spoke forcefully and with the conviction of a man who believes he is directly fulfilling God's wish with his war. After he finished talking, an aide of his wearing a coat, a scarf wound around his head and, typically and crucially, his Kalashnikov, beckoned me to go and meet Mullah Fazlullah. The first thing I asked him was about his future plans and where he was headed in the immediate future, considering he was raw from defeat by the army. "This is all God's land and we can go anywhere and nobody can stop us. We will soon deliver a good and hard lesson to the Pakistani government," he said. He told me they were not defeated and that their position at that time was simply their strategy. He was defiant. He told me very forcefully that he wanted Islamic Sharia law within Pakistan and that he would never cease seeking that end - that mission came across very clearly as his driving force. Powerful rhetoric We were seated indoors in a dark room and he spoke slowly and with conviction. As he was talking so aggressively about his aims and his next moves, it seemed like the words of a fighter smarting from his loss on the battlefield. Although his rhetoric was powerful, he was clearly in a weak position at that time. The audience was very short. He left soon afterwards, saying he wanted to go to meet some other high-ranking Taliban leaders elsewhere in Pakistan's tribal districts. It was during his Swat campaign that it became clearer that Fazlullah was not a born field commander and his skill lay in his ability to inspire those around him through his words. When I met him he was a defeated commander, a militant from outside Pakistan's tribal area, and a man who had not hailed from a strong and close-knit family and tribal network. In that he was and remains different from other major militant commanders. Nobody then could have predicted that he would become the head of Pakistan's Taliban just a few years on.

2009 में स्वात तालिबान को सेना द्वारा पराजित किए जाने के तुरंत बाद, बीबीसी के एक संवाददाता ने मुल्ला फजलुल्ला से मिलने के लिए पाकिस्तान के सुदूर उत्तर में पहाड़ी की यात्रा की। यहाँ वह उस व्यक्ति से मिलने का वर्णन करता है जो आगे चलकर पाकिस्तानी तालिबान का नेता बना।


The great saucer invasion: The day six 'spaceships' landed in England

Summary: They had big metal domes, emitted a strange, ominous hum and appeared one morning in a straight line across southern England. For a few hours, members of the public, police and the Army really believed alien spaceships had landed - until it was revealed to be a stunt by students. But how was the hoax so successful?

By Tanya GuptaBBC News The apparently extra-terrestrial vessels prompted a major police and military response, witnessed by Ray Seager who was with other children playing outside when one of the six saucers was found in the Isle of Sheppey on 4 September 1967. "We all came running over, and there it was," he said. "There were no two ways about it. It was there. "It was the old flying saucer shape. It was a silver, big dome with the thing round the outside. Yes, it was a flying saucer." While the children were excited, he recalls there was also real fear as the police arrived. "They started coming up the hill, and as they started getting close, they started gesturing to us, all the kids, to move away. And they were frightened I think, just as much as we were." Newspapers reported how the saucers were watched, listened to and weighed at police stations and one RAF base throughout the day. The Sheppey saucer was removed by RAF helicopter, while satellite experts were called to a "landing" site in Berkshire amid reports the object found there was bleeping and hissing and full of a mysterious liquid. From the moment apprentices at Farnborough's Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) came up with the idea for the hoax, there was a determination it should be convincing, said engineer Chris Southall. All of them were interested in sci-fi, and they set out to create a design that would not be recognisably human. There could be no giveaway features on the saucers, such as portholes or aerials, nor anything that might be seen on terrestrial inventions such as a plane or a boat. First they made the metal-coated, fibreglass saucers by forming plaster moulds to build them in two halves, and then they sandwiched them together with electronic sound equipment inside. "When you turned the saucers upside down, it flicked a switch and started a battery," Mr Southall said. "We were putting them out in secret, in the middle of the night, in the early hours, and we didn't want them to make a noise until then. Only when we left, we turned them upside down and the noise started - and then we got away quick." The saucers were also filled with a flour and water mix that fermented inside and turned into foul-smelling slime. "We wanted to make something that looked really alien," he said. They were placed in six locations in a straight line from east to west - Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, Bromley in south London, Ascot, the village of Welford, near Newbury, in Berkshire, Chippenham in Wiltshire and Clevedon in Somerset. Engineer Rog Palmer, who was also on the committee, organised teams of two or three apprentices to take the saucers to each location and briefed each group about how to carry out the task, including what to say if stopped by the police - that they had stayed out late at a party. And by the time the saucers were discovered, the pranksters were back in their hostel - where 500 apprentices lived - bleary-eyed over breakfast after being up all night, but very excited. They had risen to the task of planting the "spaceships" without detection, but were they prepared for the extraordinary success of their hoax? Mr Southall, now 72 and an environmental campaigner who runs an eco-house in Clacton, Essex, remembers it was the era of Sputnik and space exploration - and says the whole point of the hoax was for it to be taken seriously. "We thought the government should have some sort of plan if aliens did land," he said. "So we gave them a chance to try out whatever plan they had - but they didn't have one." He recalls the surprise of the apprentices when police and Army responders blew one saucer up and dropped another. David Clarke, media law expert at Sheffield Hallam University and a consultant and curator for the National Archives UFO project, believes the response to the hoax was flawed. "One of the saucers when they actually drilled into it, because it was full of this compacted, sort of papier-maché mess, actually exploded and showered the police officers with this stuff. "If it had been some kind of radiation hazard, how would they have dealt with that? It would have been a disaster area. "And what did they do? Just washed it down the drains." Dr Clarke and Mr Southall agree that in 1967 the public imagination was already gripped by UFO fever - at the time the Ministry of Defence was receiving near-daily reports of sightings. But despite this climate, the apprentices did not expect the huge media response, which included international coverage and double-page spreads. "It was more than we hoped for," Mr Southall said. The events of that day remain something of a blur for him, but he remembers trekking to a TV studio in the evening after the hoax had been exposed. By the time the papers went to press, journalists had been told about the prank, but it didn't deter them from reporting it as an alien invasion, Mr Southall said. Press cuttings from the time reveal official sources "tended to be snappy" when questioned about the hoax. But police confirmed no action was to be taken against the pranksters, with one Bromley officer quoted as saying: "We are taking it like gentlemen." Mr Southall admits that to put the police and Army to such an inconvenience today would have entirely different consequences. "Those were hippie days," he said. "We were apprentices from the RAE and people had a kinder attitude to us because of who we were, and in those days it was different." Now, he says, the saucers would be treated as explosive devices and detonated - and the hoaxers could end up in jail. "That's one of the interesting things looking back at this, 50 years on. "The times we live in now are much harsher, and I don't think we could do it now. We would end up in trouble." See more on this story on Inside Out, on BBC One South East and South on Monday 4 September at 19:30 BST, and later on the BBC iPlayer.

उनके पास बड़े धातु के गुंबद थे, जो एक अजीब, अशुभ ध्वनि उत्सर्जित करते थे और एक सुबह दक्षिणी इंग्लैंड में एक सीधी रेखा में दिखाई दिए। कुछ घंटों के लिए, जनता, पुलिस और सेना के सदस्यों को वास्तव में विश्वास था कि विदेशी अंतरिक्ष यान उतर गए थे-जब तक कि छात्रों द्वारा यह खुलासा नहीं किया गया कि यह एक स्टंट था। लेकिन यह अफवाह इतनी सफल कैसे हुई?


Large Devon pothole 'to be repaired in days'

Summary: A large pothole that closed a road between two villages is due to be repaired in the coming days, Devon County Council has said.

The six-foot hole appeared on an unnamed road between Crediton and Newbuildings. Farmer Richard Cheriton said it had had a "major impact" on villagers. "We're struggling to get out of the farm with tankers and tractors, and for farm deliveries it has been a real calamity," he said. A spokesman for Devon County Council said repairs would be carried out in the next few days and the road resurfaced.

डेवोन काउंटी काउंसिल ने कहा है कि दो गांवों के बीच सड़क को बंद करने वाले एक बड़े गड्ढे की आने वाले दिनों में मरम्मत की जानी है।


Jair Bolsonaro: The candidate dividing friends in Brazil

Summary: At this time of year, the gaúchos are out in force.

By Katy WatsonBBC South America correspondent, Porto Alegre Dressed in pantaloons and neckerchiefs and wearing wide-brimmed felt hats, the people of Rio Grande do Sul have just finished celebrating Semana Farroupilha (Ragamuffin week). It is an annual festival that marks a 19th-Century uprising when the region tried to separate from the rest of Brazil. Only it did not - the state of Rio Grande do Sul remained Brazilian. But it is still an excuse for a party. People here are proud of their heritage. In some ways, they have more in common with their gaucho-loving neighbours Uruguay and Argentina than they do with other parts of Brazil. And that makes for interesting politics in the conservative south. Rodeos and ragamuffins One of the big events at Ragamuffin week is the rodeo. Both men and women, all wearing their traditional wide-brimmed felt hats, mount their horses, lasso in hand, and prove their cowboy skills to the enthusiastic audience. A commentator speaks at breakneck speed. Every minute or so, a bull dashes across the field, closely followed by a rider casting their rope. Nineteen-year-old student Hewyllyn Carrao is sitting on the rodeo stand in her gaúcho felt hat. The event is a bit of light relief. With less than two weeks before the first round of presidential elections, politics is the topic of most conversations at the moment. "All you can do is laugh really!" she says of the candidates on offer this year. "I've no idea who to vote for. Nobody does anything for the people any more." Divisions among friends Brazil is certainly divided. Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro is expected to win the most votes in the first round on 7 October, followed by left-winger Fernando Haddad, who replaced former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the Workers' Party candidate. On the other side of the rodeo field, a group of women are hosting a colonial tea. A massive rib of beef is on the BBQ. Claudia Matiello and Raquel Oliveira are friends, but when it comes to politics they do not see eye-to-eye. "I'm voting for Bolsonaro because I believe in change and he's going to revolutionise Brazil," says Claudia. Raquel shakes her head in despair. She is voting for Haddad because she thinks he is the only person who can get Brazil back on the right economic track. I ask her what she thinks about Claudia voting for Bolsonaro. "She'll see the consequences soon enough," she laughs. Fond memories of the military But across town in Brazil's oldest gun club, Bolsonaro would win hands-down. "The words 'order and progress' are written on the Brazilian flag," says owner Dempsey Magaldi. "But there's total disorder and chaos in this country - we've reached a limit. It's practically civil war." He says 80% of the club's new members start learning to shoot because of security concerns. People want to be able to defend themselves because they say the government is unable to protect them. Fellow marksman and gun shop-owner Henrique Nogueira agrees. In rural Rio Grande do Sul, he says he and his friends all want to vote for Jair Bolsonaro because he's the candidate who backs looser gun laws in response to rising violence. Henrique remembers the time when Brazil was under military rule from 1964 to 1985 fondly. It is a period in which hundreds of people were killed or disappeared, but Henrique says they were "years of progress, when laws were respected and there was more discipline". He thinks that when democracy was restored and the left took power "there was an inversion of values". "Police were seen as criminals, and the criminals the good guys. Now you're seeing the results," he says, referring to the record 63,880 homicides in Brazil last year. "The only option to turn this around is Bolsonaro." Ignoring the controversies Nicknamed "the legend" by his fans, Jair Bolsonaro has a cult following. They seem to forget - or ignore - the controversial things he has said. He told a congresswoman she was too ugly to be raped. He has also said that he would rather have a dead son than a gay son. But supporter Felipe Moreira Gil will not have a bad word said about Jair Bolsonaro - or the military. He is wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra on the front. The late army colonel was accused of ordering the illegal arrest and torture of 500 left-wing activists under military rule. "He's the biggest hero of the Brazilian people," he says. "He protected them from left-wing terrorists." Jair Bolsonaro has also talked fondly of military rule in the past. "It wouldn't be a bad idea," says Felipe of the idea of returning to a military-led government. "But it's not a possibility at the moment. Bolsonaro will become president so there's no reason to organise a counter-revolution." Radical change Regina Brunet, 21, is worried. She is out campaigning for Fernando Haddad in downtown Porto Alegre. "If people don't have jobs, streets get more insecure and Bolsonaro appeals to that feeling," she says. "He stands for a radical change, but it's not a change that would help people. It will only make it worse." Bolsonaro supporter Katia Rose Maciel Broca disagrees. "Trump's changing the US isn't he?" she says. "People are resistant to change because they're out of their comfort zone. Trump was also seen as controversial - he's doing a great job. Bolsonaro will do the same."

वर्ष के इस समय, गौचोस लागू होते हैं।


Can Nigeria and Cameroon learn any lessons from Catalonia?

Summary: The crisis in Spain's Catalonia region is being closely watched in Nigeria and Cameroon, where secessionist movements have been stepping up campaigns for independence, as BBC Pidgin editor Adejuwon Soyinka reports.

Many Nigerians and Cameroonians were looking to Spain, hoping it would find a peaceful solution to demands for independence in the Catalan region. But this changed when violence broke out over the independence referendum held in Catalonia on 1 October in defiance of the Spanish central government and courts. "What both the campaigners for Biafran and Catalan secession have in common is the heavy-handedness (and empty-headedness) of their federal governments," wrote political commentator Onyedimmakachukwu Obiukwu. He hails from the Igbo ethnic group which is at the centre of the campaign to create the breakaway state of Biafra in south-eastern Nigeria. Just as Spanish police have been accused of using excessive force against Catalans who took part in the disputed vote, Nigeria's military has been accused by the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) movement of "invading" the south-east, killing innocent people and raiding the homes of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and his father, Eze Israel Kanu. The raids were condemned as "primitive and cowardly" by another secessionist movement, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra. The military has repeatedly defended what it calls Operation Python Dance II - the heavy deployment of troops to the south-east to quell pro-independence protests. It says it seized weapons during the raid on the home of Mr Kanu senior. Neighbouring Cameroon has also been hit by calls for independence - this time for the two English-speaking regions in the majority French-speaking country. Anglophones have been protesting for months, saying they faced marginalisation. On 1 October, security forces shot dead 17 protesters during clashes in the region, according to Amnesty International. The authorities even went as far as imposing an internet blackout in the North-West and South-West provinces, which are the two majority English-speaking areas. Banned as terrorist group Prior to the independence vote in Catalonia on 1 October, advocates of self-determination in Cameroon and Nigeria had looked up to Spain as a model for what they described as a rancour-free "divorce". They were quick to point out that Catalans were after the same thing and the Spanish government had shown restraint in its approach. This changed to some extent when national police were sent in to disrupt the unofficial independence referendum the regional Catalan government had organised. However, it is still free to argue its cause. In Nigeria, the military viewed Ipob as a terrorist group and the authorities got it proscribed as such. Under new laws it is now an offence bordering on terrorism to be a member of Ipob, or be found with posters, flyers or even clothing with Ipob's logo or inscription anywhere in Nigeria. Biafra in brief: 'Nigeria treats us like slaves' The whereabouts of its leader Nnamdi Kanu is now a subject of controversy - his supporters say the army has detained him but the military authorities have denied this. Several regional observers, like John Nwodo, head of Ohaneze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural group in south-east Nigeria, have criticised the authorities' strategy saying it was alienating and "wrong headed." He argues that such heavy-handed actions are likely to radicalise the community and give rise to militant groups in the shape of Boko Haram, which continues to wreak havoc in northern Nigeria. But Information Minister Lai Mohammed counters this argument saying that the government's operation is based on those exact fears: "We didn't want to have another Boko Haram on our hands," he told BBC Pidgin. Peaceful protests One major difference is that Catalan separatists have been elected to run a regional government. Nigeria has a federal system, designed to ward off demands for independence, but secessionists have not been elected to any of the five Igbo-majority states - whether because of a lack of public support or heavy-handed action by the authorities is a matter of debate. And with Ipob banned, the group is obviously unable to contest elections. Both pro- and anti-Catalan independence protests have been held in Spain without major clashes with security forces. However, in Cameroon and Nigeria, any public protest is immediately quashed, leading to arrests and, in some cases, deaths. Another area of difference is the level of media coverage the separatist movements are getting. The merits of a proposed Catalan state and the challenges it would face have been part of mainstream debate in Spain. This is in start contrast to Nigeria and Cameroon where the activities of the secessionist groups have been criminalised and mostly muted from local media coverage. Better a secessionist in Cameroon than Nigeria? While Nigerian authorities appear averse to the idea of negotiations with advocates of secession movements, Paul Biya, Cameroon's president of 35 years and counting, has called for dialogue. While condemning the violence in the protests, Mr Biya said: "It is not forbidden to voice any concerns in the republic. However, nothing great can be achieved by using verbal excesses, street violence, and defying authority." Does this make Cameroon authorities different? Not according to Wilfred Tassang, Vice Chairman of the Southern Cameroons' Ambazonian Governing Council, which has been banned by the authorities. He says such a statement from Mr Biya is just a façade to cover what he described as the government's atrocities against people from the Anglophone region. There are fears that if the situation in these countries is not handled carefully, a full-scale armed conflict may be inevitable. And this appears to be the worry of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari. "As a young army officer, I took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic civil war costing about two million lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering," he said during his independence day speech on 1 October. "Those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through… Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly," the president warned Nigerians.

बीबीसी पिजिन के संपादक एडेजुवोन सोयिंका की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, स्पेन के कैटेलोनिया क्षेत्र में संकट को नाइजीरिया और कैमरून में बारीकी से देखा जा रहा है, जहां अलगाववादी आंदोलन स्वतंत्रता के लिए अभियान चला रहे हैं।


Driver in court over Newport crash which killed Xana Doyle

Summary: A drunk driver has appeared in court accused of killing a young woman when a stolen car he was driving crashed.

Xana Doyle, 19, died after the silver Toyota Avensis ended up on its roof on Usk Way last Friday morning. Sakhawat Ali, 22, appeared at Newport Magistrates' Court charged with offences including causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving. The case has been sent to Newport Crown Court for a hearing on 13 February and he was remanded in custody. Mr Ali is also charged with unlawfully taking a vehicle, driving without insurance and dangerous driving. The court heard Mr Ali was driving with 75mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

एक नशे में धुत चालक एक युवती की हत्या के आरोप में अदालत में पेश हुआ है, जब वह एक चोरी की कार चला रहा था जो दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गई थी।


Australia election: The campaign with cash to splash

Summary: Australians vote in a general election on 18 May and rarely, if ever, has campaigning in the nation been splashed with so much cash. So, asks the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney, what will be its effect?

A controversial mining tycoon with a penchant for dinosaurs and ambitions to build a replica of the Titanic is the bankroller behind the biggest spend. Clive Palmer is expected to spend at least A$50m (£26.8m; $34.4m) on his rebranded United Australia Party (UAP) by the time the nation votes. The right-wing UAP has run about 60,000 TV adverts so far during the campaign, and viewers can expect more. It's the sort of big-budget advertising used by fast-food giants and major retail brands. Politics in this country has rarely, if ever, seen cash splashed on such a scale. In 2016, it was estimated Australia's two major parties had a combined election war chest of A$30m. The UAP is a revamp of the defunct Palmer United Party that in its heyday five years ago held the balance of power in the Senate, Australia's powerful upper chamber. This, before it all fell apart amid in-fighting and defections, as well as controversy surrounding the closure of Mr Palmer's nickel refinery in Queensland that left many workers out of pocket and out of work. But opinion polls are indicating that his new political venture could once again wield significant influence in the next parliament. There are concerns, though, that big money could be distorting the electoral process. "If you spend enough and you saturate the TV channels, the inboxes of voters and their mobile phones, then you will be able to sway some people over to your side, and I think that is concerning for democracy," said Danielle Wood from the Grattan Institute, a non-partisan think tank. "But for the money I think he [Clive Palmer] would almost be unelectable." What's the grassroots factor? This election will see two rival and well-funded grassroots organisations promote very different ideas for Australia. In the past year the powerful left-wing lobby GetUp! has raised almost A$13m, or the equivalent of almost A$13 for each of its members. The fund is helping activists try to unseat two of Australia's most polarising politicians - Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton, and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Get Up! says its philosophy is "powered by the values and hopes of everyday people. Our work is driven by values, not party politics". Last November, Advance Australia, which champions a conservative agenda, was launched in opposition to Get Up! This "independent movement of mainstream Australians" hopes to eventually attract a million members (it currently has around several thousand). It is financially supported by a group of wealthy business leaders, and is responsible for Australia's only political "superhero". Captain GetUp! is a satirical creation on a mission to ridicule the "radical left-wing agenda" of GetUp!, which dismissed the caped crusader as a "silly little stunt". What funding controls are in place? Cash fills the veins of Australian politics, as it does elsewhere. Grattan Institute analysis has shown that more than half of declared donations to the main parties here come from about 5% of donors. The opposition Labor party is heavily reliant on trade unions, most notably those representing construction and shop workers, while the governing centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been well supported by the mining industry. Other well-off corporate organisations donate to both. "What we found is that it looks like well-resourced interests, including big business, unions and other groups with a lot of financial firepower have a lot of influence over policy in Australia," explained Ms Wood. "Australia has a lot of private money in the system by international standards. There is no limit to how much people can contribute. It is not against the law and that is exactly one of the problems." Campaign finance is, however, more regulated at a local level. In New South Wales, which is home to more Australians than any other state, political donations from gambling enterprises, property developers and the liquor and tobacco sectors are banned. This isn't the case in national politics, although there are now restrictions on foreign contributions because of fears about outside interference. "You now have to be an Australian citizen, a resident of Australia or an Australian-based company to give donations, so there are now restrictions on foreign donations at the federal level," Marian Sawer, an emeritus professor at the Australian National University, who favours the democratisation of political funding told the BBC. "When you are looking at regulation of campaign finance you want to encourage small donations from a large number of people rather than large donations from a few people, which is what we tend to have in relation to the major parties in Australia because that can be accompanied by undue policy influence." So will money sway the vote? Money is pouring into Australia's election campaign like never before, thanks mostly to Clive Palmer's deep pockets. But Tim Harcourt, an economist at the University of New South Wales, believes cheque-book politics does have its limits. "At the end of the day money can't buy you votes," he said. "You've still got to win hearts and minds, but it [money] can certainly improve your chances." "Some polling is showing that 75% [of voters] have already made up their minds pre-campaign with this election. It has been a lot lower in the past, so that would suggest a lot of the campaigning material is wasted money," Mr Harcourt added. "But if it is going to be a tight election, which it looks like, then the undecided vote will still matter so [election funds] are probably a pretty good investment."

ऑस्ट्रेलियाई लोग 18 मई को आम चुनाव में मतदान करते हैं और शायद ही कभी, यदि कभी भी, देश में प्रचार के लिए इतनी नकदी का छिड़काव किया गया हो। तो, सिडनी में बीबीसी के फिल मर्सर पूछते हैं, इसका क्या प्रभाव पड़ेगा?


The hardline Buddhists targeting Sri Lanka's Muslims

Summary: After a series of attacks on mosques, wild rumours about animal slaughter and an attempt to outlaw the halal system of classification, the BBC's Charles Haviland investigates how Sri Lanka's Muslim minority is being targeted by hardline Buddhists.

On a January morning a crowd of Buddhist monks storm a law college, yelling, chanting and even hitting one or two seemingly random people and pushing back the police. Furiously they shout that the exam results have been distorted to favour Muslims. A few weeks later, apparently abetted by the police, monks attack a slaughterhouse in Dematagoda, Colombo, alleging that calves are being slaughtered inside (illegal in the capital) or the meat is improperly stored. Both are incorrect, but the monks spread rumours that the facility is Muslim-owned as most of the truck drivers are Muslim. Sri Lankan monks are now taking this so-called "direct action" every few days. It is part of a growing wave of anti-Muslim activities in Sri Lanka carried out by new hardline Buddhist groups - a trend that is making many people anxious, even fearful. It comes four years after the army in this mainly Sinhalese Buddhist country defeated Tamil separatists. Regular attacks During Sri Lanka's bitter civil war war the Muslims - a small Tamil-speaking minority, about 9% of the population - kept a low profile, although many suffered violence. Muslims are seen as having remained largely loyal to the state during the 26-year conflict. Indeed in 1990 they were expelled en masse from the north of Sri Lanka by Tamil rebels with just a few hours' notice. But they now fear that ethnic majority hardliners are trying to target them. At their recent rallies, the most prominent new hardline group, the Buddhist Strength Force (Bodu Bala Sena, BBS) have used coarse, derogatory language to describe Muslim imams and have told the Sinhalese majority not to rent property to Muslims. At one meeting attracting thousands, the organisation's secretary, Gnanasara Thero, told each Buddhist present to become "an unofficial policeman against Muslim extremism" and said "so-called democrats" were destroying the Sinhala race. Away from the rallies, I visited a temple in the suburb of Dehiwala as the early morning sun hit the majestic bo tree. The presiding monk, Akmeemana Dayarathana, has founded another ultra-nationalist Buddhist group, Sinhala Echo. He says the Sinhalese have real grievances, that Muslims are trying to convert people, building too many mosques - even having too many children. In fact statistics show that both the Sinhalese and Muslim population percentages have grown slightly over three decades. He says, without giving any evidence, that Muslims propagated a message that Sinhalese families should be small. "Then they started to increase their own population," he says. "This is the only country for the Sinhalese." He proceeds to give a unique take on geography and religion. "Look around the world - Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and others, they were all Buddhist countries - but the Muslims destroyed the culture and then took over the country. We worry they're planning it here too." A few days later his organisation stormed a house where they alleged Christian conversions were taking place and verbally abused the family inside, some of them - according to a local website - physically assaulting a woman. Top-level support Since last April, when monks led an attack on a mosque during Friday prayers in the town of Dambulla, there have been regular accounts of mosques being attacked or vandalised, for instance with graffiti or pictures of pigs. There have also been assaults on churches and Christian pastors but it is the Muslims who are the most concerned. In the south of the country on 18 March, a mob of hundreds including monks surrounded a pastor's house, set fire to tyres outside and shouted abusively to those inside. "Muslims are worried all over the country," Mufti MIM Rizwe tells me. "Everybody is [in] fear." He is president of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), the main organisation of Muslim clerics, and meets me at a hotel where imams have come together for emergency discussions on the situation. He defends the halal system of food classification, which the hardline monks are now trying to outlaw, and strongly denies that the community is fostering extremism as they claim. He rejects their accusation that Muslims have been destroying Buddhist holy sites. "You can't show one incident that Muslims have reacted in this way," he says. "No single statue or any religious worship places have been targeted by Muslims, totally not. Muslims have never done this. We hope we are guiding our Muslims to be calm and respect every religion." Days later his organisation appears on a platform with moderate Buddhist monks who have decided to distance themselves from the hardliners. The hardliners are withering in their description of the moderates, calling them "unethical and immoral". It has become clear that the BBS has top-level support. At its ceremony to open a new training school, the guest of honour was the powerful Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, brother of the president. "It is the monks who protect our country, religion and race," he said in a speech. "No one should doubt these clergy. We're here to give you encouragement." President Mahinda Rajapaksa was reported to have told a BBS delegation in January not to promote "communal hatred", but the official communique was issued only in English, not in Sinhala. It is also apparent that Muslim leaders have shied away from any kind of confrontation with the powerful monks or any supporters they may have in government on this issue, remaining largely conciliatory in their language and actions. Mood of triumphalism Civic society activists are concerned. Sanjana Hattotuwa, editor of a citizen media initiative, groundviews.org, showed me some of the anti-Muslim web pages that are fast growing in number. The main picture on a Sinhala Facebook page called "My Conscience", with more than 8,000 followers, shows a lion - symbol of the Sinhalese - devouring a wild boar depicted with a crescent and star on its forehead. Mr Hattotuwa believes the dominant mood in the country is one of triumphalism, four years after the Tamil Tigers were beaten, and that this is encouraging victimisation of a new minority. "The country is seen today as Sinhala Buddhist," he says. "Everybody else has a rightful place. If they articulate concerns that question the dominant narrative then they should be put into their place. So the end of the war ironically has given the space for new social fault lines to occur." He rejects the concern voiced by some people that the socially conservative Muslim community is doing too little to integrate. "Integration means a recognition that this country is comprised of many communities and each one of them has the right to live where they want, how they want." Clearly not everyone in the government - which in any case contains Muslim ministers - is happy with the rise of the hardliners. Some Sinhalese ministers have expressed unease and a prominent newly retired diplomat, Dayan Jayatilleka, calls the BBS an "ethno-religious fascist movement from the dark underside of Sinhala society". Many Sri Lankans feel there are uncomfortable echoes of the 1983 pogroms, when Sinhala violence against Tamils precipitated the war. But hardline Buddhist rallies and "direct action" stunts are happening all the time now. And their social and political influence is expanding.

मस्जिदों पर हमलों की एक श्रृंखला, पशु वध के बारे में जंगली अफवाहों और वर्गीकरण की हलाल प्रणाली को गैरकानूनी घोषित करने के प्रयास के बाद, बीबीसी के चार्ल्स हैविलैंड इस बात की जांच करते हैं कि कैसे श्रीलंका के मुस्लिम अल्पसंख्यकों को कट्टर बौद्धों द्वारा निशाना बनाया जा रहा है।


Caerphilly Mountain Road death: Tributes to Shauna Davies

Summary: A girl who died following an incident in Caerphilly has been described as "bubbly, genuine and loyal".

Shauna Davies died in the early hours of Sunday shortly after emergency services were called to Caerphilly Mountain Road. Four people have been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences. In a tribute, released via police, her family said the 15-year-old was a "beautiful person inside and out". "She was loved by so many people, she loved her brother and sister and friends and was fiercely loyal to them. She will be missed by so many," the family statement said. "We were very proud parents. Fly high our beautiful daughter."

कैर्फिली में एक घटना के बाद मरने वाली एक लड़की को "चुलबुले, सच्चे और वफादार" के रूप में वर्णित किया गया है।


Hereford Bulmers cider plant to receive £58m investment

Summary: Heineken has announced it is investing £58m in its Bulmers cider plant in Hereford.

The money will be used to increase the site's production capacity and to modernise it. The firm also confirmed it would be moving its production and packaging operations from Ledbury to Hereford by late 2015. Ledbury will become a dedicated fruit milling site. Bulmers was established in 1887.

हेनेकेन ने घोषणा की है कि वह हेयरफोर्ड में अपने बुल्मर्स साइडर संयंत्र में 58 मिलियन पाउंड का निवेश कर रहा है।


Blandford farm murder inquiry: Dead man named

Summary: A 25-year-old man who died after sustaining serious injuries at a Dorset farm, sparking a murder inquiry, has been named as Marcin Tameczka.

Police were called to Hanford Farm near Blandford shortly before 20:30 BST on Friday 28 September. Mr Tameczka, a Polish national, was pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem examination revealed he died as a result of blunt force trauma. Two men from Shaftesbury were arrested on suspicion of murder. A 25-year-old was later released on police bail and a 27-year-old man was released while inquiries continue. Police said the three were all known to each other.

एक 25 वर्षीय व्यक्ति, जिसकी डोरसेट फार्म में गंभीर चोटों के बाद मृत्यु हो गई, हत्या की जांच शुरू कर दी, का नाम मार्सिन टेमज़्का रखा गया है।


Direct train to Europe

Summary: You can now board a train in London and a few hours later get off by the Mediterranean - the new direct service between St Pancras and Marseille is the furthest passengers have ever been able to go on a train from Britain without getting off. But why, more than 20 years after the Channel Tunnel opened, have direct services to the rest of Europe been so slow arriving?

By Vincent DowdBBC World Service Realising you've missed any train is unwelcome but missing the 15:22 from Marseille Saint-Charles to London Saint Pancras would be bad news indeed. The next departure would be at least 24 hours away. Before breakfast-time five days a week a Eurostar train sets off from London and arrives six and a half hours later in Marseille. Less than an hour after that it pulls out again, heading back from Provence to St Pancras. At 1,237 kilometres (769 miles) it's the longest rail journey you can make from London to mainland Europe without a change. It's only one service a day but Mary Walsh of Eurostar says for the company it's a big moment. "Probably we've all forgotten how amazing it seemed in the 1990s getting a train from Waterloo to Paris. If there weren't so many Brits in love with the South of France it could never work commercially." In fact, a few days ago, getting the train to the UK, only a few passengers boarded at Marseille. But the Eurostar filled up nicely at Avignon and Lyon where it stops as it heads north. Eurostar has had summer-only services to Avignon before and there's a winter service to Bourg Saint-Maurice in the French Alps for skiers. But the new year-round service to Marseille finally delivers one of the big direct destinations which in the 1990s were talked of but which have been slow to arrive. Mark Smith runs the website seat61.com, loved by rail obsessives everywhere. He says there are three big factors which mean rail travel through the Channel Tunnel for most people still means only going to Paris or Brussels. "In a way the most straightforward problem to explain is the technology. You can't run any old train through the tunnel - currently only the Eurostar trains themselves comply with safety regulations. "In addition you need to have all the signalling systems on board for every country you pass through - and no two major countries use exactly the same system. Eurostars are already crammed with the equipment for the UK, for France and for Belgium and there's physically no room for anything else. But now Eurostar is buying new trains, which will have the ability to go as far as Amsterdam as they're compatible with Dutch signalling and safety. "The original Eurostar trains are now pretty old. At the moment they don't even have passenger wifi, which is a problem in itself," says Smith. Amsterdam has long seemed the obvious next destination for direct trains from the UK. Eurostar says those services will finally arrive in 2017, with stops at Antwerp and Rotterdam. "Eurostar is a commercial company and if we add to our network we have to be sure we can make it pay," says Walsh. "We think Amsterdam will work brilliantly for us because it's both a big business destination and hugely popular with tourists. But the list of places which meet both those requirements is shorter than you think." Walsh says one factor which may have changed since Eurostar began is how long passengers will sit on a train. "After 9/11 air travel started to become far more time-consuming - for reasons of security which no one would ever criticise. People used to say no-one wanted to be on a train for more than three hours but I think four would now be more accurate. "That's talking about business travel. If people are travelling for leisure - and if we can make their journey definitely part of the holiday - then probably six or seven hours is acceptable to the right destination." Smith says identifying new destinations is a hard-nosed business. "Remember that the start of Eurostar pretty much coincided with the launch of budget airlines in Europe. That did for some of the more ambitious plans and competition with air is the second big consideration hindering expansion. "As a rail enthusiast I would love to see trains to Berlin or Milan or even Moscow. But realistically that is many years away." A complication is that Eurostar has lost its monopoly of passenger train services through the tunnel. In 2013 Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) was granted an operating licence to run services in competition with Eurostar. Destinations from London might include Amsterdam, Cologne and Frankfurt. But these services appear to be on hold. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn blames the delay on the delivery of rolling stock but also says "the economic efficiency of the service has to be ensured". Deutsche Bahn is known to be worried about what Smith gives as the third big problem complicating expansion of services through the tunnel. "There's an obvious difficulty caused by Britain not being part of the EU Schengen treaty and retaining passport controls," he says. "It creates a massive headache for trains back to the UK which of course doesn't apply outbound. There's now a workaround at Lille and we'll see what passengers make of it all." It was clear when I travelled back from Marseille that many passengers hadn't realised they would be required to leave the train at the northern city of Lille for passport checks. Only Lille, Paris and Brussels have "juxtaposed" border control facilities which process UK-bound passengers before they board for London. Passengers from the South of France - and presumably new destinations to come - will need to get off at Lille, go up to the customs hall and in effect start their journey again. An extra 75 minutes is factored in for the process. Even some of those who knew of the Lille stop were surprised to find they had to carry their luggage throughout. Numerous small children were noisily displeased. Deutsche Bahn may wonder what high-paying business travellers from Cologne and Frankfurt will make of being forced from their nice comfortable ICE trains. Some in the industry have urged a shift to on-train passport checks but for now this appears unlikely. At Eurostar, Walsh does not deny there is a problem. "The current arrangement is not ideal and we recognise that. The delay is offset to an extent by being able to turn up in Marseille or wherever and just get on your train, so you save half an hour there. "But ultimately it was a choice of introducing the new service or not. People want more direct destinations and if there are problems at Lille we will look at how to make the set-up work better. In a couple of years when we introduce services to and from Amsterdam we'll have learnt from the experience." Smith says the success of new Amsterdam services could be crucial to the future of international rail travel from Britain. "We're looking at a journey time of three hours 55 minutes - within what most people now find tolerable. If the new services do take a big part of the market from the airlines - and I think they will - the industry will look for other places to conquer. "Sadly some very attractive destinations are in the wrong place. How wonderful if you could get from London to Barcelona in under four hours on a train. Unfortunately geography is in the way." Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

अब आप लंदन में एक ट्रेन में सवार हो सकते हैं और कुछ घंटों बाद भूमध्य सागर से उतर सकते हैं-सेंट पैनक्रास और मार्सिले के बीच नई सीधी सेवा अब तक की सबसे दूर की यात्री सेवा है जो ब्रिटेन से बिना उतरे ट्रेन में जाने में सक्षम रही है। लेकिन चैनल टनल के खुलने के 20 साल से अधिक समय बाद, शेष यूरोप के लिए सीधी सेवाएँ इतनी धीमी गति से क्यों आ रही हैं?


'Donald Trump arrest' complaints made to police

Summary: A total of 276 complaints have been received by Grampian Police over its arrests of two film-makers working on a documentary about Donald Trump's golf development.

The film You've Been Trumped was broadcast by the BBC on 21 October. It showed film-makers Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney being arrested by officers on the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire. The force has acknowledged that the arrests could have been better handled. The film was broadcast by the BBC again early on Tuesday. The arrests were part of an investigation into an alleged breach of the peace. Mr Baxter said he and Mr Phinney had been doing their jobs as journalists. Mr Trump has criticised the documentary. Design work for a second golf course close to the Trump International Links is now under way.

डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के गोल्फ विकास के बारे में एक वृत्तचित्र पर काम करने वाले दो फिल्म निर्माताओं की गिरफ्तारी पर ग्रैम्पियन पुलिस को कुल 276 शिकायतें मिली हैं।


Horse rescued from ledge after Cemaes Bay sea swim

Summary: A horse has been rescued from a ledge after it bolted into the sea and swam along the coast before getting trapped.

The horse became spooked while being ridden at Cemaes Bay, on Anglesey, on Tuesday, the coastguard said. A coastguard search and rescue team found the rider uninjured. The horse had found its way onto a ledge, but because of the outgoing tide it was over a metre up on slippery rocks. A rescuer made their way to the horse and slowly led it down the rocks. The horse, which was also uninjured, was returned to its owner.

एक घोड़े को समुद्र में गिरने और तट पर तैरने के बाद एक किनारे से बचाया गया है।


Carmakers and workers jostle over European factories

Summary: Ford's plan to close a factory in Belgium and two plants in the UK might be seen as an understandable response to terrible market conditions in Europe, where sales are falling at a rate not seen in a couple of decades.

By Jorn MadslienBusiness reporter, BBC News But this is not merely a knee-jerk reaction to weak sales this year. Instead, what Ford of Europe's chief executive Stephen Odell is trying do is to push through is a dramatic reduction in manufacturing capacity, in order to match a sharp and long-lasting fall in demand for its cars. That might sound like a simple thing to do, but given that any decision to exit Genk would result in some 9,300 job losses, including an estimated 5,000 supplier jobs, with a further 1,400 jobs at risk in the UK, the plan is likely to be met with much resistance. Certainly, in the past any attempts by European carmakers to address the industry's long-recognised over-capacity problem have been met with storms of protests. To date, neither the carmakers' threats nor the unions' protests have been in vain. In France, the government has responded and it is now demanding that PSA Peugeot Citroen's chief executive Philip Varin scales back the planned cuts in return for a 7bn euros ($9bn; £5.7bn) state guarantee for its finance division, Banque PSA Finance, aimed at preventing the carmaker from imploding. In Italy, where Fiat's manufacturing operations are running at half capacity and where all investment has been suspended, the government appears to be close to granting Mr Marchionne special tax concessions to convince him to shift production from sister-company Chrysler's US factories to Italy. And given Germany's history of helping out its carmakers during times of trouble, many industry observers would expect it to do so again were there to be German jobs at risk in the future. Opportunity missed Government assistance is obviously welcome in the short term, but it is not a given that it will be beneficial for either workers or companies in the long term. Many of Europe's ageing car factories are hopelessly uncompetitive when compared with more modern manufacturing plants elsewhere in the world, industry officials and analysts agree. This is largely because the old factories' costs are excessive, as a direct result of carmakers utilising no more than an estimated 70% of their current production capacity. Consequently, European factories are unable to compete on price in global markets, which in turn makes it almost impossible to utilise the capacity to build cars for exports. Thus many of Europe's carmakers - Fiat, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Opel/Vauxhall in particular - depend almost totally on fast-shrinking European markets, where the excess capacity is fuelling a crippling price war between manufacturers that are expected to suffer losses to the tune of several hundred million euros each this year. Troubled European carmakers resent finding themselves in this situation. Many in the industry feel that the current crisis could have been avoided had they taken the opportunity to close factories and cut capacity during the 2008-9 downturn, rather than accept short-term government scrappage schemes that carried them over. To them, the outcome of Ford's talks with the union about Genk's eventual future is of huge importance. If Ford's plans are eventually scuppered by some sort of combination of forceful opposition and government support, it will remain difficult for the others to curb capacity. But if Ford gets away with it, the floodgates might open as others will want to follow suit. The short-term impact on the motor industry's European workforce would be devastatingly painful, with tens of thousands of jobs on the line. Many executives believe that would be a price worth paying if it safeguards the long-term future of the European car industry. But that is obviously an argument few workers or politicians are prepared to accept.

बेल्जियम में एक कारखाने और यूके में दो संयंत्रों को बंद करने की फोर्ड की योजना को यूरोप में भयानक बाजार स्थितियों के लिए एक समझने योग्य प्रतिक्रिया के रूप में देखा जा सकता है, जहां बिक्री उस दर से गिर रही है जो कुछ दशकों में नहीं देखी गई थी।


Christmas 2016 travel: When should I avoid the roads?

Summary: With 12 million drivers on the roads, 200 sets of rail engineering works and airports full of people jetting off to spend Christmas abroad, it will be busy however you travel over the festive period. But what kind of transport should you really avoid - and when?

By Daniel WainwrightBBC News 1. When to stay off the roads Christmas Day falls on Sunday in 2016. The last time this happened was in 2011, which leads experts to suggest one of the busiest days on the roads will be Friday 23 December. Another of the busiest days has already been and gone, which was Tuesday 20 December. According to traffic information company Inrix, some journeys may take twice or even three times as long compared with other times of the year. Travel Check if this is affecting your journey For more stories from the BBC England Data Unit visit our Pinterest board. According to the AA, 12 million cars will also be travelling at least 20 miles on Friday 23 December. The AA worked this out based on a survey of 19,317 members, 41% of whom said they would be making long journeys that day. It then applied the figure to the number of vehicles in the UK. Highways England has promised to complete or lift 448 miles of roadworks from Friday until 3 January. During this period, Tuesday 27 December has been identified as a day to avoid the roads with many people travelling home after the Christmas break. 2. When to avoid the trains The Southern conductors' strikes will be followed by rail engineering work, set to start on Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December. That means people will need to check whether they should travel on the Friday or before if they want to avoid disruption. London based private hire company Addison Lee expects Friday 23 December will see double the number of people try to get to rail stations compared with a normal weekday. The usual shut down of rail services on Christmas Day offers a chance for engineers to carry out maintenance and upgrade work. And because it's a quieter time for people travelling in general, the period between Christmas and New Year will also mean planned work will hit services. There are 200 railway engineering projects, including: 3. And the airports? About 223,000 people will depart from and arrive at Heathrow Airport on Friday 23 December, compared with about 200,000 on a normal day. British Airways cabin crew have voted for strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions. They will walk out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and the action could involve up to 4,500 staff, but BA says it will still run flights. And Virgin Atlantic pilots have voted for industrial action short of a strike in a row over union recognition. The Professional Pilots' Union (PPU) said "pilot goodwill" will be removed from 23 December. Virgin said it did not expect flights to be affected.

सड़कों पर 12 मिलियन चालकों, रेल इंजीनियरिंग के 200 सेटों और विदेशों में क्रिसमस बिताने के लिए जाने वाले लोगों से भरे हवाई अड्डों के साथ, यह व्यस्त होगा, हालांकि आप त्योहारों के दौरान यात्रा करते हैं। लेकिन आपको वास्तव में किस तरह के परिवहन से बचना चाहिए-और कब?


One taken to hospital after kitchen blaze at Gaerwen

Summary: One person has been taken to hospital and two other people have been treated for the effects of smoke following a kitchen fire.

Firefighters were called to the incident at Gaerwen, Anglesey, on Friday at 17:38 GMT. It is understood objects on a cooker hob were ignited after it was switched on accidentally. Two people were checked for the effects of smoke at the scene and a third was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent crews from Llangefni, Bangor and Caernarfon to deal with the incident. Related Internet Links North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

एक व्यक्ति को अस्पताल ले जाया गया है और दो अन्य लोगों का रसोई में आग लगने के बाद धुएँ के प्रभाव के लिए इलाज किया गया है।


US shares boosted by improved GDP data

Summary: (Close): US shares were mixed at the close after the growth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2015 was revised up to 1% from 0.7%.

The Dow Jones was down 57.32 points at 16,639.97, while the S&P 500 fell 3.65 points at 1,948.05. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index climbed 8.27 points to 4,590.47. Shares in oil firms fell after US crude fell 0.9% to trade at $32.79 a barrel, Exxon Mobil was 0.32 lower and Chevron fell by 1.11%. Shares in Caterpillar, the world's largest construction and mining equipment maker, were up 0.6%. Earlier in the week, the company gave more details of a major restructuring, which will see it combine two divisions dealing with power and energy.

(बंद): 2015 की चौथी तिमाही के लिए विकास अनुमान को 0.7 प्रतिशत से संशोधित करके 1 प्रतिशत किए जाने के बाद अमेरिकी शेयर बंद होने पर मिश्रित थे।


Puerto Rico profile - Media

Summary: Broadcasting is regulated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Home-grown comedies, talk shows and Spanish-language soaps are staple fare on local TV stations. The multichannel offerings of cable TV are widely available. News and talk and Spanish-language pop music are among the most popular radio formats. There were 1.8 million internet users by June 2012 (Internetworldstats.com). The press

प्रसारण यू. एस. फेडरल कम्युनिकेशंस कमीशन (एफ. सी. सी.) द्वारा विनियमित किया जाता है।


'Upskirting': It happened to me

Summary: When a man took an upskirt photograph of Gina Martin at a music festival last month, she went straight to the police. But she was amazed to discover that there is no specific law against "upskirting" in most of the UK - only in Scotland. After the police closed her case, Gina began a petition to get it reopened, and now she is lobbying for a change in the law.

Martin's article about her experience struck a chord with many of you. We asked readers to tell us if they had been the victim of upskirting, and whether the perpetrator was punished. Here are some of your stories - names have been changed. "I was at the bus stop" It happened four years ago, when I was 17. It was a warm spring day and I was wearing a floral dress. I was waiting for the bus to go to college at 09:00 in the morning on a busy main road. A man walked up to the bus stop and came and sat down next to me, and then started moving closer towards me. I was aware something wasn't quite right, but every time I turned around he pretended to be looking out towards the road where the bus was coming from. You don't always have the confidence to say something, so I stood up and walked away. But when I turned around to look at him he was holding up his mobile phone. It was a video of my bum - he had been trying to video up my dress. He was showing me, as if he was proud of it, and he was touching himself at the same time. My initial reaction was: "That needs to be deleted, I need to get hold of that phone." I got angry. I said: "Give me that now, you need to delete that." And he ran off. I chased him but he was too fast. Then it dawned on me what had just happened - the seriousness of it, and the intrusion of my personal space. I was very upset. A man who had been driving past in a van stopped and came over. Traffic was slow and he said he'd got a good look at the man running off. The police came and took a statement and I went home - I didn't make it into college that day. The police asked for the outfit that I was wearing on that day, and I went in to make a formal statement at the station. A female officer interviewed me, but I felt like it wasn't serious enough, and that I shouldn't be there. When I was asked to identify the man from pictures I really struggled - none of them looked like the image I had in my head. I thought: "What if I don't recognise him and then he does it again?" I was told afterwards that the witness had picked a different person to me. I don't know if he was arrested. I still live here but I've never gone back to that bus stop. I found different routes to college. I'm still incredibly cautious of people when I'm on my own. People tell you not to walk home alone at night - but this happened in broad daylight, so should we just never go anywhere on our own? That's ridiculous. But that's how it made me feel. I can't believe that upskirting doesn't fall into some sort of category like sexual harassment or sexual assault. It's a violation of personal space - they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it just because we don't have a law against it. Debbie, 21 "My pupils upskirted me" I teach in a secondary school. A few years ago I was called to a meeting together with some of my female colleagues and we were told that some pupils were being kept out of class because they had been caught using phone cameras to look up teachers' skirts. They'd been working as a team - one pupil would call the teacher over to ask a question, and while she was leaning over the table or otherwise engaged in answering that question somebody else would kick the phone across the floor while it was filming - then they were taking stills from the film and uploading them on the internet. It was horrific and quite upsetting - as you can imagine we had a thousand questions, like: "Can you see anything in these pictures?" But we were not allowed to see them. I don't think you could, because most of us wear tights, but the point is that these 13-year-old kids thought that that was an acceptable thing to do. The boys were kept out of school for a couple of weeks, and when they came back we were expected to carry on teaching them. I wasn't remotely happy with the way the school handled it. I felt like I'd been a victim of a crime, and my main problem was that I didn't feel it had been recognised in that way, and I wasn't dealt with in the way that a victim would be. It wasn't taken as seriously as if someone had stolen my handbag. For me it's the little things - I haven't been able to dress the same. I feel I have to put trousers on rather than a skirt. I'm paranoid about pupils with their phones or when they are asking questions - the trust is gone. I think it affects your day-to-day job and you need to talk to pupils about that so that you're comfortable going back into the classroom. Olivia, 31 "I found upskirt pictures on my partner's phone" We were watching a film on his laptop - his phone was plugged in and when the film finished I saw hundreds of inappropriate pictures of different women. I said: "What's that?" And he immediately jumped over to the laptop and spun it around so I couldn't see. He said: "Oh it's just some old pictures. I'll delete them." I wasn't sure how to react, especially as this was my first ever relationship. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But a year later, I found a lot more pictures on his phone. I could tell that they were from our local town centre and from his gym, and that he'd obviously taken them himself. I was absolutely horrified. Eventually I got the confidence to leave him. It has caused me to have years of therapy, and I find it hard to trust my current partner. Alice, 21 "My daughter was the victim of an upskirter " It was about three years ago and my two daughters went to the shopping centre - they were aged 18 and 15 and it was a particularly hot day. A man happened to notice that someone was following them and he suddenly saw the other chap go up to them and, without them noticing, take photographs up their skirt and shorts. He was very upset to see this and he called for security. They apprehended this man and looked on his phone and realised he had taken several photographs up different women's skirts. The police arrived and were very concerned because they thought that my 15-year-old daughter had had a photograph taken of her. As it turned there wasn't a picture of her, but there was of my 18-year-old. The difficulty was that the police couldn't really find much that they could charge him with because she was an adult and it was in a public place. First of all they wanted to charge him with voyeurism but apparently that can only happen if you're in your own home and someone's taking a picture through your window. So in the end I think they charged him with something like public nuisance. He pleaded guilty and got a fine, and my daughter got compensation. So that was it really. The police took it so seriously, but they just didn't have anything that they could charge him with. It's happened to me as well. I had a photograph taken up my skirt on the Piccadilly line. I probably didn't sit down in a particularly lady-like way. I was reading the newspaper and the woman next to me nudged me and said: "The man opposite's just taken a photograph up your skirt." I was quite annoyed, so I took a photograph of him and as soon as I got to the station I gave it to the British Transport Police. They again were brilliant, they really took time and trouble to try and trace that man, but unfortunately they couldn't. The police do take this seriously but the laws haven't yet caught up with technology. Amanda, 55 As told to Vibeke Venema Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.

जब एक आदमी ने पिछले महीने एक संगीत समारोह में गिना मार्टिन की एक अपस्कर्ट तस्वीर ली, तो वह सीधे पुलिस के पास गई। लेकिन वह यह जानकर हैरान रह गई कि अधिकांश यूके में "अपस्कर्टिंग" के खिलाफ कोई विशिष्ट कानून नहीं है-केवल स्कॉटलैंड में। पुलिस द्वारा अपना मामला बंद करने के बाद, गिना ने इसे फिर से खोलने के लिए एक याचिका शुरू की, और अब वह कानून में बदलाव के लिए पैरवी कर रही है।


In pictures: How the Thailand cave rescue unfolded

Summary: The desperate effort to find and rescue a team of young footballers in Thailand from a flooded cave has gripped the world. After the last boys and their coach were rescued on Tuesday, we look back at how the story unfolded.

On Saturday 23 June, 12 members of the Wild Boar soccer team, aged 11-16, entered the Tham Luang cave system in Thailand's Chiang Rai Province along with their 25-year-old football coach after a team practice. The cave system, which is 10km (6 miles) deep, is known locally for its deep recesses and narrow passages. The team has reportedly visited the cave before - but this time heavy rains cause flooding, impeding their exit. After the children fail to return home, they are reported missing and search efforts begin. Initial rescuers at the site reportedly find the team's bicycles, football boots and other belongings close to the cave's entrance. Media and volunteers start to gather at the site as heavy rain continues to complicate the search and rescue process. By Sunday family members reach the cave, praying and holding vigils for the missing children. Three days in, divers from the Royal Thai Navy arrive to assist in local search efforts. Fresh hand and footprints are spotted inside the vast cave complex, raising hopes for the group's safety. Government officials visit the site, and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says the government is still optimistic the team can be found alive. Rescuers consider other routes in - teams of soldiers search for alternative entrance points and the authorities consider drilling into the mountain to get access. By Wednesday 27 June, diving and survival specialists from all around the world arrive in the country to help with search efforts. Relatives continue to hold vigils and pray at the site, as concern about the under-16 team's fate grows. Family members and officers are pictured fainting, and desperation deepens as weather conditions deteriorate. Thailand is now captivated by the desperate search, clinging to hope they can survive. Social media users share fan art in tribute to the missing 13, referring to them as "the strangers we want to meet the most". Pumps are brought in to try to help reduce the water levels in the cave, but continuing rain intermittently suspends efforts. Rescuers now believe and hope the team sought safety on a rock mound inside a cave chamber known as "Patayya beach". Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha visits relatives at the site and tries to offer comfort, telling them: "They're athletes. They're strong." The world's media has by now gathered at the site, with journalists staking out in the muddy conditions to hear the latest news. Over the weekend of 30 June, a break in rainy conditions allows divers to get further inside the cave than before. Supplies and air tanks are brought into the cave as the rescue teams advance. On Monday 2 July there is dramatic news - divers have found all of the boys and their coach safe nine days after they went missing. The team are found on a rock shelf about 4km (2.5 miles) from the cave mouth. A video showing the boys in apparent good health is released by the Thai Navy seals, but officials stress that the rescue effort remains complex. Medical aid and food is brought in to the team, as rescuers consider the best way to get them out to safety. Millions of litres of water are being pumped out of the cave system, but with the rainy season in full flow, officials warn the boys may have to learn to dive to get free - or wait months until conditions approve. The buoyant mood at the site then sours dramatically at the end of the week after a diver working on the rescue dies. It emerges that Saman Gunan, 38, a former Thai navy diver volunteering in the cave, lost consciousness while delivering oxygen air tanks. Tributes pour in for the lost diver, as concern is raised about the difficult task ahead. The commander of Thailand's Navy Seals warns that oxygen levels are dropping, as notes written by the team and coach emerge and are released. In a race against the rain, officials designate a "limited" window during which they believe the team can be successfully evacuated out. With conditions optimum on Sunday 8 July, "D-Day" comes and intensive rescue operations begin. Ambulances are pictured leaving the site, as speculation grows about how the rescue went. It is eventually confirmed that four of the boys have been safely brought out. Officials say the operation is running "smoothly", but efforts pause overnight to replace air tanks and let divers rest. The operation is very complex, and involves a mixture of walking, wading, climbing and diving along guide ropes already in place. At the end of Monday, it emerges that four more of the boys have been successfully freed. The story of Thailand's cave rescue The government strictly guards information about the rescue, including the names of those who have been saved. The boys are held in hospital for supervision. Access for visiting parents is said to be limited because of potential health risks. On Tuesday there are high hopes for a successful rescue of everyone, as a final push starts to free those still inside. Efforts continue throughout Tuesday, until it is finally confirmed by officials that all 13 have been rescued safely. Locals and rescuers at the site celebrate, as the last boys and their coach are transferred to hospital, 17 days after getting trapped underground. All photographs copyright.

थाईलैंड में बाढ़ की गुफा से युवा फुटबॉलरों की एक टीम को खोजने और बचाने के हताश प्रयास ने दुनिया को जकड़ लिया है। मंगलवार को अंतिम लड़कों और उनके कोच को बचाने के बाद, हम पीछे मुड़कर देखते हैं कि कहानी कैसे सामने आई।


Chinese couple tie knot on glass bridge over gorge

Summary: It's not everyone's idea of a special day, but one couple in China chose to celebrate their wedding by dangling in mid-air from a glass bridge.

The bride and groom married on the Shiniuzhai bridge in Pingjiang, Hunan province on Chinese Valentine's Day on 9 August, China News Service reports. Despite dangling 180m (590ft) above the ground, they were still able to smile for the camera in their wedding photos. Glass bridges have become increasingly popular in China recently. Just a few weeks ago, five other couples chose to exchange their vows on the same bridge - although their feet stayed firmly on the glass floor.

यह हर किसी के लिए एक विशेष दिन का विचार नहीं है, लेकिन चीन में एक जोड़े ने एक कांच के पुल से हवा में लटककर अपनी शादी का जश्न मनाने का फैसला किया।


Felixstowe Pier rebuilding plans approved by council

Summary: A 100-year-old Suffolk pier is to be demolished and rebuilt.

Suffolk Coastal District Council has approved plans from developers who want to build an entertainment and conference venue. Restaurants, retail units and an observation tower will also feature on the pier and part of the nearby boating lake will be turned into a car park. Designer Haydn Evans said the new-look pier could be open by as early as Easter 2014.

100 साल पुराने सफ़ोक घाट को ध्वस्त किया जाना है और इसका पुनर्निर्माण किया जाना है।


Will Gompertz reviews Lungs starring Matt Smith and Claire Foy ★★★★☆

Summary: You can imagine the casting conversation down at the Old Vic theatre in London when they decided to reprise Duncan Macmillan's play Lungs: a two-hander featuring a right-on young couple thinking about settling down...

Will GompertzArts editor@WillGompertzBBCon Twitter Senior Creative [SC]: So, we're after a box office pairing the public would love (pay) to see reunited. Junior Creative [JC]: What about Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio? SC: Great idea! [pauses to think] A bit old, maybe? JC: Okay, how about Letitia Wright and Daniel Kaluuya? SC: Another awesome suggestion! But is she old enough? JC: Ooh, ooh, ooh… I've got it! This is brilliant! SC: Pray tell. JC: Claire Foy and Matt Smith! SC: Perfect! You. Are. A. Genius! Book 'em! And so it came pass - probably not quite like that - the two British actors who formed a dream team double-act in The Crown for Netflix as The Queen and Prince Philip were reunited to play another young couple trying to work out their place in the world. This time around tiaras and Buckingham Palace have been traded-in for trainers and IKEA, but they are essentially dealing with the same issues of love, commitment, betrayal, duty, compromise and existential anxiety. There's none of the expensive paraphernalia that came with The Crown such as lavish sets and a large supporting cast. In Lungs the stage is almost bare; the actors don't have a prop to call their own. It is entirely down to their talents to bring to life Duncan Macmillan's words in an 80-minute play in which they are constantly on the stage bantering to-and-fro without an interval to catch their breath. It's a tall order, made slightly easier by the sheer quality and directness of the writing and their palpable stage chemistry. Foy is superb as the doubting yet strident left-leaning intellectual with a PhD who is at once perceptive and blindly self-absorbed. Smith does what he did as Prince Philip in The Crown, which is to play Foy's foil. Here, he is a struggling musician intimidated by his partner's intelligence and rhetorical ferocity. The full force of which is evident in the opening exchange caused by his unwitting decision to wonder aloud if they should have a child together. Big mistake. She is staggered by his thoughtlessness, impudence, and lazy arrogance. "It's like you punch me in the face and then asked me a maths question" is one of the many ways she describes the effect of his casual conversation opener while they queued in IKEA. He tries to put the pin back in the grenade but it's too late. Before he knows it she is telling him that his predatory countenance when they are in the throes of passion freaks her out, "Sometimes it looks like you are going to hack off my limbs and bury me in the woods." He tries back-peddling, and then justifying, and eventually - when all else fails - agreeing. It's like watching a boxing match in which one fighter is clearly stronger and more assertive while the other ducks and dives and seeks a way out by fair means or foul. Into this semi-comic world of domestic disharmony Macmillan introduces the underlying theme of his decade-old play (first professionally staged in 2011), which is the negative impact we gas-guzzling humans are having on the planet. Foy's character wants to know if she and he can still be "good people" if they decide to have a child, which she says will have a lifetime carbon footprint amounting to 10,000 tonnes of CO2, "That's the weight of the Eiffel Tower. I'd be giving birth to the Eiffel Tower." It's a great line from which you can extrapolate the bigger question being asked: can we in the wealthy West ever be "good" when our privilege is at the expense of others and the planet? It is a subject that deeply troubles the playwright who wrote this "end of days" play in a single night having put aside a more complex concept. It is a good piece of work. But unlike his excellent subsequent plays like Every Brilliant Thing and People, Places, Things - which deal with depression and addiction respectively - Lungs runs out of breath about two-thirds of the way through. The witty repartee between Foy and Smith pales, the unevenness of their relationship loses credibility. That said, it is a bold and invigorating idea to focus their entire relationship on the single issue of procreation in the form of a discussion taking place over years but presented as one seamless conversation (a time-shifting exercise beautifully executed by director Matthew Warchus). The upside for Macmillan is it allows him to highlight what he considers to be the "thing that makes drama interesting", which is, "present-tense decision-making." The downside is it ends up leaving the characters boxed in and the story with nowhere to go. Foy's character gets bigger but predictable, Smith's smaller and boring. The piece eventually peters out. But not before landing some heavy blows. Lungs turns the highly personal - deciding to have a child - into the powerfully political: it lays the issue of our age at our door. And it does so with biting wit, a sense of urgency and an appropriate level of high anxiety, all expertly delivered by the two actors. More Claire Foy and Matt Smith combos please. Recent reviews by Will Gompertz Follow Will Gompertz on Twitter

आप लंदन के ओल्ड विक थिएटर में कास्टिंग वार्तालाप की कल्पना कर सकते हैं जब उन्होंने डंकन मैकमिलन के नाटक लंग्स को दोहराने का फैसला कियाः एक दो-हाथ वाला जिसमें एक दाएं हाथ का युवा जोड़ा बसने के बारे में सोच रहा था।